Order of the Pontifical Household
The Order of Saints George and Olga
A religious-dynastic Order honouring distinguished service to the mission of Rome and to the Pontifical Household.
Whom the Order Honours
The Order is conferred upon gentlemen and ladies of high rank or office whose service has materially advanced the mission of Rome or the life of the Pontifical Household. It is generally reserved to nobles of baronial rank or higher, general officers, and their civil equivalents. Membership confers nobility ad vitam.
Structure
The Order has separate divisions for gentlemen and ladies under one Grand Master, the Roman-Ruthenian Pope. Its ordinary rank is Knight or Dame. In rare cases of the highest service, the office and distinction of Grand Commander may be conferred.
Dynastic Place
The Order ranks immediately after the Companions of the Eagle, while the exceptional dignity of Grand Commander ranks immediately after the Aquiline Order of Christ and Most Holy Pontifical Order of the Eagle. Grand Dukes of Rome-Ruthenia receive the Order at age eighteen or upon succession to the title.
Saint George the Victory-Bringer
Saint George, martyr and patron of knights, cavalry, and horsemen, holds a prominent place in the patrimony of the United Roman-Ruthenian Church. His cross appears throughout the Church’s heraldic and institutional life, including the Pontifical Georgian College and the Pontifical Walsingham Guard.
Saint Olga Equal-to-the-Apostles
Grand Princess of Kiev and regent of the Old Russian State, Saint Olga fostered the Christian faith that her grandson, Saint Vladimir the Great, would establish throughout the realm. She also stands within the ancestry of several royal and noble houses of Central and Western Europe.
The insignia is a gold Roman eagle centred upon a white eight-pointed cross, with gold eagles between the principal points. Knights wear the cross from an orange-and-black striped neck ribbon; Dames wear it from a bow. The Grand Master, Grand Dame, and Grand Commanders may wear the insignia from a broad sash in the colours of the Order: imperial yellow and black, with the yellow tinged by the red of the martyrs.
