Order of the Militia of Jesus Christ

[eitze]

Dear Fellows,

I wanna show you my collection of the "International Order of the Militia of Jesus Christ".

In the past I got one or two pieces of the upper classes, but eleven years ago I was able to buy a whole lot of this order.

After trying to get information about the order and the failure of this search, I put all the pieces in a box and nearly forgot about it

Please look at the photos and perhaps someone has any information for me:

- Country of origin ?

- who`s behind the order ?

- who`s the manufactor of the insignias ?

- is it still awarded / by whom ?

- is there a breast star for the Grand Cross ?

greetings

eitze

[eitze]

Let`s start.

The crosses are are black/white enameled and the ribbon is black.

DONAT OF DEVOTION - 1. and 2. class

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KNIGHT and OFFICER on Ladies bow

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KNIGHT and OFFICER

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KNIGHT and OFFICER - Military Division

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COMMANDER - Military Division

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COMMANDER - Standard and on Ladies bow

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COMMANDER OF GRACE

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COMMANDER CROSS FOR CLERGYMAN

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GRAND CROSS

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And the last:

GRAND CROSS OF GRACE

[Ed_Haynes]

Another of those fantasy orders.

[eitze]

Another of those fantasy orders.

That is clear to me

But who is the man / organisation / circle, etc. behind the order ??????????????????

greetings

eitze

[Ed_Haynes]

That is clear to me

But who is the man / organisation / circle, etc. behind the order ??????????????????

greetings

eitze

This is a really good question, for all these fantasy "orders". They must have been concorted by some person or persons, probably sitting alone in the squalid dark, who desire to manufacture and self-bestowed some mark of "honor". As their goal is also to make money, simply by finding out to whom the money orders should be sent, you might just trace the origins. However illegitimate, these "orders" represent an interesting phaleristic netherworld and I fear that for many (and I have to struggle against this myself), the noxious cloud of general disgust surrounding these "orders" makes serious study and attention difficult. We badly need to know more, for 200 years from now they will surely confuse the hell out of future phalerists.

[jasmor58]

Fantasy Orders? I have seen decorations like these listed under International Orders,in dealer's lists. ie Order of St. Catherine of Mount Sinai, Order of St George of Burgandy and the Equestrian Order of St. Mary of Bethlehem. They are not cheap. So what constitutes an International Order???

Jim Morrison.

[Megan]

The heritage of this order dates back to an order formed by S. Dominic in 1216... at least in name, S. Dominic's one was not an order of chivalry & didn't last long anyway.

In 1870 a bunch of former Papal soldiers decided to form a group to fight for the Holy See and protect it against all comers, and chose the name "Milizia di Cristo, crociata di preghiera e di azione." Their organisation admitted both men & women, and came under the spiritual guidance of the Dominicans. Their insignia was a silver cross with a medallion at the centre (sorry, I don't have a picture of it). The instigator of this group, one Comte de Beaumont, was very low-key and didn't give himself fancy titles or badges... but after he retired a fellow called Domenico Piccoli took over and he was of a far more flamboyant nature. He claimed that the organisation was "a religious and chivalric order founded by Innocent III and Saint Dominic, and Pius IX had appointed the comte de Beaumont as Grand Master of the Order in France" - a complete surprise to all involved (at least, those around to be asked) and not supported by any documentary evidence. Piccoli styled himself "Lieutenant General and Grand Prior of the Cross of Paris of the Order" (de Beaumont had contented himself with the title 'Organiser'!), renamed it "Ordine religioso cavalleresco della Milizia di N.S. Gesu Cristo" and referred to the membership as knights and commanders. They adopted a uniform of white coats, and changed the insignia to the black & white cross flory as shown above. As it's a Dominican symbol, the Dominicans were not best pleased and asked them to stop wearing it.

Having been rebuffed by the Dominicans, who completely disowned them by the late 1880s, Piccoli asked the Melkite Catholic patriarch of Antioch to be Grand Master... which he accepted in 1900, but died 2 years later. The office was offered to his successor, who asked the Holy Father for permission to accept. He was advised that the Order had no official standing or approval from the Holy See and so declined. Piccoli, undaunted, took on the role of Grand Master himself until he died in 1916. Surviving members continued to use the title & insignia, but with little attempt at organisation or attempts to seek approval or legitimacy.

Sometime between 1959 & 1973 the order was transformed into an association of the faithful, aimed at supporting lay people who were following the teachings of the 2nd Vatican Council about lay apostolate. On 21 November, 1981, the Pontifical Council for the Laity granted recognition of the "Milice de Jesus Christ" as an international association of the faithful. Membership is open to lay people who wish to commit themselves individually and as an association to fostering the spirit of faith and Christian values in the world. This organisation, still using the black & whte cross flory, has a website at http://www.militia-christi.org/ and recognise most of the above (apart from Piccoli's self-aggrandisment - they jump straight from the 1870 group to being an association of the faithful) as their heritage & history. A black mantle bearing the cross on the left shoulder is worn, but they don't seem to go in for insignia of the sort we lot are interested in.

[922F]

Modern insignia generally made in Italy (enamel on both sides) or France (uniface). Hermann Historica and FJP sometimes offer pieces for sale. Hermann offered complete sets in the past; GC star has a commander size cross superimposed on an 8 point brilliant cut silvered star. Megan tagged the website which gives full details. Edited July 26, 2007 by 922F

[eitze]

Thank you 922F and especially Megan for the info

Unfortunately there are no news for the decorations on the mentioned homepage.

But it is nice to hear, that there is a star to the Grand Cross. I`ve never seen such an example.

These so called "International Orders" are often offered on auction and they realized good prices.

I`ve paid nearly 700 Euro for the whole set ten years ago. I know it is only gilded bronze and the production costs in Italy are far below, but it was a unique opportunity to get a nearly complete set of this order !

If anybody has a picture of the Grand Crosss STAR it would be nice, if you could show it here.

greetings

eitze

[David S]

This is one of a number of unofficial (lay) orders related to the catholic church.

Look at this site

Link

[zorg]

Early (1880s) black and white enamel cross flory of the chivalrous Order of the Militia of Jesus Christ. Face and reverse identical.