PRIORY OF SAINT MICHAEL INTERNATIONAL - AFFILIATE OF GREEK PAN ORTHODOX CHURCH AUTOCEPHALOUS ARCHDIOCESE CANADA AND AMERICA ONE WITH HOLY UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX ARCHDIOCESE AUTOCEPHALIC CHURCH IN EXILE
HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE
History of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Ordo Sancti Sepulchri - O.S.S.)
The Order of the Holy Sepulchre is a sovereign, Dynastic Order of Chivalry that recalls the values of Christian Chivalry and forms part of the historical heritage of religious-chivalric Orders. This especially applies to the Greek Orthodox Order of the Holy Sepulchre; the first Order of the Empire founded in 325 A.D. by Constantine the Great and is the oldest Chivalric Order in the world. Constantine (born 265 A.D., died 337 A.D.) chose for his capital, and, in 330 A.D. inaugurated it under the name of Constantinople (Constantine's city). He proclaimed Christianity the State religion in 325 A.D. Constantine's mother, St. Helena, traveled to the Holy Land in 326 A.D. and located many Biblical sites, including the founding of basilicas on the Mount of Olives and at Bethlehem.
Knighthood comes generally in set grades - Knight Oblate, Knight, Knight Officer, Knight Commander Knight Grand Officer and Knight Grand Cross. This also applies to Dames.
Forms of address vary from country to country. Whereas in British Knighthoods, "Professor Sir William White" is correct protocol, in O.S.S., the term Chevalier comes first - "Chevalier Professor etc." followed by other letters following the name, in prescribed order, such as "Chevalier Dr. Bill Black, K.C., O.S.S., J.P., Ph.D., etc." Use of full stops between letters is optional. In all Orders Ecclesiastic, titles are written first, such as "Rev. Chevalier George Grey, K.O., O.S.S.", followed by academic degrees. Those of Oxford are placed in ascending order - B.A., M.Sc., D.Litt., etc., while most other universities the academic degrees are placed in descending order. Non-academic letters follow - "J.P." is from the Queen and should precede academic honors. In all instances, V.C. (Victoria Cross) and G.C. (George Cross) should precede all other letters, even though these do not carry a knighthood.
"Sir" and "Lady" are exclusively for British subjects knighted by the British Crown. A non-British subject may be knighted by the Crown and use the letters, but not "Sir" or "Lady".
Whereas in O.S.S., a Dame is knighted in her own right and holds the title for life, protocol varies with British "Ladies" who may carry the title in their own right. In such cases, the title is carried for life, or as the wife of a Knight, in which as it is for life so long as she does not remarry, when her status is taken from her husband. British protocol is more complex than this and it is desirable that one consults a reference such as Debrett's, which is quite comprehensive.