Ordo Sancti Stanislai

The Ordo Sancti Stanislai is a Polish self-styled order founded on 9 June 1979 by Juliusz Nowina-Sokolnicki, in his claimed capacity as disputed President of the Polish Government in exile[1] as an attempted revival of the Polish Order of Saint Stanislaus, founded in 1765 as an order of knighthood of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth,[2] since it had been incorporated by the Russian Empire in 1831 as the Order of Saint Stanislaus (Imperial House of Romanov).

However, mismanagement of the Ordo Sancti Stanislai resulted in several claimed successor movements.[3] During the 1990s, disputes with Juliusz Nowina-Sokolnicki caused several national sub-groups of this organisation, called priories, to break away.[4] Several of these united in 2004 to create a joint Polish successor, the International Order of Saint Stanislaus[5] as an alliance of national groups.[6]

History

The self-proclaimed version of the history of the organisation has Sokolnicki transforming the Order of Saint Stanislaus into a private charitable institution on 15 September 1990, before transferring his authority to the new Polish government of Lech Wałęsa in December of the same year.[1][7] Prior to his death on 17 August 2009, Sokolnicki appointed Polish businessman Jan Zbigniew Potocki as his successor.[8] Potocki was fired by the Ordo Sancti Stanislai in February 2010 "after he violated the Constitution of the Order repeatedly."[9] On 16 February 2011, Waldemar Wilk was appointed new Grand Master.[10] Perhaps not surprisingly, in an recreation of the circumstances that brought Juliusz Nowina-Sokolnicki to his disputed office as president, Waldemar Wilk claims that he was the legitimately designated successor to Sokolnicki but that Jan Zbigniew Potocki somehow managed to obtain the position ahead of him.[11]

Succession debate

There have been several organisations which claim to be the heirs of the Polish Order of Saint Stanislaus. Ordo Sancti Stanislai has been one of the more prominent attempts, founded (or revived) by Juliusz Nowina-Sokolnicki who claimed to be the president of the Polish government-in-exile from 1972 until the restoration of Polish democracy in 1990.[12] In his capacity as president, he claimed to restore the Order of Saint Stanislaus on 9 June 1979.[12] Sokolnicki's claim to the Polish presidency was widely rejected[13][14][15] and he is not recognized by the current government of Poland (in 1990, Lech Wałęsa accepted symbols of the pre-War presidency from Ryszard Kaczorowski).[16] Sokolnicki's status was enhanced by the fact that he was an associate of August Zaleski, generally recognized as the head of the Polish government-in-exile from 1947 to 1972.[17] That connection gave Sokolnicki's order a veneer of legitimacy that other such endeavors lacked.

After Lech Wałęsa became President of Poland with universal recognition on 22 December 1990, the rationale for the governments in exile ended. Sokolnicki followed the path of his rival, Ryszard Kaczorowski, in formally recognizing Wałęsa as his successor.[18] Nevertheless, Sokolnicki claimed to retain the office of Grand Master in his Order of Saint Stanislaus.[19] He based his continued control of the order partially on his status as an independent bishop after his ordination in 1983.[20] Ultimately, Sokolnicki claimed that the grand mastership was an hereditary office for his family.[4] The result was the division of the order into several competing groups, none of which recognize the claims of the others.[9][5] On 27 January 1997 disgruntled members of the Order deposed Sokolnicki and replaced him with Zbigniew Kazimierz.[21] The Polish government does not accept any of these groups as legitimate.[8]

Organisation

The Ordo Sancti Stanislai says of itself: "The Order of Saint Stanislas is a hierarchically organized body of men and women, many with a Polish Connection, who support and assist in charitable works of various kinds to help the poor and disadvantaged in Poland and in other countries throughout the world. Originally a dynastic chivalric order from Poland, it is now an international charitable non-profit association in the form of a private chivalric order."[22]

References

  1. 1 2 "Recreation of the Order". The Order of Saint Stanislas. Sankt Stanislaus Orden Österreich - Karitativer Ritterorden. Retrieved 14 December 2012. In his function as President of the Republik of Poland (in Exile), although not recognised by all Polish emigree groups Juliusz Novina Sokolnicki held the office and supported the Polish opposition against the totalitarian communist regime in Poland and other countries under Soviet influence. On 9 June 1979 he recreated the Sovereign Order of Saint Stanislas and declared himselfVIII Grand Master of the Order of St Stanislas The term "sovereign" was dropped later after the separation of the Order from the Polish State.1990 he transferred all rights and duties of the Office of the President of the Republic of Poland in Exile to the now free and sovereign State of Poland and retired from politics. The main field of his activity became the Order of Saint Stanislaus, which he made an autonomous association of charity. The last event in which he participated was on 9 May 2009, the 131st Investiture of the Order, connected with the event of 30 years of activities of the organization at Jasna Góra in Czestochowa.
  2. ↑ Duckers, Peter (2008). European orders and decorations to 1945. Botley, Oxford, UK: Shire Publications. pp. 67–79. ISBN 9780747806707.
  3. ↑ Duren, Peter Bander van (1995). Orders of knighthood and of merit: the pontifical, religious and secularised Catholic-founded Orders and their relationship to the Apostolic See. Gerrards Cross: Smythe. pp. 380–86, 682–90. ISBN 9780861403714.
  4. 1 2 "About the Order of Saint Stanislas". British Association of Chevalier's of Saint Stanislas, The International Order of Saint Stanislas. London: British Association of Chevalier's of Saint Stanislas. Retrieved 12 December 2012. The 1st elected President of the democratic Poland, Lech Walesa, was presented with the Presidential insignia and seals of the Grand Master of the Orders of the White Eagle and Polonia Restituta on 22 December 1990, by Ryszard Kaczorowski and not Nowina-Sokolnicki. There were further problems in the Order when Nowina-Sokolnicki declared the Grand Mastership of the Order to be the hereditary prerogative of his family, and on the 1st January, 1997, the National Chapter announce the dismissal of Nowina-Sokolnicki and the election of Count Kazimierz Dworak-Biziel-Dworakowski, a resident of the USA, as the 8th Grand Master. At the same time the Catholic Church of Poland recognised Marek Kwiatkowski as Grand Master of the Order and he headed an alternative Chapter...On the 16th May, 2004, a number of Grand Priors from various Countries met in Kiev, Ukraine, and decided to split from Nowina-Sokolnicki’s Order and form the International Order of St Stanislas. We do not claim to be the authenticate original Order, only that we follow their basic principles and precepts. We recognise that there are several Orders of St. Stanislas and are happy to welcome members of any of them to our functions and acknowledge that each in their own way do good works
  5. 1 2 Kurek, Eaglan (2010). "History". West European Grand Priory, International Order of Saint Stanislas. Retrieved 12 December 2012. On the 16th May, 2004, a number of Grand Priors from various Countries met in Kiev, Ukraine, and decided to split from Nowina-Sokolnicki’s Order and form the International Order of St Stanislas. We do not claim to be the authenticate original Order, only that we follow their basic principles and precepts. We recognise that there are several Orders of St. Stanislas and are happy to welcome members of any of them to our functions and acknowledge that each in their own way do good works. Although originally a Christian Order membership is now open to any male or female over the age of 21, (18 by agreement of the Grand Prior), who profess a belief in a Supreme Being and is a believer in the fundamental principles of chivalry.
  6. ↑ "About Order". International Order of Saint Stanislas. Retrieved 14 December 2012. The International Order of Saint Stanislas is a charitable and guerdon organization, recognized all over the world. It is an alliance of national associations of the Order members.
  7. ↑ "Constitution". Order of Saint Stainslas. Sankt Stanislaus Orden Österreich - Karitativer Ritterorden. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Zmarł samozwańczy prezydent Polski". Newsweek (Poland) (in Polish). 26 August 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2012. W 1990 roku ogłosił się Wielkim Mistrzem Orderu Świętego Stanisława (orderu rycerskiego istniejącego w XVIII i XIX wieku) i zajął się nadawaniem go w Polsce i zagranicą. W związku z tym w 2006 roku senator PiS Dorota Arciszewska-Mielewczyk powiadomiła prokuraturę o możliwości popełnienia przestępstwa podszywania się pod funkcjonariusza publicznego. Śledztwo jednak umorzono....Przed śmiercią Nowina-Sokolnicki wskazał na swojego następcę Jana Zbigniewa Potockiego, polskiego biznesmena zamieszkałego w Niemczech. Potocki zdążył już się ogłosić nowym prezydentem wolnej Polski na wychodźstwie.
  9. 1 2 Graff, Alexander. "Jan Zbigniew Potocki". Ordo Sancti Stanislai. Vienna: Sankt Stanislaus Orden Österreich - Karitativer Ritterorden. Retrieved 12 December 2012. Jan Zbigniew Potocki followed Juliusz Nowina Sokolnicki as IXth Grand Master of the Order in August 2009. He was dismissed from his position as Grand Master in February 2010, after he violated the Constitution of the Order repeatedly...The Order was then governed by the Regency Council internationally. The Confederacy of Priories and Commandories governed the Order in Poland
  10. ↑ "Inauguration of the Xth Grand Master". Order of Saint Stanislas. Sankt Stanislaus Orden Österreich - Karitativer Ritterorden. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  11. ↑ "Standpoint of the Priors and Commanders of the Polish Grand Priory of The Order of Saint Stanislaus BM passed during the VI Conference in Warsaw on the 16th of February 2011". Royal Order of St. Stanislaus BM. Polish Grand Priory of the Order of Saint Stanislas. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  12. 1 2 "Sokolnicki Juliusz". Juliusz Nowina Sokolnicki, Biblioteka Uniwersytecka UMK w Toruniu, Archiwum Emigracji, “Dokumenty Urzędu Prezydenta RP” (in Polish). Retrieved 12 December 2012. 1967-70 Minister Informacji i Dokumentacji, 1970 minister spraw wewnętrznych i minister spraw krajowych, 1971 wyznaczony na następcę prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej, 1972-90 prezydent Rzeczypospolitej.
  13. ↑ http://www.president.pl/x.node?id=436
  14. ↑ http://www.senat.gov.pl/k6/dok/sten/oswiad/arciszew/2301.htm
  15. ↑ Juliusz Nowina-Sokolnicki (1920-2009), Autor: Norbert Wójtowicz (pl)
  16. ↑ "Ryszard Kaczorowski". The Official Website of the President of the Republic of Poland. BBN Biuro Bezpieczeństwa Narodowego. Retrieved 30 December 2011. Ryszard Kaczorowski...handed over the insignia of the presidential power of the 2nd Republic to President Lech Walesa
  17. ↑ "August Zaleski". The Official Website of the President of Poland. Warsaw: Biuro Bezpieczeństwa Narodowego. Retrieved 12 December 2012. Having assumed the office of the President in exile (April 1947), he appointed General Tadeusz Bor-Komorowski Prime Minister. Having completed a 7 years term of office, he extended the term indefinitely. One of his adherents was Cat-Mackiewicz who replaced him at the post of Prime Minister, where as General Anders refused to obey him. Before his death in April 1972 he designated Stanislaw Ostrowski as his successor.
  18. ↑ Ferfecki, Wiktor (8 August 2009). "Zmarł samozwańczy prezydent Polski". TVP.info (in Polish). Retrieved 14 December 2012. Działał równolegle z rzeczywistymi prezydentami na uchodźstwie aż do 1990 r., gdy oficjalnie przekazał insygnia władzy prezydenckiej Lechowi Wałęsie
  19. ↑ Anna, ed. by Luigi G. De (2003). Milites pacis : Military and peace services in the history of Chivalric orders : proceedings of the Conference: The Monks of War - the Monks of Peace, Military and Peace Services in the History of Chivalric Orders, Turku 15. - 26. 5- 2001. Turku: University of Turku Press. p. 88. ISBN 9789512924257.
  20. ↑ Ward, Gary L., Bertil Persson, & Alan Bain, eds (1990). Independent bishops : an international directory. Detroit, Mich.: Apogee Books. p. 380. ISBN 9781558883079.
  21. ↑ "Fałszywy blask fałszywych orderów fałszywego "prezydenta" RP Nowiny-Sokolnickiego". Nowy Ekran (in Polish). 11 August 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2012. Sąd Wojewódzki w Warszawie 27 stycznia 1997 zarejestrował Stowarzyszenie Kawalerów Orderu św. Stanisława z siedzibą w Łazienkach Królewskich, konkurencyjne wobec poczynań Sokolnickiego. Na "nowego” Wielkiego Mistrza tej kapituły OSS został wybrany książę Zbigniew Kazimierz. Objęcie funkcji miało bardzo ceremonialny charakter i odbyło w miejscu śmierci świętego Stanisława BM w Krakowie na Skałce. Wielki Mistrz złożył przysięgę na relikwie świętego, Wielki Kanclerz Kapituły OSS otrzymał przy okazji Wielki Łańcuch Suwerennego, Rycerskiego i Religijnego Orderu Korony Cierniowej, a potem dokonano inwestytury nowych kawalerów i dam. Oprócz rodzonego brata Wielkiego Mistrza znalazło się tam kilka naprawdę znanych osób, w tym m. in. dyrektorzy Łazienek czy Muzeum Wojska Polskiego w Warszawie. Potem odbył się bankiet na Wawelu, książę Zbigniew Kazimierz udzielił wywiadów dla Źródła i Gościa Niedzielnego , którym w swym angielskojęzycznym biuletynie (OSS Newsletter nr 1/1997) przypisał, bagatela, po milionie egzemplarzy nakładu tygodniowo.
  22. ↑ "Who Are We?". Order of Saint Stanislas. Sankt Stanislaus Orden Österreich - Karitativer Ritterorden. Retrieved 14 December 2012. The Order of Saint Stanislas is a hierarchically organized body of men and women, many with a Polish Connection, who support and assist in charitable works of various kinds to help the poor and disadvantaged in Poland and in other countries throughout the world. Originally a dynastic chivalric order from Poland, it is now an international charitable non-profit association in the form of a private chivalric order. As an international non-profit association, we transcend discrimination by race, religion, sex, and other prejudicial ideas. Our aims during the Cold War were focused on helping the people of Poland and it's diaspora with money from the Free World to make life more tolerable. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, our charitable works have expanded to helping the poor in all parts of the globe. We uphold the traditions of chivalry, with each member working at themselves to be an honest and charitable person. We do not fight with the sword for all that is good or right; our weapons are our words and deeds - the examples of our actions! We espouse the idea of a worldwide brotherhood of all people on this earth, with no discrimination based on skin color, religious beliefs, political or social orientation. We strive to help others, whether it be with labor or money, wherever the need is. Anyone who feels motivated by the principles of the Order is welcomed to contact us to apply for admission
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