636 



ORDERS IN COUNCIL 



ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD 



function* of tlic office than if lie had never been 

 ordained. Then- is nothing to prevent a minister 

 of tin 1 Church of Scotland, or any Presbyterian or 

 lnde|>emlent church, from being a member of the 

 British House of QoiMMML 



The use of a ceremonial for ordination is traceable 

 among the Jews, and the New Testament contains 

 frequent reference to the specific ceremonial of 

 'laying on of hands' (Acts, vi. 1-7 xiii. 1-4, 

 xiv!23; 1 Tim. iv. 14, v. 22; 2 Tim. i. 0). In the 

 Roman, the Creek, and the other eastern churches 

 this rite of ordination is held to be sacramental, 

 and it is reserved, at least as regards the major 

 orders, exclusively to bishops. In extraordinary 

 cases it was permitted to cardinals and to certain 

 abbots to confer the minor orders. Considerable 

 controversy exists among Catholic writers as to 

 what are the essential portions (Materia Sacrn- 

 mentt) of the rite of ordination. Some place it in 

 the ' imposition of handx,' some in the 'presenta- 

 tion of the instruments' symliolical of each order. 

 As regards the ruliilitti of the rite of ordination, 

 the mere fact of its being conferred by a bishop 

 suffices ; but there is not any pint of the Roman 

 discipline whieh is more jealously guarded by laws 

 than the a<lniinistrntion of orders. The candidate 

 can only be lawfully ordained by 'his own bishop' 

 (proprius epitcopuf), or with the authority of his 

 own bishop, who is ' his own ' in resjiect of birth, 

 of domicile, of benefice, or of connection by personal 

 sen- ice. 



In the Church of England and other Reformed 

 Episcopal churches the rules of the ancient canon- 

 law are retained, by which no one could l>e ordained 

 without pievion- examination of his fitness, or who 

 was disqualified by bodily infirmity, illegitimacy, 

 immorality, or simony, or who was unprovided with 

 a title (i.e. an a|>|>oiiitinent to serve in some 

 church) which should provide him with a mainten- 

 ance ; or who, lieing a candidate for deacon's orders, 

 was under twenty, and for priest's, under twenty- 

 four years of age ; but the age for admission to 

 deacon's orders is changed to twenty-three. 



In other Reformed churches ordination is per- 

 formed by the presbytery by imposition of hands, 

 or by one or more ordinary ministers. Some smaller 

 Protestant denominations have no ceremony of 

 ordination whatever. 



Orders in Council, orders by the sovereign 

 with the ail vice of the Privy-council. The Privy- 

 council of Great Britain has no power to legislate, 

 except so far as authorised to do so by parliament ; 

 but in periods of emergency it has nevertheless 

 occasionally issued and enforced orders of a legis- 

 lative kind ; those who were concerned in passing, 

 promulgating, or enforcing the orders trusting to 

 parliament Ai y protection, and taking on them- 

 selves the personal responsibility of the proceeding. 

 In snch cases an act of indemnity afterwards 

 passed has relieved from liability tliose who ad- 

 vised the order or acted under it, and given com- 

 pensation to all who suffered by its enforcement. 

 I'liis course wns adopted in 1700 with regard to 

 an embargo on the exportation of com, issneil in 

 consequence of a deficient harvest and prospect 

 of famine. An important constitutional question 

 was raised by the famous Orders in Council 

 issued by Great Britain in 1H07 and 1M09, in 

 reprisal for Napoleon's Berlin and Milan decrees. 

 See CONTINENTAL SVSTI \i. 



Order* ( Knighthood or Chivalry, with 

 their resjiective statutes and insignia, seem to have 

 been the result of the desire to institute a superior 

 class among those who devoted themselves to arms, 

 and may ! said to have originated U-tween the 

 age of Charlemagne and that of the Crusades; 

 though the Romans, in their equestrian order going 



back to the 6th century it.c., and many other of 

 the ancient nations, had similar distinctions. Their 

 nature, and their connection with the religious 

 orders will be found explained in the article 

 KNIGHTHOOD; here we need only give a brief li-t 

 of the existing orders which either have survived 

 the invention of mnpowdv, to become, generally, 

 marks of favour from the sovereign, who in almost 

 all the order* is grand master, or which have been 

 instituted since, to reward military or civil >ei\i.-e 

 or mark personal favour. 



AUSTKIA-HCNGART. The Order of On: (inldtn Fkeee 

 ( 1429 ), second only in rank to the ' Garter,' will be found 

 described at GOLDEN Fl.EKCE. St Stephen, institute! by 

 Empress Maria Theresa in 1764, oriuinally as the national 

 order of Hungary. It consists of the grand master (the 

 sovereign of Hungary), twenty grand-cross knights, thirty 

 commanders, and titty knights. B.id^e, cross pattie with 

 gold edges. Ribbon, crimson with two green stri|w.. 

 Leopold, founded by Francis I., 1808, for 'personal' 

 merit. Eliialietk-Thereta, the second military order of 

 the empire, founded by Kmpress Elizabeth Christina, 

 1750. Maria-J'hereta. founded by Km|>rc-s Maria Theresa 

 in 1757 for ' officers distinguished in war.' Iron Crovn, 

 originally founded to commemorate the crowning of 

 Napoleon I. as king of Italy in 1805, but revived by 

 Francis I in 1816, and then named the A uilrian Order 

 of the Iron Crotrn. It is given for personal merit only. 

 The present badge is the Austrian ea^le in K"M, &c., 

 rising from the iron crown and pendant from the im- 

 perial crown. Order of the Community of fiobie Ijiiiiit 

 of the Starry Crott, an order for ladies instituted by the 

 Kmpress Kleanor in IOCS to commemorate the miraculous 

 preservation of a portion of the true cross. It is restricted 

 to hi^h-born ladies. The Teutonic Order, of very ancient 

 hut uncertain origin, conferred on Roman Catholic noble- 

 men and ladies who contribute to its ambulance fund. 

 Franci* Joteph, instituted by that emperor in 184'J for 

 distinguished merit in all classes. 



BAVAHIA has several ancient orders. St Hubert was 

 founded by Gerhard V., Count of KavensUerg, to com- 

 memorate his victory over Arnold, Count of Egmont, 

 in 1444. It is the highest in the kingdom, and ia con- 

 fined to members of the Bavarian Uoyal House and 

 foreign sovereigns, princes, and barons. Badge, a gold 

 Maltese cross, guttee, &c., surmounted by the Bavarian 

 crown ; ribbon, red, watered, with narrow green borders. 

 St (tcort/r, originally introduced from the Holy Land in 

 the ll'tli century, revived by Maximilian 1. in 1-t'JI. but 

 recognised as instituted by the Elector Charles Albert in 

 17-'.'. It is only given to Roman ( atholu-s and those 

 having no other order. Maximilian Jo*<i>li. a military 

 order founded by the Elector Charles Theodore (1794), 

 was raised to be a royal on/./- in 1SIO by Maximilian 

 Joseph. It has three classes, and the commoner becomes 

 ennobled by entering it. J!n mi-inn Ooicn, for civil 

 merit, instituted by Maximilian Joseph in 1808; also 

 confers nobility. Ht Michael, an order for civil merit 

 without distinction of rank or religion, founded by 

 Joseph Clemens, Duke of Bavaria, in lli'.B. - The Maxi- 

 milian Oiiltr, for art and science, founded in 185H by 

 Maximilian II. for Germans only. Onlrr of Mill turn 

 Merit ( 1806 ). - Koyal Limit Order (\*27). Order nf 

 i'lKabeth, for ladies of Roman Catholic religion, founded 

 by Klizalivth Augusta ( 1700). *r Anne ( 1783), tor ladies 

 of the nobility, all of its member* receiving pensions. 

 Thirrxi (1827), for unmarried noble ladies. 



BELGIUM. Order uf Leopold, civil and military, 

 founded by Leopold I. (ls:v.M. It has five classes, of 

 which the three inferior have pensions. Iron Crow, for 

 civil merit, founded by Leopold II. (IKoT). 



BULKAKIA. The Military Order, instituted by Prince 

 Alexander I. in 1879. 



CHINA. The Order of the Imperial Draaon wa in- 

 stituted in 1862 to reward foreigners who had done 

 service to the empire, founded partly on the model of 

 the Biitish order of the Bath. The first foreigner deco- 

 rated wai Colonel (General) Gordon. It was put on a 

 more permanent footing in 1882, and called the Order of 

 the D"ble Drat/on, It has five subdivided grades, most 

 carefully Kjwcincd, ranging trom 'sovereigns' to 'com- 

 mercial classes,' which are distinguished by different 

 kinds of 'pearls' or hemispherical stones. It is this 

 peculiar method of Chinese distinction which it irrev- 

 erently termed ' buttons ' by foreigners. 



