ORDO REGNUM CHRISTIANORUM

ORDO REGNUM CHRISTIANORUM

The Formal Diplomatic Ranking Of The Catholic Nations And Their Monarchs As Originally Established By The Pope - Leader Of The Christian World

The formal precedence for diplomatic legates and ambassadors to and from the courts of kings and emperors was first established in 1504 at the papal court of Pope Julius II on the occasion of the visit to Rome by the English king, Henry VIII. Ambassadors and legates were granted official standing according to how their monarchs were placed on this listing, a custom that remained for more than four hundred years.

Despite the disappearance of many of these sovereign states today (either by natural circumstances or illegal revolutions), this table is actually still recognized as the foundation of the established modern order of precedence for nation-states with diplomatic standing with the Holy See. Modern ambassadors still receive their precedence, in part, due to this ancient formula, although, naturally, adaptations have been made in the modern era. The royals on the list below are under the authority, dominion, and spiritual care of the Pope. Usually, throughout history, some of these Titles are simultaneously held by one person, usually the Holy Roman Emperor. 

1. Imperator Caesar – Holy Roman Emperor (Imperial & Royal Majesty*, Most Apostolic Majesty -Rex apostolicamus.) 2. Rex Romanorum – King of the Romans 3. Rex Franciae – King of the Franks (Most Christian Majesty – Rex christianissimus). France is known as the Eldest Daughter of the Church. 4. Rex Hispaniae – King of Spain (Most Catholic Majesty – Maxime Rex Catholicus). Spain is known as the Catholic Monarchy (Monarchia Catholica) 5. Rex Aragoniae – King of Aragon 6. Rex Portugalliae – King of Portugal (Most Faithful Majesty – Rex fidelissimus). 7.  Rex Angliae – King of England 8.  Rex Siciliae – King of Sicily 9.  Rex Scotia – King of the Scots 10. Rex Hungariae – King of Hungary 11. Rex Navarrae – King of Navarre 12. Rex Cipri – King of Cyprus 13. Rex Bohemiae – King of Bohemia 14. Rex Poloniae – King of Poland 15. Rex Daniae – King of the Danes (Denmark)

16. Dux Britanniae – Duke of Brittany 17. Dux Burgundiae – Duke of Burgundy 18. Dux Bavariae – Duke of Bavaria 19. Dux Saxoniae – Duke of Saxony 20. Marchio Brandenburgensis – Margrave of Brandenburg 21. Dux Austriae – Duke of Austria 22. Dux Sabaudiae – Duke of Swabia 23. Dux Mediolani – Duke of the Milan 24. Dux Venetiarum – Doge of Venice 25. Duces Bavariae – Dukes of Bavaria 26. Duces Franciae et Lotharingiae – Dukes of Lorraine 27. Dux Borboniae – Duke of Bourbon (France) 28. Dux Ferrariae – Duke of Ferrara

The list does not include the duchies that came about in the late baroque era and modern era before the collapse of Catholic Temporal power. These include the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Duchy of Luca, the Republic of Venice, etc. etc. When these existed they fell under the corresponding titles on the list. The list also doesn’t include the King of Jerusalem since at the start of the 13th Century the King of Jerusalem was de facto the Holy Roman Emperor and also claimed, de facto, by the King of Spain, because, at one point, Spain was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The monarchs who are the King of Jerusalem would never dream of actually having their throne in Jerusalem. As an aside, within the hierarchy of the Church, it wasn’t until the reign of Bl. Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) that the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem physically sat and lived in Jerusalem.

Interestingly, those monarchies – and democratic nation-states founded after the formulation of this list – take precedence after those sited within the original listing and within each class of monarchical form of government, with empires being superior to kingdoms, grand duchies superior to sovereign duchies, and sovereign duchies superior to principalities, and princely comital domains and democratic systems, following in sequence.

After the 16th Century, due to the Protestant revolution, when Christendom was cleaved, Roman Catholic monarchs were always advanced above non-Catholics within each class of monarchy in terms of ambassadors, while non-Catholic sovereign and heads of royal houses were not generally received into the papal presence until the last years of the reign of Blessed-Pope Pius IX (1846-78).

The few republican forms of government in existence prior to the advent of the twentieth century followed all types of monarchical government (they were not like the liberal republics of the revolutions beginning in the late 18th Century. They were ruled by a Doge), with the Republic of Venice, Roman Catholic Serene Republic of San Marino and the many minor Catholic City-States found within Italy. They take precedence above all other modern republics no matter their size or import.

Today, this formula remains mainly ceremonial since in modern times, all nations accredited to the Holy See now receive the same degree of recognition.

N.B.:

* - Given that the Holy Roman Emperor was at different points in history and today the holder of multiple royal titles, sometimes being the king of multiple countries, his title is Imperial and Royal Majesty.

* - On a personal note, unfortunately, the Tsar of the Russian Empire doesn’t make the list because Russia ceased to be a Catholic Kingdom in the late 14-1500s. A little before Pope Julius II made the list. (“Endless references to the thousand-year estrangement between Rome and Moscow display ignorance of the fact that 1,000 years ago the Patriarchate of Moscow did not exist. It was created in 1589. Even the position of Metropolitan of Moscow goes back only to 1448. The creation of the Moscow Metropolitanate was a direct reaction to the fact that the Church of Kyiv (Kiev) had re-established full communion with Rome at the Council of Florence through Metropolitan Isidore. The Metropolitan of Kyiv, Petro Akerovych, had attended the First Council of Lyons in 1245. Moscow cannot claim the history of the Kyivan Church as its own and simultaneously ignore such momentous moments in that history. Furthermore, the Kyivan Church re-established full communion with Rome in 1596 through the Union of Brest, an explicit revival of Florentine models of unity, only to be beaten back by rivals who did not accept this Union” – Fr. Andriy Chirovsky).

Coronation of Pope Pius VI
Absolute Monarch and Spiritual Shepherd over all Christian Princes