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The Order of St Stnislas

http://www.kwtelecom.com/chivalry/stanisla.html

© 1996, Mark Harrison



History and Insignia (1765-1917)

The Order of St Stanislas was founded by Stanislas Augustus Poniatowski, last king of Poland (1764-1795) in 1765 on the eve of the Feast of St Stanislas, Bishop, Martyr and Patron Saint of Poland. It originally had three classes and the number of Knights was restricted to one hundred Polish Knights though additional foreign Knights were admitted. The Order ranked in Poland second only to the Order of the White Eagle.

The Order's badge was an eight-pointed, red-enamelled and gold bordered Maltese cross whose points were tipped with a golden pearl. In the white enamelled centre, surrounded by a gold and green laurel wreath, the figure of St Stanislas. On the reverse, also white enamelled, the cypher SS [Sanctus Stanislas]. Between the arms of the cross, the golden crowned Polish Eagle. The Motto on the green and gold enamelled wreath was Praemiando Incitat.

The Order was suspended from a poppy-red sash with white borders and was worn from the right shoulder to the left hip, but Knights who also had the Order of the White Eagle wore the insignia suspended from a cravat around the neck.

The Grand Duchy of Warsaw reinstated the Order in 1809 but changed the colour of the sash from poppy to bright red.

In 1815, Czar Alexander I, as King of Poland, added a fourth class to the Order (removed in 1839) and slightly changed the design of the insignia by reintroducing the former colour of the riband.

After the Insurrection of 1830 and the suppression of the Kingdom of Poland, Czar Nicholas I incorporated the Order among the Russian Orders of Chivalry in 1831, and in 1832 he changed the insignia by substituting the double-headed eagle of Russia for the Polish Eagle. When awarded for military gallantry the badge featured crossed swords in the angles of the cross. The Order of St Stanislas remained in the hands of the Russian Czars until 1917 and was lavishly bestowed on both Russians and foreigners. Until 1845 all classes of the Russian Orders (including St Stanislas) carried with them the right of hereditary nobility, but the revised Statutes of 1845 limited this right to all classes of the Order of St Wladimir but only the First Class of the Order of St Anne and the Order of St Stanislas. When the Order of St Stanislas was awarded to non-Christians the initials on the badge were replaced by the Imperial Russian Eagle.

Foundation of the Order of Polonia Restituta

After the establishment of an independent Poland in 1918, the new Republic brought back into existence the Order of the White Eagle as its traditional supreme decoration, and by an act of parliament of 4 July 1921 instituted the new Order of Polonia Restituta, retaining the original colours of the riband of St Stanislas of which it was to be the direct continuation. The name of St Stanislas, however, was not maintained because of the excessively large number of Russians and foreigners who had received the Order for merits to the Czarist Empire.

The Order of Polonia Restituta is divided into five classes: Knight Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Knight Commander and Knight.

The Order is granted for meritorious achievements in the arts and sciences, important public services, acts of courage, spectacular merit and outstanding philanthropic work. It may be conferred on foreigners.

The President of the Polish Republic is the Order's Grand Master, with a Chapter headed by the Chancellor of the Order.

The Revival of the Order of St Stanislas

The Polish Government in Exile ("PGIE"), whose seat since 1945 has been 43, Eaton Place, London SW1, can best be defined as the continuation of that Polish government which escaped from Warsaw first to France and then to London in 1939 and which brought together Polish refugees and furnished the heroic Polish contingent which fought in the British Army in North Africa and Italy.

During World War II, the Allied Governments formally accepted it as the representative of the Polish People under Nazi-Soviet occupation. In 1945 when Poland became a Communist Peoples Republic, the political realities forced Great Britain and the Allies to withdraw their recognition from the PGIE and to recognise the new Communist authorities in Warsaw. Notwithstanding this decision, HM Government, in gratitude for the gallant Polish contribution to the Allied war effort, allowed the PGIE to keep its seat in London and it became a rallying point and an umbrella for many militant organizations made up of anti-Communist Poles who continued to struggle against the usurping Warsaw authorities.

The next few years were turbulent indeed for the PGIE. Factions emerged, and groups joined it and left it. The core, however, remained in London, and was very careful not to offend the host government. The PGIE maintained the structure of an actual government with a President, a Prime Minister and a cabinet comprising of several portfolios. The PGIE also awarded Polish military decorations to Poles who had served in the Allied forces in the war as well as to certain other distinguished individuals who had served the Polish cause.

In 1971 after the death of President August Zaleski, the Minister of Information of the PGIE, Mr Julius Nowina-Sokolnicki, circulated photostat copies of an alleged nomination designating him successor to the Presidency. In point of fact Mr Zaleski, in accordance with the Polish constitution, had designated Dr Stanislaw Ostrowski as his successor in case of death or incapacity. On 7 April 1972 Dr Ostrowski was sworn in and he in turn nominated the former Polish ambassador in London (1934-1945) Count Edward Raczynski as his successor. Dr Ostrowski maintained his office until 1979, was succeeded by Raczynski who named Mr Kazimierz Sabbat, his Prime Minister, as successor in the event of his death or incapacity. Mr Sabat, in accordance with the Polish constitution, was until his death in 1989 President of the PGIE.

Needless to say, Mr Nowina-Sokolnicki was dismissed from the authentic Government-in-Exile on 25 November 1971. He thereupon formed a "rival" PGIE, appointed a cabinet and started to dispense the Polish Orders liberally on both sides of the Atlantic.

With the downfall of the Communist regime, Mr Lech Walesa became the first democratically elected President of Poland since the Second World War. The last Polish President-in-Exile, Mr Ryszard Kaczorowski, returned the Polish Orders to their homeland when he handed over the Presidential insignia and the seals of the Grand Master of the Orders of the White Eagle and Polonia Restituta to President Walesa at a ceremony in Warsaw on 22 December 1990.

Rather than allowing this to curtail his activities, Mr Nowina-Sokolnicki barely paused before announcing that in future he would be awarding the "Sovereign" Order of St Stanislas, an Order which he claimed to have "revived" with himself as Grand Master in 1984. Due to the confusion caused by the use of the designation "Sovereign", the use of this has been dropped as from 1 August 1996.

Mr Nowina-Sokolnicki's Order of St Stanislas appears to be sold far and wide. There is, for example, a member in Alaska who maintains a Web page devoted to this new Order. This Web page can be viewed at here. Whilst the hierarchies of the Catholic Orders such as the Order of Malta and the Order of the Holy Sepulchre seem uninterested in Mr Nowina-Sokolnicki's activities, many senior members of the Order of St Lazarus have accepted membership of the Order of St Stanislas.

Was this a valid revival?

Following the posting of the first version of this article, many members of the Order of St Stanislas have written supporting Count Juliusz Nowina-Sokolnicki and the formerly Sovereign Order of St Stanislas. There are many questions that can be asked about this Order: Did it not lose it's Polish character when it became one of the Russian Royal Orders? How can an Order not internationally recognised have beeb termed "Sovereign"? But the over-riding and essential question is whether Mr Sokolnicki has at any time posessed the fons honorum, without which no Order of Chivalry can be validly either created or revived? (See James Algrant's article on the Fons Honorum.)

Mr Sokolnicki claims to have been a validly appointed President of the Polish Government-in-Exile. Unfortunately this view is shared by neither Her Majesty's Government nor the present Government of the Republic of Poland.

In his book Orders of Knighthood and Merit, Peter Bander van Duren, writing about the Orders and Decorations of the Republic of Poland after 22 December 1990, has this to say:

There remained one very important issue unresolved: while the legitimate succession of Presidents of the Republic had been laid down, no authoritative statement had been published that expressly named those who had been entitled to award Orders of Knighthood and Awards of Merit, particularly after the second World War when Poland was under Soviet domination. In addition, a more embarassing than legal irregularity had brought to the fore questions about the activities of a Mr Juliusz Nowina-Sokolnicki, who claimed for some decades to be the President of Poland in exile and who had provided, with the help of the popular press, ample copy for the newspapers. He lavishly sold and bestowed Polish decorations, titles of Consul General, Consul and all manner of honours to unsuspecting recipients who believed he represented the legitimate Polish Government in exile and was its President. On 27 September 1994, Dziennik Polski published in London [an] official statement in Polish:

The English translation of this statement is as follows:

Article 11 of Bill 1 of 25 October 1991 (113.491), while giving the President and Minister of Defence of the Polish Republic the power and obligation to promote to military [knightly] rank, also recognises this power as being bestowed by Authority of the Polish Republic up to 22 December 1990.

The phrase the Authority of the Polish Republic should be understood to mean the organs of the state institutions abroad based on the Polish Constitution of 23 April 1935. It therefore recognises as Presidents of the Polish Republic General Boleslaw Winiawe-Dlugoszowski, Wladyslaw Raszkiewicz, August Zaleski, Stanislaw Ostrowski, Edward Raczynski, Kazimierz Sabbat, and Ryszard Kaczorowski, as well as the state organs appointed by them. According to the Constitution of 23 April 1935 and historical fact they are the successors of President Ignacy Moscicki.

The last mentioned, President Ryszard Kaczorowski, acknowledges that, following the free elections in Poland and the election of the President in 1990, the activities of the President-in-Exile terminated when he handed the insignia of the Second Polish Republic to President Lech Walesa.

With this in mind, it should be stated that Mr Juliusz Nowina-Sokolnicki did not posess the authority of the Polish Republic and therefore his activities purporting to be actions of the state [as a result of calling himself President-in-Exile of the Polish Republic] cannot be honoured, and according to Article 11 of Bill 1, the ranks granted by him are not recognised.

(signed) Andrzej Drzycimski
State Secretary
Press Spokesman of the President of the Polish Republic.

This statement should perhaps be viewed in conjunction with an earlier declaration issued by the PGIE under President Kazimierz Sabbat in 1987:

DECLARATION

about the activities of Juliusz Sokolnicki

A certain Juliusz Sokolnicki declared himself President of the Republic of Poland and has been active for more than 10 years in the Polish exile community. He nominated prime ministers, generals (even on Field Marshal of a non-existent army), ambassadors and consuls. He confers awards and bestows decorations. In 1984 he created the Order of St Stanislas, the recipients of which have to pay sums varying from $100 to $1,000 according to the class of the order. Awarding orders is, therefore, a source of Mr Sokolnicki's income.

Mr Sokolnicki's curriculum vitæ raises serious doubts. Born in Pinsk, Poland, on 16 December 1920, he was already reading history at the Univeristy of Warsaw in 1937. Where and when he obtained his secondary school certificate - he does not say. In August 1939 he was called up for military service in the 84th Battalion of Infantry. Where and when he graduated from the Cadet Officers' School without which it was impossible to become an officer in the Polish Army - he does not say. He claims to have held the rank of lieutenant in the Home Army in 1942 and to have been promoted to captain in 1943. His name does not appear in the registers of the Home Army. Although he did not serve with the Polish Army in the West, he purports to have left the service with the rank of lieutenant-colonel and promoted himself later to the rank of major-general. His Prussian ducal (sic?) is fictitious. His whole life history written on 8 foolscap pages and emunerating all titles, honours, medals and orders, is the product of an ebullient imagination.

The activities and titles of this usurper would seem to be taken out of a burlesque or an operetta and would be highly amusing if they were not so harmful. Some foreigners have no understanding of the activities of the Polish emigrés led by their legal President and Government in Exile and accept Mr Sokolnicki's fictitious nominations and awards. Apparantly some even support him financially. Unfortunately there are some Poles, although not many, who are eager to receive distinctions from him.

Poles in Poland should also be warned against the pernicious activities of this usurper. By his "decree" of 5 March 1985 he announced the formation of a "Special Penal Tribunal" in Warsaw with jurisdiction over the whole country. Its aim is to pass judgement on "political crimes perpetrated by the Communists and their collaborators, for physical and mental cruelty against citizens, and for betrayal of national interests". These crimes will carry the eath penalty and there will be no right of appeal. A "special underground operative unit" will be entrusted with execution of sentences.

We have no intention of defending the Communist rulers of Poland but the formation of such a "tribunal" is against all principles of law and order and must be condemned as a provocative diversion.

Bringing the above to the attention of all interested parties, we utterly condemn the damaging activities of this usurper.

Polish Government in Exile
London, 19 January 1987

Whilst one can accept that the PGIE was not too amused at Mr Sokolnicki's defection and his subsequent acivities, the vehemance of the above declaration is quite startling.

Certainly the position of the present Polish Government is quite clear, as can be evidenced by the numerous statements emanating from official sources which totally distance the present Polish Government from Mr Sokolnicki and the Order of St Stanislas.

Following the posting of this article, Mr Michael Subritsky-Kusza has produced, apparantly with the approval of the hierarchy of the Order of St Stanislas, a paper entitled A Paper on the History of the Polish Government in Exile (1939-1940). This paper, whilst written from a highly partisan standpoint, does set out an alternative view of Mr Sokolnicki and his Order. The contents of this paper should be read in conjunction with the comments made above.

Unfortunately, at the end of the day, it is up to phaleristicists to make up their own minds.

CAVEAT EMPTOR!

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The Order of Saint Stanislas. A pseudo history of this institution, in fact a revival of the originally Polish and later Russian-Polish Order of that name, can be found on the Internet at http://www.finearts.sfasu.edu/uasal/sts.html. It is given in five classes by "His Serene Highness Prince" (recently upgraded from self-styled Count) Julius Nowina-Sokolnicki who claims to have been Grand Master since June 9, 1979. The Order has not been awarded since the end of the Russian Empire when Poland regained its independence and freedom. The details of Mr Sokolnicki's claim to the Presidency of Poland are too complex to be given here; suffice it to say that the present Polish government does not regard him as one of those in succession to the titular Presidency from 1939 onwards. [Note:A statement from the State Secretary of the President, Andrzej Drzycimski, published in Dziennik Polski,,, London 7 September 1994, reads "Article 11 of Bill of 25 October 1991 ..... recognizes this power as being bestowed by the Authority of the Polish republic up to 22 December 1990. The phrase 'the Authority of the Polish Republic' should be understood to mean the organs of the state institutions aboard based on the Polish Constitution of 23 April 1935. It therefore recognizes as Presidents of the Polish Republic General Winiawe-Dlugoszowski, W. Raczkiewicz, A. Zaleski, S. Otrowski, E. Raczynski, K. Sabbat, and R. Kacorowski, as well as the state organs appointed by them. According to the Constitution of 23 April 1935 and historical fact they are the successors of President Ignacy Moscicki........ With this in mind, it should be stated that Mr Julius Nowina Sokolnicki did not possess the authority of the Polish Republic and therefore his activities purporting to be actions of the state (as a result of him calling himself President-in-exile of the Polish Republic) cannot be honored, and according to Article 11 of Bill 1, the ranks granted by him are not recognized".]

Sokolnicki's "Order" and its claims have been discussed in a chapter on this so-called "Order" on "Orders of Chivalry" Web site. They are ready to extract payment for this dubious honor even from clergyman - one professed Benedictine was persuaded to part with $1000 to receive Saint Stanislas. Sokolnicki lives modestly at 9 York Place, Castle Gardens, Colchester, Essex (tel & fax 01206-865591) - on his stationary in addition to describing himself as former President of the Polish Republic, and Grand Master of Saint Stanislas, he is also Commander for Poland of the Order of Saint Lazarus (yet another dubious connection of this "Order"), Grand Cross of the Ordo e Lillio (quite what this is I have not discovered), and Order of the Palmetto (SC). The "Grand Commander" is a Lt-Gen George M. Seignious, and Col Michael Michaelski Costs is "Treasurer of the St Stanislas Foundation and Archivist of the Order" - he lives at 101 Timbergate Drive, Lexington, South Carolina 29071-9009. Sokolnicki claims to have given the Grand Collar of his Order to the Pope - a letter from the retired Bishop of Koszalin-Kolobrzeg diocese dated April 4, 1995, confirmed that he was given several gifts to pass on to His Holiness on the occasion of his 1991 Polish visit, including a "Diploma and Insignia of the Order of St Stanislas". The Bishop states that he "gave all those gifts to the Vatican delegation ... some were taken to Rome some were left in Koszalin. Grand collar of the Order was left in Koszalin and it is in diocesan collection of Holy Father visit souvenirs". Saint Stanislas also has branches across the world and, for some reason, appears to be particularly active in new Zealand where a Michael Subritsky-Kusza plays a prominent role as a "Grand Cross" of this Order. This group has been sufficiently successful to justify the publication of a news letter. The 1991 issue includes mention of the conferral on Sokolnicki of the title of "Prince" by no lesser person than "H.S.H. Prince August von Hohenstaufen" who may or may not have a connection with an astonishing group to be found on the Internet!

Sokolnicki also used to award the great Polish Order of Polonia Restituta, again without legitimate authority.

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From: "George Lucki" < cpsychr@attglobal.net>
Subject: Bishop Julius Nowina Sokolnicki
Date: Tue, 2 Jul 2002 15:28:41 -0600

I know the St. Stanislas stuff was done to death but II couldn't resist
these last two little tidbits.

1. Not only a self-styled Prince and Grand-Master and a President of the
Polish Government in exile (in exile) Sokolnicki has been a man of the cloth
for the past two decades. See: http://www.angelfire.com/on3/Database4/ -
Database of Autocephalous Bishops
SOKOLNICKI, Julius Nowina was consecrated on 27 May 1983 by:
Bertil Alexander Persson

2. From a post on rec.heraldry (Guy Stair Sainty) it appears that 'Prince
August von Hohenstaufen' may also be a man of the cloth - see below.
Obviously neither of them are in communion with the Catholic Church (let
alone Vatican recognised).

3. All I can say is SHEESH!!!!

Kind regrards, George Lucki


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An anonymous correspondent has sent me photocopies of pages from
"Independent Bishops" edited by Gary L. Ward, Bertil Persson, and Alain Bain and
published by Apogee Books, of Detroit, Michigan (undated).

This records that Julius Nowina Sokolnicki was "ordained" and "consecrated"
by Bertil Persson, Archbishop of the "Apostolic Episcopal Church" (and
co-author of this book), and was assigned as Missionary Bishop for the Bahamas and
Polish-Speaking People in the British Isles.

It also records that Francis Robert Forsyth was "ordained" priest on 17 Aug 1969
by Ronald Powell, and then "consecrated" Bishop by the same Powell (aka Richard
John Christian de Palatine) of the "Pre-Nicene Gnostic Catholic Church.
Forsyth was known for many years as Peter Austin de Lanza, but changed his name on
24 March 1979 back to Forsyth, his birth name. In the 1980s he became the
presiding bishop of the "Apostolic Church of Avalon" and in September 1989 Patriarch
of Glastonbury of the "Ecclesia Gnostica." What is more interesting is that he
has now transformed himself into Prince August von Hohenstaufen.

Guy Stair Sainty
www.chivalricorders.org

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