Order of the Redeemer

Order of the Redeemer
The Order of the Redeemer, also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the modern Greek state.
Establishment
The establishment of the Order of the Redeemer was decided by the Fourth National Assembly at Argos in 1829, during the final year of the Greek War of Independence. The decision was not immediately implemented, however, and the relevant decree was signed in Nafplio by the Regency Council (Josef Ludwig von Armansperg, Karl von Abel and Georg Ludwig von Maurer) in the name of King Otto on May 20, 1833. According to the decree of establishment, the name of the Order "shall recall the, by divine assistance miraculously and fortuitously accomplished, salvation of Greece".
Grades and award criteria
Since its establishment in 1833, and in common with all Greek orders of merit, the Order of the Redeemer has five classes:
Grand Cross – wears the badge of the Order on a sash on the right shoulder, and the star of the Order on the left chest;
Grand Commander – wears the badge of the Order on a necklet, and the star of the Order on the right chest;
Commander - wears the badge of the Order on a necklet;
Gold Cross – wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest;
Silver Cross – wears the badge on a ribbon on the left chest.
According to the original decree, the Order was to be awarded to those Greek citizens who took part in the War of Independence, or "who should distinguish themselves henceforth in any branch of public service, in the army and navy, in the diplomatic and judicial corps, in public administration, in the arts, science, agriculture and industry, commerce, or should distinguish themselves in any other social field through outstanding civic virtue, and through illustrious services to the Throne, for the Glory of the Hellenic name and for the welfare of the fatherland", while foreigners were admitted either for past services to Greece, or due to their ability "to bring honour to the Order, through their outstanding personal virtues and excellence".
The original decree set specific limits on the number of awards: while the Silver Cross could be awarded at will, Gold Crosses were limited to 120, Commanders to 30, Grand Commanders to 20, and Grand Crosses to 12. Foreign recipients and princes of the Greek royal family did not count to these totals. In modern times, in practice the Grand Cross is awarded only to foreign heads of state.
The first person to be awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the Redeemer was King Ludwig I of Bavaria, the father of King Otto, in 1833. Other distinguished recipients included Andreas Miaoulis in 1835, Baron Guenther Heinrich von Berg on 21 February 1837 Petrobey Mavromichalis, Alexandros Mavrokordatos and Lazaros Kountouriotis in 1836, Andreas Zaimis, Theodoros Kolokotronis and Georgios Kountouriotis in 1837, and Konstantinos Kanaris in 1864.
Insignia
The form of the various insignias has been altered a number of times since the establishment of the order, the most obvious change being the removal of the crown during the periods of republican rule. The present form of insignias is regulated by Presidential Decree 849/1975.
The original decree of 1833 described the badge of the Order as consisting of a white enamelled Maltese cross (silver for the Silver Cross, gold for the higher grades), surmounted by a crown, set on a green enamelled wreath, one half of which is an oak branch and the other half a laurel branch. The obverse featured a white cross on a blue background (the coat of arms of Greece) with Otto's Bavarian arms in an inescutcheon in the centre, surrounded by this inscription on an outer ring: ("Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power", Exodus, 15:6). The reverse featured a portrait of Otto with the circular inscription: ("Otto, King of Greece").
After Otto's deposition in 1863, his portrait was removed and substituted by an icon of Jesus, the Redeemer of Orthodox Christian soteriology. This resulted in the wearing of this side as the obverse, with the national coat of arms (purged of the Bavarian escutcheon) relegated to the reverse, and the inscriptions correspondingly changed: the obverse's inscription remained in place, and the reverse came to feature a new inscription: ("The IV National Assembly of the Hellenes at Argos – 1829").
The star of the Order is an eight-pointed faceted silver star with the same central disc as on the badge of the Order. At first the stars were embroidered, but eventually, they were made of solid silver, a practice that continues to this day.
The ribbon of the Order is light blue, edged with white, reflecting the national colours of Greece.
Recipients
Prince Aage, Count of Rosenborg
Abbas II of Egypt
Prince Adalbert of Bavaria (1828–1875)
Prince Adalbert of Prussia (1811–1873)
Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal
Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta
Akihito
Prince Albert of Prussia (1809–1872)
Archduke Albrecht, Duke of Teschen
Alexander I of Yugoslavia
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse
Alexander of Battenberg
Alexander of Greece
Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine
Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich of Russia
Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark
Alfred, 2nd Prince of Montenuovo
Amha Selassie
Gyula Andrássy
Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
Queen Anne-Marie of Greece
Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn
Prince Arthur of Connaught
Asa Jennings
Prince Axel of Denmark
Beatrix of the Netherlands
Maximilian de Beauharnais, 3rd Duke of Leuchtenberg
Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld
Prince Oscar Bernadotte
Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust
Bhumibol Adulyadej
Herbert von Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Walther Bronsart von Schellendorff
Bernhard von Bülow
Carl XVI Gustaf
Prince Carl, Duke of Västergötland
Carol I of Romania
Charles XV
Charles Augustus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1844–1894)
Prince Charles, Count of Flanders
Prince Charles of Prussia
Chiang Kai-shek
Christian IX of Denmark
Christian X of Denmark
Richard Church (general)
Constantine I of Greece
Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece and Denmark
Constantine II of Greece
Gerasimos Contomichalos
Spyromilios
John Cowans
Maximilian Daublebsky von Sterneck
Adolf von Deines
Jules de Trooz
Grand Duke Dmitry Konstantinovich of Russia
Prince Eduard of Saxe-Altenburg
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Alfred Mordaunt Egerton
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Prince Eitel Friedrich of Prussia
Elizabeth II
Archduke Ernest of Austria
Ernest Augustus, Duke of Brunswick
Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse
Gaston Errembault de Dudzeele
Prince Eugen, Duke of Närke
Theoklitos Farmakidis
Farouk of Egypt
Felipe VI
Ferdinand I of Romania
Archduke Franz Karl of Austria
Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein
Frederick VIII of Denmark
Frederick IX of Denmark
Frederick Augustus III of Saxony
Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse
Frederick Francis II, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Frederick Francis III, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt
Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden
Frederick III, German Emperor
Prince Frederick of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
Frederick William III, Landgrave of Hesse
Frederick William IV of Prussia
Frederick William, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Friedrich II, Duke of Anhalt
Friedrich Ferdinand, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia
Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia
Fuad I of Egypt
Georg, Crown Prince of Saxony
George I of Greece
George II of Greece
George V
Boutros Ghali
Agenor Maria Gołuchowski
Gustaf V
Gustaf VI Adolf
Prince Gustav of Denmark
Gustav, Prince of Vasa
Haakon VII of Norway
Haile Selassie
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
Harald V of Norway
Prince Harald of Denmark
Hassan II of Morocco
Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Prince Henry of Prussia (1862–1929)
Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin
Hirohito
Miklós Horthy
Dietrich von Hülsen-Haeseler
Hussein Kamel of Egypt
Idris of Libya
Sergěj Ingr (Grand Commander, 1932)
Isabella II of Spain
Isma'il Pasha of Egypt
Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
Archduke John of Austria
Prince Johann of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg
Archduke Johann Salvator of Austria
Duke John Albert of Mecklenburg
Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg
Infante Juan, Count of Barcelona
Juan Carlos I
Juliana of the Netherlands
Theophilos Kairis
Konstantinos Kanaris
Miltiadis Kanaris
Ilias Kanellopoulos
Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern
Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria
Prince Karl Theodor of Bavaria
Gustav von Kessel
Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich of Russia
Knud, Hereditary Prince of Denmark
Empress Kōjun
Theodoros Kolokotronis
Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich of Russia
Konstantin of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst
Georgios Kountouriotis
Lazaros Kountouriotis
Auguste, Baron Lambermont
Leopold I of Belgium
Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold III of Belgium
Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany
Anastasios Londos
Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse
Prince Louis of Battenberg
A. Maurice Low
Ludwig I of Bavaria
Archduke Ludwig Viktor of Austria
Luís I of Portugal
Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria
Emmanuel Macron
Empress Masako
Margrethe II of Denmark
Sergio Mattarella
Alexandros Mavrokordatos
Petrobey Mavromichalis
Maximilian I of Mexico
Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria
Emperor Meiji
Ioannis Metaxas
Andreas Miaoulis
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia
Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark
Michael I of Romania
Mihailo Obrenović, Prince of Serbia
Milan I of Serbia
Miloš Obrenović, Prince of Serbia
Zygmunt Mineyko
Konstantinos Minas
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
Prince Moritz of Saxe-Altenburg
August Myhrberg
Napoleon III
Nicholas I of Montenegro
Nicholas II of Russia
Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia
Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1831–1891)
Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaevich of Russia (1856–1929)
Prince Nikolaos of Greece and Denmark
Olav V of Norway
Olga Constantinovna of Russia
Oscar II
Otto of Bavaria
Otto of Greece
Paul of Greece
Prince Paul of Yugoslavia
Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece
Peter II of Yugoslavia
Philippe of Belgium
Queen Mathilde of Belgium
Pedro II of Brazil
Georgios Pentzikis
Duke Peter of Oldenburg
Nicolae Petrescu-Comnen
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philippos of Greece and Denmark
Hans von Plessen
François Pouqueville
Prince Frederick William of Hesse-Kassel
Patrick Quinn (Metropolitan Police officer)
Joseph Radetzky von Radetz
Archduke Rainer Ferdinand of Austria
Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria
Spyridon Samaras
Gustav von Senden-Bibran
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia
Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Konstantinos Smolenskis
Leonidas Smolents
Queen Sofía of Spain
Dionysios Solomos
Queen Sonja of Norway
Hermann von Spaun
Stepa Stepanović
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk
Harold Stevens (broadcaster)
Emperor Taishō
Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen
Georgios Theocharis
Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem
Alfred von Tirpitz
Umberto II of Italy
Prince Valdemar of Denmark
Prince Viggo, Count of Rosenborg
Étienne de Villaret
Vittorio Emanuele, Prince of Naples
Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia
John Weston (pioneer aviator and motor caravanner)
Wilhelm II, German Emperor
Wilhelm, German Crown Prince
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands
Queen Máxima of the Netherlands
William I, German Emperor
William, Prince of Hohenzollern
Arthur Winnington-Ingram
Sergei Witte
Duke Eugen of Württemberg (1846–1877)
Basil Zaharoff
Todor Zhivkov
Zog I of Albania
August zu Eulenburg
Emmanouil Zymvrakakis
Emir Abdelkader (1808-1883)
Joice NanKivell Loch
George Vella
References
Further reading
George J. Beldecos, "Hellenic Orders, Decorations and Medals", pub. Hellenic War Museum, Athens 1991, .
External links
The Greek Royal Orders
Orders, decorations, and medals of Greece
1833 establishments in Greece
Awards established in 1833
Redeemer
Otto of Greece