Attempted Revival
There are several organizations which claim to be the heirs of the Orders of Saint Stanislaus today. The most prominent of these was the Order of Saint Stanislas 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. In his capacity as president, he claimed to restore the Order of Saint Stanislaus on June 9, 1979. Sokolnicki's claim to the Polish presidency was widely rejected 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). Sokolnicki's status was enhanced by the fact that he was an associate and cabinet member of August Zaleski, generally recognized as the head of the Polish government-in-exile from 1947 to 1972. 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 December 22, 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. Nevertheless, Sokolnicki claimed to retain the office of Grand Master in his Order of Saint Stanislaus. He based his continued control of the order partially on his status as an independent bishop after his ordination in 1983. Ultimately, Sokolnicki claimed that the grand mastership was an hereditary office for his family. The result was the division of the order into several competing groups, none of which recognize the claims of the others. On January 27, 1997, disgruntled members of the Order deposed Sokolnicki and replaced him with Zbigniew Kazimierz. The Polish government does not accept any of these groups as legitimate.
Today, there are at least four competing claims to the represent the Order of Saint Stanislaus. Of these three, the Order of Polonia Restituta is a governmental order of merit awarded by the President of Poland, while the Ordo Sancti Stanislai and the International Order of Saint Stanislaus describe themselves as private charitable organizations. Only the Imperial and Royal Order of Saint Stanislaus pretends to have a chivalric character. The orders are listed based on the date they claim to be founded (without giving any particular credence to the validity of that claim).
Read more about this topic: International Order Of Saint Stanislaus
Famous quotes containing the words attempted and/or revival:
“Many have attempted unnatural acts, but Nature has always shown the way.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“Mother goddesses are just as silly a notion as father gods. If a revival of the myths of these cults gives woman emotional satisfaction, it does so at the price of obscuring the real conditions of life. This is why they were invented in the first place.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)