Order of Córdoba

  

Sovereign Military Order of Saint Acisclus of Córdoba and of Santa Catalina Orden Soberana Militar de Santa Acisclo de Córdoba y de Santa Catalina (Spanish) Ordre Souverain Militaire de Santa Acisclo de Cordoba et de Saint Catherine (French) Ordo Supremus Militaris Sancti Aciscli Cordubenses et Sancta Cecilia (Latin)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Parati Semper ad Auxilium" (Latin) "Always ready to help"
Capital	Point Dana, Orange, Sierra
Official languages	English, Spanish, French
Demonym(s)	Cordoban
Government
• Prince and Grand Master	HMEH Fra' John Francis Tessi
• Grand Commander	HE Fra' Timothy Hirsch
• Grand Chancellor	HE Fra' Abelard Köhler von Anhalt
Sovereign subject of international law
• Establishment	1169
• Papal recognition	1189 by Pope Gregory VIII
• Spanish nationalization	1532 by Pope Adrian IV
• Channel Islands	1795–1827
• Exile	1827–1848
• Restoration	1848
Population
• 2017 census	1,250 citizens 30,000 members 75,000 volunteers
Currency	Cordoban dobla

The Sovereign Military Order of Saint Acisclus of Córdoba and of Santa Catalina (Latin: Ordo Supremus Militaris Sancti Aciscli Cordubenses et Sancta Cecilia), also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Córdoba (SMOC) or the Order of Córdoba, and formerly known as the Knights Sanctuarium, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order founded in 1169. Headquartered in Point Dana, Orange, Kingdom of Sierra, the Order partially controls and operates the Point Dana Group, an international organization which promotes fellowship among extant and extinct monarchies, and provides humanitarian services, and of which lends the Group access to the Order's various international properties and bases.

The Order traces its origins from the Knights Sanctuarium, a group of knights from Toledo in the Kingdom of Castille. The Knights Sanctuarium was a military, chivalric, and hospitalier order initially charged with the protection of pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land, and later, the Spanish Reconquista efforts in reclaiming land from the Moors. The Knights Sanctuarium was involved in the Third, Fifth, and Ninth Crusades, before it turned its focus to helping the Spaniards retake the Iberian lands occupied by the Muslim caliphates. After it captured Córdoba, the Knights established their permanent headquarters there, and were granted latifundium by the Spanish Crown over the city.

Following the Catholic Monarchs' decision to incorporate the Order with the Crown, the Order became invested in Spain's imperial ambitions overseas, and established a presence in the Americas. It operated briefly in Peru before its members settled in the Channel Islands under the French-Spanish Condominium in 1795. When Mexico gained independence and acquired the Channel Islands, the Mexican government allowed to the Order to remain, but was highly suspicious of the autonomous society and its connection with the previous Spanish administration. In 1827, as Mexico began secularizing the region (by forcibly capturing and selling properties from the Church and expelling its members), the Order itself was evicted from the islands. The Order continued operations in exile in the United States before they were welcomed back to the Channel Islands in 1848 following the end of the Mexican-American War. In 1939, the Order relocated to the Sierran mainland in the Orange city of Point Dana.

The Order is generally accepted and treated as sovereign subject of international law by the international community. It receives official protection and support from both the Kingdom of Sierra and the Sovereign Patriarchate, and maintains relations with 111 states. It has permanent observer status in the League of Nations and has entered into a number of treaties and agreements. In addition, it issues its own passports, currency, and postage stamps, and possesses extraterritoriality at six of its twelve properties throughout the world, including its official headquarters in Point Dana.

See also

• Point Dana Group
• Channel Islands
• Territorial possessions of the Order of Córdoba