Americans are mesmerized with royal and noble titles; they love them and are fascinated and captivated by them. No wonder! Europe carries thousands of years of history while America is a young country. But, even in America we use distinctive titles, like Elvis the King of Rock, Michael Jackson the King of Pop, and we even have among us a Mononymic rock star, Prince. When movie actress Grace Kelly became Princes Grace of Monaco, America celebrated. With the latest sensation Kate Middleton, a commoner becoming a Princess is only making the title all so much more sovereign. Millions of Americans arose at 2:00 AM one morning to watch the Prince of Wales marry Lady Diana--and they watch, now with equal wonder, not only the continuation of that marriage, but also the Royal Son’s Let a foreign nobleman, noblewoman, or monarch come to America for a visit, and Americans will flock to each and all, especially if the titled visitor has a suave manner and an Interesting accent--and, of course, that great title of nobility and wealth. All private citizens of the USA, or any foreign country are free to be honored, as, for example, the "honorary" knighthoods granted by Queen Elizabeth II to Former Presidents Reagan and Bush and to retired/retiring Generals Norman Schwartzkopf and Colin Powell. These honorees will use the title "Sir," or “Dame,” such as Dame Elizabeth Taylor, as a example, or as more frequently used, especially in Europe, “Lady,” but because they are members of Orders of Chivalry, i.e., they are knights, and ladies and they can (and undoubtedly will) use the post nominal's of the Orders they hold as well. As an interesting footnote: Citizens of the United States like to think of the U.S.A. as classless and untitled, cherishing these egalitarian concepts as marks of the unique American opportunity for upward mobility in class and power. The general acceptance and use of the once artificial "Ms." shows that Americans clearly understand and acknowledge the value and importance of the title as an empowering device.
THE FONS HONORUM OF NOBLE AND ROYAL TITLES A legitimate noble title always has a legitimate royal source called a Fon honorum (Latin: "source of honor," the "fountainhead" from which the legitimate title is issued). What is important to know is that noble titles come from heads of royal families, called a "royal house." Thus, the royal house is a dynastic family holding hereditary royal title and privileges usually based upon modern or ancient geographical ruler ship; the royal dynastic family need not necessarily currently rule a nation, rather carrying on history like all royal families in various countries do. We still carry on history by forming a "League of Princes of the Holy Roman Empire," just as Napoleon's imperial prince supporters had formed the Confederation of the Rhine. The League still exists today as the Byzantine Holy Roman Empire, headed by His Imperial and Apostolic Royal Majesty, The Emperor Cæsar Dominus Pius Flavius Johannes VII Daniel IV Alexander Augustus. In creating a prince by grant, Porphyrogenitors assign a principality to the prince, and the prince then becomes the fons for his nobles and knights. As a modern example, Prince Rainier of Monaco who holds the title Serene, denoting his status as a sovereign head of a royal house, with all the rights and privileges of the sovereign, including the right to create nobles and knights for his royal houses. In a historic sense a royal house, and all of the royal houses today have a full complement of nobility and Orders of Chivalry, and the head of the house, regnant or not, retains full powers to create legitimate nobles and knights as needed or desired as seen today. Monarchies--including the royal house of England--come from Europe and Eastern Europe and exist there (or elsewhere too) to this very day. Until the early 1900s, the most common form of government in the world was the monarchy, a system that had survived from Old Testament days. Such countries as Sweden, Denmark, Norway, England and Belgium, etc… still have monarchies. Some titles are hereditary, and some titles are vital and earned, but in every instance a title is property, and, as with any other piece of property, the owner is perfectly free to use it, without any restriction, whenever he or she wishes, keeping in mind both propriety and nobility and its meaning.

Constantine I (Constantine the Great) was a Roman Emperor, proclaimed Augustus by his troops in 206. Constantine rebuilt the city of Byzantium and renamed the city Nova Roma (New Rome), providing it with a Senate and civic offices similar to the older Rome. He earned his place as ruler of the Roman Empire by defeating Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312. Following this, he became Western Augustus, ruler of the entire Western Roman Empire until his death in 337. He is best remembered for being the first Roman Emperor to embrace Christianity. He is also remembered for issuing the Edict of Milan in 313, which fully legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire for the first time. He also presided over the Council of Nicaea in 325. These actions are considered major factors in the spread of Christianity.
The Byzantine Empire Constantinople was built on the site of an ancient Greek trading city called Byzantium. It lay near both the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. The location protected the city form attacks and let the city control trade between Europe and Asia. It was an ideal place to grow in wealth and power. After Rome fell in 476, the emperors of the eastern Roman Empire dreamed of taking it back, and reuniting the old Roman Empire. An Emperor who ruled from 527 to 565, Justinian, reuniting the empire was his passion. He sent his army to retake Italy.  The army conquered not only Italy but also much land around the Mediterranean. Justinian was just as passionate about the law and the church. He tasked his officials to examine all Romeâs laws and remove any out-of-date or unchristian laws. Then, he organized the laws into a legal system, called the Justinian's Code, guaranteeing fair treatment for all his citizens. Along the way, Justinian made many enemies. Two groups joined forces and tried to overthrow him. This caused riots in the streets and fires to be set to many of the buildings. Justinian prepared to leave Constantinople. Theodora, Justinian's wife, was smart and powerful, and convinced him to stay. Together they ended the riots, and saved the emperors throne, although Justinian's soldiers killed 30,000 rioting people. After the death of Justinian in 565, the empire began to decline. Invasions from barbarians, Persians and Muslims, the later emperors lost all the land Justinian gained. Even though the empire remained a major power for several years, it never regained its former strength. In 1453, the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople, thus bringing the 1,000-year Roman Empire to an end. Justinian was the last roman Emperor of the Eastern Empire. After he died, non-Roman influences took hold throughout the empire. People began speaking Greek, from the eastern empire, rather than Latin. Scholars studied Greek, not Roman philosophy. The empire lost its ties to the old Roman Empire and a new society developed. The people thought of themselves as Romans, but they were actually of the Byzantine Empire named after a Greek town of Byzantium. One reason the eastern and western societies were different was the Byzantines interaction with other groups. Because Constantinople's location was between Europe and Asia, it was an ideal location for trade. Merchants from all around Europe, Asia and Africa traveled to Constantinople for trade. Over time the Byzantine Society began to reflect these outside influences as well as the Roman and Greek roots. Byzantine emperors held more power than the western emperors did. They liked to show off their great power. The power of an eastern emperor was greater because the emperor was considered the head of the church as well as the political leader. The Byzantines thought the emperor was chosen by God to lead both the empire and the church. In the west, the emperor was limited to political power, Popes and bishops were the leaders of the church. Nearly all who lived in the Byzantine Empire were Christian. Christianity was central to the Byzantines lives. Byzantine artists created beautiful works of religious art, to show devotion to God and the Christian Church. The grandest of all were mosaics, made of pieces of colored stone or glass, some sparkled with gold, silver and jewels. More magnificent than the works of art were the churches, especially the Hagia Sophia. Built by Justinian in the 530s, the church has huge domes which rose high above Constantinople. Legend says when Justinian saw the church, he exclaimed, “Glory to God who has judged me worthy of accomplishing such a work as this! O Solomon, I have outdone you! In time, eastern and western Christianity presented differently. Eastern priests could marry, while western could not. Services in the East were performed in Greek, the west was in Latin. Although Christianity was viewed differently between East and West, the leaders worked together in spite of the views. In the 1000s, Christianity in the East broke away from the rest of the church and formed what later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church. As a result, eastern and western Europe were completely divided.

Though the Order was founded by a Christian Byzantine Emperor, there still exist a great deal of confusion about the nature of Chivalric Orders around the world. Many of the original Chivalric Orders arose in response to the crusades to the Holy Land and other efforts to protect their lords, as well as the weak and less fortunate. Byzantine Knights were appointed by their leaders in recognition of their valiant deeds in battles; protecting their emperor or other high ranking nobleman. The earliest of knights were proclaimed the defenders of the empire well before the crusades from 312 AD after the battle of the Melvin bridge and 1190 by the Byzantine Emperor Flavio Constantino I, Emperor Isaac II, as was the Holly Constantinian Order of St. Sofia. In 1290, these Chivalric orders continue until the fall of Constantinople on the 29th of May 1453. These Orders were held in trust by the Greek patriarch of Jerusalem after it was conquered by the emerging Ottoman forces lead by the Sultan Mehmet II, after an 8 week battle in which the last Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI was capture blinded and was executed. In 1291 after the Christian Crusades, the European Orders of Knighthood serving under its Grand Masters, had to find new missions for their existence since the Holy Land had effectively been lost. As most Orders were originally established as military and monastic Orders, and had the title bestowed upon them as Chevalier or Knight, some Orders became Monarchial. Others became Confraternal and Honorific. The Byzantine and Charitable Sovereign Order of Constantine the Great remains today as the oldest Orders. In 1525, only four of the recognized Medieval Orders survived as their continuation had been thwarted by a number of territorial Kings, Prince Regents, and interfering and / or weak popes who continuously tried to dismantle most Chivalric Orders due to the fact that they had grown in size and reputation and had become much too powerful and wealthy, creating fear with in the Royals and the papal circles. The Orders had to be stopped! In 1560, with the introduction of newer and more sophisticated weapons of war, and the formal establishment of Armies and Navies, many of the Monarchial Orders became unnecessary, and were transformed into honorific Orders where military and civic leaders rewarded the past deeds and service of distinguished individuals bound by a permanent rule of behavior and charitable goals. The Orders now expanded in to the civilian side, allowing prominent citizens from all walks of life to become part of our chivalric families. Some Monarchial and governmental Orders still remains as of today, such as the Order of the Count de Lion 1745, Belgian Order of Leopold I 1832, the Order of the Crown 1897, the Order of Leopold the II, 1900,The legion Honeur of France, The Order of the Elephant 1458 of Tialand, the Order of Rizal of the Philippines and a few other European and Asian Orders. Then we have the modern Knights and ladies, selected from all professions and whose Orders have evolved into bodies dedicated to a return to the chivalric values of old, such as charity, educating, military service and the arts – all the while maintaining a sense of those great traditional noble values, that are needed today perhaps more than ever in the history of mankind. Many Modern Orders are patterned after a few ancient truly important Orders, and has many branches worldwide, Such Orders including our Orders of Constantine the Great and Saint Helen. Excluding these Orders associated with ruling Monarchs and the leaders of the worlds leading religions, most of the remaining Orders if not all, are Private and Honorific. Regardless to which Order one belongs, the modern Knights and Ladies of the 21st Century are expected and by sworn oath, required to uphold certain traditional and historic values. During their ceremonies of investiture, the members pledged themselves to a Grand Master and to the Constitution of the Order and agree to follow its ideals of personal honor, courage and service to others. So the tradition continues, they are conferred with the title of "Chevalier", or Knight for gentlemen and "Dame" for our Ladies which is an Honorary Title. Our Order is world wide in nature, with functioning Priories in 13 countries. Since 2005, The Order has raised and donated well over hundreds of thousands of dollars and we will continue to do so with the help of our membership. The Order has an increased popularity in many countries and we have been interviewed and have been published in Turkey, Korea, Finland, Belgium and in the USA via the press and television shows. Next year the Order will visit the Vatican and the help of its Ladies and Knights the Imperial & Charitable Order of Constantine the Great and of Saint Helene will continue to grow and prosper. Adrienne Papp was appointed in January of 2011 to be the exclusive world wide public officer ( in modern language) publicist to the order. Only through Lady Adrienne a new person can be invested into the Order as a Knight or a Lady.