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Vitézi Rend

Vitézi Rend

  • Order of Vitéz
    • The Mission and Values
    • A brief history of the Order of Vitéz
    • Organizational Structure
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    • How to join
    • Oath of the Vitéz
    • Heraldic usage in the Order of Vitéz
    • Policy concerning nobility, nobiliary titles and membership in chivalric organisations
    • Portrait Gallery of Famous Members
    • Holidays of the Order of Vitéz
  • Articles
    • The Vitézi Rend (Order of Vitez), an honour superior to a Chivalric order
    • Order of Vitéz – Questions and Mistakes
    • Hungary’s history in a nutshell
    • Commemorating 80 years since the Don Disaster 1943
  • Statements
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    • Washington D.C. – Celebration of the 4th Annual Hungarian Festival – April 26, 2025
    • Royal Palace of Gödöllő – August, 2024
    • Legénd – June, 2024
    • Casale Monferrato – May, 2024
    • Sydney, Australia – February, 2024
    • Melbourne, Australia – February, 2024
    • The day of Knightly Order of Saint Michael of the Wing – Alcobaça, Portugal, September 29, 2023
    • Máriapócs – September, 2023
    • Stockholm – June, 2023
    • Casale Monferrato – May, 2023
    • Pécs – November, 2022
    • Máriapócs – September, 2022
    • Törökszentmiklós, Kenderes – May, 2022
    • Malta – March, 2022
    • Casale Monferrato – December, 2021
    • Stockholm – October, 2021
    • Fatima – September, 2021
    • Máriapócs – August, 2021
    • Legénd – June, 2021
    • Budapest – September, 2019
    • Stockholm – May, 2019
    • Bicske – September, 2012
    • Vác – September, 2010
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Statement about the policy of the Order of Vitéz concerning nobility, nobiliary titles and membership in chivalric organisations

The Order of Vitéz (OV), as an institution founded in 1920 in the Kingdom of Hungary, and receiving its Fons honorum from the Holy Crown of Hungary, has a conservative attitude towards the use of nobiliary and chivalric titles, which is consistently applied for all members and applicants.

Nobility of the members is recognised only if it comes from the direct and legitimate (in most countries, also agnatic) ancestor of the member or applicant, which is in accordance with the rules of recognising nobility in the monarchy where the member or applicant, or his or her ancestor had originally received that title, and which nobility was granted or, in the case of a very ancient nobiliary status, recognised by a reigning sovereign, during the time and in the territory of his or her actual reign. Proof of nobility may be requested if the member or applicant claims nobiliary status. This is also true for any nobiliary title (such as, e.g., Ritter von, Herr von, Knight Bachelor, Baronet, Baron, Freiherr/Freiin von, Graf von, Count, Earl, Markgraf von, Marquess, Prince, Duke, Archduke, etc.)

Membership in chivalric organisations is recognised as the member or applicant being a Knight of an Order, if the latter is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, one of the protestant Orders of St. John in the Alliance, or the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Further, all orders recognised by the International Committee of Orders of Chivalry (ICOC) are considered legitimate and their membership is in no way frowned upon by the Order of Vitéz. However, membership in other chivalric type organisations which claim to be real orders of chivalry, while they lack the Fons honorum requested by the ICOC, is in firm contradiction with the policy of the OV, and thus, members are not allowed to join, and applicants are requested to leave those organisations before applying for membership.

Armigerous members of the OV are entitled to display in their achievements the badge of the OV according to the Heraldic Usage of the Order of Vitéz described within the Constitution of the Order. According to the traditions, all members are entitled to use the badge of the OV instead a personal coat of arms, if they wish so. Combining the (recognised) insignia of various Orders of Chivalry, or state decorations is allowed in private usage, but members are advised to refrain from these in any place where they officially appear as members of the OV, except those decorations granted by the Captain General of the same Order, or by the Hungarian State.

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