The Cross of the Sacred Throne Order is the highest civilian award in the Amarr Empire. Created during the Moral Reforms over 1500 years ago, the Order was originally a secret organization consisting of the most loyal of the Emperor's followers who were dedicated to him in the struggle against the Council of Apostles. Today, the Order is ceremonial in nature and consists of those citizens of the Empire who have proven "undying loyalty to the Emperor and eternal faith in God through exceptional service and sacrifice in the name of the Empire."
History
The Sacred Throne Order was originally created by Emperor Heideran V during the opening years of the Moral Reforms. As the Emperor slowly went about claiming more power for himself, he created the Order from his most loyal followers in order to gather intelligence against the Council of Apostles. The Order wore cross emblems to readily identify themselves to each other as they worked to undermine the Council's positions.
Following the Moral Reforms, the members of the Order were openly praised for their dedication to bringing the Emperor to power. Additionally, the Emperor awarded others who had aided greatly in the defeat of the Council with induction into the Order.
After the end of the Reforms, the Order became more and more of a ceremonial institution, with little actual function. Members still had meetings and held events together, but did little in the way of actively working on behalf of the Empire. Eventually, the actual Order mostly dissolved, with the Cross itself becoming the more important aspect.
Over time, entrance into the Order became proceduralized, with certain steps needing to be taken before a potential recipient would be recognized. With the change, the duty of bestowing the Cross moved to the Court Chamberlain instead of the Emperor himself. Today, the Cross is awarded solely to civilians, with the military and clergy receiving other awards.
Appearance
The Cross of the Sacred Throne Order has had a nearly-unchanged appearance since its inception. It appears as a thin, silver cross with tapered arms which are all equal in length. It sits atop a globe with two hooked, wing-like protrusions. The cross is held by a green and red ribbon.
Over the centuries, the Cross has changed only slightly. The original cross was gold, while the globe and wings were made of platinum. The arms of the cross were broader and the wings were straighter. After the Moral Reforms, the cross took on its contemporary silver construction, while the arms first began to taper into points. Subsequent changes gradually thinned the ends of the cross while curving the wings.
Generally, only an expert can tell the post-Reforms Crosses apart.
Awarding
The Cross originally was awarded solely at the discretion of the Emperor, though this is no longer the case. While the Emperor retains the right to award the Cross to any individual he sees fit, most recipients of the Cross are now merely confirmed by the Emperor following a strict process of nomination and review.
In order for a person to be considered for the Cross, they must first be nominated by a triad of a Holder, a flag officer of one of the branches of the Imperial Armed Forces, and a ranking member of the clergy. In usual cases, one of these will be the primary advocate for the recipient and will gather support from others. Once a potential recipient has been nominated, the request is submitted to the office of the Court Chamberlain, who reviews every nomination.
Most often, the Court Chamberlain will either immediately deny a petition or order an investigation into the case. The review is typically handled under the jurisdiction of a member of the Theology Council) along with investigators from the Ministry of Internal Order. They investigate the circumstances leading to the nomination and collect information on the nominee. The potential recipient must also be a citizen of the Amarr Empire in good standing, meaning they must be a practicing member of the faith.
With all the information in hand, the Court Chamberlain makes a final decision on the merit of the petition. Most claims fall apart during this stage, but for a select few, the Court Chamberlain will approve the nomination and send it to the Emperor for confirmation. The Emperor typically confirms all requests approved by the Court Chamberlain, but may dismiss a claim for any reason, without explanation.
Rights
Holders of the Cross of the Sacred Throne Order are granted several special dispensations for their service. The most significant of these rights is a general reprieve from paying any taxes as long as the bearer of the Cross lives. This right extends to the entire house of the recipient. More interestingly, the bearer has a blanket right to take the podium at any religious service and address the congregation. Additionally, the bearer is guaranteed a small cadre of elite guards to protect his personal residence and rights to exchange 500 slaves a year for fresh stock from the Imperial holdings.
These rights cease upon the death of the owner of the Cross.
Removal
In certain cases, an individual may be stripped of the Cross. This is a very rare occurrence and has happened only a handful of times in the past. The most common reason for stripping the Cross is for heretical or criminal activities following awarding of the Cross. The crimes must be severe, however, as the Theology Council has established that the Cross is awarded for "services rendered" and cannot be revoked for simple indiscretions that do no harm to the Empire itself. Even convicted murderers have been allowed to retain their Cross.
On a few occasions, the Cross has been stripped because later investigation has determined that the investigators were lied to or otherwise deceived in deciding the merit of the recipient. Such cases are even rarer, as the investigators are notoriously thorough in their inquiries.
Notable Capsuleer Recipients
Because of the recent rise of capsuleers, very few have been inducted into the order. Two, however, are notable for their induction in YC106. In May of that year, Clone 0 of the Ionstar corporation and former CEO of PIE, Golan Trevize were inducted into the Sacred Throne Order for their role in the return of a rare and valuable Imperial Apocalypse to the Empire. Amid heavy resistance from a massed suicide squad of Minmatar revolutionaries at Kador Prime, the Apocalypse managed to escape unscathed under the escort of the Curatores Veritatis Alliance. Upon the arrival at Amarr, the procession was greeted by Amarr Navy Chief of Staff Ravin Mehnih who formally accepted the Apocalypse and presented the two men with the Cross.
Theft of the Trevize Cross
In YC107, the Cross belonging to Golan Trevize was stolen from his estate during a slave auction. After a brief panic, it was revealed that the Cross had been stolen by operatives of the Ushra'Khan alliance under the orders of the capsuleer Hamish. Hamish offered to ransom the Cross in exchange for the slaves who were to be auctioned off, known as the Mamet 500. The Holder who had presented Trevize with the slaves urged him to make the trade, while eventually Court Chamberlain Dochuta Karsoth stepped in and urged retrieval of the Cross by any means necessary.
Eventually, the two sides came to an agreement and made the exchange without further trouble.
Calls for Stripping Trevize
In YC108, the Order of St. Tetrimon publicly called for Golan Trevize to be stripped of his Cross. The Order reasoned that Trevize had abandoned the Empire by taking up mercenary work and "slandering" groups loyal to the Empire. The Order directly petitioned the Theology Council on the matter, insisting that either the Cross be stripped, or offering a "compromise" where Trevize retained the cross but forfeited the rights associated with it.
After some deliberation, the Theology Council publicly refused to strip the Cross, reasoning that Trevize had broken no Imperial Law, nor caused any harm to the Empire itself by serving as a mercenary. It also rebuked the Order of St. Tetrimon and warned against further calls to strip Trevize of his Cross.