Equestrian Order of Saint Thomas

The Equestrian Order of Saint Thomas (EOST) is an independent Catholic intermicronational chivalric order. Founded in January 2015 by Benedict Baughman and Christopher Woods, two micronationalists from the Empire of Quailia, its purpose is to unite the Catholic members of the micronational community and to support and promote Catholic micronationalism. It is named after St. Thomas More, who in the Catholic tradition is the patron saint of statesmen and politicians. The purpose of the Equestrian Order of Saint Thomas is propagate and profess the Catholic faith and the principles of freedom and just government through uniting Catholic micronations and micronationalists, serving as a front of Catholic micronationalism within the greater micronational community, and supporting the fundamental sovereignty of all rightful micronational states.

History
The Equestrian Order of Saint Thomas was founded on 13 January 2015 by Sir Benedict Baughman and Colonel Christopher Woods, two micronationalists from the Empire of Quailia. Two days later, an online forum was created to ease communication between members and to give the Order a centralized meeting place. Since then, the order has expanded to become a vibrant, growing community.

Principles
The founding members of the Equestrian Order of Saint Thomas declare that the principles guiding the order are the pride of being micronationalists of the Catholic faith, the desire to fight the moral decay of modern society and the increasing ineptitude of the world’s major governments, recognize the beneficial role of micronationalism, and in particular Christian micronationalism, can perform in the world today, the wish to propagate the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Faith through the use and promotion of micronationalism and the hope that through these ends replace skepticism by faith, replace war by peace and replace division by unity.

Administration of the Order
The Order is governed by a Constitutional Charter which describes the officers and operating rules as well as describing the name, vision and goals of the Order. The officers are those of Grand Master (the leader of the Order), the Grand Marshal (the second in command), and the Chancellor (the record keeper). The Constitutional Charter also dictates the existence of two other positions, those of Principal Patron (held by the current monarch of the Empire of Quailia) and the Prelate (who is an ordained member of the clergy).

Patron of the Order
The Equestrian Order of Saint Thomas operate under the patronage of various Catholic monarchs of the micronational community who shall agree to protect and support the Order both within their territory and among the nations of the world. The monarch of the Empire of Quailia shall into perpetuity hold the title and role of Principal Patron of the Order so long as the holder of the Quailian throne professes the Catholic faith and fulfills the duties of a patron of the Order.

Grand Master of the Order
The first officer of the Equestrian Order of Saint Thomas is of the Grand Master, who is elected by and from the inducted members of the Order for terms lasting six months. It is the duty of the Grand Master to provide overall leadership and direction to the Order, to direct the organization and activities of the Order through the promulgation of decrees, and to perform such other duties as may be required of him by this Constitutional Charter or by other properly promulgated decrees of the Order.

Grand Marshall of the Order
The second officer of the Equestrian Order of Saint Thomas is of the Grand Marshal, who is elected by and from the inducted members of the Order for terms lasting six months. It is the duty of the Grand Marshal to assist the Grand Master in providing overall leadership and direction to the Order, to perform the functions and duties of Grand Master in the event that the Grand Master in unavailable or incapacitated, and to perform such other duties as may be required of him by this Constitutional Charter or by other properly promulgated decrees of the Order.

Chancellor of the Order
The third officer of the Equestrian Order of Saint Thomas is of the Chancellor, who is elected by and from the inducted members of the Order for terms lasting six months. It shall be the duty of the Chancellor to oversee the administration and records of the Order, to see to the publication and distribution of informational media regarding the Order and its activities, and to perform such other duties as may be required of him by this Constitutional Charter or by other properly promulgated decrees of the Order.

Prelate of the Order
The Prelate shall be an ordained member of the Catholic clergy appointed and dismissed by the Grand Master to represent the Order in the greater ecclesiastical community, to actively promote the faith based activities of the Order, and to perform such other duties as may be required of him by this Constitutional Charter or by other properly promulgated decrees of the Order.

Membership
Membership in the Order is open to all Catholic micronationalists and can be requested through the Order’s online forum. In order to be a candidate for induction into the Order, a person must profess and practice the Catholic faith, be a leader of a micronation or of the micronational community and be referred to the Chancellor for induction by an inducted member. To be accepted as a member of the Order, the candidate must fulfill the requirements to be approved for induction by the Chancellor and the Grand Master. If the induction is approved by both of these officers, the candidate is considered a fully inducted member of the Order and is from thenceforth accorded with all the rights and duties of membership. The membership in the Order may be revoked from a member only if the member expresses disregard of the principles of the Order or of the Catholic faith through word or action and the revoking of membership is approved by two of the three Officers of the Order.

Ranks
All members of the Order are divided into four ranks which are, in descending order:
 * Knight/Dame Grand Cross (K/DGCST)
 * Knight/Dame Commander with Star (K/DC*ST)
 * Knight/Dame Commander (K/DCST)
 * Knight/Dame (K/DST)

Current members
In order of seniority: