The Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen

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The Order of Saint Stephen (or “Szent István rend” in Hungarian) was an order of knighthood founded by Maria Theresa in 1764 and named after Hungary’s most famous king, Stephen I, who reigned between 997 and 1038. Membership was available to various members of the Hungarian nobility. Stephen I consolidated the monarchy, established of the medieval state of Hungary and adopted Christianity as the state religion. He was canonized by Pope Gregory VII in 1083 along with his son Imre. Saint Stephen is considered the patron saint of “Hungary, kings, the death of children, masons, stonecutters, and bricklayers.” In 1938, Miklós Horthy took the rights and activities of Grand Master as Regent of Hungary, changing its name to The Royal Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen. The Order was terminated at the time of the proclamation of the Republic of Hungary in 1946, but recreated again in 2011 as the Hungarian Order of Saint Stephen, and to this day remains the highest order in Hungary.