Petran Order
| Petran Order | |
|---|---|
| File:Petranorder.png Insignia | |
| Active | c. 1013 – present |
| Allegiance | Archbishop of Venagorod (1029-present), Papacy (1013-present) |
| Type | Catholic Religious Order (1013–1811 as military order) |
| Headquarters | Venagorod (1013 - 1198) (insert Vesan city here) (1198 - 1305) (insert small Vesan town here) (1305-1396) Venagorod (1396 - present) |
| Nickname(s) | Petran Knights, the Venadian Order |
| Patron | Saint Viktor of Venadia and Saint Peter |
| Attire | Blue mantle with a red cross |
| Engagements | Venadian Crusades Vesan Crusades |
| Commanders | |
| Grand Master | Nikolay Salko |
The Most Virtuous Order of Brothers of Saint Peter, commonly referred to as the Petran Order, is a Catholic religious order originally founded as a military order during the Venadian Crusades in Venagorod. The Petran Order abolished its military division in 1811, and in the modern era is mainly involved in peaceful missionary activities and charity. It continues to confer honorary knighthoods.
The Order was initially formed to aid Venadian Christian converts, but was quickly turned into a military order under the Archbishop of Venagorod to combat "heathens and infidels", and convert the Venadian pagan population. The Petran Order was one of the most active of the Christian forces during the Vesan Crusades, controlling significant landed holdings in the area under the dominion of the Order between 1198 and 1396, and individual castles and monasteries into the 15th century.
At its height in 1264, the Petran Order had three thousand knights and at least thirty thousand men-at-arms. As of 2015, the Order consists of a a thousand members. Of these are eighty priests, a hundred nuns, two hundred monks, five hundred associates and two hundred and eighty knights. The Petran Order presently counts a total of two thousand and eight-hundred and fifty-seven honorary knights. In the modern era, the knights of the Petran Order serve as guards of prominent religious figures in Venadia, but the Knights Militant are heavily outnumbered by the honorary knights of the Petran Order, an honour the order bestows on prominent figures of Christendom throughout Ardania.
(some stuff on how the Petran Order is viewed in VU, and maybe if it operates in white venadian areas?)