The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana 20 years of Estonia. Republic of the of the President Office All reserved. rights The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana: 20 years The Republic of Estonia bestows as gratitude and Many foreign heads of state have become recipients of the recognition various state decorations on persons whose Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana because the President activities have maintained and reinforced the independent of the Republic of Estonia bestows this highest mark of Estonian state. Such recipients include recognition on his our friends and supporters worldwide. state visits. Estonia has six state decorations and their stories are On this, the 20th anniversary of the Order of the Cross of part of the history of our country. The oldest decoration, Terra Mariana, you can learn about the recipients of this the Cross of Liberty, was instituted almost a century ago, Order and read the recollections of Priit Herodes, during the Estonian War of Independence, in recognition the heraldry expert who designed the Order of the Cross of of wartime services. Our youngest state decoration, the Terra Mariana, about the creation and the significance of Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, celebrates its 20th this state decoration. anniversary this year. Enjoy! The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana was instituted to honour the independence of the Estonian state. It is bestowed as the highest decoration on foreigners who have rendered special services to the Republic of Estonia. Terra Mariana: 800 years “Many lands and states have alternative poetic names that remind us of their vibrant history or distinctive natural features. It is the same as with nicknames given to family members, expressing mutual love and lasting ties. I know of no other country’s name that is as meaningful and far-reaching as our Terra Mariana (Maarjamaa)”. This is a quote from the speech by Bishop Philippe Jourdan, Vice-President of the Estonian Council of Churches, at the ecumenical vespers that opened the ‘Eight Centuries of Terra Mariana’ themed year at the Pirita Convent on 7 September 2014. Maarjamaa, meaning (Saint) Mary’s Land or Terra many centuries. Maarja is used in many Estonian Mariana, is an ecclesiastical and poetic name for Es- place names and folklore. Maarja and its variations tonia. It was coined in 1215, exactly 800 years ago, by are also popular names for girls in Estonia. Even the then bishop of our land to the then Pope, Innocent some plants have been named thus. Naturally, many III, at a Lateran Council session in Rome. As pilgrim- Estonian churches carry the name of the Virgin Mary. ages to this land dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God, The Maarjamaa theme was also very important during were proclaimed to be of equal importance to pilgrim- the national awakening period in the 19th century and ages to the land of the Son of God, the territory of when Estonia was regaining its independence in the modern-day Estonia became a Christian heartland. late 1980s. This prayer by Villu Kangur and Tõnis Mägi has acquired the significance of an anthem or fighting The warmth and holiness of this name, the underlying song: “Creator, keep Maarjamaa safe, and forgive us affirmation of life and inspiration have affected our shortcomings”. Estonian national culture and our worldview over PRIIT HERODES Cross of Terra Mariana: 20 years Turbulent events in a nation’s history have a direct effect on new state decorations. When Estonia became an independent republic in 1918, its first and only state decoration until 1936 was the Cross of Liberty, which comprised three grades, each in three classes. The Cross of Liberty was bestowed until 1925 for services during the Estonian War of Independence. Article 7 of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia adopted in 1920 stipulated that the Estonian state did not bestow honorary awards on its citizens (with the exception of members of the Defence Forces in war- time) and that Estonian citizens did not have the right to accept honorary awards from foreign countries. This unrealistic provision was in practice mostly ignored but remained in force until 7 October 1936 when Konstantin Päts, the Head of State, issued a de- cree approving the Decorations Act that included the in- troduction of the Order of the National Coat of Arms and the Order of the White Star and the upgrade to the state decoration status of the Defence League’s Order of the Cross of the Eagle and the Red Cross Society’s Order of the Estonian Red Cross. These Estonian state decora- tions were bestowed from 1937 until the occupation of the Republic of Estonia by the Soviet Union in 1940. Sketch of the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana, 1st class. Lennart Meri was elected President of the Republic of protector of Estonia: blue denotes her as the Queen of Estonia in 1992. He was very perceptive of symbolism Heaven; black as Our Lady of Sorrows; and white as and historical context, which is why he wanted to com- the Blessed Virgin. To both Meri, who commissioned memorate the restoration of Estonian independence the decoration, and Herodes, who created it, the name in 1991 and the country’s return to European cultural ‘Cross of Terra Mariana’ was self-evidently the only space with a new Estonian decoration. It was to be way of describing the new state decoration, although bestowed on worthy foreign citizens in recognition of of course there were dissenting opinions in political their contribution to the restoration, preservation and circles, as is always the case. promotion of our statehood. The president’s wish be- On 16 May 1995 the Riigikogu (the Estonian parlia- came more concrete and urgent after the tragic sink- ment) designated the Order of the Cross of Terra ing of the Estonia ferry in the Baltic Sea on the night Mariana as the highest Estonian state decoration that of 28 September 1994, as it was necessary to give could be bestowed upon foreigners. It was also stipu- Photo: Office of the President of Estonia Photo: Office of the recognition to the Finnish officers who took part in the lated in legislation that the Order of the Cross of Terra rescue operation. The Order of the National Coat of Mariana was to be bestowed on the President of the Arms was exclusively for Estonian citizens, while the Republic of Estonia, because a tradition existed where- beautiful Order of the White Star was designed with by the head of state was expected to already have the no clear reference to Estonia, having a red ribbon that highest decoration him- or herself when bestowing could inconveniently be associated with the red stars the same state decorations on other persons. on the uniforms of the last Russian soldiers to leave That same day, 16 May 1995, President Meri left on a Estonian soil that same autumn. Meri therefore did not state visit to Finland and awarded the first collar of deem that option suitable for an occasion as momen- the Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana to Martti tous as bestowing decorations on foreigners for the Ahtisaari, President of the Republic of Finland. This first time after the restoration of independence. and other decorations bestowed during that historic In his capacity as President of the Republic and an visit were the first Estonian state decorations be- honorary member of the Estonian Heritage Society, stowed since the regaining of independence. Lennart Meri Meri commissioned a new state decoration from Priit On the same decorations list were Raimo Tiilikainen, Herodes, a prominent heraldry expert, heritage con- the Commodore in charge of the Maritime Rescue servation activist and member of the Heraldry Council Centre in Turku, who on the night of the sinking of the of the Republic of Estonia established in 1992. Thus Estonia ferry and over the next few days directed the in late autumn 1994 the Order of the Cross of Terra efforts of the Finnish team that searched for and res- Mariana was born, inspired by Estonia’s national col- cued survivors, and Ilkka Kärppäla, a Lieutenant with ours and the initial heraldic shape of our coat of arms. the Finnish Border Guard, who logged the distress When designing the decoration, Herodes relied on the signal from the Estonia while on duty as a coastal de- conviction that the blue, black and white that are so fence official in Turku. They were presented with the close to Estonians’ hearts – as they have surrounded decorations by President Lennart Meri at a ceremony us in nature in winter for millennia – are also charac- in Estonia, in the presidential palace in Kadriorg Park, teristic of Mary, the Mother of God and the heavenly 10 days later, on 26 May 1995. The Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana is divided into chest. The fourth class order also includes a rosette five usual classes as is legally customary in Estonia, made from the same ribbon. Men awarded the third- and these classes are numbered from fifth to first. or second-class order wear it on a 40 mm-wide ribbon In the international classification our order classes on the neck; ladies on a wing-shaped ribbon on the are as follows: V class – Knight; IV class – Officer; III chest. In the second class there is also the star of class – Commander; II class – Grand Officer; I class – the order. The relief star with eight points is made of Knight of the Grand Cross. In addition to these classes, silver and the Cross of Terra Mariana is superimposed in keeping with our national tradition (which dates on it.