Orders, decorations, and medals of the Holy See Orders, decorations, and medals of the Holy See The orders, decorations, and medals of the Holy See include titles, chivalric orders, distinctions and medals honoured by the Holy See, with the Pope as the fount of honour, for deeds and merits of their recipients to the benefit of the Holy See, the Catholic Church, or their respective communities, societies, nations and the world at large. Some of these honours are defunct or currently dormant, while some are still actively conferred. "Papal orders of knighthood" or "Pontifical orders of knighthood" are orders of knighthood bestowed in the name of the Pope
Holy See are 15 internationally recognized states with which the Holy See does not have relations. The Holy See is the only European subject of international law that has diplomatic relations with the government of the Republic of China (usually known as Taiwan) as representing China, rather than the government of the People's Republic of China (see Holy See–Taiwan relations). The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office speaks of Vatican City as the "capital" of the Holy See, although it compares the legal personality of the Holy See to that of the Crown in Christian monarchies and declares that the Holy See and