In 1669 Sultan Mohammed IV Osman granted Dimitrij VII Dimitrevic’ recognition of His prerogatives as Head of the Name and Arms of the Rjurik Dynasty. The Sultan accorded Him the rank of Sovereign Bey and granted hospitality and protection to Him and to His Orders and cultural Institutions.
By tradition the Head of the Confraternity of Saint Catherine of Somport administered also the Priory of the French Langue of the Order, which was recognised in 1671 by an Edict of the Roi Soleil.
The Order consolidated and flourished in various countries in East and West. In 1788 Duke Ercole III authorised the establishment of the Order in the Duchy of Modena, granting citizenship of the Duchy to the Head of the Imperial House of Moscow and de jure recognition to His Orders and cultural Institutions.
The Order was confirmed under the rule of Saint Basil and assumed as one of its principal aims that of assisting Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land, recalling the ecumenical spirit of the “Edict of Milan” with which Constantine the Great had decreed that freedom of worship be guaranteed to the faithful of all religions, particularly to Christians.