Order of the Phoenix

The Order of the Phoenix was the highest civilian decoration awarded by the Golden Empire. It was awarded to members of the Empire's civil service for "outstanding contributions to the Empire's civilian service". It was named for the Abstalian Phoenix, the symbol of the Empire.

The Order was awarded in four degrees: Superior, Knight, Companion, and Member. Generally, only high-ranking government officials (Consuls, Tribunes, and Ministers of the Grand Council of the Golden Empire) received any of the degrees, although some particularly distinguished deputy ministers and Vice Consuls were admitted on the recommendation of their superiors. All awards were ultimately decided by the Sovereign, but like all civilian honors, recommendations for the Order were handled by the Council of Honors.

Recipients of the Order were addressed verbally as "Sir" or "Lady", and entitled to (SOP, KOP, COP, and OP, respectively).

Behind the scenes
User:Sakaros is indeed intimately familiar with—and very fond of—the book , and long debated using the term for the Golden Empire's highest order of merit. He eventually settled on doing so because the Abstalian Phoenix is the symbol of the Empire, and because the is also a Greek order of chivalry—User Sakaros may be purloining the term, but took comfort in the fact that JK Rowling stole it first.