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Yuyukan Sportcentrum

José & Frank Philipoom

Kingsford Smithstraat 108, 1945 PW

BEVERWIJK the Netherlands

Budoschool voor traditionele Japanse Krijgskunsten

Centrum voor Sportieve Recreatie en Vorming

Federation of Autonomous Priories of the

Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem

Knights of Malta

Historic Synopsis…

DOMUS HOSPITALIS

It is difficult to support and to love an institution if we don’t know its history. However, to condense the millenary and glorious history of the Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem in a few pages is practically impossible. This succinct chronic recalls some of the principal events that have contributed to the historic evolution of the Order, from its origins up to the present.

At the beginning of the eleven-century the Saracens had already been occupying Jerusalem for about 500 years. In 1020 Caliph Dehara Ladimellah granted permission to a group of Amalfitan sailors to establish in Jerusalem a district provided with commercial quarters, lodgings for travelers, churches and shelters for sick people and pilgrims, often victims of violence and persecutions.

A monastic brotherhood of Hospitals, which could be considered the initial nucleus and certainly the most significant of the Order, was created for the purpose of managing the “Domus Hospitalis”, dedicated to Saint John the Baptist, which gave hospitality to men, and the Hospital of Saint Madeleine, which gave hospitality to women.

Fra Gerardo de Sasso

In the year 1090, that Benedictines administered „Sacra Domus”, their master was Fra Gerardo de Sasso, born in La Provence according to some accounts, or on Amalfi according to others, who miraculously had escaped death. He is recognized as the first historical figure and the first Grand Master of the Order, and was elevated to the honor of the altars among the Blessed Hospitals.

Shortly after its foundation, the “Domus Hospitalis” became the focal point not only for the traders of Amalfi, but also and especially for the anonymous and destitute mass of people in pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the holiest place of Christianity. In 1099, at the end of the first Crusade (1095-1099), Godfrey of Bouillon reconquered Jerusalem and Baldwin became its first King.

The “Sacra Domus” experienced its most glorious moments and began to develop a supporting action, not only in favor of traders and pilgrims, but also to the growing Brotherhood of “frates” which was expanding alongside all the holy places. This Brotherhood that had acquired its own characteristics and became an institution, began to act in favor of the Crusaders.

In the year 1100, the Brotherhood received donations from Godfrey of Bouillon himself, from Roger of Sicily and from many other Christian princes. Those donations could be considered lawful titles of that sovereignty that eventually became the main characteristic of the Order, and made of it a Nation without frontiers, a Kingdom without dynasty.

By virtue of the pontifical bull of 15^th February 1113, and following acts, the Pope Pascal II approved the institution of the Hospitals of Saint John of Jerusalem, free from any civil or ecclesiastic authority. The little Brotherhood stretched beyond the borders of Palestine and extended all over the Christian dominions, where authorized by the Pope, was allowed to receive donations and to found houses.

The presence of the Order in Jerusalem was especially significant when, upon the death of Fra Gerardo, a nobleman from Provence, Fra Raymond Du Puy, was called to guide the Hospitals in 1120. He radically changed the plans, the strategy and the purposes of the institution.

The defense of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem and the blooming of the spirit of chivalry were the determinant causes that induced the “frates” to become “equites et servientes armigeri”. By the will of Innocent III, the initial hospital tasks were supplemented with military functions. It was an original fusion: military forces defending the Christian dominions and hospital charity defending life.

The religious and chivalric structure founds legitimacy through the concept that to defend the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, which God wanted, was a duty that not Christian could evade. The Knights, who had adopted as badge the octagonal white cross, fought for the defense of the ailing and weak, for the pilgrims, for righteousness and justice. They were bind by three religious vows: obedience, poverty and chastity. The chaplains safeguard the offerings and the “frates” heal, comfort and inter the unfortunate.

The King of Aragon, Knight of the Order, on his dead bed bequeathed all his possessions to the Knights, living them in usufruct to be managed by the Templar Knights and the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, who were protecting courageously the holy places.

Meanwhile the Knights took part in the 2nd Crusade (1147-1149) and partook in a particular way in the expedition against Damascus (1148). The Order replenished its reserves, opened settlements in many states, received properties all over Europe, and became the bastion of the Christian faith.

In 1187 Saladin, after having many resounding victories and conquered so many territories, crossed the Jordan river. Despite the brave defense, the Grand Master and many Knights of the Order, Templar Knights and Knights of the Holy Sepulchre were killed in the vain attempt to stopping the infidel from reconquering Jerusalem. The Seat of the Order was transferred to Margat, in Syria.

Fra Jean De Villiers

During the 3^rd Crusade (1189-1192), commanded by Richard The Lionhearted, with the military contribution of the Knights of the Order, Saint John of Acre was liberated and became the new Seat of the Order. On 1265, the Sultan attacked and reconquered Tiro, Cesarea and Margat only the Krark resisted, a fortress built to resist sieges even for long periods, but finally it was lost. After a heroic resistance, the Grand Master Jean De Villiers abandoned the last strongholds of Saint John of Acre on 1291.

The loss of Jerusalem and of the whole Palestine at the hands of the Turks would have marked a very negative moment for the Order if it were not for the “Domus”, which remained like occidental islands in the boundless Muslim world. With the hope of reconquering Palestine, the Order moved to Cyprus (1291), where by concession of King Henry of Lusignan established its headquarters in the town of Limisso.

The Grand Master made an appeal to all Christian Knights: “You must replace our Knights buried under the ruins of Saint John of Acre; you have in your hands the life, the property and the freedom of your brothers and of all the Christians moaning in chains; that all Christian men, belonging to God, take up arms and come to liberate the kingdom and the land of their ancestors, so the sons may not lose shamefully what their fathers conquered as men of courage.”

It was on the sea that the legendary story of the Order would take place from that moment on. On their ships, flying the red flag with the octagonal white cross, the Knights would defend the caravans of pilgrims heading to the holy places, and attack the Muslim fleet without truce.

RHODES

On 1308, commanded by their Grand Master Foulques de Villaret, the Knights conquered Rhodes where they would stay for 214 years and build the only stronghold against Islam. In Rhodes the Knights were sovereigns, minted money, and after the suppression of the Templar Knights, received their huge patrimony and their vast possessions through the provisions of Pope Clement V expressed in his bull “Vox in excelso” of 23^rd March 1312.

In this way, the Order, de facto and by right became Sovereign. That sovereignty, universally recognized, remains constantly inviolable, even after the loss of Rhodes and Malta.

The island was filled with churches, schools, shops, and mansions surrounded by imposing fortification works, ancient masterpieces of the military engineering of that time. Its comfortable hospital, jewel of the Gothic art, became famous in all Europe. The Grand Master Villeneuve reorganized the Order and gathered men speaking eight different languages. The Knights were living and had their meals together in their mansions, modestly called Auberges (Inns).

On 1344, the Galleons of the Order, backed by the fleet of the “Christian League”, conquered Smyrna and stayed there until 1402, when they were overwhelmed by a horde of Mongolians.

On 1440, eighteen big Turkish galleys attacked the well-fortified harbor of Rhodes unsuccessfully. They would return again four years later without any success thanks to that courage of the 18.000 defenders of the island guided by the Knights of the Order.

On 1453, after the loss of Constantinople, the Turks invaded Europe threatening to destroy not only the Christianity, but also what Christianity represents in terms of civilization. From that moment on the actions of the Order became more and more prompt and decisive in containing the Islamic wave that was invading Europe and threatening to sweep away centuries of history and to cancel the ideological patrimony that Christianity had exalted as universal values.

On 1480, Grand Master Pierre d’Aubbusson had to face 100.000 infidel men sailing in 150 vessels. The battle was terrible; thousands of men were wounded or killed on eider side, among them the son-in-law of the Sultan Mahomet II. Finally the Knights defeated their enemies who streamed back towards their camp in panic-stricken retreat. Pierre d’Aubbusson was nominated Cardinal.

The new Grand Master was Phillip de Villiers. Meanwhile Christianity was torn by Luther’s heresy and by the schism of Henry VIII.

On the 24^th of June, 1522, the fleet of the Sultan of Constantinople, Soliman the Magnificent, commanded by Mustafa Pasha, threatened the coast of Rhodes with 700 vessels and 200.000 men, faced only by 5.000 trained soldiers and few thousands armed islanders commanded by the Knights. The siege began on 26th of July. The battle was extremely violent and the Sultan, fearing defeated, withdrew his troops. Of the 650 Knights of the octagonal white cross only four remained unhurt.

But a betrayal turned worthless their victory: the Chancellor of the Order, the Portuguese Amaral, who hated Villiers because he had been preferred to him as Grand Master, informed the Sultan about the weak point of the defense. The siege resumed and the Knights kept on resisting successfully. The traitor was identified, forced to admit his misdeed, degraded and condemned to ignominy.

After six months, the Grand Master, who did not hope for victory anymore, dictated his peace terms to the Sultan, who admired the unfortunate courage of the Knights, and on the 24^th of December, 1522, accepted the capitulation and granted them the honor of the arms. The churches will not be desecrated, the islanders will be free to go away and the Knights will be allowed to take away their archives and treasures. The surviving 160 Knights from the 650 initially established in Rhodes and 5.000 natives of Rhodes departed.

On the 2^nd of January 1523, at five o’clock in the morning the survivors sailed from Rhodes. The convoy consisted of three galleys, St. Mary, St. Catherine and St. John, followed by the galleon St. Bonaventura, by 11 big vessels and 14 small ones. The Grand Master was the last one to board. The loss of Rhodes, once again, cast doubts on the very existence of the Order because of the lack of a permanent seat. With the fall of Rhodes every hope of Christianity crumbled and the Crescent Moon waved over the Mediterranean Sea.

It was a tragic moment, but the Order did not lower its flag. On the 30^th of April 1523, the sorrowful convoy arrived to Messina. Provisional headquarters of the Order were Civitavecchia, Viterbo, Nice and Villafranca.

MALTA

Giulio de Medici, Knight of the Order and Grand Prior of Capua, elected Pope as Clement VII, appealed to the Emperor Charles I of Spain who on the 24^th of July, 1530, at Castelfranco Emilia, granted in perpetuity a noble and free feud of the Maltese Islands and Tripoli on the African coast, confirmed by papal bull.

The Order was obliged to present in perpetuity, every year, on All Saints Day, one falcon as a symbolic homage to the King of Spain and to his successors as Kings of Sicily. Since then the Knights of the Hierosolimitan Order of Saint John the Baptist were known as the Knights of Malta, and the Maltese Islands their sovereign state.

This island, until then almost deserted, became the bastion of defense of Christianity. Always in fighting order, the agile crusader navy patrolled continuously the sea and kept protected the defenseless shores of Sicily and Italy, replacing the military deficiency and slow actions of the royal fleet. Meanwhile the Turks, after occupying Budapest, were menacing Vienna with their proximity.

On 1534, Grand Master Phillip de Villiers died. Everybody wept at the death of this devoted and valorous commander. Soliman the Magnificent himself ordered to read in all the mosques a memorial account about the great achievements of his old adversary. However he decided to annihilate the Order and, in the summer of 1551, put siege to Malta. The Turks were sailing in vain around the island without daring to attack because the Knights had built a powerful fleet that was the sentinel, not only over Malta, but also over all Mediterranean Sea.

Beginning on the 18^th of May 1565, the Knights, commanded by their Grand Master, Jean Francois de la Vallette, suffered what the historians called the Grand Siege. A fleet of 200 vessels with 50.000 Muslims launched an attack in the name of Allah. For almost four months the Knights, with only 9.000 soldiers, resisted and killed more than 20.000 enemies. La Vallette, In spite of his age of seventy years, was in the front line. When Soliman II was informed that reinforcements sent to the Knights from King Phillip of Spain, commanded by Don Garcia of Toledo, Vice-King of Sicily were arriving, died at the age of 72 due to a fit of anger. On the 7^th of September 1565, the Ottomans lifted the siege. The defeat of Rhodes had been vindicated.

Galley of Fra Raphael Cottoner 1660

The Turkish loss their naval power in the Mediterranean Sea and for two centuries Malta remained inviolable. That victory had a vast echo in Europe and the Fleet of the Order became one of the most powerful in the Mediterranean Sea.

Together with the armada of the King of Spain, the Order participated in three glorious ventures: on 1541, the conquest of Algiers; on 1551, the undertaking of Zoara; and on 1559-1560 the expedition to Tripoli and the conquest of Djerba island.

On 24^th of May 1571, prompted by Pope Pius V, was constituted the Holy League with the participation of Spain and Venice. To the Fleet, commanded by Don Juan de Austria, son of Emperor Charles I of Spain joined some galleons of the Order. On the 16^th of September of same year the Fleet of the Holy League set sail.

On the 7^th of October, the battle of Lepanto had begun. The Knights occupied a paramount place on the battle and contributed chiefly to obtain the resounding victory. Almost all the survivors were wounded and 60 Knights died. They captured 160 galleys, set on fire 80 and send to the bottom of the sea more than 30.000 enemies.

The crepuscule of the Crescent Moon started after the battle of Lepanto, culminating with the decline of its naval force.

But the military commitments would never overcome the hospital vocation of the Knights. The Hospital of Malta was unique in the world: marble floors, tapestries on the walls, table silverware, and beds tended with sheets on fine linum, a luxury that did not exist in any other place at that time. Schools of anatomy, medicine and surgery were established in Malta. With the help of the Pope and of the Kings of France, Spain and Portugal, the Knights built palaces, churches and the beautiful Cathedral of Saint John of the French. The Palace of the Grand Master still has today an extraordinary gallery of armors and ten magnificent Gobelins tapestries based on the theme “The Big Oriental Indies” donated by the munificence of Luis XIV.

The French Revolution broke over Europe like a storm. The Hospitals patrimony in France was confiscated in 1792 and afterwards in Italy. The Orders of Knighthood were suppressed by the Revolution.

On the 7^th of June 1798, the first frigates of the expedition to Egypt of the French armada arrived in front of Malta. The 9^th of June, General Napoleon Bonaparte arrived with the gross of the armada. In the morning of the 12^th, Napoleon disembarked and entered on foot in the city of La Valletta.

Due to the great strategic error of the weak and hesitating Grand Master, the German Ferdinand Von Hompesch zu Bolheim, Napoleon, without fighting, seized the heritage of glory and blood of the Knights, in exchange for a promise never kept: to welcome the Knights in France in accordance with their rank.

And Malta, which had resisted the Turks and the pirates for centuries, opened its doors to the enemy. The Napoleonic soldiery, worthy sons of the Revolution, sacked and robbed continuously everything they could.

On June 19^th, Napoleon left with the French armada for Egypt, leaving 3000 men under the command of General Claude Vaubois to defend the island.

The Malteses, helped by Britannic troops, fought against the French forces that capitulated and abandoned the Island. The Britannic flag waved over the island on the 5^th of September 1800.

The loss of Malta could have meant the end of the Order. But the Order, as the mythical avis Phoenix reborn from its own ashes, did not and would never die.

Ironically, while everyone without punishment and its territory invaded was openly pilfering the properties of the Order, the six great European powers were signing the Treaty of Amiens on the 27^th of March 1802. This international Peace Treaty recognized and provided for the independent reestablishment, protection, perpetuation and sovereignty of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem.

This Sovereignty gained at Rhodes in 1308, and recognized by the Treaty of Amiens, never ceased to exist with or without territory. It is a principle of International Law that a right once vested does not requires the continued existence of the power by which it was acquired for its preservation. If a treaty, or any other law, has been applied by recognizing a right, the expiration of the treaty or the law cannot extinguish that right.

THE FEDERATION

I

There is not doubt that the true vocation inspired by the exemplary life of Fra Gerard and the international influence and prestige attained by Raymond du Puy were the main determining causes in the fact that as earlier as the year 1170, the King of Poland authorized the creation of a Commandeer of Saint John endowed with a hospital and a chapel. Always under the Polish Kings protection, other commanders emerged in diverse places such as Svernik-Starolessve (property of the Montmorency de Ligny-Luxembourg family), Ostrog (property of the Ostrogski family) etc., which after 1310 became the Priory of Poland.

On 1609, Prince Janusz Ostrogski, owner and hereditary Commander of the commandeer of his name, last of the line of the Ruridik dynasty, bequeathed his extensive estate to this Autonomous Priory and Hereditary Commandery.

On 1711, King Stanislaus I and Grand Master Raymond Perellos signed an agreement reaffirming the existence of the Autonomous Priory of Poland.

Particular characteristics of this Priory were that Commanders and Knights were not required to observe celibacy and that foreigners could be received in this Priory “Suo Jure” as Knights of the Order.

The invasion of Poland and subsequent partition of its territory put under Russian control a large part of the properties of the Priory. To vindicate the rights of the Order, negotiations begun at the Russian Imperial Court with Catherine the Great, being the Minister of the Order Bailiff Count Julius Renatus Litta.

A sentence of the 17^th of December 1899, of the Civil Tribunal of Saint Petersbourg, recognizes the hereditary rights of the Commandery of Svernik-Starolessve of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, said of Malta, in the person of H.R.& I.H. Prince Nicholas de Ligny-Luxembourg as the last scion of the House of Ligny-Luxembourg.

II

On January 1797, the Order was recognized in Russia by a Convention signed at St. Petersburg between Czar Paul I and Grand Master de Rohan. The terms of the Convention were ratified in August 1797, being Grand Master the successor of de Rohan, Fra Ferdinand von Hompesch, who conferred upon the Czar the title of Protector of the Order. On December 1797, the Czar accepted in a solemn ceremony this new dignity.

Representatives of the Autonomous Priory of Poland, which never ceased to exist, together with representatives of other Priories and Hereditary Commanders in similar conditions, gathered together in the United States of America during 1908, and in the presence of the Hereditary Commanders decided to organize an assembly of Autonomous Priories. Such assembly took place during 1908 and 1911, and as a result the World Union of Autonomous Priories and Hereditary Commanders was registered in conformity with the American Law.

On the 6^th of February, 1954, the Grand Council of the Union of Autonomous Priories elected as their Grand Master the Hereditary Commander of the Commandery of Svernik-Starolessve and of the Commandery of Bean-Toulouse, H.R.& I.H. Prince Nicholas de Ligny-Luxembourg de Lascaris Ventimille.

A sentence made by the Italian Court, on the 25^th of June, 1955, over a petition made to the Court, recognizes H.R.& I.H. Prince Nicholas de Ligny-Luxembourg de Lascaris Ventimille, as Royal and Imperial Prince of Cyprus and Jerusalem, as Chief of the Dynasty of Ardennes-Lorraine, which was the founder of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, as heir of all the sovereign rights of said Dynasty and as Protector Grand Master, “Jus Sanguinis, Magestatis et Honorum”, of the United Autonomous Priories and the Hereditary Commanders of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, said of Malta, with all the rights of the Dynasty, including the right of conferring or to delegate the conferral of titles of knighthood of this Order without any limitation of use of the corresponding titles to the beneficiaries.

A sentence of the Italian Court, of the 25^th of June, 1955, making a clear distinction between the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, said SMOM, and the World Union of Autonomous Priories, says:

“Evidently the Cardinals Tribunal was intending to pronounce sentence only about the New Papal Institution and not about the ancient Order represented by all the Priories, whom instead, after said sentence, decided to proceed to the nomination of their new Grand Master, and on the 6^th of February, 1954, nominated for said dignity Prince Nicholas de Ligny-Luxembourg di Lascaris Ventimiglia, of the ancient Dynasty Ardennes-Lorena.”

[The specification of the Italian Court in regard with the Tribunal of Cardinals, refers to the Sentence of the 24^th of January, 1953, published in the La Gazzetta Ufficiale del Vaticano, Acta Apostolicae Sedis n° 15 of the 30^th of November, 1953, which establishes:

a) That the powers and prerogatives enjoyed by the Order as an entity Subject to International Law, do not conform yet the complex of powers and prerogatives inherent to a Sovereign State in the full sense of the word.

b) That the Order is precisely a religious order approved by the Holy See.

c) That the Gerosolimitan Order is subordinated to the Holy See and in particular to the “Sacra Congregazione dei Religiosi”, and that the bearers of decorations of the Order are dependent to the Order and consequently to the Holy See.

III

On the 25^th of July 1955, H.R. & I.H. Prince Nicholas signed the Decree of the new Constitution.

On the 3^rd of August 1962, the Hereditary Grand Chancellor of the Sovereign Order of Cyprus, His Excellency Count Michael Paul Pierre De Valitch, pledged allegiance to the Grand Master of the Union of Autonomous Priories, H.R. & I.H. Prince Nicholas.

On the 22^nd of February 1966, the already aging Grand Master H.R. & I.H. Prince Nicholas signed the Magisterial Letters Patent regulating the succession process and instituting the Hereditary Grand Chancellor of the Sovereign Order of Cyprus, His Excellency Count Michael Paul Pierre De Valitch as Grand Master Lieutenant General of the Union of Autonomous Priories with the right to succeed him.

On the year 1968, His Excellency Count Michael Paul Pierre De Valitch, in religion Lorenzo, took Holy Orders and was consecrated Bishop of the American Orthodox Catholic Church, Jurisdiction of New York.

On the 3^rd of July 1977, Prince La Chastre, the Hereditary Grand Prior of the Priory of the Most Holy Trinity of Villedieu, a prominent member of the Union of Autonomous Priories, instituted His Eminence Archbishop-Count Lorenzo De Valitch as Hereditary Prior Procurator General of the Priory of the Villedieu.

On the 18^th of August 1977, His Eminence Archbishop Count Lorenzo De Valitch signed the transfer and the institution of the Magisterial See of the Autonomous Priories in the City of New York. On the 23^rd of August 1977, the Attorney General of the State of New York, Louis J. Lefkowitz, granted Judicial Approval to the Union of Autonomous Priories under the English translated title of “The Federation of Autonomous Priories of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta.”

On the same date, His Honor Alfred M. Ascione, Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, First Juridical District approved this act.

On the 7^th of April, 1992, His Eminence Archbishop Count Lorenzo De Valitch, Titular Archbishop of Ephesus, Grand Master of the “Federation of Autonomous Priories of the Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta”, Hereditary Grand Chancellor of the “Sovereign Order of Cyprus”, and Hereditary Prior Procurator General of the “Priory of the Most Holy Trinity of Villedieu of the Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta”, victim of an illness of mental dysfunction was declared mentally incompetent by the Supreme Court of New York and placed under the care of the Primate Metropolitan See of the American Orthodox Catholic Church, Jurisdiction of New York.

In accordance with the norms established on the Motu Proprio of the 7^th of April 1968, of His Eminence Archbishop Count Lorenzo De Valitch, which regulates that the succession of the Hereditary Grand Chancellorship of the Sovereign Order of Cyprus rest on the Primate Metropolitan See of the American Orthodox Catholic Church, Jurisdiction of New York, His Eminence Archbishop Count Lorenzo De Valitch was discharged on the 1^st of October 1992, from His Office of Hereditary Grand Chancellor of the Sovereign Order of Cyprus by his rightfully successor, His Beatitude Dom Lorenzo, O.S.B., Patriarch and Primate Metropolitan of the American Orthodox Catholic Church, Jurisdiction of New York.

On the 21^st of January 1994, in accordance with the Constitution and the Motu Proprio of the 3^rd of July 1977, of Prince La Chastre, who established that at the death or mental impairment of the Hereditary Prior Procurator General of the Priory of the Most Holy Trinity of Villedieu, the succession rest on the Primate Metropolitan See of the American Orthodox Catholic Church, Jurisdiction of New York, His Eminence Archbishop Count Lorenzo De Valitch was relieved from His Office of Hereditary Prior Procurator General of the Priory of Villedieu by his rightful successor, His Beatitude Dom Lorenzo, O.S.B., Patriarch and Primate Metropolitan of the American Orthodox Catholic Church, Jurisdiction of New York.

On the 22^nd of January 1994, in the City of Naxxar, Malta, in front of a large assembly of Knights of the Federation, His Eminence Archbishop Count Lorenzo De Valitch was liberated from His Office of Grand Master of the Federation of the Autonomous Priories of the Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta, by his rightful successor, His Beatitude Dom Lorenzo, O.S.B., Patriarch and Primate Metropolitan of the American Orthodox Catholic Church, Jurisdiction of New York.

Until such a moment in which the Divine Providence in Her infinite Mercy and Wisdom sees fit to extinguish the earthly life of His Eminence Archbishop-Count Lorenzo De Valitch, His Beatitude Dom Lorenzo, O.S.B., for respect and affection to his predecessor, expressed the desire and choose to use pro tempura the title of Regent of the Federation, without renouncing, hindering, diminishing or affecting any and all of his own hereditary rights, obligations, privileges and prerogatives.

On June 24^th, 1994, during the celebration of the festivity of Saint John, His Beatitude the Regent, promulgated and signed the decree of the commencement of an interregnum during which the political and hospital structure of the Order should be reassessed to be properly updated according to the needs of time and to expedite the return of the Order to the standards of its glorious pass. On the same date and act, His Beatitude the Regent signed and proclaimed the actual Constitution of the Federation, which will be in force for the full period of the interregnum.

AT THE SAME TIME...

After the loss of Malta, many Knights found refuge and were welcomed by Tzar Paul I of Russia, Protector of the Order. In spite of all the reserves expressed by the Pope about the nomination of an Orthodox, the refugee Knights, together with the Knights of the Russian Priory, elected their Protector Tzar Paul I as Grand Master of the Order.

On the 9^th of February 1803, Pope Pius VII nominated the Bali Giovanni Battista Tommasi of Cortona as Grand Master. The Order ceased those military functions which had contributed to its high recognition for more than seven centuries and turned back to its hospital origins of assisting and helping the less fortunate members of society.

In this new development through history, the Order obtained new laurels, perhaps not less glorious than those obtained with its victories on the many battlefields of solid grounds and waters.

All the Knights in Europe did not accept the nomination of Di Tommasi. As a result of this historical and political vicissitudes, the old trunk of the Order was split on several branches, among them, the most prominent, is the branch patronized by the Vatican, commonly known as SMOM.

The Protestant Reform caused the separation of the Knights from the Northern States. In Germany the bailiwick of Brandenburg, established on 1318 detached itself from the Order during the Reform, and after been under the protectorate of the Elector Princes of Brandenburg, on 1810, all its patrimony was confiscated by the King of Prussia. On 1812, was restored under the protection of the King of Prussia Friedrich Wilhelm IV, whom, on the 15^th of October 1853, cancelled the Edict of 1812, and reestablished the ancient Bailiwick of Brandenburg, presently known as “Johanniterorden.”

In England, where the Priories of England, Ireland and Dacia existed since 1445, the Order had all its patrimony confiscated in 1545, after the schism. On 1831, was established the Grand Priory of England of the Order of Saint John, composed of Anglicans Knights, and on 1858, adopted the name of Hospital Order of Saint John in England. The Order is open to all Christian confessions, and their Protectors and Grand Masters are the Kings of England.

The Federation respects all other branches of the Order and their autonomy. However, it is always ready to shake hands as a sign of Christian and fraternal friendship and wishes that all Maltese Knights, actively present around the world, will regard themselves united by their common mission.

The Order through wars, sieges, historical difficulties, reforms and transformations continues marching through history, almost without change, maintaining always an internal ideological cohesion, a political preeminence and a considerable prestige. It’s always like a flag never lowered.

The men disappear; their weakness and their anxieties disappear. Disappear the wealthy and the destitute, the heroes and the cowards, the winners and the defeated. The glistening samples of charity of the Knights of Malta remain. And the Order, perhaps, never was so powerful, so successful, so well known and respected throughout the world as today.

The times change, but the brilliant torch of the faith remains unchangeable: the glorious octagonal white cross.