Archives of the Order (10) - Decree of the Sacred Council of the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem (1801)

In order to contribute as soon as possible to the restoration of a Grand Master, and the primitive constitution to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, the sovereign council of the said Order, in the meeting of the 22nd of June 1801, has inquired into the form of convocation for a general chapter, and finds that the statutes are as follows on that subject:

"A General Chapter must consist of the Grand Master, the Bishop of Malta, the Prior of the Church, the Conventual Bailiffs or Pillars of the Languages, the Grand Priors or Capitular Bailiffs who have a decisive vote, a Solicitor for the Knights of each Language, and a Solicitor for the Commanders of each Priory.”

The sovereign council, in consideration that all the elements of a general chapter are dispersed, and knowing that, in the present situation of things, it would be impossible to assemble them, according to the form expressed in the statutes, has resolved to adopt a mode of election which shall differ as little as possible from the ancient one, prevent delay, spare the priories all unnecessary expense and convenience, and immediately fix upon a chief for the sovereign Order to govern it, and take possession of the island of Malta, whenever circumstances shall make it possible to do so.

For this purpose, the sovereign council enjoins all the Grand Priors immediately to convene their chapters, and to carry before them the following propositions:

1st. The provincial chapter shall mark out, among the professed Knights of every language, those whom they think most capable of filling the dignity of Grand Master with due courage and firmness. The Grand Priors shall acquaint the sovereign council as soon as possible with this opinion, that a list may be formed from all the different priories of those who are candidates for the Grand Mastership.

2nd. The council proposes to send this list to the court of Rome, and His Holiness, as supreme chief of the Roman Church, and as superior of all religious Orders, shall be entreated to select a Grand Master from among the candidates; specifying at the same time, that this is only to be the case on this one occasion, and without derogating in any degree from the rights and privileges of the sovereign Order.

His Holiness shall also be requested to notify this election to all Catholic countries by a pontifical brief, commanding the Knights to obey the Grand Master thus chosen, according to the statutes of holy obedience.

All the sovereign chapters shall be summoned by their Grand Priors to declare their opinions formally and with precision, on the question of referring to the Pope to elect a Grand Master from the number of professed Knights pointed out by the different priories.

By these means the Order will be assured of having a Grand Master of its own choice, and from among its own members; and the sovereign council may proceed with confidence, according to the wishes and opinions of all the capitular chapters. Moreover, the sovereign council represents to all the Grand Priors, that it is more important than ever to employ all their authority and prudence to prevent every kind of division and intrigue, to choose a candidate truly worthy of the sovereign command, endowed with the necessary qualities to make the Order of general utility, and to restore a severe discipline.

Lastly, the sovereign council has in its wisdom judged that this was the only method to conciliate the members in general, to avoid all pretences for schisms, and to unite all the scattered members of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.

Given at St. Petersburg, the 20th day of July 1801.

Source: A History of the Knights of Malta, Vol 2., Porter, Wintworth., (c) 1858, Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts, London.

Archives of the Order (9) - Proclamation of Tsar Alexander I, appointing Count de Soltikoff as Lieutenant of the Grand Master

 

We, Alexander I, by the grace of God, etc. etc., being desirous of giving a proof of our particular esteem and affection towards the sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, declare that we take the said Order under our imperial protection, and that we will employ every possible care and attention to maintain it in all its rights, honours, privileges, and possessions.

For this purpose we command and ordain, that our General, Field Marshal, Bailiff, Count de Soltikoff should continue to exercise the functions and authority of Lieutenant of the Grand Master of the said Order, and convene a sitting of the sacred council to make known our intentions that the imperial residence should be still regarded as the chief seat of the sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, until such time as circumstances shall permit the election of a Grand Master, according to the ancient forms and statutes.

In the interim, we ordain, in our quality of protector, that the sacred council shall have the government of the Order, and shall make known to all the languages and priories this our determination; inviting them, at the same time, for their own proper interest, to submit to the decrees issued by the said council.

We confirm, by this present declaration, our two grand Russian and Catholic priories, established in our empire, in the enjoyment of the property, privileges, and administration already bestowed on them; and it is our will and pleasure that they should be governed, in our name of protector, by the Lieutenant of the Mastership, our General, Field Marshal, Bailiff Count Nicholas de Soltikoff.

The very first moment that, in concert with other courts, means can be found, and a proper place fixed upon, to convene a general chapter of the sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, the first effects of our protection will be, to procure a Grand Master to be elected, who shall be worthy to preside over the Order, and to re-establish it as formerly.

Given at our imperial residence of St. Petersburg, on the 16th of March 1801, in the first year of our reign.

(Signed) Alexander.

(Countersigned) The Grand Chancellor Count de Pablus.

 

Source: A History of the Knights of Malta, Vol 2., Porter, Wintworth., (c) 1858, Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts, London.

Archives of the Order (8) - Acceptance of Tsar Paul I of the post of Grand Master

 

We, by the grace of God, Paul I, Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias, etc. etc.

In consideration of the wish expressed to us by the Bailiffs, Grand-Crosses, Commanders, Knights of the illustrious Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of the Grand Priory of Russia, and other members assembled together in our capital, in the name of all the well-disposed part of their fraternity, we accept the title of Grand Master of this Order, and renew, on this occasion, the solemn promises we have already made in quality of protector, not only to preserve all the institutions and privileges of this illustrious Order for ever unchanged, in regard to the free exercise of its religion, with everything relating to the Knights of the Roman Catholic faith, and the jurisdiction of the Order, the seat of which we have fixed in this our Imperial residence; but also we declare that we will unceasingly employ for the future all our care and attention for the augmentation of the Order, for its re-establishment in the independent position which is requisite for the salutary end of its institution, for assuring its solidity, and confirming its utility. We likewise declare, that in taking thus upon us the supreme government of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, and considering it our duty to make use of every possible means to obtain the restoration of the property of which it has been so unjustly deprived, we do not pretend in any degree, as Emperor of all the Russias, to the smallest right or advantage which may strike at or prejudice any of the powers, our allies; on the contrary, we shall always have a peculiar satisfaction in contributing, at all times, everything in our power towards strengthening our alliance with the said powers.

Our grace and imperial favour towards the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in general, and each of its members in particular, shall ever remain invariably the same.

Given at St. Petersburg, the 13th of November, in the year 1798, in the third year of our reign.

(Signed) Paul.

(Countersigned) Prince Besbobodko.

Source: A History of the Knights of Malta, Vol 2., Porter, Wintworth., (c) 1858, Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts, London.

Archives of the Order (7) - Proclamation appointing the Tsar Paul I as Grand Master of the Order of St. John

 

We, the Bailiffs, Grand-Crosses, Commanders, Knights of the Grand Priory of Russia, and all other members of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, present in this imperial city of St. Petersburg, reflecting on the disastrous situation of our Order; its total want of resources, the loss of its sovereignty and chief place of residence, the dispersion of its members, wandering through the world without a chief or any fixed spot of rendezvous, the increasing dangers by which it is threatened, and the plans formed by usurpers to invade its property and win it entirely; being desirous and in duty bound to employ all possible methods to prevent the destruction of an Order equally ancient and illustrious, which has ever been composed of the most select nobility, and which has rendered such important service to the Christian world; whose institutions were founded on such excellent principles as must not only be the firmest support to all legitimate authority, but tend to its own preservation and future existence; animated by gratitude towards His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias for the favours bestowed on our Order, penetrated with veneration for his virtues, and confidently relying on his sacred word ”that he will not only support us in our institutions, privileges, and honours, but that he will employ every possible means to re-establish our Order in its original independent situation, where it contributed to the advantage of Christendom in general, and of every different state in particular.”

Knowing the impossibility in our present circumstances, the members of our Order being generally dispersed, of preserving all the forms and customs prescribed in our constitution and statutes; but being nevertheless desirous to secure the dignity and the power inherent to the sovereignty of our Order, by making a proper choice of a successor to D’Aubusson, L’Isle Adam, and La Valette:

We, the Bailiffs and Grand-Crosses, the Commanders and Knights of the Grand Priory of Russia, and all other members of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, assembled at St. Petersburg, the chief place of residence of our Order, not only in our own names, but in those of the other languages, grand priories in general, and all their members in particular, who shall unite themselves to us by a firm adhesion to our principles, proclaim His Imperial Majesty the Emperor and Autocrat of all the Russias, Paul I., as Grand Master of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.

In virtue of this present proclamation, we promise, according to our laws and statutes, and that by a sacred and solemn engagement, obedience, submission, and fidelity to His Imperial Majesty, the Most Eminent Grand Master.

Given at St. Petersburg, the residence of our Order, this present Wednesday, the 27th October 1798.

Source: A History of the Knights of Malta, Vol 2., Porter, Wintworth., (c) 1858, Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts, London.

Papal supremacy and the Orthodox Church

 

The Eastern Orthodox Church is opposed to the Roman Catholic doctrine of papal supremacy. While not denying that primacy does exist for the Bishop of Rome, Eastern Orthodox Christians argue that the tradition of Rome's primacy in the early Church was not equivalent to the current doctrine of supremacy.

The Bishop of Rome, according to the Orthodox, is simply “first among equals” (primus inter pares). 

This Blog will post important documents from the Orthodox tradition on this issue, from time to time. They are the following:

The Role of the Bishop of Rome in the Communion of the Church in the First Millennium

Position of the Moscow Patriarchate on the problem of primacy in the Universal Church

Cardinal Ratzinger on true consciousness in liturgical matters

 

"For fostering a true consciousness in liturgical matters, it is also important that the proscription against the form of liturgy in valid use up to 1970 should be lifted. Anyone who nowadays advocates the continuing existence of this [older] liturgy or takes part in it is treated like a leper; all tolerance ends here. There has never been anything like this in history; in doing this we are despising and proscribing the Church’s whole past. How can one trust her at present if things are that way?"

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, God and the World, trans. Henry Taylor (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2002), p. 416.

Archives of the Order (6) - Ad Providam Christi Vicarii

Ad Providam Christi Vicarii 

For an everlasting record. It belongs to Christ’s vicar, exercising his vigilant care from the apostolic watch-tower, to judge the changing conditions of the times, to examine the causes of the affairs which crop up and to observe the characters of the people concerned. In this way he can give due consideration to each affair and act opportunely; he can tear out the thistles of vice from the field of the Lord so that virtue may increase; and he can remove the thorns of false dealing so as to plant rather than to destroy. He transfers slips dedicated to God into the places left empty by the eradication of the harmful thistles. By thus transferring and uniting in a provident and profitable way, he brings a joy greater than the harm he has caused to the people uprooted; true justice has compassion for sorrow. By enduring the harm and replacing it profitably, he increases the growth of the virtues and rebuilds what has been destroyed with something better.

A little while ago we suppressed definitively and perpetually the order of the Knights Templar of Jerusalem because of the abominable, even unspeakable, deeds of its master, brothers and other persons of the order in all parts of the world. These men were spattered with indecent errors and crimes, with depravity- they were blemished and stained. We are silent here as to detail because the memory is so sad and unclean. With the approval of the sacred council we abolished the constitution of the order, its habit and name, not without bitterness of heart. We did this not by definitive sentence, since this would be unlawful according to the inquiries and processes carried out, but by apostolic provision or ordinance. We issued a strict prohibition that nobody might henceforth enter the order or wear its habit or presume to behave as a Templar. Anyone doing otherwise incurred automatic excommunication. We commanded, by our apostolic authority, that all the property of the order be left to the judgment and disposition of the apostolic see. We strictly forbade anyone, of whatever state or condition, to interfere in any way regarding the persons or property of the order or to act in prejudice of the direction or disposition of the apostolic see in this matter, or to alter or even to tamper; we decreed all attempts of this kind to be henceforth null and void, whether made knowingly or in ignorance.

Afterwards we took care lest the said property, which over a long period had been given, bequeathed, granted and acquired from the worshippers of Christ for the help of the holy Land and to assail the enemies of the christian faith, should be left without management and perish as belonging to nobody or be used in ways other than those intended by the pious devotion of the faithful. There was the further danger that tardiness in our arrangements and dispositions might lead to destruction or dilapidation. We therefore held difficult, lengthy and varied consultations and discussions with our brothers, the cardinals of the holy Roman church, with patriarchs, archbishops, bishops and prelates, with certain outstanding and distinguished persons, and with the procurators at the council of the chapters, convents, churches and monasteries, and of the remaining absent prelates, in order that, through this painstaking deliberation, a wholesome and beneficial disposal of the said property might be made to the honour of God, the increase of the faith, the exaltation of the church, the help of the holy Land, and the salvation and peace of the faithful. 

After especially long carefully thought out, deliberate and complete consultations, for many just reasons, we and the said fathers and patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, other prelates, and the outstanding and distinguished persons, then present at the council, finally came to a conclusion. The property should become forever that of the order of the Hospital of saint John of Jerusalem, of the Hospital itself and of our beloved sons the master and brothers of the Hospital, in the name of the Hospital and order of these same men, who as athletes of the Lord expose themselves to the danger of death for the defence of the faith, bearing heavy and perilous losses in lands overseas.

We have observed with the fullness of sincere charity that this order of the Hospital and the Hospital itself is one of the bodies in which religious observance flourishes. Factual evidence tells us that divine worship is fervent, works of piety and mercy are practised with great earnestness, the brothers of the Hospital despise the attractions of the world and are devoted servants of the most High. As fearless warriors of Christ they are ardent in their efforts to recover the holy Land, despising all human perils. We bear in mind also that the more plentifully they are supplied with means, the more will the energy of the master and brothers of the order and Hospital grow, their ardour increase and their bravery be strengthened to repel the insults offered to our Redeemer and to crush the enemies of the faith. They will be able to carry more lightly and easily the burdens demanded in the execution of such an enterprise. They will therefore, not unworthily, be made more watchful and apply themselves with greater zeal.

In order that we may grant them increased support, we bestow on them, with the approval of the sacred council, the house itself of the Knights Templar and the other houses, churches, chapels, oratories, cities, castles, towns, lands, granges, places, possessions, jurisdictions, revenues, rights, all the other property, whether immovable, movable or self-moving, and all the members together with their rights and belongings, both beyond and on this side of the sea, in each and every part of the world, at the time when the master himself and some brothers of the order were arrested as a body in the kingdom of France, namely in October 1308. The gift is to include everything which the Templars had, held or possessed of themselves or through others, or which belonged to the said house and order of Knights Templar, or to the master and brothers of the order as also the titles, actions and rights which at the time of their arrest belonged in any way to the house, order or persons of the order of Knights Templar, or could belong to them, against whomsoever of whatever dignity, state or condition, with all the privileges, indults, immunities and liberties with which the said master and brothers of the house and order of Knights Templar, and the house and order itself, had been legitimately endowed by the apostolic see or by catholic emperors, kings and princes, or by other members of the faithful, or in any other way. All this we present, grant, unite, incorporate, apply and annex in perpetuity, by the fullness of our apostolic power, to the said order of the Hospital of saint John of Jerusalem and to the Hospital itself.

We except the property of the said former order of Knights Templar in the kingdoms and lands of our beloved sons in Christ, the illustrious kings of Castille, Aragon, Portugal and Majorca, outside the kingdom of France. We reserve this property, from the said gift, grant, union, application, incorporation and annexation, to the disposal and regulation of the apostolic see. We wish the prohibition made a little while ago by other proceedings of ours to remain in full force. Nobody of any state or condition may intervene in any way as regards these persons and property in prejudice to the regulation or disposition of the apostolic see. We wish that our decree concerning these persons and property in the kingdoms and lands of the above kings should remain in full force until the apostolic see makes another arrangement.

Occupiers and unlawful detainers of the property, irrespective of state, condition, eminence or dignity, even if this is pontifical, imperial or royal, unless they abandon the property within a month after it is called for by the master and brothers of the Hospital, or by any of them, or by their procurators [. . .]. The property must be fully and freely restored to the order of Hospitallers and to the said Hospital, or to the master, priors, preceptors or brothers of the said Hospital, in any regions or provinces, or to any of them individually, or to their procurator or procurators, in the name of the said order of Hospitallers, even if the priors, preceptors and brothers and their procurators or any one of them have no special mandate from the master of the Hospital, provided that the procurators hold or show a special commission from the priors and preceptors or from any one of them, in the provinces or regions in which these priors and preceptors have been delegated. The priors, preceptors and brothers are obliged to give a full reckoning to the master concerning everything: conduct, actions, receipts and negotiations.

 The procurators are to render a similar account to the priors and preceptors, and to each one of them, by whom they were delegated. All who have knowingly given counsel, aid or favour to the occupiers and detainers mentioned above concerning such occupation or detention, publicly or secretly, lie under excommunication. Chapters, colleges or governing bodies of churches and monasteries, and the corporations of cities, castles, towns and other places, as well as the cities, castles, towns and other places themselves which were at fault in this, and the cities, castles and places in which the detainers and occupiers hold temporal lordship, if such temporal lords place obstacles to the giving up of the property and its restoration to the master and brothers of the Hospital, in the name of the Hospital, not desisting from such conduct within a month after the property is called for, are automatically laid under interdict. They cannot be absolved from this until they offer full satisfaction. Moreover the occupiers and detainers and those who have given them counsel, aid or favour, whether individuals or the chapters, colleges or governing bodies of churches or monasteries, as also the corporations of cities, castles, lands or other places, incur, in addition to the above-mentioned penalties, automatic deprivation of everything they hold as fiefs from the Roman or other churches. These fiefs are to revert freely without opposition to the churches concerned, and the prelates or rulers of those churches may dispose of the fiefs at will, as they judge will be to the advantage of the churches. 

Given at Vienne on 2 May in the seventh year of our pontificate (1312).

Pope Clement V