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The Herald OSJ - Malta
Under The Constitution given by
HM King Peter II of Yugoslavia
1.Edition . Sept. 2008 nr. 1 The Order of St. John of Jerusalem
Knights Hospitaller
World Headquarters:
St. Johns Street 223
Valletta
Malta
The Petit Conseil
Officers:
Grand Commander
Paul Borg
Grand Hospitallar:
ad interrim:
Jan Bormans
Grand Marshall
Roberto Volpe
Grand Councillor
Thorkild Hagn-Meincke
Malta
The Grand Masters chair in the World Headquarters in Valetta, Malta.
It is handmade by Italian craftsmen. The wall behind is polished marble.
2
Editorial office:
Editors:
Thorkild Hagn-Meincke
Mette Kaasfeldt Bram
3 editions pr. year
Deadline for next edition:
November 5. 2008
Foto on the front page:
The Headquarters, Malta.
The Lt. Grand Master chair.
Contents:
Page 3. Lt. Grand Master
Page 4. Introduction
Petit Conseil
Page 5. Vision and Mission
Page 6. Coat of Arms
Page 7. The Crown of the Order
The Charity Project
Page 8.
The Concordat
Page 9. Local events
3
Lt. Grand Master Michel Bohé
Excellencies.
Dear Brothers and Sisters.
It was a real pleasure for me, when H.E. Bailiff
Thorkild Hagn-Meincke, Grand Councillor, invited
me to draw a few sentences for this first issue of ”
The Herald”. Since the unification of a number of
Priories and Commanderies in Malta, the new history
of the order began. I strongly believe in the benefit of
informing each other annually on a few occasions,
and to lean back and learn about the whereabouts of
the Order from each other. The Herald obviously is
an ideal vehicle for this purpose. We do live at some
distance from one another, and our contacts are few
and regretfully sometimes very superficial.
I hereby call on all the Priors and Commanders to
support the initiative of this newsletter and to provide
support to its responsible editor, as well as to assure
that all of the members do receive “The Herald” ar
their desk. There remains so much to be done, but
with the support of committed Knights Hospitallers
some fine results can be achieved.
I am dreaming of an Order, where every member, in
the spirit of a true and worthy Christian, understands,
lives and emanates according to our motto “ Pro Fide,
Pro Utilitate Hominum”.
Our Order and its Knights Hospitallers of St. John,
does have a noble mission to accomplish in this
quickly evolving world. Our Knighthood and Broth-
erhood must be our strongest asset. We should not
loose time on internal tensions. Through love among
Brothers and Sisters we must make such problems
disappear. We have so much to offer to each other:
friendship, hospitality, complaisance and all of this
according to the spirit of the Order.
Discipline, good and crystal clear agreements among
each other, all in line with the Constitution, will make
our international organisation proceed successfully.
I do wish all of you a fine reading of this first edition
of “The Herald”.
Yours in X0 and St. John,
Michel Bohé GCSJ
Lt. Grand Master.
Investiture of the newly elected Lt. Gr. Master in the St. Salvator Cathedral in Brussels September 29. 2007. Grand Prior Michel Bohé was elected 2007 at
the Sovereign Council Meeting held in Brussels.
4
The Grand Councellor
Thorkild Hagn-Meincke.
Introduction of ”The Herald”
” The Herald ” is here.
May we introduce the newsletter of the Order nr. 1 –
2008 .
The formal language of the Order is English which
will also be the language of this newsletter bringing
you articles, extract of minutes, notes, and informa-
tion from the Lt. Grand Master and the executive body
of the Order, the “ Petit Conseil “.
Your editors however would like to let “The Herald”
be open for notes and shorter messages in other lan-
guages such as German, Scandinavian languages, Ital-
ian, French, Flemish and Spanish. The one and abso-
lute condition is a summary in English !
We do hope that information, sometimes written in
original language, will stimulate the use of “The He-
rald” and your interest in supporting this newsletter.
We have to have a contact person in every unit world wide who will “feed The Herald” and keep the
editors busy.
To start this procedure the Lt. Grand Counsellor, Sam-
uel W. Billich, KGSJ, Toronto, Canada, will be the
central contact person collecting news from the Ameri-
can Continent
E-mail: [email protected]
From Europe Grand Counsellor Thorkild Hagn-
Meincke, Denmark,
E-mail: [email protected]
Please write to us. Send us e-mails with your article
attached in Word and/or Adobe and do not forget that
photos and graphics are highly appreciated. “The Her-
ald” is born to link us together by informing each
other.
We would very much like to send out “The Herald”
three times pr. year, but 2008 will only give you two.
As the next Petit Conseil meeting will be held at the
end of September, edition nr. 2 is planned to be sent
out Nov./ Dec.
Deadline: November 5. 2008
Sincerely yours in St. John
THM & MKB
The Petit Conseil: The Petit Conseil has 4 officers.
The Grand Commander
Poul Borg, Malta
The Grand Councillor
Thorkild Hagn-Meincke, Denmark.
The Grand Marshall
Roberto Volpe, Italy
The Grand Hospitaller (ad interrim)
Jan Bormans, Belgium
5
This statement was approved at the Sovereign Coouncil Meeting in Brussels, Belgium - September 2007.
Vision and MissionVision and MissionVision and MissionVision and Mission of
The Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller,
As Knights / Dames of the Order we are committed to our Motto
“Pro Fide, Pro Utilitate Hominum”
Vision:
• To be known in our local society and church community as The Humanitarian Organisation having
the ability, the competence and the commitment to work for people in need.
• To be known as a Christian Ecumenical Order with roots deep into the history of knighthood,
which has given us the inspiration to work as an Order in modern times adjusted to the society of
today.
• To unify under the Constitution of the late King Peter II of Yugoslavia all units and orders, which
because of historical fragmentations, now are separated from one another.
• To create that common front which will make the Order recognizable all over the world.
• To ensure fundamental values such as a Christian lifestyle, loyalty to the Order, compassion and
charity.
Mission:
• To work with dedication on our projects so as to ensure results of a high standard.
• To make the white eight pointed cross known as a symbol of our historical Christian roots.
• To continue the work for unifying separate units and orders under the Constitution of King Peter II.
• To work for homogeneity in mantel, insignia and ceremonies whilst respecting cultural diversity.
• To encourage and ensure a humble attitude for all work done for the Order and for its motto and not
for fulfilling personal ambitions.
Codex of Knighthood:
1. To know the history and the traditions of the Order.
2. To work together dedicated in Christian, ecumenical matters.
3. To be aware of the need existing among fellow human beings.
4. To be kind, open minded and obliging.
5. To personally concentrate on ethic and moral demands to improve our own attitudes.
6. To be responsible and respectful to all others.
7. To help, relieve and comfort those who are in need.
8. To work voluntarily for the Order in charitable and administrative duties.
9. To be loyal, faithful and respectful to the Order.
10. To live a Christian lifestyle and to be honoured for having the privilege of wearing the
white eight pointed cross.
6
The Coat of Arms of the Order.
The design of our Coat of Arms was made some 20 years ago by the then officiating King of Arms, Hendrik
Bokstahl. His successor, the late Fra. Robert de Caluwé launched his new design in 1996, but it was not ac-
cepted officially. Since then both designs have been used.
A few years ago a new design was made in Denmark. The draft and the heraldic background were demon-
strated at the Sovereign Council Meeting in Belgium 2007, and it was accepted.
This new design has now been professionalized and finalized by heraldic experts in Canada, and we are happy
to present it to you in this first edition of “The Herald”.
Detailed instructions about the use of the Coat of Arms will be available from H.E. Grand Marshall Roberto
Volpe, E-mail: [email protected]
7
The Crown of The OrderThe Crown of The OrderThe Crown of The OrderThe Crown of The Order Recently the Arms of The Order were re-drawn by a heraldic artist based on the instructions of the Petit Conseil at its meeting in April 2008. The revised drawings are now the only ones approved for use internationally when these Arms of The Order are used. Errors from the past were corrected - particularly the Crown of The Order and its detailing. The Cap of Estate within the Crown should be Black - representative of the Benedictine Order from our history in the 1200s. This colour also shows through under the headband of the Crown. The gold Crown itself is not decorated with precious stones but with raised embellishments of the actual gold.
The Crown itself still exists in the care of a Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The Palace Museum ( Palovsky ), here shown on a stamp from 1986
8
The Charity Programme of the Order focussed on
financial support to institutions in Malta taking
care of sick and poor elderly people and orphans
was initiated after the P.C. meeting in our World
Headquarters in Valetta, Malta – April 2008.
The funds were first of all raised by the Grand Pri-
ory of Belgium. Donations also came from the
units in Malta, Italy, Ireland, Denmark, Finland and
Canada. Substantial support was given by the Pri-
ory of Deutschschweitz.
H.E. Grand Master Michel Bohé assisted by H.E.
Grand Commander Paul Borg handed over 16.350
Euro in different portions to the representatives
from three institutions.
The Charity Programme of the Order
The Malta Concordat, April 2008.
Parallel to the ordinary meeting of the Petit Conseil in
Valetta, Malta, April 2008 a group of highly compe-
tent representatives from the OSJ / ”Dacia”, Denmark
and from our Order convened to create a Concordat
of mutual recognition and goodwill.
This concordat is meant to be the first step towards
closer connections and corporation concerning hu-
manitarian activities, information and administrative
matters.
Thanks to open minds and a very positive approach,
the concordat was ready to be signed just after the
Petit Conseil meeting. The two delegations negotiat-
ing the concordat counted 3 dignitars from each side.
The opening of the negotiations was witnessed by
H.E. Grand Commander Paul Borg and by H. E.
Grand Councillor Thorkild Hagn-Meincke.
The document has now been signed by H.E. Grand
Master Ivar Castenschiold, OSJ / Dacia, and by our
Lt. Grand Master H.E. Michel Bohé
9
Local Events.
Italy: The Italien Priory
Investiture May 2008
4 prelates,
1 Dame and
12 Knights
were invested.
Malta: The Russian Grand Priory
Investiture June 2008
Belgium: The Priory of the Low Lands
Commandery of Loon
Investiture June 2008
Denmark: The Nordic Priory
The Commandery of Denmark
Investiture September 2008
1 Prelate
