Malta. 1.Edition. Sept nr. 1

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1 The Herald OSJ - Malta 1.Edition. Sept nr. 1 The Order of St. John of Jerusalem Knights Hospitaller Under The Constitution given by HM King Peter II of Yugoslavia Malta World Headquarters: St. Johns Street 223 Valletta Malta The Petit Conseil Officers: Grand Commander Paul Borg The Grand Masters chair in the World Headquarters in Valetta, Malta. It is handmade by Italian craftsmen. The wall behind is polished marble. Grand Hospitallar: ad interrim: Jan Bormans Grand Marshall Roberto Volpe Grand Councillor Thorkild Hagn-Meincke

2 Editorial office: Contents: Editors: Thorkild Hagn-Meincke Mette Kaasfeldt Bram Page 3. Page 4. Lt. Grand Master Introduction Petit Conseil Page 5. Vision and Mission Page 6. Coat of Arms 3 editions pr. year Page 7. The Crown of the Order Deadline for next edition: November Foto on the front page: The Headquarters, Malta. The Lt. Grand Master chair. Page 8. Page 9. The Charity Project The Concordat Local events 2

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 Brotherhood 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. 3 Investiture of the newly elected Lt. Gr. Master in the St. Salvator Cathedral in Brussels September Grand Prior Michel Bohé was elected 2007 at the Sovereign Council Meeting held in Brussels.

4 The Grand Councellor Thorkild Hagn-Meincke. 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 Sincerely yours in St. John THM & MKB Introduction of The Herald The Herald is here. May we introduce the newsletter of the Order nr 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 information 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 languages such as German, Scandinavian languages, Italian, French, Flemish and Spanish. The one and absolute condition is a summary in English! We do hope that information, sometimes written in original language, will stimulate the use of The Herald 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, Samuel W. Billich, KGSJ, Toronto, Canada, will be the central contact person collecting news from the American Continent Samuel.Billich@jus.gov.on.ca From Europe Grand Counsellor Thorkild Hagn- Meincke, Denmark, Meincke.skb@mail.dk 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 Please write to us. Send us s with your article attached in Word and/or Adobe and do not forget that photos and graphics are highly appreciated. The Herald 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. 4

5 Vision 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. This statement was approved at the Sovereign Coouncil Meeting in Brussels, Belgium - September

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 accepted 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 demonstrated 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, osj.italia@libero.it 6

7 The 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 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

8 The Charity Programme of the Order The Malta Concordat, April 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 The funds were first of all raised by the Grand Priory of Belgium. Donations also came from the units in Malta, Italy, Ireland, Denmark, Finland and Canada. Substantial support was given by the Priory of Deutschschweitz. H.E. Grand Master Michel Bohé assisted by H.E. Grand Commander Paul Borg handed over Euro in different portions to the representatives from three institutions. Parallel to the ordinary meeting of the Petit Conseil in Valetta, Malta, April 2008 a group of highly competent 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 humanitarian 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 negotiating 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 8

9 Local Events. Italy: The Italien Priory Investiture May 2008 Belgium: The Priory of the Low Lands Commandery of Loon Investiture June prelates, 1 Dame and 12 Knights were invested. Denmark: The Nordic Priory The Commandery of Denmark Investiture September Prelate Malta: The Russian Grand Priory Investiture June