A Brief History of the Order
In 1098, Gerard (Master of a hospital within the walls of Jerusalem) took over the leper hospital outside the north wall (established centuries earlier by St Basil) and this hospital was dedicated to St Lazarus – thus Blessed Gerard is cited as the first Master of the Order of Saint Lazarus.
In 1099, Jerusalem was captured by the crusaders in bloody fighting and then what followed was almost two hundred years of warfare as the Christian states fought for survival against the ousted but aggressive Moslem forces.
Those dedicated to the care and welfare of the Saint Lazarus lepers were purely hospitallers and mostly monks, but with the steady influx into Jerusalem of crusading knights who were contracting the dreaded disease, the character of the Order gradually evolved to become military.
In 1150, after the second crusade of King Louis VII of France, the Order of Saint Lazarus began to expand in Europe and particularly in France.
In about 1157, a green cross was adopted as the Order’s badge, green then being the traditional colour for hospital services.
In 1308, following tumultuous times in the East, King Phillip IV of France placed the Order under his protection.
The Order’s military role declined by the 15th Century and the 16th Century found the Order at a low ebb – suppressed at the time by the Reformation.
Then in 1772, as a result of its diminished religious character, the Order of Saint Lazarus was secularised by Pope Clement XIV and although no longer a monastic Order, its religious character was maintained through its chaplains.
By decree on 31 December 1778, the Order’s motto was changed from Dieu et Mon Roi to Atavis et Armis, freely translated as ‘With Compassion and Arms’.
When France took the path of revolution, the Order was illegally suppressed by the French Republic and then followed years of disruption for the Order but which eventually resulted in the Grand Master becoming King Louis XVIII of France in 1814.
About 1837, following further State suppression the Order looked east for protection to the lands of the Order’s origins and the Melkite-Greek Catholic Church
In 2008, the separate Paris and Malta obediences of the Order (following a split in 1969) were success- fully united under His Excellency Don Carlos Gereda de Borbón, Marquis de Almazàn as the 49th Grand Master installed in the presence of the Spiritual Protector of the Order, His Beatitude Gregory III, the Greek Melkite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, of Alexandria and Jerusalem.
A Brief History of the Grand Priory of Australia
The Order under the Magistry of the Duke of Brissac commenced in Australia in November 1979 with the appointment of Alderman Ray Bagdonas as a Commander.
The following year by a Magistral Decree of 15th March 1980 Australia was created a National Delegation with Cmd. Bagdonas appointed as Delegate. His first task was to recruit suitable members which he did in New South Wales throughout 1980.
On 25th May 1981 the Australian Delegation held its first meeting at the Union Club where it was agreed to meet an appeal for assistance from Sister Pat Swan a psychiatric nurse for a day care/activity centre for the mentally ill in the Campbelltown area of Sydney. As a result the Order leased premises in Campbelltown and agreed to provide ongoing funding with the staffing provided by the local Area Health Service. The centre, called St. Lazarus House, was opened by the Mayor of Campbelltown on 1st August 1981. The members in New South Wales continued to meet monthly and further recruitment was carried out. The success of the Campbelltown St. Lazarus House brought a Health Commission request for a similar facility at Bankstown and the Order leased premises and funded this day care centre which was opened on 8th May 1982. Commander Bagdonas represented the Order on the management committees of both houses. The Sydney press and television widely reported on the work of the Order and both St. Lazarus Houses.
The Delegate, realizing that the Delegation to be a truly national body needed membership from other States recruited members to form a sub-delegation in Victoria. The Victorian sub-delegation or branch held its first meeting on 5th December 1982 in Sydney when members attended an Investiture at St. John’s Anglican Church, Gordon, which was the Order’s chapel. Sir Donald Trescowthick KBE CLJ was elected the first president of the Victorian branch. The next branch to be established was Queensland in November 1983 with Cmd. Denis Galligan, QC., the Solicitor General, as its first president. In November 1983 Queensland and Victorian members attended a reunion and investiture at St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral in Sydney. A branch was established in the Australian Capital Territory on 11th May 1984 with the Hon. Justice John Kelly as President. With all state branches meeting regularly recruitment took place for a branch in South Australia which was formed at an inaugural meeting at the Adelaide Club on 9th October 1984 with Cmd. Lewis Barrett OBE, elected branch President. Victoria and Queensland had made no further progress with recruitment, so the Delegate Cmd. Bagdonas resumed a membership drive which placed both branches on a sounder footing. The Order’s new-found strength and national identity was reflected by the attendance of members from all State branches at a National Reunion and Investiture held at Canberra on 15th December 1984.
Recognition for the Order’s strong growth in Australia was given when on the 10th April 1985 by the Magistral Decree No. 85, a Grand Bailiwick covering Australia and the South Pacific region was created. The Delegate Ray Bagdonas, was made the Order’s first knight. The next national reunion was held in Adelaide in February 1987 followed by Melbourne in February 1988 where the newly formed Tasmanian Commandery had its inaugural meeting electing the Hon Ken Lowrie as its first President or Commander. All commanderies meet regularly, usually every two months or so, hold annual general meetings to elect their executive officers while the Grand Bailiwick holds a national chapter and investiture annually. Each Commandery carries out its own humanitarian work, as does the Bailiwick on projects initiated by the National Council and the Grand Bailiff. Thanks to the efforts of its members the Order has made great progress over a short period of time making a positive contribution in aid of the sick or suffering and to the ecumenical Christian ideal.
