History

The East–West Schism, also the Great Schism of 1054.

On July 16, 1054, Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Cerularius was excommunicated by Pope Leo IX, starting the “Great Schism” that created the two largest denominations in Christianity – the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox faiths.

Forty one years later, well into the Great Schism, in 1095, Pope Urban II proclaimed the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont. He encouraged cleverly  thought out military support for Byzantine Emperor Alexios I against the Seljuk Turks and an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Volunteers across western, central Europe, and the Middle East join the crusade for various reasons, which included the prospect of mass ascension into Heaven at Jerusalem, satisfying feudal obligations, opportunities for renown, and economic and political advantage. Initial successes established four Crusader states in the Near East: the County of Edessa; the Principality of Antioch; the Kingdom of Jerusalem; and the County of Tripoli. 

The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, also known as the Leper Brothers of Jerusalem or simply as Lazarists, was founded during or maybe even before 1060-1119 by christian monastic brothers of Byzantine, Syrian, Georgian and Armenian faith at a leper hospital in Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem, whose care became its original purpose, named after their patron saint, Lazarus. The Order was recognized by King Fulk of Jerusalem in 1142, but it wasn’t until 1255 that the Order received canonical recognition under the rule of Saint Augustine in the Papal bull Cum a Nobis Petitur from Pope Alexander IV. Although the work of the Order center mostly around caring for those afflicted with leprosy, the knights of the Order of Saint Lazarus notably fought in the Battle of La Forbie in 1244 and in the Defense of Acre in 1291. The titular seat was successively situated at Jerusalem, Saint-Jean-d’Acre.

In 1489, Pope Innocent VIII attempted to merge the order and its land holdings with the Chatholic Order of Saint John. This was resisted by the larger part of the jurisdictions of the Order of Saint Lazarus including those in France, Southern Italy, Hungary, Switzerland, and England. The Catholic Order of Saint John only managed to appropriate the Lazarus holdings in Germany. From this point on many Priories, Commanderies and Preceptories operated independently, especially those outside the Catholic Church Jurisdiction.

In 1572, the Order of Saint Lazarus in Italy was merged with the Order of Saint Maurice under the Royal House of Savoy to form the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, which still exists until today, widely recognised as a dynastic successor of the Italian branch. This merger however excluded the holding in the southern part of Italy, then forming part of the Spanish realm. These were transformed into ecclesiastical benefices. The Duke of Savoy only managed to gain control of those benefices sited in the duchy of Savoy.

In 1608, King Henry IV of France, with the approval of the Holy See, linked the French section administratively to the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel to form the Royal Military and Hospitaller Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem united. This branch became closely linked to the Royal Crown during the 18th century with the serving grand masters then being members of the Royal family. It suffered the consequences of the French Revolution, and went into exile along with its grand master Louis-Stanislas-Xavier, Comte (count) de Provence, king-in-exile Louis XVIII. It formally lost its Royal protection in 1830 and then ceased to remain listed as of royal protection in the French Royal Almanac.

The Order of Saint Lazarus objectives, especially those carried out by the Grand Priory of Carpathia, are not about distributing used clothing, or acting as “a promotional agency” for various commercial medical products to Third World countries under the heading of “charity”, but to act responsible and in line with our initial objectives. Since our 11th century conception in Jerusalem, apart from military service, we provide medical services in War Against Leprosy, and together with other remaining crusading Orders, such as The Order of St. John are the only Christian chivalric service organizations that remain true to their original objectives.

NOTE: The term Third World was originally coined in times of the Cold War to distinguish those nations that are neither aligned with the West (NATO) nor with the East, the Communist bloc. Today the term is often used to describe the developing countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania.

Regardless of the above statement, pertaining to the Order’s main objectives, we also believe that there is nothing wrong with any individual Jurisdiction of being involved with various local charitable work and social community programs, such us youth crime prevention, first aid training, search and rescue, ambulance services, elderly care, or any other meaningful programs, however, all of these activities should be secondary to Saint Lazarus’ main objective. The Order was, and it always should be about individual member’s commitment to support the War Against Leprosy.

The membership in all Constitutional Jurisdictions of Carpathia is by invitation only. This is why.

A brief introduction to the Carpathian Grand Priory and the Hereditary Commandery of Abaújvár of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem (OSLJ) (Slovak language)

The Resurrection of the Order of Saint Lazarus, or the Slippery Road to the French Throne? (Slovak language)