"He was expected to take part in a ceremony at which he would be appointed Protector of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem."
That doesn't really narrow it down! There are, I think, at least three? But as far as I know none of them have an obvious vacancy in this office?
It's complex, but yes, the Military Hospitaller Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem is a legit stand alone Roman Catholic Order, originally founded by crusaders to care for lepers. There are two Roman Catholic military hospitaller orders (Hospitaller meaning they care for the sick) functioning today: The Order of Malta and the Order of St Lazarus. To tell them apart, the malta cross is white cross on red background, and the Lazarus cross is green cross on white background. As for the Order of Malta, there are imposter/mimick orders and other Protestant orders in England, Sweden and Netherlands, for example. Although these Protestant "orders" are not officially part of the Roman Catholic Church, they have varying degreee of acceptance by the true Roman Catholic-founded Order of Malta of St John of Jerusalem and share in the work of caring for the poor and sick. Again, the history of these orders is complex as they are both so ancient.
The complexity is extreme. The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem was founded in 1910 under the patronage of the Melkite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch in the tradition of the crusader order of the same name. It is an ecumenical order that has Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant members.
The crusader order is much reduced and now is a knighthood given by the House of Savoy, the former Italian royal dynasty.
The Order of St. John of Jerusalem and Malta cooperates with the other "St. John orders". The Protestant order originated with the Bailiwick of Brunswick of the Knights of Malta which accepted the Reformation. Obviously from a Catholic standpoint that was a rupture, while Protestants consider it a continuation. Much more "juicy" is the British Knight of St. John, whose origins are totally illegitimate. It was started by a swindler selling crusader knighthoods in England for which many prominent Englishmen fell for. So many important people got taken that to avoid scandal, Queen Vicotria took control of the knighthood and legitimatized it as a British Knighthood. It is now ecumenical and has Catholic and Orthodox members.
Previous Pillar articles have mentioned that the Church in Venezuela plays a rather important role in transitions. Perhaps this is the Maduro government keeping potential interlocutors at home in case the Americans decide to go in. Of course, this also serves as a high value hostage and a way to keep government critics under surveillance. Potentially many layers to this.
It's sometimes easy to forget that even now, heroism is necessary as a witness to the faith. For every Becciu, there is a Porras, and I will keep the Church in Venezuela in my prayers.
In our comfy parish we named a room after St. Oscar Romero, but we apparently haven’t heard of Nicaragua or Venezuela. At least Fr. Chardonnay Contextualization hasn’t mentioned them.
In our not so comfy parish, we have an altar to St. Oscar. The parish is well aware our Nicaraguan and Venezuelan parishioners are facing deportation by the current Administration which seeks to take away their legal immigrant status despite the continued brutality of the regimes there.
Excellent reporting Edgar, your expertise on the Church, both in Venezuela and the Vatican, will be extremely useful in the complicated days ahead for Venezuela.
Keep up the solid work!
And may the Virgen de Guadalupe, on her Feast day today, protect our beloved Venezuela and its wonderful people, the overwhelming majority which are honest, hard working, and God fearing people of good will.
"He was expected to take part in a ceremony at which he would be appointed Protector of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem."
That doesn't really narrow it down! There are, I think, at least three? But as far as I know none of them have an obvious vacancy in this office?
It's complex, but yes, the Military Hospitaller Order of St Lazarus of Jerusalem is a legit stand alone Roman Catholic Order, originally founded by crusaders to care for lepers. There are two Roman Catholic military hospitaller orders (Hospitaller meaning they care for the sick) functioning today: The Order of Malta and the Order of St Lazarus. To tell them apart, the malta cross is white cross on red background, and the Lazarus cross is green cross on white background. As for the Order of Malta, there are imposter/mimick orders and other Protestant orders in England, Sweden and Netherlands, for example. Although these Protestant "orders" are not officially part of the Roman Catholic Church, they have varying degreee of acceptance by the true Roman Catholic-founded Order of Malta of St John of Jerusalem and share in the work of caring for the poor and sick. Again, the history of these orders is complex as they are both so ancient.
The complexity is extreme. The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem was founded in 1910 under the patronage of the Melkite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch in the tradition of the crusader order of the same name. It is an ecumenical order that has Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant members.
The crusader order is much reduced and now is a knighthood given by the House of Savoy, the former Italian royal dynasty.
The Order of St. John of Jerusalem and Malta cooperates with the other "St. John orders". The Protestant order originated with the Bailiwick of Brunswick of the Knights of Malta which accepted the Reformation. Obviously from a Catholic standpoint that was a rupture, while Protestants consider it a continuation. Much more "juicy" is the British Knight of St. John, whose origins are totally illegitimate. It was started by a swindler selling crusader knighthoods in England for which many prominent Englishmen fell for. So many important people got taken that to avoid scandal, Queen Vicotria took control of the knighthood and legitimatized it as a British Knighthood. It is now ecumenical and has Catholic and Orthodox members.
"The cardinal was informed that he has been banned from leaving the country."
Nothing says your country is governed by the best people who truly care for the country's well-being better than prohibiting people from leaving it.
Way to go Sean Penn and others who actively campaigned for this a couple of decades ago.
Previous Pillar articles have mentioned that the Church in Venezuela plays a rather important role in transitions. Perhaps this is the Maduro government keeping potential interlocutors at home in case the Americans decide to go in. Of course, this also serves as a high value hostage and a way to keep government critics under surveillance. Potentially many layers to this.
Please, Lord, peace and stability for this nation and justice and provision for its people. Do not forget them in their suffering.
It's sometimes easy to forget that even now, heroism is necessary as a witness to the faith. For every Becciu, there is a Porras, and I will keep the Church in Venezuela in my prayers.
In our comfy parish we named a room after St. Oscar Romero, but we apparently haven’t heard of Nicaragua or Venezuela. At least Fr. Chardonnay Contextualization hasn’t mentioned them.
In our not so comfy parish, we have an altar to St. Oscar. The parish is well aware our Nicaraguan and Venezuelan parishioners are facing deportation by the current Administration which seeks to take away their legal immigrant status despite the continued brutality of the regimes there.
Excellent reporting Edgar, your expertise on the Church, both in Venezuela and the Vatican, will be extremely useful in the complicated days ahead for Venezuela.
Keep up the solid work!
And may the Virgen de Guadalupe, on her Feast day today, protect our beloved Venezuela and its wonderful people, the overwhelming majority which are honest, hard working, and God fearing people of good will.