COMMANDERY OF SLOVAKIA – SLOVENSKÁ KOMENDA

Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem

(OSLJ)

BROTHERHOOD OF SAINT LAZARUS OF JERUSALEM IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

INTRODUCTION

In 1984, during a meeting of the autonomous jurisdictions of the Order of Saint Lazarus in Washington, DC, USA, discussions were held on the necessary reforms in the Order and possibly also on the conditions of a potential unification. At the suggestion of several of the highest executive members of the Order, His Eminence Roman Catholic Cardinal Silvio Oddi and HB Maximos V. Hakim, Patriarch of Antioch, All the East, Alexandria and Jerusalem of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, supported the establishment of a Slovak jurisdiction of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem in exile. The administrative center for the Slovak jurisdiction became the Hereditary Commandery of the Holy Trinity of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem in Pictou, Nova Scotia, Canada, under the supervision of Captain Richard Patrick Ming Sweeney of Bolger’s Park, GCLJ, OL (Officer of the Order of the Principality of Lippe), a direct descendant of the old Irish – Scottish clan Niall / MacNeil (October 29, 1922 – November 11, 2015), a former officer of the Royal Canadian Navy and a distinguished veteran of World War II. See : History of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem.

On June 12, 1991, for the first time after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, the first organization of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem was established in the Slovak Republic in the form of a charitable association under the name Hospitaller Service of Saint Lazarus. The representative of the organization in Slovakia is Jana Turcsányi DLJ-J, DMLJ (Turcsányi von Turcsány, surname Divék).

In 1993-1994, the first IGCO groups from Slovakia and Poland received Instructor Certification from “St. John Ambulance ” in Canada, which is a subsidiary organization of the Royal Order of St. John of Jerusalem , of which Col. Andrew T. Adam von Rhedey is a member.

In 1994, a nationwide initiative was launched in Slovakia, which over seven years provided first aid training and crime prevention programs to more than 420,000 young individuals.

On September 9, 2000, the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic granted the Order of Saint Lazarus in Slovakia pursuant to: § 5, paragraph 1 of Act No. 71/1967 Coll. on the conditions of activity of an organization with an international element and § 32 in conjunction with § 46 on administrative procedure and with the consent of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic pursuant to: § 3, paragraph 1 of Act No. 116/1985 on the conditions of activity of an organization… Confirmation that the International Green Cross Organization is authorized… -to establish a branch and carry out activities in the territory of the Slovak Republic as an organization with an international element,… The confirmation was issued to Mrs. Jane Turcsányi representing her husband Col. Andrew T. Adam von Rhedey, who at that time was also active in South and Central America in addition to Canada.

On July 23, 2024, the activities of the Association of Members of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem in the Slovak Republic were officially launched.

Schism 2004 – 2008

In 2008, Abbot Dom Klaus Dieter Schlapps-Pogány OPR, EGCLJ-J became the chief spiritual director of the Carpathian Grand Priory of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem and the Director of Humanitarian Affairs for Africa. Abbot Dom Klaus Dieter Schlapp-Pogány was the abbot general of the Order of Port Royal, Abbey of St. Severin in Kaufbeuren, Bavaria, which is part of the Old Catholic Church in Germany. Dom Klaus left us forever on Sunday, January 20, 2013. His wish was fulfilled, he was buried with the highest honors in the main cemetery in Abaújvár.

Since 2008, Dipl.-Kfm. Armin Ziegler KCLJ-J, KGEG has been one of the most important members of the Carpathian Grand Priory. Without his financial support for the Abaújvár project and the development of the Grand Priory, the process would not have been realized. Even during the economic crisis caused by COVID-19, he remained a loyal and dedicated supporter of the Carpathian Grand Priory of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem. As a member of the Supreme Council, he is responsible for overseeing financial matters related to the management of the property.

Since 1990, the Carpathian Grand Priory has had many exceptional and loyal supporters and well-wishers. Let us mention at least a few: Mgr. Jozef Belický CLJ, Mayor of Šaľa; Ing. Milan Gejdoš CMLJ, former Chief of the City Police in Liptovský Mikuláš and Head of the IGCO First Aid Program; Dušan Halahija, BMLJ, former Deputy Chief of the City Police in Liptovský Mikuláš; Ing. František Slabý – former Chief of the City Police in Čadca – who devoted a large part of his energy to supporting youth crime prevention programs over the course of 35 years; former Chief of the City Police in Skalica Ferdinad Tokoš CMLJ, former Deputy Chief Ján Komjathy CMLJ of the City Police in Šala; former Chief Pavol Olšiak SMLJ – City Police in Fiľakovo; former Chief Milan Vasiliak GMLJ (+2024) City Police in Senica; Ing. Anton Pišta CMLJ, former Chief of the City Police in Prievidza, former Chief of the City Police in Zvolen Igor Kluka (+ October 3, 2020) and many others, including hundreds of young volunteers and supporters of IGCO programs from all over Slovakia.

Brigadier General Ronald S. Mangum, GCLJ(J) – Ret. US Army Special Forces was the most senior military advisor to the Phoenix program. His commitment remains invaluable.

The future of IGCO

To this day, the order’s goal is to provide support to medical facilities, especially those that provide treatment and care for lepers, as well as to support and defend the Christian faith and the principles of Christian chivalry.

  • The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem is open to men and women of all Christian denominations and operates as a Confraternal knightly order.
  • The executive (statutory) branch of the Order consists of the Knights of Justice and the Knights and Dames of Obedience.
  • Knights and ladies of Magistral Grace may serve in administrative positions of the Order.
  • Jurisdictions are a decentralized community that acts in a coordinated manner under the supervision of a Grand Prior.

The legal protection of OSLJ is guaranteed by freedom of association, enshrined in Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights; international law – including Articles 20 and 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; and the Bill of Rights of the United States of America and the Constitution of the Slovak Republic.

Cardinal Silvio Angelo Pio Oddi

(November 14, 1910 – June 29, 2001)

Maximos V Hakim

Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Alexandria and Jerusalem
of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church

Prof. Michal Lacko SJ

Jesuit Order (SJ)

* January 19, 1920, Krásna nad Hornádom, today part of Košice – † March 21, 1982, Rome, buried in Košice

A lifelong family friend and my mentor during my time in Rome

After high school studies in Košice (1930-1938), he joined the Society of Jesus. He completed his novitiate and philosophical studies in Zagreb (1938-1942), and was a master in Ružomberok for two years. In 1945, he went to Rome for theological studies; he studied for four years at the Pontifical Gregorian University and at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Rome La Sapienza. In 1950-1954, he completed higher studies at the Pontifical Oriental Institute (PIO), and on May 6, 1948, he received priestly ordination in the Byzantine rite at the Pontifical College Russicum.

He completed his third probation in Belgium at the Institute of St. Robert Bellarmine in Wempion. In 1949 he returned to Rome again and studied the history of the Eastern Church, continued to study the history of the universal Church for two years and on July 8, 1953 he defended his doctoral thesis at the University of La Sapienza entitled The Popes and Great Moravia in the 9th Century in the Light of the Documents of the Papal Curia, on February 25, 1955 he defended his doctorate at the Gregorian University in Rome based on his dissertation The Uzhhorod Union of the Carpathian Ruthenians with the Catholic Church. In 1955 he began lecturing at the Pontifical Oriental Institute and became a professor of Balkan Church History. He also lectured at the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Pontifical Institute for the Formation of Religious Sisters Regina Mundi in Rome, and the Marianum Faculty of Theology in Rome. He was a guest in Cagliari, Sardinia, the University of San Francisco, the John XXIII Center in New York, and the University of Cambridge. He took his final religious vows on August 15, 1955.

He worked in the scientific, pedagogical and national-cultural fields. For Slovak Jesuits abroad, he published the periodical Nuntia dispersorum viceprovinciae Slovakiae, a total of 38 issues were published. When the Greek Catholic magazine Mária ceased publication in Canada, he published the Greek Catholic Circular, in which he reported on events in the Church, especially on Eastern issues, a total of nineteen issues were published. The series of Slovak Studies collections is of great value in scientific circles. These were foreign-language collections in which he published studies by Slovak authors, and he edited nineteen volumes. They were published precisely thanks to his tireless activity in this field, but also thanks to his care for the financial security of the press. He had at least one study in almost every collection. He wrote several books: Sv. Cyril and Methodius (1963, also in English and Italian versions), Unio Užhorodensis Ruthenorum Carpathicorum cum Ecclesia Catholica (Užhorod Union, in Latin and English versions, 1955, also abbreviated in Slovak and German), Synodus episcoporum ritus byzantini Catholicorum ex antiqua Hungaria Vindobonae a. 1773 celebrata (Synod of Greek Catholic bishops from the former Hungary held in Vienna in 1773, 1975), The Popes and Great Moravia in the Light of Roman Documents (1972), and the papal official publication on the Eastern churches Oriente Cattolico. Cenni storici e statistiche (Catholic East. Historical and Statistical Overview, 1962). He compiled two volumes of Slovak Bibliography Abroad I-II (Slovenská bibliografia v zahraniční, 1967, 1977). He is the author of several scientific works, many popular articles, encyclopedic entries and reviews. In addition, he edited several book publications for printing. He was a personality well known to Popes John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II. He also worked in the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, was a consultant to the preparatory commission for the Eastern Churches at the Second Vatican Council. He participated in many scientific conferences and international congresses.

He was a co-founder of the Slovak Institute of St. Cyril and Methodius in Rome (today the Papal Institute). He helped Slovak emigrants in Rome in every way. Above all, he lived for Greek Catholics at home and abroad, whom he supported spiritually and illegally by shipping books to Slovakia. Through his journalistic activity, he informed the general public in many articles about the fate of Slovak Greek Catholics, as well as the Holy See, where he achieved for them the status they deserve. Thus, he brought to the attention of the worldwide Catholic Church that group of Slovak believers of the Byzantine-Slavic rite, who had suffered so much injustice, not only from the unfriendly communist regime, but also from some church circles or from national groups.

He had a significant share in the establishment of the Slovak Greek Catholic bishopric in Canada. He also did a lot in the field of preparing the process of beatification of the religious sister of Slovak origin Miriam Terézia Demjanovičová. He published many scripts for students. He published scientific works, popular articles, encyclopedic entries and book reviews in 123 various publications and magazines. His scientific and publishing activities include 1731 bibliographical units. He is buried in the St. Rosalie cemetery in Košice.

In 2020, a collection of works entitled Prof. Michal Lacko SJ: 100 years since his birth was compiled as an outcome of a colloquium held on January 18 in Košice. The collection was presented by Archbishop Cyril Vasiľ SJ, Apostolic Administrator of the Košice Eparchy, and Dr. Daniel Černý, Director of the Slovak Historical Institute in Rome.

The seat of the Slovak Command in exile for several years.


Hereditary Commandery of the Most Holy Trinity of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, Pictou, Nova Scotia, Canada