Grand Masters of the Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910)

The Grand Master of the Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910) is the leader of a fraternal order claiming legacy and contingency to the medieval Catholic military order, the Order of Saint Lazarus.

It claims continuity by assertion that during the period 1814 to 1841, the order was under the direction of the Council of Officers with King Louis XVIII (1814-1824) and Charles X (1824-1831) as Protectors of the joint Orders, and was then passed on, evolving into today's list of Grand Masters.

Council of Officers?

The Order lost its Royal Protection in 1831 but, according to some pretensions, continued to function under the direction of the Council of Officers.^[1]

Order	Name	Image	Title	Date installed	Term ended	Term of office	Comments	Notes
	Claude-Louis, Prince de la Châtre		Administrator General de Ordres Royaux, Militaires et Hospitaliers de Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel et de Saint-Lazare de Jérusalem Réunis	1814	1824	9–10 years
	Jean-Louis de Beaumont, Marquis d'Autichamp		President of the Council of Officers de Ordres Royaux, Militaires et Hospitaliers de Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel et de Saint-Lazare de Jérusalem Réunis	1824	1831	6–7 years	Members of the Council of Officers (1831-1841): Father Picot, Comte Vincent Vienot de Vaublanc, Baron de Silvestre.
			Members of the Council of Officers de Ordres Royaux, Militaires et Hospitaliers de Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel et de Saint-Lazare de Jérusalem Réunis	1831	1841	9–10 years	Members of the Council of Officers: Father Picot, Comte Vincent Vienot de Vaublanc, Baron de Silvestre.

Modern Order of Saint Lazarus

The period following the loss of Temporal Protection of the French Royal Family in 1831 until 1910 is controversial. Some claim that the order did not survive, whereas some claim the period is at best shrouded in mystery since no contemporary documentation seems to have survived.

Modern tradition of the Order of Saint Lazarus (statuted 1910) maintains that, after 1841, the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchs assumed the leadership of the Order, as Hospitaller Nobles of St. Lazarus.^[2]

Order	Name	Image	Title	Date installed	Term ended	Term of office	Comments	Notes
	Patriarch Maximos III Mazloum		Administrator General of the Order of the Hospitallers of St Lazarus	1841	1855	13–14 years
	Patriarch Clement Bahous			1856	1864	7–8 years
	Patriarch Gregorios II Youssef-Sayour			1864	1898	33–34 years
	Patriarch Peter IV Geraigiri			1898	1902	3–4 years
	Patriarch Cyril VIII Geha			1902	1910	7–8 years
			Protector of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem	1910	1916	5–6 years	In 1910, new statutes were promulgated whereby the management was assumed by the Council of Officers, while the Melkite Patriarch assumed the position of Protector. In 1935, a new Grand Master was appointed.	[3]
	Patriarch Dimitrios I Cadi			1919	1925	5–6 years
	Patriarch Cyril IX Moghabghab			1925	1930	4–5 years
44	Francisco de Borbón y de la Torre		Grande Mastré de Orden militar y hospitalaria de San Lázaro de Jerusalén	1930	1952	21–22 years	Grand Bailiff of Spain, nominated as Lieutenant General of the Grand Magistry in 1930, then elected as Grand Master in 1935.
45	Francisco de Borbón y Borbón			1952	1967	14–15 years	Son and Coadjutor of Francisco de Paula. Nominated as Lieutenant General of the Grand Magistry, then elected as Grand Master in 1956.
46	Prince Charles-Philippe de Bourbon-Orléans, Duc d’Alençon, Vendôme et Nemours, First Prince of the Blood of France		Grand Master of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem	1967	1970	2–3 years	Also served as Bailiff of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
In 1969, internal strife split the Order into two fractions: Malta Obedience and Paris Obedience. Each had its own separate administrators and Grand Masters.

Malta obedience

Order	Name	Image	Title	Date installed	Term ended	Term of office	Comments	Notes
47	Francisco de Borbón y Borbón		Grand Master of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem in Malta	1973	1995	21–22 years	Also served as Bailiff of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
48	Francisco de Borbón y Escasany		Grand Master of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem in Malta	1996	2008	11–12 years	Son of Francisco Enrique - appointed Grand Master Emeritus in 2008.

Paris obedience

Order	Name	Image	Title	Date installed	Term ended	Term of office	Comments	Notes
47	Pierre de Cossé, 12th Duke of Brissac		Grand Master of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem in Paris	1969	1986	16–17 years	Previously served as Administrator General (1956-1969).
48	François de Cossé, 13th Duke of Brissac		Grand Master Emeritus of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem in Paris	1986	2006	19–20 years	Son of Pierre de Cossé.
In 2004, strife within the Paris Obedience led to a further split that was to assume the name of the Orléans Obedience. In 2008, the old Malta and Paris Obediences reunited under a new Grand Master, with the previous grand masters being appointed emeriti. The Melkite Patriarch H.B. Gregorius III Laham remains the Spiritual Protector of the Order.

Malta and Paris obedience

Order	Name	Image	Title	Date installed	Term ended	Term of office	Comments	Notes
49	Don Carlos Gereda y de Bórbon		Grand Master of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem in Malta	2008	present	7–8 years	He took the solemn oath in Manchester Cathedral, England.	[4][5]

Orleáns obedience

Order	Name	Image	Title	Date installed	Term ended	Term of office	Comments	Notes
49	Prince Charles-Philippe d’Orléans, Duc d’Anjou		Grand Master of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem in Orleáns	2004	2010	5–6 years	Re-established the temporal protection of the Head of the Royal House of France. Now Grand Master Emeritus.	[5][6]
50	Jan Count Dobrzensky z Dobrzenic			2010	present	5–6 years		[6]

References

1. Almanach Royale for 1830.
2. Patriarch Gregory III Laham, H.B. (27 May 2012). Declaration on the Ninth Centenary of the Royal Recognition of the Order St. Lazarus of Jerusalem. Kevelaer, Germany.
3. de Jandriac (November 1913). "Les chevaliers Hospitaliers de Saint Lazare de Jerusalem et de Notre Dame de la Merci". Rivista Araldica (in French). XI (11): 679–683.
4. "H.E. Don Carlos Gereda de Borbon, Marquis de Almazan, 49th Grand Master". Structure: Persons: Grand Master. Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
5. "A Brief History of the Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem". The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem (Australia). Retrieved 24 May 2015.
6. "Grand Master". The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem (USA). 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2016.

External links

• Website of the United Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem under the Grand Mastership of H.E. Don Carlos Gereda de Borbon, Marquis de Almazán
• Website of the Orléans obedience of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem under the Grand Mastership of H.E. Jan Dobrzensky z Dobrzenic
• Research Library maintained by the Office of the Grand Archivist & Historian of the united MHOSLJ This source provides access to the full original cartulary of the Order with original documents, including all the relevant original Papal Bulls, dating back to the 12th century.