Solemn Vigil of Investiture 2013

Members gathered at the church of St Margaret Lothbury in the City of London.

The Grand Prior of Great Britain, His Excellency the Much Honoured Baron of Fetternear, MBE, GCLJ, GCMLJ, JP, welcomed members of the noble Order, Companions, their families and guests in London on the weekend of July 13th - 14th for the Annual Investiture of new members and the granting of promotions.

       

This year the Grand Priory was honoured to be joined by the Grand Master Emeritus, His Royal Highness Prince Charles-Philippe d’Orléans, Duc D’Anjou. 

On Friday we were in the heart of the City of London beside the Bank of England. The Vigil Service took place in the Church of St Margaret, Lothbury, built by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire. 

The interior of the church of St Margaret of Antioch in Lothbury,

 the street that runs along the north side of the Bank of England. 

There has been a church here since the 12th Century. In later centuries the parish was augmented by the incorporation of seven adjacent parishes, whose churches were lost through the Great Fire, the Second World War and the expansion of City institutions. The parish is now officially that of ‘St Margaret Lothbury and St Stephen, Coleman Street, with St Christopher-le-Stocks, St Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange, St Olave Old Jewry, St Martin Pomeroy, St Mildred Poultry and St Mary Colechurch.’

The original church was rebuilt in 1440 at the expense of Robert Large, that year’s Lord Mayor, but destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. The current church designed by Sir Christopher Wren was completed in 1692. The tower by Robert Hooke was finished in 1700.

Among the noteworthy furnishings made for St Margaret’s are the high altar reredos and the pulpit.  Of the subsequent additions to the church the most splendid is the choir screen, one of only two in a Wren church, erected originally in the Church of All Hallows the Great, Thames St. in 1683-84 and moved to St Margaret’s in 1894 when that church was demolished. The pulpit sounding board is also from All Hallows.

 The Chaplain General addressing Postulants - including this year new members,
 new Esquires and transfers from other Green Cross Organisations.

 H.R.H. Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orléans, Duc d'Anjou, Grand Master Emeritus 
& the Grand Prior of Great Britain, H.E. the Much Honoured Baron of Fetternear.

Members gathering to process in.

 A rather serious-looking Chaplain General!

 The Chancellor addresses the Postulants.

Following the Vigil the Grand Prior hosted a Banquet in honour of the Prince in the Private Dining Room of the Mercer, a converted Bank, a short walk from the Church. 

£10,000 for SUROL

The Grand Prior presents a cheque for £10,000 to
Mr Pradeep Amirthanayagam, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of SUROL

Recently, Mr Pradeep Amirthanayagam, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of SUROL, the Sri Lankan Leprosy Charity which the Grand Priory supports, was in Britain visiting family and was able spend some time with the Grand Prior and members of the Order. We were very happy to have the opportunity of presenting him with a cheque for SUROL for £10,000. The Grand Priory raised the money through various events over the last year.

Since the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka SUROL has discovered a whole new clientèle of those suffering from leprosy in the Tamil area that was formerly inaccessible to them whom they are now trying to assist. Their outreach work has effectively doubled.
Click here for more information about the vital work of SUROL

Mr Pradeep Amirthanayagam 

Chapter Meeting 2013

On Saturday May 11th the Grand Priory held its annual Chapter Meeting in the Church of St Margaret Lothbury in the City of London.

St Margaret Lothbury

Members gathering

The Grand Prior & the Grand Treasurer

In the evening the Grand Prior hosted a Chapter Dinner in the Royal Air Force Club in Piccadilly for members & guests. After Dinner Major Kevin Tuhey, KLJ, spoke powerfully of the sacrifices made by the young airmen of the RAF during the Second World War. This was especially poignant as we were meeting the RAF Club.

The Royal Air Force Club, Piccadilly.

Dame Denese Carberry, DCLJ, & Mr Max Carberry

Major Tuhey, KLJ.

The Grand Priory proposing a toast to the Order

After dinner members & guests repaired to the Cowdray Room for a convivial 'Stirrup Cup'.

Colonel Julian Tyson-Woodcock, KLJ

The Grand Priory warmly congratulates Colonel Julian Tyson-Woodcock, KLJ, upon his recent appointment as

Colonel Haberdashers’ Schools Combined Cadet Force 

and also his appointment as 

Honorary Colonel Haberdashers’ Aske’s School Combined Cadet Force.

Colonel Tyson-Woodcock is a much respected member of the Order and served for several years on the Grand Priory Council as Marshall. He is presently organising a Charity Reception & Dinner at the RAF Club, Piccadilly, London, on July 14th. If you wish to attend or would like more information about this event please email the Secretary:osljgb@gmail.com

More information on the Schools can be found at: www.haaf.org.uk/

Rev Fr Damian McCaughan, ChLJ

Fr Damian outside St Mary's on the Hill

Fr Damian McCaughan, a Chaplain of the Order of St Lazarus and a member of the Grand Priory of Great Britain was in the news last week when his Church was the target of sectarian violence. An explosive device described by police as "crude, but viable" was planted outside St Mary’s On The Hill Church in Glengormley, County Antrim, on Saturday March 2nd.

Police closed the Road and around 20 residents living nearby had to leave their homes while Army bomb experts examined the device for almost four hours. It was later removed for forensic examination.

 Father Damian told the Newtownabbey Times:

 “Police had received a call to say there was a device but the information provided was very vague and they were not even sure it was at our church, so we were concerned that something might be somewhere, but not found. It was found close to the main doors of the church and an area around the church had to be evacuated. That caused a lot of upset ,because some of our neighbours are elderly or disabled and there was a great deal of upheaval.”

 He went on: “It’s concerning that this would happen at a church, a place that is sacred and it’s surprising that someone would feel that way towards us. We’re aware that there have been other churches targeted in recent weeks and it is very concerning for us and people are anxious. For us, we have always been very community relations-focused and enjoy good relations with other churches and in the community and we would hope that good work would not be jeopardised by these actions.”

 Fr McCaughan added: “I must commend the police: they were excellent on Saturday night and they looked after us all very well. And we are very grateful to everyone who has offered their support and wished us well. That support is very comforting.”

This was the third time within the past five weeks that a suspect device has been left at a Catholic church in Newtownabbey.

At the beginning of February two pipe bomb type devices were found in the grounds of Sacred Heart Church, Ballyclare, and a hoax device was left at St Mary’s Star of the Sea Church in Whitehouse.

Newtownabbey Mayor, Alderman Victor Robinson added: “As I have said before, this is an attack on our community, our elected representatives and now our places of worship. “Anyone with relevant information, I would urge them to get in touch with the PSNI. No right-thinking person could support these attacks.”

Ulster Television also reported on the incident:

Solemn Requiem Mass for the late Mgr Boz, Grand Prior Spiritual

The Grand Prior of Great Britain, His Excellency the Baron of Fetternear, his Council, & other members of the Grand Priory came together last Saturday, 9th March, for a sung requiem in the Usus Antiquior  offered for the repose of the soul of Mgr Pierre Boz, the Grand Prior Spiritual of the Order of St Lazarus.  

Mgr Pierre Boz, Grand Prior Spiritual, Ecclesiastical Grand Cross, Patriarcal Exarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church,  Officer of the légion d'Honneur, died on February 15th in Paris at the age of 87.

Mgr Boz's family came from Trieste. This city lies on the Adriatic Sea between East and West and sums his whole life up. As a young White Father, he arrived in Algeria where he quickly became the assistant of Mgr Lacaste, Bishop of Oran. During the Second World War he volunteered, becoming Chaplain of the 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment. In 1962 he became the representative of Cardinal Feltin.

In 1965. Influenced by his family's Byzantine culture he put himself under the authority of the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Maximos IV for whom he became the Patriarchal Exarch for France. The same year he was received as Chaplain of the Order of Saint Lazarus, the Patriarch being Protector of the Order.

 Mgr Boz was an academic deeply rooted in this North African culture and recognised by his peers for the global vision of his work. He was an  Arabic and Islamic scholar, very much attached to the Berber community.  Mgr Boz was attached to the diocese of Paris in the framework of the "pastorale des migrants" (An association giving spiritual  help to migrant people).

Chaplain of Saint Lazarus since 1965 he produced for several years a journal of the Order dedicated to ecumenism. He continuously accompanied the Members of the Grand Priory of France in their life of faith. Grand Prior Spiritual of the Order since 2010 he maintained the link with the Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarchate, thus preserving the memory of the protectorate of the Patriarchs, who carried out this task in the interim from 1841 to 2004.

Steeped in the spirituality of Saint Lazarus, Mgr Boz was untiring as Grand Prior Spiritual in his role of maintaining and teaching the spiritual life of the Order, especially through his "letters of Unity", the last issue of which has just been published. He always sought to pass his legacy down to us.   May the Lord grant him eternal rest in His heavenly Kingdom.

Mgr Boz and Lt Col Jourdain at the Investiture in 2011

Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orléans

The Grand Priory of Great Britain

wishes HRH Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orleans

a very Happy Birthday.

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