FACT FILE
The Sovereign Order of Orthodox Knights Hospitaller Saint John of
Jerusalem (OOSJ), was founded in 1977, as a revival of the Russian Grand
Priory.
The majority of those listed as founding members seem to have been members
of the ex-King Peter Order as led by Prince Sergei Troubetzkoy. The OOSJ
claims to have succeeded the Paris based Russian
Hereditary Commanders' Union which came to an end in 1975. There is no
evidence to verify this claim which according to the document available is
a late claim (early 1990s onward).
Because the OOSJ had, and has in membership genuine Russian Nobles,
a few of whom belonged to the Russian Hereditary Commanders families, this
seems to have justified the claim of this group to be accepted as the suceeding
group to the Paris Group. At least three of the founding members had relatives
in the Paris Group;
• Prince Sergei Belosselsky-Belozersky's father had been a founding
member of the Russian Hereditary Commanders' Union in 1928, and died in 1951
(although Prince Sergei Belosselsky-Belozersky had never been a member of
the Paris Group, but had joined the King Peter Order in USA in the late 1960s
to become for a short period its Lieutenant Grand Master in 1968).
• The main leader of the New York based Group, Count Nicholas Bobrinskoy,
had an older brother who was an Hereditary Commander, and who was a member
of the Paris Group, but had died in 1970. Count Nicholas only became involved
in the world of the St John Orders in 1972, when he joined the Brancovan
Order (an offshoot of the King Peter Order). He then became involved with
the ex-King Peter Order under Prince Sergei Troubetzkoy. Robert Formhals
lists Count Nicholas Bobrinskoy as the Prior of the New York Priory of the
Order led by Prince Sergei Troubetzkoy.
• Prince Sergei Troubetzkoy who claimed to be an Hereditary Commander,
was in fact only a distant cousin of the Prince Troubetzkoy who was entitled
to be the Commander. Prince Sergei did however, have an older brother who
had been a member of the Paris group.
Since November 2004, this 'Order' includes "Union des Commandeurs
et Chevaliers Héréditaires" registered in Alsace amongst others
by Prince Vladimir Bariatinsky copying the historic "Union" of the Russian
Hereditary Commanders group in Paris, begun in 1928.
The reality is that there is no legal succession between the
novum Alsace Union and the original Parisian group of Russian Hereditary
Commanders. Neither is there any legal succession between the OOSJ and the
original Parisian group of Russian Hereditary Commanders. A
fuller history (in planning) will provide more
details. |
