Komiteen tiltraadt af  H.K.Ostenfeld- der med C W. v. W -
i 1950-1951-1952 og 1953 fik de officielle Dokämenter
endeligt i Hüs.

HO.

   H. K. Ostenfeld
   Søvej 10 - Birkerød
   Telf. (01) 81-1175
   Danmark

The Committee was joined by H.K.Ostenfeld- who with C W. v. W -
in 1950-1951-1952 and 1953 got the official documents finally gathered in.

HO.

   H. K. Ostenfeld
   Søvej 10 - Birkerød
   Telf. (01) 81-1175
   Denmark

Beretning om
Forholdet til det
russiske Storpriorat
   udarbejdet  af

Den Danske Comité d'Initiative.
   1950
—————

   H. K. Ostenfeld
   Søvej 10 - Birkerød
   Telf. (01) 81-1175
   Danmark

Report on
the relations to the
Russian Grand Priory
   written by

The Danish Committee of Initiative.
   1950
—————

   H. K. Ostenfeld
   Søvej 10 - Birkerød
   Telf. (01) 81-1175
   Denmark

Arbejdet med Oprettelsen af
Malteserordenen i Norden.

Grundlaget lægges til et legalt
Priorat som Bestanddel af det
historisk russiske Storpriorat.

----------------------------------

Fra mine Ungdomsaar har jeg interesseret mig for de geistlige Ridderordener, og som Medlem af den russisk orthodoxe Kirke studerede jeg særlig den Souveraine Malterridderordenes Forhold til Kejser Poul 1. af Russland som 1798 blev valgt til Ordenens Stormester. Efter Kajser Pouls Død existerede den russiske Provins af Ordenen videre og selv efter at Kajser Alexanser 1 - som ikke var Ordenens Stormester og derfor (siden) uden Berretigelse greb ind i den souveræne Orden og indstillede dens Virksomhed i Rusland, existerede den dog videre om end det var en passiv Tilværelse. Nye Medlemmer kunde ikke optages, men de arvelige Komturer muliggjorde Ordenens fortsatte Existens, i Rusland ogsaa efter 1817.  Se nærmere herom i den sidste Redegørelse.
Alt dette fordybede jeg mig i og paa en Rejse til Italien 1921 traf jeg en faderlig Ven, Medlem af det russiske Kejserrigets Raad, Alexander de Wolgine, som oplyste mig om mange Ting vedrørende denne Sag. Hr. de Wolgine havde været Kejserens Minister for den russiske Kirke ( " Procureir supreme de tres Saint Synode de Russie") Da Johanitter-Maleserordenen ogsaa var en religiøs Orden, havde de Wolgine i den Hellige Synodes Arkiver haft rig Lejlighed til at studere de Forhold, der interesserede mig saa meget.

Min Interesse for Malteserordenens russiske Storpriorat holdt sig gennem Aarene og i Sommer 1938 fandt jeg Venner her i Landet, som vilde støtte mig i at komme i Forbindelse med de omtalte Rester af det russiske Storpriorat, for om muligt at faa oprettet et Priorat af Ordenen her i Danmark i fuld legal Forbindelse med det russiske Storpriorat. Mine Venner og jeg som havde dermed dannet en Komite var klar over, at den fra Rom ledede Hovedstamme af Ordenen ikke vilde anerkende en dansk "Afdeling", hvis ikke alle Medlemmer var romersk-katolske, derfor havde vi kun den Udvej at søge Forbindelse med det russiske Storpriorat, som var uaf- hænig af Rom, mer historisk og juridisk fuld legalt, og som ikke stiller Krav om at Ordensmedlemmerne skulde være romersk katolske. ( Det russiske Storpriorat var delt i 2 Afdelinger- et for romerks-katolske og et for russisk- ortodoxe Medlemmer. En Ordning, som Kejser Paul 1 xxx indførte som Stormester og som endog Pave VI til sidst anerkendte.

Vi var i Sommer 1938 endnu af den Formodning, at de russiske Kejsere siden Paul 1 havde sikret sig , at hans Efterfølger paa Tronen skulde være Stormester ( eller Storprior) af den russiske Gren af Ordenen og ansaa det derfor bedst at henvende sig til den russiske Tronprætendant, Storfyrst Cyrels personlige Repræsentant I København, den russiske Kommandør G. Gadd. Vi vexlede et Par Breve om Sagen-og vi fik Storfyrstens Adresse i Frankrig. Derefter skrev vi 25/4 1938 til Storfyrst Cyril, som indenfor de russiske Kredse havde antaget Kejsertitlen, som følger;

………." man har planlagt at begynde med at reorganisere Sct. Johannes af Jerusalem i Danmark, og dertil udbeder vi os Deres Majestæts allernaadigste Sanktion, idet vi ønsker

The work with the foundation
of the Order of Malta in the North.

The basis is laid for a legal
Priory as part of the
historical Russian Grand Priory.

----------------------------------

From my early youth I was interested in the ecclesiastical orders of chivalry and as a member of the Russian Orthodox Church, I particularly studied the relationship between the Sovereign Order of Malta and the Emperor Paul I of Russia, who was in 1798 chosen Grand Master of the Order. After the death of Emperor Paul I the Russian province of the Order continued even after Emperor Alexander I.. The latter was not Grand Master of the Order, but he intervened without justification in the Sovereign Order and suspended its activities. In Russia however it still existed, if even at a low level. New members were not able to be admitted, but the Hereditary Commanders made the continued existence of the Order possible, in Russia even after 1817. More about this in my last report. I became absorbed in this history and on a journey to Italy 1921 I met a good friend, a member of the Council of the Russian Empire, Alexander de Volgine. He enlightened me about many things concerning this matter.
Mr. de Volginee had been the Emperor's Minister of the Russian Church. ("Procureir suprême de tres Saint Synode de Russie" ) Like the Order of Saint John the Order of Malta was a religious Order-, de Volgine had had plenty of opportunity to study the circumstances, which interested me so much, in the archives of the Holy Synod.

My interest in the Order of Malta's Russian Grand Priory lived on during the years to come and in the summer 1938 I found friends in this country, (Denmark) who would support me in the effort to make a connection to the above mentioned remains of the Russian Grand Priory. We wanted, if possible, to found a Priory of the Order here in Denmark in fully legal connection to the Russian Grand Priory. My friends and I had by then formed a committee and we understood, that the central organisation of the Order, led by Rome, did not want to acknowledge a Danish "branch", if the members were not all Roman-Catholic. Therefore we only had the alternative of seeking contact to the Russian Grand Priory, which was independent of Rome and which did not demand that the members of the Order belong to the Roman-Catholic Church. Moreover, in my opinion, it is more historically and legally correct. (The Russian Grand Priory was divided into 2 sections, one for the Roman-Catholic and one for the Russian-Orthodox members. An arrangement, which the Emperor Paul I as Grand Master introduced and which even Pope Pius VII at last recognised).

In the summer 1938 we still believed, that the Russian Emperors after Paul I had made sure, that their successors of the throne would be Grand Masters, or Grand Priors of the Russian branch of the Order, therefore we thought it best to approach the Russian pretender, Grand Duke Cyril's personal representative in Copenhagen, the Russian Commander G. Gadd. We exchanged letters about the cause and we got the Grand Duke's address in France. On the 25/4 1938 we wrote to Grand Duke Cyril, who, within the Russian circles, had adopted the title of Emperor. We wrote as follows:
........................"It is planned to begin the re-organisation of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in Denmark, therefore we ask for Your Majesty's most gracious sanction, wishing to acknowledge

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at bevare den legitime Kontinuitet med den gamle Orden. Derfor henvender vi os til Deres Majestæt i Deres Egenskap af Stormester for den Gren af Ordenen, som vi ønsker at træde i Forbindelseemed, thi om end den russiske Del af Ordenen nu lever i Landflygtighed, en Tilstand som Ordensridderne ogsaa tidligere har kendt, da de maatte opgive Rhodos, og siden forlade Malta, saa lever dog Ordenen videre med de russiske Ordensriddere, der ligesom deres Stormester nu har Bopæl udenfor Russland.

Vi ønsker ikke at forbinde os med den Gren af Ordenen (Maltese ridderne), som har Hovedsæde i Rom, da dens Bestemmelse om Medlemmernes Confession og Optagelse i Ordenen ( 16 adelige Aner) og deres forældede Virksomhed er uigennemførlig her i Norden.

Derfor ansøger vi Deres Majestæt om, som Stormester for den russiske Del af Ordenen Sct. Johannes af Jerusalem, at give Tilladelse til, at den nævnte Orden genoprettes I Norden og at man begynder at organisere et autonomt Ballai i Dan- mark, med intimt Forbindelse med den russiske Moderorden. "

Som svar derpaa fik vi en Skrivelse fra Baron M. v. Taube Ø 23/9 1938, der i oversat Uddrag oplyser følgende:

" Punkt 1. Kejser Paul af Rusland har i sin Egenskab af Stormester ikke alene indstiftet en russisk Gren af denne Orden, men endvidere arvelige " Commanderies" i Rusland for en Række Familier af den russiske Højadel i Lighed med, hvade der forefindes i andre af Ordenens Priorater, f. Eks. i Italien.
Punkt 2. Hans Søn, Kejser Alexander d. 1. har desværre afslaaet det Ø Ordenskapitlet ( sammenkaldt i St. Peters- borg efter hans Faders Død) fremsatte Tilbud om at udnævne ham til Stormester for Ordenen, og i sin negative Indstilling i denne Sag er han endog gaaet saa vidt, som til at ophæve Ordenen i Rusland 1817.

Punkt 3. Følgelig har der siden da ikke eksisteret noget "russisk Gren" af Ordenen i Russland, og de russiske Herskere Paul 1 Efterfølgere, kan derfor hverken være eller titulere sig Stormestere af denne ikke existerende Gren af Ordenen.

Punkt 4. Det synes imidlertid ubestrideligt, at en Kejser af Rusland ( Alexander 1) ikke havde nogen Ret til udenfor sit Rige at ophæve de Rettigheder hans Undersaatter havde erhvervet i Kraft af en " acte legal" der skyldtes en Stor- mester for Ordenen ( Paul 1) eftersom nævnte Kejser i 1817 ( og lige siden 1801) ikke havde haft noget at gjøre med Ordenens

Punkt 5. Det følger heraf, at de direkte og ældste Decendenter efter de arvelige Kommanderer af den russiske Gren af Ordenen, indstiftede af Stormesteren Paul 1 af Rusland, altid har anset sig og stadig anser sig for at have Krav paa Rettigheder og Privilegier, der tidligere er til- staaet deres Forfædre. De har i 1929 oprettet en " Comité d'initiative" for nærmere at studere, hævde og skaffe aner- kendt deres Rettigheder som Riddere af denne Orden under Forsæde af Storfyrst Alexander Mikkailivitch af Rusland, Svi- gersøn af Kejserinde Marie Dagmar af Rusland-Danmark og med Undertegnede som juridisk Konsulent.

Punkt 6. I den Anledning har Undertegnede foretaget to Rejser til Rom - til den romersk-katolske Ordens Stormester sæde i Ron. Den historiske og juridiske Side af Sagen er nu fuldstændig klarlagt, men paa en Maade, som ikke helt svarer

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the legal continuity of the old Order. We apply to Your Majesty in Your capacity as Grand Master of that branch of the Order, to which we desire to liaise. Even if the Russian part of the Order now lives in exile, a condition of which the knights of the Order even earlier have known, when they had to give up Rhodes and thereafter when they left Malta, however the Order is still alive, even if the Russian knights of the Order, like their Grand Master, now have their residence outside Russia.

We do not wish to associate with that branch of the Order (the Order of Malta), which has its headquarters in Rome, because of its rule about the confession of the members and their admission to the Order. (16 noble ancestors). This antiquated procedure is not practical in the Nordic countries.

Therefore we apply to Your Majesty, as Grand Master for the Russian branch of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, for permission that the above mentioned Order can be re-established in the Nordic countries and that the beginning will be to organise an autonomous Bailiwick in Denmark with an intimate connection to the Russian Mother-Order."

As a reply we received a letter from Baron M. v. Taube, on the 23/9.1938, which in translated summary informs as follows:

" Point l. Emperor Paul I of Russia has in His capacity as Grand Master not only instituted a Russian branch of this Order, but also hereditary "Commanderies" in Russia for a number of families of the nobility, like they also exist in other Priories of the Order, for instance in Italy.
Point 2. His son, Emperor Alexander I unfortunately has refused the proposed offer of appointing him Grand Master by the Chapter of the Order, (called together in St. Petersburg after his father's death and in his negative attitude towards this matter he even went as far as to annul the Order in Russia 1817.

Point 3. Consequently there has not ever existed since then any "Russian branch" of the Order in Russia and the Russian successors of Emperor Paul I cannot therefore neither be, nor be addressed by the title of Grand Master of this non-existent branch of the Order.

Point 4. However it seems indisputable, that an Emperor of Russia, (Alexander I), did not have any right to remove his subject's rights, which they had acquired by virtue of an "acte legal" written by Grand Master (Paul I). The Emperor in 1817 ( from 1801) did not have anything to do with the Order.

Point 5. From this follows, that the direct and the elder descendants of the hereditary Commanders of the Russian branch of the Order, instituted by Grand Master Paul I of Russia, have always considered and continuously will consider themselves to claim rights and privileges, which earlier were admitted to their ancestors. They have in 1929 established a " Comitè d'initiative " to study, to obtain knowledge and claim their rights as knights of this Order under presidency of the Grand Duke Alexander Michailovitch of Russia, son-in-law of Empress Marie Dagmar of Russia, Princess of Denmark and with the undersigned as a legal consultant.

Point 6. For this occasion I have undertaken two journeys to Rome, to the Grand Master of the Roman-Catholic Order. The historic and legal aspect of the cause is now completely explained, but in a way that does not answer

NOTES.
Punktene 3 - 5. I 1938 stolte Professor Baron Michel de Taube helt ud på de arvelige Kommandørers udiskutable rettigheder for overlevelsen af den Russiske tradisjon af St. John.
Opprinnelig trodde Baron Michael de Taube at den Russiske priorat.hadde blivet undertykket i 1877, idet han da trodde det der var skrevet i en Russisk bog i 1891 om Russiske Ordener, udgivet 74 år efter en besluttning i ministeriet angående Malteser ordenen. - ( en teori som den Romersk Katolske, Sovereign Military Order of Malta har efterfulgt). Til trods for dette hevdet han ( de Taube) at de arvelige kommandører fremdeles hadde rett til at fortsette Prioratet. Den (aktuelle) bok's forfatter hadde ikke siteret det angjeldende dekret (Ukase) og omarbeidet den originale tekst således; "Efter kommandører af Order of St. John's død, har deres arvinger ingen rett at blive kommandører af Ordenen, og vil ikke ha nogen rett til at bære Ordenens bånd eller dekorationer fordi Ordenen ikke leger eksisterer i det Russiske keiserdømme" (Panov og Zamyslovsky ; A Brief historical Account of the Russian Orders and their Statutes, St. Petersburg 1891, side 28-33) Dette er et grovt feilsitat af den originale tekst, med tillagte ord der ikke eksisterer i originalen.

Efter den andre verdenskrig fortsatte de Taube sin forskning, og ble i stand til å konsultere de Russiske dekreter (Ukases) fra 1810,1811 og 1817. Baseret på disse dekreter, og ikke på (personlige) meninger, inså han at det Russiske Storpriorat aldrig hadde blivet undertrykket, men bare hadde mistet sine eiendomme og intækter. I 1950 udgav han en samling Historiske kommentarer der omhandlede overlevelsen af det Russiske Storpriorat. Disse kommentarer var arkiveret sammen med dette dokument (se
http://www.orderstjohn.org/osj/dac1950.htm
http://www.orderstjohn.org/osj/taube.htm - itm 5 -9).

Angjeldende påstanden om at Ordenen hadde opphørt i 1817, så er dette baseret på ; at en offiser i hæren, Lazareff hadde ansøkt tilladelse til at bære Ordenens emblem. Han påstod at han hadde bevist sin gamle nobilitet ifølge det Russiske Priorats regler. Afgjørelsen, der er kjendt som 'Lazareff Deliberation' eller 'Lazareff-dommen' (Dekret 26.626 - 1. februar 1817) siger; "Det angjeldende priorat eksisterer nu ikke i Russland, og nogen tillatelse kan derfor ikke gives til Cornet Lazareff og de andre nævnte personer der samtidig var nomineret for dekorationer fra samme Orden".

Foskjellige argumenter har blivet fremført angående denne Deliberation eller [minister] besluttning. De to hovedlinjer er; a) At Ordenen ikke lengere eksisterede i Russland, og b) At den Romersk katolske Orden, som da var en separat Orden, ikke blev anerkjent i Russland.
Overvekten af de historiske bevis kan ikke akseptere eller godkjenne den førstnævnte fortolkning. De omdiskuterede dekorationer der ikke blev tilladt, var tildelet af den Romersk Katolske Orden, ikke af det (ikke katolske) Russiske Storpriorat. Det Russiske Storpriorat der er nævnt i teksten er antaglig det katolske priorat. Afgjørelsen nævner ikke det faktum at der var to Storpriorat etableret i Russland, og behandler således kun et Priorat.

Angående denne episode skriver Professor Baron Michel de Taube; "Keiseren forbød modtagelsen af emblemer fra den Italienske del af ordenen og at bære disse uden forudgående godkjennelse af Tsaren. Denne afgjørelse blev taget av minister-kabinettet og godkjent af keiseren efter forespørsel fra de militære ledere angående tre junior officerer Lazareff, der hadde, den ene efter den andre, modtaget direkte fra italia, Malteserkorset. I tillægg var der mistanker om at de hadde modtaget dem som tak for at betydelige beløb hadde blivet tilført kassen hos the Grand Magistracy" - Fritt oversatt efter; L'Empereur Paul I de Russie, Grand Maître de l'Ordre de Malte, et son Grand Prieuré Russe, Paris 1955, side 42.

NOTES.
Points 3 - 5. In 1938, Professor Baron Michel de Taube, relied entirely on the unalienable rights of the Hereditary Commanders for the survival of the Russian tradition of St John.
Initially Baron Michael de Taube believed that the Russian Priory had been suppressed in 1817, due to being misled by a Russian book of 1891 on Russian Orders issued 74 years after an 1817 Ministerial Deliberation concerning the Order of Malta. - (a thesis which the Sovereign Military Order of Malta has followed). However he claimed despite this, the Hereditary Commanders still had the rights to continue the Priory. The authors of the book did not quote the actual Ukase and provided a reworking of the original words to read "After the death of the Commanders of the Order of St John, their heirs will not have the right to be Commanders of the Order and will not be allowed to wear the badges and decorations of the Order any longer because the latter does not exist any more in the Russian Empire" (Panov and Zamyslovsky, A Brief Historical Account of the Russian Orders and their Statutes, St Petersburg 1891, pages 28-33). This is a gross misreading of the original texts, intruding words which did not exist in the originals.

Following the Second World War de Taube continued his research and was able to consult the Russian Ukases of 1810, 1811, and 1817. Based on the Ukases, and not opinion, he realised that there had never been a suppression of the Russian Grand Priory, and that it had only lost its property and income. In 1950 he issued a set of Historic Notes covering the legal survival of the Russian Grand Priory. These Notes were archived along with this present Document (see
http://www.orderstjohn.org/osj/dac1950.htm
http://www.orderstjohn.org/osj/taube.htm - items 5-9).

Concerning the claim that in 1817 the Order had ended, the simple matter is that an Army Officer, Lazareff  had sought permission to wear the Order's Insignia. He had stated that he had proved his ancient nobility according to the rules of the Russian Priory. The judgment, known as the 'Lazareff Deliberation' (Ukase 26.626 - February 1st, 1817), stated; "the said Priory was not in existence any more in Russia, and therefore, the permission could not be giving to Cornet Lazareff and the other mentioned persons, who were presently nominated to be decorated with the same Order".

Various arguments have been forwarded about the deliberation. The two main theses are (a) The Order in Russia no longer existed, and (b) the Roman Catholic Order by then a separate Order was not recognised in Russia.
The weight of historical evidence cannot support the former interpretation. The decorations under discussion that could not be worn, were being awarded by the Roman Catholic Order, not by the (non-Catholic) Russian Grand Priory. The Grand Russian Priory mentioned in the text is probably the Catholic Priory. The Decision does not refer to the fact that there were two Grand Priories instituted in Russia, and is only concerned with a single Priory.

Professor Baron Michel de Taube writes concerning this episode; "The Emperor interdicted the reception of insignia from Italy of the Order and their wear in Russia without a previous authorisation of Tsar. This measure was taken by the Cabinet of ministers and sanctioned by the Emperor on the request of military chiefs of three junior officers Lazareff, who had received one after another, directly from Italy, crosses of Malta and were suspected to have obtained them thanks to sizable amounts being poured into the treasury of the Grand Magistracy" - Free translation, L'Empereur Paul I de Russie, Grand Maître de l'Ordre de Malte, et son Grand Prieuré Russe, Paris 1955, page 42.

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til den russiske Comité's Synspunkt, Det skal bemærkes, at Kommandererne naturligvis ikke betvivler dere anerkendte Ret som Kommanderer af Malterordenen, men de søger at opnaa materielle Rettigheder i andere af Ordenens Priorater udenfor Rusland. Detaillerne om Resultatet af de romerkse Forhandlinger kan i givet Tilfælde meddeles danske Interesserede under en personlig Udvexling af Synspunkter.

Punkt 7. Under disse Omstændigheder vilde den russiske Gruppe af arvelige Ridder af Ordenen være tilbøjelige til sammen med den danske "Comité d'initiative" at overveje paa hvilken Maade man kunde combinere deres analoge Formaal og Virksomhed for at hidføre Genoprettelsen af en russisk skandinavisk Ridderorden i direkte og legitim Fortsættelse af den autentiske-russiske Gren af Ordenen, indstiftet af Stormesteren, Kejser Paul 1 af Russland."

Dermed var den officielle Forbindelse mellem den danske Comité til Genoprettelse af Malteserordenen i Danmark og den officielle Repræsentant for den russiske Gren af Malteserordenen knyttet. Baron v. Taube skrev yderligere, at vor nævnte Brev til Storfyrst Cyrel af denne var blevet overgivet til hans yngre Broder Storfyrst Andreas, da denne var stærkt interesseret i Sagen og Præsident for det russiske,historiske Selskab i Frankrig. Efter at Storfyrst Andreas havde confereret med Baron v. Taube om Sagen, i dennes Egenskab af første juridiske Raadgiver for det russiske Udenrigsministeriu russisk Senator mm var det besluttet, at Baron v.Taube skulde udrede Sagen for os- set fra et historisk-juridisk Synspunkt og optage Forbindelsen med den danske Comité, idet v. Taube repræsenterede den russiske Malteserordenens specielle Comité.

Baron v. Taube sammentrækker den historiske Baggrund for Sagen i nævnte 7 Punkter. Yderligere tilføjes, at han staar I konstant Kontakt med Præsidenten for den russiske Ordenscomite Greve Alexander Soltykoff. Saaledes bekræftes yderligere, at v. Taube handlede for "Ordensraadets Vegne, en Betegnelse, som kan senere ( f. Eks. ,i P 4/6 31 bruger for den omtalte Ordenscomite.

Forinden vi gaar over til at behandle Sagens yderligere Udvikling, er det rettest at fuldstændiggøre Oplysningerne om Baron v. Taubes Person, som i denne Sag har en saa betydningsfuld Stilling.

ad Punkt 1. Disse arvelige Familiekommender ( Conthurier juris patronatus) en Slags Familiestiftelser, findes ogsaa i alle de ældste Dele af Ordenen udenfor Russland, f. Eks. Fandtes i Stor Prioratet i Rom - 12 - xx og i Lombardiet 23, i det russiske Storpriorat var der ligeledes 23.Det er ved Existensen af denne Grundstamme af 23 arvelige Komturer af Ordenen at man endvidere kan konstantere at der endnu bestaar en legal russisk Ordensgren. Sagen blev nu i Løbet af ¾ Aar stadig uddypet og Grundlaget en en fast Forbindelse omhyggelig lagt. Her gengives Correspondacnen med v. Taube i kronologisk Orden, men der medtages for Skyld kun det for Sagen vigtigste.
Til Slut i denne Redegørelse sammendrages Kendsgerningerne og de Slutninger og Konsekvenser vi føler os berettigede til at træffe heraf.

Baron v. Taube's betydningsfulde Skrivelse af 23.9 besvaredes 19/10 1938. Vi konstaterede 2 Ting 1) den russiske Tronprætendent Storfyrst Cyrel var afgaaet ved Døden og hvad der var mere betydningdfuldt for Sagen, siden Kejser Paul havde ingen russisk Kejser været Overhovedet for den Russiske Maltezserorden.

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the Russian Committee's point of view. It is to be observed, that of course the Commanders do not question their acknowledged rights as Commanders of the Order of Malta, but they are trying to obtain material privileges in other Priories of the Order outside Russia. The particulars about the result of the Roman negotiations can, if necessary, be announced to interested Danes during a personal exchange of view points.

Point 7. Under these circumstances the Russian group of hereditary knights of the Order would be inclined, together with the Danish "Comité d'initiative", to consider how to combine their analogous purpose and activity to lead to the re-establishment of a Russian - Scandinavian Order of Chivalry in direct and legitimate continuation of the authentic Russian branch of the Order, instituted by the Grand Master, Emperor Paul I of Russia.

Now the official connection between the Danish Committee for re-establishment of the Order of Malta in Denmark, and the official representant of the Russian branch of the Order of Malta, were linked together. Baron von Taube further wrote, that our above mentioned letter to the Grand Duke Cyril, was handed over to his younger brother, Grand Duke Andreas, because the latter was greatly interested in the cause as a President of the Russian historical society in France. After Grand Duke Andreas had conferred with Baron von Taube about the cause in the latter's capacity of first legal adviser for the Russian Foreign Office, Senator of Russia etc., it was decided that Baron von Taube would unravel the matter for us, looked upon in a historic-legal point of view and re-establish the connection with the Danish Committee, because von Taube represented the Russian Order of Malta special Committee.

Baron von Taube summarised the historical background for the cause in above mentioned 7 points. Furthermore it is added, that. he was in constant contact with the President of the Russian Committee of the Order, Count Alexander Soltykoff. This confirms furthermore, that von Taube acted " on behalf of the Council of the Order, an indication, that later is used for the mentioned Committee of the Order. ( for example in .........P 4/6 31 )

Before we pass into dealing with further developments of the cause, the right thing to do is to complete the information about the biography of Baron von Taube, who has such an important position in this matter.

ad point 1. These hereditary Family-commanderies, (Conthurier juris patronatus), a kind of family-foundations, are also to be found in all the eldest parts of the Order outside Russia. For example there were 12 in the Grand Priory of Rome, in. Lombardia 23 and in the Russian Grand Priory 23 as well. It is by the existence of this stock of 23 hereditary Commanders of the Order that it moreover is possible to establish that there still exists a legal Russian branch of the Order. This matter was in the course of nine months constantly and thoroughly deepened and the ground for a firm affiliation was carefully laid. Here the correspondence with von Taube is reported in chronological order, but only the most important information is mentioned for the sake of [simplicity].
At the end of this report the facts, the conclusions and the consequences that we feel we are justified to make, are given.

Baron von. Taube's important letter of the 23.9. was answered on the 19/10 1938. We realised 2 things: 1) The Russian pretender Grand Duke Cyril had passed away, and more important for the matter was, that since Emperor Paul I no Russian Emperor had been the head of the Russian Order of Malta.

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Ordenens russiske Storpriorat maatte under Tvang af Kajser Alexander 1817 fuldstændig indstille sin Virksomhed i Rusland. Ordenen ophævedes ikke i 1817 i egentlig Forstand, hvilket bl.a. bevises af, at der omkring 1848, som anført: "Buch der Ritterorden" (Bruxelles-Leipzig 1848, pag. 268) var 98 Comthurier af Riddere - mæk,- 393 i 1817 og Taube meddelte bl. a. at det med de 23 arvelige Medlemmer bestod Ordenen (ogsaa officielt) selv om Resten af de 98 Comthuriere maatte være uddøde siden 1848- selvom der ifølge Sagens Natur hidtil havde været passiv. Ordenen kunde naar som helstsærlig i Landflygtighed- træde i Funktion igjen. Som det fremgaar af v. Taube's Skrivelse skete dette i 1928-29 da Arve komturene genoprettede virksomme Organer for den russiske Ordensgren.- og det er - som vi skrev til v. Taube, til denne Reaktivering af de arvelige Komturer, vi vilde søge Tilknytning, da vi ligesaalidt som de russiske Riddere- kan acceptere de "romerske Betingelser". Derefter anførtes det principielle Grundlag, hvorpaa vi vilde lægge vor Ordensgren op.-

" a) Medlemmer af Ordenen skal i det mindste tilhøre den lavere Adel ( eller tilhøre et saadant Rangtrin, at den tilsvarende Rang i Rusland automatisk vilde have medført Adelskab.

" b)Ordensridderen skal være positiv Kristen( altsaa ikke som hos de "romerske" Maltesere, der kun optager romersk katolske Medlemmer).

" c) Ordensridderen skal før deres Optagelse bringe en bestemt Medgift ind i Ordenen ( eller paa anden Maade yde en extra Indsats for Ordenen).

"Ordenens Formaal skal følge Ordenens gamle Tradition og i første linie være karitativ ( Sygepleje, Krigstilfældemen ogsaa ved andre Lejligheder) desuden skal Ordenen virke opdragende paa Ordensriddernes Efterkommere i det kristne Ridderskabets Aand og Tradition og envidere- indenfor Mulighederne- lindre Nød og Lidelse.

Den 18.11. 38 fik vi Meddelelse om, at v. Taube var blevet syg men antagelig i Januar 1939 kunde genoptage Correspondance 25/11 1938 foreslog vi v. Taube, at Oprettelsen af den dansknordiske Malteseroden kommer til at faa den i det følgende citerede Ramme, saaledes at det nye danske Priorat ( eller Barlei) ikke kommer x til at blive løsreven Del af Ordenen uden legal Continuitet, men bliver en Del af den souveræne Malteserorden.

Rammen: a) den souveraine Orden af Sct. Johannes af Jerusalem Malteserordener)
b) Autonom russisk Storpriorat ( Ordensprovins).
c) et dansk ( eller dansk-russisk) Priorat, formelt som en Del af b).

I en ny Skrivelse af 28.1. 1939 henviste vi til at vort Forslag synes at ligge helt paa Linie med hans Indstilling, saa at man altsaa " principielt var enige om Forbindelsen" og blot skal finde den rette Maade at gennemføre den paa. I v. Taubers Svar af 7/2 39, synes der kun at være enkelte rent praktiske Spørgsmaal, som skal løses, og v. Taube udbeder sig en Sammenkomst desangaaende i Paris eller København, desuden ønsker han oplyst, hvem der hos os staar bag Sagen, og om vi er i Stand til at klare Sagen financielt. Vort Svar af 12/3 39, hvori vi giver hans forskellige Oplysninger, des uden stiller vi forskellige Forslag, af hvilke her kun skal nævnes det som v. Taube senere accepterede som Grundlag.

- Punkt 3 c-.

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The Russian Grand Priory had completely been forced to discontinue its activities under compulsion by Emperor Alexander in Russia year 1817. The Order was not suspended in 1817 in the proper sense of the word, which is proved by the fact, that around year 1848, as written in "Buch der Ritterorden" (Brussels-Leipzig 1848, page 268), there were 98 Commanderies of Knights, in year 1817 there were 393, and. von Taube informed among other things, that with. the 23 hereditary members the Order (would officially exist), even if the rest of the 98 Commanderies had been extinct since 1848 and even if, in the nature of the case, it had been passive. The Order was at any time able to step into function again, especially in exile. As it appears by von Taube's letter this happened in the years 1928 - 1929, when the Hereditary Commanders re-established an active organisation for the Russian branch of the Order, and it was - as we wrote to von Taube- to this re-activation of the hereditary Commanderies we wanted to seek connection. That is because we, as well as the Russian Knights, are not able to accept the "Roman conditions". Thereafter was stated the principal foundation upon which we would lay our branch of the Order.

"a) Members of the Order ought to at least belong to the lesser nobility, or to rank with a level similar to which it would automatically have resulted in nobility in Russia..

"b) The Knight of the Order ought to be positively Christian, therefore not like the "Roman" Order of Malta, which only admits Roman Catholic members.

"c) The knight of the Order ought to, before his admission, bring a certain dowry to the Order, or in another way contribute an extra effort to the Order.

" The purpose of the Order is to follow the old tradition, that is firstly to be charitable ( nursing in case of war, but also in other cases). Moreover the Order is to be educational to the descendants of the Knights in the tradition and spirit. of the Christian knighthood and furthermore, within the bounds of possibilities, to ease pain and distress.

On the 18.11. 38 we got a message, that von Taube had taken ill, but that he possibly would re-establish the correspondence in January 1939. On the 25/11 1938 we proposed to von Taube, that the establishment of the Danish-Nordic Order of Malta would have the conditions quoted as follows, thus the new Danish Priory (or Bailiwick) would not be a detached part of the Order without legal continuity, but would be a proportion of the Sovereign Order of Malta.

The framework: a) The Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Order of Malta.
b) Autonomous Russian Grand Priory (Order province).
c) a Danish, or Russian-Danish, Priory, formally as a part of b).

In a new letter of 28.1. 1939 we referred to our suggestion, which seemed to be in line with his point of view, so the agreements on fundamentals were of one mind and now only the right way of implementation was to be found. According to the letter of reply by von Taube of the 7/2. 1939 there only seemed to be a few practical questions to be solved and von Taube requested a gathering in Paris or Copenhagen, he wished to know, who was behind the cause on our behalf and if we were capable of fending for ourselves economically. Our answer came on the 12/3.1939 where we gave him some information and in addition we made various proposals, here only one will be mentioned, the one, von Taube later accepted as a foundation.
-Point 3 c -.

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" Hvis det synes umuligt at organisere en levedygtig Ordensgren udenfor Russland, saa kan vi her straks oprette et fællas russisk-dansk ( nordisk) Stor Ballice, men saa maa vi have fælles Statutter, hva der dog kunde støde paa Vanskeligheder- særlig vedrørende Anvendelse af Ordenens Midler. I Danmark vil man ikke direkte yde en udenlandsk Ordensgren financiel Tilskud. Derimod vil man gerne bevilge de herværende Russere, som kommer i Betragtning som Medlemmer, betydelige Lettelser ved Optagelsen, hvis de ikke er i Besiddelse af de nødvendige Midler. Ogsaa paa anden Maade vilde den intime Forbindelse være til nytte for den russiske Ordensgren.

En Efterskrift udtaler" Den 10. April vil den herværende Comité afholde et Plenarmøde for at træffe den afgørende Beslutning."
Den 22/3indløp v. Taubes betydningsfulde Svar- et af de vigtigste Dokumenter i Sagen; Deres saa udførlige Skvielse beviser mig, at 3 Hovedpunkter, om hvilke vi, som jeg serer fuldstændig enige særdeles vel kan tjene som Grundlaget for en tilfredstillende Udvikling af det meget betydningsfulde Foretagende, det er:

1)" Ordenens fremtidige Formaal, dens Personalbestandog dens Forhold til Rom bliver fra Deres Side opfattet paa samme Maade som her, ogsaa de russiske Berettigede ønsker at skaffe sig Efterfølgere paa bredere Basis, de vil ikke være romersk-katolske og heller ikke vedblivende sende Pengegaver til Rom.

2) Deres snævre Comité deler vor Opfattelse, at Malteserordenens russiske Arvekomturer ( Commandeers de familie) absolutt ikke har mistet deres Ret som Ordensredelere siden Kejser Paul 1.

3) Det af dem nævnte Beløp paa 300.000 frs. vil fuldt ud være tilstrækkeligt til at gennemføre hele Sagen( det var det Beløb dex første 30 danske Ordensriddere skulde indbringe som Ordenens Formue).

Hvad nu den praktiske Gennemførelse angaar, saa er jeg i Dag I den heldige Situation fra min Side at kunne foretage et Skridt for at faa Planen for vort fælles Arbejde endelig fastslaaet.

V. Taube meddeler dernæst- at han paa Gennemrejse til Stockholm kan faa Tid til i København at dokumentere alt for osog tilføjer" Samtalen vilde alene af den grund være nødvendig som visse "internationale" Enkeltheder i Sagen absolut ikke kan betroes til Posten"." Jeg slaar hermed fast, at jeg I Overensstemmelse med Deres Plan ( c3) udelukkende tænker paa Organisering af et russisk-nordisk Stor Balles, som saa( hvilk De vil se af mine mundtlige Udredninger) ogsaa vilde muliggøre Overførelsen af de fra Russland reddede historiske Reliquier fra Stormesteren af Malteserordenen se Revne d' Histoire moderne" Paris 1936, nr. 27, side 184) Med Hensyn til Deres Bemærkning om, at deres Comite afholder Plenarmøde 10. April for at træffe en endelig Afgørelse saa er det naturligvis i sin bedste Orden, naar det kun er ment principielt ud fra Hensigten, at gaa sammen med den russiske Comité. "Skulde den danske Comité ubetinget have Brug for en officiel Erklæring fra de russiske Berettigede om en fælles Stiftelse af en russisknordisk Balles, allerede til den 10. April, saa maa jeg straks sammenkalde til Paris de endnu levende Medlemmer af vor Comité af 1929-32 med Grev Alexander Solkykoff I Spidsen( som lever i Bruxelles) denne er den ældste Efterkomme efter Stormester Stedfortræderen efter Stormester Paul 1 Død.
P.S. Min egen Fuldmagt i denne Anledning er underskrevet af følgende Personer: Storfyrst Alexander af Rusland, Poul Demidoff Fyrsten af San Doncte) Greve Alexander Solykoff, Fyrst Barietsinsky og Greve D. Olufieff" Til Slut anmoder v. Tauber C Wuchturm at besørge hans Gennemrejsevisum og faa Tilladelsen sendt til det kgl danske Consulat, Paris.

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"If it seems impossible to organise a branch of the Order outside Russia, fit to survive, then we are instantly able to establish a joint Russian-Danish (Nordic} Grand Bailiwick, but we must have joint statutes. This could encounter difficulties, especially concerning the use of the finances of the Order. In Denmark financial contributions cannot be directly transferred to any foreign branch of the. Order, but readily there will be given considerable modifications to the Russians of this country, if they are considered for membership and if they not are in possession of the necessary means. Even in other ways an intimate connection would be of use for the Russian branch of the Order.

A post script declares: "On the 10. April our Committee will hold a plenary assembly in order to make the conclusive decision".
On the 22/3.1939 von Taube's answer was received, one of the most important documents in the case: Your very elaborate letter proves to me, that 3 main points, where we, as I see it, are in absolutely complete agreement, would extremely well serve as a foundation for a satisfying development of the very important undertaking, these are:

1) "The future purpose of the Order, it's membership and it's relationship to Rome is on your side understood in the same way as here, even the titled Russian wish to obtain successors on a broader base, they do not want to be Roman-Catholic, nor continue to send gifts of money to Rome.

2) Your core Committee shares our opinion, that the Russian Hereditary Commanders of the Order of Malta (Commandeers de famille) have certainly not lost their right as members of the Order since Emperor Paul I.

3) The amount of 300.000 Francs mentioned by them will certainly be sufficient to implement the whole cause. (This was the sum the first 30 Knights should bring in as the capital of the Order).

Concerning the practical implementation, I am today in the lucky situation to be able to take the necessary step to get the plan of our common work finally stated.

Von Taube informs next, that he on his passing through to Stockholm would be able to substantiate everything for us in Copenhagen and he adds: "The conversation would be necessary if only for that reason that some international particulars in the cause absolutely not can be entrusted with the post." By this I make clear that I am in agreement with your plan (c3) to solely think about the organisation of a Russian-Nordic Grand Bailey, which also would enable the transfer of the rescued Russian relics from the (Grand Master of the Order of Malta, (see "Revue d'Histoire moderne" Paris 1936, nr.27, page 184). Concerning your observation about their Committee holding a plenary assembly on the 10. April to make a final decision, it is of course fair enough, when in principle the intention is to go together with the Russian Committee. Would the Danish Committee absolutely be in need of an official declaration from the titled Russian of a common foundation of a Russian-Nordic: Bailey already from the 10. April, then I must immediately call together the members of our Committee of 1929-32 who are still living with Count Alexander Solkykoff in charge (he lives in Brussels). He is the eldest successor since the Grand Master's deputy after Grand Master Paul I's death.

P.S. My own power of attorney in this matter is signed by the following persons: Grand Duke Alexander of Russia, Paul Demidoff , Prince of San Donete, Duke Alexander Solykoff, Prince Barietsinsky and Duke D. Olufieff" Finally von Taube asks of C.Wuchturm to arrange his transit visa and get the permission mailed to the Royal Danish Consulate, Paris.

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Den 5. April skrev den danske Comité bl. a. til v. Taube: "Det er ikke nødvendigt, at De sammenkalder det russiske Comthurkapitel allerede før d. 10. April, naar de er sikker paa, at De kan regne med Samtykke fra " Les Commandeurs de famille"( Dette er en Formfejl fra vor Side, naar der skrives"Conthur Capitlet"og udt. senere " Les Commandeurs de famille"- det er heller ikke den v. Tauber eventuelt vilde sammenkalde - men Comiteen af 1929" som fungerede som "Ordensraad" ( amitie - comite d'initiative). af hvilken der kun var faa Medlemmer tilbage, der havde givet v. Tauber den oprindelige Fuldmagt til at handle.
" Naar vi nu den 10/4 afholdt vort forberedende Capitel, saa vilde vi beslutte at gennemføre Grundlæggelsen sammen med det russiske Commaneur-Capitel og paa Grundlag af den imellem os førte Correspondance. Det glæder os meget at De paa Deres Rejse til Sverige, at vi paa Tilbagerejsen personlig kan tale med os om Sagerne." Vi har kun særlig Brug for Deres Udkast til Proklameringen af det russisk-nordiske Storbalai paa historisk og juridisk Basis som legal Successor Af den polsk-russiske Ordensprovins."

Vi modtog ikke straks Svar fra v. Taube, fordi han-forinden det danske Visum var kommet til Paris, var afrejst til Sverige hvorfra vi atter den 21/4 39 skrev bl. a. "Deres Opholdstilladelse her er i Orden og er meddelt det kgl. Consulat, hvor De nu ogsaa kan faa det ønskede Visum. Endvidere kan vi meddele Dem, at vi anden Paaskedag har afholdt det omtalte Møde som fremtidig Ordenscapitel, og har besluttet under alle Omstændigheder at gennemføre Genoprettelsen af Ordenen I Danmark (Norden) og paa vort Forslag- at det sker i Forbindelse med det russiske Ordenscapitlet.

Vort nævnte Brev krydsede et fra v. Taube af samme Dato ( 21/4 fra Stockholm, hvori han kort meddeler, at det danske Visum kom for sent til Paris, men at han bestemt haabede at træffe os ( den danske Comité) i København paa Tilbagerejsen 1/5. Den 22/4 meddelte Rigspolitichefen, at efter at Sagen havde været forelagt Justitsministeren, havde man meddelt det kgl. danske Gesandtskab i Stockholm:" at der kan udfærdiges Visum til Friherre M. v. Taube p. t. i Stockholm. Den 27/4 modtog man Kort fra v. Taube fra Paris, hvormed han meddelte, at han desværre paa grund af Hustruens pludselige, alvorlige Sygdom havde maattet rejse direkte til Paris fra Sverige, hvor han havde forefundet vor Skrivelse af 21/4. Han haabede snarest at kunne svare os, og beklager at det heller ikke denne Gang kom til en Sammenkomst mellem os. Da sagen hastede sendte vi 6/5 vort paa Mødet i København 2. Paaskedag godkendte Forslag til Statutterne, som vi anmodede om at faa godkendt. I Følgeskrivelsen tilføjedes yderligere af mig : " Jeg har benyttet Deres Ide, forsaavidt h jeg har lært den at kende. Derfor har jeg ogsaa ladet " Russerne gaa op" i det nordiske Ballei, fordi det for disse vil være fordelagtigere, men selvfølgelig kan " Russerne" ogsaa danne deres eget Ballei, som sammen med det nordiske Ballei danner Stor Balleiet( kun mister saa Russerne naturligvis de extraordinære Pladser i ledende Organer i det rent nordiske Ballei" Jeg har stærkt Brug for en kort Beretning om Deres tidligere Forhandlinger i Rom, og er saa overbevidst om, at vi saa ogsaa kan blive enige om Formaliteterne ad skriftlig Vej, saa at De nu ogsaa kan indlede deres russiske Ordenscapitlet, alt andet kan saa blive aftalt og ordnet, naar De kommer til Proklameringen af Storbellaet og det danske Ballei- antagelig i Juni".

Den 10/5 skriver v. Taube fra Paris som Svar paa vor Skrivelse af 6/5. Han godkendte Statutterne. Baron v. Taube kender fuldt ud sine russiske Collegaers Standpunkt-ligeledes den kejserlige Familie's- der er nu kun tilbage, at foranstalte en Sammenkomst af den russiske Comité i Paris, for at faa Beslutningen formælt bekræftet. Der staar i denne Skrivelse af 10. Mai:

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On 5. April the Danish Committee wrote to von Taube among other things: "It is not necessary to summon the Russian Commanders-Chapter as early as the 10. April, if you are sure of consent from "Les Commandeurs de famille" (This was a formal error on our side, it is written " Commanders-Chapter" and later stated as "Les Commandeurs de famille" - it was not the one von Taube wanted to summon - but the Committee of 1929, which acted as "Council of the Order" (amitié - comité d'inintiative) of which there were only a few members left, who had given von Taube the original authority to act.

"When we now on the 10/4 held our preliminary Chapter, we wanted to implement the foundation together with the Russian Commander - Chapter and on the basis of the correspondence conducted between us. We are happy, that on your way back from Sweden you are able to have a personal talk about matters with us." We only have utmost need of your draft of the proclamation of the Russian - Nordic Grand Bailey on a historic and legal base as legal successor of the Polish - Russian Province of the Order."

We did not get a prompt reply from von Taube, because he had left for Sweden before the Danish visa had arrived to Paris. We wrote to him again on the 21/4.1939 and among other things we told him, that " his residence permit in Denmark is arranged and communicated to the Royal Danish Consulate, where you now are able to get the desired visa. Furthermore we want to inform you, that on Easter Monday we have held the meeting previously mentioned as a future Chapter of the Order and we have decided in any case to go through with the re-establishment of the Order in Denmark (the North) and, on our proposition, that it will happen in connection with the Russian Chapter of the Order" .
Our letter crossed one from von Taube, Stockholm, of the same date, (21/4.) where he shortly informed, that the Danish visa arrived in Paris too late, but that he certainly hoped to meet us ( the Danish Committee ) in Copenhagen on his return on the 1/5. On the 22/4. the Commissioner of Police informed us, that after the case had been submitted to the Minister of Justice, it had been communicated to the Royal Danish Legation in Stockholm : "that a visa can be issued to Baron M..von Taube, presently in Stockholm. On the 27/4 there was a card from von Taube in Paris, in which he announced, that owing to the wife's sudden serious illness, he had unfortunately been forced to travel directly from Sweden to Paris, where he had found our letter of 21/4. He hoped to be able to give us an answer as soon as possible and he was regretting that even this time it would not come to a get-together between us. While the matter was urgent we sent from the meeting in Copenhagen Easter Monday on 6/5 our proposed suggestions for the statutes, which we requested to be adopted. In the covering letter it was further added by me : " I have used your idea, in far as I have recognised it. Therefore in fact I let the "the Russians merge into" the Nordic Bailey, because it will be on more favourable terms for them, but of course "the Russians" can as well form their own Bailiwick, which together with the Nordic Bailiwick then will form the Grand Bailey, but in that case the "Russians" will loose the extraordinary seats in the leading structures in the all-Nordic Bailey". I have a strong need for a short report on your earlier negotiations in Rome, and I am convinced, that we will come to terms on the formalities in writing as well, then you will be able to initiate your Russian Chapter of the Order, everything else can be arranged and organised when you arrive for the proclamation of the Grand Bailey and the Danish Bailey, probably in June."
On 10/5. von Taube wrote from Paris as an answer on our letter of 6/5. He approved. of the statutes. Baron von Taube knew fully well the attitude of his Russian colleagues and the Imperial family's as well, now there was only one thing left, to arrange a meeting of the Russian Committee in Paris to get the decision formally confirmed. In this letter of 10. May it is written :

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1) Deres Forslag er saa udførligt og godt udarbejdet, at jeg for mit vedkommende kun vilde forandre meget idt I Texten.
2) Det juridiske og historiske Grundlag vilde jeg gøre noget mere fuldstændig og det russiske Capitels Beslutninger vilde jeg formulere noget anderledes.
3) Jeg kender naturligvis mine russiske Collegers og ogsaa den destinerede Protektors ( af den russiske Kejserfamilie) Standpunkt, det vilde selvfølgelig ikke være mig muligt at handle - særlig efter saa mange Aar uden deres udtrykkelige Samtykke. (Som det siden vel fremgaar af v. Taubes følgende
Breve har v. Tauber enkeltvie modtaget de afgørende Personers Billigelse af hele Sagen).

1) Det glædede os, at xxxx vore Forslag til Ordenstattuterne passede ham og hans Raad- vi havde ogsaa gene modtaget Forslag af Dem.
2) Naturligvis maatte han- som skrevet- fuldstædniggøre vore Statutters juridiske og historiske Grundlag og noget anderledes formulere Omændringen af det russiske Capitel til et Storballei. Dog holdt vore Jurister fast ved, at vi faar hans Formulering at se, førend den blev besluttet af det russiske Capitel.

Sagen er nu traadt ind i det sidste Stadium, naar man er enige om det væsentlige- ja, selv om xxxx uvæsentlige Smaating, man er altsaa fuldt enige om Oprettelse af " et fælles Storpriorat" og om Indholdet af de sidste Besluttninger- kun angaaende , hvilket af den russiske Ordensgrens Organer " Comturcepellet" eller Ordensraadet ( comité d'initiative) der skal træffe Beslutninger opstaar en Misforstaaelse ( - som dog tilsidst ogsaa bliver klaret, saa at fuldstændig Enighed er til Stede.

21/5 1939 skriver v. Taube:
" Et Udkast til det russiske Malteser-Capitlets Beslutninger ligger foran mig og er endog fo 2 Dage siden blevet bevilliget af den destinerede Protektor for det russiske Ballei, Storfyrst Andreas Wladimiranovitch . Jeg tilsender Dem det gerne, men først om 2-3 Dage, da dette Dokument først omhyggeligt skal afskrives paa Maskine. Det drejer sig ikke blot om nogle faa Sider, men om et temmelig langt og omstændig Aktsykke af hvilket hele den juridiske Sags Stilling og " Captlets Ønske klart fremgaar. Det bliver fra russisk Side det egentlige konstituerede Hoved-Akt-stykke for hele Foretagendet.

Til det Formaal at faa de Underskrivendes Identitet prøvet, har jeg til Hensigt, at bede et prominent Medlem af den lokale Forening af russiske Advokater at deltage i " " Malteser Conferencen" og saa lade hans Erklæring desangaaende legalisere ved Dom I Frankrigs Almindelige............certification materielle de la signature."
Jeg gør her mit mest muligr i den Overbevisning, at det i dette Anliggende handler sig om en social, religiøs og maaske ogsaa juridisk meget betydningsfuld Sag.
P. S. Den grundlæggende Erklæring af 24/6 1928 underskrevet 16 Herrer, deriblandt 1 polsk Arvekomtur( som siden er blevet overført til den romerske Malteserordenens polske Association) og desuden af 3 Efterkommere af høje, men ikke arvelige russiske Malterserriddere, de kommer altsaa ikke juridisk i Betragtning for vort Capitel. Til de oprindelige 12 russiske Arvekomturer er siden kommet en til, saa at mit Register nu omfatter 13 Familienavne. Grev Soltzykoff lever i Bruxelles og er beredt til at komme til Paris, naar det ønskes.
Misforstaaelserne bestaar i, at vi mente, at det saakaldte Comturcapitel ( med den kvalificerede Majoritet af alle Arvekomturer) skal underskrive Beslutninger af Baron v. Taube mener, at det praktisk xxxx set ikke mere er muligt, da Medlemmerne nu er spredte over mange Lander inclusive Amerika og at det netop er derfor,

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1) Your proposition is so detailed and well drawn up, that I for my part only would change very little on the wording.
2) The legal and the historic base I would make much more complete and the decisions of the Russian Chapter I would formulate somewhat differently.
3) Naturally I know my Russian colleague's and as well the destined Protector's ( of the Russian Imperial family) standpoint, I would of course not be able to act, especially not after these many years, without their expressed consent. (As it later shows of von Taube's following
letters, he did receive the decisive person's approval of the whole matter one by one).

l. We were pleased that our proposals for the statutes of the Order suited him and his Council, we would also willingly have received propositions from them .
2. Of course he had to, as written, complete the legal and historic foundation of our statutes and formulate somewhat differently the alteration of the Russian Chapter to a Grand Bailiwick. However, our legal advisers firmly held on to, that we should be able to see his proposals before it would be decided on by the Russian Chapter.

The case had now entered upon the last phase, when we agree on the essential - yes, even on unessential little things, we are consequently quite agreed on the foundation of a " united Grand Priory" and on the content of the last decisions and which structure of the branch of the Order the "Commander Chapter" or the Council of the Order (Comité d'initiative) is to make decisions, then a misunderstanding arises (that however is at last cleared up as well, then full agreement is present).

On 21/5.1939 von Taube writes:
"A draft of the Russian Chapter of Malta's decisions is laying before me, and had been granted two days ago by the destined Protector of the Russian Bailey, Grand Duke Andrew Wladimiranovitch. I will certainly send it to you, but first in 2-3 days, while this document first is to be carefully transcribed by typewriter. It is not a question about a few pages, but of a rather long complicated document, of which all the legal position of the cause and "the will of the Chapter" clearly appears. From the Russian side it will be the real main constitutional-document of the whole undertaking.

Of the purpose of getting the identities of the signings proved, it is my intention to ask a prominent member of the local association of Russian lawyers to participate in the "Conference of the Order of Malta" and then let his declaration on the subject be legalised in the French general court ……… certification materielle de la signature."
Here I do my best in the firm conviction that this cause deals with a social, religious and even a legal, very important matter.
P.S. The fundamental declaration of 24/6.1928 signed by 16 gentlemen, among them a Polish Hereditary Commander (who later is transferred to the Roman Order of Malta's Polish Association) and 3 successors of high, but not hereditary, Russian knights of Malta, they will therefore not be legally recognised by our Chapter. To the original 12 hereditary Commanders one more has turned up, my register now includes 13 family names. Count Soltzykoff, now lives in Brussels and is prepared to come to Paris, whenever it is wanted.
The misunderstandings consisted in that we believed that the so called Commanders Chapter (with the qualified majority of all hereditary commanders) was to sign agreements, but Baron von Taube is of the opinion that it is practically no longer possible, because the members now are scattered over many countries including America, and therefor

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netop er derfor at man vil redde det russiske Storpriorat, som nu for anden Gang truer med at gaa i Opløsning, ved at knytte det til en nordisk Afdeling, der kan bevare Coutenistaler ( den legale Succession). Derfor ønskede v. Taube et Ordensraad ( le comite d'initiative) som har Beføjelse dertil fra Cometurcapitlet foruden den Fuldmagt v. Taube har - skal- for en Forms Skyld- unde: tegne de Beslutninger,som Storfyrst Andreas og alle afgørende Personer allerede enkeltvis har godkendt. Denne Ordning vilde ogsaa være fyldestgørende, men desværre misforstaar v. Taube og den danske Comité hinanden. Skylden er antagelig mest den danske Comité's, der ikke kan faa Erklæringer og Garantier nokog som ikke førend den har modtaget yderligere Forklaringer fra v. Taube helt forstaar de praktiske Vanskeligheder i Paris. Dette er beklageligt- man havde kunnet sparet Tid og lidt Bitterhed mod os fra v. Taubes Side.
Med Skrivelse af 21/5 ( afsendt 23/5) sendte v. Taube ogsaa den omtalte Resolutionsforslag( der har gengives, saaledes som den var godkendt af Storfyrst Andreas i Oversættelse:

………har enstemmig vedtaget følgende:
1) De bekrefter ved nærværende Genoprettelsen - i Egenskab af …. nationale Broderskab, det i 1798 af Stormesteren Poul 1 af Rusland oprettede " Grand Prieure de Russie" af Malteserordenen.
2) De forpligter sig til med kortest mulig Frist at udarbejde de Statutter for deres Broderskab og at gode Skridt til disses ""enregistrement xxx legal" i en europeisk Stat, der kan vælges efter Forholdene, og til sin Tid i Rusland.
3) De fornyer den til det permanente Medlem af "Comite d'initiative af 1928 Hr. Professor, Baron de Taub, i hans Egenskab af juridisk Raadgiver for det russiske Broderskab givne Fuldmagt dateret den 21/9 1929 vedrørende Genoprettelsen af den russiske Malteserorden med den nye særlige Opgave- nærværende Comités Navn - at naa til Forstaaelse med den danske Comité d'initiative vedrørende den eventuelle Sammensmeltning, som de anser for meget ønskelig, af deres russiske Orden med den, som er ved at dannes x i Norden under den omtrentlige Titel" Grand Prioret for Norden af den hellige Johannes af Jerusalems Orden kaldet Malteserordenen" med Udarbejdelse og " confirmation legale" i København og de forende Ordeners fælles Statutter.
4) I saa Fald indvilliger de udtrykkeligt til denne nye Orden for de nordiske Lande at overdrage alle de dem som ubestridte Repræsentanter for det gamle " Grand Priore de Russie" tilkommende historiske Rettigheder og Privilegier, saavel de allerede kendte, som de, der senere maatte opstaa."
Vi indrømmede v. Taube den nævnte Forandring. Benyttelsen af Betegnelse " Store Priorat" var mere korrekt, desuden foreslog vi at vore Statutter, som var godkendte, som skulde optages som en Bestanddel af det russiske Malteser Resulution. Dette Forslag accepterede v. Taube straks i næste Skrivelse af 4/6.
Paris 4/6 1939,: Jeg er principialt indforstaaet med de to Hovedpunkter i Deres venlige Skrivelse af 30/5. Tanken med Hensyn til det første af dem, maa imidlertid juridisk udføres anderledes, som det netop er foreslaaet af Dem i Deres Brev af 2. Juni. Jeg maa nemlig erindre Dem om Punkt 3 i min Skrivelse af 21/22 Maj, hvor det Medlemstal, man i Dag faktisk kan opnaas - det herværende Malteser Capitel dog er blevet klart karaktiseret: 7-16 Herrer, deraf kun faa Kommanderer. Men da De i dette Øjemed kun arbejder med rent theoretiske Muligheder, som vi allerede her har gennemprøvet her i Praxis, er der for mig ikke andet at gøre end at opstille en her vedlagt sammenlignende Tabell. Man vil heraf se, at Erklæringen af 1928 næsten var "vollstimmig) og altsaa absolut retsgyldig, man at den dengang stedfundne Procedur ikke med den bedste Vilje kan gengives i Dag. Da nu ogsaa min Plan om vort Comité d'initiative synes at være uantagelig for den danske Comite maa vi nok …. slaa ind paa den i deres sidste Skrivelse eneste Udvej med min personlige Fuldmagt.
Den gamle Fuldmagt fra 1929 var underskrevet af 5 Herrer, nemlig

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the very fact why they want to save the Russian Grand Priory, which now for the second time threatens to disintegrate, by connecting it with a Nordic division, which is able to keep the legal succession.
For that purpose von Taube wanted a Council of the Order (le comite d'initiative), to have powers from the Commanders-Chapter besides the power of attorney that von Taube had. It would be able, as a matter of form, to sign the decisions which Grand Duke Andreas and all the other decisive persons one by one have approved on. This arrangement would have been adequate, but unfortunately von Taube and the Danish Committee misunderstood each other. (Probably it was the fault of the Danish Committee, which couldn't get too many statements and guarantees and which did not quite understood the practical difficulties in Paris, until they received more explanations from von Taube. This is regrettable, it could have been saved time and some bitterness against us from the side of von Taube.
By letter of the 21/ 5. (sent on the 23/5. ) von Taube also sent the mentioned proposed resolution (here reported like it was approved on by Grand Duke Andreas, translated (*into Danish) as follows:
…………………have carried unanimously as follows:
1) They confirm at the present the re-establishment - in capacity of ………….national Brotherhood, the "Grand Prieure de Russie" of the Order of Malta created in 1798 by Grand Master Paul I of Russia.
2) They commit themselves, with the shortest possible respite, to prepare the statutes for their brotherhood and to take the necessary steps to their "enregistrement legal" in an European state, which can be chosen after the circumstances and in due course in Russia.
3) To renew the written authority given to the permanent member of "Comite d'iniative" of 1928, Mr. Professor Baron de Taube in his capacity as legal adviser for the Russian Brotherhood dated 21/9. 1929 concerning the re-establishment of the Russian Order of Malta with the new special task - the name of the present Committee - to reach an understanding with the Danish Committee concerning the possible integration, which they consider very desirable, of their Russian Order with the one, which is shortly to be constituted in the North under the approximate title of " Grand Priory of the North of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, called the Order of Malta" with preparation and "confirmation legals" in Copenhagen and the united Order's common statutes.
4) In that case they definitely agree to delegate all the future historic rights and privileges, those already known as well as those which later might arise in the new Order of the Nordic Countries, as the unchallenged representatives of the old "Grand Prioré de Russie" .
We agreed with von Taube about the alteration mentioned. The use of the indication "Grand Priory" was more correct and moreover we proposed that our statutes, which were sanctioned, would be adopted as a part of the Russian Malta Order resolution. This proposition von Taube accepted at once in his next letter of the 4.6.
Paris 4/6.1939: I generally agree on the two main points in your kind letter of 30/5. However the idea behind the first must be carried out differently according to the law, just as it is proposed by you in your letter of the 2nd of June. I have to remind you of the point 3 in my letter of 21/22 May where the number of members, which is today possible to achieve - the local Chapter of Malta, is clearly characterised as 7 - 16 gentlemen, among them only a few Commanders. But as you are at the moment only working with theoretical possibilities, which we already have proved here in practice, is then only left to me to set up the enclosed table. From this you may see, that the Statement of 1928 was nearly "unanimous) and therefore absolutely valid, but the ongoing procedure at that time could not, with the best of will, be reproduced today. As now even my plan for our Committee of initiative seems to be unacceptable for the Danish Committee, we may possibly …turn into the only way out, described in your latest letter, my personal power of attorney.
The old written authority of 1929 was signed by 5 gentlemen, namely

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Storfyrst Alexander, som Protektor og de 4 Medlemmer af det daværende Raad, der var valgt af de 13 Kommandører. P. Demidoff, Grev Solkykke, Fyrst Beraiaetemky og Grev Olufveff. I Dag lever kun Grev Solykke og Fyrst B med den nye Protektor Storfyrst Andreas, kunde k nu udtede den nye " absolutte" Fuldmagt, hvis det er ønskelig for vor Plan. Hvis dette stadig ikke er tilstrækkeligt beder jeg Dem betragte hele Sagen som forfejlet fra min Side og straks underrette mig herom. Er det imidlertid tilstrækkeligt, beder jeg Dem ufortøvent tilsende mig det ofte nævnte Beløb, som skal sætte mig i Stand til ( bortset fra Afholdelse af Mødet i Paris, som kun vil koste lidt) hurtigst at kalde Grev Soltikoff til Paris 2) at foranstalte yderligere Efterforskninger vedrørende senere Tilslutning af de stadig i Live værende Cormenturier og 3) at muliggøre min Rejse til København med Dokumennterne og gamle trykte Sager.
Nogle Sætninger af vort Brev af 30/5:
Efter Deres ønske erstattes Ordet "Store Battei" i vore Statutter til Store Priorat og Forlæggelsen af det russiske Storpriorat til Norden skal klart blive udtrykt. Vort Comité har enstemmigt vedtaget Statutterne, derfor maa man kun afholde ( overlade?) Plenarforsamlinger her Constitueringen af stor Prioratet de paa Grundlag af de allerede vedtagne Statutter." Vi var nu i et og alt ening med v. Taube om at hans personlige Fuldmagt var fuld tilstrækkelig og for det russiske Storpriorats Organersenere skulde saa det eneste af disse Organer, som endnu kunde samles Ordensraadet (comité d'initiative) underskrive Resolutionen, som nu kun blev en Formsag, da de afgørende Personer enkeltvis havde givet deres Tilslutning. Den 8. Juni tilskrives v. Taube som følger: .. et brev der krydsede v. Taubes Brev af samme Dato- Vi bekrefter med Tak for Modtagelsen af Deres ærede Skrivelse af 4. Juni d. a. det glæder os meget at De er principiel enig med os. Vi anfører nu her kun det, som bør tilføjes, forandres eller bortfalde i deres Resolutionsudkast.

Begyndelsen af Resolutionen maa henvise til … fundamentale Kends gerninger:
1) at Forsamlingen og Beslutningerne af det russiske Ordenskomitu rer i Paris 1928 i Betragtning af de foreliggende Omstændigheder var absolut legal. Af de oprindelige 23Arvekomturer existerer end nu kun 13, alle har, som deres sidste Rest af det russiske Stor priorat enstemmigt vedtaget Beslutningerne.
2) her omtalte Forsamling ( Ordenskapitlet) i 1928 udsat et permanent Ordensraad for at varetage Komturenes Interesser og indlede Forbindelse og slutte Overenskomst med andre Del af Ordenen. Af Raadets … Medlemmer er i Mellemtiden 3 afgaaet ved Døden og Raadet har derfor suppleret sig med 3 andre.

3) 3 har Ordensraadet nu givet sin juridiske Consulent ……. Og xx Udenrigsraad Baron M. v. Taube Fuldmagt af 25/9 1929 til ovennævntes Vegne at skaffex træffe Beslutninger, afslutte bindende Overenskomster……..
Storprioratet bliver under Navnet Storprioratet Norden i alle Henseender den retsmæssige Efterfølger af Storprioratet Rusland. Ved denne lejlighed bliver det Malteserordenen gamle historiske Priorat "Dacia" restitueret og som det første Priorat ( i Skandinavien) indlemmet i Storprioratet Norden…….
Vedlagt sender jeg Dem en Check paa 5.000 Beløbets anvendelse har De nævnt i Slutningen af Deres Brev af 4/6. Nu har vi endelig fundet hinanden og vi kan ikke se, at der i det sidste Øjeblik skulde opstaa yderligere vanskeligheder…

Den danske Comité afventede nu v. Taubes Ankomst til København med de underskrene Papirer.
Den 10. Juni skrev man paany til v. Taube, at vi her havde nogle mindre interne Vanskeligheder, som vilde medføre en lille Forsinkelse af Starten og den locale Ledelse. Derpaa reagerede v. Taube 12/6, at det var en Skuffelse for ham og tilføjer: Jeg finder Deres sidste Forslag aldeles glimrende- saa meget mere som det ganske fortræffeligt vil passe til nogle Enkeltheder ( Ejendommeligheder) hos de russiske Maltesere. Det er Ting som

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Grand Duke Alexander as Protector and the 4 members of the Council then in office, chosen out of 13 Commanders, : P. Demidoff, Count Soltykoffe, Prince Baraiastemski and Count Olufveff. Today only Count Soltykoffe and Prince B. with the new protector Grand Duke Andreas are alive and able to issue the new "absolute" written authority, if it is desirable for our plan. If this still is not enough, I ask you to look at the whole case as unsuccessful from my side and immediately inform me of this. If it, on the contrary it is enough, I ask you, without delay to send me the previously mentioned amount, which is going to enable me to (except for holding the meeting in Paris, that only will cost me a little) swiftly call Count Soltikoff to Paris 2) to make further inquiries concerning approval from the Commanders still living later on and 3) to make my journey to Copenhagen possible together with the documents and old printed papers.
Some lines in our letter of the 30/5.
After your request the word "Grand Bailiwick" will in our statutes be replaced with Grand Priory and the transference of the Russian Grand Priory to the North will be clearly expressed. Our Committee has unanimously carried the statutes, therefore they only may hold  (handover?) plenary assemblies here. The constitution of the Grand Priory is on the basis of the already agreed statutes. Now we were in complete agreement with von Taube that his personal written authority was absolutely enough and regarding the Russian Grand Priory's structures of late. The only one of these structures that still could be assembled, the Council of the Order, (Comite d'initiative) would sign the resolution, which now only became a matter of form, because the decisive persons one by one had given their consent. On the 8th of June Von Taube was written to as follows: .....a letter, which crossed von Taube's of the same date......We acknowledge with thanks the receipt of your honoured letter of the 4th of June this year, we are very pleased that you in principle agree with us. We will here only mention what may be added, changed or be disposed of in your draft of resolution.
The beginning of the resolution must refer to ........fundamental facts:
1) that the assembly and the decisions of the Russian Committee of the Order in Paris 1928 was in consideration of the existing circumstances absolutely legal. Of the originally 23 Hereditary Commanders now only 13 still exist, all of them have, as the last remnant of the Russian Grand Priory, in union agreed to the decisions.
2) the here mentioned assembly (the Chapter of the Order) in 1928 has chosen a permanent Council of the Order to attend to the interests of the Comptures and initiate connections or conclude an agreement with other parts of the Order. Of the ......members of the Council in the meantime 3 have departed by death and the Council therefore has supplied itself by 3 others.
3) 3 the Council of the Order has now given the legal consultant and Minister of Foreign Affairs Baron M.von Taube written authority of 25/9 1929 on the behalf of above mentioned persons to make final binding commitments...........
The Grand Priory will, under the name of The Grand Priory of the North, in all respects be the legal successor of the Grand Priory of Russia. At this occasion the Order of Malta's old historic Priory will be restored and as the first Priory (in Scandinavia) incorporated in the Grand Priory of the North........
Enclosed I send you today a check of 5.000,-........ You did mention in your letter of 4.6. the use of the amount. Now we finally have come to terms we cannot see, why difficulties should arise at the last moment......

The Danish Committee now awaited the arrival of von Taube to Copenhagen bringing along the signed papers.
On the 10. June we wrote again to von Taube, we had some minor internal difficulties, which would bring a little delay of the starting and the local leadership. Von Taube reacted to this on the 12.6, that this was a disappointment to him and he adds: I find your latest suggestion quite brilliant the more so as it will apply to some particulars in the Russian Malta Order, or rather peculiarities. There are things which

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hører til den fortrolige Side af Sagen og som derfor skal refereres mundtligt. Jeg er meget gerne beredt y til at føre vor sa vigtige Sag videre ogsaa i den nye Formulering. Da jeg denne og næste Uge endnu raader over fri Tid, kunde jeg i Begyndelsen eller I Midten af næste Uge komme til København med alle mine Dokumenter for nøje at tale med Dem om alt.

v. Taube var bemyndiget til at afslutte Overenskomster og fatte Beslutninger paa Grund af den givne Fuldmagt. Som Bevis foreligger den Kendsgerning at v. Taube forhandlede med Stormesteren for Ordenens Hoved… i Rom om en Sammenslutning. I Sammenligning med denne betydningsfulde Sag var vor Sag forholdsvis ringe.

Den 15/6 tilskrev man v. Taube at man var indforstaaet med hans Skrivelse af 12/6 og hans Ankomst til København den følgende Uge derunder: vi sender Dem vedlagt Billetten. Vi træffes paa Hotell Astoria. Imidlertid lykkedes ikke med den korte Varsel at faa Rigspolitiets Tilladelse og den blee den 21/6 atter skrevet til v. Taube og beklagede denne Omstændighed, men da Sagen faktisk var i Orden og kun den ydre - mer … Bekræftelse ved v. Taubes Ankomst til København manglede, saa maatte begge Parter finde sig I Udsættelsen af denne Højtidelighed- eventuelt at Par Maanedermedens v. Taube genoptog sine Forelæsninger i ……. Juli og jeg ( v. ……) skulde saa rejse til Jugoslavien … v. Taube blev derefter indbudt til Højtideligheden i det nyoprettede danske Priorat til Midten af September.

Dermed sluttede vor Forbindelse med v. Taube. Verdenskrigen brød ud

Mine Vennerog jeg besluttede at lade Sagen hvile til efter Krigen. Vi var overbevidst om, at selv om det havde været ønskeligt, at v. Taube havde bistaaet os ogsaa med de sidste Formaliteter, saa var det ikke … i det mindste de facto ( B. Rosenkrantz der var Jurist mente ogsaa, de jure, den russiske Godkendelse og Anerkendelse klart nok var udtrykt i de her citerede Skrivelser saa at Sagen kunde staa for en historisk Bedømmelse, selv om de sidste Formaliteter manglede- thi de manglede ikke paa Grund af Uoverensstemmelse- men kun paa Grund af Verdenskrigens Udbrud, force majeure.

Det danske Priorat under for det russiske Storpriorat lever altsaa endnu og kan blive videre udbygget, naar det altid vil være tro mod Malteserordenens gejstlige-ridderlige Grundsætninger og omhyggelig bevarer den legale Succession og er Rede til at høje sig for Verdens Stormester i Rom, som souveraint Overhovede- naar Rom en Gang er rede til at optage Forbindelser paa de Grundlag, som den har anerkendt ved Oprettelsen af det russiske Storpriorat og dens Ordensgrene som blev gennomført i det autonome Storpriorat I Rusland - to i de arvelige Komturer lever videre og de af dem der 1928 og senere i Udlandet skabte Organer, som igjen i 1939 overdrog det danske Priorat at varetage Storprioratets Interesser og … deponeret de russiske Storpriorat hos det danske Priorat, som den selv havde godkendt og anerkendt som ny Bestanddel af det historiske russiske Priorat.

……………/ 5 1950

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belong to the confidential side of the matter and which therefore must be referred by word of mouth. I am willingly prepared to conduct the enterprise of importance to us further by the new wording. Since I have some free time this and the oncoming week, I would be able to come to Copenhagen in the beginning or in the middle of next week with all my documents and carefully talk everything through with you.

Von Taube was authorised to conclude agreements and to make decisions because of his power of attorney. In evidence, it is known, that von Taube negotiated with the Grand Master of the Head of the Order......in Rome about an affiliation. In comparison with this very important case, ours was comparatively insignificant.

On the 15/6. we wrote to von Taube, about agreeing with his letter of 12/6. and to his arrival to Copenhagen the following week, and below: enclosed we send you the ticket. We will meet you at Hotel Astoria. However, the short notice did not succeed in getting the permission from the Commissioner of Police and it was again on the 21.6. written to von Taube and this fact was regretted, but as the matter was actually in order and only the more formal confirmation at the arrival of von Taube was missing, both parties had to submit to the postponement of this solemnity - perhaps for some months, while von Taube resumed his series of lectures in . ..July and I (v............) had to leave for Yugoslavia......von Taube then was invited to the solemnity in the newly established Danish Priory in the middle of September.

Here our connection with von Taube finished. World War II broke out.

My friends and I decided to let the case rest until after the war. We were convinced, that even if it had been desirable, that von Taube had given us assistance also with the last formalities, it was not .......at least de facto. (B. Rosenkrantz, who was a lawyer, also thought, de jure, that the Russian endorsements and recognitions clearly were expressed in the above quoted letters so that the case would be able to stand up to an historic judgment, even if the last formalities were lacking - not because of disagreements - but because of the outbreak of the World War II, force majeure.

Consequently the Danish Priory under the Russian Grand Priory is still alive and can be further extended if it only will be always true to the Order of Malta's ecclesiastical - chivalrous principles and carefully preserve the legal succession and always will be ready to give in to the Grand Master of the Order in Rome as the sovereign head - when Rome once is ready to take up connections on grounds they have acknowledged by the establishment of the Russian Grand Priory and it's branches of the Order that was carried through in the Autonomous Grand Priory in Russia - two in the hereditary Commanders are still alive and that in 1928 and later abroad, they created structures, which again in 1939 turned over to the Danish Priory to take care of the interests of the Grand Priory and ...........deposited the Russian Grand Priory at the Danish Priory, which it had approved of and acknowledged on it's own accord as a new component of the historic Russian Priory.

………………………/ 5 1950