INTRODUCTION

Guy Jean Joly writes his book as a member of a French self-styled Order "The Regular Order of Saint John of the Holy Land, Knights Hospitaller". The book provides a chronological history on the ancient Order, dovetailing this into a history of the self-styled Order to which he belongs.
The book leaves the reader in no doubt that each member of this latter Order has joined a real Christian institution in a world where we need more such devout men of faith.
However not all of the historical picture provided will stand up to academic scrutiny. The areas where myth has replace reality are examined on this Web page.

THE AUTHOR

The Author, 65 year old Guy Jean Joly began his membership as a Serving Brother 40 years ago, becoming a Knight of the Order in 1963. His career before retirement was as a Manager in the Pharmaceutical Industry.  Currently he is the Conventual Grand Curator, and edits the Journal "Les Cahiers de Saint Jean".

Guy Jean JOLY, osj

Chronologie
millénaire
des
hospitaliers
de Saint-Jean
OSJ.

Publibook.com

Guy Jean JOLY, osj

Millenary
Chronology
of the
Hospitallers
of Saint John
OSJ

Publibook.com

BACKGROUND COMMENTS.

In the late 1950s an organisation emerged led by a Charles Louis Thourot-Pichel; "The American Grand Priory of The Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta". Pichel had a reputation of allegedly selling false titles, and other criminal activities.

Earlier in the 20th Century semi-masonic organisations of "Knights" emerging out of the Orange Lodges (The Black Association) had set up in North America. Arthur T. Lamson led such a group called "The Knights of Malta", which registered itself as a Corporation in the State of Jersey in 1911. However by 1912 the group had become defunct, with the members reconciling with another group which they had left previously.

The incorporation of 1911, which had been gained by the "Knights of Malta" as led by Arthur T. Lamson had lain dormant, even though the group had ceased to exist. The archivist of the "Knights of Malta" Order, had been a Dr. Bullock who was consulted by Pichel. Dr. Bullock died, with the records held by Pichel. Armed with these records, Pichel developed a whole prehistory for a new group he founded or with which he was connected. Adding to the claim to have been founded in America in 1908, he improved on the Orange Order background by mimicking the foundation of the Paris group, complete with its Hereditary Commanders. The alleged founding fathers of Pichel's group had died long before the claims were made. Pichel had the additional benefit of being acquainted with the history of the genuine group of Russian Hereditary Commanders in Paris, written by Professor Baron Michael de Taube, a Russian exile in Paris.

In 1962, Pichel's "Order" split into two, with a Frenchman, Colonel Paul de Granier de Cassagnac, who had been the Lieutenant Grand Master of the Pichel group, leading his own "Order" as Grand Master. The exiled Yugoslavian King, Peter II became "Protector" to Cassagnac's Order 1962 - 1965, when he formed his own Order as Grand Master.
The Cassagnac "Order" continued, but in 1999 "The Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller" modified its name to "The Regular Order of Saint John of the Holy Land, Knights Hospitaller" due to legal disputes  under French lawwith the Roman Catholic "Sovereign Military Order of Malta".

PICHEL UNMASKED.

The whole story of Pichel's inventiveness was recorded by Pichel's closest associate for many years, Crolian Edelen de Burgh. In a letter addressed to Harrison Smith, the Historian to the King Peter Order in Malta, Mr Edelen, wrote on January 22, 1980;
"My problem with the history is that all seems to be false from 1908 to 1932 as published by Pichel. I know his Minutes are false. Dr Bulloch was never Grand Chancellor of the Order. He was the Archivist of the old Scottish-American Order of St John and kept these records at Lancaster, Pennsylvania. When he was old and blind, in the early 1950's, Pichel went to him with a story that he was writing a history of the Knights of Malta and needed some records from the Archives. Dr Bulloch let him borrow whatever he fancied and then obligingly died while Pichel had the most important records. We took the material, twisted it around, took names of noblemen from the Times Index and created an Order stemming from the Grand Priory of Russia, all a hoax.... The Scottish-American Order went out of business in New York about 1909 following a suicide of the Grand Chancellor, as well as a scandal involving payment (or non-payment) of life insurance policies on the lives of members. Some members in New Jersey tried to save the situation by securing a charter as the "Knights of Malta" in Trenton in 1911. Their effort failed and by 1912 was abandoned. Then Pichel came along in the 1950's and claimed to be the duly elected officer of that Corporation to give his Order some evidence of antiquity and to substantiate the false Minutes".
- Archives OSJ World Headquarters, St Pauls Street Valetta.

The same confession was given by Edelen to a Sovereign Council meeting of one of the many King Peter Orders.
- "Combined Minutes Meetings of Sovereign and Little Councils April 10-14, 1981 New York Athletic Club."
Edelen's confession is given from page 18 onwards, and was brought about by a well researched account provided by Robert Formhalls, who had access to records of the Knights of St. John and Malta and the Royal Black Association of the Ancient, Exalted, Illustrious Religious and Military Order of the Knights of Malta, and who had published an account of Pichel's myths in 1978.
- Formhals, Robert W. Y. White Cross : story of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, with particular emphasis on the Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller since 1964 under Royal Charter of Peter II, King of Yugoslavia. Sanghals Publishers, Camarillo, California, USA, 1978.

JOLY'S BOOK.

Guy Joly's book contains some 90 pages of information (95 pages long). 53 pages (pp 9-61) are devoted to the history of the Order from its inception to around 1917. The main source for this information is the Order's historian, Vertot. More recent authors are followed for the modern phase, including those providing apologetics for the self-styled Orders. 6 pages (pp 63-68) takes us through the Russian phase, 5 pages (pp 68-72) give details of the restoration/re-creation of the Roman Catholic Order. 4 pages give details of the Fench Commission (pp 73-76) leading to the creation of the British Royal Order (p 77). The German Protestant Order is mentioned (p 78). The book moves from the accepted history of the ancient Order to the realm of the self-styled Orders from (p 80 onward). Details of the French self-styled Order begin on page 88 and continue to the end of the book. The beginnings of the King Peter St John Order are found on pages 88-90.

The Foreword.
On reading the foreword you cannot escape the sincerity of the author as a Christian, who has a deep sense and passion of his membership to the organisation to which he belongs as part of his Christian vocation. This can only be commended.
In mentioning previous writers of the Order he notes "…many of these writers, sometimes for prejudice or personal reasons, sometimes by passion, never stopped evading facts and even distorting texts. So they have concealed or falsified the real features of History." Sadly Guy Joly has relied upon such writers!

The Histrory of the book.
The book was written with the aim of providing a chronological history of the Order for new recruits within the "Regular Order of Saint John of the Holy Land" an organisation which had emerged from Charles Louis Thourot-Pichel's "American Grand Priory of The Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta"

It seeks to achieve its aim by using a variety of historic sources in providing a time line approach with no more than a short passage taken from one or more of the historic works, on each event and its date. This is a "proof text" approach. After each passage an abbreviation in parenthesis is given referring to the work cited. The author makes this following claim; "All the dates quoted in the present opuscule appear on the archive documents constituted in the books publicly known, and up to now uncontested."
One frustration for the serious historian is that there is only a general reference to the book quoted, with no page number given. More specifically in contradiction to the author's claim cited is the use of two books which rely in part on a history crafted by Pichel.
Pichel credits his own "Order" with a pre-history in the USA to before 1908. Yet apart from Pichel's claims there is no evidence that Pichel was involved in any "Order of St John" before the 1950s. However we are given an insight to Pichel with the knowledge that he had a reputation of selling false titles, and other criminal activities.
The two books relying in part on the claims of Pichel are;
Cassagnac, Colonel Paul de. Histoire de l'Ordre Souverain de St-Jean de Jerusalem Chevaliers Hospitaliers O.S.J. Liver Rouge, Scorpion, Paris, 1962.
Muraise, Eric, (Colonel M. Suire) Histoire Sincere Des Ordres De L'Hopital, Fernand Lanore Paris 1978.
Abbreviated as (Cas) and (S) respectively.

Totally vague is the reference (H) which refers to "Various authors. Historians and General History."

Detailed Criticisms.

-September 7th, 1563 page 46.
"At the Council of Trente, ...the Order recalls...that the Commanderies passed over to Protestantism are the concern only of ITS discipline (V)"

This is a misreading of Vertot. The Order via its Ambassador to the Council "set forth the heroick exploits of their ancestors, saying that if they did not equal them at the time, it was owing to the protestants having seiz'd on some of thier commanderies". Vertot, Monsignor l'Abbe de. The History of the Knights of Malta 2 Volumes, London, 1728, Vol II, Book XII, page 187.

-1675 page 52.
"The King of England takes up with the Order again (V)".

This could be misread. Vertot states; "The King of England declares war against the rovers of Tripoli, and his ships are well received in the ports of Malta......Charles II King of England writes in a very obliging manner to the grand-master, to thank him for the great civilities he shewed to his admiral and his ships, which he received into the harbour of Malta" Vertot, Monsignor l'Abbe de. The History of the Knights of Malta 2 Volumes, London, 1728, Vol II, Book XIV, page 95.

-November 5th, 1798 page 63.
"Pope PIUS VI approves the deposition of HOMPESCH".

Pius VI by a letter of this date urges the Knights in Russia to obtain the agreement of all other Priories for the action sought by the Knights in Russia. Thus there was only a qualified agreement.

-November 1798 page 64.
"An anonymous Brother addresses a memorandum proposing the Tsar to gather around the Order all the forces, military, intellectual and religious of Europe, with no distinction of nationality, class, or denomination, to curb the revolutionary movement"

This information is attributed to Eric, Muraise [Colonel M. Suire] (S) but is found almost word for word 23 years earlier in de Taube (T) see Taube, Professor Baron Michel de. L'Empereur Paul I de Russie, Grand Maître de l'Ordre de Malte, et son Grand Prieuré Russe, Paris 1955, pages 9 & 21.

-October 14th, 1827 page 77.
"the Grand Priory of England, which becomes effective from the election of the Grand Prior Sir Robert PEAT, accepted by the Crown, (S).

Peat's Order was not accepted by the Crown. It was a private venture and remained so unitl 1888 some time after Peat's death when it gain an incorporation by Royal Charter.
The English 'Priory' or 'Langue' was formed in 1831. In 1832 Robert Peat broke from the French recognised group and continued with his own supporters. The French sponsored group died out circa 1937.

-January 10th, 1908 page 82.
"Constitution of the Grand Priory of the United States, including a Russian Priory', with members Hereditary"

Hereditary Commanders did not set up an American Priory. There is no evidence to back up such a suggestion for the early 1900s in the USA. However in that period in the USA there were "Orders of St. John/Malta" with their historical pedigree in the Black Association of the Orange Lodges (set up to defend the ascendancy of the Protestants in Ireland).

-1911 page 83.
"This Grand Priory receives its 'Charter and Certificate of Incorporation' in the State of Delaware"......These documents will be confirmed on the Federal level on the 15th of October 1956".

There is no real evidence of an Incorporation of 1911. Oddly enough the Incorporation of 1956 was enacted by three women; Mary M Lafferty, Jean P Joel and Ruth Biddle. Pichel and his colleagues do not appear as Officers of the Corporation until 1960! (From the records in the State of Delaware). The confirmation of 15th of October 1956 was not 'Federal' but issued by the State of Delaware!
At a guess the Incorporation was an 'off-the-shelf' company, bought by Pichel in 1956. The amendments to register Pichel's name being made four years later in 1960. The alternative is that the three women were the Chief Officers of the "Sovereign Order of St John of Jerusalem Inc" 1956-1960!!!!!

-1913 page 83.
"Grand Duc ALEXANDER is elected Grand Master according to the ancient Statutes (Ts Hist OSJ)"

Apart from Minutes and other items provided by Pichel, there is no other solid evidence. Pichel's 'evidence' did not make any appearance until the late 1950s!.
Against this is the solid evidence that the Paris Group of Russian Hereditary Commanders under the leadership of Grand Duke Alexander acknowledged the Grand Magistry as being in Rome, when they made their approach for reconciliation in the period 1929-1932. This position accords with the historic position adopted by the Russian Grand Priory and Russian Crown. Sadly the reconciliation was refused on the ground that the members of the Russian Grand Priory were not Roman Catholics.
Thus Grand Duke Alexander was not a Grand Master of the Order of St. John in 1913. However he was Grand Prior of the Paris Group of Hereditary Commanders from 1928 until his death in 1933. Also to be noted is that in the 1960s the Paris Group repudiated Pichel's claims - this is on record in the Sovereign Military Order of Malta Archives in Rome.

-1920-1932 page 85.
"First resurgence of a Russian Priory in Germany, that will give birth to the GRAND PRIORY IN DENMARK"

Only scant information survives about the origins of the Den Danske Maltesorden. The founder was Colonel Paul Mikhailovitch Bermondt, who was a White Russian adventurer who sought under the German/Polish General Rüdiger von der Goltz to create a German controlled Latvia and to restore a Russia Czar in the Baltic Provinces, in 1919. Defeated he fled to Denmark. He adopted his maternal uncle's name and rank, to become Prince, or Count, Colonel Paul Mikhailovitch Avaloff . In Denmark circa 1920, Bermondt set up the "Sovereign Imperial Russian Chivalric Order of Malta" (Souveraner kaiserliche-russischer Malteser-ritter-orden).
It is alleged that Bermondt acquired the patronage of King Alexander of Yugoslavia. By name, Bermondt's Order lay claim in part to the Russian tradition. However, neither Bermondt, nor his maternal uncle (Avaloff), were Hereditary Commanders of, or had been previously connected to, the Russian Grand Priory. Bermondt's creation was simply of analogous nature. Also there is no evidence of contact between Bermondt's group in 1928 or afterwards, with the Russian Grand Priory following the resumption of its activities in exile in Paris. Sometime in the mid 1930s, Bermondt had sought to gain the support of Grand Duke Cyril, but this was refused. There is no evidence that thereafter any support or patronage was given by members of the Romanov family to Bermondt’s Order. At some stage in the inter-war period, Bermondt and his Order, moved to Germany, where it was suppressed by the Nazis.

In 1950 a refutation to the claims of Bermondt's Order was given jointly by the brother to the successor to the Russian Throne, and by a legal expert in Russian Law. Grand Duke Andrew and Baron Michel de Taube repudiated any claim of the Bermondt Order via the patronage of King Alexander of Yugoslavia to be a "so-called" restoration of the Russian Grand Priory as being "null and void in the legal context".

On the 31 August 1934, in Copenhagen a private non-political Christian organisation was created claiming an Imperial Russian foundation via the Bermondt Order called the "Den Danske Maltesorden" From this venture, on the 24th June 1946, one of the members - Mr. Grundall Sjallung founded the Grand Priory of the Sovereign Order of St John of Jerusalem in Denmark. In 1973, the membership of the original group founded in 1934, was reconciled with Sjallung's group under the name "Sovereign Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem of Denmark". For a brief period the "Grand Chancellor" of this group was HRH Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark. The group today is known as the "Den Danske Johanniterorden". A further schism occurred in Den Danske Maltesorden in 1982, when about half the membership seceded and joined the Sjallung's united 'Order' of 1973. This group no longer claim the Russian "legend", but claim to be a 1934 revived foundation of the ancient Order of Denmark.

In 1948 a Danish Architect - Charles P Christensen formed his own Order of St John - a schismatic element of the 1934 foundation. In 1951 Christensen obtained a decree issued in Leipzig, Germany from "The Sovereign Russian Imperial Order of Knights of Malta", which was signed by Max Schiffel von Frauenstein who had been a member of the Schismatic Order created in 1946. In that year the Grand Master of the Sovereign Russian Imperial Order of Knights of Malta was given as Prince Paul Avalov-Bermondt. Thus Christensen's group inherited the mantle of the original group founded by Bermondt. The 1948 Order continued with the name and mantle of the "Den Danske Maltesorden" - The Danish Order of Malta. In 1967, the Order joined forces with Cassagnac's French Order. After Christensen's death in 1963 Carl Wilhelm Lehman became Prior until 1969, followed by Poul Hall Jensen to 1990, then Ove Petersen until 1994, Johan A. Johansen until 1996. The present Prior is David K Svarre. Claimed by the group, as the first Prior in 1934 was Poul von Reitzel, followed by Charles P Christensen in 1939.

With such a complex and interwoven history, both a Russian foundation of post 1917 (via the Bermondt foundation of 1920), and the 1934 foundation are taken as the origins of Den Danske Maltesorden. What is certain in all of this is that the Danish Order Quelen cites was not founded by Russian Hereditary Commanders.

-June 24th, 1928 page 85.
"Second resurgence, in Paris of a Russian Priory"

This entry concerns the Russian Grand Priory in exile, which had the patronage of all the senior dynasts to the Russian Throne, and is NOT a 'second' resurgence (the author counts the myhtical USA group as the 'first'!).

-March 1933 & -1948 page 86.
Both entires are from Pichel's pre-history which he gave to his 'Order'.

-March 26th-27th, 1965 page 90.
A 1912 Constitution is cited.

Although dated to 1912, there is no evidence to support this date. The Constitution is alleged to have been typed on a 1942 typewriter in Schickshinny circa mid-late 1950s as part of the invention of a pre-history. The internal evidence does not take into account Orthodoxy, which a Constitution inspired by Russian Orthodox believers would.

-1977 page 93.
"Creation, in New-York, by a few 'Hereditaries', of an Orthodox Order of Saint John. An attempt for an alliance will fail on October 17th, 1992, but contacts are kept."

There was no "creation" of an Orthodox Order in 1977. In 1973 Heresitary Commanders of the Russian Grand Priory based in exile in Paris set up an American Priory in New York. Already in 1939, a sub Priory had been set up in Denmark. The only surviving signatory of the 1928 group of Commanders based in Paris, Prince Serge Belosselsky-Belozersky was the chairman of the New York based group. In 1977 with no remaining leaders of the Russian Grand Priory left in Paris, the HQ of the organisation moved to New York, and was registered as a Corporation under the title Order of Orthodox Knights Hospitaller of Saint John of Jerusalem to seek to distinguish it from the many self-styled Orders using the titles "Order of St John" and "Russian Grand Priory" which had emerged from the Pichel organisation late 1950s onward.

An attempt was made in 1992, which if it had succeeded would have regularised the claim by the Cassagnac Group to be part of the Russian tradition. One of the differences of opinion between the two parties is that the Hereditary Commander's group considers itself to be only a part of the Order of St John, as the non-Catholic Russian Grand Priory, with the highest office only being that of a Grand Prior. In contrast the Cassaganac group sees itself as THE Order, in that it has a Grand Master in oposition to the Grand Master of the Roman Catholic Order. This view permeates comments about the Roman Catholic Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) - see page 80.

CONCLUSIONS.

Guy Joly has been a member of the Cassagnac Order for forty years. His membership further inspired him to Christian Service.
The evidence on offer by Pichel was sufficient enough for Cassagnac. The Incorporation Certificate of 1956 was real enough and gives a foundation date of 1908 on page 1. However the date of 1908 forms part of the title given in the application (along with the dates 1080, 1530, and 1798) - with the following words "this title being descriptive only".
The fact that the Hereditary Commanders had met in in Paris in 1928 to continuue the activities of the Russian Grand Priory in exile, gave credence to an alledged similar meeting of such Commanders in the USA some twenty years earlier.
No one who believed Pichel questioned that fact that he only produced his evidence in book form in 1957, written by himself! One year after the Incorporation he had obtained, and two years after the publication of Baron Michel de Taube's book on the very historic Russian Grand Priory of 1955.
Cassagnac's genuineness, real Christian faith and charisma, reinforced the view to his followers of the truth of the pedigree of the Order to which they belonged. The very Chritisan ethos of his Order evident in the members today is a tesimony to this fact. That Cassagnac's Order evoked real committment to Christian service is to be admired. However, it is a Chritisian Order founded by Colonel Paul de Granier de Cassagnac, and given a Charter in 1963 by King Peter II of Yugoslavia.
Charitable endeavors undertaken by the "Regular OSJ" begun by Casagnac are to be commended. More such work is needed in the world and not less. Sadly the continued reliance upon Pichel's myth detracts from what is an organisation otherwise to be commended.

The Reverend Dr Michael Foster. SSC. MIWO. MIC. Cert Theol Oxon.

WHERE TO BUY THE BOOK.

The publication is electronic and paper on http://www.publibook.com. Ordering a copy is somewhat complicated especially if you do not read French!!!
For the website Publibook.com click ; Book page , - or to make ordering the book very simple and telephone an order on 0033 1 47 00 05 07

It is nice to know that the profits from the book go to the charitable works of the Order.