THE ORDER OF ST. LAZARUS OF JERUSALEM 1100-1489.
Symbol of the Order: Prior to 1489; a Green Greek Cross. 16th Century onwards; Green Maltese Cross.

The Military Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem originated in a leper hospital founded in the twelfth century by the Crusaders of the Latin Kingdom. There had been other Christian institutions caring for lepers of which the Order of St. Lazarus claimed to be the continuation, thus providing for a claim to be the oldest of all Orders. However the earlier Eastern leper hospitals followed the Rule of St. Basil, while the hospital of Jerusalem adopted the Rule of St. Augustine.
The Order of St. Lazarus was, like that of St. John, in its first years of existence a caring Order, and not a military Order.
There are some suggestion that, the institution was an extension of the work of the Hospital of St. John. Those cared for by the Order of St. John were transient, and changed constantly, but the lepers of St. Lazarus were, due to the need of isolation, in permanent seclusion. In return they were regarded as brothers or sisters of the hospital which sheltered them, and they obeyed the common rule which united them with their religious guardians.
From the time of the Crusades, with the spread of leprosy, leper hospitals became very numerous throughout Europe, so that at the death of the French King Louis IX (St. Louis) in 1270, there were eight hundred in France alone. However, these houses did not form a congregation and each was autonomous, supported to a great extent by the lepers themselves, who were obliged when entering to bring with them their implements, and who at their death willed their goods to the institution if they had no children. Many of these houses bore the name of St. Lazarus, a common practice, and does not indicate any dependence on, or connection to, the Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem.

The house at Jerusalem owed to the general interest devoted to the holy places in the Middle Ages a rapid and substantial growth in goods and privileges of every kind. It was endowed not only by the sovereigns of the Latin realm, but by all the states of Europe. King Louis VII, on his return from the Second Crusade, in 1154, gave to the Order, the Chateau of Broigny, near Orleans. This example was followed by Henry II of England, and by Emperor Frederick II. This was the origin of the military commanderies whose contributions, called responsions, flowed into Jerusalem, added to by the collections which the hospital was authorised to make in Europe.

In 1255, Pope recognised its existence under the Rule of St. Augustine. In 1262, Pope Urban IV assured it the same immunities as were granted to the monastic Orders. In 1265, Pope Clement IV ordered that the secular clergy to confine all lepers whatsoever, men or women, clerics or laymen, religious or secular, in the houses of the Order.
After Jerusalem had fallen again into the hands of the Muslims. St. Lazarus, although still called "of Jerusalem", had been transferred to Acre, where it had been ceded territory by the Templars, and where in 1264, it received the confirmation of its privileges by Pope Urban IV. Two forces would have led to the militarisation of the Order, first that there would have been received into membership Knights of the Military Orders, and the critical need for armed defenders for the remaining possessions of the Christians in the Holy Land. After the fall of Acre in 1291, the leper hospital of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem disappeared. However, its commanderies in Europe, together with their revenues, continued to exist, but hospitality was no longer practised. The Order ceased to be an Order of Hospitallers and became purely an Order of Knighthood, without any real purpose.
In 1489, by Papal edict of Innocent VIII, along with the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, the Order of St. Lazarus was absorbed into the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.

The Order of St. Lazarus 1489-1572.
The Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Lazarus of Jerusalem 1609-1824.
The Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus 1572-.
Two groups of Knights resisted the Papal Bull of suppression. The Commandery of Boigny in France, having support form the King of France, and the Priory of Capua, in Italy supported by the Duke of Savoy, which continued as independent units. In the pontificates of Alexander VI (1492-1503) and Pius III (1503), matters were left unresolved, but in 1505 Pope Julius II confirmed the Bull of 1489, but to no avail.
In 1517, Pope Leo X re-established the Order in Italy based on the Priory of Capua, to which were attached the leper hospitallers of Sicily. From 1489 onwards, the Commanders of Boigny had counted themselves as Grand Masters of the remaining Order, but Leo X, whilst accepting the de-facto state of affairs in France, would only confirm to the King of France in 1519, the leader of the Commandery of Boigny, as a Commander, to a Commandery which the Order of St. John claimed as part of their Order. The continual appointment of Knights of St. John as Commander of the St. Lazarus Commandery at Boigny, went some way in holding the claims in tension.
In 1565, Pope Pius IV partially annulled the Bulls of his predecessors and restored its possessions to the Order  in Italy, that he might give the Grand Mastership to a favourite, Giovanni de Castiglione, and to resolve the situation, sought to place the Commandery of Boigny under Castiglione. This move failed to gain any support from the French Crown, or the Commandery itself.
In 1572 with the death of Castiglione, Pope Gregory XIII united the Order of St. Lazarus in perpetuity with the Crown of Savoy. The reigning Duke, Philibert III, then united it with his recently founded Order of St. Maurice, creating the Order Saints Maurice and Lazarus, with an hereditary Grand Mastership. The reaction of King  Henri IV of France was to appoint a Knight to the office of "Grand Master", providing for conflicting claims.

In 1608, the Pope determined not to allow, two Orders of Lazarus to continue, founded by Papal Bull the Order of our Lady of Mount Carmel, which was to absorb the French Order of St. Lazarus. The French answer was akin to the move of the Duke, with the creation of a united Order, "The Royal and Military Orders of our Lady of Mount Carmel and Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem united". A small number of Hereditary Commanderships were created in the united Order, but the Order was abolished in 1791 during the Revolution. Although the monarchy was restored in 1814, by Royal edict in 1824 the Order was allowed to become extinct.

The Modern Order of St. Lazarus.
Claims of a continuation have been made, via the Hereditary Commanderships, and other Knights which continued the Order, which is the basis for the present day Order of St. Lazarus. The undisputed continuation of the Order of St. Lazarus is in the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, which continues under the pretenders to the Italian Crown.

Grand Masters in Boigny, France under protection of French Crown

·       Michel de Seure (1564 - 1578)

·       François Salvati (1578 - 1586)

·       Michel de Seure (1586 - 1593)

·       Armand de Clermont de Chastes (1593 - 1603)

·       Hughes Catelan de Castelmore (..1603..)

·       Charles de Gayand de Monterolles (1603 - 1604)

·       Philibert marquis de Nérestang (1604 - 1620)

·       Claude marquis de Nérestang (1620 - 1639)

·       Charles marquis de Nérestang (1639 - 1644)

·       Charles-Achille marquis de Nérestang (1645 - 1673)

·       François-Michel le Tellier, marquis de Louvois (Vicar General 1673 - 1691)

·       Philippe de Courcillon, marquis de Dangeau (1693 - 1720)

·       Louis d’Orleans, duc de Chartres, puis d’Orleans (1720 - 1752)

·       Louis de France, duc de Berry (1757 - 1773)

·       Louis Stanislas Xavier de France, comte de Provence (1773 - 1814)

Interregnum

·       Claud Louis, prince de La Châtre - (General-Administrator 1814 - 1824)

·       Jean-Louis de Beaumont, Marquis d'Autichamp (President of the Council of Officers 1824 - 1831)

·       Council of Officers (1831 - 1840) - Father Picot; Joseph-Bon, Baron de Dacier 1831-1833; Auguste-Francois, Baron de Silvestre

Revivals

French obedience, under protection and administration of Greek Catholic Patriarchs

·       Patriarch Maximos III. Mazloum (General-Administrator 1841 - 1855)

·       Patriarch Gregorios I. Youssef (General-Administrator 1864 - 1897)

·       Patriarch Peter IV. Geraigiri (General-Administrator 1898 - 1902)

·       Patriarch Ciril VIII. Ghea (General-Administrator 1902 - 1910)

·       Council of Officers under the protectorate of Patriarch Ciril VIII (1910 - 1926), and Patriarch Ciril IX (1926 - 1930)

Spanish obedience

·       Francisco de Paula de Bourbon y de la Torre, duc de Seville, Grand d’Espagne (1930-1952)

·       Francisco Henri de Bourbon y de Bourbon, duc de Seville, Grand d’Espagne (1952-1967)

French obedience

·       Charles Philippe de Bourbon Orléans, duc d’Alençon, Vendôme et Nemours, Premier Prince du Sang (1967-1969)

Malta obedience

·       Francisco Henri de Bourbon y de Bourbon, duc de Seville, Grand d’Espagne (1972-1995)

·       Don Francisco de Paula de Bourbon y Escasany, duc de Seville, Grand d’Espagne (1995-2004)

Paris obedience

·       Pierre de Cossé, duc de Brissac (1969-1986)

·       François de Cossé, marquis and duc de Brissac (1986-2004)

Malta and Paris obediences – Reunited  Order - under the protection of the duc de Seville, and spiritual protection of Patriarch Gregory III Laham of Jerusalem

·       Don Francisco de Paula de Bourbon y Escasany, duc de Seville, Grand d’Espagne (Grandmaster Elect 2004 - ...) and François de Cossé, marquis and duc de Brissac (Grandmaster – Emeritus 2004 - ...)

Malta  

·     H.E. Chev. Reginald Saviour Attard

    President of the Supreme Council & Grand Vicar ( 2004 – 2006 )  

·   H.E. Chev. Dr. Friedrich Schuberth,

                      Grand Vicar a,i,. ( 2006 – 2007 )

·    H.H. Vittorio Galoppini di Carpenedolo, 37° Duca di Carpenedolo

      President of the Supreme Council & Grand Vicar ( 2007 –          )