Aims and Obligations of the Order
The
Order of
Saint Lazarus, founded during the Crusades, aims to defend Christianity
while expecting its members to practice the Christian tenets of
protecting and assisting the weak, helping the poor, aged, handicapped
and sick. Today the Order is an international, eccumenical or
nondenominational and independent non-governmental organization,
traditionally organized as a Christian Chivalric Order. The Order
dedicates itself especially to lepers, always mindful of it's origin in
the Holy Land in the early centuries following the life of Christ, and
to the supporting of the Christian faith.
The
activities of the Order are worldwide with particular attention to
leprosy. By its activities in charitable, philanthropic, health and
education fields the Order contributes to the achievement of the aims
and principles of the United Nations Charter and the Statute of the
Council of Europe.
The
Investiture, the wearing the mantle and the green eight pointed cross
are more than a ritualistic maintenance of an old tradition; they are
symbols of brotherhood and dedication to Christianity. All Members of
the Order shall be practicing members in good standing within their
particular denomination. They shall be committed to the upholding with
their lives, fortunes and honour, the principles of Christianity, and
shall stand united before all men in their determination to live and
die following the teaching of Christ and His Holy Church. The pursuit
of unity is shown by respecting the other Christian denominations
represented in the Order and by praying together for true unity. All
Members form a spiritual family and brotherhood, sharing and helping
each other at all times, and particularly in times of trouble. Each
Member does, when admitted to the Order, solemnly undertake, before God
and the assembled congregation, to maintain and defend this code of
conduct.
Obligations of Members
Every
person
proposed for admission into the Order shall be a practicing member of
the Christian faith and shall be of sound mind and of such means and
position as will enable her or him to live honourably and to observe
fully and freely the laws and decrees of the Order. Each Postulant must
prove that he is a person of irreproachable conduct, honour and
integrity, and if he is married, that the contract of marriage into
which he had entered is perfectly honourable and is valid in accordance
with the laws or regulations of their particular Christian
denomination.
A
number of
obligations are demanded of members when admitted to the Order: All
Members have to observe the Constitution and other by-laws of the Order
and to obey their senior officers. There are some financial
obligations, like the payment of chancery and annual fees. Each member
is asked to participate actively, according to ability, in the
hospitaller work for the sick, the disabled, the elderly and all who
are in need. This involves the concerned giving of services and funds,
or the supply of medicines, equipment, clothing and other necessary
items required by the helpless and needy. Also it is expected that
every Member will endeavor, where possible, to support the Order by
attendance at as many of its events as possible like Investitures,
chapter and international meetings or the annual St. Lazarus Service.
Members are encouraged to pray daily for the well-being and extension
of the Order.
About the Order
