Dear knight, dames and supporters
We have come to the end of a year which has been one of great achievement and success for the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George in Great Britain & Ireland.
Our latest charitable endeavour in the Caribbean region has made considerable impact. The high level official visits made by the Grand Master and Cardinal Grand Prior of the Constantinian Order to St Lucia, Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Barbados were a great success with the launch of significant multi-million dollar charitable projects in education, national patrimony and community outreach.
On other fronts, the Order and the British & Irish Delegation’s achievements have been many.
– In May 2014 the Cardinal Grand Prior visited the Republic of Kosovo and an exchange of decorations took place between the Order and the President of Kosovo. Discussions were held for further engagement by the Order in Kosovo and a charitable programme will shortly be announced.
– In the area of interfaith, the Constantinian Order was represented at a three day International Interfaith Conference ‘Religion and Politics: Enhancing Interfaith Dialogue as a Means of Democratic Development’ organised in Prizren, Kosovo.
– The Delegation’s held three significant events in London and Dublin which included the St George’s Day Mass and Investiture Dinner in April 2014, the Delegation Mass & Dinner in October 2014 and the Autumn Delegation Dinner in November 2014. All were great successes with a good attendance of knights and dames. Amongst the dignitaries that attended included the His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, His Eminence Elisey, Archbishop of Sourozh, Head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Great Britain & Ireland, The Rt Rev Bishop Vahan Hovhanessian, Primate and Pontifical Legate of the Armenian Church of the United Kingdom, HE Mr Pasquale Terracciano, Ambassador of the Italian Republic, HRH Princess Beatrice of Bourbon Two Sicilies, Grand Chancellor of the Constantinian Order and Her Majesty’s Governor General of Antigua & Barbuda, HE Sir Rodney Williams and HE Lady Williams.
– We welcome the new knights and dames who were invested into the British & Irish Delegation of the Constantinian Order which include The Rev Canon Peter Newby, Mr Patrick Downes, Judge Patrick Durcan, Mr John Cowdall, Mr Kevin Hart, Mr Peter Bertoncini, His Eminence Elisey, Archbishop of Sourozh, Major General Jonathan Hall, Mr John Barber, Mr Saleem Kidwai, Mr Anthony McGorrigan, Mr Maurice Ostro, Mr John Sherman, The Rev Canon Dr William Taylor and Mrs Elizabeth Thornborough.
– We also regretfully announced the passing of our knights and dames which included The Rt Rev Mgr Canon Adrian Arrowsmith, Captain Józef Wojtecki, The Rev Fr Mark Turnham Elvins, Lady Sternberg and Mr James Dobbin. They are all greatly missed.
– The Order continued its support towards its adopted charity The Passage Homeless Centre by sponsoring both the ‘A Night Under The Stars’ concert and the Christmas Carol Service, with a donation of GBP £8,500 made through the contributions of its knights, dames and supporters in 2014.
– The Delegation of Great Britain & Ireland has also made a GBP £18,000 donation through the contributions of its members and friends in 2014 to our adopted charities which include the All Party Pro Life Group, Citywise Dublin, Co-operation Ireland, Council of Christians & Jews, Forthspring, St Peter’s Italian Church, St George’s Chapel Appeal, Blind Veterans UK and the Stroke Association. In early 2015 the delegation will be reviewing each of its adopted charities for future fundraising as it plans to focus its attention on the homeless as part of the new international charitable programme of the Grand Magistry of the Order entitled “The Hunger of our Neighbour”.
– The Order supported the Iraqi Christians in London by donating to the Syriac Orthodox Church headed by delegation member His Eminence Archbishop Athanasius Toma Dawod.
– The Grand Prior Cardinal Martino was appointed as the Cardinal Protodeacon of the College of Cardinals in Vatican City by His Holiness Pope Francis.
– The Holy Father, Pope Francis, created Constantinian Order Chaplain His Grace The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, a member of the Sacred College of Cardinals.
– The Chief Minister of Gibraltar The Hon Fabian Picardo was invested in October 2014, continuing the centuries old relationship with Gibraltar.
Internally, the Grand Magistry in Rome has gone through wide range changes and reforms, with the appointment of our new Grand Chancellor HRH Princess Beatrice of Bourbon Two Sicilies and Grand Prefect HE Ambassador Don Augusto Ruffo di Calabria dei Principi di Scilla. This important meeting took place in September and was attended by the newly appointed officers of the Grand Magistry and the Delegates and representatives of the Order throughout Italy and around the world.
– Nobel Peace Prize and Templeton Prize winner His Grace The Most Reverend Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town was invested into the Order in Monte Carlo, Monaco in June 2014. The Heir to the Portuguese Throne, HRH Dom Afonso de Bragança, Prince of Beira, was also invested in July 2014.
– The historic Act of Reconcilition signed between the Italian and Spanish branches of the Bourbon Two Sicilies dynasty headed by HRH The Duke of Castro and HRH The Duke of Calabria was a significant and joyful event which brought to a close a 50 year old dynastic dispute. Further announcements will be made in 2015 outlining areas of further cooperation between the two branches of the dynasty and their respective orders of knighthood.
I shall write to you about our planned activities in detail early in the year which will also include the dates for the annual mass and dinners.
As we look to the year ahead I encourage you all to continue to support the Order and it’s charitable endeavours.
I wish you all a happy and peaceful New Year.
With all good wishes
Sir Anthony Bailey
Delegate