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The Holy Cross originated in
Jerusalem.
It was on the Cross and by the Cross that the Lord Jesus redeemed mankind, and
since that time Christians all over the world have venerated the Holy Cross.
Rediscovered on the year 320 by Helen (12), the mother of Emperor Constantine,
the Cross was carefully preserved and placed on the site of the Holly Sepulchre
in the Basilica of the Resurrection built by the Saint in Jerusalem.
The Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East, of Alexandria and Jerusalem,
within whose jurisdiction the Holy places lie, customarily conferred an honorary
decoration, known as the « Cross of Jerusalem » upon all those who through
their piety and devotion to the Holy Land distinguished themselves and placed
themselves at the service of the Patriarchate.
H.B. Maximos V, in order to give renewed vigor to an ancient heraldic tradition,
and update it to modern requirements, and to give the Greek - Catholic - Melkite
Patriarchate an institution which would be concerned with the Christians of the
Holy Land and of the entire East, has resolved to give the ancient Patriarchal
order of the Holy cross of Jerusalem a new form.
After making the necessary legal consultations he has now promulgated the new
Statutes.
The Patriarchal Order of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem is exclusively under the
collation and ecclesiastical patronage of the Patriarch of Antioch and all the
East, of Alexandria and Jerusalem and represents an authentic, oriental and
Christian sign of distinction. In confirmation of the international legal status
of the Patriarchate, the Governments of two countries within its jurisdiction,
represented by the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Lebanon (13) and the
Prime Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (14) have officially
recognized the Patriarchal Order of Knights of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem, as
an autonomous Order under Patriarchal collation and patronage.
The Knights of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem constitute a holy militia whose
chivalrous and humanitarian objectives are as prescribed in the Statutes of the
Order, namely to propagate the Christian way of life in contemporary society,
and to promote and support religious, cultural, charitable and social works of
particular concern to the Greek-Melkite-Catholic Church (15), to offer their
moral, intellectual and economic support to all peoples, in accordance with the
Christian aims incorporated in the order and, in particular, to bring, in the
greatest measure possible, brotherly help to peoples living in the Holy Land and
to the entire Christian East.
(12) St. Paul of Nola tells in his « Letters » how the Holy
Mother of Constantine was inspired in recognizing the Cross of Christ from among
the three rediscovered.
(13) cf. Official letter of 13-2-1971 from the Foreign
Minister of Lebanon to H.B. Maximos V.
(14) cf. Decree of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers
of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan of 9-10-1971.
(15) cf. L Osservatore Romano, April 12th 1974, GIANFRANCO
GRIECO, Per la promozione Belle Opere nella terra di Gesù.
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