ORDER OF ST. JOHN

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXI, 22 July 1927, Page 3

ORDER OF ST. JOHN

MODERN PILGRIMAGE TO THE LEVANT

By W. P.. Fisher, Member of tin* Order of .St. John)

Visitors lo Cyprus in the Levant find many remains (if a. remote antiquity. It is an island with an area of about 5500 square miles, supporting a population nl nearly 275,000 people. In contrast to the island of Tasmania, separated from Australia by Bass Strait, its urea is approximately smaller by 22,800 square miles, while its population is larger l>y 83,200 inhabitants. Cyprus is mentioned in the classics. iMiltiades we learn, was one of the leaders of the Athenian army against the. Persians at Marathon, and ho won a great victory over the Persian host 490 15. C. lie was succeeded by a son named Cymou, who became a famous admiral through delivering Greek colonies from the Asiatic yoke. On one occasion hi! attacked the Persians near the island of Cyprus with a, fleet of 250 sail, supported'by a, powerful army encamped along the'shore, when the enemy was completely routed. On another occasion he arrived at Cyprus with a fleet of 140 vessels and look 100 ships from the admiral of Artaxerxcs. Subsequently lie returned to Cyprus to take part in another siege against the enemies of Creece.

Mention is made of Cyprus in the scriptural narrative. Barnabas was of Ihe country of Cyprus and having land he sold it," and brought the money and laid it at the apostle's feet. Later, in company with Saul he visited Seleucia (on the." shores of the Mediterranean), from thence Lhey sailed to Cyprus (Acts TV. and XTIT.). About the end of the XlTlth century the. ancient members of the Order of St. John arrived in their galleys at Cyprus, where their sojourn lasted for two decades.

After an interval of 635 years the modern members of the Order, with an unbroken link of continuity, visited the island in an up-to-date steamship, captured during the Great War bv the British Fleet. '

On arrival at Cyprus, the District Commissioner came on board to welcome the pilgrims on behalf of His Excellency thii Governor, and presented to each member a copy of a work entitled "Cyprus under' an English King in the 12th Century." In the island are salt lakes. Quartz crystals, asbestos, copper, etc., are also found. Its chief port is Larnaca, 38 miles from Limasol, which is noted for its production of wine. Until the -With century the Order of St. John held extensive estates in the island, and in the vicinity of Limasol is the Castle of Kolossi, a tremendous fortified stronghold belonging to the Knights of St. John in the XlVlh century and still partly owned by the English branch of the Order. Colonel King stales that among the Grand Commanders of Cyprus two Englishmen are to be. found. One of these was the TWeopolier Thonyis Skipworth, and the other John Lang* st rot her, afterwards Grand Prior of lingland. Evidently the present . members of St. John have a very noble ancestry. If is not considered politic in some of the oversea dominions to lay much stress on this aspect, but nevertheless when the present members of the Order of St. John had a peculiar interest in an organisation which sets forth illustrious examples of nobility of sentiment carried out with the utmost self-abregation in numberless instances, it may perhaps he well to thoroughly investigate its liistorv.

Cyprus is indissolubly linked up with its splendid past, and so it was natural for the pilgrims to spend some time in exploration owing to the unique opportunity afforded them. Among the plates visited was Nicosia (anciently called l.edra), the capital of Cyprus, where the art of hand weaving in" silk and cotton is carried on. One of the monuments of a past age is the Church of St. Nicholas, which became the Chapel of the English Order of St. Thomas of Canterbury. This Order was instituted bv Richard Cootir de Lion, with headquarters in London, hut became extinct in the XlVth century.

While in the chapel the pilgrims were entertained at Government House bv His Excellency Sir Malcolm Stevenson', who gave a garden party in their honour. The guests present included His Beatitude the Archbishop of Cyprus His Emmance. the Judge of Cyprus and the leading Lntish and other officials of the place. The, following day a visit was paid lo Snlamis, where (lie gospel was received from St. Paul and Si. Barnabas, Anno Domini. 44. Next the ruins of Famagusta were surveyed, which aroused tender feelings reminiscent of the past. It was captured bv the Turks in 1571 and its gallant defender Marc Anthony Bragadino was flayed alive. His skin was afterwards stuffed with slraw and hung on one of the gates ot Constantinople. One of the last acts of the pilgrims was to dispatch a cable to H.R.H? the Duke of Connaught with their humble greetings, niftenvards embarking on their vessel, which weighed anchor at midnight and left for the island of Jib odes.