THE ORDER OF ST. JOHN

Otago Witness, Issue 3819, 24 May 1927, Page 75

THE ORDER OF ST. JOHN

By

W. B. Fisher,

Member of the Venerable Order of St. John.

(For the Otago Witness.)

PILGRIMAGE TO CYPRUS. Visitors to Cyprus in the Levant find many remains of a remote antiquity. It

is an island with an area of about 3500

square miles, supporting a population of nearly 275,000 people. In contrast to the island of Tasmania, separated from

Australia by Bass Strait, its area is approximately smaller by 22,800 miles, while its population is larger by 83,200 inhabitants. Cyprus is mentioned in the classics. Miltiades, we learn, was one of the leaders of the Athenian army against the Persians at Marathon, and he won a great victory over the Persian host, 490 B.C. He was succeeded by a son named Cymon, who became a famous admiral through deliver’ag Greek colonies from the Asiatic yoke. On one occasion he 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 took 100 ships from the admiral of Artaxerxes. Subsennentlv he

admiral ot Artaxerxes, suusequenuy nc returned to Cyprus to take part in another siege against the enemies of Greece. Mention is made of Cyprus in the scriptural narrative. Barnabas _ was of the country of Cyprus, and having land, he sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet. Later, in company with Saul, he visited Seleucia (on the shores of the Mediterranean) from whence they sailed to Cyprus (Acts iv and xiii). About the end of the 13th 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 by the British Fleet. On arrival at Cyprus, . the District Commissioner came on board to welcome the irilinrims on behalf of his

to weicoinc iiie piigi ims on ueii<ui oi nib Excellency the 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 16th 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 14th century, and still partly owned by the English branch of the order. Colonel King states that among the Grand Commanders of Cyprus two Englishmen are to be fmmfl. One of these was the Turcopolicr Thomas Skipworth,

and the other John Langstrothcr, afterwards Grand Prior of England. Evidently the present members of St. John have a very noble ancestry. It 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-abnegation in numberless instances, it may perhaps be well to thoroughly investigate its history. 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 places visited was Nicosia (anciently called

Ledra), 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 by Richard Qoeur de Lion, with headquarters in London, but became extinct in th” 14th century. While in the capital, the pilgrims were entertained at Government House by his Excellency Sir Malcolm Stevenson, who gave a garden party in their honour. The guests present included his Beatitude the Archbishop of Cyprus, his Eminence the Judge of Cyprus, and the leading British and other officials of the place.

The following day a visit was paid to Salamis, where the gospel was received from St. Paul and St. Barnabas, A.D. 44. Next the rains of Famagusta were surveyed, which aroused tender feelings reminiscent of the past. It was captured by the Turks in 1571, and its gallant defender, Marc Anthony Bragadino, was flayed alive. His skin was afterwards stuffed with straw and hung on one of the gates of Constantinople. One of the last acts of the pilgrims was to despatch a cable to H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught, with their humble greetings, afterwards embarking on their vessel, which weighed anchor at midnight, and left for the island of Rhodes.