Blessed Raymond du Puy
Blessed Gérard's successor, the second Grandmaster of the Order of Malta from AD 1125 - 1158
The Hospitallers elected Raymond du Puy (Raimundus Puteanus) as the successor of Blessed Gérard.
It is Raymond's lasting merit to have codified the Order's Rule, which is used here as the main source for elaborating this thesis.
The Hospitaller Order was transformed under his direction into a Military Order, following the example of the Knights Templar.
Thus it took on military tasks besides the charitable ones.
This is no surprise, because many knights were members of the Order already.
Providing security to the pilgrims on their way from and to Jerusalem and in the hospitals was a mere consequence of their aim to care for their Lords comprehensively in every respect.
The King of Jerusalem Fulk V. of Anjou entrusted Raymond du Puy with the defence of the town of Beerseba in AD 1131, the border castle of Beit Gibelin (today: Beit Guvrin / Bayt Jibrin) in AD 1136 and the castle Krac des Chevalierssin AD 1142..
The double role of the Order of St. John as a military and a hospital Order is evident for the first time in a papal fund-raising appeal from 20 February 1131, the circular letter "Quam amabilis Deo" of Pope Innocent II.:
Innocent bishop, to the reverend brothers, the Archbishops, Bishops etc. salutation and apostolic blessing. How pleasing to God and highly revered the Xenodocheum of Jerusalem is, what pleasant and valuable accommodation it offers to the poor pilgrims, those have experienced sufficiently, who driven by internal piety, visit the Holy City Jerusalem and the Sepulchre of the Lord enduring the dangers at sea and the dangers at land... . There (in the hospital of Jerusalem) the poor and miserable are being convalesced. The Sick are being administered a thousand kinds of services of charity. Those who are harmed by manifold constrains and dangers are getting back there their old vigour and in order to enable them to visit the places, which were sanctified by the life of our Lord Jesus Christ on earth, the brethren of this house always prepared to risk their life for their brothers (the pilgrims) undertake to protect the pilgrims from the attacks of the infidels on their way to and fro through squires and animals used for riding which are very specially selected for this purpose... . These are the people who God uses to cleanse the Oriental Church from the dirt of the infidels and to fight the enemies of the Christian name. Because their own funds are not sufficient for a work so pious and pleasing to God, we appeal by means of this bull to your charity, that you may remedy the need of those by means of your abundance and emphatically urge the flock entrusted to you , to join their Brotherhood and to undertake collections for the upkeep of the pilgrims and the needy, which results at the same time in the forgiveness of sins... . To increase their (the brothers commissioned to raise funds) income we order you, that you make known this statute to your parishioners by special letters; we further prescribe, that, if some of your clergy want to serve the brethren of the named hospital with the permission of their spiritual superior willingly and voluntarily for a period of one or two years, that they must not be prevented to do so and they must not forfeit their feoffs and income.Given at Chalons on this 20th day of February, in the eighth Indiction, in the first year of the pontificate of Pope Innocent II.
The Pope's appeal to join the Brotherhood does not refer to the order itself or to the Brotherhood of St. John which the order evolved from, but a new institute, similar to the contemporary Third Order of St. Francis or the Benedictine Oblates. This Brotherhood is a confraternity of all who want to support the Order through their prayers and financial offerings. Shortly after his election to the Grand Magistry Raymond du Puy writes about AD 1121 to the bishops and Prelates about this Brotherhood: "As I have become the Servant of the Poor of Christ after the death of Lord Gérard", he asks to continue their almsgiving, "that they might participate in the benefits and prayers, which originate in Jerusalem ... but those who joined our Brotherhood or who will join it in future, are as certain of God's mercy as if they fought themselves in Jerusalem. They will receive the crown of justification."
Pope Innocent II. confirmed in AD 1135 the privileges granted to the Order by his predecessors.
On 7 February 1137 Innocent II. encourages the Master of the Hospital Raymond for his tasks, puts the Order under his protection and grants it further privileges.
About AD 1140 Innocent II. made an appeal to the whole Church, to support the Order in its tasks.
King (an English historian of the Order) reports that "long before the death of Raymond du Puy, the Knights of the Hospital had become firmly established in England, and Shingay in Cambridgeshire is said to have been granted to them in 1140... . During the middle of the twelfth century ... the gift of land at Clerkenwell was made on which the great Priory was built, the headquarters of the Order in England."
It was Pope Anastasius IV. (1153-1154) who granted the Order in his bull "Christianae fidei religio" the right to admit priests and to be totally independent from the episcopal jurisdiction, i.e. the Order was ever since directly subject to the Pope.
Thus the members of the Order started to be divided into three classes, the Priests, the Knights and the "Serving Brothers".
Anastasius, bishop, servant of the Lord and his beloved son, Raymond, Master of the Hospital in Jerusalem, and his brother, both present and future, all receiving spiritual life, health, and the Papal blessing. The Christian church believes devoutly and sincerely recognize that although Jesus Christ, our Lord, was rich in all things, He became poor for our sake. Because he promises to those who follow him consolation prize: "Blessed are the poor, for them there is the kingdom of heaven." Like the Father of orphans and the poor Savior urged us to be hospitable and generous, in the Gospel says: "What you did for one of my late brothers, you did for Me." And to prove further perfection of this virtue, he assures us that the reward for even a cup of cold water. We are, however, whose responsibility is to care for his father's gift of close and distant, take you to your loyalty and pissing Our location is that they are asking of us. And following in the footsteps of our predecessors, Innocent, Celestine, Lucius, Eugene, all the Roman Pontiff, a happy memory of it, we accept the patronage of St. Peter and hospital shelter in the holy city of Jerusalem, and we are defending the privileges of the Holy See and all the owned property.We affirm that all the property and things have ever purchased a hospital for the maintenance needs of the pilgrims and the poor in the parishes of the Church of Jerusalem or in other churches, or if it was purchased for a thorough care for the poor, or granted to someone else, as well as future grants from kings and princes, made generosity of God, or property acquired by any other means; Whatever it was granted legitimate ecclesiastical priests venerable brothers throne in Jerusalem for you or your receivers, and for the brothers caring for pilgrims, We command that all this (property) must be secured peacefully and the whole of the Order.If any site was handed over to the sacred House of God's glory, you can build buildings here, and to build the church and the cemetery to do in accordance with the needs of living here, as long as no immediate abbeys that could take on this responsibility. Moreover, when the land given to you with a legitimate salary Titley, you can lay the chapel here and to found a cemetery in accordance with the needs of the pilgrims and the brothers who eat at your table. We enjoin the same way that the receivers of your fraternity, without prejudice to the Masters should remain under our patronage and the patronage of St. Peter's, and wherever they traveled in the world, they should bear the world.We have also decided to whoever came in your fraternity, if it happens that the church to which he belonged, will not be allowed to bear the divine service, and if it so happens that he was going to die, should not prohibit him ecclesiastical funerals until excommunicated him by name.In addition, if someone a brother sent you to receive the above fraternity or the cathedral will have to come to the city or the village, and if it so happens that in this place is prohibited worship, and this place is respect for the Almighty God should open the church once a year happy arrival of brothers, and when excommunicated turn away, should conduct the service.And as long as all your assets will not be spent on support for pilgrims and the poor, or what any other needs, we determine that any layman or cleric should not even think to extort tithes should not reap the fruits of your labors. We establish that even the bishops would not be allowed to pass bans, termination or excommunication at the church, you took care of koi. However, if the total ban will be imposed on these places of worship can be performed modestly behind closed doors and without the bells, as long as this would not be the church excommunicated by name.Moreover, that there was a lack of you in the fullness of salvation and take care of your souls, and that the mystery of the church and worship could easily arrange for you and for the poor of Christ, we have established that you can take for yourself clerics and priests who do not matter where their origin, if they prove clean and ordained, to expand their knowledge of them use letters and consistent testimony of witnesses; and you can keep them in their main offices and in other required; provided that they do not have any obligations to what areas or dioceses, and they do not want to harm the service of the Order.And if it happens that the bishop would not be inclined to give you a minister, you will nevertheless be right to take him and leave even though the authority of the Holy Roman Church. These ministers should not submit to anyone outside of your order except the Pope.We are also required to give you the power to take the free laity in your society to the restrictions of the poor without anyone's objection.We do not allow you to return to the world of your brothers, who once joined, and was adopted by your company, and vowed to put religious vestments. It would not be right if somebody after this vow and gaining cross God and acceptance of religious vestments, would have refused it.And should anyone move or in a large or in small monastery without prior coordination with the brothers, or abbot, and if the brothers would not be inclined to accept it, should not move to his brother, even if he received permission to do so. And should any layman does not, nor spiritual person giving the power to make or keep the brothers.Lighting altars or basil (basil - a medieval Christian church, usually in the form of a cross, approx. Interpreter), ordination priest, who were transferred to the Holy Order, and other sacraments in charge of the bishop of the diocese; unless of course he is a Catholic, shared the views of the Apostolic See and the Apostolic See supportive of him, he should readily and easily provided for you to describe the ordinances without any objection; otherwise, you are allowed to, at your option, refer to other Catholic bishops, undeniably supported by our authority, in order that it comply with your request.And in the case of death of the head and the head, no one should deceit, cunning or violence to take this position, but only one will take it, who will be chosen by the will of God brothers.In addition, the positions and property here and overseas, in Asia and Europe, which the hospital is rightfully owns or will acquire a righteous way, we assigned to you that through your work progress has been made in the hospital business. Do not let anyone be allowed to violate the recklessness of the above work, or to take away the property of hospitals, or leave yourself something that was stolen from hospitals, in order to weaken them or disturb them in any violence; and let all that has been given to you and to help you to be saved in the integrity and safety, and let all given to you in the future for any purpose, with due respect for the authority of the Apostolic See and the Bishop of the Diocese of the Church of righteousness.And if in the future someone either spiritual or secular, knowing that our law tries desperately to go against him after the third warning, until it does not reimburse the full loss, it should be removed from their power and positions and deprived of dignity, he should know that he is subject to divine justice for the crime, and he should be excommunicated from the Holy Body and Blood of Our Lord and our God and Savior Jesus Christ, and finally it must be subjected to a personal revenge. But for anyone who protects the law, shall come, the world of our Lord Jesus Christ until they are reaping the fruits of his good deeds, and when they get to heaven even if the Court awarded them eternal peace. Amen, amen, amen.Submitted by Roland Lateran, a priest of the Holy Roman Church, the Chancellor, 21 day of October, in the third proclamation, in 1154 by the resurrection of our Lord, in the second year of the pontificate of Pope Anastasius IV.
In AD 1154 the first German community of the Order is documented to be in Duisburg, in AD 1156 the first community in Austria in Mailberg. AD 1159 follows the first community in Bohemia (now Czech Republic) in Prague. AD 1160 the Order is donated the church and estate at Werben an der Elbe in Germany, which became the motherhouse for the Balliwick of Brandenburg. Between 1158 and 1177 the Order came to Antworskov in Dacia (now Romania). At the same time the communities of Esztergom (Hungary) and Poznan (Poland) are mentioned.
When Raymond du Puy died in AD 1160, he was over eighty years of age.
It is Vertôt again, who sings his praises stating that "the Hospitallers and indeed all the Latin Christians of the East, who had been witnesses of his virtues, anticipating his canonisation, revered him as of the number of the Blessed, a title which posterity confirmed to him."
This page is part of the publication: Blessed Gérard and his "everlasting brotherhood": The Order of St. John of Jerusalem