Public testimony of faith

Marek Perzynski

Even the angelic hosts rejoiced over 20 new members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem whose investiture took place in the Archcathedral of the Holy Trinity in Gdansk-Oliwa on 11 June 2011. The investiture was held there for the first time and it was the 16th investiture in the history of the Polish Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Therefore, it was an unprecedented event in the Region of Pomorze, which the organist of the cathedral stressed by starting the movable mechanism of the famous Oliwa organs – the statues of angels began moving their trumpets, ringing their bells as well as the stars and suns whirled around their axes. The investiture Mass was presided over by the Grand Prior of the Polish Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem Cardinal Jozef Glemp, Senior Primate of Poland. He accepted new members of the Order in the presence of Archbishop Giuseppe de Andrea, the Assessor of the Grand Magisterium of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, who is the Grand Master of the Order. The Mass was concelebrated by several dozen priests. Archbishop Slawoj Leszek Glodz of Gdank, Knight Commandor with Star of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, welcome the gathered congregation. In his homily Cardinal Jozef Glemp said that investiture was a public show and testimony of faith and service that we carried into the contemporary world that very much needed spiritual help. The participants included knights and ladies from Germany, Switzerland and England. After the investiture ceremony in Gdansk the number of members is 245. The celebrations of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem began on the previous day – 10 June – with a procession of the candidates and members of the order through Dlugi Targ to St Mary’s Basilica in Gdansk where a rite of vigil prayer and Mass presided over by Bishop Andrzej F. Dziuba of Lowicz were held. The annual investiture is a good occasion to promote those members of the Order that have been especially involved in its activities. This year His Excellency Lieutenant Karol Boleslaw Szlenkier awarded the First Class Order of Glory for special merits for the Polish Lieutenancy on the following knights and ladies: Archbishop Giuseppe de Andrea, Bishop Andrzej F. Dziuba and Prof. Gabriel Turowski; the Second Class Order of Glory – Rev. Dr. Jerzy Bielecki; the Third Class Order of Glory – Commandor Dr. Jan Wludarczyk, Lady Lidia Dudkiewicz, Knight Jozef Dabrowski and Knight Marek Waskiewicz.
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem was founded in the Middle Ages (in the year 1099) during the Crusades to defend the Holy Sepulchre and care for pilgrims coming to the Holy Land. The Order is under the protection of the Pope. Its present form was accepted by Pope Pius IX in 1847. The Order is actively supporting the works of the Catholic Church, especially in the Holy Land. It conducts charities. It is an elitist order and it accepts as members only those who are distinguished by their social activities and spotless opinions. In the whole world the Order has 25,000 members.

New Knights and Ladies of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem accepted during the investiture in Gdansk on 11 June 2011:
Slawomir Adamiec
Andrzej Marek Chojnacki
Fr Krzysztof Czaja
Bishop Antoni Pacyfik Dydycz
Danuta and Stanislaw Dyrda
Dorota and Grzegorz Garbas
Teresa i Janusz Kapinski
Fr Waclaw Kozicki
Miroslaw Lademann
Fr Jerzy Misiurek
Fr Msgr. Marek Ruminski
Halina Stolarczyk-Biskupek
Zbigniew Swit
Maria Tietze
Ireneusz Wilk
Zbigniew Wysocki
Stanislaw Zajaczkowski

"Niedziela" 26/2011

Editor: Tygodnik Katolicki "Niedziela", ul. 3 Maja 12, 42-200 Czestochowa, Polska
Editor-in-chief: Fr Jaroslaw Grabowski • E-mail: redakcja@niedziela.pl