THE

AUSTRALIAN EXARCHATE

of the

EUGENIAN ORDER

[contact: george.e@mac.com]

__________________

The text below is reproduced form an informational communication as follows:  

    From:

         H.E. George Savva Eleftheriades, Exarch of Australia (Outreach to Australasia)

         ORDER OF SAINT EUGENE OF TREBIZOND

                Member of the Sovereign Order of Australia

                Knight Grand Cross, Order of Saint Constantine the Great

                Knight Grand Cross, Order of Saint Eugene of Trebizond

      To:

          Her Excellency Quentin Bryce

          Governor-General of Australia

          Canberra,  Australian Capital Territory

                 Info. c.c. Most Honourable Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister, Australia

                 Most Honourable Helen Clark, Prime Minister, New Zealand

                 Eminence Archbishop Stylianos, Greek Orthodox Primate of Australia

                 HIRH Prince Juan Arcadios Lascaris Comnenos, Madrid 
                 Honourable Julia Gillard, Deputy Prime Minister, Australia

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

    Our Hellenic Byzantine Orders, one originates from the Imperial Armies of Constantine the Great, named the Order of Saints Constantine the Great and Helen.  The other from the defenders initially of Constantinople and subsequently of Trapezous, named the Order of Saint Eugene of Trebizond (Trapezous).

     As you know, the many millenniums celebrated Hellenic history underwent various phases and periods, viz. the early times when different Hellenic cultures/ethnicities - the Pelasgians, Ionians, etc, evolved as Hellenic city and state kingdoms - Athenians, Spartans, Macedonians, Myceneans, Minoans, etc, expanded trade and founded their colonies all over the Mesogeios (Mediterranean) Sea, the Pontus (Black Sea), and eastern regions.

    There were the:

    A.   "Mythical times" in which popular philosophy created symbolism and images in myths and dramas, the moral values of which are always referable in philosophical deliveries, Christian moral values (virtues), and socio-cultural constructions.  This gave "rise of the human thought". which Pope Benedict XVI mentioned as the "Hellenic thought - thinking".  For Christian teaching this thinking produced philosophers with prophetic insights of Christian truths, and prepared the peoples to grasp and adopt Christ's teachings and faith.  Latter classicists group this lot, and a famous painting depicts the whole group named the "school of Athens."

    B.   Classical civilisation and Pericle's Golden Age, which gave us great literary arts and treasures, and in which, great teachers, great philosophers, great leaders, statesmen, military strategists and marshals, great physicists and pharmacists, great scientists, mathematicians, astronomers, theoreticians and architects, celebrated historians, writers, academicians, educators, dramatists, inventors, poets, builders, sculptors, artisans, athletes, and great achievers, all laid down the foundations for the development of our Graeco-European (western) civilisation.

    C.   The Hellenistic Age, in which Hellenic civilisation having risen on such strong foundations, spread throughout the then known expanse.  Then Great Alexander as the Leader of the Federated Hellenic States, for avenging the Persian incursion insults, went to liberate the peoples from the latters' tyranny.  In Alexander's liberating conquest the Hellenistic Age was accepted far and wide from the Ganges River to Western Africa, throughout the lands of "Mesogeios", "Pontus", and farther lands.  The Hellenistic age (having captured also the culture of Romans) lasted well over the Roman Empire, Christ's advent and early Christian years, and continued with the Byzantine Empire.  From that Age, mankind received, inter-alia, the Septuagint translation of the Old Testament to Hellenic, the New Testament also in Hellenic, the Patericals, and Christian literary and liturgical treasures in Hellenic.

    D.   The Byzantine Empire, was started by two other of mankind's liberators - Great Saints Constantine and His mother Helen.  Built on the strong Christian and Hellenic foundations, it flourished well over a millennium.  Great Constantine along with (in the presence of) his entire army, having witnessed the celestial orama, the sign of the Cross and the "In This You Conquer", and having previously been influenced by his christianised mother, instantly accepted the faith.  His entire Armies instantly engraved the Cross on their armaments;  and won the ensuing battles.  He abolished slavery, declared freedom of faith and worship, and ordered the persecutions against Christians illegal and punishable.  The world breathed with relief and started God's glory in Byzantium.  Saint Helen helped with numerous attainments and miracles throughout the land of the Empire, especially in the Holy Lands where she uncovered the Holy Cross of The Lord, and helped to dedicate the Holy Byzantine Empire for Christ.  In due course that Empire with its saintly great fathers and missionaries (viz. Methodios and Cyrillos) christianised the Slavs and millions of humans became blessed children of God.

    E.   Hellenes and Byzantium became the protecting bastion for Europeans:

        1.   Civilisation would not now be European in that continent, were it not for the brave resolve and sacrifices of Helllenes of all times, in the face of invasions;  it would be Asiatic or whatever un-European.

        2.   Defended Europeans, against numerous raiding barbaric hordes, and bore the consequential sacrifices, while in the so protected West, the unperturbed Europeans remained at liberty to engage in their mesaeonic (dark middle ages) vices, social barbarism, feudal wars, slavery, heresies and inquisitions, massacres, bellicosity and animosities.

        3.   Steadfastly upheld unadulterated and orthodox the teachings of Christ, the Christian faith and worship, the orthodox sacraments of God's Church, the catholicity of the dogmas, substance and life of Christians, against all heresies (viz. over 2000 in the West, USA, and globally).

        4.   Rescued World Democracy in the grimmest desperate times of the WW2 Allies.  When greater nations were overrun, collapsed, capitulated, in a matter of days, the resolve of unprepared little Hellas bravely rejected (OHI! - No!) Mussolini's superior "otto millione bayonette and Mare Nostrum" threats on 28th October 1940, took him on and ejected his forces over the Pindus Mountains deep into Albania, and was thus the first Ally to inflict a victory on the Axis enemy.  This Hellenic Victory held a whole six months until Hitler's Russia front forces had to deviate southward to rescue Mussolini's disgraced misadventures.  That proved the turning point for the encouraged Allies; the six months delay with Mussolini's Albania debacle in Albania, plus another six months delay in the Hitlerite engagement in Crete, proved the turning point for the Allies, as these gave time to all to organise and prepare for:  - the great winter clash in the Russian front,  - Montgomery's encounter in El Alamein,  - and the hitherto neutral USA to equip and enter the war.  Hellas' contribution to the Allies' war effort did not stop there.  Even under the Nazi occupation boot, Hellenic resistance guerrillas kept large Axis forces pegged down, thus away from other strategically needing fronts.  Hellas' such WW2 efforts largely led to the final victory for the Allies, and for democracy of the world's nations.

    F.   The Empire of Trapezous (Trebizond).  Franks on their crusade deviated, sacked, and captured Constantinople (intentionaly "mistaking" it for Jerusalem).  The empire shifted to Trapezous where it developed as the successor empire.  The Lascari Comnenos was its Royal Family.  Regarding its Saint Eugene, he is noted a "learned" saint, and referred in computer as follows:

                "Saint Eugenios was martyred under Diocletian and a cult devoted to him developed in Trebizond. The Komnenian rulers of the
                  Empire of Trebizond adopted the saint as the patron of their country. His image appears frequently on Trapezuntine coins. The
                  cult and pilgrimage never really developed beyond Trebizond's borders, although Alexios III built the Dionysiou monastery at
                  Mount Athos in 1374."
 

           The empire returned to Constantinople after the Franks left.  The Trapezous Empire continued as a related empire, outlasting Constantinople for another nine years when, in its turn, it too fell to the Turks. [NB.  Concurrent were other related Hellenic empires in the Peloponese and the Balkans]. Survivors took refuge in the west and carried all their culture, sciences, and attributes. These brought a new breath of classical civilisation to the middle ages of the West, and started the Renaissance of Europe.

                       Presently the Comnenos Imperial Royal Family is survived in Spain, headed by His Imperial Royal Highness Prince Ioan Arcadios
            Lascaris, Comnenos.  As well surviving are the aforesaid Byzantine Orders with the Prince being their Grand Master Supreme, with a
            spread in many countries, viz, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Britain, USA. the Americas, Hellas, Cyprus, and elsewhere, led
            by an Exarchs in each of them, representing  the Prince.  [NB:  In Australia, the Order of Saint Eugene of Trapezous is in its beginning,
            and shall be free from cabalistic, hasidic, secret or exclusive societies, and lodges].