The first schism affecting the Order of Saint Lazarus

Abstract

The end of the 13th century saw the Order of Saint Lazarus lose its raison d'être with the expulsion of the Christian forces from the Kingdom of Jerusalem through the fall of Acre in April 1291. The Order had its origins before the First Crusade of 1099 as an establishment known as the Hospitalis Infirmorum Sancti Lazari de Jerusalem sited outside the walls of Jerusalem set up with the specific aim of caring for the victims of leprosy. The Order eventually adopted a further military role participating in various military campaigns in the Outremer. It was placed under the suffrage of the Patriarch of Jerusalem and confirmed to be under the Rule of Saint Augustine through the Bull promulgated by Pope Alexander IV in 1255.