Dichiarazione del Arcipadre della Situazione in Italia

PATRIARCHAL SEE 10 March 2020 (ORCNS) - SAIR Don Rutherford, Arcipadre Fiorentino e Patriarca Imperiale, ha fatto questa dichiarazione in merito della situazione attuale in Italia. 

"La situazione in italia, la terra molto cara al mio cuore, la terra storica del patrimonio del Patriarcato Imperiale, mi fa molto triste. Sono pleno di compassione per il popolo della peninsula italiana durante questo tempo di insicurezza e di confusione, durante questo tempo di quarantena nazionale. Prego al Santo Infante di Praga che Italia e tutto il mondo tornarà subito alla normalità. Questo non è tempo per il panico; invece è il tempo che richiede preghiere sincere ed azzioni logiche. Che Dio Omnipotente dia la sua benedizione al popolo d’Italia ed a tutto il mondo."

Ash Wednesday Patriarchal Allocution

PATRIARCHAL SEE 26 February 2020 (ORCNS) - HHE Archfather Don Rutherford gave the following Patriarchal Allocution on Ash Wednesday for the beginning of Lent. 

FROM the Florentine Household to the Christian faithful around the world and to the members of the Court of St. Mary of Walsingham, grace, peace, and Our Apostolic Blessing on this Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent in the year of our Lord 2020. First, let us turn our thoughts to those who are suffering from or af-fected in any way by the coronavirus, including those who have suf-fered significant travel disruptions. Similarly, let us turn our thoughts to those who suffer from any type of affliction or problem of health around the world.

As we begin our Lenten journey, we are reminded that this is a time of penance and preparation. We travel forward in the footsteps of our Lord towards the glory of the Resurrection that we experience on Easter Sunday. During this time of penance and preparation, it is all too tempting to focus on so-called acts of penance that are really quite empty because they are merely done for show. Such acts are of no avail, for they betray spiritual emptiness inside. Rather, we should focus on meaningful self-denial, such as acts of self-denial. These can take many forms, including small acts of charity, such as giving of one's time to help others.

During this Lenten season we should also reflect on the political discord that is plaguing so many areas of the world today. Far too often, people use their political differences as reasons to divide. Peo-ple place their political opinions often above more important matters, and the government leaders far too often are focused on political agendas rather than coming together, finding common ground and working towards the common good. On an international basis, we should seek a focus towards a community of nations – that is, each nation being a good citizen in the world. That is preferable to ex-treme nationalism, for nationalism places the interests only of one nation above that of the people of all nations.

Ahora, en memoria de nuestra sucesión de las casa españolas de Ivrea y Barcelona en Italia Imperial, quiero decir un saludo cordial y dar mi bendición Apostolica a los cristianos en las tierras hispanohab-lantes.

Anche, ricordando il nostro dovere come Custode della Sede Ap-ostolica di San Marco ad Aquileia, ed in onore di Nuova Roma, la nostra città di Firenze, imparto la mia benedizione Apostolica agli italiani in tutto il mondo.

And now, may Almighty God bless each of you as you go for-ward in faith in your Lenten journey.

Archbishop Dutton Named Titular Archbishop of the Patriarchal See

Archbishop
Dutton

PATRIARCHAL SEE 23 February 2020 (ORCNS) - HSH the Most Reverend Norman Dutton, retired Metropolitan Archbishop of the Anglican Independent Communion Worldwide was recently appointed as a titular Archbishop of the Patriarchal See by HIRH the Archfather. The titular archbishops are part of the Anticamera Nobile of the Patriarchal Household. Members are not always regular clergy of the Imperial Patriarchate, but are often also clergy of other jurisdictions in the Roman and Anglican traditions. Archbishop Dutton, a native of the United Kingdom, has a long record of service on an international basis and is a highly-respected cleric and humanitarian.

The Anticamera Nobile is the higher division within the traditional organisation of the Patriarchal Household. It is divided into two segments. The upper portion is known as the Chapter and is comprised of the Electoral Bishops, titular bishops and archbishops, honourary Deans, and Canons. The lower portion is known as the Camera, or Chamber, and includes the Patriarchal Chamberlains, as well as several traditional offices held by clerics or laity.

Baroque Music Translator Filip Adam Zieliński Receives Patriarchal Service Cross

Filip Adam Zieliński

CRACOW 30 December 2019 (ORCNS) - Filip Adam Zieliński, Esq., a Polish author, poet, and translator of hundreds of vocal works of Baroque composers, was recently awarded the Patriarchal Service Cross by HIRH Don Rutherford I, Florentine Archfather. The medal, part of the honours system of the Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarchate, is awarded at the discretion of the Archfather for service to the Imperial Patriarchate or to the arts, sciences, or humanity. It was awarded in this case in recognition of Mr. Zieliński's service to the preservation of Baroque music through his translation of Baroque choral music into Polish. Given the role of the Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarchate as a living continuation of both the Renaissance and Baroque, Mr. Zieliński's work was considered particularly relevant and important.

Filip Adam Zieliński, was born in the Royal Capital City of Cracow. His father, Adam Piotr Zieliński, is an artist, painter, Cracow Academy of Fine Arts graduate and a civil servant. Danuta Mariola Zielińska, his mother, works in gastronomy. Mr. Zieliński wrote his first translation in 2013 and has since translated hundreds of cantatas. Composers he has translated include J.S. Bach, Georg Philipp Telemann, Johann Kuhnau, Johann Ludwig Bach, Johann Ernst Bach and Georg Melchior Hoffmann. Among his interests, except translating, there are such topics as medieval military and weapon, classical men’s fashion, Church’s history and liturgy.

Patriarchal Service
Cross

Patriarchal Allocution - Christmas 2019

PATRIARCHAL SEE 25 December 2019 (ORCNS) - HIRH Don Rutherford I, Florentine Archfather gave the annual Patriarchal Allocution on the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord. The address centred on topics of evangalisation and tradition. It also included special greetings to the people of Italy and the Spanish-speaking lands.

Text of the Allocution: 

From the Florentine Household to the world and to the members of the Court of St. Mary of Walsingham, grace, peace, and our apostolic blessing on this glorious Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the year of our Lord 2019. This is the day in which we celebrate, of course, the coming of Christ as the light of the world. Yet, today, we in Christendom face a situation that is not unlike that of the early church. We find the ways of darkness attempting to snuff out the light of Christ in any way possible. Indeed it is true that we are no longer in the time of the Christianised world, for although it may be the case that the majority of the world’s population identifies in some way as Christian, the true inner belief and outer practice of the faith have been greatly diminished. Ironically, in an era of tolerance being proclaimed, we Christians, particularly those of the traditional Catholic faith, find ourselves a persecuted minority. Even brother often fights brother. 

Some say that Christendom is dead, but with that I cannot agree. Truly Christendom is now like a small candle in a vast abyss of darkness. Yet, even the faintest candle provides light in the dark. Darkness is nothing but the absence of light. It cannot by itself extinguish a light. We must, therefore, look to that light of Christ, no matter how small the flame on earth may be, and seek to fuel it, that it may continue to grow and reflect the incomprehensible strength and brilliance of the light of Christ in heaven gloriously reigning. 

In this time of challenges, we need not seek a new evangelisation, but rather a renewed sense of that very same commission of evangelisation that was given to us by our Lord Himself. This is not a new charge, but the very charge that has always existed for the Christian people. We do not need to remove tradition, for to do so would be to break with that very continuity that links the Christian people of today with the Christian people of every other time period, all the way back to the time when Christ walked the earth as a man – indeed, the very Incarnation that we celebrate today. The faith of Christ is unchanging and knows neither time nor space. We cannot modify our faith and practice to suit the ever-changing whims of the world, for to do so would be to abandon the faith altogether. The clergy and especially the bishops are bound by sacred duty to maintain the true faith, doctrine, and traditions. 

To energise the Christian faithful and to reach new people with the message of love and peace that is Christ, therefore, we must not in any way bend the message of Christ to fit the ways that are purely of the world. That approach has become quite common, and it is disconcerting. What is being preached in such cases, then, is not the faith of Christ, but a faith in mankind alone. What is needed is the framework of the traditions of the church. Those traditions provide the foundation upon which the immutable and eternal truths of the Christian faith stand in the world. Indeed, those traditions, ever-rooted in the very faith that they protect and sustain, exist to stand as a fortified wall against the enemies of the faith. They cannot be destroyed from without, but they can be eroded from within. Once the smoke of Satan enters, it then becomes all too easy to erode the faith. 

Ed ora, ad i nostri carissimi d'Italia, il vero cuore del patrimonio del Patriarcato Imperiale, Noi impariamo la Nostra benedizione speciale. Questo Natale, siamo premuroso soprattutto dei luoghi santi del Nostro patrimonio in Italia, specialmente a Firenze, Roma, ed Aquileia. Possa Dio Onnipotente conferire le Sue benedizioni al popolo d'Italia nel prossimo anno e per sempre. 

También damos un saludo especial y una bendición a Nuestros más queridos en las tierras hispanohablantes. Es a través de la obra de los de herencia española que la luz de Cristo se extendió a gran parte del mundo. De hecho, estamos muy orgulloso de ser el heredero en la Italia Imperial de dos grandes casas españolas. Que Dios Omnipotent os conceda Sus bendiciones a cada uno de vosotros en el año proximo y por siempre. 

Returning to the notion of tradition, We then call to mind the rich and incredibly diverse ancient patrimony that the modern Imperial Patriarchate is called upon by its sacred duty to live, maintain, and perpetuate in the modern world. As ecclesiastical successors to the temporal patrimony of Pope Leo X, the city of Florence, our titular seat in the Church of St. Stephen al Ponte in Florence, and our titular residence in Rome that once were the apartments of Leo are of particular importance and are quite dear to Us. Similarly, the ancient and the sovereign Patriarchate of Aquileia not only is within Our patrimony, but is also the source of many of our traditions and customs. 

Brethren in Christ, we are called to perpetuate the traditions of Christ and His Holy Church in the world, even in this modern period. We must do so courageously, honourably, and without apology, always remembering that all that we do in the world must be rooted in the faith of Christ and flow from the Sacrifice upon the altar. 

Now, We impart our apostolic blessing on each of you that you may have a joyous Christmas season and a beneficial and productive new year, ever growing in the faith of Christ.

Ancient Imperial Patriarchate of Aquileia shares history with the modern Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarchate

St. Paulinus II,
Patriarch of Aquileia

PATRIARCHAL SEE 18 December 2019 (ORCNS) - The Imperial Patriarchate and Apostolic See of Aquileia is an ancient part of the patrimony in Imperial Italy of the Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarchate. Many of the privileges and traditions of the modern Imperial Patriarchate relate to ancient customs, privileges, and traditions of the Imperial Patriarchate of Aquileia. 

Located in the extreme northeast part of the Imperial Kingdom of Italy, it's territory today spans the northeast part of Italy and parts of Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia. The broad territory was and is known as Friuli and at times constituted a secular state. As a diocese, it was founded by St. Mark the Evangelist, who was sent to the area by St. Peter the Apostle. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the eventual conquest of Italy by the Lombards and the subsequent conquest of the Lombard Kingdom of Italy by Charlemagne led to the Patriarchate becoming a state within the Holy Roman Empire. The Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarchate today is the heir to the Burgundian House of Arles and of the Spanish Houses of Ivrea and Barcelona in Imperial Italy. Those houses ruled the kingdom of Italy itself as a king or vice-King and also ruled several of the southern Italian states. One such monarch, Bosone, Margrave of Tuscany, interceded on the behalf of the Patriarchate of Aquileia in 931. Also, Berengar II of Ivrea, King of Italy, in addition to being a descendant of Charlemagne, was the son of Gisela of Friuli, the daughter of Berengar I, Margrave of Friuli and King of Italy. Berengar II himself was also Margrave of Friuli. From there it remained a secular territory of the Holy Roman Empire until it was ceded to the Patriarch of Aquileia in 1077. 

Don Giovanni Grimani,
Patriarch of Aquileia in the
distinctive patriarchal habit
resembling that of the Pope.

The Patriarch of Aquileia enjoyed the Imperial titles of Count and Prince-Bishop and was a monarch in every way. The Republic of Venice eventually became their most troublesome arrival, and in 1411 there was a war that resulted in the end of the Patriarchate in 1433. The territories of the Patriarchate were then ruled by the Venetians.

Don Bertholdus, Patriarch
of Aquileia, in red-trimmed
white habit and
white mozzetta

The highly-privileged Imperial Patriarchs of Aquileia enjoyed many privileges. As patriarchs, they were entitled to red vesture of a style similar to the Pope. They often used a red velvet mozzetta, but without the fur trim found on that of the Pope. Their periodic use of a white habit with red trim and a fur mozzetta may be seen today in the red-trimmed white cassock used by the Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarch and his fur mozzetta used during the winter half-year. They also used the temporal symbols of authority, including the orb – which remains part of the state regalia of the Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarchate today.

Don Paulinus, Cardinal Patriarch of
Aquileia is seen in the centre in
fur mozzetta and red galero

Also, the Patriarchate of Aquileia periodically held a special mass called the Mass of the Sword. During that mass, the deacon wears a special helmet and gives specific salutes with a sword. A similar mass is part of the traditional ceremonial of the modern Imperial Patriarchate.

The modern Imperial Patriarchate in memory of St. Stephen stands as an example of continuity with all the elements of its rich and diverse heritage. The ancient Imperial Patriarchate of Aquileia is an important part of that heritage. 

Painting Details Imperial Patriarchate History, Past and Present

PATRIARCHAL SEE 14 December 2019 (ORCNS) - A new painting by a priest of the Imperial Patriarchate, entitled “The Continuation of the Imperial Patriarchate,” details the ancient and modern history of the Anglo-Italian Imperial Patriarchate in memory of St. Stephen. The painting features the founding fathers of the Imperial Patriarchate’s patrimony, as well as the modern heads of the titular patriarchal states.