According to universally accepted tradition, Emperor Constantine the Great - the
first Christian emperor of Rome - established a school on the Palatine Hill in Rome
prior to 330 A.D. The school attracted outstanding teachers and enjoyed an enviable
reputation. In 330 A.D. Emperor Constantine the Great moved the capital of the Roman
Empire from Rome to Byzantium, renaming it Constantinople, the City of Constantine.
Some centuries later the Palatine Hill school emerged as
The
Constantinian University of Masters, i.e., a guild of teachers. After
the passage of additional centuries,
The Constantinian University
of Masters was annexed as
The Constantinian University
to the Constantinian-Amorian Order of the Golden Knights of Orient.
The Constantinian-Amorian Order of the Golden Knights of Orient and its annexed
Constantinian University are dynastic institutions, which are an integral part of
the historic-heraldic patrimony - inalienable and indefeasible - of the ancient
Sovereign House of the Most Serene Imperial Princes Amoroso Comneno Angelo Flavio
Lascaris Paleologo d'Aragona, legitimate descendants, in direct masculine line,
of the August Roman Emperors of Orient of the Dynasty of Amorium, a city in ancient
Phrygia of Asia Minor: Michael II Balbus of Amorium, called The Amorian (December
25, 820 - October 1, 829), Theophilus (October 1, 829 - January 20, 842), Michael
III (January 20, 842 - September 23, 867), all of whom were heirs of Emperor Constantine
the Great.
The functioning of
The Constantinian University certainly,
at one time, was governed by the Statutes, which were drawn up in old Greek and
given in Trecase, Kingdom of Naples, on May 28,1605, by the Imperial Prince Don
Giovanni Ferdinando Amoroso, Hereditary Grand Master of the Constantinian-Amorian
Order of the Golden Knights of Orient. Through the ages,
The
Constantinian University has conferred all the traditional university
degrees, as well as the ad eundem gradum and the licentia ubique docendi.
Having survived the vicissitudes of the ages and after many centuries of decorous
existence,
The Constantinian University, in recent
times, began reducing its faculties and its student body, while continuing its university
functions of presenting lectures, conferences, seminars, symposia, round table discussions,
vocal and instrumental concerts, and similarly related university educational and
didactic activities. At this point in its more than sixteen and one-half centuries
of existence, The Constantinian University, true to its Roman heritage and in homage
to its ancient traditions, directed its mission, with the utmost dedication and
devotion, to upholding and fostering the dignity and worth of the human person,
created in the image of likeness of God, and to celebrating the individual, who
is a center of virtual spiritual sovereignty. The God-given dignity of the human
person must always be the focal point of our thoughts and actions, for there is
no other.
We execute sedulously this noble mission, as a University, by giving public recognitions,
in every part of the world, to individuals who have particularly distinguished themselves
by their contributions and achievements, considered meritorious of public recognition
and approbation by
The Constantinian University,
The Mother University.
Today,
The Constantinian University is, essentially,
an honorary institution, that is, it is a select consortium of scholars, scientists,
persons of letters, renowned artists and professionals from every field of knowledge
throughout the world, who share the authentic desire to pursue truth
(veritas),
beauty
(pulchritudo), and good
(bonum) in order to dispel ignorance,
to uplift the human spirit, and to ameliorate the condition of humankind everywhere.
Besides the Papal Bulls of the Supreme Pontiffs Innocent m “Zelo, sollicitudine
curisque tuis” of February 2, 1206, and Pius II “Magnae devotionis tuae” of March
16, 1464, of great historical importance and significance is the imperial decree
of April 23, 1606, issued by Czar Dimitrij V Ivanovic of Russia, conferring special,
sovereign, and perpetual privileges upon the Constantinian Amorian Order of the
Golden Knights of Orient and its annexed University. Prior to the decree of Czar
Dimitrij V Ivanovic, His Holiness Ignatius, Patriarch of Moscow and of all the Russians,
had approved ecclesiastically on March 9, 1606, the Constantinian-Amorian Order
of the Golden Knights of Orient and its annexed University, and had placed the Order
and its cultural institutions under the protection of Saint George, Martyr, and
under the Holy Rule of Saint Basil the Great. In recent times the Constantinian-Amorian
Order of the Golden Knights of Orient has become known as the Sovereign Constantinian
Order of Saint George, the oldest Christian order of knighthood in the modern world.
In addition to the official recognitions received by the Sovereign Constantinian
Order of Saint George and its annexed University cited in the preceding paragraph
of this historical narrative, the following are some of the numerous, public recognitions
received by the Order and its University:
- Royal Decree of King Peter II Kara-Georgevitch of Yugoslavia, dated May 2, 1944,
officially recognized completely and permanently the Sovereign Constantinian Order
of Saint George (Dynasty of Amorium) and its University (Studiorum Universitas Constantiniana)
and considered the Sovereign Constantinian Order of Saint George as a member of
the international community.
- Letter of official recognition from the Secretary of State of the Presidency of
the Republic of Haiti, dated June 19, 1953, and signed by Mauclair Zephirin, Secretary
of State.
- Certificate from Archbishop Nicolas, Exarch of the Patriarchate of Moscow and of
all the Russias for Western Europe of the Russian Orthodox Church, dated Paris,
January 7, 1960, attested that the legal recognition of the powers and sovereign,
special, and perpetual privileges decreed to the Sovereign Constantinian Order of
Saint George and its annexed cultural institutions by Czar Dimitrij V Ivanovic,
given in Moscow on April 23, 1606, continues in effect, never having been suspended
nor revoked.
- Letter of the Lebanese Republic, dated Beirut, June 2,1962, signed by Rachid Karame,
President of the Council of Ministers, and Smih El-Rafii, Secretary General, declared
that the Lebanese Republic legally recognized the Sovereign Constantinian Order
of Saint George (and its annexed Constantinian University) as a subject of the international
community. The letter further stated that the Lebanese Republic was ready to establish
diplomatic relations on an equal basis of interest and mutual respect for full sovereignty
and was ready to exchange diplomatic representatives with the Grand Master of the
Sovereign Constantinian Order of Saint George. While awaiting the nomination of
an ambassador, Mr. Mustapha Ghazzaoui had been named interim chargé d'affaires of
the Lebanese Republic. The Grand Master was asked to receive him and to extend to
him all the usual courtesies of his position.
- Certificate dated Rome, August 10, 1966, from His Eminence the Most Reverend Cardinal
Eugene Tisserant, Bishop of Ostia, Porto, and St. Rufina, Dean of the Sacred College,
Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Ceremonies, Librarian and Archivist of the
Holy Roman Church, declared that the Sovereign Constantinian Order of Saint George
and its annexed Constantinian University are international, Catholic organizations
and are subjects of international law not only because of proven tradition, but
also for the recognition accorded them by the Holy Roman Church.
- Declaration dated Paris, November 21, 1978, from the Ministry of Education of France,
attested to the fact that the State of France, Government of Vichy (July, 1940-August,
1994) had "de facto" considered the Sovereign Constantinian Order of Saint George
as a sovereign institution or a subject of international law, enjoying, certain
prerogatives and diplomatic immunities. Further, The Constantinian
University was established and approved as an educational organ of said
Order, by virtue of the dispositions of its Statutes, duly promulgated in Alessano
on April 23, 1897.
Further, Pope John XXIII, on April 23, 1963, bestowed the Apostolic Blessing upon
His Most Serene Highness Prince Don Salvatore Amoroso d'Aragona, the immediate past
Hereditary Grand Master of the Sovereign Constantinian Order of Saint George. On
April 23, 1965, Pope Paul VI bestowed the Apostolic Blessing upon the same immediate
past Hereditary Grand Master of the Sovereign Constantinian Order of Saint George.
In the calendar of the Church, April 23 is the feast day of St. George, Martyr.
This date is the feast day of the Sovereign Constantinian Order of Saint George
and its annexed University.
According to the most authoritative doctrines of legitimism, juridically, the Sovereign
Constantinian Order of Saint George is a Subject of Public International Law, since
it is bound inseparably to a sovereign power, at least in title.
In the United States of America, the Sovereign Constantinian Order of Saint George,
including its annexed educational organ
The Constantinian University,
was incorporated, on November 29, 1966, as a religious corporation, pursuant to
Article 8 of the Religious Corporation Law of the State of New York, in the Borough
of Manhattan, City of New York, County of New York.
On November 30, 1966, Judge Murray Boxer, Ph.D., Justice of the Court of Special
Sessions of the State of New York, County of New York, accepted the revised Constitutions
of the Sovereign Constantinian Order of Saint George as the Statute of the corporation.
Judge Murray Boxer declared:
In fact, these Constitutions neither conflict with the laws of the United States
of America nor with the laws of the State of New York, and, therefore, now are an
integral part of the Certificate of incorporation of the Sovereign Constantinian
Order of Saint George, which enjoys the same legal status of Subject of international
law, clothed with sovereign dignity, since it is inseparably bound to the imperial
House of Amorium.
The Certificate of incorporation was filed with the office of the County Clerk,
County of New York, on December 1, 1966.
The existence of
The Constantinian University in
the United States of America derives from Chapter XIII, Article 62, of the existing
Constitutions of the Sovereign Constantinian Order of Saint George, given in New
York City on November 30, 1966. The preceding Constitutions, which had been given
in Alessano, Italy, on April 23, 1897, and all the other documents expressly cited
therein, were recognized to be authentic, following an expert evaluation ordered
by the juridical authorities and, therefore, declared to be productive of incontestable
legal effects, as of December 3, 1907. The irrevocable verdict was handed down by
the Court of Palmi, during the Kingdom of Italy, that is, when a very strict rule
was in effect on the entire question of heraldry and dynasties, under the control
of the Heralds' College of the Kingdom, an organ of the State, which was subordinate
to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
The Sovereign Constantinian Order of Saint George also was incorporated as a nonprofit
chivalrous, religious, educational, and philanthropic corporation on April 3, 1986,
under the Laws of the State of Rhode Island. A Charter was granted to the Order
by the State of Rhode Island on April 7, 1986.
On June 13, 1989, the Sovereign Constantinian order of Saint George filed with the
Secretary of State of Rhode Island a
"certificate of amendment to Articles of Incorporation".
The amendment was the Regulation, mentioned in Chapter XIII -
The
Constantinian University of the Statute. Among the provisions of the
Regulation is the authority to award honorary doctor degrees, an authority which
The Constantinian University has possessed ex consuetudine
for many centuries. The "Certificate of Amendment to Articles of Incorporation"
was accepted and approved by the Secretary of State of the State of Rhode Island
and became an integral and inseparable part of the original Articles of Incorporation.
On May 16, 1994,
The Constantinian University filed
with the Office of the Secretary of State of the State of Rhode Island an "Application
for Amended Certificate of Authority". The Amended Certificate of Authority, which
was accepted by the Office of the Secretary of State as conforming to law, authorizes
The Constantinian University to confer honorary university
titles - such as University Lecturer, Professor, Associate Professor and others
- an authority which
The Constantinian University
has possessed inherently for many centuries ex consuetudine, and which was included
in the Amended Certificate of Authority for the sake of clarity. Further, the Amended
Certificate of Authority authorizes
The Constantinian University
to conduct seminars, symposia, conferences, round table discussions, lectures, et
cetera.
The Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury, has determined that the
Sovereign Constantinian Order of Saint George, to which is annexed The Constantinian
University, is exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code.
The Constantinian University is chartered by the
State of Rhode Island, is recognized by the Office of Higher Education of the State
of Rhode Island, and is recognized throughout the world as a subject of Public International
Law. Johnson & Wales University of Providence, Rhode Island, is the Host University
for
The Constantinian University.
The Constantinian University is listed on page 885,
under "Colleges and Universities in Rhode Island", of the 1991-1994 edition of the
Rhode Island Manual, an official publication of the Office of the Secretary of State
of the State of Rhode Island.
The Frederick II University, Latin denomination - Sueba Studiorum Universitas “Fridericus
II”, a dynastic institution of the Hohenstaufen Imperial Dynasty, the ruling family
of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire from 1138-1254 A.D., is affiliated with The
Constantinian University.
Emeritus Magnificent Rector of The Constantinian University, starting from February 11, 1970, is His Excellency Professor Doctor Domenic Anthony Vavala, lieutenant colonel of the scientific investigation (Medical Service, U.S. Air Force), praiseworthy scientist, decorated with the most prestigious international official honorary distinctions, full professor and Dean for over twenty years of the Faculty of Health Science at the Johnson & Wales University.
Actually, the Magnificent Rector of The Constantinian University is Prof. Dr. Robert Nazareno Calicchia, head physician at the Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island.