The Malta Institute of Cultural Studies (MIOCS) has just published the second issue of the Journal of the Monastic Military Orders, edited by Comm. Dr George Gregory Buttigieg. The full colour 130-page journal is a must-have for students, scholars and Melitensia enthusiasts alike. This prestigious and highly acclaimed publication is bound to enrich any private library.

MIOCS has attracted a number of distinguished academics who have contributed to this publication. Catherine Tabone provides an interesting account of the final days and funeral rites of Grand Master Pinto. By the time Grand Master Pinto breathed his last, the Order in Malta was facing widespread discontent. Despite centuries of assisting pilgrims and defending Christendom, the order was not immune to the revolutionary currents which prevailed throughout Continental Europe. The Grandmasters’ obsequies provided the ideal setting to remind everyone of the glorious past and splendour of the Order.

Other renowned historians have contributed articles to this journal. Prof. Victor Mallia Milanes traces the journey of the Order of the Hospital from Jerusalem to Malta. Prof. Malcolm Barber revisits the controversial trials of the Templars and Comm. Dr George Gregory Buttigieg traces the evolution of the Hospitaller military arm. Dane Munro looks at the Patronage of the Order whilst Prof. Charles Savona-Ventura analyses the effects of the 1489 Papal Bull. Michael Ellul gives a detailed description of the Holy Infirmary of the Order. Michael Galea examines the role of the Grand Prior of the Conventual Church of the Order of St John and provides short biographical portraits on each Grand Prior whilst Dr George Cassar takes a wide and general look at the military monastic orders in the Holy Land.

The Malta Institute of Cultural Studies (MIOCS) was set up in 2008 to promote culture in its specific as well as general forms through publications, events and academia as well as concurrently nurture a philanthropic role. Its publishing division has so far published the first two editions of its in-house Journal of the Monastic Military Orders and has taken under its wing the award winning book Of Craft and Honour and a Templar’s Chronicles. Another two books are scheduled for publication in 2010 and a number of book submissions are being evaluated.

The Hospitaller division of MIOCS was the motor in the commencement of the Master of Arts in Hospitaller Studies at the University of Malta. This was a first both for the University of Malta as well as Malta itself. “It was right and proper that an MA in Hospitaller Studies should be born in Malta, the Order even carrying our country’s name in its own appellation,” stated with pride MIOCS’s Director Comm. Dr George Gregory Buttigieg – himself a Grand Cross of the Order of Malta which has also decorated him with the Commanders’ Cross. MIOCS teamed up with the University of Malta and through a significant financial investment enabled the idea of the MA to be turned into reality.

Looking back on events so far, Dr George Gregory Buttigieg, MIOCS’s director and co-founder, recently stated, “Both myself as well as Comm. Raymond Bugeja, my esteemed co-founder, are inspired by the saying ‘Carpe Diem’. We believe that MIOCS has an exciting future, as evidenced by its promising birth and growth so far. We have now opened our institute to membership and are setting up the MIOCS Foundation as the philanthropic arm of the institute.

The Journal of the Monastic Military Orders is available from all leading bookshops. All MIOCS members are entitled to two free, postage-paid publications and a 10 per cent discount on all other MIOCS publications and events. These will substantively return the membership fee of e100 per year in kind. Members pay a further of e20 per year as a benevolent fee which goes to the MIOCS Foundation. Further information may be obtained by visiting the institute’s website at http://miocs.org or by sending an e-mail to [email protected].