Burton Lazars is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Burton and Dalby, in the Melton district, in the county of Leicestershire, England. It is two miles (3 km) south-east of Melton Mowbray, having a population of c.450 in 2015. It is the site of the remains of the English headquarters of the military and hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus.
St James church, Burton Lazars
St Lazarus Hospital (site of), Burton Lazars
Pond at site of St Lazarus Hospital
The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, also known as the Leper Brothers of Jerusalem or simply as Lazarists, was a Catholic military order founded by Crusaders around 1119 at a leper hospital in Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem, whose care became its original purpose, named after its patron saint, Lazarus. It was recognised by King Fulk in 1142 and canonically recognised as a hospitaller and military order of chivalry under the rule of Saint Augustine in the Papal bull Cum a Nobis Petitur of Pope Alexander IV in 1255. Although they were centred on their charism of caring for those afflicted with leprosy, the knights of the Order of Saint Lazarus notably fought in the Siege of Acre in 1191, Arsuf, and in the 1192 Battle of Jaffa.
Battle of La Forbie in 1244 and in the Defense of Acre in 1291. The titular seat was successively situated at Jerusalem, then Acre. After the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the order split into two main branches – in Italy and in France.
Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy (1528–1580), founder and first Grand Master of the amalgamated Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus, recognised in 1572 by Pope Gregory XIII.
Louis XVIII (1755–1824) with the Order of Saint Lazarus grand cross
Peter Ludwig von der Pahlen (1745–1826) with the Order of Saint Lazarus knight cross
Russian General Alexander Suvorov (1730-1800) with the Order of Saint Lazarus knight cross