Rafenstain

Everybody following this group can witness that I always use words as "we" and "us", due to my personal deed of being humble and altruistic, nevertheless seeing our group as a team of equal and respectable members. After many questions from people following us though, I decided to explain about my own background. I was elected squire in the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitalliers back in 2007 and have been found worthy to be knighted as Knight of Honour in 2009 by the Grandmaster of the order, H.R.H. Prince Karl Vladimir Karageorgevitch of Yugoslavia. The ceremony took place in the church of Saint Edward the Confessor in London and by Royal Charter and therefore the Knighthood is worldwide recognized. One year after, i used my petition of nobility to request admission in the very old Knight Brotherhood of Sankt Christoph am Arlberg, created by the Duke of Hapsburg back in 1386. Q: "Is this expensive?" A: Depends what you judge as expensive, but both Knight Brotherhoods are costing 300€ a year circa. Q: "Are these lodges such as Free Masons, or similar secret societies?" A: Not at all. Secret societies and Orders of Chivalry are to absolutely different organisations. They might cross every now and then, but only because the final goal is the same. Q:" What is the final goal? Why do you do this?" A: The final goal is to support charity through my membership. YES, you read right. Almost Every single coin goes to people in need. In the Order of the Knights Hospitalliers, we help children in need in christian lands under threat of war or natural disasters and in the Knight Brotherhood of Saint Christoph am Arlberg, we help poor families in Austria, South Tyrol and South Germany to survive. Mostly lonely mothers or mountain Farmes struck by natural tragedy and left with no roof over their heads. Q: "What's the connection between your personal engagement and the groups historic researches and reenactment? A: Daniel von Rafenstain, son of Francisk von Rafenstain, was member of the Knighthood of Saint Cristoph. 18.321 subsequent members and 627 years later, the noble name of Rafenstain finally appears again. I had vowed to do all in my power to get Rafenstain castle restored and being part of the very same Knight Brotherhood gave my strength to do so. Last but not least, i can access more information about Sir Francisk von Rafenstains son Daniel (+1396) from inside the Order. That is it, hope you haven't fainted of boredom. This will be one of the hopefully very few articles about me, eluding me to for fill my Knightly ideals of humbleness, altruism and unselfishness, in fully awareness that I am not a perfect person, but are fighting every single day to become a better one. Thank you,