Biography of Prince Abbot

Metropolitan Archbishop Giovanni Luca, born Gianluca de Lucia, was born in Bordighera on 27 May 1978. He graduated in Accountancy in 2013 and obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Saint Andrew Institute (USA).

A former Carabiniere Auxiliary with Medal of Merit, he was a political activist in Ventimiglia, town councillor from 2002 to 2010, former mayoral candidate and had the privilege of participating in the Italian Chamber of Deputies election in 2013, achieving a modest result (8997 valid votes).

In 2010/2011 he collaborated with the Prime Minister of an African state and thanks to this opportunity he became a member of the National Association of Collaborators and Ministers and Parliamentarians of France (ANCMP). He managed three companies in West Africa in mining, transport and renewable technologies from 2015 to 2019.

He has been residing in the Principality of Monaco for many years, manager from 2012 to May 2023 of a well-known real estate agency, since 2018 he has been directing the religious association, under Monegasque law, called “Polish National Catolich Church à Monaco”, a mission of the Vetero-Catholic Policsh National Catolic Church of the same name, a church in full sacramental exchange with the Roman Catholic Church by the will of Saint John Paul II.

Passionate about history and theology, he was fascinated by Seborga and the ancient Principality, so he decided to conduct historical-legal research on the birth and evolution of Seborga and its Abbey Principality. Three years ago, he published an on-line study, which can be consulted at: https://castrumsepulchri.org

In 2019, he involved a group of enthusiasts in the re-establishment of the Monastic Order of Seborga and its Abbey.

On 29/9/2019, together with nine converged monks, he took the vows of tertiary life: obedience and moderation. Following the Divine Liturgy, celebrated by the Reverend Father Gastone Bernacchi, secretary of the Italian Deanery of the P.N.C.C. and Vice President of the Monegasque cult organisation, P.N.C.C. in Monaco, the Reverend Father consecrated ten conversi (tertiary) monks, assisted by two Orthodox religious, in the spirit of ecumenical dialogue as laid down by the Apostle John. At the end of the consecration, His Most Reverend Highness Giovanni Luca, Prince-Abate pro tempore of Seborga, was elected Commendatory Abbot of Seborga.

The newly-converted monks established a monastic rule, de facto reconstituting the Abbey of Seborga in order to claim every right of the ancient Abbatial Principality.

The Monastic Order of Seborga is incardinated in the Monegasque religious body P.N.C. in Monaco, but since its constitution it has taken on a hybrid theological form that welcomes Catholics and Orthodox and is open to dialogue with all Christians of the world.

On 1 November 2019, the Commendatory Abbot of Seborga was privileged to receive diaconal ordination, together with two other tertiary brothers. He subsequently received priestly ordination in order to perfect his mission.

On 28 December 2019, His Most Reverend Highness Monsignor Giovanni Luca de Lucia was consecrated and crowned Prince-Abate of Seborga by a high Orthodox prelate who blessed him as the 91st Sovereign, Prince of Sabourg, as successor to the last Prince-Abate of Sabourg, His Most Reverend Highness Monsignor Fauste de Ballon .

On that date, the clerics and monks of the Abbey of Seborga voted the new Constitution abrogating the one adopted by the constituent monks in 1261 and subsequent amendments.

On 13 November 2021, in the enchanting setting of Viglas Castle in Slovakia, His Most Reverend Highness re-consecrated the Order of the Dragon, an ancient chivalric order created by Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg in 1408. On this occasion, he consecrated the Order’s new Grand Master, His Excellency Baron Daniel von Rechitar, descendant of Elisebetta of Luxembourg, together with his knights and ladies. The Grand Master, in a sense of profound gratitude, awarded him the highest decoration and appointed him Sacristan of the Order.

His Most Reverend Highness, Giovanni Luca, has studied orthodoxy, in particular the canons of the First Great Councils of the Church of Christ, adopting the orthodox confession as his choice of life, respecting the canons of the Councils of Nicaea, Ephesus, Chalcedon up to the Council of Trullan.
It should be noted that the Prince-Abate recognises the regularity of the married clergy, in particular the bishops who, compared to the Chalcedonian Churches, whether Catholic or Orthodox, are composed of monks with the obligation of celibacy.

On 20 February 2022, the Prince-Abate of Seborga was consecrated Bishop by His Eminence Theodore, Bishop of Eraclea and Primate of the Autonomous Orthodox Church of Cisalpine Gaul, a direct emanation of the Patriarchate of Kiev, acquiring regular Apostolic Succession.

On 25 February 2023, His Most Reverend Highness was incardinated into the Episcopal Conference of Orthodox Bishops of the Ukrainian Diaspora in the United States, a direct emanation of the UAOC, and officially recognised as Prince-Abate Archbishop of Seborga (see document at the end of this article).

His Most Reverend Highness, wishes to consolidate the work of the public administrators by presenting a programme for the economic, tourist and cultural development of Seborga with the following objectives to be realised, in harmony with the Italian State. The following actions are recognised in this programme:

– Obtain legal recognition by the International Community and the United Nations organisation, as a Sovereign State without territory;

– To finalise a bilateral Agreement with the Italian Government in order to obtain Autonomy of the lands of the ancient Principality of Sabourg, through the establishment of an autonomous zone as provided for in Article Five of the Italian Constitution;

– Establish the Ecumenical Institute, dedicated to religious interaction for spiritual cohesion, firstly Christian and then aimed at the interaction of all other world religions;

– Relaunch culture and tourism through the implementation of a programme of annual events planned by the ‘La Vela Bianca’ Cultural Association.