Written and compiled by Jamie Seidel October 1996
The the major Orders based in Outremer were the Order of the Hospital of St. John (the Hospitallers), the Order of the Temple of Solomon (the Templars), and the Teutonic Knights. Of these three, only the Hospitallers have survived relatively intact to the present day.
But even this Order was fractured and changed by the numerous wars that spread across Europe and the division of the Reformation.
There are five modern Orders which are recognised as being direct successors to the medieval Hospitallers.
It was largely the Order's unique internal structure that permitted this survival. Each knight was assigned to a Tongue with its own commander known as a Pilier. These Tongues were just that: groups of knights speaking the same language.
With the turmoil of the Reformation gripping Europe, many Tongues fractured from the Catholic core in Rome to adopt new forms of Christianity. Among other places, this happened in England under the Anglican Church, and Germany under the Lutheran Church.
While the Sovereign Military Order originally did not recognise the validity of these break-away Tongues (or Langues), the past century has seen increasing conciliation between the "loose fragments" of the Order that has led to an of informal unity. The five Orders recognised as having valid connections to the original Knights of St. John are:
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta
The Most Venerable Order of St. John
The Johanniter Order (Bailiwick of Brandenburg)
The Johanniter Order (Netherlands)
The Johanniter Order (Sweden)
The last four of these are collectively known as the Alliance Orders. There are also about twenty very small Orders of St. John, most of which claim descent from the former Russian Orthodox Grand Priory. These are bogus or 'self-styled' orders and are not recognised by the five orders listed above nor by the International Commission on Orders and Decorations.
These conditions have largely been accepted, with very few knights leaving because of conflicts of faith.
The Militant Order's senior hierarchy must also come from the Sovereign Military Order, though representatives of each Order are allowed positions of power on the Militant body's councils.
However, a topic of currently heated discussion is the establishment of a completely independent Militant arm, dominated by no individual Order.
The Revived Order The French Revolution marked the beginning of a new era for the Order. In 1792 the estates of the Order within France were confiscated. This confiscation was extended to their estates in other parts of Europe as French conquests advanced. In 1798, Bonaparte captured Malta with outrageous ease and expelled the Order. Some knights who had found refuge in St. Petersburg proclaimed the married, non-Catholic and non-knight Czar Paul I as their Grand-Master, and most surviving priories (except in Spain) acknowledged the election (1798) against the Pope's wishes. The Czar even created an Orthodox priory in 1799, and bestowed membership most liberally. He died assassinated in 1801. His successor Alexander I declined to assume the grand-mastership and instead turned to the Pope to name a new grand-master. Pius VII appointed Giovanni Tommasi in 1803, and the Grand-Master reformed the Convent (the heart of the order) in Messina. On his death in 1805, a new Grand Master was elected but the Pope refused to recognize him, and the Mastership fell into a 70-year hiatus, the Order being governed instead by elected lieutenants. In the next years, various attempts at reestablishing territorial sovereignty failed. In 1814, contrary to expectations, Malta remained in British hands and the Order settled in Catania. Various plans to settle in Elba or Greece floundered. Relations between the Lieutenancy in Messina (and from 1826 in Ferrara) and the knights in France and Spain were severed. Remnants of the Order were finally offered a home by the Pope in the old Maltese embassy at Rome in 1831. Starting in the 1860s a number of national associations sprang up in various European countries, replacing the old system of Langues, and in 1879 the Pope appointed the existing Lieutenant as Grand Master. Good relations were maintained with the Italian government which accorded extra-territoriality to the Palazzo Malta, and finally signed a treaty modelled on the Lateran Treaty in 1930. It was in the period between 1798 and 1961 that the Order thus acquired its present character. In particular, forms of membership which did not require solemn vows or even proofs of nobility were created or vastly extended: knights of honor and devotion, conventual chaplains ad honorem, knights of magistral grace and donats. Among professed knights, a series of three ranks was created: knight, commander, and bailli-grand-cross. In the category of knights of honor and devotion, a rank of honorary bailli-grand-cross was created, as well as a rank of grand-cross among the knights of magistral grace. Membership grew as follows:
| 1880 | 1900 | 1921 | 1932 | 1949 | |
| -Professed- | |||||
| Knights of Justice | 99 | 84 | 55 | 65 | 63 |
| Conventual Chaplains | 18 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 9 |
| Chaplains of Obedience | 43 | 138 | 37 | 15 | 6 |
| Donats of Justice | 11 | 16 | 9 | 4 | 6 |
| -Non Professed- | |||||
| Knights of Honor | 969 | 1078 | 1175 | 1563 | 1883 |
| Dames of Honor | 119 | 111 | 155 | 196 | 272 |
| Knights of Magistral Grace. | 23 | 37 | 95 | 444 | 1500 |
| Donats | 78 | 111 | 294 | 308 | 1090 |
| Honorary chaplains | 3 | 9 | 16 | 58 | 150 |
| Total | 1363 | 1597 | 1843 | 2658 | 4979 |
The growth in Knights of Magistral Grace and Donats (the ranks which do not require nobility) is particularly striking. As a result, in 1961 the total membership stood at 7557, of which less than 1% were professed. The present status and organization of the order dates from 1961.
Among its other activities, the headquarters in Rome runs the AIOM, an international campaign against hunger, misery, sickness and ignorance. This organisation regularly sends medical stores to many Third World countries as well as provides special help to Portugal and Poland.
The Order is also in the forefront of the struggle against leprosy, with an emphasis on rehabilitation. Other missions include pilgrimages to Lourdes; an institute of hospital study and research; and a School of Paediatrics.
Each of the national associations of the Order organises charitable activities within its region. The work of these associations, including those in Germany (where the Malteser-Hilfsdienst has over 66,000 active workers), Austria, Brazil, Great Britain, France, Switzerland, Ireland, Italy and the east coast of the United States, is focussed on first aid, medical facilities, and the fight against poverty.
Most sponsor modern hospitals and all provide retirement and nursing homes for the ill and aged.
The Sovereign Order is currently expanding and widening its influence. While essentially suffering an "aimless" existence since Malta was taken by Napoleon in 1798, the Order is re-emerging in places such as the United Kingdom and Poland. Led for the first time in its history by an English Grand Master (equivalent to Cardinal), his grasp of modern diplomacy and a willingness to form consensus with other organisations and institutions have given the Order renewed international standing. The numbers of Knights, both professed and lay, are on the increase once again. It has taken almost two centuries before this recovery begun, but it has begun. The Sovereign Militant Order now numbers almost 10,000 members in five Grand Priories, three Bailiwicks and 37 National Associations in Europe and the Americas. When combined with the affiliated Orders of St. John, membership approaches 100,000.
Because it is a Sovereign entity, the Order of St. John is subject to international law and is governed in accordance to its own code of laws.
The Order has been an internationally recognized sovereign entity since the Verona Convention of 1820, although without territorial basis. Three of its possessions, the Palazzo Malta (The Order's Headquarters in Rome), via Condotti (Rome) and the Villa Malta, also in Rome, enjoy extra-territorial status in Italy since 1869. It also owns The fortress Sant'Angelo in Malta since 1991. It mints coins, which do not circulate, but it also prints stamps accepted by 45 national post offices. The Order enjoys recognition from, and diplomatic relations with, 67 countries (including Spain, Italy, Russia, Austria, Egypt, Brazil), has legations in 6 countries (including France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland), and is an observer at the UN since 1994.
But it is sovereignty that allows the Order to pursue its religious and charitable missions on a world-wide scale. The dedication to aiding the sick, leprous, emigrants, refugees and exiles, abandoned children and the destitute, those stricken by natural disasters and war casualties allows members of the Order to enter almost any nation unquestioned.
The Sovereign Militant Order exchanges ambassadors with more than 40 countries, issues its own passports and has internationally recognised laws.
Traditionally the Sovereign Order has been based on knightly nobility, with one of the conditions of entry being proof of up to 16 quarterings (a traceable noble heritage on both sides of the family of 400 to 600 years).
Today its membership is open to all devout Catholics of proven commitment and worth through the introduction of several new classes of knight.
The members of the Order are divided into various classes. The brothers of the first class are professed religious, in terms of canon law, as members of a monastic Order of the Church.
The vast majority of the members (about 10,000) are in the second and third classes. These are laymen who in other orders would be called confratres or tertiaries. They are grouped in six grand priories, three sub-priories, and thirty-six national associations.
The Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order, whose present constitution dates from June 24, 1961, consists of three distinct entities or categories. The knightly classes are:
There are also similar ranks for chaplains:
First Class:
Third Class:
The Cross of Malta pro merito melitensi for services to the Order's charitable works. This decoration has three ranks: Collar (for heads of state), Cross (including Grand-Cross, Grand-Officer, Commander, Office and Cross of Merit), and Cross pro piis meritis for members of the clergy (including Grand-Cross and Cross). The insignia of the decoration is a white cross moline with a red roundle in its center bearing a white Maltese cross.
The Collar (for heads of state)
The Cross (with swords for military awards)
These knights of Justice continue to be the core of the Order. They number about 40 and follow their profession in Rome and Valetta. Some of these Knights form part of the "Invisible Order", which consists of about 100 knights actively pursuing the Cainite Crusade.
The Order is governed by the Grand-Master and the Sovereign Council, which includes members ex officio and elected members. The Order's four oficers are the Grand-Commander, the Grand-Chancellor, the Hospitaller and the Receiver of the Common Treasury.
The 78th Grand Master of the Order of St. John is the first Englishman to hold this rank in 7 centuries. Elected in 1988, he is a descendant of Sir Edward Bellingham, Knight of Malta and last Commander of Dinmore in Herefordshire from 1530 to 1540. His election received great attention in Italy, and he earned the popular title of "papa crociato" -- the Crusade Pope. In 1993 the Grand Priory of England was restored and shares its headquarters in St. John Gate, Clerkenwell, with the Most Venerable Order of St. John. This indicates the growing numbers of full knights in the Order: a good sign for the future.
The star (large medallion on the lower left chest) is a white enamelled eight-pointed cross suspended by a ribbon of black silk.
The badge and star vary for the Orders of Merit to signify their loose association with the Sovereign Order, mainly through the use of a large white Latin Cross as backdrop to the Maltese cross, crimson silk and bordering white stripes.
A military trophy of flags and arms are reserved for knights of Justice and knights of Honour and Devotion. Knights of Grace replace this with a gold bow.
The insignia comes in four varieties:
Only the professed members (and perhaps the Knights and Chaplains of Obedience as well) are entitled to place a cross of Malta behind their arms. Knights Commanders also surround their shield with the chaplet from which hangs their insignia. Baillis quarter their arms with those of the order. Professed Chaplains surround their shield with a chaplet from which hangs their insignia. Professed knights have the full cross hanging from a black ribbon. The non-professed categories of knights have their insignia hanging from a black ribbon (with no cross behind the shield), but Knights Grand-Cross or Bailiffs within each class edge the ribbon with gold and add a chief with the arms of the Order (chef de la religion) to their coat.
Knights of Honour and Devotion have the same uniform and gold variations as a Grand Cross, though they have different patterns embroidered on the facings of the cuffs, lapels and collar. The mantle for all knights is a long black cloak reaching below the knee, with silk lapels, velvet collar and a gold chain fastening in the middle. The Cross of the Order is embroidered in red and white yarn on the left side.
Knights of Justice wear the same uniform, though with white trim and facings to represent the purity of their vows.
First Class members can wear their red uniform and a black choir mantel with a solid white cross on the shoulder. Those not in vows wear black habits with a white cross in outline on their breast.
The Membership The six classes of the Order are:
The "proof" for the rank of Justice within the Second Class is either paternal nobility or the right to bear a properly recorded coat-of-arms. The only practical difference between the two ranks is that a Knight or Dame of Justice can nominate two personal esquires whereas the Knights or Dames of Grace can only nominate one such esquire. Bailiffs and Knights of Justice and Grace receive the accolade but membership of the Order does not confer any rank, title or precedence. Post-nominal letters signifying membership should only be used for correspondence within the Order.
The Most Venerable Order is the only one of the Orders of St. John which does not have a sectarian restriction on membership; it is open to any suitable candidate professing one of the major Christian denominations. British subjects, Dominion subjects, citizens of the Republics of Ireland and South Africa who are Christians become full members of the Order, non-Christians admitted to the Order and all other non-British or non-Dominion subjects are admitted as Associates. These were the same decorations as full members although until recently their ribbon was differenced by a central white stripe. Promotions in the Order are made primarily on the basis of service, with the vast majority of the membership (other than in the United States) being admitted as serving-brother or sister. If a member has distinguished himself or herself towards the Order, promotion to the rank of officer brother or sister may follow after one year or to a higher rank when the nominee is appointed to an important executive responsibility, although in most cases it takes four to ten years. Promotion to the rank of commander may follow for an average of one third of the officers, and takes from four to ten years -- recently the time between promotions has been extended. Particularly distinguished and prominent members, and those who have served the Order outstandingly for many years, may be promoted to knight or dame; however this honour is given to only five percent of the membership (twenty percent in the United States). Occasionally members are admitted in the higher grades, particularly following appointment to a high office from the Crown, such as Lords Lieutenant who become County Presidents and Lieutenant-Governors in Canada; however senior members of the armed forces and other public officials are normally admitted in a serving grade.
The Headquarters of the Order are situated at St. John's Gate, Clerkenwell, London.
The Hospital mainly serves the Palestinians living in the territories illegally occupied by Israeli forces and who are not entitled to receive Israeli free medical or hospital aid. With eighty beds it performs more than 50,000 out-patient procedures and nearly 6,000 major operations per annum (excluding much of the eye-lid surgery), as well as sending regular mobile clinics into the West Bank and Gaza Strip and engaging in important research work into diabetes related blindness. While the majority of operations are for trachoma and its side-effects, recently a substantial number have been related to injuries incurred during the Intifada, often to small children and the elderly. The annual expenditure (1989) to run the Hospital comes to almost $3,500,000 (a fraction of what it would cost to run a comparable hospital in Britain or the US) and support of the Hospital is the principal charitable object of the American Society; however subsidies from the Jordanian Government and the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNWRA) are essential. Although the staff of the Hospital in Jerusalem are paid, it could not function without the dedication of both doctors and nurses. The Hospitaller, who is responsible for its administration and well-being, is one of the most important of the executive officers of the Order. The commitments of the Hospital in Jerusalem are increasing annually, mainly due to greater demands on its services made by the unfortunate Palestinians. The difficulties which the staff of the Hospital encounter in carrying out their humanitarian responsibilities cannot be underestimated. The government of Israel has chosen to impose many bureaucratic regulations and financial charges and has imposed an import tax in excess of 100% on donated eyes for corneal grafts as well as other medical supplies, ambulances and motor vehicles (although these are all gifts to the Hospital). Despite the impediments imposed by the Israelis and the atmosphere of hatred which still pervades much of the area in which the Hospital operates, the Order is determined to maintain this essential service to the poor and sick of every religious denomination in the holiest city of Christendom.
The administrative offices of the Society are maintained at the Diocesan House of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
In 1995 it was announced that HM The Queen, as Sovereign Head of the Order of St. John, had given her approval for the American Society of St. John to be elevated to the status of a Priory. This is the first time that a Priory has been created in a non-Commonwealth country and reflects the importance of the American members to the overall work of the Order.
The Commandery of Canada was established in 1934 and raised to a Priory in 1946; the Governor-General of Canada has always been the Prior of Canada (although this was not a statutory requirement). Once nomination to membership has been approved by Chapter-General and the Grand Prior, they receive the royal approval through the Governor-General acting in the name of the Queen of Canada; the Governor-General then informs Her Majesty that he has performed this act in her name. Announcements of admissions and promotions are made in the official government publication, the Canadian Gazette. Executive responsibility for the conduct of affairs of the Priory is delegated by the Prior to the Chancellor, or, on certain occasions, to one of the executive officers. The Priory has Councils in each of the Provinces, the Northwest Territories and the National Capital Region.
Besides seventeen associations in Germany, the Order has four outside (the Finnish, French and Swiss, which are officially recognised in their respective countries, and the Hungarian in exile). Its headquarters are in Bonn; its head, styled Der Herrenmeister, is His Royal Highness Prince Wilhelm Karl of Prussia.
The Order runs thirteen hospitals with 3,200 beds in the Federal Republic, together with fourteen old peoples' homes with 1,500 places. It manages the Johanniter-Unfal-Hilfsgemeinschaft with 1,650 participants. It co-operates with the German associations of the Order of Malta, and it engages in work in Africa as well as in Germany.
Two hundred years later, at the fatal battle of Muhi in 1241 when Hungary was unable to stop the assault of Djenghiz Khan's Mongols, the Knights of the Hungarian Tongue saved their king and escorted him to safety on the Adriatic coast.
With the collapse of the Crusader Kingdoms in the early 14th century the Tongue was driven out of the Holy Land.
It established its seat successively on the islands of Cyprus, Rhodes, and finally Malta, and with its fleet became a military power to be reckoned with. (the island was lost to Napoleon Bonaparte, when the Knights, faithful to their vows not to fight Christian powers, surrendered to the attacking French in 1798.)
From the parent stem of what is today the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, headquartered in Rome, the Hungarian Order branched off in the mid-sixteenth century through those Knights who accepted the Reformation of the Church. They grouped themselves around the historically independent-minded Bailiwick of Brandenburg. The present Order of St. John of the Hospital at Jerusalem (Johannniter) today has "commanderies" or Associations in Germany, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, France and Finland.
The Order is a relatively small group of 3,000 Knights. (The Hungarian Association numbers a little over 100). Members join it only by invitation. They must have a firm Christian commitment.
After a period of probation and a formal investiture, they follow a strict discipline of service. The Order in turn sponsors and directs service organisations which enlist thousands of other people who are also inspired by the ideals of the Order. Allied "Johanniterorder" are active in Holland and in Sweden. In England, the Grand Priory of the Order of St. John in the British realm eventually evolved into the Most Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem, with an Association in the United States. Close links are maintained with the Roman Catholic branch, the Sovereign Military Order of the Knights of Malta.
Irrespective of their confessions, the orders -- linked in an "Alliance" -- carry forward the same traditions and profess the same principles, the foremost being "to serve our lords, the sick and the poor."
After World War II, with Hungary in the Soviet orbit, the Hungarian Association of the Order became an "Association in Exile," with members settling in all countries of the world, held together by their shared commitment.
It was repatriated to a changed Hungary in 1992. It found the health care system, previously on a par with Western Europe, reduced to the level of Soviet standards. With limited manpower and means, caring for results rather than recognition, it is resuming its traditional activities.
Its current objectives are to seek out and sponsor eventually-self-supporting pilot projects directed toward the handicapped and the infirm, initiate training programs, and provide ongoing support to health-care delivery projects in under-served communities.
Its headquarters are in The Hague, and its head is HRH Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands.
Its foundations include a hospital and homes for elderly disabled people and spastic children. It co-operates with the Dutch association of the Order of Malta and with the Commandery of Utrecht of the Teutonic Order.