I have two photographs for you.
- Russian Metropolitan with Knights of St. John Hospitaller
This first one is rather obvious. It is a Russian metropolitan (notice the white miter) wearing a Cross of Malta prominently surrounded by Knights Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem. In history, they have also been known as the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta. And, for all you conspiracy theorists, when the Knights Templar were dissolved in 1312, much of their property was given to the Knights Hospitaller. So, in one sense, the Knights Hospitaller carry on within themselves something of the traditions of the Knights Templar. So, how did these knights get started?
Well, it all started with an Abbot in the year 600 who was commissioned by Pope Gregory the Great to build a hospital for pilgrims in Jerusalem. Obviously, this was several hundred years before the Great Schism, and before the Muslim takeover, and so the abbot was welcomed by the Patriarch of Jerusalem. In the year 800 Charlemagne enlarged the hospital and added a library. Sadly in the year 1005 Caliph Al Hakim destroyed the hospital and 3000 other buildings. But in 1023, Italian merchants were given permission to rebuild the hospital by Caliph Ali az-Zahir of Egypt. It was rebuilt on the site of the monastery of St. John the Baptist and was served by Benedictine monks. Thus, their name tells you their history in three words: hospitaller, St. John, and Jerusalem.
The monastic hospitaller order that we think about when we think of the Hospitallers was not founded until right after the First Crusade and confirmed by a Papal bull in 1113. The Knights Templar were founded six years after the Papal permission for the Hospitallers. The Hospitallers wore a black surcoat with a white cross, while the Templars wore a white surcoat with the red cross. Now let me show you a second picture.
Grandmaster of the Knights of Malta with the Pope
Ok, by now you should be asking a question. Given the Great Schism, how on earth did the Knights Hospitaller manage to be approved by both the Roman Catholic Church and the Patriarchate of Russia? Well, the answer comes after much more history which I am not going to relate to you. But, eventually, the Knights Hospitaller were thrown out of the Holy Land and took possession of Rhodes in the Mediterranean, lost that and were given the island of Malta, just south of the island of Sicily. As a result, they are sometimes also called the Knights of Rhodes and the Knights of Malta.
But, eventually, they also lost the island of Malta. And there the tale gets interesting, because their priories split into two parts. Basically one went East and the other remained in the West. The one that went East was able to find a home in Tsarist Russia. In fact, it was quite popular for Russian naval officers to be members of the Knights Hospitaller in Imperial Russia. That branch was closed when the Bolsheviks took over, and was transferred to the USA in 1916, but was reopened after the fall of Communism in Russia in 1992. In fact, they were recognized again by Patriarch Alexandry II of blessed memory. A branch of them exists here in the USA and is approved by the Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in America. Their official title is The Sovereign Order of Orthodox Knights Hospitaller of Saint John of Jerusalem.
But, what about the other branch (or branches, actually). The main other branch became the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta. It not only gained the approval of the Papacy and many of the western countries, it actually retained a semi-sovereign status which it preserves to this day. It has a representative at the United Nations, and several of its properties are considered to be extra-territorial, in the same way as the embassies of most countries are. They have continued to do fine charitable work and have never lost their emphasis on hospitals. During both World Wars, many of their members actually drove and staffed the hospital trains that ran back and forth across Europe. In that way, they did a great service to humanity in that neither side tended to bomb those trains, as they were considered to be neutral.
And this is the truth of the Knights Hospitaller, and not what you see in some of today’s action movies. You could say that those movies simply lay an egg.
Fascinating. Really. The Knights of Malta maintain a parish and a convent in Louisville (Kentucky), the place to go if you happen to be Catholic and less than enthusiastic about Sr Debbie Birkenstock Sings Kumbayah masses.
Do you happen to know the name of the parish? A quick Google search didn’t turn up anything.
There is St. Catherine’s Convent, 2169 Tyler Ln, Louisville, KY. The Sisters of Mercy and the Sisters of Providence also have houses there (but not convents).
There are also Knights of St John in the Anglican church. My homiletics professor, Canon Edward West, was a leader in the order. His Funeral Mass was attended by many knights and dames in the order from all the branches: it was a very impressive procession!
The American Branch of the Anglican Order used to (maybe still?) do their knighting ceremony on St John’s Day at the Cathedral of St John the Divine in NYC. The Bishop of NY was always a chaplain of the order.
I did not tell the part of the story where the priories were closed down in England after the Reformation. But, as you noticed, they eventually came back as an Anglican priory. However, I am pretty sure that the Anglican priory is not recognized by the Italian priory. I am not even sure that the Italian priory recognizes the Russian priory.
If by “recognise” you mean “in communion” I’m certain they are not. The Queen is the head of the English Order, and they are quite Anglican. But I can testify that the various branches were all present at the funeral and that Canon West was well respected in all priories. I’m certain that, at least on such special occasions, they see each other as “separated brethren”.
Interesting about the knights losing Malta,because I just returned from Malta back to Australia,with the knowledge
that Malta was not lost to the turkish.They never did invade it.Would you please clarify your version,and at what period did the knights lose Malta and to whom.
GRIN, I never said that the Knights lost Malta to the Turks. They lost Malta to Napoleon Bonaparte.
The situation is very complicated, but basically religious differences have been sunk for humanitarian reasons, while maintaining traditions and fighting off spurious modern imitations of these ancient orders.
The two key organisations are the Sovereign Order of Malta. based in Rome, and the Alliance of the Orders of St John of Jerusalem, which is the protestant equivalent and includes the English and Swiss organisations amongst its members. The two co-operate closely, almost seamlessly, as far as their humanitarian and international work goes.
Thank you, that is helpful.
I am very happy with the charitable mission of the Saint John of Malta or Hospitaller have been experienced in some other countries, since, the world today have exhibiting an otherwise unpredictable event.Saint John centered of evangelization has focus on healing of the flesh and spiritual aspect, tends to show that “Torah law and the new covenant are not inconflict to each others, but have found a harmony in teaching which both power in one system have restling each other against their desire,Thereby, it is imperrative that evangelization through spiritual healing must be done in the Philippines, being the said country as a nations have failed to confess individually to God that we have sinned, and that the new covenant have called the Filipino people to the gospel of Saint John of Jerusalem and of Malta, etc. to be a new jewish believers of the father and his son XT Jesus.
This is quite unrecognisable as anything associated with St John’s in England. Where do new Jewish believers come into it, particularly in the Philippines ? I have no idea !
Your first photograph does not depict Knights of Malta (The Sovereign Military Order of St John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta) but some spurious organisation calling itself ‘Knights of St John Hospitaller’. Nothing to do with the genuine Orders of St John, which Rogerox describes correctly.