History of the order

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE OLD ORDER OF ST JOHN

The Original or Old Order of Saint John of Jerusalem is perhaps the oldest surviving international Christian Order of Chivalry, deriving its modern theosophy from the work of the original Hospitaller’s under Blessed Gerard.

The Order began, some 50 years before the First Crusade, as a charitable group that cared for Christian Pilgrims. The Hospice of Saint John of Jerusalem opened its doors around 1048 and – in about 1087 – this Hospitaller group adopted the commune life-style of the Augustinian Order under their first Prior, Blessed Gerard.

Following the passing of Blessed Gerard, the Order took on a more militaristic role, incorporating Knights to protect travelling pilgrims.

The Hospitaller’s continued their charitable and militaristic roles in the Holy Land for the next 200 years. Following the Siege of Acre in 1291, the Order relocated briefly to Cyprus. In 1310 it moved to Rhodes where it remained for the next 200 years. In 1523, after being defeated by the Turks, the Order finally settled on the island of Malta.

The Order prospered in Malta for the next 286 years until the siege of the Island by Napoleon, when the 71st Grand Master, Ferdinand von Hompesch zu Bolheim, handed over sovereignty of the island on the 12th June, 1798 to the French Directory. He abdicated as Grand Master the following year.

Following the capitulation, the Knights were forced to disperse, the majority taking refuge in St. Petersburg, under the protection of Tsar Paul I of Russia. The relocation of the Order across Europe led to its fragmentation and continued existence in a somewhat divided and fragmented form.

On 21st October 1798, the majority of the Knights elected Tsar Paul I of Russia as the 72nd Grand Master.

After this, a number of Orders of Saint John, all independent of each other and under different Charters, emerged over the years.

The relics of the Order that were removed from Malta to Russia via Trieste, included the right arm of St John the Baptist, the icon of Our Lady of Philermos and a fragment of the True Cross. These relics eventually made their way into the possession of King Peter II of Yugoslavia. They are currently under the protection of the Cetinje monastery in Montenegro.