Order of Saint John (chartered 1888)
The Order of St John,[3] short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (French: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem)[n 1] and also known as St John International,[4] is a British royal order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedicated to St John the Baptist.
This article is about the modern order chartered in the 19th century. For the Catholic military Order of Saint John, see Knights Hospitaller.
Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem
1888
Pro Fide Pro Utilitate Hominum[1]
Service to the order
Extant
Professor Mark Compton
- Bailiff/Dame Grand Cross (GCStJ)
- Knight/Dame of Justice or Knight/Dame of Grace (KStJ/DStJ)
- Commander/Chaplain (CStJ/ChStJ)
- Officer (OStJ)
- Member (MStJ)
The order traces its origins back to the Knights Hospitaller in the Middle Ages, the oldest surviving chivalric order which is generally considered to be founded in Jerusalem in 1099, which was later known as the Order of Malta. A faction of them emerged in France in the 1820s and moved to Britain in the early 1830s, where, after operating under a succession of grand priors and different names, it became associated with the founding in 1882 of the St John Ophthalmic Hospital near the old city of Jerusalem and the St John Ambulance Brigade in 1887.
The order is found throughout the Commonwealth of Nations,[5] Hong Kong, the Republic of Ireland, and the United States of America,[6] with the worldwide mission "to prevent and relieve sickness and injury, and to act to enhance the health and well-being of people anywhere in the world."[6] The order's approximately 25,000 members, known as confrères,[5] are mostly of the Protestant faith, though those of other Christian denominations, as well as adherents of other religions are accepted into the order. Except via appointment to certain government or ecclesiastical offices in some realms, membership is by invitation only and individuals may not petition for admission.
The Order of St John is perhaps best known for the health organisations it founded and continues to run, including St John Ambulance and St John Eye Hospital Group. As with the order, the memberships and work of these organisations are not constricted by denomination or religion. The order is a constituent member of the Alliance of the Orders of Saint John of Jerusalem. Its headquarters are in London and it is a registered charity under English law.[7]
History[edit]
Emergence[edit]
In 1823, the Council of the French Langues—a French state-backed and hosted faction[8] of the Order of Malta (Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta)—sought to raise through private subscription sufficient money to restore a territorial base for the Order of Malta and aid the Greek War of Independence.[8] This was to be achieved by issuing bonds in London to form a mercenary army of demobilised British soldiers using readily available, cheap war surplus. A deal transferring various islands to the Order of Malta, including Rhodes when captured, was struck with the Greek rebels,[9] but, ultimately, the attempt to raise money failed when details leaked to the press, the French monarchy withdrew its backing of the Council, and the bankers refused the loan.[9]
The Council was re-organised and the Marquis de Sainte-Croix du Molay (previously number two of the Council and a former Order of Malta administrator in Spain[8]) became its head. In June 1826, a second attempt was made to raise money to restore a Mediterranean homeland for the Order when Philippe de Castellane, a French Knight of Malta, was appointed by the Council to negotiate with supportive persons in Britain. Scotsman Donald Currie[10] was in 1827 given the authority to raise £240,000. Anyone who subscribed to the project and all commissioned officers of the mercenary army were offered the opportunity of being appointed knights of the Order. Few donations were attracted, though, and the Greek War of Independence was won without the help of the knights of the Council of the French Langues. Castellane and Currie were then allowed by the French Council to form the Council of the English Langue, which was inaugurated on 12 January 1831, under the executive control of Alejandro, conde de Mortara, a Spanish aristocrat. It was headquartered at what Mortara called the "Auberge of St John",[11] St John's Gate, Clerkenwell.[12] This was the Old Jerusalem Tavern, a public house occupying what had once been a gatehouse to the ancient Clerkenwell Priory,[13][14] the medieval Grand Priory of the Knights Hospitaller, otherwise known as the Knights of Saint John. The creation of the langue has been regarded either as a revival of the Knights Hospitaller[15] or the establishment of a new order.[16][17][18]
