The oldest of the spiritual knightly orders, the Order of Malta, acquired its current name not so long ago. The Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem began to be called Maltese only from the moment they settled on True, their stay there lasted relatively short, considering the entire nine-hundred-year history of the Order of the Hospitallers - only 268 years.
Order of Malta and Russia
The history of this ancient Order is closely interconnected with the history of Russia. This connection especially intensified during the reign of the Emperor, who was elected Grand Master of the Order, after the surrender of Malta by von Gompesch.
Under Emperor Paul I, the famous sovereign Order of Malta was one of the symbols of the Russian Empire. The cross was placed on And after very often the awards included a cross, reminiscent in shape of the Maltese. And there is a simple explanation for this - the Order of Malta was considered a symbol of the valor of warriors, consecrated by the legendary victories of the Knights of Malta.
But at the same time, the cross also symbolized help, humanitarian and medical. After all, the knights of the hospital began by providing assistance to all those in need. Now that many hospitals and medical centers of the Malta Brotherhood have been opened in 80 countries around the world, charity has become their main activity.
Activities of the Order of Malta
At the end of the 17th century, the Order became an independent power with its own fleet. The world's best maritime academy was established in Malta. Many rulers sent their sons to study there. The monarchs of European countries took into their service admirals and captains of the Malta Academy.
The Order founded public schools and a public library, which at that time was the largest in Europe. The famous Maltese Library contained more than 900 thousand rare books and manuscripts, but Napoleon, having captured Malta, tried to take everything out, and the library sank along with the ship somewhere near Egypt.
The Order of Malta founded the most modern hospitals for that time not only on the island, but also in Europe. It was here that they first began treating the mentally ill and studying anatomy.
Information about the Order of Malta
Freemasons have historically never accepted the Order of Malta; on the contrary, there are quite obvious contradictions between Freemasonry and the Knights of Malta, which are relevant not only for Russia, but also for the whole world. Their essence lies in a different attitude towards God. But at the same time, even today there are associations whose members consider themselves both Knights of the Order of Malta and Freemasons.
The Association of Hospitallers has the status of a Catholic knightly order with the rights of an independent state; it can conclude international treaties, mint coins and issue passports.
But at the same time, the Catholic organization is not a state and is subordinate to the Holy See.
The main activity of the Knights of Malta is charity, which they do in 120 countries around the world, including medical and social support for the disabled and the elderly. Today, about 13.5 thousand people are officially listed as subjects of the order, ready to defend the faith and help the poor.
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The Order of Malta retains its sovereignty within the framework of international law and has been granted permanent observer status at the UN. It has the right to issue its own passports, stamps and mint coins. The Military Order of Malta has diplomatic relations with one hundred countries, its sovereignty is recognized by 105 states.
The Knights of Malta are called upon to cooperate with the Black Nobility, the Vatican and various papal and royal orders, in particular the Jesuits. The core of the Order of Malta is the Order of the Garter and its subordinate Society of Pilgrims.
World Business
- Control over central banks and financial structures subordinate to them. Examples: Bank of Great Britain (1694), Bank of France (1716/1800), US Federal Reserve (1913), Vatican Bank (1942), German Central Bank (1948/1957), European Central Bank (1998).
- Shareholding in the US Federal Reserve: M.M. Warburg & Co (1798, Germany), Chase Manhattan Bank (1799, USA), N M Rothschild & Sons (1811, London), Lazard Brothers Bank (1848, USA), Israel Moses Sieff (Italy), Lehman Brothers (1850, USA ), Kuhn (1867, now part of Lehman Brothers) and Goldman Sachs (1869, USA).
- Banks. Examples: Citibank, Bank of America (under the control of the Jesuit order),
- Secret transactions and placement of capital in offshore zones
- Insurance companies
- World funds: Rockefeller Foundation (1913). Founded (by the Pilgrim Society and the Knights of Malta) by John D. Rockefeller, Sr., and his son, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and their advisor, Fredrick T. Gates, in New York in 1913.
- Ford Foundation (1936)
- International Monetary Fund (1944)
- World Banking Group (1945)
“The World Bank was formally created on December 27, 1945, following the ratification of the Bretton Woods Agreement, which resulted from the United Nations Monetary and Fiscal Policy Conference (July 1 - July 22, 1944). In fact, the World Bank is part of the UN system.
World Bank divisions:
- International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (1945)
- International Finance Corporation (1956)
- International Development Association (1960)
- International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (1966)
- Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (1988)
- World Movement for Federalism (1947, Switzerland)
- European Investment Bank (1958, Luxembourg)
- UN Capital Development Fund (1966) (part of the UN Program for International Development, 1965)
- The Heritage Foundation (1973), which is supported by about one hundred major corporations, including Chase Manhattan Bank, Dow Chemical Company, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, GlaxoSmithKline, Mobil, and Procter & Gamble.
- Asia Fund (1974), funded by the US Agency for International Development, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, UN Development Programs, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and the UK
- UN Foundation (1998), in which CNN founder Ted Turner plays a special role.
- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (2000) is the largest and most transparent "charitable" foundation whose trustees are Bill Gates, Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. Some members of the Trilateral Commission are also involved in this “charitable” project.
Information corporations: Media, Software/IT, Electronics, Telecom.
Entertainment industry: propaganda of fear and manipulation of consciousness, information repression (strict enforcement of copyrights, monopolies on ideas, control over the information policy of the media), supervision of users of social networks, censorship on the Internet.
- Military corporations
- Energy and mining corporations (oil, coal, metals, diamonds, water)
- Transport corporations: water transport, road transport, airlines, aircraft manufacturing, rail transport.
- Pharmaceutical corporations
- Food corporations
- and many others
At the annual meetings of the secretive Bilderberg Group (founded by the Knight of Malta, Joseph Retinger), deals are made with geopolitical considerations in mind.
Intervention in politics and legal issues
- Managing Global Control Structures
- Political structures
- Global financial structures
- UN (1919/1945, formerly called the League of Nations)
- The Order of Malta has permanent missions to the UN and specialized UN commissions and agencies: UNESCO (education, science, culture), World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization, World Health Organization, High Commission for Refugees, High Commission for Human Rights, Industrial Development Committee.
- Permanent Court of Arbitration (1899)
- The Carnegie Foundation (1903) donated $1.5 million for the construction and operation of the Peace Palace (1913). It houses the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the library of international law. Since 1922, this building has also housed a completely separate structure, the Permanent Court of International Justice, which was later named the International Court of Justice within the UN system (1945).
- European Court of Human Rights (1950)
- World Trade Organization (1944)
- The Order of Malta is also a member of the following international organizations:
- International Committee of the Red Cross (1863, Geneva)
- International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (1919, Geneva)
- International Committee on Military Medicine and Pharmacy (1921, Brussels)
- International Institute for the Unification of Private Civil Law (1926, Rome)
- Council of Europe (1949, Strasbourg)
- European Commission (1951, Brussels)
- European Council (1961, Brussels)
- International Organization for Migration (1951, Geneva)
- Latin Union (1954, Santo Domingo, Paris).
- Inter-American Development Bank (1959, Washington)
- International Institute of Humanitarian Law (1970, Sanremo, Geneva)
- Participation in the global intelligence service (including ECHELON) and in the intelligence services of various countries in order to promote the interests of the Vatican, Jesuits and Freemasons.
- Military structures: NATO, UN troops, private military company "Black Water"
- Creation of fronts of mercy. This is a favorite pastime of the Catholic Churches and the Jesuit Order. This is how they try to hide their reactionary nature from people and disguise their current activities. Sometimes these seemingly harmless charities use the information they receive to conduct espionage in other countries. Examples:
- Rotary International (1905). More than 32,000 clubs in 200 countries.
“Rotary Club members are like Scouts who have grown up and become successful.” This short phrase indicates the source of origin of Rotary Club members.
Order of Malta
The Order of Malta (Ionites, Hospitallers, Knights of Rhodes) is a spiritual knightly order of St. John, which was founded around 1070 as a brotherhood. The symbol of the Order of Malta is an eight-pointed white cross (Maltese) on a black cloak (Appendix No. 5).
At the moment, the Italian Republic recognizes the existence of the Order of Malta on its territory as a sovereign state, as well as the extraterritoriality of its residence in Rome (Palace of Malta, or Magisterial Palace at Via Condotti, 68, residence, and Villa Magistral on the Aventine). Since 1998, the Order also owns Fort Sant'Angelo, which also has extraterritorial status for 99 years from the date of the agreement with the government of the Republic of Malta. Thus, the Order formally has a territory over which it exercises its own jurisdiction, but the question of the actual status of this territory (the Order’s own territory or the territory of a diplomatic mission temporarily transferred to its needs) is a subject for abstract legal discussions.
There are not so many scientific works regarding the international legal status of the Order of Malta among Russian scientists. This question is most fully revealed by Candidate of Historical Sciences V.A. Zakharov. In this paragraph we will rely specifically on his articles.
Since the creation of the Order of Malta, its history has been inextricably linked with such a legal category as sovereignty. Its entire history is a struggle for recognition as a sovereign state.
As V.A. writes Zakharov, “we are accustomed to the phrase “Order of Malta” in relation only to the Catholic “Sovereign Order of Malta.” But at the beginning of its existence, this structure was called the Order of the Hospitallers, later also the Order of the Ionites, then the geographical names of the territories owned by the order were added to it. The Order of Malta began to be called only after it took possession of Malta. Subsequently, no longer having territories, it retained precisely this name."
The modern name of the Order of Malta sounds in the Italian language officially recognized by the order: “Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme di Rodi e di Malta”, which is translated into Russian: “Sovereign Military Order of the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and Malta”.
The fundamental law of the Sovereign Order of Malta since 1961 has been its Constitution, which was drawn up with the close participation of Vatican strategists after the crisis that erupted in the Order at the end of the Second World War.
Article 1 of the 1961 Constitution contained a brief and categorical definition: “The Order is a legal entity and is solemnly recognized by the Holy See. It has the legal qualification of a subject of international law.” Article 3 states: “The close connection between the two qualities of the Order, which is both religious and sovereign, is not in conflict with the autonomy of the Order both in relation to the exercise of sovereignty and the associated prerogatives of the Order as a subject of international law in relations with states ".
Let's consider some historical moments of the creation of the Order of Malta.
Between 1052 and 1066 A wealthy citizen from the Italian city-republic of Amalfa, Constantino di Pantaleone, together with other ascetics, built in Jerusalem on the site of an old hospice house from the time of Abbot Probus, next to the Church of St. John the Baptist, a new home for sick pilgrims. This is where the name Hospitallers came from.
In 1099, the Brotherhood of Hospitallers was transformed into the Manashic Order. The political situation that developed following the creation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem by the crusaders prompted the Order of the Hospitallers to assume military responsibilities to protect not only pilgrims and the sick, but also the territories obtained as a result of the Crusades. This is how the spiritual knightly order was formed.
The first document representing the Order of Malta as a subject of international law is the bull Paschal II of 1113. This document allowed the order to “freely elect its head” regardless of any secular or spiritual authorities.
The legal status of the Order as a member of the international legal community was recognized by the states of Western Europe without restrictions. In this capacity, the Order was represented at the Westphalian Peace Congress (1643-1648), as well as at the Nuremberg negotiations of sovereigns. He also takes part in the conclusion of peace treaties in Nijnmegen (1678) and Utrecht (1713), in the signing of international legal agreements with Poland (1774-1776) and with Russia (1797).
From the middle of the 19th century. The order's activities focus on medical and charitable activities. National associations of knights appear: 1859 in Rhine-Westphalia, 1875 - in England, 1877 - in Italy, etc.
Since from the end of the 19th century. The residence of the Sovereign Order of Malta is located on the state territory of Italy, the Italian state and its courts have more than once dealt with the issue of the international legal status of the Order.
The Council of State of Italy, in its opinion of November 10, 1869, stated that the Order of Malta is a sovereign institution, therefore the decrees of the Grand Master of the Order do not require an exequatur of the King of Italy.
The sovereign position of the Order of Malta is also confirmed in the Convention of the Italian War Ministry and the Order of February 20, 1884 and in the legislative decrees of the Italian government of October 7, 1923, November 28, 1929 and April 4, 1938.
In the history of the Order of Malta of the twentieth century. there was a period that could well have ended with the loss of the order, both its sovereignty and its religious, spiritual and knightly character.
The question of the sovereignty of the Order of Malta was considered after the Second World War. In 1953, the Commission of the Grand Tribunal adopted a verdict that once again reaffirmed the sovereignty of the Order of Malta.
In order to declare its sovereignty on a global scale, the Order of Malta made an attempt in the 30s of the twentieth century. then, for the first time, diplomatic relations were established with the Holy See. In 1937, similar relations were formalized with Francoist Spain.
In the second half of the twentieth century. Diplomatic relations were established between the Order of Malta and a large number of countries in Latin America and Africa.
However, in 1960 the Order of Malta was declared a corporation which, from the point of view of international law, cannot be considered a religious, military, aristocratic or sovereign community. Salvation came from the Italian government. The relationship between the Italian Republic and the Order of Malta was finally determined by diplomatic notes exchanged between the parties on January 11, 1960.
Thus, the Italian Republic recognized the existence of the Order of Malta on its territory as a sovereign state with which it maintains diplomatic relations. However, state recognition from not only European, but also major world powers still did not follow.
The issue of the sovereignty of the Order of Malta was finally resolved with the adoption by the Supreme Court of Italy of a ruling that stated, in particular, the following. "In January 1960, 32 years ago, S.M.O.M. and the Italian government signed an agreement in which S.M.O.M. was recognized as a state. But this agreement never received the agreement of the Italian Parliament and never had the status of a treaty. In any case, S.M.O.M. cannot be a state , since it has no territory, no citizens, and as a result, there is no required compliance."
The life and work of the order was until recently regulated by a constitution approved by the Holy See (apostolic letter of June 24, 1961) and a code (code of laws) that came into force on November 1, 1966, with amendments approved by Pope John Paul II in May 1997 .
S.M.O.M. has its own courts of first instance and courts of appeal with chairmen, judges, guardians of justice and assistants with the right of advisory vote of the Sovereign Council.
Currently, the Order maintains diplomatic relations with more than 120 states.
In the 20th century The Order of Malta never acquired sovereignty; according to experts in international law, it is currently a state-like entity, “Its sovereignty and international legal personality are a legal fiction. A similar opinion is shared by the UN.”
The era of the Crusades gave birth to three famous orders of chivalry - the Templars, the Teutons and the Hospitallers (the latter are also known as the Order of Malta). The Templars were excellent financiers and moneylenders. The Teutons are famous for their policy of ruthless colonization of the Baltic and Slavic lands. Well, what about the Hospitallers... What did they become famous for?
The Order of the Hospitallers was founded shortly after the First Crusade (1096-1099) by the knight Pierre-Gerard de Martigues, also known as Gerard the Blessed. Very little is known about the founder of the order. He is believed to have been born in the southern town of Amalfi around 1040. During the Crusade, he and several of his like-minded people founded the first shelters (hospitals) for pilgrims in Jerusalem. The charter of the Brotherhood of St. John, whose goal is to care for pilgrims, was approved by Pope Paschal II in 1113. From this moment the official history of the Order of the Hospitallers begins.
Years of wandering
In European usage, the knights of the order were usually called simply Hospitallers, or Johannites. And since the island became the seat of the order, one more name was added to these names - the Knights of Malta. By the way, traditionally the Order of Malta is called the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. This is not entirely true: the order itself was originally called Jerusalem. And such a saint as John of Jerusalem does not exist at all.
The heavenly patron of the order is Saint John the Baptist. The full name of the order is: “Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta Sovereign Military Hospitable Order of St. John.” The distinctive sign of the Knights Hospitaller was a black cloak with a white cross.
The Hospitallers quickly became one of the two (along with the Templars) influential military structures. However, after the crusaders suffered several severe defeats from the combined forces of the Muslims, the knights gradually abandoned the occupied territories. Jerusalem was lost in 1187. And the last stronghold of the Crusaders in Western Asia - the fortress of Acre - fell in 1291. The Knights of St. John had to seek refuge on. But they didn’t stay there long. After making sure that the local nobility was not very happy with uninvited guests, the Grand Master of the Order, Guillaume de Villaret, decided to find a more suitable place for his residence. The choice fell on the island of Rhodes. In August 1309, Rhodes was captured by the Hospitallers. Here they first encountered North African pirates. The military experience acquired in Palestine allowed the knights to easily repel their raids. And in the middle of the 15th century, the Hospitallers quite successfully coped with the invasion organized by the Sultan.
The Rhodes period ended with the emergence of the mighty Ottoman Empire. In 1480, the blow was dealt by Sultan Mehmed II, who had previously conquered the Byzantine Empire. And in 1522, the huge Turkish army of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent nevertheless pushed the knights out of the island. The Hospitallers became “homeless” again. Only after seven years of wandering, in 1530, did the Hospitallers settle in Malta. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V generously “gifted” this island to them. The symbolic payment for the “gift” was one Maltese falcon, which the order was to present to the royal representative every year on All Saints’ Day.
A gift with a catch
Of course, Charles V made his generous gift, guided by more than just “Christian sympathy.” In order to understand all the insidiousness of the royal gift, one must understand what the Mediterranean Sea was like in the 16th century. It was a real snake ball - seething and deadly.
The entire Mediterranean was swarming with Barbary pirates - that’s what people from the Muslim regions of North Africa were called. Harbors served as a haven for thousands and thousands of ferocious sea robbers who kept all of Southern Europe in fear.
The main target of their raids was the coastal settlements of Italy. These countries had a particularly hard time, although more distant states also suffered - Muslim corsairs even sailed to, and!
The goals of pirate raids were simple: gold and slaves! Moreover, the hunt for slaves can even be put in first place. The Barbaries organized special raids, during which they combed the coastal European lands, trying to capture as many Christian captives as possible. The captured “live goods” were sold in slave markets in Algeria. Historians estimate that Barbary pirates captured and sold into slavery at least one million Europeans. And this was at a time when the population of Europe was not very large!
For large operations, scattered pirate squadrons were united into entire flotillas of dozens and hundreds of ships. And if you also take into account that the Ottoman Empire actively helped the pirates who were fellow believers, then you can understand the full extent of the danger to which Europe was then exposed. Having given the Hospitallers an island in the very center of the Mediterranean Sea, at the crossroads between Tunisia and Sicily, the emperor threw the knights into the very epicenter of a fierce battle. Willy-nilly, the Hospitallers had to serve as a shield for Europe against the onslaught of Muslim corsairs... They were quite capable of this. Moreover, they learned to resist pirate raids during the defense of Rhodes.
Mediterranean shield
The Knights of Malta fulfilled their mission with honor. Here is the answer to the question: “What are the Hospitallers famous for?” Many years of persistent struggle with the terrible Barbary pirates is what gave the order the right to historical immortality.
A paradoxical situation arose: the Knights Hospitaller wrote the most glorious pages in their history when the era of chivalry had actually come to an end. Knightly orders either ceased to exist (like the Templars), or abandoned any independent role, joining centralized states (like the Teutons). But for the Hospitallers, the 16th century turned out to be a truly “golden age”...
Having gained control of Malta, the Hospitallers challenged the thugs of North Africa. The Maltese created their own fleet, which became one of the key figures on the geopolitical “chessboard” of the Mediterranean. The once exclusively land-based order of knights and cavalrymen has now become an order of sailors. Serious changes were made to the order's charter: only those who had participated in the order's naval campaigns for at least three years could now become a full-fledged Knight of Malta.
Of course, there is no need to idealize the Knights of Malta. They fought the pirates using the same pirate methods. The extermination of entire settlements along with their inhabitants, cruel executions and torture, robberies and violence - all this was also in the practice of Christian knights. Such were the cruel customs of that time.
The Knights of Malta did not disdain to go out on the sea “high road” themselves: the leadership of the order in every possible way encouraged corsairship. Contrary to the vow of poverty that all members of military monastic orders took, ordinary knights were allowed to keep part of the loot for themselves. The master of the order even turned a blind eye to the slave market that existed in Malta (in this market, of course, it was not Christians who were sold, but captive Muslims).
Toughie
In 1565, the Hospitallers won the greatest victory in their history. An army of 40,000, composed of Turks and Barbary pirates, landed on Malta to put an end to the small island that had become a big problem. The Maltese could oppose them with at most 700 knights and about 8 thousand soldiers (half of them were not professional warriors, but “people's militias”), the Armada was sent by the same Suleiman the Magnificent, who had already defeated the Johannites once.
The fortifications of the Knights of Malta on the island consisted of two forts: the auxiliary fort of St. Elmo (St. Elmo) and the main fort of St. Angelo (Sant'Angelo). The Muslims directed their first blow at Fort Saint-Elm, hoping to quickly deal with it and then attack the main fortifications. But the defenders of Saint-Elmo showed simply miracles of courage and fortitude - the fort lasted 31 days!
When the attackers finally burst inside, only 60 wounded soldiers remained alive. All of them had their heads cut off, their bodies nailed to wooden crosses and sent across the water to Fort Sant'Angelo. When the waves brought the terrible Turkish “parcels” to the walls of the fortress, a terrible war rose above the bastions - the wives and mothers of the dead defenders of Saint-Elmo mourned their men. The Grand Master of the Order, the stern Jean de la Valette, responded by ordering the immediate execution of all Turkish prisoners, then their heads were loaded into cannons and fired towards Turkish positions.
According to legend, the leader of the Turkish army, Mustafa Pasha, standing among the ruins of Saint Elmo and looking at Fort Sant'Angelo, said: “If such a small son cost us so much, then what price should we pay for his father?”
And indeed, all attempts to take Sant'Angelo failed. The Knights of Malta fought fiercely.
The elderly Grand Master Jean de la Valette himself (he was already more than 70 years old!) with a sword in his hand, rushed into the thick of the battle, dragging the fighters along with him. The Maltese did not take prisoners, not listening to any requests for mercy.
The Turks' attempt to land troops on boats also failed - the indigenous inhabitants of Malta interfered. Excellent swimmers, they threw the Turks off their boats and fought them hand-to-hand right in the water, where they had a clear advantage. Fort St. Angel managed to hold out until reinforcements arrived from Spain.
When the Spanish flotilla appeared on the horizon, rushing to the aid of the Maltese, the Turks realized that their cause was lost. The Ottomans had no choice but to lift the siege. By that time, the Maltese had no more than 600 people left in the ranks. It should be noted that the help sent by the Spaniards was very small. But the Turks, of course, could not know this.
Remnants of former greatness
The Great Siege of Malta reverberated throughout Europe. After her, the prestige of the Order of Malta rose as never before. However, “from the top of the mountain, only descent is possible.” From the end of the 16th century, the gradual decline of the order began.
The Reformation in a number of European countries led to the confiscation of the possessions of the Catholic Church and its divisions, which included the Order of the Hospitallers. This dealt a severe blow to the Maltese finances. The glory of invincible warriors has also become a thing of the past. The relatively small brotherhood of knights was lost against the backdrop of massive European armies. And the pirate threat was no longer as acute as before. All this led to decline.
By the end of the 18th century, the Order of Malta was only a pale shadow of its former powerful organization. Napoleon Bonaparte put an end to the existence of the knightly state. In 1798, on his way to Egypt, he captured Malta without a fight. The leadership of the order explained this amazing surrender of the strongest fortifications by the fact that “the charter of the order prohibits the Hospitallers from fighting Christians, which, without a doubt, are the French.”
But here, too, the Hospitallers managed to leave their mark on history by pulling off an unusual combination. Having wandered around European courts in attempts to find august patrons, the top of the order suddenly made a completely unexpected diplomatic “somersault”. She offered the title of Grand Master of the Order... to Russian Emperor Paul I. The delicacy of the situation was that the Order of Malta was exclusively Catholic. In addition, members of the order took a vow of celibacy. Paul was Orthodox (that is, from the point of view of the Catholic clergy, a heretic), and besides, he was married for a second time. But what can’t you do to save yourself!
The first knight of the Order of Malta is considered Ten Gerard (Pierre-Gerard de Martigues, Gerard de Thorne) - the founder of the Hospitallers. Formally, he is also the first Grand Master, however, officially this title began to be awarded to the head of the Johannites in 1120. It was first received by Gerard de Thorne's successor, the hero of the Battle of Jerusalem, Raymond de Puy.
The mission of the knights and their origins
Since the main task of the Knights of Malta (which was not yet called that at that time) was to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land, warriors, squires, and doctors were willingly accepted into the organization. Members of the families of merchants or moneylenders were closed. Only a nobleman could become a knight. But, unlike many other Catholic spiritual knightly orders, the Johannites willingly accepted novice sisters into the organization.
According to the first constitutional charter of the order, created by Raymond de Puy and approved by Pope Calistus de Prim, its members were divided into three groups. The first and most privileged were the knights, who took religious vows and had to perform both military and medical duties. The second most important were chaplains (priests). The squires of the order performed economic functions. A similar structure has remained in the hierarchy of the Order of Malta to this day.
Modern Knights of the Order of Malta
In modern times, about 14 thousand people are active members of the Order of Malta. About 25 thousand more trained specialists, many from medical professions, help SMOS carry out missionary activities in all territories where its charitable programs operate. In addition, about 80 thousand volunteers provide voluntary assistance to the Order of Malta. Among the missions of the order are assistance to the sick and poor in 120 countries, qualified medical care for the terminally ill, including at home, obstetric care for refugees in the Bethlehem maternity hospital, ambulance services (in 30 countries), humanitarian assistance in disasters and the World Relief Fund forgotten people.
About 10.5 thousand of its subjects have a passport of the Order of Malta. This document is recognized in several dozen countries around the world. In many places, its holders have the right to visa-free entry. In addition, the order has its own constitution, which distinguishes three classes (coetus) of knights, ladies and novices. Monastic chaplains and Knights of Justice of the first class take vows of chastity, poverty and obedience, that is, in essence, they are monks. The only thing they are exempt from is life in monastic communities. Knights and Dames (of Honor, Grace of God, Grace of the Master) of the second class take only a vow of obedience. Knights and Dames of the Third Class and Donates of Devotion make no vows, but undertake to live in accordance with the moral and religious principles of the Order.
The chief knight of the Order of Malta, its Grand Master, is elected for life from the knights of the first class by the Council of State. He exercises supreme executive and legislative power (together with the Sovereign Council), manages the treasury, and conducts the foreign policy of the Maltese state. In 2008, the Englishman Fra Matthew Festing became Grand Master of the Order of Malta. The Cambridge-educated art historian, who worked for many years at the International Art Auction, is a recognized expert on the history of the Order of Malta and the last of its 79 Grand Masters.
Interesting Facts
The Order of Malta is one of the few medieval orders that actually did not cease their activities. Therefore, all of its 79 grand masters in chronological order, replacing one another, link together the history of the order from the beginning of the 12th century to the present day. At number 72 in the list of 79 Grand Masters (marked “de facto”) is Paul I 
Romanov. He received this title in 1799. After the Knights of the Order of Malta were deprived of their residence by the will of Napoleon, the Russian emperor provided them with asylum and titles of nobility, and also allowed them to conduct missionary activities on the territory of the Russian state.
In the literature of different times you can find different names for the knights of the Order of Malta. At the beginning of the 14th century, after settling on the island of Rhodes, they became the Knights of Rhodes. Historically, the Knights of Malta were also called the Knights Hospitaller, since healing and caring for the wounded was the central mission of the members of this organization. By the name of their patron they are sometimes called the Knights of St. John, by the place of their appearance - the Knights of Jerusalem, and by the place of their main residence, where they existed for a long time - the Knights of Malta.
Ancient languages of the Knights of Malta
Since the beginning of the 14th century, since the followers of the Order of Malta settled in Rhodes, communities began to form among them based on territorial and linguistic affiliation. Since at this time the order was already developing its own state structure (with an army and its own currency), these communities were legally formalized into langues (from “Langues” - language).
At first there were seven Langs: French, German, Italian, English, Aragonese, Provencal, Auvergne. At the same time, the Scottish and Irish languages belonged to the English language, the Polish and Slavic languages belonged to the Germanic language. Each langa had its own spiritual and military leaders. The knight who exercised supreme power in the lang (Pilje) also occupied one of the key posts in the Order of Malta itself 
.
At the end of the 18th century, when the Knights of the Order of Malta were expelled from the island of Malta, the Langs were liquidated. But later, already in the 19th century, national associations began to appear on their basis, which follow the traditions of the ancient languages of the Knights of Malta and still exist. The first national association was German, then British and Italian appeared. Today, the knights of the order are united in 47 national associations around the world.
Ksenia Zharchinskaya