Three Ancient Orders Working Together
Over 900 Years of Inspiration

Three Knightly Orders Inspired by Prince Alfred von Habsburg-Hohenberg, Hereditary Grand Prior

Professional and business men and women helping preserve the environment and uplifting the poor.

One of our Order’s greatest concerns is to help the underprivileged and to preserve the environment.

Therefore the priors, Sir Joe Cox, Sir Davis Roher, Sir Gary Scott, the Ladies and Knights of these orders feel honored to carry on the work started by Prince Alfred von Habsburg-Hohenberg through three knightly orders.



The Foundation of Our Orders

There are enormous numbers of factions, fictions, chapters, distortions and arguments relating to the knightly orders.

The numerous orders serve many purposes and all of this leads to quite some confusion. Many orders claim to be the original of their particular order but in reality all orders to some degree have a bogus
aspect in that they all stem from a system where an aristocracy claimed to have some closer connection to God than the common man.

The concept of knightly orders began originally with groups of fighting monks who served during the Crusades. Once the fighting of wars became the domain of national armies the original purpose of these orders was at an end. From that time forward realistically speaking, all titles were bought and paid for by service, money, an army or some sort of favor. Many of the orders became devoted to some charitable end.

Many orders are religious and though are three orders have Christian
origins they are non denominational and open to members of any faith. Yet religious arguments taint many of the orders.

Since the one fact that almost no one argues is that knighthood began in the Catholic Church.

With this in mind we can look at the definition of knighthood as defined by the Catholic Encyclopedia:

A regular order of knighthood means a brotherhood or confraternity which combines with the insignia of knighthood the privileges of monks. This supposes recognition on the part of both Church and State; to belong to the regular clergy, they needed the pope's confirmation; they could not wear the sword of knighthood without the authorization of the prince. Orders of knighthood lacking this official recognition should be expunged from history, even though they figure in the pages of all the old historians of the military orders. As a matter of fact, more than one rule of this kind, scarcely passing beyond the initial stages, has existed, and such are the orders which may be designated stillborn.

From this Catholic perspective no order should be considered real unless approved by the Pope. Yet hundreds of non Papal-non Catholic orders exist (including ours).

There was also an especially large split of the Knights Hospittaler in 1798when Napoleon Bonaparte invaded the Island of Malta and forced the Knights of Malta to abandon their headquarters. Some of the knights returned to their homelands, and other knights accepted the invitation of Czar Paul I, Emperor of Russia, to come to Russia. In 1799 Czar Paul I, a Protestant, was elected the 70th Grandmaster of this order, which caused a breakup of the original Order into a Catholic branch under the Pope in Rome and a Protestant branch under the name of Johanniterorden.

The religious changes in Great Britain created yet another schism that led to a British Order under the auspices of the Church of England as the Venerable Order of Saint John under Sir Robert Peal as the Grand Prior.

These various orders have then also split numerous times, but our order uses this history only for inspiration to form and focus its ideals and purposes now.

Yet again the origins of the Knights Hospitaller and Knights Templar were Catholic so we turn again to their encyclopedia for definitions.

Of the Knights Templar, the Catholic Encyclopedia says:

The Knights Templars were the earliest founders of the military orders, and are the type on which the others are modelled. They are marked in history (1) by their humble beginning, (2) by their marvellous growth, and (3) by their tragic end.

(1) THEIR HUMBLE BEGINNING

Immediately after the deliverance of Jerusalem, the Crusaders, considering their vow fulfilled, returned in a body to their homes. The defense of this precarious conquest, surrounded as it was by Mohammedan neighbours, remained. In 1118, during the reign of Baldwin II, Hugues de Payens, a knight of Champagne, and eight companions bound themselves by a perpetual vow, taken in the presence of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, to defend the Christian kingdom. Baldwin accepted their services and assigned them a portion of his palace, adjoining the temple of the city; hence their title "pauvres chevaliers du temple" (Poor Knights of the Temple). Poor indeed they were, being reduced to living on alms, and, so long as they were only nine, they were hardly prepared to render important services, unless it were as escorts to the pilgrims on their way from Jerusalem to the banks of the Jordan, then frequented as a place of devotion.

The Templars had as yet neither distinctive habit nor rule. Hugues de Payens journeyed to the West to seek the approbation of the Church and to obtain recruits. At the Council of Troyes (1128), at which he assisted and at which St. Bernard was the leading spirit, the Knights Templars adopted the Rule of St. Benedict, as recently reformed by the Cistercians. They accepted not only the three perpetual vows, besides the crusader's vow, but also the austere rules concerning the chapel, the refectory, and the dormitory. They also adopted the white habit of the Cistercians, adding to it a red cross.

Of the Knights Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem the Catholic encyclopedia says:

Of the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem (Also known as KNIGHTS OF MALTA).

The most important of all the military orders, both for the extent of its area and for its duration. It is said to have existed before the Crusades and is not extinct at the present time. During this long career it has not always borne the same name. Known as Hospitallers of Jerusalem until 1309, the members were called Knights of Rhodes from 1309 till 1522, and have been called Knights of Malta since 1530.

The origins of the order have given rise to learned discussions, to fictitious legends and hazardous conjectures. The unquestionable founder was one Gerald or Gerard, whose birthplace and family name it has been vainly sought to ascertain. On the other hand, his title as founder is attested by a contemporary official document, the Bull of Paschal II, dated 1113, addressed to "Geraudo institutori ac praeposito Hirosolimitani Xenodochii". This was certainly not the first establishment of the kind at Jerusalem. even before the crusades, hostelries were indispensable to shelter the pilgrims who flocked to the Holy Places, and in the beginning the hospitia or xenodochia were nothing more. They belonged to different nations; a Frankish hospice is spoken of in the time of Charlemagne; the Hungarian hospice is said to date from King St. Stephen (year 1000). But the most famous was an Italian hospice about the year 1050 by the merchants of Amalfi, who at that time had commercial relations with the Holy Land. Attempts have been made to trace the origin of the Hospitallers of St. John to this foundation, but it is obvious to remark that the Hospitallers had St. John the Baptist for their patron, while the Italian hospice was dedicated to St. John of Alexandria. Moreover, the former adopted the Rule of St. Augustine, while the latter followed that of the Benedictines. Like most similar houses at that time, the hospice of Amalfi was in fact merely a dependency of a monastery, while Gerard's was autonomous from the beginning. Before the Crusades, the Italian hospital languished, sustained solely by alms gathered in Italy; but Gerard profited by the presence of the crusaders, and by the gratitude felt for his hospitality, to acquire territory and revenues not only in the new Kingdom of Jerusalem, but in Europe -- in Sicily, Italy, and Provence. In the acts of donation which remain to us, there is no mention of the sick, but only of the poor and strangers. In this respect the hospice of Gerard did not differ from other, and his epitaph defines his work:

Today many factions of orders use some name related to Knights of Malta or Knights Hospitaller or Knights of St. John in one way or another.

There is the Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta which is both a Religious Order of the Roman Catholic Church and a Sovereign under the provisions of International Law.

But there are hundreds of other such orders.

Guy Stair Sainty's excellent book on the various Orders of Malta identifies the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Most Venerable Order of St. John, Johanniterorden Balley Brandenburg Johanniterorden i Sverige (Sweden) the Johanniter Orde in Nederland (Dutch) and there are orders in Germany, many in the U.S. etc.

The same confusion is true of the Poor knights of Christ commonly known as the Knights Templar.

In the 1300s the original Knights Templars were destroyed and most of the assets absorbed by the Knights Hospittaler.

Yet a quick view on the internet shows the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States of America, a national governing body of the Knights Templar, a Christian-oriented fraternal organization and an integral part of the Masonic Fraternity. Then there is the ORDO SUPREMUS MILITARIS TEMPLI HIEROSOLYMITANI a UK Registered International Charity which is a non-governmental organization (NGO) non-profit, voluntary Christian group organized on a local, national and international level.

The Knights Templar Eye Foundation, Inc. is another order that provides assistance to those who face loss of sight due to the need for surgical treatment without regard to race, color, creed, age, sex, or national origin provided that they are unable to pay or receive adequate assistance from current government agencies or similar sources and to provide funds for research in curing diseases of the eye.

The Holy Royal Arch Knight Templar Priests is another where members are selected on the basis of outstanding performance as a Commander of a Commandery of Knights Templar. The order claim historic roots in England that trace back to 1786, with references back to 1686, the traditional year of revival. The "Priestly Order" was referred to within the ceremonies of "The High Knights Templar" in Ireland in 1755.

The Ancient Scottish Military Order of Knights Templar - Black Chapter claims a Scottish Nationalistic purpose and say they were instrumental in the foundation of the Scottish Party which emerged in 1934 and now carries the responsibility of articulating continuing Templar concern for the general condition of Scotland and the eternal charge of serving the nation in spirit and substance; the land, the people and their living culture, no matter the cost.

The ORDER OF ST JOHN OF JERUSALEM say at their website that no less than fifteen factions grew from under the Charter or Constitution of King Peter II of Yugoslavia.

Others complain that King Peter s II order is not even valid because it was formed when he was no longer on the throne in Yugoslavia.

The list of orders and claims goes on and on and this can be confusing.

For 1,000 years the idea of knighthood has evolved into many forms.

So it is not surprising that many orders argue over which are legitimate and which are not.

There are many orders of Knighthood s and they serve many purposes and our belief is that more importance than the question of legitimacy are the purposes and goals.

Our Order s simple focus is on just 12 ideals and our three common goals. We have risen from a Christian history but are non denominational and are open to all races, religions, gender and creeds We have no complex rites, no training, no extended initiation or codes to learn. We are not a mystery school and lay no claim to any of the many other orders with similar names.

We share just the twelve simple ideals that all members learn before joining the order and which are shown below.

Our task as members is to keep our 12 ideals in our hearts and minds as we accept responsibilities to accomplish worthwhile goals.

Our ladies and Knights and Ladies are united by the 12 simple ideals (represented by the Maltese Cross) that we hope will always influence
our lives.

The Maltese Cross has four arms that represents the Four Cardinal Ideals we accept:

Prudence
Justice
Fortitude
Temperance

The eight points on these four arms are the signs of the eight Beatitudes which our order preserves.

I To Have Spiritual Joy
II - To Live without Malice
III - To Weep over our Sins
IV - To Humble Ourselves to Those who Injure Us
V - To Love Justice
VI - To Be Merciful
VII - To Be Sincere and Pure of Heart
VIII - To Suffer Those Who Persecute

We are totally committed and expend virtually all our resources to help the poor and suffering people of the world.

Learn about one of the healing programs offered at El Meson de las Flores