"The Capstone" an Attempt to Identify The
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"The Capstone" An attempt to identify the 'Head of the Snake' Secret Societies Order of Hospitallers (link) The Knights Hospitaller, also known as the Order of Hospitallers or simply Hospitallers, were a group of men attached to a hospital in Jerusalem that was founded by Blessed Gerard around 1023 out of which two major Orders of Chivalry evolved, the Order of the Knights of St. Lazarus and the Order of the Knights of St. John, later to be known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. The Hospitallers arose around the work of an Amalfitan hospital located at the Muristan site in Jerusalem, founded around 1023 to provide care for poor, sick or injured pilgrims to the Holy Land. After the Western Christian conquest of Jerusalem in 1099 during the First Crusade, the organisation became a religious and military order under its own charter, and was charged with the care and defence of the Holy Land. Following the conquest of the Holy Land by Islamic forces, the Order operated from Rhodes, over which it was sovereign, and later from Malta where it administered a vassal state under the Spanish viceroy of Sicily. The Order was weakened by Napoleon's capture of Malta in 1798 and became dispersed throughout Europe. It regained strength during the early 19th century as it repurposed itself towards humanitarian and religious causes. The modern continuation of the mediaeval Order is the Roman Catholic Sovereign Military Order of Malta, headquartered in Rome; allied Protestant orders are headquartered in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. The first master of the original Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem was Brother Gerard (whose origins remain a mystery). Although the original traditions may go further back, we believe that in about 1080, with the help of certain merchants and pilgrims, the Benedictine abbey of St Mary in Jerusalem, in which Gerard was probably a monk, established a hospice close to the Holy Sepulchre compound. Its aim was to tend to pilgrims visiting the city and the holy places nearby, as well as the poor and sick. In 1099, the First Crusade entered Jerusalem - and the fame of Blessed Gerard and his hospital soon spread. The hospital was independently endowed; and the number of brothers (and sisters) grew. Before long, the Brotherhood of Hospitallers, dedicated to St John the Baptist, assumed a military as well as a nursing character. The Knights, as well as tending to our lords the sick and the poor, served as armed guards for the Hospital and escorts for visiting pilgrims, in addition to fighting in support of the Crusader kings and princes. The first master of the original Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem was Brother Gerard (whose origins remain a mystery). Although the original traditions may go further back, we believe that in about 1080, with the help of certain merchants and pilgrims, the Benedictine abbey of St Mary in Jerusalem, in which Gerard was probably a monk, established a hospice close to the Holy Sepulchre compound. Its aim was to tend to pilgrims visiting the city and the holy places nearby, as well as the poor and sick. In 1099, the First Crusade entered Jerusalem - and the fame of Blessed Gerard and his hospital soon spread. The hospital was independently endowed; and the number of brothers (and sisters) grew. Before long, the Brotherhood of Hospitallers, dedicated to St John the Baptist, assumed a military as well as a nursing character. The Knights, as well as tending to our lords the sick and the poor, served as armed guards for the Hospital and escorts for visiting pilgrims, in addition to fighting in support of the Crusader kings and princes. The Order was formally recognised in 1113. Pope Paschal II issued a Bull in that year establishing it as an independent religious Order with a legal status recognised and approved by the Holy See. Members of the Order (knights, clerics and serving brothers) took vows of chastity, obedience and personal poverty. By the middle of the twelfth century members were wearing on their black robes the eight-pointed cross of St John. The eight points were soon linked to the eight Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount; but were later linked to the eight tongues, or divisions of the knights into groups defined by language. The Order flourished and soon spread widely throughout Europe, where it was organised into Bailiwicks, Priories and Grand Priories. Their chief purpose was to channel recruits and funds to the headquarters in the East. Those brothers serving at the headquarters came themselves to be organised along roughly linguistic lines into collegiate bodies called Tongues: Provence, Auvergne, France, Italy, Aragon, Castile, England and Germany. Meanwhile, the Order had shifted its headquarters from the Holy Land to Cyprus; and then to Rhodes and later Malta, which it ruled for two centuries (1530-1798) and from which it took the name, Sovereign Military Order of Malta, by which the Roman Catholic Order is still known today. Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem (link) The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus is one of the orders of chivalry to survive the downfall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the attempts by the Crusader knights to win control of the Holy Land from the forces of Islam. In theory the Order remained a military one, but with the exception of a brief period in the 17th century it played no military role after 1291. The Order of Saint Lazarus is one of the most ancient of the European orders of chivalry. At the very least it dates back to the time of the Crusader knights. From its foundation in the 12th century, the members of the Order were dedicated to two ideals: aid to those suffering from the dreadful disease of leprosy and the defense of the Christian faith. Today the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem is an international self-governing and independent body, having its own Constitution; it may be compared with a kind of electoral kingdom. According to the said Constitution the Order is nonpolitical, oecumenical or nondenominational, as its membership is open to all men and women being practicing members of the Christian faith in good standing within their particular denomination. Its international membership consists of Roman-catholic, Anglican, Protestant, Orthodox, United, Old Catholic, New Apostolic and other Christians, upholding with their lives, fortunes and honour the principles of Christianity. Traditionally it is organized as a Christian Chivalric Order. The Order is registered in London in accordance with the laws in England. It is both a Military Order of Mercy and a Hospitaller Order dedicated to the care and assistance of the poor and the sick. Its aim is to preserve and defend the Christian faith, to guard, assist succor and help the poor, the sick and dying, to promote and maintain the principles of Christian chivalry and to follow the teachings of Christ and His Holy Church in all its works. With the exception of the present Teutonic Order ("Deutscher Orden") the Order of Saint Lazarus is today the smallest of the orders of Christian chivalry. It is made up of approximately five thousand members in the five continents. The Order sees itself as an oecumenical Christian order whose genesis goes back to the Holy Land, to the crusades and to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta (link) The Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta [short: Order of ن Malta] is both a Religious Order of the Roman Catholic Church and a Sovereign under the provisions of International Law. The Order of Malta is a world-wide and supranational institution dedicated to the defence of faith and the service to the poor (tuitio fidei et obsequium pauperum). The Order of Malta has international bodies, Grand Priories and Sub-Priories, National Associations and Relief Organisations. The Order of Malta maintains diplomatic relations with the Holy See and 75 other countries. The Order of Malta maintains relations to International Organisations. The Order of Malta constitutes the sole unbroken continuation of the Order of the Hospital of St. John, which was founded in AD 1099 by Blessed Gérard in Jerusalem. Sovereign Military Order of Malta [SMOM], Order of Malta (link) The Order of St John of Jerusalem is one of the oldest institutions of Western and Christian civilization. Present in Palestine in around 1050, it is a lay religious Order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. Its 13,000 members include Professed Friars and others who have made vows of obedience. The other Knights and Dames are lay members, devoted to the exercise of Christian virtue and charity. What distinguishes the Knights of Malta is their commitment to reaching their spiritual perfection within the Church and to expending their energies serving the poor and the sick. The Order of Malta remains true to its inspiring principles, summarized in the motto “Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum”, defense of the Faith and assistance to the poor and the suffering, which become reality through the voluntary work carried out by Dames and Knights in humanitarian assistance and medical and social activities. Today the Order carries out these activities in over 120 countries. Order of St Thomas of Acre (link) The Order of St. Thomas of Acre is an international ecumenical society concerned with fostering of the values of traditional chivalry. The Order was re-established on 8th February 2005. The current order is dedicated to both St.Thomas the Apostle and St.