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Sovereign of St. John of , Hospitaller Investiture for Date

Allocution Christopher Greene, KCSJ

An allocution is more than a recitation of the key events in our history. It is an opportunity for us to acknowledge those who came before us and to understand how their heroic and selfless achievements inspire us in our own work today. Our history begins nearly 1,000 years ago. In 1023, the Caliph of granted permission to restore the Christian section of Jerusalem that had been destroyed a few years earlier. The Byzantine Emperor agreed to rebuild the of the Holy Sepulchre, by tradition the site of Jesus’ death and resurrection and thus the spiritual center of Christianity. A delegation from , Italy requested permission to build a church, monastery, and , and the Caliph allocated land near the site of the Holy Sepulchre for this purpose. In 1048, the rebuilt Church of the Holy Sepulchre was consecrated. Around that time, the Amalfitan hospital dedicated to St. John opened its doors. Although staffed by Christians of the Western or Church, the Hospital of St. John served people at no cost and regardless of faith. The men who ran it, known as the Fratres Hospitalarii – the Hospitaller Brothers – led by Brother Gerard, earned the respect of Jews, Orthodox Christians, and Muslims for demonstrating that their Christian faith, inspired by Jesus’ own example, was profoundly expressed by serving the poor of all origins and faiths. The arrival of Latin Christian armies in 1099 and the establishment of the dramatically transformed the Hospitaller Brothers. The need for their services multiplied greatly and the Kings of Jerusalem as well as the nobility of Europe donated money, lands, and income generating properties to fund this growth. Within a few years, the Hospitallers had operations across the and in Europe. The success and noble mission of the Hospitallers attracted the Papacy, and in 1113 Paschal II issued the first of a series of Papal Bulls by a succession of that favored the Hospitallers. These bulls granted valuable privileges, including independence from local authorities (both church and secular), exemption from tithes and taxes, and the right to elect their own Master and other officers.

1 Given the hostile environment in the Holy Land, the Hospitallers also developed a security capability to safeguard their operations and provide safe transit betweenth them. This developed into a full military force and by the middle of the 12 Century, the Knights of St. John were fielding armies in battle. To distinguish them from other forces on the battlefield, Pope Innocent IV issued a bull in 1248 instructing the to wear a red surcoat with a white cross. This is the forerunner to the robes that we wear today. For two centuries in the Holy Land, the Order of St. John served bravely in battle while continuing to provide hospital services to the poor of all faiths at no charge. Eventually, greater numbers took their toll and the City of Jerusalem fell in 1187. The Kingdom of Jerusalem survived for another century until the capital of Acre fell in 1291. Now having no presence in the Holy Land, some monarchs and Church officials wanted to see the military orders of the Church disbanded and their considerable assets divided among local lords and bishops. This threat was serious. The were falsely accused of unspeakable crimes and their members were tortured into false confessions. The Templars were dissolved in 1312 and their and other leaders were burned at the stake. Despite calls for a similar destruction of the Order of St. John, the Knights Hospitaller escaped this fate because their peaceful hospital activities were highly respected. Indeed, after dissolving the Knights Templar, the Pope transferred the Templar properties and other assets to the Hospitallers, increasing the size and scale of the Order of St. John significantly. During this period of turmoil, the Knights of St. John moved their headquarters first to and then in 1309 to . They governed Rhodes and adjacent territory for more than two centuries. Now based on an island, they transformed from a land army to a sea power. Rather than engage in set piece battles, for more than 200 years the Hospitallers used their ships to conduct naval raids on ships at sea and amphibious attacks along the Turkish coastline. In 1522, the young Ottoman Sultan Suleiman, known in history as the Magnificent, personally led a force of 400 ships and 200,000 men to besiege Rhodes. With just 700 knights and 7,500 forces total, the Hospitallers held out for 5 months. They suffered 6,000 casualties (80%) before negotiating a surrender that allowed the surviving knights to leave on New Years Day 1523 with their weapons and the Order’s holy relics. The strength and bravery of the Knights of St. John on Rhodes earned the respect of Charles V, and in 1530 he granted them control of and nearby territory. As a token of tribute, he required the payment of a single falcon each year on All Saints Day. This is the true origin of the myth of the Maltese Falcon. From their new base on Malta, the Hospitallers continued their naval and amphibious attacks on Turkish targets. It was the age of empires and the contest for dominance between Europe and the Ottomans was at a critical moment. Control of the was crucial to both sides, and at its strategic center were the Knights of St. John on Malta. In 1565, Sultan Suleiman sent a force of 300 ships to capture Malta and extend his power to 2 the Western Mediterranean. Against overwhelming numbers and with great suffering, the Knights held out and the siege was defeated. Six years later, Hospitaller galleons helped destroy the Ottoman fleet at the off the Greek coast, the second largest naval battle in history. With these two victories, the Knights of St. John helped tip the scales of history irrevocably towards Europe. Throughout their time on Cyprus, Rhodes, and Malta, in addition to their military exploits the Knights of St. John continued to build and operate at their various locations in the Mediterranean and across Europe. Their role as healers as well as earned the Knights Hospitaller a unique degree of respect and support throughout Christendom. The Knights ruled Malta until 1798, when the island was captured by . After its loss, Russian Tsar Paul I became Sovereign Protector and Grand Master, with the approval of the Pope, and the Order’s holy relics were transferred to St. Petersburg in recognition. Tsar Paul broadened the membership to make it the ecumenical Christian Order that we remain to this day. Safeguarding the existence of the Order in a time of turmoil, Tsar Nicholas II sent his cousin Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich to New York in 1912 to establish a Grand of the Americas. After the fell, King Alexander I of Yugoslavia, as the Tsar’s closest reigning relative, received the Order’s holy relics and took on the role of Sovereign Protector, as did his son and heir King Peter II. In 1964, King Peter issued the Constitution that governs us today. In it, we embrace the United Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and there is equality of membership at all levels regardless of gender, race, or nationality.

Continuing the legacy of our predecessors, today we arePro a Fide,Christian, Pro Utilitate chivalric, Hominumecumenical,– Forand Faith, international For Service community to Humanity.of some 900 members in 27 located in 14 countries. Our motto is The two elements of our motto – faith and service - are not separate concepts. Our faith inspires our service, and our service is to all humanity. Like our ancestors in Jerusalem the Fratres Hospitalarii, we too are inspired by Jesus’ example to live our Christian faith today by serving the poor of all origins and faiths. We and our forebears have been true to this mission for nearly 1,000 years. In fulfilling the mission reflected in our motto, we honor the legacy of the original Hospitaller Brothers and all the and Knights who have since served so nobly in our Sovereign Order.

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