The Newsletter of the Senior Ophthalmologist Winter 2019 | Volume 23 | Issue 1 SCOPE The Most Venerable Order of the of Malta, has over 18,000 mem- Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem: bers and a few thousand non- member auxiliaries worldwide. Providing Eye Care Where None Exists Bruce E. Spivey, MD, MS, MEd, Knight of St. John and member of the Despite denominational dif- St. John Ophthalmic Association (SOA) ferences, the Roman Catholic order (SMOM) and the alestine, one of the most end of the 11th four Protestant vulnerable and impover- century, the orders (Brit- Pished populations in the hospital had ish, German, world, is getting the benefit of 1,000 beds Dutch and essential ophthalmic care from and treated Swedish) The St. John Eye Hospital Group up to 2,000 recog- (SJEHG). male and nize each female other as What is surprising is that this patients legitimate hospital group has provided care at times Orders of in the Middle East for almost 140 of conflict, St. John and years in an area where no univer- irrespective support each sal national health service exists. of race, religion other’s efforts. The group treats all patients or social status. irrespective of race, religion or To this day, most ability to pay. It has the backing Pope Paschal II established run hospitals, first responder of the Order of St. John Priory the order by papal charter in or ambulance services and in the U.S. and all other priories 1113 under the patronage of St. care for the sick and the poor. and improves the well-being of John the Baptist. In 1144, the However, all reference to the men, women and children in British Knights of the Order order relate to the British Ven- this difficult part of the world. of St. John established a priory erable Order of St. John, or, to in Clerkenwell, London where, give it its full title, The Most History despite the dissolution of the Venerable Order of the Hospi- monasteries in the reign of tal of Saint John of Jerusalem. The Most Venerable Order of the Henry VIII, the headquarters of With its global headquarters in Hospital of St. John of Jerusa- St. John remains to this day. Clerkenwell, London, it remains lem has its origins in the early a royal Order of Chivalry. 11th century. Led by the Blessed It remains a Roman Catholic Gerard, the holy order of Reli- institution, led by its own Prince In 1882, soon after its foun- gious Hospitallers assumed Grand Master (with cardinal’s dation, the Order of St. John responsibility for a hospice for rank) and in indirect obedience established an eye hospital in pilgrims. It was built upon the to the Holy See. The Sovereign Jerusalem, chiefly to deal with legacy of the Amalfi traders and Military Order of the Hospi- trachoma, previously known as their Persian predecessors, who tal of St. John of Jerusalem, the “Mesopotamian Scourge” oversaw an ancient hospital on of Rhodes, and of Malta, also and “Egyptian ophthalmia.” the site 200 years earlier. By the known as SMOM or the Order Built on the road to Hebron OPHTHALMIC HISTORY Order of the Hospital of of other Christian denomi- cent. The grade of bailiff/dame St. John of Jerusalem nations or other religions, Grand Cross is reserved for the including the Jewish faith, are highest officers or royalty. close to the walls of the Old welcomed into the order. Mem- City, the hospital would see bership is generally by invitation These promotions exist to and treat all patients irrespec- only. Individuals may neither recognize performance over and tive of their background or petition nor pay for admission. above that which might ordi- wealth. It reflects the order’s The organization is a constitu- narily be expected of a person ethos born in Jerusalem some ent member of the Alliance of in a particular role, including eight hundred years earlier and the Orders of St. John of Jerusa- distinguished leadership or for a embodied in its new motto, “Pro lem, a registered charity under high level of specialist contribu- Fide, Pro utilitatis hominum,” English law, and a non-profit tion. It requires documentation which means “For the Faith, charity in the United States. and recommendations from the for the service of Mankind.” prior to the queen. This is in In 2015, an academic arm contrast with the knighthood The order’s flagship hospi- was established to support given directly by the queen to a tal was founded in Jerusalem, the hospital group. Called the British citizen, which is a state with the St. John Ambulance St. John Ophthalmic Asso- honor awarded by the queen. Brigade following soon thereaf- ciation (SOA), this new body With St. John, the queen acts in ter in 1887. Today, the order is includes ophthalmologists her capacity as sovereign head an active humanitarian charity and healthcare professionals of the order and not the state. with a single mission: To pre- across four continents repre- vent and relieve sickness and senting all 11 priories. (Learn I was invested into the order injury and to act to enhance more at www.SOA.global). in 2000. I worked my way up the health and well-being of the ranks and became a knight people anywhere in the world. The priory’s main focus is to in 2014. I now serve as a mem- support the St. John of Jerusa- ber of the chapter (board) of Current Organization lem Eye Hospital Group. The the American priory. A knight group has evolved to meet the or dame of St. John are allowed St. John is a serving Order of ever-growing demand for eye their own coat of arms. I worked Chivalry of the British Crown care in the region and now oper- with the heraldry in London and is formed of 11 priories ates from its main hospital in and created one. This allows across the world, and numerous Jerusalem, a clinic in the Anabta one to move from a Knight of smaller St. John associations. in the north of the West Bank, a Grace to a Knight of Justice. Membership, bestowed by war- hospital in Hebron in the south rant of its sovereign head, Her and the recently opened flag- The president-elect of the Acad- Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, ship hospital in Gaza. Supported emy, Anne Coleman, is the Hospi- includes persons of all faiths by its priories and numerous taller of the American priory. who espouse the essential Chris- donors, the hospital group tian principles of charity to all treats over 135,000 patients a United States in need, irrespective of race, year suffering with eye disease religion or political persua- and at risk of becoming blind. As one of 11 priories of the Order sion. The order’s Grand Prior of St. John, the priory in the is His Royal Highness Prince Member Categories Richard, Duke of Gloucester, a Knight of the Order of the Grades of the Order of St John: Garter and Knight Grand Cross V IV III II I of the Royal Victorian Order. Member Officer Commander Knights/Dames Bailiff/Dame of Justice or Grand Cross Although the U.S. priory Grace was officially established in 1996, its history began some MStJ OStJ CStJ KStJ/DStJ GCStJ 40 years earlier, in 1957, and has since grown to include Depending on length and United States of America is led over 1,600 members. depth of service, members of St. by a prior and a chapter (board). John may ascend through the The priory chapter is made up The order’s members, known grades from V to I, as shown of 20 members of the order as confrères, are mostly of the above. The statutory maximum from across the U.S. who serve Protestant faith. However, those for knights and dames is 4 per- staggered three-year terms. 2 Order of the Hospital of outpatient depart- St. John of Jerusalem ments, including dedicated paediatric, The regional administra- retinal and corneal tion of U.S. priories is divided clinics and care in all into 19 geographic areas. As but one subspecialty of 2018, these regions were within ophthalmol- Atlanta; Austin, Texas/San ogy (oncology) is Antonio; Birmingham, Ala.; provided by the Charleston, S.C.; Greenwich, hospital group. Conn.; Connecticut; the Gulf Coast; Houston, Texas; Massa- The hospital also chusetts; the Mountain States; The Hospital Cloisters has a research unit, New York; North Carolina; primarily focused on Palm Beach, Fla.; Richmond, genetics, since there Va.; San Diego; San Fran- by Queen Victoria. Sir Edmund is considerable consanguinity cisco; Southwest (Dallas); St. Lechmere, 3rd Baronet of Hanley in the Palestinian population. Louis; and Washington, D.C. Castle, Worcestershire, was one Diabetes is described as high of the key figures in the founda- as 40 percent in the popula- Unlike many other priories tion of the Venerable Order of tion, and the hospital group is and associations of the Order of St. John. He and St. John, the priory in the U.S. his wife travelled does not manage an ambulance to Jerusalem on service for first aid training several occasions and first aid cover. Thus, and where they wit- to the enormous benefit of the nessed first-hand hospital group, the chief focus the urgent need of the priory has always been to for healthcare raise funds for the order’s eye among its citizens. hospitals in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. So effective is Jerusalem this support that the priory’s Hospital annual donation is the largest of all priories and other donors.