The Order of Saint John in the Netherlands, also known as the Johanniter Orde, is a Dutch

chivalric order An order of chivalry, order of knighthood, chivalric order, or equestrian order is a society, fellowship and college of knights, typically founded during or inspired by the original Catholic military orders of the Crusades ( 1099–1291) and pai ...

and

protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

equivalent of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

. The order was founded in 1909 on the initiative of Prince consort Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin as a Dutch branch of the

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

Order of Saint John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Military order (religious society), military order. It was founded in the Crusader states, crusader K ...

under the official name of Commenderij Nederland van de Balije Brandenburg der Johanniter Orde. The name was changed to its current name in 1958. Membership of the order is exclusive to protestant members of the Dutch nobility. P.J. d'Artillac Brill Sr., ''Beknopte geschiedenis der Nederlandse Ridderorden''. the Hague, Nijhoff, 1958 While the order has its own activities, it most commonly works together with the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

and the Dutch association of the Order of Malta. The decorations of the order and membership of it are counted among the medals of the Netherlands and may be worn on military uniforms.

The Chapter of the Order

The governing body of the Order of Saint John in the Netherlands is made up of the Chapter consisting of the following members: *

Coadjutor The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadjutor bishop ...

*Werkmeester and Werkmeesteres (Workmaster and Workmistress) *Treasurer *Chancellor *Chapter knights and ladies

Members

To become a member of the order, one must be knighted in the Dutch nobility, be protestant and be a minimum of 21 years old. If a member reaches the age of 25 they are eligible to be named a knight of honour and if they have been a member of the order for at least 5 years they are eligible to be named as a knight or lady of justice. When the order was founded, only males were eligible for membership. This was changed by royal decree on 3 October 1951, and on 29 February 1952 a female branch was established. In 2006 the order counted 630 members, most notable of which is

King Willem-Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born 27 April 1967) is King of the Netherlands since 30 April 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht during the reign of his maternal grandmother, Queen Juliana, as the eldest ch ...

References

{{Authority control Awards established in 1909 Saint John in the Netherlands, Order of Saint John in the Netherlands, Order of *

External link

Order of Saint John in the Netherlands