The Order of Saint John of Jerusalem (Maltese Cross) was an order of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

that was named after

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

History

In 1798, when

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

captured

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

during an expedition to Egypt, the knights of the order turned to the Russian Emperor

Paul I Paul I may refer to: *Paul of Samosata (200–275), Bishop of Antioch *Paul I of Constantinople (died c. 350), Archbishop of Constantinople *Pope Paul I (700–767) *Paul I Šubić of Bribir (c. 1245–1312), Ban of Croatia and Lord of Bosnia *Paul ...

with a request to assume the rank of Grand Master of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, to which the latter agreed. On November 29, 1798, Paul I issued the highest Manifesto on the Establishment in Favor of the Russian Nobility of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem and the Rule for the Acceptance of the Nobility of the Russian Empire into this order. During the reign of Paul I, the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem became, in essence, the highest distinction awarded for civil and military merit. The award of the commandery surpassed in its significance even the awarding of the Order of Saint Andrew the First–Called, since this expressed the personal benevolence of the sovereign. On the day of his coronation on April 5, 1797, Paul I united the order corporations existing in Russia into a single Russian Cavalier Order, or Cavalier Society. However, it did not include holders of the orders established by Empress

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

– Saint George and Saint Vladimir. The successor of Paul I on the Russian throne,

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon from 495 to 454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas, ruler of the Seleucid Empire 150-145 BC * Pope Alex ...

, removed the Maltese cross from the State Emblem and resigned as Grand Master. The awarding of the Order was discontinued, while the Order as an organization continued to exist. On February 26, 1810, Alexander I issued a decree prescribing, "leaving the existence of this Order to the discretion in its present position", to transfer the financial activities of the Order to the State Treasury. On January 20, 1817, the highest decree "On the Prohibition of Those Receiving the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem at the Present Time to Wear It" followed. The decree was issued due to the fact that, through the mediation of the holder of the Grand Commander's Cross of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, the envoy of Serra de Capriola, several Russian citizens received this order shortly before the decree was issued. In the decree, the ban was motivated by the fact that the Russian Priory Order no longer exists. The decree did not contain a ban on wearing the order received during the existence of his Russian Priory. Знак ордена Святого Иоанна Иерусалимского 01.jpg Знак ордена Святого Иоанна Иерусалимского 02.jpg Знак ордена Святого Иоанна Иерусалимского 03.jpg

Degrees

The order had three degrees: *I degree – Grand Commander's Cross; *II degree – Commander; *III degree – Cavalier.Order of Saint John of Jerusalem (Maltese Cross). Arsenal
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Gallery

File:Borovikovskiy PtPavla1GRM.jpg, Portrait of

dressed as Grand Master of the Order of Malta by

Vladimir Borovikovsky Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky ( – ) was a Russian artist of Ukrainian Cossack origin. He served at the court of Catherine the Great and dominated portraiture in Russia at the turn of the 19th century. Biography Vladimir Borovikovsky was born i ...

, 1800 File:Ордена Российской империи. Орден св. Иоанна Иерусалимского. Россия 1999.jpg, Postage stamp of Russia, 1999

References

;Comments ;Sources

Sources

*Yuri Miloslavsky. Hospitables: Orthodox Branch of the Sovereign Order of the Knights Hospitaller of Saint John of Jerusalem – Saint Petersburg: Tsarskoye Delo, 2001 – 240 Pages * *

External links