By Eric Vandenbroeck and co-workers

The Order of Malta and its Russian Counterpart

On 27 March 2025, Andrzej Duda President of Poland since 6 August 2015 (himself a Knight of the Order Malta) went on an official visit to the Grand Master of the Order of Malta to discuss a solution to the conflict in Ukraine.

Underneath President Putin Pays Respect to St. John Relics:

Following Napoleon's invasion of Malta, which dissolved the Order of Malta, some of the remaining knights asked the Emperor of Russia, Paul, to become a Grand Master to secure a base in the Mediterranean. What is now called the Russian Tradition was followed by many spin-offs. Underneath a picture of the real Order of Malta.

 

Worldwide locations of the Order of Malta

Using the success of the real Order, thus various fake self-invented Orders created a remarkable burgeoning of various spit-offs “orders” on both sides of the Atlantic. Exemplified by, for example, this one. Particularly in the United States, as in other republics, the government awards decorations for valor and meritorious service but has no legal provision for orders of knighthood as such. Chivalric bodies are treated as private associations registered with the state where they have headquarters. The most sought-after status for American groups is that of a non-profit, tax-exempt charitable institution. Such status ignores whether or not a body is an authentic chivalrous order. In these circumstances, it is easy to see why there has been indiscriminate use and abuse of the term, an order of knighthood.

The founders of such “Orders” hope to satisfy the ambitions of those anxious for recognition but whose personal standing or religious affiliation may have made them ineligible for membership in a genuine Order. Many members are sincere and respectable people deluded into believing they received a real “honor” and persuaded that through their membership.

The definition of “self-styled” or “Mimic Orders” (see the examples underneath) is to describe those organizations founded by private individuals who were not legally constituted or confirmed at the time of their most recent foundation or subsequently to that foundation by a reigning Sovereign or by the Head of an independent State. They are unrecognized as Orders of Chivalry by the state governments where they claim their Order originated or where they are based and by the other recognized Orders of Saint John.

Alongside the officially constituted orders, there thus has been a phenomenon of self-styled orders of St John or Malta created over the years by an assortment of private individuals. In most cases, the impulse has been to imitate, and sometimes to impersonate, the Order of Malta.

Even though the ‘coup d’état’ by Paul I historically could never be recognized, including not as currently once more could be seen by the Pope, many of these orders nevertheless took on the appellation “of St. John,” claiming to be continuations of various alleged offshoots of the Russian Orthodox priory, which, as we have seen, was broken up in the early 1800s. First, its property was seized by the Russian imperial ukase in 1810. Then in 1817, another decree proscribed the wearing of the insignia of an order which never existed in Russia since then.

Starting with Paul I, own son and heir to the throne, no support has come for the above-mentioned spurious claims from the imperial family of Russia, which always since then recognized the Sovereign Order and no other. From the time of Alexander I, all the Czars except Alexander III held the Grand Cross of Honor and Devotion of the Sovereign Order. This was also exemplified by Prince Nicholas Chalvovich Tchkotoua (Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Order of Malta). Her successor as head of the imperial house, Grand Duchess Maria Wladmirovna, issued a complete historically backed statement repudiating the supposed Russian descendants and likewise asserting that her house recognizes only the Sovereign Military Orders.

This doesn't mean the actual Order did not see any turbulence, and we candidly reported it here.

As can be accessed via the following links, there are five officially recognized Orders of St.John.

 

  

 

 

As indicated above, Thursday saw the first ever official visit by a Polish president to the Order’s Grand Master.

The meeting took place in Rome during a three-day visit to Italy by President Andrzej Duda. This year marks the 35th anniversary of Poland and the Order establishing diplomatic ties. Last year, Dunlap visited Warsaw.

The Order is a historic Catholic lay religious order that dates to the age of the Crusades 1,000 years ago. Its motto is “Defense of the faith and assistance to the poor.” While it controls no territory, some countries treat the Order as a sovereign entity.

Duda awarded the honor in recognition of Dunlap’s service in enhancing relations between Poland and the Knights of Malta and expressed appreciation for the Order’s activities, particularly in aid of Ukrainian refugees.

The Order of Malta’s Relief Corps in Poland supports the elderly, disadvantaged children, the disabled, and refugees with over 1,200 volunteers and 360 employees, according to the Order’s website

The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and Malta, to give it its official title, became active in Poland in 1920. Following a hiatus under communist rule when its activities were banned, the Order resumed its work in 1992.

 

 

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