The military orders

The common root of the catholic Order of Malta and the protestant Order of Saint John is the medieval chivalric order of the Knights Hospitaller, founded in Jerusalem in the year 1048. This order was dedicated to Saint John the Baptist and the knights cared for sick and poor pilgrims in the Holy Land.

In the year 1113 Pope Paschalis II. recognised the Knights Hospitaller as an Order. The knights then took over military tasks to protect pilgrims and the land conquered by the crusades in general. After the loss of Acres, the Order moved its headquarters first to Cyprus, then Rhodes and eventually to Malta. During the Reformation, the Order split into a catholic and a protestant branch. The latter evolved out of the German Bailiwick of Brandenburg and is nowadays known as the «Order of Saint John», whereas the catholic branch carries the traditional name «Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta» or simply «Order of Malta».

After the French conquest of Malta in 1789, the military engagement of the Order of Malta ended, so that both branches now only dedicate themselves to humanitarian activities, mainly financing hospitals, ambulances, humanitarian aid projects and supporting pilgrims.

In Switzerland, both orders are represented by local branches: The Swiss commandery of the Order of Saint John with its headquarters in Berne and the Helvetic Association of the Sovereign Order of Malta with its headquarters in Lucerne. Both orders are represented in the board of directors of the Society of the Commandery of Bubikon.

The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem is a British royal order of chivalry established in 1831 in the tradition of the Knights Hospitaller.