State-like formations as subjects of international law. The history of the Order of Malta from its creation to the start of the great siege Sovereign Order
Like centuries ago, on the streets of the main city of the island of Malta, Valletta, you can meet a real Maltese knight. True, he will not be dressed in sparkling armor, but in an ordinary civilian suit. The once mighty knightly order gradually turned into a club of wealthy benefactors. You don't even have to be a noble to become a member. It is enough to pay an entrance fee.
Malta is the southernmost outpost of Western Europe in the Mediterranean Sea. This island, lying at the crossroads of sea routes with a convenient, well-protected harbor, has been an eternal bone of contention for the Mediterranean countries for thousands of years. It's hard to believe now, but in pre-Biblical times, Malta was covered with dense forests. They were brought together by the Phoenicians - for the construction of ships and just for fuel. After the Phoenicians, the island was ruled by the Carthaginians, then by the Romans. From them Malta passed to the Byzantines. Those were expelled by the Arabs, who ruled the island for more than two hundred years, until the Normans conquered it at the end of the 11th century. Malta is a small island. Only 27 km long and 14.5 wide. That is, the entire island easily fits within the Moscow ring road. But, despite its miniature size, it became famous all over the world. Mainly thanks to the knights of the Order of Malta. The island was granted to the Order of the Jannites in 1530 on the condition that the knights would defend Malta from North African pirates and the Turkish Ottoman Empire, which waged endless wars with Christian Europe.
However, the history of the Order did not begin in Malta, but five centuries earlier. When in 1099 the Crusaders conquered the Holy Sepulcher from the "infidels" - as the Muslims were then called, thousands of Christian pilgrims immediately rushed to the holy city of Jerusalem. Shelter and medical assistance they found in the so-called "hospitals" - the original meaning of the word: "hospital home." The arrangement of such houses was carried out by knightly-monastic brotherhoods, which over time were transformed into orders and became a formidable military force. One of these orders maintained a hospital at the church of St. John the Baptist - its members began to be called "Joannites" or "Hospitallers". The Knights of St. John took a vow, similar to a monastic one, and as a sign that they were devoting themselves to the service of the Lord, they sewed a cross, now known as the Maltese, on their clothes of a special form.
At the end of the 13th century, Muslims pushed the Joannites first to Cyprus, and then to the island of Rhodes. But they had to leave that one too - then Malta became the haven of the knights. At first they wanted to make Mdina their new capital. This ancient fortified city is located extremely favorably: on a hill rising in the middle of the island. It was founded, apparently, by the Phoenicians at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. In the ancient capital of the island - the city of Mdina - literally at every step you can find an absolutely incredible combination of eras.
The Knights of Malta, as the Johnites began to be called after moving to Malta, erected even more powerful fortifications and thoroughly rebuilt Mdina. Today's Maltese call it "the city of silence". Only 400 people live here. Oriental in spirit, narrow streets are decorated with individual baroque buildings with sculptural images of the Madonna and Catholic saints. Until the season starts, Mdina, even in the center, where local souvenir shops are concentrated, is deserted. In the summer, the picture will be completely different ...
Mdina was good for everyone, but organizing the protection of the coast from it turned out to be an impossible task. And the Jannites had to make their residence the town of Birgu, located on a cape that closes the most convenient bay in Malta. Here, fortifications were hastily erected, which for the then Europe were the pinnacle of fortification art. Soon these fortifications served the knights well. The Turkish sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, calling on the combined fleet of North African pirates to help him, laid siege to Birgu, and his troops, almost without resistance, began to devastate Malta.
In 1565, behind the walls of Fort San Angelo, only six hundred knights of Malta fought off the attacks of forty thousand Turkish troops for three months. As a result, the Turks retreated. After that, the Grand Master of the Order of Malta, Jean Parisot de la Valette, in order to better strengthen the island, founded a city on the other side of the harbor. Subsequently, it was named after him - Valletta. Suleiman was forced to lift the siege and retreat only after help from Sicily came to the knights. The victory of the Order of Malta put an end to the undivided rule of the Muslims in the Mediterranean. But the knights continued to fight with the Ottoman Empire for more than two hundred years.
In memory of the "Great Siege" on the parade ground of Fort San Elmo - which at one time fell under the onslaught of the Turks - the Maltese arrange theatrical garrison reviews. To the sounds of a military band, detachments of pikemen and musketeers enter the courtyard of the fort ... The head of the garrison walks along the line, checking the equipment of each ... Then the soldiers demonstrate fighting techniques to the commander ... The muskets in their hands are not real - a barrel made four hundred years ago may not withstand the pressure of powder gases . But these are exact copies of those muskets that were used in the old days. And they are loaded with coarse-grained black powder made according to an old recipe ... Only bullets are not driven into the barrel - they are limited to wads ... Unlike muskets, guns and mortars are the very ones that fired at the Turks several centuries ago ... Instead of cores, they are now also loaded with wads alone ...
Valletta differs from most European cities in its regular layout, straight and relatively wide streets. The area on which the city is built is mountainous and therefore there are a lot of stairs. The Palace of the Grand Masters of the Order stands in the central square of Valletta. Nowadays, it houses the central authorities of the island: the Maltese Parliament, the offices of the President and the Prime Minister. Which, by the way, does not bother the numerous dealers in counterfeit discs and cassettes, who have placed their trays right under the windows of the head of government.
And centuries ago, in the halls of the palace decorated with frescoes, the affairs of the Order and the lands subject to the knights were conducted. The head of the Order of Malta - the Grand Master - was elected among the knights for life. He ruled his state in one of the halls where the throne is still located. In total, the Order of Malta ruled Malta for 268 years. During this time, 27 Grand Masters have changed on the throne. Nowadays, restoration work is taking place in the throne room, which was later renamed the Hall of the Republic. The interiors of the palace are preserved exactly as they were in the 18th century. Portraits of the Grand Masters hang on the walls, their coats of arms are laid out on the floor. Knightly armor, although it has long served as an adornment of palace corridors, is by no means fake ... All of them have been in more than one battle. In the armory of the palace there are many shells with traces of stabbing and cutting blows, many of which must have been fatal. After the death of a knight, his property, including armor, as a rule, passed to the Order. After all, the Iannites usually did not have heirs - one of the vows that a knight gave when joining the Order of Malta was a vow of celibacy.
The knights who fell in battle and simply died peacefully were buried in the main order cathedral of St. John the Baptist. Among others, de la Valette rests here. The tombstone of the master is at the same time a monument to his victories over the Turks. True, at the foot of the sculptured heads are not defeated Turks, but an Algerian and a Zaporizhzhya Cossack ... The floor in the Cathedral of John the Baptist consists entirely of gravestones. Under each of them is the ashes of a Maltese knight. On the slab at the entrance there is a laconic inscription: "Today you walk on us, tomorrow they will walk on you." The Cathedral of John the Baptist is also a monument - a monument to the heyday of the Order of Malta. In the 17th century, the knightly fleet knew no equal in the Mediterranean, and money from maritime trade flowed into the order's treasury. Well-known masters invited from Italy worked on the decoration of the cathedral. In one of its limits hangs a large canvas by Caravaggio "The Beheading of John the Baptist." ""
The prosperity of the Order did not last long. In the middle of the 18th century, it began to decline. Nowadays, you can see the Knight of Malta only in souvenir shops. Mostly tourists buy them - the Maltese themselves do not need knights. They know the history of the Order rather superficially. By the way, few of them know that the Russian Emperor Paul I was once the Grand Master of the Order. Paul was elected Grand Master in the autumn of 1798 after Napoleon occupied the island without firing a shot and expelled all members of the Order from Malta, with the exception of decrepit old people. . But the hopes of the knights that Russia would help them return the island did not come true. In modern times, the Order of Malta has de facto become a Catholic charitable organization headquartered on the Aventine Hill in Rome. Membership in the Order is still considered honorary - but now, in order to become a knight, in principle, it is enough to have an amount of 10,000 Maltese liras for an annual fee - about $ 30,000.
The closed organization of the Order of Malta, which appeared at the dawn of Christianity and is still functioning, raises a lot of questions from a simple layman. Especially given the international recognition of the Order as a state with its own ruler, banknotes, passports and influence in international organizations.
With the spread of Christianity in Europe, an increasing number of people each year made pilgrimages to the holy sites in Jerusalem. The pilgrims were walking overland. The road was hard and long.
By the time they arrived in the Holy Land, people were already very emaciated and sick. In order to somehow help the pilgrims in Jerusalem, the first hospital was created. It was a complex of buildings with a Christian monastery named after St. John (the Baptist) and a medical institution. Travelers here were given shelter, food and treatment.
Subsequently, other hospitals were built along the route of the pilgrims. Several of them were in Palestine. The 9th-10th centuries is the time of the military victories of the Egyptian caliphs, who recaptured the lands with the Holy Places from the Christians.
At the beginning of the 11th century, they managed to negotiate with the Egyptians and revive the hospital near Jerusalem. The Christians who worked in it began to be called the Brotherhood of Joanites, after the name of the monastery. Another name is Hospitallers. Their ministry was to care for the sick, to help the poor. They should have been merciful to everyone.
Many in Europe, inspired by the life of the brothers - Joanites, followed their example, joined the brotherhood and took vows to live in poverty, chastity and service to God.
Since at that time there was an endless confrontation between Christians and Muslims, which then calmed down, then flared up again, gradually the hospitallers began to take on security and defensive functions. Already by the middle of the 12th century. there was a clear distinction within the organization between those who treated and those who fought. So the Hospitallers turned into a powerful paramilitary organization.
Each member of the brotherhood was to serve the same spiritual ideals. They also accepted women. They became novice sisters. Under the ban was only the inclusion in the organization of people who themselves or whose relatives were related to trade and banking.
The Order of Malta had many privileges. He obeyed only the Pope. Representatives of the organization could take tithes from their land and not report to the local authorities. Managed the Order of the Grand Master. That is, each member of the organization had to answer for his actions before the Pope and the Master.
The Hospitallers, on an equal footing with other armies and orders, such as the Templars, participated in the crusades, the purpose of which was to fight the advancing Muslim world.
Not forgetting their main purpose - to heal and help - the Knights Hospitallers successfully repelled the attack of the Saracens in Palestine and other countries through which the pilgrims went.
Fortresses were built on the highest points of the terrain in order to see the enemy long before the attack. In addition, they often had two levels of defenses. Through the aqueduct, clean water entered the fortress. In fortresses in especially important directions, the stocks of food and weapons were such that the hospitallers could withstand the siege of the enemy for up to several years.
During the entire existence of the Hospitallers, not a single fortress was conquered by the enemy without the fierce resistance of the knights.
Thanks to the military exploits of the Order, the organization received significant cash injections and land to support its life from European states.
Also, individual knights received generous thanks in the form of money and plots of land. Many of the knights sacredly believed and lived according to the main principles of brotherhood, denying luxury and money, so they gave everything away during their lifetime or bequeathed it to the Order after death in battle.
On the lands received for merit, the brotherhood built new hospitals. The largest land holding was in the territory of Palestine - the city of Acre. At that time, the city was considered the capital of the Hospitallers.
Acre fell under the might of the Turkish army in 1291. This was preceded by 8 crusades. The victories of the first campaigns were gradually replaced by more and more frequent defeats. The Muslim armies grew stronger and were often much larger than the Christian armies.
After Acre, after fierce fighting (where 1 Christian was forced to fight with 7 Muslims) was abandoned by the crusaders, the Christians lost the Holy Land.
After a crushing defeat, the remaining Knights Hospitaller settled in Cyprus. The Cypriot king gave them the land on which they settled and immediately began to engage in their usual activities - to build a hospital and help the poor and sick. At the same time, they rejected any proposals to move to other countries, as they hoped to return to the Holy Land, and from Cyprus there was the shortest way.
Christian pilgrims, even after the Shrines came under the control of the Muslims, continued to travel to Jerusalem, and the Hospitallers did their best to protect them.
On land, this was impossible, so they began to send ships to the sea and take the waterway under protection. In parallel, they cleared the Mediterranean from pirates and soon their merits at sea became as significant as they once were on land.
The Order of Malta lived in Cyprus for 20 years, and would have lived longer, but the disagreement of the Grand Master with the requirements of the Cypriot king did their job. The king wanted to receive tribute from everything the Order did.
20 years was enough for the Hospitallers to regain the power lost after the last crusades. During this time, the treasury of the order was regularly replenished by infusions of European states for various merits, in addition, due to trophies received after the defeat of pirate and Muslim ships in the Mediterranean Sea.
Many new members joined the organization over 2 decades, impressed by the glory and courage of the Order.
In 1309, the Order moved to Rhodes and placed its headquarters on the island. The move was not entirely problem-free, since the local population, sympathetic to the Byzantines, who had a garrison here, for some time fought in every possible way with the hospitallers.
For two centuries, the Order was engaged in the protection of the Mediterranean Sea, not allowing Muslims from North Africa and the Middle East to enter it, and also fought against piracy. During this time, the Order of the Templars was liquidated, Constantinople could not resist under the might of the Ottoman army.
The Order of Joanites remained the only combat-ready army in Europe. Therefore, the next campaign of the Ottomans under the leadership of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent was to Rhodes. In 1522 the Hospitaller army was defeated. This was preceded by a months-long siege of the fortress and fierce battles. The surviving hospitallers were released by the Turks. 
For several years, the Hospitallers wandered around Europe until the Spanish king gave them Malta. A little over 30 years will pass and Sultan Suleiman will again try to attack the restored army of the Hospitallers, but will be driven out of Malta and suffer heavy losses.
The feat of the brotherhood becomes a breath of fresh air for Europe, as it was the first victory over the strong army of the Ottoman Empire. This event will go down in history as the Great Siege of Malta. And the Order will be better known as the Order of Malta, thanks to the victory and more than two hundred years of the Hospitallers on the island of Malta.
Donations to the winners from European rulers flowed like a wide river. With this money, the capital, Valletta, was founded and rebuilt. But not all was so well. The river of money soon began to cut through, and the tasks for which the Order had once been created were no longer achievable.
New generations of hospitallers no longer considered it necessary to worship Christian virtues, they began to earn their living by robbery at sea, by capturing ships. There was a slave market in the port.
In the army there was a ferment in the minds. Little is left of the former might of the brothers' army. Therefore, when in 1798 Napoleon's army attacked Malta, the knights of the Order capitulated and were expelled from the island by the French.
The most persistent and ideological members of the brotherhood could not accept defeat and did not give up, hoping to restore the Order, starting everything from scratch, as it happened more than once. For some time they lived in Russia at the invitation of Paul 1, but with his death they had to flee the country.
The Order began to revive from the end of the 19th century. It was no longer a powerful and rich organization, but still it continued to perform its main functions. In the 20th century, the Hospitallers helped people during the world wars. It was medical aid and humanitarian. But it turned out to be local.
The Order of Malta is still recognized at the diplomatic level as a sovereign state, regardless of the fact that, in addition to recognition, disputes about the legality of such an entity do not subside.
Location of the state on the world map
The Order of Malta is located on the territory of 2 states - Italy and Malta. It sounds serious, but in fact we are talking about only three buildings.
The main building of the state is located in Rome and is called the Main Palace. It is open to tourists every day except Sunday. It is more correct to say that only part of the building is open, as the other is rented out to shops and restaurants.
Inside and outside the building you can see the symbols of the Order. The Post Office is open here, which has a connection with 60 states. Postage stamps are bought by numismatists with pleasure.
In the palace you can also buy state money - skudo. They are printed from precious metals. Therefore, it is a useful souvenir.
In addition to the palace in Rome, there is the second most important building of the Order - the Villa of Malta. This building is closed to curious tourists. Nevertheless, the villa does not lose its value as a landmark. 
The last building of the Order is a fort in Malta in the city of Birgu. Both Italy and Malta recognize the sovereignty of the Order of Malta as a country.
Capital
The main palace is considered the capital of the order. He received this title in 1834. However, the independence of the Order and, accordingly, its capital was recognized in 1869.
Flag
The flag of the Order is a white cross on a red background. The eight-pointed cross symbolizes the blessings that a Christian will receive in paradise. Christ described these beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount. 
The four directions at the Maltese cross mean the main virtues revered by Christians:
- strength of mind,
- justice,
- prudence,
- abstinence.
Population
The micro-state has more than 13 thousand people, as well as thousands of volunteers. At the same time, only about 600 people have passports. These are the authorities. Within the state, a clear hierarchy is observed, which is regulated by the code.
So there are 3 classes of "citizens" of the order:
- Those who vow to live in poverty, obedience, and chastity.
- Those who promise to live in piety and fulfill the requirements of the leadership of the Order.
- The rest are people who are required to be in accordance with Christian canons, help the poor, and engage in medical and humanitarian activities.
Economics of the subject of international law
The annual receipt of money in the budget of the Order of Malta is 200 million euros. The treasury is replenished from the rental of existing real estate. In addition to the palace part in Rome, this is real estate in Austria and Italy.
Donations from all over the world are transferred to the state. This happens when volunteers or citizens of the Order of Malta participate in helping other states during cataclysms. In addition, coins and postage stamps of the state are in demand among numerous tourists. The country has its own Maltese Skudo and the European Euro.
Government
The main position in the Order is the Grand Master, who heads the country and the Sovereign Council. 
Below in rank in the hierarchy are 4 figures:
- Great Commander.
- Great Chancellor.
- Great Hospitaller.
- Keeper of the Common Treasury.
The Sovereign Council is held annually at least 6 times in the Maltese Palace.
Prince and Grand Master
The head of the Order - the Grand Master - in addition to being the supreme commander in chief, has the highest religious rank, the title of prince. The Pope grants him the rank of cardinal.
Giacomo Dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto - Grand Master of the Order of Malta The ruler has a lot of power. It can adopt legislative acts that are not regulated by the code. The master manages the treasury, is responsible for international relations.
This position is for life. If, after the death of the Master, it is not possible to choose another to take the place of the head, then the Lieutenant of the Master becomes acting ruler for a year.
Grand Commander
The commander is responsible for religion in the state. He regularly reports to the Vatican on the activities of the state. His responsibilities include instructing and educating citizens in Christian values.
In case of impossibility to fulfill the duties of the Master due to illness or death, the Commander temporarily takes over his work.
Grand Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs
The chancellor is both head of government and minister of foreign affairs. 
His task is to oversee relations with other states and organizations of the Order in the world. He must monitor the implementation of the instructions of the head of state.
Grand Hospitaller
The Grand Hospitaller has the status of a minister and deals with charitable and humanitarian issues in the state and organizations of the Order around the world.
Keeper of the Common Treasury
Within the Order, the Minister of Finance and Economics is the Custodian of the Common Treasury. He is responsible for all cash flows in the state. Prepares an annual report on available finances and real estate.
Submits proposals for investment, sale and purchase of real estate to the government, and then to the Grand Master. The Guardian also oversees the Postal Service and any financial flows between international organizations related to the Order.
Who are the Knights Hospitallers?
The knights among the Joanists appeared when it became necessary not only to treat and support the pilgrims on the way, but also to protect them. These were wars that were ready to prove devotion to Christian virtues by service.
To become a knight, one had to belong to a noble family and swear an oath of allegiance to the Grand Master, the values and virtues revered in the organization, and also take a vow of chastity and poverty. 
It is forbidden to give a knighthood to those who are associated with obscene activities, such as trade.
Documentation
According to the degree of importance, the legal acts of the Order of Malta are divided into:
- Constitution and Code.
- Laws passed by the Grand Master.
- international agreements.
International relationships
The Order of Malta has offices in 107 countries. It officially serves as an observer to the United Nations, as well as to the Council of Europe.
However, even within the European Union there are states that do not maintain diplomatic relations with the Hospitallers. These are the Scandinavian countries, except for Norway, the Netherlands, Greece and Iceland. Russia and the Order of Malta are participants in diplomatic relations.
Members of the Order
Awards of the Order
The Order of Merit, as the name implies, is given for meritorious service to the Order of Malta. Moreover, it is not necessary to belong to an organization and it is not necessary to be a Christian. 
The award does not imply automatic entry into the organization of the recipient.
The white cross of the order differs depending on who is awarded. It can be a civilian or military person, a woman or a priest.
The history of the Order of Malta is a series of ups and downs. At the same time, over the centuries-old history, the organization was able to preserve the ideas and tasks that it continues to follow up to the present day.
Article formatting: Vladimir the Great
Video about the Order of Malta
History of the Knights of Malta:
Volkhonka, the very heart of Moscow. From the huge windows of a spacious office furnished in a high-tech style, a stunning view of the Kremlin opens up, and the golden domes of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior sparkle in the distance. The walls are decorated with imposing works by contemporary Russian artists. We are at the Embassy of the Sovereign Military Order of Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta in the Russian Federation. We have an appointment with Mr. Gianfranco Facco Bonetti, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Order of Malta in Russia. Facco Bonetti visits Moscow from time to time, however, he comes quite often. Constantly represents the interests of the order in Moscow, its first consul Nicola Savoretti. He is a well-known person among us - a major Italian entrepreneur, whose business is closely connected with Russia. On Savoretti's mother of Russian origin, he studied in Moscow for several years, speaks fluent Russian, has close ties with Russian business circles. Mr. Facco Bonetti knows and loves our country well. For the previous five years, as the Ambassador of the Republic of Italy to Russia, he traveled a lot around the regions, talking to people.
The Order of Malta has a unique status of a state-like entity. This Catholic institution is an unofficial channel of contacts between the Orthodox Church and the Vatican.So it is not difficult to imagine what interest a Catholic institution, which is the Order of Malta, may have in an Orthodox country. This is an unofficial channel of contacts between the Orthodox Church and the Vatican. When Facco Bonetti was the ambassador of Italy, he was repeatedly received by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy II. In Russia, since the 1990s, there have been representations of many Catholic orders - Franciscans, Jesuits, last year a representative office of the most influential Opus Dei was opened. How is the Order of Malta different from them? It has the unique status of a state-like entity, the status of a permanent observer at the UN and the Council of Europe, diplomatic relations with a hundred countries of the world. They settled with Russia in 1992. And in order to understand why the knightly order has such privileges when its territory is 12 times smaller than even the area of the Vatican: a palazzo and a villa in Rome, and the former residence of the Maltese on the island of Malta - Fort Sant'Angelo, transferred to them for use for 99 years, one must turn to its more than nine centuries of history. Brotherhood of the poor and merciful. In the XI century, Jerusalem belonged to the Arabs, who did not interfere with the pilgrimage of Europeans to the main shrines of Christianity. Along with the pilgrims, Italian merchants also appeared there, who built an orphanage with the church of John the Baptist and a hospital where monks cared for sick pilgrims. Therefore, members of this order are also called Johnites or Hospitallers. The status of the order was granted to them by Pope Pascal II in 1113. And since the brotherhood was religious, all its members took a vow of poverty, chastity and obedience. With the beginning of the Crusades, wounded knights also began to come to the monks, donating significant amounts to the order and protecting the brethren with weapons from the frequent enemy raids. So the order also acquired a military knightly status. When the Crusaders were expelled from the Holy Land, the Hospitallers first settled in Cyprus, and then, in 1310, having moved to the island of Rhodes, they built a state there with a powerful fleet that controlled the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. For two hundred years, the order remained an outpost of Catholic Europe on its eastern borders, repelling the brutal raids of the Turks. However, in 1523, after a long and bloody battle, the Johnites were forced to leave Rhodes and wandered for seven years, until Emperor Charles V in 1530 transferred the island of Malta to them - then the name of Malta was assigned to the order. For more than two centuries (until the capture of the island by Napoleon in 1798), the era of the highest flowering of the statehood of the Hospitallers lasted: trade, military affairs and construction were rapidly developing, the structure, charter and hierarchy of the order were finally formed. Having lost, for the umpteenth time, their home, the order loses its former power. Only in 1834, having received a palace and a villa in Rome, he begins a new countdown of his history. Grand Master, ladies and gentlemen. Life behind the walls of these two mansions is a mystery behind seven seals. It is known that in the palazzo on the most expensive street in Rome, Via Condotti, lives the head of the order - His Eminence the Prince and Grand Master. He is elected for life by the Grand Council of State and rules with the help of the Sovereign Master's Council (government) of four senior officials (Grand Commander, Grand Chancellor, Hospitaller and Holder of the General Treasury of the Order), plus six members who head the main structures of the organization in different countries - priories. The Council is elected by the Grand Chapter (congress), which convenes every five years. The master and the government, which also sits on Via Condotti, are the core of the order. These people, coming only from the old aristocratic families of Europe, take a monastic vow and lead an ascetic lifestyle. All meetings, elections, including knighting, and today are held behind tightly closed doors. As the ambassador said, it is impossible to join the order on your own - you can only be called. But modernity has made its own adjustments to the requirements for the candidate. To become a "cavalier" or "lady", not necessarily a noble origin - enough special merit to the order. There are 12,500 members of the order in the world today. These are, as a rule, the heads of royal families, like the Spanish monarch Juan Carlos, politicians, bankers and businessmen making donations to the treasury of the Johnites. Knights of Benevolence. The emblem of the Maltese - a white eight-pointed cross on a red background - can be found today anywhere in the world: the order has its structures in 54 countries, including 47 national associations, and operates in more than 120 countries around the world. In some countries, for example in Germany, the order is the second medical and social structure after the state. How can one explain such effectiveness of an organization that was medieval in essence and spirit? The fact that she accepted modern realities, shifting the focus from the first part of her motto (“defending the faith”), to the second (“helping the needy”). Where needed, the Maltese send one-time assistance in the form of food, medicine and clothing. Long-term programs have been launched in many countries: polyclinics, free canteens, homes for the elderly and disabled, orphanages, nursing schools and other charitable institutions have been opened. In order for all this branched economy to work, special structures have been created: International Hospitaller Committee, Malteser International and Emergency Corps of the Order of Malta. Relief teams can go to the disaster area within 48 hours and set up camps for 1,000 people with everything they need. Only volunteers work everywhere, there are about 80,000 of them in all countries. Second coming. In the early 1990s, the Order of Malta also came to Russia: in 1996 it was officially registered as an interregional public charitable organization "Russian Aid Service of the Sovereign Order of Malta (Russian Maltese Aid)". Since the 1990s, tons of goods have been moving in the Russian direction - food, medicine, clothing. Mostly, everything came from Germany and was distributed among those in need in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Smolensk and other cities. Only in 1995, the Germans-Maltese sent humanitarian aid to Russia with a total weight of 700 tons! At first, these were one-time actions, then long-term projects appeared in the same Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad and Smolensk. Assistance is only targeted - so it is much more efficient, works faster, the Maltese believe. The Diocese of the Order of a separate German city helps a separate Russian city: Augsburg - Moscow, Osnabrück - Kaliningrad, Würzburg - St. Petersburg. I am reading a brochure that was given to me at the embassy of the Order of Malta in Moscow - the dry figures and facts of helping our poor and suffering are impressive, but not convincing. I want to see everything with my own eyes. ... Quiet, built up in the century before last, Tchaikovsky Street in the very center of St. Petersburg. Here, in the basement of a beautiful old house, a canteen for the poor has been operating for 16 years: with its opening, in fact, the history of the Maltese in the Northern capital began. We arrived here early Saturday morning with Irina Tynkova, who is in charge of public relations for the Maltese Aid in St. Petersburg. We enter a very small, modestly furnished, but clean and comfortable dining room. Today there is no one here - the dining room is closed on weekends; On weekdays, at least 500 people come here. Basically, these are elderly people with a small pension, Irina explains, recently disabled people and single mothers with many children have joined them. And it all started with the fact that in 1992 the Germans arrived, went to the district administration, and she allocated a room for the dining room in the newly opened House of Veterans. First, the Germans themselves worked here, then they were replaced by Russian personnel.
... It's hard for an outsider to see all this. Another, parallel world that you prefer not to think about. And he certainly does not fit in with the gentlemen and ladies who arrange luxurious receptions and balls in Renaissance palazzos ...How do people who come here find out about the existence of a free canteen? Irina explains: “350 people send social services to us, 150 come from city parishes – Orthodox, Catholic and Lutheran.” The Order of Malta in Russia has good relations with the city’s social services and with the Orthodox Church (this, it turns out, why diplomats are needed!) Even an Orthodox priest, Archpriest Vladimir Sorokin, the former rector of the Higher Orthodox Theological Seminary in St. Petersburg, and now rector of one from Petersburg churches. “People come here not only to eat, but also to talk. After all, most of our wards are lonely people, ”says Irina. Remove the sign! A very blissful picture is emerging, but is everything so cloudless? “Of course, there are problems,” Irina sighs. “Product prices are rising, and almost every month we have to ask German philanthropists to increase the amount sent for their purchase.” Does our government help? “Sobes of the district allocates a monthly subsidy and still pays for utilities, but still not enough,” says Irina. “A year ago, the entire top floor was bought up by a gentleman and is now trying to expel the dining room from this building. You see, he is hindered by poorly dressed old men who come early and make noise downstairs. They even made us move the entrance to the courtyard and remove the sign. But for now, we're holding on." Our next target is the homeless. On the way to Nochlezhka, a Russian charitable organization created with the support of the Committee for Labor and Social Protection of the Population of St. Petersburg, we stop by the order's office - a small apartment in a typical St. Petersburg house with a gloomy courtyard-well. The atmosphere is more than modest, almost ascetic. Tables with computers, on the walls - emblems of the Order of Malta and photographs dedicated to the activities of the order in St. Petersburg. Irina comments on each picture: “These are bedridden patients. We help them at home. Here we give food to pensioners and single-parent families with disabled children who find themselves without a livelihood. And this is our social taxi. Today we closed this program, because the same state program has already appeared. By the way, both the service dispatcher and the drivers, who were disabled themselves, worked in their own cars.” But they opened a new program - for children with disabilities. Hot tea with soup. I counted four computers. “We have six permanent employees who lead different programs. The rest are volunteers and employees of polyclinics and hospitals,” says Irina. Then we go to Borovaya Street, to Nochlezhka. On the way, Irina continues the story: “The day after tomorrow, 20 Germans from those who help us will arrive. It has already become a tradition to come from time to time and see how everything works, whether something else is needed. Surprisingly, these are not millionaires at all, but the most ordinary people who set an amazing example of sacrifice for all of us, which greatly supports us morally. Nochlezhka is a three-story building with a clean courtyard, where several homeless people are located on the edge with their belongings. Irina approaches an elderly woman, who immediately begins to complain about someone. Irina calms her down, while dealing with a homeless man of indeterminate age. He mutters that he was not given tea and cookies, and also that he wants to return to Moscow. Two decently dressed men come out to meet us with the long-awaited tea for the homeless. It turned out that they themselves were homeless. “If they don’t drink, they can help, we leave them,” says Irina. The Order organizes two daily hot meals here: instant, in a glass, lunch and tea. We go into the doss house itself, there are three rooms for men, one for women. Everywhere is very clean, but still somehow uncomfortable - homeless people after all ... Irina feels absolutely natural: she knows everyone by name and patronymic, gives women some photographs. She is her own person here and easily finds the right intonation for communication. The Maltese in Nochlezhka have their own first-aid post, where a nurse from the district polyclinic receives difficult patients: who needs to treat the wound, who needs to be bandaged. There are even worse cases: consumption, gangrene, AIDS... The room is very tiny, perfectly clean, medicines and medical instruments are neatly laid out. I read, noticing the emblem of the Order of Malta, an announcement on the wall: those who wish are invited to wash for free in one of the nearby baths: “All who come are provided with soap, a washcloth, a disposable sheet.” Irina takes me to a new mobile sanitation station with an eight-pointed Maltese cross: “They just brought it in, it will start working on Monday.” ... It's hard for an outsider to see all this. Another, parallel world that you prefer not to think about. And it certainly does not fit in with the gentlemen and ladies who arrange luxurious receptions and balls in Renaissance palazzos ... But it was thanks to them and the whole invisible army of volunteers that the Order of Malta did not go down in history. Russian trace of the hospitallers' shrines. The Order of Malta in Russia is still an unexplored topic. When Napoleon captured Malta, Emperor Paul I sheltered the Knights of Malta and was proclaimed Grand Master in 1798. After the assassination of the emperor, the activity of the order in Russia quickly came to naught. But the story didn't end there. Leaving Malta in a hurry, the then Grand Master von Hompesch took with him the shrines of the order - the right hand of John the Baptist, the Philermo Icon of the Mother of God, according to legend, written by the Evangelist Luke himself, and part of the Life-Giving Cross. Having renounced power in exile, Gompesh sent these shrines to St. Petersburg, where a deputation of knights solemnly presented them to Paul I for their support and care. After the assassination of the emperor, the relics were kept in the Winter Palace until 1919. They were solemnly taken out only during religious processions to the Pavlovsk Cathedral, where they were put up for ten days for worship, and then returned back to the palace. Further, according to one of our leading experts on the Order of Malta, historian Vladimir Zakharov, the events unfolded as follows. In 1923, the Italian government turned to the Bolsheviks with a request to return the relics, but they managed to take them to Estonia. For some time they were kept in the Orthodox Cathedral in Reval, but then they were transported to Denmark by the Dowager Empress, the mother of Nicholas II. After the death of Maria Feodorovna, her daughters handed over the shrines to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, Metropolitan Anthony, and for some time they were in an Orthodox church in Berlin. Bishop Tikhon handed them over in 1932 to King Alexander of Yugoslavia. During the war, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Gabriel, took them to Montenegro, to the monastery of St. Basil of Ostrog. Here the trace was lost for a long time. Only in 1994, the church hierarchs of Montenegro announced that the right hand of John the Baptist and a reliquary with a particle of the Tree of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord are in Cetinje, in the monastery of St. Peter of Cetinje. It was believed that another shrine of the order was lost forever - the medallion of the Grand Master (in the form of a large Maltese cross with the image of the Philermo icon). Now it is known that it is kept in the collection of the Armory Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin Museums. There is also one of the three thrones with Maltese symbols, made by order of Paul I, and his crown with a Maltese cross. The other two thrones are kept in the Hermitage and the Gatchina Museum-Reserve.
Knights of Malta, order, Maltese cross- Many people have heard about it, but do not really know what it is. The Knights of Malta are not Maltese by nationality, but representatives of the chivalry of a number of European countries. , due to its geographical position lay on the path of the Crusades. The island was used for the rest and rehabilitation of the knights, and a hospital was organized on it. It was created by the knightly order of the Hospitallers, who came to Malta from Rhodes at the beginning of the 16th century.
The religious-military order itself was formed much earlier, back in the 9th-10th centuries AD. in Jerusalem and was actively supported by the Roman Catholic Church. The official date of creation of the order is 1113. Each knight of the Order of Malta had to come to the hospital at least once a week and care for the sick. The knights of the order not only treated the sick, but also fought with weapons in their hands, participated in campaigns and patrolled the Mediterranean Sea. At the head of the order were the Grand Masters. The main task of the order was the fight against Islam. The order was based in Cyprus, then Rhodes, and after the defeat in the war with the Turks, it moved to Malta, which was then under the control of the Spanish king, who presented it to the Hospitallers.
The knights had their own fleet, which they were able to place in the main harbor of Malta. At that time, there was nothing on the shores of the harbor. The knights built the first houses in the small town of Birgo, which can now be seen from the modern fortress walls. In 1565, the Turks attacked Malta, but the Hospitallers managed to defend the island in a bloody war. Numerous paintings and old tapestries in the museums of Malta depict scenes from the battles of that time.
During the time of chivalry, it was prestigious to be a member of the Order of Hospitallers, and the noble families of Italy, France, Spain and other European monarchies sent at least one of their sons to serve in the Order. It was an honor. For this honor, the order was allocated lands on the continent, and the leasing of these lands brought the main income to the hospitallers. Anyone who rendered significant services to the order could become a knight of the Order of Malta. Caravaggio - the famous Italian artist, better known as Michelangelo, was accepted as a knight of the order. In Malta, two of his paintings (originals) and several copies have been preserved, which tourists can see in Valletta. Pavel I was a Russian Knight Hospitaller.
The clothes of the Knights of Malta depict a white cross of the original form on a red background, which later became one of the symbols of Malta. The French Knights Templar, who also fought the Turks during the siege of Malta, wore a red cross on a white background.
The order lost its former influence and power after the invasion of Malta by Napoleon. Bonaparte took away the land from the Hospitallers, from which they received the main income. Some of the knights went to his service, and some were forced to leave Malta. However, the Hospitallers are the only medieval knightly order that has survived to this day. Now it consists of about 13 thousand people. The order positions itself in the international arena as a separate state, having real estate in Rome and Malta. In addition, the knights have their own currency and postage stamps. The order maintains diplomatic relations with many countries. The order is led by the Grand Master, who is elected for life by a majority vote.
