Orders and medals of the Russian Empire. Order of St. John of Jerusalem (Maltese Cross)
This order originated in the XII century during the Crusades in Palestine. He was the reward of the knightly order of the Hospitallers. After this knightly order was expelled from Palestine, the knights wandered around the Mediterranean for many centuries, eventually settling on the island of Malta. It happened in the XVI century, from the same time the order began to be called "Maltese".
In the year 1798, when Napoleon I organized an expedition to Egypt, the French captured Malta. The Knights of the Maltese Order appealed to the Russian Emperor Paul I with the request to take the rank of Grand Master of the Order. Emperor Paul I responded to the proposal received by him consent. 29 November 1798 was issued by the imperial manifesto, which established the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in favor of the Russian nobility, as well as the rules for accepting the Russian nobility in this order. Pavel I himself became the Grand Master of the Order.
The Order of St. John of Jerusalem was included in the award system of the Russian Empire. According to the statute, it was considered the highest military award of the country and was divided into 3 degrees: the Great Commander's Cross is the highest, the 1 degree of the Order; Commander's Cross - medium, 2-I degree of the order; The Cavalier's Cross is the lowest, 3 degree of the order.
The badge of the order was a gold cross, it was covered with a layer of white enamel. In the corners of the cross were stylized lilies. The cross was under the Maltese crown. In form, it was an equidistant cross with ends widened from the center, which forked like a dovetail. At the same time, there was no upper beam at the 3 degree sign. The signs of the 1 and 2 degrees were larger in size, based on a full four-pointed cross. The badges of the 1 and 2 degrees were called the Big and Small Commander's Crosses, respectively.
The cross of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem was fastened in the form of a pendant to a trophy or armature of knight's regalia. Large and small Commander crosses were worn around the neck on a sash of black color (tape width - 6,5 cm). A cavalier's cross (smaller) was worn in the buttonhole of his uniform on his chest. Also, to each degree of the order was a star, which was worn on the chest on the left side. For the award of female representatives, two degrees were envisaged - the Grand Cross and the Small Cross.
For the lower military ranks in the Russian Empire, the so-called “donat” was established - this is a small Maltese cross made of copper on three ends of which (two transverse and lower) was enamel. Starting from 10 in October 1800, this cross commanded non-commissioned officers and soldiers for 20 years of impeccable military service (instead of the insignia of the Order of St. Anne 4 degree).
In the Russian award system, the Order of St. John of Jerusalem existed for only a short time. In many ways, he was associated with the figure of the Russian Emperor Paul I, after the murder of the latter during the conspiracy, the order lost its position. The successor of Emperor Paul I on the Russian throne, Alexander I, first resigned from the Grand Master of the Order, and in 1810 a decree was issued to stop awarding the signs of the Maltese Order. In the 1817 year, after the Committee of Ministers adopted the highest statement that, after the death of the tribal commanders, their heirs do not have the right to this title and do not bear the Signs of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, the branch of the Order in the Russian Empire almost completely ceased to exist. In total, from 1798 to 1817 years in the Russian Empire, about 2 thousands of signs of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem of various degrees were awarded.
Based on materials from open sources
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