Publisher's Synopsis
This volume starts with a presentation of the problems caused by the coexistence of a confusing number of Orders of St. John, all of them basing their lineage on the original Order, formed around 1118, which would never have ended. - This energy consuming issue, concerning the false Orders of St. John, seems mainly caused by the Alliance Order that does not allow other organizations of St. John to connect on equal footing with the charitable concept of St. John, developed since the late 19th century, but returning to the romanticized idealistic starting phase of the 11th century, when Raimondo of Podio Governor of St. John of Acre, founder of the Militia of St. John, founded the original Order of St. John. - On February 15, 1113, Pope Paschal II sent to Brother Gerardo Sasso the Bull 'Pie postulatio voluntatis' which granted the new institution the pontifical patronage, and transformed the community of Friars in a new religious order; a split of a religious confraternity sponsored by the Pontifical State. - Many believe that the roots of the Order of Saint John are from this congregation of Friars, defining them as friars in arms, not is so, Raimondo of Podio already Governor of St. John of Acre and former General of Goffredo di Buglione, in 1118, drawing on the nobility of this brotherhood, he constituted the Order on a military basis. Giving it the form of the Costume and Rules. - In spite of the fact that much of the history sustained and sponsored by the SMOM Alliance of the Orders of Saint John is an obvious and misleading reconstruction, as it is today, that is the basis of endless claims and battles between the Orders of Saint John. - The issues appear to be not purely academic, because in various countries lawsuits were and are being conducted about it. Then let's look into the subject of the study more closely, i.e. how to determine when an Order of St. John is legitimate. In this context, a number of observations is necessarily devoted to the important, but difficult subject of legitimacy. - Hereafter, a number of questions of an historical-legal nature are formulated and a 'status quaestionis' is provided. The issues appear to have been studied more or less by various authors, but not always systematically, while also more than once polemic treatment seems to occur. For these reasons, the author deemed it necessary to prepare this study. It is hoped that it will be regarded as an objective contribution and a responsible attempt to wider debate, as well as a helping to those who, might be called upon to determine the legitimacy of an Order of St. John. - The method used is historical-legal, as well as inductive, in which an Order, qualified by many as an important false Order of St. John, was selected as departure point. A critical look at the historical developments, several Orders disputing each other's legitimacy, the creation of The International Alliance of Orders Of St. John 'SMOM.' - Contain a critical historical/legal analysis of developments in the history of the original Order, respectively of the phenomenon of Orders of St. John, deemed of importance for this study. This history is subdivided into more or less traditional phases. In this context, connected to the indicated historical developments in each phase, various remarks are made. - Based on legal historical analysis and by using the American-Russian Order as a case study, tools are provided to enable critical verification of the criteria applied by various Orders of St. John with regard to their legitimacy claims and to stab the possible myth building. The author hopes to have developed an instrument which may be of use to better determine the legal-historical aspects and legitimacy claims of these religious 'chivalric Orders' and similar associations
