The Order of Knights of St. John, otherwise known as the Hospitallers, has existed for almost 900 years. Its origin dates back to the era of the Crusades. Experts usually refer to the scanty report of the chronicler Guillaume of Tyre 1 about a certain Gerard de Martigues from France 2, who stood at the cradle of the order; it was a hospice-hospital (gospitium in the Middle Ages was a shelter for visitors), built around 1070 by merchants from the Italian city of Amalfl on the land of a Benedictine monastery in Jerusalem. Later, they built another monastery in the same place, where they established a shelter for pilgrims. This monastery was dedicated to the seventh-century Patriarch of Alexandria. To John Eleimon. His Greek name was changed by the Latins to John Lemonnier ("the merciful"); from him, it is said, came the name of the Johannites.

Duke Godefroy of Bouillon, the first ruler of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, entrusted Gerard with the task of healing the wounded in the monastery and granted the village of Salsola near Jerusalem to maintain the hospital .3 Gerard asked for knights to help him. Four participants of the First Crusade of 1096-1099 volunteered. They took monastic vows and began to wear the black cloth robe of the Benedictines (later replaced by crimson) with a white cross sewn on the chest. Gerard built a church on the site of a modest chapel and dedicated it to John the Baptist, after which the term "Joannites" was finally established. They took over the care of the pilgrims in Palestine. Canonically, and in compliance with official formalities, the order was sanctioned by the bull of Pope Paschal II of 15 February 1113.4

Identical hospice establishments were built by the Johannites in many other cities of the East, Byzantium and Western Europe, mainly seaside ones, from which pilgrims set off. The Order found them ships, accompanied them to Jerusalem, provided housing, provided food, treated the sick on the way, helped the freed Crusaders from Muslim captivity, and buried the dead. But soon after the First Crusade, these responsibilities faded into the background. Already under the Grand Master Raymond de Puy (1121-1157), the order, which then developed its own charter, 5 turned into a knightly association that retained its monastic appearance. This transformation was due to the tense situation in the East for the Crusaders. In the face of clashes with neighboring Muslim principalities and revolts of the population of Lebanon, Syria and Palestine, 6 the new dukes and counts had to constantly fight, and they needed at least a minimal contingent of soldiers who could also serve as "brothers of mercy" 7 .

Now the main tasks of the Johnites were to defend the Crusader states, expand their borders, and pacify the enslaved local peasantry. Gospi-

1 Willermi Tyrensis. Historia rerum in partibus transmarinis gestarum. In: Recuell des Historiens des Croisades (RHC). T. 1. P. 1844, pp. 822 - 826.

2 Pierredone M. Histoire politique de l'Ordre souverain de Saint-Jean de Jerusalem. T. I. P. 1956, p. XXII; Le Blevec D. Aux origines des hospitalliers de Saint-Jean de Jerusalem Gerard dit "Tenque" et l'etablissement de l'Ordre dans le Midi. - Annales du Midi, Toulouse, 1977, t. 89, N 139, p. 137 sq.

3 Prawer J. Histoire du royaume latin de Jerusalem. T. I. P. 1969, p. 490.

4 Delaville Le Roulx J. Cartulaire generale de l'Ordre des hospitalliers de Jerusalem. T. I. P. 1894, pp. 29 - 30.

5 Prutz H. Kulturgeschichte der Kreuzzuge. Brt. 1883, Beil. Ill, S. 601 - 604.

6 Zaborov M. A. Krestonostsy na Vostoke [Crusaders in the East]. Moscow, 1980, p. 121sl.

7 Jardin P. Les Chevaliers de Malte. Une perpetuelle croisade. P. 1974, p. 27.

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The Tagliere eight-pointed cross symbolized the "eight blessings" promised to the righteous in paradise, and the white color of the cross - mandatory chastity for St. John's 8 . Over time, the order developed into the head unit of the Crusader states and the papal theocracy. The popes granted it all sorts of privileges, removing it from the local secular and ecclesiastical administration and granting it the right to collect tithes in its own favor; bishops could not excommunicate hospitallers from the church and curse their possessions, and the priests of the order were responsible for their actions only to its chapter .9
In the middle of the 12th century, the order consisted of 400 members . The most militant elements of the chivalric freemen willingly joined the monastic corporation. The feudal world of the West agreed to bear the material costs: generous donations were poured into the order's coffers from kings and princes. They did not skimp on land grants. The Order quickly took over hundreds of villages, vineyards, mills, and farmlands. He had a vast domain in the East and West, and tens of thousands of dependent peasants worked on his estates. There were large land complexes that brought substantial incomes to the knights-commanderies. Commanders annually deducted part of the order's income. The administrative-territorial organization and hierarchical structure of the order are formed: the commanderies are combined into balliages (grand commanderies), balliages-into priories and grand priories , 11 the latter - into "languages" or provinces; for example, the "language" of France, where the hospitallers had their first possessions outside of Palestine (the priory of Saint-Gilles in Palestine). Provence), included Champagne, Aquitaine, etc. Current affairs were handled by the Grand Master's council, which was governed by the Holy Chapter, which met every three years.

The order became attractive to both major lords and minor knights. Initially simple (knights, chaplains and squires) order hierarchy gradually became more complex, there was a gradation of subordinate positions and titles: the grand Master was followed by eight pillars of the provinces, followed by their deputies-lieutenants, then bailiffs of three categories, grand priors, priors, etc. Holders of each title receive external insignia. All this encourages the greed and ambition of the younger sons of feudal families. International in composition, the order since the 13th century required all entrants to provide documentary evidence of" noble " origin in several generations12 .

Serving the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which was short of soldiers, the Hospitallers took over strong positions in the East: they settled in fortresses along the pilgrimage roads, guarded the towers of the city's fortifications. In most cities, they had their own barracks houses, and often land ownership; in Acre, Said, Tortosa, and Antioch, they built castles and took over fortresses at strategic points (their system stretched from Edessa to Sinai). The largest lords began to build them, and then transferred the fortresses to the Ioannites, who turned them into impregnable ones.

The most powerful strongholds of the Hospitallers were considered Krak des Chevaliers and Margat. The first one dominated the plain from Tripoli to the Orontes (in the east), was handed over to the Johannts by Count Raymond P of Tripoli, and then was repeatedly completed by them. The bulk of its ruins still stands to this day. A well-known English intelligence officer of the 20th century, T. E. Lawrence, who wrote his thesis "The Influence of the Crusades on Medieval Military Architecture" when he was an Oxford student.-

8 Other accessories of their clothing also had a symbolic meaning: a cloth cape-following the example of the clothes of John the Baptist, woven, according to legend, from camel wool; narrow sleeves - as a sign of renunciation of a free life, and so on (Berg E. A brief history of the Order of Malta. In: Karnovich E. P. Maltese Knights in Russia. A historical story from the time of Paul the Great. St. Petersburg, 1880, pp. 5-6).

9 Riley - Smith J. The Knight of St. John in Jerusalem and Cyprus circa 1050- 1310. Lnd. 1967, p. 425.

10 The Itinerary oi Rabbi Benjamin of Tudela. Vol. I. Lnd. - Brl. 1840, p. 63.

11 By the end of the 13th century, the order had in Europe about 30 priories in France, England, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland (Riley-Snith J. Op. cit., p. 352 sq.).

12 Pierredone M. Op. cit., p. XXIII.

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tectura of Europe", considered Krak "the most amazing fortress in the world" 13 . Surrounded by double walls of cyclopean masonry, along which stood tall towers with embrasures, protected by a moat pierced in the rocks, it covered an area of 2.5 hectares and included residential buildings, the grand master's chamber, guard rooms, grain barns, stables, a mill, bakery and creamery .14 From a well drilled in the mountains, drinking water was supplied through an aqueduct. Its supplies were stored in cisterns cut out of the rocks. Krak could accommodate a 2-thousandth garrison. From 1110 to 1271, it was besieged 13 times, withstood it 12 times, and only in 1271 the Sultan of Mamluk Egypt, Baybars, managed to seize it. Even more impressive was the Margat (Markab) given to the hospitallers of the gr. Raimund III of Tripoli: its area was 4 hectares; built of rock basalt, with double walls and massive towers, it had an underground reservoir and was able to withstand a 5-year siege with a garrison of 1 thousand soldiers. Sultan Qalaun captured this northern bastion of the Ioannites only in 1285, after he had dug under the main tower. Both of these fortresses were typical support bases for the conquest and colonization of foreign lands .15
The Hospitallers became the mobile guard of the Crusader states. Their flying detachments were ready at the first signal to rush wherever they were needed, 16 whether to fight the Arab forces that had invaded from neighboring regions, or to deal with the local farmers who had rebelled. The order's wealth and influence grew. His position in the East became stronger the more the Papal Rome weakened. The Hospitallers were an autonomous corporation and emphasized their independence from barons and bishops, established their own churches, performed rites even in cities under the curse, performed funeral ceremonies for the excommunicated, admitted any persons to their hospitals, bought up all the houses near the "holy sepulchre" in Jerusalem and erected new buildings nearby. More than once they allowed themselves to act boldly in relation to the clergy: during the service in the church of the Holy Sepulchre, they rang out their churches with all their might, drowning out the sermon of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, and in 1155 they committed an armed attack on this church. The Pope, while censuring the order's brethren, nevertheless refused to submit them to the ecclesiastical authorities of Jerusalem .17 The kings also had to reckon with the Ioannites, who were usually in the vanguard or in the rear guard of knight detachments. The number of Hospitallers, together with the Templars (Templars), was almost equal to the number of all the soldiers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem .18
In 1187, after the defeat of the Crusaders by Saladin at Hattin and the capture of Jerusalem, the surviving Hospitallers left the city, in which they held out for 88 years, but along with the templars they remained the only combat-ready force of the knightly states in the East, and acquired important positions in the affairs of their administration, domestic and foreign policy. No responsible step was taken without the order's grand Master's knowledge. Krak des Chevaliers and Margate still remained in his hands, and thanks to their expanded European possessions, the Joannites had considerable funds .19 Meanwhile, as the Crusades wore on, only the Hospitallers seemed oblivious to the change. When the Sultan of Egypt took Jerusalem from the Crusaders for the second time in 1244, the Joannites put up a particularly fierce resistance .20 Having replenished its ranks with fresh forces, the order continued to increase its wealth, engaged in usury and banking operations, invested in real estate and gradually transferred its activity to the sea: it acquired a fleet, took on the transportation of pilgrims for a decent price

13 См.: Fedden R. Krak of the Knight. -History Today, 1952, vol. 2, N 2, p. 84.

14 Fedden R., Thomson J. Crusader Castles. Lnd. 1957, p. 61.

15 Smail R. C. Crusader's Castles of the Twelfth Century. - The Cambridge Historical Journal, 1951, vol. X, N 2, pp. 148 - 149; ejusd. The Crusaders in Syria and the Holy Land. N. Y. - Lnd. 1973, pp. 113 - 115.

16 Richard J. Le royaume latin de Jerusalem. P. 1953, p. 107.

17 Ibid., p. 109.

18 Prawer J. Op. cit., p. 497.

19 Riley - Smith J. Op. cit., p. 89; Richard J. Op. cit., p. 293.

20 A History of the Crusades. Vol. II. Madison-Milwaukee- Lnd. 1969, p. 563.

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For example, it competed with the shipowners of Marseille. From the 13th century, many miniatures with images of his ships plowing the waves of the Mediterranean have come down .21
Pressed by Mamluk Egypt, the order changed its location: Tyre, Margat, Saint-Jean d'Acre 22 . In 1291, the last Crusader stronghold in the East fell in the midst of an escalating feud between the Hospitallers and Templars, born of the greed of both. As early as 1235, Pope Gregory IX reproached the Knights of the Order for not defending Palestine, but hindering it by indulging in quarrels over a mill .23 The hostility of the Hospitallers to the Templars became a byword. The author of an anonymous work from 1274, The Collection of Scandals, wrote sarcastically about the knights monks: "They can't stand each other. The reason for this is greed for worldly goods. What one order gains causes the envy of another. The members of each order individually, as they say, have given up all property, but they want to have everything for everyone. " 24
Having moved to Cyprus, the Ioannites resumed military operations against the Mamluks, making pirate raids on the Lebanese and Syrian coasts, created a military fleet, introduced the post of admiral (it was granted to experienced sailors from Italy), and soon the fleet of the Ioannites surpassed the fleet of the Kingdom of Cyprus. But their privileges, including freedom from paying taxes, and exorbitant claims irritated the local hierarchs. In addition, the order became embroiled in their dynastic disputes .25 In Cyprus, he was treated with hostility, and the grand Master Guillaume Villaray (1296-1305) decided to move to Rhodes, a fertile island with convenient harbors located near Asia Minor. Rhodes nominally belonged to the then weakened Byzantium. During the war with her, the next grand master, Fulk Villare, in 1308, with the assistance of the Genoese corsair V. Vignoli, captured Rhodes 26. In 1310, the residence of the chapter was moved here 27 .

The Johannites held out there for more than two centuries. During this time, the organizational structure of the order was completely formed, which turned into an aristocratic republic headed by a full - fledged grand master who was elected for life (usually from French seigneurs). He controlled a high council of officials composed of the pillars of eight " languages "(Provence, Auvergne, France, Aragon, Castile, Italy, England, Germany), some bailiffs, and a bishop. It became a tradition to assign certain functions to individual pillars: the pillar of France (Grand Hospitaller) was considered the first after the grand master; the pillar of Auvergne (Grand Marshal) he commanded the infantry; the pillar of Provence was the treasurer; the pillar of Aragon was the quartermaster; the pillar of England commanded the light cavalry; the pillar of Germany (the grand bailiff) was responsible for the fortifications; the pillar of Castile (the Grand Chancellor) was, as it were, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and keeper of records .28 Extensive development of the ship's business obscured: the Ioannites adopted the best achievements of the Rhodes sailors, began to build large vessels (with 50 rowers in each of the two rows), use "Greek fire" and make skin armor. Especially famous was the " Sv. Anna", considered the first battleship in history 29 .

The Knights of Rhodes resumed their offensive to the East, capturing the harbor and fortress of Smyrna in 1344 and taking part in the crusade of the Cypriot adventurer King Pierre de Lusignan against Egypt in 1365. The Crusader fleet stormed Alexandria and burned the enemy squadron 30 . After liquidation

21 Richard J. Op. cit., p. 214.

22 Riley - Smith J. Op. cit., p. 197.

23 Waas A. Geschichte der Kreuzzuge. Bd. 2. Freiburg. 1956, S. 27.

24 Ibid., S. 27.

25 Riley - Smith J. Op. cit., pp. 198 - 216.

26 Laiou A. E. Constantinople and the Latin. The Foreign Policy of Andronicus II, 1282 - 1328. Cambridge (Mass.). 1972, p. 228.

27 Lutrell A. The Knight Hospitallers of Rhodes and Their Achievements in the Fourteenth Century. -Revue cie l'Ordre souverain de Malta, 1958, vol. XVI, pp. 136 - 142.

28 Gerada-Azzopardi E. Malta, an Island Republic. S. 1. S. a., p. 157.

29 Jardin P. Op. cit., p. 66.

30 Luke H. The Kingdom of Cyprus, 1291 - 1369. In: A History of the Crusades. Vol. III. 1969, p. 355 sq.; Jardin P. Op. cit., p. 36.

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In 1312, the Knights Templar's property, including the Templars ' Tower in Paris, was transferred to the Knights of Rhodes in accordance with a bull issued by Pope Clement V. The St. Johnites opened a hospital in the tower, but it went down in history primarily because it was placed there in 1792, deposed Louis XVI of Bourbon. With the riches of the Templars, the Hospitallers increased their economic power. In those centuries, they controlled 656 commanderies in Europe .31
In the XIV century. the order had a new dangerous enemy-the Ottomans, who were rushing to the West. After the defeat of knights from many countries at Nicopolis in 1396, where Sultan Bayezid won, the Grand Master of the Ioannites issued 30 thousand ducats from the order's treasury for the ransom of prisoners. In 1453, Sultan Mehmed II captured Constantinople, and in 1454 demanded tribute from the Ioannites. In response, the Order began building new defensive structures. In 1480. Rhodes was besieged by a huge Ottoman army led by the Greek renegade Manuel Palaiologos (Meshi Pasha). Island fortifications were defended and managed to defend the soldiers of all eight "languages". But the victory came at a high price: Rhodes was a pile of ruins .32
The second encounter with the Eastern conquerors occurred in 1522, when Sultan Suleiman II sent 400 ships with a 200-thousandth army there. Grand Master Fabrizio del Coretto invited the famous fortifier B. della Scala from Italy. Under his leadership, the renovation of fortifications began. The next Grand Master is F. de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam continued the work of his predecessor. Supplies of food and weapons were brought from Sicily. When the Ottomans invaded in 1522, the Knights countered them with scorched earth tactics. Only 219 Ioannites fought for Rhodes, the remaining 7.5 thousand were Italian sailors, Cretan archers and native Rhodians. Suleiman II lost about 90 thousand soldiers, but the forces of the defenders were also running out. Finally, Il-Adam ordered all the churches to be blown up so that they would not be desecrated by the invaders, and agreed to capitulate according to the decision of the Council of the order. The Joannites were allowed to take their banners and cannons with them; the survivors were guaranteed safety; Rhodians who did not want to stay could follow the knights, and the rest of the inhabitants were exempt from taxes for five years. The Sultan provided the departing ships for moving to Crete, and the evacuation had to be carried out within 12 days .33
In 1523, the grand Master, the remnants of the knights and 4 thousand Rhodians on fifty ships left Rhodes. Western Europe showed indifference to their fate: the heirs of the Crusaders were represented as the embodiment of a bygone era. At that time, the Italian Wars and the Reformation were in the foreground... The wanderings of the Ioannites lasted seven years. The Grand Master's requests to grant them the islands of Minorca, Cythera, or Elba were rejected. Finally, Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire granted Malta to the Order in 1530, with the intention of protecting its European possessions from the south. The Hospitallers became the sovereign of the island, which was granted to them forever as a fief with all the fortifications, revenues, privileges and the right of supreme jurisdiction. Formally, the Grand Master was considered a vassal of the Kingdom of Both Sicilies and was obliged, in recognition of his dependence, to annually present the viceroy, who represented the suzerain-the crown of Spain, with a sparrowhawk or a hunting falcon. Vassalage was practically irrelevant. Pope Clement VII approved the act of Charles V by bull, and the order soon renamed itself "Sovereign of Malta" .34
The Knights of Malta have since served as a bulwark of feudal Catholic reaction in the fight against "internal enemies", and outside of Europe were the vanguard in the fight against the Ottoman danger at sea. Being in Malta until 1798, the order won a series of victories over Islam and later came to a complete collapse there. 35 years old

31 Gerada-Azzopardi E. Op. cit., p. 157.

32 Rossi E. The Hospitallers at Rhodes, 1421 - 1523. In: A History of the Crusades. Vol. Ill, p. 321 sq.

33 Brockmann E. The Two Sieges of Rhodes, 1480 - 152?.. Lnd. 1969, pp. 58 - 92, 124 - 155; Rossi E. Op. cit., p. 355 sq.

34 Pierredone M. Op. cit., pp. XXV-XXVI.

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later, after the establishment of the Johannites in Malta, the Ottomans tried to dislodge them from there. In 1565, the "great siege" unfolded. 8155 knights fought off the attacks of 48 thousand Ottomans who landed on the island. The military organizer of the Ioannites was Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Valletta, who previously commanded their fleet. The events of the" great siege "were the culmination of the order's military achievements, and it gained a reputation as the" sea shield of Europe " .35 On the mountain of Sceberras in 1566, a new fortified capital was founded in honor of this victory, and it was named after its still preserved name - La Valletta. Commemorative medals were minted with the image of the city plan, the inscription "Reborn Malta", indicating the year and day of the event 36 . And in 1571, the ships of the Knights of Malta as part of the Venetian - Spanish fleet helped defeat the Turkish fleet at Lepanto. This triumph marked the end of Turkish supremacy in the Mediterranean.

For a long time, the Order of Malta served as a "policeman" in the Mediterranean, chasing pirate ships. At the same time, the Ioannites were drawn into the channel of colonial conquests. In the 17th century. they reoriented their politics to France and, in particular, became involved in the colonization of Canada. Increasing their wealth, the Knights of Malta did not forget about the authority of the "brothers of mercy": in 1573, a large hospital was opened in La Valletta; since the XVIII century, it received up to four thousand patients annually. It was then the largest hospital in Europe. As early as the 15th century, the order created the position of infirmary - "chief orderly", usually from the French. Then in Malta, this position became one of the highest. The situation in which the order brothers lived on a barren, rocky island, exposed to winds all year round and almost devoid of drinking water, forced them to take care of improving the environment. Grand Master K. Vdnyakur (1601 - 1622) implemented measures to provide the population with drinking water and carried out drainage works. As a result, the previously frequent epidemics disappeared.

The riches of the" marine policemen " grew, but they also destroyed the order. The international situation was unfavorable for the Knights of Malta, and as a factor in political life, it gradually lost its former significance. France considered that a state of undeclared perpetual war between the Order and the Porte was undesirable. French absolutism was moving closer to Turkey, and the continent was trying to calm down the pugnacious island army in order to avoid complicating relations in the Mediterranean .37 The services of the Order were no longer needed. Meanwhile, enrichment has already become an end in itself for the Maltese guardians of Catholicism. Carried away by the pursuit of wealth, they increasingly openly led a way of life that was far from the Christian " ideal." The highest ranks of the order were awash in luxury. Often the "monks of war" preferred idleness to military exploits. The fleet has died out 38 .

The order became the envy of Catholic monarchs, who coveted its wealth, and increasingly compromised itself in broad public opinion. Its reputation was negatively affected by the eternal conflicts of pillars, which reflected pan-European conflicts. In the face of increased rivalry between the great Powers in the Mediterranean, even a minor naval battle won by the Knights of Malta against the Ottomans caused irritation in the ruling circles of France and Spain.

In the very organization of the order, which has always been the mainstay of the papacy, there were centrifugal tendencies that first emerged in the Reformation era. As early as 1539, the knights of 7 of the 13 commanderies of the Brandenburg Bailiff converted to Lutheranism. An evangelical, essentially independent, branch of the St. Johnites was formed. Subsequently, to this baliage, in which from the second half of the XVIII century. ruled

35 Bradford E. The Great Siege 1565. Lnd. 1961; Cassar B., Olivier B. The Shield of Europe. Lnd. 1977.

36 Подробнее см.: Hughes J. Q. The Buildung of Malta during the Period of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, 1530 - 1795. Lnd. 1956; Luke H. Malta. Lnd. 1960; Blouet B. The Story of Malta. Lnd. 1967.

37 Gerada-Azzopardi E. Op. cit., p. 173.

38 Cavaliero R. The Last of the Crusaders. The Knight of St. John and Malta in the XVIIIth Century. Lnd. I960, p. 38.

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Hohenzollerns, joined the Swedish, Dutch, Finnish and Swiss order nobility. Its relations with Malta were interrupted, although officially, under the agreements of 1763-1764, Baljage, with its capital in Sonnenburg, was recognized as part of the Order, subject to payment of contributions to its treasury. 39 The English "language" also experienced difficult vicissitudes, until in the second half of the XVIII century the Grand Priory was restored as an Anglican branch of the order, which was also practically not subject to Malta .40 By the end of the 18th century, the once integral military monastic community had split into three corporations.

A decisive blow to the order was dealt by the French bourgeois Revolution of the late XVIII century, which deprived the knights of their possessions in France. The decrees of 1789 (the abolition of tithes, confiscation and sale of church property) crushed the wealth of the Maltese domain. The elite of the order, which was no longer a sovereign, military power , or religious corporation, and had become "an institution for maintaining the idleness of the younger scions of a few privileged families," 41 fiercely resisted the revolution. Grand Master E. de Rohan extolled the historical merits of the order, proved the illegality of the actions of the Constituent Assembly, and sent protests to all countries. The order's ambassador in Paris, Bailli Virieu, printed pamphlet after pamphlet in defense of the Knights of Malta. Malta became a haven for the counter-revolutionary aristocracy. Relatives of distinguished knights from France came there, and the order did not skimp on expenses for them .42
Somewhat later, the Russian Emperor Paul I, intimidated by the bourgeois revolution, turned his eyes to Malta. He hatched a plan to restore it as a tool against the revolution, but under the auspices of the autocracy .43 Even in his youth, the tsar was interested in the history of the Order of Malta. The diary of S. A. Poroshin, a teacher of Paul I, contains the following entries from February 28 and March 4, 1765: "I read to His Highness... a story about the Order of the Knights of Malta. He then amused himself by tying his Admiralty flag to the cavalry and presenting himself as the Cavalier of Malta... He presented himself as the Ambassador of Malta. " 44 Paul knew that his mother Catherine II, during the war with Turkey in 1768-1774, tried to attract Malta to an alliance with Russia. In 1776, while still the heir to the throne, Paul established an invalid home in St. Petersburg in honor of the order; the Maltese cross was displayed above the entrance. 45
In the mid-1790s, the order's elite showed a desire for rapprochement with Russia. The bailiff gr. is going to St. Petersburg. Litta, who served as a naval adviser at the court of Catherine II, was a Milanese who knew the entrances and exits of the Winter Palace well. Acting through him, Grand Master de Rohan invited Paul to become the patron saint of the order. Litta painted before the tsar the prospect of turning the order he patronized into a bulwark in the struggle of the united nobility of Europe against the "hated Jacobinism". Paul himself tried to revive the idealized image of medieval "soldiers of the Lord" and conservative ideas of chivalry as opposed to ideas of freedom, equality, and fraternity .46 He welcomed 7,000 French emigrants and soon agreed to establish the Russian Grand Priory of the Order of Malta.

The order's efforts to enlist the tsar's support increased when Baron F. was elected Grand Master. Gompesh, the first German at the head of the order, who later turned out to be its last chief in Malta. He begged Paul to take the order under his protection. The tsar was seduced not only by the prospect of realizing his foreign policy goals.-

39 Pierredone M. Op. cit., p. XXVIII.

40 In 1888, Queen Victoria declared herself head of the English Order, making him Grand Prior to Prince Edward VII of Wales. Now this post is traditionally held by the Duke of Gloucester, but the highest leader is Queen Elizabeth II (Engel C. E. Les Chevaliers de Malte. P. 1972, p. 313).

41 Luke H. Malta, p. 111.

42 Jardin P. Op. cit., pp. 288 - 289.

43 Okun ' S. B. Istoriya SSSR, 1796-1825. l.1948, p. 37.

44 Cit. by: Eidelman N. The Edge of Centuries, M. 1982, p. 74.

45 Okun S. B. Uk. op., p. 40; Shumigorsky E. S. Imperator Pavel I. Life and reign. St. Petersburg, 1907, p. 107.

46 Eidelman N. Uk. soch., p. 71.

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but also such aspects as the medieval appearance of the order, which corresponded to the autocrat's predilection for hierarchical order, discipline, regalia, titles, magnificent attributes, mysticism and symbolic ceremonies .47 In 1797, a convention was signed with the order: Paul took it under his patronage, established the Great Volhynia Priory with 10 commanderies for persons of the Roman Catholic faith, and allowed knights to own lands in Russia that were transferred in the form of donations. The first Russian knights of the order were French emigrants-the Prince of Conde, the Duke of Enghien and others, actively supported by gr. Litta48 . The tsar ordered 300 thousand gold pieces to be issued annually from the treasury for the needs of the priorstz, including 12 thousand to the order's treasury in Malta. As a token of gratitude, Gompesh sent the king a cross and the relics of St. John the Baptist. St. John, who was considered the highest patron of the order.

On May 19, 1798, Bonaparte's 35,000-strong expeditionary force sailed with 300 ships from Toulon to Egypt. Understanding the strategic importance of Malta, the French commander did not want to allow a hostile force to remain in his rear. He was aware of the order's difficult situation. Its upper ranks were torn apart by strife, and the knights ' position in Malta was already severely undermined. As early as 1775, a local uprising against feudal oppression broke out there. It was suppressed, but the social atmosphere remained tense, despite some of de Rohan's reforms .49 Maltese residents enthusiastically embraced the slogans of the French Revolution and identified with it the landing of Bonaparte's troops on the island. They started a new revolt against the Johannites, and soon the French captured Malta without a fight. Suzerainty over it passed to France;

knights were given the option to leave or stay. The remaining 260 turned out, 53 of them considered it good to go over to Bonaparte's side and form the Maltese Legion during the Egyptian campaign. The act of surrender guaranteed a pension for all the Johnites. The Order was "homeless"for the third time in its history. Gompesh's surrender angered Pavel. The tsar's anger deepened when the French expelled a Russian envoy from the island. Admiral Ushakov's Black Sea squadron, which was heading for the Mediterranean to act against the French Fleet 50, received additional instructions in connection with Malta. Paul called together the members of the Volhynia Priory, the Knights of the Grand Cross, and the Knights of the Holy Cross. St. John, representing various "languages" in St. Petersburg, to an extraordinary meeting. Its participants declared Gompesh deposed and appealed to the tsar to accept the order under his rule. Paul did this by an official decree, promising in a special manifesto to preserve the institutions of the order, to protect its privileges, and to restore it to the level at which it once stood. St. Petersburg was declared the seat of all the "assemblies of the Order". Then Paul was elected grand master. On the Admiralty wing from January 1 to January 12, 1799, the scarlet and white eight-pointed cross banner of the Order fluttered. The Maltese cross was included in the state coat of arms of Russia, adorning the chest of a double-headed eagle, and in the badges of guards regiments. The same cross received the meaning of the order awarded for merit, and became a sign of the highest monarch's grace. So at the head of the Catholic Order of St. John turned out to be an Orthodox ruler 51 .

The vacant posts of the pillars of the eight "languages" were replaced by Russians, and a Grand Orthodox Priorship was established out of 88 commanderies .52 In the council of the order, Paul introduced Tsarevich Alexander and representatives of the highest nobility of Russia, who were granted hereditary commanderies. In the absence of heirs, the revenues from the commanderies went to the order's treasury, intended for the reconquest of Malta and the suppression of the "revolutionary contagion". The emperor assigned gr. F. A. Rostopchin to conduct the order's affairs. The Order's chapter was granted the former palace of the Counts Vorontsov, which became the "Castle of the Knights of Malta"; the personal Guard was established

47 Ibid., pp. 69, 76 pp.

48 Shumigorsky E. S. Uk. soch., pp. 107, 141.

49 Cavaliero R. Op. cit., p. 154 sq.; Gerada-Azzopardi E. Op. cit., p. 178.

50 For more information, see: Admiral Ushakov. Doc. t. 2. Moscow, 1952.

51 Shumigorsky E. S. Uk. soch., p. 148.

52 Pierrdone M. Op. cit., p. 229.

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grand master of the 198 cavalry guards, dressed in velvet crimson superweights with white crosses on the chest 53 . Among other nobles, the commander of the order was the commandant of St. Petersburg A. A. Arakcheev, about which the capital's wits said: "It was not enough that he was made a troubadour." I. P. Kutaisov, Pavel's closest courtier, former valet, then count, a Muslim Turk by birth, also achieved the command and title of Knight of the Grand Cross (although according to the rules of the order, a candidate for knighthood was required to have documents about 150 years of belonging to a noble family and a certificate from the Ecclesiastical Consistory about the Christian faith) .54
When Pope Pius VI was informed of the election of a new grand master of the order, he declared this act illegal: after all, the king is a schismatic, and also married. Meanwhile, Paul decided to entrust the Ioannites with the reorganization of the Russian army and navy .55 The emigrant aristocracy strongly encouraged the tsar. Louis Comte de Provence (the future Louis XVIII), who lived in Mitave, received grand crosses of the Order of Malta from Paul for himself and the crown princes, and 11 other seigneurs were awarded Commander's crosses .56 But the tsar was soon shaken by a startling event: the fleet of England, an ally of Russia, blockaded Malta, and when its governor, who ruled on behalf of France, capitulated, the British flag was hoisted in La Valletta. The return of the island to the Order was out of the question .57 All Paul had left was the crown and staff of the Grand Master. The tsar immediately recalled the Russian ambassador in London, gr. The British ambassador in St. Petersburg, Lord Wordsworth, offered to leave Russia and made a rapprochement with Bonaparte, who agreed to return Malta to the order, and in recognition of his grand master presented Paul with a sword that Pope Leo X had once given to one of the former grand masters. 58
Paul changes his foreign policy course: yesterday's ally England turns into an enemy. In December 1800, the tsar sent a personal letter to Napoleon, the first Consul of France. Litta has been disgraced, and French emigrants are being driven out of Russia. After the death of Paul on the night of March 12, 1801, the new Tsar Alexander I hastened to get rid of the order: retaining the title of protector, he refused to become grand master, and in 1817 abolished hereditary commanderies, and the Order of Malta ceased to exist in Russia 59 .

After further wanderings, the order found a new residence in Rome in 1834. For most of the nineteenth century. he lived modestly in Roman palazzi, although his delegates were resplendent in regalia at various international congresses. The German-Evangelical and Anglican branches that had previously branched off from him were equally inconspicuous. Only at the end of the nineteenth century did the clerical reaction bring the Order of Malta back to life. Now the Joannites have come out in the guise of benefactors and servants of charity .60 The order became a kind of "Red Cross" of international clerical circles and a philanthropic organization with a clear class orientation: "crusading activity" began to be carried out in a modern way.

The heirs of the Hospitallers (there are now 10,000 of them) still consider themselves to be on an "incessant crusade." 61 At chapter meetings, the highest ranks still appear in scarlet uniforms with gold embroidery and with all the regalia. The order has 5 grand priories, 14 comradeships in Europe and 13 abroad.-

53 Brushlinskaya O., Mikheleva B. Knight's masquerade at the court of Paul I. - Science and Religion, 1973, N 9, p. 68.

54 Eidelman N. Uk. soch., p. 83.

55 Jardin P. Op. cit., p. 296.

56 Pierredone M. Qp. cit., p. 247.

57 See for more details: Trukhanovsky V. G. Admiral Nelson, Moscow, 1980.

58 Shumigorsky E. S. Uk. op., p. 182; Okun S. B. Uk. op., p. 83.

59 Manfred A. Z. Napoleon Bonaparte, Moscow, 1971, pp. 341, 358-359.

60 These aspects are covered in: Hume E. E. Medical Work of the Knight Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem. Baltimore. 1940; Jardin P. Le service de sante de l'Ordre Saint-Jean de Jerusalem. Nantes. 1972.

61 Jardin P. Les Chevaliers, p. 17; Ordre S. M. H. de Malte. A Modern Crusade. Publication de l'Ordre de Malte. Rome. S. A. (S. M. H.-abbreviated official name of the order - L'Ordre Souverain ei Militaire des Hospitalliers).

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The Roman Curia and the 40 states with which it maintains diplomatic relations recognize it as sovereign, although this "sovereign" has not had its own territory for almost 200 years, apart from two palaces in Rome. Among the members of the order at one time appeared Prince Oscar of Hohenzollern, close to the Hitler elite, Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus VI; now it consists of former French President V. Giscard d'Estaing, Belgian King Baudouin 62 ...

Having adapted to the capitalist reality, the order, however, lost its elitist and aristocratic character. Previously, a novice was required to provide proof of his or her nobility (in 8 generations for Italians, in 4 for Aragonese and Castilians, in 16 for Germans, etc.); now the lower levels of the hierarchy are filled by people of simple origin, also exempt from monastic vows. The latter remained valid only for knights of the highest ranks, still recruited from titled families, now associated with large capital. When the St. Johnites describe their current activities as a modern crusade, the question arises: against whom? The answer is: against the enemies of Christian civilization. Reactionary clericalism refers to them the world socialist system, the workers', communists 'and national liberation movements, and it is precisely the struggle against them that constitutes the real content of the" crusading " actions of imperialist reaction today .63 Just in the wake of such a "crusade", the activity of the "knights of St. Nicholas" is now taking place. St. John's" veiled by philanthropy and supposedly free from politics "universal" motives.

First of all, the Ioannites are constantly concerned about the renegades from the countries of socialism. The Order's 14 European associations include Hungary, Poland, and Romania; the five Grand priories include Bohemia (i.e., the Czech Republic). Each mention of them among the order's divisions is accompanied in its documents by a note: "Members of such and such an association operate in exile and cooperate with their brethren in the countries where they are concentrated." The Romanian association has the task of providing assistance to emigrants and delivering parcels to "fellow citizens and their families" in Romania; the Polish association maintains a hotel in Rome; the Hungarian association is engaged in activities similar to those of the Romanian association; the Polish service of the Rhenish - Westphalian Association is called "Christmas Gifts for Families Expelled from Silesia" 64 . Material and moral support for the enemies of the socialist system acting against it from outside and from within - this is one of the main directions of the" crusader " philanthropy of the St. Johnites.

As for the "crusade" against the workers ' and democratic movement, the German-evangelical companion of the Order of Malta, revived by the descendants of Junker families and big capital of Germany, and found refuge in Bonn, is most active here. Consisting of 2,500 people and headed by Prince Wilhelm-Karl Hohenzollern since 1958, it has eight major hospitals and sanatoriums in Germany and branches in other countries. The activities of its Swiss branch vividly characterize the ideological and political orientation of the current Knights of Malta: in the land of Upper Zurich, in the village of Saint-Petersburg. Bubicon, since 1936, the Knight's House-Museum of the Order, its scientific, propaganda and publishing center has been functioning 65 . Every year there are meetings of St. Johnites-members of the Bubicon Society, grouped around the museum, with readings of apologetic essays on the history of the Crusades and the Order of the 66 .

The source of the order's financial resources is mainly donations, as well as income from exhibitions, concerts, etc. with the support of the Russian Orthodox Church.-

62 Espresso, 28.VI.1981.

63 About this: Zaborov M. A. The concept of crusades in history, politics, literature. Voprosy istorii, 1981, No. 11.

64 Jardin P. Les Chevaliers, pp. 418, 423 - 425.

65 Lehmann L. Das Johanniterhaus Bubikon. Zurich. 1947.

66 See, e.g., Beck M. Die geschichtliche Bedeutung cier Kreuzzuge. -Jahrhefte der Ritterhausgesellschaft Bubikon, 1953, Hf. 16; Thielen P. G. Der Deutsche Orden. - Ibid.. 1958, Hf. 21.

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The order managed to return some of its former real estate to its patrons from junker-monopolistic and ecclesiastical-aristocratic circles. The goal that the Johannites still set for themselves is to cause all kinds of evil to the " enemies of Christ." They especially try to spread their influence in the work environment. They have, for example, a large hospital in the Ruhr, serving annually about 16 thousand miners and workers of chemical plants. It is precisely where "the health and soul of the miner" is concerned that, judging by the confessions of the highest ranks of the order, there is a close connection between healing and the propaganda influence of clericalism .67 Today, according to the old formula, these "philanthropists" preach "hostility to infidels" - communists, left-wing social democrats, advanced trade unionists who defend the interests of the working class, and they also widely appeal to young people and women. There is an organization of the Sisters of St. John, created after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. The medical care provided by the hospitallers is intertwined with sophisticated clerical agitation in an anti-communist spirit among the patients.

The third most important object to which the Knights of Malta extend their "concerns" is the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. The list of charitable and medical institutions that the order owns there includes dozens of names. A special service of St. John's is the "International Assistance of the Sovereign Magistrate of the Order of Malta to assist missions and fight against hunger, want and darkness" in the "third world"countries. With substantial funds, the St. Johnites today either act as direct henchmen of Catholic missionaries, or perform similar tasks in their goals, not skimping on the costs of organizing kindergartens, summer camps, hospitals, dispensaries, training staff and students from underdeveloped countries. Two Hospitaller foundations have been established in Rome for this purpose: "For God" in the framework of the International University of Social Studies and at the Villa Nazareth Institute. There is a pediatric service of the Order in Bogota (Colombia).

In many countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America where the population suffers from serious diseases, hospitallers take measures against their spread by setting up leper colonies, dispensaries, and treatment institutes (in Burma, Senegal, Gabon, Congo, Uganda, Guatemala, and Madagascar). At the same time, hundreds of St. Johnites facilitate pilgrimages to Lourdes and other "holy places" of Catholicism, contributing to the planting of religious obscurantism. The Order of Malta occasionally sends food and medicine to the populations of former French colonies in order to maintain the influence of the former "host country"there. It is significant, however, that in 1962 the French association of the order took under its care several hundred colonialists thrown out of Algeria by its people: the knights, as "brothers of mercy", met them at the capital's Orly airfield and immediately settled them in one of their hotels.

In recent years, some of the order's top leaders have entered into carefully concealed connections with international neo-fascism, with the notorious P-2 Masonic lodge. Information was leaked to the press that the Order of Malta's ambassador to Switzerland, Banker Ortolani, was involved in the escape of the leader of this lodge, "Magister" L. Jelly, from a Geneva prison in the summer of 1983,68 Although the latest pages in the history of the Order of Malta have not yet been written in detail, it is clear that it is still in the camp of those who seek to delay the progress of humanity on the path of social progress.

67 Jahrhefte der Ritterhausgesellschaft Bubikon, 1950, Hf. 14, S. 16.

68 Zamoyskiy L. Magister collects battalions. - Literaturnaya gazeta, 21. IX. 1983, p. 10.

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