[KH] Knights Hospitaller *RECRUITING*

TITLE I
THE ORDER AND ITS NAT U R E
ART I C L E 1
Origin and Nature of the Order
P a r. 1 — The Sovereign Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes,
and of Malta, arose from a group of hospitallers of the Hospice of Saint John of
J e rusalem who had been called upon by circumstances to augment their original
charitable enterprise with military service for the defence of pilgrims to the Holy
Land and of Christian civilization in the East. It is a lay religious Ord e r, by tradition
military, chivalrous and nobiliary, which in time became sovereign on the islands
of Rhodes and later of Malta.
P a r. 2 — In nations where it exercises its activity in virtue of its rights or of intern ational
conventions, the Ord e r’s stru c t u re comprises: Grand Priories, Priories, Subpriories
and National Associations.
P a r. 3 — In this Constitution and in the Code the Sovereign Military Order of Malta is
also re f e rred to as “the Order of Malta” or simply as “the Order”.
P a r. 4 — In the rules which follow, the Grand Priories and the National Associations are
also re f e rred to as Priories and Associations. The term Code refers to the Code
of the Ord e r.
ART I C L E 2
P u r p o s e
P a r. 1 — The purpose of the Order is the promotion of the glory of God through the sanctification
of its members, service to the faith and to the Holy Father, and assistance
to one’s neighbour, in accordance with its ancient traditions.
P a r. 2 — True to the divine precepts and to the admonitions of our Lord Jesus Christ,
guided by the teachings of the Church, the Order aff i rms and propagates the
Christian virtues of charity and bro t h e rhood. The Order carries out its charitable
works for the sick, the needy and refugees without distinction of re l i g i o n ,
race, origin and age.
The Order fulfils its institutional tasks especially by carrying out hospitaller
works, including social and health assistance, as well as aiding victims of exceptional
disasters and of war, attending also to their spiritual well-being and the
s t rengthening of their faith in God.
P a r. 3 — In order to be able to perf o rm their institutional tasks, the Priories and Associations
may, according to the regulations of the Code, establish dependent org a nizations
in accordance with national laws and international conventions and
a g reements made with States.
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ART I C L E 3
S o v e re i g n t y
P a r. 1 — The Order is a subject of international law and exercises sovereign functions.
P a r. 2 — Legislative, executive and judicial functions are re s e rved to the competent bodies
of the Order according to the provisions of the Constitution and Code.
ART I C L E 4
Relations with the Apostolic See
P a r. 1 — The Order is a legal entity recognized by the Holy See.
P a r. 2 — Religious members through their vows, as well as members of the Second Class
t h rough the Promise of Obedience, are only subject to their appropriate Superiors
in the Ord e r.
In accordance with the Code of Canon Law, the churches and conventual institutions
of the Order are exempt from the jurisdiction of the dioceses and are
d i rectly subject to the Holy See.
P a r. 3 — In the conduct of relations with the Apostolic See, the acquired rights, customs
and privileges granted to the Order by the Supreme Pontiffs are in force unless
e x p ressly abro g a t e d .
P a r. 4 — The Supreme Pontiff appoints as his re p resentative to the Order a Cardinal of
the Holy Roman Church on whom are conferred the title of C a rdinalis Patro n u s
and special faculties. The C a rdinalis Patro n u s has the task of promoting the spiritual
interests of the Order and its members and relations between the Holy See
and the Ord e r.
P a r. 5 — The Order has diplomatic re p resentation to the Holy See, according to the norm s
of international law.
P a r. 6 — The religious nature of the Order does not prejudice the exercise of sovere i g n
p re rogatives pertaining to the Order in so far as it is recognized by States as a
subject of international law.
ART I C L E 5
S o u rces of the Ord e r’s Law
The sources of the Ord e r’s law are :
1 – the Constitution, the Code of the Order and, as an adjunct, canonical legislation;
2 – the legislative provisions according to Art. 15, par. 2, a) of the Constitution;
3 – i n t e rnational agreements ratified according to Art. 15, par. 2, h) of the Constitut
i o n ;
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4 – its customs and privileges;
5 – the Code Rohan where not in contradiction to current norm s .
ART I C L E 6
Flags, Insignia and Armorial Bearings
of the Ord e r
P a r. 1 — The flag of the Order bears either the white latin cross on a red field or the white
eight - pointed cross (cross of Malta) on a red field.
P a r. 2 — The armorial bearings of the Order display a white latin cross on a red oval
field, surrounded by a ro s a ry, all superimposed on a white eight - pointed cro s s
and displayed under a princely mantle surmounted by a cro w n .
P a r. 3 — A special regulation, approved by the Grand Master with the deliberative vote
of the Sovereign Council, defines the characteristics and the use of the flags,
the insignia and the armorial bearings of the Ord e r.

The Kingdom of Veluca
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