well everyone why am i writing this its because i want everyone to know what kind of organization st. john ambulance is. and why i spent 9 years with them
Nearly one thousand years of history make the original religious Order of St. John, represented today by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, one of the oldest charitable organizations still in existence in the world today. Today’s Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem was confirmed by Royal Charter of Queen Victoria in 1888 to perpetuate the traditions of the original Order.
For generations, Christian pilgrims made an arduous journey by ship, horseback and on foot through hostile lands to arrive at the Holy City of Jerusalem. Often persecuted and weary, the pilgrims found comfort in hostels, which offered care of the sick and injured. These early hospitals were destroyed and rebuilt many times, often at the order of existing rulers in the region.
In 1080, a new hospital for pilgrims was formed in Jerusalem. Attended by Benedictine Monks, the hospital was the rallying point for the unified forces. Warrior knights from across Europe came to the aid of pilgrims and joined the Monks under a white cross banner.
Throughout the centuries, bitter struggles shaped the development of the Order of St. John. From its beginnings in the Holy Land, the hospitallers followed knights to the Mediterranean where they grew into a vital naval force. Forced to continuously move from one stronghold to another over the generations, the Order established a hospital in each new homeland.
One of the key events in the Order’s history was in 1113 when Pope Paschal acknowledged the Hospital as an independent entity. Between 1135 and 1154 the Hospital became ‘exempt’, freeing it from local interference and allowing it to act as an international institution.
The first militarized Order was actually that of the Temple of Jerusalem – the Brothers of the Hospital did not assume military functions until after the foundation of the Templars, which was militarized from the beginning. They took up military functions to protect the pilgrims around 1130.
Following the loss of its territorial possession of the island of Malta the Order abandoned its military functions; from the early nineteenth century, the Order was solely devoted to acts of charity and hospital work.
1080
Benedictine Monks served in the Jerusalem hospital, caring for knights and pilgrims injured in battle.
1099
Jerusalem was captured during the First Crusade. The victorious Crusaders were cared for by the religious Brothers of the Hospital. In gratitude, the returning Crusaders and new recruits to the Order bestowed land and buildings to provide an endowment for the hospital and finance its work.
1113
The hospital was reorganized as an independent Order of Hospitallers, whose patron saint was St. John the Baptist, by Pope Paschal II, making it the oldest lay religious Order of the Roman Catholic Church.
1126-36
The Order assumed military protection of the pilgrims while maintaining its hospital function. Members become known as the Knights of St. John or the Knights Hospitaller. The original knights were drawn from the feudal knightly class, augmented by Serving Brothers and Sisters.
1291
The Hospitallers were driven from the Holy Land after two centuries of battling with Moslems and other rival factions. The Hospitallers who wore the White Cross sailed to Cyprus where they briefly established their headquarters, while many of the Brothers returned to their countries of origin to expand local Grand Priories and Commanderies.
1306-09
The Knights Hospitallers captured Rhodes, notorious as a base for pirates preying upon Mediterranean ships. The Hospitallers established a new hospital and headquarters. For the next 200 years, they protected shipping with their fleet of galleys.
1312
The Order of the Temple of Jerusalem was definitely suppressed with its Grand Master and some leading knights burned at the stake—the false accusations made to justify this massacre were part of a power struggle between the Order and major powers, notably France. Its extensive properties in much of Western Europe were conferred upon the Order of the Hospitallers, which was vastly enriched by this act.
1444-1480
The Knights of Rhodes successfully repulsed an overwhelming Moslem invading force.
1523
The Knights, despite a valiant defence of their island home, were finally defeated and expelled from Rhodes by overwhelmingly powerful Moslem forces. For seven years they were without a permanent home.
1530
Emperor Charles V as King of Sicily offered the island of Malta to the Knights as an immediate fief, for which annual homage was paid. They fortified themselves against the constant threat from Moslem pirates and the Ottoman Sultan, suffering continual assaults. These culminated in the Great Siege of 1565.
1525-40
The Protestant Reformation led to the suppression and confiscation of the Order’s hospitals and properties in Northern Europe. In Scandinavia the Order was suppressed completely, as in England where King Henry VIII waited until 1540 before seizing the Order’s property and executing some of the Order’s English knights.
1559-60
The Order was briefly restored by Queen Mary, but in 1559, its properties were seized again and several knights returned to Malta where they served with distinction at the great Siege of 1565. In Germany, the Markgraf of Brandenburg allowed the converted Knights of the Bailiwick of Brandenburg to continue their Order, as a Protestant foundation, which was the predecessor of the modern Johanniter Order. In Scotland the Order was unaffected by the Reformation until 1560 when the leading Scottish Knight, the Preceptor of Torphichen, declared his own conversion and resigned the Order’s properties to the Crown.
1560-1790
In the succeeding 230 years, the knights continued their mission in the Mediterranean, defending shipping against pirates and continuing their work with the poor and sick. The knights were also among the first settlers in Quebec, and their role in the development of the French colony was significant. (see St. John Ambulance, Vital in Canada).
1798[DDJ3]
French forces under General Bonaparte captured Malta and expelled the knights, ending the military activities of the Hospitallers.
1826-27
As the result of an initiative of a group of English gentlemen and French knights, a private institution was formed in England under the name Order of St. John. The group gradually expanded activities as hospitallers in a humanitarian organization. This body was unsuccessful in obtaining official recognition of the Lieutenant-Grand Masters of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, whose headquarters had been established first in Sicily, then Rome.
1870
The new foundation, using the name Order of St. John, offered ambulance support in the field during the Franco-Prussian war, but this offer was not taken up.
1877
The Order in England formed the St. John Ambulance Association to teach first aid, ambulance transport of casualties, home nursing and related subjects.
1879
The standing of the Order of St. John was considerably enhanced by the admission of the Princess of Wales, then her husband the future Edward VII.
1883
Thanks to the prestige of its royal connections, the Order founded the St. John Ophthalmic Hospital in Jerusalem.
1888
Queen Victoria granted a Royal Charter to the Order, establishing it as the Grand Priory of England, with the Prince of Wales as the first Grand Prior, under the symbol of the Hospitallers’ eight-pointed white cross, together with the Royal Beasts (Lion and Unicorn).
1895
Volunteers in the St. John Ambulance Association formed the Brigade, echoing the historic traditions of the Order.
1926
In 1926 the structure of the Order was reorganized with the abolition of Knight Commanders. Bailiffs Grand Cross was the highest rank, then Knights and Dames, Commanders, and Officers, followed by Serving Brothers and Sisters. The distinction between Knights of Justice and Grace continued to be maintained, as a remembrance of the Order’s nobility traditions.
1927-2001
Over the succeeding decades Priories were founded in Canada, Wales, Scotland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
the symbol of st. john ambulance is the 8 pointed cross. and the queen of england is the figure head of the organization. below is what each point of the cross stands for
# OBSERVANT : that he may note the causes and signs of injury.
# TACTFUL : that he may, without thoughtless questions, learn the symptoms and history of the case, and secure the confidence of the patient and bystanders.
# RESOURCEFUL : that he may use to the best advantage whatever is at hand to prevent further damage and to assiat the nature's effort to repair the mischief already done.
# DEXTROUS : that he may handle a patient without causing unnecessary pain, and use the appliances efficiently and neatly.
# EXPLICIT : that he may give clear instructions to the patient and/or to the bystanders how best to assist him.
# DISCRIMINATING : that he may decide which of several injuries should be treated first.
# PERSEVERING : that he may continue his effort, though not at first sucessful.
# SYMPATHETIC : that he may give red comfort and encouragem
those are the points we followed and still do. here in canada sja trains millions of canadians in firstaid and as well we respond to countless disasters across canada and the world and as well we provide countless volunteer hours at fairs carnivals and stuff like that providing medical treatment to everyone free of charge. so now you know the organization that i grew to love and spent 9 wonderful years with
