Controversy in

Chivalric Organizations
Charlie J. Brusco
Ethics In Business
Monday

March 30, 2020

Professor Morillo
Controversy in Chivalric Organizations

Chivalry, deriving from the French word for horse, cheval, relates to the culture of

knights, the mounted warriors of medieval Europe. While the age of shining armor, jousting, and

other cliché images of knights have been labeled anachronistic for centuries, the concept and

existence of knighthood, while unnoticed by most, is quite alive; even though the nostalgic

image of a medieval knight has been replicated in popular entertainment, such as Game of

Thrones and the New York Renaissance Fair, there are orders of knighthood, or charitable

organizations who style themselves as “knights”, which exist for the purpose of granting titular

recognition, charitable contribution, or both. However, the ethics surrounding funds towards

honorific titles and the inflation of statistics and social status of participating in knightly pursuits

erupts controversy. Such controversy stems from both the Sacred Constantinian Military Order

of Saint George (OSG), a dynastic order of chivalry bestowed by the disputing pretender princes

of the Royal House of Bourbon, and the Knights of Columbus (KoC), a fraternal charity non-

profit organization (to be clear, not an order of chivalry), who have been questioned and even

doubted of their legitimacy and financial endeavors. In contrast to organizations with ambiguous

claims to their history, and or suspicions in their financial transparency, there exists two orders in

particular that are historically confirmed as the oldest surviving orders of knighthood, officially

recognized by the Holy See (which is considered an active royal sovereign), and engage

frequently in transparent charitable works. Such are none other than the Equestrian Order of the

Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (EOHSJ), and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM).

The first, EOHSJ, which enjoys the pope as their sovereign, exists for the purpose of preserving

the Christian presence in the Near East, especially the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the

Catholic diocese which includes Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Cyprus. The second, SMOM,

exists as a sovereign state, undertakes disaster relief, ambulance corps, and medical equipment.

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Controversy in Chivalric Organizations

The four aforementioned orders, regarding OSG’s evidence of disputed royal affiliation

with little to no charitable contribution, the non-royal and non-profit KoC’s claims of

engaged charitable service, and the papally-recognized EOHSJ and SMOM, can all be

diagnosed through the scope of utilitarian and Kantian theory to discern their credibility in

social status and activism for anybody who has considered membership. To add, every

organization mentioned requires their members to be a practicing Catholic (baptized, first

communion, confirmed, etc.); nomination for membership is also required by all of the orders

mentioned except for the KoC, which allows admission by application. Of course, there are

hundreds of claimed orders of “knighthood”, especially those recognized by the British Honors

System like the Order of the British Empire, Order of the Garter, and other national orders which

do not require its members to be Catholic, which will be excluded only for the sake of the

specific focus I have acquired for the past year and the controversy I noticed in organizations that

claim to be Catholic knights.

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Controversy in Chivalric Organizations

BIBLIOGRPAHY

 Bell, A. (2020, March 28). Catholic Fraternal to Provide Emergency Financing for
U.S. Dioceses. Retrieved from https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2020/03/28/catholic-
fraternal-to-provide-emergency-financing-for-u-s-dioceses/?
slreturn=20200230145849
 COVID-19: Order of Malta Activities Worldwide. (2020, March 24). Retrieved from
https://www.orderofmalta.int/2020/03/24/covid-19-order-malta-activities-worldwide/
 Vayne, F. (2020, February 7). "To speak of an 'Honorific Order' is misleading".
Retrieved from http://www.oessh.va/content/ordineequestresantosepolcro/en/gran-
magistero/il-gran-maestro/lista-news-gran-maestro/incontro-con-il-cardinale-
fernando-filoni--nuovo-gran-maestro-de.html
 Hoffman, C. (2019, September 13). Knights of Columbus must pay $500,000 in
contract dispute. Retrieved from https://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Knights-of-
Columbus-must-pay-500-000-in-contract-14438512.php
 Riccardi, N. (2019, September 4). Expert: Knights of Columbus Inflates
Membership Numbers. Retrieved from

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Controversy in Chivalric Organizations

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2019-09-04/expert-knights-of-columbus-
inflates-membership-numbers
 Vayne, F. (2019, May 3). Grand Magisterium Spring meeting takes place in Rome.
Retrieved from https://www.lpj.org/posts/grand-magisterium-spring-meeting-takes-
place-in-rome.html
 Ulrich, R. A. (2018, December 23). Legal opinion: the legitimacy of the
Constantinian Orders. Retrieved from
https://freiherrvonquast.wordpress.com/tag/sacred-military-constantinian-order-of-
saint-george/
 Vayne, F. (2018, May 4). Grand Magisterium Spring meeting takes place in Rome.
Retrieved from https://www.lpj.org/posts/grand-magisterium-spring-meeting-takes-
place-in-rome.html
 Holy See Statement on Recognition of Chivalric Orders. (2012, October 16).
Retrieved from https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/note-of-clarification-2583
 Nicol, D. M. G. (1992). The immortal emperor: the life and legend of Constantine
Palaiologos, last emperor of the Romans. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.