Russian Tradition of The Knights Hospitaller - Self Styled / Mimic Orders

Self Styled / Mimic Orders

The history of the survival of this tradition has been complicated by various Mimic Orders. The large passage fees (alleged in some cases to be in the region of $50,000) collected by the American Association of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in the early 1950s may well have tempted Charles Pichel to create his own "Sovereign Order of St John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller" in 1956. Pichel avoided the problems of being an imitation of "SMOM" by giving his organization a mythical history by claiming the American organization he led was founded by Russian Hereditary Commanders living in, or visiting, the USA and dated to 1908; a spurious claim, but which nevertheless misled many including some academics. In truth, the foundation of his organisation had no connection to the genuine Russian tradition of the Knights Hospitaller. Once created, the attraction of a few exiled Russian nobles into membership of Pichel’s "Order" lent some credence to his claims. This organisation and others have led to scores of other self-styled Orders. Two offshoots of the Pichel Order were successful in gaining the backing of two exiled Monarchs, the late King Peter II of Yugoslavia, and King Michael of Romania.