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A History of
Helping and Healing
St. John Ambulance is a world-wide charitable,
public service organization, which began in England in the
latter part of the nineteenth century with roots reaching back
over nine hundred years. All of its members, except for a
small administrative staff, are volunteers.
The governing organization responsible for St.
John Ambulance is THE MOST VENERABLE ORDER OF THE HOSPITAL OF
ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM, more commonly known as the "Order of
St. John". The sovereign head of the Order is Her Majesty,
Queen Elizabeth II, and the Grand Prior, His Royal Highness
Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
The Order exists in Canada as "The Priory of
Canada of the Order of St. John", with the Governor-General as
the Prior, and in Ontario with the Lieutenant-Governor as the
Vice-Prior. The Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario is also the
Honourary Provincial Commissioner of the Patient Care.
The Order consists of two foundations:(1) The
St. John Ophthalmic Hospital in Jerusalem, and (2) The St.
John Ambulance Association and Patient Care, more often referred to
as "St. John Ambulance".
Origins and Brief
History Of The Order
The Order of St. John is the oldest Order of
chivalry in the world.
It has beginnings almost a thousand years ago in
the year 1023, when Benedictine monks in Jerusalem, devoting
themselves to the care of the sick and injured, adopted the
eight-pointed white cross emblem of the republic of Amalfi as
their badge.
Following the first Crusade, the monks were
organized as a distinct and separate order of Hospitalliers
under the leadership of one, Brother Gerard.
After acquiring a property on which had stood
the ancient Monastery of St. John the Baptist, the Order
adopted St. John the Baptist as it's patron saint and so took
on the name of St, John. The Order was recognized officially
in 1113 and taken under the protection of the Pope.
A few years later, a body of military brethren
(the Knights) was formed and the Order added the role of armed
protection to its hospitallier duties.
In later years, the Order was organized
according to national origin into groups known as "langues",
of which there came to be eight, one for each of the points of
the white cross (Provence, Auvergne, France, Italy, Aragon,
Castile, England and Germany).
With its first headquarters and hospital in
Jerusalem, the Order has had many homes over the centuries
including Acre, Cyprus, Rhodes, Malta and finally Rome. The
Order in England grew and prospered until 1540 when it was
dissolved by King Henry VIII and its properties confiscated.
Although reinstated by Queen Mary during the temporary return
of the country to the Roman Catholic faith, the properties
were once again confiscated by Queen Elizabeth I, and remained
essentially dormant in England for 300 years.
The Order in England was revived in 1831 and,
when negotiations with the Sovereign Order in Rome proved
fruitless, was constituted as an independent Order under the
British Crown. Queen Victoria granted the first Royal Charter
in 1888.
The first ambulance services of the Order were
organized in 1872 in the pottery and mining districts of
England.
In 1877, the St. John Ambulance Association was
founded to teach first aid, and in 1887, the St. John
Ambulance Patient Care was formed.
St. John
Ambulance in Canada
The Priory of Canada is one of a family of more
than forty Priories and Commanderies world-wide. The Order of
St. John in Canada is a registered charity whose mission is to
enable Canadians to improve their health, safety and quality
of life by providing training and community services.
The Governor General of Canada is the Prior and
Chief Officer of the Order in Canada. In each province and
territory there are St. John Councils which oversee the
delivery of St. John Ambulance services.
The work of St. John Ambulance in Canada is
carried out by two distinct yet mutually dependent groups:
Patient
Care
Today, there are more than 11,000 uniformed volunteer
Patient Care members who provide first aid coverage at
public events and deliver community health care services.
Patient Care members contribute more than 1.7 million volunteer
hours to communities across Canada each year.
The
Association
Is a network of medical professionals, program
development specialists and instructors who provide first aid
and health promotion courses to approximately 680,000
Canadians annually.
Canada saw the first teaching activities of the
Association in 1883, with the first officially registered
Patient Care Division being chartered in London, Ontario in 1909.
While Christian in origin and structure, the
Order today in Canada embraces people from all faiths in the
humanitarian work of its Association and Patient Care, and in
support of the St. John Ophthalmic Hospital in Jerusalem.
The work of St. John is open to any individual
interested in carrying on the ancient values of service
idealized in the motto of the Order "Pro Utilitate Hominum"
(In the Service of Mankind).
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