Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/355

Rh already said, being usually adhered to. There were, however, the following exceptions:—In every grand-priory there was one commandery, the revenues of which belonged to the Grand-Master, and the nomination to this rested exclusively with himself. He had also the privilege of nominating to a vacancy in every priory once in each five years. This privilege was also held by the grand-prior. The exercise of the patronage was fixed in the following manner. The first commandery which fell vacant during the quinquennial period was in the gift of the Grand-Master, the second in that of the council, the third in that of the grand-prior, and all succeeding vacancies till the close of the period in that of the council. Should there not be three vacancies during the five years, the grand-prior lost his patronage; but this rarely happened, as translations and promotions were of very frequent occurrence, and the commanderies grouped in each grand-priory numerous. A commander appointed to a bailiwick or grand- priory at once surrendered his office to take possession of the new dignity, unless he were the holder of a magisterial cornmandery. This he was permitted to retain in connection with his new appointment.

The chaplains of the Order of St. John were received without any of those restrictions as to birth placed on the admission of the first class, or knights of justice. It was sufficient to prove that they were of respectable origin, and that their parents had been united in lawful wedlock. They were accepted at the age of sixteen years as clerks, and were ordained as sub-deacons two years afterwards. They could not attain to the rank of deacon until they had reached the age of two-and-twenty, or to that of chaplain earlier than twenty-five. They were then available for all the religious offices of the convent. They performed divine service in the conventual church of St. John, or were attached either to the household of the Grand-Master, the auberge of their langue, or to the Hospital; or else they performed their caravans on board the galleys to which they were posted during a cruise. It was from this class that the prior of the church of St. John and the archbishop of Rhodes (or later on the bishop of Malta) were selected, the former by the Grand-Master in council, the latter by the Pope.