Association of the Russian Grand Priory
of the Order of St John of Jerusalem

(Instituted by Emperor Paul I - 1798; re-established in Paris - 1928)

Heraldry of the Hereditary Commanders
© John Cilia La Corte 2005

The arms depicted here represent the shield of a Hereditary Commander of the Order of St John, augmented with a white cross in chief and superimposed on a Maltese cross, the whole encircled by the collar of the Order with its pendant. Engravings of the full achievement with crest and supporters, where applicable, of each family are also reproduced on each page.

Click on the icon for a larger image and blazon

Hereditary Commanders created in St Petersburg between 1799 and 1805

Bariatinsky	Beketov	Beloselskoy	Bobrinskoy	Borch1	Buturlin	Chirikov	Davydov
Demidov	Dolgoruky	Golovkin2	Khilkov	Naryshkin	Odoevsky	Olsufiev	Potemkin
Samoilov	Sheremetev	Strogonov	Tiufiakin	Trubetskoy	Vorontsov	Yusupov	Zherebtsov

Notes

1. Although Joseph Count Borch was a Hereditary Commander in the Catholic Grand Priory of Russia rather than the Orthodox/Œcumenical Grand Priory,  his arms are included because his heir, Count Vladimir, attended the meeting of June 1928 in Paris. (See below)

2. The Counts Golovkin were Hereditary Knights with the rank of honorary Commander.

Complete List of Hereditary Commanders
(For a full history, visit  the authoritative Hereditary Commanders site)

Hereditary Commanders in Paris 1928

The thirteenth Hereditary Commander, Andrei Alexandrovitch Bariatinsky was not able to attend the meeting in June 1928. His uncle Prince Vladimir Vladimirovitch Bariatinsky was invited to join the Council of the Russian Grand Priory circa 1929. At the time the Council were seeking recognition from the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and Prince Vladimir was a second cousin to Prince Don Ludovico Chigi della Rovere Albani, Bailiff  on the Sovereign Council and later Grandmaster of SMOM.
Present at the gathering in 1928 was Count Vladimir BORCH, a Hereditary Commander of the Catholic Grand Priory of Russia.
Also present were Aspirants for Knighthood, Prince Vladimir GALITZINE, Count Alexander MORDVINOFF, and Count Andre LANSKOI.

Note: The male Samoilov line having become extinct, the title was passed on to the Bobrinskoys by sanction of Grand Duke Vladimir Kirollovich.

Sources :

1. Rietstap, J.B.: Armorial Général  [2éme ed., G.B van Goor Zonen, Gouda 1884]

2. Mandrich, Donald R. & Placek, Joseph A.: Russian Heraldry and Nobility [Dramco Publishers, Boynton Beach, Florida 1992]

3. Unattributed

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