Appointments to and Promotion in the Order

(1) All admissions to, and promotion in, the Order shall be sanctioned by and be made in the name of and by the authority of The Grand Council of The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem after recommendations by a Grand Priory Chapter, and the Admissions & Promotions Committee of The Grand Council. The procedure relating to the selection of suitable persons and verification of their qualifications under these Statutes before submission of their names to The Grand Council shall be prescribed by Regulations.

(2) Unless in any particular case The Grand Council and the Admissions & Promotions Committee otherwise recommends or it is otherwise provided by the Statutes or any Regulation, admission to the Order shall normally be in Grade IX and promotions from a lower to a higher Grade shall be dependent upon the rendering of good service in the lower Grade.

(3) Persons who are seeking to be admitted in or promoted to the category ‘of Justice’ must submit genealogical proofs sufficient to demonstrate at least their descent from four armigerous grand-parents or their hereditary nobility in the paternal or pronominal line from a date not later than 1672 in Scotland and, in other administrations, from 1688. The Grand Council on a recommendation from a Grand Priory Chapter may, at their discretion, sanction the reclassification, for good cause motu proprio, of a Knight or Dame of Grace as a Knight or Dame of Justice.

(4) A minister of the Christian religion who is admitted as a Member of Grade VIII or VII of the Order may if he so desires be termed a Sub-Chaplain (Sub-ChLJ) or Chaplain (ChLJ) respectively; Grade VI / V may be termed a Senior Chaplain (SChLJ); Grade IV / III may be termed Sub-Prelate or Ecclesiastical Commander (ECLJ); Grade II / I may be termed Prelate or Ecclesiastical Grand Cross (EGCLJ). The Chaplain General and the Almoner of the Grand Priory shall be ministers of Episcopal rank or of other eminent status in the Christian Church and shall be a Member of Grade II / I of the Order.

(5) There shall be a Homage Roll for Members which shall be signed by Members as soon as possible after first admission to the Order in token of their voluntary submission to the supreme authority of The Grand Council of The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem and the Grand Priory Chapter of a participating Grand Priory.

(6) The Registrar General shall maintain a Roll of all Members of the Order in such a manner as may be prescribed by Regulations.

Companionate of Merit

(1) Awards of Merit may be given to any Member of the Order through the ‘Companionate of Merit’ if, in the opinion of The Grand Council and the Grand Priory Chapter, that Member has performed a service of special merit for the Order. The Companionate of Merit is awarded in the following Grades:

Grade I Knight / Dame Grand Cross of Merit (GCMLJ / DGCMLJ)

Grade II Knight / Dame Commander of Merit (KCMLJ / DCMLJ)

Grade III Knight / Dame of Merit (KMLJ / DMLJ)

Grade IV Commander of Merit (CMLJ)

Grade V Officer of Merit (OMLJ)

No Member of the Order may be awarded a ‘Merit’ rank higher than the rank he or she holds in the Order.

(2) Civilian Awards of Merit may also be given to any person who is not a Member of the Order through the ‘Companionate of Merit’ if, in the opinion of The Grand Council and the Grand Priory Chapter, that person has performed a special service for the Order. The Companionate of Merit is awarded to non-members of the Order in the following Grades:

Grade I Grand Commander of Merit (GCMLJ)

Grade II Grand Officer of Merit (GOMLJ)

Grade III Commander of Merit (CMLJ)

Grade IV Officer of Merit (OMLJ)

A person, not being a Member of the Order, having been awarded a Grade in the Companionate of Merit will have his or her name recorded on a list which shall be maintained by the Registrar General.

(3) Oak leaf of Merit

A Grand Priory Chapter may bestow an award for special meritorious service known as the ‘Oak Leaf of Merit’.

There are three Grades of this award:

Bronze Oak Leaf of Merit which can be awarded by the Commander of a Commandery without reference to the Grand Priory Chapter.

Silver Oak Leaf of Merit which can be awarded by the Commander of a Commandery if this recommendation is first approved by the Grand Priory Chapter.

Gold Oak Leaf of Merit which can only be awarded by the Grand Priory Chapter.

All the awards may be granted by The Grand Council.