Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM)

Sovereign Military Order of Malta stamps, available worldwide from Io Collezionista. The Sovereign Military Order of Malta, abbreviated to SMOM, is a religious order of chivalry answering to the Holy See. Its origins reach back to the 11th century and the founding of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, a brotherhood of monks who gave hospitality to pilgrims visiting the Holy City. The papal bull "Pie postulatio voluntatis" (1113), issued by Pope Paschal II, confirmed its direct dependence on the Holy See and its right to elect its own head, known as the Grand Master. In that same period the Order adopted the symbol that still represents it everywhere today: the eight pointed cross, a reference to the eight beatitudes Jesus set out in the Sermon on the Mount.

18 Item(s)
18 Item(s)