It is composed of all the High Officers and General Officers of the Order, as well as those other officers and consultative bodies, all of whom have a responsibility to the Order.

The officers of the Sovereign Council are chosen from the worldwide membership of the Order. It is their duty to adopt and implement policies and programs for the Order in conformity with the Constitution of the Order and the will of the Chapter General.

The Sovereign Council defines procedures on membership, promotions, oblations, and other matters affecting the operation of the Order.

It works to ensure that the Order policy is uniformly followed throughout the world, it administers the Order's property, and it is the nucleus through which the Order's fons honorum is exercised.

The Sovereign Council maintains the Order Constitution and the Sovereign Council Statutes and Regulations.

The Sovereign Council is also the Central Administration of the Order. The geographical jurisdiction of the Central Administration is wherever in the world the Order exercises a presence. It serves as an umbrella for all the subordinate jurisdictional units of the Order and for all members of the Order belonging to them.

The officers of the Central Administration are chosen from the worldwide membership of the Order. It is their duty to adopt and implement policies and programs for the Order in conformity with the Constitution of the Order and the will of the Chapter General (Knights and Dames of the Order).

It defines procedures regarding membership, promotions, oblations, and all other matters affecting the operation of the Order. It administers the Order's property, and it is the nucleus through which the Order's fons honorum is exercised.

Learn more about the organization of the Sovereign Council.

The Chapter General must vote on the election of the Grand Master and Lieutenant Grand Master as well as approving any Constitutional changes.

These are the only democratic functions that apply to the Order.

Its boundaries are approved by the Sovereign Council of the Order, and it is chartered by the Grand Master.

At the present time, there are three functioning Grand Priories within the order: the Grand Priory of Canada, the Grand Priory of the United States of America, and the Grand Priory of the Baltic Sea (Finland).

The Grand Prior and the other officers on the Grand Priory level are responsible for the administration of the Order within their jurisdiction.

They set and enforce the particular policies for their Grand Priory, conforming in all things to the Order Constitution and Sovereign Council Statutes and Regulations.

The Grand Prior reports the state of their Grand Priory to the Grand Master each year.

Each Grand Priory maintains its own Grand Priory Statutes and Regulations.

Commanderies are named for cities or provinces. There are three Commanderies in Canada: Montreal/Ottawa, London, and Hamilton/Toronto.

To be established, a Commandery must have ten Knights and/or Dames. If its membership in Knights and/or Dames falls below seven, it may be placed in abeyance. If Commanderies become large and have more than twenty-five Knights and/or Dames, they are usually divided into two Commanderies.

The Commandery is under the direction of a Knight Commander who is appointed by the Grand Master upon the recommendation of the Grand Prior.

The Commander appoints whatever other officers from the membership of the Commandery may be deemed necessary for the running of the Commandery. The Knight Commander's immediate superior is the Grand Prior.

The Commandery is responsible for keeping the members of the Order resident within its boundaries informed on matters relating to the Order on all levels.

The Commandery organizes Order events and ceremonies, plans local projects in conjunction with the Order's charitable and Hospitaller activities, and is generally the visible manifestation of the Order on the community level.

It is responsible for all the immediate needs of members of the Order, and it performs such administrative duties as initiating Petitions for Membership, overseeing the payments of Oblations, receiving new members and recommending promotions.

The administration of each Commandery is composed of a Knight Commander and whatever other officers are felt necessary for its good government and to carry out its projects and activities.

In Canada, there are three Commanderies, each headed by a Knight Commander. These Commanderies are located in London, Montreal-Ottawa, and Hamilton.

The three Commanderies constitute the Grand Priory of Canada, which is led by the Grand Prior of Canada and the Grand Priory Council.

The Grand Priory Council consists of:

• The Grand Prior

• Lieutenant Grand Prior (Deputy)

• Grand Bailiff (Honours and Awards)

• Grand Chancellor (Secretary of the Council)

• Grand Marshal (Ceremonies)

• Grand Hospitaller (Charities)

• Grand Treasurer

• Grand Registrar (Membership)

• Grand Prelate (Chaplain)

• two Grand Counsellors (Liaisons to Sovereign Council)