Johanniter Order (Bailiwick of Brandenburg)

The Bailiwick of Brandenburg of the Chivalric Order of Saint John of the Hospital at Jerusalem (German: Balley Brandenburg des Ritterlichen Ordens Sankt Johannis vom Spital zu Jerusalem), commonly known as the Order of Saint John or the Johanniter Order (German: Johanniterorden), is the German Protestant branch of the Knights Hospitaller, the oldest surviving chivalric order, which generally is considered to have been founded at Jerusalem in 1099.

The Order is led by its thirty-seventh Herrenmeister ("Master of the Knights" or Grand Master), Oskar Prince of Prussia. Each of its knights, about four thousand men worldwide, is either a Knight of Justice (Rechtsritter) or a Knight of Honour (Ehrenritter). Membership in the Order is by appointment only, and individuals may not petition for admission; it is not limited to German citizens or German speakers, and knights include citizens and residents of numerous countries. Its knights largely follow the Evangelical-Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Although membership is no longer limited to the nobility, as it was until 1948, the majority of knights still are drawn from this class.