Knight of Grace

Her Majesty the Queen, Sovereign Head of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem, has been pleased to sanction Promotions in, and Admissions to, the Order of St John. The Rev. Canon Andrew Rank has been promoted to Knight of Grace, one of the highest levels of service and recognition in the Order.

The Rev. Canon Rank was taken entirely by surprise by the announcement. He will receive the honor in Houston this October. Bishop Susan Brown Snook said, “I am inspired by the long-term service that The Rev. Canon Andrew Rank has given to the Order of St. John. As an important health-care provider to all religions and ethnicities in the Holy Land, the Order is not only a healer but a peacemaker. Andrew joins his brother in the Society of St. Paul, the late Rev. Barnabas Hunt, in being recognized in this way, and I am honored to know such dedicated servants to the work of Christ.”

The origins of the Order of St. John dated back to the Crusades and were resurrected in the late 1800s by HRH Queen Victoria. It is one of the orders of chivalry in England, the most famous being the Order of the Garter.

The Order of St. John is responsible for training ambulance drivers and paramedics in the United Kingdom. It funds the world-famous Eye Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, which performed over 122,000 surgeries last year alone. Surgeries are performed regardless of race, religion, or ability to pay.