Grand Master (order)
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Grand Master is the typical title of the supreme head (in some national orders below the Sovereign Head of state) of various orders of knighthood, including military orders, a type of religious order, a class of sectarian order such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Orange Order, but who in the case of an order, as well as of various merely honorary orders of knighthood (sometimes under the Sovereign who the holds another title as its patron).
See also:
- Grand Masters of the Order of St Michael and St George
- Grand Masters of the Order of the British Empire
- Great Masters of the Order of the Bath
Honorary orders
As most orders are essentially an honorary distinction, so are its dignities.Military orders
In a military order, e.g., the Knights Templar, he is the head of a military and feudal pyramid. If the order is granted statehood (and thus widely considered sovereign), he is its Head of State and thus a true, territorial Prince of the church, e.g., the Teutonic Order (once a major power in the Baltic region, see Hochmeister) and the Maltese Knights Hospitaller (the last one).
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