Government & Council of Knights
Organisation of the Knighthood
The Knighthood of Holy Sebastian in Europe is led by the Council of Knights (Presidium).
The Government of the Knighthood (legal board) is identical to the members of the Presidium of the EGS, who merely exercise their function in the Council of Knights under a different title.
The Grand Master is the highest representative of the Knighthood.
The organisation of the Knighthood (management) is assigned to the Chancellery under the direction of the Chancellor.
The Council of Knights
The Council of Knights is responsible for leading the Knighthood of Holy Sebastian in Europe.
It is the governing body of the government.
The Grand Master chairs the Council of Knights.
The Council of Knights meets as required. The Chancellor invites members to attend the meetings.
The members of the Council of Knights are elected on the recommendation of the EGS Presidium and confirmed by the Grand Master.
Upon their appointment, the members of the Council of Knights receive the title of Chapter Knight/Chapter Lady and the Donatus Cross.
The Council of Knights is responsible for:
- admitting new knights
- determining the admission fee as a proposal for resolution by the plenary assembly
- issuing regulations for all members of the Knighthood, issuing rules and ceremonial provisions for events of the Knighthood
- the establishment of branches and commanderies
- cooperation with the committees of the EGS
- the fundamental definition of the areas of responsibility of the individual departments
- cooperation with other Christian communities and organisations
- the religious and charitable tasks of the Knighthood
- the convening and conducting of the plenary meeting
With the exception of the function of the Master of Arms, the Council of Knights is identical in personnel to the members of the Presidium of the EGS, although some of the functions have different names.
- Grand Master – Grand Master of the EGS
- Government of the Knighthood – Executive Presidium of the EGS
- Representatives of the Commanderies – Chairpersons of the Regions (Regional Secretaries)
- Legal Advisor
- Almoner (Social Officer)
- Master of Ceremonies
Government of the Knighthood
The members of the government are the members of the executive presidium of the EGS, whose term of office is six years.
They are elected by the plenary assembly of the EGS and confirmed by the Grand Master as the government of the Knighthood.
The government conducts the business of the Knighthood.
The government represents the Knighthood internally and externally, with two members of the government always acting jointly.
The Government acts as a collegiate body. In the event of a tie, the Prior has the casting vote.
The Government reports on its activities to the plenary assembly of the Knighthood and to the plenary meeting.
The Government of the Knighthood is identical in person to the members of the Presidium of the EGS, who merely exercise their functions in the Knighthood under a different title.
- Prior (1st Chairman) – President of the EGS
- Subpriors (Deputy Chairpersons) – Vice Presidents of the EGS
- Chancellor (Managing Director) – General Secretary of the EGS
- Treasurer – Treasurer of the EGS
Arbitration and Court of Honour
In the event of any internal disputes, the Arbitration Court of EGS shall have the final say.
The recourse to ordinary courts is excluded in the event of disputes within the Knighthood.
The government of the Knighthood (legal board) is identical to the members of the EGS Presidium, who merely perform their functions in the Council of Knights under a different title.
Only the shooting masters have no function/task in the Knighthood and
are therefore not part of the Council of Knights.
Functional description
Grand Master
The Grand Master is the highest representative of the Knighthood.
In addition to representing the Order, his task is to preserve the spiritual and intellectual orientation of the Knighthood.
He chairs the meetings of the Council of Knights and the plenary assembly. The Grand Master is appointed by the House of Habsburg and wears the Grand Master’s chain (collane) as a sign of his dignity.
The Grand Master must be Catholic.
Karl von Habsburg-Lothringen, Erzherzog von Österreich
Prior
The Prior is the 1st Chairman of the Government of the Knighthood.
The Government acts as a collegiate body.
In the event of a tie, the Prior has the casting vote.
Together with the Chancellor, the Prior represents the Knighthood with all rights and duties and performs representative duties both internally and externally.
The Prior must be Catholic.
Albert-Henri Prinz de Merode
Subpriors
Three Subpriors assist the Prior as deputy chairmen and take over his duties in his absence or if he is unable to attend.
The Subpriors have a seat and a vote in the government of the Knighthood and in the Council of Knights.
Upon their election, the Subpriors are elevated to the rank of Professed Knight and wear the Grand Cross.
The organisation of the Knighthood is assigned to the Chancellery under the direction of the Chancellor.
Horst Thoren
vizepraesident-DE@e-g-s.eu
Wim Sanders
vizepraesident-NL@e-g-s.eu
Andrzej Wegner
vizepraesident-PL@e-g-s.eu
Chancellor
The Chancellor is the managing director responsible for the general management and organisation of the Knighthood.
Together with the Prior, he represents the Knighthood with all its rights and duties and, in particular, performs representative duties both internally and externally.
The Chancellor is appointed Grand Officer upon his election and wears the Grand Officer’s Cross.
Peter-Olaf Hoffmann
generalsekretaer@e-g-s.eu
Tessaurier
The Treasurer manages the finances of the EGS. He must present the audited annual accounts and a budget proposal for the following year to the Plenary Assembly each year. He must give the cash auditors full access to the business documents necessary for auditing and provide them with comprehensive information.
The Treasurer is elevated to the rank of Grand Officer upon his election and wears the Grand Officer’s Cross.
Mark Pijnenburg
schatzmeister@e-g-s.eu
Commanderies
For the regional organisation of the Knighthood, the division into regions was adopted in line with the EGS. The regions are managed as commanderies within the Knighthood.
The chairmen of the regions (commanders) also exercise this office as representatives of the commanderies, with a seat and vote in the Council of Knights.
- Upon their election, the chairmen of the commanderies receive the title of Magistral Knight and the Magistral Cross.
- The representatives of the commanderies are given the rank of commander and wear the Commander’s Cross.
- Due to the size of Commandery 1, it is managed by the regional secretary and a commander president.
Almosenier
The Almosenier of the Knighthood and also Social Officer of the EGS oversees the social work of the EGS and the Knighthood, through which cross-border activities and campaigns are initiated. His central task is to review projects worthy of support. The projects to be supported should have a social background and be related to the objectives of the EGS. The Almoner and the Presidium propose social projects for funding to the plenary assembly.
Holger Willies
ceremonier@e-g-s.eu
Legal Advisor
As a legal advisor, the main task of the Legal Advisor is to identify legal problems at an early stage and to develop and implement solutions.
The Legal Advisor provides advice on legal issues such as copyright law and deals with contract management, including liability issues.
Ansgar Heveling
justiziar@e-g-s.eu
Ceremonial
The Ceremonial is like a ‘director’ for liturgical matters: he is responsible for coordinating and ensuring the smooth running of a church service or Investiture Mass and for ensuring that the ritual rules are observed. He welcomes and checks the participants and ensures that the Investiture proceeds in a calm and dignified manner.
Brenda Smit
ceremonier@e-g-s.eu