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, various religious orders, and some sectarian orders such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Orange Order. A title is a prefix or suffix added to a persons name to signify either veneration, an official position or a professional or academic qualification. ... Flag of the Knights Templar A military order is a Christian order of knighthood that is founded for crusading, i. ... A religious order may mean any of the following: // In Buddhist societies such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, Korea and Tibet, a religious order is one of the strikingly large number of monastic orders of monks and nuns. ... Sectarianism refers (usually pejoratively) to a rigid adherence to a particular sect or party or religious denomination. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Orangemen in traditional dress preparing to march The Orange Institution, more commonly known as the Orange Order, is a Protestant fraternal organisation based predominantly in Northern Ireland and Scotland with lodges throughout the Commonwealth and in the United States. ...

In military orders such as the Knights Templar or the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, the Grand Master was the head of a military and feudal pyramid. If an order is granted statehood (and thus widely considered sovereign), the Grand Master is also its Head of State and thus a true territorial Prince of the church, as was the case with the Teutonic Knights and the Maltese Knights Hospitaller. The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Latin: Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Solomonici), popularly known as the Knights Templar or the Order of the Temple, were among the most famous of the Christian military orders. ... Livonian Brothers The Livonian Brothers of the Sword (Latin Fratres militiae Christi, literally the brothers of the army of Christ), also known as the Christ Knights, Sword Brethren or The Militia of Christ of Livonia, was a military order organized in 1202 by Albert of Buxhoeveden, bishop of Riga (or... Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme political (e. ... Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of State of 16 countries including: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Jamaica, New Zealand and the Bahamas, as well as crown colonies and overseas territories of the United Kingdom. ... The term Prince of the church is nowadays used nearly exclusively for Roman Catholic Cardinals. ... Hermann von Salza (c. ... The Knights Hospitaller (also known as the Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta, Knights of Malta, Knights of Rhodes, and Chevaliers of Malta) is an organization that began as an Amalfitan hospital founded in Jerusalem in 1080 to provide care for poor and sick...

As most present-day orders are essentially an honorary distinction, so are its dignities.

See also

• Grand Masters of the Knights Templar
• Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights
• List of Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller
• 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
• Grand Masters of the Royal Victorian Order