The Rev. John Mitchell, rector of Zion Church in Manchester, Vermont, and his wife, Jane Uva — a pediatric emergency medicine physician — were invested on Oct. 14 in the Most Venerable Order of St. John, an international order of chivalry led by Queen Elizabeth II.
The Order of St. John traces its roots to a hospice in Jerusalem in the year 1070, eventually becoming a British royal order of chivalry in 1888 by charter from Queen Victoria. St. John is recognized as a Christian order, although it welcomes people of any or no faith who share in its mission of health and human services. The primary beneficiary of the priory is the St. John of Jerusalem Eye Hospital Group.
Mitchell says that the order “resonates with our own commitment to people who may be ‘the least of these’ throughout the world.”
The order’s U.S. priory is based in the nation’s capital.
Adapted from the Episcopal Church in Vermont
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
