Master general

Master general or Master-general can refer to:

• the Superior general of certain orders and congregations, such as
  • the Crosiers
  • the Dominicans (Master of the Order of Preachers)
  • the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy
  • the Order of Saint Lazarus
  • the Society of the Holy Cross
  • the Trinitarian Order
• certain secular titles and offices, such as Master-General of the Ordnance

The title was also sometimes used interchangeably with the other title of Grand Master, especially when referring to chivalric orders in the Middle Ages. In some chivalric orders, for example the Order of Saint Lazarus, this title was used by the Boigny Knights under the protection of the French monarchy so as to bypass a number of Papal Bulls which were intended to abolish the Order itself.

Even today, the Order of Saint Lazarus, albeit fragmented into a number of varying factions and obediences, one of the Lazarite Groupings headquartered in London with Grand Priories and Commanderies in various countries, is led by a Master-general Fra John Baron von Hoff GCLJ GCMLJ who was unanimously appointed to the title by the Knights in Council of the United Grand Priories.