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The Knights and Dames in Obedience form the second of the three classes of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Unlike the members of the first class who make vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, the members of the second class make a promise of obedience by which they "oblige themselves to strive for the perfection of Christian life in conformity with the obligation of their state, in the spirit of the Order" (Constitutional Charter, Article 9, Par. 2). The class was instituted between the two World Wars in order to strengthen the Order's religious and spiritual character. The Knights wear a scapular over their choir dress.
Since the late 1990s the Promise of Obedience is linked to the pre-existing category of a knight or dame. Hence, there are three categories: