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What is Knight Templarism?

        The fourth, and last, of the York Rite Bodies of Masonry, Commanderies of Knights Templar serves as the crowning glory in completing the Christian Path towards Masonic Light. This is the only recognized Masonic Body that has religious connotations, since it is based on the Christian Religion and virtues. As a consequence, while not all Masons will become Knight Templar, every Christian Mason should to complete his Masonic journey. Today’s Knight Templar is a man dedicated to the living Christ, and the defense of the virtues contained in the practices observed by all true Christians.
         In the Commandery, there are three ‘degrees’ or steps, which are called Orders. These are The Order of the Red Cross, The Order of Malta and The Order of the Knights Templar; after the Orders of Knighthood and Chivalry as known in Europe before the reformation. Hence, we are called Chivalric Masonry.

History of the Knights Templar

         The Order was founded in Jerusalem in 1118 by Hughes de Paynes Geoffroy de St. Omer and seven other French knights. It was consecrated to the protection of pilgrims and the defense of the Holy Land. The founding knights took monastic vows and were known as “The Poor Knights of Christ”.
         King Baldwin II, the French King of Jerusalem (1118-1131) installed the Order in a part of his Palace, on the site of Solomon’s Temple, for their residence, stables and armory, from which it took its name of Knights of the Temple or Templars.
         At the Council of Troyes in 1128 Pope Honorius II, who gave it the strict Rule dictated by St. Bernard, a monk of the Cistercian Order who became the first Abbot of Clairvaux, confirmed the Order. The Knights also received the white mantle as a symbol of purity of their life, to which in 1146 Pope Eugenius added the red Templar cross.
          The Order’s battle honors in defense of the Holy Land were many. Following the fall of Jerusalem in 1187 the Templers withdrew to Acre. They remained at Acre with Grand Master William de Beaujue until 1291 when the city was captured and he was killed. The surviving Templers, with their new Grand Master, were the last to leave the city. The Order withdrew to Limmasol, Cyprus and had its Headquarters at the Temple Monastery in Paris.
            After many years of sacrifices and rendering services to both Christianity and civilization, this very rich and powerful Order excited the envy and greed of others. The principal malefactor was Philippe le Bel, King of France, who was financially indebted to the Order. In 1307 Philippe arrested all serving Templers in France with the intention of sequestrating all the Order’s possessions.
           However, these were hidden in a secret place and have never been found to this day. Not able to judge the Order himself, (it was only answerable to the Pope) Philippe set about to coerce the Pope to suppress the Order, but the Pope refused. Whereupon, the king dismissed him and created his friend, the Bishop of Bordeaux, Pope Clement V, who readily issued a Bull suppressing the Order in 1312. The Order then reverted to its original status of a Secular Military Order of Chivalry.
           Only in France were the Templers treated with any severity, with Grand Master Jacques de Molay and others burnt at the stake in March 1314 on an island in the Seine. In England, Edward II (a patron) at first did not take any action against the Order, but finally, he allowed the inquisitors to judge the Order at the Church of All Hallows By-the-Tower. Edward then set about reclaiming English Templar lands and possessions including the London Temple, rather than passing them to the Hospitallers. After Edward’s actions The Templars sought refuge in Scotland where they were welcomed.
            Prior to his martyrdom in 1314 Grand Master Jacques de Molay invested Jean-Marc Larmenius with his powers. Larmenius was unanimously recognized as the new Grand Master following de Molay’s death. He gathered together the dispersed remnants of the Order and in 1324 gave the Order the Charter of Transmission. This Charter is still one of the governing documents of the Present Order.
             The Order continued in secret with an uninterrupted line of Grand Masters until 1705. In March of that year a number of French nobles held a convention of Templars at Versailles. They elected Philip, Duke of Orleans, and later Regent of France, as the Order’s 41st Grand Master. Thus as Regent of France and Grand Master of the Temple it provided an official renewal and legitimization of the Order of the Temple as a Secular Military Order of Chivalry and also its right to resume the use of “sovereign” in its title.
             After the death of the Duke of Orleans in 1723, three Princes of Bourbon were Grand Masters of the Order until 1776. That year the Duke of Cosse Brissac accepted the Grand Mastership and remained in office until his execution during the French Revolution in 1782. Having foreseen the coming events he passed on the Order’s archives and the Charter of Transmission to Radix de Chevillon. The Order survived the Revolution and went through a period of prosperity in France during the early C19th with many people of high office asking to be admitted.
             Between 1818 and 1841 the Order expanded greatly with over 20 Convents in France and Priories set up in Great Britain, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. Legations were also established in Sweden, Brazil, India and in New York.

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