About Us -Knights Templar
Knight Templar Freemasonry
Local Commanderies are governed by the Grand Commandery of each jurisdiction, and they in turn by the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the U.S.A. In the Commandery, the Chivalric Orders of Christian Knighthood are conferred as follows:
The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross
The Order of Knight of Malta and the Mediterranean Pass
The Order of the Temple
The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross is founded upon Truth – a divine attribute, the foundation of every virtue. The value of truth is expounded upon in this Order.
The Knights of Malta were first known as Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem and are known to have been in existence as early as 1099 A.D. It was the first organized body whose avowed purpose was the aid and care of those injured on a battlefield. The teaching of Christian applications of Masonic precepts begins with this Order. You must be a Christian to take this Order and the following Order of the Temple.
The Order of the Temple is the crowning glory of York Rite Masonry. It is widely regarded as the most solemn and impressive experience in Masonry. Here the aspirant progresses through the stages of a Pilgrim in the Holy Land, to being a Penitent in the Holy Land - in his efforts to claim the title of Knight Templar and be accepted as a member of this noble Order.
While Freemasonry demands only a belief in a monotheistic God, where all may worship together around its altars, the Christian Freemason alone has at his disposal a branch of the fraternity where he is free to interpret the teachings of Freemasonry according to his Christian religious belief.
The Masonic Orders of Christian Knighthood are the logical outcome of the Christian Mason’s belief in Christ - as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. That Mason believes Christ’s hand will raise the dead to life, and in His Holy Name the True Word is found and restored at last.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”.