Knights Templar

:For other uses of the term, see Templar (disambiguation).

Self-styled orders and claims of descent

The Templars play strongly in both the ritual and foundation of various branches of modern Freemasonry. The Scottish Rite, which was formed in France in the 18th Century, includes references to the Templars in many of its ritual degrees — primarily the section known as "Council of Kadosh" (degrees 19–30) and the final two degrees (31 and 32), known as the "Consistory".

Related Topics:
Freemasonry - Scottish Rite

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Frank S. Land was serving in the DeMolay Council of Kadosh in post-World War I Kansas City, Missouri when he developed the idea for a fraternity for boys. Thus was born another modern Masonic organization related to the Templars in 1919 — the Order of DeMolay. While the organization was not directly descended from the Templars, its namesake Jacques de Molay, the last of the Grand Masters, is firmly entrenched in many of its rituals.

Related Topics:
Frank S. Land - Post-World War I - Kansas City, Missouri - Fraternity - Masonic - 1919 - Order of DeMolay - Jacques de Molay

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The Commandery of Knights Templar is the third major branch of the York Rite and open only to Christians. York Rite and Chivalric Masonry claim to be inspired by the Templars, but are not direct descendants of them. Here also, the Templars are firmly enshrined in the orders and rituals.

Related Topics:
The Commandery of Knights Templar - York Rite - Christian - Chivalric Masonry

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While some historians and authors have tried to draw a link from Freemasonry and its many branches to the Templars, no such link has been either claimed by these organizations or proven. The Order of the Solar Temple was an example of a "neo-Templar" group, founded by Luc Jouret and Joseph Di Mambro in 1984, that fraudulently claimed descent from the original Knights Templar. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Masons Carl Kellner and Franz Hartmann based their Ordo Templi Orientis, or "Oriental Templar Order" drawing upon Templar lore and from the highest degrees of Freemasonry. They borrowed symbolism extensively from Rosicrucianism, Illuminism, and Eastern mysticism. Kellner and Hartmann were later joined by high ranking Mason Theodor Reuss and occultist Aleister Crowley, who jointly drew the movement away from Masonic and Templar rites and deeply into the occult.

Related Topics:
Freemasonry - Order of the Solar Temple - 1984

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Capitolo Otto is among the secret societies that traces a link to the Knights Templar. The society, which recruits from the Yale University campus (among other recruiting mediums), puts an emphasis on internationalism and the merger of East and West, giving central importance to the cipher 1071. Highly secretive, the order has links to European secret societies.

Related Topics:
Capitolo Otto - 1071

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Although there are several self-styled orders that claim to be descended from, or revivals of, the Templar Order, an ecumenical Christian society based on the principles of chivalry, which styles itself as the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem, (SMOTJ) was founded in 1804, with the support of Napoleon. It is dedicated to charitable works and antiquarian research. This "order," though not a genuine Order of Chivalry, operates on the basis of the traditions of the medieval Knights Templar. In 2001, the United Nations appointed the SMOTJ group as a non-governmental observer (NGO), which does not necessarily contribute to recognition as an Order of Chivalry. To be an Order of Chivalry in reality, an organization must be established as an Order by the country in which it is headquartered, with the head of State as its sovereign. SMOTJ has neither qualification. It is also important to note that SMOTJ is not connected in any way with any organization or aspect of Freemasonry.

Related Topics:
Chivalry - Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem - 1804 - Napoleon - Antiquarian - 2001 - United Nations

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