REAL Knights Templar?

[Rough Ashlar]

Hey guys, I'm new to the forum, but have been a MM for five years now. I'm a member of both YR and SR, but only in the last year have I heard about something that I haven't heard of since. While conducting military training at CAIN, I met a Brother who claimed that he belonged not only to the Commandery, but also to a separate Order of the Knights of the Temple...(or something of that nature.) He claimed that in order to be initiated, one had to actually conduct a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, traveling through Europe, and was, at the completion, actually Knighted. This seemed to me to be more of an "operative" form of the Commandery. However, when I put this to several knowledgeable members of my home lodge (as well as other Brethren I've met along the way), none have heard of such a thing. Can anyone shed any light on this? I'd like more information if it's out there.

 

[Ashlar2006]

I haven't heard of such a thing neither . This may take some digging , sounds interesting though .

 

[PatrickWilliams]

My brother,

As you are no doubt aware, the original Templar organization was suppressed in the early 1300's by the Pope of that time with the help of Philip the Fair (King of France). Since that time there have been countless "Templar Orders" that have risen, done their bit and many, if not most of them, have disappeared. Now: a Templar order where one has to first make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land? That's a new one on me, but why not? However, (and here's the part that sets my alarms flashing) ACTUALLY KNIGHTED? By whom? A knighthood must come from a fons honorum (fount of honor) and that is most usually interpreted as meaning a sovereign ruler (the Queen of England and the Pope spring to mind as examples). There are very, very few authentic fons honori left in the world. I must admit I know nothing that would help me identify the organization that your acquaintance claims to belong to, but I'd almost be willing to bet that the organization (no matter how much charity it dispenses or good it does) is spurious. The knighthood it confers almost cannot be an authentic one, and it certainly is NOT a legitimate Templar knighthood.

 

[Rough Ashlar]

Thanks Patrick,
I was certainly aware of the supression by the Pope and Hospitallers, the murder of JDM, etc. I'm in total agreement with you on the authenticity of the "knighting". I don't know who would do such a thing, or what order would be the convening body. However, I did know this fellow to be a true brother and fellow, and also a member of the Commandery. He did acknowledge it as a separate entity not related to the Craft at all, but still a "Templar Organization". The secrecy, he claimed, was immense, but I've got to admit that the pilgrimage and the conferring of "Templar Knighthood" definitely snagged my interest. In anycase, I've been trying to verify/debunk this for the last year now, with no luck.

 

[PatrickWilliams]

Thanks Patrick,
I was certainly aware of the supression by the Pope and Hospitallers, the murder of JDM, etc. I'm in total agreement with you on the authenticity of the "knighting". I don't know who would do such a thing, or what order would be the convening body. However, I did know this fellow to be a true brother and fellow, and also a member of the Commandery. He did acknowledge it as a separate entity not related to the Craft at all, but still a "Templar Organization". The secrecy, he claimed, was immense, but I've got to admit that the pilgrimage and the conferring of "Templar Knighthood" definitely snagged my interest. In anycase, I've been trying to verify/debunk this for the last year now, with no luck.

Even the best of us get suckered sometimes. There is no such thing as an authentic Templar knighthood and hasn't been since JDM.

 

[Winter]

I think the OSMTH or SMOTJ (Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani also known as The Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem) a modern Order of the Templars, send "Pilgrims" (read: christian missionaries) to the Holy Land. Might be the order you are thinking about.