Cookstown Masonic Temple
A framed York Rite illustration.
Link: www.royalarchmasons.on.ca
Ontario Districts.
Cookstown: District 9.
York Rite of Masonry - Oldest Freemason Branch
The symbolic degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason, as conferred in Canada, are degrees of the York Rite.
York Masonry is the oldest and best known of all Masonic Rites.
It takes its name from York, England, where the earliest known record of Masonry exists, dating from about A.D. 923.
Masonry´s first written record is centered around York, the seat of the Ancient York Grand Lodge. In 1813, this Grand Lodge merged with another group called the Modern Grand Lodge, to form the United Grand Lodge of England. This is the basis upon which our present system of Symbolic Lodge Masonry is built.
You, as a Master Mason, have received the first three degrees of the York Rite. Having begun your Masonic work in the York Rite, it is natural that you should want to continue with it.
According to Masonic legend, every man raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason received “substitute secrets”, as the “true secrets” were lost. It may prove a surprise to the average man, believing his work is completed, to be told that the secrets pertaining to the ceremony will not be given to him! This is unfortunate, but the veil is lifted in the degree of the Royal Arch, and in that degree only. Hence, no man actually becomes a Master Mason until he is exalted to that holy order.
Some would have the newly raised Master Mason believe that he can receive the secrets and word in a degree other than the Royal Arch. This is not true, historically or otherwise. The mother Grand Lodge of England was so emphatic regarding the necessity of the Royal Arch degree that many years ago, it set forth this as Paragraph One (1) of its Laws and Regulations:
“By the solemn act of the union between the two Grand Lodges of Freemasons of England in December, 1813, it was declared and pronounced that Pure Ancient Masonry consists of three degrees and no more, viz: those of the Entered Apprentice, the Fellowcraft, and the Master Mason, INCLUDING THE SUPREME ORDER OF THE HOLY ROYAL ARCH.”
On the North American Continent, there are additional degrees in the system, supplementing the work of the Lodge, Chapter, and Council, and the Orders conferred in the Commandery have been arranged into a system or Rite referred to as the American, Canadian, or York Rite of Freemasonry. It is American in structure, as it is a democratic organization in which every member has a voice and a right to be heard.
2. ROYAL ARCH MASONRY
The various local Chapters operate under the jurisdiction of the “Grand Chapter” of Province - Royal Arch Masons of Canada in the Province of Ontario. There is also the General Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons International. The General Grand Chapter constitutes the largest Masonic Body in the world though it is not recognized by the Province.
The Chapter confers four degrees (Capitular Degrees), giving a complete story of Masonic symbolism, in the following order:
Mark Master
Past Master (Virtual) (International not Ontarian)
Most Excellent Master
Royal Arch
The Mark Master degree is perhaps the oldest Masonic degree, and is one of the most highly respected. It teaches practical lessons for everyday living. This degree supplements the Fellowcraft Degree.
The Past Master degree teaches the candidate the important duties and responsibilities of the Oriental Chair, and is qualification for advancement.
It is commonly known that the symbolism of Freemasonry surrounds the building of the Temple. In symbolic Free-Masonry, the Temple is never completed. In the Most Excellent Master degree, we are taught the lessons of the completion and dedication of the Temple.
In the degree of the Royal Arch, the epitome of Masonic symbolism is found. It has been said “the Royal Arch is the root, heart and marrow of Masonry, without knowledge of which the Masonic character cannot be complete”.
The Royal Arch degree is the completion of the whole system of Freemasonry. Having begun regular advancement through the Symbolic Lodge, it is the duty of each Master Mason to complete the degree series. He who has sought further Masonic education should return to the Symbolic Lodge, retrace his steps and advance through the Rite until he can receive the climax of Masonic symbolism, as taught in the Royal Arch.
Only those who have attained the Royal Arch may be said to have completed their Masonic Work.
3. CRYPTIC MASONRY
The Councils of Cryptic Masons operate under the jurisdiction of the Grand Council of Cryptic Masons of each state and most Grand Councils operate under the General Grand Council of the United States. They confer the following three degrees:
Royal Master
Select Master
Super Excellent Master
Without the Royal and Select Master degrees, neither the Master Mason degree nor the Royal Arch degree is complete. These two degrees account for the concealment and preservation of the treasures revealed in the Royal Arch.
The Super Excellent Master is an honorary degree, qualifications for which are fulfilled by virtue of being in good standing in a Council. This degree is the most dramatic and spectacular of all Masonic systems.
4. KNIGHT TEMPLAR MASONRY
Local Commanderies are governed by the Grand Commandery of each jurisdiction.
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
The Order of the Temple
The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross is founded upon Truth – a divine attribute, the foundation of every virtue.
Knights of Malta. First called Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem 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.
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 in the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth. At the empty tomb grows a sprig of acacia, teaching that we shall dwell forever in the realms of life and light eternal.
Freemasonry demands only a belief in a monotheistic God, where Hindu, Muslim, Jew and Gentile may together worship around its alters. The Christian Freemason alone has at his disposal a branch of the fraternity where he is free to interpret the teachings of the Symbolic Lodge according to his 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”.
WHAT DOES YORK RITE MASONRY OFFER?
The noble heritage of York Masonry is yours to take. The regular meetings of the various grades are conducive to firmer relationships and a closer spirit of brotherly love. Being a York Rite Mason does not mean you are elevated to a “higher rank´. It is an educational tool to help you realize the Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of Man in your own life. We trust the foregoing has increased your interest in the York Rite.
York Rite of Masonry - Oldest Freemason Branch
The symbolic degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason, as conferred in Canada, are degrees of the York Rite.
York Masonry is the oldest and best known of all Masonic Rites.
It takes its name from York, England, where the earliest known record of Masonry exists, dating from about A.D. 923.
Masonry´s first written record is centered around York, the seat of the Ancient York Grand Lodge. In 1813, this Grand Lodge merged with another group called the Modern Grand Lodge, to form the United Grand Lodge of England. This is the basis upon which our present system of Symbolic Lodge Masonry is built.
You, as a Master Mason, have received the first three degrees of the York Rite. Having begun your Masonic work in the York Rite, it is natural that you should want to continue with it.
According to Masonic legend, every man raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason received “substitute secrets”, as the “true secrets” were lost. It may prove a surprise to the average man, believing his work is completed, to be told that the secrets pertaining to the ceremony will not be given to him! This is unfortunate, but the veil is lifted in the degree of the Royal Arch, and in that degree only. Hence, no man actually becomes a Master Mason until he is exalted to that holy order.
Some would have the newly raised Master Mason believe that he can receive the secrets and word in a degree other than the Royal Arch. This is not true, historically or otherwise. The mother Grand Lodge of England was so emphatic regarding the necessity of the Royal Arch degree that many years ago, it set forth this as Paragraph One (1) of its Laws and Regulations:
“By the solemn act of the union between the two Grand Lodges of Freemasons of England in December, 1813, it was declared and pronounced that Pure Ancient Masonry consists of three degrees and no more, viz: those of the Entered Apprentice, the Fellowcraft, and the Master Mason, INCLUDING THE SUPREME ORDER OF THE HOLY ROYAL ARCH.”
On the North American Continent, there are additional degrees in the system, supplementing the work of the Lodge, Chapter, and Council, and the Orders conferred in the Commandery have been arranged into a system or Rite referred to as the American, Canadian, or York Rite of Freemasonry. It is American in structure, as it is a democratic organization in which every member has a voice and a right to be heard.
Christian Chivalry and Freemasonry
Rarely does one connect Chivalry with Freemasonry, yet there is one branch of the fraternity which places great stress on Christian Chivalry and those virtues which go to make up chivalric character.
We refer to that great Order known as Knights of the Temple, or Knights Templar.
The original Knights of the Temple were Christian warriors; they were men of Faith, inspired with love of God and the Church. The story of their exploits, their adventures, their self-sacrifice, and their accomplishments, read as a page from a story book.
There is nothing so appealing in all history as the story of the great Crusades, sponsored by the Church, but actually carried on through the great chivalric orders of that day. The object of the Crusades was to wrest the Holy Land and the sacred places of Christian history from the Moslem.
The Crusade period marked a new era in the life of the world. It brought the Eastern and Western worlds together. The evils and virtues of the East were brought to the West and vice versa. But the greatest thing which emerged through these conflicts of Christian and Saracen was the virtue of Charity. The Knights of the Temple and the Knights Hospitaler were the Red Cross organization of that day. For the first time in the history of war; men began to think of aiding others. Many are the deeds of Charity recounted, not only between those of the faith, but extending from Christian to Moslem.
Thus did this era usher in those homely virtues of Charity, Hospitality and Universal Benevolence.
Today the warlike character of the Knights has disappeared; no more is it thought necessary to engage in useless struggle over holy sites and places; no more is it believed necessary to fight men of other nations in order to convert them to our way of thinking.
But the same feelings of Love, and Truth, and Charity, and Hospitality, and Universal Benevolence still remain in the human heart, and the world at large is benefited by any group which encourages such essential needs of mankind.
Thus has grown the modern Order of the Temple. Knights of today claim no direct legal descent from those ancient knights of old, yet they do claim to carry on the virtues for which they fought, bled and died. No longer is it necessary to fight with material weapons, for today "the pen is mightier than the sword", and the weapon of a knight is the influence of a good life carried out as set forth in the New Dispensation - that we love one another.
And you ask: "Just what place does the Templar Order hold in respect to other branches of Freemasonry?"
And we reply: "A most important part". To the Christian Freemason it represents the summit of the teachings of the Craft. While in no way minimizing the teachings of the symbolic degrees, yet to him the Order of the Temple conveys the essence of Masonic teachings, and is the Christian interpretation of the Symbols of ancient Craft Masonry.
Sanctioned by Grand Lodge
The Grand Lodge of York, in 1780, gave its sanction to the working of five separated degrees or orders:
The Entered Apprentice.
The Fellowcraft.
The Master Mason.
The Royal Arch.
The Knight Templar.
The United Grand Lodge of England, the Mother of regular and legitimate Freemasonry in the world, set forth at the time of the Union the following: "It is declared and pronounced that pure and Ancient Craft Masonry consists of three degrees and no more, namely, those of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason, including the Holy Royal Arch.
And that the Grand Lodge might not create any misconstruction of their declaration, it was added:
"This article is not intended to prevent any Lodge or Chapter from holding meetings in any of the degrees of Chivalry, according to the Constitution of said Order."
Thus, the Order of the Temple was given an official place and standing in the structure of Masonry.
During the early and unwritten history of the Masonic Fraternity, there was a strong tone of Christianity which ran throughout the Symbolic structure, but by the time Anderson published his Constitutions, Christianity was virtually taken out of the ritual and Constitutions, because of a great desire to make the fraternity such as might be acceptable to men of any religion who subscribe to a belief in a Supreme Being.
Removal of Christian Symbolism
This was truly unfortunate for those who interpreted the Lodge symbols as Christian doctrines. To deprive Freemasonry of the Ancient Craft of its Christian symbolism in an attempt to make it more universal, was, to them, unmasonic, and characterized as being compared to "removing a Masterpiece of Art from a gallery, or depriving a Crown of its Most Precious Jewel.
And the Christian Freemason sought out an Order which interpreted his Freemasonry in the Light of the New Dispensation.
He ended his search when he entered any asylum of Knights Templar.
It was Dr. William F. Kuhn, the great Masonic thinker, who said: "Freemasonry is not a series of degrees to give those who have the money to purchase them, certain titles and decorations, for even in Freemasonry 'a fool may be a belted Knight', and an Entered Apprentice may have a clearer conception of God and man's relation to Him, than he who wears the insignia of the highest rank. Moral conception does not exist merely in believing but in believing and doing. The Stoics of Rome persuaded themselves to believe that they were of Divine Essence and elaborated a finely spun system of philosophy, but they permitted the poor to lie starving at their doors."
Templars believe in practice; their charities may not be proclaimed from the house tops, but the records of the smallest preceptor of Knights Templar should prove that Charity and Hospitality are yet the grand characteristics of this great Christian Order. Templary realizes that it is hypocritical to profess and teach great platitudes without making an honest effort to practice what is professed. Our governing body (Sovereign Great Priory) administers a substantial fund known as The Knights Templar Charitable Foundation, contributed to by all members and administered without ostentation. This fund originally designed for orphans of deceased Knights Templar is also used for many deserving welfare cases and education of deserving students, including those for the ministry.
What are the Chivalric Orders?
We have referred to the Orders conferred by a Preceptory. In Canada the work of the Preceptory is divided into three parts:
The Order of the Red Cross.
The Orders of Mediterranean Pass and Malta.
The Orders of the Temple.
The Red Cross Order is not, strictly speaking, a Christian Order. Its value in the Templar system is its bridging of the gap between the Royal Arch degree and the Order of the Temple. It is a story founded upon an important period in Hebrew history and stresses Faith in God, the importance of Truth, and the value of Liberty and Justice.
The Order of Malta brings to the novitiate the story of another of the great Chivalric Orders, whose deeds of heroism fill the pages of history, and whose Christian character forms a bright page in religious history.
The most striking degree or Order in Masonry in the opinion of most expert ritualists is the Order of Consecration as set out in the Canadian Work. It is rightly described as the "ne plus ultra" of the Masonic system and is especially appreciated by all Christian Freemasons. We cannot describe its beauty or the impressions which are created in the mind of the Candidate. It must be seen to be appreciated.
Rise up, 0 Men of God
Have done with lesser things
Give Heart and Soul and Mind and Strength
To serve the King of Kings.
Lift high the Cross of Christ
Tread where His feet have trod
As brothers of the Son of Man
Rise up, O Men of God.
To Royal Arch Masonry has been given the WORD. To Knights Templar is given the INTERPRETATION.
Cookstown Masonic Temple
A framed York Rite illustration.
Link: www.royalarchmasons.on.ca
Ontario Districts.
Cookstown: District 9.
York Rite of Masonry - Oldest Freemason Branch
The symbolic degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason, as conferred in Canada, are degrees of the York Rite.
York Masonry is the oldest and best known of all Masonic Rites.
It takes its name from York, England, where the earliest known record of Masonry exists, dating from about A.D. 923.
Masonry´s first written record is centered around York, the seat of the Ancient York Grand Lodge. In 1813, this Grand Lodge merged with another group called the Modern Grand Lodge, to form the United Grand Lodge of England. This is the basis upon which our present system of Symbolic Lodge Masonry is built.
You, as a Master Mason, have received the first three degrees of the York Rite. Having begun your Masonic work in the York Rite, it is natural that you should want to continue with it.
According to Masonic legend, every man raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason received “substitute secrets”, as the “true secrets” were lost. It may prove a surprise to the average man, believing his work is completed, to be told that the secrets pertaining to the ceremony will not be given to him! This is unfortunate, but the veil is lifted in the degree of the Royal Arch, and in that degree only. Hence, no man actually becomes a Master Mason until he is exalted to that holy order.
Some would have the newly raised Master Mason believe that he can receive the secrets and word in a degree other than the Royal Arch. This is not true, historically or otherwise. The mother Grand Lodge of England was so emphatic regarding the necessity of the Royal Arch degree that many years ago, it set forth this as Paragraph One (1) of its Laws and Regulations:
“By the solemn act of the union between the two Grand Lodges of Freemasons of England in December, 1813, it was declared and pronounced that Pure Ancient Masonry consists of three degrees and no more, viz: those of the Entered Apprentice, the Fellowcraft, and the Master Mason, INCLUDING THE SUPREME ORDER OF THE HOLY ROYAL ARCH.”
On the North American Continent, there are additional degrees in the system, supplementing the work of the Lodge, Chapter, and Council, and the Orders conferred in the Commandery have been arranged into a system or Rite referred to as the American, Canadian, or York Rite of Freemasonry. It is American in structure, as it is a democratic organization in which every member has a voice and a right to be heard.
2. ROYAL ARCH MASONRY
The various local Chapters operate under the jurisdiction of the “Grand Chapter” of Province - Royal Arch Masons of Canada in the Province of Ontario. There is also the General Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons International. The General Grand Chapter constitutes the largest Masonic Body in the world though it is not recognized by the Province.
The Chapter confers four degrees (Capitular Degrees), giving a complete story of Masonic symbolism, in the following order:
Mark Master
Past Master (Virtual) (International not Ontarian)
Most Excellent Master
Royal Arch
The Mark Master degree is perhaps the oldest Masonic degree, and is one of the most highly respected. It teaches practical lessons for everyday living. This degree supplements the Fellowcraft Degree.
The Past Master degree teaches the candidate the important duties and responsibilities of the Oriental Chair, and is qualification for advancement.
It is commonly known that the symbolism of Freemasonry surrounds the building of the Temple. In symbolic Free-Masonry, the Temple is never completed. In the Most Excellent Master degree, we are taught the lessons of the completion and dedication of the Temple.
In the degree of the Royal Arch, the epitome of Masonic symbolism is found. It has been said “the Royal Arch is the root, heart and marrow of Masonry, without knowledge of which the Masonic character cannot be complete”.
The Royal Arch degree is the completion of the whole system of Freemasonry. Having begun regular advancement through the Symbolic Lodge, it is the duty of each Master Mason to complete the degree series. He who has sought further Masonic education should return to the Symbolic Lodge, retrace his steps and advance through the Rite until he can receive the climax of Masonic symbolism, as taught in the Royal Arch.
Only those who have attained the Royal Arch may be said to have completed their Masonic Work.
3. CRYPTIC MASONRY
The Councils of Cryptic Masons operate under the jurisdiction of the Grand Council of Cryptic Masons of each state and most Grand Councils operate under the General Grand Council of the United States. They confer the following three degrees:
Royal Master
Select Master
Super Excellent Master
Without the Royal and Select Master degrees, neither the Master Mason degree nor the Royal Arch degree is complete. These two degrees account for the concealment and preservation of the treasures revealed in the Royal Arch.
The Super Excellent Master is an honorary degree, qualifications for which are fulfilled by virtue of being in good standing in a Council. This degree is the most dramatic and spectacular of all Masonic systems.
4. KNIGHT TEMPLAR MASONRY
Local Commanderies are governed by the Grand Commandery of each jurisdiction.
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
The Order of the Temple
The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross is founded upon Truth – a divine attribute, the foundation of every virtue.
Knights of Malta. First called Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem 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.
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 in the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth. At the empty tomb grows a sprig of acacia, teaching that we shall dwell forever in the realms of life and light eternal.
Freemasonry demands only a belief in a monotheistic God, where Hindu, Muslim, Jew and Gentile may together worship around its alters. The Christian Freemason alone has at his disposal a branch of the fraternity where he is free to interpret the teachings of the Symbolic Lodge according to his 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”.
WHAT DOES YORK RITE MASONRY OFFER?
The noble heritage of York Masonry is yours to take. The regular meetings of the various grades are conducive to firmer relationships and a closer spirit of brotherly love. Being a York Rite Mason does not mean you are elevated to a “higher rank´. It is an educational tool to help you realize the Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of Man in your own life. We trust the foregoing has increased your interest in the York Rite.
York Rite of Masonry - Oldest Freemason Branch
The symbolic degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason, as conferred in Canada, are degrees of the York Rite.
York Masonry is the oldest and best known of all Masonic Rites.
It takes its name from York, England, where the earliest known record of Masonry exists, dating from about A.D. 923.
Masonry´s first written record is centered around York, the seat of the Ancient York Grand Lodge. In 1813, this Grand Lodge merged with another group called the Modern Grand Lodge, to form the United Grand Lodge of England. This is the basis upon which our present system of Symbolic Lodge Masonry is built.
You, as a Master Mason, have received the first three degrees of the York Rite. Having begun your Masonic work in the York Rite, it is natural that you should want to continue with it.
According to Masonic legend, every man raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason received “substitute secrets”, as the “true secrets” were lost. It may prove a surprise to the average man, believing his work is completed, to be told that the secrets pertaining to the ceremony will not be given to him! This is unfortunate, but the veil is lifted in the degree of the Royal Arch, and in that degree only. Hence, no man actually becomes a Master Mason until he is exalted to that holy order.
Some would have the newly raised Master Mason believe that he can receive the secrets and word in a degree other than the Royal Arch. This is not true, historically or otherwise. The mother Grand Lodge of England was so emphatic regarding the necessity of the Royal Arch degree that many years ago, it set forth this as Paragraph One (1) of its Laws and Regulations:
“By the solemn act of the union between the two Grand Lodges of Freemasons of England in December, 1813, it was declared and pronounced that Pure Ancient Masonry consists of three degrees and no more, viz: those of the Entered Apprentice, the Fellowcraft, and the Master Mason, INCLUDING THE SUPREME ORDER OF THE HOLY ROYAL ARCH.”
On the North American Continent, there are additional degrees in the system, supplementing the work of the Lodge, Chapter, and Council, and the Orders conferred in the Commandery have been arranged into a system or Rite referred to as the American, Canadian, or York Rite of Freemasonry. It is American in structure, as it is a democratic organization in which every member has a voice and a right to be heard.
Christian Chivalry and Freemasonry
Rarely does one connect Chivalry with Freemasonry, yet there is one branch of the fraternity which places great stress on Christian Chivalry and those virtues which go to make up chivalric character.
We refer to that great Order known as Knights of the Temple, or Knights Templar.
The original Knights of the Temple were Christian warriors; they were men of Faith, inspired with love of God and the Church. The story of their exploits, their adventures, their self-sacrifice, and their accomplishments, read as a page from a story book.
There is nothing so appealing in all history as the story of the great Crusades, sponsored by the Church, but actually carried on through the great chivalric orders of that day. The object of the Crusades was to wrest the Holy Land and the sacred places of Christian history from the Moslem.
The Crusade period marked a new era in the life of the world. It brought the Eastern and Western worlds together. The evils and virtues of the East were brought to the West and vice versa. But the greatest thing which emerged through these conflicts of Christian and Saracen was the virtue of Charity. The Knights of the Temple and the Knights Hospitaler were the Red Cross organization of that day. For the first time in the history of war; men began to think of aiding others. Many are the deeds of Charity recounted, not only between those of the faith, but extending from Christian to Moslem.
Thus did this era usher in those homely virtues of Charity, Hospitality and Universal Benevolence.
Today the warlike character of the Knights has disappeared; no more is it thought necessary to engage in useless struggle over holy sites and places; no more is it believed necessary to fight men of other nations in order to convert them to our way of thinking.
But the same feelings of Love, and Truth, and Charity, and Hospitality, and Universal Benevolence still remain in the human heart, and the world at large is benefited by any group which encourages such essential needs of mankind.
Thus has grown the modern Order of the Temple. Knights of today claim no direct legal descent from those ancient knights of old, yet they do claim to carry on the virtues for which they fought, bled and died. No longer is it necessary to fight with material weapons, for today "the pen is mightier than the sword", and the weapon of a knight is the influence of a good life carried out as set forth in the New Dispensation - that we love one another.
And you ask: "Just what place does the Templar Order hold in respect to other branches of Freemasonry?"
And we reply: "A most important part". To the Christian Freemason it represents the summit of the teachings of the Craft. While in no way minimizing the teachings of the symbolic degrees, yet to him the Order of the Temple conveys the essence of Masonic teachings, and is the Christian interpretation of the Symbols of ancient Craft Masonry.
Sanctioned by Grand Lodge
The Grand Lodge of York, in 1780, gave its sanction to the working of five separated degrees or orders:
The Entered Apprentice.
The Fellowcraft.
The Master Mason.
The Royal Arch.
The Knight Templar.
The United Grand Lodge of England, the Mother of regular and legitimate Freemasonry in the world, set forth at the time of the Union the following: "It is declared and pronounced that pure and Ancient Craft Masonry consists of three degrees and no more, namely, those of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason, including the Holy Royal Arch.
And that the Grand Lodge might not create any misconstruction of their declaration, it was added:
"This article is not intended to prevent any Lodge or Chapter from holding meetings in any of the degrees of Chivalry, according to the Constitution of said Order."
Thus, the Order of the Temple was given an official place and standing in the structure of Masonry.
During the early and unwritten history of the Masonic Fraternity, there was a strong tone of Christianity which ran throughout the Symbolic structure, but by the time Anderson published his Constitutions, Christianity was virtually taken out of the ritual and Constitutions, because of a great desire to make the fraternity such as might be acceptable to men of any religion who subscribe to a belief in a Supreme Being.
Removal of Christian Symbolism
This was truly unfortunate for those who interpreted the Lodge symbols as Christian doctrines. To deprive Freemasonry of the Ancient Craft of its Christian symbolism in an attempt to make it more universal, was, to them, unmasonic, and characterized as being compared to "removing a Masterpiece of Art from a gallery, or depriving a Crown of its Most Precious Jewel.
And the Christian Freemason sought out an Order which interpreted his Freemasonry in the Light of the New Dispensation.
He ended his search when he entered any asylum of Knights Templar.
It was Dr. William F. Kuhn, the great Masonic thinker, who said: "Freemasonry is not a series of degrees to give those who have the money to purchase them, certain titles and decorations, for even in Freemasonry 'a fool may be a belted Knight', and an Entered Apprentice may have a clearer conception of God and man's relation to Him, than he who wears the insignia of the highest rank. Moral conception does not exist merely in believing but in believing and doing. The Stoics of Rome persuaded themselves to believe that they were of Divine Essence and elaborated a finely spun system of philosophy, but they permitted the poor to lie starving at their doors."
Templars believe in practice; their charities may not be proclaimed from the house tops, but the records of the smallest preceptor of Knights Templar should prove that Charity and Hospitality are yet the grand characteristics of this great Christian Order. Templary realizes that it is hypocritical to profess and teach great platitudes without making an honest effort to practice what is professed. Our governing body (Sovereign Great Priory) administers a substantial fund known as The Knights Templar Charitable Foundation, contributed to by all members and administered without ostentation. This fund originally designed for orphans of deceased Knights Templar is also used for many deserving welfare cases and education of deserving students, including those for the ministry.
What are the Chivalric Orders?
We have referred to the Orders conferred by a Preceptory. In Canada the work of the Preceptory is divided into three parts:
The Order of the Red Cross.
The Orders of Mediterranean Pass and Malta.
The Orders of the Temple.
The Red Cross Order is not, strictly speaking, a Christian Order. Its value in the Templar system is its bridging of the gap between the Royal Arch degree and the Order of the Temple. It is a story founded upon an important period in Hebrew history and stresses Faith in God, the importance of Truth, and the value of Liberty and Justice.
The Order of Malta brings to the novitiate the story of another of the great Chivalric Orders, whose deeds of heroism fill the pages of history, and whose Christian character forms a bright page in religious history.
The most striking degree or Order in Masonry in the opinion of most expert ritualists is the Order of Consecration as set out in the Canadian Work. It is rightly described as the "ne plus ultra" of the Masonic system and is especially appreciated by all Christian Freemasons. We cannot describe its beauty or the impressions which are created in the mind of the Candidate. It must be seen to be appreciated.
Rise up, 0 Men of God
Have done with lesser things
Give Heart and Soul and Mind and Strength
To serve the King of Kings.
Lift high the Cross of Christ
Tread where His feet have trod
As brothers of the Son of Man
Rise up, O Men of God.
To Royal Arch Masonry has been given the WORD. To Knights Templar is given the INTERPRETATION.