York Rite Masonry
The York Rite in the United States is a grouping of separate Rites joined in order, namely the Capitular Rite, or Royal Arch Masons, the Cryptic Rite, or Cryptic Masons and the Chivalric Orders, or Knights Templar.
|
 Commandery |
The Knights Templar is the final order joined in the York Rite. Unlike other Masonic bodies which only require a belief in a Supreme Being regardless of religion, membership in Knights Templar is open only to Masons who promise to defend the Christian faith. And is open to Masons of any faith. Its affiliation with Masonry is based on texts that indicate persecuted Templars found refuge within the safety of Freemasonry.
A local Knights Templar organization is called a Commandery in the United States and a Preceptory elsewhere. In the United States, Knights Templar consists of three degrees:
llustrious Order of the Red Cross
As the first step in a Commandery of Knights Templar, The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross continues or reverts to the period of the Royal Arch Degree when the Jews were returning from Babylon to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. One of their number prevails upon King Darius to restore the Holy Vessels to the new Temple. They had been carried away by the Babylonian armies when the first Temple was destroyed. In presenting his plea before the King, the companion gives a powerful testimony to the almighty force of Truth. The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross, peculiar to America, teaches the lessons of the triumph of TRUTH.
Order of the Knights of Malta
The second Order in the Commandery is the Knight of Malta with its pass degree of Knight of St. Paul or the Mediterranean Pass. This Order is the first Christian Order encountered by the candidate. The ritual is based historically upon one of the old Orders of the Crusades.
Shifting to the time of the Crusades, admission to the Mediterranean Pass is sought so that a safe pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulcher might be undertaken. This is a sublime and sacred Order, which culminates in the enrollment of the supplicant as a Knight of Malta.
Shifting to the time of the Crusades, admission to the Mediterranean Pass is sought so that a safe pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulcher might be undertaken. This is a sublime and sacred Order, which culminates in the enrollment of the supplicant as a Knight of Malta.
Order of the Temple
This is the third and most impressive Order of the Commandery and is wholly Christian. No Degree or Order in Masonry is more solemn, or soul searching than the Order Of The Temple. It is a fitting climax to the labors of the humble penitent, who has faithfully performed the seven symbolic years of preparation for this consummation of his endeavors. He is knighted a Christian warrior.
Knights Templar were so named because of their close association with the site of the Temple during the years they occupied Jerusalem. The Ancient Order Of The Temple has been dispersed and its warlike spirit has passed away. There remains, however, a spirit of refined and moral Chivalry, which prompts its members to be ever ready to defend the weak, the innocent, the helpless and the Oppressed.
The Order Of The Temple is often called the most beautiful of all Orders and Degrees of Masonry. No Mason, who is a believer in the Christian religion, should be satisfied until he has received this -- the capstone of the York Rite.
Knights Templar were so named because of their close association with the site of the Temple during the years they occupied Jerusalem. The Ancient Order Of The Temple has been dispersed and its warlike spirit has passed away. There remains, however, a spirit of refined and moral Chivalry, which prompts its members to be ever ready to defend the weak, the innocent, the helpless and the Oppressed.
The Order Of The Temple is often called the most beautiful of all Orders and Degrees of Masonry. No Mason, who is a believer in the Christian religion, should be satisfied until he has received this -- the capstone of the York Rite.
