The Chivalric Orders
Kansas City Commandery No. 10 Knights Templar
There have been many historical accounts of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Jesus Christ, or Knights of the Temple, more commonly referred to as Knights Templar. They were formed as a result of the Crusades doing battle with the Moslems and the capture of Jerusalem around 1099. Jerusalem fell and the Holy City belonged to the Crusaders and all Christendom rejoiced. Most libraries and bookstores have many volumes on the Crusades and the Knights Templar and these writings are easily understood. The internet today has an almost endless amount of information on the Knights Templar and those interested can become well informed of the different versions relating to their history.
The Chivalric Orders are a set of three Orders culminating in the grade of Knight Templar, and controlled by that body. This body is markedly different from its foreign counterparts, in that it exhibits a paramilitary structure and outlook on Masonry, being the only branch of Masonry in the world that is a uniformed body. Its requirement that its members be professed Christians has led to calls of condemnation from other Masonic bodies and organizations both inside and outside the United States, claiming that the body is more of a Christian organization rather than a Masonic body. These have had little effect on the body, however, as many of the organizations criticizing the body have similar degrees among themselves. The American body is also arranged different from its nearest relatives in England. The American body includes the Illustrious Order of the Red Cross, which is not conferred in any other organization, though it has very close cousins in the Irish and American Order of Knight Masons and in the English Allied Masonic Degrees grade of the Red Cross of Babylon. Also, in the United States, the Order of Malta is conferred on members before being eligible to receive the Order of the Temple, whereas in England, the Order of Malta is an honorary grade bestowed on Knights Templar. In the United States, all business is transacted in the Order of the Temple, the other bodies only being opened for the conferral of the Orders. In England, the Order of Malta meets and operates as a separate body in addition to the Order of the Temple.
Order of the Red Cross
Order of Knight of Malta and the Mediterranean Pass
Shifting to the time of the Crusades, admission to the Mediterranean Pass is sought, that a safe pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulcher might be undertaken, this is a very sublime and sacred Order, which culminates in the enrollment of the candidate as a Knight of Malta.
This Order emphasizes the lesson of faith. This Order requires the Mason to profess and practice the Christian faith. The pass degree of the Mediterranean Pass, or Knight of St. Paul prepares the candidate for the Order by introducing the lesson and example of the unfearing and faithful martyr of Christianity. The Order is centered on allegorical elements of the Knights of Malta, inheritors of the medieval Knights Hospitaller.
Order of the Temple
No Degree or Order in Freemasonry is more solemn, more impressive or more soul-searching than the Order of the Temple. It becomes a fitting climax to the labors of the humble penitent, who has faithfully performed the symbolic seven years of preparation for the consummation of his endeavors, his knighting as a Christian Warrior. Knights Templar were so named because of their close association with the site of the Temple, during the number of years that they occupied and held Jerusalem. The Ancient Order of the Temple has been dispersed, and the warlike spirit of the Order has passed away, but there remains 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, and thus warrant the title of true Knight Templar.
The Order of the Temple has been called the most beautiful of all the Orders and Degrees of Freemasonry. No Freemason, who is a believer in the Christian religion, should be satisfied until he has received this, the capstone on the York Rite.
This Order emphasizes the lessons of self-sacrifice and reverence. It is meant to rekindle the spirit of the medieval Knights Templar devotion and self-sacrifice to Christianity. The history of the Masonic Order is long and convoluted, with the Order’s ritual differing between that conferred in England and in the United States. That practiced in the United States has a slight militant zeal to the lesson of Christianity, whereas the English ritual is more allegorical. However, the American ritual is most impressive, and more emphasis is placed on the solemnity and reverence associated with the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Christ. The presiding body is a Commandery, and the presiding officer is a Commander (titled Eminent).
Past Commanders Association
Past Commander’s Association is open to all past and present Eminent Commanders of local Commanderies. There are no annual fees, there is a one-time $20 lifetime membership fee.
The associated order is conferred during the Annual Grand Commandery Conclave. Download the petition for membership.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I want to join, what is the process?
In Missouri you must be a Royal Arch Mason in good standing of a Chapter of Royal Arch Masons in the State of Missouri, and Royal and Select Master in good standing of a Council of Royal and Select Masters. You then must petition a local Commandery to join, most generally petition to join all three York Bodies at the same time. Once you have submitted your petition to the Commandery, the Council will vote on your petition and inform you of the result. If accepted, the Degree are normally conferred during a York Rite “Festival”.
Do I need to be a Christian?
Yes, the Knights Templar is unique in that is is the only Masonmic body that has a specific religious requirement.