THE SOVEREIGN MILITARY ORDER
OF THE TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM
Priory of St. Michael & St. George of New York City

A brief history of the Order:
The Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem is an ecumenical Christian knighthood, whose roots stretch back to 1118 and the Knights of Christ of the Temple of Solomon to aid pilgrims in their passage through the dangerous wilds of the Holy Land. The Temple was recognized as a religious-temporal order of chivalry at the Council of Troyes, 31 January 1128 (note the Chronology Page). The rules and customs of the Knights Templar were supplemented by further precepts derived from the Benedictine rule, drawn up by Saint Bernard, first Abbot of Clairvaux. In his treatise De laude Novae Militiae St. Bernard emphasized the importance of the Templar's mission. To symbolize the purity of their lives, the chevaliers of the order were required to wear a white cloak by Pope Honorius II, who approved their recognition by the Council. In 1146, a red cross was added by Pope Eugenius III. In 1139, Pope Innocent II emancipated the Order from all temporal and ecclesiastical authority except that of the Supreme Pontiff himself in a Papal Bull, Omne Datum Optimum. The Grand Master was granted administrative powers, but remained obedient to the Pope in all spiritual matters. Special dignity and many honors were conferred upon the Order by the Church on 15 June 1163 (Magnus Ordo in Ecclesia). The Spiritual Protector of the Order today is His Beatitude, Maximos V Hakim, Greek-Melkite Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, of Alexandria and Jerusalem (Byzantine Catholic). The Order continues (secular) for those who would give the good example of Christian Faith and life. Although best know for their combat arms -- principally mounted knights (heavy cavalry), sergeants and men at arms (supporting infantry) -- the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem also developed engineering, architecture and maritime skills within the Order. This was not only combat engineering for siege warfare and bridge building, but is also seen today in their fortifications in the Levant, as well as in the Gothic cathedrals and in thousands of churches, built either by the Templars or with their aid, throughout Europe and the Middle East (many place names containing the word "Temple" own their origin to a church built by the Knights Templar). To support their effort in the Holy Land they developed a naval force and international banking as a part of the Knights Templar logistics train. Knights Templar played a significant role in the establishment of the modern Scottish nation with Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn and in the fourteenth century North Atlantic explorations of Prince Henry Sinclair of Roslyn.

Jerusalem was lost in 1187, and the Templars took up positions at St. John of Acre, thence retiring, consequent to overwhelming Saracen pressure, to Cyprus after which the official Seat of the Order was placed at the Temple in Paris, sovereign territory of the Order, over which the King of France had no jurisdiction. Many Knights Templar returned to their own nations and countries, while maintaining their rule as a sovereign religious-temporal order of chivalry. By the end of the thirteenth century there were over nine thousand Templar commandries. The riches of the Templars throughout France excited the cupidity of the King of France, Philip IV, who arranged to have Templars arrested on 13 October 1307, and then to have Clement V (then living in "Babylonian Captivity" in France) publish a Bull removing official Church sponsorship from the Order. The order was suppressed in France in 1312, but not abolished or dissolved in that the Pope declared that the Papacy did not have the right to abolish the Order by reason (among others) of its sovereignty. At this point, the Order reverted to its previous status as a secular-military order of Christian chivalry. The Order was believed to have continued under a series of French nobles until 1705. In March of that year, a number of French nobles held a convention of Templars at Versailles. There, they elected Philip, Duke of Orleans, later Regent of France, as Grand Master. Thus as Regent of France and Grand Master of the Temple, the Duke of Orleans provided an official renewal of the Order of the Temple as a secular military order of chivalry.

Historian Hilare Belloc, in THE CRUSADES, points out that the Holy Land and Europe lay in mortal peril from the Turks after the Byzantine defeat at Mazikert in 1071, and it was the Crusades which, in 1099, saved Christian Civilization from Turkish Islam, at least in Europe, and for nearly a century in the Holy Land.

Knights Templar were major participants in that clash of cultures; they were the "few good men" who made a military contribution, and earned a lasting reputation, out of all proportion to their numbers. Although inadequate reinforcement of the Crusader states from Europe (with the failure to take Damascus) ultimately resulted in the loss of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, the Crusaders did buy time for Western civilization to develop the strength to withstand further onslaughts from the East.

One of the best recent histories of the first two centuries of the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem is THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR by Stephen Howarth, published in New York by Barnes & Noble. 1993.

The Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem is patriotic, being committed to the betterment of our country. The order is devoted to the preservation of Liberty, which is essential to freedom of conscience and religion for all and to the efficient performance of good works. The principal mission of the Order is Charity. The Order approaches this mainly through charitable works (both locally and in the Holy Land) which try to help people to help themselves, thereby enhancing Hope.

The virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity are the guiding lights of the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem, which members aspire to serve faithfully as Knights of God's Temple. The motto of the Order, "Non Nobis, Domine, Non Nobis, Sed Nomini Tuo Da Gloriam" is from Psalm 115, verse 1 -- "Not For Us, Lord, Not For Us, But To Thy Name Give Glory" .

Today the Order is a secular-military order of chivalry -- a Knighthood which is intended for senior military and naval officers, but which may also be bestowed upon certain civilian gentlemen and ladies ("Dames"), whose lives and works are of the same high quality. The Order of Merit, administered by the Prior of the Priory of New Amsterdam, has been established in the United States to recognize certain out-standing individuals, including those who might not otherwise be eligible for membership.

The Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem, incorporated in the United States, is autonomous and independent. It recognizes the constitution and statutes of the United States and of the several States as sovereign and temporally supreme public law. The Order, in an age of democratic materialism and secular humanism, seeks, by reconstituting an ancient chivalric order, to adopt an organization of proven effectiveness in capturing the allegiance and spirit of dedicated leaders, and to show that spiritual idealism is most certainly relevant and not inconsistent with a sensibility for tradition, nor inconsistent with patriotism or civic duty -- thus the Order's purpose to assist and facilitate the growth of the virtues of Christian gentlemen and ladies, by endeavor with God's Grace. The members of this Order believe that they have an obligation to preserve in the coalescing of a force similar to that which created knighthood and chivalry. This spirit of the paladin found noble expression in the twentieth century in the words of Thomas MacDonagh, a martyred leader of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland, "There is always a chance of success for brave men (and women) who challenge fortune."

For further information contact:

SOVEREIGN MILITARY ORDER OF THE TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM
Priory of St. Michael and St. George
Chev. Edmund Allen Voyer, GCTJ, GMTJ Prior
355 East 72nd Street
Apartment 2AB
New York City, NY 10021
Tel. (212) 407-0581

Non Nobis, Domine, Non Nobis, Sed Nomini Tuo Da Gloriam ™

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