Thank you for joining Wars of the Roses as we continue with part nine the origin and history of the Knights Templars and the ancient and accepted Scottish right from ancient Mysteries and modern masonry by Charles H Vale lecture nine the origin and history of the night Templars and the ancient
And accepted Scottish right we will first consider the military order of the Knights Templars of the Crusades this organization was originally called the order of the temple and was founded in 1118 to 1119 ad by nine Benedictine monks who resided in monasteries at Jerusalem the object of the order was
The defense of the Holy Seiler and the protection of the Christian pilgrims who visited the sacred Shrine the holy Place had been desecrated and the Christians persecuted by both sarason and Turk the Christian monks joined the patriarch of Jerusalem in guarding the approach to the city and lived under the Benedictine
Rule fighting for the cause of the church the patriarch assigned them quarters in the Palace of the Latin Kings of Jerusalem sometimes called Solomon’s Temple and it was this that gave the Templar name to the order the New Order rendered Valiant service to the pilgrims and others in need their
Fame spread rap ly and their ranks as rapidly increased by recruits from the religious fraternities in Europe members of the French nobility and then from all classes of society these recruits were organized by skillful military leaders and before long became renowned in The Art of War the order was strictly a religious body
And was composed of three classes Knights chaplain and serving Brothers a council was held in 1128 to determine the statute of the order rules of discipline and obligations numbering 72 were adopted at a later date they were elaborated into a more complete ritual in our last lecture we mentioned
That the early Templars possessed a secret Doctrine the early Freemasons also taught in secret making it difficult to trace one without mentioning the other I need here only to recall that the secret science had passed along from age to age until received by the Knights Templars according to the record of the German
Lodges the Templars received their Mystic teaching from certain Syriac Christians but of what particular Doctrine cult or order they do not State perhaps they were members of the Brotherhood of St John which according to the cologne record possessed a Mystic teaching or perhaps they were members of the johanan Christians again perhaps
These two societies may have been of the same or a very similar order the yanites were also called Christians of the East there is a tradition that traces the secret teaching of the Templars to the jeanit so it is more than probable that the Syriac Christians were members of
This Brotherhood this tradition as given by General Pike states that there existed at that period in the East a sect of johannite Christians who claimed to be the only true initiates into the real Mysteries of the religion of the savior they pretended to know the real history of Jesus the anointed and
Adopting in part the Jewish traditions and the tales of the talmud they held that the facts recounted in the the evangels are but allegories the yanites ascribed to St John the foundation of their secret church and the grand pontiffs of the sect assumed the title of Christos anointed or consecrated and
Claim to have succeeded one another from St John by an uninterrupted succession of pontifical powers he who at the period of the foundation of the order of the temple claimed these imaginary prerogatives was named theoclate morals and Dogma Pike page 8816 theoclate was acquainted with Hugh
Deans the founder of the order of the temple and initiated him into the johanan Mysteries and appointed him his successor now if the Brotherhood of St John and the johanan Christians are the same then both the Templars and the Freemasons received their secret Doctrine from the same
Order it is claimed by some however that the Mystic teaching passed to the masons from the Templars this may or may not have been the case but that they were closely Allied is evident from the fact that upon the destruction of the old Templar order many of its members took Refuge with the
Freemasons the secret statutes of the Templars were preserved not only by oral tradition but were also written in part at least Dr prut says ja deobia saw at one of the heads of the orders a little book with the statutes of the order of 1120 8 which was shown without thinking
And he knew that the same man had also possessed another book about which he was very mysterious and which he would not show anyone for all the World gima Des Temple Heron oron p45 WJ McLoud Moore 33rd degree in speaking of the temple order says their rulers arrogated to themselves a higher
Degree of knowledge in all things and taught in their secret conclaves where none but the most trusted members were admitted that the papal power was a false and dangerous Assumption of authority over the minds and consciences of men and that very many of the dogmas of Rome were gross and childish
Superstitions they also cultivated and asserted more liberal views of faith and religion than were current at the time being well-versed in the Mysteries Legends learning and traditions of the peoples they had come in contact with in the East history of Freemasonry and and concordant orders page 765 the evidence that the early Templar
Order possessed a secret Doctrine being conclusive we will now return to the historical development the order spread rapidly and was soon established in every Kingdom of Latin Christendom the part which the Templars took in the Crusades is too well known to need reiteration for from that time on the
History of the Templars was the history of the Crusades when the Crusades terminated the Templars returned to their numerous preceptories in Europe as the order was of no further use as a military body their great wealth and power aroused the jealously of Philip IV of France who
Coveted the possessions of the order and the pope distrusted its Fidelity to the papacy a bitter hatred was engendered by many acts of insubordination against the king’s arbitrary Authority and he set about to work their destruction to this end calumnies of every description was circulated they were charged with heresy
And all manner of crimes Philip Enlisted the support of Pope Clement F who owed his papal Tiara to the king’s gold or influence and the overthrow was brought about the work of suppression was too heartless to recite many were cast into prison and tortured to confess crimes of
Which they were ignorant and finally were burned to death upon the Grand Master deolai was seized while in Paris by special invitation of Pope Clemen cast into prison where he was kept 7 years and at last taken out and burned at the stake on May 2nd 1312 Clement issued his famous bull
Transferring the Estates of the Templars except those in Spain and Portugal to the Knights of St John thus perished the order of the temple what became of the thousands of Templars upon the suppression of the order is not definitely known some may have joined the order of St John of Jerusalem upon
Which the confiscated lands of the Templars had been conferred and some as already intimated may have taken refuge in the Guilds of stonemasons many reject this latter Theory as being without historic Foundation but WS Perry 32nd degree says regarding this we do not question this statement as it stands history fails to
Record much that actually occurs much that subsequent ages would gladly know we see no reason however for the assertion so often made of late years that any connection between a chivalric order such as the Knights Templars and a fraternity of operative Masons such as certainly existed in medieval times is
Out of the range of possibility page 140 Mr Perry then goes on to argue that the guilds were known and even employed by the Knights Templars in the construction of their churches preceptories and strongholds all over Europe and the holy land and when they were despoiled they would naturally seek
Protection among the body with which they had already a certain connection Henry e Manning Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster says as far back as the 12th century The Lodges of the guild enjoyed the special protection of the Knights Templars it is easy in this way to understand how the symbolical illusion
To Solomon and his Temple might have passed from the knights into the Masonic formulary in this way too might be explained how after the suppression of the order of the temple some of the recalcitrant Knights maintaining their influ Ence over the Freemasons would be able to pervert what hitherto had been a
Harmless ceremony into an elaborate ritual that should impart some of the errors of the Templars to the initiated page 144 this Catholic writer may know whereof he speaks as it is generally supposed that Catholic Scholars have access to certain records not accessible to others therefore it is not improbable
That the old order continued to exist within the Guilds of stone masons it is also said that when the time came that they could safely proclaim the continuance of their order they instituted the right of strict observance and proved their gratitude for the protection afforded by receiving Members Only from the ranks of
Freemasonry but it is also not unlikely as pointed out by Mr Moore that small organizations were kept up in many places and the Hope cherished that it would be possible to revive the order a great and extensive organization could not wholly have lost its vitality and died out without a strug page
768 it is related of the chief of the doomed order that before his execution he instituted what afterward came to be called occult hermetic or Scottish masonry that the order while seeming to die nevertheless lived under other names and was revealed to those who proved themselves worthy to be
Trusted according to these Traditions the real lineal descendants of the old chivalric orders are the Scottish right and the strict observance let us consider for a moment this right of the strict observance it is common with a certain class of masonic writers to pronounce the leading spirits of the strict observants dupes and
Charlatans but the long list of Scholars Nobles and officers of high standing who have belonged to this order must preclude any such classification the reason for such stigmatization is that the members were students of mysticism and believe that there is hidden in masonry and a Mystic tradition which is
The true history of spiritual Evolution many of these members of the strict observance also belong to the rosic crucians and other Allied bodies and all were seeking the old Straight Gate and narrow path that leads to wisdom one of the most striking personages of this period is Charles goel A nobleman born in
1722 he entered the Masonic order in 1742 when at Frankfurt on Maine in the next year he is said to have established a lodge at Paris and while staying with the French army he became acquainted with the heads of a right which pretended to be in its higher degrees
The continuation of the famous order of Knights Templars according to his repeated declarations maintained even on his deathbed he was received into this order in Paris by Lord kilmark Grandmaster of Scotland a Jacoby nobleman on which occasion Lord Clifford acted as prior he was presented to a very high member of
The order a mysterious personage called only the Knight of the Red Feather perhaps this was Prince Charles Edward himself Von hun supposed him to be the Supreme Grandmaster of the order and was appointed by him coadjutor of the seventh province of the order Germania inferior hund visited Scotland also
Where he was bidden to raise the order in Germany together with the then Master of the seventh Province to Marshall whom he always considered his predecessor Marshall had founded Lodges at altenberg and nberg but found only in the latter men worthy of being led further VI to be received into the
Templar degrees this is a summary by Cooper Oakley and traces of a hidden tradition of an article in the transs of log quater coronati number 276 regolini says of Fon hund in 1756 the wars had caused the Prussian Masonic lodges to be abandoned Baron de hund who had received
The high templar’s degree in the chapter of Claremont at Paris on returning to Berlin declared that he had been raised to the Dignity of Grandmaster of the Templars by mure Marshall who called himself the successor of the GG Master Templars by uninterrupted transmission from the time of Jac de
Mole that Marshall on his deathbed had delegated this High dignity to him and had declared him his successor transmitting to him all his powers and dignities he did not omit to give hund a list of all the names of the Templar Grand Masters which must therefore have been a curious
Contrast to the list of the order of the Temple of Paris hund placed himself at the head of the German reformers he persuaded them that his right would restore Freemasonry to its ancient brilliancy and its former Splendor his principles were altogether philosophical he maintains that these pontiffs are the
Only Priests of the True Light the worshippers of God and The Disciples of the pure doctrines of Jesus and of John traces of a hidden tradition 82 in this connection we need to Note One Johan Augustus Stark a teacher of Oriental languages and a student of Theology and philosophy he had held many
Public positions among others that of interpreter of Oriental manuscript at the Royal Library in Paris Mrs Cooper Oakley says Stark held that the Mystic traditions of the Knights Templars derived by them from those still older fraternities with whom they had come in contact in the East were preserved among
The clericals of that order who had cherished their unbroken continuity until his days and he announced that he was in communication with certain superiors or chiefs of the order page 84 RF Gould a well-known English Authority writing on the strict observance says on February 17th 1767 some Masons Chief amongst whom may be
Mentioned Von vasak Von beron and Stark founded at wismar the lodge of the Three Lions and attached there to a Scots l Gustavus of the golden Hammer shortly afterward they added a hitherto unknown body a clerical chapter to these brethren we are indebted for the historical fiction that the Knights
Templars were divided into military and sacerdotal members that the latter possessed all the secrets and Mystic learning of the order and that they had preserved a continuous existence down to the 18th century Stark claimed to be the Emissary of these clerical Templars Asser there and his own superiority over
The secular Knights and offered on his claims being acknowledged to impart their valuable secrets to Von hund and his disciples Stark 1741 to 1816 was a student of gingan and a very learned man an oriental linguist of great attainments and had held scientific appointments in St Petersburg Paris wismar and elsewhere history of
Freemasonry G 5 page 104 Gould regards Stark as an imposter but like many other materialistic critics who reject the tradition he offers no proof of its falsity in reply to the criticism that the Knights Templars could not have continued to exist for 438 years unknown to the
Outside world Stark says if he Dr beaser had been somewhat better acquainted with ecclesiastical history he would have found not only one but several religious bodies which under far more violent opposition and persecution than those endured by the Knights Templars have secet secretly continued to exist for a
Longer period than 450 years traces of a hidden tradition in masonry page 86 this view is upheld by C King a modern writer of note who speaking of the Templar says considering how widely the order has spread it would be a mere absurdity to believe that all its
Traditions were swept away at one stroke by the suppression of the Templars in the year 1307 the gnostics and their remains King page 399 starkk shows the large number of Scholars in his day who accepted the tradition can it be that all these were dupes and charlatans we must now pass to
A brief consideration of the order itself Regan a noted Masonic writer in speaking of the strict observance says that in Germany a body was formed approaching more nearly to the true institution than the ordinary Freemasons the study of the cabala of the Philosophers Stone and of necromancy or
The invocation a of spirits occupied them chiefly because according to them all these Sciences formed the system and the object and end of the ancient mysteries of which Freemasonry is the sequel quoted from Orthodoxy maique Reagan page 210 by Mr Cooper Oakley in Hidden tradition page
88 it was the higher grades of the strict observance that took up the study of alchemy Etc there being according to our author just quoted seven grades into which the system was divided much more might be said but this is sufficient to show that in the early days of the modern Knights Templars
There were many who recognize the existence of the secret Doctrine as to the origin of the Knights Templars of today and their connection with Freemasonry various theories have been proposed some contend that the movement was the result of the numerous works of the 17th and 18th centuries on a cult
Philosophy and that upon the dispersion of the order of St John and the Templar of of Scotland the secret ceremonies and principles were obtained and promulgated which directly led to the Revival of the shiver orders under the impression that they were of masonic origin others hold that the present order originated from
The high grades of Freemasonry the Hermetic or Scottish system and was grafted onto Freemasonry by Baron hund in 1754 few if any would maintain today that the present organization of Knights Templars is a lineal descendant of the old chivalric order the Knights Templars of the present in common with masons in
General make no claim to Mystic knowledge and but few in the order even know that such a wisdom science ever existed the degrees of the American system of the Knights Templars are the Knight of the Red Cross Knight Templar and Knight of molter the Red Cross is not embraced in the English Continental
Or Canadian systems the Templar degrees have been used in connection with Freemasonry for about a century says wjb McLoud Moore although the Templar degrees have been in connection with Freemasonry for about a century past it does not follow that they previously had any such connection it was only about
That time or a few years earlier that the error was made in Great Britain and Ireland of adding the shivel Rick Templar order to the Masonic systems history of Freemasonry and concordant orders page 74 4 the Templar degrees like the other side degrees were first conferred under blue Lodge warrants which simply means
That Masons possessing those degrees came together in their lodges and worked them in the course of time chapters and encampments were organized and templarism took on a more independent and permanent form we believe with Mr Moore that it was an error to merge the Templar degrees into the Masonic system
In England the Templar system has always been kept separate from the C degrees the Royal Arch is there considered the climax of Freemasonry there is also a difference due to the fact that the English degrees are based upon the old Templar ceremonies while the American system is based upon the craft degrees
This makes the American system broader and More in harmony with the spirit of Freemasonry although it is still partly sectarian this sectarianism is not in accord with the ancient landmarks and Genius of masonry if we have the right to christianize masonry so have Muslims Buddhists and all other religious sects
A right to transform it to fit their Creeds such Transformations and limitations deprive masonry of its true spirit and Universal Character and should such a process become General masonry itself would soon be destroyed the Templar system should have stood alone on its own merits and principles
It should have been left as a series of side degrees for Masons professing Christian principles the very name Masonic templarism is a misnomer the sectarian character character of the one is not in accord with the Universal Character of the other this declaration does not cast any reflection upon the
Templar degrees in fact we consider them among the best and most inspiring of the American system however we believe they should have remain separated from a non-sectarian body it is a mistake to again quote Mr Moore to connect templarism with Freemasonry Frederick speed 33rd degree past re Grand Commander Miss is of the
Same opinion he says if then anywhere the door of any degree is closed against him who believes in one God and the Soul’s immortality on account of other tenants of his faith that degree is not Freemasonry that the Templar degrees properly form no part of masonry we have
The Declaration of the reputed author of the American rituals Thomas Smith Webb who in 1812 and several subsequent editions of his Freemasons monitor says although the several Orders of Knighthood are conferred both in Europe and America reputedly under the sanction of masonic assemblies they compose no part of the system of
Freemasonry he tells us that in America they are conferred as honorary degrees Mr Speed continues it is time for intelligent Masons to divest themselves of the superlatively ridiculous and often exploded idea that there is any connection between what we now know as templarism and the fraternity of free
And accepted masons except that which is found in the restriction of its membership to those who have first received the several degrees of masonry it is entirely compatible with all the obligations of masonry that a Mason should be a Templar and we do not derate from our standing as Masons when we take
Upon ourselves the additional vows of the Knights Templars but this does not make templarism masonry nor do we add anything to the dignity and High character of the order by making the assertion that it is Page 735 ancient and accepted Scottish right the ancient and accepted Scottish right or
Scottish masonry did not originate in Scotland as its name might lead one to suppose it was derived from a body in France formerly known as the Emperors of the East and West who organized in 1758 in Paris a right called the right of perfection consisting of 25 degrees to
Which eight or more were subsequently added the immediate source from which the French Masons derived these rights is unknown but it is held by some that they are the lineal descendants of the Ancient Order of the temple before the death of Grandmaster jacqu de moai and while he was in prison awaiting
Execution he instituted several Metropolitan lodges one of which was at Paris and it was from this source that Scottish masonry was derived General Pike the great Authority on the Scottish right accepts this view the name itself is supposed to have come from a number of Scot Scottish Masons who were in
France at the time of the organization a Grand Lodge was formed at Charleston South Carolina in 1783 a Supreme Council 33rd degree in 1801 and the right has been called by its present name ancient and accepted Scottish right since that date the right is founded on the symbolic degrees and is conferred
Only on Master Masons its degrees begin with the fourth and extend to the 33rd they are conferred in subordinate bodies as follows the log of perfection fourth to 14th inclusive the Council of princes of Jerusalem 15th and 16th the chapter of Rose CA 17th and 18th the consist of
Sublime princes of the royal secret 19th to 32nd except in the southern jurisdiction were the 19th to 30th degrees constitute a council of kadosh and their consist begins with the 31st degree and the Supreme Council whose officers are active 33rd degree Masons there is also an honorary 33rd
Degree conferred by the Supreme Council as a merit for distinguished service in the fraternity the moral teaching of these degrees is exemplary and the dramatic effect of the work is beyond comparison we have neither time nor space to consider the system in detail but there are certain teachings
Connected with some of the degrees to which your special attention is directed we refer to those which by some are thought to be sectarian in character and therefore opposed to the original plan of the reconstructionists to lay a broad foundation for the ceremonies which would admit men of all religions it is
To be regretted that such a Cosmopolitan basis could not have been maintained we need to remember however that masonry is symbolic and the Legends even of the so-called sectarian degrees are symbols used to set forth an inner truth and are not in themselves necessarily sectarian even when appropriated by a special religion for
They are essentially Universal and belong to General religion to illustrate more fully Dr Mackey in speaking of the cryptic degrees which are based upon the legend of the Sacred Vault says to support this Legend there is no historic evidence and no Authority except that of the talmudic writers it
Is clearly a mythical symbol and as such we must accept it like every other myth and allegory of masonry the historical relation may be true or it may be false it may be founded on fact or be the invention of imagination the lesson is still there and the symbol M teaches it
Exclusive of the history Encyclopedia of Freemasonry page 852 General Pike also emphasizes this principle in speaking of the legend upon which the degree of the Royal Arch is based he says it is of but little importance whether it is in any wise historical for its value consists in the
Lessons which it inculcates and the duties which it prescribes to those who receive it The Parables and allegories of the scriptures are not less valuable than history nay they are more so because ancient history is little instructive and truths are concealed in and symbolized by The Legend and the
Myth morals and Dogma page 210 we should bear this fact in mind when we consider the degrees of the Scottish right especially that of the Rose cro the legend upon which this degree is based is purely symbolical and as such conveys a grand truth some however have thought
That the doctrine of this degree excluded the non-Christian which shows how the purpose of Masonry has been misunderstood General Pike in speaking of the degree says no Mason has the right to interpret the symbols of this degree for another or to refuse him its Mysteries if he will not take them with
The explanation and commentary super added again he says each of us makes such applications to his own faith and Creed of the symbols and ceremonies of this degree as seems to him proper morals and Dogma chapter 28 this is well said every intelligent Mason should should make a protest against the crude
And Antiquated explanations of the symbols given in this degree the degree itself is not necessarily sectarian but the explanations adopted in the work are not only sectarian and UNM Masonic but they belong to a system of things which intelligent people are fast leaving behind let me Briefly summarize the
Explanation given by The Authority just quoted the cross has been a sacred symbol from the earliest Antiquity it is found upon all the enduring monum of the world in Egypt Assyria India Persia Mexico Etc its peculiar meaning in this degree is that given to it by the
Ancient Egyptian Thoth or pertha who is represented on the oldest monuments carrying in his hand the Crux and SATA a towel cross with a ring over it this was the hieroglyph for life and with a triangle prefixed meant lifegiving to us therefore it is the symbol of Life of
That life that emanates from deity and of of that eternal life for which we hope the rose was anciently sacred to Aurora and the sun it is a symbol of dawn of the Resurrection light and the renewal of Life the cross and Rose together signify hieroglyphic the dawn
Of eternal life and the Advent of a savior for which All Nations hope to the letters i n r i inscribed on the krux anata many meanings have been assigned the Christian sees in them the initials of the inscription upon the cross of Christ yesu nazarus Rex udum the sages
Of antiquity connected it with one of the greatest secrets of nature that of universal regeneration they interpreted it thus ignaa renovatur Integra nature is renovated by fire the Alchemists and htic Masons framed for it this aphorism IGN nrum roris invenitur the letters are initials of the Hebrew words that
Represent the four elements yamim the sea or water n Fire ruas the air iisha the Earth chapter 28 this degree symbolized the final Triumph of Truth over falsehood of Life over death of good over evil no one Mason has a right to measure for another within the walls of a
Masonic temple the degree of veneration which he shall feel for any reformer or founder of any religion we teach a belief in no particular Creed as we teach unbelief in none page 308 but we recognize the founder of the Christian religion an initiate into the true Mysteries one who came to rebuild
Again the Eternal verities to utter again the Divine wisdom to a needy world the Knight of the Rose cro will rever his memory and honor him as one of the true Servants of the most high we recognize all initiates as brothers we belong to no Creed we invite men of all
Religions to enlist under our banner and work to bring in a better day Dr Macky says if masonry were simply a Christian Institution the Jew and the Muslim the Brahman and the Buddhist could not conscientiously partake of its illumination but its universality is its boast in its language citizens of every
Nation May Converse at its altar men of all religions May kneel to its Creed Disciples of every Faith May subscribe the symbolism of Freemasonry macki page 237 we have dwelt upon this degree because of the principle involved the Legends upon which this degree is based while drawn from the New Testament are
Also to be found in many other world scriptures for the symbolism of which the real meaning has been shown in earlier lectures is universal the degree itself is really out of place in the Scottish right system it should belong in the Templar system if anywhere to again quote General Pike we teach the
Truth of none of the Legends we recite they are to us but Parables and allegories involving and enveloping Masonic instruction the vehicles of useful and interest information everyone being at Liberty to apply our symbols and emblems as he thinks most consistent with truth and reason and with his own
Faith morals and Dogma page 329 let every Scottish W Mason bear this fact in mind and it would be well for the night Templar to remember this also for there we have the same symbols and the same crude interpretation of them these symbols as we have seen refer to
Realities in the Divine Life of Jesus rather than to the incidents in his physical experiences in the early days of the Scottish right the system was full of grotesque and in congruous things of contradictions and fantastic extravagances the Supreme Council of the Southern jurisdiction of the United
States at length undertook the task of revising the work of the 30° under its jurisdiction but while this was done with considerable success there are still anachronisms and contradictions which should be eliminated to make the system harmonious the moral teaching of of all the rights is excellent one who lives up
To the standard inculcated in the Scottish right degrees will fulfill every demand made by the strictest code of morality thank you for watching and please don’t forget to share like subscribe and comment and if you can please consider donating to Wars of the Roses links to PayPal and patreon are in
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