Today, the Knights Templar is "an international philanthropic chivalric order affiliated with Freemasonry." Predominantly in the United States 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 the Knights Templar is open only to Christian Masons who have completed their Royal Arch and in some jurisdictions their Cryptic Degrees.
The Knights Templar is a Christian-oriented fraternal organization that was founded in the 11th century. Originally, the Knights Templar were laymen who protected and defended Christians travelling to Jerusalem. These men took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, and were renowned for their fierceness and courage in battle.Note: I saw this emblem on three gravestones in Evergreen Cemetery. The first two granite markers were in the same plot. The third was a ledger marker in another part of the cemetery.
Today, the Knights Templar display their courage and goodwill in other ways. They organize fund-raising activities such as breakfasts, dinners, dances, and flea markets. They support Masonic-related youth groups and they raise millions of dollars for medical research and educational assistance.
|Elmer L. Waits|
|John T. Cass, M.D.|
|John C. Boney|
July 30, 1850
Sept 9, 1930