-
Articles/Ads
Article TEMPLARS OF CANADA. Page 1 of 2 Article TEMPLARS OF CANADA. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Templars Of Canada.
TEMPLARS OF CANADA .
REMARKS ON THE COMMENTS OP DU . ALBERT G . MACKAY , OF WASHINGTON ' , ox TIIK ADDRESS FOR 1875 OF Tin ; GRAND PRIOR . ( Reprinted from the article in the February number of the " Craftsman , " published at Hamilton , Ont ., Canada , with a few Corrections and Additions . )
IN the "Voice of Masonry" for December 1875 , published at Washington , the learned anil accomplished Masonio writer , Bro . Dr . Albert Mackay , reviews the address of the Grand Prior of Canada for that year . While fully acknowledging his pre-eminent position as a Masonio authority , there are still some points in his comments that require explanation , if not correction . He says , in the first
place , " The most important item alluded to in the address is that there exists a very strong disposition among the Canada Templars to dissever their dependency on the Convent General , and to establish for themselves a National Grand Priory . " This is entirely a mistake . It never was seriously thought of , and it is to bo hoped that there never will bo the least desire amongst the Canadian Templars to dissever
their connection with England ; all that was asked or sought for was this , that tho Grand Priory of Canada , a Provincial Priory under England , should bo admitted into tho Union of the Order of the Temple of England and Ireland , and erected into a National Great Priory , co-equal with thoso of England and Ireland , and the peer of all other Supreme National Grand bodies of the Temple , but still
subject to H . K . H . tho Prince of Wales as Grand Master , and the Convent General as the Parliament or General Convention of this Templar Union . The wish of the Canadian Fratres has been acceded to by the Convent Goneral in the most cordial manner , and the Great Priory will shortly bo established , thus at once allaying any feeling of discontent which may have heretofore existed in Canada . To
establish an independent body of Knights Templar in Canada would be simply an act of the greatest folly ; correctly speaking , there should not be any independent and separate bodies in tho Templar Society , the Order is , or onght to be , one and indivisible ; and , although want of knowledge of the correct principles of the Order in some cases , and political exigencies in others , havo divided tho Order
into several branches , holding themselves independent of each other , still the tendency of the present day is to draw together , not to dissover , and to unite the scattered elements of onr ancient chivalry into one harmonious whole . It is , therefore , greatly to be desired and looked forward to , that the day may come when all Templars—at least , those of English-speaking nations—shall be firmlv and
indissolubly united under one Grand Master , and directed by one supremo representative authority , as was originally the rule of the Order . Further on in his article Dr . Mackay expresses his opinion that " The Templar Order of tho present day is not identical with tho old Order of the Crusades , " aud as a reason for so believing cites the fact that the Order of the Temple was abolished by a Bull of Pope
Clement V ., bearing date 2 nd May 130-1—that as one Pope had authorised the formation of the Order another Popo could legally and effectually suppress it . " Without discussing tho question as to whether tho Order was legally abolished , it appears to be of far greater interest to enquire whether tho Order was effectually abolished at that time . If it was , then the Knights Templar of the present day
are , to a certain extent , incorrect in calling themselvo Knights Templar at all . If they are not successors of tho ancient Knights who were , it is admitted , outwardly suppressed in the fourteenth century , then who and what are they ? It is merely nonsensical for them to call themselves Masonic Knights Templar , for what authority had Freemasons ever to create either Knights or Templars ? By the
ancient laws of Chivalry none but Knights could give the accolade to perpetuate the knightly dignity . That the Order of Knights Templar of the present day is the samo Order as the ono which was outwardly suppressed in the fourteenth century is borne out , to a certain extent , by history ; to tho full extent by tradition . The argument that because the Order was abolished b y the Bull of Pope Clement V ., it
was consequently annihilated , does not appear to be conclusive . Tho Jesuit Order was also suppressed by a Bull of Pope Clement XIV . in 1773 , but can any one believe that that Society was , in consequence , extinguished . It was outwardly suppressed , as were the Templars ; but , like the Templars , it continued in secret ; and when , after the lapse of forty-one years , it was iu 1814 again permitted by the Pope
to openly exist , it sprung up at once into public view , not a weak , sickly remnant of an annihilated Order , but a powerful and vigorous organisation that , in spito of Papal Bulls and censures , had never lost its strength or vitality . This comparatively modern example effectually disposes of the notion that the power of either Pope , King , or Emperor can extinguish any society that has within itself the elements of life .
Dr . Mackay says : " There cannot now exist any kind of Tomplarism that is not Masonic in its character . " It may be asked in what manner is the Templar Order Masonic ? If it is Masonic , then all Freemasons should and must be eligible for admission into its ranks , and would havo tho right to apply for membership , of course submitting to the test of the ballot , as they do in passing from the LocVe
to tho Chapter . But have they this privilege ? Every Freemason knows they have not . If they are Turks , Jews , Hindoos , or even Christian Unitarians , they cannot bo admitted into the Temple Order . None but a firm believer in the doctrine of the Holy Trinity can be so admitted ; consequently , should it not be considered altogether out of place to call a society Masonic the principles of which debarred a
large proportion of Freemasons from joining it ? The fundamental law of Masonry being , " that when the door of any degree is closed against him who believes in one God , and tho soul ' s immortality , on account of other tenets of his faith , that degree is Masonry no longer . " On the other hand , it is well known that it has not always been ° held necessary that an applicant for admission into the Templar Order
Templars Of Canada.
should be a Freemason . For several yoar 3 the Chapter General of Scotland permitted Non-Masons to be mado Knights Templar , although they havo now again retnrned to tho Masonio prp-qnalification , and instances are on record during the last century in England where to gain admittance it was not a necessary qualification to bo a Master or Roval Arch Mnson .
The French " Ordre du Temple " ( of which his late Ttnyril Highness tho Dnke of Sussex , Grand Prior of the English Templars , and other prominent English subjects of high Masonic standing wero members ) did not exact tho Masonic qualification , neither does the Order of Christ of Portngal : both these Orders are neknowlpdgpd to he true branches of the Templar Order . Tho Order in England , Ireland ,
Germany , Sweden , and tho United Statps appear always to havo required their aspirants to be Freemasons . As resppets internal evidence of the identity in character between Templarv and Freemasonry , it must be evident to all who belong to both Soripties that thero is no connection near or remote hotwppn the respeetivp CPI'Pmonies of the Freemason and tho Knights Templar . Tf there should
bo some seeming resemblance in mere words or phraseology it has been brought about by the misdirected efforts nf thoso who believe Templary to be nothing more than a Masonio degree , one of tho series of tho York Bite of Masonry ; but a careful studv of tho snbject will readily show that the whole seope and object of the Templar novitiate ceremonies are entirely distinct and separate , and . indeed ,
in some degree in opposition to the Masonic initiation . Thero is nothing whatever in tho history of tho ancient Knights Templar to lpad ns to believe that they were allied to Freemasonry , although there is every reason to suppose that many of the Order were Freemasons initiated into the secrets of occult philosophy . Neither is there anything improbable in our traditions , and but littlo doubt
exists that when the persecuted brotherhood wero under the ban of Pope Clement V ., and compelled to resign their Order and mingle in the world , some of them sought refuge and protection in tho ranks of so peaceful and unsuspected an association , secretly seeking to preserve their Order , whilst a portion joined tho Teutonic Order , and large numbers that of the Hospitallers , introducing , it may bo
presumed , many of the peculiar doctrines and ceremonies of their old Order , and perpetuating them throughout tho north and south of Europe , as well as in England and Scotland , in which latter country the Templars were never suppressed , but absorbed into tho Order of St . John , which thus came to l-present both Orders ; hence the title adopted by the-Convent General of England of "The United Orders
of the Temple and Hospital . " It was not until after the glorious Eeformation in Europe and Britain , and the suppression of the monastic houses , whon men ' s consciences and minds were relieved from tho trammels of tho power of Home , and the exercise of free thought and disenssion indulged in without dread of the terrors of her intolerant Church , that it wag
generally known the rites and dogmas of the Templars had been secretly preserved in the speculative philosophy of Freemasonry . From this timo may be dated the gradually increasing close connection that now exists between the two Orders , but owing to the jealousy or over-caution of the ancient and accepted Masons , who burnt thenfew records in 1721 , but little information is obtainable on the
subject . In the seventeenth century the Masonic Lodges wero patronised by James I . and Charles I . and II . of England , and frequented by men of learning . Towards tho end of the century our traditions moro particularly point to the revival , revision , and recognition of the Chivalric degrees in connection with Freemasonry , and at this revision tho rituals of tho Knights Templar , who adopted the Masonic
degrees ceremonially , conveyed an allusion to tho foundation of tho Order in Palestine . To the Freemasons tho English Templars largely owe it that they were enabled to preserve their secret ceremonial , and it is as a mark of their grateful remembrance that they have rpquired aspirants for the honour of their pure and ancient Chivalry should bo Freemasons ; this , and this only , is the connection that exists between the Templars
and Freemasonry : protection on the one side , gratitude on the other . So far , then , Dr . Mackay and the Grand Prior agree that the Templars of to-day must be traced , and are traced , to the Knights who sought refuge and concealment amongst tho Masonic brotherhood , and through and by means of that Society perpetuated the Order and handed down to the present time in spirit and meaning their ancient rites and ceremonies .
Dr . Mackay speaks of the old and new Orders , but surely this must have been an oversight on the part of the learned and talented Brother . If it is admitted that the Order can be traced to those Knights who brought it into the Bfasonic Society , it cannot
consequently be a new Order . Even if it had been purely Masonic , which it is not , it wonld still be the nncfpnt Order , for although laying claim to a knightly succession , not a vestige remains of the original military power and political influence of the early Order , now merged into a peaceful but powerful Christian Society closely allied to
Freemasonry . Tho Templar Constitution in England has always beon Trinitarian , and in the Statutes recently adopted no severance whatever from Freemasonry has taken place , for the Masonic qualification and the Ititual remains as before , merely snbstitnting and restoring the old names and titles of the Order founded upon historical authority .
In the United States it would appear that the originators of their Templar system chose to found it altogether upon Frppmasonry , adopting the obsolete and mistaken theory that the original Order of tho Templars was based on the Craft degrees , and the two have become so connected that they cannot be separated by any one who has been received into these Orders , Templary being there
emphatically a Masonic Order of Knighthood , requiring the possession of Masonic degrees not now recognised by the Grand Lodgo of England . At the Union in 1813 of the English Grand Lodges it was declared that "pure and ancient Freemasonry consisted of three degrees and no more , including the Eoyal Arch , " therefore English Craft Masonry knows nothing , and can know nothing , by her unchanging constitu .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Templars Of Canada.
TEMPLARS OF CANADA .
REMARKS ON THE COMMENTS OP DU . ALBERT G . MACKAY , OF WASHINGTON ' , ox TIIK ADDRESS FOR 1875 OF Tin ; GRAND PRIOR . ( Reprinted from the article in the February number of the " Craftsman , " published at Hamilton , Ont ., Canada , with a few Corrections and Additions . )
IN the "Voice of Masonry" for December 1875 , published at Washington , the learned anil accomplished Masonio writer , Bro . Dr . Albert Mackay , reviews the address of the Grand Prior of Canada for that year . While fully acknowledging his pre-eminent position as a Masonio authority , there are still some points in his comments that require explanation , if not correction . He says , in the first
place , " The most important item alluded to in the address is that there exists a very strong disposition among the Canada Templars to dissever their dependency on the Convent General , and to establish for themselves a National Grand Priory . " This is entirely a mistake . It never was seriously thought of , and it is to bo hoped that there never will bo the least desire amongst the Canadian Templars to dissever
their connection with England ; all that was asked or sought for was this , that tho Grand Priory of Canada , a Provincial Priory under England , should bo admitted into tho Union of the Order of the Temple of England and Ireland , and erected into a National Great Priory , co-equal with thoso of England and Ireland , and the peer of all other Supreme National Grand bodies of the Temple , but still
subject to H . K . H . tho Prince of Wales as Grand Master , and the Convent General as the Parliament or General Convention of this Templar Union . The wish of the Canadian Fratres has been acceded to by the Convent Goneral in the most cordial manner , and the Great Priory will shortly bo established , thus at once allaying any feeling of discontent which may have heretofore existed in Canada . To
establish an independent body of Knights Templar in Canada would be simply an act of the greatest folly ; correctly speaking , there should not be any independent and separate bodies in tho Templar Society , the Order is , or onght to be , one and indivisible ; and , although want of knowledge of the correct principles of the Order in some cases , and political exigencies in others , havo divided tho Order
into several branches , holding themselves independent of each other , still the tendency of the present day is to draw together , not to dissover , and to unite the scattered elements of onr ancient chivalry into one harmonious whole . It is , therefore , greatly to be desired and looked forward to , that the day may come when all Templars—at least , those of English-speaking nations—shall be firmlv and
indissolubly united under one Grand Master , and directed by one supremo representative authority , as was originally the rule of the Order . Further on in his article Dr . Mackay expresses his opinion that " The Templar Order of tho present day is not identical with tho old Order of the Crusades , " aud as a reason for so believing cites the fact that the Order of the Temple was abolished by a Bull of Pope
Clement V ., bearing date 2 nd May 130-1—that as one Pope had authorised the formation of the Order another Popo could legally and effectually suppress it . " Without discussing tho question as to whether tho Order was legally abolished , it appears to be of far greater interest to enquire whether tho Order was effectually abolished at that time . If it was , then the Knights Templar of the present day
are , to a certain extent , incorrect in calling themselvo Knights Templar at all . If they are not successors of tho ancient Knights who were , it is admitted , outwardly suppressed in the fourteenth century , then who and what are they ? It is merely nonsensical for them to call themselves Masonic Knights Templar , for what authority had Freemasons ever to create either Knights or Templars ? By the
ancient laws of Chivalry none but Knights could give the accolade to perpetuate the knightly dignity . That the Order of Knights Templar of the present day is the samo Order as the ono which was outwardly suppressed in the fourteenth century is borne out , to a certain extent , by history ; to tho full extent by tradition . The argument that because the Order was abolished b y the Bull of Pope Clement V ., it
was consequently annihilated , does not appear to be conclusive . Tho Jesuit Order was also suppressed by a Bull of Pope Clement XIV . in 1773 , but can any one believe that that Society was , in consequence , extinguished . It was outwardly suppressed , as were the Templars ; but , like the Templars , it continued in secret ; and when , after the lapse of forty-one years , it was iu 1814 again permitted by the Pope
to openly exist , it sprung up at once into public view , not a weak , sickly remnant of an annihilated Order , but a powerful and vigorous organisation that , in spito of Papal Bulls and censures , had never lost its strength or vitality . This comparatively modern example effectually disposes of the notion that the power of either Pope , King , or Emperor can extinguish any society that has within itself the elements of life .
Dr . Mackay says : " There cannot now exist any kind of Tomplarism that is not Masonic in its character . " It may be asked in what manner is the Templar Order Masonic ? If it is Masonic , then all Freemasons should and must be eligible for admission into its ranks , and would havo tho right to apply for membership , of course submitting to the test of the ballot , as they do in passing from the LocVe
to tho Chapter . But have they this privilege ? Every Freemason knows they have not . If they are Turks , Jews , Hindoos , or even Christian Unitarians , they cannot bo admitted into the Temple Order . None but a firm believer in the doctrine of the Holy Trinity can be so admitted ; consequently , should it not be considered altogether out of place to call a society Masonic the principles of which debarred a
large proportion of Freemasons from joining it ? The fundamental law of Masonry being , " that when the door of any degree is closed against him who believes in one God , and tho soul ' s immortality , on account of other tenets of his faith , that degree is Masonry no longer . " On the other hand , it is well known that it has not always been ° held necessary that an applicant for admission into the Templar Order
Templars Of Canada.
should be a Freemason . For several yoar 3 the Chapter General of Scotland permitted Non-Masons to be mado Knights Templar , although they havo now again retnrned to tho Masonio prp-qnalification , and instances are on record during the last century in England where to gain admittance it was not a necessary qualification to bo a Master or Roval Arch Mnson .
The French " Ordre du Temple " ( of which his late Ttnyril Highness tho Dnke of Sussex , Grand Prior of the English Templars , and other prominent English subjects of high Masonic standing wero members ) did not exact tho Masonic qualification , neither does the Order of Christ of Portngal : both these Orders are neknowlpdgpd to he true branches of the Templar Order . Tho Order in England , Ireland ,
Germany , Sweden , and tho United Statps appear always to havo required their aspirants to be Freemasons . As resppets internal evidence of the identity in character between Templarv and Freemasonry , it must be evident to all who belong to both Soripties that thero is no connection near or remote hotwppn the respeetivp CPI'Pmonies of the Freemason and tho Knights Templar . Tf there should
bo some seeming resemblance in mere words or phraseology it has been brought about by the misdirected efforts nf thoso who believe Templary to be nothing more than a Masonio degree , one of tho series of tho York Bite of Masonry ; but a careful studv of tho snbject will readily show that the whole seope and object of the Templar novitiate ceremonies are entirely distinct and separate , and . indeed ,
in some degree in opposition to the Masonic initiation . Thero is nothing whatever in tho history of tho ancient Knights Templar to lpad ns to believe that they were allied to Freemasonry , although there is every reason to suppose that many of the Order were Freemasons initiated into the secrets of occult philosophy . Neither is there anything improbable in our traditions , and but littlo doubt
exists that when the persecuted brotherhood wero under the ban of Pope Clement V ., and compelled to resign their Order and mingle in the world , some of them sought refuge and protection in tho ranks of so peaceful and unsuspected an association , secretly seeking to preserve their Order , whilst a portion joined tho Teutonic Order , and large numbers that of the Hospitallers , introducing , it may bo
presumed , many of the peculiar doctrines and ceremonies of their old Order , and perpetuating them throughout tho north and south of Europe , as well as in England and Scotland , in which latter country the Templars were never suppressed , but absorbed into tho Order of St . John , which thus came to l-present both Orders ; hence the title adopted by the-Convent General of England of "The United Orders
of the Temple and Hospital . " It was not until after the glorious Eeformation in Europe and Britain , and the suppression of the monastic houses , whon men ' s consciences and minds were relieved from tho trammels of tho power of Home , and the exercise of free thought and disenssion indulged in without dread of the terrors of her intolerant Church , that it wag
generally known the rites and dogmas of the Templars had been secretly preserved in the speculative philosophy of Freemasonry . From this timo may be dated the gradually increasing close connection that now exists between the two Orders , but owing to the jealousy or over-caution of the ancient and accepted Masons , who burnt thenfew records in 1721 , but little information is obtainable on the
subject . In the seventeenth century the Masonic Lodges wero patronised by James I . and Charles I . and II . of England , and frequented by men of learning . Towards tho end of the century our traditions moro particularly point to the revival , revision , and recognition of the Chivalric degrees in connection with Freemasonry , and at this revision tho rituals of tho Knights Templar , who adopted the Masonic
degrees ceremonially , conveyed an allusion to tho foundation of tho Order in Palestine . To the Freemasons tho English Templars largely owe it that they were enabled to preserve their secret ceremonial , and it is as a mark of their grateful remembrance that they have rpquired aspirants for the honour of their pure and ancient Chivalry should bo Freemasons ; this , and this only , is the connection that exists between the Templars
and Freemasonry : protection on the one side , gratitude on the other . So far , then , Dr . Mackay and the Grand Prior agree that the Templars of to-day must be traced , and are traced , to the Knights who sought refuge and concealment amongst tho Masonic brotherhood , and through and by means of that Society perpetuated the Order and handed down to the present time in spirit and meaning their ancient rites and ceremonies .
Dr . Mackay speaks of the old and new Orders , but surely this must have been an oversight on the part of the learned and talented Brother . If it is admitted that the Order can be traced to those Knights who brought it into the Bfasonic Society , it cannot
consequently be a new Order . Even if it had been purely Masonic , which it is not , it wonld still be the nncfpnt Order , for although laying claim to a knightly succession , not a vestige remains of the original military power and political influence of the early Order , now merged into a peaceful but powerful Christian Society closely allied to
Freemasonry . Tho Templar Constitution in England has always beon Trinitarian , and in the Statutes recently adopted no severance whatever from Freemasonry has taken place , for the Masonic qualification and the Ititual remains as before , merely snbstitnting and restoring the old names and titles of the Order founded upon historical authority .
In the United States it would appear that the originators of their Templar system chose to found it altogether upon Frppmasonry , adopting the obsolete and mistaken theory that the original Order of tho Templars was based on the Craft degrees , and the two have become so connected that they cannot be separated by any one who has been received into these Orders , Templary being there
emphatically a Masonic Order of Knighthood , requiring the possession of Masonic degrees not now recognised by the Grand Lodgo of England . At the Union in 1813 of the English Grand Lodges it was declared that "pure and ancient Freemasonry consisted of three degrees and no more , including the Eoyal Arch , " therefore English Craft Masonry knows nothing , and can know nothing , by her unchanging constitu .