DIVISION XVII. BRITISH TEMPLARY. A History of the Modern or Masonic Templar Systems, with a Concise Account of the Origin of Speculative Freemasonry, and its Evolution since The Revival, A.D. 1717. BY LIEUT.-COL. W. J. B. MACLEOD MOORE, Formerly of H..B..M.. both Regt., and Staff Officer of Military Out-Pensions in Canada. Supreme Grand Master "Ad Vitam" of the Sovereign Great Priory of Canada, United Orders of the Temple and Malta; One of the Original Grand Crosses of the Order, instituted by H..R.. H:. the Prince of Wales; Grand Inspector General 33° A:. A:. S:. Rite of Freemasonry, etc., etc., etc. Dedication. INTRODUCTION. To THOMAS BOWMAN WHYTEHEAD, Esq., Registrar of the Dean and Chapter of York, York Cathedral, England. MY DEAR FRATER WHYTEHEAD: - I do not consider there is any one to whom I can more fitly or properly dedicate this sketch of the modern Knights Templar system, in connection with Freemasonry, than to yourself, with whom, for so many years past, I have had the most instructive and interesting correspondence on Templar matters; whose matured views on the subject so entirely coincide with my own, and who first suggested to me, some time back, to re-write, correct, and re-arrange the historical portions of my annual Templar addresses to the Great Priory of Canada, but which I have been unable to accomplish until the present time. The general approval of my efforts to place the Templar degrees upon a rational and common-sense footing, and more particularly the flattering encomiums passed upon them by our esteemed friend and brother William James Hughan of Torquay-the well-known and acknowledged accurate historian of Freemasonry- - were most gratifying, and induced me to carry out your kindly meant suggestions by the present publication. I am always, my dear Brother Whytehead, Sincerely Your Frater in Christo, PRESCOTT, ONTARIO, CANADA. Fra. WM. JAS. BURY MACLEOD MOORE, G. C. T., Preface. The following compilation of the history of the modern. Templar degrees is a reiteration of the historical portions of my various annual addresses and fugitive papers which I have for thirty-six years past delivered, from my own stand-point, to the Templar body of Canada, as an explanatory history. In these I now contend that it is a mistake to connect Templary with Freemasonry, although at one time I believed a union had existed between the ancient builders, "Stone-masons," and the chivalric orders. After the most careful researches, exhausting every source of information, I have discovered this to be a mere delusion, devoid of all truth. The Freemasonry of the "revival" inculcates the doctrine of Theism; that of Templary is, and has always been, Trinitarian Christian: how, then, can two such contradictory and antagonistic elements be transformed into degrees of the universal system of Freemasonry, without destroying the vital charac teristics of both? This has been a subject of careful investigation by me for a lifetime, having been a Mason (some) sixty years, and a Templar (nearly) half a century, in possession of almost all the rites and degrees professing to be Masonic, and having witnessed the various ceremonials and the effects of their working in different places and situations, forming a fair estimate of their usefulness and authenticity. The results of my researches and experience were from time to time laid before my confrères of the Templar body in Canada, and have been printed with the Annual Proceedings of the Great Priory. I may appear to have frequently indulged in fault-finding with the system of purely Masonic Templary practised in the United States of America, and am fully alive to the fact that the popularity of the degrees there among its most enlightened members, is an argument stronger than all the criticism that can be brought against it; but, in order to explain my objections, it was necessary to refer to the glaring discrepancies and inconsistencies existing, which prove the system to be not only false, but a perversion of the principles of the true Templar Order, from which it derives its name, — merely an imitation military Masonic degree, -a parody upon the pure doctrines of the ancient Templars. True modern Templary is a Christian society of the most orthodox kind, in no way forming a part of the universal system of Speculative Freemasonry. Although it does not claim a direct descent from the ancient Order after its suppression and dispersion in the fourteenth century, still a continuous connection exists, and the perpetuation of its doctrinal principles and usages is accounted for and traced from many of the dispersed members retiring into secular life throughout Europe, taking refuge in the monasteries and the contemporary Order of "St. John of Jerusalem," afterward known as Knights of Malta. If the old Templar Order is dead, its teachings have survived. Nothing is more certain than that the rules, constitutions, and even the general features of its ritual and ceremonies have been preserved, appropriated, and practised in the modern reformed system; that, with such modifications as the changes of opinion and state of society demand, it is a revival, in the British Empire, of the same objects which it correctly represents. This view of the subject has the weight of evidence, legendary as well as historical, over the visionary assumption of Masonic Templary and its ceremonial. Unfortunately, many members of the Masonic Fraternity, who have taken the Templar degrees, endeavor to pervert its Christian character by advocating theories under the cover of science or criticism, to undermine truth. They eagerly seize upon any new discovery, physical or moral, to use against Christianity, and insist that, in the course of evolution, the old Templar doctrines were merged into Speculative Freemasonry of a universal creed. Although they profess not to doubt the substantial correctness of the origin of Templary and its principles, yet they will not admit the advisability, in its modern form, of perpetuating its Trinitarian Christian character. They consider that Knights Templary and Freemasonry must eventually yield to evolutionary progress, and believe that man's conception of the Deity corresponds with his knowledge of Nature and with advanced intellectual studies. Such is the language of the present day, replacing the tenets of the Catholic or Universal faith by a "go-as-you-please" Christianity, exposed to the insidious attack of the freethinker and the sceptic, with whom philosophy takes the place of religious truths, who substitute satire for reverence, — and who professing to be wise, reject Revelation, and are thus opposed to those who desire to perpetuate, as followers of the old Templar principles, the doctrines of the Catholic faith, to the honor and glory of God. The formula of reception into the Christian degrees of Knights Templary is totally distinct and different in structure, creed, and usages, from that of the Templar degrees based upon Freemasonry. The admission of members of the Hebrew persuasion and Unitarians, on this continent, is directly opposed to the teachings and constitutions of the Order strictly enforced in the British Empire, which require a test of belief in the Holy and undivided Trinity, without which no Templary can exist, all special pleading to the contrary, notwithstanding. The extraordinary inconsistency in the Masonic Templar degrees is shown by the fact that many commanderies in the United States of America introduce the Easter services of the Episcopal Church into their ceremonials. Is not this a direct contradiction of their assertion that Templary is an integral portion of Freemasonry, whose universal creed ignores the doctrines of the Catholic faith, and Incarnation of the Messiah? for there are not, and never were, and never can be, two kinds of Christianity. But many of the members of Masonic Templary seem to have no convictions at all upon the subject, appearing to consider the Templar degrees merely an imitation military appendage to Free and Accepted Masonry, imposing in appearance on the careless crowd, with whom military pomp and public display too often usurp the place of truth, contrary to the well-known principles, usages, and occurrences of daily life. Even if there had been a connection between the ancient builders and the old military Templars, which has been distinctly disproved, how could there be any with the present symbolic system, when this was only first heard of in the last century, nearly five hundred years after the suppression of the military Order? Much of the history of Masonry written in former times has been proved by modern investigation to be unreliable, and it is only within the last thirty years that any attempt has been made to clear up the contradictory opinions and fables that surround Masonic Templary, respecting its origin and meaning, with its assumed Masonic connection. Previously no trouble had been taken to investigate the truth or falsehood of the assertions made, every idle story and legend being taken for granted as strictly true. Various theories have been advanced, at different times, to prove that the Templar system was a component part of Freemasonry; but all have failed to convince, in the face of historic facts and modern criticism, however carefully perversive of truth these inferences may have been arranged. The argument brought forward that the Templar degrees formed a part of the original system of the Masonic Craft revival is evidently incorrect, being based on anachronisms, as they refer to periods long after the invention and adoption of Masonic Templary. Therefore the assertion of the United States of America Templars, that Masonic Templary was always a part of the Symbolic Masonry of the revival, from its being conferred in Masonic bodies there since 1785, has no force. 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 chivalric Templar Order to the Masonic system; the mistake originating in the false legend that, at the suppression and dispersion of the old military Order, in the fourteenth century, many of the members joined the Masonic Craft of builders, introducing into Freemasonry the usages of their old religious military Order. This has been amply proved to be an idle tale without foundation. Why, then, continue to perpetuate so glaring a misstatement? If the United States of America Templars chose to form a system of Templary out of Freemasonry, it does not follow that Freemasonry and Templary are synonymous. They also claim that the Templar degrees were always conferred only under Masonic Craft charters; but this latter really means having the Craft warrant in the room during the Templar ceremonies, for no other purpose than to give them sufficient authority as adopted Masonic degrees. In these remarks I have followed the maxim of speaking positively of what I know and am convinced is true, being well aware that the public mind is never drawn or held by doubtful suppositions or speculations, the majority seldom taking the trouble to investigate the truth. The term "Allocution,” “a speaking to," and that of military, added to the title religious Templars, merely follows the ancient Order, to show whence they are derived. "Allocution" refers to the "Mandates" of the ancient Grand Masters, but is not, with the title military, strictly applicable to our modern system, which does not pretend to establish a new knightly military Order, but to represent and perpetuate, in a Masonic Christian society, the principles and usages of the old obsolete religious and military fraternities of the Middle Ages. To address the members by the title of "Sir," prefixed to |