Knights Templar Confer the Order of Red Cross,
Order of Malta and the Order of the Temple
The Red Cross emphasized that Truth is a divine attribute and the fountation of every virtue. The Order of Malta is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. In a beautiful and impressive ceremony, this Order enjoins a strict adherence to the cause of Jesus Christ and the performance of those virtues emphasized in His teachings.
The Order of the Temple, the crowning glory of York or American Rite Masonry, has been characterized by many as the most solemn and impressive experience in Masonry. Here the aspirant progresses step by step, the way trod by Jesus of Nazereth until the empty tomb joins with the sprig of acacia to teach that at last we shall dwell forever in realms of life and light eternal. The Christian Character and Scope of this Order arises from the circumstances which are inseperably interwoven in the world's history and which therefore cannot be annulled. We have inherited from the fathers aforetime an organization which has for its symbols the triumph of the Cross and which commemorates the deeds of its defenders. Having accepted the inheritance, we must adhere to the fact that was sealed in blood amid the din of arms and the carnage of battle.
While Freemasonry demands only a belief in God; yet it canot be deemed inconsistant that the Christian Freemason should establish a branch of the Fraternity where he may be free to interpret the symbols of the Blue Lodge according to his religious belief. Thus the Masonic Orders of the Christian Knighthood are the logical outcome of the Christian Mason's belief in Christ as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, whose hand will raise the dead to life and in whose Holy Name the True Word is found and restored at last. "In the beginning was the word and the word was with GOD, and the word was GOD."
Templars of the present day are men who by their loyalty and devotion are making Templary the splendid Christian Order which has the respect and admiration of the public at large. Good fellowship and loyal friendships have made the Order stand for something of supreme value in life.
Those who have labored for Templary find in it something friendly, comforting and satisfying. It is not entirely ritualistic; rather it is laid in the hearts of men who are working for the good of the Order. It is a high responsibility to be the successors in this modern world of an Order so ancient, so noble and so glorious.