Knights Templar

I've been looking for more information on Knights Templar, but the York Rite pages seem pretty confusing and organized differently than the Scottish Rite. It seems there are several bodies in the York Rite you can join, RA, Cryptic, and KT. It also seems that some of the bodies, in some state, require membership in lesser bodies while others don't. I've been digging through those sites for days, and submitted a request for information, but haven't heard anything back yet.

Is anyone familiar?

I am not part of the York Rite (yet) but I believe that Wikipedia of all places has a pretty concise explanation:

"Since the York Rite is actually a grouping of separate organizations joined in order, each body operates with relative autonomy. And though they are referred to as one rite it is common for individuals to be member of some bodies and not others. For example in many jurisdictions Cryptic Masonry can be skipped allowing the person to be a member of just the Royal Arch and Knights Templar. It is also common for non-Christians to join only the Royal Arch and Council of Royal & Select Masters as the Knights Templar require members to be of the Christian faith. But no matter what the Royal Arch is always required and membership in that body must be kept in order to maintain membership in the other two bodies."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York_Rite

Novell's post explains alot.

From my jurisdiction you must be a member of both R/A and Council to be in K/T. K/T is neat, but the impact of R/A and Council should not be over looked, as they are some of the most esoteric / epic degree's.
(but thats my humble opinion)

Thanks to both of you. I'm interested, but I had several concerns.

I'm concerned about the time commitment. Having to participate in 3 other lodges, plus my blue lodge, could be a strain. One other lodge, at this time, is fine and sounds fun. Three could be a problem.

I'm also concerned about the financial commitment, but this could be unnecessary. My blue lodge dues are very inexpensive, but I know nothing about the York Rite. I suppose that varies, so i'll have to find someone locally to ask.

You do not have to participate in all 4. Shortly after becoming a MM I joined the RA and went through the several degrees, 4-16, I believe. I have not joined the KT, Commandery or SR. I only attend YR meeting maybe every 3 months. I've been very busy learning what I need in my Blue Lodge. The rest will come next July or later after I leave the East.

We alternate our meetings, one month will be Chapter and the next month will be Council, with K/T meeting every month.

In other words Chapter and Council only meet six times a year, where-as K/T (also known as Commanderies) meets twelve times. This is the schedule for "My" area, your most-likely will be different.

Check out this link, it maybe helpfull for you. (or maybe not)

The York Rite of Freemasonry consists of four bodies: Blue Lodge, Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, Council of Royal and Select Masters and Commandery of Knights Templar.

You are already familiar with the degrees in Blue Lodge.

The Chapter Degrees concern themselves with the building of KST, and the recovery of the Lost Word. There are four Chapter Degrees: Mark Master, Past Master, Most Excellent Master and Royal Arch.

Council Degrees, Royal Master and Select Master, depict the events leading up to the MM degree and the events thereafter. IMO, the Council Degrees are the most informative of all the Degrees in Freemasonry. They complete the story begun in Blue Lodge. There is also an optional Degree of Super Excellent Master. It is a major production and requires a large cast. Because of this many jurisdictions only put it on periodically. It isn't required for the completion of the Council Degrees and continuing to the Templar Orders.

Commandery Orders depict the trials and travels in becoming a Knight of the Temple. They are the Order of the Red Cross, the Order of Malta (also known as the Order of the Mediterranean Pass) and the Order of the Temple. A Commandery of Knights Templar is the ONLY body the specifically espouses Christian virtues.

Even though one must proceed through the Degrees and Orders of each body to "progress" to the next; there is no hierarchy of rank or status among the bodies. In fact it is quite the opposite. Remember there is no honor higher than that of Master Mason.

Since the Lost Word is not discovered in Blue Lodge, in some jurisdictions, the Holy Royal Arch Degree is the fourth Degree of Freemasonry. A Brother is not considered a Master Mason until he receives it.

As far as a time commitment it's like anything else in our lives. If it's important to you, it's worth your time. York Rite is like any other facet of Freemasonry, you get out of it what you put in it.

I'm probably biased by being a Grand York Rite officer, but I love the York Rite and think without it there would be a huge hole in my Masonic Education and life.

I think it's done the same way here (not a YR member though).

Thanks! I sent a request locally, but haven't back yet.

Good luck and have fun.

These guys are tough to make contact with. I've called and emailed numerous times.

If I can find out when they meet, I'll just show up.

Just keep in mind, not all generations are as computer savvy as we are(or pretend to be). We dragged some of ours kicking and grumbling into the computer age. Just be aware you may have to be a little patient. It may be a good idea to ask one of your Brothers from Blue lodge about it before a meeting. It may get the ball rolling a little faster.

It's worth it..

Thanks. I did that and reached out to several of the names I got. It's really weird. It's almost like they're hiding. I can't even find anyone who belongs. Scottish Rite is everywhere, but not York. Our York Rite went through some scandal earlier, so that might have something to do with it. I haven't given up, I'm just looking for other options.

I almost forgot, there's a great article written about the York Rite in the September issue of The Working Tools Magazine (a great publication for those of you who've never read it.)

The Working Tools September Issue

I would suggest you start here. I had the same problem until I attended my Valley's reunion this past Fri and Sat. I overheard one of the White hats talking about York rite, asked him about it and he pulled an application out of his coat and handed it to me. He also signed as a reference. Thanks Randy, if you're reading this. He asked me why I hadn't just sent an application to the state body and let it work its way from there. Looking at the MA site I see the Chapter, Council and Commandery petitions right on the front page. Hopefully that will bear some fruit for you.

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