Scottish Knights Templar USA Priory of St. Jude

World Wide Order of Templars

Welcome to the SKT USA. If you are a Companion-in-arms, or Templar Knight, welcome to our Order, and your works that will lead you to become an actual Knight, or higher ranks and responsibilities if already in Knighthood. If you are a Knight Commander, you have been through a brief probationary period and are allowed to form a group of members within your location, but a Commander is not an authoritative position or an officer yet and is still in an entry level for historical and ranking requirements. There are many Templar orders, so what is the difference between other Templar Orders and our own? First, we are a Non-Masonic Templar order. Second, we are the only legitimate Templar order worldwide that can trace its history back to the first public acknowledgement in the 20th century in 1962, the history from the 16th century and to the origins of 1118 and 1128 in Scotland. Third, we are an ecumenical Christian order.

The Royal House of Scotland led by Robert the Bruce accepted the Templars who fled from France, and some already existing in Scotland accused of crimes in 1307, now proven false by the Vatican’s document known as the Chinon document. Vatican Paleographer Dr. Barbara Frale discovered this document. The exiled Templars elected King Robert the Bruce Grandmaster of the Scottish Order. For this reason, we today never call our head of SKT “Grandmaster”, as a Grandmaster must be one of royal blood. Due to this clause of no royal heads in Scotland, our head of the SKT is our Regent. Each Priory worldwide is autonomous, or self-dependent, and is headed by its own HSE Grand Prior. Each worldwide Priory has its own board, and rules based upon the original by-laws and statutes from Scotland. These by-laws and statutes themselves are based upon philosophy and the original Knight Templars.

Do we have any history in Scotland? Did we really come here after the arrest on October 13, 1307? The internet has many websites, neo-Templar groups, and even expelled former members that have attempted their own.

We remind that a Charter granted by King James IV, dated in Edinburgh over 500 years ago on October 19th, 1488, (181 years after the ‘alleged’ end of the Templars in 1307) and first year of his reign, recites the various charters previously granted by his predecessor:

“To the Holy hospital of Jerusalem, and to the Brethren of the Knighthood of the Temple of Solomon”. This charter’s title is Fratribus Hospitalis Hierosolimitani, Militibus Templi Solomonis. In this charter, the king reaffirmed all the ancient rights and privileges of not only the Order of St. John, but also our existing Templars then.”

We refute any claims that our Order as a story of myth, again confirming that in 1614 our existence is mentioned in the King James VI charter, which states:

“All Arable land contiguous to St. Anthony and all that place and piece of ground whereon the Church and Preceptory’s of the Knights Templar stood, which during the Siege of Leith bore the sign with property and most parishes in Scotland which was held by the Knights.”

We honor and memorialize forever those Knights Templar who fought at the Battle of Bannockburn on June 24th, 1314 A.D., and who not only helped to secure a victory for the Scots, but independence for Scotland. We forever honor Chevalier James Graham, 5th Earl of Montrose, who gave his life to uphold our Templar principles of freedom of worship for all Christians. We pay forever homage to John Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee who belonged to a family that was descended from King Robert III and had acquired the Claverhouse Estate near Dundee, Scotland. John Claverhouse, known as Bonny Dundee was reputed to be Grand master of all Scottish Templars and our Templar cross was found around his neck when he was killed fighting the English at the battle of Killiecrankie in 1689. We also forever honor and memorialize Grandmaster Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) and that Scottish Templars fought under his command at the Battle of Culloden on April 16, 1745 A.D.

We declare the Charter that gave us our Status as an Autonomous Grand Priory, this in Perpetuity was ratified by head of world Templars, the late Chef Mondial H.S.E. Baron Anton Leuprecht Rapp KGCTJ in Edinburgh in 1962, and again re-ratified in Edinburgh in 1971, again in 1982, and agreed by the Organization of the Grand Council of Grand Priories, and other Templar Orders present in London in 1996.

This said Charter was legally registered in Geneva, Switzerland and is still legally valid. We further declare that our title of Chef Mondial held by our Regent James. McGrath, is too in perpetuity, and legally states our authority of the SKT - IFA - OCMTH is valid, and is superior to all other claims of legitimate Templar authority. As Chef Mondial H.S.E. Baron Anton Leuprech Rapp willed Scotland this title upon his death in 1980.

Our Confederation of Scottish Knights Templar has its headquarters in Glasgow, Scotland and Priories worldwide. We are focused on two principal goals: 1) to perform charitable works for the poor, the sick, the elderly and helpless, and 2) to defend the persecuted church.

We recognize all other legitimate Knights Templar Orders, and we seek to ally ourselves with other true Knights Templar Orders, but we hold that due to Scotland’s preeminent position within Templar history, we do not recognize, nor admit the existence of, any Templar Order with a superior claim to that of our own. Our headquarters in Scotland uses the Scottish Knights Templar SKT IFA-OCMTH) Latin label. An English translation is the SMOTJ (Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem). We also respectfully do not align ourselves with Neo-Templar Organizations that make false claims, or support an unchristian philosophy. For this reason alone, we do not have any association with any other Templar Orders except our own worldwide SKT Priories. Scotland Templar website at http://skt-stanthony.741.com/front.htm USA Templar website at www.templarusa.org.

Although we work to support Churches, their needs, and all Christian denominations, we respect the history with the open arms to the Vatican. This reason is not due to a simple Pro-Catholic promotion in our Orders, but merely because that is where we originated our eccliastical roots from, and any type of reconciliation or friendship has never been made since 1307. We have taken a step in that direction. In 2005, with the new Pope Benedict XVI, Templar Priories from Scotland, Malta and others were in attendance. This was a historical day for SKT, as this was the first formal appearance of Templars in the Vatican in almost 700 years. When Hugh de Payens and eight other knights founded the Knights Templar in 1118 A.D., they were known as the “Poor Knights of Christ.” The Order did not allow individual knights to own anything except their mantles and weapons. So strict was the rule concerning “monastic poverty” that if a Knight Templar died and a single penny was found on his body, he was refused a Christian burial! Besides our Autonomous Grand Priory Charter, we hold forever the Title Chef Mondial, or head of the world Knights Templar Autonomous Grand Priories. This left in Perpetuity to the Scottish Grand Priory by the late Chef Mondial, Chevalier Baron Anton Lepreucht Rapp KGCTJ in his will on his demise in Switzerland in 1980.

We are about a holy commitment to serve the Lord Jesus Christ with all of our heart and soul. Our help to fund Christian families worldwide and help the poor and the sick are not from "riches" for the gain of public pictures nor to claim and publicly promote "good deeds". We help others worldwide in a private way, without need for publicity.

We hereby set forth the following guiding principles of the Scottish Knights Templar, in order to reaffirm the charters of our founders, and to ensure that our Order is never corrupted or compromised in its principles. As the Scottish Knights Templar enter the Third Millennium after the advent of our Lord, we hold the following declarations indefeasible and central to the legitimacy and continued survival of the Order:

1. We forever dedicate ourselves to the service of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the universal, Holy Christian Church that He founded. Originally ordained as a Catholic Order before the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, the Scottish Knights Templar is now and henceforth an ecumenical Christian Order, with admission open to all professing Christians, regardless of church affiliation or denomination.

2. We reaffirm our ideals and beliefs in Christianity, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and our Father in Heaven. We also reaffirm our personal philosophies that are Templar beliefs, and our cherished white mantle and world known feared eight pointed blood red cross, which is a variant of the cross pattée.

3. We reaffirm that our world recognized eight pointed cross is our Templar insignia, with each point defining:
1) Live in truth 2) Have faith 3) Repent of sins 4) Give proof of humility 5) Love justice 6) Be merciful 7) Be sincere and whole-hearted 8) Endure persecution

4. We reaffirm, regarding we Templars, Pope Honorius II, at the Council of Troy, in 1128, confirmed the rule dictated by St. Bernard of Clairaveaux.

5. We reaffirm regarding we Templars, Pope Honorius II then gave the vestment of the white mantle representing purity in their life.

6. We reaffirm in 1146, Pope Eugenius III, presented the Order with the right to wear the Red Cross Pattee on the left breast of our Tunics and the shoulder of our Mantles, which symbolized our willingness to shed our blood and die for our faith so that Christians and Templars on the battlefield could quickly recognize each other.

7. We reaffirm that the blood red eight pointed cross is the property of the Scottish Knights Templar, and the SKT – SMOTJ / IFA - OCMTH.

8. We state under this Declaration that our Confederation of Scottish Knights Templars, are an Order of Christians, and refuse Freemasonry and all other Godless beliefs.

9. We affirm that our Order has formed a Confederation for the 21st century of Templarism.

10. We affirm our fellow Knights worldwide in concert with support of our world confederation of SKT to serve our Lord and Savior, aid our fellow man, and practice our philosophies and rituals that our eight pointed crosses and white mantles define.

11. We affirm our Confederation recognizes our world Order members from the countries here, and those who were not able to make it, that sent us their well wishes.

12. We reaffirm that our noble Order of Scottish Knights Templar have a traced history via documents, and recorded timelines to modern day. We do preserve our documents. We further declare that from our timeline, evidence is recorded within the SKT on documents, charters and in the Scotland National archives on our proofs of existence in Scotland beginning with King David I and his acceptance of our Templars into Scotland in 1128 to the Charter by Mary Queen of Scots, with consent of the three estates, in favor of James Sandilands, Lord St John, of the possessions of the Templars and Hospitallers in Scotland on January 24, 1563, to the 17th century Paris Oration by the noted Templar Michael Ramsey, along with our statues recorded in 1705, to modern day when Chef Mondial Anton Leuprecht Rapp became head of all world Templars in 1944, to our re-emerging publicly in 1962, recorded in Swiss registry to our first IFA President Chevalier Frank Sherry becoming Chef Mondial via Leuprecht’s will, to today with our current Regent. The Trinity board is the three highest ranked Templars in the world: -Regent -Grand Prior of Scotland - Secretary General SKT-IFA OCMTH

We declare the statutes of the Scottish Knights Templar SKT – SMOTJ / IFA - OCMTH signed by Regent and SKT Secretary General in 2007 which is still legally valid today. Our Priory locally is named the SKT USA Priory of St. Jude. St. Jude is our patron saint of the USA, as St. Jude himself was an apostle of Christ, and is know for the Saint of lost causes. We hold, therefore, that true Templar Orders are those that do not discriminate on the basis of educational, financial, or social status, and are those that are concerned with the needs of the poor, the sick, the elderly and defense of the church. Welcome Companion-in-arms or Templar Knight, as an honorable Christian and Templar, we have many assignments to do. Beausant!

Non Nobis Domine Non Nobis Sed Nomini Tuo Da Gloriam (”Not To Us O Lord Not To Us But To Your Name Give Glory”)

Priory of St. Jude

Our SKT USA Priory is named the Priory of St. Jude.  Why St. Jude?  For those who do not know, Saint Jude was a patron saint of lost causes.  Remember the Templars after their demise in 1307 were a lost cause until a document found in 2001 by Vatican researcher Dr. Barbara Frale exonerated us and brought us back to light in the public eye.  The Templars had different patron Saints, beginning with St. Bernard of Clairvoux, to St. Mary Margaret, St. David and St. Andrew of the Scottish Knights Templar.  Of course the Templars venerated the Virgin Mary, as they were originally a Catholic institution of military Order of Knights.  Although we do have many Catholics in our Order, we are now an ecumenical Christian Order that accepts any denomination of Christianity. 

Memorial
28 October (Roman Church); 19 June (Eastern Church)
Profile
Son of Cleophas, who died a martyr, and Mary who stood at the foot of the Cross, and who annointed Christ's body after death. Brother of Saint James the Lesser. Nephew of Mary and Joseph; blood relative of Jesus Christ, and reported to look a lot like him. May have been a fisherman. Apostle.

Writer of canonical letter. Preached in Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia with Saint Simon. Healer. Exorcist. Could exorcise pagan idols, which caused the demons to flee and the statues to crumble.

His patronage of lost or impossible causes traditionally derives from confusion by many early Christians between Jude and Judas; not understanding the difference between the names, they never prayed for Jude's help, and devotion to him became something of a lost cause.
Died
beaten to death with a club, then beheaded post-mortem in 1st century Persia; relics at Saint Peter's, Rome, at Rheims, and at Toulouse, France
Name Meaning
sweetness or gentleness of character (Thaddeus)
Patronage
desperate situations; forgotten causes; hospital workers; hospitals; impossible causes; lost causes diocese of Saint Petersburg, Florida
Prayers

To Saint Jude, Holy Saint Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in time of need. To you I have recourse from the depths of my heart and humbly beg to whom God has given such great power to come to my assistance. Help me in my present and urgent petition, in return I promise to make your name known and cause you to be invoked. Saint Jude pray for us and all who invoke your aid.

As other organizations such as the St. Jude’s children’s hospital, we invoke the name of St. Jude for his patronage of desperate situations, forgotten causes and others, as well as for two main reasons;

1. Like we Templars falsely accused in 1307, St. Jude is at times mistaken for the traitor Judas.

1. St. Jude has always been an apostle caring for the sick and desperate causes, a philosophy our descendents were based on during our origin in 1118, then in Scotland in 1128, and of course when the Templars aided Robert the Bruce in his battle against England to aid Scotland to win its independence.  St. Jude is the patron saint of lost causes, have we not seen many that we wish to help?