About Us
THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR OF ALL BRITAIN
(WALES, ENGLAND, SCOTLAND AND NORTHERN IRELAND)
Please note that we do not normally respond to any enquiry about joining us unless the enquirer is prepared to state where they presently reside in the world AND is willing to meet, or speak in person or on the telephone, with either the Grand Prior or a senior officer.
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Some Arms or Banners of the Society
THE BANNER OF THE SOCIETY & 0RDER OF KNIGHTS TEMPLAR
THE GRAND PRIORY OF ALL BRITAIN
[Registered Copyright]
[Note the design and use of the Banner above is very strictly Copyright and must not be copied in any way nor under any circumstances whatsoever]
The International Arms
WELCOME ON BEHALF
of
THE GRAND PRIORY OF ALL BRITAIN
including
THE GRAND PRIORY OF WALES, THE GRAND PRIORY ENGLAND
and
Commanderies in Northern Ireland and Scotland
This is the only Official Website of
The Grand Priory of All Britain
and also the above
< > The Knights Templar <>
We celebrated the
900+ years
of the foundation of the Knights Templar in
Jerusalem in 1118
Worldwide, Knights Templar are composed of independent and autonomous Grand Priories. These are governed by their Grand Priors.
In accordance with the Statutes only ONE Grand Priory may exist in any one nation.
For the avoidance of doubt therefore there cannot be a "Grand Priory of England and Wales" since "England and Wales" is not a 'state' nor a 'nation' whereas England is a nation; Wales is a nation; Scotland is a nation; and Northern Ireland is a nation. The internationally recognised 'State' to which they all belong is the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".
There has been a Knights Templar Grand Priory of Wales for many years. The Knights Templar Grand Priory of England is of ancient origin and existed before the time of Magna Carta in 1215. For convenience an overall 'administrative' organisation - The Society & Order of Knights Templar - was established in 2019 to oversee the development of the two national priories in Wales and in England. Since the beginning of 2024 we have also formed new Templar groups in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The latter will not, of course, be part of any Templar organisation in the Republic of Ireland since that republic is not a part of the UK . The first new knights from Scotland and Northern Ireland were Invested in September 2024.
The Grand Priory of All Britain, The Grand Priory of Wales and The Grand Priory of England are the only officially and internationally recognised Grand Priories of the Society & Order of Knights Templar [SOKT] for All Britain, for Wales & for England. We have now established Templar groups in Northern Ireland and in Scotland. These will become a full priories in due course.
'Other' groups using numerous titles such as: 'Grand Priory of England and Wales'; the 'Grand Priory of England of the Supreme Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem [OSMTH or OSMTH-Paris]'; 'Knights Templar of Great Britain'; 'Knights Templar International' [legal title 'Knights Templar International Novus Ordo Militiae Limited']; 'Knights Templar UK'; the 'Grand Priory of Great Britain'; the 'Grand Priory of the United Kingdom'; the 'Templar Church of Great Britain'; and many similar variations do not represent and are not to be confused with us. In spite of any claim or website not one of these bodies is an actual member of the Society & Order of the Knights Templar.
So beware!!! We have no connections with any of these organisations.
Quite a number of these 'other' organisations are also, effectively, merely quasi-Masonic groups since most of their senior officers and many members are freemasons. But many Christian churches across the world have established that Christianity and Freemasonry are incompatible since freemasonry admits that there are 'gods' other than our Lord Jesus Christ who, for true Christians and with the Father and the Holy Spirit, is ONE GOD, Lord of All and Saviour.
Therefore, and for the absolute avoidance of doubt, we have NO connections whatsoever
with any Freemasonry or other Masonic organisation, British or Foreign.In short we are NOT Freemasons.
[We would therefore suggest that any Freemason who might be interested in
Templarism should contact the national freemasony organisation
which we understand is based at Freemasons' Hall in London.]
Sadly some so-called 'Templar' groups (especially those found on the Internet) are not even remotely connected with we true Templars but are merely recruiting organisations for political or other ideologies, whilst others may be 'breakaway' groups which left the mainstream of the Templars some or many years ago. Still others are completely self-made groups posing as Knights Templar. Unfortunately many of these groups are merely fund-raising for their self-appointed leaders even though they may offer some sort of 'document' or the like. They pretend that an applicant has joined the real Knights Templar. In contrast we are absolutely open about our aims and objectives and about all costs involved in joining and in maintaining an annual membership. Further, our Investiture events in particular are always open for the public to attend; so anyone who might be thinking of applying to join, could (if they wish) come along and meet us before making any sort of application.
Pages on this website are regularly updated - usually once a month (save perhaps in the summer months) and usually more frequently - but we also have a lot of material and information for members of the public to read. In contrast some so-called Templar websites are rarely updated or, indeed, completely static.
This website can be found at www.knightstemplar-allbritain.org and www.knightstemplar-wales.org
We are entirely a Christian and chivalric organisation - there are more details below:
We are NOT a political organisation and we have no connections whatsoever with any political organisation or political party. Similarly we are not a Re-enactor group.
We have NO connections whatsoever with any Freemasonry or other Masonic organisation, British or Foreign.
We do not 'recruit' to any such organisations under any circumstances.
As a matter of policy we do not have any sort of social media presence, especially with the insecure links of Facebook (Meta), Instagram, Twitter etc etc. Consequently no connections nor reliable information about us can be obtained via such media. If anyone does want to contact us it is easily achieved via our 'Contact Page' on the menu opposite.
Obviously we are not connected in any way whatsoever with a Mexican 'drugs cartel' who adopted the name 'Knights Templar' some years ago!
Similarly we have no connection whatsoever with an American organisation going under the name of the "Knights Templar Church".
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Our combined Banner of the Society & Order of Knights Templar
represents the Society by our Cross and by its colours, the nations of Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland and which together are the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland":
The Banner of the Knights Templar of Wales
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THE SOCIETY & ORDER OF KNIGHTS TEMPLAR
We are the Knights Templar for All Britain (for Wales and for England and for Northern Ireland and for Scotland). We Knights Templar are a Christian (Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant) fraternal and chivalric Society. We have no Masonic or political affiliations.
We are ecumenical and by this we mean that we are not
affiliated to any single Christian denomination but seek to represent all Christians in accord
with Jesus’ prayer to the Father concerning his followers:
“That they may all
be one :
so that the world will believe that you sent me”
(John 17: 20-21).
We are associated with world-wide organisations for the fellowship and networking of like-minded individuals. The ultimate 'Master' of our Society is, of course, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Our Society vows to hold to the virtues of Honesty, Loyalty, Perseverance, Charity, Humility, Courage, and Honour. We take our vows seriously and hold each other accountable as our ancient statue proscribes: “Each day we must help our brethren for whom we are responsible, for one day God will say, ‘Where is thy Brother?'”
In contrast with much of today’s secular society, with people moving from place to place, and from relationship to relationship, this Society calls Knights and Dames to live a committed life of purpose.
Historically, the Knights Templar were a Christian order of soldiers of 'noble' birth, founded over 900 years ago in 1118 A.D. Named after the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the Templars initially protected pilgrims travelling through the Holy Lands, but eventually evolved into a powerful military force protecting the Holy Land.
The reasons for the Society today are to:
Ꚛ Spread the light of Christ in an increasingly dark world. Today’s Templars are faced with a spiritual battle instead of a physical one.
Ꚛ Practice works of mercy, charity, and benevolence.
Ꚛ Act as an example which unifies all Christians, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant, under the banner of Christ. Today, Christians are under attack by extraordinarily powerful enemies. As Benjamin Franklin expressed it: “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
Ꚛ Perpetuate the traditions of the Knights Templar by defending Christendom, now through non-violent means.
Ꚛ Live a life of Chivalry and hold each other accountable to a lifestyle of excellence.
Ꚛ Promote historical studies, heraldry, and genealogy.
Ꚛ Promote, through the values of friendship, loyalty and respect, feelings of universal brotherhood and ideals of solidarity between all people.
The 12th century Cistercian Abbot, St Bernard of Clairvaux wrote, ”The Knight Templar is truly a fearless knight and secure on every side, for his soul is protected by the armour of faith just as his body is protected by armour of steel. He is thus doubly armed and need fear neither demons nor men. Not that he fears death – no, he desires it. Why should he fear to live or fear to die when for him to live is Christ, and to die is gain?”
Being a Knight or Dame Templar means being committed to an ancient holy order 900 years old. It is not a remnant of the past, it is a way of life for today.
We Knights Templar are looking for those upstanding Christian men and
women interested in becoming exceptional. Few are chosen and the standards are rigorous,
but the reward of Knight- or Damehood in this ancient Order awaits. Interested? For more information on how to join us, click
the “Contact Us” tab opposite.
Additional information not yet fully incorporated into the main text above:
What is the mission of the Society? We are a Christian humanitarian Society dedicated to the betterment of humanity, and our humanitarian activities
are carried out within our Grand Priories and groups in each nation. We seek to plant and nurture Commanderies, Priories and Grand
Priories to bring the words and works of Jesus Christ into
the secular world through doing humanitarian works and deeds.
Today, Christianity encompasses nearly 2.4 billion believers. While Jesus Christ founded the Church, he left no written directions or instructions. Instead, he selected twelve disciples to be his ‘apprentices’ and to spread his teachings.
The members of this noble Society seek to continue His programme.
What makes a Templar Knight or Dame different on the day that they are invested into the Society from the day before they were invested?” The answer is that when invested they become members of a Christian network dedicated to the betterment of humanity – and, through the local Grand Priory, each member of the Society has the potential support of worldwide Templar brothers and sisters.
However, the Society is not a ‘joining’ organisation. One cannot simply opt to join. One can express an interest in becoming invested in the Society, but the person’s interest and character will be evaluated and, if deemed appropriate, the individual may be invited to join the Society. Membership is not automatic. We seek Christian quality of members, not simply numbers of members.
Please note that we do not normally respond to any enquiry about joining us unless the enquirer is prepared to state where they reside in the world AND is willing to meet, or speak in person or on the telephone, with either the Grand Prior or a senior officer.
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Contact
see website Contact Us