Vision of the OSMTJ Knights Templar of America 

The OSMTJ Grand Priory of America, existing for the pure motives of spreading the love of Christ, takes pride in its existence, and pride in its members’ involvement in shaping our Nation.

Men and women have been drawn to our Order because we stand for freedom, equality, respect, charity, and a belief in Jesus Christ.

Men and women of such caliber have made a mark on our societies and still do. The continuous need to face the challenges in today’s world in a moral and ethical way is as important now as it was one two hundred and forty years ago when our nation was founded.

The Knights Templar are more than an organization to which you can say you belong to, it’s a way of life.

The goals of the Knights Templar is to live for Christ, as we improve ourselves, our families and our communities. This is the reason we remain an essential component of the structure of any stable society.

WHAT WE ARE NOT

1). We will never be primarily a fund raising organization. Although we will have small and limited fund drives, this will never be our purpose. Instead our purpose is to build a fraternal Christian community to help and encourage each other along our path in life. Like our ancient Templar ancestors, we are here to help pilgrims on their road.
2) We will never be a rich order of wealth and power. Our entry fees will always be low as we strive to be the “Poor Knights of Christ.” Our target membership is not the rich and famous but everyday regular people.
3) We will never be like a military veteran’s club and you will never need to have a military background to be promoted.

WHAT WE ARE

1) A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
Ever wonder why we refer to accepted Knights as Brothers & Sisters? We are building a community of Christians that is deeper than a fraternal Order. Unfortunately, Christians in America have too often settled for polite or friendly relationships in the church when the New Testament holds out a vision for a much richer connection between Christians. We are trying to learn how to love one another with gracious, committed love expressing our family relationship as brothers and sisters in Christ that is more like a family than an organization.

2) ECUMENICAL: Protestants, Catholics, & Orthodox
While we are members of many churches and Christian traditions, we recognize one another as members of God’s family.  Thus, brothers and sisters in Christ who seek to be an answer to Jesus’s prayer that “they would all be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” John 17:21

3) THE POOR KNIGHTS OF CHRIST
We strive to be the “Poor Knights of Christ,” by including those who can’t afford most fraternal orders.   “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” – Matthew 25:4.  Not everyone knows that the the Knights Templar were originally knows as the Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon because of their strict vows of poverty.  We strive to recapture the meaning behind this name and make it a reality for our Order.

4) HELPING PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS
Like the ancient Templars protected persecuted Christian pilgrims on the road to Jerusalem, our mission is to help persecuted Christians wherever their road may be taking them in life. We are especially called to help Christians in the Middle East.  Christians continued to be the most persecuted group across the globe in 2016, according to a study (See: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/01/06/christians-most-persecuted-group-in-world-for-second-year-study.html). The report from Italian-based Center for Studies on New Religions, determined that 90,000 Christians were killed for their beliefs worldwide last year and nearly a third were at the hands of Islamic extremists like ISIS. Others were killed by state and non-state persecution, including in places like North Korea. “U.S. policy has not had a strategy for specifically addressing the persecution of Christians,” Ryan Mauro, national security analyst for the Clarion Project, told FoxNews.com “For example, very few people are even aware that Iraqi Christians began organizing to defend themselves and needed our help.” The study also found that as many as 600 million Christians were prevented from practicing their faith in 2016.

Thank you for your interest in our website and may God bless you,

T. Bryant Jones
Grand Visitor to the Americas
Grand Prior OSMTJ – USA