717 years after the Pope and King of France ambushed the Knights Templar in 1307, the mystery surrounding the Oder endures. They are maybe even more popular today than ever before, yet people tend to have a love hate relationship with the Templars. Are they good or bad? Probably depends on who you ask. 

The Templars resurfaced in Europe almost 400 years after their demise. The earliest mention of the connection between Freemasonry and the Templars was made by Chevalier Ramsey in 1737. Baron Karl Gotthelf von Hund created the Rite of Strict Observance, a ritual he claimed to have received from the Templar Order in 1751. 

George Washington was initiated into Freemasonry in 1752, and the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, a 330-foot tall Lighthouse/Tower was constructed atop Shooter’s Hill in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1932. Washington was initiated into Freemasonry a mere 24 years before the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. 

Now the question we must ask ourselves, did the Knights Templar play a role in the American Revolution? Many people are quick to point out the Templars influence without providing hard facts to back up their claims. The main problems facing the Rebels were the Monarchy on one side, and the Church on the other. These two forces held sway in Europe for more than a thousand years and were adamant to maintain the status quo.

The American and French Revolutions changed the dynamic and ushered in the ‘New World Order’, as opposed to the ‘Old World Order’, – the Divine Rights of Kings, and infallibility of the Pope and Church. One could even ask, were the Revolutions somehow connected to righting the wrongs committed against the Templar Order between 1307-1312?

I believe the answer to this question can be found in the alignment of Kings Street in Old Town, Alexandria. Alignments in Washington DC, Paris and Versailles in France corroborate this claim, but that’s a story for another day. The eighth floor of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial contains a chapel dedicated to the Knights Templar. 

The ‘Templar Degrees’ play a huge role in the highest degrees of Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Freemasonry, 28th – Knight Commander of the Temple, 29th – Scottish Knight of Saint Andrew, 30th – Knight Kadosh, 32nd Master of the Royal Secret, 33rd – Inspector General.