Mackey A G - Encylopedia of Freemasonry - The Grand Masonic ...

KNIGHTS
KNIGHTS 407
In all the Provinces there were numerous
temple-houses called Preceptories, presided
over by a Preceptor. In each of the larger
Preceptories there was a Chapter, in which
local regulations were made and members were
received into the Order .
The reception of a knight into the Order was
a very solemn ceremonial . It was secret,
none but members of the Order bein g permitted
to be present . In this it differed from
that of the Knights of Malta, whose form of
reception was open and public ; and it is to
this difference, between a public reception
and a secret initiation, that may, perhaps, be
attributed a portion of the spirit of persecution
exhibited by the Church to the Order in
its latter days .
Of this reception, the best and most authentic
account is given by Munter in his
Statutenbuch des Ordens der Tempelherren
(pp. 29-42), and on that I shall principally rely .
On the day of the reception, the Master
and the knights being in the Chapter, the
Master said :
"Beloved Knights and Brethren, ye see that
the majority are willing that this man shall be
received as a brother . If there be among
you any one who knows anything concerning
him, wherefor he cannot rightfully become a
brother, let him say so . For it is better that
this should be made known beforehand than
after he has been brought before us ." All
being silent, the candidate is conducted into
an adjoining chamber. Two or three of the
oldest knights are sent to him to warn him of
the difficulties and hardships that he will have
to encounter ; or, as the Benedictine rule says
all the hard and rough ways that lead to
-"omnia dura et aspera, per quse itur ad
Deum ."
They commenced by saying : "Brother, do
you seek the fellowship of the Order?" If he
replied affirmatively, they warned him of the
rigorous services which would be demanded
of him . Should he reply that he was willing
to endure all for the sake of God and to become
the slave of the Order, they further asked
him if he were married or betrothed ; if he had
ever entered any other Order ; if he owed more
than he could pay ; if he was of sound body ;
and if he was of free condition? If his replies
were satisfactory, his examiners returned
to the Chapter room and made report ; whereupon
the Master again inquired if any one
present knew anything against the candidate .
All being silent, he asked : "Are you willing
that he should be received in God's-name?"
and all the knights answered : "Let him be received
in God s name ." His examiners then
returned to him and asked him if he still persisted
in his intention . If he replied that he
did, they gave him the necessary instructions
how he should act, and led him to the door of
the Chapter room. There entering he cast
himself on his knees before the Master, with
folded hands, and said : "Sir, I am come before
God, before you and the brethren, and
pray and beseech you, for God and our dear
Lady's sake, to admit me into your fellowship
and to the good deeds of the Order, as one who
will for all his life long be the servant and slave
of the Order ."
The Master replied : "Beloved Brother,
you are desirous of a great matter, for you see
nothing but the outward shell of our Order .
It is only the outward shell when you see that
we have fine horses and rich caparisons, that
we eat and drink well, and are splendidly
clothed . From this you conclude that you
will be well off with us. But you know not the
rigorous maxims which are in our interior .
For it is a hard matter for you, who are your
own master, to become the servant of another .
You will hardly be able to perform, in future,
what you wish yourself. For when you wish
to be on this side of the sea, you will be sent
to the other side ; when you will wish to be in
Acre, you will be sent to the district of Antioch,
to Tripolis, or to Armenia ; or you will be
sent to Apulia to Sicily, or to Lombardy, or
to Burgundy, France, England, or any other
country where we have houses and possessions .
When you will wish to sleep, you will be
ordered to watch ; when you will wish to
watch, then you will be ordered to go to bed ;
when you will wish to eat, then you will be
ordered to do something else . And as both
we and you might suffer great inconvenience
from what you have, mayhap, concealed from
us, look here on the holy Evangelists and the
word of God, and answer the truth to the questions
which we shall put to you ; for if you lie,
you will be perjured and may be expelled the
Order, from which Go od keep you!"
The questions which had been before asked
him by his examiners were then repeated more
at large, with the additional one whether fie
had made any contract with a Templar or
an other person to secure his admission .
answers being satisfactory, the Master
proceeded : "Beloved Brother, take good heed
that you have spoken truth to us, for should
you in any one point have spoken falsely, you
would be put out of the Order, from which
God preserve you . Now, beloved Brother,
heed well what we shall say to you . Do you
promise God and Mary, our dear Lady, that
your life long you will be obedient to the Master
of the Temple and the Prior who is set over
you? "
"Yes, Sir, God willing."
"Do you promise God and Mary, our dear
Lady all your life long to live chaste in your
bodyt? "
"Yes, Sir, God willing ."
"Do you p romise God and Mary, our dear
Lady, your life long to observe the laudable
manners and customs of our Order, those
which now are and those which the Master
and knights may hereafter ordain?"
"Yes, Sir, God willing ."
"Do you promise God and M ary, our dear
Lady, that your life long you will, with the
power and strength that God gives you, help
to conquer the holy land of Jerusalem, and
with your best power you will help to keep and
guard that which the Christians possess?"
"Yes, Sir, God willing."