- Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem
__NOTOC__The Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (SMOTJ), is the United States affiliated Grand Priory of the Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani (OSMTH), which, in turn is an international association of autonomous national Grand Priories, whose goals are the preservation of the holy sites in and around
Jerusalem ;antiquarian research; charitable works;diplomatic lobbying andintervention . In modern times, the Order exists as an international ecumenical Christian organisation which was founded in1804 , based on the traditions of themedieval Knights Templar and principles ofchivalry .Christian men who join the organisation are called "Sir Knight" with the republican honorific of
Chevalier and females are termed "Dames" with the republican honorific of Chevaleresse (or Chevalière). A secular-military order of chivalry, the organization operates as a modern day network of educated professionals. As of August 2007, the organization had approximately 5,200 members.fact|date=October 2007In
2001 , the Order was accredited by theUnited Nations Economic and Social Council as aNon-Governmental Organisation . [ [http://www.un.org/dpi/ngosection/asp/form.asp?RegID=all&CnID=all&AcID=-1&kw=&NGOID=2904 United Nations NGO page] ] The Order, also an ecumenical Christian and humanitarian organisation, is an associate member of theInternational Peace Bureau , founded byAlfred Nobel in 1891, and an affiliate of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy.Fact|date=October 2007The central figure behind the Order's revival was
Bernard-Raymond Fabre-Palaprat , a French physician who took a keen interest in the history of the medievalKnights Templar . In 1805, he re-organized the Templar Order and proclaimed himself the Grand Master. This new organization was fairly well-accepted in the occult sub-culture and even Napoleon showed interest. cite journal|title=The Neo-Templar Tradition|journal=The Order of the Solar Temple: the Temple of Death |date=1995|first=Massimo|last=Introvigne |coauthors=|volume=|issue=|pages=21–22|id= |url=http://books.google.ca/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Rb9hjbzVKO0C&oi=fnd&pg=PP13&dq=Massimo+Introvigne+Bernard-Raymond+Fabre-Palaprat&ots hl=en&lr=&id=Rb9hjbzVKO0C&oi=fnd&pg=PP13&dq=Massimo+Introvigne+Bernard-Raymond+Fabre-Palaprat&ots=0ZNAfbO3uN&sig=7AfCK3Ef0aMkwwOgJXIB9-ZxJ_8#PPA39,M1|format=|accessdate=2007-10-14 ]References
*Chev. Leo Thys, KCTJ. "History of the Order of the Temple of Jerusalem: From 1118 to 2005", ISBN 9-0901-9317-0Further reading
* BBC Website ' [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7050713.stm What are the Knights Templar up to now?] '. News Magazine 2007-10-19
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/misc/templars.shtml BBC Radio 4. On the Trail of the Templars] Program audio, first broadcast 2007-06-18
* Stephen Howarth. "The Knights Templar", 1991. ISBN 978-0880296632External links
* [http://http://www.theknightstemplar.org/] Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani (OSMTH)]
* [http://www.un.org/ecosoc/ UN ECOSOC]
* [http://http://www.theknightstemplar.org/] Official website of the Grand Priory in England and Wales
* [http://www.osmth.de] OSMTH Germany
* [http://www.osmth.at] OSMTH Austria
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