Knights Templar (Freemasonry)

The Knights Templar, full name The United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple

and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta, is a fraternal order affiliated with

Freemasonry. Unlike the initial degrees conferred in a regular Masonic Lodge, which (in most

Regular Masonic jurisdictions) only require a belief in a Supreme Being regardless of religious

affiliation,[1] the Knights Templar is one of several additional Masonic Orders in which membership

is open only to Freemasons who profess a belief in Christianity.[2] One of the obligations entrants

to the order are required to declare is to protect and defend the Christian faith. The word "United"

in its full title indicates that more than one historical tradition and more than one actual order

are jointly controlled within this system. The individual orders 'united' within this system are

principally the Knights of the Temple (Knights Templar), the Knights of Malta, the Knights of

St Paul, and only within the York Rite, the Knights of the Red Cross.

Like the Masonic Red Cross of Constantine being inspired by the Sacred Military Constantinian Order

of Saint George and the Order of Malta being inspired by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the

Masonic order of Knights Templar derives its name from the medieval Catholic military order Knights

Templar. However, it does not claim any direct lineal descent from the original Templar order.

At dawn on Friday, October 13, 1307, scores of French Templars were simultaneously arrested by agents

of King Philip, later to be tortured in locations such as the tower at Chinon, into admitting heresy

and other sacrilegious offenses in the Order. Then they were put to death.

The Knights' involvement in banking grew over time into a new basis for money, as Templars became

increasingly involved in banking activities. One indication of their powerful political connections

is that the Templars' involvement in usury did not lead to more controversy within the Order and the

church at large.

Rothschild loans to the Holy See

Rothschild loans to the Holy See refers to a series of major financial loans arranged between the

Rothschild family and the Holy See of the Catholic Church. The first loan which occurred in 1832

took place in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars during the Pontificate of Pope Gregory XVI. This

loan agreed on was for a sum of £400,000.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knights_Templar_(Freemasonry)