Knight Templar Priests

History of the Order

The recently reintroduced ceremony of the Order of Holy Wisdom differs from the Appendant Degrees in that there is a specific question/requirement in the ritual regarding membership of the Knight Templar Priests. This ceremony was worked in the 18th century, but it required a lot of costly equipment and at least two rooms for the ceremony to take place. The new abridged ritual maintains the spirit of the original whilst eliminating much of the cost involved.

In the early days it was also known as the Priestly Order and was referred to within the ceremonies of The High Knights Templar in Ireland in 1755.

The Order first saw the light of day in Scotland in 1800 in Kilmarnock and then extended to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
In 1807, the Early Grand Conclave of Scotland issued a warrant to Joppa Encampment of Knights Templar in Sunderland with authority to work a number of degrees including Knight Templar Priest. In 1812 members at Newcastle upon Tyne petitioned the Grand Conclave of England for a Warrant. This was granted in the name of Royal Kent Encampment.

Evidence exists of its being worked in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries in England, Scotland, Ireland, Corfu, France and probably the United States and Canada. The Order then became moribund in the 1890s, the last known working being in Lancashire.

Prior to 1894, The Order of Knight Templar Priest traced its origins back to the Anahilt Union Band in County Down, Ireland, in 1792. Over 60 Union Bands have been traced in Ireland with only a small number being under the Irish Early Grand Encampment and even fewer being banded with one or more Lodges. During this period there was no ruling body.