organizatii+masonice

=Knights Templar= = = The **Knights Templar** is an international philantropic chivalric order affiliated with Freemasonry. Unlike the initial degrees conferred in a Masonic Lodge, which only require a belief in a Supreme Being regardless of religious affiliation, the Knights Templar is one of several additional Masonic Orders in which membership is open only to Freemasons who profess a belief in the Christian religion. The full title of this Order is **The United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta**. The word "United" in this 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. The Order derives its name from the historical Knights Templar, but does not claim any direct lineal descent from the original Templar order. = = =History= The earliest documented link between Freemasonry and the Crusades is the 1737 oration of the Chevalier Ramsay. This claimed that European Freemasonry came about from an interaction between crusader masons and the Knights Hospitaller This is repeated in the earliest known "Moderns" ritual, the Berne manuscript, written in French between 1740 and 1744.

In 1751 Baron Karl Gotthelf von Hund und Altengrotkau began the Order of Strict Observance, which ritual he claimed to have received from the reconstituted Templar Order in 1743 in Paris. He also claimed to have met two of the "unknown superiors" who directed all of masonry, one of whom was Prince Charles Edward Stuart. The order went into decline when he failed to produce any evidence to support his claims, and was wound up shortly after his death.

In 1779 the High Knights Templar of Ireland Lodge, Kilwinning, obtained a charter from Lodge Mother Kilwinning in Scotland. This lodge now began to grant dispensations to other lodges to confer the Knights Templar Degree. Some time around 1790 the Early Grand Encampment of Ireland was formed, which began to warrant Templar Lodges, and evolved into the Supreme Grand Encampment in 1836. The Early Grand Encampment chartered several Scottish "encampments" one of which, having been chartered in 1805 as the "Edinburgh Encampment No. 31", then became the"Grand Assembly of Knights Templar in Edinburgh". who then sought a charter from the Duke of Kent, Grand Master of the Order in England. It seems that the Templar degree had filtered into the lodges of the Antients from Ireland about 1780, and was recorded at York about the same time. In the five degree system developed by the York massons, the Knights Templar degree sat between the Master Mason and the Sublime Degree of royal arch. Templar masonry in England entered a new era in 1791, with the formation of its first Grand Conclave, with Thomas Dunkerley as Grand Master. At that time, there were eight known Templar encampments in England, the most senior being the Encampment of Redemption at York, and the Baldwyn encampment at Bristol, at whose request Dunckerley began his mission. Under his leadership, the number of encampments steadily grew until his death in 1795. Stasis then followed, until in 1805 their Royal Patron, Ducke of Kent, became Grand Master himself, re-energising the society and launching it into an era of growth and development. Dunckerley laid the foundation for this not only by promoting the order, but by standardising the ritual and insisting on proper record keeping.

=Royal Order of Scotland=

The Grand Lodge of the Royal Order of Scotland is headquartered in Edinburgh, with a total of 88 Provincial Grand Lodges in several locations around Britain, and in a number of countries around the world. The order claims the King of Scots as hereditary Grand Master. The Deputy Grand Master and Governor of the order is currently Sir Archibald Donald Orr-Ewing, 6th Baronet (b. 20 December 1938). Orr-Ewing is the eldest son of Sir Ronald Archibald Orr-Ewing, 5th Baronet and was educated at Gordonstoun and Trinity College, Dublin. He was the Grand Master Mason of the The Grand Lodge of Antient, Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland, until 27 November 2008, a post he held since 2005. He previously held the post between 1999 and 2004, being the only person to hold that office twice. He was installed as Deputy Grand Master & Governor (the administrator) of the Royal Order of Scotland at Edinburgh on 3 July 2009. In times in which there is no King of Scots, the Deputy Grand Master and Governor is the worldwide leader of the Order. The ROS Grand Lodge and the Provincial Grand Lodges confer two degrees:
 * Heredom of Kilwinning
 * Knight of the Rosy Cross

=Order of Quetzalcoatl=

The **Order of Quetzalcoatl**, colloquially known as the "Q", is a Masonic invitational body. It is heavily involved in philanthropy, and its main contribution is towards transportation funds for Shriners hospitals. The Order, which was founded in Mexico City on March 14, 1945 by Arthur J. Elian, takes its name from the Aztec god Quetzalcuatl. Its chapters (called //Teocallis//, Nahuatl for "house of god") are located in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Panama. All members of the Order—called Artisans must be Shriners in good standing in their Shrine Temples. The Order derives its terminology from Nahuatl, and its rituals are //loosely// based on Aztec ritual, including the use of the teponaztli war drum and the sacred drink, puluque. The order consists of three degrees: Coate, Artisan and Master Artisan. A candidate becomes a Coate when he is initiated into the order. Then he becomes an Artisan through a ritual ceremony. He may then advance to Master Artisan either through consecration ceremonies at the order’s annual business meeting (called a Feast of Fire) or through traveling to either Temple of Quetzalcoatl at Teotihuacan in Mexico City or Chichen Itza in Cancun.

