Templar Edification

Two Knights on One Horse; A secret hidden in plain sight. By SK Ray Hayward REPGC, KCT. If you’ve read any books on the Knights Templar, you probably come across the image of two knights riding on the same horse. To the casual observer, it’s odd that two fully armored knights would ride the same horse, unless it was in an extreme case. According to legend,  Hugues de Payens  (the first Grand-Master of the Templars) and Godfrey were so poor that between the two of them they had only one horse, and this gave rise to the famous image on  the seal of the Templars , of two men riding a single horse.  In Templar history, we find that that image is the seal of the 6 th Grandmaster of the Knights Templar, Bertrand de Blanquefort. The grandmasters and officers all had seals to affix to documents in addition to their signature. The seals were tied with ribbon to the bottom of a document, probably vellum, and then a ball of hot wax was poured on the ribbon, and the seal would ...

By S.K. Ray Hayward REPGC, KCT Sir Knights, in our Craft, we learn that there are two kinds of Masons, operative, those who can build with stone, and speculative, those who take the stone builders art and use it as a base for their spiritual growth and self-knowledge. In the commandery we have two kinds of Knights Templar, the historical and the speculative. Historical Knights Templar were the crusader knights who fought in the holy land and established castles and commanderies around Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. Speculative Knights Templar are those people who take the moral and spiritual aspect of the historical Templars and apply them to lead a fuller, more meaningful life. The seal of the 6 th Grandmaster of the historical Knights Templar, Bertrand de Blanchefort, shows two knights riding on one horse. Some people say that was to point out the extreme poverty of the early members of the Order. History tells us that they were anything but poor, coming from some of the most weal...

The 2024 Minnesota Grand York Rite session has come to a close, marking the 162nd Grand Chapter Convocation, the 154th Grand Council Assembly, and the 159th Grand Commandery Conclave. Hosted by the Best Western Plus Kelly Inn in St. Cloud, the event was a resounding success, offering invaluable experiences to all attendees. If you missed this year’s session, you missed out on crucial resolutions affecting our esteemed orders. While amendments may seem dry, they are vital for the continued prosperity of our Grand York Rite bodies.  On June 27th, we held the Grand Chapter meeting, where we heard from dignitaries, enjoyed camaraderie, and celebrated the night with the Royal Arch ceremony and awards. The evening concluded with the entertaining Royal Arch Widow’s Degree, a fun event filled with laughter and fellowship among Companions and their ladies. June 28th saw the Grand Council assembly, following a similar structure. We heard from our leaders, passed resolutions, and elected offi...