Freemasonry and The Knights Templar

"significant number of members (Templars) escaped and took up residence on pirate ships or remained as fugitives. Their underground organization of fraternal aid in keeping members of the Order alive and hidden form the Inquisition evolved into "Freemasonry." Both the Christian church and Phillip IV were able to confiscate the property and holdings of the Templars following the arrests and murders by the" - Joy of Satan compiled by: Logan McDonnell Information by: JoyOfSatan.com Pg. 328

"The end of the drama is well known, and how Jacques de Molai and his fellows perished in the flames. But before his execution, the Chief of the doomed Order organized and instituted what afterward came to be called the Occult, Hermetic, or Scottish Masonry. In the gloom of his prison, the Grand Master created four Metropolitan Lodges, at Naples for the East, at Edinburg for the West, at Stockholm for the North, and at Paris for the South." [The initials of his name, J∴ B∴ M∴ found in the same order in the first three Degrees, are but one of the many internal and cogent proofs that such was the origin of modern Free-Masonry" - Morals and Dogma p820 Albert Pike

"Levi gives a slightly different account. According to him, deMolay organized and instituted Occult Masonry. "-Orders of the Quest, The Holy Grail (Adept Series) by Manly P. Hall pg  35

30º - Knight Kadosh, A.A.S.R., and The Knights Templar

"...the history of the Knights Templar is revealed to him. It is also explained to him that the Knights Kadosh do not fight to revenge DeMolay. Rather, they fight in the present world to oppose tyranny and to protect the weak. And then, it is essentially left to him.

He knows what tyranny is. He has been made aware that a king, a president, a congress, or a school board can enforce it. He has been assured that tyranny is not something that happened only in the past; it is something which happens every day in his world. He may encounter examples of it a dozen times a day, and a dozen times a day he will have to decide whether to let tyranny continue or to oppose it. If he truly understands the 30th Degree, he realizes that he has undertaken a very great responsibility. But a true Knight Kadosh also understands that if no one fights, the battle is lost before it starts." - Knight of Kadosh, or Knight of the White and Black Eagle by Jim Tresner, 33° Grand Cross

"The close relationship between Freemasonry and the original Knights Templars has caused the story of Hiram to be linked with the martyrdom of Jacques de Molay. According to this interpretation, the three ruffians who cruelly slew their Master at the gates of the temple because he refused to reveal the secrets of his Order represent the Pope, the king, and the executioners. De Molay died maintaining his innocence and refusing to disclose the philosophical and magical arcana of the Templars." - Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall page 78

"This uninterrupted chain (modern Freemasonry chain from the Knights Templar) leads us back to the important Initiatic Schools of Egypt in which certain adherents had attained the highest degree of initiation; among them Moses, Pythagoras and Plato are believed to be among these high initaties." - The Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraim Grand Lodge Untied States pg.9

"All historians and commentators agree that modern Freemasonry has its immediate origins in the master Mason builders of the Great European Gothic Cathedrals of the Middle Ages. These builders were themselves closely tied to the Knights Templar and to the Templar building associations, heirs to the Central European monastic associations and the Byzantine Colleges which, in their turn, had their origins in the Roman Collegia. Via this chain Freemasonry can be said to date back to the sixth century B.C." - The Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraim Grand Lodge Untied States pg.9

"It is well to add here a few details about the Knights Templars, since they are so intimately connected with the Masonic Order; details which will serve to show the inner aspect of their traditions. Much has been written about them and their history from one aspect — is better known than that of almost any other Mystic organization, but the fact of a secret teaching is not sufficiently clear. That there was a secret doctrine amongst the Templars is shown by 'Becker ches sur les Opinions religieuses des Templliers.' He points out that the Knights considered that the Roman Church had failed in its ideal, and that when the terrible persecutions fell upon them that they divided and joined two different associations, one the body of Freemasons and the other a body named the Johannites." - Ancient Mystic Oriental Masonry By R. Swinburne Clymer pg. 101-102

"This secret legend is the same as that of the Carpocratians, which is that Jesus chose some of the Apostles and confided to them a Secret Science, which was transmitted afterwards to the priests of the Order of the Knights Templars, and through them to the Building Fraternities, down to the present Freemasons of the Swedish Rite. " - Ancient Mystic Oriental Masonry By R. Swinburne Clymer pg. 74

"As the members of the Templars who escaped were few in number and died one after the other, the remaining members drew together to form a bond of friendship, to which end they drew up certain rules. This new society appeared in different forms and under different names, Cross Society or Brothers of the Cross, Noaities, and in later days adopted the name of Freemasons."- Ancient Mystic Oriental Masonry By R. Swinburne Clymer pg. 99

The symbol is also associated with Freemasonry, specifically the Knight Templar degree of the York Rite of Freemasonry. The symbol is also known as "Knight Templars Blood-Red Passion Cross and Crown". The cross and crown symbol is often surrounded by the phrase "In Hoc Signo Vinces", which is Latin for "By this sign thou shalt conquer". This is a reference to the story of Constantine, who reportedly had a vision of a Chi Rho symbol, and a voice saying "By this sign thou shalt conquer".  It repesents the unions of the persist and the king.

The three primary bodies in the York Rite degrees of freemasonry include the Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, Council of Royal & Select Masters or Council of Cryptic Masons, and the Commandery of Knights Templar, each of which are governed independently but are all considered to be a part of the York Rite.