Anti-Mason Disinformation: Masonic Police Patches

If the death of George Floyd and the senseless violence that has eclipsed the peaceful protests wasn't enough, anti-Masons are taking advantage of people's raw emotions to spread disinformation to further their agenda against the Masonic fraternity and cause further division.

As of late, this picture has emerged and has been frequently used as evidence that the Police are owned and ran by Freemasonry.

Anti-Masons, using this picture, come to the conclusion that the Police are not a legitimate body of government and are inherently evil by their subservience to Freemasonry. They think that an Obligation a Freemason takes overrides their loyalty and allegiance to anything else. Freemasons fail to understand or simply ignore the fact that our Obligations do not supersede the Obligations or duties to God, country, family, or friends.

Freemasons come from all walks of life and we take pride in our membership so many Masons have customized items personal to them to also reflect their membership. Those patches, pictured above, are collectibles only and not authorized for wearing on official uniforms or by any governmental agency.

Officers of a Priory of the KYCH

Jewel of a Past Prior

The basic organizational unit of the Knights of the York Cross of Honor (KYCH) is the Priory. The officers of the Priory are the Eminent Prior, Deputy Prior, Warder, Treasurer, Registrar, Prelate, Orator, Herald, and Sentinel.

The Eminent Prior is the chief officer of the Priory and is equivalent to the presiding officer in any other body of Freemasonry or concordant body. This officer carries the honorary title of Eminent which is rooted in the Latin word "eminentem" meaning "standing out, projecting, prominent, or high." A Prior is a traditional title used to represent a monk or priest who is the head of a religious house or order. This rank is below that of the abbot. Prior comes to us from the Latin tongue and is used to mean "former, previous, first, etc." from which it was used figuratively as "superior (in rank), forefather, and better." The KYCH is a Christian knighthood and the title presiding officer was commonly used by some among the medieval knighthoods.

The Deputy Prior is the second-in-command of the Priory, assists in the opening and closing of the Priory has a ritualistic part in the initiation of new Knights, and assumes the duties of the Eminent Prior in his absence. This officer carries the title of "Deputy" which is rooted in the Latin words "de" and "putare" which combined means to "to cut away or purne", but adopted in Anglo-French words meaning to "appoint or assign"

Third-in-command of the Priory is the Warder. It is interesting to note that in the Commandery of Knights Templar, the Warder is a junior appointed officer, but in the Priory is an elected official and has a part in the initiation ritual. The word "Warder", like Warden, comes from the Proto-Germanic word "wardon" meaning "to watch or guard."

The Treasurer and Registrar correspond to the Treasurer and Secretary (or Recorder) in other Masonic bodies. In some Priories, these two officers are combined and held by one Knight. This is often done in smaller Priories, but to counter any possibility of bad book-keeping, the Prior is required to assign a Finance Committee whose job it is to examine the records of the Priory and ensure all is in proper order.

Corresponding to the Chaplain in the Lodge, the Prelate is the spiritual leader of the Priory. A Prelate is traditionally a high ranking member of the clergy and the word is derived from the Latin word 'prelatus' referring to a clergyman of "high rank or of preference over others." 

There is no Orator known in the Blue Lodge or in the York Rite bodies, but in the Priory, the Orator is an appointed officer whose entire job is to announce the four Knights who will give the four lectures during the initiation ritual. An orator is a public speaker, often known for their eloquence. The word "orator" comes from the Latin word "orare" meaning "to speak."

The Herald is the first appointed officer within the door of the Priory and has duties similar to the Junior Deacon and Marshall within the Blue Lodge. A Herald was traditionally an officer who conveyed messages or proclamations as well as acted as diplomats or ambassadors for monarchs. This word derives from the old French word 'heraut' meaning "messenger or envoy."

The final appointed officer of the Priory is called the Sentinel and whose duties correspond with that of the Tyler in the Blue Lodge. The Sentinel guards the Priory from without the door to ensure the Knights are not caught or taken by surprise by those wishing to cause harm or those who are not entitled to be there. The Sentinel is one who stands guard over some kind of structure, whether it be an installation, a gate, or a passage. It is their job to prevent intrusion by enemies or those unauthorized. The word Sentinel stems from the Latin word "sentire" meaning "to watch or perceive by the senses."

York Cross of Honour Medical Research Foundation

Inspired by Saturday's meeting of Idaho Priory No.13 of the Knights of the York Cross of Honor, I am writing about the philanthropic work of the Convent General for the order which is known as the York Cross of Honour Medical Research Foundation.

The York Cross of Honour Medical Research Foundation supports research for causes, prevention, and treatment of cancer and in particular treatment of Melanoma. Currently, the Foundation supports the Norris Cotton Cancer Center. Located with Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, this center is one of the nation's premier facilities for cancer treatment and research.

Since 1980, the Knights have donated more than $1.8 million to support the work of researchers at the Cancer Center who are exploring promising new areas of cancer research. Their most recent gift of $75,000 is making it possible for Drs. Angeles and Turk to continue their vitiligo research. Vitiligo is an autoimmune skin condition that targets normal healthy skin cells that produce pigment. Cancer patients with vitiligo survive longer or have a better prognosis, but the exact reason is not known. The Turk Lab has discovered that mice with vitiligo have specialized immune cells called T cells in their skin. These T cells are extremely long-lived and potent killers of cancer cells. Dr. Turk is currently working with oncologists at NCCC to investigate T cells in melanoma patients with vitiligo.

From the website, our donations are financing a second program that "involves the study of cancer-drug resistance":

Resistance to cancer-inhibitor drugs typically develops within just months of beginning treatment, and thus represents a major clinical problem. Dr. Turk’s lab has discovered that the same biological pathways that drive cancer drug resistance also suppress cancer immunity. The Lab is now exploring novel therapies to overcome drug resistance and simultaneously improve anti-tumor immunity.

“If it wasn’t for the Knights’ support, this line of research—and the knowledge we gain from it—would be on hold” 

 - Dr. Mary Jo Turk

References

1. Dartmouth College. (2016, August). Retrieved from Gifts from the Knights of the York Cross of Honour Fuel Immunotherapy Research at Norris Cotton Cancer Center: https://www.dartmouth.edu/~turklab/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2017/06/KYCH-2.pdf 

2. Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center. (n.d.). Retrieved from About Norris Cotton Cancer Center: https://cancer.dartmouth.edu/about 

3. Knights of the York Cross of Honor. (n.d.). Retrieved from About the Norris Cotton Cancer Center: http://www.kych.org/nccc.html 

4. Knights of the York Cross of Honor. (n.d.). Retrieved from Medical Research Foundation: http://www.kych.org/mrfinfo.html 

5. Knights of the York Cross of Honor. (n.d.). Retrieved from Long-Term Melanoma Immunity is Skin Deep: http://www.kych.org/nccc.pdf

Memorial Day 2020

Today, I remember my Brothers- and Sisters-in-arms who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. God bless them and God bless these United States.

If you say their names, they're never forgotten.

Virtual Meetings

With the spread of the Coronavirus and the response to it, Freemasonry has been affected just like everyone else. Thankfully, we live in a time where technology allows us to stay in touch virtually. In the last two months, I've attended online meetings/presentations for Grand York Rite of Idaho, Grand Lodge Committees, Idaho Masonic Family Association, Blue Lodges, Allied Masonic Degrees, Knight Masons, and Royal Arch Masons. It's been fascinating to see the attendance, which sometimes has been massive.

Today the Idaho College, SRICF, should have met for its quarterly convocation, but due to the restrictions in place, we met online and I gave a presentation. It was good to see the Fratres who attended which included some from Utah and Montana.

While much of our lives have been interrupted by the Coronavirus, you can't quarantine brotherhood.

First Responders Award

One of my goals as Most Illustrious Grand Master is to advertise York Rite Freemasonry in general and Cryptic Masonry specifically in our Blue Lodges. One way of accomplishing this is through the First Responders Award. The General Grand Council of Cryptic Masons International has recently come out with a new award called the “First Responders Award.” This award is meant to recognize and acknowledge the service of those who are employed as Firefighters, Emergency Medical Technicians, Paramedics, and Law Enforcement. I find it to be of particular importance during the COVID-19 pandemic to recognize our First Responders.

This award is available in two forms: one for Master Masons in good standing and one for non-Masons. For Master Masons, the award includes a certificate and a medal. For non-Masons, the award is a certificate and lapel pin. There is a cost associated with this award: $25 for Master Mason version ($5 more if you want lapel pin with this version) and $15 for a non-Mason award. This pays for the cost of production and processing.

Presentations for this award may be done in a tiled or non-tiled meeting, and this award has the potential to serve as a great outreach tool to the community and to the Lodge. It will allow our Councils to promote goodwill and acknowledge these important contributors. If used as such, may introduce some to Masonry and to the local Lodge. Obviously, presentations are to be postponed until after the pandemic has passed and the edicts have been reversed, but nominations are still welcomed to be made. A nomination must be sponsored by a Cryptic Council or a Cryptic Mason of this jurisdiction.

The fillable nomination form is found at the General Grand Council website: https://www.crypticmasons.org/pdf/awards/2020_FRA_Form.pdf

There are also two other recognition awards: Lady of the Council and Veterans Medal. The General Grand Council also has the following awards: 10% Gain Certificate, Adult Youth Leadership Award, Ronald L. Thomas Ritualist Award, Cryptic Masons of the Year, Mordhurst Award, Columbian Award, and Medal of Honor. The General Grand Council website is full of resources available to the Councils: https://www.crypticmasons.org/

The pin and medal are composed of an inverted triangle which denotes that their purpose is borne of the divine love of life and liberty, the angels representing both how we see their contributions and hope for their protection and guidance from above, each of the symbols for First Responders on the face, surrounded by a not-so-mysterious nine stars, three for each denoting that we seek (knock) their help, and in the center, the Cryptic symbol which shows our reference, surrounded by our understanding of the mortal plane but our belief that we are enfolded by the same divine love.

10-Years of the Traveling Templar

Well, today marks 10-years since I started the Traveling Templar. I started this site to follow my travels around the world, to share my research of the Masonic fraternity and its concordant bodies, and my research into the medieval Knights Templar. I'm happy to say that I have kept true to the original intent that I had when I started this website.

With this article, I have published 660 articles on this site. I'd like to thank all of the readers and those who have encouraged and/or inspired me.

I reached the 1,000,000 pageviews this year:

2010: 349 total views

2011: 3,854 total views

2012: 37,024 total views

2013: 84,513 total views

2014: 95,123 total views

2015: 105,794 total views

2016: 138,887 total views

2017: 163,453 total views

2018: 154,010 total views

2019: 175,011 total views

2020: 86,149 total views so far

I started out very slowly, as you can see, but then around the Fall of 2011, an exponential increase started to occur.

My top 10 posts are:

Chronological Order of the York Rite Degrees (21,498 page views):

In 2012, I was in a writing frenzy and interest in this site had exponentially increased since returning from my second deployment to Iraq. The degrees of the York Rite was of utmost interest. This particular article originated as a presentation I gave within the Lodge to show the intimate nature of the York Rite with the Blue Lodge.

The Crown and the Cross (20,619 page views):

Influenced by my research into the Symbols of Royal Arch Masonry, I decided to look into one of the most common symbols used in Templar Masonry and the finished product was this article which would, itself, spawn more articles.

The Death of Jacques DeMolay (14,375 page views):

While I was deployed I had watched a number of historical documentaries concerning the Middle Ages to include one on common torture techniques. As the anniversary of the death of Jacques DeMolay approached I decided to look into his death and the events leading up to it.

Sacred Alignment: The Peculiar Arrangement of the Streets of Boise (13,501 page views):

This article was written by a Past Master from another Idaho Lodge wrote it. He gave a summary of it during a Temple Board meeting and I asked him to send me the full paper so I could publish it on my site. Of all the articles, this one got more views in the first 24-hours than any other (somewhere around 4,000 views).

The Templar Uniforms (12,907 page views):

Like most newer and younger Knights Templar, I was curious and somewhat turned off by the full dress uniform used currently by the Grand Encampment. I decided to look into the history of the uniforms 

The Pelican (10,574 page views):

This article is one of the few that I have done concerning the Scottish Rite. I was really interested in this symbol from a trip to New Orleans and then joining the Scottish Rite. At one time, this article had the most views.

Templar Symbols (9,358 page views):

2013 was an exciting year for me as I had joined the Knight Masons, St. Thomas of Acon, Knights Preceptor, and Royal Order of Scotland all of which concerns the Knights Templar. I also had the pleasure of serving as Eminent Commander and this was an educational piece that I had prepared for presenting to my Commandery.

900th Anniversary of the Founding of the Knights Templar (6,056 page views):

I was surprised to see that this one had been read so much as it is has been just over one year since I first published it. I've always been interested in the Knights Templar and when I joined Freemasonry, I knew that I wanted to join the York Rite. I have fallen behind on writing the sequel to this, but it is on the way.

Symbols of Royal Arch Masonry - Part 2 (6,034 page views):

I had enjoyed writing Part 1 of this series that I decided to further dissect the symbolism of the Royal Arch. The banners and their sigils particularly interested me and which eventually led to my research into the Hayyoth and Enochian lore.

Freemasonry & the Founding of the United States (3,777 page views):

This article started out as a simple PowerPoint presentation that I gave to a high school AP history class. I am a big history nerd myself and kept expanding my research and finally published it here. This is probably one of my absolute favorite topics of research.

So much has changed in the last 10-years of my life: a second deployment to Iraq, a vacation through Italy, the birth of a nephew and two nieces, earning my Bachelors and Masters from Boise State University, interning in DC, the various initiations throughout Freemasonry, serving as Grand High Priest of Royal Arch Masons of Idaho, being recently installed as Most Illustrious Grand Master of Cryptic Masons of Idaho, and the death of my father. I look forward to the next decade and the adventures I will experience.

Anti-Mason Disinformation: Occult Forces

Continuing with the series of articles concerning the disinformation campaign of anti-Masons, this one will focus on the film "Forces Occultes – Au Coeur De La Franc-Maconnerie" or simply called "Occult Forces" in English. This film was an anti-Mason film produced in Nazi-controlled France in 1943. The film, lacking any foundation in reality, is used to push the Nazi's unjust attack on Judaism and justify their crimes against humanity.

The film centers on a young French politician who joins the Freemasons to help his career. Once he joins, he learns that the Freemasons are conspiring with Jews and Anglo-American nations to force France into war with Germany. The film was commissioned by the Propaganda-Abteilung Frankreich, an arm of Nazi Germany's propaganda ministry located in France. France had been invaded by the Nazis in 1940 and held control until the Allied Powers liberated them in 1944. The government of France fell under the authority of the German Reich during this time while it claimed the whole of France, it really only controlled northern and western France.

Jean-Marie Rivière, one of the writers, and Jean Mamy (under the pseudonym Paul Riche), the director, were both former Freemasons and who spearheaded this film. It is said that that Mamy had served as Venerable Master for Renan Lodge from 1931 to 1939 under the jurisdiction of the Grand Orient of France. It is important to note that the Grand Orient of France had lost recognition by the end of the 19th century after it abandoned the Ancient Landmarks that define Freemasonry. Today, the recognized Masonic body is known as the Grande Loge Nationale Française which conforms to the Ancient Landmarks.

Jean-Marie Rivière, was sentenced to death in absentia (he fled when the tides turned against the Nazis); Robert Muzard, the producer, was jailed; and Jean Mamy was executed on March 29, 1949, for supporting the Nazis during their occupation of France.

Sadly, this video is still used today by anti-Masons that we're nefarious, but these same people will usually deny the Holocaust and tout Hitler as either some kind of martyr or a tool of "International Jewry" and Freemasonry. Some will even go so far as to deny its connection to the Nazis. Beware Brothers of anti-Mason disinformation like this.

References

1. Forces occultes (1943). (n.d.). Retrieved from IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0189529/ 

2. Freemasonry in France. (n.d.). Retrieved from Freemasonry Network: https://freemasonry.network/masonry-in-the-world/freemasonry-by-continent/europe/freemasonry-in-france/freemasonry-in-france-mackeys-encyclopedia-of-freemasonry/ 

3. Occult Forces. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forces_occultes 

4. Stewart, G. (n.d.). Occult Forces at the Heart of Freemasonry. Retrieved from Freemason Information: http://freemasoninformation.com/2010/10/occult-forces-at-the-heart-of-freemasonry/ 

5. Vichy France. (n.d.). Retrieved from Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/event/Vichy-France

Also, see:

• Anti-Mason Disinformation: Jimmy Savile

• Anti-Mason Disinformation: Jintao, Putin, & Bush

2020 Grand York Rite of Idaho

Well, this year's annual sessions of the Grand York Rite of Idaho have been different, to say the least. The reaction to COVID-19 has greatly impacted all Masonic activities throughout the world. Instead of canceling our annual sessions, the leadership decided to hold a shortened teleconference so as to elect new officers and pass any needed legislation such as a budget for the upcoming year. Normally, the Thursday of Grand York Rite was filled with the annual meetings of the chair and honorary degrees of the York Rite, but these groups will meet at a later date to hold their own elections and initiations. Idaho is one of the first jurisdictions to try an electronic meeting and we had a few distinguished guests to observe how it all worked out.

As I'm a Past Grand High Priest, I attended the virtual session of the Grand Chapter, but I was only a happy "bystander". Congratulations to newly installed Most Excellent Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Idaho. I wish you the best of luck in the upcoming year.

With the Grand Council of Cryptic Masons of Idaho, I was elected as Most Illustrious Grand Master and then installed by the outgoing Grand Master who is one of my best friends. For those who are not familiar with Cryptic Masonry, the Grand Master is the presiding officer and, like the Blue Lodge/Grand Lodge, this position represents King Solomon during the building of the Temple that immortalized his name. I'd like to thank the Companions for putting their confidence in me to preside over this august body. I am extremely honored to take this office and I hope to do it justice.

With the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Idaho, I was elected Eminent Grand Senior Warden. I will also continue to serve as the Supplement Editor. Our new Grand Commander is last year's Most Illustrious Grand Master; Idaho is a small York Rite jurisdiction and many of us serve in multiple lines at the same time. 

Happy Easter

I hope you all have a happy and blessed Easter. With this Return of the Light, may you all find solace and use this time for some introspection. Blessings and good wishes to all of you. I hope you all had a blessed Holy Week and Easter Sunday.

Here is the Easter Blessing from Sovereign Pontiff and Patriarch of the Apostolic Johannite Church.