Fabled religious group, Knights Templar, comes to Connecticut

HARTFORD, Conn. - July 3, 2019 - PRLog -- The Knights Templar of America (OSMTJ)
Castle Church
58 Main Street
Canaan, CT 06018

North Canaan, CT – The Knights Templar of America, the United States Grand Priory has located their national headquarters in North Canaan, CT. The U.S. chapter of the OSMTJ has priories or regional territories in almost every state with more than 550 members. This number grows daily as Christians face persecution worldwide while also facing spiritual battles in their own lives each day.

The Knights Templar is a Christian organization dating back to medieval times. The group's mission was to "protect European travelers visiting sites in the Holy Land while also carrying out military operations," according to history.com (https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/the-knights-templar). The Knights Templar were eventually forced out of Jerusalem and moved to Europe where they were persecuted and eventually disbanded.

"While most historians agree that the Knights Templar fully disbanded 700 years ago, there are some people who believe the order went underground and remains in existence in some form to this day," history.com writes. (https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/the-knights-te...)

Various organizations around the world have modeled themselves after the famous Knights Templar, and Bryant Jones, the Grand Prior of the Knights Templar organization, told Republican American it is a national group that welcomes Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox.

He told the publication the Order is non-denominational, and open to anyone who follows Jesus Christ. Felons are not allowed, and "must have enough education to understand the rules of the order and its services."

"We are spiritually inspired by the ancient Knights of Templar from 1118," Jones said. "They protected the Christian pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Their job was to guard the roads and keep them safe. In the same way, we raise money for the protection of Christians on their symbolic road in life, wherever life may take them."

"A wealthy, powerful and mysterious order that has fascinated historians and the public for centuries, tales of the Knights Templar, their financial acumen, their military prowess and their work on behalf of Christianity during the Crusades still circulate throughout modern culture," history.com writes. (https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/the-knights-templar)

Movies and books  like "The Da Vinci Code," "Kingdom of Heaven," and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" are inspired by the tales of the Knights Templar. Some people believe they are in possession of the Holy Grail, the Ark of the Covenant and parts of the cross from Christ's crucifixion.

"Canaan had a beautiful church that has been part of their community for
nearly 160 years, despite having to close several years ago because of a declining and aging congregation," said Bryant Jones, Grand Prior for the U.S. organization.  "We saw the beauty of the facility and the fact that we have so many of our members within driving distance of the headquarters that the Lord just impressed upon us that the time is now."

In addition to the headquarters offering a place for Christians of all
denominations to come together with a common goal of serving Christ in worship, the facility will eventually house a museum of artifacts donated by members who are connected to the organization, worldwide.

"As Templars today, we are focused on building our relationship with Jesus
Christ and growing Christian leaders in protestant, evangelical, catholic and orthodox congregations across our great nation, however we cannot deny the connection we have to the original 12 Templars who gave their very lives to protect Christians who were travelling to the Holy Land," said Jones.

While many may equate the Knights Templar with Masonic origins, The Knights
Templar of America is not connected in any way to the Freemasons and in some cases, involvement in freemasonry can actually preclude a member from advancing in rank. "We exist much like a ministerial alliance would exist in your own community, but we are made up of people from all walks of life, not just the clergy. The original Templars were monks before they were warriors and we maintain that ideal today, though our current battles are far more focused on the spiritual battles taking place in our culture," said Jones.

Membership in The Knights Templar of America is restricted to those individuals
who identify as Christians and who hold to a belief in the three creeds traditionally held by congregations for centuries including the Nicene Creed and Apostles Creed. While those with felony convictions are welcome to apply, those with criminal records are restricted in the level of rank they can attain within the military-type command structure. While the group is apolitical, they stand strong on Biblical instruction surrounding moral issues.

"We want our communities across the nation to know that we are not a
denomination ourselves, but we are made up Christian denominations that share our common mission of growing in the faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ," said Jones.

To learn more about the Knights Templar of America, you may go to their main
website at www.theknightstemplar.org or to apply, visit their simplified landing page located at www.ktoa.org.

For more information about this press release email:
Bryant Jones – info@OSMTJ.net