The United States Grand Priory of The Supreme Military Order of the Jerusalem Temple was founded in 1973 by Father Philip Guarino with the permission and appointment of then Grand Master Antoine Zdrojewski and Swiss Grand Prior Alfred Zappelli.  Read more about our founder here:   http://www.TheKnightsTemplar.org/Philip-Guarino/

We are part of the international order, OSMTJ (OSMTJ.net).  “OSMTJ” is the French acronym  for,  “Ordre Souverain et Militaire du Temple de Jérusalem.”  Today the OSMTJ is headed by the Grand Master of the Order, Philippe Matta.

The United States Grand Priory of the OSMTJ strives to the highest ideals of and draws its inspiration from the ancient Order of the Temple. Although no group can claim direct descendancy from the ancient Order, we strive to be the spiritual and philosophical heirs to the ancient Knights Templar founded by Hugues de Payens in 1118.  Our Grand Masters are elected and serve for life, just as it has been done since the beginning of the Order.  The position of Grand Master can not be passed on through anyone’s will or by being the son of a Grand Master.  Any, so called, “Templar” Order that uses those claims to support Grand Master succession is not legitimate.  Our Grand Master of the Order is Philippe Matta.

Our Order was restored by His Imperial Majesty, Napoleon Bonaparte, by imperial decree in 1807.  In 1853, it was given recognition by Emperor Napoleon III.  In 1918, the Order was re-registered in France in accordance with French law.  On January 19th, 1932, it was registered in Brussels, Belgium: 1957 Namur / Belgium BE-410 20708.  This recording was done by three Belgian Templars in Brussels, Joseph Cleeremans, Gustave Jonckbloedt and Théodore Covias.  The record of the registration of the “Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem”  appears in the Belgian Monitor on January 20, 1933.  Lastly, our Order was re-registered in Namur, Belgium, on November 15th, 1975.  These registrations can be viewed by clicking on our Documents Page.

The OSMTJ Knights Templar of America and this website is a wholly owned ministry of Templar Church, (TemplarChurch.org).  Templar Church is a legally constituted church denomination in the USA and incorporated in the state of New Hampshire with Business ID: 725359 which is viewable at: https://www.sos.nh.gov/corporate/soskb/Corp.asp?1259808.  Templar Church is a non-profit organization and all donations to Templar Church or it’s ministries are tax deductible.  Templar Church is a denomination that currently owns two member churches, one in Connecticut and one in Texas. Membership includes Catholics, Protestants, and Orthodox.   Templar Church works to spread the light of Christ in an increasingly dark world.