CHAPTER VIII. TEMPLAR-MASONIC BRETHREN

The Templars who had fled from France had little difficulty in finding themselves a secure refuge. Simply by changing their name, in fact, they continued their activities from exactly where they had left off in almost all of Europe, with the exception of France. They encountered no difficulties in matters of trade. And by infiltrating the professional guilds, the most important trade bodies of the time, they even acquired a new power base.
In any case, the Knights had been collaborating closely with the guilds, which was a requirement of their business affairs for many years. The Order had played a major role in establishing and developing guilds, back when they were engaged in construction, commerce, animal husbandry and agriculture. Thanks to the collaboration and organization among the guild members, they would enjoy a monopoly in a particular sphere in a given region, would set prices and ensure various advantages for themselves and others. For example, wool producers would set up a guild and produce and sell the wool produced in that local region. Thus in a very short space of time, their power grew and they became a monopoly controlling an even larger area.
The guilds also contributed to the administrations of the towns and cities in which they were active, in proportion to their financial strength. In particular, from the 13th century onwards, guild members rose to occupy important positions in society, and guild membership imparted social status:
The Guilds is a regional monopoly that has an absolute authority over the quality, amount and cost of production. They got the most powerful financial and political positions for their own members in the cities, in the last period of the Middle Ages. 34

The Knights who fled from France regarded the stonemasons’ lodges as best suited to their adoption.

By the 13th century, the merchant guilds of Western Europe were officially recognized by many town governments, comprising, as they did, the wealthiest and most influential citizens in many towns and cities. In the larger towns, a Guildhall would often be provided by the merchants' guilds. They became intimately involved in regulating and protecting their members' interests, both in long-distance trade and local town business. Guilds came to control the distribution and sale of food, cloth, and other staple goods, and so often gained a powerful monopoly. 35
With the experience and knowledge they had acquired in such industries as trade, construction and manufacturing, the still outlawed Templars rose to the very highest positions as master artisans, easily infiltrating such guilds. The guilds afforded the Knights the opportunity both to protect and reinforce whatever organizations they liked. In this way, an organization that sought to eradicate the king of France was able to resuscitate itself by maintaining its links with brethren settled in other countries.
At this time, the Knights turned their attention to England after Portugal. There were a number of reasons why: the first being that, after France, England was the country where the order had been best organized, best known and able to act with the greatest freedom. Second, the Knights enjoyed familial links with many nobles in England and benefited from their protection. Third, the persecution and repression in France had never taken place in England, and the order's crimes had been covered up. Finally, the Scottish King Robert the Bruce, who did not recognise the authority of the Catholic Church, opened his doors to the Knights and supported them in all matters. The Knights also gave Bruce their own backing and found a homeland in which they would survive safely for the next 300 years.
England's true importance in terms of Templar history, however, was that in that country, the transition to Freemasonry began:

The emblem of the York Rite is a combination of that of the Knights and the stonemasons’ original York Rite.

The Templar banking system became the foundation of the banking system that had been developed throughout the Renaissance. The Knights who did not reappear as a religious institution after being removed got united with the York Rite of the Masonry. 36
As already described, as the Knights made their bid for world domination, there were two areas of particular importance: The first was to achieve financial power using various methods, because financial strength would bring with it dominion. A second issue, no less important, was to spread their heretical ideas by finding new members for the Order. Using their investments and experience in the commercial sphere, the Knights had been easily able to find new members for the headquarters that they established under the Church's protection. When this was eliminated, the Templars stepped up their efforts to find new sources of members. At this point, they settled on the trade guilds as offering the possibilities they were looking for.

The Knights developed the esoteric beliefs they learned in the Holy Lands from the teachings of the Kabbalah, which had its origins in ancient Egyptian mysteries, Pythagoreanism and Jewish mysticism. According to this superstitious belief, various numbers, geometrical shapes, symbols and spells were able to control supernatural events.

Among the various guilds, the Knights identified the stonemasons' guilds as best suited to their purposes. There were various reasons for this, the most important being the esoteric beliefs the Knights had acquired in the Holy Land. According to the mystical beliefs originating from the Kabbalah, the foundation of the ancient Egyptian mysteries, Pythagoreanism and Jewish mysticism, various numbers, geometrical shapes, symbols and totems were thought to have the power to control natural phenomena. The Templars even believed that these formulae had been employed by Master Hiram and large numbers of stonemasons in the construction of the Temple of Solomon.
On the basis of these ideas they had come by in the Holy Land, the Knights used secret geometrical formulae, geometrical shapes and numerical formulae and symbols in the castles they constructed, Tomar Castle in particular. They possessed the superstitious belief that various dark forces would assist them in their plans for world domination. The accumulation of all these beliefs led them to look in the direction of the masonic guilds.
This process is described as follows in the Freemasons' own historical sources:

The Templars began constructing Byzantine-style churches in Paris, London and many other European cities. The knights then installed themselves in these “commanderies,” which promulgated the essence of Freemasonry.

The Knights Templars pledged to give such a freedom to the construction workers and all masons they encouraged by benefiting from the spiritual and physical freedom they had in their own sects. The only requirement was to have those who applied do an occupational test and have them accepted. Besides, they were giving a pledge to be loyal to their masters and their occupations. When the news was spread throughout the Europe saying that the masons could work freely for Kingdom of Jerusalem, a great rush started towards the holy lands. The number of their families who settled there increased. The corpses of those who died were buried together with that of the Knights. Masons who spend their daily life with the Knights got their occupational and philosophical initiation from them. When the second Crusade ended, many Europeans were sent back to their countries. The Templars sustained their facilities in Jerusalem, settled down in Europe and started building Byzantine-style churches in Paris, London, Segovia and in many other European cities. Commanderies of the Knights settled down those places. The Commander of the temple in London had the church in Fleet Street built by the masons he brought from Jerusalem and those formed the core of the freemasons in London. The most important Templar facility was certainly in Paris. This facility got all the spiritual and physical exemptions given by the French King, Louis VI. All the masons working here got the privileges of freemasons. . . . Meanwhile, during the process of burning the Grand Master, it was rumoured that many freemasons wanted to come to his rescue but as they were disarmed, they were burned in the same place as well. It is not known what happened to 30- 40,000 Knights Templar and the freemasons working with them. It is said that those hidden in the freemasons lodge under their control and ran away from France to England. A part of these founded the Kilwinning lodge of freemasonry in Scotland. It is said that this lodge is registered in the matricule of Scottish lodge as number 0. Under the disguise of freemasonry, the Templars Order was founded again and had the patronage of Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland. This patronage continued being sustained by Stuarts, as well. 37
The same process is described in these terms in a journal published by the Masonic Order:

The Templars had no great difficulty in taking over the masonic guilds they regarded as similar to their own system or in imposing on them their own philosophy, beliefs and rituals.

Some Templars disguise themselves as masons and save their lives by being among them. Some use Laissez passers [documents permitting free passage] given to masons in order to go abroad. A group of Templiers joins the sects of Caltrava, Alcantara, Saint Jacques de l'Epée by going to Spain and the other group goes to Portuguese and transforms into l'Ordre du Christ. Another group goes to Roman-German Empire and joins Teutonic Knights. A large group of them gets attached to Hospitallers. Templiers in England are arrested and interrogated during the sequence of this event, but soon they are released. Moreover, in some countries no transaction has taken place.
Templars are seemed to be drawn back from the stage of history by 1804, that's to say until Bernard-Raymond Fabre-Palabrat becomes the Grand Master of the order again. What this person coincidentally discovered in 1814 is very interesting. In 1814, he sees a manuscript in the tables of a second-hand bookseller by the river Seine in Paris. In Greek manuscript, there is a commentary on the Gospel of John. The book lacks the last two sections. Instead, there are some explanations divided with the triangles. Then, after examining these parts, he notices that this is a list including all the grand masters of Templiers from the fifth Grand Master Bertrand de Blanchefort (1154) to the 22nd Grand Master Jacques de Molay and from the 23rd Grand Master Larmenius de Jerusalem (1314) to Claude-Mathieu Radix de Chevillon (1792). It is assumed that Jacque de Molay bequeathed the position of grand mastery to Larmenius de Jerusalem. And this is a proof that shows the Templiers never truly disappeared. In fact, the Templiers are all freemasons in our day. 38

Churches, castles and the Templars’ secret meeting places were constructed by stonemasons registered with operative lodges. Likenesses of satan were scattered about among those of master stonemasons on the walls of churches.

The Templars had no difficulty in securing the Masonic lodges and in having their philosophy, belief and rituals accepted. The classification done by the system of hierarchy as apprentice-fellow craftsman-master made it easy to last the tradition of keeping secrets about the craft and the so-called religiously symbolic links of the constructions eased the Knights' way. Shortly after, the guilds completely changed their identity and, rather than remaining strictly occupational became the Templars' headquarters where the dark thoughts were openly discussed and political conspiracies designed.
Works written by Masons devote many pages to the symbolic features of this historical union, whereas the darker sides inherited by Freemasonry from the Templars were kept hidden. One source states:
Le Forestier kept a close track of the subject, and his conclusions seem indisputable for our day. The first document that brings the subject to the situation stating that the Templars are the ancestors of masonry is a Strasbourg manuscript dated 1760 revealing their interest in mysterious teachings. This document reveals the true origin of the legend and shows the order's secrets were transferred from Jacque De Molay to contemporary Masonry. "According to Le Forestier, the influence of German Rose- Croix is certainly there; yet, those had no goals but to find a new way of interpretation to the Masonic tradition and secret in condition of accrediting secrecy and particular intimacy. [emphasis added]39

A Masonic lodge constructed in the Gothic style (top). Masonic rituals bear such a close resemblance to those of the Templars as to have been clearly copied from them.

Examination of the architectural style that emerged in the wake of the Crusaders' capture of Jerusalem reveals that the first planned church construction in Europe emerged in the Gothic style, an architectural conception unique to the Templars. In his book The Sign and the Seal, Graham Hancock states that Gothic architecture was born during the construction of the north tower of Chartres Cathedral, one of the most important Templar headquarters.
The most important feature of Gothic architecture was the intensive use of Kabbalistic symbols, unique to the Templars, in buildings erected in this particular style.
With the Grand Master of the Temple also being a Masonic Grand Master, a gradual progression began from practical masonry to speculative masonry. Practical masonry was a professional organisation for stonemasons. Churches, castles and the secret meeting places of the Templars had been built by masons enrolled in practical guilds. After a particular process, however, symbols and mysteries-or rather, the perverted teachings and rituals of the Templars-began to dominate the lodges. In the wake of this process, masonic guilds ceased being professional organizations and became the secret organisation of the Templars. These new lodges went by the name of "speculative masonry." They no longer belonged to stonemasons, but became places where senior administrators, nobles and wealthy merchants were brought together by the Templars to further their own objectives.

The emblem of the Scottish Rite

In addition, although other professions had headquarters in Paris, the fact that the masons had no separate headquarters and that they used the same base as the Templars is particularly noteworthy in terms of the close proximity between the two institutions. When the Templars were proscribed by the papal edict of 1312, the masons also lost their right to freedom of movement. For that reason, the masons in France fled to Germany, where the Gothic architectural style suddenly reached its peak. The operating masonic lodges where those Templars able to escape from France sought refuge gradually turned into centres of speculative masonry.
The Templars also shared the rules of the masons. As we have tried to make clear, the order of the Temple and the guild of masons, living side by side for two centuries, had a great influence on one another. Indeed, the rituals of the masons are so similar to those of the Templars that one can say they have been copied. It is therefore clear that the Masonic esotericism that the masons equated with the Templars and that actually appeared to be quite independent on the surface was actually a Templar legacy.
The lodges that fell into the hands of the Templars began being reconstructed and turned into shelters for a secret society. The Knights adapted masonic lodges to their own perverted teachings, organizational structure and symbols, and their devilish rituals and symbols became known as the Masonic Rite. The Scottish Rite, the oldest branch of Freemasonry, was first established by Templars seeking refuge in Scotland in the early 14th century and constituted a model for other local lodges.
Indeed, the names given to the highest officials of the Scottish Rite are titles given to Knights in the order of the Temple many centuries before. This tradition survives today. Baron Karl von Hund, one of the leading Freemasons of the 18th century, carried out a detailed study of the Scottish Rite and the Knights Templar, and described the Scottish Rite as the "restoration" of the Templars:

Baron Karl von Hund performed a detailed study of the Scottish Rite and the Knights Templar, and described the Scottish Rite as the “restoration” of the Templars.

Moreover, according to the Masonic tradition, the Templars and the mason lodges of the time had certainly made a deal. . . Later on, they got themselves secured under the protection of Robert the Bruce, and seven years later they fought under his flag in Bannockburn against Edward II who removed the order in England. After this war, it was said that Robert the Bruce had founded the royal orders called H.R.M (Heredom) and R.S.Y.C.S (Rose Cross) knights . . . In 1314, it was indicated that Robert the Bruce brought the Templars, H.R.M Royal Order and the mason lodges (who were in his army) and combined them into one force in the famous Kilwinning Lodge to which Heredom name is added and is the true center of the order, founded in 1286. Scotland is basically the homeland of the operative masonry. When it's considered what the talents of the Templars contributed in terms of construction, what could be more natural than the union of the two groups? . . . A fertile union between the professional lodge of the medieval stone-masters and a secret group with the talents of sorcery. . .
In Lexicon of Freemasonry, a book by a high-ranking Mason, Lawrie mentions the situation, "We know that the Knight Templars not only possessed the mysteries, but performed the ceremonies, and inculcated the duties of Freemasons." 40
The Scottish Rite established by the Templars continued with few changes and formed the foundation of modern Freemasonry. The symbols, degrees, rituals and, most important of all, the aim of the organization, had become an unalterable tradition in Scotland. Despite its subsequent spread across the world and dividing into a number of branches, Freemasonry's fundamental Templar philosophy did not alter, the only changes being procedural adaptations in line with day-to-day developments: ". . . Among the most important movements that inherited the heir of the Scottish Rite was 'Strict Observance' Rite formed by von Hund. The name of its highest status was the 'Professed Knight,' and soon it managed to spread all around the Europe." 41

The basic Templar philosophy of Freemasonry never changed, the only adaptations being to the methodology, in line with day-to-day developments.The picture shows a Freemason member of the Templar “Strict Observance” Rite.

As these examples show, the Knights had acquired two important weapons. On the one hand, as in the case of Portugal, they had acquired a broad range of financial means, allowing them freedom of movement, while on the other, they had established a powerful organization to disseminate and implement their ideology.
We can grasp what the Knights, under their new guise as Masons, were planning by summarising the Templar philosophy examined this far. The first and most important element is the Templars' hostility to religion, because Templar-Masonic philosophy is absolutely incompatible with religious moral values.
The Templars regarded religious morality as the principal obstacle to spreading their twisted philosophy across the world, for which reason they struggled to eliminate it. Their plan was obvious: material and spiritual hegemony and the eradication of any obstacles in their path. However, the Templars were also aware that this was no easy matter and that it would take a long time to put into practice. They planned their strategies accordingly.
But in fact, no matter what the deceptive orders and snares of the deniers-the Templars included-may be and no matter how sound they may appear, they are nevertheless doomed to failure. Allah reveals this in the Qur'an:

They hatched a plot and We hatched a plot while they were not aware. So look at the end result of all their plotting; We utterly destroyed them and their whole people! These are the ruins of their houses because of the wrong they did. There is certainly a Sign in that for people with knowledge. We rescued those who believed and who had fear of Allah. (Surat an-Naml, 50-53)

Allah also reveals that the unbelievers will be hoist by their own petard:

Or do they desire to dupe you? But the duped ones are those who do not believe. Or do they have some god other than Allah? Glory be to Allah above any idol they propose! (Surat at-Tur, 42-43)