Upon completion
of my term as Commander of Trinity Commandery No. 17, K.T., in 1966,
I was disappointed
that the Grand Commandery of New Jersey
didn’t have an organization that recognized Past Commanders.
The Grand Royal Arch Chapter had the “Orders of Anointed High
Priests,” and
the Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters had the “Council
of T.I.M.s” which in some jurisdictions is referred to as the “Order
of the Silver Trowel.”
One of the objectives
I had upon being installed as the Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery
of Knights
Templar of the State of New Jersey
on March 6, 1976,
was to establish an organization for those who were serving as Commanders
or had previously served as Commanders of their Commanderies. Being
fully aware
of my inability to write ritual, I requested my best friend, Wallace M. Gage,
a Past Grand Commander of New Jersey and an outstanding writer, to write
the ritual for what is now known as “The Sovereign Order of
Knights Preceptor”.
The Grand Chapter of the Sovereign Order of Knights Preceptor was formed
on February 22, 1977, at a meeting held in Westfield, New Jersey,
at which time
the Constitution,
Laws, and Ritual for the Order were adopted.
The purpose and
objective of the Order was to promote the cause of Chivalric Masonry
through a
dedication of Templar Leadership to its principles, and
to further the knowledge of its history, background, customs, usage, and
traditions.
At
the aforementioned meeting of the Grand Chapter, a charter was granted to
New Jersey Chapter, Order of Knights Preceptor, with yours truly
as its first
Preceptor.
The Order was
conferred for the first time on Friday, March 4 1977, during the
117th Stated Conclave of the Grand Commandery of New Jersey,
held at
the Howard
Johnson Regency Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Conferral of the Order
was carried out by the charter officers of the New Jersey Chapter as
follows:
| Preceptor |
|
Thurman C.
Pace, Jr., Grand Commander |
| Master of Templars |
|
Theodore
F. Voelter, Past Department Commander |
| Seneschal |
|
W. Percy
Edwards, Past Grand Commander |
| Marshal |
|
Wallace M.
Gage, Past Grand Commander |
| Prelate |
|
Gordon J.
Brenner, Past Grand Commander |
| Sentinel |
|
Robert W.
Gibson, Hon. Past Grand Commander |
The
Charter class of 139 included 86 from New Jersey, 8 from Connecticut,
5 from the
District of Columbia, 8 from Massachusetts
and Rhode Island,
5 from New York,
3 from Pennsylvania, 7 from Virginia, 2 from Vermont, 5 from Maine,
8 from Maryland, 1 from Alabama, and 1 from Arkansas. The class Exemplar
was Sir
Knight Kenneth
Culver Johnson, Right Eminent Grand Generalissimo of the Grand Encampment
or Knights Templar of the U.S.A. Also in the class was Sir Knight John
B. Cottrell,
Right Eminent Deputy Grand Master. Ironically, Sir Knight Cottrell
died two
months later and within weeks Sir Knight Johnson suffered a severe stroke.
Over the years,
Charters were issued to the following states: Maine, Virginia (1984),
Pennsylvania, New York, Kentucky (1985), Texas (August 15, 1994),
California (April 29, 2000), and Maryland, bringing our total number
of Chapters to 9. I am in correspondence with Tennessee relative
to issuing them a Charter.
I have served
for over a quarter of a century as Sovereign Grand Preceptor of the
Grand Chapter of the Sovereign Order of Knights Preceptor.
Since July 9,
2003, when this history was written, Charters have been issued to:
Sovereign Grand Preceptors Chapter on March 27, 2004; Idaho Chapter
on October 14, 2004; and the Charter of California Chapter was withdrawn
on April 12, 2005; bringing the total number of Chapters to 10.
