About the Order:

• To become a Templar, one must be a Christian.
• The Order does not restrict membership to any single Christian church; it is ecumenical.
• The Order is not part of the Free Masons.
• The Order does not engage in politics.
• The Order does not allow members to act contrary to their obligations to their country.
• In addition, membership in the Order of Merit is open to non-Christians.

Who are the Knights Templar?
We are a modern Christian Order, dedicated to:  

• Seeking God in our lives and promoting love and respect for our community.
• Increasing understanding between religions, helping pilgrims visit holy places and maintaining a Christian presence in the Holy Land.
• Supporting the poor, sick, and unjustly accused; standing against oppression and protecting freedom of speech.
• Encouraging the noble ideas of Chivalry; maintaining the monuments, archives, and history of the Knights Templar.

The Aims of the Order 

The Templars are an apolitical, non-denominational, not-for-profit organization registered in Geneva, Switzerland under Federal Registry number CH-660.197299-4. Approval was granted for the establishment of an autonomous Canadian Grand Priory in the fall of 2004. There are a number of orders of Knights Templar, but this is the only one that has a NATO Priory and is officially recognized by the United Nations as an NGO (non-governmental organization). 

As Knights Templars we are patriotic and committed to the betterment of our country. We are devoted to the preservation of liberty, which is essential to freedom of conscience and religion for all and to the performance of good works. The principal mission of the Order is Charity. The Order approaches this mainly through charitable works (both locally and in the Holy Land) which try to help people to help themselves, thereby enhancing Hope.  

Our guiding lights are the virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity, which members aspire to serve faithfully as Knights of God's Temple. The Latin motto of the Order, "Non nobis, Domine, non nobis, sed Nomini Tuo da gloriam" is from Psalm 115, verse 1 -- "Not for us, Lord, not for us, but to Thy Name give glory."  

The OSMTH is autonomous and independent. It recognizes the constitution and statutes of each of the OSMTH Member Nations. The Order, in an age of democratic materialism and secular humanism, seeks, by reconstituting an ancient chivalric order, to adopt an organization of proven effectiveness in capturing the allegiance and spirit of dedicated leaders, and to show that spiritual idealism is most certainly relevant and not inconsistent with a sensibility for tradition, nor inconsistent with patriotism or civic duty -- thus the Order's purpose to assist and facilitate the growth of the virtues of Christian gentlemen and ladies, by endeavour with God's Grace. The members of this Order believe that they have an obligation to preserve in the coalescing of a force similar to that which created knighthood and chivalry.  

You may have recently read a bit about the Templars in the novel The Da Vinci Code, or you may know that they were the world's first international bankers. Today the Order is a secular-military order of chivalry open to Christians of all denominations (both men and women) who have distinguished themselves in civilian or military life and who have an interest in history, fellowship and charitable endeavours (the Templars support a number of domestic and international charities: restoration and maintenance of churches in the Holy Land and the re-establishment of the Boy Scouts in Iraq, to name but two).