Order of St. Thomas of Acon
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The Commemorative Order of St. Thomas of Acon is an independent British Christian masonic organisation. Membership is restricted to those who are subscribing members of a Preceptory (Commandery) in amity with the Great Priory of the United Religious, Military and Masonic Order of the Temple of England and Wales and Provinces Overseas (commonly referred to as the Masonic Knights Templar). Membership is by invitation only.

Foundation

The Order of St. Thomas of Acon was establishd in 1974 as a result of twenty years' research in the Guildhall Library in London by John E. N. Walker, who for many years was the Secretary General of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia. The ancient records of the Order, written in medieval French and Latin, had been deposited in the Guildhall Library and escaped the Great Fire of 1666. The revived Order now operates under the official title of The Commemorative Order of St Thomas of Acon.

As of July 2007 there were sixty eight Chapels of the Order in England, Wales, Spain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States of America.

Regalia

The regalia of the Order is similar to that of a Knight Templar, that is, a stone white tunic, on the front of which is a Latin Cross, Medici Crimson, four inches wide, the full length of the tunic, on which is superimposed a white Latin Cross one-third the width. The intersection of the Cross is charged with a Bronze Escallope Shell, four inches diameter. Over the tunic is worn a stone white mantle with hood; on the left breast, a Greek Cross of ten inches length, upon which is a smaller white cross, the intersection of which is charged with a Bronze Escallope Shell. Knights also wear a crimson velvet cap, the front of which is charged with a Bronze Escallope Shell. Knights, with the exception of the Prior and Almoner, wear a sword belt and sword with scabbard.

The banner of the Order depicts the Arms of the Order and comprises: Argent, a Cross Rouge extending to the edge of the Banner, upon which is superimposed a smaller Cross Argent. In the first quarter of the Banner is an Escallope Shell Or, fimbriated Rouge.

Organisation and administration

The basic organisation of the Order is a Chapel.

The officers of a Chapel consist of the following:

• Master (styled "Worthy")
• Prior (styled "Eminent")
• Marshal
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• Deputy Marshal
• Almoner
• Four Working Knights
• Herald
• Organist
• Doorkeeper
• Cellarer(s)
• Sentry

Grand Officers

The Grand Officers of the Order, in order of precedence, are:

• Grand Master (styled "Most Worthy")
• Grand Prior (styled "Most Eminent")
• Grand Preceptor(s) (styled "Right Worthy")
• Grand Marshal
• Grand Treasurer
• Grand Registrar
• Grand Secretary
• Grand Historian
• Deputy Grand Marshal
• Grand Almoner
• Grand Sword Bearer
• Deputy Grand Secretary
• Grand Banner Bearer
• Assistant Grand Marshals
• Assistant Grand Secretary
• Grand Herald
• Grand Organist
• Grand Doorkeeper
• Grand Cellarar(s)
• Grand Sentry

Provincial Grand Officers

Provinces of the Order are governed by a "Grand Preceptor's Council." The Provincial Grand Officers, in order of precedence, are:

• Grand Preceptor (styled "Right Worthy")
• Provincial Grand Prior
• Provincial Grand Marshal
• Provincial Grand Treasurer
• Provincial Grand Registrar
• Provincial Grand Secretary
• Provincial Deputy Grand Marshal
• Provincial Grand Almoner
• Provincial Grand Sword Bearer
• Provincial Deputy Grand Secretary
• Provincial Grand Banner Bearer
• Provincial Assistant Grand Marshal
• Provincial Assistant Grand Secretary
• Provincial Grand Herald
• Provincial Grand Organist
• Provincial Grand Doorkeeper
• Provincial Grand Cellarer(s)
• Provincial Grand Sentry

See also

• Archbishop of Canterbury
• Canons Regular
• Cheapside
• Crusade
• Freemasonry
• Guildhall
• Knights of St Thomas
• Knights Templar
• Masonic Knights Templar
• Military Order
• Religious Order
• Richard I
• St Thomas Becket
• Teutonic Knights
• United Grand Lodge of England
• Worshipful Company of Mercers

Bibliography

• Forey, Alan J. The Military Order of St Thomas of Acre, "English Historical Review", 92 (1977), pp. 481-503.
• Vincent, N. Peter des Roches: An Alien in English Politics, 1205-1238, Cambridge, 1996.
• Watney, J. Some Account of the Hospital of St. Thomas of Acon, in the Cheap, London, and of the Plate of the Mercers' Company, London, 1892.
• Bray, J. H. Order of St. Thomas of Acon.
• King, E. J. Official History of the British Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, pg. 32 (1934).
• Demurger, Alain A Brief History of Religious Military Orders - Hospitallers, Templars, Teutonic..., Tiralet (1997).
• Bartlett, W. B. God Wills It! - An Illustrated History of the Crusades, Gloucestershire (1999).
• Benvenisti, Meron The Crusaders in the Holy Land, New York (1970).
• Cross, Peter The Knight in Medieval England, 1000-1400, Gloucestershire (1993).
• Payne, Robert The Dream and the Tomb: A History of the Crusades, New York (1984).
• Riley-Smith, Jonathan The Atlas of the Crusades, New York (1991), pp. 106-107.
• Tyerman, Christopher The Invention of the Crusades, Toronto (1998).
• Upton-Ward, J. M. A translation of The Rule of the Templars, Suffolk (1992).
• Walsh, Michael Warriors of the Lord: The Military Orders of Christendom, Cambridge (2003), pg. 203.

External links

• The Commemorative Order of St. Thomas of Acon
• The St. Nicholas Church at Nicosia, Cyprus, 14th-century headquarters of the medieval Order.
• Texas Chapel No. 54, Order of St. Thomas of Acon, San Antonio, Texas
• The Order of St. Thomas of Acre, by Dr. Alan J. Forey
• Worshipful Company of Mercers, London