This Order has its foundation in Ireland where records exist of workings in the late 18th century. In 1895 The Royal Kent Tabernacle was created at Newcastle-upon-Tyne and, while the Order of Knight Templar Priests was for a time under the jurisdiction of the Grand Council of Allied Masonic Degrees, this Tabernacle continued to confer the Degree. The present Grand College was formed at Newcastle in 1923 and has expanded its influence to Australia, New Zealand, and other Countries of the world.
There are essentially thirty-three Degrees conferred by the Order of Holy Royal Arch Knight Templar Priest. The first thirty-one of them are conferred by name, the thirty-second Degree, that being the working Degree, while the Degree of Installed High Priest would be the thirty-third.
To be considered for membership of this deeply significant Order, you MUST be a subscribing member of a Craft Lodge, a Royal Arch Chapter and a Knights Templar Preceptory. You MUST also be a Master Mason of three years standing AND profess the Trinitarian Christian Faith.
The recently reintroduced ceremony of the Order of Holy Wisdom differs from the Appendant Degrees in that there is a specific question/requirement in the ritual regarding membership of the Knight Templar Priests. This ceremony was worked in the 18th century, but it required a lot of costly equipment and at least two rooms for the ceremony to take place. The new abridged ritual maintains the spirit of the original whilst eliminating much of the cost involved.
