Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem

The Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani, OSMTH, Ordre Souverain et Militaire du Temple de Jérusalem, OSMTJ) are a group of associations commonly originating from the Ordre du Temple (Order of the Temple) and was formed in 1804 by Philippe Ledru (1754-1832) and Bernard-Raymond Fabré-Palaprat (1773 – 1838). OSMTH and SMOTJ are designated by the Augustan Society as a religious confraternity of knights.

OSMTH and OSMTJ are often referred to simply as the Knights Templars. They make a moral and ethical claim to follow in the same spiritual path as the original Order of the Knights Templar. OSMTH and OSMTJ, which are open to Christians of any denomination, operate as a charity and an order of chivalry.

History
The l'Ordre du Temple was made public in France in 1705 by Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, and claimed to be the continuation of the medieval Knights Templar, using the Larmenius Charter as evidence of its pedigree. The order was officially reconstituted in 1804 by Bernard-Raymond Fabré-Palaprat, founder of the Johannite Church. The modern groups claim that it was recognized as an order of chivalry by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1805, who organized a public parade and ceremony for the Order. The Ordre du Temple was then under the administration of the Martinist KVMRIS lodge in Brussels beginning in 1894 until it was registered as OSMTJ in 1932.

In 1970, a schism occurred within the Order when General Antoine Zdrojewski was unexpectedly elected as the new Grand Master at the Convent of Paris in September, 1970. Zdrojewski's following retained the French translation: "Ordre Souverain et Militaire du Temple de Jérusalem", until his death in 1989. Zdrojewski was succeeded by Georges Lamirand as the new head of the OSMTJ until his death in 1994. George Lamirand was succeeded by Nicolas Haimovici Hastier as OSMTJ International, who was succeeded by BG Ronald S. Mangum.

The faction which remained with de Sousa Fontes after the 1970 election used the Latin acronym OSMTH. In 1997, OSMTH voted to expel Grand Master Fernando de Sousa Fontes from the order. This resulted in another schism with those loyal to Fontes forming a new organization presently known as OSMTH-Regency while the remainder of the organization continued on as OSMTH.

While OSMTH/OSMTJ rituals and traditions are based upon those of the historical Knights Templar, there is no hard claim of direct historical lineage claimed by the current orders and the 12th century Templars. However, the OSMTJ embraces the possibility of direct descent from the medieval Templars.

Ordre Souverain et Militaire du Temple de Jérusalem (OSMTJ)
Since its 1932 registration in Brussels the Order has been known as OSMTJ. In 1970, an election was held in Paris for the office of Grandmaster, and the Regent Fernando de Sousa Fontes refused to obey the laws of succession when General Antoine Zdrojewski was elected. Some of the Grand Priories, including the French, Belgian, Swiss, and Polish, followed the newly elected General Zdrojewski, and some stayed loyal to Fontes.

Alfred Zappelli (Grand Prior of Switzerland), General Georges de Bruyn (Grand Prior of Belgium), and Badouraly-Somji Alibay (Commander of the Polish Commandery) were also backers of General Zdrojewski. After the election, de Sousa Fontes changed the official language of his branch to Latin, and began using the acronym OSMTH. Zdrojewski and those who followed him retained the traditional usage of OSMTJ. “OSMTJ” is the French acronym  for  “Ordre Souverain et Militaire du Temple de Jérusalem.”

In late 1973, Grand Master Zdrojewski carried out a re-organization of the OSMTJ and a reform of the Statutes. He approved the Grand Priories re-asserting the independence of the International Federation of Autonomous Grand Priories of the OSMTJ (Each member Grand Priory was recognized as autonomous). The Swiss Grand Priory accepted these reformed statutes in 1973, while the Belgian Grand Priory and United States Grand Priory accepted them in 1975. Zdrojewski was succeeded by Georges Lamirand as the new head of the OSMTJ until his death in 1994. George Lamirand was succeeded by Dr. Nicolas Haimovici Hastier as Regent. In January 2020, the deputy Regent of the order, General Ronald S. Mangum was elected as Grand Master of the OSMTJ. In 2023, the order was internationally registered in Belgium under the historical name of "L'Ordre du Temple de Jérusalem."

Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (SMOTJ)
The Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (SMOTJ), founded in 1962, is the American autonomous Grand Priory of the Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani (OSMTH). branch of the Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani. The SMOTJ broke with the OSMTH-Regency in 1995 when it refused to recognize the sovereignty of OSMTH-Regency Grand Master Dom Fernando de Sousa Fontes.

This name Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (SMOTJ) has been trademarked and is used exclusively in America by the SMOTJ and thus does not refer to the group of organizations tracing lineage to OSMTH but rather to the current OSMTH only.

Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani (OSMTH)
OSMTH is registered in Geneva but operates in a number of countries providing humanitarian aid such as the River Jordan Project. The organisation claims over 5000 members.

It is an affiliate of the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy, which was founded by one of OSMTH's members.

Christian men who join the organization are dubbed as Chevalier and women Dame.

The Order's Royal Patron, is HH Princess Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. The Religious Protector of OSMTH is Patriarch Nourhan Manougian, the Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem.