Please join me in commemorating the tragic event of the arrest of the Knights Templar by posting the Beauceant on your Facebook profile or website on October 13, 2008. DeMolay and the Templars were arrested by Philip the Fair of France on October 13, 1307 and were accused of false crimes for the sake of human greed and intolerance. Show your support for these heroic warriors by participating in the event.

Visit Facebook and search for Non Nobis Domine, the motto of the Knights Templar, for more information.

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Brother Stephan Dafoe is set to release his new book on September 4, 2008, The Compasses and the Cross, which details the history of the Masonic Knights Templar. The book explores the legends surrounding the origins of Freemasonry. Did the Knights Templar give rise to Freemasonry or did the Freemasons create the Masonic Knights Templar in honor of the ancient knights?

You can pre-order the book on Amazon.com. Please visit Stephen Dafoe’s book site for more information.

Enjoy the video preview.

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How do Freemasons measure time? What do all those abbreviations mean before those strange looking years that do not match our popular calendar? This post will introduce you to the Masonic measurement of time. When you are finished reading this, you will be able to decipher the hidden meaning in Masonic calendars.

Symbolic Lodge: First, let’s deal with the Symbolic Lodge (Blue Lodge) which covers the first three degrees of Freemasonry and is the foundation upon which everything else is built. On your lodge notice or Trestleboard you will see the current year listed as A.L. 6008. What does the A.L. stand for?

A.L. is a latin abbreviation for Anno Lucis, meaning “in the year of light.” This system of calendar time measures the current year from the creation of the world from the dating used by Archbishop Usher, minus four years. Just add 4000 to the current calendar year to arrive at the correct A.L. year (e.g. 2008+4000=A.L. 6008).¹

Royal Arch Masons: Royal Arch Masons begin their time measurement from the year Zerubbabel began building the Second Temple (530 BC), calling it Anno Inventionis (A.I.), meaning “in the year of the discovery.” Add 530 to the current calendar year to get the A.I. year (e.g. 2008+530=A.I. 2538).²

Royal and Select Masters: This calendar year is calculated from the completion of King Solomon’s Temple and is called Anno Depositionis (A.Dep.), meaning “in the year of the deposit.” Add 1000 years to the current calendar year to get the A. Dep. year (e.g. 2008+1000=A. Dep.3008).³

Knights Templar: The Masonic Knights Templar begin counting time from the creation of their Order in 1118 AD, calling it Anno Ordinis (A.O.) meaning, “in the year of the Order.” Subtract 1118 from the current calendar year to arrive at the A.O. year (e.g. 2008-1118=A.O. 890).⁴

Scottish Rite: The Scottish Rite calendar follows the Hebrew calendar and is known as Anno Mundi, meaning “in the year of the world.” The Hebrew calendar is a lunar calendar and has two annual starting points. The ecclesiastical year beings in the month Nisan (new moon following vernal equinox) while the civil year begins in the month Tishri (new moon after autumnal equinox). To find the Jewish year, just add 3760 to the common calendar in the month of September (e.g. 2008+3760=A.M. 5768). So, Setpember 1, 2008 through August 31, 2009 is A.M. 5768.^5 6

1. de Hoyos. Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor and Guide. The Supreme Council 33°, Southern Jurisdiction. 2007-2008, p. 895 [↩]
2. Ibid [↩]
3. Ibid [↩]
4. Ibid [↩]
5. ibid, p. 891 [↩]
6. http://www.kinglodge.org/masoniccalendar.htm [↩]

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