OSMTH - Knights Templar International:
Aiding humanity on the pilgrimage through life.
OUR VISION
Today, OSMTH - Knights Templar International looks for
a world in which:
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a constructive dialogue between the great religious
faiths, and the individuals and nations that adhere to them, is
conducted in an atmosphere of mutual respect, understanding and peace;
-
the holy sites of Christianity and the other great
faiths are respected, protected and maintained, and pilgrims can travel
to them in safety;
-
the dedication, generosity and integrity of all those
engaged in providing humanitarian aid are recognised and valued, and aid
workers carry out their vital work in an ethical manner without fear of
discrimination;
-
the principles of active charity, courtesy,
dedication and honesty, inherent in the highest ideals of a code of
chivalry and a personal rule of life, are spread wider and wider in
society; and
-
the contribution of the Knights Templar, medieval and
modern, with regard to agriculture, construction, transportation,
crafts, medicine, finance, inter-faith affairs, diplomacy and
philanthropy is both well researched, and also widely understood and
valued by the public.
OUR COMMITMENT
OSMTH - Knights Templar International aspires to be the
modern organisation the original Knights Templar might have become, if
their historical development had not been broken.
Like other orders of military and monastic origins,
whose traditions stem from Jerusalem in the Middle Ages, our membership
has long ago put aside swords for purely ceremonial use and turned its
attention, as a civil society organisation, to charitable, cultural,
humanitarian and reconciliation endeavours. In our members today, we look
for Christians sufficiently confident in their own beliefs to respect and
value the beliefs of those of other faiths and of none.
Today's Templars in OSMTH - Knights Templar
International seek, by their collective action and individual personal
example, to put into practice in the modern world the highest ideals of
the code of chivalry and the personal rule of Christian life inspired by
the spiritual father of the medieval Order, St Bernard of Clairvaux.
Our modern Order also adheres to the Principles adopted
by the General Assembly of the Order of the Temple in Paris in 1841 in
that:
- our membership is open to Christians of all denominations and from
all social backgrounds;
- we operate as an openly accountable, democratic and non-political
organisation;
- our members have a duty to promote the causes of peace and human
dignity; and
- our work in humanitarian aid is undertaken for the benefit of the
diverse strands of all humanity.
OUR ACTIONS
In addition to the local and national activities of
each of its constituent Member Grand Priories, OSMTH - Knights Templar
International undertakes a range of collective programmes around the
world.
In choosing and implementing these collective
international programmes, our modern Order particularly seeks:
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to promote dialogue amongst, and between, the
Abrahamic faiths and the other great religions of the world with a view
to establishing better understanding and greater tolerance;
-
to assist Christian communities around the world, and
especially in the Holy Land, whenever their human rights are at risk;
-
to build bridges of understanding and support between
the Eastern and Western Churches of the Christian faith; and
as a UN recognised Non Governmental Organisation, to
support the United Nations and other international civil society
organisations by our active participation in programmes of disaster
relief, humanitarian aid, peace building and sustainable development, that
respect the full range of human diversity.