Four Times Respectable College of Saint Andrew of Scotland

for the re-establishment of the order. = The Grand Chaplain intones the Veni Creator A hymn to the Holy Spirit and the members of the Chapter respond to it. The canticle finished, the Grand Master says: = Dear, illustrious companions, brother knights of the Temple, we are gathered here for the reception of a Novice to the sublime profession. Grand Master of Ceremonies, have the kindness to take the opinion, separately, of each knight and to tell me then what they think regarding the Novice who asks to be admitted to the profession, and if they are of the opinion that we grant him his request. I hope in all the dear brothers that they will state their opinion with frankness and the candor of a true knight. They are very persuaded, as I am, of the necessity we are under to take all possible precautions to admit among us only men whose courage, prudence, and discretion are perfectly known to us. Give your opinions, my dear brothers; you are the masters to accept or to refuse the Novice who desires to make his profession.

If the votes are favorable to the admission of the Candidate, the Grand Master says: My illustrious and dear brother Master of Ceremonies, have the Novice notified by a Squire to present himself at the door of the chapter.

The Novice is brought to the door of the chapter by a Squire who knocks original: "gratte" - literally scratches/scrapes there. The Master of Ceremonies opens the door slightly and asks who has knocked at the door? The Squire replies that he is bringing a Novice. Upon the report made to the Grand Master, he orders that he be brought in. As soon as he appears, the Grand Master says to him: = Approach, my brother, with confidence; your conduct, your discretion, and your attachment to the order have decided us to admit you to the profession. We had, my illustrious dear brother, great duties to fulfill as a Novice, and you have acquitted yourself of them worthily. But, my brother, they are very light in comparison to those to which you are about to commit yourself. It is now that we will have the right to ask you for important services. Courage, firmness, and prudence are the three qualities absolutely necessary for the Professed Knight. Do you feel the strength to take upon yourself the new obligations that bind you to us forever and indissolubly? Reflect; you are the masters of remaining a Novice. If the Candidate persists, the Grand Master says to him: = Approach and kneel at the feet of the throne, place your left hand on the Throne of the holy gospels and, after a discourse on the order, repeat orally all that I am going to have you pronounce.

I, ***, swear and promise on my honor, on my faith as a knight, and on the salvation of my soul, in the presence of the Grand G. Grand Architect who is the God of heaven and earth, and of the members of the Grand Chapter of the illustrious order of the Knights Templar, to never divulge the things that I am about to learn and that are going to be entrusted to me under the seal of honor and Religion; to never communicate them to the Novices nor to the brothers of the Lodge of St. John, and even less to the Profane, to the Squires, even though they be novices among our brothers. Furthermore, I promise faith and obedience to the orders of our Superiors, and in particular to those of the Venerable Grand Master here present. I vow my soul, my life, and my goods to the illustrious and sublime order of the Temple. I promise under the same obligation to shed until the last drop of my blood for the service and prosperity of the order, when I am ordered to take up arms, to live and die a Christian and a faithful subject of my King. I declare furthermore that I renew in this holy Profession all the engagements that I have taken in my novitiate as well as in the Lodge of St. John. If I were impious enough to fail in my promises, I consent that I be made to undergo the most terrible and exemplary punishments; that my body be burned, my ashes thrown to the wind, so that no memory of me may remain among my brothers. I pray God with all my heart and beseech him to help me and to preserve me from failing in his law and the honor of a true Knight Templar; may he be my aid and his holy Gospel. Amen.

Then the Grand Master raises him, gives him the accolade, and says to him: = By the power that I have received from God and in the name of the entire illustrious and sublime order of the military Knights Templar, I create you Professed Knight. He then crosses his sword four times over his neck and shoulders, gives him a pair of golden spurs, and the Grand Cross of the order with the sign, the word, and the attouchement secret grip.

The Word is Jacques MOLAY. The Response is Bourgogne Burgundy or Bourguignon Burgundian, Count Sauvage, in German Vil Graet Likely a corruption of "Viel Grad" or "Viel Gnad" - much grace/many degrees. The attouchement grip is to give each other the right hand in good friendship while giving the word. The sign is to carry the closed fist, palm high, under the throat; in this position, descend to the orifice of the stomach.