"You can't fight evil with tolerance and understanding"

We are an Army of Survivors and will stand with you.

 Our founding Principles from our Grand Chaplain

Our foundational and unique hierarchy, 

The Duke of Lorraine, Godfrey de Boullion, used the cross shown below  

                                 Cross of Lorraine

for his standard when he took part in the capture of Jerusalem. The cross was then passed on to his successors as heraldic arms and became known as the Cross of Lorraine. The Cross of Lorraine originates from the Patriarchal Cross and confusingly, either name is used for either cross form. The Cross of Lorraine, however, differs from the patriarchal cross. It has two horizontal bars of equal length placed with the lower bar located close to the bottom and the upper bar close to the top. On the true patriarchal cross, on the other hand, both bars are near the top, and the upper is noticeably smaller than the other. The Grand Encampment patriarchal cross has the two beams more separated and so resembles, at first glance, the Cross of Lorraine.

                                     Cross of Salem

The cross reserved for the insignia of the supreme leadership of our Order is the Cross of Salem, sometimes referred to as the Papal Cross, because it is borne by the Pope on special ceremonial occasions. The upright beam is crossed by three horizontal beams, the upper and lower shorter than the middle one. When in purple enamel, and edged with gold, it is the insignia of the Grand Master and of Past Grand Masters. It is not only the insignia of the Grand Master and Past Grand Masters of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States, but the same cross, placed on a slant, is the insignia of the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. The modern Papal Cross differs somewhat from this, in that the three horizontal beams increase in size going downward from the top.