Priory - Preceptories
The Sovereign Military Order Temple of Jerusalem - a heritage built on God Chivalry Family Friendship Faith Hope Loyalty Charity Community
Growth of the Priory – As the Priory of St. Vincent grew, so did the visions of its leaders and members. The structure and organization of the priory were strengthened, with the goals of creating a Priory Coat of Arms and establishing a priory medal structure having been realized.
The Priory has continued to grow its membership in recent years, as well. The Priory of St. Vincent has added 25 new names to its rolls in the last 2 years, including newly invested knights and dames and transfers from other priories.
The Priory of St. Vincent, created by the Autonomous Grand Priory of the United States of America in the Year of Our Lord 1997, is a modern Christian Order of Knighthood dedicated to:Seeking God in our lives and promoting love and respect for our community.
- Increasing understanding between religions, helping pilgrims visit holy places, and maintaining a Christian presence in the Holy Land.
- Supporting the poor, sick, & unjustly accused, standing against oppression, and protecting freedom of speech.
- Encouraging the noble ideas of Chivalry, and maintaining the monuments, archives, and history of the Knights Templar.
Part of the creed of the Priory of St. Vincent is the promotion of love and respect within our community, and the fostering of camaraderie of brother- and sisterhood among its Knights & Dames has been a core value of the Priory of St. Vincent since its earliest days. Based on these principles, Prior VII Duncan Ely sought to encourage members to gather locally to provide hands-on service to the community, and to promote mutual support and the sharing of good times. To this end, he encouraged the establishment of local preceptories so that the Knights & Dames of St. Vincent could meet locally on a regular basis and go out into their local communities to provide Christian charity.
As a result of these efforts, St. Vincent has now established four preceptories, the most recent of which, St. Michael the Archangel, was established over the course of 2021-22, and is a testament to the continued growth, cohesion and connection of the brothers & sisters of the Priory of St. Vincent. The four Preceptories of St. Vincent, and their current Preceptors, are:
Preceptory of the Holy Chalice (Aiken/Augusta)
Preceptor: Dr. Douglas Wyatt
Ph.D., KTJ
Preceptory of St. Christopher (Columbia/Midlands)
Preceptor: Mary Griffin
GOTJ, CMTJ
Preceptory of the Rock (Greenville-Spartanburg)
Preceptor: Mike Peeler
KTJ
Preceptory of St. Michael the Archangel (Coastal Region)
Preceptor: Margaret Graham
RN, GOTJ
