Kingdom of Mann Grants Canon Law Patronage to Medieval Knights of Solomon Press Release: April 2013 The Sovereign

Magistral Order of Knights of the Temple of Solomon (SMOKTS) (Ordo Regius Magistralis Equitatus Templi Solomonis) (ORMETS) (www.knightsofsolomon.org) is a continuation of an unbroken line of tradition, flowing from the original Order of Poor Fellow-Knights of Christ of the Temple of Solomon of Jerusalem since 1118. Ongoing activities of the original Order were maintained throughout the centuries, both within alternative Vatican Orders and independently. This preserved and helped to integrate the collective accumulated sacred knowledge of the medieval Solomonic Order. That was further strengthened by returning to the prior founding roots, reconnecting with the most ancient tradition that was the basis for its medieval reformation. The Order has Registered United Nations (UN) Civil Society Organization (CSO) and NonGovernmental Organization (NGO) status with the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, as an autonomous subdivision of a UN registered non-profit institution. King David Howe of the Independent Kingdom of Mann is a direct bloodline descendant of King Fulk of Jerusalem (ca.1090-1143), who was one of the first founding Knights of the Temple of Solomon of Jerusalem, and was the primary and original Sovereign source of authority for the Order of Knights of the Temple of Solomon, starting with its first two Grand Masters, beginning with Hughes de Payens. King David holds full hereditary Fons Honourum rights for the Independent Kingdom of Mann, legalized under the UK constitutional monarchy system, and recognized by the Queen of England on January 16, 2007 and by an Archbishop of the Anglican Church on March 30, 2009. He thus holds full historical, ecclesiastical and juridical authority to give legitimizing patronage to the Order. King David of Mann is additionally genealogically related to three of the Provincial Grand Masters of England (called Masters of the Temple, analogous to Grand Prior), Richard de Hastings (11551185), Robert de Mounford (ca. 1234), and Robert de Saundforde (1231-1247). Thus, relatives of King Davids royal family line have been involved in the activities and leadership of the Order throughout history, continuing the tradition of King Fulk of Jerusalem. For all of the above reasons, King David Howe of the Independent Kingdom of Mann has granted royal patronage to the Sovereign Magristral Order of Knights of the Temple of Solomon, by official issuance of Royal Letters Patent of Tutela Patronage on 03 April, 2013. This royal act recognizes the continuation of the original Order, reestablishes the Grand Mastery, and appoints the first official Grand Master of the modern era, on a sovereign diplomatic level.

The appointed Grand Master is His Excellency Ambassador Prince Matthew Greene de Lot of Mann. Matthew Greene is a recognized ecclesiastical scholar and expert in ancient and medieval history, who has decades of experience working with the Vatican, Celtic Church, Orthodox Church, universities and museums on many historical preservation projects. This historic act by King David of Mann is on the basis of established doctrines of ecclesiastical Canon Law (both Anglican and Vatican), including the Congress of Vienna (1814), the International Genealogy and Heraldry Conventions in Stockholm (1960) and Edinburgh (1962), and the resulting final report of the Commission on Chivalric Orders, supported by the conventions of the United Kingdom constitutional monarchy system.