Tau Mikaël I

The Most Rev. Patriarch Ronald Vincent Cappello (Tau Mikaël I) (April 23, 1951 – November 30, 2016) was a distinguished American educator, high-degree Freemason, Martinist sovereign, and independent Gnostic prelate. Born in Mount Vernon, New York, he held Master's Degrees in both Science and Art from Iona College and served his community for decades as a dedicated history teacher for the Yonkers Board of Education.

Within the esoteric sanctuaries of North America, Patriarch Cappello was a towering administrative and ritualistic authority. He served as Sovereign Grand Master of the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm for the United States, Past Grand Master of the Martinist Order of the Temple, and Patriarch-Primate of the Old Templar Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Through these offices, he stood as the chief American custodian of the resurrected Johannite Templar Line and chivalric Christian mysteries.

Sacerdotal Consecration & Templar Foundation

Patriarch Cappello's tactile apostolic succession was conveyed through the independent Gallican and Canadian sacramental streams:

• Sacerdotal Ordination (August 27, 1989): Ordained to the Holy Priesthood in Montreal, Quebec, by Jean-Marie Pomerleau (Tau Johannes Lux Ministri), a bishop of the Église Universelle de la Nouvelle Alliance.
• Episcopal Consecration (April 18, 1992): Consecrated to the Episcopate in Montreal, Quebec, by Bishop Jean-Marie Pomerleau, assisted by Bishop Denis Claing (Tau Petrus de Luminie).
• Foundation of the Old Templar Church (October 13, 1992): With the formal blessing of Bishop Pomerleau, Bishop Cappello incorporated the Old Templar Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church on the historic anniversary of the suppression of the Knights Templar, serving as its Patriarch-Primate.
• Consecration of Canadian Martinist Leadership (September 12, 1994): Consecrated Peter Maydan (Tau Petrus), Grand Master of the Ordre Martiniste et Synarchique du Canada, formally bridging the Old Templar Church with Canadian Martinism and leading to mutual recognition accords with the Église Gnostique Apostolique under Robert M. Cokinis.

Masonic, Chivalric, & Initiatic Presidencies

Beyond his ecclesiastical throne, Patriarch Cappello maintained an extensive leadership profile across the Western initiatory tradition:

• Memphis-Misraïm & Classical Masonry: Sovereign Grand Master of the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm for the United States, 34-year member of Huguenot Lodge No. 46 F.&A.M., member of the Grand College of Rites of the USA, Royal Arch Masons, Cryptic Masons, and the Royal Order of Scotland.
• Chivalric Orders: Member of Bethlehem Crusader Knights Templar and the Knights Templar Order of the Temple, holding traditional dubbing faculties in both American and Portuguese successions.
• Martinist Order of the Temple: Served as Past Grand Master, integrating traditional sacerdotal orders directly with the Martinist S::I:: hierarchy.
• Order of the Lily and the Eagle (L'Ordre du Lys et de L'Aigle): Directed the historic American activities of this chivalric and Rosicrucian school (originally founded in 1915 by Demetrius Platon Sémélas and Marie Routchine Dupré), preserving its interior teachings on Astrosophia and the French Rose-Croix d'Orient tradition.

L'Église Johannite des Chrétiens Primitifs (Johannite Templar Line)

Patriarch Cappello served as a key vehicle for the Johannite Templar Line, a sacramental transmission originating in the early 19th-century French revival to restore the esoteric Throne of Saint John:

The Synodal Concelebration of April 6, 2002 & The Yonkers Vigil

On Friday, October 13, 2000, Patriarch Cappello held a solemn private ceremony at his residence in Yonkers, New York. Commemorating the fateful Friday the 13th of October 1307 when King Philip IV and Pope Clement V orchestrated the arrest of the original Knights Templar, Patriarch Cappello knighted a circle of exactly twelve candidates, including Jeremy Crow, into the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (OSMTH).

This investiture conveyed chivalric legitimacy in both the American and Portuguese lineages, formally transmitting the traditional authority and faculties to dub future Knights of the Temple.

Eighteen months later, on April 6, 2002, a pivotal mutual consecration (sub conditione) took place during an ecumenical synod, formally uniting:

• Patriarch Ronald V. Cappello (Tau Mikaël): Old Templar Church / Memphis-Misraïm.
• Bishop +Carl Emmanuel (Tau Cerinthus II): Gnostic Church of the Glorious Christ in Canada.
• Bishop Alberto I. LaCava (Tau Ignatius of Alexandria VII): Consecrated by Cappello on July 11, 1998.
• Bishop Phillip Andrew Garver (Tau Vincent II): Holding Italian Gnostic and Thelemic successions.
• Bishop Osmel Valera d'Abela: Independent sacramental prelate.

Through this 2002 synodal concelebration, Patriarch Cappello's full Johannite Templar episcopal succession was cross-communicated into Bishop +Carl Emmanuel. When Bishop Emmanuel subsequently ordained Jeremy Crow to the Holy Priesthood on February 8, 2003, the sacerdotal and sacramental current fused directly with the chivalric knighthood received in Yonkers, establishing a dual receipt of sword and staff for Tau Cerinthus III.

Chivalric & Canonical Provenance

Patriarch Ronald V. Cappello maintained rigorous standards across his jurisdictions, ensuring that the authentic rites of the Temple and Memphis-Misraïm remained active into the 21st century. Through his dual transmissions of chivalric knighthood and the Johannite episcopacy, his administration secured:

• Primatial Authority: Patriarch-Primate of the Old Templar Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church (1992–2016).
• Sovereign Grand Mastership: Sovereign Grand Master of the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm (United States).
• Equestrian Mandate: Transmission of traditional dubbing faculties under the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (OSMTH), conferred at the Yonkers vigil of October 13, 2000.
• Canadian Transmission: Infusion of the historic Johannite line into the Canadian See of Cerinthus through the April 6, 2002 synodal concelebration with Bishop +Carl Emmanuel.

Archival Sources & Chancery Inquiries

Records concerning the Old Templar Church, the 2002 synodal protocols, and the Yonkers chivalric dubbings are preserved within the archives of the Canadian See of Cerinthus. Independent sacramental historians and clergy wishing to verify concordat acts or submit historical documentation are invited to contact the chancery archive at novusordoluciferi@gmail.com.