The Priory of St. James of Jerusalem is assigned to Region II (Mid-Atlantic) of the Autonomous Grand Priory of the United States of America.  Its members reside primarily in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, but over the years members have also come from Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, and internationally from The Bahamas, Canada, Israel, and Italy.

We aspire to foster a cosmopolitan society in which differences among peoples, cultures, and governments will be both respected and appreciated.  We seek the betterment of humanity through education, world brotherhood, chivalric principles, and civil behavior and treatment among one-another. 

The Commandery of St. James of Jerusalem was established under the leadership of Chev. Dr. James Anthony Bartholomew Drury, GOTJ, as a jurisdiction of the Priory of St. Michael and St. George, New York.  The Commandery was elevated to Priory status in 2003.  Its first prior was Chev. Dale John Joseph Leppard, GCTJ; he was followed by Chev. Lawrence Edward Joseph Slight, Jr., GOTJ; Lt. Col. The Right Reverend Chev. Dr. William Martin Sloane, SCTJ, CAP; and the current Prior, Lt. Col. Chev. Robert Leo Meinert, GOTJ, CAP. 

The Priory of St. James of Jerusalem has enjoyed a special relationship with Ethiopian culture through the years. Our Royal Advisor has been HIH Prince Stefanos Mengesha Seyoum (grandson of the late Emperor HIM Haile Selassie of Ethiopia), we had the privilege of investing the first Ethiopian member of SMOTJ (as a courtesy to the Grand Preceptory of La Rochelle which was the responsible international jurisdiction at that time), several of our Priors have been ennobled by the Imperial House of Ethiopia, and additional members of the Priory have held other honors from the Imperial House of Ethiopia.  We were privileged to have the very active support of The Most Reverend Chev. Dr. Herbert Monroe Groce, Jr., of Blessed Memory.  The Priory is now under the spiritual guidance of SMOTJ Deputy Grand Chaplain, The Right Reverend Chev. Dr. Council Nedd, II, KTJ.

Our Priory takes its name from Jerusalem's first bishop, who was martyred in A.D.62.  He is referred to as the "Brother of Our Lord Jesus Christ," James the Just (named for being respected even by the Pharisees for his piety and strict observance of the Law) or James Protepiscopus (First Bishop).  For many years he was the leader of the Christian congregation in Jerusalem.

Many knights and dames of the priory have served as officers of GPUSA and OSMTH International in a variety of positions, including as OSMTH Grand Herald, GPUSA Deputy Grand Herald, OSMTH Deputy Grand Archivist, OSMTH Deputy Grand Armorer, and GPUSA Deputy Grand Chaplain.  In 2008 we sent a delegation to Saints Peter and Paul Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church in Potomac, Maryland, for an Ecumenical Welcome Luncheon with The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Patriarch Fouad Twal.

The Priory of St. James was an early supporter of the Silent Knight program, making it the centerpiece of our charitable endeavors.  It also contributed funds toward the teddy-bear campaign for children in the Holy Lands and to a number of other organizations, including

M. Robinson Memorial a Magnet hospital and an affiliate of Summa Health System;

The Vista School bringing state-of-the-art special education and therapeutic services to children living with autism in Central Pennsylvania;

3622nd FRG supporting activities and support to enhance the flow of information, increase the resiliency of unit soldiers and their families, provide practical tools for adjusting to military deployments and separations, and enhance the well-being and esprit de corps within the unit; and

Anbu Illam a Global charity which is an affiliate of ANBU WORLDWIDE, a non-profit charity dedicated to protect, nurture and restore poor children, orphans and aged people in Mathur, Tamilnadu.

Individual Knights and Dames have sponsored children on several continents and contribute to a variety of churches and charitable non-profit organizations, including Globus Relief, as well as supporting the Jerusalem Mite.

In addition to annual Convents and Investitures, St. James has served as host to two pan-chivalric meetings, and its members are active in a variety of chivalric orders, royal confraternities, nobiliary fraternities, and international commissions and societies.

Non Nobis, Domine, Non Nobis, Sed Nomini Tuo Da Glorium
Not unto us, O Lord, Not unto us, But to Thy Name Be Glory Given  Psalm 115