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Note:
H.E. Capt. Chev. George G. McNeillie, III
KCTJ of the Priory of St. James in Toronto sent me in a copy of this account
and subsequently I was given permission to post this on the site. George
also noted that the attached Templar
history is taken from a speech by Terry Davis, the Prior of the Priory of
St. Clair in Detroit (who gave us permission to post this account). It was given several years ago, so most of the Grand
Officers mentioned at the end have been replaced or moved on to new
duties, e.g., British MGen Sir Roy Redgrave (also a Knight of the Bath),
cousin of actors Michael, Vanessa, Lynn and Corin Redgrave has retired;
RADM James Carey is now Grand Master; BGen Patrick Rea is International
Grand Commander.
Before we start, let me pose
fifteen very mundane questions. During the following history, you will get
the answers to all of these bits of trivia...
Fourteen Trivial Questions
1. Who invented our common deck of playing cards?
2. Why did Lawrence of Arabia wear a white cape?
3. Why do they say a lawyer is admitted "to the bar"?
4. Where did the fabric "gauze" come from?
5. Who were the first international bankers?
6. Why did Columbus have a "red cross" on his sails?
7. Who invented double entry bookkeeping?
8. What was the origin of Masonic lodges?
9. Who invented candy?
10. What is the only sovereign entity in the world that has no land?
11. Why is Friday, the 13th, a day when bad things happen?
12. What is the oldest military order in the world?
13. Where did the pirate flag of the skull & crossbones originate?
14. Why do the flags of the five original Swiss Cantons all have a red cross
on them?
15. What did Dante mean when, in his poem Divine Comedy, he wrote:
"...I see the fleur-de-lis
enter ...and Christ's Vicar made captive...
I see the new Pilate so ruthless that this does not sate him,
but without law he bears into the Temple with his greedy sails.
O my Lord, when shall I rejoice to see the vengeance which...
makes sweet thy wrath!"
Our story begins one thousand
and one years ago on a cold November day in 1096. The Bishop of Rome, Pope
Urban II, stood in a field outside of the French city of Clermont and called
all in Christendom to arms in a solemn quest to recapture the "holy land"
where Christ was born and walked. This land had been part of the Greek
Byzantium Empire ever since the split of the Roman Empire in the Fourth
Century AD into the two cultural, political and religious centers of Rome
and Constantinople. But it had been wrenched away from Christian control in
1073 by those (to quote the Pope) "fanatical followers of Mohammed".
Pope Urban II exhorted the second and third sons of each noble family (sons
who were left landless from the practice of primogeniture) "to wrest that
land from the wicked race and subject it to yourselves. That land which the
scripture says 'floweth with milk and honey'." The holy father stated that
any man who vowed to join the crusade would receive instant absolution and
remission from all sins. His last words were: "Deus lo volt!" meaning "God
wills it!” The whole audience of nobles took up the chant which became the
battle cry of what would be known as "The First Crusade".
With his call, Pope Urban struck a concordant note throughout all of Europe.
Nobles in France, Italy and England responded, financing Urban's crusade and
dispatching some of their best Knights to the effort. A year after the call,
in 1096, ten thousand Knights with horse and retinue began arriving by ship
in Constantinople. (for your information -- the average Knight required a
battle horse, a traveling horse, and two attendants and pack horses for
armor, tents and luggage). The Emperor of Byzantium, anxious to have this
Roman Catholic fighting force out of his lands, provided them food and
transport to Asia Minor as soon as possible, suggesting they capture the
Muslim city of Nicea in modern day Turkey which was held by Seljuk Turks.
That sounded like a good idea and Nicea fell after a five month siege the
following May.
It's interesting to note that as the Seljuk Turk flag fell over in Nicea and
the Crusaders surged into the city to claim it for the Crusade, they found
the Turks had surrendered to an emissary from the Emperor of Byzantium, who
claimed the city as part of Byzantium Empire. To use the vernacular, this
pissed the Crusaders off immensely -- since they were at peace with
Byzantium, now there would be no spoils, booty, rape or pillaging! And with
a Byzantium army only a day's march away, they had to just regard it as a
lesson learned in the Byzantine politics of the east.
At this point, the Crusader army split in two. The larger group headed south
to the heavily fortified city of Antioch, whose walls stretched one mile
wide and three miles long. After placing the city under siege for eight
months, they finally succeeded when a converted Muslim who was a Captain of
the Turkish Guard reconverted to Christianity upon finding his wife in bed
with another Turkish officer. Late one evening, the cuckolded Captain let 60
Knights use a ladder to climb into a tower and open a gate into the city.
After two days of killing, every Muslim in the city, men, women and children
(including the Turkish officer's wife) was dead. An Italian, Prince Bohamond
(who had the largest army present among the Crusaders) declared himself the
new Prince of Antioch, establishing the first of four Christian Kingdoms in
the Holy Land. Somehow, no one objected when he and his army stayed behind,
allowing the French and English Crusaders to continue southward along the
coast.
The smaller group of Crusaders that split off at Nicea and did not go to
Antioch was led by Baldwin (a younger brother of the Duke of Lower
Lorraine). It went eastward towards Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq). At this
time, these lands were held by Armenian Christians, who were under constant
threat from the neighboring Seljuk Turks (commonly called the Saracens).
Baldwin quickly captured two Turkish castles. Since he had no men to spare,
he turned these back over to the local Armenians. Due to this, Baldwin was
regarded as a liberator by these Armenian Christians. The local Armenian
Prince of Edessa, who had no heirs, thought that from his seemingly selfless
acts, Baldwin was heaven-sent. He offered to adopt Baldwin as his heir, if
Baldwin would use his Knights to protect the Kingdom. Baldwin, whose
prospects in Europe were poor (as a younger brother - not the first son - of
a noble) also regarded this as heaven-sent, but perhaps for different
reasons.
The adoption ceremony was almost pagan as it involved acting out an
allegorical ritual of birth. In front of a large audience of nobles, Baldwin
stripped to the waist, as did the Prince and Princess. Then, they were
washed and all clothed together into a single large white garment. Then,
after Baldwin rubbed his bare chest against those of the Prince and
Princess, he emerged from the garment as their heir.
Although Baldwin had not known it, the Prince had been very unpopular. Now,
with an heir readily apparent, the citizens rioted against the Prince. The
Prince appealed to his newly adopted son and his army of Crusaders for help.
But, Baldwin who evidently had not bonded with his new-found father despite
the recent ceremony, did not heed the call and stood idly by as the Prince
was dragged from the castle and killed by the mob. Baldwin had what he
wanted -- land in his own Principality and the Kingdom of Edessa became the
second of the four Christian Kingdoms in the Holy Land.
Although Jerusalem was only a 10-day march away, Baldwin stayed in Edessa to
solidify his new Principality.
If you are beginning to see a pattern in this (and future) Crusades, you are
correct. Although the vow was for the church and Christianity, the real
object for many of the nobles in the Crusades was the opportunity to get
land or, failing this, at least the wealth that came with plunder of
captured cities. Clever old Pope Urban even stated this when he said
"...wrest the land away from these wicked races and subject it to
yourselves..."
So, absent Prince Bohamond and Prince Baldwin, the Crusaders continued.
Finally on the evening of June 7th 1099 the two remainders of the Crusader
army joined again and soon were within sight of the walls of Jerusalem. At
this point, only 1,200 Knights and 10,000 foot soldiers remained.
Within three weeks, they had breached the walls and proceeded - in a very
un-Christian manner - to disembowel the population. Their reason for doing
this was twofold: first, when they had arrived three weeks earlier, they had
promised death to any person who stayed in the city and did not surrender to
them immediately... and, of course, they had to keep their word. Secondly,
they had heard a rumor, quite unfounded, that Muslims hid their gold by
swallowing it. You would have thought they would have discovered this rumor
was not true after disemboweling a mere two or three hundred Muslims;
however, they must have wanted to be thorough, so they just disemboweled
them all!
The Jewish inhabitants of the city crowded into their Temple so as not to be
mistaken for Muslims. Regrettably, the Crusaders were not being selective,
so they burnt down the Temple and all the people in it. Forgetting that the
Old Testament was also shared by those people who were in the Temple, one
Knight (Raymond of Aguilers) quoted from Psalm 118 that afternoon, "This is
the day the Lord hath made... be glad and rejoice!"
Lastly, the Crusaders discovered that the Greek Orthodox priests had hidden
a portion of the actual wooden cross upon which Christ had died. Upon
hearing this, they tortured the priests until they were shown its hiding
place behind a wall in the Temple of the Holy Sepulchre
To the Crusaders, the objective of the First Crusade was obtained -- for the
first time in 600 years, Roman Catholic Christians controlled the lands upon
which Christ was born and had walked! In addition, they had found and
possessed the most holy object in Christendom, the True Cross.
Actually, things were not as Pope Urban had stated in his Clermont address.
In stirring up his support for the Crusade, he had said that Christians had
been prevented from making pilgrimages to Jerusalem and, those that did,
were routinely tortured and killed by the unbelieving Muslims. In truth,
however, Christians had been making pilgrimages in relative safety for
years. Further, Christians and Muslims lived in peace within the city, each
fairly respectful of the other’s religion -- and both Christians and Muslims
were always subject to frequent attacks by bandits (usually Bedouin nomads)
when traveling to and from the coastal cities.
But, as we will see, perception becomes reality in many things -- and its
victim is the truth. Luckily, for those Christians living in Jerusalem, the
Muslims had thrown them out of the city when the siege started, thinking
that, during a time of siege, it was more prudent to have the Christian
Crusaders feed the Jerusalem Christians, rather than having them consume the
Muslims' food.
Anyway, after the First Crusaders cleaned up the mess they had just made,
their first official act was to elect their leader, the 39 year old Duke of
Lower Lorraine, Godfrey de Bouillon as Governor of the City. A few months
later, Godfrey died of illness and his younger Brother, Prince Baldwin of
Edessa was declared by the Pope as the King of Jerusalem. Baldwin gave out
cities and lands to many of the other nobles and much of the Crusading army
drifted off with their nobles to the smaller cities to consolidate their
holdings and power. By 1118, many of the coastal cities were under Christian
control with each new-found Baron, Duke or Prince, all swearing fealty to
the King of Jerusalem.
What really made the First Crusade so successful was not the size of the
army of European foot soldiers and Knights – 10,000 knights and 30,000 foot
soldiers were a powerful force, but the Muslims could have easily matched
it. However, the Crusader's benefitted from the age old split in the Muslim
population between the Orthodox Sunni (soonie) Muslims who were centered in
Damascus and the Shiite (she-ite) Muslims who were on both sides of them --
in Egypt and Persia. The Sunni Muslims' preoccupation with the Shiites
allowed the Christian armies to spread out along the Mediterranean coast of
from the edge of Egypt to Cilicia in modern day Turkey. By 1117, the four
major Christian Kingdoms of the holy land had been established -- these were
Antioch and Edessa and Jerusalem (which we have already discussed), and
Tripoli.
* * * * * * * * * * *
The next year an event
happened which is to be the centerpiece of this tale.
In 1118 AD nine new Knights arrived in Jerusalem. These Knights, were unlike
the others who were in and around Baldwin II's place. They were not
interested in obtaining land and wealth. They had taken vows to become
warrior monks, pledging chastity, obedience, and poverty... three character
traits that were very foreign to most Knights on the Crusade. To Baldwin,
the King of Jerusalem, this was a welcome relief, since the other Christian
nobles had already started arguing over land and the spoils of their
conquests. The nine new Knights chose to live a separate existence, in a far
corner of the Palace grounds, in an old set of stables, which had once
belonged to King Herod from Roman times. Their announced public and secular
purpose was to protect the pilgrims on the roads from the Mediterranean Sea
to Jerusalem -- which was not done by any of the other Knights, since there
was no profit in it!
These nine Knights were led by Hugues de Payen, a French and Scottish
nobleman. This was de Payen's second visit to Jerusalem, having been in the
First Crusade and having visited Jerusalem again in 1104. Now de Payen had
returned, with his eight other warrior monks, financed by a few French
nobles (the Duke of Champagne, Count de Anjou, Count de Gisors and Count de
Flanders) and his Scottish father-in-law, Henri St. Clair, the Baron of
Roslyn.
By either circumstance or design (this is hotly debated as you will see),
the stables Hugues de Payne chose to live in were exactly adjoining the
remains of the old Jewish Temple of Jerusalem, which had been destroyed by
the Romans in about 300 AD. Because of their living quarters and their vow
of poverty, these warrior monks became known as the "Poor Knights of Christ
at the Temple of Jerusalem" and, more popularly, as the "The Knights
Templar".
In addition to their announced tasks, under the direction of de Payens, the
Knights Templar also spent much of their time and effort secretly excavating
beneath the old walls to find the labyrinth of tunnels that were rumored to
exist beneath the temple. I say secretly because only these nine Knights
were allowed near these excavations. Here they labored for three years. In
1121, they sent their second-in-command, a Knight by the name of Geoffrey de
St. Omer, back to France with the results of their excavations.
What were these results? No one really knows... and it is a subject that has
many theories, each more bizarre than the other. Some believe they found
great wealth -- to support this view, the recent discovery and translation
of the "dead sea" scrolls does list 619 vessels of silver and gold that were
buried in the tunnels beneath the Temple. Others say they found the "Holy
Grail" -- the supposed cup Christ used in the last supper. Yet, still others
say they found ancient scrolls giving them secrets of alchemy and
architecture. Lastly, the most extravagant claim -- that they found
religious writings telling an expanded or contradictory history of Christ
and the crucifixion.
All we do know is that Geoffrey de St. Omer carried some metal artifacts
back to France along with some Aramaic scrolls. One of the scrolls exists
today in the library of Ghent University -- it describes the Heavenly
Jerusalem referenced in much of the old testament and in St. John's
revelations. These treasures that the Templars returned to France add fuel
to the fire for the wild speculations and theories that have surrounded the
Knights Templar since that time.
And, shortly after the treasures were sent to France, the Count de Anjou
traveled to Jerusalem to join the order as did the Duke of Champagne and,
then both returned home and bequeathed a portion of their lands to the order
so it could have financial independence. And, in Jerusalem, the excavations
continued for the next seven years, .
By 1127, the nine original Knights Templar had completed their excavations
and their leader, de Payens, traveled to France and Scotland with more
artifacts, returning to Jerusalem the following year with over 300 new
Knights and title to many more lands which had been given to the order.
Meanwhile, a cousin of the Duke of Champagne, Bernard - the Abbot of
Clairvaux - drew up a formal charter for the order, based upon that of the
older Benedictine monks, and in 1128 Pope Calixtus I established the Knights
Templar as a sovereign entity, equal to any country, and made them a
religious order of the Church -- their official name became "The Sovereign
Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem".
As a sovereign military order, the Templars had an established chain of
command. The international head was Hugues de Payen, who was called the
Grand Master. The Grand Master would appoint a Grand Prior for each
political country or state and, jointly with them, appoint a Prior to head
each local Templar establishment. Under each Prior were groups of Templars
called Commanderies which would be headed by a Commander. Then, underneath
this superstructure were the Knights, each having had to be born to the
nobility, and then a large group of freemen who were appointed as Squires
and Priests or Clerics to perform the administrative and support tasks; act
as engineers to build the siege equipment and buildings; or as armorers to
fashion their chain mail clothing, shields and swords.
In those days, a Templar Knight was known by his shaved head, long flowing
beard, and his suit of chain mail armor over which he wore a white cape
emblazoned with a red cross. Each of these characteristics had its purpose:
the shaved head signified obedience; the long beard was an indication of
strength and military prowess (particularly important in the Mideast where
shaven faces were associated with femininity); the white robe signified
purity; and the red cross signified their willingness to die to protect
Christianity -- the cross in the color of blood. The squires had black robes
with white crosses and the clerics wore green robes with black crosses.
A Templar Knight took a vow of chastity. To constantly remind him of that
vow, he was forbidden to ever remove his white wool loin-cloth, even for
washing -- even though they never raped or pillaged you can see why the
Templars became so feared -- just to be downwind of one would have been a
horrifying experience!
So, within a short 10 years since nine Knights made their pledge to each
other, their order had become the equivalent of an independent nation -- its
lands, no matter where they were, could not be taxed and those living on
them were not under the jurisdiction of any secular King or nobleman.
Members of the order owed their allegiance only to the order and its
military chain of command, but not to any secular leader.
Interestingly, this order also was the first true democracy since Greece.
Once a Priory was established, upon the death of the first Prior, the
succeeding Priors were elected democratically by vote of the Knights of that
Priory, subject only to a veto of the Grand Prior of the country. Likewise,
a vacancy in the position of Grand Prior was filled by election by the
Priors. Only the Grand Master could appoint his successor and, if this was
not done (as happened when a Grand Master was killed in battle), that
vacancy would be filled by election by a Conclave (Convention) of the
Knights.
Although individually the individual Templars had pledged "poverty" -- which
in that day meant "commonality of ownership" -- as a communal order the
Templars were rapidly becoming extremely wealthy. As with everything
pertaining to the Knights Templar -- this, too, fuels the speculation as to
what was found under the Temple. Personally, I believe the people gave to
them because they were exciting and religious (remember the over-riding
importance of religion in those times) -- contributing to the Templars could
help assure a good after-life.
Regardless of the reason, the giving of lands and money to the Knights
Templar continued throughout the ensuing years. By the end of the 12th
Century, the Knights Templar were probably the single richest organization
in Christendom -- wealthier by far than any single King or country and
wealthier than the Catholic Church itself. Almost 40% of the land in Spain
was under Templar ownership; while in France and England, Templars owned 18%
and 22% of the land, respectively.
During this time, members of the Knights Templar and relatives were had
become related to the leading political figures of their time. The new King
of Jerusalem, Baldwin III, was a now a member of the order. So was the Count
of Anjou, whose son married Princess Maltilda, the granddaughter of both
William the Conqueror (King of England) and Malcolm III (King of Scotland).
In the near future, the product of this marriage would be Henry II, the
founder of the Plantagenet dynasty which would rule England for over 300
years. The Plantagenets always maintained close connections with the
Templars, as best shown by the following examples.
First, when Henry II of England murdered Thomas Becket, his penance was to
contribute sufficient funds each year to the Knights Templar to maintain 200
Knights in the holy land; and
Secondly, when the second Plantagenet King, Richard the Lionheart, chose his
last resting place he chose an Abbey of the Templars in France.
Thirdly, when Richard's brother, King John in England faced a rebellion from
his own vassals, his advisor and protector standing by his side was the
English Grand Prior. The document King John was advised to sign would later
be called “The Magna Carta”.
Meanwhile, in the Holy Land, the Muslims did not acquiesce to the new rule
of the European Jerusalem Kings. A second Crusade was to be launched in 1147
to reinforce and protect the Christian kingdoms and to attempt to conquer
Egypt. Although successful in the lower Nile, the Crusaders never had enough
men or arms to complete the effort. As it would turn out, this failure to
capture Egypt, either in the second Crusade or in later Crusades, would
eventually doom the Christian control of the Holy Land. However, over the
next 100 years, the Christians continued to use the animosity between the
Sunni and Shiite Muslims, playing one against the other as their main
defense.
This worked successfully until 1183, when a new Shiite Muslim leader,
Saladin, managed to unite all the Muslims, including the Sunni Muslims in
Syria. Although the Christian leaders appealed to Europe for assistance to
meet this new threat, none was forthcoming. Further, the constant internal
bickering between the Christian nobles over land and titles prevented them
from coordinating efforts.
In a fateful battle on July 4th, 1187 on a plateau between two hills called
the Horns of Hattin, Saladin's armies defeated the major Christian force.
After the battle over 300 Templar Knights and thousands of foot soldiers lay
dead on the battlefield. Saladin ransomed all of the surviving nobles,
except the Knights Templar and Hospitallers who were lined up and, at
Saladin's command, had their heads chopped off, one by one, in front of
cheering Muslim officers. To compound matters, Saladin also captured the
“True Cross” that the Christians would carry into battle with them and
announced he would place on the threshold to his palace in Damascus -- so
that every Muslim coming to visit the Palace would have to wipe his feet on
it.
Later that year, with the Christian forces in the Holy Land decimated from
this battle. Saladin successfully captured Jerusalem.
The European Kings finally woke up and launched a Third Crusade later that
year (led by Richard the Lionheart) in an unsuccessful attempt to recapture
the Holy City and recover the True Cross. Although it was successful along
the coast cities, Jerusalem was not retaken and remained in Muslim hands. A
Fourth Crusade in 1202 and the Fifth Crusade in 1229 were required. In this
last crusade, a treaty was made with the Muslims that Jerusalem would be
placed under Christian control, but the destroyed walls or fortifications
could not be rebuilt -- in effect, this meant the city could not be
defended. But, at least, a victory could be claimed and the Crusaders left
for home..
On their way back to Europe, infuriated at what was viewed as a traitorous
act by the Byzantine Emperor, the Crusaders supported by a Templar army
captured and looted Constantinople, installing a Templar supporter, the
Count of Flanders, as the new Emperor. This act effectively ended the Greek
Byzantium Empire and opened the door to the Turks, who within a few
generations, would capture the city and lead to over 400 years of rule of
the Mediterranean by the Ottoman Empire.
By the mid 1200s, the Templars were at the pinnacle of their power. At their
extensive eight square block Priory compound in the center of Paris, they
hosted Henry III of England and arbitrated the settlement of the differences
between the English King and Louis IX of France, which resulted in the
Treaty of Paris in 1259. At this time, there were over 900 Templar priories
covering every capital throughout Europe and in many smaller cities. Outside
the cities, Templar land holdings were extensive, giving the order a yearly
income that rivaled that of any Kingdom.
A sizable Templar fleet plied trade routes in the Mediterranean between
France and Templar holdings in Crete, Cyprus, Asia Minor and Palestine
flying the Templar naval flag -- a black flag with a white skull and cross.
Needed to supply the multitude of Templar outposts in the Mideast, the
Templars needed cargo to fill the ships on the return journey. So, they
scoured the mid-east for likely products. One such product was made by
boiling sugar in crystalline lumps, called al-Kandiq, which the Templars
started exporting to Europe and which Europeans then called candy. Another
was a thin fabric that was used to cover the face of Muslim women. The
Templars had discovered that, if made in large quantities which did not have
much weight, it could make tents which shielded them from the heat of the
sun, but let in the breeze and diffused light. This came from a city called
Gaza and was named by the Europeans as gauze. Similarly, the Templars began
exporting another fabric from the Holy Land which was called simply,
"Muslim" (or muslin)
Back in Europe, and, in many areas, the Templar Knights were the most
powerful military force in the area. In military matters, the Templar
Knights had become legendary. They adopted many tactics learned from
fighting the Saracens and Mongols (one was the ability to have the Templar
cavalry "wheel" while at full gallop in a charge, changing direction
suddenly on the enemy; another was the feigned retreat wherein the middle of
the line collapses and retreats as in a rout encouraging the enemy to pursue
spreading out his forces -- then, the rout stops and the counter-attack
begins while the enemy finds he has been flanked and surrounded by hidden
troops. A third was the introduction of light cavalry and the curved cavalry
saber, which the Templars learned and modified from their Muslim opponents.
Further, many Templar maneuvers called for lengthy training on tactics and
coordinated movements -- something unknown in medieval Europe. Lastly, since
the Templars would never pay ransom for a captured Knight, Templar Knights
rarely surrendered, but fought to the death. (It was the custom when a
battle was lost for the Knights to surrender since only the foot solders
would be killed by the victors, the Knights as nobles would be held for
ransom, but the Templar policy removed this option for Templar Knights).
Because of this, Templar cavalry units were often called upon by local
nobility to assist in protecting them from local peasant uprisings. In
England, for example, the Templars were a major part of Edward I's army when
he defeated William Wallace in 1298. [Thus, on the 18th of August, 1291, the
king directed the keeper of the Forest of Selkirk to deliver six stags to
Brother Brian, Preceptor of the Order of Knights Templars in Scotland. -
Rotuli Scotiæ vol. i. p. 3]
Because of the command structure of their order, the fact that Templar
Priories spanned all of the Mediterranean and Europe, and the trust many
people had in the Templars' integrity and code of honor, the Templar
Priories became the world's first international banking system. An
individual could deposit his gold at any Templar Priory, receive a note
attesting to that fact from the Prior, and then turn in that same note for
gold at any other Templar Priory. Although no interest was charged (since
charging interest was a sin in the Church at that time), a donation for this
service was expected. In keeping these accounts and others, the Templar
treasurers devised a form of bookkeeping that was the fore-runner to our
double-entry systems used today.
Additionally, during this period, the Templars were active throughout Europe
funding and managed the construction of cathedrals, abbeys and churches. The
Templar engineers and architects were expert at construction of large stone
edifices. They had designed and built castles and fortresses through the
mid-east, combining European techniques with those learned from Byzantium
and Egypt. With this knowledge they now returned to Europe and with their
ability and massive amounts of their funds and began the construction over
300 large cathedrals and 2,000 abbeys and smaller churches. Examples of this
are the Gothic cathedrals throughout Europe that were started in the mid
12th century -- examples would be the cathedrals of Notre Dame in Paris
(1163), Chartres (1194), Reims (1211) and Amiens (1221) and the famous
Temple Church in London.
This Templar Church, was part of an extensive Templar compound and the
headquarters of the English Templars. Much later, in the 17th Century, it
was given by King James I to the lawyers’ guild for their offices since it
was next to Westminster. The gift contained the single condition that they
always maintain the Temple as it was in honor of the Templars. A gate at the
entrance to the Temple was called the "barristre de Temple" or translated
into English as "barrister of the Temple" and the lawyers who passed through
the gate became known simply as "barristers" who were allowed to pass
through the "bar".
In 1244, however, Jerusalem fell once more to the Muslims. A new sixth
Crusade was launched in 1248, but met with disaster in a battle with the
Egyptians, frustrating efforts to retake Jerusalem. A last attempt (the 7th
Crusade) was launched in 1271, but failed when Louis IX died in Tunis.
Although the Templars may have not realized it, the overwhelming wealth and
influence of the Templars combined with this last failed Crusade would start
a chain of events that would eventually lead to their downfall 40 years
later.
In 1285, Philip IV (known as Philip the Fair, because of his coloring, not
his integrity) at the age of 18 became King of France. However, his
grandfather (Louis IX) and father (Phillip III) has spent the country into
bankruptcy and beyond. Its biggest lender over the last hundred year had
been the Templars and now Phillip calculated that it would take France over
300 years to pay off their debts to the Templars. In fact, he was so poor
that he had to borrow the dowry he needed to complete the capstone of the
recent peace with Edward I of England-- the marriage of his daughter,
Isabella, to Edward I's son, the Prince of Wales. Who did he get it from? --
the Templars, of course.
So, Phillip increased taxes throughout the land.. and implemented a tax upon
the property of the church itself. Although Pope Boniface VIII had allowed
Philip's grandfather the right to do this once before, the Pope did not
approve of Philip's action and issued a Papal Bull in 1302, forbidding the
clergy in France from honoring the tax. Philip responded by forbidding the
export of any gold or silver from France, preventing the French clergy from
supporting Rome. Philip, in a last effort to raise money, "salted" the
coinage of the realm, reducing the amount of gold and silver in the coins.
This last devaluation caused a revolt in 1303. Mobs streamed down the Paris
streets, and Philip had to retreat into the Templar compound for sanctuary.
After three days, the riots faded and Philip felt safe enough to leave the
compound and return to his palace, but he realized something must be done.
As the King of France, he was poorer than the Templars; as the King of
France, he could not even protect himself from his own citizenry and had to
beg the Templars for sanctuary. He realized, in fact, that as long as the he
owed the Templars so much money, as long as he could not tax their land, as
long as the Templars were more feared than his own army, then he was King in
name only.
But the Templars were not only militarily strong, they were sovereign.
Phillip had no legal right to touch them in any way. The only person that
could act against the Templars was the Pope. And the Pope could only act if
the Templars, as an order, were guilty of crimes against the Church.
Phillip turned for advice to his Counsellor, William de Nogaret, who devised
an ambitious and most devious plan:
Step One was to remove Boniface VIII as Pope --
Step Two was to have a Pope elected who would be controlled by Phillip
Step Three was to get the Pope to find the Templars guilty of crimes against
the Church so Phillip could declare his debts void and confiscate the
Templar treasury and property.
To implement the first step, De Nogaret charged that Boniface VIII was unfit
to be Pope, accusing him of all sorts of heinous crimes. The Pope reacted by
excommunicating DeNogaret and Phillip and called a Council to approve
interdiction against the French clergy who supported him (in effect, closing
all the churches in France). Interdiction, if carried out, may have very
well turn the French nobles and people against their king, so Phillip had to
act fast. He sent De Nogaret immediately to Italy and to make an alliance
with the powerful Colonna family who had their own designs on the papacy and
hated Boniface. Together, in a matter of weeks, they raised an army of 1,500
and kidnapped the elderly Pope, beat him severely and vandalized the Papal
Palace. The Pope confined to a tower room without medical attention died a
few weeks later. Now, there being no Pope - there would be no interdiction.
As part of the same agreement with the Colonna family, the Colonna faction
among the Bishops combined with the French Bishops to elect an Italian Pope,
Boniface IX, who had always been friendly with Phillip. But, after nine
months, when Boniface IX showed his independence, he was found poisoned --
it is thought by orders from de Nogaret.
After over a year of bickering about a new successor by the Italian Bishops
who had a majority, De Nogaret suggested a solution. The Italians would
propose three candidates and the French Bishops would select a Pope from
among the three. It was accepted. And DeNogaret had what he wanted. From
among the three candidates, DeNogaret could now bargain secretly among the
three and find the candidate whose desire to be Pope would get him to agree
to Phillip's conditions.
Bernard de Goth was the perfect choice. In his past, he had denounced
Phillip and sided with Boniface XIII... but, now, hungry for the wealth and
power of the Papacy, he had agreed to Phillip's conditions and was elected
Pope Clement V in 1305.
But, even though Phillip had the Pope in his pocket, he could not yet move
against the Templars -- this had to wait until his arch enemy, Edward I of
England had died. Action against the Templars could not be taken if Edward
I, a great friend of the Templars, was still alive.
In the meantime, in his desperation for funds, Phillip turned against the
Jews. Secret orders were dispatched from Paris to every corner of France
and, on the morning of July 22nd, 1306, every Jew in the country was
arrested, the Jews' possessions confiscated for the crown. The evidence of
all debts to the crown were destroyed and all other debts were now made
payable to the King. Then, the Jews were transported to the border and
expelled - penniless and destitute.
A year later, Phillip got the news he was waiting for .... Edward I, one of
England's greatest Kings, died. Phillip now could undertake his most
audacious act.
The Templars as a sovereign, military order did not let non-Templars into
their meetings... in fact, they posted armed guards so the meetings could
not even be over-heard. This secrecy combined with envy for their power and
wealth gave rise to gossip regarding what went on behind the closed doors.
Further, after Jerusalem had fallen, people always looked for a scapegoat.
Due to the Templars integrity in honoring treaties with the Saracens (even
when the Christian Kings did not) and the Templars' trade with the Muslims,
rumors abounded that the Templars had not done all they could to protect the
holy land.
But, to Phillip and DeNogaret, this foundation of rumors and gossip could be
built upon. De Nogaret had paid an ex-Templar to state that the Templars
actively practiced heresy. This ex-Templar was not the most believable
witness since he had been dismissed from the order for the crimes of
embezzlement of funds and the attempted murder of his Prior. But, no one
else could be found. The charges were so numerous and outlandish as to
almost be laughable... including worshiping idols of skulls and cats,
spitting and urinating on the cross, and sodomy (a favorite of DeNogaret,
since he had used that same charge against Boniface).
Now, Phillip took these charges to the new Pope Clement V. Even though the
Pope was in Phillip's pocket, he was skeptical and refused to believe
Phillip. Phillip persisted. The Pope, cognizant of the fate of his immediate
predecessors and able to see Phillip's army outside of his Palace,
reluctantly, agreed to convene a panel to hear whatever evidence Phillip
could bring. Now with the Pope's agreement to hear charges of hearsay,
Phillip could use this as an excuse to move against the Templars.
The Templar Grand Master, Jacques de Molay was already on his way to visit
the Pope to discuss de Molay's proposal for a new Crusade. Phillip now
invited him to Paris first. De Molay naively accepted, thinking that to have
Phillip committed to his plan would help assure a favorable decision by the
Pope. A Templar fleet of six galleons sailed from Crete to Marseilles and,
then, De Molay marched to Paris with an armed escort of sixty Knights
guarding a Templar shipment of 150,000 gold florins for the Templar
Treasury. Arriving in the late summer, he was royally received by Phillip
and publicly praised. After all, in addition to being the leader of the
Templars, he was the god-father for Phillip's own son and heir. De Molay
stayed in the Templars Paris Headquarters acting as if he was blissfully
ignorant of Phillip's true plan. But, as we shall see, he probably was not!
Finally, Phillip thought the time was right. Acting in the same manner he
had with the Jews a year before, Phillip dispatched secret orders through
France once more. In the early morning of Friday, the 13th of October, 1307,
(and this is the reason the date Friday the 13th is so infamous) the French
army broke the wax seal of their secret orders and placed all the thousands
of Templars in France in chains. The stated reason for the arrests was as
follows:
Quoting from Phillip's Orders to His Officers:
"A bitter thing, a lamentable thing, a thing horrible to think of, too
terrible to hear, a detestable crime, an execrable evil deed, an abominable
work, a detestable disgrace, a thing wholly inhuman, foreign to all
humanity, has, according to the reports of several persons worthy of faith,
reached our ears, not without striking us with great astonishment and
causing us to tremble with violent horror...."
As you can see, Phillip's orders never said what exactly the Templars were
guilty of... in fact, it was said to be so vile that no one should write it
or hear it... but, the letter ended....
"....all members of said order will be arrested , without exception,
imprisoned and reserved for the judgement of the Church."
Phillip had cloaked his actions in the veil of the Pope's permission for him
to bring evidence to the Panel. Although Phillip had no legal right to touch
the Templars, he pretended he was acting for the Church, which had the right
to investigate heresy. Similar announcements were made the following Sunday
from every church pulpit and posted in public places -- Phillip wanted to
quickly destroy the reputation of the Templars.
And investigate it, Phillip did. As soon as the Templars were arrested, the
"inquisition" into their crimes began. Phillip's own men conducted the
investigation with the specific charge "..to spare no means of torture".
Therefore, if a Templar answered "no" when asked to admit to DeNogaret long
list of heretical actions, the Templar would be placed on the rack, or have
his testicles squeezed, or his eyes put out with a hot poker, or have his
feet roasted over charcoal. It wasn't surprising that many said "yes" --
what was surprising is that many committed suicide, rather than be forced to
admit a falsehood.
When word of Phillip's action reached Pope Clement V, the Pope was furious!
He wrote Phillip reminding him that the Pope had specifically said he did
not believe Phillip's charges. Clement stated he had only approved a quiet
inquiry by a Papal Commission. Phillip said the inquisition was only to
gather evidence. Clement then removed his Papal sanction of any inquisition
by officially removing any Church participation. But Phillip paid no
attention and the tortures continued conducted by his own men, without any
clerics present.
Phillip was beside himself. Yes, he had captured a large number of Templars
in France. But, somehow, the Templars' had known about his plans. The Paris
Treasury having a value of millions of gold florins had disappeared -- . The
Templar fleet had sailed from Marseille, La Rochelle and other French ports
during the night preceding the arrests. And, the manning of many of the
Templar was not at the expected compliment.
Evidently, to allow the Templar records, treasury, and certain Templars
themselves to disappear, the vast majority of French Templars including the
Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, had stayed behind pretending that they were
unawares of Phillip's plan. To be fair, although the Templars may have known
about Phillip's arrests, I doubt they knew of the planned torture. They must
have believed Phillip's action would only effect their temporary arrest and
that it would be reversed by the Pope. For the next eight years, Grand
Master de Molay sat in prison firmly believing that the Pope would arrange
their release and restore his blessing to the Order.
Regretfully, de Molay had underestimated Phillip and over-estimated the
integrity of the Papacy. Phillip knowing he was too committed to back down,
again sent a small army to camp in sight of the Pope's palace. The Pope
issued a Bull on November 22nd that totally reversed his position. It
praised Phillip for his efforts to protect the Church and charged all Kings
in Christendom to arrest any Templars in their lands and torture them to
obtain confessions of heresy.
However, the only countries that followed the Bull were the Kingdoms of
France (of course) and city states in Italy. Most of the other Kings
virtually ignored the Bull. In England, Edward II gave it lip service... he
had it published in the English churches, and then delayed by three weeks
implementing it. Surprisingly, after three weeks notice, only two Templars
could then be found in all of England and by then the total value of the
Templars' London Treasury, was less than 200 pounds. English tribunals
convened in London and York could not find any reliable evidence of heresy.
In Scotland, Robert the Bruce accepted the Templars with open arms and
ignored the Pope entirely. In fact, in 1314, at the Battle of Bannock when
Scotland won its freedom, Robert the Bruce was fearfully outnumbered and
losing until a large contingent of Knights Templar cavalry in full Templar
uniform, white capes and red crosses flying, charged over the hill. The
English foot soldiers, who eighteen years prior had defeated William Wallace
with the help of the Templars, were so shocked at the sight and fearful of
the reputation, that they turned and fled.
In Portugal, King Denis I after hearing the charges, declared that his
investigation found all Portuguese Templars innocent of heresy. However, to
avoid a continuing conflict with the Pope, he disbanded the Templars and
allowed them to immediately form a new order, loyal to him, called the
Knights of Christ. It uniforms and insignias stayed exactly the same. In
fact, over the next two hundred years, many of the most famous Portuguese
navigators, such as Vasco da Gama, were members of the Knights of Christ.
The red cross on Christopher Columbus's sails was a replica of the Knights
of Christ cross, not any symbol of the Spanish crown or Catholic Church as
is commonly assumed. Columbus had artists paint the red crosses on his sails
to dedicate his voyage in honor of the order and its individuals who had
gone before him creating his navigational instruments and charts..
In Spain, similar arrangements were made; however, since Templars owned over
40% of all the land in Spain, the Spanish King did seize most of it back
before re-establishing the order under a different name. In Germany,
Templars were invited to forswear their Templar vows and join the Teutonic
Knights. Those who did not could simply keep traveling east into Russia,
where the Pope's influence was not present. (as a footnote, this Russian
portion of the Templar history was only recently discovered and is still
under documentation).
Phillip, however, still had a problem. He had thousands of Templars locked
up in his dungeons, who ostensibly were under the Pope's protection. What
could he do with them? He kept pressuring the Pope, so that three years
later, the Pope called for a Council to convene in 1310 and formally placed
the issue of the alleged heresy of the Templars on its agenda. To prepare
for the Council, the Pope appointed a Papal Commission of Bishops to make
recommendations to the Council.
The Commission asked that any Templar who wished to defend the Order would
be heard -- it was expected that none would. You see all those individuals
who had not confessed to heresy were obviously dead by now since the torture
would not stop until the individual confessed or died.. Those who were still
alive had confessed and after a prison sentence would eventually be
released. However, once a confession was obtained, a Templar who recanted
his confession would be considered a relapsed heretic and burnt at the
stake.
The Commission was shocked when 546 Templars stated they wished to reverse
their confessions and defend the Order. The commission heard from three
representatives of this Group that all the confessions were false and
extracted only be most grievous torture. One of the three had to be carried
into the Commission because his arms and feet had been burnt off prior to
obtaining the confession.
Only two of the six Bishops on the Commission were French, the other four
were becoming increasingly alarmed that the whole Templar issue was a hoax
perpetrated on the Church by Phillip. They called for a full hearing and
invited the other Templars to testify. Phillip could not allow this. The day
before the Templars were to mount their defense, Phillip had the 54 of those
who were scheduled to testify burnt at the stake. Prior to lighting the
fires, they were offered clemency if they would simply tell the commission
that their original confessions were valid -- not a one did. The next day,
Phillip took 120 more that were scheduled to testify and had them burnt at
the stake also. The Commission adjourned, knowing what Phillip was doing,
but powerless to stop it.
In 1311, the Council of Viennes met and both Phillip and Pope Clement were
greeted by a surprise. Fully 80% of the Bishops at the Council supported a
motion granting safe passage and protection to any Templar that wished to
address the Council. The next day, seven Templar Knights appeared on horse
in full armor and wearing the white cape with the red cross. The Pope (still
in league with Phillip) immediately ordered their arrest, before they could
address the Council. The Council rebelled and forced the Pope to release the
Templars. He did, but before they could be heard, the Pope immediately
adjourned the Council for six months. The Templars rode off and were never
seen again.
When the Council reconvened, the Pope announced the charges of heresy had
been dropped! However, the Pope also removed his Papal charter for the order
on the justification that, with all the past controversy, no new members
would join it and so it could no longer assist in future Crusades. Lastly,
although Pope Clement issued another Bull where he specifically said he
personally believed the Templar Order was innocent of all charges, he did
not cancel his previous order to arrest any Templars that had not been
questioned and submit them to inquisition. Therefore, the Templars who had
not been imprisoned still had to stay in hiding.
Lastly and importantly, the Pope directed that all Templar properties be
turned over the Knights Hospitallers (which eventually became the Knights of
Malta) which were a smaller and younger order with which the Templars had a
bitter and hard fought rivalry. Of course, in France, Phillip had already
stolen all the wealth and lands, but in England the Hospitallers inherited
most of the former Templar property. The Templars delayed there reaction to
this for over 70 years.
Now, since the order was no longer under the protection of the Pope, Phillip
was free to dispose of the imprisoned Templars as he chose. He gave amnesty
to those who had confessed to heresy and had not recanted their confession,
but ordered them out of France.
Phillip had kept the Grand Master, De Molay, confined in solitary and both
he and the Pope had continually refused to see him. Phillip now believed
that, with the Order disbanded by the Pope, De Molay, who had confessed
under grievous torture, would, in public, confirm his confession to heresy
to gain his freedom. Believing he had De Molay’s agreement, Phillip agreed
to a mass public meeting. However, when de Molay was finally allowed to
speak, De Molay stated that all the confessions were false and said, knowing
this statement would be his death warrant "....life is offered to me, but at
the price of infamy. At such a price, life is not worth having."
Phillip was furious. He had De Molay immediately taken to a small island in
the middle of the Seine and roasted to death in the most painful way
possible --- slowly over a bed of charcoal.
It is said that, before he lost consciousness, De Molay called upon both
Pope Clement and Phillip to meet him for judgement before the throne of God
in a year's time." Both Phillip and Clement died mysteriously within months
thereafter.
Was this the end of the Knights Templar????
What happened to the Paris and London treasuries that Phillip and Edward
could not find. Where did the Templar fleet from Marseilles and La Rochelle
sail to????
The truth is -- no one knows! And this lack of knowledge has fueled
speculations that continue to produce new theories and a multitude of books
to this very day!
Here's what we do know... after the formal disbandment of the Templars.
1. It is believed that a formal Knights Templar cavalry rode with Robert the
Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
2. Some group with a excellent secret organization led the Peasants Revolt
in England in 1381 and seemingly sought their revenge upon the Hospitallers,
killing their leadership and dismantling their buildings through England. As
mentioned earlier, the Hospitallers were arch rivals of the Templars, had
tried to convince the Pope to merge the two groups to be headed by a
Hospitallers. Most importantly, they had lobbied for and received title to
the Templar properties after 1306.
3. The St. Clair family (whose ancestor, William St. Clair, had been among
the first Templar Knights to visit Jerusalem in 1128 and whose sister
married Hughes de Payens, the founder of the Templars) built the Roslyn
Church between 1440 and 1490 which depicts Templar Knights and is dedicated
to them -- it also is a perfect duplicate of the Temple of Jerusalem.
4. There is increasing evidence that freemasonry which appeared publicly for
the first time in the mid-1600s may have had its origins in a continuation
of the squires and artisans of the Knights Templar and modern freemasonry
incorporates many of the Templar customs and rituals.
5. There is a disputed claim that the Duke of Orleans, as Grand Master,
called a Convent of the Knights Templar at Versailles in 1705.
6. A list called “The Charter of Larminius” was published in 1785 claiming
to be a list of the unbroken chain of the Grand Masters of the Order from
1129 until 1785.
7. During the French revolution, the Knights Hospitallers were again singled
out and the leadership denounced and sent to the guillotine and their
properties demolished. No similar effort was made against any Templars,
although they were believed to be active in France at this time.
8. In 1804, Napoleon Bonaparte officially recognized the Knights Templar and
encouraged his officers and the nobility in France to join.
9. In 1814, King Louis XVIII of France agreed to become the royal protector
of the order following a meeting with the Templar Grand Prior of England --
British Admiral Sir William Sidney-Smith, Commander of the British Fleet.
10. In 1830, Templars were active in the leadership of the second French
revolution when Charles X attempted to restore an absolute monarchy in
France.
11. In 1833, Templars were active in the Belgium revolt against the Dutch,
which resulted in the independence of Belgium in 1833.
12. In 1845, Pope Gregory XVI offered to restore the Papal charter to the
Order on the condition that the Order expel any non-Roman Catholic Templars.
Since the Templars have been an ecumenical order since 1310 and many
Templars (although still a minority) were of other Christian faiths, the
Templars declined.
Of course, what I have just told you will not find in most history books. If
they mention the Templars at all, they usually state that the Knights
Templar effectively ended with De Molay’s death. The Belgium Priory of the
Order has documents regarding the re-establishment in France and Belgium in
the late 1700s and early 1800s. We, as the modern day successors of this
proud Order, maintain a dual position on this issue. Certainly, we are
grateful we can document the Orders’ modern history from 1804 onward. And,
although history has not yielded its secrets of what happened to the Templar
fleet, the Templar treasuries, or its Knights and organization, we remain
hopeful that some discoveries at a future time will answer some of the
anomalies that still exist.
As of now, there are only fascinating hints of what may be known someday.
First, there is the list of Larminius, discovered in the early 1700s which
purports to show the Grand Masters of the Sovereign Military Order of the
Temple of Jerusalem from its inception through the late 1700.
Additionally, the Templar Priories in Scotland have produced a history which
they claim is documented tracing the history of the Order in Scotland from
1300 to present.
Lastly, a recent book proposes a very rational explanation (compared with
many of the more esoteric stories) which proposes that the Templars, both
before and after 1305, were instrumental in the founding of the five Swiss
Canons and formation of modern day Switzerland. Perhaps it is not
circumstantial that the Templar emblem and colors appear not only on the
Swiss national flag, but on the flag and arms of each of its five Canons
(states)... or that Switzerland is the center of international banking... or
that Switzerland has always promoted the free exercise of Christian
religions of all sects.... or of the reasons for Switzerland's legendary
neutrality in all world conflicts.
.
Today, the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem continues to
exist. The Order has over 5,500 Knights and Dames in Priories and
Commanderies throughout the United States and Europe, northern Africa and
South America -- its largest being a priory composed of strictly of the
military command officers of NATO. It is a recognized International
Organization of the United Nations.
To maintain its ability to grant invest individuals with knighthood, the
Order must have both a royal protector and a religious protector. At
present, its royal protector is Princess Elizabeth of Schleswig-Holstein and
its religious protector is His Beatitude Maximos Hakim, Greek Orthodox
Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, of Alexandria and Jerusalem.
Let me give you an example of its present day leadership so you can get a
flavor of the organization. The Grand Master of the Order is His Excellency
Major General Sir Roy Redgrave, former Chief of Staff of the British Army
(and a member of the famous acting family) and the International Commander
is Rear Admiral James J. Carey (USNR). In 2000-2002, the Grand Prior of the
United States was Rear Admiral Andrew O'Rourke (USNR), a Justice of New
York's Supreme Court and the present Grand Prior is Brigadier General
Patrick Rea (USAR).
The Knights and Dames of the Order come from all walks of life, although
there is a preponderance of present and former military command officers.
Also, you will find a large number of diplomats from all nations and former
heads or high-ranking officials of many governments and church leaders from
many various denominations. Some examples would include: seven former
Cabinet and sub-cabinet officials of President Ronald Reagan's
administration, the present or former Ambassadors of Israel, France,
Bolivia, Italy, Romania, Hungary, Egypt, Switzerland, Portugal, and the
present Under-Secretary of the United Nations.
But what do these people do? A Templar Knight today takes the same vows as
did the Templar Knights 950 years ago. They no longer wear a white wool loin
cloth and the definition of "chastity" has been redefined to upholding the
marriage vows (a seemingly difficult task in today's society). Likewise,
"poverty" is defined as a viewpoint of not making economic motivation and
material desires a priority in your life. "Obedience" is personal obedience
to the Christ's teachings, as well as following the command structure of the
Order. For a Templar Knight, an individual’s first obligation as a Christian
to continually strive to perfect his own Temple to God, which should be a
daily challenge.
As you may see, the Order’s thrust is the same as the Templars of old -- to
assure the establishment and maintenance of the freedom to worship God and
Christ as each of us may understand him. The public purpose of the order is
to defend and promote the ability of all Christians to practice their
religion and to extend the hand of Christian charity where needed. Much like
the Templars of old when they organized and funded the construction of
churches throughout Europe, the Order supports churches and historical
sites, regardless of denomination, in the Holy Land. In addition to annual
funding these efforts, in August 2002, the Order sent a delegation to meet
with and inspect the Church of the Nazarene to assess how the Order could
assist in the repairs to this historic church inflicted by the recent
conflicts in that area.
Responding to an immediate need in 2002, the Order in the US has suggested
that each Priory sponsor a classroom in Afghanistan and this effort has been
recognized by the King as assisting over 5,000 Afghan women restart their
education. In Serbia, in the late 1990s, the Order was instrumental in
changing the “NATO rules of engagement” to protect Serbian Christians as
they sought to practice their religion (The Metropolitan of the Serbian
Orthodox Church credits this effort in saving of over 2,500 lives). In
Russia, since the mid 1990s, the Order worked with His Beatitude Alexis II
to re-establish the Russian Orthodox Church throughout Russia, in the
construction of the new Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow and the
establishment of a medical/church train to travel throughout Siberia where
formal churches do not exist. The Order supports efforts to improve
understanding among the world religions through the Center for Peace &
Diplomacy (run by a Templar Knight) which recently has sponsored meetings
the Sudan, Iran and Pakistan bringing together religious and community
leaders. The Order is also active with Knightsbridge International (run by
Templar Knights) to bring food and medical treatment to war-torn areas in
the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq where the fighting deters other
established charities from involvement. Local Priories may also choose other
local charities to assist the “lame, ill and needy”.
The Order only becomes involved when three criteria can be met: (1) the
Order acts through established existing organizations, (2) the network of
the Order’s members can bring resources to bear on the matter at hand, and
(3) the Order’s activities can make a discernable difference. The vast
majority of the Order’s activities involve no attempt at recognition for the
Order or the individuals involved. Perhaps, the inscription that Sir Thomas
Lawrence (better known as Lawrence of Arabia) had placed on his gravestone
tells it better -- an inscription which has been and is the phrase all the
Knights Templar repeat when corresponding with each other: “NON NOBIS DOMINE
NON NOBIS -- SED NOMINI TUO DA GLORIAM” or in modern English: “Not unto us,
O Lord, not unto us; but unto thy name glory” and the rest of the psalm is
“...for thy mercy and thy truth’s sake.” This Psalm was dedicated to the
Templars by Saint Bernard for, in the founding of the Templar Order, he saw
the last and best defense of Christendom.
And, as an old Scot Templar once told me, it remains true "for seven times
since 1128 AD the Templars have stood at the gates of civilization against
tyrants and barbarians. In Spain, it was against the Muslims, in Syria
against Mongols, in Egypt against the Mamalukes, and four more instances in
more modern times. And, when that evil next appears, as when it did with the
Templars of old, it will find a Knight Templar on guard at the gate". |
