The Order was founded in Jerusalem in 1119 by Hughes de Payens, Geoffroy de St. Omer and seven other French knights. It was consecrated to the protection of pilgrims and the defence of the Holy Land. The founding knights took monastic vows and were known as "The Poor Knights of Christ". King Baldwin II, the French King of Jerusalem (1118-1131) installed the Order in a part of his Palace, on the site of Solomon's Temple, for their residence, stables and armoury, from which it took its name of Knights of the Temple or Templars. At the Council of Troyes in 1128 the Order was confirmed by Pope Honorius 11, who gave it the strict Rule dictated by St. Bernard, a monk of the Cistercian Order and the first Abbot of Clairvaux. The Knights also received the white mantle as a symbol of purity of their life, to which in 1146 Pope Eugenius added a red cross. The Order's battle honours in defence of the Holy Land were many. Following the fall of Jerusalem in 1187 the Templars withdrew to Acre. They remained at Acre with Grand Master William de Beaujue until 1291 when the city was captured and he was killed. The surviving Templars, with their new Grand Master, were the last to leave the city. The Order withdrew to Limasol, Cyprus and it had its Headquarters at the Temple Monastery in Paris. After many years of sacrifices and rendering services to both Christianity and civilisation, this very rich and powerful Order excited the envy and greed of others. The principal malefactor was Phillipe le Bel, King of France, who was financially indebted to the Order. In 1307 Phillipe arrested all serving Templars in France with the intention of sequestrating all the Order's possessions. However, these were hidden in a secret place and have never been found to this day. Not able to judge the Order himself, (it was only answerable to the Pope) Phillipe set about to coerce the Pope to suppress the Order, but the Pope refused. Whereupon, the king dismissed him and created his friend, the Bishop of Bordeaux, Pope Clement V, who readily issued a Bull suppressing the Order in 1312. The Order then reverted to its original status of a Secular Military Order of Chivalry. Only in France were the Templars treated with any severity, with Grand Master Jaques de Molay and others burnt at the stake in March 1314 on an island in the Seine. In England, Edward II (a patron) at first did not take any action against the Order, but finally, he allowed the inquisitors to judge the Order at the Church of All Hallows By-the-Tower. Edward then set about reclaiming English Templar lands and possessions including the London Temple, rather than passing them to the Hospitallers. After Edward's actions The Templars sought refuge in Scotland where they were welcomed. Prior to his martyrdom in 1314 Grand Master Jaques de Molay invested Jean-Marc Larmenius with his powers. Larmenius was unanimously recognised as the new Grand Master following de Molay's death. He gathered together the dispersed remnants of the Order and in 1324 gave the Order the Charter of Transmission. This Charter is still one of the governing documents of the Present Order. The Order continued in secret with an uninterrupted line of Grand Masters until 1705. In March of that year a number of French nobles held a convention of Templars at Versailles. They elected Philip, Duke of Orleans, later Regent of France, as the Order's 41st Grand Master. Thus as Regent of France and Grand Master of the Temple it provided an official renewal and legitimisation of the Order of the Temple as a Secular Military Order of Chivalry and also its right to resume the use of "sovereign" in its title. After the death of the Duke of Orleans in 1723, three Princes of Bourbon were Grand Masters of the Order until 1776. That year the Duke of Cosse Brissac accepted the Grand Mastership and remained in office until his execution during the French Revolution in 1782. Having foreseen the coming events he passed on the Order's archives and the Charter of Transmission to Radix de Chevillon. The Order survived the Revolution and went through a period of prosperity in France during the early 19th Century with many people of high office asking to be admitted. Between 1818 and 1841 the Order expanded greatly with over 20 Convents in France and Priories set up in Great Britain, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. Legations were also established in Sweden, Brazil, India and in New York. In 1940 when France and Belgium were invaded by Nazi Germany, Emile Joseph Issac Vandenburg who lived in Brussels was Grand Master. In order to safeguard and ensure the survival of the Order he handed over his rights to a Portuguese neutral, a nobleman, Count Antonio Campello Pinto de Sousa Fontes who became the Regent pending an election of a Grand Master.
Since these times many Grand Priories have claimed Autonomous status. There are now Knights Templar throughout Western Europe, Finland, North, South and Central America, Canada and Australia. Therefore the Order is truly International and it is Ecumenical, as the Order does not restrict membership to any single Christian Denomination. The Order is not part of any Masonic Cabal, does not engage in politics and does not encourage or allow members to act contrary to their obligations to their Country.
Time Line
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