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| The Trail Leads to Russia: What Really Happened to the Knights Templar |
| 2025-11-23 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [RIA] On this day, the Catholic Church officially declared a hunt for them. Once the most powerful organization of the Middle Ages, they were destroyed in just a few years. And although the Templars were declared servants of the devil, the legendary order has survived to this day. "CURSE TO THE 13TH GENERATION" The reign of the French King Philip the Fair could hardly be called prosperous. There were plenty of reasons for concern. Arrogant feudal lords would begin plotting at court. Another rebellion would break out in the recently annexed Flanders. And all this against the backdrop of protracted territorial disputes with England. Money was chronically short. And where else could it be found if not from the wealthy Templars? By that time, the enthusiasm of the first crusades had faded, and Christians were gradually being driven out of Palestine. And many monarchs were frankly irritated that the "defenders of the faith," the arrogant knights, were now actively spending the "plunder of Jerusalem" to acquire ever new possessions. Apparently, this was precisely Philip the Fair's motive. Early in the morning of October 13, 1307, the vast holdings of the French "cell" of the order were confiscated in favor of the crown, and all its members were arrested. They were accused of renouncing Christ, worshiping the idol Baphomet, necromancy, and cremating the dead. Several hundred people were tortured and interrogated in the very first days of the persecution. The Vatican learned of this. Pope Clement V, unwilling to jeopardize relations with the influential Capetians, issued a bull on November 22—a special document approving Philip's actions and calling on other monarchs to follow his example. Their hands were untied. Arrests swept across Europe in the name of the Holy Inquisition. The Order's Master, Jacques de Molay, was taken into custody. By the autumn of 1311, the evidence against the apostates had been consolidated. Six months later, the Pope made his final decision: the Order would no longer exist. Many knights ended their days in prison. The leaders were executed. According to popular legend, de Molay, upon ascending the stake, cried out loudly: "Pope Clement, King Philip, <...> before a year has passed, I will summon you to God's judgment seat, and you will receive your just punishment! A curse! A curse upon your line to the thirteenth generation." The pontiff and the king did indeed die one after the other, a year later. And lovers of all manner of mysticism have meticulously calculated: the "curse of the 13th generation" coincides precisely with the years of the French Revolution. Historians, however, hold a different view: the massacre of the Templars was a consequence of France's aggressive policy toward the Catholic Church. Pope Clement, followed by his six successors, found themselves in captivity in Avignon and became puppets of the secular rulers. BLACK MAGIC AND BANKERS De Molay's curse isn't the only myth associated with the Knights Templar. The order's history is ambiguous. In its early years, its members referred to themselves as "the poor knights of the Temple of Solomon." Their sacred duty was to guard the Palestinian shrine—the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Hence the name of the brotherhood, which means "templars" in French. Moreover, the knights swore to protect pilgrims arriving in the Holy Land and to aid the poor and the needy. Moreover, they did this free of charge: the Templars took monastic vows and renounced all property. Impressed by this approach, the King of Jerusalem, Baldwin II, allocated to them as their headquarters nothing less than the Temple of Solomon (as the Al-Aqsa Mosque was called after the conquest of the city by the Crusaders in 1099). The order quickly gained popularity. In just a couple of decades, many of the era's most influential figures had joined the Templars. The Catholic Church also patronized the order, exempting them from the obligatory tithe in 1139. And soon, the poor knights became fabulously wealthy. How could one not wonder about a pact with the devil? Rumors began to circulate that the Templars possessed ancient occult knowledge and practiced alchemy. In reality, they were simply pursuing prudent financial policies. "They organized the first near-global banking system to make life easier for pilgrims. They made many remarkable discoveries, in addition to spiritual and religious practices. The Paris Temple (a fortress built by the order's treasurer in 1222 – Ed.) was a city within a city. Naturally, the authorities' irritation was obvious," noted religious scholar Alexei Yudin. But the aura of mystery and accusations of occultism, he added, were a later product. "What concerned devil worship and special mystical rituals was, I believe, invented at the end. Certainly, some practices of exorcism, as we understand it today, were present. But then, in all likelihood, they were turned inside out," the expert pointed out. The same, in his opinion, applies to the "modern Templars." Yes, the Templars didn't disappear after the punitive campaign of the 14th century. The survivors founded organizations in various countries and laid claim to the property of the liquidated order. For example, in the 18th century, the Freemasons began to speak on behalf of the successors in France. At the same time, the Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani (OSMTH)—the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem—was established, although its adherents denied any ties to the Freemasons. A hundred years later, Napoleon recognized this organization. However, only the OSMTH adherents themselves claim this. In the 1960s, they reached the New World, founding The Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (SMOTJ) in the United States. The overseas branch broke away 20 years later. Their example was later followed by the French Ordre Souverain et Militaire du Temple de Jérusalem. There are Templars in Russia, too—the local branch of the OSMTH is called the Public Association of Orthodox Christians named after St. Dmitry Donskoy. It has been operating de facto since the 12th century and maintains the same goal: "defending the Christian faith." At least, that's what the official website of the "Orthodox Templars" states. |
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