THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR

Rise and Fall of the Knights Templar

 

The Knights Templar have a long and rich history starting on 1118CE when the order was founded by Hugh de Payens, Geoffroy de Saint-Omer and seven other knights. The Templars were devoted to the protection of pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem. With their monastic vows and dedication to the Christian faith, they became known as "the poor knights of Christ."

 

                                                      King Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem (1118-1131) installed the order as part of his palace, on the site                                                            of  Solomon’s temple, for their residence, stables and armoury, from which it took the name the                                                                Knights of the Temple or Knights Templar.

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                                                      At the council of Troyes in 1128CE the Order was confirmed by Pope Honorius II, who gave it the                                                            strict rule dictated by Bernard, a monk of the Cistercian order and first abbot of Clairvaux.  The                                                                knights also received the white mantle as a symbol of their purity of their knightly life, to which in                                                          1146 Pope Eugenius added a red cross.​

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                                                      The Orders 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 under the Grand Master William                                                            de Beaujeu until 1291 when the city was captured and he was killed.  The surviving Templars were                                                          the last to leave the city.  The Order withdrew to Limassol in Cyprus and had its new headquarters                                                        at the temple in Paris.

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King Philippe IV of France, facing financial ruin and indebted to the Templars, became one of the key figures in the Order's downfall. In 1307, he orchestrated the mass arrest of Templars in France and with the help of Pope Clement V had the Order officially disbanded by the papal bull of 1312. Grand Master Jacques de Molay's tragic execution in 1314 marked the brutal end of the Templars' influence in France​

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Survival and Secrecy

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In England, Edward II 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 claiming English Templar lands and possessions, including the London Temple.  After Edward’s actions the Templars sought refuge in Scotland where they were welcomed.

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Prior to his martyrdom Jacque de Molay invested Jean-Marc Larmenius with his powers.  

Larmenius was recognised as Grand Master following de Molay’s death.  He gathered together

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.

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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

Phillip, Duke of Orleans and later Regent of France as the Orders 41st Grand Master. Thus as

regent of France and Grand Master of the Temple he provided an official renewal and

legitimisation of the Order of the Temple as a secular order of chivalry with its right to

resume the use of the word sovereign in its title.

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Between 1818 and 1841 the Order expanded greatly with over 20 convents in France and

Priories set up in Britain, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland.

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In 1940, when France and Belgium were invaded by Nazi Germany. Emile Joseph Isaac Vandenberg, 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, Count Antonio Campello Pinto de Sousa Fontes who became Regent pending an election of a Grand Master.  Since then many Priories have claimed an Autonomous Status.

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Present Day

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Today, the Grand Priory continues the Templars' long history. In 1960, Sir John Long KT established the present-day Grand Priory, though he passed away later that year. The succession continued with figures such as Sir William Waller, Professor Vincent Powell Smith, and Major C.C. (Bill) Chidgey, until Group Captain Trevor Alexander Lawson, RAF, took over.

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In 1996, following a Grand Priory election, Leslie James Payne KGCT was appointed Grand Prior on the 22nd June at Tewkesbury Abbey by permission of the Priest-in-charge Fr. Michael Taverner. The ceremony was performed by the retiring Grand Prior Trevor Lawson KGCT assisted by the then Grand Prior of the Spanish Grand Priory, Professor Don Fernando de Toro Garland KGCT, the Baron de Gar.

 

After 25 years of dedicated service, Leslie James Payne KGCT retired in 2021, passing the mantle to Chev. John F. Bird KGCT, who became the current Grand Prior. Chev. Bird was officially invested as Grand Prior on October 16th, 2021, during a ceremony at Derby Cathedral, with Reverend Dr. Peter Robinson, Dean of Derby Cathedral, in attendance. This transition marks the continuation of a legacy that upholds tradition, faith, and chivalric values, ensuring the Order’s enduring relevance in the modern world.

 

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