Knights Templar and the Holy Grail

Order was Guardian of Chalice Jesus Drank From at the Last Supper

Mar 28, 2010
Jill Stefko

Cross of the Knights Templar - Public Domain

The Knights Templar's missions were to be guardians of the Holy Grail and to protect Christian pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land from infidels during the Crusades.

According to an article by Reuters, the Templars' full name was "Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon." The order, founded in 1119, missions were the guardianship of the Holy Grail and to protect Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land after Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099.

One of their symbols was a red Saint John's, named after John the Baptist, or Maltese Cross that appeared on their tunics.

Knights Templars Founded

Within four decades of the First Crusade’s victory, a group of knights led by Hugues de Payens made an offer to the Patriarch of Jerusalem to protect Christian pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land to visit sacred shrines.

King Baldwin II granted the group quarters in a wing of the Royal Palace.

Templars and the Holy Grail

Helinandus, a French monk, was one of the first to write about the Grail in 1204. According to the legend, the Grail was the chalice Jesus drank wine from at the Last Supper and was used by Joseph of Arimathea to collect Jesus’ blood as he was dying on the cross. It was given to Joseph, Jesus’ great uncle, after the crucifixion.

Joseph took it to England where he founded the first Christian Church which is, today, known as the Anglican Church, and had Glastonbury Abbey, where the Gail was housed, built. The chalice had the powers of healing and eternal life and was celebrated in the Mass of the Grail. The quest to find the chalice is the central theme of Arthurian legends.

Wealth Acquired by Knights Templar

In 1127, the Cistercian abbot, Bernard of Clairvaux, wrote a set of laws for the Templars based on his own Order's rule of conduct. He wrote a letter praising the new knighthood which attracted many noblemen to join the Templars. Those who couldn’t enlist often gave the Order land and other valuables.

The Templars weren’t allowed to own much property of their own, but, there was no restriction on their Order owning it. Gifts of land were accepted and farmed, accumulating more wealth. The Templars became the wealthiest of the Crusading orders and earned the favor of the Church and European monarchs because the wealth was used to create armies and buy arms.

Demise of the Knights Templar

French King Philip IV decided to destroy the organization. Historians generally agree that he was motivated by greed. Philip had the Templars arrested on October 13, 1307 for heresy. They were tortured and confessed, under duress, they stomped and spat on the cross, worshiped idols, denied Jesus and practiced homosexuality and sodomy.

Philip was successful in depriving the Templar’s of power and wealth and recommended that all Christian leaders do the same. Pope Clement V officially dissolved the Templars in 1312, although they weren’t found guilty of the crimes. Clement justified this by calling it an edict that was best for the Church.

Templar’s Last Grand Master Executed

On March 18th, 1314 the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake because he recanted his confessions of guilt. According to legend, he cursed King Philip and Pope Clement by asking them to join him in death within a year. There’s no historical truth to the curse, but both men died within the year. The Masonic Order of de Molay, an international fraternity for young men, is named after the Templar’s last Grand Master.

Documents of Templar’s Trials Published

The Vatican will release a reproduction of the Templar’s trial documents that had remained secret for 700 years, titled Processus Contra Templarios: Papal Inquiry into the Trial of the Templars. The epic work is in a soft leather case that includes a large formatted book with scholarly comments, replicas of original parchments in Latin and reproductions of wax seals used by the fourteenth century inquisitors. Reuters was given an advance preview of the work.

Only 799 numbered copies have been made. One parchment includes reproductions of the original’s stains and imperfections. Pope Benedict will receive the first set of the work published by the Vatican Secret Archives in collaboration with Italy's Scrinium cultural foundation which has exclusive distribution rights. Its price is $8,333.

Knights Templar Win Pardon for Heresy

The Chinon Parchment or Chart contains phrases in which Pope Clement V absolves the Templars of charges of heresy, the basis of King Philip's attempts to eliminate them. The document was hidden in Vatican archives and discovered in 2001. Philip was deeply indebted to the Templars who helped him finance his wars. Some historians believe that eliminating them was way of canceling his debts.