My last full day in Fatima, Father Peter, Father Andre, Fra Solanus and a local Fatima friend of the friars, Leo Madigan had an opportunity to visit the Convento de Cristo, a very imposing Knights Templar Castle less than an hour away from Fatima. In 1319, few years after the papal suppression of the Templars, the knights were re-founded in Portugal as the Knights of Christ, and retained possession of the monastery fortress.
Barbara Frale, the Vatican Achives historian who found the Chinon Parchment and has written an account of its significance, which is now in English (looks more sensational than scholarly), now claims that she has evidence of something that has long been affirmed of the Templars, namely, that they were in possession of the Shroud of Turin from the beginning of the 13th to the middle of the 14th centuries:
Barbara Frale, a researcher in the Vatican Secret Archives, said the Shroud had disappeared in the sack of Constantinople in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade, and did not surface again until the middle of the fourteenth century. Writing in L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, Dr Frale said its fate in those years had always puzzled historians.
However her study of the trial of the Knights Templar had brought to light a document in which Arnaut Sabbatier, a young Frenchman who entered the order in 1287, testified that as part of his initiation he was taken to “a secret place to which only the brothers of the Temple had access”. There he was shown “a long linen cloth on which was impressed the figure of a man” and instructed to venerate the image by kissing its feet three times
One of the allegations brought against the Templars by their enemies was that they worshiped the head of a bearded man. Frale seems to be declaring this allegation to be directed at veneration of the Shroud, a theory that has been espoused by others. That is not the only theory that has been put forward.
The Shroud of Turin is a linen cloth that appears to have been used to wrap the body of a man who had been crucified, and ghostly images appear of a man with a bearded face. In spite of almost immediate pronouncements by the Catholic Church that it was a fake, the faithful believed that the image was of Jesus, and continue to do so today. Chemical analysis and carbon dating techniques used in 1988 provided results that the markings were paint and that the cloth dated from the 14th century, but those results were almost immediately called into question. The Shroud is, today, the property of the Vatican, which has always refused to declare it to be the authentic image of Christ.
The fact is, the Church has treated the Shroud as a holy relic all the time it has been in her possession and has allowed the faithful to venerate it as such.
The Catholic Church, owners of the shroud, have made no pronouncements claiming it is Christ’s burial shroud, or that it is not a forgery. The matter has been left to the personal decision of the faithful. Pope John Paul II stated in 1998, “Since we’re not dealing with a matter of faith, the church can’t pronounce itself on such questions. It entrusts to scientists the tasks of continuing to investigate, to reach adequate answers to the questions connected to this shroud.” He has shown himself to be deeply moved by the image of the shroud, and arranged for public showings in 1998 and 2000.
All right, so I will now get back to more edifying business. I have given everyone more than a piece of my mind on the question of the election, as have also some of you who have commented here.
I apologize for my snarkiness. My desire was to defend a pro-life woman who was being trashed all over the place. I got carried away and I am duly rebuked by the lady, though I really don’t know what her point is about Ben Stein’s movie.
Templar Prayer
I still can’t find a translation of the Templars’ prayer to Our Lady, which is unfortunate. The best I can come up with this description provided by the scholar who found the Chinon Parchment:
It was “beautiful and moving” and “full of poetry”, Dr Frale said, but “incredibly has never been studied”. The prayer is addressed to “Holy Mary, mother of God”, the “consolation of those who hope”, and “humbly implores” her to obtain freedom for the order “through the intercession of the angels, archangels, prophets, evangelists, apostles, martyrs, confessors and virgins”. It adds that the Virgin Mary knows that “our enemies” have spread “calumnies and lies” about the order, and pleads with her to make them “return to truth and charity”.
In their rite of profession, the Knights Templar formulated their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience in terms of solemn promises made to “God and St. Mary,” so it is no wonder that the they would have turned to Mary in their dire circumstances, invoking Her as the “consolation of those who hope,” and having confident recourse to Her for deliverance.
In fact this spontaneous confidence in the power of Mary to overcome evil has always been the intuition of Christians. I would like to share a little reflection on the ancient devotion to Mary and the development of chivalry in the context of another prayer found on a manuscript that had been hidden in obscurity for many years. Read the rest of this entry »
The universally acknowledge (i.e. in the universe of Hertfordshire) expert on all things Templar has condescended to tell us what the Vatican’s new release of a Templar prayer means:
Modern day Templar Ben Acheson told the Herald: “This seems to be an attempt at apologising. Saying sorry by releasing a poem is rather cryptic and dramatic, but the Templars and the Vatican like to conduct business that way when it comes to matters grave and ancient.”
Ben, old man, What is so cryptic about a prayer to Our Lady by the monks who actually pronounced their vows to “God and St. Mary? Perhaps you have access to the ancient manuscripts? No one else seems to have a copy of the prayer.
Even the warden of the Illuminati Conspiracy Archive from whence comes the link cannot verify the story of the supposed Templar/Vatican conspiracy codified in the prayer:
TM:I have no definite opinion on the Acheson claims. The local Hertfordshire “press,” however, have been “reporting” on this for quite some time, and never seem to seriously question the validity of the Achesons. This, it seems, is outright exploitation of the public’s credulity in the wake of the Da Vinci Code phenomenon.
I know I am such a stick in the mud. I can’t help it. I just think it would be much more fun if these Templar poseurs would do more of the reanactment stuff and less of the esoteric skullduggery.
Well, someone from the Telegraph has at least finally read the Chinon Parchment instead of just repeating what the sensationalists continue to spout.
The occasion is the release of a new book by Michael Haag, which is reviewed by Christopher Howse:
Michael Haag, in his well-knit narrative, gets through an enormous spread of history, helpfully telling readers what the Bible has to say about the Jewish Temple before running through the Roman, Muslim and Crusader centuries. The after-history of the Templars is dominated by the imaginings of Freemasons and the conspiracy fancies of scarcely distinct alternative historians and novelists. If anything, the author is too tolerant of this froth. Historical truth does matter.
Why is that among authors who dedicate themselves to unraveling the “Templar mysteries” one after another are “too tolerant of this froth”? Perhaps, because frothy books sell better than honest and realistic ones? I am a perpetual stick in the mud.
Howse is refreshingly unsympathetic to Templar baloney, but unfortunately is also unsympathetic to the Church Militant:
Perhaps the Templars themselves were off-beam from their first dawn, since it seems to have escaped the notice of these poor, chaste and obedient monk-knights that Christ was not a soldier. They joined St Bernard in promoting the rather disastrous Second Crusade, but found little success in freeing Christian territories in the Holy Land from surrounding warring Islamic factions. They had better luck in Spain, where the frontier of reconquered territory pushed steadily southwards.
Hmm, “Christ was not a soldier.” Oh, really? Seems Christ was more a soldier than St. George for Our Lord’s dragon threatened not just one virgin, but the whole human race. Mr. Howse should read Genesis 3:15, John 19, Ephesians 5 and Revelations 12.
Furthermore, the word of Christ to soldiers was not a condemnation of soldering, but of the sins common to soldiers: Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely–be content with your pay (Lk. 3:14).
Perhaps both the sensationalists and pacifists would do well to read some reliable history on the Crusades instead of relying on Ridley Scott. (See this video at 3:16-3:27 for a nice taste of the slop that too many moviegoers are only too eager to lap up).
A sword salute and click of the heals to Frank Wilson.
Update:
Michael Haag, has commented below. Mr Haag is the author of the bookThe Templars: History and Myth, the review of which is the subject of this post. His comment is a fair defense of his book, which I admittedly have not read. See also my response to him following his comment.
For me it was an opportunity to both tell a fun story as well as try and explore some issues that I thought were important, especially right now, given what is going on in the world.
Where have I heard that before? How long do you think it will be before he claims his rant is only fiction?
*Spoiler Alert (though not much to spoil, and you could have guessed it anyway)*
The issue is that–guess what–the Templars had a secret, and the secret–no it couldn’t be anything like the Da Vinci Code, could it?–the secret is that Jesus kept a diary in which he claimed he was man and not God. So very original.
“Vatican plot, you say? Oh, how interesting. Sure we’ll publish it.”
A recent exchange on this blog sent me back to the writings of the Apostle of Common Sense in order to make sure I was not going insane. I am quite sure that definitions and distinctions, principles and conclusions are very important to human thought, both in terms of ordinary human discourse and the exercise of faith. Unfortunately, as Chesterton has observed, common sense has been replaced with “uncommon nonsense.”
I thought I might post a bit of Chesterton in honor of common sense. It would seem to me that in the great chivalric tradition of the Military Orders like the Knights Templar and the Knights of St. John, the importance of fighting for a fixed truth should easily be seen. I think I have found a neat synthesis of Chesterton on the point of establishing first principles and fighting for them. Interestingly, I have done this by taking the last paragraphs from both the introductory and concluding chapters of Heretics, which are entitled respectively, “Introductory Remarks on the Importance of Orthodoxy” and “Concluding Remarks on the Importance of Orthodoxy”.
Several really important things to note about the book Heretics are that when G.K. wrote it he was not yet a Catholic, and that while he was intellectual enemies with those he criticizes, he was also personal friends with some of them, like George Bernard Shaw and H.G. Wells. In other words his dicussion of heretics had nothing to do with defending a certain religious creed, nor had he any personal animosity for those with whom he disagreed. He respected them as honest men, but he found their thought, not only disagreeable but dangerous. Very often it was not only this or that proposition that was at stake but thought itself. Read the rest of this entry »
I am obliged to follow up on my previous Templar posts (category), regarding the events surrounding the release of the Chinon Parchment. As it turns out, the reports released by the secular press, which included interviews with Templar pretenders, gave the impression that the absolution of the Templars, recorded in the Chinon document, was an effective rehabilitation, that is, an acknowledgment that the Templars were unjustly accused. This is in no way the case. The rough translation of the Chinon Parchment, which until now, remains unchallenged, makes it clear that the Templars were guilty of grave sin, confessed their sin and were mercifully absolved by the Church. Read the rest of this entry »
I guess some news is just too good not to print (?):
On the site, called Mary Victrix, Father Angelo Mary Geiger said: “I just find it ironic that a rehabilitation of the historic order of the Temple is somehow being translated by modern imitators as a validation of their silliness.”
In the rest of the article the reporter lets Ben Acheson cryptically affirm very little and imply very much. I will do some more fair minded research on the Hertford “Templars.” It all sounds very interesting; however I am still singularly unimpressed by the Hertford claims to Vatican influence.
I think my real criticism gets lost in all the excitement over such statements as
“but he refused to be drawn further on this point, “I have already said too much to be honest.”
Rome is understood to have given the request for an apology serious consideration. Ben Acheson said the Hertford Temple had received a secret letter from the Vatican, but this had not been seen by any except a select few at the top of the order.
Why doesn’t Ben Acheson just come out and positively repudiate these reports as not coming from him, or come up with the alleged letter? Instead we get this:
Several years ago some letters between the Vatican and the Knights Templar were leaked to a London newspaper which used local records to trace Timothy and I. We told reporters what little we could and the story later appeared in numerous other places. It was reported that every October 13th for almost a century a request for the truth and an apology had been sent. There are reports that a response was recently received. I can’t confirm this.
BTW, I have not yet seen any reports of the promised public apology, or perhaps that is the secret letter itself! I guess we will have to wait 700 years in reprisal for the Vatican delay before the creaking doors of the Hertford Templar Secret Archives swing back. At least our august descendants will know the truth.
Well, with all the controversy (here, here and here) over Plan B in Connecticut, and other distractions, I have dropped the ball a bit, but not entirely.
Since some can’t seem to get enough Templar stuff, whether baloney or a real cut of meat, here is some juicy red meat–something of substance about the spirit of the Knights Templar. It is a spirit that needs to be recaptured and perfected.
In the early 12th century, St. Bernard of Clairvaux responded to a letter from Hugh de Payens, one of the founders of the Knights Templar, in which he wrote “a few words of exhortation” for the fledgling brotherhood in arms. This response came in the form of a treatise entitled In Praise of the New Knighthood. This “new” kind of knighthood merits a newer kind of appreciation on the part of today’s Catholic man. Read the rest of this entry »
And peace, Eustace. Do not scold, like a kitchen-girl. No warrior scolds. Courteous words or else hard knocks are his only language (King Tirian, last king of Narnia).
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