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I N C E T H E I R F O U N D I N G o n F r e n c h soil in 1 1 1 8 , the K n i g h t s Templar had grown from a pair of self-impoverished knights h o p i n g to keep M u s l i m terrorists from molesting pilgrims in the H o l y L a n d to a m a m m o t h organization c o n t r o l l i n g interna- t i o n a l f i n a n c e and politics. T h e founders, H u g h d e P a y e n and G o d f r o i de St. O m e r , organized a group of e x c o m m u n i c a t e d knight-crusaders and secured their absolution by a bishop. A f t e r placing the restored knights under oaths of poverty, chastity, secre- cy, and o b e d i e n c e , they pledged the o r g a n i z a t i o n to rebuilding Solomon’s Temple. G i v e n space adjacent to an Islamic mosque sit- uated u p o n the Temple’s supposed ruins, they took the corporate name “Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of S o l o m o n . ”Bernard, A b b o t of C l a i r v a u x , the leading propagandist of the day, e x t o l l e d the Templars as “the e p i t o m e and apotheosis of C h r i s t i a n values.” Bolstered by such u n p r e c e d e n t e d p r o m o t i o n , the Poor K n i g h t s attracted the best and the brightest y o u n g m e n
of Europe to b e c o m e Crusaders, to v o w c e l i b a c y and l e a v e their families in defense of Christ’s tomb against Muslim terrorists.
T h e mission failed w i t h i n n i n e years. E v e n so, Bernard’s propaganda caused the
Templars to be r e c e i v e d as c o n q u e r i n g heroes w h e n they returned to France. T h e y set up their p e r m a n e n t lodge at Troyes under the patronage of the court of C h a m p a g n e . (For nearly a century, Troyes had b e e n Europe’s leading school for the study o f the c a b a l a h , w h i c h may e x p l a i n w h y the city is laid out in the shape of a champagne cork.)
For making the Templars a world power, Bernard shares credit w i t h C a r d i n a l A i m e r i c o f S a n t a M a r i a N u o v a . A i m e r i c was the C h u r c h ’ s highest judicial officer. It was his unlawful c o n n i v a n c e1
that created H o n o r i u s II, the pope w h o ordained the Templars as the C h u r c h ’ s most highly-esteemed religious order. It was A i m e r - ic, too, w h o devised a radical “inner r e n e w a l of the C h u r c h , ” w h i c h inspired n o b l e m e n throughout England, Scotland, Flanders, Spain, and Portugal to shower the Templars w i t h donations of land and money – over and above the properties required of all initiates upon joining the Order.
W h e n Honorius died in 1 1 3 0 , A i m e r i c led a minority of cardi- nals in a n o t h e r c o n n i v a n c e resulting in the e l e c t i o n of I n n o c e n t II, w h o was consecrated pope in A i m e r i c ’ s titular c h u r c h of S a n t a Maria N u o v a . In 1 1 3 9 , Innocent issued a bull placing the Templars under an exclusive v o w of papal o b e d i e n c e – a measure by w h i c h A i m e r i c effectively put all Templar resources at the disposal of the papacy. W i t h i n another decade, the K n i g h t s were g i v e n exclusive rights by Pope Eugenius III to wear the rose croix, the rosy cross, on their w h i t e tunics. As their list of properties l e n g t h e n e d w i t h d o n a t i o n s from Italy, A u s t r i a , G e r m a n y , Hungary, and the H o l y Land, the Templars built hundreds of great stone castles. W e a l t h y travelers lodged in these castles because of their u n m a t c h e d secu- rity. C o n v i n c e d t h e y were b u i l d i n g a n e w world, the Templars called e a c h other frère maçon (“brother m a s o n ” ) . Later, this term would be anglicized into “Freemason.”
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T h e Templars invented modern banking by applying an orien- tal i n v e n t i o n to their c o m m e r c e . A g e n t s of the C h i n e s e emperor K a o - t s u n g , i n v e n t o r of paper currency called fei-chi’en, “flying money,” sought trade w i t h the m i d d l e east during the period of T e m p l a r o c c u p a t i o n .2 Kao-tsung’s was the first g o v e r n m e n t on
earth to enforce circulation of drafts as legal tender for debts. Evi- dently, Kao-tsung’s agents i n t r o d u c e d the K n i g h t s to this n e w medium of exchange created out of merchant drafts. T h e Templars e n h a n c e d their already b o o m i n g business of ( i ) accepting current accounts, deposit accounts, deposits of jewels, valuables and title deeds, (2) making loans and advances (charging “fees” because the C h u r c h forbade interest), and (3) a c t i n g as agents for the secure transmission of such things by (4) adding circulating letters of credit – flying m o n e y – to serve as paper currency. To supply the Templars’ currency needs may e x p l a i n w h y paper in France was first manufactured in the Poor Knights’ h o m e t o w n of Troyes.
By 1300, presiding o v e r the world e c o n o m y from their Paris office,3 the Templars h a d b e c o m e an i n t e r n a t i o n a l p o w e r u n t o
t h e m s e l v e s . Engaged in d i p l o m a c y at the h i g h e s t levels of state from the H o l y L a n d westward, they set the tastes, the goals, the morality, the rules of the civilized world. Kings did their bidding – w h e n Henry III of England threatened to confiscate certain of the Order’s properties, he was upbraided by the Master Templar in the city of London:
“ W h a t sayest thou, O King? So long as thou dost exercise justice, thou wilt reign. But if thou infringe it, thou wilt cease to be King.”4
But suddenly, at their very zenith, the Poor K n i g h t s suffered a strange reversal of fortunes. In 1 3 0 2 , K i n g Philip IV of France dared to c h a l l e n g e their sovereignty on his o w n soil. He asserted that in France e v e r y o n e , K n i g h t s Templars included, was subject to the K i n g . Pope B o n i f a c e V I I I j u m p e d in and declared that France, the K i n g , the Templars, all of them, and everybody else as well, belonged to Pontifex Maximus – “It is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every h u m a n creature to be subject to the R o m a n
Pontiff.” Philip t h e n accused the pope of illegitimacy, sexual mis- c o n d u c t , and heresy. B o n i f a c e prepared a bull e x c o m m u n i c a t i n g Philip, but before it could be published, a band of the Philip’s mer- cenaries stormed the V a t i c a n and d e m a n d e d the pope’s resigna- tion. A l t h o u g h the intruders were d r i v e n off, the s h o c k to b o d y and soul was too m u c h for Boniface, and he died a m o n t h later.
T w o successor popes held firm against Philip, until Bertrand de G o t , A r c h b i s h o p o f B o r d e a u x , was e l e c t e d i n 1 3 0 5 . C r o w n e d i n Lyons w i t h the papal n a m e C l e m e n t V, de G o t m o v e d the papacy to A v i g n o n , and began a long train of concessions to Philip’s royal prerogative. Finally, on Friday, O c t o b e r 1 3 , 1307, Philip arrested all but t h i r t e e n of the Templars in F r a n c e , tried t h e m and, u p o n e v i d e n c e of their practice of the c a b a l a h , found t h e m guilty of b l a s p h e m y and m a g i c . At least fifty k n i g h t s were burned at the stake.
From captured d o c u m e n t s it was learned t h a t the Templars, from the very beginning, had renounced w h a t R o m a n theologians c a l l e d “the religion of S t . Peter.” T h e y h a d b e e n initiated into a secret gnostic branch of the Eastern C h u r c h k n o w n as “the Primi- tive C h r i s t i a n C h u r c h . ” Because the P r i m i t i v e C h r i s t i a n s ’ apos- tolic succession c l a i m e d to flow from J o h n the Baptist and the apostle John they were called “Johannites.”5
T h e Johannites believed that although Jesus was “imbued with a spirit wholly divine and endowed with the most astounding qual- ities,” he was n o t the true G o d . C o n s i s t e n t w i t h gnostic logic, the true J o h a n n i t e G o d w o u l d n e v e r lower H i m s e l f t o b e c o m e vile h u m a n matter. Jesus was in fact a false Messiah sent by the powers of darkness. He was justly crucified – a l t h o u g h w h e n his side was pierced he did repent of his pretensions and receive divine forgive- ness. T h a n k s to his r e p e n t a n c e , Jesus n o w enjoys everlasting life in the celestial company of the saints.
Regarding miracles, the Johannites believed that Jesus “did or may h a v e d o n e extraordinary or miraculous things,” and that “since G o d c a n d o things i n c o m p r e h e n s i b l e t o h u m a n intelli- g e n c e , all the acts of C h r i s t as they are described in the G o s p e l , w h e t h e r acts of h u m a n s c i e n c e or w h e t h e r acts of d i v i n e p o w e r ”
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c a n be a c c e p t e d as true – e x c e p t for the R e s u r r e c t i o n , w h i c h is omitted from the Templars’ copy of the G o s p e l of St. John.6 T h e r e -
fore, for all his wonderful attributes, C h r i s t “was n o t h i n g , a false p r o p h e t and o f n o value.” O n l y the H i g h e r G o d o f H e a v e n h a d power to save mankind.7
But the H i g h e r G o d a v o i d e d h u m a n matter, and so lordship over the material world b e l o n g e d to S a t a n a e l , the evil brother of Jesus. Satanael alone could enrich mankind. Templar cabalah rep- resented S a t a n a e l as the h e a d of a goat e m b l a z o n e d w i t h , some- times c o n t a i n e d w i t h i n , a p e n t a g r a m .8 T h i s symbol is deeply
rooted in O l d T e s t a m e n t c a b a l a h , in w h i c h the goat is identified with power in the world and separation from G o d . On the greatest Israelite feastday, Yom Kippur, the Day of A t o n e m e n t , one goat was spared the sacrificial knife, and was sprinkled w i t h the b l o o d of a n o t h e r goat killed for the sins of Israel. T h e spared goat, the scapegoat, was t h e n banished from the congregation to bear Israel’s sins into the wilderness, w h i c h typified the world.9 T h e scapegoat
escaped w i t h his life, his freedom.
K i n g S o l o m o n conferred w i t h e v i l spirits,1 0 but Scripture
describes the spirits only generally. H o w e v e r , the Zohar, or “ B o o k of S p l e n d o r , ” o n e of the m a i n works of a n c i e n t cabalistic litera- ture, tells us evil spirits appeared to the Israelites “under the form of
he-goats and made k n o w n to t h e m all that they wished to learn.”1 1
T h e Templars called this goat-idol “ B a p h o m e t , ” from baphe- and –metis, G r e e k words c o m b i n e d to m e a n “absorption into wisdom.” B a p h o m e t encapsulates the career of S o l o m o n , w h o Scripture says
was absorbed into the wisdom of G o d more than any other h u m a n being,1 2 yet finished out his life in c o m m u n i o n w i t h he-goatish evil
spirits.1 3 By the Templars’ J o h a n n i t e standard, c o m m u n i n g w i t h
the evil spirits was the secret to controlling the world. By the bib- lical standard, h o w e v e r , S o l o m o n represents the impossibility of h u m a n perfectibility. Perfectibility is indeed attainable, according to Scripture, but only t h r o u g h the r e d e m p t i v e process s h o w n in the N e w Testament w h i c h R o m e kept the Templars from reading.
O
N M a r c h 22, 1 3 1 2 , C l e m e n t V dissolved the Knights Templar w i t h his decree Vox clamantis ( “ W a r C r y ” ) . But the dissolu- t i o n p r o v e d a mere formality to further appease P h i l i p . M o r e importantly, it permitted the Templars, in other manifestations, to c o n t i n u e e n r i c h i n g the papacy. For G r a n d Master Jacques de Molay, just prior to his e x e c u t i o n in 1 3 1 3 , sent the surviving thir- t e e n F r e n c h Templars to establish four n e w M e t r o p o l i t a n lodges: one at S t o c k h o l m for the north, o n e at N a p l e s for the east, one at Paris for the south, and o n e at E d i n b u r g h for the west. T h u s , the Knights remained the militant arm of the papacy. Except that their w e a l t h , their secrecy, their gnostic cabalism, and their o a t h of papal obedience were obscurely dispersed under a variety of corpo- rate names.A subtle provision in Vox clamantis transferred most Templar estates to the K n i g h t s of St. J o h n of Jerusalem, w h o t o o k posses- sion after K i n g Philip’s death. In G e r m a n y and Austria, the T e m - plars became “Rosicrucians” and “Teutonic Knights.” T h e Teuton- ic K n i g h t s grew strong in M a i n z , birthplace of G u t e n b e r g ’ s press. S i x centuries later, as the “ T e u t o n i c Order,” the K n i g h t s w o u l d provide the nucleus of A d o l f Hitler’s political support in M u n i c h and V i e n n a .
T h e Edinburgh lodge would b e c o m e the headquarters of Scot- tish R i t e Freemasonry, w h i c h M a s o n i c historians call “ A m e r i c a n Freemasonry” because all but five of the signers of the Declaration of I n d e p e n d e n c e are said to h a v e practiced its craft. In S p a i n and Portugal the Templars became the “llluminati” in w h o m Iñigo had t a k e n m e m b e r s h i p at M a n r e s a , and “ K n i g h t s of C h r i s t . ” It was under the red pattée cross of the Knights of C h r i s t that C o l u m b u s had t a k e n possession of w h a t he called “las Indias” for K i n g Ferdi- nand V of S p a i n , grandfather of Iñigo’s discreet patron, C h a r l e s I and V, the Holy R o m a n Emperor.
As early as A u g u s t of 1 5 2 3 , as I h y p o t h e s i z e d in the previous chapter, this vast y e t fragmented subterranean empire – R o m a n C a t h o l i c i s m ’ s u n s e e n root-system b i n d i n g t o g e t h e r the world – belonged to Iñigo de Loyola. His spiritual dynasty, w h i c h c o n t i n - ues to this day, w o u l d use this system to cause G o d - f e a r i n g m e n
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w h o hated the papacy to perform, without realizing it, exactly how the papacy wanted them to.
But w h a t of Iñigo’s education? His rise in a c a d e m e is the sub- ject of the n e x t chapter.
“Hoc EST D I G I T U S D E I ! ”
Pope Paul III declares Loyola’s plan for the Company of Jesus an Act of God. (From a Jesuit altar)
Chapter 7