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"The Diceman"

DIALOGUES

A Brief History of Western Religion

Subtitle: From Jesus to the Magna Carta

Temple Square is a representation of powerful spiritual forces that brought together that document we call the Magna Carta. The Magna Carta represents, in effect, the beginning of financial and spiritual freedom for Western Man.

The apparently insignificant semi-circular vestibule of the Ancient Templar Church still sits in the middle of this square. Few can imagine as they see this apparently small and unimportant piece of architecture what secrets it might tell. Only some Masons and a handful of others understand what effect this building has had on our civilization. In short, it is here where the old Knights of the Templar, fresh from escaping persecution in France, sat and determined that never again could they be set upon by government or church and deprived of just earnings. You can still see their names as signatories to the Magna Carta.

This was the place where the revolution that became the independent Human Spirit was first raised in our current cycle of society. The Magna Carta was the first binding document that gave rights to free men in Europe.

We need to understand a little of history to gain a clear view on this. When the Emperor Constantine chose to create the Catholic Church, he did so to preserve the freedoms and rights of the Roman Empire. He could see the entire structure of civilization was failing, and that soon time would call an end to the Roman rule. So he sought a different way to rule people, to prevent the fall into anarchy. He chose religion. This had both positive and negative effects for European culture.

Since the close of Roman times, the rights of citizens in Europe had been limited to the rights granted by Church and existing aristocracy. Later, with the rise of the Robber Barons that became the 'new' aristocracy, the ground rules of power changed again. But from the 6th to the 14th Century, the Church held sway over the most important decisions made in Europe.

An understanding of how this came about (Expressly because of the conflicts and upheavals in the social and religious structure ... Especially of the 11th and 12th Centuries) can be valuable in assessing our own place in society today. In other words, in this dialogue I seek to offer you a yardstick of understanding, one that will hopefully allow you to appreciate and respect the freedoms you have today a little better.

Few, if any, have ever recorded a summary of the process that lead from the formation of Christianity to the signing of the Magna Carta ... And given the enormity of the task, I am not going to attempt a comprehensive listing of the facts here... Rather this is simply an overview for your interest, and potential further study.

Really, this study starts with Saint Paul, (go to: Rise of the Pauleans) who looked at a fledgling spiritual group, and saw that if it were to survive, it needed to become organized and structured.

This task pretty much starts with the turmoil that existed during the formation of the Christian Religion. At the advent of Christianity, there were three main streams of faith. These were: the Judaic Purists, the Gnostics, and the core elements of what was destined to become the Organized Churches. (The Orthodox and Catholic faiths)

We will take a brief look at these and other elements, in order to understand the progression of events that led to the Signing of the Magna Carta.

JUDAIC PURISTS (Essenes)    Back to Top 

The Judaic Purists was largely made up of elements from the Essene faith, who were attracted to the Nazarene's teaching. They would have no mixing of blood, and sought to keep the faith of Jesus under a pure lineage of Judaic followers ... Jesus represented a Judaic Messiah, and as an Essene Jesus also formed what was seen as the vanguard of a new cohort of religious revivalist teachings.

The Essene faith is exceedingly old. We don't know how old, but it correlates to the earliest traditions of Judaism in Palestine. Under a Spiritual Guardian known as "Zadok" (who appeared inwardly to members of the faith, and whose name was taken and used symbolically by the Essene priests) the Essene faith had survived within the Judaic system. However, they were not allowed to proselytize or seek to augment their teaching with new followers in any way.

Mary of Magdalene was one of the prominent figures in this faith during the time of Jesus. The fact she was being stoned clearly tells us she was no prostitute, for this was a typical punishment for proselytizing. Hookers were put to death in public by being forced to have sex with a donkey, as a general rule.

Jesus was raised as an Essene, (many studies indicate this as so) and though he had made a break with the strict religious sect and apparently gone to study outside of both the Judaic and Essene influence, he clearly supported many of their traditions. The breaking of bread and the drinking of grape juice (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic grape juice is referred to as "wine" in Aramaic, the native tongue of that district) was a ritual done in place of killing a lamb ... Adherents of the Essene traditions were strict vegetarians, and the killing and eating of flesh was forbidden. I might add, they were strict non-alcohol drinkers as well.

These people were all but wiped out during the Roman Invasion of Judea during 64AD. This is largely because sll small sects in the region at that time were flagged to be effectively exterminated. This was due to the ongoing difficulties the Roman's had with the Jewish nation. In this period, Jesus' brother, Simon Peter was killed, and much of the thrust of their teaching was weakened. Simon Peter ran a Judaic Purist tradition with many followers, and most of these survivors drifted into the Gnostic Branch of the faith, eventually moving over to the less controversial yet very new and exciting Paulean branch of Christianity when it became popular some 20 years later.

The irony of the execution of the Essene people is, of course, that Saul of Tarsus was one of the leading figures in the ethnic cleansing, and that as a direct result of his order to exterminate the small religious cults he became the leading figure in saving Christianity after his spiritual experience on the Road to Damasus. God does work in mysterious ways. 

It is the Essene phase that is essentially important in the dialogue we are discussing, because this is a foundation belief of the Early Christian faith. Later, when the Essene tradition re-emerges in the South of France as the Cathar Teaching, we will see how connected the apparently random threads become a rope of consciousness through the ages.

We need to take special note of the Cathars. This teaching, along with the rise of the Knights Templar, was inadvertently the chief cause and instigator of many of the Catholic Church's purges, amongst them being the two inquisitions.

Also, this early Purist tradition leads into one of the essential aspects of Catholic Doctrine. (that survived until quashed by the Emperor Justinian centuries later) This is the argument between the Origenists and the Monophysites which is essentially the argument between the principles of Karma and Reincarnation as a path to spiritual perfection, and the concept of Divine Forgiveness as the entrance to Heaven ... 

To understand this all important crossroads in Christian, Essene, Judaic and European thought we need to divert back to the Second Stream of Christianity, the Gnostics.

THE RISE OF THE GNOSTICS   Back to Top 

The Gnostics were, in effect, the Spiritual Flower Children of the period that ran for over two centuries after the departure of Jesus. (Whether he died on the Cross or in Kashmir is not a consequence of this story until we get to the Knights Templar. While it is a fascinating side track, it remains something which we will not deal with here.)

These are the groups that raised the ire of the Roman Soldiers, for a number of simple and obvious reasons. Firstly, they gathered in communes outside of the major cities... Roman Authorities hated this, as this sort of activity was seen as the pot in which revolt was born.

It was bad enough to congregate in a private sect, but the Gnostics went further, and invited all the low life in. They meant well, and wanted to "save" people like the Lord Jesus did, but it created huge problems. These communities became places of refuge for down and outs, and criminals who were escaping the law.

We often hear talk of Christian persecution by the Romans. This struck me as odd, because the Romans were generally very accepting of different faiths and beliefs. It now appears that the entire start of the supposed "persecution" was simply Centurions turning up after following a thief to a commune, and saying "We know the thief is here. We know you are protecting him. We will take two of your people and throw them into the coliseum if you don't hand him over..." Anyone who went to a private Catholic boys college knows the drill. If someone does not own up to a wrong, they cane the entire class. Blunt and unfair, but effective as a rule.

Of course, here we came to the first clash of culture. The Gnostics were so fervent that they would die instead of hand over a new convert... and because they DID die, the thieves and vagabonds were so deeply touched, they often became fervent believers themselves. So the persecution created more followers, paradoxically.

But worse than this harbouring of criminal elements, the Romans detested Christians because of the rituals they practiced. The Christians had a ritual that the Roman's found repugnant... They pretended to eat human flesh. To a Roman, this was disgusting. It is a little like walking about the street in 'our' society saying you liked sex with children. The Roman institution was generally VERY tolerant of different faiths (as long as they behaved and paid their taxes, the Roman did not care) but the rumour was that, in private, the Christians ate their children.

This ritual eating of flesh meant that the Gnostics in particular had no friends in society, and of course, any Roman soldier had no compunction at all with killing a Christian, because they were dirty animals to their way of thinking.

Added to this, the Gnostics 'also' tended to have authority complexes, and they had a contingent of trouble makers who liked to do things like try and burn down Rome (so the world could end quicker, and everyone could go back to God). You know the type... There is always a minority that argues that the Government is against them and the legal system needs to be replaced by God's Law.

Messy business. Most Gnostics were not Roman citizens, and had no rights. Many were escaped slaves and criminals, and idealogically they were against the current trends of society. Move from 34AD to 100 AD and the stage now already set for conflict. 

The Roman's didn't like the Gnostics. What is more the up and coming Paulean branches of Christianity didn't like them, and even the radical, original (and by the year 126 ad almost wiped out)  Judaic Purists did not like them ... The Gnostics were the first Hippies, and, like the Hippies, they had their time then appeared to pretty much vanish from sight.

Of significant note is where these people may have gone. There seems clear evidence to support the notion that many of both the Gnostics and the Judaic Purists drifted out and away from persecution and became a powerful influence in the forming of the Sufi Movement, which became a major background influence in moderating the radical elements of Islam.

The Gnostics formed collectively a beautiful expression of Man seeking Spiritual Freedom, but they failed completely in coming to terms with the reality of this hard, negative planet. They were all but destroyed as a continuing force in Christianity before the close of the 3rd Century AD. 

AGAINST THE HERESIES .. DEATH OF A GNOSTIC   Back to Top  

Essentially, the Gnostic Eulogy was written with the penultimate Expose' STILL used today by the Catholic Church ... a book called "Against the Heresies".

This book, written in 260AD, pretty much signaled the death knell of the Gnostics. They were hunted down by the Romans, and distanced by the Pauleans as a radical schism... and in time they were exterminated.

However, one flavour that did emerge from Gnostic belief, and which came to infect Christianity, was the then common notion of Karma and Reincarnation. This took the form of Soul seeking and looking for a perfection through many lives... In this case taking the form of seeing Jesus as Perfected Man. Jesus was not God incarnate, but as a man who had attained a state of Godhood.

Pretty New Age of them, hey? This became known as Origenist Theory (after the founder, Origen) which we will look at shortly. But suffice to say, this was pretty much in accord with many of the ancient beliefs prior to Justinian Christianity.

The Gnostics were eventually eliminated, and as mentioned earlier, from what we can see it appears they drifted to the North of Africa, joining with the wandering tribes of Bedouin to form the elements of what we now call the Sufi Teaching.

THE EMERGENCE OF THE PAULEAN'S   Back to Top 

It was the removal of the Gnostics that permitted the nature and character of what was to become the Catholic and Orthodox Churches to emerge. A lot of people forget that the Greek Orthodox Church is older than the Catholic, yet both the Greek and Russian Orthodox churches share similar roots within the Paulean tradition.

This tradition is, in part, one of organized infiltration into society. It was more than the outward setting up of a guiding set of principles and laws by which we must live our lives. This external aspect is what grew into the dogma and doctrine as we know it today. (And please, if you can find one piece of Dogma in the Catholic Church that is something that Jesus actually stated, please send it to me.) The hidden aspect of this tradition is the one that allowed Christianity to survive the political and social upheavals that brewed during the ending stages of the Roman Empire.

The key element to understand here is that the Paulean Tradition worked WITH authority. These people insinuated themselves into every layer and aspect of society, seeking to blend in. It worked remarkably well. Rather than ostracize themselves in communes and small clans outside of the cities, the Pauleans worked into positions of authority, never speaking to any but trusted fellow members in regards their secret life as a Christian.

The very secrecy gave them both intrigue and mystery, and in a matter of a hundred or so years, the Paulean influence had spread to every court in every corner of the Roman Empire.

The purges laid upon the Christians by the Emperor DIOCLETIAN creates a secret glue that bound all the Christian Elements together, but with the Pauleans so well placed, they naturally took on a leadership role. Thus the Christians weathered the tyrannical assaults on their religion, and this of itself became THE key element in the rise of Constantine and the formation of the Catholic Faith. Yet in the background a different storm, a HUGE storm, was brewing. This was to come in the form of a schism that almost destroyed the Catholic Religion before it began.

THE ORIGENIST  V's THE MONOPHYSITES   Back to Top 

(For more info on Origenist thought)  http://pup.princeton.edu/titles/5144.html 

Right from the outset of Christianity, two main streams of Theology developed. One was the principle that Man became refined and more God Like through the experience of many Lifetimes, and that Jesus was "perfected man" ... The other was that we are entirely reliant on the mercy of God, and that Jesus was God.

Now in modern day thought, it seems almost infantile that people were killed and argument raged over hundreds of years on this subject, but in truth it was not so much an argument in Theology as an argument for WHO got control of the Paulean Faction.

Origen was a theologist held in high regard, and the principles of reincarnation and growth over many lifetimes, with the sister principle of Karma, was largely adhered to by many of the diverse Christian groups. Gnostist, Judaic Purists AND Pauleans all had large camps of approval in this theology. It was a theology that was very common in the ancient world.

Opposing this was the now apparently absurd faction of the "Deus et Machina" principle of the Monophysite... This which essentially was the belief that no matter what trouble you got into, if you were a hero and just said "sorry" everything would be OK. 

Deus at Machina, or the 'God in the Machine', was a function of Greek Theatre. On stage, when no other suitable resolution was to be found in the story, the Hero would be lifted from certain death by a gantry. The gantry represented "Zeus" and so "Zeus" placed our hero into a respected and safe position. In the Catholic Faith this emerged as the concept of a God on High supervising all of creation, sending his child down to "save" mankind, then lifting him back up to safety.

This, of itself, was actually an evolution of several strains of thought... 

The concepts of the Origenist naturally opposed the Monophysites. However, to the rulers of Christianity the "Jesus IS God" theory had more fascination, because they were in need of the forgiveness of Sin. After all, you could misbehave all you liked, then just say "sorry" to a priest and everything would be OK... Naturally, the people in power tended to be the ones who preferred the forgiveness theory.

It was also a good 'hook' to get in other people from other paths, by saying... "If you come here, you will go to heaven straight away!" This is the source of the belief in the superiority of the Catholic Church over other teachings ... Most other major religions preached responsibility, but the soon to be Catholic Church spoke of FREEDOM from responsibility... but at a cost.

The cost was that you had to suffer here on Earth, and be entirely subject to God's will. You personal free will was limited to either Heaven or Hell, and this was based pretty much solely on whether you accepted Jesus as God, or otherwise. Cut to the core, current Christian thought is still based on the following:

Choices outside of these are potentially Eternal Damnation options. Essentially ALL your choices are based on Guilt. It is another Dialogue to look at, the way Guilt became the motivating and shaping force of an entire religion. But a clue: What other religion offers images of a man dying in misery as THE icon to hang on the wall?

It is a complex build up of images that creates the current religious tradition... Essentially, however, the principle of the Monophysites was that God is unattainable, while the Origenists believed we were created in the image of God, and could become true reflectors of divinity.

The two steams came to blows, and even with the formation of the Catholic Church in and around 340-380 AD, the two theologies were still not reconciled. In fact, quite the opposite... The part where Mary is denoted as "the Mother of God" in the Nicean Creed is really a theological way that sought to reconcile the Human and the Divine elements of the two opposing faiths... However, the impossibility of the concept upset many bishops, and only reinforced the inner divisions. Constantine then essentially hammered out a peace in an original manner ... He would put to death those who disagreed.

But Emperors do not live forever, and when Constantine left the Earthly realm (After being a practicing Mithra-ite all his life) the divide was split wide open again. Finally, with the formation of the Chalcedonian Decree an attempt was made to bridge the two opposing parties into a unified front. It failed, and this is what led to Justinian banning the Origenists and all reference to Karma and Reincarnation from the Bible Scripts.

These are some of events that went on broadly in the background, and this is what led, eventually, to the extraordinary event that was the formation of the Catholic Church as we know it today.

CONSTANTINE V's DIOCLETIAN   Back to Top 

Immediately prior to the rise of Constantine and the formation of the Catholic Church, the Emperor Diocletian was basically using Christians as whipping boys. As discussed earlier, the natural Roman abhorrence for the concept of cannibalism was the main instigator of the Roman dislike of Christianity as a religion... But it was the way in which Christian Communes would accept degenerate thieves and nere-do-wells into their midst and protect them from the centurions arresting them that sparked off the purges.

The Emperor Constantine and his wife Helena

The Christian radicals who were forming in the communes hated Rome as much as they professed to Love Christ, and they were starting fires in the cities, and being anarchists. The first political crack down was on the Communes... Which was sort of OK by the rest of the Christians, because these were now the radical elements of the teaching.

On this point, it is like some fundamentalist schism of Christianity like the Jim Jones sect was removed by the authorities. Few other Christians are concerned when radical elements are being removed, and most are relieved

The second crack down from Diocletian was not limited to the communes, however, but across the board. This caused wide-spread fear and resentment from the highly placed Christian officials who ran many sections of the Roman Government.

More importantly to ourselves (and the eventual writing of the Magna Carta) this gave the opening for Constantine to seek power, for these disgruntled Christian officials provided both money and men for his campaign to defeat Diocletian. Without this, he almost certainly would have failed, and the history of the world would be a very different thing altogether.

In a word, he did a deal to get this support. The deal was the creation of the institution we now call the Catholic Church. Constantine needed the support, the Christians knew they needed recognition to survive. In the same way, the Templars and the Catholics did a deal in England centuries later with King John, to create an institution that protected themselves from government. We come closer to the Magna Carta!

The CHALCEDONIAN DECREE   Back to Top 

But let's stay for the present with the formation of Christendom. How do you get two warring factions to agree to stand side by side? You have a talk fest in a place called Chalcedon.

Here is a classic case of someone trying to solve a problem with a piece of dialogue, and creating a far greater problem as a result. The Chalcedonian Decree (Go to Catholic Doctrine) was put together to ease the stress between two warring factions, and in the end became the justification for setting up the Court of the Inquisition, which, some 600 years later became the source of the worst chapter in the Catholic Church history. 

This rationale for the Inquisition is not in the decree itself, but in the commentary that went with it whereby all who opposed the Decree were proclaimed "Anamathea" or in other words, opposed to the one true faith.

This became interpreted in the 11th to 14th century as a right to kill those who disagreed with your way of thinking.

JUSTINIAN AND THE APOCRYPHAL TEXTS   Back to Top 

The Chalcedonian Decree failed to unite opposing elements. The argument continued, and more blood was shed. More to the point, it became political. By 500AD Catholic Doctrine was becoming Law, and thus what was a religious argument became a social argument. In a society where Religion is Law a religious argument become a LEGAL argument.

 
Justinian and his Retinue on Left, Theodora and her retinue on Right

Add to this the fact that when the Emperor Justinian came to power, the Bible itself was being used in courts of Law... This, given the way Lawyers are, meant that the inevitable delays in courts and the problems associated with this grew exponentially. There was an argument that if there was a doubt in regards guilt, then God would punish the wrongdoer in some other lifetime, and thus the person should be set free.

Justinian had another problem... He had a former prostitute for a  wife who hated the idea of having to come back lifetime after lifetime in order to refine her nature and he had Arabs in his courts arguing points of law with the Bible, claiming Reincarnation as a way to be punished.

His solution was simple... If people are going to use the Bible in a court of law... Clean up the Bible! What is more, he went one step further and BANNED it from being read by anyone other than an Archbishop. Justinian went on an editing spree to ensure that only one line of thought were possible as the accepted faith... And he would not allow it to be presented to a court of Law as well. This is what finally ended the Origenist argument...

But like all times when truth is shut down, the repercussions flow outwards. As a direct result of this decision, the ensuing persecution of knowledge that occurred throughout the European Christian community became a justification for many outrageous acts. It also caused many intellectuals to flee for their lives and many Monks and Priests moved further a-field, notably to Ireland and Scotland.

Saint Columba is the most famous of all these once celebrated but now renegade scholars. The Ionian Passion Plays still remember his remarkable contribution to Christian thought, though less know of the incredible knowledge base he saved. Most notably, it is now generally accepted that the famous Book of Kells was written at the monastery he founded at Iona in 800AD. 

Link to the Book of Kells:  http://www.library.ubc.ca/finearts/KELLS.html 

But, for the most part, a great deal of the Sacred Texts we now know as the Bible and the Apocrypha were moved to a far more difficult to obtain location... The deserts of North Africa, and also to hidden catacombs under the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. 

If we dial forward in history to the 12th Century we can begin to see why the Knights Templar emerged from apparently nowhere to "fight" in the North of Africa. They were nobles hungry for information, and went to find books and knowledge more than they went to fight.

THE MOVING OF THE SACRED TEXTS TO EGYPT   Back to Top 

The removal of reincarnation and other sections of the Sacred Texts by the Emperor Justinian angered the remaining Origenists, but the subsequent banning of the Bible being read by the common man outraged pretty much everyone of any intellectual note. This resulted in a huge amount of documents and individual moving. Some to Ireland, as mentioned, but also many went to the then accepting and accommodating nation of Islam that was forming at that time.

In essence, these documents and their retrieval formed the basis of what was to become the Knights Templar. But more on that later...

THE RISE OF SCHISMS   Back to Top 

In this pivotal period of unrest from the 6th to the 12th Century, many threats came to the Church through schisms. Christianity appeared to be a most insecure religion, and it grew more and more controlling of the various sections of faith that sought to move away from the central control of Rome.

History is littered with the means and schemes brought about by Rome to direct and force the various tenets of faith to adhere to a single code of Christian belief. We will not detail these things here, but just as we see so many variations of Born Again, Charismatic and orthodox forms of Christian faith today, so too did the Dark Ages have many brands of faith.

What is important to us here is a variation of Christianity OLDER than the Roman version, which was brought to the South of France reputedly by Mary Magdalene (as the wife of Jesus) and her children immediately after the crucifixion. There apparently it existed quietly until it began to grow in force in the 10-11th Centuries. This was when it posed a thread, because the teaching began to spread to the peasantry throughout Europe.

THE RISE OF THE CATHAR   Back to Top 

The most influential of the 11th and 12th century schisms was the Cathar Faith. Actually, it was not a schism, but a different branch entirely of Christianity. The Cathar worshipped God through the intercession of Mary Magdalene, whom they said was the wife of Christ.

Their lineage goes back to the Merovingian Kings, once supported by the Catholic Hierarchy, who were believed to carry the bloodline of Christ.

The Bible actually supports the concept of Jesus being married, as evidenced in the Garden of Gethsemane when Mary Magdalene refers to Jesus as "Raboni" ... This is a specific Aramaic term that the Wife of a Rabbi uses when speaking formally to her Rabbi husband. No other interpretation is possible for this word.

The Cathar were a strict order who grew in influence through education. They sent "Perfects" (usually women) to teach the people in the villages about herbal lore and other practical matters. And this was taken up enthusiastically by the peasant classes, who were up to this time pretty much still Celtic in their belief.

The Catholic's were only really interested in the aristocracy and landed gentry, but in time the overwhelming influence of the Cathars was seen as undermining their right to rule. So the Dominican Order was set up in 1221, with the express commission of defeating the theology of the Cathar teaching.

In the parish church of Fanjeaux, the one who was to become Saint Dominic faced the Cathars in a theological argument. Legend states that his written arguments did not burn after three attempts by the Cathars at throwing them into the fire. Well... It is a good rumour.

Unfortunately for the Cathar, the reality is that they soundly trounced the Dominicans in a major theological forum. This made the Catholic Church look irresolute as a faith, and as the years went by, this burned like a boil in the hierarchy of the Catholics. Eventually Pope Pious sought to eradicate this faith. However, through their affiliation with the King of France (Who was married to a Cathar Perfect) the Pope and his armies were kept out of France for a time.

However, the political tide changed. In time the Pope made it clear he had enough, and the Albigensian Crusade began. This was in simple terms, the eradication of everyone who lived in the South of France ... And the famous comment from that time by the Captain of Arms, Simon de Montfort (who was in charge of the operation) who was asked "How do we tell the difference from a true believer and a heretic?"

He answered "Let God decide" In other words... kill them all.

There is currently a rise of the Cathar Faith once more, Go to: http://www.cathar.net for more information. If you speak German, this is a more detailed view: http://www.katharer.de/7.htm 

THE RISE OF THE TEMPLARS   Back to Top 

Alongside the rise of the Cathar, the Knights Templar were making a spectacular ascent into the upper reaches of Religious Society. They became, in a few decades, as powerful as the church financially.

What 'actually' spawned their arrival on the scene was the discovery of ancient texts, and the urgent needs of some of the Old Families of Europe to retrieve this information. Obviously, there might have been a little gold there as well. The two leaders of the movement and seven other men went to Spain to secure this information, and in doing so, held the best of the Moorish Intellectuals at bay with their persuasive spiritual argument.

This is not something I want to go into detail with at this point, but the inspiring challenge this small group (who were destined to become the Knights Templar) put out stirred something in the hearts of the tired, old families of Europe, and they sent men and arms to assist in what was called the "liberation of the Holy Lands".

This action granted the Knights Templar special exceptions to spiritual practice under the Catholic Church. If you wish to study more on this fascinating Order, go to: www.euroknightstemplar.org/ 

THE RELOCATION OF THE SACRED TEXTS TO IRELAND   Back to Top 

With the destruction of the Cathars, and the growing mood of control being exerted over the European peasantry, it was clear that knowledge of the True Faith had to be preserved. The Templars realized that the Church had long been overrun by powerbrokers, and it was cast about as to where a safe haven might be. It was decided to move the controversial Sacred Scripts to a place where the Templar Faith was strong, and where knowledge was respected. This place was to become Trinity College in Ireland.

Scotland had recently undergone uprisings with William Wallace, and though the heartland of the Templar Faith, it was not considered safe from Religion or King. The moving of the scripts prompted a moving of money, as well, and this contributed to the demise of the financial order in Europe.

Under the fear that the Templars would call in accounts of debt, the King of France, Philip le Bel (1268-1314), permitted the Catholic Armies to come in and effectively destroy the Order. This became the beginning of what would eventually become the purging of Europe we now call the First inquisition.

That fateful day in 1312 came on a Friday... Friday the 13th.

EVACUATION OF THE TEMPLARS TO ENGLAND   Back to Top 

During the next cycle of unrest in Europe, many interpreted correctly that the Church grab for absolute religious and political power would not stop with the Cathar Extermination. England had long been known as a place of relative sympathy for groups not totally Papal, and with the shifting of the Sacred Texts to Ireland, many Templars were drawn over to London.

They took with them as much money as they could, calling in debts owed. Here is a point missed by most historians. The Templar Order was, in effect, the first Bank since Roman times. They had lent out vast sums of money to families throughout Europe, often taking a child of the family for security. If a Templar moved, he took his collateral with him, and so the children of nobility were ALSO being taken to England. The move was seen as a threat to the stability of Europe.

It was financially similar to a collapse of the Stock Market. The Papal Order for the destruction of the South of France shook many familes, and the subsequent removal of the Templars shook the financial fabric of Europe to the core. It was not hard for the next Pope to slowly maneuver the families and political cliques against the Templars. Just the rumour that the Templar Order had turned heretical was enough. But the reality came down to money. If you wiped out the family you owed money to, you became free of debt. You might lose your daughter, but you kept your wallet.

Debt and making sure it was secured was a major point of interest. Take special note of the section in the Magna Carta where inheritance is transmitted from father to son. But also, a little later, the reservations in regards debt being paid after death look like they are helping the family in debt, but in reality, it secures the debtor.

You would have thought everyone would have moved to the new Safe Haven on London? No, many remained because, as always, things do not happen all at once. Many Templars remained in Europe, for in the difficult financial climate, people borrow even more... Thus difficulty was ever a source of profit for those positioned to capitalise upon it. However, many were caught out because it took just 50 years from the campaign against the Cathar until the final demise of the Order to come about.

THE SIGNING OF THE MAGNA CARTA   Back to Top 

The increasing instability in Europe brought many Templars in England and Scotland to become increasingly wary of government. They needed an instrument to protect themselves and discussion ensued amongst Bishops and noblemen on how to secure Land and Rights from the King John of England. 

Brother Aymeric was the master of the knighthood of the Temple in England. This man was fundamental in the organising of the Magna Carta in 1215, and this document also became a main reason why Pope Innocent the 3rd went after the Templars in Europe. Originally it looked like the Templars were working to protect the Church, but in due course, Innocent the 3rd realized they were working to protect their OWN property from the church AND the State.

Curiously, the Magna Carta reads like it is supporting the Catholic Church, but in truth, it supports the freedom of the ENGLISH Church and the right for Church and Free Man to hold property. More importantly, it secured in Law the principle of hereditary right. (Thus securing debt to the son of the debt holder. Now that the death of the debt holder did not eliminate the debt, there was no point in murdering the debt holder.)

The Templars had hidden, powerful controls over the English Church through both family ties and financial liens, and thus they secured their position and created the principle of private ownership of property having inviolate rights. Go To: Magna Carta for a full printing of both the original and revised editions

The first lines read: (1) FIRST, THAT WE HAVE GRANTED TO GOD, and by this present charter have confirmed for us and our heirs in perpetuity, that the English Church shall be free, and shall have its rights undiminished, and its liberties unimpaired.

It goes on to say how Pope Innocent the 111 agreed to this principle, which he did, and then right after this the next section reads: TO ALL FREE MEN OF OUR KINGDOM we have also granted, for us and our heirs for ever, all the liberties written out below, to have and to keep for them and their heirs, of us and our heirs:

This was the part that protected the Barons and nobles

It seemed fair enough at the time, everyone got their fair dealing ... But in a few years the Pope of Rome could see that by giving the nobles and their families rights and privilege he  was in effect creating the end of Church sovereignty. So he instigated the end of the Templars. 

It was the classical case of "damn the cost, we need to keep the power intact". Even so, the Templars have survived to this day, and remain located in the centre of London at Templar Square, England... The heart of the Legal district of London.

Curious, no? Fascinating how these ancient traditions pass on from father to son, and down the bloodlines of ancient families to the present day.

CONCLUSION:   Back to Top 

In this précis (far too short to be comprehensive) I have sought to give you a condensed history of the world. From basic foundations, people have built on an ideal, or an inspiration, that evolved from one man called Jesus, and arrived at a destination some 12 centuries later whereby Western Culture receives a basis of Earthly LAW that is not at the whim of the ruler.

This had been broken away from since the time of Julius Caesar. With the ending of the Roman Republic, thus began the rise of the Emperors of Absolute Power, which paradoxically (or at least most curiously) coincided with the new calendar and the birth of Jesus the Christ.

We cannot deny the extraordinary effort and focus that so many thousands have put into the words and acts of Jesus the Nazarene. He inspired Man with a vision of Love and Fairness that became, in time, a reconstruction of our Western Society through both Culture and Law.

As the Buddha in the East transformed society through his teachings, so too can the same be said of Jesus in the West. 

FOR A COMPLETE COPY OF THE MAGNA CARTA GO TO:
Magna Carta

For an overview from 27BC to the 12th Century Go To:
TIMELINE

HOME PAGE:  Pythagorus Awakened

Link to info on: Catholic Doctrine 

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