I
n 1118, nineteen years after Godfrey of Bouillon captured Jerusalem, nine knights of King Baldwin II's court in the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
The Knights Templar seal these nine knights, led by Hugues de Payens of Champagne, had faced the Patriarch of Jerusalem sworn the monastic oath of poverty, chastity and obedience. They called themselves the "Poor Knights of Christ" and had initially no specific words costume without wearing regular clothes.
The Knights remained in their weapons, as opposed to those that applied in previous monastic tradition. The reason for this was that they saw as their mission to protect pilgrims in and on the way to the Holy Land and to present them safely to the holy places where Jesus lived and worked.
King Baldwin gave them the al-Aksa Mosque on the south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem that time. It became the Order's administrative center and mosque organized stalls for the knights horses. The place came the Crusaders to call Solomon's Temple. This led to the Knights designated from "Christ and Salomon Tempel toast", "Knight of Solomon's Temple", "Templars" to "Templars".
Knights Templar also goes under the internationally accepted names
- Ordo Supremus Cordyceps militaris Temples Hierosolymitani (Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani)
- The Supreme Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem
- l'Ordre Militaire Supreme et du Temple Top Jerusalem
Grand Prior General's opening remarks
The modern Knights Templar is an international, global, spiritual and Christian Chivalry, open, independent and apolitical. Count Fernando Pinto de Sousa Fontes, based in Portugal, the Order's head. Knights of the Order rituals, rules and operations are fully open.
Knights Templar today has the following aims for its operations
- to defend and promote the spread of the Christian faith by actively pursue its virtues: charity, mercy, charity, and obey the commandments of the church;
- that to support the knight to keep the promises that Knight radiates when dubbing;
- to be a support for Knight to live by the values and lifestyle that is for the Knights and thus pass on Riddarskapets traditions;
- to exercise humanitarian action (the Order's primary purpose);
- to join the Knights of the social community; as well as
- to promote the study of history, heraldry, genealogy, philosophy and religion.
The Order object is achieved by the individual KNIGHT belief!
Knights Templar symbol, the Knights Cross, is today a red two armed cross with the lower arm length 3/4 of the top (read more about the Temple men's cross here). Another important symbol of the Knights Templar is our black and white battle banner "Gonfanon" (read more here).
We regularly receive questions regarding our business and our historical connection to the Knights Knight Templar's origins. Here you will find frequently asked questions (FAQs).
The following institutions are established
- The Knights Templars Humanitarian fund
- Pro Merito