Monday, January 10, 2005
MORE ON THE REQUESTED APOLOGY TO THE TEMPLARS
The original request for an apology came from Tim Acheson of Hertford. An Iranian news source is running a story, which cites the Guardian as the original source, of an encounter with Acheson in Hertford and an unusual claim:
"The vast majority of Templars either escaped, or didn't escape, but survived," Acheson says. So how did they end up in Hertford? History records that a number of them were imprisoned in Hertford Castle, but how did Hertford become a centre of operations? "I can't really tell you that. All I can tell you - it's going to be quite vague - is that they flourished in western Europe." He explains that there is a stained-glass window in St Andrew's Church, just down the street, that contains a clear metaphorical allusion to the Holy Grail, and a cryptic hint that it might be hidden in Hertford. In the picture, Acheson adds, Jesus and Mary Magdalene are looking at each other "in a very meaningful way". (Later, I find the window, interrupting local parishioners who are decorating the church for Christmas. I think I can see what Acheson means about Jesus's expression, although mainly he just looks a bit depressed.)
And this one:
The notion that "things are about to happen" recurs throughout the Templar conspiracy theories that clog up the internet. Seemingly, 2000 had been awaited as a watershed, the moment the Templars' secret knowledge would cascade into the public domain. It didn't happen, of course.
So what sort of "things" is Acheson talking about?
"I can't tell you."
Of course there may not be anything to tell. We can hardly know unless he tells us. But he certainly does seem to be fostering a conspiracy theory.
Meanwhile there is a report at The Daily Record of tremendous increase in tourist traffic at Rosslyn Chapel, so large, in fact, that there is fear for the destruction of the building.
Regarding the accusations against the Templars, Wikipedia offers this explanation:
Others argue that these accusations were in reality due to a misunderstanding of arcane rituals held behind closed doors which had their origins in the Crusaders' bitter struggle against the Saracens. These included denying Christ and spitting on the Cross three times, as well as kissing other men's behinds.
According to some scholars, and recently recovered Vatican documents, these acts were intended to simulate the kind of humiliation and torture that a Crusader might be subjected to if captured by the Saracens. According to this line of reasoning, they were taught how to commit apostasy with the mind only and not with the heart. As for the accusations of head-worship and Templars trying to syncretize Christianity with Mohammedanism, some scholars argue that the former referred to rituals involving the alleged relics of Saint Euphemia, one of Saint Ursula's eleven maidens, Hughes de Payens, and John the Baptist rather than pagan idols. The latter they ascribe to the chaplains creating the term Baphomet through the Atbash cipher to mystify the term Sophia (Greek for "wisdom"), which was equated to the concept of Logos (Greek for "Word"). This is a controversial interpretation, and is partly based on conjecture.
There is that reference to Vatican documents again, and a tie in with "Sophia", as well as an indication of Christian-Islamic syncretism.
The same claim is made at this Knights Templar website.
You can read it again here at this Irish/Masonic website.
It can be found on this Graham Hancock website.
And it's here at this Bigpedia website.
All of them seem to be using the same original source. I was not able to find it in any Catholic website. Indicating, perhaps, that the Church is reluctant to talk about it since it will create yet another scandal. Alternatively it could reflect a fabrication/example of wishful thinking on the part of the Templars. Without confirmation from a Catholic website, I remain skeptical.
