The Templar Idea of a Theocracy in the Holy Land - Assignment Example

The Templar Idea of a Theocracy in the Holy Land Introduction Though history shows that the rise of the Knights Templar is mainly to respond to the call for protecting the Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land, an in-depth analysis of the course of the historical events is bound to establish the fact that the Knights Templar is the revelation of the reformist spirit of the Papacy, in the 11th century, that nurtured a zeal to strive for political power. The primary aim and aspiration of the Knights Templar tended to be characterized as the organization both military and religious but ultimately the organization with its unanimous popularity and manpower that helped the group to build an independent economic infrastructure gathered enough momentum to create pressure for more room in the political background of the European countries. With the enormous manpower, the independent economic infrastructure and the devoted military strength the Church began to dream of a theocratic nation that envisages a religious order in the existing political system. But after two hundred years of survival the organization gradually wore out because of the religious and the political flaws within its structure. Historical Concerns of Knights Templar with Papal Reformation In AD 1118 the organization was first established as a religious and military order in Jerusalem by nine French Knights. Though under the leadership of Hugues de Payens of Champagne and Godefroi de Saint- Omer the organization’s mission was to provide protection for the pilgrims during the Crusades, the organization soon won the heart of the common by fighting in various battles of Crusades. Their bravery soon brought them fame and supports the general public. Throughout the course of time the organization that was initiated with the favor of King of Jerusalem, Baldwin II spread at a great speed with its office in almost all the Christian countries of Europe. So the collapse of the organization after about two years of survival does not necessarily means that the purpose of the organization is complete failure or that the intention of the movement of the Knights Templar to erect a theocracy in the Holy Land under the auspices of the Holy See was a revolutionary attempt and was the abrupt failure as it happens in case of a revolution. Rather the organization “The Knights Templar” is to be viewed as a significant consequence of the strife between the Church and the Monarchy that continued from the beginning of the 11th century. The Theocratic Nation and the Reform Movement The Idea of a Theocracy in the Holy Land appears to be more of the legacy of the strife between the Church and the Emperor than of the “Knights Templar”, as to a great extent it can be asserted that the rise of the organization “the Knights Templar” was the more or less the direct consequence of the strife between Emperor Henry IV (1056-1106) and Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085). By the end of the 11th century the tension between the Monarchy and the Church reached its peak. Both of them were scrambling for the same goal that is namely Pan European Supremacy. But the question that arises here is whether the Church was powerful enough to challenge the political authority of the time. Indeed the religious zeal of the mediaeval society seems to assign the challenging power to the religious authority. As Epurescu Pascovici comments, The presence of Papacy in this competition may amaze only a person less familiar with the medieval society. The Church was the most important institution of the medieval world - the prestige of the pontiff was immense. (Pascovici, Erasmus) The sole religious temperament of the medieval society was to seek closeness to God. Seeking ablution for sins and securing a place in heaven could not be bartered for anything worldly. Even the fear of a mighty king was not excruciating enough to shake their faith. The source of power of the church was the support from the common walk of life. The church became less tolerant to the restrictions of the monarchs. In this regard Epurescu says: It is difficult to determine since when the popes began to have political authority but in the 11th century Papacy was, probably, stronger than ever. This was the direct consequence of the reform movement which was apparent in the Church for quite some time. (Pascovici, Erasmus) Conflicts between the Papacy and the Empire: The Role of Medieval Society Apparently though the church appeared to be in contest with the monarch in the question of spiritual and moral supremacy, this contest finally turned into a political one. Both of the sides of this conflict tried to answer the question whether the church or the monarch was to lead the Christian Commonwealth. Due the power engendered by the support of a religious society the church and other religious personnel appeared to be in a position to force the monarchs to appeal to them to keep their position intact in the political orders of the countries. The religious hold of the church on the medieval society appeared to be strong in such a way that the monarchy had to justify its legitimacy on the basis of the theological background. “These theories are based on theological arguments because the princes and kings of that time used religion to legitimate their political power” (Pascovici, Erasmus). Evidently the papal inference into political affairs was first recognized 962 through the enthronement of King Otto I with the investiture of the Papal authority. But this influence of papacy had not been as dramatic as to bringing the monarchy down to any compromise in the question of Supremacy before the reformist zeal was instilled into the church. Corruption and Deviation of the Knights Templar The failure of the Knights Templar to establish a Theocratic nation, to a great extent, lies within the basis on which the Papal reform movement was revived. The reformist movement within the church was directly connected with a new monastic order comprising with a group of popes who believed that the Judgement Day was close and so a perfect church with appropriate religious order should be presented to God. This belief of the Judgement soon dispelled during the years after 1033, as a new assumption grew among the common people that the Judgement day will not come soon. “So, the task of Papacy,” as Pascovici comments, “was different now - the popes took the mission of moderating the excesses of the sovereigns in the hope that this way the Christendom, stronger inside, will win new territories and the kingdom of Christ will be recognized all over the world. (Pascovici, Erasmus) At this point it can be assumed that the beginning of the Knights Templar movement was based on a shuttered religious belief that was no more able to provide as strong support as it was able to do at the beginning of the papal reform movement. Throughout the time from the course of Papal reform to the formation of the Knights Templar the church was able to enforce its position by drawing apparently permanent solutions of some problems: corruption, clerical marriage, the election of pope and others minors. Though the church was able to confirm a strong ground, its attempt to claim independent election of Pope free of any monarchical influence pushed the religious authority with greater strength to go into conflict with the secular political power. But at the same time the favorable position of the church paved the way for the problems that were previously hindered the church to strive over the political affair. The doctrine of Pope Gregory VII that the Holy Land was the legacy of Christ and the primary possession of Christianity, which the Muslims had illegally appropriated temporarily overshadowed the internal problems of the church and created a legal basis for the re-conquest of the holy places. The involvement of the church cannot be viewed with the direct formation of the Knights Templar, but through the passage of Time the Church attempted to erect a theocracy in the Holy Land handling its military power and its popularity all over Europe and endorsed the organization as a legal one in 1928. The organization with its stunning military power and enormous wealth was nothing but the repetition of the corrupted past with internal and external conflicts of the Church. Historical evidences show that the Knights Templar was corrupt when the organization accumulated enormous wealth as charity from the pilgrims and others. Apparently the corruption of the Knights Templar as a legacy of the Church history contributed a lot to the fall of the organization, but several other major factors such the influence of the Gnostics and Assassins played a crucial role in this fall. As Edith Starr Miller comments on the demise of the organization: Having embraced Gnosticism while in Palestine, and in touch with the sect of the Assassins, the Templar order degenerated, and some of its members, under the influence of that sect, were said to practice Phallicism or sex-worship and Satanism and to venerate "The Baphomet," the idol of the Luciferians. The crime of Sodomy was a rite of Templar initiation. (144) Conclusion Gradually deviation from the main target and belief the organization increasingly started to be instable. According to Collier’s Encyclopedia, in 1307 a charge of heresy and immorality was brought against the members of the Knights Templar by a former member and was attempted to be investigated by Philip IV of France. In 1504 the Templars of France were arrested and were found to commit “a variety of notorious crimes and admitted to taking blasphemous oaths against Jesus Christ upon admission into the Order” (Webster 51). Indeed the papal dream of the Theocracy in the Holy Land died out through the deviation and demise of the organization the Knights Templar. Works Cited Pascovici, Epurescu. “Theological Arguments in the Competition Between Empire and Papcy for Supremacy in the Christian Commonwealth”. The Erasmus Journal. 02 March, 2009. Retrieved from < http://erasmus.ong.ro/art2.htm > Miller, S. Edith. Occult Theocracy. Ed. Hawthorne, California; The Christian Book Club of America, 1933, p.143 Webster, John. Secret Societies, New York: Greenwood, 2008. pp. 51-52 Read More