A British order of Templars that claims direct descent from the original Knights Templar is calling on the Pope to apologise after a newly-discovered but ancient Vatican document shows that the knights were absolved of crimes laid against them seven centuries ago.The charges led to the disbanding of the order and Grand Master Jacques de Molay was burnt at the stake.
The Vatican will next week publish a collector's edition of documents on the Knights Templar, the fabulously-wealthy medieval crusading order mentioned in Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code novels and which to this day remains at the centre of numerous Holy Grail conspiracy theories and intrigues.
One of the documents, the Chinon Parchment, shows that in the early 14th century, Pope Clement V's investigation of the order absolved the knights of the heresy charges that led to many of them being tortured and burned.
Ben Acheson, a member of a Templar order based in Hertford which claims direct descent from the original Poor Fellow Soldiers of Jesus Christ and the Temple of Solomon Grand Preceptory, said publication of the documents is a "turning point" but called for Pope Benedict XVI to apologise formally.
He said: "The word sorry is conspicuous by its absence. But basically, they have said we were absolved, which is an historic admission. For me, that makes it all the more astonishing that the tortures and executions were allowed to continue. For me, that is why the apology is still the missing piece of the puzzle.
Nevertheless, I would like to think that this could be a turning point. After this, I hope we will be able to be more outward facing, less introverted. There are signs of that happening. Others like me are doing what we can to make things move in that direction."
Three years ago the order, which operates out of a PO box address in Hertford, wrote to the Pope formally requesting an apology “for the torture and murder of our leadership”, instigated by Pope Clement V.
“We shall witness the 700th anniversary of the persecution of our order on 13th October 2007,” the letter said “It would be just and fitting for the Vatican to acknowledge our grievance in advance of this day of mourning.”
The Templars were hoping for an apology in the same vein as those made already by the Church for the persecution of Galileo and for the Crusades.
At the time, Ben Acheson's twin brother Tim Acheson, who is descended from the Scottish Acheson family that has established Templar links and whose family lived until recently in Bailey Hall, Hertford, said: “This letter is a serious attempt by a Templar group which traces its roots back to the medieval Order to solicit an apology from the Papacy.”
He added: “The Papacy and the Kingdom of France conspired to destroy the Order for reasons which modern historians judge to be primarily political. Their methods and motives are now universally regarded as brutal, unfair and unjustified.
“The Knights Templar officially ceased to exist in the early 1300s, but the order continued underground. It was a huge organisation and the vast majority of Templars survived the persecution, including most of their leaders, along with much of their treasure and, most importantly, their original values and traditions.”
At the heart of the maze of tunnels is Hertford Castle, where in 1309 four Templars from Temple Dinsley near Hitchin, were imprisoned after their arrest by Edward II, who believed that they were holding a lost treasure. The treasure was never found.
The Templars captured Jerusalem during the Crusades and were known as “keepers of the Holy Grail”, said to be the cup used at the Last Supper or as the receptacle used by Joseph of Arimathea to catch Christ’s blood as he bled on the Cross, or both.
The Knights Templar were founded by Hugh de Payens, a French knight from the Champagne area of Burgundy, and eight companions in 1118 during the reign of Baldwin II of Jerusalem, when they took a perpetual vow to defend the Christian kingdom.
They were assigned quarters next to the Temple. In 1128, they took up the white habit of the Cistercians, adding a red cross. The order knights, sergeants, farmers and chaplains amassed enormous wealth.
Rome is understood to have given the request for an apology serious consideration.
Ben Acheson said the Hertford Temple had received a secret letter from the Vatican, but this had not been seen by any except a select few at the top of the order. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
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