The Order of the Temple is a Christian ecumenical organization that was formed in 1804 on the initiative of the physician Bernard Raymond Fabré-Palaprat. The Order gained the support of Napoleon in 1811 by the Emperor’s alteration of the Order’s statutes. The Order operates in a manner that honors the traditions of the medieval Knights Templar. It reclaims the spirit of its predecessor but does not assert any direct descent from the ancient Order founded by Hugues de Payens in 1118 and dissolved by Pope Clement V in 1312.
Why the name? In the middle ages the two major chivalric Orders were the Order of St. John (currently, the Order of Malta), with a hospitaller mission; and the Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (also known as the Knights Templar), whose role was to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land. Had this been the only role of the Templars, however, they would have been forgotten long ago. Because there was, to use a modern term, demand for services, the Order of the Knights Templar quickly developed into a transport, banking, and security network in which the best educated and motivated soldiers were ready for service. This Order was seen with favor by the Kings and nobles of medieval Europe, and they made use of its services. On the other hand, its increasing power and influence generated mistrust. Their wealth and power, while the land was suffering in poverty due to the expenses made on the wars in the Middle East, turned friends into foes, all because of greed. Efforts were made to brand them as heretics, to grasp their riches, and ruin their legacy by ensuring that this was how they would go down in history until a document granting absolution of their sins surfaced in 2001 when in the Vatican Archives the Chinon Parchment was discovered.
Fabré-Palaprat was a product of his time, the 18th century “Age of Enlightenment,” with its humanitarian and humanistic ideals. The concepts of "Templar" and "Templarism" became for him a synonym of help and protection, decency, dedication, and chivalrous behavior. He based his new Order of the Temple on these ideals. For these reasons, in the 19th century, the Order counted among its members very prominent people and protectors in high places (in society). Given that the Order developed during the height of the Romantic era, the name of the Templars became associated also with the mystical world in which the legends of the lost treasure of the Templars, the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Shroud, the Holy Grail, and the Rosslyn Chapel stories played a particularly prominent role.
Compounded with various wars that preempted any attempt of cohesion in the International Order of the Temple, the Templar movement disaggregated. Even today, there are dozens of groups that carry in some form the name of the Templars. The direct descendants of Fabré-Palaprat's Templars are, however, those Templars who have carried the name of Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani (OSMTH) since World War II. But even this group has currently been divided into at least five distinct and often rivalling factions.
In 1995, the majority of OSMTH Templars (mostly grouped in the Grand Priories of Austria, France, Italy, Finland, England & Wales, Scotland, NATO and the USA) assembled in Salzburg Austria and democratically adopted several resolutions to restructure and modernize the Order.
One of the landmark decisions was to withdraw the recognition afforded to Fernando de Sousa Fontes in 1960 by the Council of Grand Priors as Regent of the Order, because of mismanagement and alleged irregular conduct. Those few who refused to abide by the democratic decision would later be known as OSMTH-Regency. Currently, the Order finds itself divided again, since disagreements that arose following the death of Fernando de Sousa Fontes in 2018. OSMTH is an apolitical, non-governmental organization (NGO) with special consultative status at the United Nations, and registered as a not-for-profit organization in Geneva, Switzerland, under Federal Registry number CH-660.197299-4.
Each grand priory claims to be patriotic, being committed to the betterment of the host country. Our Order is devoted to the preservation of the concept of liberty, which is essential to freedom of conscience and religion for all, and to the efficient performance of good works. But the principal mission of the modern Templars is charity. The Order accomplishes its mission through charitable works (both locally and in the Holy Land), which help people to help themselves, thereby enhancing hope.
The virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity are the guiding lights of the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (OSMTH), whose members wish to serve, just as the original knights had served. The motto of the Order, "Non nobis, Domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam" comes directly from Psalm 115:1 -- "Not for us, Lord, not for us, but to Thy name give glory."
Today, the Order is a secular-military order of chivalry - a knighthood which is intended for accomplished Christian military and civilian men (knights) and women (dames), who have demonstrated that they possess high ethical and moral principles, and who wish to carry on the traditions of the Temple.
As an example of an OSMTH grand priory, the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (SMOTJ), incorporated in the United States, is autonomous and independent. It recognizes the Constitution and statutes of the United States as sovereign and temporally supreme public law. By reconstituting an ancient chivalric order in an age of materialism and secular humanism, the Order seeks to adopt an organization of proven effectiveness in capturing the allegiance and spirit of dedicated leaders, and to show that spiritual idealism is most certainly relevant and not inconsistent with a sensibility for tradition, nor inconsistent with patriotism or civic duty. The Word, not the sword, is the weapon of modern Templars. Modern Templars use the Word, followed by action to serve peace, to help the oppressed, to assist our Brothers and Sisters in harm’s way, to promote education, and to promote and propagate those values that represent the best of the Christian, humanistic, and chivalrous traditions.