Essay Database

Heresy The specific charges made under this heading were that the Order did not believe in the sacraments, with their priests not consecrating the hosts before Mass, and that the Grand Master and other officials absolved members of their sins. The first is part of the 'standard' set of charges levelled against any group that the Church wanted to suppress. The second is, ironically, true - as it was one of the privileges conferred on …

…he signatures of all the subsequent secret Grand Masters down to the beginning of the 19th century. Critics of the Charter's authenticity point out that it was not made public until 1804, when it was used as the authority for founding a revived Order of the Temple in Paris. However, even if it is genuine, the Larmenius Charter gives no information about the exact circumstances in which the Order survived during the period 1312-1804.