The graal magazine 06 november 2017

+Non Nobis Domine, Non Nobis Sed Nomine Tuo Da Gloriam+

November 2017 Nยบ 6

Magazine

Arianism and the First Council of Nycea

Sovereign Brotherhood of Dames and Knights of The Temple OSMTJ-International-SPAIN

Digital Magazine

Sovereign Brotherhood of Dames and Knights of The Temple OSMTJ-SPAIN

November 2017 Director:

Ms. Fuensanta Santos de la Rubia Contact: maestroc@hermandadtemple.org

Events

Editorial Board: Priory Council of HSDCT.OSMTJ. Mr. Jose Maria Fernandez Nuñez

Writers:

Mr. Ambrosio Camps Saez Mr. Albert Champeau Mr. Sebastian Carbajosa Mr. Anselmo Hermes Almada Mr. Juan Antonio Cabezos

Designer:

Ms. Fuensanta Santos de la Rubia

International Order Contact: Mr. Agustin Ibañez Aguirre Tfno: 0034 672 110 817 hispaniatemple@live.com

International Translator Contact: Mr. Luis Antonio Colòn Arce marineronoble@icloud.com

Translators: Mr. Luis Antonio Colòn Arce

Edited:

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Editing rights reserved by the Sovereign Brotherhood of Ladies and Knights Templar.

It is prohibited the total or partial reproduction without the written permission from the Editor.

Table of Contents Credits.................................................................................... 1 Index....................................................................................... 2 Editorial.................................................................................. 3 Presentation Templars, Myths, Falsehoods And History ... 4 Arianism and the First Council of Nycea ......................... 5 The Little Death:Mystery of Golgotha ............................... 10 Baphomet: The Countenance of the Shroud ......................... 15 Initiation Trip to Jerusalem ................................................ 21 Expansion of Christianity during the Roman Empire ......... 29 Congres In Zaragoza (Spain)............................................... 34 The Grail Translator Team ................................................ 35 Posting Rules ........................................................................ 36

The Grail

Editorial

By Fuensanta Santos “Hypatia”

At last, my friends, we can now say that the November issue of The Grail was completed. Different obligations of the Brotherhood had delayed its timely release, but it is now here.

Truly interesting is the work of Sebastian Carbajosa, “Baphomet: The countenance of the Shroud”, everything that has to do with Our Lord awakens expectations and curiosity.

Also our collaborator on the esoteric aspect of the Temple, Albert Champeau, delights us with “The Little Death: The Mystery of Golgotha”, of which I am totally certain will leave none indifferent, the paths of knowledge open to all whom have eyes to see.

A new friend to the review, Ambrosio Camps, gives us the treasure of “History of the Church and Christianity”, “Arianism and the Council of Nycea, 1st Ecumenical”, things we have forgotten but that form part of our cultural inheritance.

On another note, our brother in Christ, Anselmo Hermes Almada delights us with the fact finding trip he made to the Holy City, “Introductory Journey to Jerusalem”, and esteemed Prior Juan Antonio Cabezos “Eneass” enlightens us as to the circumstances that promoted “Christian Expansion during the Roman Empire”.

And finally, our special envoy, Hermes Mercurio got away from us and brings from the Congress of Zaragoza, an advance report about the event..

This year we have intellectually and eagerly pursued, an edition of a book made up of a series of articles intensely researched by our Knights and Dames in their first year of investiture. Investitures and elevations that will take place on the 24th and 25th of June of the present year, and the publication of the conferences that took place at the Congress of Zaragoza abd retell the editorial novelty of “Templars:Myths, Falsehoods and History” by our regular contributor, Jose Maria Fernandez, which is, without a doubt, the definitive reference on the History of the Temple.

Hypatia

Presentation Of The Book, Templars, Myths, Falsehoods And History Synopsis The following work is the product of five years of research, based on a project of academic design, where one applies the tools of the trade of a historian, perhaps, the most crucial one being the scientific method applied with the necessary rigor.

As in any project, it comes from the need to solve, clarify or document a historic fallacy, or as it is commonly known in Spain as "Catalonian history", its purpose is to recover the history of that moment, devoid of deceit and invasive factoids.

One must never underestimate the importance of this first phase of the scientific method, as it is within it where we locate the action that will take us to the objective of the work.

It takes place fundamentally within the first thirty years of the 12th century, during the creation, development and recognition by the Nablus Synod of the Canonical Brotherhood of the Poor Companions of Christ, and investigation based upon archival documents of pseudo chroniclers of the time and later ones.

A profound study as to why it was not created on the generally accepted dates, as well as not attributing proper importance to the intervention of Bernard de Clairvaux in Troyes, yet, his contribution, enormously acknowledged by posterity, is precisely what made the Order great. He is denied the creation of the Rule while simultaneously the Synod of Troyes is justified as a Templar decree, not ecclesiastic.

The concept of monkhood is denied, not even the one of brother is allowed, the results of an exhaustive study, equal to the supposed poverty of the founders.

This being the nucleus, it is supported by other articles that detail and better help us to understand that society and the true motives of the Crusades, on an ecclesiastical as well as a social and commercial level with the recovery of ancient commercial routes, then, in hands of Muslims with also a slight presence in central European rivers. The loss of presence and importance of the Mediterranean will be a primordial factor for the magnates of that time.

Another factor, shall be the appearance on the scene of the jurisprudence that the disputed Order: its bulls, adaptations and corrections, that will generate a power base greater than the Orders of the Holy Sepulcher and of St. John the Evangelist which they will overshadow. An ample and close biography of its founders will close the book. Followed by the epilogue and the consulted bibliography.

Jose Maria Fernåndez Núùez

Arianism and the First Council of Nycea

Ambrosio Camps Sรกez Abstract The following article deals briefly on the subject of the church' first council.

Reclining on the banks of Lake Askania, Nycea was the head, standard and clearing market for the culture of Asia Minor.

In that same year of 313 he freed the clergy of all municipal services, in 3211 he issued an order allowing them to receive willed donations, and established Sunday as a day of rest.

In 320 he removes the penalties against celibacy etc. (2)

Crossroads of the Significance of ancient world, cauldron of selfishness and theological the 313 struggles between East Edict of Milan and West. A rivalry as old as history itself; it was the seat, in 325 of the First The first effect was Ecumenical Council, where the church analyzed Arius' the public and solemn manifestation of politics towards (256-336) theological thesis on the second person of the Christianity.

Trinity, condemning him for his heresy.

The rights of citizenship for Christians were The Figure of Emperor recognized, as well as their ample liberties within the empire. To solidify this decision he carried it out with Constantine the blessing of Licinius I, Lord of the East. He faced no The figure of Emperor Constantine the Great (273- opposition, as the prestige of Constantine, led Licinius to 337) was vital to the development of the church during agree to his wishes. those first centuries.

Thus, the two august men reunited in Milan, He was a providential figure for the Catholic Church; composed the famous edict, whose chief decision and as he not only gave it the freedom it needed, but also the base for all else, was the proclamation of the most supported and positively protected it, aiding it with the absolute religious freedom, "quam quisque voluisset".

After the Edict of Milan Constantine's position with greatest effectiveness in its later development. respect to the church is characterized by: first, the The equalized Christianity with the state religion absolute equality of Christianity with the state religion; through innumerable dispensations. But the cult of second, his favor and preference towards Christianity Paganism, as the official state religion, remained intact. grew, whereby later on, at least in fact, he treated it as the religion of the empire, although he did not touch the He himself retained the title of Supreme Pontiff (1). Pagan cult as an official state religion (3).

After his great victory, he no longer sanctioned sacrificial offerings, nor homages to the capitol, nor secular games.

Contrary to Constantine, Licinius gradually hardened In 313 the monogram of Christ (R) appears on some his stance towards Christians: he disrupted the synodical coins. gatherings of the bishops, dismissed Christian servants from his palace, out lawed gatherings of the cult within He ordered all property that had been confiscated the cities, forced his armies to offer up sacrifices to the from Christians, to be returned; built new churches...in gods, thus violating the Edict of Milan, forty Christian 313 he also took Bishop Osius of Cordova as his counsel, soldiers were martyred in Sebastea, Armenia as well as to whom he entrusted the execution of all religious affairs, the bishop of the same city, St. Blaise. he gifted the Lateran Palace to the Popes, the buildings of St. Peter's Basilica, St. Paul's, St. Lawrence Outside the Constantine, faced with this hostile attitude towards Walls and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Christianity, declared war on Licinius. It was not a

religious war, in reality political gains were the real The Antiochian School founder, St. Lucian of Antioch influences, and Constantine's ambition of being master during the second half of the third century, tended to lean towards this train of thought from its beginnings. of the whole empire.

Its adherents pondered on the one end, the unity of The Christian's of the East received Constantine the divinity, and on the other, the excellences of Christ, as a liberator. Licinius was assasi.. nated in Thrace but not so these would elevate Him above the level of (9/18/324) by order of Constantine, thus becoming sole creatures. ruler of the empire (4).

From this school came Arius, born in Libya, who Concerning Constantine we must say that although adhered to the schism of Meletius, (bishop of Lycopolis he was educated in religious Christian values by his in Lower Egypt,, he appropriated the rights of the mother Helen, and from his father Constantius Chlorus patriarchy of Alexandria; was deposed in a synod, and I, he learned the norms of good government; as to the he as well as his followers joined the Arians in common decision of the Edict of Milan, it begs to suspect thatkis cause) (7). Arius later reconciled with the church and, ordained presbyter, placed in charge, by the bishop of more political than religious.

Alexandria of the church in Bucalis. Of all the heresies Free of prejudice against Christians as a result of the of arianism it was the one that most easily made its way education received from his mother, he was able to calmly among the masses. consider the policies followed by the great emperors Since arianism annulled the mystery of the divinity of that had preceded him in their eagerness of organizing Christ, placing within the scope of human intelligence the empire. The battles undertaken by Dacian, Valerian and, above all, Diocletian against Christianity had failed oneof the most fundamental truths of Christianity, this is why it came to spread so rapidly throughput many completely. regions, and what became even more effective, having The Catholic Church was already extraordinarily penetrated the invasive nations of the western empire, it strong, therefore impossible to destroy. Would it not be tenaciously held on for a couple of centuries (8). more advantageous for the empire itself to capitalize on this young force?

Arianism and the First Oppositions This idea must have fascinated the noble Constantine As the basic principle of the entire system, the doctrine for quite some time, as the knowledge he had concerning of Arius was based on the weighing of the absolute Christians had led his mind towards the conviction that unity of God, eternal, uncreated and incommunicable.

Christianity did not constitute an obstacle to the empire Beyond Him, all that exist are mere creatures of His. and if anything it lent itself to strengthen it on new foundations, and to maintain the empire at peace (5).

From this principle we derive the fundamental and exclusive affirmation that the Verb of Christ is not eternal nor has he been created from the ether; nor created Origin of the Arian Heresy through necessity, but by the will of God, the Father.

During the Third Century, the Catholic Church had to The reason of His existence was based on that it was necessary for Him to be created so that He would serve struggle against the monarchichistic as an instrument to the Heavenly or Sabellian mindset, which, based Father to create the world. on its concept of an excessive unity of divinity, destroyed the Consequently, the Verb was not differences of the person. of the same nature as the Father; According to this, the Verb or Christ was not a different person, but rather the same father in a special form.

To resist this concept in divinity, some leaned to the extreme opposite; they distinguished the Verb of the Father in such a way, that they denied the consubstantiality (applied to the Holy Trinity; of one and the same substance) and handed it to the Son, in some way, less than the Father, subordinating Him (6).

He is different from the Divine Essence; by His own nature, as the first of all creatures and the most excellent of all, He is above all that was created, He has been elevated to a truly impeccable state, and in this manner He reaches such sublimity, that He merits the title of God. Therefore, we can call him God by catachresis or abuse of the extension of the word.

His doctrine was embraced with benevolence, increasing Arius' and his followers activity.

From its beginning it found many initiates among the man of utmost discretion and highly trustworthy, with helenite learned, well accustomed to the idea of the special missives for Alexander and for Arius with a most Summus Deus, a Supreme Being, as it destroyed all the urgent request to procure a solution. mystery of the Trinity.

All was in vain} Arius ignored all of Osius' On the other hand many Christian theologians, who exhortations, the latter was quickly convinced that the then were only preoccupied with the dangers of a matter was quite serious and heresy was taking important monarchy, it resolved the difficulty in a radical manner: proportions. Thus, it seems that it was he who proposed the "Son" did not identify with the Father, but was instead to the emperor, as a means of achieving peace and unity, completely distinct from Him and His own creature. the convening of the Council of Nycea (11).

With this theory the arian doctrine led to the complete Being that it concerned the highly important matter destruction of the redemption and the Gospels (9). of achieving religious peace, he took all the appropriate He soon arrived at a conflict with the Bishop of measures to ensure that the greatest number of Alexandria, Alexander. Who could not convince him of representatives of the bishopric ,. would be able to the fallacy of his doctrine; he finally had to proceed with attend. force and in a synod of over one hundred bishops, held He undertook all the expenses of travel and in 321, the arian doctrine was condemned for the first accommodations in the place where the meeting time. As a result, Arius was excommunicated. would be held. Some three hundred attended, who This action spurred him on to defend his ideas with were mostly Eastern Christians, but among them were greater conviction. He then went to Palestine, and later two representatives of Pope Sylvester, the Presbyters to Nicomedia in Turkey, where he won new initiates Vitus and Vincentius and as president by virtue of his to his cause; among the most important was Bishop office, the emperor's confidante, Osius of Cordova; the Eusebius of Nicomedia, his champion before the Patriarch of Alexandria, Alexander, was accompanied Emperor, as well as Eusebius of Cesarea, the historian, by St. Athanasius. Arius was present, in the company of who, without declarihg himself an'ariahist, was always- those who shared his beliefs, among them Eusebius of one of Arius' best sponsors. During his exile he wrote Nicomedia (12). great quantities of memoirs and letters, but above all he Meeting of the Council wrote his famous work Thalia in which he defended his beliefs about the Verb (10).

The council was celebrated in the small town of Nycea in May, not far from Nicomedia, in Bitania Constantine's Intervention (Turkey). The opening session was presided over by the emperor himself, and he pledged his support, charging Such was the state of affairs towards the year of 323, them with the utmost urgency to reach a true peace. precisely the year of his decisive victory over Licinius, He placed all available means of communication at through which he believed to have eliminated the danger the disposal of the bishops. Some three hundred were towards religious peace, and most definitely for the empire that Constantine saw the need to thus intercede. in attendance, according to records that have been He attempted various solutions, that failed completely. preserved. Arius, again was also present, and was especially encouraged by Eusebius of Nicomedia who The first was a letter addressed to St. Alexander, the was confident of his influence over Constantine (13).

Patriarch of Alexandria, in which he urged him to do Arius andhpeople clearly expressed his opinion that the whatever possible to avoid those divisions. The second Verb was a creature of the Father and different from solution was based on dispatching Osius of Cordoba, a Him in essence.

A great number of bishops, some twenty two, This symbol was immediately proposed so that it manifested themselves as partial to these opinions. That would be accepted by all. Emperor Constantine took is why it was considered essential to delve deeply into it upon himself announcing that those who refused to the arian matter and unravel the false principles upon accept it would be banished. which it based itself.

This, without a doubt caused most of Arius' followers to Eusebius of Nicomedia himself accepted it.

The formulations of Osius of Cordoba Thesign. only ones that stubbornly refused to sign were (Homoousion) two bishops, Secundus of Ptolemy and Thomas of Marmarica. Shortly thereafter, in spite of agreeing, Eusebius of Nicomedia was The discussions soon took on also banished. Arius also left the an unusual liveliness. A formula empire. proposed by the arians had to be rejected, due to its ambiguity The results of the Council and being favorable to their of Nycea was the greatest ideas. Then they all attempted triumph of the true Catholic to condense Catholic dogma on doctrine. Constantine himself, the nature of the Verb in clear who considered the Council expressions, taken from the as his own brainchild, and Holy Scriptures. the doctrinal unity a work of the empire, procured that all But the difficulty lay in that was agreed upon in the that all these expressions assembly, be put forth. were explained by the arians conforming to their system.

Aside from the arian The phrase that the Verb was matter, the council took care ex Deo, of God, they explained of several other matters of their way, saying that it was lesser importance: the schism of God as all things were, but of Meletius and the matter purely and merely a creature. of the celebration of Easter.

Their schism condemned, the In the midst of this general Meletians took up a common confusion and not being able cause with the arians. In the to arrive at a formula that celebration of Easter, the clearly expressed Catholic practice utilized in the Western dogma, Eusebius of Cesarea proposed a symbol church was proclaimed. In addition some twenty employed by his church; but it was seen as containing disciplinary canons were promulgated, in which the dangerous obscurities and that it lent itself to erroneous matter of the baptism of heretics and of lapsed apostates interpretations. from persecution (16).

Under these circumstances and after fruitless discussions,the formula that more clearly expressed the orthodox doctrineconcerning the nature of the Verb, was presented. This expression is the noted word "Homoousion" (consubstantial), which defends, along with consubstantiality, the personal distinction of the Son and the Father (14).

It was Osius of Cordoba who proposed it. Thus expressly affirmed by St. Athanasius, an exceptional witness in these matters. With the happy formula of Homoousion the symbol of Nycea was composed, in which the Christian doctrine would be resumed, in particular that which refers to the Verb.

The Credo was proclaimed in Nycea, the doctrine that was confessed in prisons, in the depth of mines, upon the rack, at the stake, in the arenas of the circus', before tyrants and executioners that pluck the eyes, cut the tongue, cut off hands and feet, rend the body and burn the heart.

The doctrine that was proclaimed in Nycea had been received from the martyrs, those of the Apostles, the Apostles of Christ-God. This doctrine is compiled

by Nycea in one symbol, the so called Symbol or Credo, The Nycean Creed (17).

Overall Judgment concerning Constantine

This symbol was immediately proposed in the assembly. The fundamental phrase was this one, with which the nature of the Son is declared: genitum, non The judgment we must form on Constantine is wholly factum, consubstantialem Patri: begotten, not made, of favorable. Politically he was a great statesman, who knew one and the same substance as the Father (15). how to unite the empire, overcoming the innumerable

obstacles that stood in his path and succeeding in once again placing it on a solid foundation.

For the Catholic Church, Constantine was truly a magnanimous force, a man for the time who put an end to once and for all the persecutions of the Roman Empire and did so favorably in the most efficient manner.

Certainly, Constantine had major faults. Even though , since his victory over Licinius he was devoutly Christian, he lacked sufficient courage to embrace the obligations of Christianity and he continued to postpone his baptism up until he lay on his deathbed.

2.

H I C., 390-391

3.

Ibid., 388-389

4. Alvarez Gomez, Jesus, CFM, Manual of the History of the Church, Ed. Claretiana, Buenos Aires 1982, Pg. 8 and beyond (M H I) 5.

MHI., 57.

6.

MHI., 401-402

7.

Ibid., 472.

8. Ibid.,401.

9.

Ibid., 403-403.

10. Ibid., 404.

11. Ibid., 404-405, 12. Ibid., 406-407.

13. Ibid., 406-407.

14. Ibid., 408.

15. Ibid., 409.

16. Ibid., 409-410.

17. Adro, Xavier, The Ecumenical Councils, Ed. Casals, Barcelona 1961, Pg. 28 18. Ibid., 416-417,

On the other hand, he was unable to control his fits of rage, at times committing abominable acts even for the time, such as the murder of his son Crispus and his own second wife Fausta on suspicion of infidelity. Finally for his spirit of insertion in religious matters, causing irreparable damages to the church, leaning in the final years of his life in favor of arian heresy. Never-theless, the services that he lent to Christianity abundantly outweigh these deficiencies, for which he deservedly received the ennobling appellation of "The Great" (18).

REFERENCES: 1. Bernardino Llorca, S I., History of the Catholic Church, Vol. 1, Ancient Time, Reason and Faith - Ed. S.A. Madrid, 1955, Pg. 389 and beyond ( H I C)

Ambrosio Camps Sรกez Holds a degree in nursing and is the author of Ordo Fratrum Minimorum, the convent of St. Ambrosius in Cartagena.

He tells us that they decided to establish a hospice and convent in San Anton, just outside the ancient walls of Cartagena.

The monastery and sanctuary of Our Lady of the Light, dedicated to the monastery along the road that joins the sanctuary of the Fuensanta (holy fountain) with the Natural Valley Park

The Little Death: Mystery of Golgotha

Albert Champeau

Almost always, and regardless of the invitation involved, apprentices, neophytes or students, truly enamored with esoteric matters, at first seek and with a certain zeal "magic recipes", thinking that through initiation alone one learns some secret powers...in reality, it is as one immerses themselves in their search when they discover that, in no way, can authentic formulas and magic keys be moved without having understood God and creation in all their metaphysical works.

A few embedded determinations in our subconscious, product of our education and upbringing, the social context where we live, or the acquired religious beliefs, that must be taken into the light of conscience.

Thus this initial cleansing process imposes the general rearrange. ment of an entire world slumbering in its own comfort zone. Being that, to mentally rise in the architectural abstractions of God and tame this universe of forces, itsnecessary to liberate ourselves of these Here, we touch on architectural entities, endowed mental fixations that upset the conscience, they hold us with intelligence and conscience, totally free, just as back, and lastly, they maintain us in the dark. fundamental and rudimentary reflections, that are Controlling the conscience is the first step one unfettered forces, or hierarchically exhausting, cunning must take to scroll back to zero. And here, to distance and ready to rob us of our "mercury". themselves, the neophyte will discard their baggage, as Taking advantage of the ingenuousness and exhibited prescribed in traditional initiations. haste of certain neophytes, these forces can play on this, The disconnect . is equivalent to killing the old person causing serious psychic wounds. within us.

For this reason it is imperative to respect some prerequisites before delving into some magic practices.

If the fast track initiation is intended to be a strengthening of the being, the "Id" quick and dense, whereas on the other hand the Primordial Tradition instituted different phases of the Alchemy of the Soul that correspond to the different stages that the neophyte will pass through.

Proceeding towards to a task of cleansing is the preliminary step. It involves the acknowledgment and, of course, the abandon of those that bind and control us, with impunity, the negative forces of the ego, the submission to instincts, prejudices and physical or spiritual taboos that bind us.

It is an ennobling game where one pays with their the flight can commence. Blue cormorant, white dove, person... since the ego, who was shameless in its peacock. Up to the grand mastership of the initiates barefaced pride of individuality, finds itself completely burnishing. torn apart between the forge and the fire that slowly Whatever the path embarked upon by the neophyte burns its worn framework.

A stewof purification on low heat, that makes this in their quest, they must travel through this preliminary stage, always, unbearably long, replete with bitterness phase, within themselves, endured as a "little death", as and disappointments, rebellions and grudges. it is soon enough That is why the Christlike hero of the Grail does not followed by a rebirth. In reality, and within this face ferocious beasts or terrible dragons in the enchanted circuit there is no other access but this essential need of forest, but instead wages combat with himself, as with alchemistic death with the objective of sublimation and Don Quixote when faced with his illusioh. transfiguration of the self. And, paradoxically, it is not the triumph but the failure that marks our recognition. The In that moment, confronted with his nothingness, case of failure is primordial. having accepted the game of replanning himself, the individual agrees to their nakedness and enters into the The tests and the traps are here for our improvement. terror of the mystic night. In the black silence of the To solidify our demonstrated valor. It is the game of the absences and abandons where the being blossoms with forge. And the forge is law. This how God loves us, a great roar over the cacophony of ones internal demons. singles us out and breathes us in until we become one with Him. The neophyte then enters into the experience of the void and touches their finality, their imperfection, Contrary to what many think, confusing their desires their inadaptability, in short the frailty of their calming with reality, Divine Law is not a good natured adaptation. mechanism. The void produced by the loss of their If to satisfy his limits, man projects himself in a vision markers and old foundations and values produces a dynamic opening of awareness, that flows out over the that will provide him with security, the reality is quite different: Divine Lawis divine and not human. An expected metamorphosis and rebirth. inevitable consequence, as creatures we do not freely This healthy dissolu, tion, accomplished with total establish the rules to which we are bound. And it is thus, indifference, allows access to a higher state, exalted, and that God's oversight rules inexorably over the "opus") and

its "tool" is destiny. In truth, a determinism or philosophy in the service of the law, in order to unemcumber the background by means of different adjustments. And here, as an added aside, the course of events suffer the consequences of our acts, and man is crucified by his own destiny of which he is the sovereign character. In fact, the tests follow in succession as a "savingflame", as an unavoidable crucible and necessary to attain redemption and atonement.

symbols that surround the Divine Passage, down "here", our path is the image of this God, meaning, Christ like.

Which implies that the Passion of Christ is the way.

Thus, in the image of the Divine Archetype, man bears his destiny as Christ bore His Cross. Suffering is his atonement, a demanded and inevitable regimen for the enlightenment of his conscience and his elevation through the cross that represents experience. It is thus that upon his flesh, by means of the applied forges, that man ascends the ladder of salvation. Which is why, on an initiative path, it is said with great knowledge: one must descend in order to ascend.

To die within oneself is the seed of resurrection.

It cannot be taken as an end per se. That is why the "little death" has never killed anyone! Because in this form of nothingness, one can read the signs of future recovery, and regardless of what a person goes through, So that we understand, the Light of the Lamb shows they always find within themselves what is needed to us the way, Die and arrive at being!. It is a light set by the overcome. Its only a case of complicated situations, and it's precisely in these situations where the true measure fire of alchemy, that can only burn the refuse of human of individual greatness is measured.

There is only failure when indeed all is lost. Now then, in the midst of the worst adversities, man is never forsaken, and never is all lost. God is still with us,the "Emmanuel" and He intercedes in our destiny.

For this reason, the life of man is always grave, cruel, tragic, pathetic, but also sublime. Failure is an opening to self reform, necessary and inescapable, as the blocked action opens the door to all possibilities, chiefly the one of anticipated rectification. Overcoming is how man grows.

In truth, there can be no evolution without opposition.

Since by the rule, opposition is a spiritual critic, it is a sort of spiritual policeman and failure must be liberated from this subjective spell of failure from which nothing can gather impulse. This positive philosophy begins at the moment that one experiences failure without actually suffering one, since in order for change to exist, the obstacle must only be a moment of transition/ a mere instant of purification, a rite of passage, an "Easter".

It is the shift from slavery to freedom by means of sacrifice. Just as the Pascal Lamb.

Let's not forget God's example, who descended in the Incarnation to do the work of Redemption for His sacrifice freely assumed... As such, if we clearly see the

imperfection, which inevitably requires the crucifiction of the undertaken matter, in the inescapable blood red of the conquerors.If our destiny is "Christ like", it is also sacrificial. As the true path is dramatic.

To be the Lamb is a sign of love, sacrifice and forgiveness, and leads to the "Rock", towards the purple.

Golgotha lies before us, unyielding, signed the blood of Calvary and of sacrifice. As the trial must be experienced, we are obliged by nature and condition, to endure the darkness that disowns us, makes us ridiculous, and finally leads us to death. The road to Calvary is for all, relentless,

an imposed universal condition, paradoxically loaded Christian vows that were useful for advancing in this with the greatest benefits and unimagined virtues.. alchemistic journey, do not correspond to any offering.

Unfortunately, human nature is much too frail to proceed without pressures, and the experience of failure continues to be useful and formative. It surmises that it needs an absolutely stimulating and renewing factor that, in the long run, should engender an evolutionary dynamic. The horror of change could cause us to flee, for lack of courage or fear, including the best reasons of a thousand weaknesses, because one who rejects confrontation retreats when faced with the effort of realizing something, they are destroyed and are finally dissolved in a dispersion of the personality.

They cannot cause the purity of the spirit to shine, nor the humility or tolerance. And, since the same old song, is a Non Nobis (not us) recited without thought which, at last, prostituted, has no authenticity.

With this attitude, the neophyte appears as a granite wall, trapped in the hardened shell of one who has not truly understood the game, when it was the time to clear the path that led to the cloister of light. Who does not advance, regresses. Of course, the door to this temple that they wished to know, remains completely closed, and for them nothing can truly take place, even The escape and surrender lead to recreating in some less:•Magically! other place, and in a more powerful way, what has not Now then to succeed in the "upper" world, and to been accepted, because what is not accepted cannot be acknowledged, then heard in his magic affairs, one finally be transformed and much less sublimated. must step down, that is to say, fail in this. Accept reform Truth always ends up imposing itself. Masks are cast of oneself...There is no other path to the transcendental aside. state.

Its only a matter Some may reject this vision that could appear as of time. negative, per-haps somewhat masochistic, nevertheless, it is our awareness of God. The needs of an initiative All conflict not Golgotha are a fatalism whose sometimes hidden reason resolved obstructs is often incomprehensible to the profane.,, time, which is perceived as a To seek initiation is a difficult path, reserved for an black bile fraught elite class, potentially stronger than the rest, who accept with melancholy in conscience the hardships of a path of fire, made of where all will tests, falls and, of course, of healthy rectifications. decant and decay If not, it would involve a false tradition, a chimerical in its own rhythm until it inexorably initiation masked in wisdom, a sugar coated hoax, fraught with childish illusions and devoid of any maturity reaches its or reality. mutation.

In case that instincts hold you back, pride dominates and one cannot attain a new step of gravitational acceleration.

As for God, He addresses the elite souls that more than ever mark the cadence, being that the alchemistic evolution of the dry path was never made for the benefit of all mankind, but instead for the minority.

The Templars knew this without a doubt, they who In fact, making the Templar ethic shimmer, the three were exceptional beings...

In summary, before one believes or brags that they poses a beautiful illusion, not without risks. are a magician or sage, first, it behooves one to embark And so, the way is always a risk of becoming lost, on a process of initiation until they arise from the little death, which as we have seen is filled with virtues and, therefore it is not worthwhile to tempt the devil... second, ascending the planes, truly learn to know the In how many illusions has a supposedly initiative path metaphysical architectures of creation. cloaked itself, presenting itself as a springboard to all Playing Demiurge (in Plato's Philosophy, a spirit superiorities! intermediate between God and the creature) tapping The truth often times is hurtful, and until now it has into the occult powers, which is what draws everyone always been imposed with blood and tears. rapidly to the threshold of initiation.., with all certainty, it

Albert Champeau *Is a writer and philosopher *Disciple and friend of Jacques Breyer in the 1980s, carrying on the tradition. *For the past 20 years he has dedicated himself to holding workshops on metaphysics, and the knowledge of Templar law, connected to Templar resurgence started by Jacques Breyer in 1952, in Arginy, France

Baphomet: The Countenance of the Shroud Sebastian Carbajosa Castilla "...The Baphomet that we worship is a human head Dr. Frale, we feel that the occasion well deserves it. devoid of gold or silver, pale and faded, with a beard like the Templars..." Baphomet is a bearded head that bears The Baphomet two feet in front and two in back..."

Logically, we must commence by defining what is "Baphomet", this concept first appears during the process against the Templars carried out after the aforementioned, 1307 detention ordered by Philip IV "The Fair" (Le Beau) of France, whom going forward shall be referred to as "The Handsome" so as not to confuse him with his Hispanic/German homonymous.

The term Baphomet falls into oblivion until the expoliation of the Vatican documents ordered by Napoleon in 1810.

Its etymology is complicated, for starters, the term has no concrete spelling, most likely due to translation into Latin of the verbal confessions of the very process, it being quite common to see it written as Bafomet, Baphomet, Bafometo, Baffometto, etc..., and much has been said as to its tetymologlcal meaning, it is-dommonly accepted that it is the composition of the Greek words "Bapho" and "Meteos", which mean, respectively "baptism" and "adoration". Others say that it is the defacing of the term "Mahomet", which in the Oc language (Provensal) means "Mahoma" Such confessions were professed by some of the (Mohammed), this all fits in conveniently with Philip's Knights of the Order of the Temple following their arrest own fabricated accusation of idolatry and heresy, more on Friday the 13th of October 1307 after being accused than probably related to Islam, as it was well known that of idolatry. during a great part of the Order's existence they were It was the historian Ian Wilson in his 1979 book, defenders and protectors of all three cultures: Christian, "The Shroud of Turin", to be the first to formulate this Islamic and Judaic, that coexisted peacefully in a good theory that the idol worshipped by the Templars was in part of their commanderies.

fact, none other than the Holy Shroud that is displayed In 1982 Henry Lincoln, along with Michael Baigent today in Turin. and Richard Leigh, in his book "The Sacred Enigma" (The Yet another reason on this historic occasion, to Holy Blood & The Holy Grail)" pointed out that it could silence the controversy as to its authenticity or, at least, be a derivative of the Arab word "Abufihamet", which to question the reliability of the, worn out, Carbon 14 means "Father (or source) of Knowledge". More daring are the ones that want to see alchemistic abridgments or test that it has been subjected to. a connection of this word to the philosophical stone.

Novi. this hypothesis of Wilson's is being revisited in Its form, as gathered from the confessions of the light of the latest investigations by another historian,Dr. Barbara Frale recently published in Spain in her opus: brothers, is that of a "bearded head". The wrong idea The Templars and the Holy Shroud" (I Templari e la of a Baphomet of diabolical aspect comes from the Sindone di Cristo".) Once again, controversy is served. French occultist Eliphas Levi (real name Alphonse Louis Constant), who in 1854, published a book titled "Dogma After our trip to Turin last year, in the first place, and and Ritual of High Magic", where he reproduces an the recent appearance of the above mentioned book by illustration of the term that has passed down through

history because, quite often, a picture is indeed worth singular presence of these split bearded heads. more than a thousand words; since then relating the One may also observe bearded heads in the Templar idol with the graphic image of the devil is little Hermitage of Santa Maria de Eunate in Navarre, 12th less than unavoidable. century and octagonal shaped, obviously of Templar origin, and I myself have observed some in St. Pantaleon de Losa and Santa Maria de Siones, both 12th century and located in Las Merindades, province of Burgos. But these last examples are not as clear, they are not located in the keystone nor do they coincide with the esthetics of the previous ones.

In order to speak of authentic "Baphomets" we would need to arrive at the 13th century, we will soon see why.

The Shroud and the Templars

At any rate, the knowledge of this idol, did not seem to be common among all the members of the Order, Dr. Frale gathers in her cited work, that of the 1,114 registered confessions, only 130 refer to the image.

Nevertheless, the image of its cult is evident in architecture, being quite common to see bearded heads in churches, in the form of bas reliefs that, often, are located in the so called "keystone", which is, the central stone that supports the arch crowning the entrance to the temple, which,ih my view, allows the belief that the Baphomet constituted a central idea in their beliefs, it is also my opinion that one can discard the belief that said idol has anything to do with alchemy because quite often bearded heads are observed as isolated, meaning, without the company of other figures that would make one think of any chemical formula.

In Spain there exist three basreliefs of this type, in the Church of Vera Cruz in Segovia, in Santa Maria de Castillo in Fregenal de la Sierra (Badajoz) (bah-dahhose) and the one in Santa Maria del Alcazar in Arjona (ahr-ho-nah), JaĂŠn .

The so called "Sindone di Torino" or the Holy Shroud that is in Turin, precisely in the Royal Chapel of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, is an ancient linen cloth, yellowed with time, that reproduces, both in back and front, the faint and reddish image of a bearded man in full figure who seems to lay after death, displaying a series of wounds that are compatible with what tradition and the Gospels narrate to have been endured by Jesus of Nazareth.

It actually measures 4 X 36 meters in length by 1 X 11 meters wide but, given linen's flexibility, it most likely stretched with time and, if it originated in the 1st century, it possibly conformed to a standard measurement which according to Dr. Frale, was 8 X 2 Syrian cubits (measurement of the time equivalent to 44.7 cm) a cubit was a measure of length equal to the distance from the elbow to the end of the middle finger.

All of them from the latter part of the 13th century; curiously the last of these is not of Templar origin, but of Calatravan (order of), which gives us a glimpse of the existing The shroud also shows as well, the damage produced relationship between the by having suffered through various fires. two orders.

Personally I have had the opportunity to visit both the Fregenal and Arjona churches and have been able to observe, crowning the archways of their entrances, the

The first time that its existence is discovered, as such is in 1353 in Lirey, France, the local Lord donates said cloth to the collegiate church that he had just founded, there exists evidence of skepticism concerning the relic on the part of the local bishop (in D'Arcis) in a missive to the Pope dated 1389. The Lord of Lirey was one Geoffroy de Charny.

numerous fragments of the "Lignum Crucis" (wooden cross)..., and including beyond Christianity proper, if we pay heed to the writings of Procopius of Caesarea, there also were mythical objects of Judaism such as the great Menorah, the Trumpets of Jericho and the so called Solomon's Table.

The Shroud was kept at that time, in the Basilica of St. Mary of Blachernae, as stated by Crusader Robert de Clari in his chronicle "The Conquest of Constantinople", where it was vertically displayed so that the people could see the full figure of Jesus Christ. After the pillaging of the city, he himself states that none ever knew what became of it. If it fell into Templar hands, these would not speak of it, as Pope Innocent III had launched a penalty of excommunication against the spoliators of Constantinople, it is quite probable that because of this, as well, its possession was unknown by a majority of the Templars.

Among the knights that took part in the taking of Constantinople, was Othon de la Roche.

It was precisely his name that placed the Templars, as custodians of the Shroud, in the sights of the aforementioned British historian Ian Wilson, as the coincidence is quite evident, of Geoffroy de Charny, Chief Seneschal of the last Grand Master of the Temple, Jacques de Molay, and arrested at the same time in 1307 and sentenced together with the latter in 1314.

Although some argue that the surname differs , one must say that, both show up as Charny, Charnay, Charnayo, Charniaco, etc. in different documents.

Curiously the lord of a fiefdom near Athens that also had an abbey in Dafnis which was renamed as St. Mary

The connection seems evident, But, how came the Shroud into the hands of our Poor Knights?

We find the answer at the beginning of the 13th century, during the Fourth Crusade, it commences with great economic woes, which is why on the journey to Jerusalem, where they would never arrive, the Crusaders stopped in Constantinople to reinstate the ousted emperor Alexios IV Angelos in exchange for payment.

When they arrive, the latter has already been rejected by the people and the situation became further complicated after the coup and assassination of the emperor by the hand of a public official named Alexius Murzuphlus, who installs himself as Alexios V Doukas, who refused to pay the debts of his predecessor, which led to the attack and plundering of the city, which would never recover, this occurred between the 14th and 16th of April in 1204.

of Blachernae, making reference to the same, in diverse documents, Pope Innocent III himself; in her exhaustive body of investigation, Dr. Frale, highlights a document dated in 1205 where a member of the Imperial Byzantine family beseech the aforementioned pope for the return of at least, the most important relics, referencing among It is said that Constantinople, subsequent to the search them the Shroud of Christ that, according to him, was in embarked upon by St. Helena, mother of Constantine the custody of Othon de la Roche. the Great, possessed at least half of the Christian relics: the Crown of Thorns, the sponge used at the cross, The Sindon (shroud), following Dr. Frale's reasoning,

had been in the possession of the de la Roche family until a high dignitary of the Temple, belonging to the above mentioned family, Amaury de la Roche had turned it over to the Order perhaps in exchange for capital to finance military campaigns, perhaps for hierarchical reasons; we must not forget the hypothesis defended by other investigators, among these, Julio Marvizon, that in Lirey the actual owner of the cloth was Jeanne de Vergy and not her husband Geoffroy de Charny, thanks to a medal of that time that represents the Shroud with the heraldic devices of both, at a time when women were not granted much importance.

Be that as it may, the Holy Shroud would return to the de la Roche family thanks to the marriage of their daughter, Marguerite, to Humbert de Villersexel, Comte de la Roche, who at that time held a fiefdom in St. Hippolyte Sur le Doubs, where it would remain until the family relinquished it to the Royal House of Savoy. We illustrate this work with stained glass images from Humbert's 14th century church, that represent.,,, his ancestor Othon in Templar garb, bearing the Holy Shroud in his hands.

The Mandylion and the Tetradyplon Of all that has been said some questions arise, for example: what does our "bearded head" have to do with a linen that dis plays a full figure (of Jesus of Nazareth) front and back and how did the Shroud come to Constantinople? Both are answered with the "Mandylion acheiropoieton", which literally means "towel not wrought by human hand".

The Mandylion is a small cloth that displayed the image of a bearded head that, is not only associated with Jesus, but it is also, fundamentally believed, that it was the one that altered all the iconography of a "beardless" Christ, Good Shepherd of Primitive Christianity, to the bearded countenance that we see today; It appears in Edessa, today the Turkish city of Urfa, around the beginning of the 6th century, according to a legend it was supposedly found by a bishop named Eulalius, tucked away withinra ruined wall, but its existence is dated to 544, thanks to the "Ecclesiastic History" of Evagrius, whera a reference is made to said cloth, as we are informed by Julio Marvizoin in his book "The Holy Shroud, Miraculous Falsehood?".

The arrival of said relic in Edessa, is traditionally explained( in the legend of King Abgar (Abgar V The Black), diseased king, probably with leprosy, who at the time of Jesus and aware of His miracles, implores His services, the latter, not being able to leave Palestinian lands, would probably have sent the sacred cloth, with which the king would have healed.

In reality, there is no evidence that Edessa would have embraced Christianity until the reign of Abgar IX, around the year 200 AD, therefore, although legends almost always bear some trace of an arcane truth, we do not exactly know when the "Mandylion" came to this city.

According to Dr. Frale's theory, the Templars would have accorded our linen the status of a major relic, with which to consecrate certain cords that they displayed on their attire, which they could not fail to wear, and which dated to the time of Bernard de Clairvaux, and in ancient times they were passed through the Holy Sepulcher up until the loss of Jerusalem in 1187 subsequent to the Battle of the Horns of Hattin. Besides the references to Baphomet in the confessions, it is worth highlighting, among the proofs mentioned in Dr. Frale's work, a reference to a hitherto unpublished document, whereupon a Templar named Arnaut Sabbatier, in his investiture to the Order, is shown a length of cloth with the full figure of Christ upon it which he worships kissing the feet three times.

Studies carried out in 2008, relative to the water stains on the Sindon, that were thought to have originated at the time of the Chambery blaze, show that these stains are from a much earlier time, and that the cloth was not precisely folded, as in that time, but instead in overlapping layers, indicating perhaps, that it had been stored in a cylindrical receptacle, which, Dr. Frale tells us, would coincide with the discovery of the amphorae diccovered at Qumran that contained the Dead Sea Scrolls, a hypothesis that would explain where the relic was located at the dawn of Christianity.

the time, that the Mandylion was stored in a reliquary covered by a framework that left only the face visible.

But how both relics are 'elated, Shroud and Mandylion, We must say that the homily of the Vatican Greek Codex # 511, describes that the Mandylion bore, besides the face,the outline of the thorax and the evidence of the lance wound.

The Holy Face and the Veronica

The most probable reason for this, was to conceal that the representation was in truth, a burial shroud, as Christianity, in its beginnings, was a Jewish sect and for them anything that had been in contact with a cadaver was considered impure. Later on, Edessa embraced Islam, whereby a Byzantine army raided the city in the year 943, seizing the relic which was then brough* to Constantinople.

On the other hand, one of the versions of the legend of Abgar, specifically one attributed to Addai, refers to the Mandylion as "Tetradyplon", a term that means,"folded four times in two"; effectively, when the cloth is folded four times, only the head would be visible and little else.

We would not be able to conclude our work on the Baphomet of the Templars without speaking of the Holy Face.

On one of our trips we were able to visit the Cathedral of the Ascension of the Virgin in Jaen, and there we were able to view one of them, as there are five in total, three are in Spain: besides the one in Jaen there is one in Honrubia, in Cuenca and one in Alicante, and outside of our country, one in St. Peter's in Rome and one in Sacre Coeur in Paris.

All are of mythical origin, that connects them to King Abgar, as well as with St. Veronica...it is even said that one of them is the authentic Mandylion of Edessa, although Its also curious, that to proceed in this manner with in reality these and some others, are but pictographic the shroud, lifting the head from behind, we would Byzantine representations done on wood or fabric, of encounter the image of feet from the rear, and to do the this last relic. same from the front, with the previous image reversed In our journey to the Manifestation of the Holy to show the front of the feet, as we already know that Shroud, in Turin, we were able to view copies of some the cloth bears both the full images of the figure, front of them in our stop at the Museum of the Shroud. and back; as a matter of fact, remember the Templar's A bit more or less of the same could be said of the confession that we spoke of at the beginning? it is a fact, "Veil of Veronica" or Sudarium: According to traditional just as it can be seen in the artistic representations of

lore, a woman was present on the road to Calvary, who town now part of Spain, but previously called Lusa wiped the perspiration on Jesus' face with her head (Portugal), there we observed the existence of a ritual, covering, which left an image. called Paderinha (pah-deh-reenya), which consists of some young maidens, dressed in period costumes of In truth, the only constant of this pious woman is that time, and emulating said woman, carry a cloth with in the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, not written an image of the face of Jesus, in a procession, and it is before the year 150AD and which belongs to a group of texts found in Naj-Hammadi. Marvizdn explains to us even surrounded by a framework, just as the relic of in his work that Veronica is but a corruption of the Latin the Mandylion. It would also not be unusual, to see that term "Vera Icona", that is to say, true image, referring, the same cords worn by the knights on their habits, new with these terms, once again to the same thing; copies images and cloths would be blessed by touching them to of the icon on the Mandylion and that surely, said saint the image of Christ. never existed.

REFERENCES Books:

On the other hand, Ian Wilson, referring to our Knights of Christ and their Baphomet, presents us, with the Templars tablet discovered in Templecombe, the idea of these pictographic representations of bearded heads are nothing but references to the idol upon which our work is centered; we should point out that all the churches that dispute over the Holy Face are situated in regions connected to the Temple and could be nothing else except a hidden cult to our bearded head that, as we have previously stated, was not known to all members of the Order.

The Templars and the Holy Shroud (I Templari e la Sindone di Cristo) Barbara Frale, 2009 1st Ed. in Spanish by Aliana Ed. S.A. April 2011 The Turin Shroud, Ian Wilson - London Ed. 1979 The Holy Shroud, Miraculous Falsehood? - Julio Marvizon Preney, Giralda Ed. 1996 The Sacred Enigma (The Holy Blood & the Holy Grail), Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, Henry Lincoln, 1982 Articles:

The same could be said of the Veil of Veronica, as in one of our visits to Templar enclaves in the Commandery Templars, Guardians of the Holy Shroud? - Adriano of Jerez de los Caballeros, specifically in Olivenza, a Forgione, Beyond Science # 248, M. C. Ed., 2010.

Sebastian Carbajosa Castilla Member of the Sovereign Brotherhood of the Knights and Dames Templar.

Editor of Unusual and mysterious phenomena, Contributing author to "Voices of Mystery.; "Kaleidoscope" and "Beyond Science".

Historian and investigator on the History of the Temple.

Student of Medicine and Anthropology.

Initiation Trip to Jerusalem

Anselmo Hermes Almada

Abstract:

design, not very flashy but well built and ornamental.

Its is a style typical of the region, where almost Within this brief context I wish to relate and share always the structure is square and the carved stonework some experiences be it with photographs and/or text, can be seen in each construction that give them a very concerning my journey to the Holy Land. handsome appearance.

I have no words to describe how beautiful, how Within this city, one notices great civility, they are historic, how mystical the time that I spent in this blessed very attentive and respectful regarding how traffic is place. directed within the city.

It is a place charged with energy, felt in the air, it A place of openess where one can breathe fresh is the place where it all began, where the bloodiest battles unfolded through centuries for possession of this air and take leisurely strolls or read a book and/or take sacred land, only the persons that.were there can speak pictures because the city deserves it. of the anecdotes and day to day occurrences, one can The Jordan where Our Lord also learn how affairs unfolded as they happened and evolved through time and how Jerusalem is today.

Modern Jerusalem

Jesus Christ was baptized.

A mystical place not only because of its blue/green color and no rubbish or debris whatsoever, but because Breathtaking and elegant high rise buildings can be it was in this place that Our Lord Jesus Christ was seen in the city, of various contemporary colors and

baptized (according to Google) when he was 30, by the Apostle John "The Baptist".

King Solomon's Mines

Jerusalem: Actual History There has been no peace for some 2000 years in this most sacred of places in the world, where more blood has been shed, a place where the three worldly religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, have caused this city to be the center of bitter dispute, all want to possess it for the fact that it is as I stated the most sacred place in the world and unfortunately it is referred to as the "Princess of Peace".

According to studies carried out and keeping in mind that it was conquered 11 times, totally destroyed 5 times, while all the time its ruins continue to harbor all the past The Garden of Gethsemane events, all who come here bring their own culture and In the illustration we can appreciate the myriad forest customs and they impose them until there is insurrection of trees where one can appreciate by their appearance, and it commences anew. their antiquity, one of these in the photo below right, has an inscribed plaque marking the 1964 visit of Pope Paul VI and that was 52 years ago. We can also observe that the garden is quite vibrant and healthy, bearing in mind the other trees of the same species.

The site occupies approximately 1200 square meters and according to history, it was where Our Lord Jesus offered his last prayers before surrendering to the centurions that would eventually crucify Him. The word Gethsemane, originates from the ancient Hebrew word "Gatshemanin" (oil mill). This garden is truly a place of great peace, as its custodians are the Franciscans.

The Romans came and they set fire to it, and to this day it remains so, th earth calcareous and dry, those using advanced technology and the will and desire to have something beautiful and good have managed somewhat to reverse this situation, so much so that they have become one of the world's premier exporters of produce and tropical fruit.

Well let us proceed to what interests usieager to see all the stages that blessed Jerusalem has been put through, later came the Byzantine Empress Helena, seeking the holy places and she found them, the Holy

Sepulcher, being from that moment on, one of the most visited sites in the world.

The City was retaken by Christian Crusaders in the year of 1099, whereupon in 1187, the Sultan Salahuddin returned with his hordes and drove out the Frankish knights, who had governed there for nearly 500 years, in 1917 the English army entered the city to govern it and since 1948 Jordan and Israel battle .boldly for control of the "Holy City", whereby a resolution by the United Nations an armistice was reached and a division was made of a nation that had been one for thousands of years.

The Wailing Wall

again pray on this site.

In this place it is as if time has stood still, or as if one is The Jordanians of that time decreed that the Jews in another dimension, as a place, where thousands upon could no longer pray before the holiest site for the thousands A Am fict of people from all over the Hebrew people, that is the Wailing Wall. world have visited and in antiquity it has been assailed This wall is the only one remaining of the great temple by numerous armies and still it stands and 14 P194-9 destroyed by the Romans in 70AD, following a major brandishing its own banner that we all know, within that Jewish uprising, that temple had endured some 400 context ,that is called Holy Land, time stands still, none years. According to legend when the legions of Emperor look at each de other only you and your world.

Titus destroyed the temple, only a section of the outer It is a strange sensation that invades our being by the wall remained standing. mere fact that you are in this land, for its rich, sacrificed, wounded and suffered history that even today, never ceases to be told by different people, editorials, enterprises dedicated to these subjects because each day is a different word and everyone tells it their own way, this is the reason why it is a city with its story that never ends ...People, one must visit it once, twice and ten times because every day its a different story.

Christian Sanctuaries The Holy Sepulcher and Mount Calvary are one and the same, and it is managed by a Muslim family and is represented by all architectural styles of theast 1000 years. One of the chapels is built on the Rock of Golgotha.

Titus left this section intact so that the Jews would The moment where after 550 years we gloss over all retain the bitter memory that Rome had triumphed over the explanations and the contents and I find that in the Judea and from there comes the name "Wailing Wall". different places that I have lectured, there is not much of The Jews attributed this to God through a promise a variation, thus I leave all as is. that at least one section of the sacred temple would endure as a symbol of the perpetual covenant with the people of Israel.

Jews have prayed at this wall for 2000 years, believing that this is the most holy place on earth, being that they cannot enter the interior of the Esplanade of Mosques, which would be the most sacred of all.

The Hebrew people were forbidden to recite their prayers in this place, a place that they had reclaimed after the Roman destruction, and not again until the war of 1967, when the Israeli army achieved the conquest of the ancient city of Jerusalem, thus being able to once

In this place time ceases to exist, one is not tired, there is only a yearning to know what is hidden or what is within, one bristles with curiosity wanting to know, what it is, who it was, how did it all unfold and one is transported to that time and does not cease to be historic, sentiment, feeling and imagination.

I still cannot comprehend the squabbling among the different faiths over the control of this most sacred place, the encounters range from verbal attacks as well as physical including violent knife fights, or as it is commonly referred to as "marking ones territory" and none of them retreat, not even out of respect for such hallowed ground, even though they are all adults, cordiality. friendliness, brotherhood and patience are non existent, not to mention kindness.

In this place an inch is an inch and all three factions are zealously watching for any offering that may end up in the wrong plate.

The Holy Sepulcher is managed by the three Christian churches: the Catholic, the Greek Orthodox A depression framed in silver marks the supposed and the Armenian. It seems that through some sort of research they have fixed the precise location of the holy spot where the Crossp once stood. sites, including all that refers to the Church of the Holy Beneath the dome of the church there is a small marble chapel with an atrium, the so called chapel of the angel.

Within it the stone that the angels moved from the entrance of the sepulcher is kept. Behind the Holy Sepulcher, in a very close space, which at most could accommodate four persons.

The air is filled with clouds of incense. It is illuminated by 43 beautiful oil lamps, each one belonging to one of the Christian factions.

The walls are dressed in marble. The pilgrims, deep in prayer, kneel before the stone in the tomb where it is beleTved the body of Christ reposed.

Below, the painting shows th stone where Jesus body Sepulcher, although there is still much disagreement if it was truly built over Calvary and the tomb of Joseph of was covered with a linen cloth.

Arimathea.

Basilica of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem.

Or This is one of the Roman basilicas and the most devotional of Rome that form part of the seven churches that are said to be connected to St. Helena, mother of Constantine, who made her residence there.

It is said that the emperor ordered a church to be built, In Palattio Sessoriano. The Sessorium was a place where sentencing was carried out and on one of her

return trips to Rome (St. Helena) brought, among other Entering through the Jaffa gate, our footsteps take relics, the True Cross. us throughe. Christian quarter and to the basilica of the Holy Sepulcher.

Thus, in the 4th century the construction of said church had begun in the pallatio.

There exists a mountain of conjectures which i believe are valid to cite: St. Helena arrived with an army to locate the Holy Sepulcher and meandering throughout the city she located an old Jewish man whom after being tortured (put in a well to die of hunger), revealed its whereabouts and that it measured fifteen feet long This edifice is enormous, although seen from outside, by eight wide, a piece of the cross of Christ that she and because of the surrounding buildings it is impossible acknow-ledged, for it had been touched to a dying man to distinguish where one begins or ends as the buildings and he instantly rellied.

One of the nails is kept in Carpentoria (Venice), another in the Duomo of Milan, a third one was set into the crown of her son Constantine that afterwards was gifted to the Roman Church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem, the fourth one is said to have been cast into the Adriatic by order of this princess to calm a furious tempest, and which arose afterwards and is now in Paris in the chapel of the Church of St. Dyonisius.

The crown of thorns and the blood is also in the Paris chapel. The plaque that was inscribed Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews (INRI), is said to have been sent to Rome by St. Helena and is now located in the Church of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem.

The spear that pierced his side is in the Vatican. The sponge dipped in vinegar was divided in two, half is in Rome and the other in the Paris chapel. The Holy closely resemble one another and one must be very Shroud is in the Metropoltan church in Torino, Italy. focused as to what one is seeing and what unfolded in this place.

The Old City of Jerusalem - Jaffa I have said that I do not know Jerusalem and I am left with the desire to express what I have seen and felt, which is a unique sensation within itself because everything, every step, every place is unique and never repeated.

In that moment, being so close to the Creator, one wants to shout, weep, laugh, applaud, leap, in short give free rein to our emotions, one leaves their natural state and enters a moment where the mind and the body blend and nothing responds, feelings of anxiety, goodness, forgiveness, humanity, a return to infancy or a wizened old soul full of experience...indescribable!

Sepulcher of the Virgin Mary

Tomb of King David

Royal Temple and it is believed that they discovered the Ark of the Covenant which contained within: the Staff

of Aaron, the Holy Grail and the Laws of God or Moses tablets).

Later on, Baldwin II installed them in a palace near the temple, whereupon they took the name of Knights of the Temple or Templars.

As it is known, the Templars wore a distinctive white mantle with a red patee cross on its left shoulder (equal beams with four extremes flared) as well as a white tunic over their armor displaying the same cross upon the breast.

They were the best of the best in terms of military training, which is why they also took part in diverse battles in Spain against Islam, receiving thus numerous donations and land grants where they built churches, hospitals and commanderies all throughout the Iberian Peninsula.

In 1134 King Alfonso I of Aragon willed his entire kingdom to the Order, which they refused in exchange for According to what I have read on various sites, they abundant lands and castles, among them the Fortress of state that the future Order of the Templars was founded Monzรณn, which would become General Headquarters in Jerusalem in the year of Our Lord 1118 by Hugh of the Templars in Aragonese lands. de Payens in the company of eight other French knights, under the name of the Poor Companions of Christ (these gentlemen had had taken part in the Crusades for the liberation of the city of Jerusalem, the fierce defense of Palestine and therefore Constantinople, key location for commerce, they, weary of battle, decide to retire from this burden, after its foundation), one of its principal goals of execution being the safe passage of pilgrims and merchants that traveled to Jerusalem as much as to visit the holy sites, as the ones who dedicated themselves to commerce with their purchases and sales.

The Order of the Templars

King Baldwin II headquartered these men in an old palace near the ancient temple of Solomon (it is said that within this abandoned palace they, during their modification, excavated and discovered Solomon's

In those times they not only were committed to protecting those coming and going, but they also functioned as bankers, the non combatant members of the Order created a complex economic structure throughout the Christian world, creating new financial practices that constituted a primitive form of modern accounting practices, as well as the first use of letters of credit. (the people paying for protection deposited their cash or goods, allowing the traveler to make the tri p without the need to carry gold and silver coins. This system brought great wealth to the Order).

Ancient Templar Fortress This Templar fortress was an obligatory rest stop of any merchant or pilgrim on the way to Jerusalem, later they would be accompanied by one or several military monks (Templars), after paying the protection fee for themselves and the tariff on their goods of course, this site is approximately some thirty kilometers from the city and stands alongside of a stream that exists to this day.

When Christians were driven out of Palestine, the Templars retreated to Cyprus.

Templar inn to welcome pilgrims On the Iberian Peninsula they settled in Catalonia, Aragon and Navarre.

arriving in Jerusalem

They were in charge of defending frontiers and participated in numerous campaigns against the Moors in Spain (conquest of Lerida, Tortosa, Valencia, Majorca, etc.), thus acquiring greater wealth and this did not go without notice by the various kingdoms and scrutinized as a serious threat to their own thrones and power.

So much so that Phillip IV of France, who was deeply in debt to the Templars and so plotted. a way to not only default but also to destroy the Order in the process. He set up an elaborate scheme of lies and slanders designed to discredit and destroy the Order's reputation, thus resulting in charges of heresy, blasphemy and sodomy. A weak willed puppet of a pope, Clement V, condemned the Order and the die was cast.

Phillip had also coveted the Templars vast wealth and proceeded to have all Templars in France arrested and tortured into giving forced confessions, not allowing them to mount a defense or voice their innocence, eventually leading them to be burned alive on a stake.

Their Symbols

Among those condemned was the Grand Master, Their seal, the Sigillum Militium Christi (Seal of the Jacques de Molay. After all this effort, Phillip found Militia of Christ), represents two knights astride a single almost nothing of their wealth which gave way to horse, thus alluding to their poverty. the legend that persists to this day...where did all that The Knights Templar were forbidden to surrender to treasure go?

infidels, which is why they rarely suffered capture in any you look, you will not see it if you are not prepared to. battle.

One just has to look at the monuments that exist Their rule would not allow their ransom, so their and it is as plain as day, but not obvious if you do not only options were to succeed or die trying. This made look closely and carefully, how was it made, what tools them especially dauntless, fierce, highly disciplined and were used and who created them with such a degree of terrifying in combat. precision is all a secret, i will point out that some of these The appearance of the Templars red crosses on a cathedrals are 1000 years old or more. battlefield, would strike terror and fear the enemy and rejoicing among Christian soldiers for some 200 years.

It is said that their battle flag is kept in the General Archives of the National Library of France, guarded by "seven locks", and along with the seal of the "Secretum Templi" and the letter (order) from Phillip IV as well as several others, including the one sent to Grand Master Jacques de Molay, summoning him to come to Paris immediately from Jerusalem. If DeMolay was the number one man...the supreme master of the Order, who or what was the "Secretum Templi" and what did it order him to do?...interesting conjectures.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Google.com.py.

Infobae.com.ar Taringa.net The Grail review Mega Post

Sepulcro.custodia.org There exists proof, both historical and archaeological Trajinando por el mundo (wandering the world) as well that show that not all is as it seems and the invisible is always in front of your eyes which even as mgar.net/var/templarios.htm

Anselmo Hermes Almada Almirón • •

Law Faculty, Social and Political Sciences Attorney and specialized notary •

•

B.A. in Science and Letters

Investigator on the Order of the Temple

Knight Templar of the Sovereign Brotherhood of Dames and Knights Templar, OSMTJ International

The Expansion of Christianity during the Roman Empire

Juan Antonio Cabezos “Eneas�

Several months ago I had the honor of attending a was born in that century as well as the culture of the lecture presented by Knight Templar Pedro.. Lopez on masses.

Christianity and this occasion has been the motivation of Mankind has changed and institutions will also, but awakening my interest on this subject, which like many did religious institutions effect this change? others, lay dormant.

Religious institutions such as Anglican, Calvinist, The question is key...How could Christianity spread Orthodox, Roman Catholic and others fell behind when in a society such as the Roman one where there was faced with the cultural revolution that was taking place an abundance of religions and therefore of spiritual in the 19th century, giving way to cultural renovation, offerings? adapting to new historic circumstances, that were not An easy question to pose and difficult but not impossible coming from religious institutions, but instead from to answer because for centuries the economic base of society itself, more languid this time than before. civilizations has been agriculture thus mankind prior to Three great minds revolutionized society, the first the Industrial Revolution had basically equal cultural parameters, on the margins of society where they lived a Darwin with his theory on evolution in his Origin of sedentary life, barely traveling and with scant knowledge Species, opening the doors of genetic investigation that of the outside world, developing an oral history and sowed spiritual restlessness among readers and non readers of his theory and in addition it gave way to the facing minorities that developed a written one. intellectual debate, as proof, shown in Bertrand Russel's This illiterate and sedentary segment, therefore book, Why am I not Christian? or the book, Why I am a could not read nor write, but cultured nonetheless, as Christian by the Spanish philosopher and professor, Dr. they possessed an oral culture, it changed as the first Jose Antonio Marina. industrial revolution was stabilizing and developing and The second great mind that sowed restlessness was with the triumph of this revolution came the second one, the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche when he and with it, the possibility of traveling in one of the great wrote on the need to create a superior man or when he inventions that the 19th century brought to society: the railroad, albeit the top speed being reached was some spoke of the cultural inversion caused by Christians.

20 kilometers per hour.

And lastly the combined philosophies of Karl Marx If people can travel then also ideas that always and Friedrich Engels that made one of the major accompany mankind can do so as well, also education, contributions to history, we refer to historic materialism which spreads and opens to the middle and working and class struggles. classes. The 19th century created a group of citizens I have pointed out that these great thinkers seeded eager to know and learn and for this reason journalism

Christianity places this salvation in a future life, following physical death, in heaven. Socialism places it in this world, in a transformation of society... (4) On the other hand students of Christianity do not share Engels idea, rejecting that it was the religions of slaves and placing cultural values over social ones, Werner Jaeger tells us "With the use of Greek an entire world of concepts penetrate into the Christian mind, intellectual categories, inherited metaphors and subtle connotations.

The obvious explanation reached is the rapid assimilation of its climate effected by the first Christian generations is, of course: that Christianity was a Jewish movement and the Jews were already helenized (well spiritual questions in the minds of the elite intellectuals versed in Greek culture, language, thoughts, etc,) in the of the time as much for their intellectual contributions as time of St. Paul; not only the Jews of the Diaspora but well as their opinions on Christianity. also, in great measure, the ones of Palestine itself and to this helenized portion of the Jewish people that the They constitute ideological contributions because Christian missionaries would first turn to". (5) they lack the scientific tools of 21st century investigators.

Nietzsche approached Christianity when, in his work "Genealogy of Morality", gave us the origin of the concept of good and evil detaching it from unselfishness; for him the origin of good is in relation to the dominant or ruling class.

On the contrary, it were the good ones themselves, these, that is, the nobility, the powerful ones, the ones of position and elevated feelings who saw and valued themselves and their actions as good, as something of superior rank, before all the lowest, servile, vulgar and common. From that point of view of distancing, they self confirmed the right to create values and to establish terms of worth". (1) The approach to Christianity comes about when the inversion of conciliatory values brought by the Jewish people, "That society of priests" (2), and continued by Christianity and which translates into the rebellion of the slaves against morality; therefore, Nietzsche relates Christianity with slavery and the triumph if it begets the rebellion of the slaves. Nietzsche is categorical "Let us embrace the facts. The people (slaves, the flock, commoners, or whatever) have won". (3)

Therefore they did not expand via the working classes in Engels words or slaves for that matter but rather during the 1st century they flourished and spread in the regions of helenized Jews, that is to say the cultured ones exposed to superior Greek culture, in fact, "The name of the new sect, christianoi originated in the Greek city of Antioch..." (6)

After the Second World War the world divided among the ones that practiced the class struggle, basically Friedrich Engels, partner of Karl Marx explained the the dictatorships of the proletariat, and the ones that rise of Christianity through the use of the historic method practiced the politics of the welfare state. To these two of the struggle of the classes; for Engels, Christianity was were joined a third: the de colonization of Africa et Asia. the religion of slaves.

De colonization made it possible for the struggle of the masses to extend throughout the Third World, that The history of primitive Christianity has noteworthy points of similarity with the modern movement of the is to say through the world that was engaged in acquiring political independence from Europe, and for the United working class.

States to react before said expansion.

Like the latter, Christianity at its inception, was a When that occurred, which was the Cold War era, movement of an oppressed mankind: at first it seemed the United States was forced to find an idea that would to be the religion of slaves and freed men, of the poor stripped of all their rights, of subjugated peoples or those contest the notion of social class and the struggle of the classes. displaced by Rome.

In the early fifties of the 20th century, American universities came up with the solution: they floated the idea of a social network as a response to the Marxist concept of social class.

disease, always local, they would hightail it to another castle located several miles away from the city or the infected area.

But during the Latter Roman Empire something occurred, something This idea of a that had never been social network is witnessed before, the one that we are which was that the going to make use Christians did not of to explain the flee, they stayed and helped the sick Pagans or Christians, expansion of Christianity.

The concept of a social they helped the Pagan or Christian widows, they helped network implies the creation of organizations on the the Pagan or Christian orphans and that capacity of fringes of the state and they would be within what is service established the social networks and this is one of referred to as "civil society". the reasons that explain the rise of Christianity.

They are organizations that pursue unique objectives, they organize just outside of state control although they may collaborate with same, and which cover the needs that the state does not, for example, a non governmental association that works with autistic children. In the case of Christianity the net that the first Christians created was implemented by the great capacity that these first Christians had to relate because Christians brought the concept of "service" to society.

The great development of Christianity comes about parallel to the epidemics. The social network that helps others in the face of the Pagan exodus explains the growth of Christianity and the social network explains that it did not develop among the slaves, as Nietzsche suggests but rather from among the Roman elite, because they were the only ones who could organize said social networks.

The Role of Women

Beginning with the 3rd century the Roman Empire In agrarian based societies, women play a very entered into the historic phase known as the Latter secondary role because they are considered easily Roman Empire and this phase was beset, by among dispensed with. The farmer needs sons to work and not other calamities, abundant epidemics. mouths to feed, and women, in these type of societies The Roman Empire succeeded in achieving that its are mouths to feed. subjects considered themselves part of the Empire, this This condition of the undervalued role of women we process is called romanization, and it is aided by the still have today in parts of Asia where infanticide of girls construction of public works. is practiced or they are sold into brothels as prostitutes.

Public works such as the aqueducts that provided running water to homes, including hot, public works for cleanliness such as thermal baths, or for entertainment such as the Circus Maximus or amphitheatres, public works such as paved highways.

On the other hand, in spite of the public works to raise the welfare level of its subjects, the empire overlooked public hygiene, they ignored sanitary conditions.

When in a city, caused by contaminated water in most cases, an epidemic would break out, the reaction of the upper classes, the freed men, the followers of Pagan beliefs was to flee, escape to the nearest city and if they had the financial resources, they could flee to greater distances.

In the Greco/Latin world there existed the same It is the same practice of the nobility during the situation as occurs in Asia because infanticide existed, Middle Ages because they owned property's in different marriage took place at the age of twelve and there were regions and whenever there was an outbreak of any abortions.

The politics of birth control based on the elimination precise meaning of the word chastity). of females has, in some regions of Asia, caused a scarcity Before Augustus, marriage as we knew it, which is of women; and this very fact occurred in antiquity. a sworn legal undertaking, did not exist, but rather the The political birth policies of the emperors consisted couple because the familial bond was formed, based on in pressuring widows to remarry because the practice convenience, interest and not love being the center of of abortion and infanticide of female babies had created the union. Rarely had the future couple met previously an excessive number of males relative to that of females. but it was rather an arrangement agreed between the two families where the dowry was established, that is to On the other hand in Christian circles the situation say the price of the bride. was the opposite because abortion and infanticide were forbidden and with the passage of time in the Pagan sector's there was a surplus of men but not women and in the Christian ones there were women but not many men therefore in social reality there were mixed marriages and since the women were more devote practitioners than men, this gave way to a process of conversion of the men to Christianity and to this phenomenon one must take into account that any issue from these unions would be raised in the Christian faith.

Parallel to this social phenomenon we have that the status of the Christian woman within Christian communities or churches, wasfar superior to that of their Pagan counterparts. "Deacons fulfilled roles of great importance in the first church. They assisted in liturgical functions and administered the benevolent and charitable activities of the church". (7)

Augustus establishes legal marriage for political reasons, because the civil wars that plagued Rome during the 1st century BC and above all the wars between Pompeii and Caesar on one side and between Mark Antony and Augustus on the other left Augustus sorely lacking of collaborators whom he could count on to run the empire.

To this diminution of the directive group of the Senate, a pervading attitude of other senators to not father children; an alarmed Augustus queried of the senators companions the reason for why they had no offspring and they replied that is was due to a lack of lawful security.

The solution offered by Augustus was marriage, that is to say a binding contract by the bride (equally the two) where the rights and obligations of each spouse and in case of divorce, the financial compensations.

The very favorable position that Christian women In another subsequent law with the purpose of enjoyed soon translated into power and status, as much forcing the senators to father sons that would eventually within the family as in the religious culture, substantially become leaders of the empire, so that it would not greater than that of Pagan women". (8) perish, Augustus tied inheritance to marriage in such The Roman Empire was one where sex was ever a way that only the issue of the marriage could inherit present in daily life, so much so that it was a structural large land rights that were the property of the senator violence, because of this fact we can speak of a sexual and in the event that there were no legitimate offspring empire. upon the senator's death, the lands would pass to the emperor.

The Christian proposal was to reject the sexual violence of the empire, because of this, Christian women When Christianity exponentially grew marriage, as were free to choose their husbands and, besides, they a legally binding contract, it was extended among the demanded chastity, that is to say that the man could not upper classes of the empire and because of this Christian have sexual relations outside of the marriage (that is the women had a say in the choosing of their future husband.

Since the obsession of the empire was sex from the and spread. If Christianity today is on the decline, moment young girls had their first menstrual cycle they it is because women have abandoned it, this, is the entered into the matrimonial market but this fact did not explanation. occur among Christians; abortions as well were accepted REFERENCES: which accounted for the high mortality rate among nonChristian women, whereas since Christian women 1. Nietzsche, F., The Genealogy of Morality, Edimat Books S.A. Classics of Literature, 2005, pg. 53 rejected abortion, their life expectancy was greater.

Another cause or explanation for the growth of Christianity was the creation of a new type of family. In this new type of family the determining factors are not the bonds of blood nor economic or social interests but instead the sharing of Christian life.

The explanation is quite simple as women chose Christianity because it afforded a degree of Freedom that was denied to Pagan women, the women gathered together with men and other women at banquets and love feats (picnicstoday) and through these social encounters new family ties were formed and they would retell tales about the life and accomplishments of Jesus, Through these gatherings is how Christianity lasted. It also should not seem odd to us why a religious Jewish group such as the Pharisees were, accused Jesus of gluttony and of being surrounded by publicans (tax collectors) and prostitutes.

In conclusion the creation of social networks where people could break bread, at least, once a day, the support of women, because they understood that they elevated their status being Christian explains the growth

2.

Nietzsche, opus cit. pg. 61

3.

Nietzsche, opus cit. pg. 64

4.

Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels: On Religion, Sigueme Ed. 1979

5. Werner Jaeger: Christianity and Greek Paideia, Cultural Economic Fund, pgs. 14 & 15

122

6.

Werner Jaeger, opus cit. pg. 16

7.

Rodney Stark:The Surge of Christianity, Andres Bello ED. pg.

8.

Rodnet Stark: opus cit. pg. 124

Juan Antonio Cabezos Martinez "Eneas" Institutional professor, 35 years of experience Degree in Geography and History, La Laguna University Degree in Law, University of Murcia Masters Degree in urban planning from the UCAM Masters Degree in Theology, University of Murcia President of the Association of Geographers and Historians of Murcia Grand Magisterial Prior of the HSDCT.OSMTJ.SPAIN International

Juan Antonio Cabezos “Eneas” •• Grand Prior of HSDCT.OSMTJ.International.Spain.

•• Degree in Geography and History from the University of La Laguna •• Law Degree from the University of Murcia •• President of the Association of geographers and historians of the middle teachings of the Murcia region.

•• Academy honorary of The Municipalistica Brazilian Academy of Letters.

Hermes Mercury’s Report Congress Of Zaragoza With enormous satisfaction I showed up incognito in Zaragoza and participated in the first congress on the Temple organized by the Dames and Knights Templar.

The venue of the congress was impressive as their activities took place in the Church of St. Elizabeth, Queen of Portugal, who was married to King Denis and was the mother of Alphonse IV. She was a former Princess of Aragon having been the daughter of King Peter III "The Great".

A magnificent baroque facade of Aragonese style, the interior of the temple stands out for its Greek cross layout and its altar, also of Aragonese baroque style, and fashioned for the most part of jasper.

And so, within this rich interior of Catholic imagery, the activities of the congress took place almost on schedule and I say that because there were a few delays, and those were due to technical glitches.

José Maria Fernandez, a researcher

involved with the Temple presented his book and from what I could hear and understand, it's a revolutionary and indispensable addition to any Templar library.

Ramón Pamies surprised the assembly with his conference on the trial of the Templars, magnificently outlining the power struggles and the expectations of those who ruled at that point in history.

Pedro Luis Conde Font delighted us with an interesting and erudite conference on the Holy Shroud in the time of the Templars and the hypothesis that scientists manage to explain the connection between the Templars and the Shroud.

Saturday's activity took place, and it was as exhausting as the previous day's, when we were treated to a stupendous tour of Templar routes and subterranean vaults as well as Templar traces still visible in Zaragoza.

All this, expertly narrated by the very knowledgeable Mr. Tomรกs Bernal.

On Sunday there were some delays due to technical problems but once resolved, the cycle of conferences was opened by Mr. Bernal with the Church of the Temple in Zaragoza, that showed us in a delightful and well documented manner, the relationship between the various layers of the Templar House and their church, the archaeological remains and their history.

Highly anticipated was the conference

by Mrs. Fuensanta Santos because the title in of itself was tantalizing, "Women Warriors in the Middle Ages and Dames Templar", logically the question is were there women warriors? but was not war, an affair of men? But no, war was also very much an affair of women such as Lady Urraca, the Queen of Castile, or Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of France and England, or the Viking female warriors. The scientific character of the conference dismisses one of the actual myths on women in the Middle Ages because these type of women did indeed exist, orders of women warriors in our country and women in the Order of the Temple, although these were not warriors.

And to conclude the highly informative congress, a conference by Grand Prior Juan Antonio Cabezos Martinez, on the Temple in the 21st century, which highlighted the evolution of neotemplarism.

The congress fell short, because the quality of the participants and speakers was of such great magnitude, that to be truly satisfied, one would have required three or four more such conferences. A truly successful and quality presentation... Greetings to all!!.

Hermes Mercury

Translators Team Luis Antonio Colòn Arce • • • • ••

New Jersey USA

University of Santiago BA History University of Naples Studied local art history and architecture.

Member of the Scientific Committee of the Grail

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