The general history of the Templar Order, which can be found in mainstream history books, may not be unfamiliar to you. Unfortunately, it is often incomplete and above all, consciously or unconsciously, incorrect…. .
– The story of nine French Knights who set off for Jerusalem on horseback is a fable….,
– The existence of The Order of Sion and its affiliation with Freemasonry is mostly – on purpose – ignored…. ,
– The importance of countries such as, Belgium, Portugal, Swiss, Italy, Spain, Scotland, England, India and The USA, is usually overlooked .
Both in the creation of the Original Order, and in the creation of the Modern Order, Belgium & Portugal played a determining factor.
The Original Order
The Original Order was founded in Belgium, about 1098, at Orval in the County of Flanders, which at the time was part of The Kingdom of France. This on the lands, owned by Godfrey of Bouillon, who would later be offered the Crown of King of Jerusalem and was the Grand Master of The Order of Sion that by the way, would later become the ‘Inner Circle‘ and the ‘Knowledge Center‘ of the Templar Order…. .
All members of ‘The Order of Sion‘ were ‘Templars‘, but not all ‘Templars’ were members of ‘Sion‘ …. .
The Order was founded by the family of Godfrey of Bouillon in cooperation with an Italian monastic order of ‘cistercians’ under the general lead of a man called: ‘Ursus’.
Later, in, at the ‘official’ end – and at the start of the hiding strategy – of The Order, countries as Portugal, Spain, England, Scotland, etc, … would play an important and crucial role in the survival of The Order… .
The Order stood at the cradle of the birth of the new and independent country: Portugal.
At Portugal, they found their new ‘home base’, from where they could regroup and even continue to involve undisturbed.
Elsewhere in the world, The Templars went into hiding, mostly in secret houses, and many members of ‘Sion’ later united in the Masonic Lodges.
The Modern Order
Belgium, once more, would also play a crucial role in the official resurrection of The Order. Our Order was restored by His Imperial Majesty, Napoleon Bonaparte, by Imperial Decree in 1807.
In 1853, it was given recognition by Emperor Napoleon III.
On January 19th, 1932, :“Ordre Souverain et Militaire du Temple du Temple de Jérusalem” was first registered as “The Order” in Belgium, Brussels, and in 1957 as “International Order” in Belgium, Namur /BE-410 20708.
This recording was done by three Belgian Templars in Belgium Brussels, Joseph Cleeremans, Gustave Jonckbloedt and Théodore Covias. The record of the registration of the “Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem” appears in the Belgian Monitor on January 20, 1933.
Lastly, The Order was re-registered again in Belgium, Namur, on November 15th, 1975.
Our verifiable and demonstrable family tree / lineage goes back in a straight line to 1825 at the installation of the Grand Priory of Belgium by Dr. Bernard-Raymond FABRÉ-PALAPRAT.
This makes Belgium the oldest and authentic Grand Priory in the World.
Also in the ‘Modern Order’, Portugal would play an important role in the resurrection of The Order …. .
OSMTJ INTERNATIONAL is the direct heir of the regular, the oldest and the authentic Templar Society, worldwide.
