ChiValry
An Introduction
to the
Knights Templar
Beloved Seeker:
A fortunate circumstance has led you to the threshold of a Great Work.
You now stand in the outer courtyard of The Order of the Knights
Templar. In this regard, this informational booklet is designed to share
our perspective on the spiritual quest, our history, our mission, our
methods- all in the hope that you are one of those rare individuals who
has heard the Call and would delight in joining in our labors. "Great is the
harvest", it has been said, "but few indeed are the laborers".
abuse nor misuse power. They must prepare their minds such that they
become impervious to falsehood and greed, and they must examine
everything minutely and conscientiously and then seek to focus only on
accentuating the positive elements without ignoring the negative. They
must choose only that which is useful and good in life and use that for the
good of themselves and others, learning to think before they react to the
world. Finally, aspirants accepted into our Order must dedicate themselves
to serving God above all else!
In this regard, Templar Spirituality rests upon four simple but fundamental
principles:
Our History
The fact that your path has led you to this fortunate circumstance in your
quest suggests that perhaps you already know something of the history of
our Order.
Many books recount story of
the Nine Knights who banded
together in Jerusalem after
the First Crusade and become
the nucleus of one of the
most powerful institutions of
the Middle Ages. But there is
a more private history that
might be of interest to you.
So far as most historians are
concerned, it all began on
Tuesday, November 28, 1095
A.D when Pope Urban II had a clever idea. Instead of Christian Knights
fighting each other and being a general nuisance to everybody, why not
have them join forces and work off their aggressions on capturing
Jerusalem, the Christian City par excellence (which at that time was being
administered quite nicely by the Muslims)? Christendom would reclaim its
spiritual birth place and Europe would become a safer place to live.
With great gusto, Urban painted a picture to the assembled multitudes of
atrocities and indignities being perpetrated daily on the Christians who
lived in the Holy Land. "Take the road to the Holy Sepulchre", he cried
"and tear the land from the hands of these abominable people!" Hardly
had he finished than the crowd rose as one person and shouted God wills
it! God wills it! God wills it!" Thus was born the First Crusade.
Meanwhile, behind the scenes and unknown to history, other minds had
already been working on the problem, and sought to divert the inevitable
disaster that was going to befall the Crusades. Certain representatives
from the Christian and Islamic traditions got together and reasoned
somewhat as follows. The two dominating passions (or "notes") of the age
were fighting and religion, but they had not been properly integrated. Nor
could these trends be stopped, but they could be directed towards more
useful consciousness development. Fighting in Europe (less so in Asia
Minor) was done largely for sport and land. Religion, on the other hand,
was too other worldly - it led to withdrawal from the legitimate needs and
functions of society. Therefore, the high representatives of an Order of
Brothers from the Orient drew up a plan to integrate the two passions
so that humanity would be raised one step higher on the ladder of
spiritual evolution.
Fighters would learn to temper their passions and drives according to what
to them were spiritual goals, while religious persons would learn how to
translate spiritual ideals into hard political realities. I'm sure the high
representatives understood something of the explosive nature of the
passions involved. It couldnt have been an easy decision. But they also
knew that in order to keep the consciousness evolution of humanity on
track they had to go forward with the plan. Along these lines, it was also
hoped that by working together they could divert the potential bloodshed
that was inevitably going to be spilled by those who wanted to fight for
the sake of material possession.
Notice how this information throws new light on some of the historical
events which followed. The First Crusade and those subsequent to it may
be thought of as a purposeful merging of the religious and fighting
instincts of the age. They provoked an analogous response in the Islamic
world where there were similar needs. But while the Crusades and the
Muslim response gave the integration of sword and spirit a strong popular
base, such mass movements were unavoidably crude and fanatical, as well
as temporary.
A new organization was needed that would carry out the integration on a
much higher level, an organization whose members would at one and the
same time pray as monks and fight as knights - protecting the sacred,
regardless of the religious source. Such an idea was totally unheard of at
the time. It sounds no less odd today. Nonetheless, whatever one may
think of it, that was the founding idea of the Order of the Temple as laid
down by the High Council and established by the Order of Brothers of
the Orient.
established in 1096 in
Constantinople, in
preparation for an
official public
announcement in 1118
A.D. The Order was
established under the
leadership of a French
Knight named Hughes
de Payens, (whose
grandfather Thibault de
Payens le Maure de
Gardille, was a Moorish
Shiite Muslim, and some
say a Sufi).
day. Neither is it proper to say that the outer form of the Order was
destroyed; better to say that it was closed by its leaders, its outer mission
temporarily ended.
What was the mission of The
Order?
around on other people's paths or just sit down and don't do much of
anything. But because "wisdom and virtue are strengthened by fraternity",
within CIRCES you find yourself surrounded by a rich and perceptive
circle of friends who do whatever they can to help you realize your talents
and surmount your difficulties. This circle of friends becomes a circle of
colleagues, companions, family, who will walk with you to the bitter end
and value your life as if it were their own. In time, you yourself become
the steadfast friend to others. And so we all support each other, and
before long the goal of spiritual wholeness is achieved.
This Quest, individual and collective, has a name in our Tradition, and
you already know it. We call it the Quest for the Holy Grail
Our Methods
The Ordre Souverain du Temple Initiatique (the OSTI) is the spiritual
heart of CIRCES. It is here that the inner work of the organization is
conducted and it is here that the member pledges him or herself to labor
ceaselessly in the name of God and to the benefit of humanity, and to
commit their life to working as a Templar. Nevertheless, out of respect for
individual difference and individual choice, members of CIRCES may
either remain in secret labor within the OSTI or they may go out into the
world to serve. Choice notwithstanding, more often than not, members
choose to go forth and serve in their local and/or remote community.
Traditionally, all members of The Order were Templars although not all
Templars were Initiates. Therefore, we fully recognize that there are
certain occasions on which the candidate for membership may feel that he
or she is not quite ready to undergo the rigors associated with intense
inner work of the OSTI. As a consequence, as is traditional and out of
respect for the wishes of such candidates, in applying for membership in
CIRCES, each candidate is expected to study and work in the CIRCES
curriculum prior to being considered to be made a Chevalier of the OSTI
Templar Lineage. That being said, it should be stressed that all
members of CIRCES are considered working Templars, whether or not
they have been received into the OSTI. And since each new member is
assigned a sponsor whose responsibility is to assist him or her in finding a
viable orientation in his or her new spiritual environment, subsequent
questions regarding eventual consideration for the OSTI can always be
accommodated.
Raymond Bernard
significant commitment of time, energy, and (to a certain extent) money for dues, special projects, and occasional travel. The work also requires a
rough-and-ready willingness to meet the needs of the moment, sharply
distinguishing it from more passive forms of membership in other esoteric
organizations. Our members are cheerful, uncomplaining, alert to the
needs of the day, and are not afraid to express themselves and be leaders
in the esoteric community. In fact, they are heartily encouraged to do so -
Personal Preparation
Preparation for the Great Work of CIRCES takes place during the first
three years of active CIRCES membership. During this period the member
is presented with study materials and fraternal assistance designed to
facilitate self-enfoldment and the discovery of his or her personal mission
within the larger mission of CIRCES.
During the first year of membership, Templars observe a traditional Period
of Silence. While in this Period of Silence the new CIRCES member may
participate fully in General Council Meetings, but during temple meetings
must restrict his/her questions to him/herself by recording them and any
inner responses s/he may receive in his/her Circian Journal. During this
period of Silence, however, the new Templar may discuss openly with his
or her Sponsor, who will be a Templar in the OSTI.
During each of the three years of preparation each member receives
eleven Cahiers (Handbooks) for a total of 33 over a period of 33months.
These are designed to assist the student in coming to an understanding
and recognition of those unconscious factors which impede mastery of the
Soul and its attributes. At the end of the third year the member may be
invited into the OSTI, or may remain as a member within CIRCES,
depending on their own individual effort.
Avenues of Service
Our Order has many avenues of service - far more than can be listed here.
We research the cultural and spiritual traditions of the world's peoples,
which has been the secret Templar mission all along. We put on public
seminars, workshops and conferences dealing with pertinent issues of the
day, such as improving the education of our children. We promote nonviolence on the streets and in schools. We work as ambassadors in the
world, meeting with political and religious leaders to promote
understanding and peace. We publish papers and books on esoteric and
scientific subjects. We work to support other spiritual and esoteric
traditions that our members are leaders of. Our members help the aged
and infirm. They design new technologies. They do medical research and
work with the chemically dependent. They do mathematical work in the
field of psychometrics. They do economic analyses. Many of our members
likewise serve in the military or law enforcement, and seek to utilize skills
to create a more peaceful world. To co-ordinate our researches, and
expose them to the public, we offer courses. We also have more private
self paced courses and classes by knowledgeable members on various
subjects within an internet web forum that connects brother and sister
Templars around the world.
We also have more subtle forms of service. Members are sometimes called
upon to develop and exercise their "psychic faculties". With these we learn
to heal ourselves and others, to disseminate useful thought-forms into the
collective unconscious of humanity, and to receive them from others. We
learn to raise and rekindle the energies of our work places. We learn to
locate the unknown workers who are the hidden backbone of our world~
and make their jobs easier by lightening their load. We learn to work as
Agents of Omneity, helping to educate people on living in a balanced
world order, in harmony with nature, and promoting the highest potential
of human consciousness. Naturally, this type of work is done with the
utmost discretion.
CIRCESInternational,Inc.
P.O.Box462172
Centennial,CO80046
UnitedStatesofAmerica
Notes