The Militia Templi ( en, Militia of the Temple), also called the Order of the poor Knights of Christ ( la, Christi Pauperum Militum Ordo), is a lay order of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Overview

The Militia Templi is a Roman Catholic private

association of the faithful In the Catholic Church, an association of the Christian faithful or simply association of the faithful (Latin: ''consociationes christifidelium'') sometimes called a public association of the faithful, is a group of baptized persons, clerics or la ...

that celebrates its liturgy according to the traditional form in place in 1962, often referred to as the

Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated almo ...

. Founded by the Italian Count Marcello Alberto Cristofani della Magione under the authority of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Siena-Colle di Val d'Elsa-Montalcino Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, the Militia Templi's focus is knightly and monastic and members follow a modern adaptation of the Rule written by St.

Bernard of Clairvaux Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. ( la, Bernardus Claraevallensis; 109020 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templars, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through ...

for the medieval

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

. The order makes no claims of direct descent from the old Knights Templar and holds that, when made, such self-styled claims are both historically and canonically false. The Militia was formed civilly and with the approval of the local ordinary on September 21, 1979. Its constitutions were approved on Sept. 8, 1988 by the

Archbishop of Siena In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdioc ...

Mario Jsmaele Castellano. The next Archbishop, Gaetano Bonicelli approved the Rule of the Militia in 1990. The Cardinal Protectors of the Militia Templi were

Silvio Oddi Silvio Angelo Pio Oddi (14 November 1910 – 29 June 2001) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See and in the Roman Curia. He became a cardinal in 1969 and headed the Congregation for th ...

Édouard Gagnon Édouard Gagnon, PSS, OC (15 January 1918 – 25 August 2007) was a Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal and President of the Pontifical Council for the Family for 16 years, from 1974 to 1990. He became a cardinal on 25 May 1985. Biography Édoua ...

and

Alfons Maria Stickler Alfons Maria Stickler (23 August 1910 – 12 December 2007) was an Austrian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church from 1985 to 1988. Stickler was elevated to the cardinalate in 1985 ...

. The current Protector is the Right Reverend Phillip Lawrence, OSB, Abbot of the Benedictine Monastery of Christ in the Desert located in New Mexico, USA. According to its constitutions, the Militia has both married and celibate members. Professed Knights consecrate themselves perpetually to the Militia with the investiture and the promise to observe the three classic evangelical counsels as well as the public testimony of faith (fourth promise). The knights engage in different apostolates organized at the Preceptory and commandry level, each Knight is required to provide some type of service to the Church. They are obliged to live by their Rule and recite daily the Hours of the traditional Divine Office, do at least of quarter of an hour of mental prayer a day, go to confession monthly, make several annual retreats, have a spiritual director, engage in an apostolate, and perform the Ignatian exercises every 2 years. Their members include several hundred Knights, 10 national preceptories, many local priorates and scout groups.

Magistral See

The order's Magistral See, or headquarters, is situated in the Castello della Magione. It is a former Templar compound that lies in the village of

Poggibonsi Poggibonsi is a town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, central Italy. It is located on the river Elsa and is the main centre of the Valdelsa Valley. History The area around Poggibonsi was already settled in the Neolithic age, although the firs ...

in the

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

region of Italy. Built in the 11th century, the castle was donated by its owners; Gottifredo di Arnolfo and Arnolfino di Cristofano to the monks of the Saint Michael Abbey in Poggio Marturi who later bestowed it to the Templars for use as one of their numerous "Mansiones" or "Domus Templi" along the

Via Francigena The Via Francigena () is an ancient road and pilgrimage route running from the cathedral city of Canterbury in England, through France and Switzerland, to Rome and then to Apulia, Italy, where there were ports of embarkation for the Holy Land. It w ...

. After 1312 the Castello della Magione passed through many hands, including the

Hospitallers The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

and the Princess Corsini, until, in 1979 it was purchased by Count Marcello Alberto Cristofani della Magione, the founder and current Grand Master of the Militia Templi. Attached to the castle is a church, also restored, with impressive Burgundian-Cistercian influence and is used daily by the order for the community recitation of

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern), Lutheranism, Lutheran, and Anglican ...

and the celebration of the

Symbol and habit

The symbol of the Militiae Templi is a red eight-pointed ("octagonal") cross, symbol of the Eight Beatitudes of the Gospel, while the symbol is a white flag with red octagonal cross. The cross is not to be confused with that of the medieval

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

, which is known as the

Maltese Cross The Maltese cross is a cross symbol, consisting of four " V" or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically. It is a heraldic cross variant which developed f ...

. The habit of the Professed Knights is white and consists of a tunic, a scapular with cowl and the octagonal red cross on the chest, and a mantle with the same cross on the left shoulder. Ladies wear a white mantle and a white veil with a donat's cross (without the top section). Chaplains are dressed with a white Mozzetta with red edge, red buttons and an octagonal red cross on the left front part. The Oblati (Knights and Ladies of Devotion) have a gray mantle with the red octagonal cross on the left shoulder.

Spread in the world

The Militia Templi through Preceptories or Magistral Legations, is currently present in the following countries: Italy, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Poland, Romania, Spain, United States of America, Puerto Rico (1 Knight, 2 Novices), and Hungary.

Bibliography

*Ordine della Milizia del Tempio, ''Regola dei poveri Cavalieri di Cristo'', Cancelleria Magistrale della Milizia del Tempio, Poggibonsi (Siena) 1992; *Ordine della Milizia del Tempio, ''Sviluppo e Criteri di Sviluppo'', Cancelleria Magistrale della Milizia del Tempio, Poggibonsi (Siena) 2006; *AA.VV., ''I Templari: Mito e Storia. Atti del Convegno internazionale di studi della Magione Templare di Poggibonsi'' - Siena, 29-31 maggio 1987, Viti-Riccucci, Sinalunga (Siena) 1989; *Giuseppe Mantelli, ''La Magione casa templare sulla via Francigena'', La Magione dei Templari, Poggibonsi (Siena) 1990; *Giancarlo Rocca, ''La restaurazione dei templari'', in Guerrino Pelliccia e G. Rocca (diretto da), ''Dizionario degli Istituti di Perfezione'', vol. IX, Paoline, Roma 1997, coll. 903-905; *AA.VV., ''Kèter èv szerzetessège'', vol. II, Dinasztia, Budapest 1998, pp. 1279-1282; *Isidoro Palumbo (a cura di), ''La Milizia del Tempio'', p.i.p., Bologna, 1990; *Jens Bargmann, ''Der "Uncommon Sense": Die Templer als neue geistliche Bewegung?'', in Michael Hochschild, ''Die Zukunft geistlicher Bewegungen'', Lit Verlag, Zuerich, 2016, S. 155-165.

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