TRESTLEBOARD
March, 2007
 

From the East

 
Dear Brethren:
 
 
  As March approaches so does our visit from Dr. John Young who will be speaking on the Knight’s Templar. I am providing you some bits of information regarding the Knight’s Templar history which I hope you will find of interest prior to our guest speaker. In the list of charges drawn up by the Spanish Inquisition against the Templar on 12 August 1308, there appear the following items charged:

That in each province the order had idols, namely heads, of which some had three races and some one, and others had a human skull.
That they adored these idols or that idol, and especially in their great chapters and assemblies.
That they venerated (them).
That (they venerated them) as God.
That (they venerated them) as their Savior....
That they said that the head could save them.
That [it could] make riches.
That it made the trees flower.
That [it made] the land germinate.
That they surrounded or touched each head of the aforesaid idols with small cords, which they wore around themselves next to the shirt or the flesh.
That in his reception, the aforesaid small cords or some lengths of them was given to each of the brethren.
That they did this in veneration of an idol.
That they (the receptors) enjoined them (the postulants) on oath not to reveal the aforesaid to anyone."- The Articles of the Accusations
An Eastern Origin?

"...They bestowed worship in their chapter on a heathen idol, variously described as to its physical characteristics, but known as a 'Baphomet', which etymologically was the same word [in Old French] as 'Mohammed'. [Once or twice the form Mahomet is actually used by witnesses in the trial.] "

"It was impossible for the Templar to have 'picked up in the East' the practice of worshipping an idol bearing the name of the Prophet Mohammed, since no such idol existed anywhere in the Levant, even among breakaway sects such as the Ismailis or the Druse. The idea that Muslims were idolaters was itself a part of another system of 'smears'." - Peter Partner, the Murdered Magicians

"Probably relying upon contemporary Eastern sources, Western scholars have recently supposed that 'Bafomet' has no connection with Mohammed, but could well be a corruption of the Arabic abufihamet (pronounced in the Moorish Spanish something like bufihimat). The word means 'father of understanding.' In Arabic, 'father' is taken to mean 'source, chief seat of,' and so on. In Sufi terminology, ras el-fahmat (head of knowledge) means the mentation of man after undergoing refinement - the transmuted consciousness." - Idries Shah, the Sufis

A Gnostic Origin?
"Another theory suggests that Baphomet is a compound of the words 'baphe' (baptism) and 'metis' (wisdom) ...Both theories imply the Templar were worshipping, or at least privy to, a secret knowledge. Several commentators believed that this points to the Templar having been gnostics ('gnosis' meaning knowing)." - Encounters magazine, issue 11: 45

Theories about the Head
 John the Baptist?
It is possible that the head idol was intended to represent the severed head of John the Baptist, based on allegations that he was revered by the Order. The Templar took part in the sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade in 1203-4. Robert de Clari described the opulence and numerous relics at the sacred chapel of the Boucoleon Palace, amongst them supposedly the head of John the Baptist.
 
A Likeness of the Lord?
Another possibility as to the identity of the Baphomet may lie with Nicodemus, who in the Gospel of John who brought spices for Christ's burial. He is also mentioned in the apocryphal Evangelium Nicodemi (4th C.) as a ruler of the Jews who testified in Christ's favor. The Interpolation in the First Continuation of Chrétien's Perceval (12??) tells of the flight of Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea to England and includes the following intriguing passage: "Nicodemus had carved and fashioned a head in the likeness of the Lord on the day that he had seen Him on the cross. But of this I am sure, that the Lord God set His hand to the shaping of it, as they say; for no man ever saw one like it nor could it be made by human hands. Most of you who have been at Lucca know it and have seen it." - Interpolation in the First Continuation of Chrétien's Perceval

The Skull of Hugues de Payen?
"Another possibility for the origin of the Head relates to the imagery on the first Grand Master's shield, which consisted of three black heads on a gold field. After about two hundred years, it is plausible that this head imagery could have worked itself into the legend of the Baphomet. According to more than one account, the Head was the actual skull of Hugues de Payen, which was preserved as an object of veneration." - Forrest Jackson, "The Baphomet in History and Symbolism"

The Mandylion/Shroud of Turin?
"Surely this evidence [given by Templar at their trial] suggests that copies of the head, perhaps some of them not unlike the Sainte Face de Laon, others of carved stone or alabaster, such as those of the Nottingham School of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, were widely distributed throughout the order's houses. This would at least explain why nothing resembling a pagan idol was found after the brethren had been arrested, and why none of the pictures found in their chapels raised so much as an eyebrow." - Noel Currer-Briggs, The Shroud and the Grail - A Modern Quest for the True Grail
Ian Wilson also hypothesizes that the Templar idols were representations of Christ's face copied from the Mandylion/Shroud. A possible surviving example, on a painted panel found at Templecombe, England, shows "a bearded male head, with a reddish beard, lifesize, disembodied, and, above all, lacking in any identification mark....It conforms too, to some of the most rational Templar descriptions: 'a painting on a plaque', 'a bearded male head', 'life-size', 'with a grizzled beard like a Templar'. (The Templar cultivated their beards in the style of Christ)." - Ian Wilson, the

Shroud of Turin - The Burial Cloth of Jesus Christ?
"Not long after the Templar dispersal, very accurate and inexplicable sea-charts began to appear all over Europe. These maps, called portolans (thought to be derived from 'port' to 'land'), were far superior to the Ptolemaic maps studied by academic ecclesiastics in the monasteries and fledgling universities. Most of the portolans covered the area of the Mediterranean and the European Atlantic coast. They covered the areas crucial to European sea-commerce. The earliest dated portolan chart is the Opicinis de Canestris map of the Mediterranean of 1335 A.D. It demonstrates that maps of inexplicable accuracy began to appear in Europe less than 25 years after King Philippe's surprise raids against the Templar and the papal elimination of the Order under Clement V. ...Is it mere coincidence that his flagship, the famous Santa Maria, bore Templar crosses on her sails when Columbus set sail from Palos? Is it mere coincidence that his voyage was financed, not by the sale of Isabella's jewelry as so commonly thought, but by a mysterious consortium of wealthy men which included Jews and other heretics? And is it only coincidence that Columbus weighed anchor on August 3, 1492 just a few hours before the deadline for all Jews to be out of Spain?" - Michael Bradley, Holy Grail across the Atlantic
 

England: The Peasants' Rebellion
For several years before the Peasants' Revolt in England in 1381, "a group of disgruntled priests of the lower clergy had traveled the towns, preaching against the riches and corruption of the church. During the months before the uprising, secret meetings had been held throughout central England by men weaving a network of communication. After the revolt was put down, rebel leaders confessed to being agents of a great Society, said to be based in London. Another mystery was the concentrated and especially vicious attacks on the religious order of the Knights Hospitaller of St. John, now known as the Knights of Malta. Not only did the rebels seek out their properties for vandalism and fire, but their prior was dragged from the Tower of London to have his head struck off [along with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Treasurer] and placed on London Bridge, to the delight of the cheering mob.....One captured rebel leader, when asked the reasons for the revolt, said, 'First, and above all...the destruction of the Hospitallers. Pope Clement V had directed that all of the extensive properties of the Templar should be given to the Hospitallers" almost seventy years before the Peasant's Revolt."
 

Scotland: The Scots Guard
"The church at Kilmartin, near Loch Awe in Argyll, contains many examples of Templar graves and tomb carvings showing Templar figures; furthermore, there are many Masonic graves in the churchyard....There was a strong Templar connection with this area of Scotland from the time when Hugues de Payen married Catherine de St Clair. In fact the first Templar preceptory outside the Holy Land was built on St Clair land at a site to the south of Edinburgh now known as Temple. By the beginning of the fourteenth century the Templar had many estates in Scotland and a great deal of affection and respect from the people. The Templar reportedly provided assistance to William Wallace. ...There was a battle between the Scots and the English at Roslin in 1303 which was won with the support of Templar knights, led by a St Clair." - Christopher Knight & Robert Lomas, the Hiram Key: Pharaohs, Freemasons and the Discovery of the Secret Scrolls of Jesus
"According to legend - and there is evidence to support it - the Order maintained itself as a coherent body in Scotland for another four centuries." - Baigent, Leigh & Lincoln, the Holy Blood and the Holy Grail

As I’m sure you will have found this most interesting you will also have a myriad of questions for Dr. Young after his presentation. This past month we have had fraternal visits with our fellow District #54 brethren, as well as our own District Deputy Grand Master’s Official Visit. Thank you to members of Mroz DeMolay for serving the DDGM’s dinner. My thanks to the brethren of fellow lodges who assisted with our degree work in both January and February. The newest members of Cherrydale were most impressed with the ritual work, as well as the brotherly love that so radiantly shines in the 54th District. Thank you to all of the members who had within their cabletow the ability to attend Bethel 1’s Potato Luncheon and Mroz DeMolay Chapter’s installation. The youth are our future and an important part of our Masonic family. Please keep the Liles’ family in your prayers as Robert recovers from surgery. We have had correspondence from Worshipful Gary Hennig, Past Master of Cherrydale in 1997. He has been working on the lodge history for the years 1921-1966 and now has it in electronic format ready for distribution on CD. He is currently working on the years of 1977 through 2007. What a wonderful history to have available regarding our lodge. Much thanks to Worshipful Hennig!

Let’s not forget the presentation on Masonic Etiquette: Each profession has its code of ethics governing the actions of its members. Ethics and rules of conduct are quite different from etiquette. Etiquette, the consideration we show others, remains constant. While our relationship with other Masons is clearly explained by the ritual, etiquette, Masonic or other wise is nothing more than plain manners and politeness. We as a lodge owe it to all of our officers to refrain from comments on the sideline during degree work. This year we hold high, the ideas of brotherly love, and I would challenge each member of the sidelines to offer encouraging words to all of our new officers and ask all to refrain from any negative comments.

Our ladies of Cherrydale will be having a ladies pampering afternoon at the lodge on March 4th from 12-2pm. Please have your lady call my wife to confirm their attendance at this most fun event. Brethren, please make sure your lady is unencumbered for this afternoon of pampering.

Thank you to all of the fraternal guests that we have at each meeting. The fellowship in the 54th District continues to make our area a special place in Virginia.
 

  
 
Fraternally yours,

Carl Lester Garris, III
Worshipful Master