The History

of the poor Knights of Christ

 The foundation of the Order of the Knights of the Temple goes back in the years 1118 - 19 - thus 20 years after the conquest of Jerusalem. Balduin II, King of Jerusalem, left the eastern wing of his palace, adjacent to the ruins of the Temple of King Solomon, to the Order as headquarters; that's why the Order was called "Order of the Temple" and his members „Templarii - Templars".

The significance of the term "miles Christi", introduced by Saint Paul, was made concrete at the time of the great clerical reforms and the Crusades by St. Bernard, who applied it as ideal of the new Christian Knight. Since then it has been the typical feature of those soldiers by profession who fighted against the earthly enemies of the Christianity.

Those "Knights of Christ" called themselves "poor Knights", an appellation, which should not at all be understood in the sense of needy or without means. In the interpretation of the early Fathers of the Church the term "poor" refers to the "poverty in the spirit" meant in Christ's "Sermon on the Mount". This poverty is anchored in the heart and means the inner freedom and independence from earthly goods.
 

Rule of the Militia of the Temple

(Download)

The Traditional Roman Breviary

(from: The Confraternity of Ss. Peter and Paul)

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