History and Succession

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History and continuity of OSMTH: From the Holy Land to the present day

The history of the Supreme Knightly Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (lat. Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani, OSMTH) is a continuous path of service, preservation of Tradition and spiritual succession. This compendium charts the complete historical line of the Temple: from its origins in the Holy Land and centuries of hidden succession under the Larmenius Charter to its triumphant revival during the Napoleonic era and the formation of the modern structure of the Magnum Magisterium under the leadership of the 52nd Grand Master Albino Neves.

I. First Temple Age: Origins and Rise (1095–1307)

November 27, 1095. Clermont Cathedral. Pope Urban II proclaims the First Crusade. Knightly service takes on a sacred, spiritual dimension.
July 15, 1099. Capture of Jerusalem. The liberation of the Holy Sepulcher becomes the semantic and spiritual center around which future knighthood is formed.
1118–1119. Foundation of the Order. Hugues de Payens and Geoffroy de Saint-Omer, together with seven companions, take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to the Patriarch of Jerusalem. The Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon is born. Since 1119, Hugh de Payens officially becomes the 1st Grand Master. The full composition of the nine founding knights:
- Hugo de Payen
- Godfried de Saint-Omer
- André de Montbard
- Payne de Montdidier
- Archambault de Saint-Amand
- Geoffroy Bizol
- Roland
- Gondemar
- Rosal
January 1120. Cathedral in Nablus. King Baldwin II of Jerusalem (1118–1131) provides the knights with a residence and armory on the Temple Mount, in the Jerusalem portion of Solomon's Temple (in the Al-Aqsa Mosque). This is where the historical name Templum Salomonis comes from - Knights of the Temple, or Templars.
January 13, 1129. Cathedral in Troyes. Official recognition of the Order by the Holy See. Thanks to the patronage of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, the first abbot of Clairvaux and founder of the Cistercian Order, the Latin Templar Rule was adopted, which defined strict ascetic discipline. As a sign of the purity of life, knights are required to wear a white cloak.
March 29, 1139. Bulla Omne Datum Optimum. Pope Innocent II grants the Order unprecedented privileges: direct jurisdiction exclusively of the Pope, exemption from tithes and the right to build their own oratorios. Later, in 1146, Pope Eugene III added the famous red cross to the order's vestment.
1147–1291. The era of great battles. The Knights of the Temple are the main military force of the Christian East. After the fall of Jerusalem in 1187, the Templars moved their headquarters to Acre. They held the city until 1291, until it fell to the enemy, and the 21st Grand Master Guillaume de Beaujeu died in defense. The surviving Templars were the last to leave the city, moving their headquarters to Cyprus (Limassol), and then concentrating resources in Europe, mainly in Paris, at the Temple Temple.

II. Tragedy and Cover-up: The Age of Continuity (1307–1705)

October 13, 1307 (Friday). The treacherous arrest of the Templars in France by order of King Philip IV the Fair, who had huge debts to the Order. The beginning of the inquisition process, based on false accusations of heresy and sacrilege.
17–20 August 1308. Chinon Parchment. Papal legates of Clement V interrogate Jacques de Molay and the highest dignitaries of the Order in the castle of Chinon.
March 22, 1312. Bulla Vox in excelso. Pope Clement V, under pressure from the French crown, abolishes the Order of the Temple at the Council of Vienne. It is important to note: the Order was dissolved not by court (non per modum sententiae definitivae), but by papal administrative decree (per modum provisionis seu ordinationis apostolicae). This legally left the Order's status open, without confirming the accusations of the Crown Prosecutors, causing it to revert to its original status as a Secular Military Order of Chivalry.
March 18, 1314. Execution in Paris. Brutal persecution occurs mainly in France, where the 23rd Grand Master Jacques de Molay and the Prior of Normandy Geoffroy de Charny were burned at the stake near Notre Dame Cathedral. Before his death, Jacques de Molay calls the king and the Pope to God's judgment. In England, King Edward II in the same year confiscated the lands of the Order (including the London Temple) in favor of the crown, contrary to the order to transfer them to the Knights of St. John (Johannites).
1314 Transfer of Power and the Larmenius Charter. According to the unbreakable internal Tradition, before his death, Jacques de Molay secretly transfers the powers and archives of the Order to Seneschal Jean-Marcus Larmenius, who temporarily gathers the surviving knights underground.
February 13, 1324. Carta transmissionis. Jean-Marc Larmenius draws up the Charter of Transfer, known today as the Larmenius Charter. This document legally and spiritually established the unbroken line of succession of Grand Masters during the hidden period. Each subsequent Master, upon taking office, leaves his signature on the Charter. The Order preserves the Tradition through the centuries, ruled by the great names of the European aristocracy (including the de Clermont-Tonnerre, de Bouillon and de Bourbon families).

III. Secular Renaissance and Reorganization (1705–1804)

April 11, 1705. Versailles Convention. Philip II, Duke of Orleans (future regent of France), relying on the right of succession under the Larmenius Charter, brings the Order out of deep underground and is recognized as a leading person (Regent). At the General Chapter in Versailles, new Statutes are adopted. The Order officially establishes itself as the legitimate successor to medieval knighthood, attracting the highest nobility of France.
1792 French Revolution. Grand Master Louis-Hercule-Timoleon de Causset, Duke of Brissac, dies at the hands of the revolutionaries. The Order's archives and the Larmenius Charter are temporarily transferred to the custody of the appointed Regent, Claude-Mathieu Radix de Chevillon.
November 4, 1804. Second Renaissance. French physician and public figure Bernard-Raymond Fabré-Palaprat is elected Grand Master. He is carrying out a major reorganization of the structure, returning it to its historical name l'Ordre du Temple.
1805 Recognition by Napoleon. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte officially approves the activities of the Order and authorizes the holding of solemn Templar masses. Fabre-Palaprat publicly displays the Larmenius Charter as an irrefutable mandate of legitimacy.

IV. The Path Through the Schisms and the Fontes Dynasty (1838–2018)

1838–1942. Temporary and regency administration. After the death of Fabre-Palaprat, the Order enters the stage of management by Regents and Executive Commissions. The center of gravity is gradually shifting from France to Belgium and Portugal. During this period, the foundations were laid for the creation of an international union of priories under the auspices of the Ordo Supremus Militaris Templi Hierosolymitani (OSMTH).
December 23, 1942. Stabilization of the Order. Antonio Campello de Sousa Fontes is elected Grand Master and Regent of the Order in Portugal. In the context of World War II and the occupation of Brussels, where the previous Regent Emile-Clément-Joseph Isaac Vandenberg was located, this decision saves the central institutions of the Order from destruction by the Nazis. The headquarters (Magnum Magisterium) is located in Porto. International expansion begins in Europe, North and South America.
February 15, 1960. Acceptance of continuity. After the death of Antonio de Sousa Fontes, according to his will and the decision of the Chapter, the title of Grand Master and Regent passes to his son, Don Fernando Campello Pinto Pereira de Sousa Fontes.
1995 The Great Schism. The growth of the Order led to internal administrative divisions. A number of national Priories (mostly Anglo-Saxon) advocated a transition to an elective system and separation from the Portuguese line of government.
- Result of the split: The breakaway group formed the structure of OSMTH-Reg. (branch later registered in Switzerland).
- Our Branch: The historical core of the Order, remaining faithful to the oath and the Tradition of direct succession, rallied around Don Fernando de Souza Fontes, securing the status of OSMTH - Magnum Magisterium (Grand Magisterium).

V. Modernity: The Age of Master Albino Neves (from 2018 to the present)

May 18, 2018. Death of Don Fernando de Souza Fontes. The great 58-year era of his reign ended, during which the Order maintained its spiritual identity despite all political storms.
2018 Transfer of power to the New Age. Before his earthly death, Grand Master Don Fernando de Sousa Fontes officially and legally transferred the mandate of succession, the regalia of the order and the leadership of the Magnum Magisterium to his rightful successor. The new, 52nd Grand Master of OSMTH - Magnum Magisterium is Don Albino Rodrigues Neves Filho.

Current status:
Under the leadership of Grand Master Albino Neves, the Order confidently responds to the challenges of the 21st century. Although external alternative branches (such as the Atlantic OSMTH-Swiss or OSMTJ) develop their own administrative institutions, the Magnum Magisterium branch remains the only legitimate custodian of the direct line of succession running through the Fontes dynasty, Fabray-Palaprat and the Larmenius Charter from Jacques de Molay himself.

Today, the Order, under the leadership of Don Albino Neves, continues its historical mission: