Ben Stiller, Mark Ruffalo and More Than 400 Hollywood Names Urge Trump to Not Let AI Companies ‘Exploit’ Copyrighted Works

Mar 17, 2025 2:55pm PT

Ben Stiller, Mark Ruffalo and More Than 400 Hollywood Names Urge Trump to Not Let AI Companies ‘Exploit’ Copyrighted Works

By Todd Spangler

More than 400 Hollywood creative leaders signed an open letter to the Trump White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, urging the administration to not roll back copyright protections at the behest of AI companies.

The filmmakers, writers, actors, musicians and others — which included Ben Stiller, Mark Ruffalo, Cynthia Erivo, Cate Blanchett, Cord Jefferson, Paul McCartney, Ron Howard and Taika Waititi — were submitting comments for the Trump administration’s U.S. AI Action Plan⁠. The letter specifically was penned in response to recent submissions to the Office of Science and Technology Policy from OpenAI and Google, which asserted that U.S. copyright law allows (or should allow) allow AI companies to train their system on copyrighted works without obtaining permission from (or compensating) rights holders.

“We firmly believe that America’s global AI leadership must not come at the expense of our essential creative industries,” the letter says in part. The letter claims that “AI companies are asking to undermine this economic and cultural strength by weakening copyright protections for the films, television series, artworks, writing, music and voices used to train AI models at the core of multibillion-dollar corporate valuations.”

The letter’s signatories include: Ben Stiller, Mark Ruffalo, Guillermo del Toro, Natasha Lyonne, Paul McCartney, Cynthia Erivo, Cate Blanchett, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Cord Jefferson, Bette Midler, Cate Blanchett, Ava Duvernay, Paul Simon, Aubrey Plaza, Ángel Manuel Soto, Ron Howard, Taika Waititi, Ayo Edebiri, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lily Gladstone, Sam Mendes, Brit Marling, Janelle Monáe, Bryn Mooser, Rian Johnson, Paul Giamatti, Maggie Gylenhall, Alfonso Cuaron, Olivia Wilde, Judd Apatow, Kim Gordon, Chris Rock and Michaela Coel.

The letter says Google and OpenAI “are arguing for a special government exemption so they can freely exploit America’s creative and knowledge industries, despite their substantial revenues and available funds. There is no reason to weaken or eliminate the copyright protections that have helped America flourish.”

OpenAI alleged in its OSTP submission (at this link) that the U.S. copyright code’s fair use doctrine “promotes AI development” and the company proposed that the U.S. “take steps to ensure that our copyright system continues to support American AI leadership and American economic and national security,” including “working to prevent less innovative countries from imposing their legal regimes on American AI firms and slowing our rate of progress.”

Google, in its submission (at this link), advocated for “balanced copyright rules, such as fair use and text-and-data mining exceptions,” which the company said has been “critical to enabling AI systems to learn from prior knowledge and publicly available data, unlocking scientific and social advances. These exceptions allow for the use of copyrighted, publicly available material for AI training without significantly impacting rightsholders and avoid often highly unpredictable, imbalanced and lengthy negotiations with data holders during model development or scientific experimentation.”

Here is the full text of the letter from the Hollywood signatories:

Hello Friends & Strangers. As you may be aware there has recently been a recommendation by OpenAI & Google to the current US Administration that is gaining alarming traction to remove all legal protections & existing guardrails surrounding copyright law protections for the training of Artificial Intelligence. This rewriting of established law in favor of so-called “Fair Use” was in need of an initial response by 11:59 PM ET Saturday, so we have submitted an initial letter with the signatories we had at that time. We are now continuing to accept signatures for an amendment to our initial statement. Please feel free to forward this to anyone you think may be invested in the ethical maintenance of their intellectual property. You can add your name and whatever guilds or unions or description of self you feel appropriate, but please do not edit the letter itself. Thank you so much for kicking this out wide on a Saturday Night!

Hollywood’s Response to the Administration’s Artificial Intelligence Action Plan and necessity that copyright law be upheld.

We, the members of America’s entertainment industry — representing an intersection of cinematographers, directors, producers, actors, writers, studios, production companies, musicians, composers, costume, sound & production designers, editors, gaffers, union and Academy Members, and other industrious, creative content professionals – submit this unified statement in response to the Administration’s request for input on the AI Action Plan.

We firmly believe that America’s global AI leadership must not come at the expense of our essential creative industries. America’s arts and entertainment industry supports over 2.3M American jobs with over $229Bn in wages annually, while providing the foundation for American democratic influence and soft power abroad. But AI companies are asking to undermine this economic and cultural strength by weakening copyright protections for the films, television series, artworks, writing, music, and voices used to train AI models at the core of multi-billion dollar corporate valuations.

Make no mistake: this issue goes well beyond the entertainment industry, as the right to train AI on all copyright-protected content impacts all of America’s knowledge industries. When tech and AI companies demand unfettered access to all data and information, they’re not just threatening movies, books, and music, but the work of all writers, publishers, photographers, scientists, architects, engineers, designers, doctors, software developers and all other professionals who work with computers and generate intellectual property. These professions are the core of how we discover, learn, and share knowledge as a society and as a nation. This issue is not just about AI leadership or about economics and individual rights, but about America’s continued leadership in creating and owning valuable intellectual property in every field.

It is clear that Google (valued at $2Tn) and OpenAI (valued at over $157Bn) are arguing for a special government exemption so they can freely exploit America’s creative and knowledge industries, despite their substantial revenues and available funds. There is no reason to weaken or eliminate the copyright protections that have helped America flourish. Not when AI companies can use our copyrighted material by simply doing what the law requires: negotiating appropriate licenses with copyright holders — just as every other industry does. Access to America’s creative catalog of films, writing, video content, and music is not a matter of national security. They do not require a government-mandated exemption from existing U.S. copyright law.

America didn’t become a global cultural powerhouse by accident. Our success stems directly from our fundamental respect for IP and copyright that rewards creative risk-taking by talented and hardworking Americans from every state and territory. For nearly 250 years, U.S. copyright law has balanced creator’s rights with the needs of the public, creating the world’s most vibrant creative economy. We recommend that the American AI Action Plan uphold existing copyright frameworks to maintain the strength of America’s creative and knowledge industries, as well as American cultural influence abroad.

https://variety.com/2025/digital/news/hollywood-urges-trump-block-ai-exploit-copyrights-1236339750/

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,800[1] five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. The stars, the first of which were permanently installed in 1960, are monuments to achievement in the entertainment industry, bearing the names of a mix of actors, musicians, producers, directors, theatrical/musical groups, fictional characters, and others.

The Walk of Fame is administered by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, who hold a trademark right to the combined star & movie camera symbol only, and maintained by the self-financing Hollywood Historic Trust. The Hollywood Chamber collects fees from celebrities (or their sponsors) that wish to have a star (currently $75K)[2] which pays for the creation and installation of the star, as well as maintenance of the Walk of Fame. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce does not own trademark rights to the star with other symbols (i.e. television, microphone, record disc), so those symbols are free to use for commercial purposes.[3] It is a popular tourist attraction, receiving an estimated 10 million annual visitors in 2010.[4][5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Walk_of_Fame

World, the: 1. It is proper to our vocation: to go to diverse places and live in whatever part of the world and to be sent wherever the greater service of God and the help of souls can be hoped for [82, 92, 304, 308, 588, 603, 605, 626, 749]; to this purpose is directed the vow of special obedience to the supreme pontiff regarding missions, FI no. 3 [603, 605], 2 §1; consequently a complete availability, mobility, and universality are necessary, 110, 121 4°, 242 §3, 246 7°, 248, 259, 411; at the service of which is chastity, 144 §2; consequently our community is a community for dispersion, 255 §1, 312, 314 §2, 315, 317; thus also the need for communicating with different cultures of the world and for insertion into them, 99 §2, 106 §2, 110, 111, 246 2°; and for promoting that perfect and open cooperation among the members of the entire Society, of whatever province or region they may be, 396 §2. See also Cooperation, interprovincial and supraprovincial; Culture(s); Insertion 2. God is present in the world: exercising the ministry of healing and reconciliation, 246 4°; thus he is there to be sought and found, 223 §§3-4; the world, in great part afflicted with atheism and injustice and increasingly divided by diverse economic, social, and ethnic systems and by other sources of division and opposition, 59 §2, 223 §3, 246 4° 3. The world, as distinguished from religious life: is to be left behind, trampled underfoot, and renounced [30, 50, 53, 61, 66, 297]; it is to be despised because of the love for and imitation of Christ [101]; contempt for it assists in the union of minds and hearts [671]: customs which smack of the world are not to be introduced, 322.

The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus and Their Complementary Norms

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

"The heptagram became a traditional symbol for warding off evil in Catholicism. The symbol is also used in Kabbalist Judaism. In Islam, the heptagram is used to represent the first seven verses in the Quran. The heptagram is used in the symbol for Babalon in Aleister Crowley's occult system Thelema."

"The heptagram is known among neopagans as the Elven Star or Fairy Star. It is treated as a sacred symbol in various modern pagan and witchcraft traditions. Blue Star Wicca also uses the symbol, where it is referred to as a septegram. The second heptagram is a symbol of magical power in some pagan spiritualities."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heptagram

“Battle Born” is Nevada’s state motto. The state’s origins are framed by the Civil War. Nevada became a territory in March 1861, a month before the war began, and achieved statehood on October 31, 1864. No actual battles were fought here, but the state has an intriguing relationship with the war because of the legislation the war fostered.1 The social and cultural meaning of the Civil War has strong resonance in Nevada because of two modern groups: the Southern Nevada Living History Association and the Nevada Civil War Historical Society. Both of these groups participate in Civil War demonstrations and reenactments at the Old Mormon Fort in downtown Las Vegas and at Spring Mountain Ranch, about 30 minutes outside of town.

https://ncph.org/history-at-work/public-history-in-the-battle-born-state/ 

The Sheriff of Nottingham is the main antagonist in the legend of Robin Hood. He is generally depicted as an unjust tyrant who mistreats the local people of Nottinghamshire, subjecting them to unaffordable taxes. Robin Hood fights against him, stealing from the rich, and the Sheriff, in order to give to the poor; it is this characteristic for which Robin Hood is best known. The Sheriff is considered the archenemy of Robin Hood, as he is the most recurring enemy of the well-known outlaw.

It is not known whom this character is based on. The legend of Robin Hood (which is at least as old as the 14th century), traditionally referred to the Sheriff of Nottingham only by his title. There has in fact never been a Sheriff of Nottingham, as such. However, there was from very early Norman times been a High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests, appointed by the king. The character in the legend could therefore have been based on the notional royal appointee responsible for law enforcement in the Royal Forests (which included Sherwood Forest). If, on the other hand, one treats the legend as having had its origins in real events (despite the fact that the earliest known version of the legend appears 200 years later), the character could have been based upon one of (or a composite of multiple of) the real life people who occupied the post of High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests at the relevant time. If, as in many versions of the Robin Hood legend, the action of the story is placed during the absence of King Richard I of England in 1190–1193 during the Third Crusade and his subsequent holding to ransom in Austria, the character could be identified with the little-known William de Wendenal, who was High Sheriff from 1191 to 1194. In some versions, the Sheriff is identified with Philip Marc, who held the office of High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests from 1209 to 1221, during the later years of the reign of John, King of England (who ruled from 1199 to 1216).[1] However, the Sheriff usually remains either anonymous or pseudonymous.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheriff_of_Nottingham

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a 1991 American action-adventure film based on the English folk tale of Robin Hood and loosely set in the 12th century. Directed by Kevin Reynolds and written by Pen Densham and John Watson, the film stars Kevin Costner as Robin Hood, Morgan Freeman as Azeem, Christian Slater as Will Scarlett, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Marian, and Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film was a box office success, grossing $390.5 million worldwide, making it the second-highest-grossing film of 1991. Rickman received the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance as George, Sheriff of Nottingham. The theme song "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" by Bryan Adams was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and it won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.[5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood:_Prince_of_Thieves

The Holyrood or Holy Rood is a Christian relic alleged to be part of the True Cross on which Jesus died. The word derives from the Old English rood, meaning a pole and the cross, via Middle English, or the Scots haly ruid ("holy cross"). Several relics venerated as part of the True Cross are known by this name, in England, Ireland and Scotland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holyrood_(cross)

To sum up: men crucified to the world, and to whom the world itself is crucified[7] such would our Constitutions have us to be; new men, I say, who have put off their affections to put on Christ;[8] dead to themselves to live to justice; who, with St. Paul in labors, in watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in knowledge, in long suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Spirit, in charity unfeigned, in the word of truth, show themselves ministers of God[9] and by the armor of Justice on the right hand and, on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report, by good success finally and ill success, press forward with great strides to their heavenly country. This is the sum and aim of our institute."

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Arturo Marcelino Sosa Abascal SJ (born 12 November 1948) is a Venezuelan Catholic priest who serves as the 31st and present superior general of the Society of Jesus. He was elected by the Society's 36th General Congregation on 14 October 2016, succeeding Adolfo Nicolás. He is the first person born in Latin America to lead the Jesuits.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arturo_Sosa

Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur.

A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Italian it is Arturo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur

Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player. He won three Grand Slam titles in singles and two in doubles. Ashe was the first Black player selected to the United States Davis Cup team, and the only Black man ever to win the singles titles at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open. He retired in 1980.

Ashe was ranked world No. 1 by Rex Bellamy,[3] Bud Collins,[4] Judith Elian,[5] Lance Tingay,[6] World Tennis[7] and Tennis Magazine (U.S.)[8] in 1975. That year, Ashe was awarded the 'Martini and Rossi' Award, voted for by a panel of journalists,[9] and the ATP Player of the Year award. In the ATP computer rankings, he peaked at world No. 2 in May 1976.[10]

Ashe is believed to have acquired HIV from a blood transfusion he received during heart bypass surgery in 1983. He publicly announced his illness in April 1992, and began working to educate others about HIV and AIDS. He founded the Arthur Ashe Foundation for the Defeat of AIDS and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health before his death from AIDS-related pneumonia at the age of 49 on February 6, 1993. On June 20, 1993, he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by United States President Bill Clinton. The Arthur Ashe Stadium, the main court for the US Open and the largest tennis arena in the world, is named in his honor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Ashe

In the myths surrounding King Arthur and the Round Table and of those Knights of the Holy Grail who are the forerunners of the Order of the Garter and other knighthoods, one particularly is worthy of interpretation, demonstrating as it does, the use and abuse of power.

The story of Merlin is soon told:

"Merlin was the son of no mortal father, but of an Incubus, one of a class of beings not absolutely wicked, but far from good, who inhabited regions of the air. Merlin's mother was a virtuous young woman, who, on the birth of her son, entrusted him to a priest, who hurried him to the baptismal fount, and so saved him from sharing the lot of his father, though he retained many marks of his unearthly origin.

"At this time Vortigern reigned in Britain. He was a usurper, who had caused the death of this sovereign, Monies, and driven the two brothers of the late king, whose names were Uther and Pendragon, into banishment. Vortigern, who lived in constant fear of the return of the rightful heirs of the kingdom, began to erect a strong tower for defense. The edifice, when brought by the workmen to a certain height, three times fell to the ground, without any apparent cause. The king consulted his astrologers on this wonderful event and learned from them that it would be necessary to bathe the corner-stone of the foundation with the blood of a child born without a mortal father.

"In search for such an infant, Vortigern sent his messengers all over the kingdom, and they, by accident discovered Merlin, whose lineage seemed to point him out as the individual wanted. They took him to the king; but Merlin, young as he was, explained to the king the absurdity of attempting to rescue the fabric by such means, for he told him the true cause of the instability of the tower was its being placed over the den of two immense dragons whose combats shook the earth above them. The king ordered his workmen to dig beneath the tower, and when they had done so they discovered two enormous serpents, the one white as milk, the other red as fire. The multitude looked on with amazement, till the serpents, slowly risen from their den, and expanding their enormous folds, began the combat, when everyone fled in terror, except Merlin who stood by clapping his hands and cheering on the conflict. The red dragon was slain, and the white one, gliding through a cleft in the rock, disappeared.

"These animals typified, as Merlin afterwards explained, the invasion of Utherand Pendragon, the rightful princes, who soon after landed with a great army. Vortigren was defeated, and afterwards burned alive in the castle he had taken such pains to construct. On the death of Vortigren, Pendragon ascended the throne. Merlin became his chief adviser, and often assisted the king by his magical arts.

"Merlin, who knew the range of all their arts,

Had built the King his havens, ships and halls." -- Vivian.

"Merlin continued to be a favorite counselor through the reigns of Pendragon, Uther, and Arthur, and at last disappeared from view, and was no more found among men, through the treachery of his mistress, Viviane, the Fairy, which happened in this wise.

"Merlin, having become enamored of the fair Viviane, the Lady of the Lake, was weak enough to impart to her various important secrets of his art, being impelled by fatal destiny, of which he was at the same time fully aware. The lady, however, was not content with his devotion, unbounded as it seem to have been, but 'cast about,' the Romance tell us, how she might 'detain him for evermore,' and one day addressed him in these terms: 'Sir, I would that we should make a fair place and a suitable, so contrived by art and by cunning that it might ever be undone, and that you and I should be there in joy and solace.' 'My lady,' said Merlin, 'I will do all this.' 'Sir,' and she, 'I would not have you do it, but you shall teach me, and I will do it, and then it will be more to my mind.' 'I grant you this,' said Merlin. Then he began to devise, and the damsel put it all in writing. And when he had devised the whole, then had the damsel full great joy, and showed him greater semblance of love then she had ever before made, and they sojourned together a long while. At length it fell out that, as they were going one day hand in hand through the forest of Breceliande, they found a bush of white-thorn, which was laden with flowers; and they seated themselves under the shade of this white-thorn, upon the green grass, and Merlin laid his head upon the damsel's lap, and fell asleep. Then the damsel rose, and made a ring with her wimple round the bush, and round Merlin, and began her enchantments, such as he himself had taught her; and nine times she made the ring, and nine times she made the enchantment, and then she went and sat down by him, and placed his head again upon her lap.

"And when he awoke and looked round him, it seemed to him that he was enclosed in the strongest tower in the world, and laid upon a fair bed. Then said he to the dame: 'My lady, you have deceived me, unless you abide with me, for no on hath power to unmake this tower but you alone.' She then promised she would be often there and in this she held her covenant with him. And Merlin never went out of that tower where his Mistress Viviane had enclosed him; but she entered and went out again when she listed.

"After this event Merlin was never more know to hold converse with any mortal but Viviane, except on one occasion. Arthur, having for some time missed him from his court, sent several of his knights in search of him, and, among the number, Sir Gawain, who met with a very unpleasant adventure while engaged in this quest. Happening to pass a damsel on his road, and neglecting to salute her, (as all true Knights should) she revenged herself for his incivility by transforming him into a hideous dwarf. He was bewailing aloud his evil fortune as he went through the forest of Breceliande, when suddenly he heard the voice of one groaning on his right hand; and looking that way, he could see nothing save a kind of smoke, which seemed like air, and through which he could not pass. Merlin then addressed him from out of the smoke, and told him by what misadventure he was imprisoned there. 'Ah sir,' he added, 'you will never see me more, and that grieves me, but I cannot remedy it; I shall never more speak to you, nor to any other person, save only my mistress. But do thou hasten to King Arthur, and charge him for me to undertake, without delay, the quest of the Sacred Grail. The knight is already born, and has received knighthood at his hands, who is destined to accomplish the quest.' And after this he comforted Gawain under his transformation, assuring him that he should speedily be dischanted; and he predicted to him that he should find the King at Carduel, in Wales, on his return, and that all the other knights who had been on like quest would arrive there the same day as himself. And all this came to pass as Merlin had said."

[William Cooper]: Now the interpretation of this story, ladies and gentlemen, goes something like this:

And remember in the earlier hour, ladies and gentlemen, we learned that, to the Mysteries, the Holy Grail represents the soul. The soul. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, and they don't even believe that most people have a soul until they prepare the body to receive it. (laughs) So, you are learning...you are learning much faster than you ever could on your own. Skipping ahead:

"In this respect, the Pyramid is a perfect symbol of man when he has reached the state called Illumination of Soul, or Soul Consciousness, or in other words, 'has found the Center, or located the All-Seeing Eye.'"

Skipping ahead again:

"[Dr. Clymer asking:] 'May we look to Masonry in completing the great work, or will it continue to be purely materialistic? Let this be the mission of Masonry, to perfect the work for which its outer symbology stands. Shall it be so?'"

This is an admission that they are purely materialistic at this point and have been throughout their history.

"While this is truly a Masonic work, the work for which the Mason has made a good foundation when he has completed his three degrees, yet it is also a work for every man, and especially a work for those who have taken up, or who have opportunity and inclination to take up, the special training offered freely today by the representatives of the Ancient Schools, through the Illuminati, Sons of Osiris, Magi, and other Fraternities.

Skipping ahead again, several pages...:

"The 'Fire Philosophy' is the basis of all Religious Mysteries and all the secret philosophies of the Universe. It is also the underlying principal on which All Secret Occult Brotherhoods are founded. It was taught in the Ancient Mysteries, and, although the knowledge of it has long been lost to the world, it has always been preserved in the Occult Fraternities.

"'The aim of all true initiation, no matter what the name of the Fraternity may be is to know the nature of the Secret Fire that regenerates the world and which renders him who comes into its possession immortal...'

"...The mystic has always held that Masonry was one of the basis upon which religion was founded, that the Mysteries of Masonry when fully understood, are the same as the Ancient Mysteries, and therefore the Mysteries of religion itself.

"...[section header:]THE WAY TO GODHOOD[?] Be thou a man and thou mayst be a god."

Be a man and thou mayst be a god -- this is the divine command of the New Age. The new commandment teaches how to live that man shall be the first great stage of growth and that God could, may follow manhood. Lt. Col. James "Bo" Gritz is a 32nd degree Freemason of the Scottish Rite, he is a member of the Mormon church and has been initiated in the temple ceremony in which it is revealed to him that Lucifer is the god he follows; that Christ had his chance on earth and failed, and that it is Lucifer's turn. This can be found and referenced and confirmed fully in a book entitled, The Godmakers, and in the video tape by the same name.

Rose Cross College, Part II (aired February 23rd, 1994)

https://viefag.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/transcripts-of-william-cooper-s-mystery-babylon-series.pdf

Arthur's Seat (Scottish Gaelic: Suidhe Artair, pronounced [ˈs̪ɯi.əˈaɾt̪ʰəɾʲ]) is an ancient extinct volcano that is the main peak of the group of hills in Edinburgh, Scotland, which form most of Holyrood Park, described by Robert Louis Stevenson as "a hill for magnitude, a mountain in virtue of its bold design".[1] It is situated just to the east of the city centre, about 1 mile (1.6 km) to the east of Edinburgh Castle. The hill rises above the city to a height of 250.5 m (822 ft), provides excellent panoramic views of the city and beyond, is relatively easy to climb, and is popular for hillwalking. Though it can be climbed from almost any direction, the easiest ascent is from the east, where a grassy slope rises above Dunsapie Loch. At a spur of the hill, Salisbury Crags has historically been a rock climbing venue with routes of various degrees of difficulty. Rock climbing was restricted to the South Quarry, but access was banned altogether in 2019 by Historic Environment Scotland.[2]

Name

It is sometimes said that its name is derived from legends pertaining to King Arthur, such as the reference in Y Gododdin. Some support for this may be provided by several other hilltop and mountaintop features in Britain which bear the same or similar names, such as the peak of Ben Arthur (The Cobbler) in the western highlands, sometimes known as Arthur's Seat,[3] and Arthur's Chair on the ridge called Stone Arthur in the English Lake District.

Geology

Arthur's Seat is the largest of the three parts of the Arthur's Seat Volcano site of special scientific interest (the other parts being Calton Hill and the Castle Rock) which is designated to protect its important geology (see below), grassland habitats and uncommon plant and animal species.

Like the rock on which Edinburgh Castle is built, it was formed by a volcanic system of early Carboniferous age (lava samples have been dated at 341 to 335 million years old),[4] which was eroded by a glacier moving from west to east during the Quaternary (approximately the last two million years), exposing rocky crags to the west and leaving a tail of material swept to the east.[5] This is how the Salisbury Crags formed and became basalt cliffs between Arthur's Seat and the city centre. From some angles, Arthur's Seat resembles a lion couchant.[6][7] Two of the several extinct vents make up the 'Lion's Head' and the 'Lion's Haunch'.

Duration: 2 minutes and 19 seconds.2:19

Aerial footage of Arthur's Seat and the George Square area of Edinburgh

Arthur's Seat and the Salisbury Crags adjoining it helped form the ideas of modern geology as it is currently understood. It was in these areas that James Hutton observed that the deposition of the sedimentary and formation of the igneous rocks must have occurred at different ages and in different ways than the thinking of that time said they did. It is possible to see a particular area known as Hutton's Section in the Salisbury Crags where the magma forced its way through the sedimentary rocks above it to form the dolerite sills that can be seen in the Section.

The hill bears a strong resemblance to the Cavehill in Belfast in terms of its geology and proximity to a major urban site.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur%27s_Seat

Holyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Reformation the Palace of Holyroodhouse was expanded further. The abbey church was used as a parish church until the 17th century, and has been ruined since the 18th century. The remaining walls of the abbey lie adjacent to the palace, at the eastern end of Edinburgh's Royal Mile. The site of the abbey is protected as a scheduled monument.[1]

Etymology of name

Rood is a word for the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified; thus the name Holyrood is equivalent to "Holy Cross".

History

The Chapel Royal at the time of James VII[2]

Legend relates that in 1127, while King David I was hunting in the forests to the east of Edinburgh during the Feast of the Cross, he was thrown from his horse after it had been startled by a hart. According to variations of the story, the king was saved from being gored by the charging animal when it was startled either by the miraculous appearance of a holy cross descending from the skies, or by sunlight reflected from a crucifix which suddenly appeared between the hart's antlers while the king attempted to grasp them in self-defence. As an act of thanksgiving for his escape, David I founded Holyrood Abbey on the site in 1128.[3]

In the church was preserved, in a golden reliquary, an object said to be a fragment of the True Cross brought by David's mother, St. Margaret, from Waltham Abbey, and known thereafter as the Black Rood of Scotland (the Holyrood (cross)). At the battle of Neville's Cross, in 1346, this precious relic fell into the hands of the English, and it was placed in Durham Cathedral, from where it disappeared at the Reformation.[4]

Sanctuary marker for Holyrood Abbey, Royal Mile, Edinburgh

The abbey was originally served by a community of Augustinian Canons Regular from Merton Priory. The layout of the original church at Holyrood, now known only from excavations, probably came from the 1125 church at the priory.[3] In 1177 the papal legate Vivian held council here. In 1189 the nobles and prelates of Scotland met here to discuss raising a ransom for William the Lion.[3]

The aisle vault of the 4th bay, showing the rough quality of the construction.

A structural model for the Finite Element analysis of the hypothesis of sexpartite vaults in Holyrood Abbey[5]

The original abbey church of Holyrood was largely reconstructed between 1195 and 1230.[3] The completed building consisted of a six-bay aisled choir, three-bay transepts with a central tower above, and an eight-bay aisled nave with twin towers at its west front.[6] Some scholars believe the high vaults to be sexpartite (though this is not clearly supported by the 17th century illustrations of the interior). Such a design was probably archaic in that period, and difficult to execute or maintain. Evidence of the construction qualities of the stonemasons has remained on the S aisle vaults, which are set on an almost square plan of 4.4 m (14 feet), but built relatively roughly, with thin flagstones and not much attention to keeping the vertices straight. They were probably plastered, with exposed thin ribs.

Among the chief benefactors of Holyrood during the four centuries of its existence as a religious house were Kings David I and II; Robert, Bishop of St. Andrews; and Fergus, Lord of Galloway.[4]

Around the abbey was a five-mile area of sanctuary, taking in much of Holyrood Park, where debtors and those accused of crimes could appeal to the Bailie of Holyroodhouse for protection. Brass sanctuary stones mark the boundary of the sanctuary on the Royal Mile. Those granted sanctuary would be given lodgings in the buildings around the abbey and obtained the nickname 'Abbey Lairds'.[7]

The Parliament of Scotland met at the abbey in 1256, 1285, 1327, 1366, 1384, 1389 and 1410. In 1326, Robert the Bruce held parliament here, and there is evidence that Holyrood was being used as a royal residence by 1329.[3] The Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton (1328), which ended the First War of Scottish Independence, was signed by Robert I in the "King's Chamber" at Holyrood in March 1328. The abbey's position close to Edinburgh Castle meant that it was often visited by Scotland's kings, who were lodged in the guest house situated to the west of the abbey cloister. In the mid-15th century, with the emergence of Edinburgh as the main seat of the royal court and the chief city in the kingdom, the Kings of Scots increasingly used the accommodation at Holyrood for secular purposes. James II and his twin brother Alexander, Duke of Rothesay, were born there in October 1430. James was also crowned at Holyrood in 1437 and building works were carried out before his marriage there in 1449.[8][9]

Between 1498 and 1501, James IV constructed a royal palace at Holyrood, adjacent to the abbey cloister. The Abbey refectory was converted into a Great Hall for the Palace, and a new refectory was built to the east for the community . In 1507 and 1508 the dances, masques, and banquets concluding the tournaments of the Wild Knight and the Black Lady were held in the converted refectory.[10]

A corps of guards were instituted at the end of the 15th century to guard the monarch and enforce law and order within the precincts of the palace and Abbey Sanctuary called the High Constables and Guard of Honour of the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

16th century onwards

Royal influence over the abbey further increased when in 1538 Robert Stewart, the infant, illegitimate son of James V, was appointed as commendator of Holyrood.[6][11]

The ruins of the abbey church

During the War of the Rough Wooing, the invading English armies of the Earl of Hertford inflicted structural damage on Holyrood Abbey in 1544 and 1547. Lead was stripped from the roof, the bells were removed, and the contents of the abbey were plundered. In 1559, during the Scottish Reformation, the abbey suffered further damage when a mob destroyed the altars and looted the rest of the church.[12] With the reformation and the end of monastic services, the east end of the abbey church became redundant. In 1569, Adam Bothwell, the commendator of Holyrood, informed the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland that the east end was in such a state of disrepair that the choir and transept should be demolished. This was done the following year, retaining only the nave, which by then was serving as the parish church of the burgh of Canongate. Between 1570 and 1573 an east gable was erected, closing the east end of the former nave, all but two of the windows in the nave were blocked up, the royal tombs were removed to a new royal burial vault in the south aisle and the old east end was demolished.[12]

The abbey was extensively remodelled in 1633 for the coronation of Charles I which was undertaken with full Anglican rites.

The ruined nave

In 1686, James VII established a Jesuit college within Holyrood Palace. The following year, the Protestant congregation was moved to the new Kirk of the Canongate, and the abbey was converted into a Roman Catholic Chapel Royal and the chapel of the Order of the Thistle.[13] The abbey church was remodelled according to the plans of James Smith, and was fitted with elaborate thrones and stalls for the individual Knights of the Thistle, carved by Grinling Gibbons. However, in 1688, following the Glorious Revolution, the Edinburgh mob broke into the abbey, entered the Chapel Royal and desecrated the royal tombs.[13][14]

The association of the church with these events and the absence of a royal court left the building out of public interest. James Hamilton, 6th Duke of Hamilton commissioned the architect John Douglas and the stonemason James McPherson to replace the ageing timber roof trusses by stone vaults and outer stone slabs, the work being carried out between 1758 and 1760.[15] However, this proved to be a disastrous change. The excessive weight of the stone could not be supported by the walls. The strength of stone vaults depends on the containment of their thrusts, which the decayed flying buttresses could not contain any more, and a small movement (less than 1/30 of the span) can cause severe deformation and collapse.[16][17] It took six years for the deformation to become alarming. This forced the Barons of the Exchequer (the administrators of the Palace) to close the church on safety grounds in 1766, following inspection by William Mylne.

On 2 December 1768 the roof collapsed in two stages,[18] leaving the abbey as it currently stands, a roofless ruin.

The Abbey Strand, originally served as apartments for those seeking refuge within the Abbey sanctuary

The restoration of the abbey has been proposed several times since the 18th century – in 1835 by the architect James Gillespie Graham as a meeting place for the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and, in 1906, as a chapel for the Knights of the Thistle – but both proposals were rejected.[14]

In July 1829, the ruins of the Holyrood Chapel were visited by Felix Mendelssohn. Holyrood, as Mendelssohn related to his family in a letter, served as inspiration for his Scottish Symphony.[19]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holyrood_Abbey

The cinema of the United States, primarily associated with major film studios collectively referred to as Hollywood, has significantly influenced the global film industry since the early 20th century.

Classical Hollywood cinema, a filmmaking style developed in the 1910s, continues to shape many American films today. While French filmmakers Auguste and Louis Lumière are often credited with modern cinema's origins,[5] American filmmaking quickly rose to global dominance. As of 2017, more than 600 English-language films were released annually in the U.S., making it the fourth-largest producer of films, trailing only India, Japan, and China.[6] Although the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand also produce English-language films, they are not directly part of the Hollywood system. Due to this global reach, Hollywood is frequently regarded as a transnational cinema[7] with some films released in multiple language versions, such as Spanish and French.

Contemporary Hollywood frequently outsources production to countries including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The five major film studios—Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., Walt Disney Studios, and Sony Pictures—are media conglomerates that dominate U.S. box office revenue and have produced some of the most commercially successful film and television programs worldwide.[8][9]

In 1894, the world's first commercial motion-picture exhibition was held in New York City using Thomas Edison's kinetoscope[10] and kinetograph.[11] In the following decades, the production of silent films greatly expanded. New studios formed, migrated to California, and began to create longer films. The United States produced the world's first sync-sound musical film, The Jazz Singer in 1927,[12] and was at the forefront of sound-film development in the following decades.

Since the early 20th century, the U.S. film industry has primarily been based in and around the thirty-mile zone, centered in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles County, California. The director D. W. Griffith was central to the development of a film grammar. Orson Welles's Citizen Kane (1941) is frequently cited in critics' polls as the greatest film of all time.[13] Hollywood is widely regarded as the oldest hub of the film industry, where most of the earliest studios and production companies originated, and is the birthplace of numerous cinematic genres.[14]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_the_United_States

Volcano is a 1997 American disaster film directed by Mick Jackson, written by Jerome Armstrong and Billy Ray, and produced by Neal H. Moritz and Andrew Z. Davis. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones, Anne Heche, Don Cheadle and Keith David. It tells the story of an effort to divert the path of a dangerous lava flow through the streets of Los Angeles following the formation of a volcano at the La Brea Tar Pits. The story was inspired by the 1943 formation of the Parícutin volcano in Mexico.

Volcano was released by 20th Century Fox in the United States on April 25, 1997. It received mixed reviews from critics and was a box-office success having grossed $122.8 million worldwide on a $90 million budget.

Plot

In downtown Los Angeles, an earthquake strikes. Mike Roark, the new director of the city's Office of Emergency Management, insists on coming to work to help out with the crisis even though he has been on vacation with his daughter Kelly. His associate Emmit Reese notes that the quake caused no major damage, but seven utility workers are later burned to death in a storm drain at MacArthur Park. As a precaution, Mike tries to halt the subway lines near the location of the earthquake. MTA Chairman Stan Olber opposes, believing that there is no threat to the trains. Seismologist Dr. Amy Barnes believes that a volcano may be forming beneath the city due to the earthquake opening a fissure in the fault line; however, she has insufficient evidence to make Mike take action.

Early the following day, Amy and her assistant Rachel venture into the storm sewer to investigate. While they take samples, another — and more powerful — earthquake strikes the city. Rachel falls into a crack and is killed by a rush of hot gases. A subway train derails from falling debris, and a power outage occurs across the entire city. Later, in the La Brea Tar Pits, the small volcano begins to erupt. As Mike helps injured firefighters out of the area, lava begins to flow down Wilshire Boulevard. The lava incinerates everything in its path and kills two firefighters in an overturned fire truck. The Roarks become separated, as Kelly is injured when a lava bomb burns her leg and is taken to Cedars-Sinai Hospital along with other patients. Meanwhile, Stan leads his team through the tunnel to the derailed train to search for survivors. While they save everyone aboard, Stan rescues the driver just as lava reaches the train, causing it to disintegrate. Stan sacrifices his life by jumping into the lava flow to throw the driver to safety.

Mike, Amy, and LAPD lieutenant Ed Fox devise a plan to use concrete barriers to create a blockade, which obstructs the lava in its path. A fleet of helicopters dump water collected from the ocean to subdue the lava and volcano, forming a crust and making the plan a success. However, Amy thinks that the magma is still flowing underground through the subway because of the amount of ash still falling. When Mike helps her confirm her suspicions, she calculates that another eruption will occur at the end of the Red Line at Cedars-Sinai and, after calculating the speed of the flowing lava, determines the lava will reach the end of the tunnel in thirty minutes.

Mike devises another plan to demolish a 22-story condominium building to block the lava's path from flowing towards the hospital and the rest of the West Side of Los Angeles, redirecting it into a nearby storm drain. As the lava arrives, Mike's co-worker Gator and an LAPD Bomb Squad officer (trapped under debris) sacrifice their lives to detonate the final explosive charge. Mike then spots Kelly nearby, trying to retrieve a little boy she was watching who wandered off; the two are in the direct path of the collapsing building. Mike barely manages to save them from being crushed as the building collapses. The plan succeeds, and the lava flows directly into the ocean. As it begins raining, the trio emerge from the rubble unscathed and reunite with Amy before heading home.

At the tar pits, the volcano has taken shape above ground and has since been named "Mount Wilshire." It remains active as the movie concludes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano_(1997_film)

It was inevitable that the Council of Trent would establish the Jesuits as the schoolmasters of Europe. W i t h money from royalty and commerce (and not so much as a pfennig from the Church), the Society built an extensive system of schools and colleges. No tuition was charged, but each prospective student was thoroughly examined to see if he had aptitudes the Society could use. With the founding of the first Jesuit school at Coimbra, Portugal, by the Emperor’s youngest sister Catherina (Iñigo’s romantic interest who had since married the King of Portugal), the principal Jesuit occupation became teaching. By 1556, three-fourths of the Society’s membership were dedicated in 46 Jesuit colleges to “learning against learning,” to indoctrinating minds with the learning of illuminated humanism as opposed to the learning of Scripture. This network would expand by 1749 to 669 colleges, 176 seminaries, 61 houses of study, and 24 universities partly or wholly under Jesuit direction. Many Protestant families sent their sons to Jesuit schools, despite Martin Luther’s early warning in An Appeal to the Ruling Class (1520) that “unless they diligently train and impress Scripture upon young students, schools will prove to be widening gates of hell.” The Jesuit curriculum, or ratio studiorum (“method of study”), gave Scripture significant inattention. Part IV, Section 351 of Loyola’s Constitutions prescribes courses in “the humane letters of different languages, logic, natural and moral philosophy, metaphysics, scholastic and positive theology,” with “Sacred Scripture” bringing up the rear. How rigorously any one of these subjects was to be studied depended upon “circumstances of times, places, persons, and other such factors, according to what seems expedient in our Lord to him who holds the principal charge.” Section 366 puts Scripture at the mercy of these factors: “The scholastics should acquire a good foundation in Latin before they attend lectures on the arts, and in the arts before they pass on to scholastic theology; and in it before they study positive theology. Scripture may be studied either concomitantly or later on.” If Scripture should be studied at all, the commentary and critical interpretation of Protestant scholastics were to be ignored: “In the RULERS OF EVIL case of Christian authors, even though a work may be good it should not be lectured on when the author is bad, lest attachment to him be acquired.” “The curriculum of the Jesuit colleges came to be adopted to a great extent as the basis of the curricula in the European colleges generally,” wrote Dr. James J. Walsh, Dean of Fordham University Medical School.3 Moreover, according to Dr. Walsh, The Founding Fathers of our American Republic, that is to say the groups of men who drew up and signed the Declaration of Independence, who were the leaders in the American Revolution, and who formulated the Constitution of the United States ... were, the majority of them, educated in the colonial colleges or in corresponding colleges abroad ... which followed ... almost exactly the Jesuit Ratio Studiorum. The fact has been missed to a great extent in our histories of American education.... Embedded in the ratio studiorum were the elements of entertainment, of dramatic production – composition, rhetoric, and eloquence. These courses interlinked with the Spiritual Exercises to intensify the experientiality of C a t h o l i c doctrine over Scripture and Protestantism. They resulted in a genre of spectacular plays that won distinction as “Jesuit theatre.” The first Jesuit theatre was performed in Vienna in 1555, nearly forty years before the emergence of Shakespeare. It was instantly popular and quickly spread to other parts of Europe. Between 1597 and 1773 more than five hundred Jesuit theatricals were staged in the lower Rhine regions alone. Jacob Bidermann’s play Cenodoxus (“Newfangled Beliefs”), a point-by-point rebuttal of Luther’s teachings, proved the power of entertainment to achieve political reform. “Such a wholesome impression was made,” wrote Father Bidermann recalling the 1609 opening of Cenodoxus in Munich, “that a full fourteen persons of the highest rank of the Bavarian court retired into solitude during the days that followed, to perform the Spiritual Exercises and to reform their manner of living. Truly a hundred sermons would not have done so much good.”4 66

An exemplary Jesuit drama, performed in 1625 at the College of St. Omer in honor of Belgian royalty, allegorized the glorious end to civil war in Belgium brought by the advent of Princess Isabella and her husband, Albert. The play, as reviewed by a contemporary official, represented a country, long heavily oppressed under the Iron Age, supplicating the help of Jupiter, who, after having summoned a council of the gods, sent down Saturn, lately married to Astraea. These visitors were received with much pomp by twelve zodiacs or princes sent by Mercury. They then dispatched four most potent heroes, Hercules, Jason, Theseus and Perseus from the Elysian Fields, with commands to conquer Iron Age, War, Error, and Discord. The heroes expelled those terrible monsters from the country and substituted in their stead Golden Age, Peace, Truth, and Concord. The Princess with the whole assembly were highly delighred.5 The faculty of Munich College praised the way Jesuit theatre captivated Protestants, especially the parents of school-aged youngsters: “There is no better means of making friends out of the heretics and the enemies of the Church, and filling up the enrollment of the school than good high-spirited playacting.” Moliere’s Jesuit theatricals in Paris were so popular that even the dress rehearsals were sold out. Mozart, at the age of eleven, was commissioned to write music for a play at the Jesuit college in Salzburg, where his father was musical director to the Archbishop. Even from the West Indies a Jesuit missionary reported that “nothing has made a more forceful impression on the Indians than our play.” In England, Jesuit theatre was not known as such because of Queen Elizabeth’s statute making it a capital crime to be, or even to assist, a Jesuit within her orbit. But if the purpose of Jesuit theatre was to capture that share of man’s spiritual attention which might otherwise have been directed toward the Bible, then England certainly produced the greatest Jesuit playwright of them all. Shakespeare occupies us with the human process in a way that subtly marginalizes the Bible – exactly pursuant to the Jesuit mission. RULERS OF EVIL Shakespearian characters do preach, and they preach a religion, but it is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the gnostic illumination of Medici learning that Shakespeare preaches, the stuff of Jesuit schools. Not surprisingly, the secret tradition of Templarism claims Shakespeare, at least the writer of his plays, to have been a Rosicrucian steeped in Medici learning: The philosophic ideals promulgated throughout Shakespearian plays distinctly demonstrate their author to have been thoroughly familiar with certain doctrines and tenets peculiar to Rosicrucianism; in fact, the profundity of the Shakespearian productions stamps their creator as one of the illuminati of the ages.... Who but a Platonist, a Qabbalist, or a Pythagorean could have written The Tempest, Macbeth, Hamlet, or The Tragedy of Cymbeline? Who but one deeply versed in Paracelsian lore could have conceived A Midsummer Night’s Dream? Yet, as Garry Wills in his book Witches & Jesuits points out, Macbeth is an elaborate condemnation of the Jesuits as satanists, murderers, witches. Macbeth is one of many of its period’s “powder plays,” a genre in which certain buzz words, well understood by contemporaries, memorialize the guilt and execution of eight Jesuits for having schemed the Gunpowder Plot of November 5, 1605. The Plot aimed to blow up the entire government of Great Britain, including the royal family, in a single catastrophic explosion under the Houses of Parliament. How could a play defaming Jesuits be of service to the Jesuit agenda? As we shall see, warfare in defense of the papacy requires extravagant measures. In fact, both the Gunpowder Plot, which failed, and the celebration of its detection, which lives on in Macbeth, served Rome abundantly. King James I, who declared himself the Plot’s divinely-illuminated discoverer, blamed the Plot on “Jesuits and papists.” But at the same time, James exonerated “less fanatical Catholics.”6 According to Wills, “the Plot gave [James] his best opportunity to separate loyal and moderate Catholics from the mad extremists of the Plot.” In short, the Plot secured England for “loyal and moderate” Roman Catholicism. In the reasoning of a Superior General, particularly the General of the Gunpowder Plot and Shakespearian theatre, Claudio Acquaviva, the sacrifice of eight Jesuits was a small tactical price to pay for moving the King of England to express confidence in the pope’s British subjects, estimated at half the population of the realm. CERTAINLY the most elaborate single Jesuit theatrical event was produced by Gregory XV, the first Jesuit pupil to be elected Pope. This was the canonization of Ignatius de Loyola, the climax of Gregory’s brief pontificate (he reigned only three years). Canonization is authorized nowhere in the Bible. Rather, it is a process adapted from the pagan tradition of “apotheosis,” whereby the priestly college declared a particularly effective mortal to be a god. In Roman Catholicism, the Sacred Congregation of Rites conducts a lengthy inquisition into the works of a deceased candidate. The inquisition can take dozens, even hundreds of years. The candidate’s works are defended before a tribunal of three judges against a “devil’s advocate.” A final judgment is declared by the Pope, who orders the Church to believe that the candidate’s soul is in Heaven, and to venerate the person with the title of “Saint.” (The Bible teaches that anyone who hears and does the commandments of Jesus is a saint. Without any hierarchical red tape, he or she avoids judgment and goes to heaven immediately upon physical death.) Loyola’s canonization was celebrated on March 12, 1622 in a ceremony that was “an unprecedented display of ecclesiastical pomp, pageantry, and extravagance.”7 One eyewitness described the event as “an expression of the reborn spirit of the C a t h o l i c Church, of the triumph of the Blessed Virgin over Luther and Calvin.”8 RIDING the crest of humanist exuberance following Loyola’s canonization, Jesuit priest Athenasius Kircher (1602-1680) contributed powerfully to Jesuit theatre as sensory experience. With his megaphone, which enabled the voice of one to reach 69 RULERS OF EVIL thousands, Kircher invented broadcasting. He also fathered modern camera theory with his perfection of the lanterna magica. The magic lantern projected sharp images through a lens upon a screen, giving audiences the illusion of burning cities and conflagrations. Kircher’s work influenced the creation of the phenakistoscope (1832), the zoetrope (1860), the kinematoscope (1861), the kineograph (1868), the praxinoscope (1877), and finally, Thomas A l v a Edison’s kinetograph for filming action to be projected onto a screen through his kinetoscope (1894). Edison had a pet name for the tar-papered studio in West Orange, New Jersey, where all his prototypical films were made. He called it “Black Maria,” a term that aptly described the image to whom Iñigo de Loyola dedicated his life in 1522 – the Black Madonna of Montserrat. The American cinema’s earliest subject matter to capture the popular imagination – the “cowboy” – was a Jesuit contribution as well. Eusebio Kino, whose statue is one of two representing A r i zona in the U.S. Capitol building, was a Jesuit professor from Ingolstadt College in Bavaria. Between 1687 and 1711 Kino introduced cattle and their management to southern Arizona. For this he is gratefully remembered as “Father of the Cattle Business.” Pondering the works of Kircher and Kino, we come to a rather astonishing awareness: Kino’s cowboys, as projected through Kircher’s magic lantern, indoctrinated America’s earliest movie audiences with the underlying message of Jesuit theatre and Roman Catholic theology – that knowing and obeying Scripture is not necessary in comprehending the ways of good and evil, or in doing justice under natural law. Using cinema and radio to unite Catholic laypersons with the Roman hierarchy was a main purpose of “Catholic Action.” Catholic A c t i o n was inaugurated in 1922 by Pius XI, whose two confessors, Fathers Alissiardi and Celebrano, were Jesuits. The first pope to install a radio station at the Vatican (1931) and to establish national film review offices (1922), Pius XI ordered Catholics into politics. In the letter Peculari quadam (“Containing the flock”) he warned that “the men of C a t h o l i c A c t i o n would fail in their duty if, as opportunities allow it, they did not try to direct the pol- 70 itics of their province and of their country.” The men of C a t h o l i c A c t i o n did try. Their first major effort was to employ Black Pope Vladimir Ledochowski’s strategy of bringing the Catholic nations of central and eastern Europe together into a pan-German federation. To head the federation, Ledochowski required a charismatic leader charged with subduing the communistic Soviet Union on the east, Protestant Prussia, Protestant Great Britain, and republican France on the west.9 Ledochowski chose the Catholic militarist Adolf Hitler, who told Bishop Bernind of Osnabruch in 1936 that there was no fundamental difference between National Socialism and the Catholic Church. Had not the church, he argued, looked on Jews as parasites and shut them in ghettos? ’I am only doing,’ he boasted, ’what the church has done for fifteen hundred years, only more effectively.’ Being a Catholic himself, he told Berning, he ’admired and wanted to promote Christianity.’1 0 To promote Christianity as taught him by Roman Catholicism, Hitler appointed Leni Riefenstahl to create the greatest fascist films ever produced. Her deification of Hitler and romanticization of autocracy in spectacles like Triumph of the Will are, in themselves, the history of German cinema in the thirties and early forties. In print, Ledochowski’s pan-German manifesto took the form of Hitler’s autobiographical Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”), ghostwritten by the Jesuit Father Staempfle1 1 and placed beside the Bible on the altars of German churches.1 2 After World War II, during September 1957, Pope John XXIII gave Jesuit theatre even broader horizons with his encyclical Miranda prorsus (“Looking ahead”), saying, Men must be brought into closer communion with one another. They must become socially minded. These technical arts (cinema, sound broadcasting, and television) can achieve this aim far more easily than the printed word. [Italics mine] The Catholic Church is keenly desirous that these means be converted to the spreading and advancement of everything that can be 71 RULERS OF EVIL truly called good. Embracing, as she does, the whole of human society within the orbit of her divinely appointed mission, she is directly concerned with the fostering of civilization among all peoples. To Catholic film producers and directors, Miranda prorsus delivered a paternal injunction not to allow films to be made which are at variance with the faith and Christian moral standards. Should this happen – which God forbid – then it is for the Bishops to rebuke them and, if necessary, to impose upon them appropriate sanctions. John XXIII urged that Pius XI’s national film reviewing offices be entrusted to men who are experienced in cinema, sound broadcasting, and television, under the guidance of a priest specially chosen by the Bishops.... At the same time We urge that the faithful, and particularly those who are militant in the cause of Catholic Action [Jesuits and their protégés], be suitably instructed, so that they may appreciate the need for giving to these offices their willing, united, and effective support. In 1 9 6 4 , Pope Paul VI amplified Miranda prorsus with the decree Inter mirifica (“Among the Wonders”), saying “it is the Church’s birthright to use and own ... the press, the cinema, radio, television and others of a like nature.” Paul cited a special responsibility for the proper use of the means of social communication [which] rests on journalists, writers, actors, designers, producers, exhibitors, distributors, operators, sellers, critics – all those, in a word, who are involved in the making and transmission of communications in any way whatever.... They have power to direct mankind along a good path or an evil path by the information they impart and the pressure they exert. It will be for them to regulate the economic, political, and artistic values in a way that will not conflict with the common good....

The quality of entertainment’s content was decreed in a section of Inter mirifica encouraging ”the chronicling, the description or the representation of moral evil [which] can, with the help of the means of social communication and with suitable dramatization, lead to a deeper knowledge and analysis of man and to a manifestation of the true and the good in all their splendor.” Emboldened by this papal decree, social communicators since 1965 have pushed the constitutional guarantees of “free speech” to the limit by chronicling, describing, and representing moral evil with such progressively vivid, repulsive, prurient, yet often appealing detail that entertainment has become, in the opinion of many, a veritable technological “how to” of moral evil. It clearly does not lead audiences to a deeper appreciation of Holy Scripture. This fact identifies entertainment today as a successful Jesuit theatrical mission. DU R I N G its four centuries of existence, the Jesuit educational/ theatrical enterprise has produced a proud, poised, and imaginative graduate. He or she is enlightened by the Medici Library’s humanities, facile in worldly matters, moved by theatricality, and indifferent toward Holy Scripture. Producing Jesuitic graduates has become the aim of modern public education, despite the heavy price of ignoring Scripture (which, as Luther warned and the Columbine murders attest, has indeed turned the public schools into “widening gates of hell”). Jesuit theatre and the Spiritual Exercises, whose original purpose was to bring human understanding into papal subservience through esoteric emotional experiences, have evolved into the full panoply of contemporary social communication. The great objective of obscuring Scripture has operated to discourage the formal study of the basics of which the Bible is the cornerstone – literature, science, and history. Research by the National Association of Scholars (NAS) of U.S. News & World Report’s annual listing of “America’s Best Colleges” (including both private and public) disclosed startling figures.1 5 In 1914, nearly all of these institutions had required courses in English composition; by 1964 73 RULERS OF EVIL 74 the figure was 8 6 % ; in 1 9 9 6 , 3 6 % . In 1 9 1 4 , 8 2 % of the best colleges and universities had traditional mathematics requirements; by 1 9 6 4 only 3 6 % did; b y 1 9 9 6 , 1 2 % . I n 1 9 1 4 , 1 9 3 9 and 1 9 6 4 , more than 7 0 % of the institutions required at least one course in the natural sciences; that figure fell to 3 4 % in 1 9 9 6 . Literature courses were required at 7 5 % of the institutions in 1 9 1 4 , and at 5 0 % in 1 9 3 9 and 1 9 6 4 . Today, not one of the “best” institutions has a literature requirement. Most colleges today are turning out graduates who have studied little or no history. In 1 9 1 4 , 9 0 % of America's elite colleges required history; in 1 9 3 9 and 1 9 6 4 more than 5 0 % did; by 1 9 9 6 only one of the 50 best schools offered a required history course. The day is approaching, perhaps, when the only historians will be amateurs who study history as self-help, who examine the past in order to make sense of the present and not be caught unprepared by the future. America's understanding has been systematically bent to the will of the Church Militant, while the intellectual means for sensing the capture have been disconnected. Most of the content of modern media, whether television, radio, print, film, stage, or web, is state-of-the-art Jesuit ratio studiorum. The Jesuit college is no longer just a chartered institution; it has become our entire social environment - the movies, the mall, the school, the home, the mind. Human experience has become a Spiritual Exercise managed by charismatic spiritual directors who know how to manipulate a democracy's emotions. Logic, perspective, national memory, and self-discipline are purged to the point that “unbridled emotional responses,” as economist Thomas Sowell put it, “are all we have left.” Despite its ascendancy over American life, few Americans understand the term “Jesuit.” In our next chapter, we shall examine how this term is defined in our basic reference works. These definitions will help us to better understand the kind of character produced by Ignatian psychological technique.

Rulers of Evil

by F. Tupper Saussy

https://dn790004.ca.archive.org/0/items/RulersOfEvilFrederickTupperSaussy/Rulers%20of%20Evil%2C%20Frederick%20Tupper%20Saussy.pdf

CHAPTER TWO

THE JEWS CREATE HOLLYWOOD

Hollywood Created by Jews from Eastern Europe

Before we can turn our attention to the massive involvement of the Roman Catholic institution in the Hollywood movie industry, and ultimately its stranglehold upon the movies that were made, we have to look at the very creation of Hollywood itself. And when we do so, it becomes immediately evident that Hollywood was the creation of Jews from eastern Europe. It was their industry: “the American film industry, which Will Hays, president of the original Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, called ‘the quintessence of what we mean by “America,”’ was founded and for more than thirty years operated by Eastern European Jews who themselves seemed to be anything but the quintessence of America. The much-vaunted ‘studio system,’ which provided a prodigious supply of films during the movies’ heyday, was supervised by a second generation of Jews, many of whom also regarded themselves as marginal men trying to punch into the American mainstream. The storefront theaters of the late teens were transformed into the movie palaces of the twenties by Jewish exhibitors. And when sound movies commandeered the industry, Hollywood was invaded by a battalion of Jewish writers, mostly from the East. The most powerful talent agencies were run by Jews. Jewish lawyers transacted most of the industry’s business and Jewish doctors ministered to the industry’s sick. Above all, Jews

produced the movies. ‘Of 85 names engaged in production,’ a 1936 study noted, ‘53 are Jews. And the Jewish advantage holds in prestige as well as numbers.’”28

When one looks at the major empire-builders of the great Hollywood studios, there is no denying it: the evidence is as plain as day. Universal Pictures was founded by Carl Laemmle, a German Jewish immigrant to America. Paramount Pictures was built by Adolph Zukor, a Hungarian Jewish immigrant. The Fox Film Corporation was the work of William Fox, also a Hungarian Jewish immigrant. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the greatest of all the studios, was headed by Louis B.

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Mayer, a Russian Jewish immigrant. And Warner Brothers was the work of the brothers Harry, Sam, Albert and Jack Warner, sons of a Polish Jewish immigrant.

When these Jews arrived in America, virtually penniless, they turned their backs on their Eastern European roots, and embraced America wholeheartedly. They rejected their languages, their customs, and for the most part, their Jewish religion. They were Jews in ancestry only, and they wanted to be assimilated into America, as Americans. This was not easy, for at the close of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries, to be a Jew from Eastern Europe was to be an undesirable addition to the American melting pot, in the eyes of many Americans. Jews simply were not wanted, and were made to feel unwelcome. No matter how they tried, they were unable to fully assimilate into mainstream America. But they found that there was one business they could easily enter, and excel in: moviemaking.

At that time, the movie industry was new, and also somewhat disreputable; and these two factors made it possible for Jews to make their mark in the industry, for there were very few barriers to them entering into it and rising up within it. “If the Jews were proscribed from entering the real corridors of gentility and status in America, the movies offered an ingenious option. Within the studios and on the screen, the Jews could simply create a new country – an empire of their own, so to speak – one where they would not only be admitted, but would govern as well. They would fabricate their empire in the image of America.... They would create its values and myths, its traditions and archetypes.... This was their America, and its invention may be their most enduring legacy.”29

Yes: using what became their vast power over the masses through their movies, these Jews sought to literally mould America into their image. As we shall see, they were restrained from doing so as much as they would have liked by the domination of their Hollywood by Roman Catholic censorship throughout its “Golden Age”; but even so they did their best to portray an America on the big screens of the world that was not, often, the real America, but rather an America they visualised.

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In aiming to fashion this America of their own making, they worked hard to re-create American values, traditions, etc., in their image. And although, as we shall see, throughout Hollywood’s “Golden Age” it was the Roman Catholic image of America that predominated, the Hollywood Jews nevertheless did succeed – in uneasy alliance with American Romanism, and then with more freedom once Roman Catholic domination ceased – to move America along a particular path. Today, the values and traditions of America are far, far removed from that of their great-grandparents’ generation; and America is infinitely the worse for it. Morally, America has collapsed; and ideologically, it has swung to the extreme left. And this, to a massive extent, is the result of what Hollywood succeeded in doing: changing the very values, outlooks, ideologies, traditions and morality of the American people. And of the world.

In a very real sense, “they colonized the American imagination.” “Ultimately, American values came to be defined largely by the movies the Jews made. Ultimately, by creating their idealized America on the screen, the Jews reinvented the country in the image of their fiction.”30 For one thing is absolutely true: “The people who peered at the flick-ering shadows in the peep shows and nickelodeons at the beginning of the twentieth century didn’t realize that they were participants in an experiment that would revolutionize the way Americans spent their leisure time.”31 And not just Americans, but the whole world. Who could have imagined that those silent, black and white, grainy early picture shows would become the dominant entertainment-idol of the world within a few decades? Perhaps the early Hollywood Jews could not see that far into the future, but they certainly discerned that they were onto something. Something big. Something bigger, perhaps, than anything that had gone before.

Those early Hollywood Jews, also, used their power over the lucrative Hollywood empire to establish themselves as a Jewish aristocracy, with palatial homes and all the trappings of American Capitalism. They always sought to have the best of everything. Their wealth was their way of forsaking their poor Eastern European Jewish roots and being accepted into high-class American Gentile society. They even embraced the Republican Party, viewed as the party of conservatives

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and Capitalists. And yet they were accused of being Communists. What, then, is the truth?

The truth, as we shall see, is that although that first generation of Hollywood Jews were more often than not Capitalists rather than Communists, they themselves were for the most part very immoral in their lives (despite having their own warped sense of “morality”), and the movies they made were used for the purpose of lowering the morals of America, which played into the hands of the Communist movement; and thus Hollywood did promote certain Communist goals even when it was under the control of the first-generation Jews, for although their political ideology was Capitalistic their morals were far from conservative or in accordance with Protestant America. And then also, as time went by the later generations of Hollywood Jews were, certainly, all too often outright Communists or Communist sympathisers, causing Hollywood to take a far more radicalised turn to the left. All this will become clear as we proceed.

Paramount Pictures

Adolph Zukor, who would build Paramount Pictures, was never interested in the Jewish religion, even as a boy being raised by an uncle who was a Judaic scholar, although he was fascinated by the story and the characters of the Old Testament Scriptures. When he came to America he deliberately did everything he could to show that he had no ties to the religion of Judaism at all. He wanted to fully assimilate into Gentile America, and because anything Jewish would mark him as different, he dropped it all.

When he got into the infant movie industry, Zukor’s desire was to make quality feature films, artistic films, because he believed this was his ticket to acceptability in higher-class, genteel America. Politically he was a Republican, and wanted to aim his films not at the working classes, but at the higher classes of American society. He knew that films were generally considered only as suitable entertainment for the working classes and he wanted to change that image of them. And to a large extent he succeeded, doing very well for himself in the process.

In 1910 he bought the rights to exhibit a film on the “Passion Play” in New York and New Jersey, even though he was told it was a very foolish business venture. He knew that a film depicting Christ might,

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at that time, anger the high authorities of the Roman Catholic “Church” in America, so he proceeded cautiously; but the film did very well financially. Zukor became a real power in the industry, and he enjoyed it. He was ruthless, and once he had his sights set on acquiring control of Paramount Pictures, it was only a matter of time before he did.

Paramount films in the 1920 s and 1930s were sophisticated. Zukor was so convinced of the importance of intellectual upliftment and the part that movies could play in this, that he even set up a school at Paramount for the purpose of teaching young would-be actors decorum, including literature, sociology and sobriety classes. Said a Paramount executive, Walter Wanger: “We were always trying to lift public taste a little bit. Zukor and Lasky were dedicated men who would produce pictures that they thought should be done, even though they weren’t going to be profitable.”32 But let it not be thought that this meant Paramount movies were moral. “Paramount pictures... didn’t ennoble the audience; they whisked them away to a world of sheen and sex where people spoke in innuendo, acted with abandon, and doubted the rewards of virtue. Paramount’s was a universe of Marlene Dietrich’s smoky come-ons, of Chevalier’s eyebrows arched in the boulevardier’s worldliness, of Mae West’s double entendres sliding out the corner of her mouth, of Gary Cooper’s aestheticized handsomeness, and of the Marx Brothers’ leveling chaos.”33 It was, therefore, the purpose of Paramount to create “classy”, sophisticated films, but not moral ones.

Universal Pictures

Carl Laemmle, the founder of Universal Pictures, was a very different character. He opened his first theatre in 1906, and even at that very early period of movie history it was evident that many movies were morally offensive. The movie houses themselves were often viewed as dark places of iniquity – and not without reason. But Laemmle, wanting to change this unsavoury image, deliberately named his new theatre “The White Front” so that even its name would conjure up an image of respectability and good clean family entertainment. Laemmle became very successful financially, and by 1909 claimed, with some justification, that he was the largest film distributor in America.

Laemmle’s success was largely attributable to the fact that he recognised America’s expanding working class and booming

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immigrant population were on the lookout for cheap entertainment – and the movies were cheap. They were not well made, they were short, they were usually based on incidents from American life and history, but they were cheap. And for immigrants, the movies were a kind of introduction to American life, the life they were trying so hard to assimilate into. In the Jewish ghettoes of New York, the movies were extremely popular.

In 1909 Laemmle decided to enter into movie production himself, promising film exhibitors “the grandest American-made moving pictures you ever saw.” An advertisement declared: “My motto will be: The best films that man’s ingenuity can devise, and the best films man’s skill can execute.”34 Laemmle’s desire was to make films that would uplift the movie industry, and make it respectable.

By 1913 he was a power within the industry and a wealthy man, earning an estimated $100 000 a year and having a personal fortune of over $1 million. He formed another distribution company and named it Universal, because, he said, the company would be supplying “universal entertainment for the universe.”35

As studios increasingly gravitated from New York to Hollywood in California, and the studio bosses with them, Laemmle eventually bought a massive mansion in Beverly Hills, California.

He could be brutal too – he once sent a group of thugs to seize the studio of the member of a faction trying to claim control of Universal. But by 1915 Universal was under his control; and as Neal Gabler writes in his history of the Jews in Hollywood, “From this point on, the Jews would control the movies.”36

Universal films were at one time suggestive and pushed the boundaries, but later they were aimed more decidedly at rural America. Universal became best known for its westerns and horror films in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

The Fox Film Corporation

Turning now to the Fox Film Corporation, we find, once again, a very different type of Jewish character. William Fox was loud, ambitious, and got things done. Once he had his foot in the door of the movie industry, he went from strength to strength. He aimed to provide cheaper entertainment for the masses. And his formula worked: he

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became a millionaire in a short space of time.

But there was also more to it. Fox, like so many of the other Jews in the movie industry of that time, saw his rise in the industry as a way to climb the social ladder. He bought a large estate on Long Island, New York, among the rich Gentile gentry, renamed it Fox Hall, and lived an autocratic life there, lording it over his extended family and demanding absolute obedience from them all. Family members lived in fear of him. And yet, despite his best efforts to assimilate into upper-class American society, he was acutely aware of the fact that he was still a Jewish ghetto boy who made good, and who would never really be fully accepted into the high society he craved.

Fox believed in his own version of God, not in the Judaism of his father; he also believed in numerology, which was divination through numbers. His wife claimed she was psychic, and Fox himself claimed he could enter men’s minds and read their thoughts.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Next we turn to Louis B. Mayer. This was a man who wanted to do everything better, and to a greater extent, than anyone else. The studio he would ultimately come to control, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, had to be the biggest, the greatest, and the best.

He obtained a theatre in Haverhill, Massachusetts in 1907, renovated it, and began to show what he deemed good, clean, respectable, family-oriented pictures. He went from strength to strength, acquiring other theatres, becoming wealthy and well-respected in middle-class society. He saw films as a means to inculcate values, and he sought to become a kind of “father figure” in society, something which he sought after all his life.

He formed the Louis B. Mayer Film Company; and then later he and some others formed a company for financing feature film production. This company was first called Metro Pictures (the “Metro” part later becoming the first initial in MGM), and Mayer was president of its New England branch.

As he grew wealthier, Mayer joined a middle-class Conservative Jewish temple, and began to live somewhat more lavishly. He also moved now into movie production itself, not just movie distribution, and relocated – as all the movie Jews had begun doing since 1907 –

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to California in 1918. By the time Mayer arrived, over 80% of the world’s movies were being made in Los Angeles.

Here he began to hobnob with industrial, political and religious leaders. One of these was the powerful newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst – a Roman Catholic. Hearst admired and respected Mayer, and this meant much to the latter. They would talk about all kinds of things, and Hearst would even consult with Mayer about the running of his Hearst Corporation.

This relationship with a prominent Roman Catholic would not be the only one Mayer would cultivate.

At this stage he was not as powerful as other Jews in the industry, but that was soon to change. Marcus Loew, another Jew from New York who owned a long string of movie theatres, bought Metro Pictures, which Mayer had once been connected with, in 1919, and later bought Goldwyn Pictures, which had also been started by Jews. And after negotiations with Mayer, Loew bought Mayer’s studio, and Mayer became vice-president of Metro-Goldwyn. In 1926 it became Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Mayer suddenly found himself a major player in the film industry.

He believed in making what he considered were quality films with moral messages. He once told an MGM writer, “I worship good women, honorable men, and saintly mothers.”37 In this he was different from the other Hollywood Jews – but not too different. It was his own version of morality, after all, and although it was more conservative than the others, that is all that can really be said for it. Mayer believed in the institution of the family, in virtue, and in America. He was a Jew, but a proud American Jew. And he was seeking to fashion the America of his imagination.

He idealised his female “stars”, and at MGM they always had to be depicted so as to make them look as good as possible. The MGM actresses were always to be beautiful or sensual, clever, but also remote and cool: actresses such as Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford personified the MGM “look”. As for the male “stars”, they too were generally cool, sophisticated, well-dressed, as personified by Clark Gable. And yet at the same time, Mayer had a view of America that was more domestic, moral according to his own lights, and down to earth. In many MGM movies of this kind, motherhood was exalted, and children learned from their parents. Mayer, therefore, was a strange mixture: on the one hand wanting to use his films

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to influence the morality of America, and on the other hand promoting a fashionable, glamorous, idealised view of women in particular.

By the early 1930s, MGM was the greatest studio in Hollywood, thanks in large part to Mayer’s efforts.

Warner Brothers

Turning next to the Warner Brothers studio, the two brothers most crucial to it were Jack and Harry Warner, both of whom had volatile tempers and who hated each other to boot. Harry had been born in Poland, Jack in America. Harry was conservative, moral according to his own lights, a family man. He was a religious Jew, and believed in racial and religious tolerance. Jack, on the other hand, was a more assimilated American than Harry, and rebelled against the Judaism of his father. He was crude, vulgar and loud, openly boasting about his sexual affairs. Unlike the other Hollywood Jews, he did not care a whit about being respectable and acceptable in polite society.

Another brother, Sam, was the one who convinced the Warners to go into the movie business as exhibitors. Harry was the leader of the brothers. They started their business in 1903, and rapidly began to get rich. They then moved into movie production. Harry based himself in New York, where another brother, Albert, would work with him, and Sam and Jack went to Los Angeles and San Francisco. In this way the Warner brothers were strategically positioned in the two main centres of film production. In time they forsook distribution and focused on production alone.

At first the Warners were very much the outsiders in Hollywood Jewish circles, but they did not care. They were not trying to ingratiate themselves with genteel society. When other studios were unsure of supporting the newly-invented sound movies, thinking the use of sound might be just a temporary fad, Warner Brothers pitched in. They saw sound as the wave of the future, and they were right. With the release of The Jazz Singer in 1927 – a movie with sound that revolutionised the industry – Warner Brothers moved up into the top ranks of studios.

Jack Warner, always a rebel against his father’s Judaism, shacked up with a Roman Catholic actress, Ann Page Alvarado, even before his own divorce, or hers, had been finalised. This disgusted Harry, and the rift between them widened.

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Warner Brothers’ films deliberately put across a message of being films with a conscience, films in which the poor and weak were shown to be pitted against the rich and strong. Jack once told a reporter that films could and did play an all-important part in the cultural and educational development of the world. Surprisingly, this statement was in line with brother Harry’s own beliefs – and it was not often that Jack was found expressing what his older brother believed. Many of their films depicted both the contributions of Jews to society, and their victimization by society. Many of them, also, exposed prejudice in society in general. Others portrayed the weak and marginalised in a good light, taking on the might of the privileged, even when this meant that “heroes” engaged in antisocial behaviour. This raised the ire of many, who saw such films – rightly – as essentially promoting civil disobedience, the uprising of the lower classes. To this Harry replied: “The motion picture presents right and wrong, as the Bible does. By showing both right and wrong, we teach the right.”38

It sounded good, but it was not true, for in the words of the Hollywood Jews’ biographer, Neal Gabler, Warner Brothers movies took a more ambivalent attitude towards American values than any other Hollywood studio. “Out of this mix of energy, suspicion, gloom, iconoclasm, and liberalism came not only a distinctive kind of film, but also a distinctive vision of America – particularly urban America. It was an environment cruel and indifferent, one almost cosmologically adversarial, where a host of forces prevented one from easily attaining virtue.”39 In other words, Warner Brothers produced films which attempted to alter American society by portraying urban America as a dark, cruel place where the poor and marginalised needed to rise up and change things. This was incipient Gramscian Marxism; cultural Communism, the means whereby the Italian Communist, Gramsci, had said America would be communised. Change the culture, change the traditions, and you will change the country. America today is, tragically, living proof that Gramscian Communism worked.

Columbia Pictures

As for the founder of Columbia Pictures, Harry Cohn, he was a Jew at war with the world. People hated him, and he did not care. He was a spiteful, vengeful man and a bully, a man who loved power and who

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wielded it mercilessly. He greatly admired the Italian Fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini, made a documentary on his life, even visited him in Rome and decorated his own office like Mussolini’s, proudly displaying a photo of the dictator there. And he copied Mussolini in his own personal style. “Cohn epitomized the profane, vulgar, cruel, rapacious, philandering mogul, and Red Skelton spoke for many when he said, after thousands attended Cohn’s funeral, ‘Well, it only proves what they always say – give the public something they want to see, and they’ll come out for it.’”40

Cohn turned his back completely on his religious Jewish upbringing. He did his best to push the fact that he was Jewish right out of his life. He married a Roman Catholic and ignored all Jewish festivals and other aspects of Judaism. Whereas other Hollywood Jews got rid of their Judaism so as to be accepted into American Gentile society, Harry Cohn went further – he held it in contempt. He once said, when asked for a contribution towards a Jewish relief fund, “Relief for the Jews! How about relief from the Jews? All the trouble in this world is caused by Jews and Irishmen.”41

He was also extremely immoral in his personal life, having many affairs with many women. He divorced his first wife because she could not have children and because she was not attractive enough, in his view, to be the wife of so great a man as he fancied himself to be. He married his new wife, a young, attractive actress and a Gentile, three days after he divorced his first wife. Within a year she bore him a son.

As for the films Columbia made in the 1930s and 1940s, in some ways they resembled those from Warner Brothers: they were so often about the poor against the ruthless rich, the individual against the corporation, and the traditional against the new. The Columbia films may not have been as class-conscious as Warner Brothers films were, and the heroes were more middle-class than lower-class, with ethnicity nowhere near as prominent; but even so there was a resemblance to Warner Brothers’ offerings.

The Religion (or Lack Thereof) of Hollywood’s Jews

Edgar Magnin was the rabbi to many of the Hollywood Jews. He was the rabbi in Los Angeles, not only by his own admission but by that of many others too. In 1914 he had been invited to become

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the associate rabbi of B’nai B’rith, which was Los Angeles’ first Jewish congregation. It was what was known as a Reform Jewish congregation. The controversial and liberal Magnin later became the chief rabbi there. He was truly “one of the boys”, mixing with the wealthy Jewish elite of Hollywood and never too interested in religious Judaism himself, despite being a rabbi. He overlooked their sins, and they loved him for it.

Magnin called for an Americanized Judaism, where Jews were fully assimilated as Americans; and this was a doctrine well received by the Hollywood Jews, for they had turned their backs on Orthodox Judaism. One after the other joined Magnin’s B’nai B’rith – Carl Laemmle, Harry and Jack Warner, Louis B. Mayer, William Fox, and literally dozens of film executives, directors and actors. But they joined, not because they wanted their Jewish religion, but rather the secularised “religion” preached by Magnin. Very few of them were religious. They attended Magnin’s ornate and lavish Wilshire Boulevard Temple on Jewish holy days, and they gave generously to Jewish welfare organisations and other Jewish causes; but that was all. Partly, they supported such groups with their money because it was just what Jews did; partly, because philanthropy was a status symbol, a sign of respectability; partly even, perhaps, because they felt a certain amount of guilt at having turned their backs on their Jewishness; but never did they do so because of any real religious feelings. The Hollywood Jews deliberately distanced themselves from the Jewish religion as far as possible.

And they were always cautious, even in their giving to Jewish causes. They did not want to be associated (at least at first) with any Jewish political causes. When Ben Hecht, a radical Jewish-American writer in Hollywood, tried to raise funds to support a Jewish group in Palestine which was aiming to use terrorism to drive the British out, he found no sympathisers among the Hollywood Jews. They did not want to do anything that would jeopardise their assimilationist efforts into American Gentile society. They wanted to be seen as Americans, not Jews.

But their opposition did not last. As Nazism grew in strength in Europe, the Jews in Hollywood softened in their stance, and began to show an interest in supporting the Jewish political cause in Palestine. In 1942 the younger-generation Jews in Hollywood, especially, were

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supportive of efforts to form a Hollywood organisation to combat growing anti-Semitism in the United States, in particular when they felt such anti-Semitism was directed at the movie industry.

One of the primary movers and shakers in this regard was Mendel Silverberg, a powerful Jewish lawyer in Hollywood with close connections to the Chandler family, who owned the Los Angeles Times, and to the Republican Party. He became closely associated with Hollywood’s elite Jews, although he himself was only nominally Jewish. He was very useful to the Hollywood Jews in combatting growing Nazi sympathies in Los Angeles in the early 1930s. They formed what was called the Community Committee, with Silverberg as its chairman. Its name was later changed to the Community Relations Council, and its purpose was to be the official liaison between Jews and Gentiles in Los Angeles. Silverberg also sat on various other Jewish committees.

Prior to World War Two, the Hollywood Jews saw no value in making films promoting Jews or Judaism. They wanted to assimilate into Gentile America, not stick out as Jews. Jewish actors and actresses even changed their names to make them sound more Gentile. But with the rise of Hitler and Nazism and the horrors of World War Two, the Hollywood Jews began to see the value of using their immense power and influence, via their film studios, to promote a positive image of Jews. A new Jewish organisation was created in 1948, called the Motion Picture Project, which enabled each major Jewish organisation to have some say over the way Hollywood would portray the Jews. It would be used to review scripts, influence producers, and inform the Jewish organisations of any films that would either benefit Jews, or harm them. Silverberg correctly saw that this was an attempt to censor the movie industry. The Hollywood Jews now felt the pressure, channelled through the Motion Picture Project, from such Jewish organisations as the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress, and the Anti-Defamation League.

As an alternative to Hollywood’s liberal rabbi, Edgar Magnin, there was Max Nussbaum, who came to Hollywood in the 1940s to lead the Jewish congregation at Temple Israel. This temple had been founded by important men in the movie business, essentially as an alternative to

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Magnin’s version of Judaism. For although Magnin was very popular, both with non-Jews and with many of the elite Hollywood Jews, not all liked him. One even called him “Cardinal Magnin” because of his closeness with Roman Catholics.42 This alternative rabbi, Nussbaum, and his Temple Israel, was more pro-Jewish, committed to Jewish tradition and ritual. Nussbaum himself had escaped Hitler’s madness in Germany and made his way to the USA. He was a fiery and eloquent speaker. He attracted many, just as Magnin did, but for different reasons. And during and after World War Two he began to attract more Hollywood Jews than Magnin was doing.

The reason for this was that the second-generation Hollywood Jews, as a result of the war and Hitler’s Holocaust, were far more interested in their Judaism, and also in being involved in Jewish social activist causes. For although Nussbaum was religiously conservative, he was socially activist, supporting various causes including the establishment of the state of Israel.

The Surprising Influence of Romanism Over Some Hollywood Jews

There was another powerful, albeit at first surprising, influence over some of the influential Jews of Hollywood: Roman Catholicism. One writer recalled that when it came to religious matters, the Hollywood Jews were always “very tender with the Catholics.”43

Louis B. Mayer was closer to Roman Catholicism than Judaism. His daughter Edith said her father was “very Catholic prone. He loved the Catholics.”44 This was a true statement. Mayer was a close friend and admirer of New York’s powerful Roman Catholic cardinal, Francis Spellman. A large portrait of Spellman hung in Mayer’s library. According to Magnin, Mayer admired power and importance, which was the reason he admired Spellman and Romanism. According to his grandson, Danny Selznick, Mayer was attracted to Roman Catholicism because of its respectability, and also because Mayer, as head of MGM, identified with the pope of Rome. These may indeed have been some reasons for Mayer’s fascination with Romanism, but clearly there was more to it. Still, he was not above making use of his friendship with Spellman to get his own way when a movie was going to be banned by the Roman Catholic “Church”. He would call Spellman and seek his help.

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He was an admirer of other prominent and conservative Roman Catholics as well, notably Senator Joseph McCarthy. Mayer fully supported McCarthy’s efforts to rid the U.S. government of Communists. At a Chamber of Commerce dinner in his honour in 1954, Mayer said, “The more McCarthy yells, the better I like him. He’s doing a job to get rid of the ‘termites’ eating away at our democracy.... I hope he drives all the bums back to Moscow. That’s the place for them.” He also said: “Why is it that there are so few Catholic converts to Communism? It is because they learned the love of God when they were children. Why don’t Jews and Protestants do the same thing?”45 Yes, Mayer esteemed Roman Catholicism very highly.

It was not just Mayer, however (although he was the closest of all Hollywood’s top Jews to Rome). Other Hollywood Jews were under Rome’s spell as well, to varying degrees. Harry Cohn, for example, was friends with the cardinal, Spellman, and whenever he was in New York he would visit Spellman. Cohn’s first wife had been a Roman Catholic, and his second wife was a convert to Roman Catholicism who was very devout; and Cohn allowed her to raise their children as Roman Catholics. There were rumours that Cohn himself would convert to Romanism, but he never did. Still, there were strong influences at work.

The Politics of the Hollywood Jews

Politically, because they wanted to be accepted into American society so much and because the Republican Party was seen as the party of the American elite, most of the Hollywood Jewish elite were Republicans. And they certainly were among the country’s elite by the mid-1930s, with 19 of the 25 highest salaries in the USA being paid to movie executives, and Louis B. Mayer, the highest-earning movie man, earning over $1 million, which was more than any other American was earning at that time. Mayer would always entertain important senators, congressmen, and other officials whenever they were in Los Angeles. This enabled him to rise within the ranks of the Republican Party, and when Californian Herbert Hoover became president in 1928, Mayer and his family were invited to the White House. It was even rumoured, some years later, that Mayer himself might run for president.

The Warner brothers were really the only major Democrats among

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the Hollywood Jews – and only for a brief period. Prior to 1932 they too had been Republicans, but in that year Jack and Harry Warner met with top Democrats in New York and were brought on board the campaign to get Franklin Roosevelt elected. It is likely the Democrats sought for the Warners’ support because it was well known that they were considered the “outsiders” in Hollywood. Harry was quoted by Jack as saying, “The country is in chaos. There is a revolution in the air, and we need a change.”46 In Hollywood Jack worked to get Roosevelt elected. When Roosevelt became president and Jack was invited to the White House at various times, Jack claimed he was simply the court jester of the White House because he was a humorous man; but in truth there was far more to it than that. Warner Brothers threw its weight behind Roosevelt and the president knew it.

Nevertheless, by 1936 the Warners were Republicans again, after Harry Warner saw Roosevelt as having turned his back on him in an hour of need. “It was the last time any of the first generation of Hollywood Jews would support a Democrat.”47

Conclusion

Thus, the first-generation Jewish creators of Hollywood were, for the most part, men who abandoned their traditional Judaism; who were Capitalists, not Communists; some of whom were attracted to, and influenced by, Roman Catholicism; and many of whom were immoral in their personal lives and produced immoral movies, lowering the morals of the world. And thus they played into the hands of international Communism’s assault on America and the entire western world. Furthermore, the next generation of Jewish Hollywood leaders leaned far to the left.

This then was the Jewish industry which the powerful American Roman Catholic institution sought to influence and control for its own ends.

Jesuit Hollywood

by Shaun Willcock

https://ia601000.us.archive.org/33/items/jesuithollywood/JesuitHollywood.pdf

CHAPTER SEVEN – SHABTAI, SHIMON AND SHARON – DESTROYING THE JEWS

ALM 1 - THE DEUTSCH DEVILS

Rabbi Marvin Antelman was right all along. Way back in 1974, he identified the source of all the evil against Jews and humanity but his message and style were too unaccessible to get through to anyone but the most advanced students of antisemitism. What he lacked most was simplicity, a common enough failure of thinkers decades in advance of their contemporaries. What he needed was someone to put out a Cliff's Notes simplified explanation of his thesis...and someone, without intention, just did. The name of the book is, 50 Jewish Messiahs by Jerry Rabow (Gefen Publishing, Jerusalem). It is an informative but shallow overview of just what the title says, but in its shallowness lies vital depth. We begin with Chapter 17, about the "most damaging messiah to the Jewish people," Shabbatai Zvi. First we'll read Rabow and then add commentary opening Rabbi Antelman's work to the wide world. Recall that there are various accepted English spellings for Shabtai Tzvi, and the Sabbataians. The spelling presented depends on the writer:

pp 91 - Shabbatai Zvi was born in Smyrna, Turkey on the ninth of Av, 1626. The ninth day of Av is the day of a triple tragedy for the Jewish nation. According to tradition, the First Temple, the Second Temple and Bar Kokhba's Betar fortress all fell on this day.

pp 93 - He changed the holiday celebrations and violated the dietary prohibitions. All of this followed from his declaration that the usual rules were inapplicable to messianic times.

pp 95 - He declared that the coming of the messianic era meant that the biblical commandments were no longer binding. He proclaimed that God now permitted everything. ** This is Rabbi Antelman's central assertion; that Shabbataism was the polar opposite of Judaism. That Shabbatai Zvi's program was to destroy all the tenets of the Torah and replace them with their opposites. Incredibly, more than half the Jews of the world at the time, believed he would be revealed as their promised messiah: **

pp 101 - Then he finally made the announcement for which the Jewish community had been waiting for 1600 years - he would begin the Redemption on the 15th day of the month of Sivan, June 18, 1666. ** There are many who will recognize the significance of the date. June is the sixth month, 18 divided by three is 6+6+6 and 1666 is clear enough. Either he knew what he was doing or the prophesies of the emergence of an evil false messiah or anti-Christ are right, and Shabbatai Zvi was him. **

pp 110 - Through all of this, Shabbatai continued to issue proclamations of the theological changes wrought by the coming of the messianic age. Shabbatai's new prayer was, "Praised be He who permits the forbidden." Since all things would be permitted in the age of the messiah, Shabbatai declared many of the old restrictions of the Torah no longer applicable. He abolished the laws concerning sexual relationships. He eventually declared that all of the thirty six major biblical sins were now permitted and instructed some of his followers that it was their duty to perform such sins in order to hasten the Redemption.

Shabtai Tzvi, Labor Zionism and the Holocaust

by Barry Chamish

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B66Pc9x2hkIrV2Y3QWxPbkpKYWc/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-5ak831cRNQohyyjZYfFKvw

Nova music festival massacre

On 7 October 2023, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian nationalist organization Hamas, initiated a sudden attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. As part of the attack, 364 individuals, mostly civilians, were killed and many more wounded at the Supernova Sukkot Gathering, an open-air music festival during the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret near kibbutz Re'im. Hamas also took 40 people hostage, and men and women were reportedly subject to sexual and gender-based violence.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_music_festival_massacre

A nova (pl. novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white dwarfs in close binary systems, but causes of the dramatic appearance of a nova vary, depending on the circumstances of the two progenitor stars. The main sub-classes of novae are classical novae, recurrent novae (RNe), and dwarf novae. They are all considered to be cataclysmic variable stars.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova

SpaceX Roadster is not a natural celestial object, but rather a man-made object launched by SpaceX in February 2018 as part of the Falcon Heavy test flight. It is a red sports car owned by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and was launched as a demonstration of the Falcon Heavy's capabilities. The Roadster is not in a stable orbit around the Sun, but is instead on a heliocentric orbit that will take it to the asteroid belt and then back to the inner Solar System in the future. The Roadster also carries a mannequin named Starman, dressed in a spacesuit, in the driver's seat. The name "Roadster" refers to the type of car that is used as the payload for the Falcon Heavy, while "SpaceX" is the name of the private space exploration company founded by Elon Musk in 2002.

https://theskylive.com/roadster-info

A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass (roughly 0.3–8 solar masses (M☉)) in a late phase of stellar evolution. The outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous, making the radius large and the surface temperature around 5,000 K [K] (4,700 °C; 8,500 °F) or lower. The appearance of the red giant is from yellow-white to reddish-orange, including the spectral types K and M, sometimes G, but also class S stars and most carbon stars.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_giant

Solar flares are not directly related to the Earth's mantle, but they can have a significant impact on Earth if they are directed towards it:

Explanation

Solar flares are explosions on the Sun that release magnetic energy and cause a burst of radiation. They can occur in active regions of the Sun, often around sunspots.

Classification

Solar flares are classified by their peak brightness in X-ray wavelengths, with X-class flares being the most intense and A-class flares being the least intense.

Effects on Earth

When a solar flare is directed at Earth, it can cause a geomagnetic storm that can interfere with power grids, communications, and navigation systems. The severity of the interference depends on the intensity of the storm.

Monitoring

NASA, NOAA, and the US Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) monitor the Sun for solar flares and their associated magnetic storms

https://www.google.com/search?q=solar+flares+mantle&oq=solar+flares+mantle&gs_lcrp=EgRlZGdlKgYIABBFGDsyBggAEEUYOzIKCAEQABiABBiiBDIKCAIQABiABBiiBNIBCDM3ODNqMGoxqAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Revelation 16:8

1599 Geneva Bible

8 [a]And the fourth Angel poured out his vial on the sun, and it was given to him to torment men with heat of fire,

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2016%3A8-10&version=GNV

9. Interprovincial Works and Houses in Rome

304 §1. In the spirit of our fourth vow, the Society confirms its commitment to the interprovincial Roman works entrusted to it by the Holy See: the Pontifical Gregorian University and its associated institutes, the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Pontifical Oriental Institute, as well as the Pontifical Russicum College, the Vatican Radio, and the Vatican Observatory, all of which are common works of the whole Society, placed directly under the superior general. Recognizing the very valuable service that these institutions have offered and continue to offer today, it calls upon major superiors who share Father General s responsibility for them to continue their help through subsidies and especially by training and offering professors and other personnel to them.

§2. Also recommended to the care of all the provinces are those other works or houses in Rome that render a service to the entire Society, such as the Historical Institute of the Society of Jesus and the international colleges of the Society in Rome.[142]

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Can. 666 In the use of means of social communication, necessary discretion is to be observed and those things are to be avoided which are harmful to one’s vocation and dangerous to the chastity of a consecrated person."

TITLE II. RELIGIOUS INSTITUTES (Cann. 607 - 709)

CODE OF CANON LAW

https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib2-cann607-709_en.html

Head:

1. See Illness, mental

2. The superior general, head of the Society [666]"

page 463

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Revelation 13:18

New International Version

18 This calls for wisdom. Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man.[a] That number is 666.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Revelation 13:18 Or is humanity’s number

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2013%3A18&version=NIV

Civil Twilight:

Begins in the morning, or ends in the evening, when the geometric center of the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon.  Therefore morning civil twilight begins when the geometric center of the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon, and ends at sunrise.  Evening civil twilight begins at sunset, and ends when the geometric center of the sun is 6 degrees below the horizon.  Under these conditions absent fog or other restrictions, the brightest stars and planets can be seen, the horizon and terrestrial objects can be discerned, and in many cases, artificial lighting is not needed. Civil Twilight is also known as Civil Dawn and Civil Dusk.

Nautical Twilight:

Begins in the morning, or ends in the evening, when the geometric center of the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon.  In general, the term nautical twilight refers to sailors being able to take reliable readings via well known stars because the horizon is still visible, even under moonless conditions.  Absent fog or other restrictions, outlines of terrestrial objects may still be discernible, but detailed outdoor activities are likely curtailed without artificial illumination. Nautical Twilight is also known as Nautical Dawn and Nautical Dusk.

Astronomical Twilight:

Begins in the morning, or ends in the evening, when the geometric center of the sun is 18 degrees below the horizon.  In astronomical twilight, sky illumination is so faint that most casual observers would regard the sky as fully dark, especially under urban or suburban light pollution.  Under astronomical twilight, the horizon is not discernible and moderately faint stars or planets can be observed with the naked eye under a non light polluted sky.  But to test the limits of naked eye observations, the sun needs to be more than 18 degrees below the horizon.  Point light sources such as stars and planets can be readily studied by astronomers under astronomical twilight.  But diffuse light sources such as galaxies, nebula, and globular clusters need to be observed under a totally dark sky, again when the sun is more than 18 degrees below the horizon.

https://www.weather.gov/fsd/twilight

BULL of Pope Boniface VIII promulgated November 18, 1302

For, according to the Blessed Dionysius, it is a law of the divinity that the lowest things reach the highest place by intermediaries. Then, according to the order of the universe, all things are not led back to order equally and immediately, but the lowest by the intermediary, and the inferior by the superior. Hence we must recognize the more clearly that spiritual power surpasses in dignity and in nobility any temporal power whatever, as spiritual things surpass the temporal. This we see very clearly also by the payment, benediction, and consecration of the tithes, but the acceptance of power itself and by the government even of things. For with truth as our witness, it belongs to spiritual power to establish the terrestrial power and to pass judgement if it has not been good. Thus is accomplished the prophecy of Jeremias concerning the Church and the ecclesiastical power: ‘Behold to-day I have placed you over nations, and over kingdoms‘ and the rest. Therefore, if the terrestrial power err, it will be judged by the spiritual power; but if a minor spiritual power err, it will be judged by a superior spiritual power; but if the highest power of all err, it can be judged only by God, and not by man, according to the testimony of the Apostle: ‘The spiritual man judgeth of all things and he himself is judged by no man‘ [1 Cor 2:15]. This authority, however, (though it has been given to man and is exercised by man), is not human but rather divine, granted to Peter by a divine word and reaffirmed to him (Peter) and his successors by the One Whom Peter confessed, the Lord saying to Peter himself, ‘Whatsoever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound also in Heaven‘ etc., [Mt 16:19]. Therefore whoever resists this power thus ordained by God, resists the ordinance of God [Rom 13:2], unless he invent like Manicheus two beginnings, which is false and judged by us heretical, since according to the testimony of Moses, it is not in the beginnings but in the beginning that God created heaven and earth [Gen 1:1]. Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff."

https://www.papalencyclicals.net/bon08/b8unam.htm

AI Overview

Learn more

Astronomers estimate that there are about 200 billion trillion stars in the observable universe. That's 200 sextillion stars, or 200,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.

Explanation

To estimate the number of stars in the universe, astronomers:

Measure the color and brightness of starlight from our galaxy, the Milky Way

Use that information to estimate how many stars are in the Milky Way

Multiply the number of stars in the Milky Way by the number of galaxies in the universe

However, this is only a rough estimate because not all galaxies are the same. For example, spiral galaxies can have over a trillion stars, while giant elliptical galaxies can have 100 trillion stars.

Other ways to put it

The number of stars in the universe is so large that it's hard to imagine. It's about 10 times the number of cups of water in all the oceans of Earth.

Missions to learn more

The European Space Agency's Gaia mission is mapping about 1 billion stars in the Milky Way. The mission's data will help astronomers better understand the structure and evolution of our galaxy.

Generative AI is experimental.

In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and interact with each other. On distance scales larger than the string scale, a string acts like a particle, with its mass, charge, and other properties determined by the vibrational state of the string. In string theory, one of the many vibrational states of the string corresponds to the graviton, a quantum mechanical particle that carries the gravitational force. Thus, string theory is a theory of quantum gravity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/String_theory

A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_reaction

2 Peter 3:10

1599 Geneva Bible

10 [a]But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a [b]noise, and the elements shall melt with heat, and the earth with the works that are therein shall be burnt up.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Peter%203%3A10&version=GNV

Thomas Trace Beatie (born 1974[1]) is an American public speaker, author, and advocate of transgender rights and sexuality issues, with a focus on transgender fertility and reproductive rights.[2]

Beatie came out as a trans man in early 1997. Beatie had gender-affirming surgery in March 2002 and became known as "the pregnant man" after he became pregnant through artificial insemination in 2007.[3] Beatie chose to be pregnant, with donated sperm,[4][5] because his wife Nancy was sterile.

The couple filed for divorce in 2012. The Beatie case is the first of its kind on record, where a documented legal male gave birth within a marriage to a woman, and for the first time, a court challenged a marriage where the husband gave birth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Beatie

Tracing boards are painted or printed illustrations depicting the various emblems and symbols of Freemasonry. They can be used as teaching aids during the lectures that follow each of the Masonic Degrees, when an experienced member explains the various concepts of Freemasonry to new members. They can also be used by experienced members as reminders of the concepts they learned as they went through the ceremonies of the different masonic degrees.[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracing_board

Exoteric Masonry, which is only the husks of the Mystic Order formed by the Sons of Cain has in modern times attracted the masculine element with its positively polarized physical vehicles, and educated them in industry and statecraft, thus controlling the material development of the world. The sons of Seth, constituting themselves the Priestcraft have worked their spell over the positive vital bodies of the feminine element to dominate the spiritual development. And whereas, the sons of Cain working through Freemasonry and kindred movements, have openly fought for the temporal power, the Priestcraft has fought as strenuously and perhaps more effectively, by stealth, to retain their monopoly upon the spiritual development of the feminine element. To the casual onlooker it would seem as if there were no decided antagonism between these two movements at the present time, but though Freemasonry of today is but a shell of its true ancient mystic self, and though Catholicism has been terribly tarnished by the touch of time, in that one thing there is no difference, the war is as keen as ever, the efforts of the Church are not concentrated upon the masses however as much as upon those who are seeking to live the higher life, so that they may gain admission to the Mystery Temple and learn how to make the Philosophers’ Stone. As mankind advances in evolution, the vital body becomes more permanently positively polarized giving to both sexes a greater desire for spirituality, and though we change from the masculine to feminine in alternate embodiment, positive polarity of the vital body is becoming more pronounced regardless of sex, and this accounts for the growing tendency towards Altruism which is even being brought out by the suffering entailed by the great war we are now fighting, for all agree that they are seeking to obtain a lasting peace where the swords may be made into plowshares, and the spears into pruning hooks. In the past humanity has been claiming universal brotherhood as a great ideal, but we must come closer than that to be in full accord with the Christ. He said to his Disciples “ye are my friends.” Among brothers and sisters hate and enmity may exist, but friendship is the expression of love and cannot exist apart from that. This is therefore the magic word which will eventually level all distinctions, bring peace upon earth and goodwill among men. This is the great Ideal proclaimed by the Rosicrucian Fellowship, an Ideal which points the shortest way to the New Heaven and the New Earth, where the sons of Cain and the sons of Seth will eventually be united.

FREEMASONRY AND CATHOLICISM

by MAX HEINDEL

https://dn720206.ca.archive.org/0/items/freemasonryandca017137mbp/freemasonryandca017137mbp.pdf

2030-2031 APPARITION CHARACTERISTICS

Another general rule for predicting oppositions of Mars is from the following: the planet has an approximate 15.8-year periodic opposition cycle, which consists of three or four Aphelic oppositions and three consecutive Perihelic oppositions. Perihelic oppositions are also called "favorable" because the Earth and Mars come closest to each other on those occasions. We sometimes refer to this as the seven Martian synodic periods. This cycle is repeated every 79 years (± 4 to 5 days) and, if one were to live long enough, one would see this cycle nearly replicated in approximately 284 years. The 2031 Mars apparition is considered Transitional (between Aphelic and Perihelic) because the orbital longitude at opposition will be 68.4° from the aphelion longitude of 70° Ls and 111.6° Ls from perihelion (250° Ls).

NOTE: Ls is the planetocentric longitude of the Sun along the ecliptic of Mars’ sky. 0° Ls is defined as that point where the Sun crosses the Martian celestial equator from south to north, that is the planet’s northern hemisphere vernal equinox. The other Ls values that define the beginnings of Martian northern hemisphere seasons are: summer, 90° Ls; autumn, 180° Ls; and winter, 270° Ls. For Mars’ southern hemisphere these values represent the opposite seasons. Distance (A.U.) - Distance from Earth to Mars in astronomical units, where one (1) A.U. equals 92,955,807.267 miles or 149,597,870.691 km.

Opposition occurs 11 months after conjunction when Mars is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. At that time, the two planets will lie nearly in a straight line with respect to the Sun, or five weeks after retrogression begins. Opposition will occur at 1157 UT on May 04, 2031 (138.4° Ls) with an apparent planetary disk diameter of 16.7 arcsec. Mars will remain visible for more than twelve months after opposition and then become lost in the glare of the Sun around May 31, 2032 as it approaches the next conjunction (July 11, 2032). The cycle is complete in 780 Earth days.

Closest approach occurs at 0350 UT on May 12, 2031 (142.1° Ls) with an apparent planetary disk diameter of 16.9 at a distance of 0.5533578 astronomical units (AU) or 51,437,823 miles (82,781,152 km). During closest approach in 2031 the apparent diameter of Mars will be 2.4 arcsec larger than it was at the same period in 2029; however, it will be 17.1 degrees lower in the sky - not quite as good for observing the Red Planet for observers in the northern hemisphere. It should also be noted that closest approach between Earth and Mars is not necessarily coincident with the time of opposition but varies by as much as two weeks.

https://www.alpo-astronomy.org/jbeish/2031_MARS.htm

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They were created with the aim of "peace and prosperity for people and the planet..."[1][2][3] – while tackling climate change and working to preserve oceans and forests. The SDGs highlight the connections between the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development. Sustainability is at the center of the SDGs.[4][5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_Development_Goals

The Arab Spring (Arabic: الربيع العربي, romanized: ar-rabīʻ al-ʻarabī) or the First Arab Spring (to distinguish from the Second Arab Spring) was a series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in Tunisia in response to corruption and economic stagnation.[1][2] From Tunisia, the protests then spread to five other countries: Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria and Bahrain. Rulers were deposed (Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia in 2011, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya in 2011, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt in 2011, and Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen in 2012) or major uprisings and social violence occurred including riots, civil wars, or insurgencies. Sustained street demonstrations took place in Morocco, Iraq, Algeria, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman and Sudan. Minor protests took place in Djibouti, Mauritania, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and the Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara.[3] A major slogan of the demonstrators in the Arab world is ash-shaʻb yurīd isqāṭ an-niẓām! (Arabic: الشعب يريد إسقاط النظام, lit. 'the people want to bring down the regime').[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Spring

https://www.facebook.com/billy.dunn.50767/posts/pfbid0322q1aU1qH8cd6jKRw6fC82FUutDb36wAdMLVxKoA9ym4y31nqm77MErJainq2SQ2l

What are the springs of living water in Revelation 7:17?

Answer

Revelation 7:17 says, “For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” Other translations refer to the springs of living water as “living fountains of waters” (NKJV) or the “springs of the water of life” (CSB).

A spring (or a fountain) is a geographical feature in which ground water beneath the earth rises naturally to the surface. The Bible frequently uses the imagery of a spring to describe the abundant life that God provides His people. Psalm 36:9 says, “For with you is the fountain of life,” and Isaiah 49:10b says, “He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.”

In Revelation 7:17, the phrase springs of living water is a reference to the eternal life found in Jesus.

The context of Revelation 6—7 includes the opening of the seven seals of judgment and the listing of the 144,0000 Jewish evangelists who are promised protection during the time of the tribulation (Revelation 7:1–8). In Revelation 7:9, John references a “great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language,” robed in white and holding palm branches. One of the elders present at the scene says, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14). The elder goes on to poetically describe these individuals and says that the Lamb—who is also the Shepherd—will lead them to “living fountains of waters.”

In context, then, the “them” of Revelation 7:17 is a reference to this great multitude made up of people from throughout the world who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. They are redeemed. They are led to “springs of living water” and will have every tear wiped from their eyes.

In John 4, Jesus talks to a Samaritan woman as she gathers water from a local well. He tells her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13–14).

Jesus is the living fountain of water that leads to eternal life for all who place their faith in Him. Water that comes from within the earth provides life to all who come and drink from it. In the same way, the “water” that comes from within Christ provides satisfaction and eternal life to all who come and drink from Him.

https://www.gotquestions.org/springs-of-living-water.html

Revelation 7

1599 Geneva Bible

7 1 The Angels coming to hurt the earth, 3 are stayed until the elect of the Lord, 5 of all tribes were sealed. 13 Such as suffered persecution for Christ’s sake, 16 have great felicity, 17 and joy.

1 And [a]after that, I saw four Angels stand on the [b]four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the winds should not blow on the earth, neither on the sea, [c]neither on any tree.

2 [d]And I saw [e]another Angel come up from the East, which had the seal of the living God, and he cried with a loud voice to the four Angels to whom power was given to hurt the earth, and the sea, saying,

3 Hurt ye not the earth, neither the sea, neither the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.

4 And I heard the number of them, which were sealed, and there were sealed [f]an hundred and four and forty thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.

5 Out of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.

6 Of the tribe of Asher were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Naphtali were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasseh were sealed twelve thousand.

7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. [g]Of the tribe of [h]Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zebulun were sealed twelve thousand.

8 Of the tribe of [i]Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.

9 After these things I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, [j]which no man could number, of all nations and kindreds, and people, and tongues [k]stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with long white robes, and palms in their hands.

10 [l]And they cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation cometh of our God, that sitteth upon the throne, and of the Lamb.

11 And all the Angels stood round about the throne, and about the Elders, and the four beasts, and they fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,

12 Saying, Amen, Praise and glory, and wisdom, and thanks, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God for evermore, Amen.

13 [m]And one of the Elders spake, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in long white robes? and whence came they?

14 And I said unto him, Lord, thou knowest. And he said unto me, [n]These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their long robes, and have made their long robes white in the blood of the Lamb.

15 Therefore are they in the presence of the throne of God, and serve him [o]day and night in his Temple, and he that sitteth on the throne will dwell [p]among them.

16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore, neither shall the sun light on them, neither any heat.

17 For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall govern them, and shall lead them unto the lively fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Footnotes

Revelation 7:1 The second member of this part, is a preventing of danger as we distinguished the same before, Chap. 6:1, that is of the caution whereby God took care before hand and provided for his that after the example of the Israelites of old, Exod. 8:13, the faithful might be exempted from the plagues of this wicked world. This whole place is a certain interlocution and bringing in for this whole chapter by occasion of the prediction and argument of the sixth seal. For first that evil is prevented in the elect unto verse 9. Then thanks are given by the elect for that cause, verses 10, 11, 12. Lastly, the accomplishment of the thing is set forth unto the end of the chapter. The first verse is a transition speaking of the Angels which keep these inferior parts from all evil, until God do command. For (as it is excellently figured by Ezek. 11:12) their faces and their wings are reached upwards, continually waiting upon and beholding the countenance of God for their direction: and every [one] of them goeth into that part that is right before his face, whithesoever the Spirit shall go, they go, they step not out of the way, that is, they depart not so much as a foot breadth from the path commanded them of God.

Revelation 7:1 On the four quarters or coasts of the earth.

Revelation 7:1 That is, neither into the air, into which the tops of trees are advanced.

Revelation 7:2 Now God provideth against the danger of his elect by commandment, verses 2 and 3, and by sign or figure, both for those of the nation of the Jews, thence unto verse 8, and also of the Gentiles, verse 9.

Revelation 7:2 Not only another, or differing in number from the common Angels of God, but also in essence, office, and operation excelling all Angels: that is, Christ Jesus the eternal Angel or word of God, and mediator of the covenant. So hereafter Rev. 8:3 and 10:1, 5.

Revelation 7:4 That is, of the Jews a number certain in itself before God, and such as may be numbered of us: for which cause also the same is here set down as certain. But of the elect which are of the Gentiles, the number indeed is in itself certain with God, but of us not possibly to be numbered, as God, Gen. 15:5, and often elsewhere, and Isaiah figured most excellently, Isa. 49 and 60. This therefore is spoken with respect, when a certain number is put for one uncertain. Confer this with verse 6.

Revelation 7:7 Here the tribe of Levi is reckoned up in common with the rest, because all the Israelites were equally made Priests with them in Christ by his Priesthood, Rev. 1:6, and 5:10, and Rom. 12:1, and 1 Pet. 2:9. The name of Dan is not mentioned because the Danites long before forsaking the worship of God, were fallen away from the fellowship of God’s people unto the part of the Gentiles, which evil many ages before Jacob foresaw, Gen. 49:18, for which cause also there is no mention made of this tribe in the first book of the Chronicles.

Revelation 7:7 He skipped Dan, and reckoneth Levi.

Revelation 7:8 Of Ephraim, who was Joseph’s other son, and had the birthright given him, whereof he is called Joseph.

Revelation 7:9 See before upon verse 4.

Revelation 7:9 As Priests, Kings and glorious conquerors by martyrdom: which things are noted by their proper signs in this verse.

Revelation 7:10 The praise of God celebrated first by the holy men, in this verse, then by the heavenly Angels in the two verses following.

Revelation 7:13 A passage over unto the expounding of the vision, of which the Angel inquireth of S. John to stir him up withal, in this verse and John in the form of speech, both acknowledgeth his own ignorance, attributing knowledge unto the Angel, and also in most modest manner requesteth the expounding of the vision.

Revelation 7:14 The exposition of the vision, wherein the Angel telleth first the acts of the Saints, that is, their sufferings and work of faith in Christ Jesus, in this verse. Secondly their glory, both present, which consisteth in two things, that they minister unto God, and that God protecteth them, verse 15, and to come, in their perfect deliverance from all annoyances, verse 16, and in participation of all good things which even the memory of former evils shall never be able to diminish, verse 17. The cause efficient, and which containeth all these things is only one, the Lamb of God, the Lord, the Mediator, and the Savior Christ Jesus.

Revelation 7:15 He alludeth to the Levites, which served day and night, for else there is no night in heaven.

Revelation 7:15 Or, upon them, whereby is meant God’s defense and protection, as it were towards them, who are as safe, as men in the Lord’s tent.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%207&version=GNV

Star Trek Generations is a 1994 American science fiction film and the seventh film in the Star Trek film series. Malcolm McDowell joins cast members from the 1960s television show Star Trek and the 1987 sequel series The Next Generation, including William Shatner and Patrick Stewart. In the film, Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise-D joins forces with Captain James T. Kirk to stop the villain Tolian Soran from destroying a planetary system in his attempt to return to an extra-dimensional realm known as the Nexus.

Generations was conceived as a transition from the original cast of the Star Trek films to the cast of The Next Generation. After developing several film ideas concurrently, the producers chose a script written by Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga. Production began while the final season of the television series was being made. The director was David Carson, who previously directed episodes of the television series; photography was by franchise newcomer John A. Alonzo. Filming took place on the Paramount Studios lots, and on location in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada, and Lone Pine, California. The film's climax was revised and reshot following poor reception from test audiences. The film uses a mix of traditional optical effects alongside computer-generated imagery and was scored by regular Star Trek composer Dennis McCarthy.

Star Trek Generations was released in the United States on November 18, 1994. Paramount promoted the film with merchandising tie-ins, including toys, books, games, and a website—a first for a major motion picture. The film opened at the top of the United States box office its first week of release and grossed a total of $118 million worldwide. Critical reception was mixed, with critics divided on the film's characters and comprehensibility to a casual viewer. It was followed by Star Trek: First Contact in 1996.

Plot

In 2293, retired Starfleet officers James T. Kirk, Montgomery Scott, and Pavel Chekov attend the maiden voyage of the USS Enterprise-B. During the shakedown cruise, the starship is pressed into a rescue mission to save two El-Aurian refugee ships that have been snared by a massive energy ribbon. Enterprise is able to save some of the refugees before their ships are destroyed, but becomes trapped by the ribbon, and Kirk goes to a control room to help the ship escape. While Enterprise is freed, Kirk is presumed lost in space and dead after the trailing end of the ribbon tears open the ship's hull.

In 2371, the crew of the USS Enterprise-D is in a holodeck computer simulation, celebrating the promotion of shipmate Worf to lieutenant commander. Captain Jean-Luc Picard learns his brother and nephew have been killed in a fire and is distraught that the Picard family line will end with him. Enterprise receives a distress call from a stellar observatory, where an El-Aurian, Dr. Tolian Soran, launches a probe at the nearby star. The probe causes the star to implode, creating a shockwave that destroys its planetary system. Soran kidnaps Enterprise engineer Geordi La Forge and is transported off the station by a Klingon Bird of Prey belonging to the Duras sisters.

Enterprise crewmember Guinan tells Picard that she and Soran were among the El-Aurians rescued in 2293. Soran—who lost his family when their homeworld was destroyed—is obsessed with returning to the energy ribbon to reach the "Nexus", an extra-dimensional realm of wish fulfillment that exists outside of normal space-time. Picard and Data determine that Soran, unable to safely fly a ship directly into the ribbon, is altering its path by removing the gravitational effects of nearby stars. Soran plans to destroy another star to bring the ribbon to the planet Veridian III, consequently killing millions on a nearby inhabited planet.

Upon entering the Veridian system, Picard offers himself to the Duras sisters in exchange for La Forge but insists on being transported to Soran directly. La Forge is returned to Enterprise, but unwittingly exposes the ship's defense details through the transmitter installed in his VISOR device. The Duras sisters attack, and Enterprise sustains critical damage before destroying the Bird of Prey by triggering its cloaking device, and firing photon torpedoes when its shields drop. When La Forge reports that the starship is about to suffer a warp-core breach as a result of the attack, Commander William Riker evacuates everyone to the forward saucer-section of the starship, which separates from the engineering section just before the breach occurs. The resulting shockwave sends the saucer-section crashing onto the surface of Veridian III.

Picard fails to stop Soran from launching another probe. The resulting destruction of the Veridian star alters the course of the ribbon and Picard and Soran enter the Nexus before the shockwave destroys Veridian III. Picard finds himself surrounded by an idealized family, but realizes it is an illusion. He is confronted by an "echo" of Guinan left behind in the Nexus. Guinan sends him to meet James T. Kirk, safe in the Nexus. Though Kirk is initially entranced by the opportunity the Nexus offers to atone for past regrets, he realizes it lacks danger and excitement. Having learned that they can travel whenever and wherever desired through the Nexus, Picard convinces Kirk to return with him to Veridian III, shortly before Soran launches the probe.

Working together, Kirk and Picard distract Soran long enough for Picard to lock the probe in place; it explodes on the launchpad and kills Soran. Kirk is fatally injured in the effort and Picard buries him at the site. Three Federation starships arrive to retrieve the Enterprise survivors from Veridian III. Picard muses that given the ship's legacy, the Enterprise-D will not be the last vessel to carry the name.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek_Generations

On May 15, 2020, President Donald Trump officially announced the public-private partnership.[4][1] The purpose of Operation Warp Speed was to coordinate Health and Human Services-wide efforts, including the NIH ACTIV[9] partnership for vaccine and therapeutic development, the NIH RADx[10] initiative for diagnostic development, and work by BARDA.[1]

Operation Warp Speed was formed to encourage private and public partnerships to enable faster approval and production of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] The name was inspired by terminology for faster-than-light travel used in the Star Trek fictional universe, evoking a sense of rapid progress.[11][12]

The Food and Drug Administration announced on June 30, 2020, that a vaccine would need to be at least 50% effective for diminishing the severity of COVID-19 symptoms to obtain regulatory and marketing approval.[13]

In January 2021, White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced that the program was expected to undergo a restructure and renaming under the Biden administration.[14][15] Also in January 2021, Dr. Moncef Slaoui, former Operation Warp Speed lead, was told not to use the name Operation Warp Speed anymore.[16] At the end of February 2021, responsibilities of Operation Warp Speed were transferred into the White House COVID-19 Response Team.[7][17]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Warp_Speed

Pope Francis urges people to get vaccinated against Covid-19

Pope Francis launches a powerful appeal for people to get vaccinated with approved Covid-19 vaccines, calling it “an act of love.”

By Devin Watkins

August 18 2021

The Pope has joined his voice to those of Bishops across North and South America to urge people to get jabbed against Covid-19.

In a video message produced in conjunction with the Ad Council, Pope Francis praised the work of researchers and scientists in producing safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines.

“Thanks to God’s grace and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to protect us from Covid-19,” he said in the video released on Wednesday.

He added that vaccines “bring hope to end the pandemic, but only if they are available to all and if we collaborate with one another.”

Vaccination is an act of love

Pope Francis went on to say that getting a Covid jab that is “authorized by the respective authorities” is an “act of love.”

Helping other do the same, he said, is also an act of love. “Love for oneself, love for our families and friends, and love for all peoples. Love is also social and political.”

The Pope noted that social and political love is built up through “small, individual gestures capable of transforming and improving societies.”

“Getting vaccinated is a simple yet profound way to care for one another, especially the most vulnerable,” he said.

Pope Francis then prayed to God that “each one of us can make his or her own small gesture of love.”

“No matter how small, love is always grand,” he said. “Small gestures for a better future.”

Listen to our report

‘Strength of faith’

The Pope was joined in the video by several Cardinals and Archbishops from across the Americas.

Archbishop Jose Gomez, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Archbishop of Los Angeles, lamented the suffering and death the pandemic has wrought across the globe.

He prayed that God might “grant us the grace to face it with the strength of faith, ensuring that vaccines are available for all, so that we can all get immunized.”

Mexican Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes linked Covid-19 jabs to a better future for all.

“From North to South America, we support vaccinations for all,” said the Cardinal.

Safe, effective vaccines

Honduran Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga said the world has much to learn from the coronavirus.

“But one thing is certain: the authorized vaccines are effective, and are here to save lives,” he said. “They are the key to a path of personal and universal healing.”

Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes praised the “heroic efforts” of health professionals in developing “safe and effective” jabs.

He also repeated the Pope’s affirmation that “getting vaccinated is an act of love”.

Salvadorian Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez said vaccination helps protect the most vulnerable.

“Our choice to get vaccinated affects others,” he said, adding that it is a moral responsibility.

Unity across the Americas

Peruvian Archbishop Miguel Cabrejos rounded out the testimonies contained in the video with an appeal to unity.

“We are united—North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean—to promote and support vaccination for all,” he said, encouraging everyone to “act responsibly, as members of the great human family, seeking and protecting our integral health and universal vaccination.”

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2021-08/pope-francis-appeal-covid-19-vaccines-act-of-love.html

14We ought to act on the principle that everyone who lives under obedience should let himself be carried and directed by Divine Providence through the agency of the superior 15as if he were a lifeless body, which allows itself to be carried to any place and treated in any way; or an old man s staff, which serves at any place and for any purpose in which the one holding it in his hand wishes to employ it. 16For in this way the obedient man ought joyfully to employ himself in any task in which the superior desires to employ him in aid of the whole body of the religious order; 17and he ought to hold it certain that by so doing he conforms himself with the divine will more than by anything else he could do while following his own will and different judgment.[3]"

page 221

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

A TRULY MYSTIC SEAL

THE GREAT SEAL OF THE UNITED STATES AND ITS MYSTIC SIGNIFICANCE

Most Americans have a dim idea that the Great Seal of their country shows an eagle, a constellation of stars, an olive branch signifying peace, and a set of thirteen arrows which probably means war in case of necessity, but few have ever seen the reverse side of the seal or even suspected its existence. Nor has the reverse side ever been cut, a strangely restraining hand having seemingly been laid upon every attempt to bring it before the public. When the large painting of the reverse side which was ordered made together with the familiar obverse, for the government display at the Chicago World's Fair, was to be hung, those in charge exclaimed: "What a peculiar design: Why were we given this inartistic symbol?" and once more the white stone was rejected, the painting was turned face to the wall and only the obverse side displayed. But the time has now come when the full knowledge of her seal shall be made known to her people, for America must henceforth stand before the world as its teacher, leader and the promulgator of a new and perfect system of ethics, religious leadership, a citizenship that is efficient and free, a just industrial democracy, and a justice and generosity to other nations that shall emphasize the brotherhood of man and the Fatherland of God. Late in the afternoon of July 4th, 1776, the new Continental Congress "Resolved, that Dr. Franklin, Mr. J. Adams and Mr. Jefferson be a committee to prepare a device for the Seal of the United States of America." That committee was identical save for the omission of Robert Livingston and Roger Sherman with that which had drawn up the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration had been signed about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and Congress desired to at once complete the evidences of the independence of the United States by formally adopting an official sign of sovereignty and a national coat of arms.

The arms of England, the mother country, expressed the union of Judah's lion, with the unicorn of "Lost Israel" in accordance with the Science of Heraldry, but the young republic had finished with thrones and crowns and must blaze a new path through the forest of liberty, which should express her descent from all christian nations and hold open a door for all other races which should seek help and shelter upon her shores. A knowledge of heraldy was considered a part of an education in the early colonial days, and it was through William Barton son of the rector of St. James Episcopal church of Philadelphia, learned in heraldry, and through Baron Prestwich, of England, that the designs expressive of American destiny were given and drawn. Yet other dabblers in heraldry failed utterly to understand the mystic meaning of the seals. Professor Charles Elliott Norton, of Harvard, regretted its lack of art, and complained it could never be other than a dull masonic emblem, while a Mr. Wilson, considered a great historical scholar, declared the reverse side "in very bad taste, unintelligent and commonplace, and if it can be laid away and kept in the dark why not keep it so!" Even the constellation of thirteen stars came in for criticism, as "very bad heraldically." Again and again the pyramid with the white cope stone and the glory, were rejected, until in 1916 members of the Rose Cross Order, Illuminati, and others of the six pointed star of the seal, hung it officially in their class rooms and declared it as expressive of their philosophy-religion; the Bible wisdom of the common people rather than of the collegian. In the two sides of our seal are expressed in heraldry countless ages of the evolution of man, from the time of his socalled fall, through his progress in Egypt (eagleland), where for a time a wondrous race incarnated to build astounding monuments, receding, but returning again as the Hebraic Confederation to receive the knowledge of ancient Atlantis in the shade of its ancient altar, the Great Pyramid, uniting in a blaze of glory in the building of Solomon's Temple, parting, the northern tribes to leaven, though lost to history, all Europe, Judah and part of Benjamen and Levi, returning to hold Jerusalem until the Master Jesus should be born, journey down into 'Egypt to the ancient altar and receive light yet left in that land of darkness. "In that day shalt there be an altar to the Lord a pillar in the midst of Egypt, upon the borders thereof, and it shall be for a sign and a witness unto the Lord," said Isaiah. It is needless for learned historians to tell us, who hold the records, that the Great Pyramid is but six thousand years old, for we know it to have been built when the morning stars sang together and the "Sons of God" shouted for joy, in that far Edenic period, when Atlantis the mighty stood in her purity, where in part America now stands. Built at the center of the earth, as a temple of the highest initiation, symbolic of a perfect man, foursquare in body, mind, soul and spirit, with its white copestone, symbol of complete immortality, it represents the measure of the earth, as well as that of the universe, and the evolution of man through those countless ages of reincarnation now drawing to a close. Thither the Atlantians went for instruction in its galleries and rooms at the hands of mighty priests of the Priests of Melchisidek'''' and Osirian Brotherhoods, and throughout the succeeding ages those who would attain self mastery have turned their footsteps toward the ancient centers. "The last Cumaen Song now comes," wrote Virgil, who prophesied that a race should arise which would be offspring of all races and bring to an end the ages of iron (war) and usher in the Golden Age. Hence it was fitting that the mottos upon the reverse side of our seal above and below the pyramid should be taken from Virgil, "Annuit Coeptis," "Prosper us in our daring," and "Novus ordo seclorum," "a new and select order," which many of us have now the honor to have entered, and whose door we hold open to all who will accomplish the spiritual work necessary. "The day of freedom dawned upon the earth."

*As this book is being printed, we received information of two Associations using the title "Order of Melchizadek," or like it. One is a Spiritualistic body and the other a pure fraud. Neither body has the right to the title as this belongs to the Magi, who has used it for unknown years. Any body of men claiming, or using, this title does so without any authority and they are not members of any Order of Melchizadek. "Given by order of the Royal Fraternity Association, Incorporated."

And the infinite cycle of Atlantis was begun anew," wrote a poet, of the American Republic. In Central America there yet stands a companion pyramid, key to the connection of Atlantis, Egypt, and now American Atlantis rising again upon the great cycle. Hence Arcane and Magian learning which is the source of the Bible, could give no other symbolism to the young republic, than that of the ancient pyramid, its copestone and glory, significant of the descent of the New Jerusalem, for the one side, and the eagle, and the ever repeating thirteen of Mansasseh, thirteenth tribe of Israel and the son of Joseph (the Britons) who was separated from his brethren in Egypt, in the parting asunder of northern Israel from southern Judah, and first to cross Europe in search of the "isles afar off," to re-establish the ancient throne of Israel at Tava in Ireland, Turning the hitherto rejected reverse side of our seal to face the people of these United States, we remind them that they are called to a Great Work as offspring of all races, a mighty Mannasseh, whose history began in Genesis and culminates in America, and by whose stripes the whole world must be healed. Joseph, our father, married a daughter of a priest of the Temple of On, in Egypt, we are told, and today one pillar of that ancient Temple stands in London, while its mate stands in New York. These are reminders of our connection with Egypt, with all Europe, and with our father, Joseph, as an Anglo Saxon culmination of all Israel, and that through our union, between those pillars must all the world pass into Ephraim, or Shiloh, the Millenium to which Israel alone of all nations looked forward and by the measure of whose twelve tribes the whole earth was apportioned. "The whole Bible is written in the stars, both the law and the gospel, while estorically the entire story of man is set forth upon the sea of Manasseh. The obverse side is Israel in the Old Testament, the Reverse is the offspring of all Israel under the New Covenant, as the hope and outcome of Christianity. The two sides reflect each other and cannot be separated being the Bible in its most condensed form, summing up all old world history in twelve tribed Israel," says Professor Totten. Long ages before the discovery of America, Merlin of King Arthur's court wrote of our constellation of thirteen stars:

*'When the cock (France) shall woo the Dove (America) Mother and child shall cease to love (Rebellion of colonies) When the cock (France) shall guard the eagle's nest (France's aid) The stars (our constellation of 13) shall rise all in the west Then seven and six shall make but one (E Fluribus Unum) The Lion's might shall be undone."

The stars upon our seal are set in the form of a six pointed star or a double triangle. This was anciently called Solomon's Seal and was embroidered upon the curtain of the Temple, which hung before the Holy of Holies. At each point of the star was placed the symbol of an Order which set forth Arcane wisdom, and no man might pass into the Holy of Holies save he had mastered the learning of these Orders with safety to himself, because of the Presence upon the altar within. Today in America we have the restoration of this knowledge in these six Orders, the Order of Illuminati, Order of Rose Cross, Ancient Order of Alchemists, Fraternity of Osiris, The Magi and AEth Priesthood. The especial symbol of America, aside from the pyramid and eagle, is the white rose, identical in meaning with the white stone. The constellation of thirteen stars was in early drawings set in a wreath of White roses, showing that the early designers knew the future of American individual spiritual development. It is now drawn set in white clouds, but the white rose is ever the symbol of the American Rose Cross Order, and stands for spiritual attainment. Solomon's Temple was the Temple of a perfect man, and the Bible tells us of a three cornered cope stone which was rejected, but later became the headstone of the corner. We hear too in Genesis of Joseph, the keeper of the "stone of Israel," and it was with the Magian or Holy Grail teachings that the Britons crossed Europe to Arsareth, Land of Betrothal (Esdras 11-13 Chap. ) in search of a land where they might keep God's worship pure and undefiled. Hence through Joseph, who was separated from his brethren, we inherit the white stone of all Israel, cope stone of the pyramid, and of Solomon's Temple, that rock upon which Jesus reminded Peter, he should build His church, the rock of spiritual unfoldment within each individual, that the gates of hell (death) should not prevail against it. My little children of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.—Gal. IV-19. Thus it was in keeping that an Englishman, Master of Heraldry, should give to the young republic, in the midst of its struggles to separate from the mother country, the design for the Great Seal, which should express the whole future of its work as a world teacher and exponent of the Christic teachings of the Holy Grail. The All Seeing Eye, looks down upon the ancient pyramid, which too symbolizes America and all she must mean to the world, out of a glory, sign of the descent of the New Jerusalem. This emblem, the eye, is as old as man's appearance upon earth, being found upon ancient Chaldean monuments, Egyptian and Greek, while the Arabians looking upon it named the Highest and Holiest name of God with hushed voices and whispered, "I am that I am." The triangle about the eye, stood from the most arcane times as the emblem of the Trinity, of Osiris, Isis and Horus, Father, Holy Ghost and Son, as they stand today with us, and in which is sealed the law of the eternal three of the universe and of men as its highest product. "I will guide thee with mine eye.—Psa. 32-8. Although writing is as old as Atlantis, and Adam, the only legend set in the Great Pyramid is esoteric, in numbers, measures, and weights, and in them may be read the ages just completed, and the prophesy of those yet to come. Of these great ages each with its leader as set forth in the application of the legend to the "Stone Kingdom cut out without hands," the greatest of all was the Master Initiate Jesus, who became the Christ, who descended into the grave and rising ascended Master over death, into heaven before the eyes of His disciples. Him especially and the return of the Christ Age, does the white cope stone represent, and after Him America as exponent of His teaching and life. America now prepares to become the headstone of all the world's ages when God in the Christ shall descend to crown the edifice of human liberty and immortality completed, and once more the morning stars shall sing together and the "Sons of God" shout for joy." Architecture, mystic numbers, heraldry and the heavens themselves are telling the great race in America of their destiny and responsibility. As the head, body and limbs of the great image, made of different metals represented each Messianic age, a new truth, and an empire directly relating to some manifestation of that truth, so must America represent the white stone, a nation fashioning itself until it shall have obtained the Messiahship over all nations, overshadowing all that has preceded it. This cannot be accomplished until each citizen shall throw aside the veil which lieth over his face, shall no longer see through the glass darkly, but face to face, when Judah shall no longer vex Israel nor Israel envy Judah, but prepare to come together into that land which the Lord has given them for an inheritance forever. The time has come spoken of by Isaiah, the prophet, when though the learned cannot read the book because it is sealed, nor the unlearned because he is unlettered, yet shall the book be unsealed, for the ancient wisdom applies to the individual and his following of the Christ in his quest of the Holy Grail, in the drinking of the cup of unselfishness, of his love for his neighbor and the stranger within the gates of our own Ellis Island, that the stranger may grow to the light of this republic, or carry its torch to other lands. Each fortunate heir of this glorious inheritance must seek the white stone which crowns the pyramid, within himself, in body, mind and soul, the Holy Trinity of each Son of God. Then may America realize her destiny as a city set upon a hill, a star that shall never go down, and the world ruler that shall call down the light of the New Jerusalem upon the battle scarred earth, the Christ to rule for a thousand years. Go ye therefore and teach all nations.—Matt. 28-19."

FUNDAMENTAL LAWS

A Report of the 68th Convocation of the Rosa Cross Order

https://ia600308.us.archive.org/24/items/fundamentallawsr00rose/fundamentallawsr00rose.pdf

Pope meets Jimmy Fallon and 105 other comics at Vatican

By Malu Cursino, BBC News

Pope Francis has met with more than 100 comedians from across the world, including Jimmy Fallon, Chris Rock and Whoopi Goldberg, at the Vatican in Rome.

The Pope said comedians have the "power to spread serenity and smiles" in a world where people are immersed in "many social and personal emergencies".

"You unite people because laughter is contagious," he added.

The entertainers were hosted in the Vatican hours before the pontiff was expected in Puglia for the G7 summit.

During the audience with 107 comedians from 15 countries, the Pope praised their ability to make people smile.

"You can also laugh at God, of course, and that's not blasphemy," the pontiff told comedians, adding that "it can be done without offending the religious feelings of believers".

According to reports on US media, comedian Jimmy Fallon was seen larking around the front of the audience hall before proceedings got under way - he was reportedly quickly told take his seat as the pope was due to walk through the door.

Fallon was joined by other big names in the entertainment industry, including US comedian Chris Rock, Italy's Silvio Orlando, and British actor and comedian Stephen Merchant.

Comedian Whoopi Goldberg, well known for Sister Act, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, from hit-show Veep, were also in attendance.

The cultural event preceded the pope's appearance at the G7 in the southern Italian region of Puglia - the first time a leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics attends the summit of the world's seven largest advanced economies.

The 87-year-old pontiff has called for global regulation of AI, warning of its danger to ethics and human rights.

In reference to current global events, the pope told comedians that while communication today "often generates conflict," the entertainers are able to bring together diverse realities.

"How much we need to learn from you," he added.

After the audience the Pope met briefly with each comedian, exchanging a few words with each - though some interactions were somewhat one-way.

"Well it was brief, he spoke in Italian, so I'm not quite sure what was said," quipped late-night host Conan O'Brien.

"It was quick... I had a wonderful time," he added.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c722vd9274yo

The Divine Comedy (Italian: Divina Commedia [diˈviːna komˈmɛːdja]) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun c. 1308 and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature[1] and one of the greatest works of Western literature.[2] The poem's imaginative vision of the afterlife is representative of the medieval worldview as it existed in the Western Church by the 14th century. It helped establish the Tuscan language, in which it is written, as the standardized Italian language.[3] It is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.

The poem discusses "the state of the soul after death and presents an image of divine justice meted out as due punishment or reward",[4] and describes Dante's travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven.[5] Allegorically, the poem represents the soul's journey towards God,[6] beginning with the recognition and rejection of sin (Inferno), followed by the penitent Christian life (Purgatorio), which is then followed by the soul's ascent to God (Paradiso). Dante draws on medieval Catholic theology and philosophy, especially Thomistic philosophy derived from the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas.[7] Consequently, the Divine Comedy has been called "the Summa in verse".[8]

In the poem, the pilgrim Dante is accompanied by three guides:[9][4] Virgil, who represents human reason, and who guides him for all of Inferno and most of Purgatorio;[10] Beatrice, who represents divine revelation[10] in addition to theology, grace, and faith;[11] and guides him from the end of Purgatorio onwards; and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, who represents contemplative mysticism and devotion to Mary the Mother, guiding him in the final cantos of Paradiso.[12]

The work was originally simply titled Comedìa (pronounced [komeˈdiːa], Tuscan for "Comedy") – so also in the first printed edition, published in 1472 – later adjusted to the modern Italian Commedia. The adjective Divina was added by Giovanni Boccaccio,[13] owing to its subject matter and lofty style,[14] and the first edition to name the poem Divina Comedia in the title was that of the Venetian humanist Lodovico Dolce,[15] published in 1555 by Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari.

Erich Auerbach said Dante was the first writer to depict human beings as the products of a specific time, place and circumstance, as opposed to mythic archetypes or a collection of vices and virtues, concluding that this, along with the fully imagined world of the Divine Comedy, suggests that the Divine Comedy inaugurated realism and self-portraiture in modern fiction.[16]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divine_Comedy

Pope John Paul II, born Karol Józef Wojty?a (18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005), known as Blessed John Paul II since his beatification on May 1, 2011, reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of The Holy See from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at 84 years and 319 days of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted 26 years and 168 days; only Pope Pius IX (1846–1878) who served 31 years, has reigned longer. Pope John Paul II is the only Slavic or Polish pope to date, and was the first non-Italian Pope since Dutch Pope Adrian VI (1522–1523).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II

On March 27, 1980, a series of volcanic explosions and pyroclastic flows began at Mount St. Helens in Skamania County, Washington, United States. A series of phreatic blasts occurred from the summit and escalated until a major explosive eruption took place on May 18, 1980, at 8:32 am. The eruption, which had a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 5, was the most significant to occur in the contiguous United States since the much smaller 1915 eruption of Lassen Peak in California.[2] It has often been declared the most disastrous volcanic eruption in U.S. history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_eruption_of_Mount_St._Helens

On 13 May 1981, in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, Pope John Paul II was shot and wounded by Mehmet Ali Ağca while he was entering the square. The Pope was struck twice and suffered severe blood loss. Ağca was apprehended immediately and later sentenced to life in prison by an Italian court."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attempted_assassination_of_Pope_John_Paul_II

It's hard to see how the fishing industry will pick itself up again. Takeshi is moving away from the coast as is his neighbor and fellow fisherman. His wife has refused to return here since the tsunami hit. At the age of 77, he is unlikely to be able to start from scratch. But he picks up any remnants of his fishing gear he can find, just in case. What is left intact barely fills one small basket. His neighbor finds his clock. It has stopped at 3:22pm -- the exact moment his life changed and countless others ended." Misplaced trust: 30-foot tsunami wall didn't save Japanese village by Paul Hancocks

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/03/31/japan.tsunami.village/index.html

Skull and Bones, The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut."

There is a secret that binds the two men who would be the next leader of the free world. President George W Bush and Senator John Kerry both spent a portion of their youth laying bare their sex lives in Gothic rituals presided over by a human skull and the skeletal remains of various other animal species in a windowless building known as the Tomb. They also formed an unusual attachment to the number 322, which holds a special resonance for the club's members." Skeletons in the closet

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/may/20/usa.internationaleducationnews

It is perhaps worth noting, in light of George W.'s controversial episode at Bob Jones University and the specter of anti-Catholicism, that at one point in the proceedings every initiate kisses the slippered toe of the "Pope." At last the initiate is formally dubbed a Knight of Eulogia. Amid more raucous ritual he is cast from the room into the waiting arms of the patriarchs."

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2000/05/george-w-knight-of-eulogia/304686/

A major landslide occurred 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Oso, Washington, United States, on March 22, 2014 (3/22/2014), at 10:37 a.m. local time. A portion of an unstable hill collapsed, sending mud and debris to the south across the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, engulfing a rural neighborhood, and covering an area of approximately 1 square mile (2.6 km2). Forty-three people were killed and 49 homes and other structures destroyed."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Oso_mudslide

Published: 10 October 1996

Russian documents Set out 'tectonic weapon' research

Carl Levitin

Moscow. The first official details have emerged in Moscow of ambitious research into 'tectonic warfare' carried out by the former Soviet Union and subsequently by the government of Russia, and involving atte mpts to stimulate 'artificial' earthquakes as weapons of destruction. According to documents obtained by the newspaper Moscow News, two research programmes, the first known as ' Mercury ' and the second as ' Volcano', were aimed at creating new earthquake epicentres by using underground nuclear explosions . Geophysicists are aware that impending earthquakes may be triggered by underground nuclear explosions . But Western geophysicists remain sceptical about tectonic warfare and have all but abandoned research after two unsuccessful phases of activity in the 1960s and 1980s, says Roger Clark, a lecturer in geophysics at the University of Leeds. Clark is not at all surprised that th e Russians tried to create earthquakes and control their location electromagnetically, however. "This sort of science is very much part of their heritage. We don't think it is impossible, or wrong , but past experience suggests it is very, very unlikely. "

The programme , which was secretly launched by the Communist rulers of the former Soviet Union in 1987, and has been unofficially known to Western geophysicists for several years, is now believed to have been abandoned. It would certainly contravene the terms of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which Russia signe d at the United Nations in Geneva last month . The Mercury project was launched in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan, but came to a halt when the republic became independent. It was superseded by the Volcano project. Three underground nuclear tests are believed to have taken place at sites in Kyrgyzstan.

According to the documents, the Mercury project was launched by a secret decree of the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union. The objective was to "develop a methodology for remote operation on an earthquake epicentre by using weak seismic fields and research possibilities of transferring the seismic energy of an explosion ".

The documents say that the Mercury project involved 22 scientific and industrial organizations, including the Geological Institute of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences in Baku. The remit extended to developing the electronic equipment to be installed aboard space satellites that would control the tectonic weapon. The scientists were given three years to complete research, with testing planned for 1990.

During the research phase, Azerbaijani scientists grew increasingly confident and, according to the documents, were sure that " after [a] nuclear explosion, subterranean energy may accumulate at huge distances from the epicentre and reach massive capacity, after which the next directed explosion can release it all ".

Underground testing began at the town of Batken in Kyrgyzstan, and was directed by lkram Ke rimov , of the Azerbaijan Academy of Sciences. The documents say that scientists detonated an underground nuclear charge and tried to control the direction of seismic energy release d using British-built equipment known as 'system 9690 ' .

A report prepared by the Mozhaisky Military Engineering Institute concluded that the test had been a success. But progress slowed considerably following Azerbaijan's independence from the Soviet Union. At about this time , Russia embarked on a more comprehensive tectonic warfare programme known as the Volcano project. The Earth Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) became the project headquarters .

Research was scheduled to be completed in 1992, with underground testing beginning the following year. The final test was carried out at a place code-named S36NZ-0Kh; Moscow News believes the letters 'NZ' refer to Novaya Zemlya, where Soviet nuclear testing began in the 1950s."

https://www.nature.com/articles/383471a0

How Is the Rainbow a Sign of the Covenant?

Nick Batzig

3 Min Read

Several years ago, my wife and I were driving back home from a trip out of town. At some point, we missed the exit sign on the highway leading to the town in which we lived. We drove for nearly thirty minutes before realizing that we were heading to the wrong city. We had completely missed the sign. Failing to see or to understand physical signs can result in unfavorable consequences; the same is true of failing to rightly understand God’s covenantal signs. This is evident today in the way many parade their sexual rebellion against God under the banner of a rainbow.

In redemptive history, the Lord established the covenant of grace with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Christ. With each administration of the covenant of grace, God gave various divine signs. He set apart the rainbow in the sky to serve as the sign of the Noahic covenant. The Noahic covenant was God’s pledge that He would sustain the created order (Gen. 9:9–13). Because of His promise not to destroy the earth, mankind could be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth (Gen. 9:1). In this sense, the Noahic covenant was a unique administration of the covenant of grace in that it contained a principle of common grace.

However, the Noahic covenant was ultimately serving the redemptive purposes of God. God was renewing the covenant promise He made to Adam when He inaugurated the covenant of grace (Gen. 3:15). In the Noahic covenant, God was setting the stage for the unfolding of redemptive history. Christ was in the lineage of Noah (Luke 3:23–38). Noah stood as a type of Christ, the head of a new creation (Gen. 8:13–19; 9:1–7). The ark itself served as a microcosm of redemptive history. The clean animals in the ark belonged to the Old Testament sacrificial system and typified the sacrifice of Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Gen. 8:20; Ex. 12; John 1:29; 1 Peter 1:19). Clean and unclean animals together represented the Jews and gentiles, for whose salvation Christ came into the world (Acts 10:9–48; 11:18).

The rainbow is a sign of God’s redeeming grace and mercy. The Hebrew word translated “rainbow” is properly translated “war bow.”

God set the bow in the sky to serve as the sign of the Noahic covenant—signifying His promise of redemption (Gen. 9:8–17). In his vision of the heavenly throne room, the Apostle John saw a rainbow around the throne of God and the Lamb (Rev. 4:3). Jonathan Edwards explained the significance of this rainbow around the throne in John’s vision when he wrote:

The rainbow we know was appointed of God as a token of his gracious covenant with mankind. God is encompassed with a rainbow, which signifies that as he sits and reigns, and manifests himself in his church, he appears as encompassed with mercy. As of old, the throne of God in the holy of holies, where God manifested himself in the church of Israel, was called the mercy-seat, so here there is a rainbow, the sign of God’s gracious covenant, round about the throne that he sits on.1

The rainbow is a sign of God’s redeeming grace and mercy. The Hebrew word translated “rainbow” is properly translated “war bow.” By placing His bow in the sky, the Lord was symbolically aiming a weapon of judgment at Himself. As Sinclair Ferguson explains:

The word used in the book of Genesis is not rainbow, it is war bow: the bow of war, the bow of battle. It is a picture of God, after hostility has ended and He has established a new creation, flinging His bow of judgment into the skies as a reassurance to Noah. “Now that there is reconciliation, you may enjoy the peace that you have with Me. You can be sure that there will never again be this kind of judgment on the earth—until, of course, the cosmic final judgment of all at the end of time.” . . . If you think about the rainbow as God’s military bow transformed into an ornament of great beauty that hostility has ceased, and that there is no arrow in the bow, the only place the arrow could have gone was into His own heart.2

In setting the bow apart to serve as the sign of His covenantal promise, the Lord said to Noah, “When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant” (Gen. 9:16). Of course, God doesn’t need to be reminded of anything. Rather, in gracious condescension He determined to give us greater certainty of His promise. In this sense, the rainbow is the sign that the Lord will preserve the present creation until the consummation of the covenant of grace when He will fully redeem His people from every tongue, tribe, and nation and bring them into the full enjoyment of a new creation. The sign of the Noahic covenant is therefore a gospel sign of the redeeming mercy of God in Christ (Isa. 54:9–10).

https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/how-is-the-rainbow-a-sign-of-the-covenant

https://www.facebook.com/billy.dunn.50767/posts/pfbid02xftVGhp899Z9xr7QYpPdKiDDhUCJjJ5wSgRBVLT6BfKTdxmEn7eH9QhzUexTFcQel

The Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre were a Catholic religious order of canons regular of the Rule of Saint Augustine, said to have been founded in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, then the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and recognised in 1113 by a Papal bull of Pope Paschal II. Other accounts have it that they were founded earlier, during the rule of Godfrey of Bouillon (1099–1100).

After the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin, the Canons fled the Holy Land along with other Latin Christians. They first settled briefly on Cyprus, where they established Bellapais Abbey, before proceeding to settle in various countries of Europe.

The Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre was suppressed in 1489 by Pope Innocent VIII (1484–1492). On March 28, 1489, the pope, at the instigation of the Order of Malta, issued a bull[1] by which the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre was to be dissolved and transferred to the Order of Malta. However, the independence of the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre was maintained at the request of Emperor Maximilian and Duke Eberhard of Württemberg and confirmed in 1499 with a bull of Pope Alexander VI (1492–1503).[2]

Because of this, the male branch of the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre existed in Europe until the 19th century, with many branches in Spain, Germany, and Poland. Tomasz de Nowina Novinski, last General of the Order[3] and Auxiliary Bishop of Kraków (1816–1830)[4] died on 4 January 1830 in Miechów (Poland).

The Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, founded in the 14th century as a female branch of the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre,[5] still exist in convents in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Spain, and England.

History

Foundation

It is the opinion of Helyot and others that no canons of the Holy Sepulchre existed before 1114,[6] when some canons regular who had adopted the Rule of St. Augustine were brought from the West and introduced into Jerusalem by Godfrey of Bouillon. On the other hand, Suarez and others recognise the tradition of the order, which maintains that St James, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, established clerics living in common there, where also after the Crusades flourished the "Congregation of the Holy Sepulchre".[6]

Kingdom of Jerusalem

Between c.1119 and c.1125, Prior Gerard of the Holy Sepulchre, along with Warmund, Patriarch of Jerusalem, wrote a letter to Diego Gelmírez, Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, reporting crop failures and threats from their enemies. They requested food, money, and military aid in order to maintain the Kingdom of Jerusalem.[7] William of Malines, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem 1130–1145, may have preceded Gerard as prior of the order.[8]

By a papal bull dated 10 January 1143 and found in the Bullarium Lateranense, Pope Celestine II confirmed the church and the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre in all the possessions they had received from Godfrey of Bouillon, King Baldwin I, and other benefactors. Mention is also made in the bull of several churches in the Holy Land and in Italy belonging to the canons. Cardinal de Vitry, a canon regular of Oignies and cardinal patriarch of Jerusalem, relates that among other churches the canons served the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as well as those on Mounts Zion and Olivet. The patriarch was also abbot of the Holy Sepulchre, elected by the canons regular.[6]

The organisation relied on donations, such as when Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem in 1160 gave her assent to a grant made by her son Amalric to the Holy Sepulchre, perhaps on the occasion of the birth of her granddaughter Sibylla to Agnes and Amalric. In the mid-12th century, the village of Bayt 'Itab was a fief of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.[9] It was sold to them by the wife of Johannes Gothman, a Frankish crusader knight who was captured by Muslim forces in 1161 and subsequently ransomed.[10][11][12][13][14] A fortified mansion (maison forte) in the modern village is thought to have served as Gothman's residence prior to its sale to the Church.[12] The building had two stories, both vaulted. The ground floor entrance was protected by a slit-machicolation and had stairs leading to the basement and upper floor.[15] The only priory the order held outside of Jerusalem, however, was that on the Mount of the Temptation, bestowed to it by the patriarch William of Malines in 1130, probably initially in order to rein in autonomous hermits in the area.[16] When it received the tithes from nearby Jericho two years later, however, it became the source of 5,000 bezants a year in income. The priory and pilgrim visitors to the Mount and nearby River Jordan were protected by the Templar fortress of Dok at the mountain's summit.

After the Third Crusade, Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre, became chancellor of Jerusalem for Henry II of Champagne, who had married Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem after Conrad's murder, but had not taken the title of King. Henry was involved in a dispute with the Canons of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre over the election of a new Latin Patriarch, and had them arrested until Joscius intervened. Joscius was also present at the foundation of the Teutonic Knights in 1198, and probably died in 1202.

Europe

In Europe, the Canons established themselves and had monasteries in Italy, France, Spain, Poland, England, Croatia and the Low Countries.

Cyprus

Ruins of the Bellapais Abbey in Cyprus (early 20th century).

After the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin, the canons fled the Holy Land along with other Latin Christians. They first settled briefly on Cyprus, where they established Bellapais Abbey, before proceeding to Western Europe

Spain

In Spain, the village of Torralba de Ribota belonged to the mother church at Calatayud of the Canons of the Holy Sepulchre, under the protection of Pedro Manrique de Lara, Dei gratia comes, "by the grace of God count".[17] Also, possibly, the convent of Santa Anna in Barcelona, today a church, was originally a house of the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, or the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, under the guidance of the Patriarch of Jerusalem.

Poland

Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Miechów, Poland.

Witness statements of income of the monastery of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Miechów before the papal nuncio in 1349.

In Poland, they were notably active in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Miechów, which received many privileges from Casimir of Bytom, and Casimir II the Just after many Canons came to settle there after their expulsion from the Holy Land. After the ultimate fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem to the Muslims in 1291, the Superior of the convent at Miechów took the title of General of the order, later claiming the style of Grand Prior, and Miechów became the headquarters of the organisation for centuries. Here, the order initiated the custom of setting up, decorating, and visiting Christ's graves on the last days of the Passion Week. It was in Miechów that the oldest replica of the Holy Sepulchre in Europe, the goal of numerous pilgrims, has been preserved. In Poland, they also receives privileges from Przemysł II.

England

In England, they were also active. According to William Dugdale's Monasticon Anglicanum, (1655) the Canons had two houses in England, one at Holy Sepulchre Priory, Thetford and the other at Warwick.[6] Further indications propose Caldwell Priory and the Nottingham Holy Sepulchre Priory.

Croatia

King Andrew II of Hungary used the funds that he inherited from his father to recruit supporters among the Hungarian lords.[18] He also formed an alliance with Leopold VI, Duke of Austria, and they plotted against Emeric.[18] Their united troops routed the royal army at Mački, Slavonia, in December 1197.[19] Under duress, King Emeric gave Croatia and Dalmatia to Andrew as an appanage.[20] In practice, Andrew administered Croatia and Dalmatia as an independent monarch. He minted coins, granted land and confirmed privileges.[20][21][19] He cooperated with the Frankopans, Babonići, and other local lords.[20] The Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre settled in the province during his rule.[22]

Decline

In Italy, they seem to have been suppressed in 1489 by Pope Innocent VIII, he wanted to transfer all their property to the Knights of Malta. The independence of the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre was maintained at the request of Emperor Maximilian I and the Duke of Eberhard of Württemberg, and in 1499 with a bull of the Pope Alexander VI [1] confirmed. In other countries than Italy, however, they appear to have continued. In France, they are assumed to have existed until about the time of the French Revolution in 1789, and in Poland after the monastery of Neisse was dissolved in the year 1810, the main monastery in Miechów was also dissolved in the year 1819. As regards men, the male congregation of Canons Regular is now regarded as extinct.

Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre

Main article: Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre

Notwithstanding, the Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, founded in the 14th century as a female branch of the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre,[5] still exists in convents in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Spain and England.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canons_Regular_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre

Regimini militantis Ecclesiae (Latin for To the Government of the Church Militant) was the papal bull promulgated by Pope Paul III on September 27, 1540, which gave a first approval to the Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, but limited the number of its members to sixty.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regimini_militantis_Ecclesiae

The Priory of Sion is an initiatory Order of chivalry, founded on July 15 1099 in Jerusalem, by Godfrey of Bouillon, at the Abbey "Our Lady of Mount Sion" as "Order of our Lady of Mount Sion."The Order, after being registered for the first time in history, in 1956, and then being dissolved in 1993, was newly registered in 2015, perpetuating the legitimate Pierre Plantard de Saint-Clair's lineage, through the actual Grand Master, Marco Rigamonti.The Priory of Sion is characterized by a gnostic and rosicrucian influence, who sets himself the task of supporting and nurturing personal growth, moral and spiritual, with respect and in harmony with the personal objectives that each of us, by nature, has to carry through in life experience.It's also our purpose the esoteric research as the study and experience related to the transcendent and mystical in an environment of communion with our Brothers and Sisters, Members of the Order.The Priory of Sion today inherits a tradition of esoteric, philosophical, spiritual and cultural legacy, which favors the cultivation of values and principles that offers the way to live a more aware and noble personal dimension.We work through symbols, ancient rituals, theurgic practice and traditions, in order to live a personal and collective sprirituality in communion with our Brothers and Sisters.The Order is apolitical and forbids its members to be made a place of political debate, or even worse, to be exploited for such purposes."

http://www.prieure-de-sion.com/

The origins of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem date back to the First Crusade, when its leader, Godfrey de Bouillon, liberated Jerusalem. As part of his operations to organize the religious, military and public bodies of the territories newly freed from Muslim control, he founded the Order of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre. According to accounts of the Crusades, in 1103 the first King of Jerusalem, Baldwin I, assumed the leadership of this canonical order, and reserved the right for himself and his successors (as agents of the Patriarch of Jerusalem) to appoint Knights to it, should the Patriarch be absent or unable to do so.The Order’s members included not only the Regular Canons (Fratres) but also the Secular Canons (Confratres) and the Sergentes. The latter were armed knights chosen from the crusader troops for their qualities of valor and dedication; they vowed to obey Augustinian Rule of poverty and obedience and undertook specifically, under the command of the King of Jerusalem, to defend the Holy Sepulchre and the Holy Places.Very soon after the First Crusade the troops – including the Knights of the Order of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre – began to return to their homelands. This led to the creation of priories all over Europe, which were part of the Order as they came under the jurisdiction of the noble knights or prelates who had been invested on the Holy Sepulchre itself and who, although they were no longer in the direct service of the King of Jerusalem, continued to belong to the Order of Canons.The Order first began to fail as a cohesive military body of knights after Saladin regained Jerusalem in 1182, and completely ceased to exist in that format after the defeat of Acre in 1291. The passing of the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem left the Order without a leader, though it continued to survive in the European priories thanks to the protection of sovereigns, princes, bishops and the Holy See. The priories kept alive the ideals of the Crusader Knights: propagation of the Faith, defense of the weak, charity towards other human beings. With the exception of events in Spain, it was only rarely that the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre ever took part again in military action to defend Christianity.In the 14th century, the Holy See made an extremely high payment to the Egyptian Sultan so that he would grant the right to protect the Christian Sanctuaries to the Franciscan Friars Minor. Throughout the whole period of the Latin Patriarchate’s suppression, the right to create new Knights was the prerogative of the representative of the highest Catholic authority in the Holy Land: the Custos.In 1847 the Patriarchate was restored and Pope Pius IX modernized the Order, issuing a new Constitution, which placed it under the direct protection of the Holy See and conferred its government to the Latin Patriarch. The Order’s fundamental role was also defined: to uphold the works of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, whilst preserving the spiritual duty of propagating the Faith.In 1949, Pius XII decreed that the Grand Master of the Order should be a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church and assigned the position of Grand Prior to the Patriarch of Jerusalem. In 1962 Pope John XXIII and, in 1967, Pope Paul VI reorganized and revitalized the Order by adding more specific regulations to the Constitution with the intention of making the Order’s activities more co-coordinated and more effective.In February 1996, the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II enhanced the Order’s status. Today it is a Public Association of faithful with a legal canonical and public personality, constituted by the Holy See under Canon Law 312, paragraph 1:1.

https://eohsjeastern.org/a-brief-history/

Horses: the extent to which they can be possessed in our houses [575, 576]; the extent to which they can be used on missions [574, 625]"

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

The Prieuré was cited by name in references extending from the twelfth to the early seventeenth century. Then, in documents dating from 1619, it was stated to have incurred the displeasure of King Louis XIII of France, who evicted them from their seat at Orléans and turned the premises over to the Jesuits.5 After that, the Prieuré de Sion seemed to vanish from the historical record, at least under that name, until 1956, when it appeared again, registered in the French Journal officiel. And yet the present-day Order had repeatedly cited certain of its activities between 1619 and the twentieth century, certain historical events in which it had played a role, certain historical developments in which it had some sort of vested interest. When we examined the events and developments in question, we found indisputable evidence attesting to the involvement of an organised and coherent cadre working in concert behind the scenes, sometimes using other institutions as a façade. This cadre was not named specifically, but everything indicated that it was indeed the Prieuré de Sion. What was more, it proved to involve precisely the same network of interlinked families claiming Merovingian descent. Whether it was the intrigues and the Wars of Religion in the sixteenth century, the insurrection known as the Fronde in the seventeenth century or the Masonic conspiracies of the eighteenth century, successive generations of precisely the same families were implicated, operating in accordance with a single consistent pattern."

The Messianic Legacy

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UV7FwghOOhdkp4fdk2SzG7oem2nRleW0/view?usp=sharing

The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (Latin: Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, OESSH), also called the Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under the protection of the Holy See. The Pope is the sovereign of the order. The order creates canons as well as knights, with the primary mission to "support the Christian presence in the Holy Land".[1] It is an internationally recognised order of chivalry. The order today is estimated to have some 30,000 knights and dames in 60 lieutenancies around the world.[2] The Cardinal Grand Master has been Fernando Filoni since 2019, and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is ex officio the Order's Grand Prior. Its headquarters are situated at the Palazzo Della Rovere and its official church in Sant'Onofrio al Gianicolo, both in Rome, close to Vatican City.[3] In 1994, Pope John Paul II declared the Virgin Mary as the order's patron saint under the title "Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Palestine".[4]

Name

Church of the Holy Sepulchre (1885). Other than some restoration work, its appearance has essentially not changed since 1854.

The name of the knights and order varied over the centuries, including Milites Sancti Sepulcri and The Sacred and Military Order of the Holy Sepulchre. The current name was determined on 27 July 1931 as the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem (with of Jerusalem as honorary suffix) by decree of the Sacred Congregation of Ceremonies of the Holy See. The term equestrian in this context is consistent with its use for orders of knighthood of the Holy See, referring to the chivalric and knightly nature of order—by sovereign prerogative conferring knighthood on recipients—derived from the equestrians (Latin: equites), a social class in Ancient Rome.

History

See also: Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, and Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Order of the Holy Sepulchre traces its roots to circa 1099 under the Frankish knight Godfrey of Bouillon (1060–1100), "advocate of the Holy Sepulchre" (Latin: Advocatus Sancti Sepulchri), leader of the First Crusade and first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Fresco by Giacomo Jaquerio in Saluzzo, northern Italy (circa 1420).

The history of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem runs common and parallel to that of the religious Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, the order continuing after the Canons Regular ceased to exist at the end of the 15th century (except for their female counterpart, the Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre).

Background

Pilgrimages to the Holy Land were a common, if hazardous, practice from shortly after the crucifixion of Jesus[5] to throughout the Middle Ages. Numerous detailed commentaries have survived as evidence of this early Christian devotion.[5] While there were many places the pious visited during their travels, the one most cherished was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, first constructed by Constantine the Great in the 4th century AD.[6]

During the era of the Islamic expansion, Emperor Charlemagne (c. 742–814) sent two embassies to the caliph of Baghdad, asking Frankish protectorate over the Holy Land. An epic chanson de geste recounts his legendary adventures in the Mediterranean and pilgrimage to Jerusalem.[7]

By virtue of its defining characteristic of subinfeudation, in feudalism it was common practice for knights commanders to confer knighthoods upon their finest soldiers, who in turn had the right to confer knighthood on others upon attaining command.[8] Tradition maintains, that long before the Crusades, a form of knighthood was bestowed upon worthy men at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In any case, during the 11th century, prior to the Crusades, the "Milites Sancti Petri" were established to protect Christians and Christian premises in the Occident.[9][10]

Persecution of Christians in the Holy Land intensified and relations with Christian rulers were further strained when Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah ordered the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 1009.[11]

Crusades

Detail of a miniature of King Philip II of France arriving in the Holy Land.

Main article: Crusades

The crusades coincided with a renewed concern in Europe for the holy places, with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as one of the most important places. According to an undocumented tradition, Girolamo Gabrielli of the Italian Gabrielli family, who was the leader of 1000 knights from Gubbio, Umbria, during the First Crusade, was the first crusader to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre after Jerusalem was seized in 1099.[12]

Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099–1291)

See also: Kingdom of Jerusalem

The Vida (text in red) of the medieval troubadours Tomier and Palaizi, who exclusively advocated defence of the Holy Sepulchre, consequently—in contrast to Lanfranc Cigala—criticising the Albigensian Crusades as distractions, even to the point of resulting in marks of heresy.

After the capture of Jerusalem at the end of the First Crusade in 1099, the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre were established to take care of the church. The men in charge of securing its defence and its community of canons were called Milites Sancti Sepulcri.[13] Together, the canons and the milites formed part of the structure of which evolved into the modern Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Baldwin I, the first king of Jerusalem, laid the foundations of the kingdom and established its main institutions on the French pattern as a centralised feudal state. He also drew up the first constitution of the order in 1103, modelled on the chapter of canons that he founded in Antwerp prior to his departure, under which the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem (who had supplanted the Greek Orthodox patriarch) appointed knights in Jerusalem at the direct service of the crown, similar to the organisation of third orders. Adopting the rule of Saint Augustine, with recognition in 1113 by Papal Bull of Pope Paschal II, with the Milites Sancti Sepulcri attached, it is considered among the oldest of the chivalric orders.[14][1][15] Indications suggest that Hugues de Payens (c. 1070–1136) was among the Milites Sancti Sepulcri during his second time in Jerusalem in 1114–16, before being appointed "Magister Militum Templi", establishing the Knights Templar.[16]

Between c. 1119–c. 1125, Gerard (Latin: Girardus), the Prior of the Holy Sepulchre, along with Patriarch Warmund of Jerusalem, wrote a significant letter to Diego Gelmírez, Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela citing crop failures and being threatened by their enemies; they requested food, money, and military aid in order to maintain the Kingdom of Jerusalem.[17] Gerard consequently participated among others in the Council of Nablus, 16 January 1120. In it, Canons 20–21 deal with clerics. Canon 20 says a cleric should not be held guilty if he takes up arms in self-defense, but he cannot take up arms for any other reason nor can he act like a knight. This was an important concern for the crusader states; clerics were generally forbidden from participating in warfare in European law, but the crusaders needed all the manpower they could find and, only one year before, Antioch had been defended by the Latin patriarch of Antioch following the Battle of Ager Sanguinis, one of the calamities referred to in the introduction to the canons. Canon 21 says that a monk or canon regular who apostatizes should either return to his order or go into exile.

In 1121, Pope Callixtus II issued a bull formally erecting the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre with specific responsibilities to defend the Church Universal, protect the City of Jerusalem, guard the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre and pilgrims, and fight in the defence of Christianity.[18]

In total, as a result of these military needs, five major chivalric communities were established in the Kingdom of Jerusalem between the late 11th century and the early 12th century: the Knights Hospitaller (Order of Saint John) (circa 1099), the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre (circa 1099), the Knights Templar (circa 1118), the Knights of Saint Lazarus (1123), and the Knights of the Hospital of Saint Mary of Jerusalem (Teutonic Knights) (1190).[19][20][21]

Today,

the Order of Knights Templar no longer exists (other than its successor in Portugal – the Order of Christ),

the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus is recognised as the successor to the medieval Order of Saint Lazarus,

the successor to the Teutonic Order is a purely religious order of the Catholic Church,

but both the Order of Malta and the Order of the Holy Sepulchre continue as chivalric orders recognised by the Holy See.

The Pactum Warmundi, establishing in 1123 an alliance of the Kingdom of Jerusalem with the Republic of Venice, was later signed by Patriarch Warmund and Prior Gerard of the Holy Sepulchre, along with Archbishop Ehremar of Caesarea, Bishop Bernard of Nazareth, Bishop Aschetinus of Bethlehem, Bishop Roger of Bishop of Lydda, Guildin the Abbot of St. Mary of Josaphat, Prior Aicard of the Templum Domini, Prior Arnold of Mount Zion, William Buris, and Chancellor Pagan. Aside from William and Pagan, no secular authorities witnessed the treaty, perhaps indicating that the allied Venetians considered Jerusalem a papal fief.

Meanwhile, beyond the Holy Land, in Spain, during the Reconquista, military orders built their own monasteries which also served as fortresses of defence, though otherwise the houses followed monastic premises. A typical example of this type of monastery is the Calatrava la Nueva, headquarters of the Order of Calatrava, founded by the Abbot of Fitero, Raymond, at the behest of King Sancho III of Castile, to protect the area restored to the Islamic rulers. Other orders such as the Order of Santiago, Knight Templars and the Holy Sepulchre devoted much of their efforts to protect and care for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago. Furthermore, at the Siege of Bayonne in October 1131, three years before his death, King Alfonso I of Aragon, having no children, bequeathed his kingdom to three autonomous religious orders based in the Holy Land and politically largely independent – the Knights Templars, the Knights Hospitallers and the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre – whose influences might have been expected to cancel one another out. The will has greatly puzzled historians, who have read it as a bizarre gesture of extreme piety uncharacteristic of Alfonso that effectively undid his life's work. Elena Lourie (1975) suggested instead that it was Alfonso's attempt to neutralize the papacy's interest in a disputed succession – Aragon had been a fief of the Papacy since 1068 – and to fend off his stepson, Alfonso VII of Castile, for the Papacy would be bound to press the terms of such a pious testament.[22]

In 15 July 1149 in the Holy Land, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem was consecrated after reconstruction.

The Aedicule inside the church, said to enclose the tomb of Jesus Christ.

Crusade vows meant that even if a person wasn't able to make the journey to Holy Sepulchre himself, sometimes his cloak was taken there, as was the case with King Henry the Young of England (1155–1183). Robert the Bruce and James Douglas, Lord of Douglas even asked to have their hearts taken to the Holy Sepulchre after death.

I will that as soone as I am trespassed out of this worlde that ye take my harte owte of my body, and embawme it, and take of my treasoure as ye shall thynke sufficient for that enterprise, both for your selfe and suche company as ye wyll take with you, and present my hart to the holy Sepulchre where as our Lorde laye, seyng my body can nat come there.

— Robert the Bruce[23]

Besides pilgrimages and the creation of knights, even coronations took place at the Holy Sepulchre. Shortly before his death in 1185, Baldwin IV ordered a formal crown-wearing by his nephew, Baldwin V, at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

The official arrival of the Franciscan Friars Minor in Syria dates from the papal bull addressed by Pope Gregory IX to the clergy of the Holy Land in 1230, charging them to welcome the Friars Minor, and to allow them to preach to the faithful and hold oratories and cemeteries of their own. In the ten years' truce of 1229 concluded between King Frederick of Sicily and the Sultan Al-Kamil, the Franciscans were permitted to enter Jerusalem, but they were also the first victims of the violent invasion of the Khwarezmians in 1244.

Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land (1291–1489)

See also: Custody of the Holy Land

Contemporary Franciscan friars during the procession on the Calvary in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (2006).

The ultimate fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem to the Muslims in 1291 did not suspend pilgrimages to the tomb of Christ or the custom of receiving knighthood there, and when the Custody of the Holy Land was entrusted to the Franciscan Order they continued this pious custom and gave the order its first grand master after the death of the last king of Jerusalem.[24]

The friars quickly resumed possession of their convent of Mount Zion at Jerusalem. The Turks tolerated the veneration paid to the tomb of Christ and derived revenue from the taxes levied upon pilgrims. In 1342, in his bull Gratiam agimus, Pope Clement VI officially committed the care of the Holy Land to the Franciscans;[25] only the restoration of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem by Pius IX in 1847 superseded the Franciscans.[26]

With the emergence of the code of conduct of chivalry during the Middle Ages, conferring of knighthoods was pursued also at the Holy Sepulchre. From the period 1291 to 1847, the Franciscan Custodian of Mount Sion was the only authority representing the Holy See in the Holy Land.[27]

Documented from 1335, the Franciscan Custody enrolled applicants as Knights of the Holy Sepulchre in ceremonies frequently mentioned in the itineraries of pilgrims. Those pilgrims deemed worthy received the honour in a solemn ceremony of ancient chivalry. However, in the ceremonial of reception at the time, the role of the clergy was limited to the benedictio militis, the dubbing with the sword being reserved to a professional knight, since the carrying of the sword was incompatible with the sacerdotal character, and reserved to previous knights.

Post misam feci duos milites nobiles supra selpulchram gladios accingendo et alia observando, quae in professione militaris ordinis fieri consueverunt.

After Mass, I made two [of my companions] noble knights of the Sepulchre by girding them with swords and by observing those other things, which in the profession of the knightly order have been accustomed to be done.[28]

—Wilhelm von Boldensele (c. 1285–1338) 

Eberhard I, Duke of Württemberg (1492). The Duke chose a palm as his personal symbol in commemoration of his pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1468 when he became a knight of the Holy Sepulchre.

In 1346, King Valdemar IV of Denmark went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and was made a knight of the Holy Sepulchre. This increased the prestige of Valdemar, who had difficulty in effectively ruling over his kingdom.[29] Saint Bridget of Sweden, one of the future patron saints of Europe, made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1371–1373 along with her sons. The oldest, Karl, died prior in Naples, but Birger Ulfsson became a knight of the Holy Sepulchre, followed by Hugo von Montfort (1395) and more to come.

Duke Albert IV of Austria was made a knight in 1400, followed by his brother Ernest (1414) and by the Kalmar ruler Eric of Pomerania (1420's) and later by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III (1436), accompanied by Georg von Ehingen and numerous other knighted nobles; later were Count Otto II of Mosbach-Neumarkt (1460), Landgrave William III of Thuringia (1461) and Heinrich Reuß von Plauen (1461) who was also grand master of the Teutonic Order.[30]

Interior of the 15th-century Jeruzalemkerk (Bruges), 2011

The significance of the pilgrimages is indicated by various commemorations of the knights. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre of Görlitz in Saxony was built by Georg Emmerich, who was knighted in 1465. Of the medieval Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, notably, Emmerich, although a mayor and a wealthy merchant, was neither a monarch nor a nobleman. Eberhard I of Württemberg, knighted together with Christoph I of Baden in 1468, chose a palm as his personal symbol, including in the crest (heraldry) of his coat of arms. Others built church buildings in their hometowns, such as the chapel in Pratteln, Switzerland, by Hans Bernhard von Eptingen (knighted 1460),[31] and Jeruzalemkerk in Bruges, Belgium, built by Anselm Adornes (knighted 1470). The latter still stands to this day, modelled on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and today adorned with the heraldry of the order.

Some property of the Knights in Italy was transferred to the newly established Order of Our Lady of Bethlehem in 1459, but the merger proved a failure.[32] The Order of Our Lady of Bethlehem was suppressed almost as soon as it was founded and those orders whose goods the pope had transmitted to it were re-established.[33][34]

The accolades continued: Counts Enno I and Edzard I of East Frisia (1489), followed by Elector Frederick III of Saxony (1493) who was also recipient of the papal honour of the Golden Rose, together with Christoph the Strong of Bavaria,[35] then Frederick II of Legnica (1507),[36] and others.

Franciscan Grand Magistry

From 1480 to 1495, John of Prussia, a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre, acted as Steward for the Convent and regularly discharged the act of accolade. It was a frequent occurrence that a foreign Knight present among the crowds of pilgrims would assist at this ceremony. However, without other assistance, it was the Superior who had to act instead of a Knight, although such a course was deemed irregular. Around this time, the Superior of the Convent assumed the title of Grand Master of the Knights, a title acknowledged by various pontifical diplomas.

When the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre were suppressed in 1489, Pope Innocent VIII attempted to merge the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre into the Knights Hospitaller, but this was not successful. The Franciscan province of the Holy Land continued to exist, with Acre as its seat. In the territory of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, reinstituted in 1847, the Franciscans still have 24 convents, and 15 parishes.[37]

Papal Grand Magistry (1496–1847)

Pope Alexander VI restored the Order of Holy Sepulchre to independent status in 1496, and reserved its title of Grand Master for himself and his successors.

In 1496, Pope Alexander VI restored the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre to independent status, organised as an Order. He decreed that the Knights would no longer be governed by the Custody of the Holy Land, but that the senior post of the Order would henceforth be raised to the rank of Grand Master, reserving this title for himself and his successors.[38]

The prerogative of dubbing Knights of the Holy Sepulchre was repeatedly confirmed by the Holy See; by Pope Leo X on 4 May 1515, by Pope Clement VII in 1527 and by Pope Pius IV on 1 August 1561.

The privileges of the order, recorded by its guardian in 1553 and approved by successive popes, included powers to:[27]

Legitimise bastards

Change a name given in baptism

Pardon prisoners they might meet on the way to the scaffold

Possess goods belonging to the Church even though they were laymen

Be exempt from taxes

Cut a man down from the gallows and to order him to be given a Christian burial

Wear brocaded silk garments

Enter a church on horseback

Fight against the infidel

Pope Leo X with his Cardinal-cousin Giulio de' Medici (left), future Pope Clement VII, in painting by Raphael (1519). Both endorsed the dubbing of knights.

In France, King Henry IV of France purchased its French possessions and incorporated them into his newly established Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, formally established by Pope Paul V through the bull Romanus Pontificus on 16 February 1608 and expanded through Militantium ordinum dated 26 February 1608, along with possessions of other orders which apparently were all deemed extinct and abolished, indicating reduced regional activity.[39]

Nonetheless, the dubbing and the privileges enjoyed continued confirmation, by Pope Alexander VII on 3 August 1665, by Pope Benedict XIII on 3 March 1727,[40] and by Pope Benedict XIV (1675–1758) who approved all but the last of the privileges of the order, and also stated that it should enjoy precedence over all orders except the Order of the Golden Fleece and the Pontifical Orders.

Knights of the Holy Sepulchre dubbed during this era include Hieronymus von Dorne (circa 1634) and François-René de Chateaubriand (1806).

Restoration of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (1847)

Main article: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Pius IX re-established the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem in 1847, and re-organized the Order of the Holy Sepulchre as the Milites Sancti Sepulcri, whereby the grand master of the order was to be the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and the order ceased to be a pontifical order for a period. Initially, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta opposed the decision and claimed rights to its legacy, probably based on the papal decision of 1489. However, in 1868 it was named Equestris Ordo Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani (Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem).

Pope Pius X assumed the title of grand master for the papacy again in 1907, but in 1928 this was again relinquished by Pope Pius XI in favour of the patriarch of Jerusalem, and for a time the order again ceased to be a papal order.

In 1932, Pius XI approved a new constitution and permitted investiture in the places of origin and not only in Jerusalem.[41]

Protection of the Holy See (from 1945)

Main article: Holy See

In 1945, Pope Pius XII placed the order again under the sovereignty, patronage and protection of the Holy See, and in 1949 he approved a new constitution for the order, which included that the grand master be a cardinal of the Roman Curia, and that the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem be the Grand Prior of the order. In 1962 the Constitution of the Order was again reformed and the order was recognized as a juridical person in canon law.

The current Constitution of the Order was approved by Pope Paul VI in 1977, and it maintains those arrangements. The order's status was further enhanced by Pope John Paul II in 1996, when, in addition to its canonical legal personality, it was given civil legal personality in Vatican City State, where it is headquartered. An amendment to the Constitution of the Order was approved by Pope John Paul II simultaneously with the concession of Vatican legal personality for the order.[1]

Organisation

Cardinal Edwin Frederick O'Brien, Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre 2011–2019, during a pilgrimage in Rome (2013).

The order today remains an order of chivalry and is an association of the faithful with a legal canonical and public personality, constituted by the Holy See under Canon Law 312, paragraph 1:1,[1] represented by 60 lieutenancies in more than 40 countries around the world: 24 in Europe, 15 in the United States and Canada, 5 in Latin America and 6 in Australia and Asia.[2] It is recognised internationally as a legitimate order of knighthood, headquartered in Vatican City State under papal sovereignty and having the protection of the Holy See.

Purpose and activities

Its principal mission is to reinforce the practice of Christian life by its members in absolute fidelity to the pope; to sustain and assist the religious, spiritual, charitable and social works and rights of the Catholic Church and the Christians in the Holy Land, particularly of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem which receives some 10 million dollars annually in donations from members of the order.[42] Other activities around the world are connected to their original functions.

Regional activities include participation in local processions and religious ceremonies, such as during Holy Week.

In France, the French Revolution resulted in a ban on conserving relics and all other sacred symbols linked to the monarchy, though pieces judged to be of high artistic quality were exempt. These relics were handed over to the archbishop of Paris in 1804 and are still held in the cathedral treasury of Notre Dame de Paris, cared for by the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre and the cathedral chapter. On the first Friday of every month at 3:00 pm, guarded by the Knights, the Relics of Sainte-Chapelle are exposed for veneration and adoration by the faithful before the cathedral's high altar.[43] Every Good Friday, this adoration lasts all day, punctuated by the liturgical offices. An exhibition entitled Le trésor de la Sainte-Chapelle was mounted at the Louvre in 2001.

Grand Masters and Grand Magisterium

Main article: Grand Masters and Lieutenancies of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre

The Palazzo Della Rovere, the order's international headquarters where its Grand Magisterium is situated.

In 1496, Pope Alexander VI vested the office of Grand Master in the papacy where it remained until 1949.[3] Since 1949, cardinals have held the office. The incumbent Cardinal Grand Master has been Fernando Filoni since 2019.

The Grand Magisterium also includes:

Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Onofrio al Gianicolo, Grand Prior of the Order[44]

Tommaso Caputo, Prelate of the Territorial Prelature of Pompei, Assessor of the Order[44]

Count Leonardo Visconti di Modrone, Governor General[44]

P. Thomas Pogge, Vice-Governor General for North America[44]

Jean-Pierre Glutz-Ruchti, Vice-Governor General for Europe[44]

John Secker, Vice-Governor General for Asia and the Pacific region[44]

Enric Mas, Vice-Governor General for Latin America[44]

Alfredo Bastianelli, Chancellor of the Order

Adriano Paccanelli, Master of Ceremonies of the Order[45]

Severio Petrillo, Treasurer of the Order[45]

Antonio Franco, Assessor of Honour[45]

Giuseppe Lazzarotto, Assessor of Honour[45]

The offices of the Grand Magisterium are in the headquarters in Rome.[46]

Headquarters

Its headquarters are situated at the Palazzo Della Rovere in Rome, the 15th-century palace of Pope Julius II, immediately adjacent to the Vatican on the Via della Conciliazione. It was given to the order by Pope Pius XII.[3] Its official church is the Sant'Onofrio al Gianicolo in Rome, also given to the order by Pius XII.[3] In 1307, after the suppression of the Knights Templars, the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, whose main priory was at San Luca, acquired the complex of San Manno. Francesco della Rovere, the future Pope Sixtus IV, was Arch-Prior there 1460–1471.[47]

Insignia

Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Heraldry

See also: Grand Magistry and Lieutenancies of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre

By ancient tradition, the order uses the arms attributed to the Kingdom of Jerusalem – a gold Jerusalem Cross on a silver/white background – but enamelled with red, the colour of blood, to signify the five wounds of Christ.[48] Prior use of the symbol is in the 1573 Constitution of the Order. Conrad Grünenberg already shows a red Jerusalem cross (with the central cross as cross crosslet rather than cross potent) as the emblem of the order in his 1486 travelogue.

Above the shield of the armorial bearings is a sovereign's gold helmet upon which are a crown of thorns and a terrestrial globe surmounted by a cross, flanked by two white standards bearing a red Jerusalem cross. The supporters are two angels wearing dalmatic tunics of red, the one on the dexter bearing a crusader flag, and the one on the sinister bearing a pilgrim's staff and shell: representing the military/crusading and pilgrim natures of the order.

The motto is Deus lo Vult ("God Wills It"). The seal of the order is in the shape of an almond and portrays, within a frame of a crown of thorns, a representation of Christ rising from the Sepulchre.

The Order of the Holy Sepulchre and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta are the only two institutions whose insignia may be displayed in a clerical coat of arms.[49]

Heraldic representation in coat of arms of members of the order

Cardinal Grand Master

Arms are quartered with those of the Order 

Patriarch Grand Prior and Assessor

bear a chief of the Order 

Knights or Dames of the Collar, Lieutenants, Grand Magisterium, and Grand Priors

Arms are impaled by those of the Order 

Noble (with title) Lay members

Arms are placed on the cross of the Order (not transmissible)

Vestments

Members and regalia during a ceremony of investiture in Fulda, Germany, in 2009.

The order has a predominantly white-coloured levée dress court uniform, and a more modern, military-style uniform, both of which are now only occasionally used in some jurisdictions. Pope Pius X ordained that the usual modern choir (i.e. church) dress of knights be the order's cape or mantle: a "white cloak with the cross of Jerusalem in red", as worn by the original knights.[50] Female members wear a black cape with a red Jerusalem cross bordered with gold.

The choir vestments of Canons of the Holy Sepulchre include a black cassock with magenta piping, magenta fascia, and a white mozetta with the red Jerusalem cross.

Membership

The order today is estimated to have some 30,000 knights and dames in 60 Lieutenancies around the world, including monarchs, crown princes and their consorts, and heads of state from countries such as Spain, Belgium, Monaco, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.[2][42]

Membership of the order is by invitation only, to practicing Catholic men and women – laity and clergy – of good character, minimum 25 years of age,[42] who have distinguished themselves by concern for the Christians of the Holy Land. Aspirant members must be recommended by their local bishop with the support of several members of the order, and are required to make a generous donation as a "passage fee", echoing the ancient practice of crusaders paying their passage to the Holy Land, as well as an annual financial offering for works undertaken in the Holy Land, particularly in the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, throughout their life. There is a provision for the grand master to admit members by motu proprio in exceptional circumstances and also for the officers of the Grand Magistery to occasionally recommend candidates to the grand master.[51]

The honour of knighthood and any subsequent promotions are conferred by the Holy See – through diploma sealed and signed by the assessor for general affairs of the Secretariat of State in Rome as well as the cardinal grand master – which approves each person, in the name of and by the authority of the pope. The candidate is then knighted or promoted in a solemn ceremony with a cardinal or major prelate presiding.[52]

Knights and dames of the order may not join, or attend the events of, any other order that is not recognised by the Holy See or by a sovereign state, and must renounce any membership in such organisations before being appointed a knight or dame of the Holy Sepulchre. Knights and dames may be expelled from the order in circumstances where they breach its code of conduct.[52]

Ranks

There are several grades of knighthood. These are open to both men and women. While laity may be promoted to any rank, the ranks of the clergy are as follows: cardinals are knights grand cross, bishops are commanders with star, and priests and transitional deacons start with the rank of knight but may be promoted to commander. Permanent deacons are treated the same as the lay knights. Female members may wear chest ribbons rather than neck crosses, and the military trophies in insignia and heraldic additaments are replaced by bows.

Rank insignia (knights)

Heraldry (Knights)

In the above depictions, the cross behind the shield should only be borne by archbishops, bishops, prelates and those with a title of nobility.

Ribbons by rank

Knight / Dame 

Knight / Dame Commander 

Knight / Dame Commander with Star 

Knight / Dame Grand Cross 

Knight / Dame of the Collar

Below are shown the official titles of the ranks in English[53] (Italian, French, German, Spanish):[54]

Knight / Dame of the Collar

(Cavaliere/Dama di Collare, Chevalier/Dame de Collier, Kollar-Ritter/-Dame, Caballero/Dama de Collar)

Knight / Dame Grand Cross (KGCHS / DGCHS)[55]

(Cavaliere/Dama di Gran Croce, Chevalier/Dame de Grand Croix, Großkreuz-Ritter/-Dame, Caballero/Dama de Gran Cruz)

Knight Commander with Star / Dame Commander with Star (KC*HS / DC*HS)

(Grand'Ufficiale, Grand Officier, Großoffizier, Commendator Grand Oficiale)

(Dama di Commenda con placca, Dame de Commande avec plaque, Komtur-Dame mit Stern, Dama de Encomenienda con Placa)

Knight / Dame Commander (KCHS / DCHS)

(Commendatore, Commandeur, Komtur, Comendator)

(Dama di Commenda, Dame de Commande, Komtur-Dame, Dama di Ecomendienda)

Knight / Dame (KHS / DHS)

(Cavaliere/Dama, Chevalier/Dame, Ordensritter/Dame, Caballero/Dama)

In English, a female member of this order is sometimes called "lady" in reaction to the US slang use of the term "dame" to refer to any woman. However, in accordance with standard chivalric practice in English, female members are called "dame" (from the Latin title Domina, Italian Dama, etc.) and this is the usual practice in most lieutenancies.[a]

Canons

See also: Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre

In accordance with the origins of the order, and considered more consistent with ordained ministry than the military title of knight, invested clergy are ipso facto Titular Canons of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, though Grand Master John Patrick Foley argued that this would be better applied to clergy with the rank of commander.[56] Additionally, deacons, priests and bishops may also be given the distinguished honorary title of canon of the Holy Sepulchre personally by the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem.[57] Both titular canons of the Holy Sepulchre (EOHSJ) and Honorary Canons of the Holy Sepulchre of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem are entitled to identical insignia, i.e. white mozetta with red Jerusalem cross and choir dress including the black cassock with magenta piping and magenta fascia.[58]

Saints and beatified members

The remains of Blessed Bartolo Longo (1841–1926), inside the Shrine of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei in Italy.

Saint Contardo of Este (1216 - 16 April 1249)

Pope St Pius X (2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914)

Blessed Giuseppe Benedetto Dusmet (15 August 1818 – 4 April 1894)

Blessed Andrea Carlo Ferrari (13 August 1850 – 2 February 1921)

Blessed Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster (18 January 1880 – 30 August 1954)

Blessed Bartolo Longo[59] (10 February 1841 – 5 October 1926)

Blessed Aloysius Viktor Stepinac (8 May 1898 – 10 February 1960)

Awards and distinctions

Reserved to members, the Palm of Jerusalem is the decoration of distinction, in three classes. Additionally, knights and dames who made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land receive the Pilgrim Shell, a reference to the shells used as a cup by the pilgrims in the Middle Ages.[60] Both of these distinctions were created in 1949.[61][b] They are generally awarded by the grand prior of the order, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem.[61]

Awards of Special Distinction

Pilgrim Shell 

Palm of Jerusalem of Bronze 

Palm of Jerusalem of Silver 

Palm of Jerusalem of Gold

Since 1949, the Cross of Merit of the Order may also be conferred on meritorious non-members of the order, for example non-Catholics.[62] The original five classes were reduced to three in 1977.[62] Obtaining the Cross of Merit does not imply membership of the Order.[62]

Decorations of Merit

Cross of Merit 

Cross of Merit with Silver Star 

Cross of Merit with Gold Star

Although it shares the same symbol, the Jerusalem Pilgrim's Cross is not a decoration of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. Pope Leo XIII created the award in 1901 but the Franciscan custodian of the Holy Land presents it to certain pilgrims in the name of the pope.[63]

Gallery

Entrance of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Entrance of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

 

Flag of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre over the Palazzo della Rovere.

Flag of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre over the Palazzo della Rovere.

 

The convent of Sant'Onofrio al Gianicolo contains the official church of the order.

The convent of Sant'Onofrio al Gianicolo contains the official church of the order.

 

The Arab-Norman Chiesa di San Cataldo, local church to the order in Palermo, Sicily, since 1937.

The Arab-Norman Chiesa di San Cataldo, local church to the order in Palermo, Sicily, since 1937.

 

Notre Dame de Paris in France, where the Relics of Sainte-Chapelle are exposed by the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre.

Notre Dame de Paris in France, where the Relics of Sainte-Chapelle are exposed by the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre.

 

Investiture in Dresden, Germany, in 2010.

Investiture in Dresden, Germany, in 2010.

 

Inside Dresden Cathedral, 9 October 2010.

Inside Dresden Cathedral, 9 October 2010.

 

Procession in honour of Saint Liborius of Le Mans with Knights of the Holy Sepulchre together with Teutonic Knights in Paderborn, Germany.

Procession in honour of Saint Liborius of Le Mans with Knights of the Holy Sepulchre together with Teutonic Knights in Paderborn, Germany.

See also

icon Catholicism portal

icon Christianity portal

Catholic Church in the Middle East

Latin Church in the Middle East

Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Catholic Church in Israel

Catholic Church in Palestine

Catholic Church in Jordan

Catholic Church in Cyprus

Notes

 "Dame" is the usual English title of a female member of an order of chivalry; a "lady" in terms of orders of chivalry is usually the wife of a member although there are exceptions: for example female members of the British Order of the Garter may be called either "Lady (Royal and/or Supernumerary) Companion" (but not simply "Lady") or "Knight (Royal and/or Supernumerary) Companion". There is no provision in the constitution to use other titles in English, such as "sir", for knights although this is occasionally used. In some English-speaking lieutenancies, and consistent with the constitution and diplomatic practice of using French, a knight is addressed as chevalier, abbreviated Chev. The Diploma of Investiture of the Order, written in Latin, uses the term "Equitem" and the corresponding certificate for the Pilgrim Shell uses the Latin title "Dominum".

 Bander van Duren wrongly states that they were introduced in 1977: Bander van Duren (1987). The Cross on the Sword. Gerrards Cross: Colin Smythe Limited. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-905715-32-2.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Holy_Sepulchre

Templars & Rose Croix, Translatée! by Piers A Vaughan © 2005 

INTRODUCTION 

“You hâve no spouse nor fiancée?...” 

“Y ou are not engaged in another Order, 

and hâve not pronounced other Vows?. . .” 

“You hâve no debt which, either yourself 

or by your friends, cannot be paid. . .?” 

“Are you healthy in body?...” 

“You hâve never given a promise of money 

to anyone concerning your admission to the Order?...? 

“You are the son of a Knight or Lady, 

and your parents were of a line of knights?...” 

“You are neither priest, nor deacon, nor subdeacon?...” 

“You are not excommunicated?...” 

(Preliminary questions. - Ritual 

of entrance into the Order of the Temple). 

“So rise, good Sirs, and pray to 

God and the holy Lady Mary. . . .” 

{Ibidem). 

* 

* * 

The survival of the Order of the Temple has haunted our thoughts for a good three 

and a half centuries. Almost eight years of research and cross-checking between the two 

principle lineages hâve allowed us to make a choice. 

We now présent, in these few pages, an attempt to justify this choice to a public 

fascinated by this perpétuation of the prestigious and passionate Militia. 

If it is possible to go back through the family généalogies of European nobility up 

to the 15 th Century relatively easily, it becomes harder to investigate the 15 th and 14 th 

Centuries. And to reach the 13 th and 12 th Centuries one needs to make use of earlier 

works, written under the old régime, and preserved by old nobles. And what can we say 

about the almost insurmountable difficulties facing historical analysis, when it is aimed at 

an Order such as the Militia of the Temple of Solomon, where we know that everything 

was seized and destroyed at the time of the suits against them? Also, if there had been a 

perpétuation of the Order, it was of necessity secret! So it is hardly surprising that, even 

if people existed in Europe after the 16 th Century who claimed the Temple, and even if we 

could draw attention to the rôle of Occultism in this affair at that time, we would be 

unable to affirm that, after the arrest of the major part of the Order, we could find Knights 

who quickly constituted a secret society, with the sole aim of perpetuating both the Order 

and its Mysterious Aims. 

But nevertheless, despite this certainty with which we décliné to argue through 

historié honesty, the reader will see it laid out for him, as it was for us, across the flimsy 

2 

Templars & Rose Croix, Translatée! by Piers A Vaughan © 2005 

veil of poorly known facts, uncertainties, and above ail uninterrupted unions across the 

centuries. 

It is a little as though it slowly and silently becomes clear - like him who asks the 

fatidic question - to the reader of what one might initially call coincidences. 

It is a little as though behind us, by a sort of telepathy, we divine the invisible yet 

active presence of those who took the beautiful name of “ Poor Soldiers of Christ ” 

working across the centuries upon their perpétuai mission. 

“The silk of the silver and sable of the Beaucéant is still a target in the battle of 

historians...” V. E. Michelet tells us in his “Secret of Knighthood”. 

May we be permitted in our turn to enter into the joust and defend the colors of 

our choice... 

3 

Templars & Rose Croix, Translatée! by Piers A Vaughan © 2005 

STRICT TEMPLAR OBSERVANCE 

The seeker who leans towards a possible perpétuation of the Order of the Temple, 

from the outset, finds three possible modes of transmission: 

a) a lineage coming from the Templar Strict Observance, a high aristocratie 

Masonry of Gennan origin; 

b) the movement named Fabré-Palaprat, which manifested itself under the First 

Empire and which (if it was not purely and sirnply of a political and therefore of a 

fantastical origin), no doubt proceeding from him as well; 

c) More numerically restrained lineages which Probst-Biraben analyzed in hiss work 

on the Temple 1 . 

In this study (as a resuit of seven years of research, examination and cross-examination), 

we support that of the Templar Strict Observance, issuing in an incontrovertible manner 

from the Teutonic Order, and here is how. 

* 

* * 

Founded in Riga in 1204 by Albert d’Apeldern, Bishop of Livonia, at the request 

of two brothers, Engilbert and Thierry of Tiffeneh, nobles of Bremen, to combat the 

pagans opposed to the Gospel, and approved in 1203 by Pope Honorius on the counsels 

of Dominic Guzman, the future St. Dominic, the Order which flrstly interests us bore the 

name of The Order of Knights Arms-Bearers . It was also called Order of Knights of 

Livonia, Order of Brothers of the Sword, Order of Knights of Two Swords, because its 

members wore a long white alb over the surcoat, a robe on which was embroidered two 

red swords, placed in a St Andrew’s cross, in the center of the chest. 

Modeled on that of the Temple, the historians studying the Arms-Bearers tell us, 

and founded on the counsels of St. Dominic following a journey to Central Europe, by the 

Knights from the Temple, from its inception it bore the name of The Order of Brothers of 

the Militia of Christ', a name close to that of the Templars in their earliest days ( Militia of 

Christ and of the Temple of Solomon). 

The Order of Arms-Bearers conquered Estonia and part of Livonia (from which it 

took its secondary name: Knights of Livonia), and in 1237 merged into the Order of 

Teutonic Knights. Here is the direct, historical contact between the Temple and the 

Teutonics. 

So the Arms-Bearers survived, under the name of Knights of the Cross, in the 

dependence of the Teutonics until 1526, the year when Walter of Plettenberg repurchased 

1 J. H. Probst-Biraben: “The Mystery of the Templars ”, Ed. Cahiers Astrologiques, Paris, 1947. 

4 

Templars & Rose Croix, Translatée! by Piers A Vaughan © 2005 

the duchy of Livonia from Albert of Brandenburg, and thus reconstituted the Order under 

this name. 

In 1561 the flftieth Provincial Grand Master of the Arms-Bearers, Goltar Kettler, 

embraced Lutheranism, ceded Livonia to King Sigismund II of Poland, and himself 

became Duke of Courlande. The Order of Arms-Bearers then ceased to exist under this 

name and rnerged with the Teutonic Order, although it preserved its own traditions, 

archives, and only constituted a “langue ” within its bosom. 

The Teutonic Order had been founded during the siégé of St. John of Acre in 

1112, to welcome sick and abandoned German crusaders in Palestine. The Order was 

confirmed by Pope Callistes III in 1192. Its members followed the rule of St. Augustine. 

They originally called themselves “ Teutonic Brothers Hospitalier ”. Little by little they 

took on a more military aspect. Knights integrated with them and organized them more 

along the lines of the others of this time: Knights of St. John of Jérusalem (Malta), 

Templars, Holy Sepulcher, etc... 

In the 13 th Century the Teutonic Knight invaded Prussia and undertook to 

eliminate the pagan barbarism which lived there in a latent State. The Order was 

sovereign until 1440. Then a part of this country which was still unknown gave itself to 

Casimir, King of Poland, and the rest remained under the authority of the Teutonic Order, 

which was sovereign there. 

In 1525, Albert, Grand Master of the Order, and Margrave of Brandenburg, 

secularized the Teutonic Order. The Knights still wore the great white mantle with the 

cross sable (black) pâtée et alesée, nowadays called the “Maltese Cross”. 

But the Knights Arms-Bearers, which had been incorporated into the Teutonics, 

nevertheless - as we saw earlier - hadn’t lost the memory of their origins. The had 

remained independent within, even if they had been absorbed. The similarity of their 

name to that of the famous Temple Militia, and the numerous points in cominon of their 

rules, had allowed them to maintain intact a foreign Christian tradition in the spirit of the 

original Teutonic Order. This was Eastern Christianity, and Byzantine, Copt and 

Jacobite 2 3 Liturgies show us how close they were to original Gnostic Christianity. 

When, in 1697, the elector of Saxony, Frederic-Augustus I st joined Poland and 

Saxony, he found himself at the head of an immense territory, very diverse in its 

components: the Duchy of Magdeburg, the Electorate of Brunswick-Luneburg, the Duchy 

of Bremen, the Principality of Luneburg-Celle, that of Wolfenbüttel and Halberstadt, the 

Duchies of Mecklendburg and Holstein, ail the firee Hanseatic towns, etc... Its capital 

was Dresden. 

2 The quasi-independent groups of knights often assembled under a common Knightly Order under a 

common “langue” or tongue, in which they preserved many aspects of their cultural idiosyncracies - PV. 

The Christian Monophysite Church of the East. The Patriarch lives in the convent of Sophar, near 

Mossul. He administers around 100,000 families. The apostolic succession cornes from the Apostle Peter, 

first Bishop of Antioch. This is lineage of the Gnostic Apostolic Church (the E. G. A.). 

5 

Templars & Rose Croix, Translatée! by Piers A Vaughan © 2005 

We should remember these names. We will encounter them again and again as 

the cradle of Templar Masonry, in the 18 th Century. . . 

It is then that at the heart of the Teutonic Order a “Masonic régime” was bom, 

grouping together exclus ively Gennan aristocrats, predominantly Catholic, as were the 

gentlemen Freemasons who were loyal to the Stuarts. Note also that the Teutonic Order 

remained an equestrian Catholic Order (sixteen quarters of nobility were required to be 

admitted, and to profess this religion. It died towards the end of the 19 th Century). 

On the fact that the Teutonic Order served as a cradle for the Strict Templar 

Observance of Germany, let us sirnply quote the letter of Meunier de Précourt, which 

Alice Joly mentioned in her work: “A Lyonnais Mystic and the Secrets of 

Speaking of Meunier de Précourt his author tells us (p. 11): “He cites the Teutonic 

Knights and the German Rose-Croix as having been the Intermediaries between the 

Order of the Temple and Freemasonry.” 

We will see the Teutonic Knights and German Rosicrucians frequently reappear 

during the course of this study. And this coming together is significant. . . 

Note also that the Strict Templar Observance reprised the Rule of the Temple in 

ail its severity, with regard to the proofs of nobility: 

“ Noue shall be admitted into the Order without providing proofs of nobility. 

These proofs consist either in titles of hereditary nobility, or of personal nobility. ” 

(General Code of Rules, quoted my Vuillaud in “The Lyonnais Rose-Croix'" , p. 216). 

Now, personal nobility is defined as having been ennobled oneself, either by title 

or letters coming from a legitimate Sovereign, or arising from a knightly dubbing 

received in some Order. When three successive générations, grandfather, father and son, 

hâve thus been ennobled by one of these two methods, the nobility then becomes 

hereditary. In the Middle Ages, this was called “noblesse à la tierce-foi”, because it 

recognized three successive acts of homage towards a Suzerain or an Order. In France, 

under the Monarchy, when three générations of officers had each served twenty years, 

and reached the level of Captain, and having each received the Cross of St. Louis, these 

three générations transmitted a now hereditary nobility to successive générations. Under 

the Restoration, Louis XVIII extended this privilège to the Légion of Honor and officers 

serving under the same conditions 4 . 

But ail this tends to prove that the Temple and its immédiate successors hadn’t the 

slightest interest in democracy... The desire to make modem Freemasons the legitimate 

4 Before being reattached to France, in ail the French vassal provinces of the Floly Empire (Flanders, 

Champagne, Lorraine, Burgundy, Dauphiné, Provence, etc), nobility was transmitted through the daughters 

when the males were extinct (this was called uterine noblility), fïrstly to the grandsons. After the 

réintégration, this automatic passing took the name of “ taking up again of one ’s name and arms", and 

required the consent of the King of France. 

6 

Templars & Rose Croix, Translatée! by Piers A Vaughan © 2005 

successors of the Templars, even in the Degree of Rnight Kadosh (30 th Degree), is a 

meaningless parody. It is nothing more than a transposition, valid in our âge 5 . 

Moreover, pretending that Freemasonry is the inheritor of the Temple, under the 

pretext that it came out of the Corporations, and that operative Masons of former times 

were “colleagues of the Temple ”, is no more serious. These operative Masons, to whom 

the Knights accorded their thoughtful protection, would never hâve been considered as 

equals by the true “Brothers of the Temple”. Having never received the chivalric 

dubbing, the “Companions” of yesteryear would not hâve been able to transmit it. The 

commoner who wished to obtain knighthood could only receive it on the fleld of battle, in 

recompense for his valor, and form the hand of a knight. If not, he would hâve had to 

complété the pilgrimage to Jérusalem and receive the colée 6 7 of the guardian monks of the 

Holy Sepulcher, upon the Tomb itself . 

* 

* * 

Let us retum to the Temple. 

Here is an important point, often passed over in silence. In a work entitled 

“ History of the Military Order of the Holy Sepulcher", published in Rome, without a 

précisé date, under the pontificate of Pius X, and edited by the Roman Fleraldic College, 

Count Pasini Frassoni, Historian of the Order, and assisted by two senior members of the 

Holy Sepulcher, tells us the following: 

“In his description of the réception of Knights of the Holy Sepulcher, Zweller 

shows us that these knights were considered to be the true successors of the Templars . . .” 

Hence the jealousy of the Order of Malta, material inheritor of the Temple. Be 

that as if may, one fact is certain, and that is that Innocent VIII suppressed the Order of 

the Holy Sepulcher in 1490. Now, since the taking of Jérusalem by the Turks, the monks 

and knights of this Order were dispersed throughout Europe, particularly in Poland, 

above in Michow (near Krakow), which became the seat of the Order, in Silesia, 

Bohemia and Moravia. 

These places where the Holy Sepulcher survived (despite its pontifical 

dissolution) were, in the 16 th and 7 th Centuries, rightly active centers of diffusion of the 

esoteric doctrines belonging in fact to the Order of the Temple, and, at the end of the 18th 

Century, active center of the Templar Masonry called “ Strict Observance ”, issuing firom 

5 Over time, this military knighthood had to become a spiritual and philosophical line, and because of this, 

there was no longer any greater anachronism between the two, than there is between an olden-time Knight 

of Malta Crossing the Mediterranean in the Order’s galleys, and a contemporary ‘Knight of Malta’ 

financing the great leprosaria of Europe with his denarii’s. 

6 My dictionary isn’t big enough to list this word - need to check later - PV. 

7 Read about these customs in: “ Chivalry ” by Léon Gaultier (Paris, 1832), and the summary by Baron 

Guenièbre: “On Chivalry' (Paris, 1953). 

7 

Templars & Rose Croix, Translatée! by Piers A Vaughan © 2005 

the Teutonic Orderl Note this fact, for we will 11 nd numerous echoes in the course of this 

study, when we look in particular at the German Tlluminist movements. 

Another author, John Charpentier, in his work “The Order of the Templars ”, 

quotes a document dated 1745 affirming that “ the canons of the Holy Sepulcher sheltered 

the Templars.’’'’ 

And in fact, in the 18 th Century, the Dukes of Bouillon having constituted a 

Protestant branch of this same Order of the Holy Sepulcher, and a Masonic obedience 

(the “ Grand Orient of Bouillori’’), introduced Templar Masonry and its high grades into 

it. Finally, in Sweden, Templar Masonry called “Reformed Masonry” (this word does 

not allude to the religion of this name but to Masonic reformations), included the 

“ Knights of the Holy Sepulcher of Jérusalem in Palestine'’’’ among its high grades. 

It should be noted that the House of Bouillon had always claimed to hold the 

hereditary rights over the Order of the Holy Sepulcher. In 1909, Count Pasini, their 

historian, tells us that General Mathieu of Fossey, inheritor of the titles of Prince of the 

Tour d’Auvergne and the Duke of Bouillon, also inherited, “ what is said to be the title of 

the Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher So what was created by the Duke 

of Bouillon in the 18 th Century, and given a Masonic and laie fonn by him, was licit. . . 

Thus, with its Templar grades, high aristocratie Masonry possessed grades 

recalling the ties of the Temple to that founded by Godefroy of Bouillon... (In our 

archives we hâve in our hands a copy of a ritual manuscript, dated 1778, and which is 

that of the “ Knights of the Holy Sepulcher, in the Or . \ of Toulon P) 

In a work presented to the general public, we obviously cannot give extracts of 

the Rituals of Réception and Dubbing of the Templar Strict Observance, as these 

ceremonies are and should remain secret, in respect of its secular tradition. 

But we can nevertheless affirm that: 

Certain rites of the last high grades (Temple Class) manifest the influence of a purely 

Balkan esotericism, thus underlining the importance of this early cradle: Bohemia and 

Moravia, and thus coming firom the Eastern Mediterranean. In passing we can quote a 

fact revealed by Doinel (Cf. Jean Kotska: “ Lucifer unmasked”), which represented - even 

evoked - the original founders of the Order of the Temple, with the help of wax candies 

arranged like the five crosses of the Holy Tomb. 

Certain secret customs, with a sure occult efficiacy, which allow the actualization of a 

definitive psychic communion with the passed Members of the Order; rites which corne 

directly from the very old médiéval companionship. If they do not go back ail the way to 

the time of the dispersai of the Order, they can still be scrupulously attested to go back to 

the 16 th Century, and that is not so contemptible - the more so because they imply the 

préservation of two ingrédients since this âge, ingrédients renewable by reason of new 

initiations. 

8 

Templars & Rose Croix, Translatée! by Piers A Vaughan © 2005 

The ceremonies of the Templar Strict Observance were (and are still) infinitely more 

occult and more mysterious in their implications, than those of the Knights Beneficent of 

the Holy City, whose ritual is not very different, in fact, to that of the Catholic “ miles 

Christi", drawn up in the 13 th Century. That is to say that the promoters of the Order of 

Knight Beneficent of the Holy City (Willennoz and his Lyonnais friends) had not only 

rejected the Templar lineage, but also the very soûl of this lineage. The Convent of Gaul 

of 1778, held in Lyons, had completely burned the bridges with what had survived of the 

Temple, at the heart of the Teutonic Order, and the “ C.B.C.S were not longer Templars 

(officially, at least, for, in fact...). 

This lineage in ail its purity now only exists in Sweden and Denmark (two 

branches: one official, the other more hidden as it is composed of occultists). In 

Germany (at least before the arrivai of the Hitler plague), there was still a Templar Strict 

Observance, also occult. In Russia, we lack (and for good reason) any documentation on 

the situation: but it appears to hâve been perpetuated among cultivated classes up to 

around 1900, perhaps even up to the révolution of 1917. In England (and English 

occultism is very secretive) we know that the Templars exist: but we are ignorant of the 

complété story of these associations. 

At the most, in 1947 one could read this curious écho in the édition of the journal 

“The Liberated Parisian” dated August 29: 

“Gaining access to the vaults of the Templar Church in London, some 

unidentified persons managed to remove the skull of the first Count of Essex, who was 

mortally wounded in the head in 1144. Moreover, the violated four sepulchers and 

scattered bones.” 

What were these mysterious unidentified persons looking for? Not jewels, for the 

rugged knights, so faithful to their titles of u Poor Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of 

Solomon" , had no tradition of being interred with omaments. But perhaps these singular 

profaners wanted to take possession of a psychic “witness” which would permit them to 

link the living with the dead? Occult tradition has such requirements. . . 

One has wanted to see this in Baron Charles von Hund, the founder of the Strict 

o 

Templar Observance who, audaciously (the time now being propitious ), gave claim to 

the fact that this Order was its regular continuation, which had been kept secret for four 

hundred years, in order to claim from the Vatican and the Order of Malta the immense 

amount of property stolen from the original Temple. 

So it is useful to show, at the start of this study, that there was but one link in this 

lineage. In this regard, here is a document which we believe convincing, which the 

historian Bord quotes in his book “ Freemasonry in France .” 

https://archive.org/stream/AmblelainRTemplarsRoseCroix/Amblelain%20R%20Templars%20%26%20Rose%20Croix_djvu.txt 

Rosa Jesuitica, oder Jesuitische Rottgesellen, das ist, Eine Frag ob die Zween Orden, der ganandten Ritter von der Neerscharen Jesu, und der Rosen-Creuzer ein einiger Ordensen: per J. P. D. a S. Jesuitarum Protectorum. Prague, 1620.” (4to).

This is a truly curious tract upon the “relations of the Jesuits and the Rosicrucians."

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dT28PyPUPfqDfC0iVg7nGFsle8vYBXLf/view?usp=sharing

PART VI 1THE PERSONAL LIFE OF THOSE ALREADY ADMITTED AND INCORPORATED INTO THE BODY OF THE SOCIETY

SECTION 1: THE APOSTOLIC CHARACTER OF OUR VOWS IN GENERAL

143 §1. Our consecration by profession of the evangelical counsels, by which we respond to a divine vocation, is at one and the same time the following of Christ poor, virginal, and obedient and a rejection of those idols that the world is always prepared to adore, especially wealth, pleasure, prestige, and power. Hence, our poverty, chastity, and obedience ought visibly and efficaciously to bear witness to this attitude, whereby we proclaim the evangelical possibility of a certain communion among men and women that is a foretaste of the future kingdom of God.[1]

§2. Our religious vows, while binding us, also set us FREE:

FREE, by our vow of poverty, to share the life of the poor and to use whatever resources we may have, not for our own security and comfort, but for service;

FREE, by our vow of chastity, to be men for others, in friendship and communion with all, but especially with those who share our mission of service;

FREE, by our vow of obedience, to respond to the call of Christ as made known to us by him whom the Spirit has placed over the Church, and to follow the lead of all our superiors.[2] [1] See GC 32, d. 4, no. 16; see GC 31, d. 16, no. 4; d. 17, no. 2; d. 18, no. 3. [2] GC 32, d. 2, no. 20. 215

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Valley of Traverse City

ANCIENT ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE

The History and Legend of Scottish Rite Origins

The Story Unfolds…

Like much of early Masonic history, the origins of the Scottish Rite are uncertain. This is primarily due to the lack of historic documentation prior to the early 1700’s and not to any great veiled mystery. The few records kept were subject to loss, fire, weather and aging. So we can at best only speculate on many of our origins by looking at the few documents, historical references and legends that remain.

What We Know

n 1754, near Paris, Chevalier de Bonneville established the Chapter of Clermont. The Chapter resided in the College of Jesuits of Clermont, hence the name. It is said to have been created to honor the Duc de Clermont, then Grand Master of the English Grand Lodge of France.

The Chapter of Clermont was a “Chapter of the Advanced Degrees” and initially entailed six degrees and was later extended to 25 known degrees. The six initial degrees were 1˚, 2˚ and 3˚ St John’s Masonry, 4˚ Knight of the Eagle, 5˚ Illustrious Knight or Templar, 6˚ Sublime Illustrious Knight.

Interestingly enough historically, prior to the time of the Rite’s creation, James II had been in residence at Clermont in exile from Britain from 1688 to his death in 1701. As noted by German Masonic historian, Lenning… “whilst in exile, James II residing at the Jesuit College of Clermont in France, allowed his closest associates to fabricate certain degrees in order to extend their political views.” Lenning believed this to have been an attempt on the part of James and his associates to regain control of the British throne for the House of Stuart. If Lenning is right, this places the origins of the “Rite of Perfection” in the hands of James II and the Jacobite (Stuart) Freemasons who at the time were in exile from Great Britain throughout France and Italy. Lenning also contends that these degrees were introduced into French Freemasonry under the name of the Clermont System.

James II died in exile in 1701. His son James III is said to have continued his father’s Masonic legacy and later created further higher degrees.

Perhaps James II saw in the Jesuit morality plays of the College of Clermont a vessel for passing on a set of moral lessons. Some of the world’s greatest playwrights had emerged from Clermont. Jesuit tutelage had previously produced great writers such as Lope de Vega, Moliere, Racine, and the Corneille brothers. Ensconced in exile, I believe James II did find the inspiration and the training to help produce what would later become the first six degrees. From out of the darkness… comes light.

To be continued… (Author’s note… An in depth look at the Templar influence in Scottish Rite masonry’s origins can be found by visiting the Rosslyn Templars’ website.)"

https://web.archive.org/.../scottish-rite-history.html

THE CONFLICT: PRIORY OF SION VERSUS KNIGHTS TEMPLAR

Secret societies by virtue of their very secrecy have often kept historians at bay, and the historians, reluctant to confess their ignorance, prefer to diminish the consequence of their subject. Freemasonry.. is of vital importance to any social, psychological, cultural or political history of eighteenth-century Europe, and even to the founding of the United States; but most history books don't even mention it. It is almost as if an implicit policy obtained: If something cannot be exhaustively documented, it must be irrelevant and thereby not worth discussing I at all. Investigators of the Holy Grail' Freemasonry, French and English, as we know it today, finds its loots in two organizations of the Middle Ages - the Priory of Sion and the Order of the Knights Templar. What follows is the fascinating, if sometimes complicated and obscure history, of how these two modern, anti-Christian secular secret societies - English and French Freemasonry - developed from two groups that themselves had roots in the occult. We will see how the Priory of Sion desired to rule the world from the throne of David in Jerusalem through its counterfeit Jewish Merovingian bloodline, and how its own creation, the Knights Templar, moved beyond its role as police and protector of Sion to financial masters of medieval Europe. We will trace the alliance of Sion and the Templars, their dispute over the discovery of Solomon's treasures, and the terrible intrigues which followed that led to the undoing of the Templars in their struggle over wealth, power, and politics. We will reveal the beliefs of these two groups: that Jesus fathered children by Mary Magdalene; that a spiritual god of good (Satan) battles a material god of evil; that Lucifer, not Jesus, deserves worship; that a "Spear of Destiny" (later sought and possessed by Hitler) allows the holder to rule the world. We will also present data about the whereabouts of King Solomon's wealth, the plan to one day return it to Jerusalem, and reveal that the ultimate goal of these two groups is world government, and that their descendants, English and French Freemasonry, desire the same. The Historical Trail: The Priory of Sion and the Holy Grail In 1982 and 1986 three secular revisionist authors, Michael Baigent~ Richard Leigh, and Henry Lincoln published Holy Blood, Holy Grail followed by The Messianic Legacy. These two books dramatically reveal a secret order structured in the manner of Freemasonry, and founded in Europe twelve centuries before the Grand Lodge was officially formed in 1717. This order protects both the Holy Grail and the Merovingian bloodline, which bloodline carried Mystery Babylon into the Catholic Church in 496 A.D. 56 The Holy Grail, of course, is the so-called cup from which Jesus drank at the Last Supper. The Merovingians, owners of the Holy Grail, teach that Jesus fathered children by Mary Magdalene. The Merovingians claim to be the offspring of that "holy" union, and as such, assert they are Jews of the Davidic line.

In Revelation 17:3-5 the apostle John describes a vision, which Rev. J. R. Church in Guardians of the Grail believes is fulfilled in the Grail legend. The Whore of Babylon is holding in her hand a golden cup full of blasphemy. Church believes the cup is the blasphemous Holy Grail Another element of the Grail legend is the spear supposed to have pierced the side of Jesus, also known as the Spear of Longinus or the Spear of Destiny. Whoever possesses this spear, so the legend goes, will rule the world. The Merovingians, whose descendants are the Habsburg pretenders to the Austrian throne today, are in possession of the spear. It is on display in the Habsburg museum in Vienna, Austria~ No one, however, knows the location of the Holy Grail. At least no one is telling. Although heretical, this secret society should not be discounted, for it is alive and well today. In fact, in 1956, an Order calling itself the Prieure de Sion, or Priory of Sion, registered itself publicly for the first time with the French government. (Sion is French for Zion.) It is from this Order that the legend of the Holy Grail originated five centuries after Christ's death. Rev. Church remarks of this organization: This mysterious group is presently made up of over 9,000 men, including Protestants, Roman Catholics, Jews, and Moslems. The members of this secret sect should be considered unfaithful to their respective beliefs, for in reality they are neither Christian nor Catholic, they are neither Jew nor Moslem. Their doctrine sidesteps the basic tenets of those beliefs and replaces them with the teachings of their greatest prophet - whom they believe to be Buddha.2 From this secret order J. R. Church believes will come the Anti-Christ, for he writes, "Their ultimate goal is world government!'"

Scarlet and the Beast

by John Daniel

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zCd0nFuvnM4OYWuVW5QUBCpsTfBv5bYx/view?usp=sharing

The Teutonic Order, or Teutonic Knights of St. Mary’s Hospital at Jerusalem, grew out of the establishment of a field hospital during the siege of Acre in the winter of 1190-91, by pious merchants of Bremen and Lubeck. When these merchants returned to Germany in 1191 they turned over the hospital to the chaplain Conrad and the chamberlain Burkhard.

With the model of the Hospitallers or Knights of St. John the Baptist, later known as Knights of Malta, before them, these men together with other Germans, formed a brotherhood, adopted the rules of the Hospitallers, and named their hospital “The Hospital of St. Mary of the Germans in Jerusalem” “in the hope and confidence that when the Holy City was reconquered they would there establish a house which should become the mother, head and mistress of the entire Order.” The new Order was confirmed by popes Clement III in 1191 and Celestine in 1196; it won as a patron the emperor, Henry VI, who bestowed upon it its first possessions in the West. In 1198 it was changed into a military Order by the adoption of the rules of the Knights Templars in addition to those of the Hospitallers. Unlike both of these older Orders, the Teutonic Knights were a strictly national organization, none but Germans of noble birth being admitted to it. “Like the knights of other orders, the Teutonic Knights lived a semimonastic life under the Augustinian rule, and in the same way they admitted priests and half-brothers (servientes) into their ranks. Like the other two orders, the Teutonic Order began as a charitable society, developed into a military club, and ended as something of a chartered company, exercising rights of sovereignty on the troubled confines of Christianity. Even in its last phase the Order did not forget its original purpose: it maintained several great hospitals in its new home on the southeast shore of the Baltic, in addition to an hotel des invalides at Marienburg for its sick or aged brethren.” F550 Under its fourth grand master, Hermann von Salza, 1210-39, the Order grew rapidly and made the most important advance in its history. After having aided the king of Hungary against the Comans, and receiving from the king the district of Burzenland in Transylvania, which it did not long retain, the Order was invited to assist in subduing the heathen Prussians. A Cistercian monk named Christian had succeeded in establishing the Church among the Prussians, and in 1212 was made bishop of Prussia. When the heathen arose and destroyed his churches, Christian called upon the Teutonic Knights for help and bestowed upon them Kulm, some of the frontier towns and such lands as they should conquer (1228). After driving the enemy out of Kulm and founding the cities of Kulm, Thorn and Marienwerder, the Order began the task of conquering and Christianizing Prussia. In 1235 it absorbed the Order of Dobrzin, which had been founded by bishop Christian, and in 1237 the Knights of the Sword of Livonia, founded by Albert, bishop of Riga, became a province of the Order.

Its successes in Prussia changed the character of the Teutonic Order. It lost all connection with the East, its grand master moved his seat from Acre, first to Venice in 1291, then in 1308 to Marienburg on the Vistula. The Order became a governing aristocracy, its statutes were altered to suit the new conditions. “The Order was at once supreme ecclesiastical and political authority .... The lay subjects of the Order consisted of two classes: on the one hand there were the conquered Prussians, in a position of serfdom, bound in time of war to serve the brethren in foreign expeditions; on the other hand there were the German immigrants, both urban and rural, along with the free Prussians, who had voluntarily submitted and remained faithful.” f551 By the middle of the fourteenth century the Teutonic Knights had become a world power. Their cities belonged to the Hanseatic League and shared in its power; Poland had been deprived of its outlet on the Baltic; the ships of the Order were a power on the sea; Marienburg with its brilliant court was not merely a school of chivalry, but for a time a literary center. Yet the downfall of the Order was close at hand. It alienated its subjects, who allied themselves with Poland; its missionary work was completed when the Lithuanians became Christians and also made common cause with Poland; the Slav reaction made the Germanizing efforts of the Knights still more unpopular. Internally the success of the Order brought with it a secularization which was disastrous. Poland regained a foothold on the Baltic. The Prussian League was formed in 1440 with the real purpose of opposing the Knights, and in 1454 offered Prussia to the Polish king. The peace of Thorn, 1466, left to the Order only East Prussia and made the knights vassals of Poland. But the German master and the Landmeister for Livonia would not serve Poland, and the Order in East Prussia adopted the policy of electing German princes as grand masters in the hope of again regaining independence, without success. The first of these German grand masters was Frederick of Saxony, 1498 to 1511. He was succeeded by Albert of Brandenburg. f552 Albert became involved in a devastating war with Poland, which was provisionally ended by a four years’ truce made in 1521. In September of that year Albert suggested the possibility of a revision of the statutes of the Order by Luther, probably in harmony with the plans outlined in the Open Letter to the German Nobility. So far as known Luther was not consulted at that time. Albert continued to take his place with the Roman Catholic princes. But when in April, 1522, he returned to Germany he came under the influence of Lazarus Spengler and Andreas Osiander and was won for the evangelical party. During the Diet at Nuremberg, 1522- 23, he protested that it was not the proper way to proceed against Luther, “if evident truth be condemned and books burned.”

Pope Hadrian VI urged upon Albert a reformation of the Order. In June, 1523, Albert secretly turned to Luther for advice concerning the reformation of the Order in head and members. On November 29th the two met at Wittenberg, and Luther advised Albert “to throw aside the foolish and absurd rules of the Order, to marry, and to convert the religious state into a secular state, either a principality or a duchy.” Melanchthon, who was present at the interview, gave the same advice. The grand master smiled and said nothing. But “with that evangelical protestant advice Luther laid the foundations for the development of the Prussian state, of the Prussian kingdom, and of the German empire which is inseparable from the development of the Prussian kingdom.” f554 Soon after this meeting Luther prepared the following treatise, intended, as Kawerau suggests, to be a “feeler, which should test the attitude of the knights of the Order as well as of the Prussian bishops, and prepare them for coming events.” The older collected editions of Luther’s works date the treatise March 28, 1523. But, as Kawerau points out, it is improbable that the treatise was written before the last month of 1523, and the date may be a mistake for December 12th. The original prints are undated; the editors may have confused the festivals of the Annunciation and of the Conception of the Virgin Mary, the latter of which may have been the date attached to the manuscript.

After the evangelical principles had been gradually introduced into Prussia by the two bishops, Georg von Polentz and Erhard von Queiss, the grand master returned to Prussia and carried out Luther’s suggestion. Peace was made with Poland, Prussia was converted into a duchy held as fief of the king of Poland and hereditary in the family of Albert. July 1, 1526, Albert was married to Dorothea, the daughter of the Danish king, and thus was founded the evangelical house of the Hohenzollern.

The progress of the Gospel in Prussia gave Luther much joy. In 1525 he wrote to the Bishop of Samland, Georg von Polentz: “Behold the wonder!

In rapid course, with full sails, the Gospel hastens to Prussia, whither it was not called, and where it was not sought after, while in Upper and Lower Germany, whither it came of its own accord, it is blasphemed, repelled and put to flight with all rage and madness.” f556 The Teutonic Order in its German and Livonian branches continued to exist, and laid claim to the rights of the Order in Prussia. It was finally suppressed in 1809, and its lands passed into the hands of the secular princes within whose territories they lay. But in 1840 the Order was resuscitated in Austria, and again engaged in hospital service, in which it is presumably active during the present war. But this Teutonic Order is not the same as that which became secularized at the time of the Reformation.

The Prussian branch passed into the Prussian kingdom, not into the restored Order. A Protestant branch exists in the ancient bailiwick of Utrecht, the members of which must profess the Calvinistic faith, and are dispensed from celibacy. See Catholic Encyclopedia, xiv, 542.

The subject of the monastic vows and of the marriage of monks had been discussed at great length before this treatise was written. For the development of that discussion we must refer here to the introduction to the Treatise on Monastic Vows, which was excluded from this volume because of its size. But the careful student will find that Luther has not merely repeated older arguments nor restated older positions. He has gone farther, his position is more advanced. In fact, upon the advance beyond the position taken in the Formula Missae Kawerau bases an argument for the later date of our treatise. “For the writing of this treatise immediately after the FormuIa Missae we find an argument in the remarkable agreement between the statements in the two concerning those who want to wait for decrees of a council and desire permission to be given them (to use the two kinds in the Lord’s Supper, or, in the later treatise, to marry) by such decrees. He who reads the analogous portions in the two treatises will easily recognize in the Exhortation to the Teutonic Knights the bold heightening of the thought to a paradox, and thus see in the Formula Missae the older form.” f558 The German text is found in Weimar Ed., xii, 232-244; Walch Ed., xix, 2157-76; Erlangen Ed., xxix 16-33; St. Louis Ed., xix, 1730-45; Berlin Ed., iv, 32-47. Literature : Introduction by KAWERAU in Weimar Ed., xii, 228-31; Prot. Realencyklopadie, 3d ed., Arts., Albrecht von Preussen, I, 310-23; Deutschorden, iv, 589-95; Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., Arts., Albert, i, 497, and Teutonic Order, xxvi, 676-9. The literature is given fully in all these articles. Compare also Schaff, Church History, vi, 588-600, and Kostlin-Kawerau, Martin Luther, i, 620-623. W. A. LAMBERT. LEBANON,PA.

WORKS OF MARTIN LUTHER - TO THE KNIGHTS OF THE TEUTONIC ORDER AN EXHORTATION THAT THEY LAY ASIDE FALSE CHASTITY AND TAKE UPON THEM THE TRUE CHASTITY OF WEDLOCK (godrules.net)

https://www.godrules.net/library/luther/NEW1luther_c8.htm

Teutonic Vatican Order – Starting in 1312 AD, many Templars in Germany or Eastern Europe joined the Order of Teutonic Knights of the Vatican (founded 1190 AD), which was already an official but autonomous branch of the Templar Order [80] [81].

The Teutonic Order continued as such for 739 years, until it was “reformed” in 1929, “re-established” in 1957, and “restructured” in 1965, becoming the “Order of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem”.  The modern Order of Mary has about 300 Clergy and 700 secular “Familiares” in a role analogous to Knights [82], but does not grant knighthood or damehood.

Surviving Templars from the Teutonic Order, after 1929, joined the Franciscan Sacred Order in England, Franciscan Vatican Order, Ancient Celtic Churches, or Rosicrucian Mystical Order (all continued to the present day).

Spanish Montesa Order – In 1317 AD, King James II of Spain “obtained from Pope John XXII… the possessions of the Templars in his Kingdom”, to create the “Military Order of Montesa… established… to take the place of the Order of the Temple… [as] the continuation.”  The Order of Montesa was placed under the Cistercian Rule, and based upon the Templar Order. [83]

Thus in 1317 AD, Pope John XXII, a Templar revivalist, supported Templar survival through the Order of Montessa by granting it Vatican Patronage.

Starting in 1317 AD, many Templars in Spain or Western Europe joined the Order of Montesa.

The Order of Montesa (from 1317 AD) operated for 270 years, until it was “united with the Crown” in 1587 AD, thereby dissolving it [84].

Surviving Templars from the Order of Montesa, after 1587 AD, joined the German Teutonic Order (until 1929), Portuguese Knights of Christ (until 1789), or joined the Franciscan Sacred Order in England, Franciscan Vatican Order, Ancient Celtic Churches, or Rosicrucian Mystical Order (continued to the present day).

Portugal Knights of Christ – In 1319 AD, in Portugal the Knights Templar were cleared of all charges, and Pope John XXII, a Templar revivalist, supported Templar survival by merely renaming the Portuguese branch of the Order to “Knights of Christ”, allowing to keep their assets.

Starting in 1319 AD, many Templars in Portugal or Western Europe joined the Knights of Christ.

In 1740 AD Pope Benedict XIV, a Templar revivalist, supported Templar survival as the “Knights of Christ” by granting the former headquarters of the Knights Templar to the King of Portugal for the renamed Order.

The Knights of Christ (from 1319 AD) operated for 470 years, until it was dismantled in 1789 AD:  It was reduced to an “honourary decoration of merit” by Queen Maria I in 1789 AD, fully “extinguished” with the end of the Portuguese Monarchy in 1910 AD, and later “reformulated” and “reinstated” in 1918 only as an “honorary award” under the President of the modern Republic of Portugal [85] [86].

A doctrine of customary international law holds that a “new government” of a modern secular “Republican State” does not have legal capacity of “rights of Fons Honourum” for the “exercise of heraldic jurisdiction” to maintain, revive nor even recognize Orders of Chivalry [87] [88] [89] [90].  Therefore, the modern Knights of Christ is not an Order of Chivalry, and thus does not grant knighthood or damehood.

Surviving Templars from the Knights of Christ, after 1789 AD, joined the German Teutonic Order (until 1929), or joined the Franciscan Sacred Order in England, Franciscan Vatican Order, Ancient Celtic Churches, or Rosicrucian Mystical Order (continued to the present day).

Rosicrucian Mystical Order – In ca. 1407 AD, the surviving Knights Templar in Portugal (renamed “Order of Christ” since 1319 AD) helped establish the Rosicrucian Order, named after the trademark Templar Red Cross, or “Rose Cross”, thus “Rosa-Cruz” (Portugese) or “Rossi-Croce” (Italian).

This is evidenced by the fact that the Portuguese Templar headquarters, the “Convent of the Order of Christ”, features three artifacts of a Rose at the center of a Cross in the initiation room, dated ca. 1530 AD [91] [92].  This establishes that many surviving Templars helped create and develop the Rosicrucian Order from 1407-1530 AD.

Starting in 1407 AD, and even more after 1530 AD, many Templars throughout Western Europe joined the Rosicrucian Mystical Order.

In 1740 AD Pope Benedict XIV, a Templar revivalist, supported Templar survival through the Rosicrucian Order by restoring “Templar Rosicrucian” lines of Apostolic Succession, “reinstating” those lines in the Vatican [93], and also by establishing the first Vatican “Academy of Antiquities” [94] to continue the Templar mission of exploring ancient origins of Christianity.

The Rosicrucian Order, as an esoteric society, was never established with sovereign authority, and thus by customary international law, it is not an Order of Chivalry [95], and thus does not grant knighthood or damehood.

Results Through Other Orders – In the end result, Templars from the original Order of the Temple of Solomon survived through other Orders, actively continuing Templar missions and living the Templar life of Chivalry, directly into the modern era.

After the other Orders of Chivalry which could grant knighthood and damehood ended, in 1587 AD (Spain), 1789 AD (Portugal) and 1929 AD (Germany), surviving Templars continued Templar missions through the Franciscan Sacred Order, Franciscan Vatican Order, Ancient Celtic Churches, and Rosicrucian Mystical Order.

However, none of these remaining institutions of Templar survival were Orders of Chivalry, and thus could not grant knighthood or damehood.

Also, only the Sacred Order of Saint Francis of Assisi in England (since 1212 AD) preserved and carried the rights of Templar Sovereign Succession, through the rare and unique “Templar Lines” of Apostolic Succession.

Therefore, from 2007-2013, the Franciscan Sacred Order completed the original plan from Saint Bernard, by reunification with surviving cultural and chivalric Templars from Ancient Celtic and Rosicrucian branches of the Old Catholic Churches, to restore and reestablish the Templar Order to full legitimacy.

https://knightstemplarorder.org/templar-order/survival-lineage/

https://www.facebook.com/billy.dunn.50767/posts/pfbid0ERS5NTyCpB6X8Hqx9NpKJ74mrKEGka2XT2tiE3puGAHF3RHt4cECKTeqULvbtPaRl

The Templars Dungeons in Domme

Domme is a small commune in the southwestern section of France. It was constructed in 1281, and it is one of the most exquisite towns in the country. 

Domme is built on a hill of 150 meters. It overlooks the valley below and offers unmatched views of the landscaping. It also overlooks the gorgeous Dordogne River.

Much like most medieval towns, Domme was built high for protection and defense. It also allows seeing when enemies are approaching.

However, Domme is more than a beautiful commune. Once, it was where King Philip IV imprisoned the Templars.

In 1307, thousands of Templars were held captive in the town's dungeons after the king and his comrades arrested them. Underneath the medieval town, the Knights awaited their trial, where many members were executed. However, in the time that the Templars spent underground, they left hundreds of images and graffiti cravings. They even used a code that represents their faith and fate. 

Archaeologists have succeeded in deciphering the code. The octagon symbolizes the Holy Grail that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. The square means the temple on the mount, back in Jerusalem where the order first started. It is surrounded by a circle that refers to the imprisonment that the order faced.

The Templars ending was indeed unfortunate. Some members confessed under torture to the allegations and were burned alive at stake. Others who resisted the torture were either imprisoned or sent to join the order of the Knights Hospitaller, which inherited many lands and assets of the Templars.

 Domme today is labeled as one of the most beautiful villages in France. Its astonishing architecture is well-preserved. You can admire the fortified arches under the town's yellow stones and explore the Templars graffiti carved into walls. The least, it is worthy of your visit.

https://bricksmasons.com/blogs/masonic-education/the-templars-dungeons-in-domme?srsltid=AfmBOop77qV-9VBLNK4S2y6iEL2E842llxwoiTdVj1_ZPDjgXPyEqzGs

The Knight’s Templar was expelled from the Papacy in 1312 by Pope Clement V and Philip IV of France. The few Templars who escaped went to the powerful kingdom of Aragon and became known as the Order of the Calatrava, who would later align with the the Montessa. In 1534, a Spanish nobleman by the name of Ignatius Loyola would revive the Templars and call them the "Society of Jesus." Loyola was a Templar, and a member of a secret society called the "Alumbrados."  The third Superior General and co-founder of the order was Francis Borgia. The Borgia bloodline is part of the notorious "Black Nobility" which dates back to the ancient Ptolemaic period in history."

Exposing the Jesuits and the Papacy: The Jesuits are the revived Knights Templar

http://jesuitinquisition.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-jesuits-are-revived-knights-templar.html

The Order of Calatrava (Spanish: Orden de Calatrava, Portuguese: Ordem de Calatrava) was one of the four Spanish military orders and the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Order of Calatrava was given by Pope Alexander III on September 26, 1164. Most of the political and military power of the order had dissipated by the end of the 15th century, but the last dissolution of the order's property did not occur until 1838.'

Modern Times 

In 1931, once again unilaterally, the Second Spanish Republic suppressed the Spanish Orders. To survive, they had to resort to the Ley de Asociaciones Civiles ("Law of Civil Associations"), leading a precarious existence until the Concordat of 1953 recognized the Priory. Afterward, by the papal bull Constat militarium, the Priory was reduced to a mere title of the Bishop of Ciudad Real. In 1980, upon request by his august father, who was appointed Dean President of the Council, King Juan Carlos I by royal initiative caused the rebirth of the Orders. Under the Apostolic Pastoral Tertio millennio adveniente, the Spanish Orders began their renewal in 1996.Today, the aim of the Spanish Orders is basically the same as they had when founded: the defense of the Catholic faith. The sword has been put aside, but their doctrine, example, self-sanctification, and divine worship remain active, aside from their cultural and social activities.Their two hundred and fifty members guard the spirit and life of the Orders of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara, and Montesa under their Grand Master, King Felipe VI, and the Real Consejo de las Órdenes (Royal Council of the Orders) presided over by his Royal Highness Pedro of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duke of Calabria.[4]The Swiss luxury watchmaker Patek Philippe took the cross of the order in 1887 and established it as its company logo as a tribute to the knights, which remains until today.[5][6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Calatrava 

Teutonic Vatican Order – Starting in 1312 AD, many Templars in Germany or Eastern Europe joined the Order of Teutonic Knights of the Vatican (founded 1190 AD), which was already an official but autonomous branch of the Templar Order [80] [81].

The Teutonic Order continued as such for 739 years, until it was “reformed” in 1929, “re-established” in 1957, and “restructured” in 1965, becoming the “Order of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem”.  The modern Order of Mary has about 300 Clergy and 700 secular “Familiares” in a role analogous to Knights [82], but does not grant knighthood or damehood.

Surviving Templars from the Teutonic Order, after 1929, joined the Franciscan Sacred Order in England, Franciscan Vatican Order, Ancient Celtic Churches, or Rosicrucian Mystical Order (all continued to the present day).

Spanish Montesa Order – In 1317 AD, King James II of Spain “obtained from Pope John XXII… the possessions of the Templars in his Kingdom”, to create the “Military Order of Montesa… established… to take the place of the Order of the Temple… [as] the continuation.”  The Order of Montesa was placed under the Cistercian Rule, and based upon the Templar Order. [83]

Thus in 1317 AD, Pope John XXII, a Templar revivalist, supported Templar survival through the Order of Montessa by granting it Vatican Patronage.

Starting in 1317 AD, many Templars in Spain or Western Europe joined the Order of Montesa.

The Order of Montesa (from 1317 AD) operated for 270 years, until it was “united with the Crown” in 1587 AD, thereby dissolving it [84].

Surviving Templars from the Order of Montesa, after 1587 AD, joined the German Teutonic Order (until 1929), Portuguese Knights of Christ (until 1789), or joined the Franciscan Sacred Order in England, Franciscan Vatican Order, Ancient Celtic Churches, or Rosicrucian Mystical Order (continued to the present day).

Portugal Knights of Christ – In 1319 AD, in Portugal the Knights Templar were cleared of all charges, and Pope John XXII, a Templar revivalist, supported Templar survival by merely renaming the Portuguese branch of the Order to “Knights of Christ”, allowing to keep their assets.

Starting in 1319 AD, many Templars in Portugal or Western Europe joined the Knights of Christ.

In 1740 AD Pope Benedict XIV, a Templar revivalist, supported Templar survival as the “Knights of Christ” by granting the former headquarters of the Knights Templar to the King of Portugal for the renamed Order.

The Knights of Christ (from 1319 AD) operated for 470 years, until it was dismantled in 1789 AD:  It was reduced to an “honourary decoration of merit” by Queen Maria I in 1789 AD, fully “extinguished” with the end of the Portuguese Monarchy in 1910 AD, and later “reformulated” and “reinstated” in 1918 only as an “honorary award” under the President of the modern Republic of Portugal [85] [86].

A doctrine of customary international law holds that a “new government” of a modern secular “Republican State” does not have legal capacity of “rights of Fons Honourum” for the “exercise of heraldic jurisdiction” to maintain, revive nor even recognize Orders of Chivalry [87] [88] [89] [90].  Therefore, the modern Knights of Christ is not an Order of Chivalry, and thus does not grant knighthood or damehood.

Surviving Templars from the Knights of Christ, after 1789 AD, joined the German Teutonic Order (until 1929), or joined the Franciscan Sacred Order in England, Franciscan Vatican Order, Ancient Celtic Churches, or Rosicrucian Mystical Order (continued to the present day).

Rosicrucian Mystical Order – In ca. 1407 AD, the surviving Knights Templar in Portugal (renamed “Order of Christ” since 1319 AD) helped establish the Rosicrucian Order, named after the trademark Templar Red Cross, or “Rose Cross”, thus “Rosa-Cruz” (Portugese) or “Rossi-Croce” (Italian).

This is evidenced by the fact that the Portuguese Templar headquarters, the “Convent of the Order of Christ”, features three artifacts of a Rose at the center of a Cross in the initiation room, dated ca. 1530 AD [91] [92].  This establishes that many surviving Templars helped create and develop the Rosicrucian Order from 1407-1530 AD.

Starting in 1407 AD, and even more after 1530 AD, many Templars throughout Western Europe joined the Rosicrucian Mystical Order.

In 1740 AD Pope Benedict XIV, a Templar revivalist, supported Templar survival through the Rosicrucian Order by restoring “Templar Rosicrucian” lines of Apostolic Succession, “reinstating” those lines in the Vatican [93], and also by establishing the first Vatican “Academy of Antiquities” [94] to continue the Templar mission of exploring ancient origins of Christianity.

The Rosicrucian Order, as an esoteric society, was never established with sovereign authority, and thus by customary international law, it is not an Order of Chivalry [95], and thus does not grant knighthood or damehood.

Results Through Other Orders – In the end result, Templars from the original Order of the Temple of Solomon survived through other Orders, actively continuing Templar missions and living the Templar life of Chivalry, directly into the modern era.

After the other Orders of Chivalry which could grant knighthood and damehood ended, in 1587 AD (Spain), 1789 AD (Portugal) and 1929 AD (Germany), surviving Templars continued Templar missions through the Franciscan Sacred Order, Franciscan Vatican Order, Ancient Celtic Churches, and Rosicrucian Mystical Order.

However, none of these remaining institutions of Templar survival were Orders of Chivalry, and thus could not grant knighthood or damehood.

Also, only the Sacred Order of Saint Francis of Assisi in England (since 1212 AD) preserved and carried the rights of Templar Sovereign Succession, through the rare and unique “Templar Lines” of Apostolic Succession.

Therefore, from 2007-2013, the Franciscan Sacred Order completed the original plan from Saint Bernard, by reunification with surviving cultural and chivalric Templars from Ancient Celtic and Rosicrucian branches of the Old Catholic Churches, to restore and reestablish the Templar Order to full legitimacy.

https://knightstemplarorder.org/templar-order/survival-lineage/

The Order of Alcántara (Leonese: Orde de Alcántara, Spanish: Orden de Alcántara), also called the Knights of St. Julian,[1] was originally a military order of León, founded in 1166[2] and confirmed by Pope Alexander III in 1177.[3]

Alcántara

Alcántara is a town on the Tagus (which is here crossed by a bridge – cantara in Arabic, hence the name). The town is situated on the plain of Extremadura, a great field of conflict for the Muslims and Christians of Iberian Peninsula in the 12th century. Alcántara was first taken in 1167 by King Ferdinand II of León; In 1174 it fell again into the hands of Abu Yaqub Yusuf;[4] and was not recovered until 1214, when it was taken by King Alfonso IX of León.[5] The Order of Trujillo was the Castilian branch of the order until 1195.

To defend this conquest, on a border exposed to many assaults, the king resorted to military orders. The Middle Ages knew neither standing armies nor garrisons, a deficiency that the military orders supplied, combining as they did military training with monastic stability. In 1214 Alcántara was first committed to the care of the Castilian Knights of Calatrava, who had lately received great support after their performance in 1212 at the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa against the Almohades. Alonzo of León wished to found at Alcántara a special branch of this celebrated order for his realm. However, four years later the Order decided that the post was too far from its Castilian headquarters. They gave up the scheme and transferred the castle, with the permission of the king, to a peculiar Leonese order still in a formative stage, known as the Knights of St Julian de Pereiro.

History

Origins of the Order

This order's genesis is obscure, but according to a somewhat questionable tradition, St. Julian de Pereiro was a hermit of the country of Salamanca, where by his counsel, some knights built a castle on the river Tagus to oppose the Muslims. They are mentioned in 1176, in a grant of King Fernando of León, but without allusion to their military character. They are first acknowledged as a military order by a papal bull in 1177 by Pope Alexander III. Through their compact with the Knights of Calatrava, they accepted the Cistercian rule and costume, (a white mantle with the scarlet overcross), and they submitted to the right of inspection and correction from the Master of Calatrava. This union did not last long.

Internal dissensions

The Knights of Alcántara, under their new name, acquired many castles and estates, for the most part at the expense of the Muslims. They amassed great wealth from booty during the war and from pious donations. It was a turning point in their career. However, ambitions and dissensions increased among them. The post of grand master became the aim of rival aspirants. In 1318, the Grand Master, Ruy Vaz, was besieged by his own Knights, sustained in this by the Grand Master of Calatrava. This rent in their body produced no less than three grand masters in contention, supported severally by the Knights, by the Cistercians, and by the king. The rise of such dissensions could be attributed to the fact that military orders had lost the chief object of their vocation when the Moors were driven from their last foothold in the Iberian Peninsula. Some authors assign as causes of their disintegration the decimation of the cloisters by the Black Death in the fourteenth century, and the laxity which allowed recruitment from the most poorly qualified subjects. Lastly, there was the revolution in warfare, when the growth of modern artillery and infantry overpowered the armed cavalry of feudal times, while the orders still held to their obsolete mode of fighting. The orders, nevertheless, by their wealth and numerous vassals, remained a tremendous power in the kingdom, and before long were involved deeply in political agitations. During the fatal schism between Pedro of Castile and his brother, Henry the Bastard, which divided half Europe, the Knights of Alcántara were also split into two factions which warred upon each other.

Royal involvement

The kings, on their side, did not fail to take an active part in the election of the grand master, who could bring such valuable support to the royal authority. In 1409, the regent of Castile succeeded in having his son, Sancho, a boy of eight years, made Grand Master of Alcántara. These intrigues went on until 1492, when Pope Alexander VI invested the Catholic King, Ferdinand of Aragon, with the grand mastership of Alcántara for life. Adrian VI went farther, in favour of his pupil, Charles V, for in 1522 he bestowed the three masterships of Spain upon the Crown, even permitting their inheritance through the female line. The Knights of Alcántara were released from the vow of celibacy by the Holy See in 1540, and the ties of common life were sundered. The order was reduced to a system of endowments at the disposal of the king, of which he availed to himself to reward his nobles. There were no less than thirty-seven "Commanderies", with fifty-three castles or villages. Under the French domination the revenues of Alcántara were confiscated, in 1808, and they were only partly given back in 1814, after the restoration of Ferdinand VII.

The Liberal monarchy seized much of the Order's properties in the 1830s, but by royal decree of 7 April 1848 the majority of the benefices of the four Orders were restored. In the Concordat of 1851 the four Military Orders were allowed continued ecclesiastical jurisdiction over their territories, while the titular of the jurisdiction remained the King (or Queen), as administrator of the four Orders by Apostolic Delegation. Certain of the confiscated properties were restored and concentrated together near Ciudad Real, while others distributed more distantly were integrated into the dioceses in which they lay, and were removed from the Order's jurisdiction. The territories now concentrated around the city of Ciudad Real were designated as the new Priory, a Prelature nullius dioeceseos called the "Priory of the four reunited Military Orders of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara and Montesa", with the Prior holding the titular diocese of Dora and given as his Priory Church, or Cathedral, the former Parish Church of Santa María del Prado in Ciudad Real. The 1st Spanish Republic proclaimed on 12 February 1873 made as one of its first provisions the abolition of all Military Orders, by decree of 9 March following; the Pope, Pius IX, considering that the Orders' ecclesiastical jurisdiction was thereby rendered ineffective, transferred the administration of their benefices to the closest dioceses, in the Bull Quo graviu of 14 July 1873. The President of the Republic, the Duke of La Torre, seeing this as a concession by the Pope, re-established the Military Orders and their governing body, the Tribunal.

The Bull Ad Apostolicam published on 18 November 1875 re-established the Orders' ecclesiastical jurisdiction and the priory based at Ciudad Real. The solemn inauguration of the Priory followed, on 6 June 1876 and the first Prior appointed on the 29 September next. The administration was now re-titled once again by royal decree of 1 August 1876, as the Tribunal Metropolitano y Consejo de las Órdenes Militares, with the responsibility for regulating the proofs of nobility and the admission and investiture of the knights, the appointment of charges and officers, the creation or suppression of parishes, the construction or repair of churches and chapels, the direction of the benefices and hospitals and modification of regulations or statutes; the government thus formally recognised the continued legal existence of the four Orders.

Alfonso XIII obtained de facto papal approval of his new title of Grand Master and Perpetual Administrator when the Holy See confirmed certain regulations in 1916. A royal decree of 18 February 1906 introduced some modifications to the regulations governing the Metropolitan Tribunal and Council that were the last formal regulations introduced before the fall of the monarchy in 1931. The 2nd Republic purported to suppress the Orders in a decree of 29 April 1931, just two weeks after the proclamation of the Republic, and dissolve the Tribunal but did not mention the Consejo de las Órdenes Militares, leaving the juridical situation of this body intact. The suppression provoked an immediate protest by the Cardinal Primate since the religious character of these Orders was regulated by the Concordat. In a modification of the earlier act, the Ministry of War by a decree of 5 August 1931 declared the four Orders subject to the Spanish law on Associations, to which status it had also converted the five Maestranzas and named a "Junta, or Provisional Commission", to which it gave juridical personality in place of the Consejo.

The Count of Barcelona, father of King Juan Carlos I, was formally nominated by the King "Dean President of the Royal Council of the Orders of Chivalry of Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara and Montesa" in 1978. Following his death the Grand Commander of the Order of Alcantara, the Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria, was appointed his successor and upon his death in 2015 his Son Prince Pedro, Duke of Calabria[6] became the head of the Order.

List of grand masters

The following list is taken from Ayala Martínez.[7]

Gómez (c.1175–1200)

Benito Suárez (1200–1216)

Nuño Fernández (1218–1219)

García Sánchez (1219–1227)

Arias Pérez (1227–1234)

Pedro Ibáñez (1234–1254)

García Fernández (1254–1284)

Fernando Páez (1284–1292)

Fernando Pérez Gallego (1292–1298)

Gonzalo Pérez (1298–1316)

Rodrigo Vázquez (1316–1318)

Suero Pérez (1318–1335)

Rodrigo Pérez (1335–1337)

Gonzalo Martínez de Oviedo (1337–1340)

Nuño Chamizo (1340–1343)

Pedro Alfonso Pantoja (1343–1345)

Pedro Yáñez de Campo (1345)

Fernando Pérez Ponce de León (1346–1355)

Diego Gutiérrez de Cevallos (1355)

Suero Martínez (1356–1363)

Gutierre Gómez de Toledo (1362–1365)

Martín López de Córdoba (1365–1367)

Pedro Muñiz Godoy (1367)

Melén Suárez (1369–1370)

Rodrigo Díaz de la Vega (1370–1375)

Diego Martínez (1376–1383)

Diego Gómez Barroso (1383–1384)

Gonzalo Núñez Guzmán (1384–1385)

Martín Yáñez de Barbudo (1385–1394)

Fernando Rodríguez Villalobos (1394–1408)

Infante Sancho de Aragón (1408–1416)

Juan de Sotomayor (1416–1432)

Gutierre de Sotomayor (1432–1454)

Gómez de Cáceres y Solís (1458–1473)

Alonso de Monroy (1473–1477)

Francisco de Solís (1474–1475), elect

Juan de Zúñiga y Pimentel (1477–1494)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Alc%C3%A1ntara

The Teutonic Order, or Teutonic Knights of St. Mary’s Hospital at Jerusalem, grew out of the establishment of a field hospital during the siege of Acre in the winter of 1190-91, by pious merchants of Bremen and Lubeck. When these merchants returned to Germany in 1191 they turned over the hospital to the chaplain Conrad and the chamberlain Burkhard.

With the model of the Hospitallers or Knights of St. John the Baptist, later known as Knights of Malta, before them, these men together with other Germans, formed a brotherhood, adopted the rules of the Hospitallers, and named their hospital “The Hospital of St. Mary of the Germans in Jerusalem” “in the hope and confidence that when the Holy City was reconquered they would there establish a house which should become the mother, head and mistress of the entire Order.” The new Order was confirmed by popes Clement III in 1191 and Celestine in 1196; it won as a patron the emperor, Henry VI, who bestowed upon it its first possessions in the West. In 1198 it was changed into a military Order by the adoption of the rules of the Knights Templars in addition to those of the Hospitallers. Unlike both of these older Orders, the Teutonic Knights were a strictly national organization, none but Germans of noble birth being admitted to it. “Like the knights of other orders, the Teutonic Knights lived a semimonastic life under the Augustinian rule, and in the same way they admitted priests and half-brothers (servientes) into their ranks. Like the other two orders, the Teutonic Order began as a charitable society, developed into a military club, and ended as something of a chartered company, exercising rights of sovereignty on the troubled confines of Christianity. Even in its last phase the Order did not forget its original purpose: it maintained several great hospitals in its new home on the southeast shore of the Baltic, in addition to an hotel des invalides at Marienburg for its sick or aged brethren.” F550 Under its fourth grand master, Hermann von Salza, 1210-39, the Order grew rapidly and made the most important advance in its history. After having aided the king of Hungary against the Comans, and receiving from the king the district of Burzenland in Transylvania, which it did not long retain, the Order was invited to assist in subduing the heathen Prussians. A Cistercian monk named Christian had succeeded in establishing the Church among the Prussians, and in 1212 was made bishop of Prussia. When the heathen arose and destroyed his churches, Christian called upon the Teutonic Knights for help and bestowed upon them Kulm, some of the frontier towns and such lands as they should conquer (1228). After driving the enemy out of Kulm and founding the cities of Kulm, Thorn and Marienwerder, the Order began the task of conquering and Christianizing Prussia. In 1235 it absorbed the Order of Dobrzin, which had been founded by bishop Christian, and in 1237 the Knights of the Sword of Livonia, founded by Albert, bishop of Riga, became a province of the Order.

Its successes in Prussia changed the character of the Teutonic Order. It lost all connection with the East, its grand master moved his seat from Acre, first to Venice in 1291, then in 1308 to Marienburg on the Vistula. The Order became a governing aristocracy, its statutes were altered to suit the new conditions. “The Order was at once supreme ecclesiastical and political authority .... The lay subjects of the Order consisted of two classes: on the one hand there were the conquered Prussians, in a position of serfdom, bound in time of war to serve the brethren in foreign expeditions; on the other hand there were the German immigrants, both urban and rural, along with the free Prussians, who had voluntarily submitted and remained faithful.” f551 By the middle of the fourteenth century the Teutonic Knights had become a world power. Their cities belonged to the Hanseatic League and shared in its power; Poland had been deprived of its outlet on the Baltic; the ships of the Order were a power on the sea; Marienburg with its brilliant court was not merely a school of chivalry, but for a time a literary center. Yet the downfall of the Order was close at hand. It alienated its subjects, who allied themselves with Poland; its missionary work was completed when the Lithuanians became Christians and also made common cause with Poland; the Slav reaction made the Germanizing efforts of the Knights still more unpopular. Internally the success of the Order brought with it a secularization which was disastrous. Poland regained a foothold on the Baltic. The Prussian League was formed in 1440 with the real purpose of opposing the Knights, and in 1454 offered Prussia to the Polish king. The peace of Thorn, 1466, left to the Order only East Prussia and made the knights vassals of Poland. But the German master and the Landmeister for Livonia would not serve Poland, and the Order in East Prussia adopted the policy of electing German princes as grand masters in the hope of again regaining independence, without success. The first of these German grand masters was Frederick of Saxony, 1498 to 1511. He was succeeded by Albert of Brandenburg. f552 Albert became involved in a devastating war with Poland, which was provisionally ended by a four years’ truce made in 1521. In September of that year Albert suggested the possibility of a revision of the statutes of the Order by Luther, probably in harmony with the plans outlined in the Open Letter to the German Nobility. So far as known Luther was not consulted at that time. Albert continued to take his place with the Roman Catholic princes. But when in April, 1522, he returned to Germany he came under the influence of Lazarus Spengler and Andreas Osiander and was won for the evangelical party. During the Diet at Nuremberg, 1522- 23, he protested that it was not the proper way to proceed against Luther, “if evident truth be condemned and books burned.”

Pope Hadrian VI urged upon Albert a reformation of the Order. In June, 1523, Albert secretly turned to Luther for advice concerning the reformation of the Order in head and members. On November 29th the two met at Wittenberg, and Luther advised Albert “to throw aside the foolish and absurd rules of the Order, to marry, and to convert the religious state into a secular state, either a principality or a duchy.” Melanchthon, who was present at the interview, gave the same advice. The grand master smiled and said nothing. But “with that evangelical protestant advice Luther laid the foundations for the development of the Prussian state, of the Prussian kingdom, and of the German empire which is inseparable from the development of the Prussian kingdom.” f554 Soon after this meeting Luther prepared the following treatise, intended, as Kawerau suggests, to be a “feeler, which should test the attitude of the knights of the Order as well as of the Prussian bishops, and prepare them for coming events.” The older collected editions of Luther’s works date the treatise March 28, 1523. But, as Kawerau points out, it is improbable that the treatise was written before the last month of 1523, and the date may be a mistake for December 12th. The original prints are undated; the editors may have confused the festivals of the Annunciation and of the Conception of the Virgin Mary, the latter of which may have been the date attached to the manuscript.

After the evangelical principles had been gradually introduced into Prussia by the two bishops, Georg von Polentz and Erhard von Queiss, the grand master returned to Prussia and carried out Luther’s suggestion. Peace was made with Poland, Prussia was converted into a duchy held as fief of the king of Poland and hereditary in the family of Albert. July 1, 1526, Albert was married to Dorothea, the daughter of the Danish king, and thus was founded the evangelical house of the Hohenzollern.

The progress of the Gospel in Prussia gave Luther much joy. In 1525 he wrote to the Bishop of Samland, Georg von Polentz: “Behold the wonder!

In rapid course, with full sails, the Gospel hastens to Prussia, whither it was not called, and where it was not sought after, while in Upper and Lower Germany, whither it came of its own accord, it is blasphemed, repelled and put to flight with all rage and madness.” f556 The Teutonic Order in its German and Livonian branches continued to exist, and laid claim to the rights of the Order in Prussia. It was finally suppressed in 1809, and its lands passed into the hands of the secular princes within whose territories they lay. But in 1840 the Order was resuscitated in Austria, and again engaged in hospital service, in which it is presumably active during the present war. But this Teutonic Order is not the same as that which became secularized at the time of the Reformation.

The Prussian branch passed into the Prussian kingdom, not into the restored Order. A Protestant branch exists in the ancient bailiwick of Utrecht, the members of which must profess the Calvinistic faith, and are dispensed from celibacy. See Catholic Encyclopedia, xiv, 542.

The subject of the monastic vows and of the marriage of monks had been discussed at great length before this treatise was written. For the development of that discussion we must refer here to the introduction to the Treatise on Monastic Vows, which was excluded from this volume because of its size. But the careful student will find that Luther has not merely repeated older arguments nor restated older positions. He has gone farther, his position is more advanced. In fact, upon the advance beyond the position taken in the Formula Missae Kawerau bases an argument for the later date of our treatise. “For the writing of this treatise immediately after the FormuIa Missae we find an argument in the remarkable agreement between the statements in the two concerning those who want to wait for decrees of a council and desire permission to be given them (to use the two kinds in the Lord’s Supper, or, in the later treatise, to marry) by such decrees. He who reads the analogous portions in the two treatises will easily recognize in the Exhortation to the Teutonic Knights the bold heightening of the thought to a paradox, and thus see in the Formula Missae the older form.” f558 The German text is found in Weimar Ed., xii, 232-244; Walch Ed., xix, 2157-76; Erlangen Ed., xxix 16-33; St. Louis Ed., xix, 1730-45; Berlin Ed., iv, 32-47. Literature : Introduction by KAWERAU in Weimar Ed., xii, 228-31; Prot. Realencyklopadie, 3d ed., Arts., Albrecht von Preussen, I, 310-23; Deutschorden, iv, 589-95; Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., Arts., Albert, i, 497, and Teutonic Order, xxvi, 676-9. The literature is given fully in all these articles. Compare also Schaff, Church History, vi, 588-600, and Kostlin-Kawerau, Martin Luther, i, 620-623. W. A. LAMBERT. LEBANON,PA.

WORKS OF MARTIN LUTHER - TO THE KNIGHTS OF THE TEUTONIC ORDER AN EXHORTATION THAT THEY LAY ASIDE FALSE CHASTITY AND TAKE UPON THEM THE TRUE CHASTITY OF WEDLOCK (godrules.net)

https://www.godrules.net/library/luther/NEW1luther_c8.htm

History

Early history

During the 18th century, some 70% of German Masonic Lodges worked according to the rituals of the Strict Observance. In the 1760s resentment was growing against the rituals of that Order, which were regarded as lacking in content and overly pompous, as well as the Strict Observance's "economical plan". As one of those, who were unsatisfied with this Rite, Johann Wilhelm Kellner von Zinnendorf wrote to the Grand Lodge in London, asking for a patent to establish a new Lodge. However the London Grand Lodge declined, as there were already a great number of Masonic Lodges and Grand Lodges in existence in Berlin at that time.

After that, Kellner von Zinnendorf tried, through the help of a friend of his, to gain a patent and rituals from Karl Friedrich Eckleff in Sweden. This attempt also failed, but other friends of his continued with these attempts. At this point, he was still acting in accordance with the Army Master (Heermeister) of the Strict Observance, who was informed of his actions.[4]

Only a friend of Kellner von Zinnendorf's called Baumann finally managed to gain Eckleff's trust. On 14 September 1766 he returned to Berlin carrying a personal letter from Eckleff to Kellner von Zinnendorf, containing the ritual files, a charter permitting the establishment of Lodges abiding by the Swedish Rite, instructions for the Master of the Order and directions for the establishment of a Chapter. Shortly thereafter, a quarrel began between Kellner von Zinnendorf and the Army Master of the Strict Observance, von Hund. On 16 December 1766, Kellner von Zinnendorf left the Strict Observance and spent his time concentrating on the establishment of a new Grand Lodge.[5]

During this time, Baumann's files were translated into German and several Lodges, working according to the new ritual, were founded in the Berlin area. Kellner von Zinnendorf's goal was to create at least 12 Lodges, in order to found his new Grand Lodge. However, on 27 December 1770 it was decided to go ahead with the establishment of the Grand Landlodge of the Freemasons of Germany, even though only 7 St. John's Lodges and one St. Andrew's Lodge had so far been founded.

Following the establishment, Kellner von Zinnendorf was anxious to get on good terms with the Grand Lodge in London. On 30 November 1773 an official letter of recognition arrived from London, to the effect that the Grand Landlodge was recognized as the sole Grand Lodge of the German states and was thus regarded as an equal by the Grand Lodge in London.[6]

On 14 October 1773 a meeting was arranged between representatives of the Grand Landlodge and of the Strict Observance. There an unsteady agreement was achieved, ending long lasting conflict between the two rites that had been raging since Kellner von Zinnendorf left the Strict Observance in 1766.

Another milestone in the history of the Grand Landlodge was Frederick the Great's Letter of Protection of 16 July 1774, which guaranteed the Grand Landlodge his royal protection.[7]

In Sweden Duke Charles of Södermanland had taken over the office of Master of the Order from Eckleff in 1773. As he was additionally offered the office of Army Master of the Strict Observance and he accepted, relations between the Grand Lodge of Sweden and the Grand Landlodge deteriorated.

Around the year 1778 the Grand Landlodge consisted of 34 Lodges. After the death of its founder Kellner von Zinnendorf, in the year 1782 it consisted of a total of 62 Lodges. Provincial Lodges were created in Austria, Silesia, Pomerania, Lower Saxony and Russia.[8]

19th century

The history of the Grand Landlodge in the course of the 19th century includes several high points. Following the death of King Carl XIII of Sweden on 5 February 1818 there was a reconciliation with the Grand Lodge of Sweden, which amounted to a Treaty of Friendship that was signed on 13 April 1819. Using the new rituals that were sent from Sweden, Christian Karl Friedrich Wilhelm von Nettelbladt implemented a significant reform of the rituals.

In 1872 Adolf Widmann founded the Zirkelkorrespondenz, a masonic magazine, which is still published today and distributed among the members of the Grand Landlodge. Widmann traveled to Sweden in 1869 and worked on a further compilation of the rituals.

The two most prominent members of the Grand Landlodge during the 19th century were the German Emperors William I and Frederick III; the latter was also Master of the Order of the Grand Landlodge.

20th century

Following a meeting between Hermann Göring and Grand Master of the Land von Heeringen on 7 April 1933 the GLL officially rejected its masonic foundation and especially eliminated all parts of the ritual drawing on the Old Testament and got rid of all masonic nomenclature. It now bore the name of "German-Christian Order of the Knights Templar".

On 10 April 1933 von Heeringen informed the other two Old Prussian Lodges of this conversion. In the days that followed, the other Old Prussian Lodges followed its example.[9]

Internally everything that was considered typical of Freemasonry was either changed or eliminated. The aprons were abolished, Solomon's Temple was changed to the "German Cathedral" or Strasbourg Cathedral, all parts of the ritual referring to or drawing from the Old Testament were done away with and the legend of Hiram Abiff replaced by the ancient Germanic legend of Baldr. However, none of these conversions were ever accepted by the Nazi Party.[10]

Thus the leaders of the national Grand Lodges demonstrated a grave misjudgement of Freemasonry's role in the National Socialist view of the world. Years of Nazi propaganda had stylized Freemasonry to a form of abstract hate symbol similar to the Jews. Therefore, they were generally regarded as enemies.[11]

The Grand Landlodge tried in vain to take legal action against the increasing riots against the Lodges that had increased dramatically since the Nazi seizure of power in 1933. Of course the legal proceedings against local leaders of the Sturmabteilung and the Nazi Party were unsuccessful.

When all legal actions failed, no further noteworthy resistance was offered by the GLL. Its officials are said to have asked for the intervention of the Swedish King Gustav V, which was obviously unsuccessful as well. However, they managed to smuggle essential parts of their archive to Sweden, through dubious connections. These documents were returned in 1978.[12]

In the spring of 1935, the Grand Lodge of Prussia, called "Zur Freundschaft", tried to find a solution for the situation. Their most prominent member, the Reich Minister Hjalmar Schacht was sent to talk to Hitler and found out that a dissolution of German Freemasonry was inevitable.[13] The Interior Ministry ordered that all Grand Lodges along with their constituent lodges had to be disbanded by 21 July 1935. On 14 July 1935 a final ceremony was held by the Grand Landlodge.

Immediately following World War II preparations were made for the reestablishment of the Grand Landlodge. Dr. Hans Oehmen was elected the first Master of the Order of the post-war period. Paul Rosenthal became the Grand Lodge's first Grand Master of the Land, however he died as early as 1946. The negotiations that finally led to the establishment of the United Grand Lodges of Germany – Brotherhood of Freemasons, were led by the 19th Master of the Order Dr. Fritz Pauk.

Headquarters of the Order

Source:[15]

For some years following its foundation, the Grand Landlodge's administration was housed in the private homes of some of its members. In 1786 a property in Berlin was acquired for its use by Christoph Friedrich Nicolai. On these grounds the first "House of the Order" was built and turned over to the Grand Landlodge in 1791. Initially this house remained private property, but between 1806 and 1816 it housed the French General Staff. See also: →History of Berlin

In 1821 the building passed into the ownership of the Grand Landlodge. In 1839 the "House of the Order" was extended and was ornamented with a Classicist facade. As the number of members in the city of Berlin increased to more than 1200, the building had to be extended once more, in 1845. In 1898 it was sold to the Post Office as another extension would not have been possible. Until the completion of the new "House of the Order", the lodges of the Grand Landlodge made use of the facilities of the other two Old Prussian Lodges.

The Foundation Stone Ceremony for the second "House of the Order" took place on 11 November 1898 and the dedication of the building took place on 18 November 1900. It was the largest "House of the Order" of the Grand Landlodge to date. The building's 15,000 m2 housed 8 temples, 2 great banquet halls, 2 assembly halls, 3 conference rooms, 6 residential flats, an archive, a museum's hall and several administrative offices.

The "House of the Order" was lost through the compulsory expropriation by the National Socialist Government in 1935. During World War II it was heavily damaged by bombings and looting. In December 1945 the building's basement was once again used for meetings, but the house could not be rebuilt. Therefore, the property was sold in 1965.

The money gained from selling the old property, together with donations from the Landlodge's members, served to buy the new, albeit smaller, "House of the Order".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Landlodge_of_the_Freemasons_of_Germany

Finally, the Constitutions train us all for perfection, instructing us in the weapons to be used in combatting our three fierce and raging adversaries. They teach us how to counter the lust of the flesh with chastity, the lust of the eyes with poverty, and the pride of life with obedience. I shall say nothing of our observance of chastity (in which we should imitate the purity of the angels so far as our frailty allows), or of our OBSERVANCE of poverty (which is so STRICT that neither churches nor professed houses may acquire any rents, lands, or even perpetual endowments). As for obedience, however, by which we consecrate the chief and noblest part of ourselves to God, our Constitutions require of us that it be so prompt, eager, perfect, and integral that we do not swerve even a hairsbreadth from our superiors commands. In matters falling under obedience, not only must our action be guided by the superior s command and our will by his will, but even something much more difficult our understanding by his understanding.

To sum up: men crucified to the world, and to whom the world itself is crucified[7] such would our Constitutions have us to be; new men, I say, who have put off their affections to put on Christ;[8] dead to themselves to live to justice; who, with St. Paul in labors, in watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in knowledge, in long suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Spirit, in charity unfeigned, in the word of truth, show themselves ministers of God[9] and by the armor of Justice on the right hand and, on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report, by good success finally and ill success, press forward with great strides to their heavenly country. This is the sum and aim of our institute.

And so I beseech you, brothers in the Lord, that we may walk in a manner worthy of our vocation,[10] and, in order to know that vocation, may read and reread these Constitutions that have been bestowed upon us by the gift of God. Let us study them day and night. Let us vie with each other in learning them, pondering them, and keeping them. If we do so, our name will be matched by our lives and our profession made manifest in deed.

Farewell in Christ.  

Rome, the house of the Society of Jesus, 1559 [7]

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

The Archdiocese of Milan (Italian: Arcidiocesi di Milano; Latin: Archidioecesis Mediolanensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Italy which covers the areas of Milan, Monza, Lecco and Varese. It has long maintained its own Latin liturgical rite usage, the Ambrosian rite, which is still used in the greater part of the diocesan territory. Among its past archbishops, the better known are Ambrose, Charles Borromeo, Pope Pius XI and Pope Paul VI.

The Archdiocese of Milan is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province of Milan, which includes the suffragan dioceses of Bergamo, Brescia, Como, Crema, Cremona, Lodi, Mantova, Pavia, and Vigevano.[2][3]

Milan's archdiocese is the largest in Europe,[4] and the one having the most priests in the world, with, as of 2021, 2,450 priests living in the diocese, among whom 1,712 are secular priests.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Archdiocese_of_Milan

The Ambrosian Rite (Italian: rito ambrosiano)[1] is a Latin liturgical rite of the Catholic Church. The rite is named after Saint Ambrose, a bishop of Milan in the fourth century. It is used by around five million Catholics in the greater part of the Archdiocese of Milan (excluding Monza, Treviglio and Trezzo sull'Adda), in some parishes of the Diocese of Como, Bergamo, Novara, Lodi, and in the Diocese of Lugano, Canton of Ticino, Switzerland.

Milan Cathedral, mother church of all Ambrosian Christians

The Ambrosian Rite has risked suppression at various points in its history. It was reformed after the Second Vatican Council (Pope Paul VI belonged to the Ambrosian Rite, having previously been Archbishop of Milan). In the 20th century, it also gained prominence and prestige from the attentions of two other scholarly Archbishops of Milan: Achille Ratti, later Pope Pius XI, and the Blessed Ildefonso Schuster, both of whom were involved in studies and publications on the rite.

History

The Church of Milan's own liturgy is named Ambrosian after its patron saint Ambrose.[2] The Ambrosian Rite evolved and developed from the 4th century onwards.[2] There is no direct evidence that the rite was the composition of St. Ambrose, but his name has been associated with it since the 8th century. It is possible that Ambrose, who succeeded the Arian bishop Auxentius of Milan, may have removed material seen as unorthodox by the mainstream church and issued corrected service books which included the principal characteristics distinguishing it from other rites.[3]

According to St. Augustine (Confessiones, IX, vii) and Paulinus the Deacon (Vita S. Ambrosii, § 13), St. Ambrose introduced innovations, not indeed into the Mass, but into what would seem to be the Divine Office, at the time of his contest with the Empress Justina, for the Portian Basilica which she claimed for the Arians. St. Ambrose filled the church with Catholics and kept them there night and day until the peril was past. And he arranged Psalms and hymns for them to sing, as St. Augustine says, "after the manner of the Orientals, lest the people should languish in cheerless monotony"; and of this Paulinus the deacon says: "Now for the first time antiphons, hymns, and vigils began to be part of the observance of the Church in Milan, which devout observance lasts to our day not only in that church but in nearly every province of the West".[3]

From the time of St. Ambrose, whose hymns are well-known and whose liturgical allusions may certainly be explained as referring to a rite which possessed the characteristics of that which is called by his name, until the period of Charlemagne (circ AD 800), there is a gap in the history of the Milanese Rite. However, St. Simplician, the successor of St. Ambrose, added much to the rite and St. Lazarus (438-451) introduced the three days of the litanies (Cantù, Milano e il suo territorio, I, 116). The Church of Milan underwent various vicissitudes and for a period of some eighty years (570-649), during the Lombard conquests, the see was moved to Genoa in Liguria.[3]

In the eighth century, manuscript evidence begins. In a short treatise on the various cursus entitled "Ratio de Cursus qui fuerunt ex auctores" (sic in Cotton Manuscripts, Nero A. II, in the British Library), written about the middle of the eighth century, probably by an Irish monk in France, is found perhaps the earliest attribution of the Milan use to St. Ambrose, though it quotes the authority of St. Augustine, probably alluding to the passage already mentioned: "There is yet another Cursus which the blessed Bishop Augustine says that the blessed Ambrose composed because of the existence of a different use of the heretics, which previously used to be sung in Italy".[3]

According to a narrative of Landulphus Senior, the eleventh-century chronicler of Milan, Charlemagne attempted to abolish the Ambrosian Rite, as he or his father, Pepin the Short, had abolished the Gallican Rite in France, in favour of a Gallicanized Roman Rite. He sent to Milan and caused to be destroyed or sent beyond the mountain, quasi in exilium (as if into exile), all the Ambrosian books which could be found. Eugenius the Bishop, (transmontane bishop, as Landulf calls him), begged him to reconsider his decision. After the manner of the time, an ordeal, which reminds one of the celebrated trials by fire and by battle in the case of Alfonso VI and the Mozarabic Rite, was determined on. Two books, Ambrosian and Roman, were laid closed upon the altar of St. Peter's Church in Rome and left for three days, and the one which was found open was to win. They were both found open, and it was resolved that as God had shown that one was as acceptable as the other, the Ambrosian Rite should continue. But the destruction had been so far effective that no Ambrosian books could be found, save one missal which a faithful priest had hidden for six weeks in a cave in the mountains. Therefore the Manuale was written out from memory by certain priests and clerks (Landulph, Chron., 10-13). Walafridus Strabo, who died Abbot of Reichenau in 849, and must therefore have been nearly, if not quite, contemporary with this incident, says nothing about it, but (De Rebus Ecclesiasticis, xxii), speaking of various forms of the Mass, says: "Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, also arranged a ceremonial for the Mass and other offices for his own church and for other parts of Liguria, which is still observed in the Milanese Church".[3]

In the eleventh century Pope Nicholas II, who in 1060 had tried to abolish the Mozarabic Rite, wished also to attack the Ambrosian and was aided by St. Peter Damian but he was unsuccessful, and Pope Alexander II his successor, himself a Milanese, reversed his policy in this respect. St. Gregory VII made another attempt, and Le Brun (Explication de la Messe, III, art. I, § 8) conjectures that Landulf's miraculous narrative was written with a purpose about that time. Having weathered these storms, the Ambrosian Rite had peace for some three centuries and a half.[3]

In the first half of the fifteenth century Cardinal Branda da Castiglione, who died in 1448, was legate in Milan. As part of his plan for reconciling Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, and the Holy See, he endeavoured to substitute the Roman Rite for the Ambrosian. The result was a serious riot, and the Cardinal's legateship came to an abrupt end. After that, the Ambrosian Rite was safe until the Council of Trent. The Rule of that Council, that local uses which could show a prescription of two centuries might be retained, saved Milan, not without a struggle, from the loss of its Rite, and St. Charles Borromeo though he made some alterations in a Roman direction, was most careful not to destroy its characteristics. A small attempt made against it by a Governor of Milan who had obtained permission from the Pope to have the Roman Mass said in any church which he might happen to attend, was defeated by St. Charles, and his own revisions were intended to do little more than was inevitable in a living rite.[3]

Since his time the temper of the Milan Church has been most conservative, and the only alterations in subsequent editions seem to have been slight improvements in the wording of rubrics and in the arrangement of the books. The district in which the Ambrosian Rite is used is nominally the old archepiscopal province of Milan before the changes of 1515 and 1819, but actually, it is not exclusively used even in the city of Milan itself. In parts of the Swiss Canton of Ticino, it is used; in other parts, the Roman Rite is so much preferred that it is said that when Cardinal Gaisruck tried to force the Ambrosian upon them the inhabitants declared that they would be either Roman or Lutheran. There are traces also of the use of the Ambrosian Rite beyond the limits of the Province of Milan. In 1132-34, two Augustinian canons of Ratisbon, Paul, said by Bäumer to be Paul of Bernried, and Gebehard, held a correspondence with Anselm, Archbishop of Milan, and Martin, treasurer of St. Ambrose, with a view of obtaining copies of the books of the Ambrosian Rite, so that they might introduce it into their church. In the fourteenth century, the Emperor Charles IV introduced the Rite into the Church of St. Ambrose at Prague. Traces of it, mixed with the Roman, are said by Hoeyinck (Geschichte der kirchl. Liturgie des Bisthums Augsburg) to have remained in the diocese of Augsburg down to its last breviary of 1584, and according to Catena (Cantù, Milano e il suo territorio, 118) the use of Capua in the time of St. Charles Borromeo had some resemblance to that of Milan.[3]

Important editions of the Ambrosian Missal were issued in 1475, 1594, 1609, 1902 and 1954. The last of these was the final edition in the form of the Ambrosian Rite that preceded the Second Vatican Council and is now used mainly in the church of San Rocco al Gentilino in Milan.

Following the guidelines of the Second Vatican Council and the preliminary revisions of the Ordinary of the Mass of the Roman Rite, a new bilingual (Latin and Italian) edition of the Ambrosian Missal was issued in 1966, simplifying the 1955 missal, mainly in the prayers the priest said inaudibly and in the genuflections, and adding the Prayer of the Faithful. The Eucharistic prayer continued to be said in Latin until 1967. The altars were moved to face the people.

When the Mass of Paul VI was issued in 1969, most Ambrosian-Rite priests began to use the new Roman Missal (only omitting the Agnus Dei), the Roman Lectionary, and the General Roman Calendar (with its four-week Advent). The Ambrosian form of administering the other sacraments was for the most part already identical with the Roman. This made it uncertain whether the Ambrosian Rite would survive. But in promulgating the documents of the 46th diocesan synod (1966–1973), Cardinal Archbishop Giovanni Colombo, supported by Pope Paul VI (a former Archbishop of Milan), finally decreed that the Ambrosian Rite, brought into line with the directives of the Second Vatican Council, should be preserved.

Work, still in progress, began on all the Ambrosian liturgical texts. On 11 April 1976 Cardinal Colombo published the new Ambrosian Missal, covering the whole liturgical year. Later in the same year an experimental Lectionary appeared, covering only some liturgical seasons, and still following the Roman-Rite Lectionary for the rest. Minor modifications of the Ambrosian Missal were implemented in 1978, restoring for example the place of the Creed in the Mass, and the new Ambrosian rite for funerals was issued.

The Ambrosian Missal also restored two early-medieval Ambrosian Eucharistic prayers, unusual for placing the epiclesis after the Words of Institution, in line with Oriental use.

In 1984-1985 the new Ambrosian Liturgy of the Hours was published and in 2006 the new Ambrosian rite of marriage. On 20 March 2008 the new Ambrosian Lectionary, superseding the 1976 experimental edition, and covering the whole liturgical year, was promulgated, coming into effect from the First Sunday of Advent 2008 (16 November 2008).[4] It is based on the ancient Ambrosian liturgical tradition and contains in particular, a special rite of light ("lucernarium") and proclamation of the resurrection of Jesus, for use before the Saturday-evening celebration of the Mass of the Sunday, seen as the weekly Easter.[5] Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass in Milan using the Ambrosian Rite in 1983, as did Pope Francis in 2017.

Origin

The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1907 gives three theories of the ancient origin of the rite, none conclusive. The question resolves itself into whether the Ambrosian Rite is archaic Roman or a much-Romanized form of the Gallican Rite.

J. M. Neale and others from the Anglican tradition referred the Hispano-Gallican and Celtic family of liturgies to an original imported into Provence from Ephesus in Asia Minor by St. Irenæus, who had received it through St. Polycarp from St. John the Divine. The name Ephesine was applied to this liturgy, and it was sometimes called the Liturgy of St. John. In support of this theory, Colman, at the Synod of Whitby in 664, attributed the Celtic rule of Easter to St. John. But Neale greatly exaggerated the Romanizing effected by St. Charles Borromeo. W. C. Bishop, however, in his article on the Ambrosian Breviary, takes up the same line as Neale in claiming a Gallican origin for the Ambrosian Divine Office.[3]

Louis Duchesne in his "Origines du culte chrétien" theorizes that the rite was imported or modified from the East, perhaps by the Cappadocian Arian Bishop Auxentius (355-374), the predecessor of St. Ambrose, and gradually spread to Gaul, Spain, and Britain.[3] Jungmann later concluded that "Duchesne's thesis can be accepted in the sense that Milan was the centre from which a Gallican type liturgy took its origin."[6] Here, "Gallican" means a Latin (not Eastern) liturgy somewhat different from that of Rome.[7]

Antonio Maria Ceriani and Magistretti maintain that the Ambrosian Rite has preserved the pre-Gelasian and pre-Gregorian form of the Roman Rite.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrosian_Rite

The House of El Douaihy (also "Al Douaihy" in some cases Doueihy, Douaihi, Doueihi, Dowaihi, Duayhe, Duwayhi', Dwaihy, Arabic: الدويهي, French: de Douai), is an important Lebanese and Levantine noble family of French origins of which can be traced up until the 7th century. The first prominent feudal northern Lebanese Maronite Sheikhs (Lords) to have governed Zgharta and Ehden, (Zgharta District) in northern Lebanon came from the Douaihy clan.

Throughout history, the Douaihys endowed the community with research, faith, commerce and art. The Douaihys are also a religious family, among whom are recognized four Patriarchs, seventeen Bishops, hundreds of monks and nuns, dating from the 14th century to the present day.

On January 26, 2006 the Congregation of Saints in the Vatican has proclaimed the beginning of the process for Patriarch Estephan El Douaihy’s canonization.[1]

It is a large and well-rooted family in the lands of Ehden, Kadisha and Khazahia, where its roots combine with the history of the Maronites for at least one thousand years. The clan had a substantial presence in the Galilee prior to 1948, but its numbers have dwindled in the Holy Land in general since then, with most Palestinian clan members moving to Europe and South America, as well as Lebanon.

The Douaihy family lineage continues to contribute meaningfully on the national and international scene as professors, academics, artists, diplomats, police and army generals, healthcare representatives, parliament members and minister.The family slogan, known by many as "Ana la min?" (Who am I for?), is being upheld by the rightful heir of the family, Duks III, who carries the torch of this legacy. [2][3][4][5][6][7]

Origins

Genealogy in the Middle East, especially of Christian families in Syria, Lebanon and the Holy Land, is complicated and depends on oral traditions much more than written ones.

In the Middle Ages when Tripoli was governed by the Crusaders, a mixed people lived in the area, a result of the intermarriages between the Christians from Europe and the local Christians (Maronites, Melkites, etc.). It was not unusual for a Tripolitan to be of French origin (but of local Christian culture), married to a local Christian, with a Greek son-in-law and an Armenian or Syriac daughter-in-law.

To this day you can find many people of Crusader origin in Lebanon, the Holy Land, Jordan and Syria. The El Douaihy clan are descendants of the French who came from the northern French city of Douai, the capital of the ancient Frankish Duchy of Ostrevant (the arms of the Douai family are still used as a blason of Ostrevant). In the First Crusade, Count Anselme II De Ribemont d’Ostrevant was the “right hand” of Godfroi de Bouillon in the East, so one would assume that his progenitors were related to the De Ribemont d’Ostrevant family.

If Jeremiah Al-Amshiti had been one of the Douai clan, as Patriarch Estephan El Douaihy claimed, the family progenitors would have been “easternized” just after the First Crusade 1096 -1099. The Douaihy clan spread across the Levant, including to Syria and Israel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douaihy

Istifan al-Duwayhi or Estephan El Douaihy (Arabic: اسطفانوس الثاني بطرس الدويهي / ALA-LC: Isṭifānūs al-thānī Buṭrus al-Duwayhī; French: Étienne Douaihi; Latin: Stephanus Dovaihi; Italian: Stefano El Douaihy; 2 August 1630 – 3 May 1704) was the 57th Patriarch of the Maronite Church, serving from 1670 until his death. He was born in Ehden, Lebanon.

He is considered one of the major Lebanese historians of the 17th century and was known as “The Father of Maronite History”, “Pillar of the Maronite Church”, “The Second Chrysostom”, “Splendor of the Maronite Nation”, and “The Glory of Lebanon and the Maronites”. After his death, he was declared a Servant of God by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.[1] On 3 July 2008 Pope Benedict XVI declared him Venerable.[2] On August 2, 2024, he was beatified at a ceremony held in Bkerké, Lebanon.[3]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istifan_al-Duwayhi 

Gloria María Milagrosa Estefan (née Fajardo García; born September 1, 1957) (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈɡloɾja esˈtefan]) is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is an eight-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been named one of the Top 100 greatest artists of all time by both VH1 and Billboard.[2] Estefan's record sales exceed 100 million worldwide, making her one of the best-selling female singers of all time.[3][4] Many of Estefan's songs became international chart-topping hits, including "1-2-3", "Don't Wanna Lose You", "Coming Out of the Dark", "Turn the Beat Around", and "Heaven's What I Feel". Other hits include "Bad Boy", "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You", "Get On Your Feet", and "You'll Be Mine (Party Time)".

A contralto, Estefan started[5] her career as lead singer of Miami Latin Boys, which was later renamed Miami Sound Machine. She and Miami Sound Machine earned worldwide success with their 1985 single "Conga", which became Estefan's signature song and led to Miami Sound Machine winning the 15th annual Tokyo Music Festival's grand prix in 1986. In 1988, she and Miami Sound Machine achieved their first number-one hit with "Anything for You".

In March 1990, Estefan sustained a life-threatening cervical fracture of her spine when her tour bus was involved in a serious accident near Scranton, Pennsylvania. She underwent an emergency surgical stabilization of her cervical spine and post-surgical rehabilitation that lasted almost a year, but made a full recovery. A year later, in March 1991, Estefan launched her comeback with a worldwide tour and album, Into the Light.

Estefan's 1993 Spanish-language album, Mi Tierra, won the first of her three Grammy Awards for Best Tropical Latin Album.[6] The album was also the first Diamond album in Spain. Estefan has been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Las Vegas Walk of Fame and was a Kennedy Center Honors recipient in 2017 for her contributions to American cultural life. Estefan won an MTV Video Music Award, was honored with the American Music Award for Lifetime Achievement, and has been named BMI Songwriter of the Year. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and has received multiple Billboard Music Awards. She is also a recipient of the 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom.[7]

Billboard has listed Estefan as the third-most successful Latina and 23rd-greatest Latin Artist of all time in the U.S., based on both Latin albums and Latin songs chart.[8] Hailed as the "Queen of Latin Pop" by the media,[9] she has amassed 38 number one hits across Billboard charts, including 15 chart-topping songs on the Hot Latin Songs chart.[10][8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_Estefan 

Genesis 3:15

Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition

15 I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%203%3A15&version=DRA

Genesis 3:15

1599 Geneva Bible

15 I will also put enmity between [q]thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. He shall break thine [r]head, and thou shalt [s]bruise his heel.

Genesis 3:15 He chiefly meaneth Satan, by whose motion and craft the serpent deceived the woman.

Genesis 3:15 That is, the power of sin and death.

Genesis 3:15 Satan shall sting Christ and his members, but not overcome them.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%203&version=GNV

PARTICULAR AND DAILY EXAMEN It contains in it three times, and two to examine oneself. The first time is in the morning, immediately on rising, when one ought to propose to guard himself with diligence against that particular sin or defect which he wants to correct and amend. The second time is after dinner, when one is to ask of God our Lord what one wants, namely, grace to remember how many times he has fallen into that particular sin or defect, and to amend himself in the future. Then let him make the first Examen, asking account of his soul of that particular thing proposed, which he wants to correct and amend. Let him go over hour by hour, or period by period, commencing at the hour he rose, and continuing up to the hour and instant of the present examen, and let him make in the first line of the G------- as many dots as were the times he has fallen into that particular sin or defect. Then let him resolve anew to amend himself up to the second Examen which he will make. The third time: After supper, the second Examen will be made, in the same way, hour by hour, commencing at the first Examen and continuing up to the present (second) one, and let him make in the second line of the same G------- as many dots as were the times he has fallen into that particular sin or defect. FOUR ADDITIONS FOLLOW TO RID ONESELF SOONER OF THAT PARTICULAR SIN OR DEFECT First Addition. The first Addition is that each time one falls into that particular sin or defect, let him put his hand on his breast, grieving for having fallen: which can be done even in the presence of many, without their perceiving what he is doing. Second Addition. The second: As the first line of the G------- means the first Examen, and the second line the second Examen, let him look at night if there is amendment from the first line to the second, that is, from the first Examen to the second. Third Addition. The third: To compare the second day with the first; that is, the two Examens of the present day with the other two Examens of the previous day, and see if he has amended himself from one day to the other. Fourth Addition. The fourth Addition: To compare one week with another, and see if he has amended himself in the present week over the week past. Note. It is to be noted that the first (large) G------- which follows means the Sunday: the second (smaller), the Monday: the third, the Tuesday, and so on.

GGGGGG

"The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola

TRANSLATED FROM

THE AUTOGRAPH

BY

FATHER ELDER MULLAN, S.J.

I.H.S.

NEW YORK

P.J. KENEDY & SONS

PRINTERS TO THE HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE

https://ia800303.us.archive.org/3/items/a588350800loyouoft/a588350800loyouoft.pdf

The Douay–Rheims Bible (/ˌduːeɪ ˈriːmz, ˌdaʊeɪ -/,[1] US also /duːˌeɪ -/), also known as the Douay–Rheims Version, Rheims–Douai Bible or Douai Bible, and abbreviated as D–R, DRB, and DRV, is a translation of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English made by members of the English College, Douai, in the service of the Catholic Church.[2] The New Testament portion was published in Reims, France, in 1582, in one volume with extensive commentary and notes. The Old Testament portion was published in two volumes twenty-seven years later in 1609 and 1610 by the University of Douai. The first volume, covering Genesis to Job, was published in 1609; the second, covering the Book of Psalms to 2 Maccabees (spelt "Machabees") plus the three apocryphal books of the Vulgate appendix following the Old Testament (Prayer of Manasseh, 3 Esdras, and 4 Esdras), was published in 1610. Marginal notes took up the bulk of the volumes and offered insights on issues of translation, and on the Hebrew and Greek source texts of the Vulgate.

The purpose of the version, both the text and notes, was to uphold Catholic tradition in the face of the Protestant Reformation which up until the time of its publication had dominated Elizabethan religion and academic debate. As such it was an effort by English Catholics to support the Counter-Reformation. The New Testament was reprinted in 1600, 1621 and 1633. The Old Testament volumes were reprinted in 1635 but neither thereafter for another hundred years. In 1589, William Fulke collated the complete Rheims text and notes in parallel columns with those of the Bishops' Bible. This work sold widely in England, being re-issued in three further editions to 1633. It was predominantly through Fulke's editions that the Rheims New Testament came to exercise a significant influence on the development of 17th-century English.[3]

Much of the first edition employed a densely Latinate vocabulary, making it extremely difficult to read the text in places. Consequently, this translation was replaced by a revision undertaken by Bishop Richard Challoner; the New Testament in three editions of 1749, 1750, and 1752; the Old Testament (minus the Vulgate apocrypha), in 1750. Subsequent editions of the Challoner revision, of which there have been very many, reproduce his Old Testament of 1750 with very few changes. Challoner's New Testament was, however, extensively revised by Bernard MacMahon in a series of Dublin editions from 1783 to 1810. These Dublin versions are the source of some Challoner bibles printed in the United States in the 19th century. Subsequent editions of the Challoner Bible printed in England most often follow Challoner's earlier New Testament texts of 1749 and 1750, as do most 20th-century printings and online versions of the Douay–Rheims bible circulating on the internet.

Although the Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible Revised Edition, Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition, and New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition are the most commonly used Bibles in English-speaking Catholic churches, the Challoner revision of the Douay–Rheims often remains the Bible of choice of more traditional English-speaking Catholics.[4]

Origin

Following the English Reformation, some Catholics went in exile to the European mainland. The centre of English Catholicism was the English College at Douai (University of Douai, France) founded in 1568 by William Allen, formerly of Queen's College, Oxford, and Canon of York, and subsequently cardinal, for the purpose of training priests to convert the English again to Catholicism. And it was here where the Catholic translation of the Bible into English was produced.

A run of a few hundred or more of the New Testament, in quarto form (not large folio), was published in the last months of 1582 (Herbert #177), during a temporary migration of the college to Rheims; consequently, it has been commonly known as the Rheims New Testament. Though he died in the same year as its publication, this translation was principally the work of Gregory Martin, formerly Fellow of St. John's College, Oxford, close friend of Edmund Campion. He was assisted by others at Douai, notably Allen, Richard Bristow, William Reynolds and Thomas Worthington,[5][6] who proofed and provided notes and annotations. The Old Testament is stated to have been ready at the same time but, for want of funds, it could not be printed until later, after the college had returned to Douai. It is commonly known as the Douay Old Testament. It was issued as two quarto volumes dated 1609 and 1610 (Herbert #300). These first New Testament and Old Testament editions followed the Geneva Bible not only in their quarto format but also in the use of Roman type.[citation needed]

As a recent translation, the Rheims New Testament had an influence on the translators of the King James Version. Afterwards it ceased to be of interest to the Anglican church. Although the cities are now commonly spelled as Douai and as Reims, the Bible continues to be published as the Douay–Rheims Bible and has formed the basis of some later Catholic Bibles in English.

The title page runs: "The Holy Bible, faithfully translated into English out of the authentic Latin. Diligently conferred with the Hebrew, Greek and other Editions". The cause of the delay was "our poor state of banishment", but there was also the matter of reconciling the Latin to the other editions. William Allen went to Rome and worked, with others, on the revision of the Vulgate. The Sixtine Vulgate edition was published in 1590. The definitive Clementine text followed in 1592. Worthington, responsible for many of the annotations for the 1609 and 1610 volumes, states in the preface: "we have again conferred this English translation and conformed it to the most perfect Latin Edition."[7]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douay%E2%80%93Rheims_Bible

The former Jesuit College of Reims is a 16th-century building located in Reims in the Marne, a French department in the Champagne area of the Grand Est region. Founded in 1608 by Jesuits, the college was closed in 1762 when the Jesuits were banished from France. The buildings were used for other educational projects during the 19th century. Since 1976 they have belonged to the City of Reims, which has used it to provide a space for various regional and international organisations. Its library and refectory are recognised monuments of Baroque art.

History

Buildings

Nicolas Brûlart de Sillery asked Henri IV for permission for the Jesuits to open a college in Reims. The king authorised, by letters patent of 25 March 1606, the Jesuit fathers to found a college in Reims. His brother François (†. 1630), who was chaplain to the king, bought the Hôtel de Cerny on 12 March 1608 for them to set up there. He donated 3 000 pounds for the fitting out of the establishment.

On 18 October 1608 the Jesuits inaugurated their classes there. They taught Humanities, Philosophy and Mathematics.

In 1610 François Brûlart donated a farm and a priory for the maintenance of a chair of philosophy, then in 1614 an annuity of 1,000 pounds for the opening of a second chair of Philosophy.

In 1615 the Jesuits bought the neighbouring priory of Saint-Maurice to extend the premises and in 1619, François Brûlart made a further donation of 6 600 pounds, which enabled it to be given its present layout: a central chapel with a courtyard surrounded by buildings. The teaching was then completed by theological instruction.

In May 1762, when they were banished from France, the Jesuits' property was seized and the College of Reims was reunited with the Collège des Bons Enfants. In January 1766, the General Hospital took possession of the buildings, which served as a hospice until 1772. The Magneuses, a foundation created by Nicolas Colbert's widow, moved into part of the college in 1791 to take in poor girls aged between 10 and 15 and give them an education. They occupied the college until the middle of the 20th century before it was used to house law students in 1967. The buildings were acquired by the municipality in 1976, and major works were undertaken from 2013 to 2015 to adapt the premises to current teaching.

Conservation

Restored, the building was converted into the multi-activity centre it is today. To protect the architectural and cultural interest of this complex, including its garden, courtyard, refectory, hallway, kitchen, elevations, and interior decoration; the vines that escaped phylloxera are classified[1] as an ancient grape variety,[2] the Verjus;[3] all are under legal protection: this complex has been classified as a historic monument since 2 September 1933, while the 17th century staircase has been classified since 25 December 1921.[4]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesuit_College_of_Reims 

The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Latin Kingdom, was a Crusader state that was established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1099 until the fall of Acre in 1291. Its history is divided into two periods with a brief interruption in its existence, beginning with its collapse after the siege of Jerusalem in 1187 and its restoration after the Third Crusade in 1192.

The original Kingdom of Jerusalem lasted from 1099 to 1187 before being almost entirely overrun by the Ayyubid Sultanate under Saladin. Following the Third Crusade, it was re-established in Acre in 1192. The re-established state is commonly known as the "Second Kingdom of Jerusalem" or alternatively as the "Kingdom of Acre" after its new capital city. Acre remained the capital for the rest of its existence excluding the two decades that followed the Crusaders' establishment of partial control over Jerusalem during the Sixth Crusade, through the diplomacy of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen vis-à-vis the Ayyubids.

The vast majority of the Crusaders who established and settled the Kingdom of Jerusalem were from the Kingdom of France, as were the knights and soldiers who made up the bulk of the steady flow of reinforcements throughout the two-hundred-year span of its existence; its rulers and elite were therefore predominantly French.[4] French Crusaders also brought their language to the Levant, thus establishing Old French as the lingua franca of the Crusader states, in which Latin served as the official language. While the majority of the population in the countryside comprised Christians and Muslims from local Levantine ethnicities, many Europeans (primarily French and Italian) also arrived to settle in villages across the region.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Jerusalem

Juliet Rose Landau (born March 30, 1965)[1][2][3][4] is an American actress, director, producer, and ballerina best known for her role as Drusilla on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff show Angel, the latter appearance earning her a Saturn Award nomination. She is also known for co-starring as Loretta King in Tim Burton's Ed Wood.

Early life

Landau was born in Los Angeles to Jewish parents Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, both of whom were actors.[5][6][7] Her older sister is film producer Susan Landau Finch.[8] She spent her early childhood in West Los Angeles.[9] Landau is a former professional ballerina.[10]

Career

Landau starred in some independent films including Where the Road Runs Out, Fairfield, Monster Mutt, Citizens, Dark Hearts, The Yellow Wallpaper, Hack!, Toolbox Murders, Repossessed, Carlo's Wake, Life Among the Cannibals, Ravager, Direct Hit, and co-starred in Henry Jaglom's Going Shopping. She also starred in the Lifetime film Fatal Reunion.

Landau guest starred in television shows Criminal Minds, Millennium, La Femme Nikita and Strong Medicine. She voiced various characters in the animated series Justice League Unlimited and Ben 10 as well as the animated film Green Lantern: First Flight. She has also voiced characters of the BioShock video games.

Landau's theater roles include Awake and Sing at the Pittsburgh Public Theater, the world premiere of Failure of Nerve, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, A Streetcar Named Desire, Uncommon Women and Others, The Pushcart Peddlers, Billy Irish, We're Talking Today Here, the musical How To Steal An Election, Irish Coffee and the world premiere of musical The Songs of War. She played Natasha in a reading of Three Sisters, assembled by Al Pacino at The Actors Studio.[11]

Landau's made her directorial debut in 2008's Take Flight, a short documentary film about Gary Oldman and his creative process. Oldman spoke positively about the experience.[12][13] With her husband, Deverill Weekes, Landau co-directed Dream Out Loud, about make-up artist Kazuhiro Tsuji, who was branching into the world of fine art. The film captures one of his creations from inception to culmination, and features interviews with Guillermo del Toro, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Rian Johnson.

In 2009, Landau co-wrote issues #24 and #25 of the Angel comic book series for IDW Publishing, in collaboration with Brian Lynch, with storylines featuring her Buffy and Angel character Drusilla. Landau also contributed numerous ideas and references for the cover and interior art of the issues, and has stated that she would like to write more comics set in the Buffyverse.[14] She was slated to write a five-part Drusilla miniseries from Dark Horse Comics in 2014, which is now delayed.[15]

In 2012–13, Landau produced and starred in the play Danny and the Deep Blue Sea directed by John McNaughton at the Crown City Theater in North Hollywood.[16] Her portrayal received positive reviews[17][18] and awards,[19] and the show was extended multiple times due to its popularity.[20]

In July 2013, Landau was cast as a new incarnation of the Time Lord Romana in the audio dramas Gallifrey and Luna Romana,[21][22] both of which are spin-offs from the BBC television series Doctor Who.

In 2019, Landau was cast as Rita Tedesco in the fifth season of Bosch[23] on Amazon Prime Video.

In September 2019, Landau was cast as the vampire Hester, for the web series Vampire: The Masquerade - LA by Night. Her character was part a cabal of Tremere, vampires that can do blood sorcery, called the Wyrd Sisters.

Personal life

Landau is a member of the Actors Studio and in 2008 was being mentored by Mike Medavoy.[12]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliet_Landau

The Rose and the Pentagram

Posted by Roger Norling | Jul 17, 2012 | Articles, Fencing Culture, Research articles, Study Articles | 5  |     

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This article is written to accompany the recent article about the mysticist, and possibly even fencer and a Freyfechter, Heinrich Agrippa. If you haven’t read the article, it is suggested you do so, before reading this article.

“Children of the Sun” from the Italian manuscript “De Sphaera”, owned by the Sforza family and dated to ca 1460AD. Heinrich Agrippa served as a captain under Maximilian Sforza in 1513-1515AD

Die Rose (the Rose) is a longsword, dussack, rappier and quarterstaff technique described by fencing masters starting from about 1516AD. This striking sequence, as used by several masters including, Andre Paurnfeindt, Paul Hektor Mair [1] and Joachim Meyer [2], and several later derivative works [3], has confused some of us as we try to understand the relationship between the name and the application of the technique.

To be able to understand Die Rose I believe we need to understand what connotations the renaissance man had to the word rose and with that understanding we can apply it to our interpretations of the technique. The following article might seem like a novel by Dan Brown, but explores some of the ideas the men and women of the Renaissance shared, sometimes in more or less secret societies.

The weak and strong parts of the body for Grappling. From J.A. Schmidt, 1713.

The Tudor Rose, combining the white rose of the House of York and the red rose of the House of Lancaster.

Symbolism regarding the human body and strength & weakness, geometrics, angles and actions all tie together in the various illustrations of many fencing treatises of the Renaissance and we need to examine this topic both broadly and deeply. Here, the relationship between the Rose, the Pentagon and the Pentagram are crucial to our interpretations.

Having studied the topic for some time, I would suggest that the execution of this particular striking sequence should be thought of as following the shape of the open-petaled, wild rose rather than that of the cultivated romantic rose that we generally think of today, as the modern type of cultivated roses weren’t introduced into Europe until the late eighteenth century, and up until the mid 16th century the only two roses cultivated were Rosa Gallica and Rosa Alba [4].

Furthermore, from a symbolical outset, with the word rose the renaissance man would more commonly have thought of the kind of heraldic and symbolical rose that Henry VII combined from the roses of the House of York and the House of Lancaster into the Tudor Rose. Consequently, I would suggest that the symbolism of the five petals and the angles are of great importance for us to understand in our attempts at understanding Die Rose.

But before exploring this more deeply I would briefly like to expand on the symbolism of the rose as it goes much farther back than this, even as far back as to the ancient Greeks and beyond.

From Aurora Consurgens, 1400s.

Kitab al-Mawalid,1300s, based on treatise from 900s.

Kitab al-Bulhan From late 1300s.

St. Vitus from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493.

Frontispice d’un livre d’escrime, 1618.

Date and source unknown.

Pisani-Dossi MS, 16r (1409) Fiore Dei Liberi

Codex.1324, 15r (1482-1487) by Fillippo Vadi, heavily influenced by Fiore Dei Liberi.

Quote about Die Sonne in the Astrological section of Talhoffer’s “Thott” treatise of 1459.

Sol, Leo, Löwe, 1520-1550. Hans Sebald Beham.

“De Sphaera”, 15th century. Biblioteca Estense, Modena, Italy.

“De Sphaera”, 15th century. Biblioteca Estense, Modena, Italy.

Planetenkinder Sonne, 1475

Planetenkinder from the late 1400s.

Die Kinder der Sonne, 1477. From Cod.lat.4394.

From Hausbuch Wolfegg (after 1480).

Planetenkinder Luna, from Hausbuch Wolfegg (after 1480).

Planetenkinder Sol, from Hausbuch Wolfegg (after 1480).

Planetenkinder: Sonne, 1530-1540. Georg Pencz.

Planetenkinder Sol Harmen Jansz Muller (1540-1617)

Planetenkinder Sol Harmen Jansz Muller (1540-1617)

Splendor Solis, mid 1500s.

“Planetenkinder und die Freien Künst” 1560. Jobst Amman.

Sol und seine Kinder, dated to 1551-1600. Maarten de Vos.

Achille Marozzo writing alchemical symbols. From Opera Nova, 1536.

Tripus Aureus Sonne-Luna, 1618 Michael Meier.

Tripus Aureus, 1618. Michael Meier.

Tripus Aureus, 1618. Michael Meier.

Die Melancholie im Garten des Lebens, 1558. By Matthias Gerung.

Die Melancholie im Garten des Lebens, 1558. By Matthias Gerung.

Die Melancholie im Garten des Lebens, 1558. By Matthias Gerung.

Die Melancholie im Garten des Lebens, 1558. By Matthias Gerung.

The wappen of the Marxbrüder fencing guild. The winged lion is the symbol of St. Mark.

Mater Dolorosa,dated to 1513.

Photo from St. Petri Church in Malmoe, Sweden.

 

The gallery above shows a glimpse of the early roots and wide connections surrounding Christian symbolism in relation to the early fencing culture. The picture is quite complex as it is constituted of parts that are quite separated both in time and place, as we will see as we continue.

The passage of Venus from James Ferguson’s “Astronomy Explained Upon Sir Isaac Newton’s Principles”, 1799.

To begin with an interesting astrological and astronomical connection to the Rose is the fact that the passage of Venus over an eight year period, as perceived from Earth, describes the shape of a Rose and a pentagram, a discovery which has been claimed to go as far back as the Akkadians’, with the world’s oldest astrological text, a Venus-tablet from Ninevehand dated to the 17th century BC, and the later Babylonians’, understanding of Ishtar. However, this claim should be taken with a pinch of salt as the Akkadian noting of the eight-year rythm and five synodic periods of Venus do not equate to a proper understanding of the Earth-centric Venus Pentagram. Still, this astronomical curiousity possibly explains her common association with the Rose and the pentagram, but it is difficult to properly trace how early this discovery really was made, despite the numerous theories on the topic.

Regardless, Venus was also called the morning star and the light bringer, in Roman “Lucifer“, and not until ca 200AD was Satan connected to the name Lucifer by Christian thinkers like Tertullianus and Origenes, perhaps partly due to her also being the evening star.

Horus – Egyptian Sun, Moon & Sky God, God of War, Hunting and Secrecy, depicted with a Falcon head.

Furthermore, as early as in ancient Egypt we can trace the roots of the concept of Sub Rosa, as it dates back to the Egyptian Sky God Horus in about 3000BC. Being the Sky God, Horus was also the God of the Sun and the Moon and one of his emblems was the rose. Horus was also the God of War and Hunting and was represented by the falcon.

The Romans and the Greek regarded Horus as the God of Silence, which led to him, and the rose being associated with secrecy. With this in mind Roman banquets often had roses hanging from, or depictions of roses painted, in the ceiling, implying that what was said under the influence of wine, should remain “sub rosa” ie secret. The same custom was used in the medieval councils where a rose hanging from the ceiling pledged all present to secrecy. The same can even be seen on some Catholic Confession Chairs that are adorned with five-petaled roses.

The early teachings of Kunst des Fechten was of course all meant to be kept secret, all the way up until the time of the printing press, where freyfechter Paurnfeindt is one of the first masters to spread his teachings widely in 1516. This was followed quite successfully by freyfechter Meyer with his treatise of 1570 and possibly we can trace a difference in the attitude towards keeping the Art secret between the two guilds, as few Marxbrüdere ever published printed treatises.

Regardless, here we can’t really apply the meaning of secrecy in the same sense for Die Rose. However, The Rose could be considered to be a deceitful technique where you hide your intentions, similar to the Stürtzhauw or the Fehler, something which Meyer was very fond of, as is apparent from his treatises.

Continuing with the shared symbolism between early Euro-Asian religions, their ties to Christian mysticism and symbolism and the fencing guilds, we see the Persian Sun God Mithra, depicted with a Lion ca 1400BC. Mithra was also the God of Justice and War and he was particularly popular with the Roman soldiers in the form of Mithras who was their patron. Mithras is often equated with Phanes, then depicted as a lion-headed man with golden wings.

The symbols of the Four Evangelists, from the Book of Kells (late 6th to 9th cent.)

Greek and Roman mythology continues with the Hellenistic Sun God Apollo Helios, brother of Moon God Artemis, sometimes depicted riding a griffin and Dionysos depicted in a chariot pulled by a panther, a gryp and a bull, quite similar to the symbols of the Four Evangelists; a lion, an eagle, an ox and an angel. Dionysos has also been claimed to be part of the roots for the mythology surrounding Christ [5].

At about 50BC-350AD we see various depictions of the Egyptian Sun God Horus, the Greek/Roman Sun God Helios, and the Roman Sun God Sol Invictus surrounded by the Zodiac, symbolizing the twelve months and the four seasons. These type of depictions are also seen in Persian books on alchemy and astrology in the 1200-1300s and in Europe with Christ in the centre, replacing Helios, at about 1000-1400AD.

It is also interesting to note that Horus’ mother Isis was also associated with the rose and she was often depicted nursing baby Horus, very similar to the imagery of Virgin Mary and baby Jesus who was also strongly associated with the rose [5]. There are numerous more similarities between Christian mythology and the Egyptian, Greek and Roman religions and there is quite obviously a lot of similar content, as was noted already in antiquity [6].

In the early Renaissance we also see the first images of the masculine Sun and the feminine Moon connected to the opposites of the Lion and the Griffin, locked in eternal struggle with each other.

The Sun and the Moon fighting, riding a Lion and a Griffin, the symbols chosen by the Marxbrüder and the Freyfechter. – From a Renaissance Rosicrucian Compendium on Alchemy

Partially due to the Renaissance admiration of the ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks, a belief in astrology, alchemy and magic was common in all stratas of society. Referencing to the older pantheons, history and use of symbolism was quite common, as can be seen in the image depicting the Children of the Sun below, a scene that comes in many variants from the mid 1400s to the 1600s, as previously shown.

Planetenkinder der Sonne, by Hans Sebald Beham, ca 1530-40AD.

Not so surprisingly, considering the Renaissance fascination with astrology and alchemy, several fencing masters are known to have included religious, astrological and magical symbols in their treatises, including for instance; Hans Talhoffer who wrote briefly about astrology and the Sun and who showed St. Mark as his patron saint and Achille Marozzo depicted in a circle of magical symbols, as seen below.

Fencing Master Achille Marozzo writing down magical symbols for St. Michael and steel, among other things, in the preface of his fencing treatise Opera Nova of 1536.

A pentagram in a carving from the baptistery of the St. John (Šibenik) Cathedral in Split, Croatia, dated to the 1100s.

Decoration of a pentagram inside a rose, from the Knights Templar church Santa Maria do Olival, built around ca 1150AD in Portugal.

Returning to the pentagram the Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras, considered five to be the number of man, due to the fivefold division of the body, and the division of the soul. He also considered the five points of the pentagram to each represent one of the five elements that make up man: fire, water, air, earth, and psyche. This symbolism, as with much other symbolism has remained both in use and has acted as a great influence on later thinkers, not least in the Renaissance, when the admiration and celebration of the ancient Romans and Greeks was flourishing in the Arts and Sciences.

Furthermore, going at least as far back as the Templar Knights of the 1100s we see the pentagram associated with the rose, symbolically attached to the five wounds of Christ, as well as the idea of Christ being the Alpha and the Omega, since one can draw a pentagram from beginning to end in one continuous (and perpetuous) movement, thus symbolising both eternity and rebirth. [7]

The English are said to have called the pentagram the Endless Knot which is examplified by the quote below and again we see the notion of a single but complex and potentially endless movement that crosses several lines.

It is a symbol which Solomon conceived once To betoken holy truth, by its intrinsic right, For it is a figure which has five points, And each line overlaps and is locked with another; And it is endless everywhere, and the English call it, In all the land, I hear, the Endless Knot.” [8]

Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Stanzas 27-28 (1380 c.

Through all this the rose and the pentagram have strong ties to Christian Renaissance symbolism, Kabbalism and not least Martin Luther and the early Rosicrucians who were strongly associated with Lutheranism. And perhaps here is where we can understand the Cutting Rose a bit clearer.

Design for a Stained Glass Window for Christoph von Eberstein, by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1522. The rose is part of the Coat of Arms of the Ebersteins. Joachim Meyer dedicated parts of his Ms.82 Rostock-treatise of 1570 to Heinrich von Eberstein.

With Fechtmeister and Freyfechter Joachim Meyer being a prime example, we know that several of the freyfechtere had strong ties to the Protestant Reformation and especially the Calvinist movement, but even the Marxbrüdere (The Brotherhood of Our dear lady and pure Virgin Mary and the Holy and warlike heavenly prince Saint Mark) were members of a deeply religious organization and both fencing guilds carefully chose their respective identifying crests, each with obvious Christian symbolism; the Winged Lion of St. Mark and the Griffin, respectively. Two distinct opposites in earlier symbolical history, as previously shown.

A marxbrüder praying to his patron saint Saint Mark.

A collage of artwork by Virgil Solis and unknown artist, depicting Freyfechtere with their symbol the Griffin. Dated to the mid 1500s.

The seal of Martin Luther in a church in Cobstadt, Thüringen.

With the connections between the Freyfechtere and the Protestant Reformation in mind, it is also interesting to note that the seal of the Protestant reformist Martin Luther was based on a five-petaled Rosa Alba, a heart and a cross, where the various elements and colours have specific symbolical meanings regarding Christian virtues and vice.

Furthermore, a deep interest in mathematics and geometry was common during the Renaissance, as evidenced by daVinci’s Vitruvian Man from ca 1487AD. This drawing was made to visualize the ideal human proportions with geometry as described by the Roman architect Vitruvius in his treatise De Archietectura, where he described the human figure as being the chief source of proportion for architecture. The human body, as created by God was simply seen as the ultimate perfection and a synthesis of  Divinity and Humanity.

This has also been connected to the idea of the Golden Ratio as can be seen in Agrippa’s human pentagram below and this concept has been used extensively in various aspects of society.

So, what about the pentagram and sword cuts then? Well, historically the pentagram has been drawn both point up and point down and neither related to Satanism as many believe today. But, what is interesting for when interpreting the fencing treatises, is that when a pentagram is overlaid upon a body, it gives diagonal and horisontal lines that pass outside of the body contour with a starting and ending point at the head and corner points that work with several of the guards and cuts.

A pentagram overlaid over a human body, by Heinrich Agrippa.

A cutting “rose” from Meyer’s von Solms-treatise.

Perhaps this is what we are taught when the Rose technique is described – a movement where the point is moved offline, but still, more or less, follows a geometrical line in the shape of the pentagram rose, a movement that is complex and passes more than one line, ending with a blow to the head where the pentagram starts and ends?

Alternately, it is also possible that the name is meant to cause us to associate our cuts with the shape of the five petals of a rose. Meyer even says this explicitly in his treatise of 1570, when he speaks of the secondary cuts for the dussack, although his notion of the Rose is not necessarily exactly the same as that of his predecessors:

Also some receive their names from the shape they resemble in cutting, like the Rose Cut.” [9]

Meyer, Gründtliche Beschreibung der freyen Ritterlichen und Adelichen Kunst des Fechtens, 1570

We can keep this in mind when we read the following excerpts from Andre Paurnfeindt, Paul Hektor Mair and Joachim Meyer.

Durch ſchiſſen. Durchſchiſſen magſtu auch nemen anſʒ dem hohenort / hav von oben nider vnden durch die Roſen / mit verkertñ henden vnd kurcʒer ſchneid in ſein geſicht / laſʒ kurcʒ ablauffen / mit der langen ſchneidt nachtretten.

Shooting Through. You may also take the shooting through from the high guard, hew from above downwards through the Rose, with reversed hands and short edge in his face, allow this quickly to run off, work after with the long edge.

– – –

Von Anpindñ. Pind dir eyner obñ an prueff ob er herdt oder waych leyt / ligt er herde ſo wind vndñ durch auſʒ der roſñ gegñ ſeinem gſicht / an daſʒ linck or / ſo windeſtu im ſein ſchwerdt auſʒ vñ pleſt in dar mit / ʒuckt er aber vnd ſclecht / vervar obñ mit der verſacʒung

From Binding-on. When one has bound with you from above, then test if he lays on hard or soft, if he lays hard, thus wind under and through the Rose to his face, to the left ear, thus you have wound out on his sword and opened there with, but if he pulls and strikes, drive above with the displacing.

– – –

Hau von obñ auſʒ dem oxſen gegen ym / vnden durch die roſen vnd leg ym die kurcʒ ſchneid in ſein gſicht / wendt kurcʒ ab vnd ſchlach mit der langen ſchneidt nach

Hew from above in the Ox against him, under, through the Rose, and put the short edge in his face, turn away slightly and strike after with the long edge. [10]

Paurnfeindt, Ergrundung Ritterlicher Kunst der Fechterey, 51V, 1516

And here is how Mair describes the use of the Rose:

…so trit mit deinem lincken fuoss hinnach unnd halt das gehültz für dem haupt, das der ort zuruckh stee, mit gecreitzgiten aremn unnd haw Im zu seinner rechten seiten. Versetzt er dir das, so raiss Im zu seinner linncker seiten mit deinner kurtzen schneid. Indes winnd dich ubersich auf in der Rosen an seinnen schwert und haw dich inn die zwirch mit gecreitzgiten aremn zu seinner rechten seiten seinnes kopffs.

… then step outward with your left foot and hold the hilt in front of your head such that the point stands to the rear with crossed arms, and strike to his right side. If he displaces this, then travel to his left side with your short edge and then immediately wind upward with the Rose on his sword and strike with the Zwirch with crossed arms to the right side of his head. (Stucke 15)

Legt er sich also inn das sprechfenster, so winnd auss der Rosen den ort inn sein gesicht, das dem Rechter fuoss vorstee, unnd winnd Im mit der kurtzen schneide zu seinnem Haupt. Indes haw mit lanngen schneid nach seinem Rechten Arm.

If he lies in the Prechfennster like this, wind the point in his face out of the Rosen (Rose) such that your right foot stands forward, then step outward with your left leg, set your right foot behind his left and wind with the short edge to his head. Then immediately strike with the long edge to his right arm. (Stucke 24)

Item schick dich allso mit dem einwinnden: stannd mit deinnem lincken fuoss vor und halt dit kurtz schneide gögen dem Mann mit creytzweisen hennden, die linnck hannd uber dein rechten arm unnd winnd dich durch Inn der Rosen. Inn dem verfal auf dein linncken seiten, trit mit deinnem Rechten schennckel hinnein und winnd Im zu seinem gesicht.

It happens like this with the Winding In: stand with your left foot forward and hold the short edge opposite the opponent with crossed hands with your left hand over your right arm (as in illustration). Wind through in the Rose and then immediately drop down at your left side, step in with your right leg and wind towards his face. (Stucke 47) [11]

Paul Hektor Mair, Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica, ca 1550

Turning to Meyer here are some of his variations of the Rose:

[Longsword]

And note when an opponent comes before you who holds his sword extended before him in the Longpoint, or else in Straight Parrying, then send your blade in a circle around from the Middle Guard right around his blade, so that your blade comes almost back to your initial Middle Guard; from there swing the foible powerfully from outside over his arms at his head.(1.40v.1)

Or when you have thus gone around his blade with the Rose, if he meanwhile should fall in down from above to your opening, then take his blade out with the short edge, that is when you have come for the second time in the Middle Guard; for he will not come so quickly as if by surprise to your opening, but that you will meanwhile come around with the Rose, such that you will come to take him out in plenty of time. And after you have thus taken him out, then let your weapon run around in the air over your head (in order to deceive him), looping for a Circle to the next opening, etc.(1.40v.2)

Or in the Onset when you have cut into the Middle Guard on your left, and meanwhile your opponent cuts at you from above, then step well out from his cut toward his right side, and cast your short edge over or outside his right arm at his head; and as you cast in, let your blade shoot well in, either at his head or over his arms. Afterwards pull your sword quickly back up, and cut from your left with the long edge strongly upward at his right arm. From there, attack him further as you will, with such techniques as you will find above or below in this treatise. (1.40v.3)

Item, bind him as before, and as soon as the swords connect in the bind, then break through below with the Rose between you and him, and cast the short edge in at his head on the other side.(1.41r.2)

Or after you have broken through below from the bind with the Rose, then wrench his sword sideways from the other side with the short edge, so that your hands cross over one another in the air; strike deep with the short edge over at his head. (1.41r.3)

Item, bind against his incoming cut, and as soon as the blades connect, push your pommel through under your right arm, stepping at the same time well out toward his left side; and go up with crossed hands, and cut with the long edge through the Rose sideways from below behind his arm at his head.(1.41r.4)

Item, when you see that your opponent will bind or cut at you, then send your sword in against him, as if you also intended to bind, and just when the blades are about to connect, push your pommel up quickly, and turn your blade up from below through the Rose, catching his stroke on your long edge, as is shown in the small scene on the right in Image N. After you have thus caught his cut, you can finish this device in two ways. Firstly thus: when the swords have connected, then go right through below with your blade, and wrench his blade toward your right, and let your hands snap around in the air again, or cross over one another, and cut with the short edge strongly at his head.

For the second, when you have caught his sword, then as the swords clash together, step well to his left side, and cut back with the long edge from outside over his left arm at his head.(1.42r.2- 1.42r.3)

[Dussack]

Rose Cut. If you find an opponent waiting in the Bow, then act as if you intended to cut from above at his head; do not let the cut connect, but go outside his right arm and through below, so that you come around in a circle around his dusack, and let it run off again in the air beside his right, and cut at his face. (2.11r.2)

[Rappier]

Deceitful Thrust. In the Onset, send a powerful thrust from the right High Guard of the Ox at his face; but as you thrust in, turn your thrust up from below with a broad step forward on your foot, and thrust under his hilt up at his belly. When you correctly reverse this High Thrust into a Low Thrust through the Rose, then it seems at first as if you were thrusting from above, then before he realizes it, you have hit below.(2.64r.3)

[Quarterstaff]

How you shall take him out upward with the long edge from your left) and thrust through the Rose back up from below from your right at his face: In the Onset, position yourself in the Low Guard on the left as before; if he thrusts in at you, then go up with both arms, and strike out his thrust with the foible of your staff up from your left toward your right with the long edge, so that in striking him out your staff comes right up through; then turn your staff back by your right side up from below, and thrust from that side back up at his face (3.20v.1) [12]

Meyer, Gründtliche Beschreibung der freyen Ritterlichen und Adelichen Kunst des Fechtens, 1570

*

Finally, and perhaps not as distinctly relevant to the topic of the Rose and the Pentagram, it is also interesting to compare the images of Heinrich Agrippa to those of Fechtmeister Joachim Meyer, the treatise Codex Wallerstein and the treatises of Fiore dei Liberi, Achille Marozzo and Salvator Fabris, where cutting lines, divisions and weak and strong areas are displayed.

A diagram by Heinrich Agrippa

Cutting lines and the man’s divisions from Codex Wallerstein, from the 1400s. Note the name of Paulus Hector Mair and the 1556 date inbetween the legs

Cutting lines from Meyer’s 1570 treatise.

The similarities between the images in the treatises of Fiore Dei Liberi and Filippo Vadi and the images showing the correlations between the signs of the Zodiac and the organs (called Melothesia, astrological medicine), for instance in Ketcham’s Fasciculus Medecinae from 1495AD is striking, but there are likely no deeper relations involved here other than a common pictographical form of expression, as the idea of dividing a man into different sections and attaching symbolism to the various body parts and organs can be seen in both astrological and medical treatises as well as in illustrations in fencing treatises, going all the way back to the Middle Ages.

It is noteworthy though, that Tobias Stimmer, one of the illustrators of Fechtmeister Joachim Meyer’s 1570 treatise Gründtliche Beschreibung der freyen Ritterlichen und Adelichen Kunst des Fechtens also made a portrait of the aforementioned Heinrich Agrippa in 1587.

Still, we should also keep in mind that this is a time when mathematics and geometry were highly influential on warfare, artillery, architecture, geometrics, city & fortification planning and not least in the Art of Fencing.

This can also be seen in Meyer’s illustrations where the geometrically decorated floor patterns teach us correct stepping and use of angles in our fencing. This geometrical approach to the Art of Fencing would soon be a very common tool for teaching as can be seen in many treatises of the Verdada Destreza tradition, but also fencing masters like the Dutch Gerard Thibault with his Academie de l’Espée of 1630 and many others.

From the Fiore dei Liberi treatise Pisani-Dossi MS (page 16r,) dated to 1409AD.

Finally, if we are to fully understand the medieval and renaissance fencing treatises and especially the culture of the fencers and the fencing guilds and the mentality of the fencers, then concepts like the four humours & the four temperaments, astrology & the planetenkinder, and many other important Christian, hermetical, mystical and even alchemical symbols are important to understand. And when we understand these we will be better equipped to understand the concepts behind the techniques and their terminology at a more profound level, thus hopefully being more likely to succeed in what we aspire to do; make the Historical European Fighting Arts come alive again.

I would like to thank Chris Vanslambrouck of the Meyer Frei Fechter Guild for the delightful conversations we have had regarding Meyer, the Freyfechtere, alchemy and many other related topics, and for his insightful comments on this article while proofreading it. I owe you.

 

References

1. See Stucke 15, 23 & 47 in Opus Amplissimum de Arte Athletica.

2. See regarding Mittelhut and Langort in his 1570 treatise Gründtliche Beschreibung der freyen Ritterlichen und Adelichen Kunst des Fechtens.

3. Jakob Sutor, Christian Egonolph (editor) and Lienhart Sollinger.

4. According to Lars Åke Gustavsson’s Rosor för nordiska trädgårdar, the Medieval/Renaissance roses “came” to Europe in the following order:

??? Rosa Alba

1310 Rosa Gallica Officinalis

1500 Rosa Gallica

1500 Rosa Villosa

1542 Rosa Foetida

1551 Rosa Rubignosa

1581 Rosa (Gallica Officianis) Mundi

1581 Rosa Major

1583 Rosa Frankfurt

1590 Rosa Bicolor

1596 Rosa Tuscany

1597 Rosa Majalis Foecund

Not all of them spread to all of Europe and when they arrived to different countries of course varied greatly.

5. See Jesus Christ in Comparative Mythology, Wikipedia.org <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_Christ_in_comparative_mythology> (retrieved  10 July 2012)

6. See The Christian Symbolism of the Rose, Rev. Theodore A. Koehler, S.M <http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/rosarymarkings36.html> (retrieved 18 July 2012)

7. See for example 12th cent. Church of Santa Maria do Olival built by the Order of the Knights Templar in Portugal. The church was used as a burial place for the Knights Templar of Tomar and 22 Master Templars are buried there. The church has several examples of five-petaled roses and pentagrams used for decoration, both in the architecture itself and on gravestones.

8. See Stone, B. (1974) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. (p 45) Penguin Group.

9. From Joachim Meyer’s Gründtliche Beschreibung der freyen Ritterlichen und Adelichen Kunst des Fechtens of 1570,  2.9R, as translated by Dr. Jeffrey Forgeng.

10. Translated by Kevin Maurer of the Meyer Frei Fechter Guild.

11. Translated by Keith P Myers of the Black Swan Fechtschule.

12. From Joachim Meyer’s Gründtliche Beschreibung der freyen Ritterlichen und Adelichen Kunst des Fechtens of 1570, as translated by Dr. Jeffrey Forgeng.

https://hroarr.com/article/the-rose-and-the-pentagram/

Defendant Sentenced for Stabbing Jail Inmate with Shank

DATE: March 3, 2025

CASE: Christopher Berger (Case #24FE001479)

PROSECUTOR: Deputy District Attorney Frances Cobarrubio, Major Crimes Unit

On February 28, 2025, the Honorable Helena Gweon sentenced Christopher Berger to eight years in prison. On February 5, 2025, a jury convicted Berger of assault with a deadly weapon. The jury also found true allegation of personal use of a deadly weapon and causing great bodily injury.

Berger was previously convicted of first-degree murder.  While in jail after that conviction, Berger stabbed a fellow inmate multiple times using a shank. The victim suffered great bodily injury after being stabbed in his head, shoulder and hands.

Berger will serve the 8-year prison sentence consecutive to the previous murder conviction sentence of 133 years and 4 months to life in prison.

March 3rd, 2025

https://sacda.org/2025/03/defendant-sentenced-for-stabbing-jail-inmate-with-shank/

Shanksville garnered global attention during the September 11 attacks when United Airlines Flight 93, bound from Newark, New Jersey, for San Francisco, crashed in adjacent Stonycreek Township after its passengers rebelled against the flight's al-Qaeda terrorist hijackers. It was the only one of the four hijacked planes that failed to reach the terrorists' intended target.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanksville,_Pennsylvania

A shiv, also chiv, schiv, shivvie or shank,[1][2] is a handcrafted bladed weapon resembling a knife that is commonly associated with prison inmates.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiv_(weapon)

There are multiple matches for Shiva, including a Hindu god and a Jewish mourning period.

Shiva (Hindu god)

Shiva is a major god in Hinduism, known as the god of destruction.

His name means "auspicious one".

He is also known as Mahadeva, which means "the great god".

Shiva is part of the Hindu trinity, the Trimurti, along with Brahma and Vishnu.

He is worshipped at many shrines in India and around the world.

Shiva is said to live in the Himalayas with his wife, Parvati.

Shiva (Jewish mourning period)

Shiva is a seven-day period of mourning that begins after the burial of a loved one.

The word "shiva" comes from the Hebrew word sheva, which means "seven".

During shiva, mourners traditionally stay home or at the home of the deceased.

They also wear torn clothing or a black ribbon pinned to their clothes.

Shiva is a time to remember, accept death, and return to life.

Generative AI is experimental.

Elon Musk: “We’re going straight to Mars. The Moon is a distraction.”

Eric Berger – Jan 3, 2025 9:28 AM |  1.1k

https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/01/elon-musk-were-going-straight-to-mars-the-moon-is-a-distraction/

In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Mars (Latin: Mārs, pronounced [maːrs])[4] is the god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome.[5] He is the son of Jupiter and Juno, and was pre-eminent among the Roman army's military gods. Most of his festivals were held in March, the month named for him (Latin Martius), and in October, the months which traditionally began and ended the season for both military campaigning and farming.[6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_(mythology)

Marcia Rachel Clark (née Kleks, formerly Horowitz; born August 31, 1953)[1] is an American prosecutor, author, television correspondent, and television producer.[2] She is best known for having been the lead prosecutor in the O. J. Simpson murder case.[3][4]

Early life and education

Clark was born Marcia Rachel Kleks in Alameda, California, the daughter of Rozlyn (née Masur) and Abraham Kleks. Her father was born and raised in Israel and worked as a chemist for the FDA.[5] Because of her father's job, the family moved many times, living in California, New York, Michigan, and Maryland.[5]

Kleks graduated from Susan E. Wagner High School, a public school in the Manor Heights section of Staten Island, New York City.[6] She studied at the University of California, Los Angeles, graduating in 1976 with a degree in political science, and then earned a Juris Doctor degree at Southwestern University School of Law.

Career

Attorney

Clark was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1979.[7] She worked in private practice and as a public defender for the city of Los Angeles before she became a prosecutor in 1981.[5][8] She worked as a deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County, California and was mentored by prosecutor Harvey Giss.[9]

Clark is well known as the lead prosecutor in the 1995 trial of O. J. Simpson for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.[10] Prior to the Simpson trial, Clark's highest-profile trial occurred in 1991 when she prosecuted Robert John Bardo for the murder of television star Rebecca Schaeffer.[11][12][13] Clark said that the media attention that she received during the trial was "the hell of the trial," calling herself "famous in a way that was kind of terrifying."[14] Clark was advised by a jury consultant to "talk softer, dress softer, wear pastels" in order to improve her image.[14] She subsequently changed her hairstyle into a perm, and the Los Angeles Times described her as resembling "Sigourney Weaver, only more professional."[15] The New York Times commented that "the transformation was not entirely seamless."

Commentator and author

Clark resigned from the district attorney's office after she lost the Simpson case. She and Teresa Carpenter wrote a book about the Simpson case, Without a Doubt, in a deal reported to be worth $4.2 million.[8][16]

Since the Simpson trial, Clark has made numerous appearances on television, including as a special correspondent for Entertainment Tonight. She provided coverage of high-profile trials and reported from the red carpet at awards shows such as the Emmy Awards. She was a guest attorney on the short-lived television series Power of Attorney and was also featured on Headline News analyzing the Casey Anthony trial. In July 2013, Clark provided commentary for CNN during the Florida trial of George Zimmerman.[citation needed]

Clark wrote a pilot script for a television series called Borderland, centering on "a very dark version of the DA's office." The series was purchased by FX but was never produced.[8] Clark has contributed true-crime articles to The Daily Beast.[17]

Clark has written several novels.[18] Her "Rachel Knight" series centers on a prosecutor in the Los Angeles district attorney's office, and includes Guilt By Association (2011),[19] Guilt By Degrees (2012),[20] Killer Ambition (2013)[21] and The Competition (2014).[22] Guilt by Association was adapted as a television pilot for TNT in 2014.[18][23][24]

Clark's "Samantha Brinkman" series features a female defense attorney. It includes Blood Defense (2016), Moral Defense (2016) and Snap Judgment (2017), and was planned as a television adaptation series for NBC that Clark would cowrite.[18][24] Clark did not expect to become an author, saying, "As a lawyer, I came to understand early that storytelling plays a very important part when you address a jury. So I guess my instincts have always kind of been there when it comes to weaving a narrative."[25] She read Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys mystery fiction as a child and said "I have been addicted to crime since I was born. I was making up crime stories when I was a 4 or 5-year-old kid."[26]

Media appearances

In August 2013, Clark appeared as attorney Sidney Barnes in the Pretty Little Liars episode "Now You See Me, Now You Don't".[27]

In 2015, Clark was parodied on the sitcom Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt in the form of the character Marcia, implied to be Marcia Clark in a relationship with Chris Darden, portrayed by Tina Fey.[28][29] Fey was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for the role.[30]

Clark appears in the 2016 documentary miniseries O.J.: Made in America.[31][32] She is played by Sarah Paulson in the 2016 television series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story, which focuses on the Simpson trial. Paulson's performance as Clark earned wide acclaim, and she earned a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the role.[33][34] Clark attended the Emmy Awards with Paulson on September 18, 2016.[33] Katey Rich wrote in Vanity Fair that the series positions Clark as a "feminist hero."[35]

In 2019, Clark appeared in the 18th season finale of Gordon Ramsay's reality series Hell's Kitchen as a VIP guest diner for winner and Season 6 veteran Ariel Contreras-Fox.

In 2024, Clark appeared on the third episode of comedian John Mulaney’s live comedy special Everybody’s in LA. While the episode was themed to and titled “Helicopters,” much of the discussion focused around the 1994 O.J. Simpson trial due to the presence of Clark and reporter Zoey Tur, who famously captured helicopter footage of the slow-speed Bronco chase. Clark and Tur had never met before their appearance on the show.

Personal life

When Clark was 17 years old, she was raped on a trip to Israel. She has said that it was an experience with which she did not deal until later in life and that it greatly influenced her decision to become a prosecutor.[8]

In 1976, Clark married Gabriel Horowitz, an Israeli professional backgammon player[36] whom she had met as a student at UCLA.[5] They obtained a "Mexican divorce"[5] in 1980[8][37] and had no children. Horowitz was briefly in the news after he sold topless photos of Clark to the National Enquirer during the Simpson trial.[5]

In 1980, Clark married her second husband, Gordon Clark, a computer programmer and systems administrator who was employed at the Church of Scientology.[8][38] They were divorced in 1995 and had two sons.[8] Gordon argued at a custody hearing during the Simpson trial that he should receive full custody of their children given the long hours that Marcia had spent working for the trial.[5]

Clark no longer considers herself religious, although she was raised Jewish and her first wedding was a Conservative Jewish ceremony.[8] She was a member of the Church of Scientology until 1980.[8]

Clark resides in Calabasas, California.[8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcia_Clark

Thomas Trace Beatie (born 1974[1]) is an American public speaker, author, and advocate of transgender rights and sexuality issues, with a focus on transgender fertility and reproductive rights.[2]

Beatie came out as a trans man in early 1997. Beatie had gender-affirming surgery in March 2002 and became known as "the pregnant man" after he became pregnant through artificial insemination in 2007.[3] Beatie chose to be pregnant, with donated sperm,[4][5] because his wife Nancy was sterile.

The couple filed for divorce in 2012. The Beatie case is the first of its kind on record, where a documented legal male gave birth within a marriage to a woman, and for the first time, a court challenged a marriage where the husband gave birth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Beatie

Tracing boards are painted or printed illustrations depicting the various emblems and symbols of Freemasonry. They can be used as teaching aids during the lectures that follow each of the Masonic Degrees, when an experienced member explains the various concepts of Freemasonry to new members. They can also be used by experienced members as reminders of the concepts they learned as they went through the ceremonies of the different masonic degrees.[1]

History and development

Floor and table designs

In the eighteenth century Masonic lodges met chiefly in private rooms above taverns, and the symbolic designs used in catechesis were chalked on the table or floor in the centre of the hired room, usually by the Tyler or the Worshipful Master.[2] Evidence suggests that a simple boundary was drawn (usually a square or rectangle, or sometimes a cross) within which various Masonic symbols were added, often of a geometric type (such as a circle or pentagram). In many lodges the boundary shape may have been drawn by the Tyler, with the Master adding the symbolic detail. Later various symbolic objects were incorporated, examples including a ladder, a beehive, and an hourglass, and sometimes drawings were interchangeable with physical objects.[3] At the end of the work a new member was often required to erase the drawing with a mop, as a practical demonstration of his obligation of secrecy.

Though the various Grand Lodges were then generally hostile to the creation of any physical representations of the ritual and symbols of the Craft, the time-consuming business of redrawing the symbols at every meeting was gradually replaced by keeping a removable "floor cloth" on which the various symbols were painted. Different portions might be exposed according to the work being executed.[4] By the second half of the eighteenth century the Masonic symbols were being painted on a variety of removable materials ranging from small marble slabs to canvas, to give a more decorative and elaborate symbolic display.

Painted boards

During the nineteenth century there was a rapid expansion of the use of permanent painted tracing boards, usually painted on canvas and framed in wood. Many artists produced competing designs, and most lodges commissioned sets of bespoke boards which were therefore of a unique design, despite following common themes. Some designs became particularly popular, leading to some repetition of favoured design features. Boards by John Cole and Josiah Bowring were examples of popularly recurring designs.[5]

The English artist John Harris was initiated in 1818 and produced many different series of tracing boards, including a miniature set of 1823 which became popular after Harris dedicated the design to Prince Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE).[6] Eventually the Emulation Lodge of Improvement sought to bring a measure of standardisation in tracing board design, and organised a competition in 1845, to which many different designs were submitted. Harris himself submitted at least two different sets to the competition, but one of his designs was the winner. Harris revised the designs in 1849, and these "Emulation" tracing boards are today considered a definitive design within British and Commonwealth Freemasonry.[7]

Contemporary use

In lodges under the UGLE, and many jurisdictions derived from English Freemasonry, tracing boards are an essential part of lodge furniture, sometimes displayed flat on the floor, and sometimes vertically against a pedestal or on the wall. Sets of three boards, usually of older designs, may often be found in special cases for storage and display within lodge rooms. There are sometimes tracing boards in other degrees.[8] The Royal Arch tracing board has fallen into disuse in most places, and examples are now rare. In the Mark Master Mason and Royal Ark Mariner degrees as administered from London, the tracing boards have experienced a great revival in popularity from the end of the twentieth century, and official rituals for the explanations of these tracing boards are again in regular use in English lodges.

As different Masonic jurisdictions established official, or standard, degree rituals the creation of new tracing boards by artists waned, and has since largely disappeared in favour of standard designs. Nonetheless, some masonic artists have experimented with very modern designs for the twenty-first century.[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracing_board

Witchboard is a 1986 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Kevin Tenney in his directorial debut, and starring Tawny Kitaen, Stephen Nichols, and Todd Allen. The plot centers on a college student who becomes entranced into using her friend's Ouija board alone after it was accidentally left behind at her party, resulting in her becoming terrorized by a malevolent spirit.

Tenney wrote the screenplay while a student at the University of Southern California, inspired after attending a party in which a friend brought a Ouija board for partygoers to use. The film focuses on the notion of "progressive entrapment," the process by which a malevolent entity or demon takes control of a human being, a theme that was also touched on in The Exorcist (1973) after a character dabbles with a Ouija board. Filming took place in 1985 in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and San Francisco.

Cinema Group gave Witchboard a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 31, 1986. Following favorable box-office returns, the release was expanded in the spring of 1987, and the film went on to gross $7.4 million. Although the critical response to the film was largely unfavorable, it has obtained a cult following since its release,[5] and was subject to significant critical analysis by academic Carol J. Clover in her 1992 non-fiction book, Men, Women, and Chainsaws. Two unrelated sequels, Witchboard 2: The Devil's Doorway and Witchboard III: The Possession, were released in 1993 and 1995, respectively.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchboard

WITCHBOARD 1986 Horror Movie

Retro Jethro

When his girlfriend becomes dangerously obsessed with a ghost she contacted using a Ouija board, Jim reluctantly joins forces with her ex-his own estranged childhood best friend-to identify and exorcise the evil spirit.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x95brqg

Cardinal Bea told us in Vatican briefings that both the Muslims and Roman Catholics agreed to

block and destroy the efforts of their common enemy, Bible-believing Christianm missionaries.

Through these concordats, Satan blocked the children of Ishmael from a knowledge of Scripture

and the truth.

"A light control was kept on Muslims from the Ayatollah down through the Islamic priests, nuns

and monks. The Vatican also engineers a campaign of hatred between the Muslim Arabs and the

Jews. Before this, they had co-existed peacefully.

"The Islamic community looks on the Bible-believing missionary as a devil who brings poison to

the children of Allah. This explains years of ministry in those countries with little results.

"The next plan was to control Islam. In 1910, Portugal was going

Socialistic. Red flags were appearing and the Catholic Church was

facing a major problem. Increasing numbers were against the

church.

"The Jesuits wanted Russia involved, and the location of this vision

at Fatima could play a key part in pulling Islam to the Mother

Church.

"In 1917, the Virgin appeared in Fatima. "The Mother of God" was

a smashing success, playing to overflow crowds. As a result, the

Socialists of Portugal suffered a major defeat.

"Roman Catholics world-wide began praying for the conversion of

Russia and the Jesuits invented the Novenas to Fatima which they

could perform throughout North Africa, spreading good public

relations to the Muslim world. The Arabs thought they were

honoring the daughter of Muhammad, which is what the Jesuits wanted them to believe.

"As a result of the vision of Fatima, Pope Pius XII ordered his Nazi army to crush Russia and the

Orthodox religion and make Russia Roman Catholic." A few years after he lost World war II,

Pope Pius XII startled the world with his phoney dancing sun vision to keep Fatima in the news.

It was great religious show biz and the world swallowed it.

"Not surprisingly, Pope Pius was the only one to see this vision.

As a result, a group of followers has grown into a Blue Army

world-wide, totaling millions of faithful Roman Catholics ready to

die for the blessed virgin.

"But we haven't seen anything yet. The Jesuits have their Virgin

Mary scheduled to appear four or five times in China, Russia, and

major appearance in the U.S.

Lucia de Santos, Francisco

Marco and Jacinta Maro in

1917. Image from:

mystae.com

"What has this got to do with Islam? Note Bishop Sheen's

statement: "Our Lady's appearances at Fatima marked the turning point in the history of the

world's 350 million Muslims. After the death of his daughter, Muhammad wrote that she "is the

most holy of all women in Paradise, next to Mary."

"He believed that the Virgin Mary chose to be known as Our Lady of Fatima as a sign and a

pledge that the Muslims who believe in Christ's virgin birth, will come to believe in His divinity.

"Bishop Sheen pointed out that the pilgrim virgin statues of Our Lady of Fatima were

enthusiastically received by Muslims in Africa, India, and elsewhere, and that many Muslims are

now coming into the Roman Catholic Church."

Article from: http://www.cloakanddagger.de/lenny/alberto_rivera.htm

http://remnantofgod.org/books/docs/how-the-vatican-created-islam.pdf

https://www.facebook.com/billy.dunn.50767/posts/pfbid0ABVWjHwqxthN9dhpUS9UFfZyVHTsQ1fK5MTR8MpZL9v8YB7eS2ALtVNzkSR8njQEl

Giant Fractured Sphere at the Vatican

By Pinar Noorata on April 18, 2012

Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro is known to construct enormous spheres with layers of complexities. One of his monumental orbs stands tall as the centerpiece of the Courtyard of the Pinecone at the Vatican Museum. The structure titled Sfera con Sfera, translated as Sphere within a Sphere, is a bronze statue that appears golden as the sun shines down on it. It is 4 meters (a little over 13 feet) in diameter.

The Milan-based artist began his series of spheres in the 60's with Sphere no. 1 and has continued designing the globe-like pieces, each depicting a different map of destruction. Each tremendous ball is fractured, revealing an intricate interior that unveils yet another cracking orb. The design of the internal layers seem to mimicking the gears of a clock or the inner workings of a grand piano, making it appear very complicated.

Because of the sculptural installation's round shape, it also echoes the form of Earth. It isn't absolutely clear what the artist's intentions are, but it gives off the impression that it is reflecting the complexity of our world and how easily it can be torn apart.

https://mymodernmet.com/arnaldo-pomodoro-sphere-within-a-sphere

Fire as the agent of Truth

Asha Vahishta is closely associated with fire. Fire is "grandly conceived as a force informing all the other Amesha Spentas, giving them warmth and the spark of life."[27] In Yasht 17.20, Angra Mainyu clamours that Zoroaster burns him with Asha Vahishta. In Vendidad 4.54-55, speaking against the truth and violating the sanctity of promise is detected by the consumption of "water, blazing, of golden color, having the power to detect guilt."

This analogy of truth that burns and detecting truth through fire is already attested in the very earliest texts, that is, in the Gathas and in the Yasna Haptanghaiti. In Yasna 43–44, Ahura Mazda dispenses justice through radiance of His fire and the strength of aṣ̌a. Fire "detects" sinners "by hand-grasping" (Yasna 34.4). An individual who has passed the fiery test (garmo-varah, ordeal by heat), has attained physical and spiritual strength, wisdom, truth and love with serenity (Yasna 30.7). Altogether, "there are said to have been some 30 kinds of fiery tests in all."[28] According to the post-Sassanid Dadestan i denig (I.31.10), at the final judgement a river of molten metal will cover the earth. The righteous, as they wade through this river, will perceive the molten metal as a bath of warm milk. The wicked will be scorched. For details on aṣ̌a's role in personal and final judgement, see aṣ̌a in eschatology, below.

Fire is moreover the "auxiliary of the truth," "and not only, as in the ordeal, of justice and of truth at the same time."[11] In Yasna 31.19, "the man who thinks of aṣ̌a, [...] who uses his tongue in order to speak correctly, [does so] with the aid of brilliant fire". In Yasna 34-44 devotees "ardently desire [Mazda's] mighty fire, through aṣ̌a." In Yasna 43–44, Ahura Mazda "shall come to [Zoroaster] through the splendour of [Mazda's] fire, possessing the strength of (through) aṣ̌a and good mind (=Vohu Manah)." That fire "possesses strength through aṣ̌a" is repeated again in Yasna 43.4. In Yasna 43.9, Zoroaster, wishing to serve fire, gives his attention to aṣ̌a. In Yasna 37.1, in a list of what are otherwise all physical creations, aṣ̌a takes the place of fire.

Asha Vahishta's association with atar is carried forward in the post-Gathic texts, and they are often mentioned together. In Zoroastrian cosmogony, each of the Amesha Spentas represents one aspect of creation and one of seven primordial elements that in Zoroastrian tradition are the basis of that creation. In this matrix, aṣ̌a/arta is the origin of fire, Avestan atar, which permeates through all Creation. The correspondence then is that aṣ̌a/arta "penetrates all ethical life, as fire penetrates all physical being."[12]

In the liturgy Asha Vahishta is frequently invoked together with fire. (Yasna l.4, 2.4, 3.6, 4.9, 6.3, 7.6, 17.3, 22.6, 59.3, 62.3 etc.). In one passage, fire is a protector of aṣ̌a: "when the Evil Spirit assailed the creation of Good Truth, Good Thought and Fire intervened" (Yasht 13.77)

In later Zoroastrian tradition, Asha Vahishta is still at times identified with the fire of the household hearth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asha 

The Sphere (officially Große Kugelkaryatide N.Y., also known as Sphere at Plaza Fountain, WTC Sphere or Koenig Sphere) is a monumental cast bronze sculpture by German artist Fritz Koenig (1924–2017).[2]

The world's largest bronze sculpture of modern times stood between the Twin Towers on the Austin J. Tobin Plaza of the World Trade Center in New York City from 1972 until the September 11 attacks. The work, weighing more than 20 tons, was the only remaining work of art to be recovered largely intact from the ruins of the collapsed Twin Towers. After being dismantled and stored near a hangar at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the sculpture was the subject of the 2001 documentary Koenig's Sphere. Since then, the bronze sphere has become a memorial for the attacks.

The sculpture was installed in Battery Park between 2002 and 2017, when the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey moved it to Liberty Park, overlooking the September 11 Memorial and its original location.[2] The sculpture, rededicated at its permanent location on August 16, 2017, has been kept in the badly damaged condition it was found in after the September 11 attacks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sphere 

"What meaneth the altar, with its mysterious lights?

What mean the candles of the Catholic worship, burning even by day, borne in the sunshine, blazing at noon? What meaneth this visible fire, as an element at Mass, or at service at all? Wherefore is this thing, Light, employed as a primal witness and attestation in all worship? To what end, and expressive of what mysterious meaning,—surviving through the changes of the faiths and the renewal of the Churches, and as yet undreamt,—burn the solemn lamps in multitude, in their richly worked, their highly wrought, cases of solid gold or of glowing silver, bright-glancing in the mists of incense, and in the swell or fall of sacredly melting or of holily entrancing music? Before spiry shrine and elaborate drop-work tabernacle; in twilight hollow, diapered as into a “glory of stone” and in sculptured niche; in the serried and starry ranks of the columned wax, or in rows of bossy cressets,—intertwine and congregate the perfumed flames as implying the tradition eldest of time! What meaneth, in the Papal architectural piles, wherein the Ghostly Fire is enshrined, symbolic real fire, thus before the High Altar? What speak those constellations of lights? what those “silvery stars of Annunciation”? What signifieth fire upon the altar? What gather we at all from altars and from sacrifice,—the delivering, as through the gate of fire, of the first and the best of this world,—whether of the fruits, whether of the flocks, whether of the primal and perfectest of victims, or the rich spoil of the “world-states”? What mean the human sacrifices of the Heathen; the passing of the children through the fire to Moloch; the devotion of the consummate, the most physically perfect, and most beautiful, to the glowing Nemesis, in that keenest, strangest, yet divinest, fire-appetite; the offered plunder, the surrendered lives, of the predatory races? What signifies the sacrifice of Iphigenia, the burning of living people among the Gauls, the Indian fiery immolations? What is intended even by the patriarchal sacrifices? What is the meaning of the burnt offerings, so frequent in the Bible? In short, what read we, and what seem we conclusively to gather, we repeat, in this mystic thing, and hitherto almost meaningless, if not contradictory and silencing, institution of sacrifice by fire? What gather we, otherwise than in the explanation of the thing signified by it? We speak of sacrifice as practised in all ages, enjoined in all holy books, elevated into veneration, as a necessity of the highest and most sacred

kind. We find it in all countries,—east, west, north, and south;—in the Old equally as in the New World." 

"CHAPTER THE TWELFTH. DRUIDICAL STONES AND THEIR WORSHIP."

THE ROSICRUCIANS THEIR RITES AND MYSTERIES 

by Hargrave Jennings

https://dn720002.ca.archive.org/0/items/rosicruciansthei00jenn_0/rosicruciansthei00jenn_0.pdf

The Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe is a basilica located in Orlando, Florida at 8300 Vineland Avenue. It was built to service the large number of Catholic tourists who visit the attractions in the Greater Orlando area. While it is a 2,000-seat church of the Diocese of Orlando and provides Mass for the faithful, it has also become a regional tourist attraction. In 2009, it was designated as the 63rd minor basilica in the United States. Since it is not a parish only the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist are celebrated. No weekly bulletins are distributed.

The Shrine consists of the main church, the Rosary Garden, the Mother & Child Outdoor Chapel, the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, the Shrine Museum, and a gift shop.

History

After the grand opening of Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, the Diocese of Orlando determined that the thousands of Catholics visiting from around the world needed a place to attend Mass. The Diocese arranged for Masses at several area hotels, and in the spring of 1975 Bishop Thomas Grady placed Father Fachtna Joseph Harte in charge of tourism ministry. With projections predicting over 30 million annual visitors to Greater Orlando in the 1970s, Fr. Harte and Bishop Grady worked to establish a permanent location. In 1979, property was purchased for a new facility, named under the patronage of the Virgin Mary.[1]

On December 8, 1984, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, enough funds had been raised to break ground for the first phase of construction. Within two years, the initial facility was completed and on November 23, 1986, the Feast of Christ the King, the first phase was blessed by Archbishop Pio Laghi, Papal Nuncio to the United States. Phase one included landscaping, a building to use as a church and offices, and a bell tower.

On August 22, 1990, the Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, ground was broken for a main church that would seat as many as 2,000 people. “We want the shrine to be a temple, a sacred place to give glory to God and honor our mother,” said Bishop Norbert Dorsey. “Above all we want it to be a spiritual home, a real hearth.”[1]

At long last, on January 31, 1993, the first Mass was celebrated in the new church.  And on August 22, 1993, the church was dedicated. Archbishop Pio Laghi was once again present. Bishop Dorsey proclaimed “a day of great rejoicing” and asked God’s grace upon all who would be drawn to the Shrine.[1]

The use of the title "Mary, Queen of the Universe" is drawn from section 59 of Lumen gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church issued in 1964 by the Second Vatican Council, which stated: "Finally, the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all guilt of original sin, on the completion of her earthly sojourn, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen of the universe, that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and the conqueror of sin and death."[2] This usage could reflect Orlando's connection to nearby Cape Canaveral, the liftoff point for America's crewed space program, as spaceflight was likely the inspiration for the term. Cape Canaveral is part of the Diocese of Orlando.

In 2004, Archbishop Thomas Wenski petitioned the USCCB to ask for the Shrine to be elevated from a diocesan to a National Shrine. The petition was granted and “National” was added to the name.[1]

The National Conference of Catholic Bishops held their spring convocation here in 2008.[3] On July 17, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI declared the Shrine a minor basilica because of its ministry to the estimated half million pilgrims and tourists.[4]

Facts

The fourteen aisle windows are entitled "The Magnificat Windows"

It also ministers to Catholic workers at Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort.

It is the nearest Catholic church to Walt Disney World.

The Outdoor Chapel features a bronze sculpture of the Mother and Child by Jerzy Kenar

The Museum displays Church art from around the world

The Shrine contains an 8-foot-tall (2.4 m) sculpture featuring Mary and Baby Jesus bearing the same name "Mary, Queen of the Universe" sculpted by Jill Burkee of white marble from Carrara, Italy.

In 2015, Bishop John Noonan designated the central door as a Holy Door as part of the celebration of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, and opened it on December 13.[5]

Rectors of the Basilica

Msgr. F. Joseph Harte, 1975 - 2007

Fr. Edward McCarthy, 2007-2011

Fr. Paul Henry, 2011 - 2020

Fr. Robert Webster, 2020 - 2022

Fr. Anthony Aarons, 2022-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Mary,_Queen_of_the_Universe 

In 1917, the Virgin appeared in Fatima. "The Mother of God" was a smashing success, playing to overflow crowds. As a result, the Socialists of Portugal suffered a major defeat. "Roman Catholics world-wide began praying for the conversion of Russia and the Jesuits invented the Novenas to Fatima which they could perform throughout North Africa, spreading good public relations to the Muslim world. The Arabs thought they were honoring the daughter of Muhammad, which is what the Jesuits wanted them to believe. "As a result of the vision of Fatima, Pope Pius XII ordered his Nazi army to crush Russia and the Orthodox religion and make Russia Roman Catholic." A few years after he lost World war II, Pope Pius XII startled the world with his phoney dancing sun vision to keep Fatima in the news. It was great religious show biz and the world swallowed it. "Not surprisingly, Pope Pius was the only one to see this vision. As a result, a group of followers has grown into a BLUE Army world-wide, totaling millions of faithful Roman Catholics ready to die for the blessed virgin. "But we haven't seen anything yet. The Jesuits have their Virgin Mary scheduled to appear four or five times in China, Russia, and major appearance in the U.S.

"What has this got to do with Islam? 

Note Bishop Sheen's statement: "Our Lady's appearances at Fatima marked the turning point in the history of the world's 350 million Muslims. After the death of his daughter, Muhammad wrote that she "is the most holy of all women in Paradise, next to Mary." 

"He believed that the Virgin Mary chose to be known as Our Lady of Fatima as a sign and a pledge that the Muslims who believe in Christ's virgin birth, will come to believe in His divinity. 

"Bishop Sheen pointed out that the pilgrim virgin statues of Our Lady of Fatima were enthusiastically received by Muslims in Africa, India, and elsewhere, and that many Muslims are now coming into the Roman Catholic Church."

How the Vatican created Islam (remnantofgod.org) 

http://www.remnantofgod.org/books/docs/how-the-vatican-created-islam.pdf

Rosicrucianism is a theosophy advanced by an invisible order of spiritual knights who in spreading Christian Hermeticism, Kabbalah,

and Gnosis seek to enliven and to preserve the memory of Divine

Wisdom, understood as a feminine flame of love called SOFIA or

Shekhinah, exoterically given as a fresh unfolded rose, yet, more akin to the blue fire of alchemy, the blue virgin. Rosicrucians have no organisation and there are no recognizable Rosicrucian individuals, but the order makes its presence known by leaving behind engrammatic writings in the genre of Hermetic-Platonic Christianity.

The historical roots of Hermeticism is to be located in Ancient

Egypt. Long before the rise of Christianity, Hermetic texts were structured around the belief that organisms contain sparks of a Divine mind unto which they each strive to attend. Things easily transform into others, thereby generating certain cyclical patterns, cycles that periodically renew themselves on a cosmic scale. These transformations of life and death were enacted in the Hermetic Mysteries in Ancient Egypt through the gods Isis, Horus, and Osiris. In the Alexandrian period these myths were reshaped into Hermetic discourses on the transformations of the self with Thot, the scribal god. These discourses were introduced in the west in 1474 when Marsilio Ficino translated the Hermetic Pimander from the Greek. The story of Christian Rosencreutz can be seen as a new version of these mysteries, specifically tempered by German Paracelsian philosophy on the Lion of the darkest night, a biblical icon for how the higher self lies slumbering in consciousness." 

Rose Cross Over The Baltic: The Spread of Rosicrucianism In Northern Europe

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vWI_uTVg5lzNCDm16itq-PLSavozNR_F/view?usp=sharing

Rosa Jesuitica, oder Jesuitische Rottgesellen, das ist, Eine Frag ob die Zween Orden, der ganandten Ritter von der Neerscharen Jesu, und der Rosen-Creuzer ein einiger Ordensen: per J. P. D. a S. Jesuitarum Protectorum. Prague, 1620.” (4to).

This is a truly curious tract upon the “relations of the Jesuits and the Rosicrucians."

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dT28PyPUPfqDfC0iVg7nGFsle8vYBXLf/view?usp=sharing

About the future in store for the Sons of Cain and their followers the temple legend is also most eloquent. It states that from Cain descended Methuselah, who invented writing, Tubal Cain, a cunning worker in metals, and Jubal, who originated music. In short the Sons of Cain are the originators of the arts and crafts. Therefore when Jehovah chose Solomon, the scion of the race of Seth, to build a house for his name, the sublime spirituality of a long line of divinely guided ancestors flowered into conception of the magnificent temple called Solomon’s Temple, though he was only the instrument to carry over the divine plan revealed by Jehovah to David. But he was unable to execute the divine design in a material manner. Therefore it became necessary for him to apply to King Hiram, of Tyre, the descendent of Cain, who selected Hiram Abiff, the son of a widow, (as all Free Masons are called because of the relation of their divine progenitor with Eve). Hiram Abiff became then Grand Master of the army of construction. In him the arts and crafts of all the Sons of Cain who had gone before had flowered. He was skilled beyond all others in the work of the world, without which the plan of Jehovah must have remained a divine dream forever. It could never have become a concrete reality. The worldly acumen of the Sons of Cain was as necessary to the completion of this temple as the spiritual conception of the Sons of Seth, and, therefore, during the period of construction the two classes joined forces, the underlying enmity was hidden under a superficial show of amity. It was, indeed, the first attempt to unite them, and had that been accomplished the world history from then on would have been altered in a very material manner. The Sons of Cain, descended from the fiery Lucifer Spirits, were naturally proficient in the use of fire. By it they melted the metals hoarded by Solomon and his ancestors into altars, lavers and vessels of various kinds. Pillars were fashioned by workmen under his direction and arches to rest upon by them. The great edifice was nearing completion and Hiram Abiff made ready to cast the “molten sea,” which was to be the crowning effort, his masterpiece. It was in the construction of this great work that the treachery of the Sons of Seth became manifest and frustrated the divine plan of reconciliation when they tried to quench his fire with their natural weapon, water, and almost succeeded. The incidents which led up to this catastrophe, their meaning and the sequel will be related in the next chapter.

FREEMASONRY AND CATHOLICISM

by MAX HEINDEL

https://dn720206.ca.archive.org/0/items/freemasonryandca017137mbp/freemasonryandca017137mbp.pdf

Gussepi (sometimes referred to as Guiseppe of Joseph) Mazzini has been represented to the people by the controlled press as a great Italian patriot, as were Mackenzie King of Canada and General Albert Pike of the U.S.A., and many others since proved to be hypocrites. These men pretended to serve God, their country and humanity, while in reality they knowingly furthered the secret Luciferian plans. Documentary evidence definitely proves that from 1834 until he died in 1872, Mazzini directed the W.R.M.. throughout the world He used as revolutionary headquarters the Lodges of the Grand Orient, established towards the end of the 18th century by Weishaupt, and the Councils of Pike’s New and Reformed Palladian Rite, established the second half of the 19th century in all countries throughout the world. Mazzini was closely associated with one Dr. Breidenstine. After Mazzini’s death in 1872, a letter he had written to Breidenstine came to light. The contents fully illustrate what I mean when I say that not even the directors of the W.R.M. are permitted to know they further the secret plans of the Luciferian conspiracy, unless they have convinced those who constitute the Synagogue of Satan that they have finally and completely defected from God and are suitable and ready for initiation into the FULL, or FINAL SECRET Study of Mazzini’s ‘secret’ life proves that he actually accepted Satan as “Prince of the World.” He worshipped him as such. As Director of the W.R.M. he was admitted into the Synagogue of Satan, and yet, even as a member of that group, his letter to Breidenstine shows that he had not been initiated into the FULL SECRET, which is that Lucifer is God, the equal of Adonay (our God) and that the ultimate purpose of the W.R.M. is to bring about one form or another of a one world government, the powers of which the High Priests of the Luciferian Creed intend to usurp so they can then impose a Luciferian totalitarian dictatorship upon the people of this world. In the letter referred to, Mazzini wrote, “We form an association of Brothers in all parts of the Globe. We wish to break every yoke. Yet there is one that is unseen; that can hardly be felt, yet that weighs on us. Whence comes it? Where is it? No one knows, or at least no one tells. This association is secret even to us, the veterans of Secret Societies. 

The fact that the FULL SECRET is known only to a very few people, is of the greatest importance. It means that as long as there is still time to make the TRUTH known. I proved this statement to be true by making known to Communist leaders in Canada in 1956 the fact that, according to Pike’s plan for the final stage of the Luciferian conspiracy, Communism is to be made to destroy itself, together with Christianity in the greatest social cataclysm the world has ever known, to be provoked for that specific purpose by those who direct the Luciferian conspiracy AT THE TOP This information caused the biggest split in the Communist International that has happened since Lenin usurped power on behalf of the Illuminati in 1917. During 1956-1957 the split in the Communist Party made headlines in the newspapers of the world, and explained WHY Molotov, Malenkov, and others were ousted. The same information has been made known to religious leaders of most Christian denominations, but so fax as we know they still refuse to accept the warnings as the TRUTH. When Mazzini died in 1872, Pike selected Adriano Lemmi, another alleged Italian patriot, to succeed him as Director of the W.R.M. He also was a confirmed Satanist. Pike had established the supervising or directing council of the Political Action section of the W.R.M. in Rome before Mazzini died. When Pike made his selection a strange situation developed. Lemmi was such a confirmed Satanist that he insisted that all members of Pike’s New and Reformed Palladian Rite worship Satan as “Prince of this World,” and as their God. He went so far as to have his friend, Brother Carducci, compose a hymn to his Satanic Majesty entitled, The Goddeal Mirror, which, to the great annoyance of Pike, Lemmit ordered to be sung at all Palladian Rite Banquets. This situation developed to the stage when Pike, to end the matter once and for all time, issued a ‘Letter of .Instruction: Pike, speaking as Sovereign Pontiff of the Luciferian Creed, made this very profound, and from the Christian viewpoint, ‘profane,’ pronouncement. He addressed it to the heads of the 26 councils of his (Pike’s) New and Reformed Palladian Rite, established all over the five continents as the secret headquarters of those he had selected to direct ALL aspects and phases of the W.R.M.., so that Communism, Nazism, Nihilism, and every other enemy of God and of His creatures, could be used to further the secret plans of those who directed the Luciferian conspiracy AT THE TOP Pike’s letter reads in part: (We quote a translation of it, taken from page 587 of A.C. DeRive’s book dealing with this subject, La Femme et l’enfant dans la France- Maconnerie Universale. “That which we must say to the ‘crowd’ is, ‘We worship God’ -but it is the God that one worships without superstition .... The Masonic religion should be, by all of us initiates of the high degrees, maintained in the purity of the Luciferian doctrine ... if Lucifer were not God, would Adonay, whose deeds prove His cruelty, perfidy and hatred of men, barbarism, and repulsion for science would Adonay and His Priests, calumniate him? “Yes, Lucifer is God. And, unfortunately Adonay is also God. For the eternal law is that there is no light without shade; no beauty without ugliness; no white without black; for the absolute can only exist as two Gods .... THUS THE DOCTRINE OF SATANISM IS A HERESY; (emphasis added), and the true and pure philosophical religion is the belief in Lucifer, the equal of Adonay. But Lucifer, God of Light and God of Good, is struggling for humanity against Adonay, the God of Darkness and Evil.” We wish to point out that Pike’s letter, from which the above quotation has been taken, was translated into French by De Rive, and then translated back into English. Because I have studied this matter from many angles, I believe the word ‘crowd’ should have been translated as ‘Goyim’ or ‘Masses. I also believe the translator used the words Masonic Religion when he should have said, “the religion as practiced in the Lodges of the Grand Orient and the Councils of the New and Reformed Palladian Rite.” By using the word ‘Masonic,’ one may be misled, because study of contemporary literature of that time proves that the head of British Masonry had warned the Grand Masters of English Masonic lodges that they, and their members, were not, under any pretext or circumstance, to affiliate with, or associate with Grand Orient Masons, much less Pike’s New and Reformed Palladian Rite. Dom Paul Benoit, recognized as an authority on this subject, and author of La Cite Antichristienne (2 parts), and La France Maconnerie (2 vols.), says on page 449 ff Vol. I. Of FM, “The Reformed Palladian Rite has a fundamental practice and purpose, the adoration of Lucifer. It is full of all the impieties and all the infamies, of black magic. Having been established in the United States (by Pike), it has invaded Europe and each year it is making terrifying progress. All its ceremonial is full ... of blasphemies against God and against our Lord Jesus Christ.” Such is the guile, the cunning and deceit of those who direct the Luciferian conspiracy that they not only tolerate, but encourage Satanism in a(1 but the highest degrees. They direct their agentur to place the idea in the public’s mind that Freemasonry, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Communism, Nazism and any or all other organizations with international objectives, are secretly directing the W.R.M.., while all the time documentary evidence, and the events of history, prove that the Synagogue of Satan, controlled AT THE TOP by the High Priests of the Luciferian Creed use any and all of the movements whenever it is possible to further their own diabolical secret plans and ambitions. Lemmi, when head of Grand Orient Masonry in Italy and France, also belonged to Pike’s New and Reformed Palladian Rite. Before he was initiated into the FULL SECRET by Pike, Lemmi tried to bring about the destruction of the Vatican by his anticlerical campaigns. 

After his initiation, which is said to have been conducted personally by Pike, his attitude and activities suddenly changed. While he outwardly remained anti-clerical and anti-Vatican, he no longer advocated the violent overthrow of the Vatican by force. Pike did with Lemmi what Karl Rothschild had had to do little more than a decade earlier with other Satanists when they stirred up so much anti-Vatican hatred that the governments of France and Italy were on the verge of destroying it. Karl Rothschild, an initiate of the Full Secret, stepped in to act as “Peacemaker” between the Vatican and her enemies. History relates how his intervention ‘saved’ the Vatican and made Karl Rothschild the ‘friend’ and ‘trusted adviser’ of the Pope. He reorganized the affairs of the Treasury and State Departments. But history has proved that Karl Rothschild was no true friend of the Vatican. Two World Wars, instigated by his family of moneylenders, and their international affiliates who direct the W.R.M.., have seen Christians of all denominations divided into opposing camps, been made to fight and kill each other off by the tens of millions. This has been done to bring Pike’s plan for the final social cataclysm nearer to fruition. Communism grew stronger as Christianity was weakened, until today, as Pike’s plan required, Communism has darkened the entire earth. While it would be inaccurate to deny that there have been ‘bad’ Popes, as there have been ‘bad’ Kings, it is only proper to point out that the ‘bad’ Popes and Kings were no worse than some of the other leaders of Christianity, when they became presidents of republics. Luciferianism demands that ALL temporal and spiritual authority be destroyed because of their alleged badness. Because the struggle in which we are involved, is against the spiritual forces of darkness, it stands to reason that there must be good and bad people in all walks of life; in all levels of government and in all religions. It is typical of all who serve the Devil’s cause that they always use destructive criticism aimed at those in authority, to undermine the confidence and loyalty of the individual in the remaining governmental and religious institutions. This policy helps those who direct the W.R.M. to at first weaken, and then destroy ALL remaining governments and religions. Let us never forget that there is nothing wrong with Christianity. Many things done in the name of Christianity were done by men who, knowingly or unknowingly, furthered the secret plans of the Luciferian conspiracy. What we need to do is clean upon and strengthen Christianity as God would wish. The above remarks are published to explain how it is that Satanists have always attacked the Popes and the Vatican, and advocated their destruction, while the High Priests of the Luciferian Creed have, to-date, always stepped in and prevented their doing so. The intervention of those who control the Synagogue of Satan AT THE TOP was not out of love or respect for the Pope of the Vatican. They intervened because, being initiated into the FULL SECRET, they knew that when their conspiracy reaches its final stage; after all temporal powers have been reduced in strength until they no longer remain World Powers; when a tired and weary people have been reduced to such a physical and mental condition that they became convinced that ONLY a One World Government can put an end to revolutions and wars, and give them peace, they must use the clash between Communism and Christianity to destroy ALL remaining religious institutions also. Gen. Albert Pike revealed how this was to be done in the letter he wrote Mazzini August 15,1871. That part which deals with this particular phase of the conspiracy reads as follows, “We shall unleash the Nihilists and Atheists, and we shall provoke a formidable social cataclysm which in all its horror will show clearly to the nations (people of different nationalities), the effects of absolute atheism, origin of savagery and of the most bloody turmoil. Then everywhere, the citizens obliged to defend themselves against the world minority or revolutionaries, will exterminate those destroyers of civilization, and the multitude, disillusioned with Christianity, whose deistic spirits will be from that moment without compass (direction), anxious for an ideal, but without knowing where to render its adoration, will receive the TRUE LIGHT, through the universal manifestation of the pure doctrine of Lucifer, brought finally out in the public view, a manifestation which will result from the general reactionary movement which will follow the destruction of Christianity and Atheism, both conquered and exterminated at the same time.” We ask the reader to study every word of this diabolically inspired document. According to Pike’s military blueprint, drawn up between 1859 and 1871, three global wars and three major revolutions were to place the High Priests of the Luciferian Creed in position to usurp world powers. Two World Wars have been fought according to schedule. The Russian and Chinese revolutions have achieved success. Communism has been built up in strength and Christendom weakened. World War Three is now in the making. If it is allowed to break out, all remaining nations will be further weakened, and Islam and political Zionism will be destroyed as world powers. The reader must not forget that the Arab world is made up of millions of people, many of whom are Christians; many are of the Jewish faith; many are Mohammedans, but all subscribe to belief in the same God Christians worship as the Creator of the Universe. The Koran of the Mohammedan faith is practically identical with the Bible, excepting only that the Mohammedan religion, while accepting Jesus Christ as the GREATEST of God’s prophets before Mohammed, does not permit its members to believe in the Divinity of Christ. The point we wish to make is this: Those who direct the Luciferian conspiracy AT THE TOP realize only too well that before they can provoke the final social cataclysm, they must first of all bring about the destruction of Islam as a world power, because if Islam were not destroyed, it would undoubtedly line up with Christianity in the event of an all out war with Communism. If that were allowed to happen, the balance of power would be held by Christianity, allied to Mohammedanism, and it would be very unlikely that both sides would conquer and exterminate each other. It is of the greatest of importance that these facts, which explain the political intrigue and chicanery now going on in the near, middle, and far East, be brought to the attention ofALL political and religious leaders so they may take action to prevent the last phases of the Luciferian conspiracy from being put into effect, and bring to fruition the prediction made in Chapter 20 of Revelations, i.e., that Satan shall be bound for a thousand years. The events of the past half century would indicate that we are rapidly approaching that period of the world’s history when, if it were not for the intervention of God, “No flesh would survive” (Matt. 24:22, Mark 13: 20). It is important that the general public know the diabolical fate being prepared for the whole of the human race. I cannot agree with some of the clergy of several denominations, with whom I have discussed this matter at considerable length, who say, “It is better that the public be left in ignorance of their pending fate. To tell them the truth will only alarm them and cause them to panic.” Even some Bishops, who are supposed to be the shepherds of their flocks, hold such views. This is beyond my comprehension. They are like physicians who advocate drugging a person they suppose to be dying at the first indication of pain. If the general public is told the whole TRUTH, knowledge of the TRUTH will certainly make the vast majority of people busy themselves about saving their immortal souls. Knowledge of the TRUTH regarding the diabolically inspired conspiracy will wake them up; it will put an end to lethargy and indifference. As Christ told us the TRUTH will set us free (spiritually) from the bonds with which we are being ever tighter bound, by the spiritual forces of darkness every day. What does it matter if Devil’s incarnate kill our bodies provided we prevent them deceiving us into losing our immortal souls? (Matt. 10:28; Luke 12:4). The TRUTH is that if World War Three is fought, the United States will be the only remaining world power after it is ended. Either ALL people will have to acknowledge that power, or they will clamour for, and demand a world government. And they will get it if the Luciferian conspiracy is allowed to be developed to its intended conclusion. Then, through the auspices of the United Nations, or some similar organization, a puppet King will be made World Sovereign, and he will secretly be under the influence and direction of the agentur of the Synagogue of Satan, who will have been appointed, not elected, to be his “Specialists,” “Experts,” and “Advisors.” The High Priests of the Luciferian Creed know they cannot usurp world power before the United States is ruined as the last remaining world power, so those who direct the W.R.M. ATTHE VERYTOP are arranging matters so the United States will, as Lenin stated, “Fall into our hands like an overripe fruit.” This is how events taking place today indicate the subjugation of the U.S.A. is planned. Pike’s plan requires that the final social cataclysm between the masses controlled by atheistic-communism and those who profess Christianity, be fought on a national as well as an international scale. That is the reason, and the only reason, that Communism is being tolerated, while being kept under restraint, in the remaining socalled Free Nations of the World. I have served in the higher levels of government, and in the naval forces, in positions that enabled me to realize that Communism in Canada and in the United States is tolerated, and is being controlled and contained, so its evil destructive force can be used on the national level, as well as the international level, when the final social cataclysm is provoked by those who direct the W RM. AT THE TOP I have tried to bring this great TRUTH to the attention of cabinet ministers since 1944, when I served on the staff of Naval Headquarters in Ottawa. The late Right Hon. Angus McDonald was then Naval Secretary. Admiral J.C. Jones was Chief-of-Naval Staff. I convinced both these chief executives regarding the TRUTH of what was going on BEHIND THE SCENES of government in Canada and the United States. I was ordered to submit these facts in the form of briefs, so they could be presented to the Canadian cabinet. I know these matters were presented to said cabinet, but Mackenzie King brushed them aside. Col. Ralston, Minister for the Army, and Major ‘Chubby’ Power, Minister for the Air Force, were so disgusted with Mackenzie King because of the manner in which he wielded autocratic power, that they both resigned from his government, even though it was war time. The Naval Minister told me personally, “Carr, the cabinet is full of the people you wish to expose. I intend to stick with the ship (Navy) until we win the war. Then I am going to resign from federal politics. What is going on is more than I can take ....” When I requested to be de-mobilized in Mayy, 1945 (after Germany collapsed), in order that I might start writing Pawns in the Game and Red Fog over America, Admiral Jones shook my hand as we said good-bye, and said, “I wish you luck with your new books. Publication of the TRUTH, as you have explained it to the Minister and myself, could do more to prevent World War Three than any defensive plan based on armaments.” Both of these men died suddenly shortly afterwards. In 1955 it required six times as many members of the RC.M.P and the F.B.I. to ‘contain’ Communism in Canada and the United States, as it did in 1945. In 1956 the Canadian Minister of Justice asked parliament to increase his budget by millions of dollars on the grounds that six RC.M.P officers were now required to keep check on Communists, where only one was required 10 years before. This was a superlative illustration of the double talk used by men who are involved in the W.R.M.. The Minister said: “To keep check on Communists.” What he should have said was: “To keep Communism in check until the time is ripe to use it.” I personally knew Inspector John Leopold who for many years headed the anti-subversive department of the RC.M.P We discussed these matters on many occasions. The RC.M.P and the F B.I. could arrest every Communist in Canada and the United States within twenty-four hours of the order being given by the heads of the respective departments of Justice, provided the Communists were not tipped off previously. It isn’t much of an exaggeration to say that John Leopold had one of his agents sleep with the Communist leaders every night. But the order to destroy the most destructive weapon the leaders of the Luciferian conspiracy possess, by legal means, was not given, and John Leopold retired from the RC.M.P a broken man, worn out bodily, mentally, and, I am sorry to say, spiritually, because of sheer frustration. The power of the United States can be destroyed only from within. The internal unrest now being fomented between citizens of different races, colors, and creeds is not so much the result of aggressive action taken by different groups as it is the result of rulings which have been passed by the Supreme Court. Their purpose was the creation of issues and troubles where previously no real issue or problem existed. I say with all gravity, fully realizing the seriousness of what I say, that if the day is allowed to come when those controlled by atheistic Communism are thrown at the throats of those who profess Christianity, on an international scale, over some real or cooked-up’ issue, then Communists in every one of the remaining socalled free nations will be released from the check-reins with which they are now being contained, and, as Pike boasted to Mazzini, the people will experience the worst social cataclysm the world has ever known. What I say is based on documentary evidence supported by historical facts, events which have taken place since the plans were laid. Everything Weishaupt planned between 1770 and 1776 to further the Luciferian conspiracy has developed EXACTLY as he intended. Everything Pike planned between 1859 and 1871 has occurred EXACTLY as he intended. We are now on the verge of World War Three, and about to enter the first stage of the conspiracy. But what is of even greater importance -the Holy Scriptures confirm what I say. All a person needs to do, to convince himself of this TRUTH, is to read Matt. 24:1-35 and Mark 13:1-30, and Luke 21: 25- 33. What abominations could the human mind conceive worse than those we know from experience happen when human beings fight civil wars? What could be worse than to use the atomic weapons and nerve gas? It seems that human beings are turned into devils incarnate when engaged in war, particularly civil war, because they practice every abomination upon each other that Dante in his Inferno describes as being practiced in Hell."

Satan Prince of This World by William Guy Carr 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hw94yTrcRzvZjNQOo8T5_w-jqL8v5IMu/view?usp=sharing 

PARTICULAR AND DAILY EXAMEN It contains in it three times, and two to examine oneself. The first time is in the morning, immediately on rising, when one ought to propose to guard himself with diligence against that particular sin or defect which he wants to correct and amend. The second time is after dinner, when one is to ask of God our Lord what one wants, namely, grace to remember how many times he has fallen into that particular sin or defect, and to amend himself in the future. Then let him make the first Examen, asking account of his soul of that particular thing proposed, which he wants to correct and amend. Let him go over hour by hour, or period by period, commencing at the hour he rose, and continuing up to the hour and instant of the present examen, and let him make in the first line of the G------- as many dots as were the times he has fallen into that particular sin or defect. Then let him resolve anew to amend himself up to the second Examen which he will make. The third time: After supper, the second Examen will be made, in the same way, hour by hour, commencing at the first Examen and continuing up to the present (second) one, and let him make in the second line of the same G------- as many dots as were the times he has fallen into that particular sin or defect. FOUR ADDITIONS FOLLOW TO RID ONESELF SOONER OF THAT PARTICULAR SIN OR DEFECT First Addition. The first Addition is that each time one falls into that particular sin or defect, let him put his hand on his breast, grieving for having fallen: which can be done even in the presence of many, without their perceiving what he is doing. Second Addition. The second: As the first line of the G------- means the first Examen, and the second line the second Examen, let him look at night if there is amendment from the first line to the second, that is, from the first Examen to the second. Third Addition. The third: To compare the second day with the first; that is, the two Examens of the present day with the other two Examens of the previous day, and see if he has amended himself from one day to the other. Fourth Addition. The fourth Addition: To compare one week with another, and see if he has amended himself in the present week over the week past. Note. It is to be noted that the first (large) G------- which follows means the Sunday: the second (smaller), the Monday: the third, the Tuesday, and so on.

GGGGGG

"The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola

TRANSLATED FROM

THE AUTOGRAPH

BY

FATHER ELDER MULLAN, S.J.

I.H.S.

NEW YORK

P.J. KENEDY & SONS

PRINTERS TO THE HOLY APOSTOLIC SEE

https://ia800303.us.archive.org/.../a588350800loyouoft.pdf

Jorge is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name George. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish [ˈxoɾxe]; Portuguese [ˈʒɔɾʒɨ].

It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος (Georgios) via Latin Georgius; the former is derived from γεωργός (georgos), meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker".[1]

The Latin form Georgius had been rarely given in Western Christendom since at least the 6th century. The popularity of the name however develops from around the 12th century, in Occitan in the form Jordi, and it becomes popular at European courts after the publication of the Golden Legend in the 1260s.

The West Iberian form Jorge is on record in Portugal as the name of Jorge de Lencastre, Duke of Coimbra (1481–1550).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorge

Its original Greek form, Georgios, is based on the Greek word georgos (γεωργός), 'farmer'. The word georgos itself is ultimately a combination of two Greek words: ge (γῆ), 'earth, soil' and ergon (ἔργον), 'work'. Aelius Herodianus (fl. 2nd century AD), a Roman-era Greek grammarian and writer, determined Georgios to be a theophoric name, or a name created to honor a deity, a nod to Zeus Georgos, or "Zeus the Farmer" in English. In the early stages of Greek mythology, before Zeus took on a major role in the Greek pantheon as ruler of all the gods and goddesses, he was sacrificed to as an agricultural god, a patron of crops and harvests.[6] The name took on religious significance to followers of Early Christianity in 303 with the supposed martyrdom of Georgios, a Roman soldier of Greek heritage. While the story's historical accuracy is subject to debate, his character took on real importance to the Christian Church, with Georgios and its variants being used as baptismal names and by religious officials and Christian monarchs, though it did not become common among the laity until after the Middle Ages.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_(given_name)

Bergoglio

A surname from Italian.

Translations

±surname

Italian

Italian Wikipedia has an article on:

Bergoglio

Pronunciation

IPA(key): /berˈɡɔʎ.ʎo/

Rhymes: -ɔʎʎo

Hyphenation: Ber‧gò‧glio

Proper noun

Bergoglio f

A village in Piedmont, Italy near Alessandria

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Bergoglio 

Pope Francis (Latin: Franciscus; Italian: Francesco; Spanish: Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio;[b] 17 December 1936) is head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. He is the first pope to be a member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), the first from the Americas and the Southern Hemisphere, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century papacy of the Syrian Pope Gregory III.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Francis

Borgo (sometimes called also I Borghi) is the 14th rione of Rome, Italy. It is identified by the initials R. XIV and is included within Municipio I.

Its coat of arms shows a lion (after the name "Leonine City", which was also given to the district), lying in front of three mounts and a star. These – together with a lion rampant – are also part of the coat of arms of Pope Sixtus V, who annexed Borgo as the 14th rione of Rome.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borgo_(rione_of_Rome) 

Pope Alexander VI[Note 2] (born Rodrigo de Borja;[Note 3] 1 January 1431 – 18 August 1503) (epithet: Valentinus ("The Valencian"))[6] was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into the prominent Borgia family in Xàtiva in the Kingdom of Valencia under the Crown of Aragon (now Spain), Rodrigo studied law at the University of Bologna. He was ordained deacon and made a cardinal in 1456 after the election of his uncle as Pope Callixtus III, and a year later he became vice-chancellor of the Catholic Church. He proceeded to serve in the Curia under the next four popes, acquiring significant influence and wealth in the process. In 1492, Rodrigo was elected pope, taking the name Alexander VI.

Alexander's papal bulls of 1493 confirmed or reconfirmed the rights of the Spanish crown in the New World following the finds of Christopher Columbus in 1492. During the second Italian war, Alexander VI supported his son Cesare Borgia as a condottiero for the French king. The scope of his foreign policy was to gain the most advantageous terms for his family.[7][8]

Alexander is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, partly because he acknowledged fathering several children by his mistresses. As a result, his Italianized Valencian surname, Borgia, became a byword for libertinism and nepotism, which are traditionally considered as characterizing his pontificate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Alexander_VI

Pope Paul V (Latin: Paulus V; Italian: Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death, in January 1621. In 1611, he honored Galileo Galilei as a member of the papal Accademia dei Lincei and supported his discoveries.[2] In 1616, Pope Paul V instructed Cardinal Robert Bellarmine to inform Galileo that the Copernican theory could not be taught as fact, but Bellarmine's certificate allowed Galileo to continue his studies in search for evidence and use the geocentric model as a theoretical device. That same year Paul V assured Galileo that he was safe from persecution so long as he, the Pope, should live. Bellarmine's certificate was used by Galileo for his defense at the trial of 1633.[3]

Trained in jurisprudence, Borghese was made Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Eusebio and the Cardinal Vicar of Rome by Pope Clement VIII. He was elected as Pope in 1605, following the death of Pope Leo XI. Pope Paul V was known for being stern and unyielding, defending the privileges of the Church. He met with Galileo Galilei in 1616 and was involved in the controversy over heliocentrism. He canonized and beatified several individuals during his papacy and created 60 cardinals in ten consistories.

His insistence on ecclesiastical jurisdiction led to conflicts with secular governments, notably with Venice, which resulted in an interdict on the city in 1606. This disagreement was eventually mediated by France and Spain in 1607. Pope Paul V's diplomacy also strained relations with England, as his actions were perceived as undermining moderate Catholics in the country.

In Rome, he financed the completion of St. Peter's Basilica, improved the Vatican Library, and restored the ancient Roman aqueduct Aqua Traiana. Pope Paul V established the Banco di Santo Spirito in 1605 and is also known for fostering the rise of the Borghese family through nepotism. He died on 28 January 1621, after suffering from a series of strokes and was succeeded by Pope Gregory XV.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Paul_V 

The Omega Point is a theorized future event in which the entirety of the universe spirals toward a final point of unification. The term was invented by the French Jesuit Catholic priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955).[1] Teilhard argued that the Omega Point resembles the Christian Logos, namely Christ, who draws all things into himself, who in the words of the Nicene Creed, is "God from God", "Light from Light", "True God from True God", and "through him all things were made".[2] In the Book of Revelation, Christ describes himself three times as "the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end". Several decades after Teilhard's death, the idea of the Omega Point was expanded upon in the writings of John David Garcia (1971), Paolo Soleri (1981), Frank Tipler (1994), and David Deutsch (1997).[3][4][5]

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's theory

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, 1947

Etymology

Teilhard de Chardin was a paleontologist and Roman Catholic priest in the Jesuit order. In France in the 1920s, he began incorporating his theories of the universe into lectures that placed Catholicism and evolution in the same conversation. Because of these lectures, he was suspected by the Holy Office of denying the doctrine of original sin. This caused Teilhard to be exiled to China and banned from publication by Church authorities.[6] It was not until one year after his death in 1955 that his writings were published for the world to read. His works were also supported by the writings of a group of Catholic thinkers, which includes Pope Benedict XVI.[6] His book The Phenomenon of Man has been dissected by astrophysicists and cosmologists, and is now viewed as a work positing a theological or philosophical theory that cannot be scientifically proven. Teilhard, who was not a cosmologist, opens his books with the statement:

... if this book is to be properly understood, it must be read not as a work on metaphysics, still less as a sort of theological essay, but purely and simply as a scientific treatise.[7]

Evolution

According to Teilhard, evolution does not end with mankind, and Earth's biosphere evolved before humans existed. He described evolution as a progression that begins with inanimate matter to a future state of Divine consciousness through Earth's "hominization".[8] He also maintained that one-cell organisms develop into metazoans or animals, but some of the members of this classification develop organisms with complex nervous systems. This group has the capability to acquire intelligence. When Homo sapiens inhabited Earth through evolution, a noosphere, the cognitive layer of existence, was created. As evolution continues, the noosphere gains coherence. Teilhard explained that this noosphere can be moved toward or constructed to be the Omega Point or the final evolutionary stage with the help of science.[9] Teilhard refers to this process as "planetization." Eventually, the noosphere gains total dominance over the biosphere and reaches a point of complete independence from tangential energy forming a metaphysical being, called the Omega Point.[10]

Energy

Energy exists in two basic modes:

"Tangential Energy": energy that can be measured by physics.

"Radial Energy": spiritual energy which accumulates into a higher state as time progresses.

Teilhard defines Radial Energy as becoming more concentrated and available as it is a critical element in man's evolution. The theory applies to all forms of matter, concluding that everything with existence has some sort of life. In regard to Teilhard's The Phenomenon of Man, Peter Medawar wrote, "Teilhard's radial, spiritual, or psychic energy may be equated to 'information' or 'information content' in the sense that has been made reasonably precise by communication engineers."[11]

Formal properties

Teilhard's theory is based on four "properties":

Humans will escape the heat death of the universe. He theorizes that since radial energy is non-compliant with entropy, it escapes the collapses of forces at world's end.

The Omega Point does not exist within the timeline of the universe, it occurs at the exact edge of the end of time. From that point, all sequences of existence are sucked into its being.

The Omega Point can be understood as a volume shaped like a cone in which each section, taken from the base to its summit, decreases until it diminishes into a final point.

The volume described in the Third Property must be understood as an entity with finite boundaries. Teilhard explains:

... what would have become of humanity, if, by some remote chance, it had been free to spread indefinitely on an unlimited surface, that is to say, left only to the devices of its internal affinities? Something unimaginable. ... Perhaps even nothing at all, when we think of the extreme importance of the role played in its development by the forces of compression.[12]

Forces of compression

Teilhard calls the contributing universal energy that generates the Omega Point "forces of compression". Unlike the scientific definition, which incorporates gravity and mass, Teilhard's forces of compression are sourced from communication and contact between human beings. This value is limitless and directly correlated with entropy. It suggests that as humans continue to interact, consciousness evolves and grows. For the theory to occur, humans must also be bound to the finite earth. The creation of this boundary forces the world's convergence upon itself which he theorizes to result in time ending in communion with the Omega Point-God. This portion of Teilhard's thinking shows his lack of expectation for humans to engage in space travel and transcend the bounds of Earth.[10]

The Omega Point cosmology

Main article: Frank J. Tipler § The Omega Point cosmology

Frank J. Tipler's multiverse theory

Mathematical physicist Frank Tipler generalized[13] Teilhard's term Omega Point to describe what he alleges is the ultimate fate of the universe as required by the laws of physics: roughly, Tipler argues that quantum mechanics is inconsistent unless the future of every point in spacetime contains an intelligent observer to collapse the wavefunction and that the only way for this to happen is if the Universe is closed (that is, it will collapse to a single point) and yet contains observers with a "God-like" ability to perform an unbounded series of observations in finite time.[14] Tipler's conception of the Omega Point is regarded as pseudoscience by some scientists.[15][16] [better source needed]

The originator of quantum computing, Oxford's David Deutsch, wrote about how a universal quantum computer could bring about Tipler's salvation in his 1997 book, The Fabric of Reality.

Theological controversy

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Pierre Teilhard de Chardin's life (1881–1955) was bracketed by the First Vatican Council (1869) and the Second Vatican Council (1965). He was born 20 years after the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species; soon after, the claims of scientific theories and those of traditional theological teachings became of great interest to the Vatican.[17]

In 1946, Pope Pius XII stated his concern about the theory of evolution, albeit without condemning it:

If such a doctrine were to be spread, what will become of the unchangeable Catholic dogmas, what of the unity and the stability of the Creed?[18]

Teilhard's theory was a personal attempt in creating a new Christianity in which science and theology coexist[citation needed]. The outcome was that his theory of the Omega Point was not perfectly scientific as examined by physicists, and not perfectly Christian either. By 1962, The Society of Jesus had strayed from Spanish Jesuit Priest Francisco Suarez's philosophies on Man in favor of "Teilhardian evolutionary cosmogenesis." Teilhard's Christ is the "Cosmic Christ" or the "Omega" of revelation. He is an emanation of God which is made of matter and experienced the nature of evolution by being born into this world and dying. His resurrection from the dead was not to heaven, but to the noosphere, the area of convergence of all spirituality and spiritual beings, where Christ will be waiting at the end of time. When the earth reaches its Omega Point, everything that exists will become one with divinity.[19]

Teilhard reaffirmed the role of the Church in the following letter to Auguste Valensin. It is important to note that he defines evolution as a scientific phenomenon set in motion by God – that science and the divine are interconnected and acting through one another:

I believe in the Church, mediatrix between God and the world[.] ... The Church, the reflectively christified portion of the world, the Church, the principal focus of inter-human affinities through super-charity, the Church, the central axis of universal convergence and the precise point of contact between the universe and Omega Point. ... The Catholic Church, however, must not simply seek to affirm its primacy and authority but quite simply to present the world with the Universal Christ, Christ in human-cosmic dimension, as the animator of evolution.[20]

Related concepts

Accelerating expansion of the universe

Main article: Accelerating expansion of the universe

In 1998, a value measured from observations of Type Ia supernovae seemed to indicate that what was once assumed to be temporary cosmological expansion was actually accelerating.[21] The apparent acceleration has caused further dismissal of the validity of Tipler's Omega Point, since the necessity of a final big crunch singularity is key to the Omega Point's workability. However, Tipler believes that the Omega Point is still workable, arguing that a big crunch/ final singularity is still required under many current universal models.[22][23]

Technological singularity

The technological singularity is the hypothetical advent of artificial general intelligence becoming capable of recursive self-improvement, resulting in an irreversible machine intelligence explosion, with unknown impact on humanity.[24] Eric Steinhart, a proponent of "Christian transhumanism," argues there is a significant overlap of ideas between the secular singularity and Teilhard's religious Omega Point.[3] Steinhart quotes Ray Kurzweil, who stated that "evolution moves inexorably toward our conception of God, albeit never reaching this ideal."[3][25] Like Kurzweil, Teilhard predicted a period of rapid technological change that results in a merger of humanity and technology. He believes that this marks the birth of the noosphere and the emergence of the "spirit of the Earth," but the Teilhardian Singularity comes later. Unlike Kurzweil, Teilhard's singularity is marked by the evolution of human intelligence reaching a critical point in which humans ascend from "transhuman" to "posthuman." He identifies this with the Christian "parousia."[3]

In popular culture

See also: Apollo 440#Omega Point

The Spanish painter Salvador Dalí was familiar with Teilhard de Chardin's Omega Point theory. His 1959 painting The Ecumenical Council is said to represent the "interconnectedness" of the Omega Point.[26] Point Omega by Don DeLillo takes its name from the theory and involves a character who is studying Teilhard de Chardin.[27] Flannery O'Connor's acclaimed collection of short stories refers to the Omega Point theory in its title, Everything That Rises Must Converge, and science fiction writer Frederik Pohl references Frank Tipler and the Omega Point in his 1998 short story "The Siege of Eternity".[28] Scottish writer / counterculture figure Grant Morrison has used the Omega Point as a plot line in several of his Justice League of America and Batman stories.[29][30][31]

Julian May's Galactic Milieu Series includes multiple references to Chardin, the Omega Point and the Noosphere. Part of the driving force for the Milieu of the title is to promote an increase in the population of various intelligent species, including humans, in order to enable them to reach a point of psychic Unity.

Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter's The Light of Other Days references Teilhard de Chardin and includes a brief explanation of the Omega Point.[32] Italian writer Valerio Evangelisti has used the Omega Point as main theme of his Il Fantasma di Eymerich novel.[33] In William Peter Blatty's novel The Exorcist, the character of Father Merrin references Omega Point. In 2021, Dutch symphonic metal band Epica released their eighth studio album, Omega, which features concepts related to the Omega Point theory. Epica's guitarist and vocalist, Mark Jansen, specifically referenced Teilhard's theory when describing the album's concept.[34]

Charles Sheffield's 1997 novel Tomorrow and Tomorrow also uses the concept in the concluding act of the novel.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega_Point

Historical Institute of the Society of Jesus: a Roman work of the entire Society, 304 §2" 

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

In a letter dated May 28, 1784 from Hanau, Prince Charles of Hesse wrote thus to 

Willermoz, to whom he had just communicated the death of the famous Count of Saint- 

Germain, unexpectedly in Feburary 28 th at his home in Gottorp: 

“I asked him: Didyou know a certain Marshall of Bieberstain? 

“Reply: Y es, verv well... 

Where didyou see him? 

“-At Varsovia. 

Did he know something? 

“-Relata refero... Doyou understand me, my child? 

“— Yes, my dear Count, I see that that implies he had papers, and that this 

instruction could be given by him to others? 

" - Exactly that. 

“ - The late Hund would not hâve wanted to lie to us, would he? 

“ - No, he was a good man. 

“I said to him out of the blue: 

“— Who was the Marshall’ s predecessor? 

“ The response was prompt, without a moment’ s reflection: 

"— Baron Rod, from Kœnigsberg. 

“Here, of ail the proofs of our lineage, was the only gift 9 10 that I hâve ever had. 

But it might not be as convincing to others ; I thought I would amuse you by 

communicating this anecdote. ” 

Bord, who gave us this letter drawn from the ancient archives in his book 

“ Freemasomy in France ”, also gives us the name of the real founder of the “ Templar 

Strict Observance” , without doubt around 1620, according to our personal investigations. 

In fact, G. Montchal, Honorary Grand Prior of Switzerland, quotes five important 

dates in his work “The Independent Grand Priory of Switzerland, Scottish Rectified Rite”, 

also reproduced a more ancient text, drawn from the archives of the Priory, and published 

for the fîrst time in 1909, but not for public circulation: 

1644 In the entourage of James II, gentlemen affiliated with the Order of Scottish Masters 

constituted the Order of Scottish Masters of Saint Andrew, which they linked to the 

chivalric Order of that name. 

1688 H. -G. de Marschall, hereditary Marshal of Thuringe, founded the Scottish Rectified Rite, 

Corning out of the Order of Scottish Masters of Saint Andrew. 

1730 From this date, we find a Templar Chapter established at Unwurden (Haute-Lusace). 

Some historians believe that it was there that the Strict Templar Observance was initiated. 

1 741 In 1 741, in Hamburg, a Chapter of Scottish Masters of Saint Andrew was founded in the 

Lodge “Judica”. This is a significant fact, since this establishment thus revealed the 

existence of a Templar System. 

1749 An important date, which marked the official introduction of the Templar Rite, both by 

H. -G. de Marschall, hereditary Marshal of Thuringe, and by his friend, Barond von 

Hund, in the Lodge of Kittlitz, near Lobau. 

9 Bonne - PV. 

10 “ Mais elle ne saurait l’être pour d’autresV’ . I’m sure I’ve mistranslated this but I can’t think what else it 

might mean.- Pv. 

10 

Templars & Rose Croix, Translatée! by Piers A Vaughan © 2005 

You will note that, geographically speaking, ail these towns are located in the 

provinces where the Teutonic Order of olden times had previously flourished. Let us 

continue to quote G. de Montchal: 

1755 Convent of Dresden, known under the name o/Rectification of Dresden , from which was 

created the Rectified Rite of that name, and through which the Templar System was 

established in a Masonic Workshop which took the name of Grand Lodge. 

1763 Convent of Altenberg, near Iena. There the régime was submitted to a drastic reform, 

and ail the Alchemists, Kabbalists and other were chased out. Its administrative 

organization, which was that of the old Order of the Temple, was knit even doser still. It 

took the name o/’Strict Templar Observance. 

How, in a Order which had shown itself so terribly steeped in the aristocratie 

morgue (in the words of European Masons), had occultists managed to gain admission? 

Montchal tells us that at the Convent of Kohlo in 1742, a fïrst purging had already 

occurred. That is a piece of history of secret societies and chivalric Orders which .... 

It is very probably by and with the support of the Princes of the House of Hesse- 

Cassel... 

We know, in fact, from sure historié sources, that William IV of Hesse-Cassel, 

called “The Wise ”, was an enlightened sovereign, remarkable for his broad and extended 

knowledge, above ail in the realm of occultism. 

Born on June 14, 1533, died August 25, 1592, he was the author of Astrological 

Tables, and published the resuit of his observations in this area. He possessed an 

astronomical observatory where he worked for rnany years with his friends, Christ 

Rothmann, the wise Mathematician, and Just Borge, who was the best Physician-Optician 

of the âge. He was also the friend and constant protector of Tycho de Brahé. 

Now, from the appearance of the heraldry of the House of Hesse-Cassel, we can 

note a curious fact. According to the genealogist La Chesnay des Bois, in his 

“ Dictionary of Nobility ” (Ed. from 1776), quoting du Buisson, and according to J. B. 

Rietstap in his book “General Heraldry”, both famous heraldists, the Princes of Hesse- 

Cassel bore shields: “of silver with a red Lating cross with broad ends, with a second 

crossbar in red 11 ...” 

So the House of Hesse-Cassel bore as the distinctive family emblem the Latin 

cross with a second red crossbar, which was the exclusive privilège of the high 

dignitaries of the Order of the Temple, of the living Order... 

For this red cross was its exclusive privilège, and none other among the knightly 

Orders coming from the Crusades was given the right to work under the white mande! 

11 “D ’ argent à la Croix pâtée et alésée de gueules, à la double traverse de gueules 

il 

Templars & Rose Croix, Translatée! by Piers A Vaughan © 2005 

This privilège was conceded to the Templars by Pope Eugenius III in 1 146, at the request 

of St. Bernard. (Cf. Probst-Biraben, in "The Mystery of the Templars ”, p. 29). As for the 

double cross, it was the mark of high dignitaries of the Temple, as John Charpentier tells 

us in his work "The Order of the Templars ” (p. 41). 

But this is not ail. We hâve mentioned Tycho de Brahé, and here is a still more 

surprising fact! 

Son of the Grand Bailiff of Scanie, belonging to the oldest Swedish nobility (still 

Sweden, or rather already Swedish), Tycho de Brahé had a château constructed which 

was devoted to his alchemical and astrological studies, with a splendid library and 

observatory, ail narned Uranienborg. 

Born in 1 546 in Scanie, Denmark (which State was still a province of Sweden), he 

died in Prague in 1601. Note this place, for we will return to it as a meeting place for 

Jewish Kabbalists, Alchemists and Rosicrucian Theurgists in the years which follow, 

right up to the end of the 18 th Century. 

Now, one beautiful day in 1590, which disembarked in Uranienborg? King James 

VI of Scotland, (future King of England under the name of James l st ), who had just 

legally reinstated the Order of Chardon of Saint Andrew of Scotland, which Order was a 

perpétuation of the Templars, as we hâve seen. . . From Uranienborg, the King and Tycho 

de Brahé went to Cassel, and stayed near to William IV, the Wise. In 1591, a year later, 

James VI published a flrst treatise on pneumatology, in which he treated at length on the 

diverse nature of Spirits, developing the théories of his predecessor in this domain, 

Reginald Scott, but perhaps also those of his friends: William IV the Wsie and Tycho de 

Brahé. This book was “ Daemonologia , hoc est adversus incantationem sive magiam 

institutio, auctore serenissimo potentissimioque principe.’’'’ 

This same sovereign, with the flrst English Rosicrucians, constituted the “ Royal 

Rose Croix ”, composed of thirty-two knights (in remembrance of the thirty-two Paths of 

Wisdom of the Kabbalah), and who was certainly the point of departure for the Jacobite 

Rose-Croix, which became the 18 th Degree of Scottish Masonry of the 19 th Century. 

How can one not accept that it was the resurgence of a vast initiatory movement 

which perpetuated the Temple, which in one program and towards a coinmon aim was 

able to unité these two sovereigns which, being occultists, both at the head of a defunct 

Order of the Temple, bearing arms of foreign monks, like those of the high dignitaries of 

the Temple for William IV the Wise, and those who took as a collective Symbol of the 

Rose-Croix of the 18 th Century, for James VI of Scotland: “silver, with a red St. Andrews 

Cross, four red roses in the quarters . . .” ? 

“D ’ argent , au sautoir de gueules, cantonné de quatre roses du même”. 

13 Which equates, graphically, to a cross of Saint Andrew, with four roses spread across the four angles of 

this cross. Valentin Andrea bore this sign on his ring; it figures on a drawing decorating the upper région 

of his portrait reproduced in the work by Wittermans: “ History of the Rose-Croix ”, p. 31. 

12 

Templars & Rose Croix, Translatée! by Piers A Vaughan © 2005 

So, according to our own conclusions and to the light which preceded it, this is 

the reason for the Alchemists, Kabbalists, Theurgists as well as commoners, entering an 

Order as aristocratie as that of the Teutonic Knights or that of the Strict Templar 

Observance from which it came. 

We note that certain authors, notably Philléas Lebesgue, supported the theory that 

Marshall von Ludendorff had been one of the last représentatives of an esoteric Teuronic 

kernel, perpetuating certain théories from the Gibelins to exclusively pangennanist ends. 

What the famous devise of the Austrian Emperors claimed to affinn with their 

“A.E.I.O.U.”, when translated from Latin into English signified something like this: 

“Austria is destined to dominate the world”. And it was Ludendorff who made Hitler! 

Templars & Rose Croix, Translatée! by Piers A Vaughan © 2005

https://archive.org/stream/AmblelainRTemplarsRoseCroix/Amblelain%20R%20Templars%20%26%20Rose%20Croix_djvu.txt

Finally, the Constitutions train us all for perfection, instructing us in the weapons to be used in combatting our three fierce and raging adversaries. They teach us how to counter the lust of the flesh with chastity, the lust of the eyes with poverty, and the pride of life with obedience. I shall say nothing of our observance of chastity (in which we should imitate the purity of the angels so far as our frailty allows), or of our OBSERVANCE of poverty (which is so STRICT that neither churches nor professed houses may acquire any rents, lands, or even perpetual endowments). As for obedience, however, by which we consecrate the chief and noblest part of ourselves to God, our Constitutions require of us that it be so prompt, eager, perfect, and integral that we do not swerve even a hairsbreadth from our superiors commands. In matters falling under obedience, not only must our action be guided by the superior s command and our will by his will, but even something much more difficult our understanding by his understanding.

To sum up: men crucified to the world, and to whom the world itself is crucified[7] such would our Constitutions have us to be; new men, I say, who have put off their affections to put on Christ;[8] dead to themselves to live to justice; who, with St. Paul in labors, in watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in knowledge, in long suffering, in sweetness, in the Holy Spirit, in charity unfeigned, in the word of truth, show themselves ministers of God[9] and by the armor of Justice on the right hand and, on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report, by good success finally and ill success, press forward with great strides to their heavenly country. This is the sum and aim of our institute.

And so I beseech you, brothers in the Lord, that we may walk in a manner worthy of our vocation,[10] and, in order to know that vocation, may read and reread these Constitutions that have been bestowed upon us by the gift of God. Let us study them day and night. Let us vie with each other in learning them, pondering them, and keeping them. If we do so, our name will be matched by our lives and our profession made manifest in deed.

Farewell in Christ.  

Rome, the house of the Society of Jesus, 1559 [7]

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

https://www.facebook.com/billy.dunn.50767/posts/pfbid033Wn1qxzTuXB15eZ5CGZebsHUJNCDBT9NB8Fkp7Vgm84LhgeckoEbXdM47ESeJKcNl

Emir (/əˈmɪər, eɪˈmɪər, ˈeɪmɪər/; Arabic: أمير ʾamīr [ʔæˈmiːr] (listenⓘ), also transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ceremonial authority. The title has a history of use in West Asia, East Africa, West Africa, Central Asia, and South Asia. In the modern era, when used as a formal monarchical title, it is roughly synonymous with "prince", applicable both to a son of a hereditary monarch, and to a reigning monarch of a sovereign principality, namely an emirate. The feminine form is emira (أميرة ʾamīrah), with the same meaning as "princess".

Prior to its use as a monarchical title, the term "emir" was historically used to denote a "commander", "general", or "leader" (for example, Amir al-Mu'min). In contemporary usage, "emir" is also sometimes used as either an honorary or formal title for the head of an Islamic, or Arab (regardless of religion) organisation or movement.

Qatar and Kuwait are the only independent countries which retain the title "emir" for their monarchs. In recent years, the title has been gradually replaced by "king" by contemporary hereditary rulers who wish to emphasize their secular authority under the rule of law. A notable example is Bahrain, whose monarch changed his title from emir to king in 2002.[1]

Origins

Amir, meaning "lord" or "commander-in-chief", is derived from the Arabic root a-m-r, meaning "command". Originally simply meaning "commander", it came to be used as a title of leaders, governors, or rulers of smaller states. In modern Arabic the word is analogous to the title "Prince". The word entered English in 1593, from the French émir.[2] It was one of the titles or names of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.[citation needed]

Princely, ministerial and noble titles

Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

Mohammed Alim Khan, Emir of Bukhara, taken in 1911 by Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky

The monarchs of Qatar and Kuwait are currently titled emir.[3][4][5]

All members of the House of Saud have the title of emir (prince).[6][7][8]

The caliphs first used the title Amir al-Muminin or "Commander of the Faithful", stressing their leadership over the Islamic empire, especially over the militia. The title has been assumed by various other Muslim rulers, including sultans and emirs. For Shia Muslims, they still give this title to the Caliph Ali as Amir al-Muminin.

The Abbasid (in theory still universal) Caliph Al-Radi created the post of Amir al-Umara ("Amir of the Amirs") for Ibn Raik; the title was used in various Islamic monarchies; see below for military use. In Iraq, the direct descendants of previous Emirs from the largest tribes who ruled the kingdoms before modern statehood, use the title of Sheikh or Prince as the progeny of royalty.[9][10]

Formerly in Lebanon, the ruling emir formally used the style al-Amir al-Hakim, specifying it was still the ruler's title. The title was held by Druze and Christians as well.[citation needed]

The word emir is also used less formally for leaders in certain contexts. For example, the leader of a group of pilgrims to Mecca is called an emir hadji, a title sometimes used by ruling princes (as a mark of Muslim piety) which is sometimes awarded in their name. Where an adjectival form is necessary, "emiral" suffices.[citation needed]

Amirzade, the son (hence the Persian patronymic suffix -zade) of a prince, hence the Persian princely title mirza.

The traditional rulers of the predominantly Muslim northern regions of Nigeria are known as emirs, while the titular sovereign of their now defunct empire is formally styled as the Sultan of Sokoto, Amir-al-Muminin (or Sarkin Musulmi in the Hausa language).[citation needed]

The temporal leader of the Yazidi people is known as an emir or prince.[citation needed]

Afghanistan under the government of the Taliban is officially an emirate, with the leader of the Taliban bearing the title Amir al-Mu'minin.

Amīr al-Baḥr (أمير البحر, "commander of the sea"), a position in the Fatimid navy, is frequently mistaken as the etymological origin of the English admiral, the French amiral, and similar terms in other European languages.[11] The titles actually derive solely from Medieval Latin forms of emir itself,[11] originally in reference to the "amirs al-umara" of Norman Sicily.

The Constitution of Morocco uses the term Amir al-Mu'minin as the principal title of the King of Morocco, as a means to showcase the hegemonic role and Islamic legitimacy of the Monarch.[12]

Military ranks and titles

See also: Amir (Iranian Army)

From the start, emir has been a military title. In the 9th century the term was used to denote a ruler of a state i.e. Italy's Emirate of Sicily.

In certain decimally-organized Muslim armies, Amir was an officer rank. For example, in Mughal India, the Amirs commanded 1000 horsemen (divided into ten units, each under a sipah salar), ten of them under one malik. In the imperial army of Qajar Persia:

Amir-i-Nuyan

Amir Panj, "Commander of 5,000"

Amir-i-Tuman, "Commander of 10,000"

The following posts referred to "amir" under medieval Muslim states include:

Amir al-umara, "Amir of Amirs" (cfr. supra) or 'Commander of Commanders'

Amir al-hajj, "Commander of the Hajj [caravan]"

Amir al-ʿarab, "Commander of the Arabs [Bedouin tribes]"

In the former Kingdom of Afghanistan, Amir-i-Kabir was a title meaning "great prince" or "great commander".

Muhammad Amin Bughra, Nur Ahmad Jan Bughra, and Abdullah Bughra declared themselves emirs of the First East Turkestan Republic.

Other uses

Amir is a masculine name in the Persian language and a prefix name for many masculine names such as Amir Ali, Amir Abbas.

Amir-i-Iel designates the head of an Il (tribe) in imperial Persia.

The masculine Amir and feminine Amira are Arabic-language names common among both Arabs regardless of religion and Muslims regardless of ethnicity, much as Latin Rex and Regina ("king" and "queen", respectively) are common in the Western world. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the female name Emira, often interpreted as "princess", is a derivative of the male name Emir.

The masculine Amir and feminine Amira are Hebrew-language names that are relatively common in Israel. In Hebrew the word can also mean "bundle of grain" or "treetop" depending on the spelling.

Ameer of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emir

Emeritus (/əˈmɛrɪtəs/; female version: emerita)[Note 1] is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus".[1]

In some cases, the term is conferred automatically upon all persons who retire at a given rank, but in others, it remains a mark of distinguished service awarded selectively on retirement. It is also used when a person of distinction in a profession retires or hands over the position, enabling their former rank to be retained in their title. The term emeritus does not necessarily signify that a person has relinquished all the duties of their former position, and they may continue to exercise some of them.

In descriptions of deceased professors emeriti listed at U.S. universities, the title emeritus is replaced by an indication of the years of their appointments,[2] except in obituaries, where it may be used to indicate their status at the time of death.[2]

Etymology

Emeritus (past participle of Latin emerere, meaning 'complete one's service') is a compound of the Latin prefix e- (variant of ex-) meaning 'out of, from' and merere (source of 'merit') meaning 'to serve, earn'. The word is attested since the early 17th century with the meaning 'having served out one's time, having done sufficient service'. The Latin feminine equivalent, emerita (/ɪˈmɛrɪtə/), is also sometimes used, although in English the word emeritus is often unmarked for gender.[3]

In academia

A tenured full professor who retires from an educational institution in good standing may be given the title "professor emeritus".[4] The title "professor emerita" is sometimes used for women. In most systems and institutions, the rank is bestowed on all professors who have retired in good standing, while at others, it needs a special act or vote.[5] Professors emeriti may, depending on local circumstances, retain office space or other privileges. The adjective may be placed before or after the title (e.g., "professor emeritus" or "emeritus professor").[citation needed]

Other uses

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.

Find sources: "Emeritus" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

When a diocesan bishop or auxiliary bishop retires, the word emeritus is added to their former title, i.e., "Archbishop Emeritus of ...". The term "Bishop Emeritus" of a particular see can apply to several people, if the first lives long enough. The title was applied to the Bishop of Rome, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, on his retirement. In Community of Christ, the status of emeritus is occasionally granted to senior officials upon retirement.

In Judaism, emeritus is often a title granted to long-serving rabbis of synagogues or other Jewish institutions. In some cases, the title is also granted to chazzans. Rabbi Emeritus or Cantor Emeritus is largely an honorific title.

Since 2001, the honorary title of president pro tempore emeritus has been given to a senator of the minority party who has previously served as president pro tempore of the United States Senate.[6][7]

It is also used in business and nonprofit organizations to denote perpetual status of the founder of an organization or individuals who made significant contributions to the institution. Phil Knight, for example, is the co-founder of Nike, and after decades of being the CEO, he is now the chairman emeritus of the company.[8]

Following her decision to retire from Democratic leadership, the House Steering and Policy Committee voted to grant Nancy Pelosi the title of Speaker Emerita in recognition of her service as Speaker of the House, while newly elected Speaker Mike Johnson referred to his ousted predecessor Kevin McCarthy as Speaker Emeritus.[9]

Cabinet of Singapore also adopted the use of emeritus and so far it has been conferred to Senior Minister of Singapore Goh Chok Tong in 2011, when he and then-Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew both stepped down from the upcoming cabinet as part of the party's renewal process.[10][11] Goh retired from politics in 2020, though his title as an emeritus was kept intact.[12]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emeritus

“Pope Emeritus” is a title adopted by Pope Benedict XVI after his resignation from the papacy in February 2013.

The creation of this title for Benedict XVI was a historic decision, reflecting the unusual circumstances of a papal resignation in modern times and providing a precedent for how a retired Pope may be addressed and regarded within the Church’s hierarchy.

The term “emeritus” is a Latin word meaning “retired”.

It is commonly used in various professions, notably in academia, to denote someone who has retired from active service but retains their title as an honor.

When applied to the Pope, it acknowledges Benedict XVI’s retirement from the active duties and responsibilities of the papal office while respecting his previous role as the Bishop of Rome and leader of the Catholic Church.

The title “Pope Emeritus” signified that while Benedict XVI no longer exercises the power and authority of the papacy, he remained a figure of significant respect and honor within the Catholic Church.

It acknowledges his contribution to the Church during his tenure and allows him to continue to be addressed with a title appropriate to the dignity of the office he once held.

As Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI did not participate in the governance of the Catholic Church or in public ecclesiastical affairs. Instead, he had dedicated his post-papal life to prayer and study, living a life of retirement within the Vatican.

https://popehistory.com/pope-emeritus/

How the Vatican created Islam

How the Vatican created Islam. The astonishing story from an ex-Jesuit priest, Alberto Rivera,

which was told to him by Cardinal Bea while he was at the Vatican.

By Alberto Rivera | cloakanddagger .de

Article from: http://www.davidicke.com/content/view/744/48/. From "The Prophet":

http://www.choosinglife.net/Islam.htm (website disabled)

This information came from Alberto Rivera, former Jesuit priest after his conversion to

Protestant Christianity. It is excerpted from "The Prophet," published by Chick Publications, PO

Box 661, Chino CA 91708. Since its publication, after several unsuccessful attempts on his life,

he died suddenly from food poisoning. His testimony should not be silenced. Dr. Rivera speaks

to us still ...

"What I'm going to tell you is what I learned in secret briefings in

the Vatican when I was a Jesuit priest, under oath and induction. A

Jesuit cardinal named Augustine Bea showed us how desperately

the Roman Catholics wanted Jerusalem at the end of the third

century. Because of its religious history and its strategic location,

the Holy City was considered a priceless treasure. A scheme had to

be developed to make Jerusalem a Roman Catholic city.

"The great untapped source of manpower that could do this job was the children of Ishmael. The

poor Arabs fell victim to one of the most clever plans ever devised by the powers of darkness.

Early Christians went everywhere with the gospel setting up small churches, but they met heavy

opposition. Both the Jews and the Roman government persecuted the believers in Christ to stop

their spread. But the Jews rebelled against Rome, and in 70 AD, Roman armies under General

Titus smashed Jerusalem and destroyed the great Jewish temple which was the heart of Jewish

worship...in fulfillment of Christ's prophecy in Matthew 24:2.

"On this holy placed today where the temple once stood, the Dome of the Rock Mosque stands

as Islam's second most holy place. Sweeping changes were in the wind. Corruption, apathy,

greed, cruelty, perversion and rebellion were eating at the Roman Empire, and it was ready to

collapse. The persecution against Christians was useless as they continued to lay down their lives

for the gospel of Christ.

"The only way Satan could stop this thrust was to create a counterfeit "Christian" religion to

destroy the work of God. The solution was in Rome. Their religion had come from ancient

Babylon and all it needed was a face-lift. This didn't happen overnight, but began in the writings

of the 'early church fathers'.

"It was through their writings that a new religion would take shape. The statue of Jupiter in

Rome was eventually called St. Peter, and the statue of Venus was changed to the Virgin Mary.

The site chosen for its headquarters was on one of the seven hills called 'Vaticanus', the place of

the diving serpent where the Satanic temple of Janus stood.

"The great counterfeit religion was Roman Catholicism, called 'Mystery, Babylon the Great, the

Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth'- Revelation 17:5. She was raised up to block

the gospel, slaughter the believers in Christ, establish religions, create wars and make the nations

drunk with the wine of her fornication as we will see.

"Three major religions have one thing in common - each has a holy place where they look for

guidance. Roman Catholicism looks to the Vatican as the Holy City. The Jews look to the wailing

wall in Jerusalem, and the Muslims look to Mecca as their Holy City. Each group believes that

they receive certain types of blessings for the rest of their lives for visiting their holy place. In

the beginning, Arab visitors would bring gifts to the 'House of God', and the keepers of the

Kaaba were gracious to all who came. Some brought their idols and, not wanting to offend these

people, their idols were placed inside the sanctuary. It is said that the Jews looked upon the

Kaaba as an outlying tabernacle of the Lord with veneration until it became polluted with idols.

"In a tribal contention over a well(Zamzam) the treasure of the Kaaba and the offerings that

pilgrims had given were dumped down the well and it was filled with sand - it disappeared.

Many years later Adb Al-Muttalib was given visions telling him where to find the well and its

treasure. He became the hero of Mecca, and he was destined to become the grandfather of

Muhammad. Before this time, Augustine became the bishop of North Africa and was effective in

winning Arabs to Roman Catholicism, including whole tribes. It was among these Arab converts

to Catholicism that the concept of looking for an Arab prophet developed.

"Muhammad's father died from illness and sons born to great Arab families in places like Mecca

were sent into the desert to be suckled and weaned and spend some of their childhood with

Bedouin tribes for training and to avoid the plagues in the cities.

"After his mother and grandfather also died, Muhammad was with his uncle when a Roman

Catholic monk learned of his identity and said, "Take your brother's son back to his country and

guard him against the Jews, for by god, if they see him and know of him that which I know, they

will construe evil against him. Great things are in store for this brother's son of yours."

"The Roman Catholic monk had fanned the flames for future Jewish persecutions at the hands of

the followers of Muhammad. The Vatican desperately wanted Jerusalem because of its religious

significance, but was blocked by the Jews.

"Another problem was the true Christians in North Africa who preached the gospel. Roman

Catholicism was growing in power, but would not tolerate opposition. Somehow the Vatican had

to create a weapon to eliminate both the Jews and the true Christian believers who refused to

accept Roman Catholicism. Lookng to North Africa, they saw the multitudes of Arabs as a

source of manpower to do their dirty work. Some Arabs had become Roman Catholic, and could

be used in reporting information to leaders in Rome. Others were used in an underground spy

network to carry out Rome's master plan to control the great multitudes of Arabs who rejected

Catholicism. When 'St Augustine' appeared on the scene, he knew what was going on. His

monasteries served as bases to seek out and destroy Bible manuscripts owned by the true

Christians.

"The Vatican wanted to create a messiah for the Arabs, someone they could raise up as a great

leader, a man with charisma whom they could train, and eventually unite all the non-Catholic

Arabs behind him, creating a mighty army that would ultimately capture Jerusalem for the pope.

In the Vatican briefing, Cardinal Bea told us this story:

'A wealthy Arabian lady who was a faithful follower of the pope played a tremendous part in this

drama. She was a widow named Khadijah. She gave her wealth to the church and retired to a

convent, but was given an assignment. She was to find a brilliant young man who could be used

by the Vatican to create a new religion and become the messiah for the children of Ishmael.

Khadijah had a cousin named Waraquah,, who was also a very faithful Roman Catholic and the

Vatican placed him in a critical role as Muhammad's advisor. He had tremendous influence on

Muhammad.

'Teachers were sent to young Muhammad and he had intensive training. Muhammad studied the

works of St. Augustine which prepared him for his "great calling." The Vatican had Catholic

Arabs across North Africa spread the story of a great one who was about to rise up among the

people and be the chosen one of their God.

'While Muhammad was being prepared, he was told that his enemies were the Jews and that the

only true Christians were Roman Catholic. He was taught that others calling themselves

Christians were actually wicked impostors and should be destroyed. Many Muslims believe this.

'Muhammad began receiving "divine revelations" and his wife's Catholic cousin Waraquah

helped interpret them. From this came the Koran. In the fifth year of Muhammad's mission,

persecution came against his followers because they refused to worship the idols in the Kaaba.

'Muhammad instructed some of them to flee to Abysinnia where Negus, the Roman Catholic king

accepted them because Muhammad's views on the virgin Mary were so close to Roman Catholic

doctrine. These Muslims received protection from Catholic kings because of Muhammad's

revelations.

'Muhammad later conquered Mecca and the Kaaba was cleared of idols. History proves that

before Islam came into existence, the Sabeans in Arabia worshiped the moon-god who was

married to the sun-god. They gave birth to three goddesses who were worshipped throughout the

Arab world as "Daughters of Allah" An idol excavated at Hazor in Palestine in 1950's shows

Allah sitting on a throne with the crescent moon on his chest.

'Muhammad claimed he had a vision from Allah and was told, "You are the messenger of Allah."

This began his career as a prophet and he received many messages. By the time Muhammad

ied, the religion of Islam was exploding. The nomadic Arab tribes were joining forces in the

name of Allah and his prophet, Muhammad.

'Some of Muhammad's writings were placed in the Koran, others were never published. They are

now in the hands of high ranking holy men (Ayatollahs) in the Islamic faith.'

"When Cardinal Bea shared with us in the Vatican, he said, these writings are guarded because

they contain information that links the Vatican to the creation of Islam. Both sides have so much

information on each other, that if exposed, it could create such a scandal that it would be a

disaster for both religions.

"In their "holy" book, the Koran, Christ is regarded as only a prophet. If the pope was His

representative on earth, then he also must be a prophet of God. This caused the followers of

Muhammad to fear and respect the pope as another "holy man."

"The pope moved quickly and issued bulls granting the Arab generals permission to invade and

conquer the nations of North Africa. The Vatican helped to finance the building of these massive

Islamic armies in exchange for three favors:

1. Eliminate the Jews and Christians (true believers, which they called infidels).

2. Protect the Augustinian Monks and Roman Catholics.

3. Conquer Jerusalem for "His Holiness" in the Vatican.

"As time went by, the power of Islam became tremendous - Jews and true Christians were

slaughtered, and Jerusalem fell into their hands. Roman Catholics were never attacked, nor were

their shrines, during this time. But when the pope asked for Jerusalem, he was surprised at their

denial! The Arab generals had such military success that they could not be intimidated by the

pope - nothing could stand in the way of their own plan.

"Under Waraquah's direction, Muhammad wrote that Abraham offered Ishmael as a sacrifice.

The Bible says that Isaac was the sacrifice, but Muhammad removed Isaac's name and inserted

Ishmael's name. As a result of this and Muhammad's vision, the faithful Muslims built a mosque,

the Dome of the Rock, in Ishmael's honor on the site of the Jewish temple that was destroyed in

70 AD. This made Jerusalem the 2nd most holy place in the Islam faith. How could they give

such a sacred shrine to the pope without causing a revolt?

"The pope realized what they had created was out of control when he heard they were calling

"His Holiness" an infidel. The Muslim generals were determined to conquer the world for Allah

and now they turned toward Europe. Islamic ambassadors approached the pope and asked for

papal bulls to give them permission to invade European countries.

"The Vatican was outraged; war was inevitable. Temporal power and control of the world was

considered the basic right of the pope. He wouldn't think of sharing it with those whom he

considered heathens.

"The pope raised up his armies and called them crusades to hold back the children of Ishmael

from grabbing Catholic Europe. The crusades lasted centuries and Jerusalem slipped out of the

pope's hands.

"Turkey fell and Spain and Portugal were invaded by Islamic forces. In Portugal, they called a

mountain village "Fatima" in honor of Muhammad's daughter, never dreaming it would become

world famous.

"Years later when the Muslim armies were poised on the islands of Sardinia and Corsica, to

invade Italy, there was a serious problem. The Islamic generals realized they were too far

extended. It was time for peace talks. One of the negotiators was Francis of Assisi.

"As a result, the Muslims were allowed to occupy Turkey in a "Christian" world, and the

Catholics were allowed to occupy Lebanon in the Arab world. It was also agreed that the

Muslims could build mosques in Catholic countries without interference as long as Roman

Catholicism could flourish Arab countries.

"Cardinal Bea told us in Vatican briefings that both the Muslims and Roman Catholics agreed to

block and destroy the efforts of their common enemy, Bible-believing Christianm missionaries.

Through these concordats, Satan blocked the children of Ishmael from a knowledge of Scripture

and the truth.

"A light control was kept on Muslims from the Ayatollah down through the Islamic priests, nuns

and monks. The Vatican also engineers a campaign of hatred between the Muslim Arabs and the

Jews. Before this, they had co-existed peacefully.

"The Islamic community looks on the Bible-believing missionary as a devil who brings poison to

the children of Allah. This explains years of ministry in those countries with little results.

"The next plan was to control Islam. In 1910, Portugal was going

Socialistic. Red flags were appearing and the Catholic Church was

facing a major problem. Increasing numbers were against the

church.

"The Jesuits wanted Russia involved, and the location of this vision

at Fatima could play a key part in pulling Islam to the Mother

Church.

"In 1917, the Virgin appeared in Fatima. "The Mother of God" was

a smashing success, playing to overflow crowds. As a result, the

Socialists of Portugal suffered a major defeat.

"Roman Catholics world-wide began praying for the conversion of

Russia and the Jesuits invented the Novenas to Fatima which they

could perform throughout North Africa, spreading good public

relations to the Muslim world. The Arabs thought they were

honoring the daughter of Muhammad, which is what the Jesuits wanted them to believe.

"As a result of the vision of Fatima, Pope Pius XII ordered his Nazi army to crush Russia and the

Orthodox religion and make Russia Roman Catholic." A few years after he lost World war II,

Pope Pius XII startled the world with his phoney dancing sun vision to keep Fatima in the news.

It was great religious show biz and the world swallowed it.

"Not surprisingly, Pope Pius was the only one to see this vision.

As a result, a group of followers has grown into a Blue Army

world-wide, totaling millions of faithful Roman Catholics ready to

die for the blessed virgin.

"But we haven't seen anything yet. The Jesuits have their Virgin

Mary scheduled to appear four or five times in China, Russia, and

major appearance in the U.S.

Lucia de Santos, Francisco

Marco and Jacinta Maro in

1917. Image from:

mystae.com

"What has this got to do with Islam? Note Bishop Sheen's

statement: "Our Lady's appearances at Fatima marked the turning point in the history of the

world's 350 million Muslims. After the death of his daughter, Muhammad wrote that she "is the

most holy of all women in Paradise, next to Mary."

"He believed that the Virgin Mary chose to be known as Our Lady of Fatima as a sign and a

pledge that the Muslims who believe in Christ's virgin birth, will come to believe in His divinity.

"Bishop Sheen pointed out that the pilgrim virgin statues of Our Lady of Fatima were

enthusiastically received by Muslims in Africa, India, and elsewhere, and that many Muslims are

now coming into the Roman Catholic Church."

Article from: http://www.cloakanddagger .de/lenny/alberto_rivera.htm

http://remnantofgod.org/books/docs/how-the-vatican-created-islam.pdf

Pope Gregory IX condemned the links that both the Knights Templer and Knights Hospitaller have with the Assassin fighters in the Middle East. He issues a bull, a formal proclamation issued by the pope, preventing further contact with the Assassins.

May 6 – Roger of Wendover, English Benedictine monk and chronicler, dies at St. Albans Abbey. His chronicle is continued by Matthew of Paris.

1236

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1236

Atheism: resisting it with all our forces is a special mission given to the Society by the supreme pontiff, 253 2°; a mission which should permeate all forms of our apostolate, 254; our efforts are to be directed toward nonbelievers, ibid.; toward that end, an experience of God must be fostered in ourselves, 223 §§3-4, 224, 247

1° 2° 3° 6°;

and also in others, by means of the Spiritual Exercises, 271

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

THE pilgrim sailed from Barcelona to the Italian port city of Gaeta, and walked the remaining distance to Rome, arriving there on Palm Sunday, March 29, 1523. Two days later, according to Vatican archives, “Iñigo de Loyola, cleric of the diocese of Pamplona” received permission from Pope Adrian VI to visit Jerusalem. From Rome, Iñigo proceeded to Venice, where one of Charles Habsburg’s agents received him graciously and introduced h im to the Doge, Andrea Gritti, the highest official in Venetian civil government. A famed diplomat and linguist, Gritti arranged free passage for Iñigo aboard a small ship whose name – the “Negrona” – was appropriate for an evangelist dedicated to the Black Virgin of Christian Conquest.

On July 14, 1523, the Negrona left Venice, arriving a month later at the island of Cyprus. At Cyprus, one Diego Manes and his servant, along with several Cypriot officials, boarded ship for the rest of the voyage to Haifa. Diego Manes was a Commander of the Knights Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem.7 Since 1312, the Hospitallers had held title to the vast wealth of the Knights Templar. They had been drawing upon these assets to defend the Roman economy against Islamic marauders in the east. But when the Turks attacked the Hospitallers’ headquarters on the Island of Rhodes, the assets were frozen by the pope and his former pupil, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles. No assistance in any form was forthcoming from either party. Consequently, in December 1522, the Hospitallers had no choice but to surrender Rhodes and retreat to what would become their final domicile, Malta. T h e message was clear. Now that Luther’s German-language New Testament was in print, Protestantism loomed a greater menace to Rome than Islam ever did. It is possible that in a Jerusalem-bound ship named Negrona, Commander Diego Manes turned over the litanies, lists, secret codes, formulae, cabalah, and other portable assets comprising the Knights Templar resources to Iñigo. If this indeed happened, the western world’s secret infrastructure was now Loyola’s to populate and manipulate in the cause of learning against learning. That is my hypothesis. What is not hypothesis is that as soon as the pilgrim returned from Jerusalem he began vesting himself with Medici learning. The idea of uniting the Templars with the Hospitallers was first argued publicly in a book published in 1305 by Raimon Llull, a renowned illuminatus from Majorca. Llull’s book, Libre de Fine, (“Free At Last”) appeared in the midst of a raging controversy between the French monarchy and the Roman papacy over who held jurisdiction over the Templars. That is the subject of our next chapter.

Rulers of Evil

by F. Tupper Saussy

[Reading from A History of Secret Societies]:

But this secret society, [the] most successful of secret societies showed that its strength ultimately depended upon a powerful leader. [Well,] Kia Mohammed was no such [leader]. [And] little by little it became obvious that his son, Hasan the Hated, was the stronger personality. [Now remember, Kia Mohammed was the Old Man of the Mountain, and the mountain lair was called: The Eagle's Nest.] Now Hasan, through some magnetic power, was able to capture the imagination of the Assassins, soon having it believed that he himself was none other than the Power of All Powers, the Hidden Imam, who had been mentioned by the first Grand Master; an incarnation of all greatness. So important was [Hasan] that he was the fountain of power, and others only held a [very small] measure of authority because he allowed them to have it [and for no other reason].

This final absurdity was lapped up by members who had been conditioned to believe in things which were not, shall we say, exactly self-evident to the ordinary man. The doctrine of the all-powerful Invisible Imam was a part of Ismailism; and Hasan was ready even during his early manhood to assume the role. But, since his father was able to assert himself by having some two hundred and fifty of Hasan' followers murdered, he thought it wiser to hold his hand. In 1163 his chance came. Mohammed died, and Hasan II issued an order to all Ismailis to collect below the castle of Alamut.

Never before had such an assembly of killers, fanatics and dedicated perverters of the truth been seen. Hasan, probably in a state of megalomania, assured them that he had received a message from the Almighty that as from now, all the bond of religion were loosed: everyone might do as he liked. [Later, in the modern age, we would hear that again as: “The whole of the Law shall be: do as thou wilt.”] It was not necessary [he said] to keep up pretences. And, furthermore, he, Hasan, was none other than the Hidden Imam. His word was law; and he was a form of the divinity, not merely relaying instructions from above [but the divinity].

[Now] there was one further obstacle [folks]. According to Ismaili doctrine, the Hidden Imam was to be of the Family of Hashim, the blood of Mohammed the Prophet. Such descendants were known and revered: and it was common knowledge that Hasan II was not one of them. He overcame this difficulty by stating that he was not in fact the true son of Kia Mohammed the Persian, but an adopted child of the Caliphial family of Egypt. This pretence was carried on for four years, during which the crazed Hasan showed that he was not as mad as he might have been, by consolidating quite efficiently the power of the cult. Eventually, he was assassinated by his brother-in-law, Namwar ('The Famous'). Now the father-to-son succession seemed to be established. Mohammed II, son of Hasan II, began the cultivation of letters and sciences which was to distinguish successive Grand Masters of the Order. It was a conceit of his, in the time of the greatest flowering of Persian literature, that he [he] was supreme among poets and philosophers. He used his assassins [also] to drive this point well home. The Imam Razi, one of the greatest thinkers of the time, refused to acknowledge the Assassins as the most advanced theologians: so Mohammed II sent an envoy to him, promising either a swift death by dagger or a pension of several thousand gold pieces a year. Suddenly [oh yes, suddenly!] the learned Imam's discourses seemed to lose their bite. One day, soon afterwards, he was asked why he did not attack the Assassins as of old. “Because,” said the old man, with a nervous glance around the assembly where a murderer might lurk, “their arguments are so sharp, and pointed [and indeed, they were].”

For thirty-five years Mohammed II ruled the Ismailis with a rod of iron; the only law was that of obedience to the Assassin will. The observances of ritual Islam were abolished. A new star had arisen [Remember that star?]: a power to stiffen resistance to Crusader penetration; Saladin, who was to become an implacable foe of the Assassins.

The Syrian branch of the cult grew in power, while the activities of the Eastern Assassins were carried out much more quietly, with missionaries being sent to India, Afghanistan, even the remote Pamir Mountains which straddle China and Russia, where even today adherents of the sect are to be found. Saladin had overcome the other Ismaili branch and original home of Assassinism—Egypt—and restored the true faith to the people of the Nile. He now had enough booty for ten years' war against the Crusaders in Palestine, and troops to spare. His first task was to unify the forces of Islam; and this he determined to do by force if necessary. Sinan, Ancient of the Assassin cult in Syria, decided to oppose this terrible enemy of the Fatimites. Three assassins fell upon Saladin and nearly killed him. This made the sect a priority target for the Saracen chief. The Old Man of the Mountain, for his part [who was now Mohammed II], now unleashed a succession of fanatics, in every kind of disguise, upon Saladin. By 1176, Saladin decided that an end must be put to the cult. He invaded their territory and started to lay it waste, when the Assassin chief offered him freedom of action to fight the Crusaders, and no [no] further attempt upon his life, if the cult were spared. [Now] these terms were agreed to, and henceforth no Assassin ever again attempted to molest Sultan Saladin.

This period introduces Sinan as yet another strange and terrible Assassin leader. [For] he had decided that he was the incarnation of all power and deity, and that he would live the part. Sinan was never seen to eat or drink, sleep, or even to spit. [Now can you imagine this? A living, human being never seen to eat or drink, sleep, or even to spit.] Between sunrise and sunset he stood on a pinnacle of rock, dressed in a hair-shirt, and preached his own power and glory to delighted Assassins. [Have you ever worn a hair shirt? Have you ever stood on a pinnacle of rock between sunrise and sunset? I mean, every sunrise and sunset, and wearing a hair shirt every sunrise and sunset? Well, folks, this is historic fact. This is not something that someone made up.] Thus, at one and the same time, there were two chiefs of the Order, each busily telling his own followers that he, and he alone, was God [was God!]. Hasan in Persia, Sinan in Syria, each commanded legions of devoted killers, all committed by oath to follow his path.

When Mohammed II died, he was succeeded by his son Jalaludin, who completely reversed the orders that the Assassins were to have no outward religious observances. [You see] he felt that he could do a great deal by adopting the cloak of orthodox piety, and sent ambassadors far and wide to announce his maintenance of the true faith. He went so far as to curse his predecessors publicly, in order to convince the incredulous that such a people as the Assassins could turn over a new leaf. As a result of what would today be called a long-term and comprehensive propaganda plan, he was acknowledged as a religious leader by half the orthodox monarchs of Islam, and (the first Assassin to be so styled) came to be termed Prince Jalaludin.

Jalaludin died in 1203, after twelve years of leadership of the cult, handing over to Alaeddin ([or] Aladdin) [And you guys thought that it was just a storybook tale, didn't you? Aladdin], a child of nine years of age. Weak, inefficient, stupid, Alaeddin made little mark upon history. [Except in the classic tales of Arabia, the 1001 Arabbian Nights, for Aladdin in the 1001 Arabbian Nights is Aladdin, the leader of the Assassins.] It is said that his main activity was tending sheep, to which he was passionately attached, and he even had a small hut built in a sheepfold, where he spent most of his time. [Aladdin] was extraordinarily cruel, in spite of the contact with the sheep, and continued to terrorize in time-honored fashion any person, great or small, who did not pay tribute or otherwise co-operate with the organization.

[And even today, those in power who are in contact with sheep most of the time (laughs) ultimately turn out to be same. And we all know who the sheeple are, don't we?]

The Assassins' hands, ears and eyes were everywhere. Once fully initiated, a man might be sent to a place a thousand miles away, to take up residence and live: waiting for the moment when orders came to him from Alamut to fulfill his fatal destiny [and all the while in-between, furnishing intelligence to the central headquarters of the Assassins]. A story is told of the court of the Shah of Khwarism, thus: “The Ismaili ambassador spent some time with the Vizier. One day, after a splendid banquet when the wine which they had been drinking in violation of the law had mounted into their heads, the ambassador told the Vizier by way of confidence that there were several Ismailis among the pages, grooms, guards and other persons who were immediately about the Sultan. The Vizier, dismayed and at the same time curious to know who these dangerous attendants were, besought the ambassador to point them out to him, giving him his napkin as a pledge that nothing evil should happen to them. Instantly, at a sign from the envoy, five of the persons who were attendants in the chamber stepped forth, avowing themselves to be concealed Assassins, ‘On such a day and at such an hour,’ said one of them, an Indian, to the Vizier, ‘I might have slain thee without being seen or punished; and if I did not do so it was only because I had no orders from my superiors.’ ”

The Vizier [of course] begged for his life. But word got the Sultan, who ordered the Assassins to be apprehended and burned alive, and “the five chamberlains were cast on the flaming pyre, where they died exulting at being found worthy to suffer in the service of the great Sheikh of the Mountain [so powerful was their devotion to the cult].” The Assassins had the last laugh, for an order arrived immediately afterwards from Alamut, that the Shah must pay ten thousand pieces of gold as compensation for each man killed—which he did [or be killed himself].

Another subsidiary activity which the Assassins delighted in was holding captive in Alamut of useful, rare and distinguished personages who could be of value to them in educational, military or other spheres. [And] one was a physician, another a famous astronomer, a third the greatest painter in Persia, who worked to the order of the chief alone.

The end of a chapter was near, for the Mongol hordes under Halaku, lieutenant of Chinghiz, were steadily destroying all the civilization of Islam which lay in their inexorable path westwards. Rukneddin, son of Alaeddin, succeeded him and tried at first to turn the Mongol tide. After a series of encounters, pitched battles, intrigues and counter-intrigues, Rukneddin was taken. He played for time as long as he could, but was eventually murdered in his own turn by the victorious Mongol chief's men. Assassin power in Persia was broken, and what remained of the members were ordered—none knows by whom—to conceal their faith and await a signal that the cult was in full operation again. Alamut was silenced, and the Syrian headquarters alone remained.

[And if it had not been for the refusal of the Christian kings in Europe to send ambassadors to make a treaty, or a new Crusade, with the Mongol horde, then all of Islam would have been decimated. But it was not, for the Christian kings, even though they would have liked to regain their foothold in the Middle East, had problems of their own and ignored the Mongol emissaries.]

It was a long time until the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt was able to overcome the Mongol thrust. In 1260, however, he carried the banners of Islam victoriously against them, and restored the fortress of Alamut and other properties to the Assassins, who were strongly surviving underground. They soon found that they had exchanged one master for another, for the Egyptians were now employing them for their own purposes [and required them to undergo a new initiation, that of the ancient Egyptian Mysteries of Babylon]. Ibn Batuta, the great traveler of the fourteenth century, found them well entrenched in their former strong places, being used as the “arrows of the Sultan of Egypt with which he reaches his enemies.”

The supposed suppression of the creed which followed the Mongol destruction did not in fact take place. Copying each other, historians (laughs) have asserted that Assassinism died six hundred years ago [nothing could be further from the truth]. Now and again, however, fresh facts of their continued existence still come to light. In the eighteenth century an Englishman, the British Consul at Aleppo in Syria, was at pains to make this better known: “Some authors assert,” he writes, “that these people were entirely extirpated in the thirteenth century by the Tartars . . . but I, who have lived so long in this infernal place, will venture to affirm that some of their spawn still exists in the mountains that surround us; for nothing is so cruel, barbarous and execrable that is not acted, and even gloried in, by these cursed [Assassins].”

The Assassins were widely dispersed throughout Asia. The rise of the Thugs, the secret society of assassination of India, followed the Mongol invasion of Persia. Indeed, at least one of the Thug recognition-signals (Ali bhai Salam!) indicates salutations to Ali, the descendant of the Prophet most greatly revered by the Assassins. Ismailis, not all of them recognizing the one chief, reside in places as far apart as Malaya, East Africa and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). They would not necessarily feel that they are Assassins in the same sense as the extremists who followed the old Sheikhs of the Mountains; but at least some of them revere the descendants of the Lords of Alamut to the extent of deification.

The modern phase of Ismailism dates from 1810, when the French consul at Aleppo found that the Assassins in Persia recognized as their divinely-inspired chief a reputed descendant of the Fourth Grand Master of Alamut, who then lived at Kehk, a small village between Isfahan and Tehran. This Shah Khalilullah “was revered almost like a god and credited with the power of working miracles . . . the followers of Khalilullah would, when he pared his nails, fight for the clippings; the water in which he washed became holy water.”

The sect next appear to the public gaze through an odd happening. In 1866, a law case was decided in Bombay. There is in that city a large community of commercial men known as Khojas: “A Persian,” the record tells us, “Aga Khan Mehalati (i.e., a native of Mehelat, a place situated near Khek) had sent an agent to Bombay to claim from the Khojas the annual tribute due from them to him, and amounting to about £ 10,000. The claim was resisted, and the British court was appealed to by Aga Khan. Sir Joseph Arnold investigated his claim. The Aga proves his pedigree, showing that he descended in a direct line from the fourth Grand Master of Alamut, and Sir Joseph declared it proved; and it was further demonstrated by the trial that the Khojas were members of the ancient sect of the Assassins, to which sect they had been converted four hundred years before by an Ishmaelite missionary, who composed a work which has remained the sacred book of the Khojas.”

In the First Afghan War, the then Aga Khan contributed a force of light cavalry to the British forces. For this he was awarded a pension. Hitti, in his History of the Arabs, notes (p. 448, 1951 edition) that the Assassin sect, known as Khojas and Malwas, gave over a tenth of their revenues to the Aga Khan, who “spends most of his time as a sportsman between Paris and London.”

The influence of the new form of organization and training, as well as initiatory techniques, of the Assassins upon later societies has been remarked by a number of students [and I have found in my research that it's absolutely true]. That the Crusaders knew a good deal about the Ismailis is shown from the detailed descriptions of them which survive. S. Ameer Ali, an Orientalist of considerable repute, goes further in his assessment: “From the Ismailis the Crusaders borrowed the conception which led to the formation of all the secret societies, religious and secular, of Europe. The institutions of Templars and Hospitallers; the Society of Jesus, founded by Ignatius Loyola, composed by a body of men whose devotion to their cause can hardly be surpassed in our time; the ferocious Dominicans, the milder Franciscans—may all be traced either to Cairo or to Alamut. The Knights Templar especially, with their system of grand masters, grand priors and religious devotees, and their degrees of initiation, bear the strongest analogy to the Eastern Ismailis.”

[We've got to take a break, folks. I'll be right back, right after this short pause.]

(Interlude music: Moonglow)108

[In the year 1110, a mysterious order called the Prieuré de Sion appeared upon the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This mysterious secret order, the Prieuré de Sion, was eventually to crown the first king, the first Christian king of Jerusalem. When they appeared in the Temple Mount in 1110, they recruited nine knights to comb, to scour the Temple Mount, the passages and caverns and tunnels beneath for the ancient remains of the relics of their religion.]

Later in A.D. 1118, nine knights, [supposedly] concerned for the welfare of pilgrims to the Holy Land, bound themselves together in the creation of a knightly Order. [This order, again existing of nine knights, just like the original nine knights, were commissioned by the Prieuré de Sion.] In under two hundred years [folks] this organization had become one of the most powerful single entities—if not the greatest—[power ever to exist] in Europe. [They were the first international bankers. The first that ever existed in the world.] A few years later it was utterly destroyed. [They say, however, as you're going to find out, they were not destroyed at all, but merely driven underground.] The zeal of religion, the conditioning which made men support a dedicated cause with all of their might, was likewise the instrument of their destruction. Nothing less than religious fervor could have smashed the Order: as nothing less could have created it.

[And folks, you're going to find it difficult to believe, but the rise of this order and destruction, at least publically, of this order has such a great bearing on events today that you could say that everything that has happened since has been brought about by this one series of acts.]

Were the Knights Templar devil-worshippers, secret Saracens indulging in obscene orgies? Did they adore a head, spit on the Cross, use the word, 'Yallah' [which means literally in Arabic,] (O Allah!) in their rituals? Did they learn their ways from the terrible sect of the Assassins?

[Well, yes folks, they did. And they are the link—at least, in that day, would have been considered the modern link—between the ancient Mystery Religion of Babylon and Europe. For the religion had come to Europe long, long before the Templars ever emerged, and made their appearance in the ancient worship of the sun by the Druids and the Celts, and the tribes, the Germanic tribes who had made their way thousands of years ago from the Middle East up through Asia, and across Russia and into Europe. They brought Mystery Babylon with them, and practiced it as what we now know of today as the pagan religion. And Stonehenge is actually an ancient Babylonian temple of the sun. And you will find how all this connects later.]

[But the origin of this was lost, and the ability to control large numbers of people, by the use of the hidden knowledge of the ages, was lost. It wasn't until the Knights Templar bought [sic] and brought the Mystery Religion of Babylon to Europe, that the ancient, ancient worship of the sun again took hold. Amongst the Christian countries, in the guise of Christianity, which was itself at that time—I'm not talking about the teachings of Christ now, I'm talking about the perversion of the teachings of Christ—the melding of the teachings of Christ with the ancient worship of the sun, the Mystery Religion of Babylon which became the Catholic church was indeed another branch of the ancient Mystery Religion of Babylon. And some of you out there may be confused from all of this.]

[If you've been listening from the beginning of this series, then you're right on target; you're not confused, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you picked up this series somewhere in the middle, then you need to call Stan and order the studio quality tapes. They're in stereo, they're on TDK tapes, first-quality tapes and crystal clear. You need to order this series from the first tape, the very first, and that was broadcast on February the 12th, I believe, a Friday. But anyway, Stan will know. Give him a call at (602) 567-6109. That's (602) 567-6109 or write to Stan and ask him for an information packet at P.O. Box 889, Camp Verde, Arizona, 86322. That's P.O. Box 889, Camp Verde, Arizona, 86322.]

[Now, folks,] the original objective of the Order [of the Temple—Knights Templar], which immediately because the subject of applause throughout Christendom, was to combine the two functions of monk and knight, to live chastely and fight the Saracents with the sword and spirit. The Sweet Mother of God [at least outwardly they say] was chosen as their patroness; and they bound themselves to live in accordance with the rules of St. Augustine, electing as the their first leader Hugh de Payens. [Now] King Baldwin II granted him a part of his palace to live in and gave them a grant toward its upkeep. [Now the part of the palace they lived in was an ancient mosque, which was built upon the actual location of the old Temple of Solomon, on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.]

[The Knights Templar] vowed to consecrate their swords, arms, strength and lives to the defense of the mysteries of the Christian faith; to pay complete and utter obedience to the orders of the Grand Master; to fight whenever commanded, regardless of perils, for the faith of Christ as they understood it. Among the vows taken which were forbade their yielding even a foot of land to the enemy [whoever the enemy was] and not to retreat, even if attacked in the proportion of three to one. They choose the name militia temple—Soldiers of the Temple—after the temple supposedly built by Solomon in Jerusalem, near which they had been assigned quarters by the King. [But in reality had nothing to do with the Temple of Solomon.]

Some say that the Templars derived their idea of their Order from that of the Hospitallars, who looked after Catholic pilgrims to Palestine; for there was little hospitality to be had from the native Orthodox Christians of those parts. Others hold that there was an even older Order from which they received their inspiration. No reliable evidence is, at this point however, available. [According to the "establishment" historians, although for those who really, really research the true history of the secret orders, and specifically the Knights Templars, there's a direct connection to the Assassins and the Roshaniya.]

Although the Templars were so poor than two men had to share a horse [they say, but that is not true at all] (and their Seal commemorated this decades after they became one of the richest communities of their time), they soon attracted favorable notice and support. [Now, the two knights riding a horse was a symbol of sacrifice. It denoted their vows of poverty. In truth, each knight now only had a horse, but he had what they called a yeoman. He had a spare horse, he had a pack horse, and he had several horses in reserve, and a whole train of servants. But the Knights Templar were the first true—as we know it in modern times, in modern times there were others before, but they were the first true in modern times—and by modern, I'd say, from the time that Europe escaped from the old tribal of paganism. In other words in 1110, I consider that to be beginning of the modern age. Although historians may disagree with me, it's the beginning of everything that has happened since, and everything that's happening today can be traced right to the door of the Knights Templar, and that's why I say that. They were the first modern order to practice what we now know as true Communism. They were the ones who brought international Socialism into Europe, which has always been the tenet and the creed of the Mystery Religion of Babylon.] Only one year after their establishment, Fulk, Count of Anjou, who had come to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage, joined as a married member and gave them an annual grant of thirty pounds of silver. This example was soon followed by other devout Western princes.

For the first nine years of their existence, the knights continued to live a life of chastity and poverty in accordance with their vows. They adopted a striped black and white banner, called the Beauséant, after their original piebald horse; and this word also became their battle-cry. Special raiment they had none, and they wore whatever clothes were given to them by the pious. But little by little, as one writer puts it, they were to become “haughty and insolent”.

[And the black and white banner, the translation of the meaning of which was for the, again, exoteric, for the real meaning of the black and white banner was the meaning of the androgynous god, the positive and the negative, the black and the white, the yin and the yang, the male and the female combined into one, and that was the real meaning of the black and white banner. And it's carried forth today on the floor of many of the temples of Freemasonry where the black and white checkered pattern exists, and in one famous cathedral in Europe built by the Knights Templar. They disguised their esoteric religion in an exoteric manner that would be accepted by Christianity.]

Baldwin of Jerusalem, who had been a prisoner in the hands of the Saracens and knew of their disunity, realized at about this time that Islam must eventually unite against the Christian invasion, and the decided that the Templars who prove ideal allies in the battles which were to come. In 1127, therefore, he sent two Templars with his strong recommendation to the Pope, applying for official recognition of the Order by the Holy See.

[And this is the first time that the Templars even were considered to be close to the center of religion, the Christian religion in that day, the Catholic church, the Pope. For they were not commissioned as a Christian order; they were not commissioned by the Pope or by the church, and this is a big myth that the Knights Templar started out to protect the church and to protect the pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. They were established first, primarily, and foremost as a branch of the ancient order of the Religion of Mystery Babylon. And it's indicative of the strategies that they've used since to endear themselves to whatever the established power, or the beliefs of the majority of the people might be.]

[When they went to see the Pope,] they had an introduction to St. Bernard himself, the Abbot of Clairvaux, who was known to be admirer of theirs, and who was a nephew of one of their envoys. Then the Grand Master himself arrived in Europe, and received the eulogistic opinion of the Abbot: “They go not headlong into battle, but with care and foresight, peacefully, as true children of Israel. But as soon as the fight had begun, they rush without delay upon the foe . . . and know no fear . . . one has often put to flight a thousand; two, ten thousand . . . gentler than lambs and grimmer than lions; theirs is the mildness of monks and the valor of the knight.” [Now folks, this was a strong recommendation, and this testimonial was part of the campaign of the Templars in their efforts at recognition of the Pope. All of you who have thought that they began as a religious order in the first place are so way off base that it's pathetic. And neither were the Jesuits a religious order in the first place, but we'll get that together in another broadcast.] [But] on the 31st [of] January [in the year] 1128, the Master appeared before the Council of Troyes. This formidable body consisted of the Archbishops of Rheims and Sens, ten bishops and a number of abbots—including St. Bernard himself - presided over by the Cardinal of Albano, the Papal legate. They were approved; and Pope Honorius chose for them a white mantle, completely plain. The red cross was added by order of Pope Eugenius III in 1146. [And see, you thought the Templars thought of this. Nope not at all. This was mandated by two Popes: first, the white mantle, completely plain; and then later the red cross was added by Pope Eugenius III in 1146.]

Hugh de Payens now took his delegation through France and England, and collected a number of recruits. Gifts and grants were showered upon the Order; lands, rents and arms were forthcoming from all quarters. Richard I of England was enthusiastic about them. By 1133, King Alfonso of Aragon and Naverre, who had fought the Spanish Moors in twenty-nine battles, had willed his country to them; although when the Moors finally laid him low his nobles prevented the Templars from claiming their rights. [Nevertheless, this was of great honor. In fact, to my knowledge and to our research into history, it never had before been done.]

In 1129 the Master, accompanied by three hundred knights, recruited from the noblest houses of Europe, led a huge train of pilgrims to the Holy Land. It was at this time that the Templars formed part of the Christian contingent which, allied with the Assassins, tried to take Damascus. [And it wasn't the first time nor the last that the Christian Knights Templar, or supposedly Christian Knights Templar (they really weren't Christian at all) were allied with the Assassins.] Were they (as the Orientalist von Hammer alleges)109

connected in some secret way with the Assassins? [Yes, our research shows that it is a historical fact. And it is also a historical fact that the Assassins were prepared to adopt Christianity if they could gain greater power thereby (Christianity, that is, on the surface, just as the Knights Templar had done)]. Hammer points to the similarities of the two organizations. The followers of Hasan Ibn Sabah were in contact with the Templars, and had a similar method of organization. They were in existence before the Templars were formed: “The Ismailians ([or] Assassins) was the original, and [folks] the Order of the Templars, [was] the copy.”

The balance of Western opinion is against this contention; more particularly because, one feels from wide reading of historians, great sympathy is felt for the cruelly treated and a arbitrarily dispossessed Templars. Thus Keightley, who made a close study of the Order those who would claim that the Templars were an Assassin branch [but, when you do research into the (laughs) associations and memberships of Keightley, you'll find that Keightley was himself a Knight Templar. And he said:]

“When, nearly thirty years after their institution, the Pope gave them permission to wear a cross on their mantle, like the rival Hospitaller Order, no color could present itself to well suited to those who daily and hourly exposed themselves to martyrdom as that of blood, in which there was so much of what was symbolical. With respect to internal organization it will, we apprehend, be always found that this is for the most part of the growth of time and the product of circumstances; and it always nearly the same where these last are similar.”110

[And you find this kind of rhetoric, semantics, all throughout the writings of those who wish to cover the true origin and the true meaning of Mystery Babylon.]

The famous question of the three thousand gold pieces paid by the Syrian branch of the Assassins to the Templars is another matter which has [of course] never been settled. One opinion holds that this money was given as a tribute to the Christians; the other, that it was a secret allowance from the larger to the small organization. [Which it really was as the Assassins wished to expand their control and remember their original goal was to take over the entire world by the systematic infiltration and control of each individual country.] Those who think that the Assassins were fanatical Moslems, and therefore would not form any alliance with those who to them were infidels, should be reminded that to the followers of the Old Man of the Mountains only he was right, and the Saracens who were fighting the Holy War for Allah against the Crusaders were as bad as anyone else who did not accept the Assassin doctrine.

[And it is true today: “If you are not one of us, you are nothing.” “The ends justify the means.” “The strength of our Order exists in the fact that we manifest ourselves under many different names and many different occupations, and sometimes even seem to oppose ourselves. But at the highest level, we are of one mind.” And I could go on, and on (laughs), and on, and you all know that I could go on and on and on. For I have studied this for so many years that I eat, drink and sleep it. Oh yes.]

[Well, eventually] grave charges against the Templars during the Crusades included the allegation that they were fighting for themselves alone. More than one historical incident bears this out. The Christians had besieged the town of Ascalon in 1153, and were engaged upon burning down the walls with large piles of inflammable materials. Part of the wall fell after a whole night of this burning. The Christian army was about to enter, when the Master of the Temple (Bernard de Tremelai) claimed the right to take the town himself. This was because the first contingent into a conquered town had the whole spoils. As it happened, the garrison rallied and killed the Templars, closing the breach. There seem good grounds for believing that the power which they had gained caused the Templars to devote their efforts as much to their own Order's welfare as to the cause of the Cross, in spite of their tremendous sacrifices for that cause. Having no loyalty to any territorial chief, they obeyed their Master alone, and hence no softening political pressure could be put upon them. [Well,] this might well have led to an idea that they were an invisible super-state [and that is exactly the fact]; and this does show some similarity with the invisible empire of the Assassins. If none can deny their bravery, their high-handedness and exclusivity, in less than a hundred and fifty years after their founding gave them the reputation of considering themselves almost a law unto themselves.

[No longer reading]

And now, dear listeners, we get into the meat, the direct connection between the historical events and the events that are happening today. Don't miss even one episode of this series.

Good night, and may God bless each and every one of you.

(Outro music: Stardust)111"

The Templars and the Assassins (aired March 2nd, 1993)

https://viefag.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/transcripts-of-william-cooper-s-mystery-babylon-series.pdf

Theologian: John Paul II wanted to show respect by kissing the Koran

Bonn - John Paul II kissed the Koran as a gesture of respect. The picture went around the world. In an interview with katholisch.de, Islamic scholar Felix Körner talks about the sign of the Polish head of the Church and looks at the following pontificates.

Published  on 14.05.2024 at 00:01  – by Mario Trifunovic

The picture of 14 May 1999 of Pope John Paul II kissing the Koran went around the world and sparked discussions within the Church. At that time, the Polish Pope received a Muslim delegation of Shiites and Sunnis as well as the Chairman of the Iranian Ministry of Religion in the Vatican. Among them was the then Archbishop of Baghdad, Raphael I. Bidawid. The Polish church leader received a copy of the Koran as a gift from the Muslim visitors. As a sign of respect, John Paul II kissed the book, which is sacred to Muslims. In an interview with katholisch.de, the Islam expert and Jesuit Felix Körner talks about the gesture 25 years ago and takes a look at the pontificates of Benedict XVI and Francis.

Question: Mr Körner, it is now 25 years since John Paul II kissed the Koran. Why was this event so controversial?

Körner: Behind it was the big theological question: what is the Koran for us? For in Christ are hidden all the treasures of knowledge. That's what it says in Colossians. But for the Koran, Jesus is just one of many prophets. So if the Pope kisses the Koran, does that mean that the Catholic Church no longer sees Jesus as the all-important Saviour? Of course not! The dispute about the kiss only arises if you want to misunderstand John Paul II.

Question: What was the significance of this gesture? Does it still have an effect on the dialogue between Christians and Muslims?

Körner: What did the Pope want to say with it in 1999? Firstly, that he was happy about the gift; and secondly, that he respects the faith of others. In other words, a gesture that was completely in line with the Second Vatican Council. And it went even further: Benedict XVI prayed in the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. No press spokesperson said afterwards that it was a silent meditation. Benedict prayed in the mosque and Francis said to the Muslim guests: "Pray for me. In an atmosphere like this, we can also say clearly today where we disagree, what we expect from each other - and how we can work together.

Question: Have there been similar actions, whether by John Paul II or his predecessors?

Körner: Yes, there certainly were. As Apostolic Envoy to Turkey, John XXIII already made the Muslims feel that he liked them. Then Paul VI - he introduced the word dialogue into the vocabulary of the Church, also for Islamic-Christian relations. John Paul II later brought real experts on Islam into the dialogue council. Networks were established, texts written - the 1984 document "Dialogue and Mission" was already outstanding. And John Paul II himself then in his encyclical "Redemptoris missio" that the Holy Spirit also touches cultures and religions. In doing so, he opened doors.

Bild: ©KNA/Stefano dal Pozzolo/Romano Siciliani

The Jesuit Felix Körner is Professor of Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He is considered one of the Catholic Church's best experts on Islam.

Question: What was the headwind like in this regard?

Körner: Sometimes the headwind seemed to slam the doors of dialogue shut again. But now there are the texts, the relationships and above all the institutions - and ever more courageous signs. In the Holy Year 2000, we saw the Pope praying in the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. At the time, his press spokesman said he had to deny it afterwards, saying it was just a moment of quiet meditation.

Question: Fundamentalist Christians criticised John Paul II for his gesture. Some said at the time that he was confirming the Islamic faith. What can be said in response?

Körner: There are fundamentalists on all sides, because they want to establish a firm identity for themselves. The Christian faith is much more exciting. You can always discover something new there! If you look into the world with the gospel, you can see how the kingdom of God is already growing, how the spirit of Christ is already at work. When I say that I see the good in you, your faithfulness, your seriousness, I am not saying that I am adopting your view. Sometimes we agree to disagree. But there are things that we find exemplary in each other, and in the end we learn from each other.

Question: Benedict XVI was criticised for his Regensburg speech, while Francis was criticised for the Abu Dhabi document on brotherhood between people, which he signed in 2019 together with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the Sheikh of Azar University and therefore one of the most respected representatives of Sunni Islam. What is the current mood on both sides?

Körner: I am interested in the arguments of the critics. Those who are worried are often right, because there is cause for concern. But the crucial question is not how bad it is, but what we do now. After Regensburg, we have started a new, serious series of Christian-Islamic encounters. This has become theologically serious. There are now even Islamic theology programmes at German universities. I have respectful and curious encounters with students and colleagues on an almost daily basis. You can also bear witness to your own faith.

Joint declaration by Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmad Mohammad Al-Tayyeb

Bild: ©picture alliance/AP Photo/Andrew Medichini

Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmad Mohammad Al-Tayyeb sign a joint declaration on "Human Fraternity" on 4 February 2019.

Question: The so-called Abu Dhabi Document provided a new impetus in the Church's dialogue with Islam. How did this come about?

Körner: The document is also based on the Second Vatican Council. There it said: We condemn all discrimination based on skin colour or religion. In 2019, it now said: Differences are willed by God. In the case of religious differences, this means that if the other person believes differently, then the encounter can also be purifying and enriching for me - and that is God's will.

Question: Francis has been sharply criticised for this God-ordained pluralism. Why?

Körner: Well, almost everything a pope does gets a shitstorm, including a Catholic one. Good theology helps here too. The question behind such voices is usually whether the Gospel is still really being emphasised. And we can use it to make that clear. In any case, these gestures are a testimony to the Gospel.

„Wir haben nach Regensburg eine neue, ernsthafte Reihe christlich-islamischer Begegnungen begonnen. Das ist theologisch seriös geworden.“

—  Zitat: Jesuit und Islamkenner Felix Körner zum interreligiösen Dialog

Question: In what way do these gestures serve to clarify?

Körner: Pope Francis aptly said in the programmatic letter "Evangelii gaudium" at the beginning of his pontificate: evangelising means making the kingdom of God present in the world. When people come closer to God and to one another, then what the Good News of Jesus promises happens: then God's kingdom grows among us. A sign of this can also be a courageous word of fraternity, or a respectful kiss on a book that is sacred to Muslims and which they present to a pope.

Question: In your opinion, what else should Francis do to advance the dialogue?

Körner: Francis knows that Christian-Islamic dialogue is not about agreement on matters of faith. Rather, he is talking about the courage to be different and to deal with each other as people of different religions. He is now moving from friendship to institutions, from the atmospheric to the legal. Because living in dialogue also requires political freedom.

by Mario Trifunovic

https://english.katholisch.de/artikel/53269-theologian-john-paul-ii-wanted-to-show-respect-by-kissing-the-koran   

14We ought to act on the principle that everyone who lives under obedience should let himself be carried and directed by Divine Providence through the agency of the superior 15as if he were a lifeless body, which allows itself to be carried to any place and treated in any way; or an old man s staff, which serves at any place and for any purpose in which the one holding it in his hand wishes to employ it. 16For in this way the obedient man ought joyfully to employ himself in any task in which the superior desires to employ him in aid of the whole body of the religious order; 17and he ought to hold it certain that by so doing he conforms himself with the divine will more than by anything else he could do while following his own will and different judgment.[3]"

page 221

The Constitutions of The Society of Jesus and Their Complimentary Norms

A Complete English Translation of the Official Latin Texts

THE INSTITUTE OF JESUIT SOURCES

SAINT LOUIS, 1996

https://web.archive.org/web/20200211182223/https://jesuitas.lat/uploads/the-constitutions-of-the-society-of-jesus-and-their-complementary-norms/Constitutions%20and%20Norms%20SJ%20ingls.pdf

Fourteenth Rule. Although there is much truth in the assertion that no one can save himself without being predestined and without having faith and grace; we must be very cautious in the manner of speaking and communicating with others about all these things.

The Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YC_luOfFWl0Bm0BWkbANKZGC1kkmdHQf/view?usp=sharing

Surah An-Nisa

4:171

O People of the Book! Do not go to extremes regarding your faith; say nothing about Allah except the truth.1 The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was no more than a messenger of Allah and the fulfilment of His Word through Mary and a spirit ˹created by a command˺ from Him.2 So believe in Allah and His messengers and do not say, “Trinity.” Stop!—for your own good. Allah is only One God. Glory be to Him! He is far above having a son! To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. And Allah is sufficient as a Trustee of Affairs.

https://quran.com/4?startingVerse=171

What is the significance of Judas betraying Jesus with a kiss?

Answer

Judas Iscariot was one of the original twelve disciples who followed and were taught by Jesus. Being in Jesus’ “inner circle,” Judas had a closer relationship to Jesus than most people during His ministry. Judas betrayed the Lord to the Jewish authorities. The pre-arranged signal was that the person Judas kissed was to be arrested and taken away (Mark 14:44). In this way the Son of Man was betrayed with a kiss (Luke 22:48).

In the culture of first-century Israel, a kiss was not always a romantic expression of love; rather, a kiss on the cheek was a common greeting, a sign of deep respect, honor, and brotherly love (see Luke 7:45; Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 16:20; 2 Corinthians 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14). For a student who had great respect for his teacher, a kiss fell well within the healthy expression of honor.

What really stands out in the mode of Judas’s betrayal is that Judas used such an intimate expression of love and respect to betray Jesus. Judas’s actions were hypocritical in the extreme—his actions said, “I respect and honor you,” at the exact time he was betraying Jesus to be murdered. Judas’s actions illustrate Proverbs 27:6, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” Often, foes disguise themselves as friends. Evil often wears a mask to conceal its true purpose.

In Luke 22:3, we see that Satan entered into Judas before Judas went to see the chief priests and set things up to betray Jesus. Satan possessed Judas in hopes of using him to destroy Jesus’ ministry and get Him out of the way, and Satan used a kiss—a sign of affection—to unleash a surge of hatred. However, there is nothing the Evil One does that God doesn’t know about or have complete control over. God allowed Satan to possess Judas and use him to betray Jesus in such a deceptive and hypocritical way in order to bring about our redemption. The betrayal itself was prophesied hundreds of years before its fulfillment (Psalm 41:9).

When Jesus was betrayed by a kiss, He identified with the troubles of David, who wrote, “If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend, with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers” (Psalm 55:12–14). Job’s emotional pain also foreshadowed Jesus’ sorrow: “Those I love have turned against me” (Job 19:19).

Once Judas gave the kiss, the deed was done. Jesus was betrayed into the government’s hands to be crucified. Judas was “seized with remorse” (Matthew 27:3) over what he’d done. He gave the money back to the temple authorities and hanged himself out of guilt (verse 5).

https://www.gotquestions.org/betrayed-with-a-kiss.html

https://www.facebook.com/billy.dunn.50767/posts/pfbid022qu8UGqxgHteBU7EPjBEao8UPbJ5itxVXmHBJpnwcZrhVyddG1MpodCBdHRH4YWyl

Matthew 27

1599 Geneva Bible

27 2 He is delivered bound to Pilate. 5 Judas hangeth himself. 19 Pilate’s wife. 20 Barabbas is asked. 24 Pilate washeth his hands. 29 Christ is crowned with thorns. 34 He is crucified. 40 Reviled. 50 He giveth up the Ghost. 57 He is buried. 62 The soldiers watch him.

1 When the morning was come, all the chief Priests, and the Elders of the people took counsel against Jesus, to put him to death.

2 And led him away bound, and delivered him unto Pontius Pilate the governor.

3 ¶ [a]Then when Judas which betrayed him, saw that he was condemned, he repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief Priests, and Elders,

4 Saying, I have sinned, betraying the innocent blood. But they said, What is that to us? see thou to it.

5 And when he had cast down the silver pieces in the Temple, he [b]departed, and went, and hanged himself.

6 And the chief Priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for us to put them into the [c]treasure, because it is the price [d]of blood.

7 And they took counsel, and bought with them a potter’s field, for the burial of [e]strangers.

8 Wherefore that field is called, The field of blood, until this day.

9 (Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by [f]Jeremiah the Prophet, saying, [g]And they took thirty silver pieces, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel valued.

10 And they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord appointed me.)

11 ¶ [h]And Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou that King of the Jews? Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest it.

12 And when he was accused of the chief Priests, and Elders, he answered nothing.

13 Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they lay against thee?

14 But he answered him not to one word, insomuch that the governor marveled greatly.

15 [i]Now at the feast the governor was wont to deliver unto the people a prisoner whom they would.

16 And they had then a notable prisoner called Barabbas.

17 When they were then gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whether will ye that I let loose unto you Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?

18 (For he knew well, that for envy they had delivered him.

19 Also when he was set down upon the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream by reason of him.)

20 But the chief Priests and the elders had persuaded the people that they should ask Barabbas, and should destroy Jesus.

21 Then the governor answered, and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I let loose unto you? And they said, Barabbas.

22 Pilate said unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ? They all said to him, Let him be crucified.

23 Then said the governor, But what evil hath he done? Then they cried the more, saying, Let him be crucified.

24 [j]When Pilate saw that he availed nothing, but that more tumult was made, he took water and [k]washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the [l]blood of this just man: look you to it.

25 Then answered all the people, and said, [m]His blood be on us, and on our children.

26 Thus let he Barabbas loose unto them, and scourged Jesus, and delivered him to be crucified.

27 ¶ Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered about him the whole band,

28 [n]And they stripped him, and [o]put about him a [p]scarlet robe,

29 And platted a crown of thorns, and put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand, and bowed their knees before him, and mocked him, saying, God save thee, King of the Jews,

30 And spitted upon him, and took a reed, and smote him on the head.

31 Thus when they had mocked him, they took the robe from him, and put his own raiment on him, and let him away to crucify him.

32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, named Simon: him they [q]compelled to bear his cross.

33 [r]And when they came unto the place called Golgotha (that is to say, the place of dead men’s skulls)

34 [s]They gave him vinegar to drink, mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.

35 ¶ [t]And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, and did cast lots, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Prophet, They divided my garments among them, and upon my vesture did cast lots.

36 And they sat and watched him there.

37 ¶ [u]They set up also over his head his cause written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

38 ¶ [v]And there were two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.

39 [w]And they that passed by, reviled him, wagging their heads,

40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the Temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself: if thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

41 Likewise also the high Priests mocking him, with the Scribes, and Elders, and Pharisees, said,

42 He saved others, but he cannot save himself: if he be the king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in him.

43 He trusted in God, let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

44 The self same thing also the [x]thieves which were crucified with him, cast in his teeth.

45 [y]Now from the sixth hour was there darkness over all the land, unto the ninth hour.

46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why hast thou [z]forsaken me?

47 And some of them that stood there, when they heard it, said, This man calleth [aa]Elijah.

48 And straightway one of them ran, and took a sponge and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.

49 Others said, Let be: let us see if Elijah will come and save him.

50 [ab]Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up the ghost.

51 [ac]And behold, the [ad]veil of the Temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the stones were cloven.

52 And the [ae]graves did open themselves, and many bodies of the Saints, which slept, arose,

53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

54 When the Centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earth quake, and the things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

55 ¶ And many women were there, beholding him afar off, which had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him.

56 Among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

57 ¶ [af]And when the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, who had also himself been Jesus’ disciple.

58 He went to Pilate, and asked the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.

59 So Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,

60 And put it in his new tomb, which he had hewn out in a rock, and rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed.

61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulcher.

62 ¶ [ag]Now the next day that followed the Preparation of the Sabbath, the high Priests and Pharisees assembled to Pilate,

63 And said, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, Within three days I will rise.

64 Command therefore, that the sepulcher be made sure until the third day, lest his Disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so shall the last error be worse than the first.

65 Then Pilate said unto them, Ye have a [ah]watch: go, and make it sure, as ye know.

66 And they went, and made the sepulcher sure, with the watch, and sealed the stone.

Footnotes

Matthew 27:3 An example of the horrible judgment of God, as well against them which sell Christ, as against them which buy Christ.

Matthew 27:5 Out of men’s sights.

Matthew 27:6 The treasury of the Temple.

Matthew 27:6 Of life and death.

Matthew 27:7 Strangers and guests, whom the Jews could not abide to be joined unto, no not after they were dead.

Matthew 27:9 Seeing this prophecy is read in Zech. 11:12, it cannot be denied, but Jeremiah’s name crept into the text, either through the Printer’s fault, or some other’s ignorance: it may be also that it came out of the margin, by reason of the abbreviation of the letters, the one being iou, and the other zou, which are not much unlike: but in the Syrian text the Prophet’s name is not set down at all.

Matthew 27:9 The Evangelist doth not follow the Prophet’s words, but his meaning, which he showeth to be fulfilled.

Matthew 27:11 Christ holdeth his peace when he is accused, that we may not be accused: acknowledging our guiltiness, and therewithall his own innocence.

Matthew 27:15 Christ is first quitted of the same Judge, before he be condemned, that we might see how the just died for the unjust.

Matthew 27:24 Christ being quit by the testimony of the Judge himself, is notwithstanding condemned by the same to quit us before God.

Matthew 27:24 It was a manner in old time, when any man was murdered, and in other slaughters, to wash their hands in water, to declare themselves guiltless.

Matthew 27:24 Of the murder; an Hebrew kind of speech.

Matthew 27:25 If there be any offence committed in slaying him, let us and our posterity smart for it.

Matthew 27:28 Christ suffereth that reproach which was due to our sins; notwithstanding in the meantime by the secret providence of God, he is entitled King by them which did him that reproach.

Matthew 27:28 They cast a cloak about him, and wrapped it about him, for it lacked sleeves.

Matthew 27:28 John and Mark make mention of a purple robe, which is also a very pleasant red. But these profane and malapert saucy soldiers clad Jesus in this array, to mock him withall, who was indeed a true King.

Matthew 27:32 They compelled Simon to bear his burdensome cross, whereby it appeareth that Jesus was so sore handled before, that he fainted by the way, and was not able to bear his cross throughout: for John writeth that he did bear the cross, to wit, at the beginning.

Matthew 27:33 He is led out of the city, that we may be brought into the heavenly kingdom.

Matthew 27:34 Christ found no comfort anywhere, that in him we might be filled with all comfort.

Matthew 27:35 He is made a curse, that in him we may be blessed: he is spoiled of his garments, that we might be enriched by his nakedness.

Matthew 27:37 He is pronounced the true Messiah, even of them of whom he is rejected.

Matthew 27:38 Christ began then to judge the world, when after his judgment he hung betwixt two thieves.

Matthew 27:39 To make full satisfaction for us, Christ suffereth and overcometh, not only the torments of the body, but also the most horrible torments of the mind.

Matthew 27:44 This is spoken by the figure Synecdoche, for there was but one of them that did revile him.

Matthew 27:45 Heaven itself is darkened for very horror, and Jesus crieth out from the depth of hell, and in the meanwhile he is mocked.

Matthew 27:46 To wit, in this misery: and this crying out is proper to his humanity, which notwithstanding was void of sin, but yet felt the wrath of God which is due to our sins.

Matthew 27:47 They allude to Elijah’s name, not for want of understanding the tongue, but of a profane impudence and sauciness, and he repeated these words, to the end that this better harping upon the name might be understood.

Matthew 27:50 Christ after he had overcome other enemies, at length provoked and setteth upon death itself.

Matthew 27:51 Christ, when he is dead, showeth himself to be God almighty, even his enemies confessing the same.

Matthew 27:51 Which divided the holiest of all.

Matthew 27:52 That is to say, the stones clave asunder, and the graves did open themselves, to show by this token, that death was overcome: and the resurrection of the dead followed the resurrection of Christ, as appeareth by the next verse following.

Matthew 27:57 Christ is buried, not privately or by stealth, but by the governor’s consent by a famous man, in a place not far distant, in a new sepulcher, so that it cannot be doubted of his death.

Matthew 27:62 The keeping of the sepulcher is committed to Christ’s own murderers, that there might be no doubt of his resurrection.

Matthew 27:65 The soldiers of the garrison, which were appointed to keep the Temple.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2027&version=GNV