Neo-Templarism

Neo-Templarism comprises groups or people who claim to have revived or to be descendants of the Knights Templar. These orders are very diverse, but typically draw from western esotericism, with some groups incorporating New Age beliefs, or Freemasonry. Many neo-Templar groups are secret initiatory societies. Other groups are only ceremonial, and attempt to replicate what they view as the chivalric ideals of the original Knights Templar without any esoteric elements.

Following the dissolution of the Templars by Pope Clement V at the start of the 14th century, several organizations have claimed to be secret continuations of the original Templars. This idea has been criticized by scholars of Templar history and is widely regarded as dubious. The notion of the Templars secretly surviving within Freemasonry resulted in the creation of several Templar grades in Freemason organizations, which evolved into independent neo-Templarism in the early 19th century. The origins of most neo-Templar groups can be traced to a revivalist Templar order founded by French physician Bernard-Raymond Fabré-Palaprat in 1805.

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