Chapter Xii.

sitions of the others who had maintained the innocence of the Order , but corresponded with the text of the Statutes . As if the Bulls were not sufficient , the Pope published an Act for the destruction of the

Templars , in which he stated that the Knights whom he had examined , had taken a solemn oath , by laying their hands on the Holy Evangelists , to shew the truth of their depositions regarding the crimes of the Order , and that a great number

had confirmed their original depositions before the Ordinaries and Commissioners . * The Papal Commissioners were the Archbishop

of Narbonne ; the Bishops of Bayenx , Mende , and Limoges ; Matthew of Naples , Archdeacon of Rouen and Notary of the Church of Rome ; John of Mantua , Archdeacon of Trent : Johu of Montlaur , Archdeacon of Montpelier ; and William

Agelin , Provost of Aix . The last was prevented by business from being present . These Commissioners had not taken part in the previous proceedings against the Order , ancl were in a measure impartial . At the same time , several

provincial councils received instructions regarding the manner of conducting their investigations ancl of passing judgment . The most famous of these were held at Paris and Rheims . New articles

were furnisded to the Commissioners , upon which they were to examine witnesses . These articles were not only useless , but indeed contemptible in comparison to those crimes with which the Order stood charged , and only shewed that the King ,

blinded by passion , hoped , by heaping charges upon it , to turn the minds of the people against its unfortunate members . The first part of these articles w ^ as , that the Grand Master , upon the reception of the Knights

made them , at a convenient opportunity , deny God , renounce Jesus Christ , in particular to declare that he was not the true God , but a false prophet who had been crucified for his crimes , ancl not for the redemption of the world ; sometimes

even to renounce the whole calendar of saints—a somewhat novel proceeding , seeing that they were accused of doing so at the period of reception , and that this seemed very like an idle repetition . Besides , if they renounced Christ , the chief , what

necessity was there for them to renounce his subordinates , the Virgin Mary and the Saints . The second was that the Grand Master and the

superior officers of the Order had the power of absolving the members from all their sins . This is a curious charge , for it supposes that these men , who had renounced Christ and his church , still believed in the sacrament of confession and

absolution ; ancl in rejecting the Catholic religion had admitted one of its most difficult dogmas . The third was , that the Grand Master had avowed these two articles in the presence of several witnesses of the highest distinction , a confession

pretended to have been made before he had even been arrested , or had heard of the charges preferred against the Order . Of this no proof but the bare accusation was produced . The fourth charge added to the secret crimes imputed to them ,

another circumstance still more infamous . The fifth charge stated that the superiors put to death any one who refused to submit to the laws which were imposed by them . No Knight had deposed to this fact , although several had mentioned the

stern discipline which existed in the Order , but which , in a military and religious body , was not only meritorious , but necessary . The sixth charge

took up the manner of reception , which was always at night , with the gates of the church closed . While this was the constant practice of the Order , we do not see that much depended upon it ; for if the Order had been so corrupt , the Knights

could easily have imposed upon the world with a sham reception , while the principal and real could have taken place in secret . This was the least tenable , although the only one in which there was a shadow of truth , of the charges brought

against the Order . The seventh charge bore , that on account of the great wickedness , several . Templars had left the Order . This charge was completely refuted by Peter de Boulogne , the

champion of the Order , hereafter to be detailed . These charges only add to the proofs of the complete innocence of the Templars . Furthermore , it was charged against them that " they spat ancl trampled upon the Cross ,

especially on Good Friday , the day on which Catholics by devoutly kissing it , testify their faith . They worshipped a cat which sometimes appeared in their chapters . Their priests , when celebrating mass , did not pronounce the words of

consecration . They were told at their reception that they mig ht abandon themselves to all kinds of licentiousness . They had idols in all their provinces , some > vith three faces , some with one . They worshipped these idols in their chapters , believed that