The Order of the Solar Temple: Luc Jouret

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by asoapymessromances

by asoapymessromances

The Order of the Solar Temple(French: Ordre du Temple solaire, OTS) and the InternationalChivalric Organization of the Solar Tradition, or simply The SolarTemple, is a cult and religious sect that claims to be based upon theideals of the Knights Templar. OTS was founded by Joseph di Mambroand Luc Jouret in 1984 in Geneva, as l'Ordre InternationalChevaleresque de Tradition Solaire (OICTS), and later it was renamedOrdre du Temple Solaire. It is associated with a series of murdersand mass suicides that claimed several dozen lives in France,Switzerland, and Canada in 1994 and 1995.

Some historians allege that the SolarTemple was founded by the French author Jacques Breyer, whoestablished a Sovereign Order of the Solar Temple in 1952. In 1968, aschismatic order was renamed the Renewed Order of the Solar Temple(ROTS) under the leadership of the French right-wing politicalactivist Julien Origas.

Beliefs

According to "Peronnik"(a pseudonym of temple member Robert Chabrier) in his book, "Pourquoila Résurgence de l'Ordre du Temple? Tome Premier: Le Corps"("Why a Revival of the Order of the Solar Temple? Vol. One: TheBody") the aims of the Order of the Solar Temple included:establishing "correct notions of authority and power in theworld"; an affirmation of the primacy of the spiritual overthe temporal; assisting humanity through a great "transition";preparing for the Second Coming of Christ as a solar god-king; andfurthering a unification of all Christian churches and Islam. Thegroup reportedly drew some inspiration for its teachings from Britishoccultist Aleister Crowley, who headed the Ordo Templi Orientis from1923 until his death in 1947, and the Hermetic Order of the GoldenDawn, a 19th-century Rosicrucian Order Crowley belonged to briefly.Both occult groups had a grade system somewhat similar to the SolarTemple. There were Solar Temple lodges in Morin Heights andSainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade, Quebec, Canada, as well as in Australia,Switzerland, Martinique and other countries. The Temple's activitieswere a mix of early Christian Identity, UFO religion and New Agephilosophy using variously adapted Freemason rituals. Jouret wasinterested in attractive, wealthy and influential members, and it wasreputed that several affluent Europeans were secret members of thegroup.

Structure

According to the literature of the OTS,the central authority was the Synarchy of the Temple, whosemembership was secret. Its top 33 members were known as the ElderBrothers of the Rosy Cross (an alternative name for theRosicrucians), and were headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. TheCouncil of the Order formed Lodges that were run by a RegionalCommander and three Elders. Progression in the Order was by levelsand grades, with three grades per level — the levels being TheBrothers of Parvis, The Knights of the Alliance and the Brothers ofthe Ancient Times, in ascending order. There were many organizationsassociated with the OTS, including the International ArchediaSciences and Tradition, Archedia Clubs, Menta Clubs, Agata Clubs andAtlanta Clubs, all of which offered the teachings of Luc Jouret bothto the general public and privately to OTS members. The Lodges hadaltars, rituals and costumes. Members were initiated at each stage ofadvancement in ceremonies which included expensive purchases,jewelry, costumes, regalia, and the payment of initiation fees.During ceremonies, members wore Crusader-type robes and were to holdin awe a sword, which Di Mambro said was an authentic Templarartifact, given to him a thousand years ago in a previous life.

Mass murders and suicides

In October 1994, Tony Dutoit's infantson (Emmanuel Dutoit), aged three months, was killed at the group'scentre in Morin-Heights, Quebec. The baby had been stabbed repeatedlywith a wooden stake. It is believed that Di Mambro ordered themurder, because he identified the baby as the Antichrist described inthe Bible. He believed that the Antichrist was born into the order toprevent Di Mambro from succeeding in his spiritual aim

Some time afterwards, Di Mambro andtwelve followers performed a ritual Last Supper. Subsequently,apparent mass suicides and murders were conducted at Cheiry andSalvan, two villages in Western Switzerland, and at Morin Heights—15inner circle members committed suicide with poison, 30 were killed bybullets or smothering, and eight others were killed by other means.In Switzerland, many of the victims were found in a secretunderground chapel lined with mirrors and other items of Templarsymbolism. The bodies were dressed in the order's ceremonial robesand were in a circle, feet together, heads outward, most with plasticbags tied over their heads; they had each been shot in the head. Theplastic bags may have been a symbol of the ecological disaster thatwould befall the human race after the OTS members moved on to Sirius;it's also possible that these bags were used as part of the OTSrituals, and that members would have voluntarily worn them withoutbeing placed under duress. There was also evidence that many of thevictims in Switzerland were drugged before they were shot. Othervictims were found in three ski chalets; several dead children werelying together. The tragedy was discovered when officers rushed tothe sites to fight the fires that had been ignited by remote-controldevices. Farewell letters left by the believers stated that theybelieved they were leaving to escape the "hypocrisies andoppression of this world."

A mayor, a journalist, a civil servant,and a sales manager were found among the dead in Switzerland. Recordsseized by the Quebec police showed that some members had personallydonated over C$1 million to Di Mambro. Another attempted mass suicideof the remaining members was thwarted in the late 1990s. All thesuicide/murders and attempts occurred around the dates of theequinoxes and solstices in some relation to the beliefs of the group.

Another mass-death incident related tothe OTS took place during the night between the 15 and 16 December1995. On 23 December 1995, 16 bodies were discovered in astar-formation in the Vercors mountains of France. It was found laterthat two of them shot the others and then committed suicide byfirearm and immolation. One of the dead included Olympian EdithBonlieu, who had competed in the women's downhill at the 1956 WinterOlympics.

On the morning of 23 March 1997, fivemembers of the OTS took their own lives in Saint-Casimir, Quebec. Asmall house erupted in flames, leaving behind five charred bodies forthe police to pull from the rubble. Three teenagers, aged 13, 14 and16, the children of one of the couples that died in the fire, werediscovered in a shed behind the house, alive but heavily drugged.

Michel Tabachnik, an internationallyrenowned Swiss musician and conductor, was arrested as a leader ofthe Solar Temple in the late 1990s. He was indicted for"participation in a criminal organization" andmurder. He came to trial in Grenoble, France, during the spring of2001 and was acquitted. French prosecutors appealed against theverdict and an appellate court ordered a second trial beginning 24October 2006. He was again cleared less than two months later inDecember 2006.

Spanish sect

The Order of the Solar Temple was alsobased in Spain, especially in the Canary Islands. In 1984, thefounder of the OTS, Luc Jouret, lectured on the island of Tenerife.The leader of the order's branch in Spain lived on the south of theisland. The only Spaniard who died in the suicide of the Order of theSolar Temple was a barber from Tenerife. In 1998, a sect wassuspected of plotting ritual suicide in the Teide National Park. BothSpanish and German police initially linked the group to the Order ofthe Solar Temple.