Scientific sources indicate that devotion to the Cross shaped the religious life and institutional identity of the medieval Templar Order. Evidence from Rule texts, inventories, and trial testimonies, show that reverence for the Cross permeated the Order’s material culture, ritual practices, and public image.
From their early development in the Latin East, the Templars cultivated a strong focus on Christ’s Passion. Their residence near the sacred sites of Jerusalem and their guardianship of the relic of the True Cross fostered a heightened sense of participation in sacred history. This awareness was transmitted to their western houses, where relics and liturgical practices reproduced the spiritual landscape of the Holy Land. The Templars’ distinctive white habit, marked permanently by the red cross pattée, visually proclaimed their permanent dual vocation as religious penitents and crusading warriors. Ordinary crusaders temporarily wore a red cross.
Inventories compiled in the early fourteenth century reveal a widespread possession of relics of the lignum Domini ("Wood of the Lord") across Templar commanderies in Europe. Numerous houses in regions such as Aragon, France, and Italy held reliquaries containing fragments of the True Cross. Some of these objects were modest silver crosses, while others were elaborate and richly decorated artefacts adorned with precious stones, enamel, and iconographic scenes depicting Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Evangelists. These reliquaries served not only as objects of veneration but also as visual statements linking the Order directly to the sacred geography of Jerusalem.
The acquisition and display of relics were not accidental. They formed part of a coherent devotional programme that emphasised Christ’s suffering and the Templars’ participation in it. Through these relics, the brothers were continually reminded of their obligation to defend Christendom and, if necessary, to shed their own blood in imitation of Christ’s sacrifice. The symbolic colour of the red cross on their mantles reinforced this association with martyrdom and militant faith.
Liturgical practice provided the primary framework for expressing this devotion. The most significant public ritual was the Adoration of the Cross on Good Friday. Contemporary testimonies describe the ceremony in detail: the cross was unveiled during solemn chants, and the brothers approached it barefoot, unarmed, and with bowed heads. Kneeling in humility, they kissed the cross and recited prayers recalling Christ’s redemptive suffering. This ritual was repeated annually across the Order’s houses and supplemented by additional celebrations of the Cross on other feast days.
The ceremony was often conducted in the presence of lay observers, which amplified its social and devotional significance. Witnesses consistently described the Templars’ behaviour as devout and orthodox, emphasising their reverence for the Cross and their conformity to Christian liturgical norms. The presence of relics in Templar chapels attracted pilgrims and donors, making these sites focal points of religious and social interaction. Through these activities, the Order reinforced its legitimacy and cultivated a reputation for piety among the laity.
Even after the suppression of the Templars in the early fourteenth century, the association between the Order and the cult of the Cross persisted. Former Templar churches continued to attract pilgrims, and local confraternities preserved rituals connected to the Cross. In some regions, popular memory of the Order remained tied to its distinctive devotion to Christ’s Passion, demonstrating the enduring impact of its religious practices.
Taken together, the evidence demonstrates that the Cross was not merely an emblem but the central axis of Templar spirituality. Through relics, ritual, and visual symbolism, the Order constructed a coherent religious culture that integrated its monastic discipline with its military mission. This synthesis shaped both internal identity and external perception, ensuring that the Templars were widely recognised as an Order dedicated above all to Christ and His Passion. It challenges modern popular narratives that depict the Templars as heterodox or secretly non-Christian, emphasizing instead their visible and orthodox devotion to Christ and the Cross.
This blog is mainly based on the paper by Schenk, Jochen (2012) The Cult of the Cross in the Order of the Temple, In: Isabel Cristina Ferreira Fernandes (ed.), As Ordens Militares. Freires, Guerreiros, Cavaleiros. Actas do VI Encontro sobre Ordens Militares, Vol. 1, Palmela: GEsOS / Município de Palmela, 2012, pp. 207–219. Main sources therein Tom Licence (2005) The Templars and the Hospitallers, Christ and the Saints, Crusades 4 (2005), pp. 39–57; Riley-Smith, Jonathan (2010), The Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller as Professed Religious in the Holy Land. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press; Housley, Norman (ed.) (2007) Knighthoods of Christ: Essays on the History of the Crusades and the Knights Templar, Presented to Malcolm Barber. Aldershot: Ashgate. The illustration shows a Templar Cross, a remnant of the early 13th century Oisemont Commandery. This stone now adorns the top of a private individual's garage porch. Groteddy, CC BY-SA3.0, Wikimedia Commons.
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