Templar Devotion of Saint Blaise

Saint Blaise, a fourth century bishop and physician, appears in Templar chapels, altars and relic lists. A statue of him stands near the church of Chamberaud, once a Templar site. Did the order really venerate him, and does the statue prove it?

The Templar church at Chamberaud, Creuse, France

Perhaps founded in 1193, the Templar commandery of Chamberaud (Creuse, France) stood on the natural promontory of the present bourg (village center). The oldest proven date relating to the existence of the House of the Temple of Chamberaud dates back to around 1258. The annexes of Chamberaud at the time of the Templars were Fransèches, La Pouge, Lépinas and Montbut.