The 2 secrets

© Tuesday July 3rd 2001

The Old Testament states clearly that the Ark of the Covenant lay in the "Holy of Holies" of the Temple of Solomon, where only the High Priest had the right to enter once a year.
King Solomon, who had built the first Temple bearing his name, declared that the Ark would reside in obscurity (KINGS 8.(12,13)).
Later, it had become "silent"; "unbelievably", it would appear that the Hebrews had forgotten it...since it was rediscovered in the era* of the young king Josiah!

"...I found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord..."
KINGS 22.(8)

In 587 BC, shortly before the capture of Jerusalem by the king Nebuchadnezzar, the Ark was hidden - so well so, that after the exile in Babylon, which lasted 51 years (the Persian king Cyrus the Great freed the Jews and authorised them to return home in -536), the Secret had been lost. No known Jewish religious text referred to it again...
It is written that the prophet Jeremiah may have had it hidden (-629) in a cavern under Mount Nebo**, then eliminated all witnesses. (II MACCABEES, II,4-7).

Another version, circulating in Jerusalem in the thirteenth century and reported in "The Vision of Baruch", reported on the contrary that "The Hebrews may have hidden it quickly in a cavern under the Temple of Solomon" before the latter was destroyed.
Since two different eras were involved, one version didn't exclude the other...

THE QUEST OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR
Count Hugues de CHAMPAGNE (born 1077), who had not participated in the first crusade, went to the Holy Land around 1104, coming back in 1108. According to Louis CHARPENTIER, he contacted the Abbé de CITEAUX on his return, and the monastery began studying the sacred Hebrew texts; he even obtained help from the rabbis of Haute BOURGOGNE, whereas everywhere else, they were persecuted...

In 1114, Hugues de CHAMPAGNE returned to the Holy Land for a year, and on his return offered the Val de l’Abscinthe, where Bernard de FONTAINE founded the Abbaye de CLAIRVAUX.
In 1118, Bernard de "CLAIRVAUX" recruited in CHAMPAGNE nine of the best Knights, for their faith, their courage and their chastity; among these nine Knights, whose names are known today, were Hugues de PAYNS (who had already accompanied Hugues de CHAMPAGNE on a pilgrimage), future Grand Master of the Order of the Temple, and Bernard de CLAIRVAUX' own uncle, André de MONTBARD, whom he trusted totally.
The nine Knights left for JERUSALEM, where they met, successively, the BAUDOIN kings(1st then 2nd) , with a message from Bernard de CLAIRVAUX. The other Knights were: GONDEMARE, Godefroy de SAINT-OMER, RORAL(or ROSSAL), Payen de MONTDESIR, Geoffroy BISOL, Archambaud de SAINT-AGNAN(or de SAINT-ANIAN), and Godefroy.

* Before the capture of Jerusalem. ** Nebo was the order name of Stanislas de Guaïta.

DISCOVERY OF THE ARK
The first crusade saw Godefroy de BOUILLON elected KING (in 1099) by a secret college; but he had refused to bear the crown, claiming to be only the sworn follower of CHRIST (worthier than him to be King of JERUSALEM). His brother, BAUDOIN 1st, who succeeded him, bore the royal crown, then lodged, at their special request, the nine Knights in the former stables of the Temple of SOLOMON, situated EXACTLY under the ancient Temple; this  is why the first Knights Templar were called:
"The Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon".

The nine Knights left officially to protect the pilgrims' route, but they were not seen (and there were so few of them) carrying out this mission. During the nine years of their presence, they remained extremely discreet, tackling the gigantic task of carrying out digs within the former stables, which could shelter more than 2,000 horses. At the end of 1126, they were joined by the Comte de CHAMPAGNE, who had abandoned for good, for his mission, his family, his titles and all he possessed (whereas he was as powerful as the King of France).

In 1127, all of the ten knights left for good, which proves that their research had succeeded. They discreetly carried away and escorted the Ark, handed over to Bernard de Clairvaux after a brief visit with the Pope, in Rome. (Baudoin II's request for help).

The Ark reached the Holy Sepulchre in the "Forêt d’Orient" in Champagne; this forest, which was a vast labyrinth full of underground galleries and swamps, represented an impregnable citadel of the Order of the Temple, and the most appropriate of places to hide a Secret...
This is what is conveyed, in the "Préliminaires" on the creation of the Order of the Temple, written by Bernard de Clairvaux, by a sentence with a double meaning whose secret he knew...
"DAMEDIEU has worked well with us and our Lord JESUS-CHRIST; who instructed his friends in the Holy City of JERUSALEM, in the Marche* of France and Burgundy..."
Which should be read:
DAME-DIEU has worked well; with us IS our Lord JESUS-CHRIST; who instructed his friends in the Holy City of JERUSALEM, in the Marche* of France and Burgundy...

* That is, in the Forêt d’Orient.