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With the international success of the bestselling novel The DaVinci
Code, esoteric subjects have been enthusiastically received by a
large audience. But that audience does not realize information about
the "Priory of Sion" presented in The DaVinci Code
as "fact" is a fraud. Nor do the readers realize why that
fraud was created and the reason why its existence has been maintained.
Those who have embraced the novel's subject matter will be shocked to
find by believing The DaVinci Code claim that the "Priory
of Sion" and its fabrications are real, they are embracing the
hate and fear filled mindset of religious fanatics. The following pages
are the first serious attempt to explain the secret "why"
of the "Priory of Sion" fraud and the real goals its animators
are trying to achieve.
Every person is the product of their environment and their experiences,
and the traits exhibited by the so-called "Priory of Sion"
are the products of intellectual constructs and life experiences from
a particular period carried onward by the "Priory of Sion"
founders and by its adherents. It is valuable to review the often-overlooked
recurring themes at the foundation of the fabrications promulgated by
the "Priory of Sion." Those recurring themes are more mundane
than mystical:
* It is extraordinarily Franco-centric. From the point of view of those
behind the "Priory of Sion," France is the center of all key
events which have shaped Western history.
* It is intensely Catholic. The Catholic Church is a major player
in the "Priory" playbook. A sub-theme is its portrayal of
a recurring struggle for control of the church itself.
* Names of modern Catholic Ultra-Traditionalists are alleged as associates,
supporters, and key members of the "Priory of Sion" and select
Catholic Ultra-Traditionalist organizations are alleged to be, or proudly
proclaimed as, predecessors or implied fronts for the "Priory of
Sion". (An Ultra-Traditionalist Catholic may be defined as someone
who desires a return to a Catholic Church with pre-1960 institutions
but more influence in spiritual, political, and personal affairs than
in the past.)
* European politics appear repeatedly, but in relation to the Roman
church.
* Monarchical restoration.
* Esoteric and Masonic allusions appear like a set in a play, a backdrop
to the other five recurring themes.
Through these recurring themes we will come to see the "why"
of the "Priory of Sion."
While the tumultuous French cultural events of the 19th century raged
- the constantly changing government and roles of royalty and the Catholic
Church, the visible rise of esoteric studies as a cultural force in
France, and the smothering atmosphere of the industrial revolution -
one more critical change was fast evolving. The role of the Catholic
Church throughout Europe was in astonishingly sudden transition, and
that transition was a decline in power and in influence. Everything
seemed to assail the Roman church in a sustained onslaught. In Italy,
it was stripped of its role as a true landed state and of its worldly
political influence. In its place, new democratic forces and a new societal
order arose. The spiritual influence and temporal wealth and power of
the French Catholic Church were castrated. In every old Catholic stronghold,
once inconceivable governmental restrictions altered the traditional
role of the church. Throughout Europe a generation of scholars employing
new methods of academic inquiry were questioning and rewriting the very
foundations of belief on which the Papal throne and church power had
been constructed. As a response, the doctrine of Papal infallibility
was created, and asserted, but it was laughed at. Even the fearsome
power of the Inquisition, so recently the scourge of Europe and the
ruthless enforcer of Papal will, withered rapidly and became a paper
ghost. As a series of apparitions of the Virgin Mary were reported across
France in the 19th century from Lourdes to La Salette, the power and
influence of the church was crumbling in its own hands. No one seemed
to realize this was the real end of the Middle Ages. The ancient institutions
were finally confronted with the inevitable reality of time and change.
But many conservatives among prelates and the devout could not accept
this change. For them, the church was the only legitimate source of
worldly power. Men were lost without its authority. They could not accept
that the structures of the Middle Ages had come to the end of their
time. For almost 2,000 years, the Church had maintained its power and
influence. It had outlasted dynasties and nations. How could such a
fall from power and grace happen to the elect of God? How could the
world have turned against them so suddenly? The only answer could be
hidden adversaries. And those adversaries were readily found. Freemasonry
had become a publicly visible influence in Europe. Masons actively worked
to lessen the power of Royalty, the Church's traditional ally. Masonry
advocated equality and freedom of religions, equal rights for all social
classes, and the separation of church and state. Masonic lodges supported
the rise of constitutional democracies - whose spokesmen and elected
officials often happened to be Freemasons. Freemasons were successful
in the new, rising commercial class. Freemasons supported the publication
of esoteric books such as the H.P. Blavatsky's Isis Unveiled,
and The Secret Doctrine. All these things were anathematic to
the Church's sense of the right order of the universe. It was evident
that Masonry was a tool of the Devil. Masonry was the archenemy of the
church. And the more open Masonry became, the more other esoteric societies
seemed to appear from hiding. And then, there were always the Jews.
In 1877, H.P. Blavatsky published Isis Unveiled. The New
York World described it as "an extremely readable and exhaustive
essay upon the paramount importance of re-establishing the Hermetic
Philosophy in a world which blindly believes it has outgrown it".
The opening words of the author's preface confirmed the worst fears
of the Catholic Traditionalists by stating "The work now submitted
to public judgment is the fruit of a somewhat intimate acquaintance
with Eastern adepts and study of their science. . . . It is an attempt
to aid the student to detect the vital principles which underlie the
philosophical systems of old." Not only were the philosophical
systems of old examined, but they introduced the books' wide readership
to what Blavatsky claimed were Hidden Masters guiding the destiny of
humanity. Unfortunately, none of the Hidden Masters proved to be Catholic.
Rather inconveniently, they all seemed to be from Somewhere In The Far
East. To compound matters, when Blavatsky published The Secret Doctrine
in 1888, her preface emphasized that while her work might be appear
to be Eastern, it was not about any religion, but rather about the truths
which under girded all faiths.
Blavatsky's books symbolized the new ideas and heretofore seemingly
hidden wisdom that created a cultural explosion and found a receptive
and long-suppressed lay audience. For years the complacency and authoritarian
power of the Catholic Church had inbred corruption, and abuses had worn
on its lay people like a yoke. Periodic internal efforts to reform it
were met with opposition. Of more concern to the church was the priest
who strayed from the official church position. They were subject to
harsh internal punishments. Orders sprang up inside the church to fight
its external enemies but also to police its own. In 17th century France,
a group called the Compagnie du Saint Sacrement arose. A genuine secret
society, its real aims were understood by no one and it seemed to frighten
just about everyone, from the church to the state. Eventually it was
disbanded, to the relief of all. It has been accurately described as
"a bastion of rigidly entrenched and fanatical orthodoxy"
that "devoted itself to weeding out heretics".(1) It was a
precedent as much intellectually and spiritually as physically for the
groups which would fight to restore the Roman church's traditional role
in midst and aftermath of the chaos that the 19th century created for
the Catholic church. Centuries later the "Priory of Sion"
would make references to the Compagnie du Saint Sacrement and regard
itself as its heir.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries the ardently faithful, in particular
Royalist Catholics and some members of the priesthood, fought back fiercely
against what they perceived as worldly depredations against the rightful
position and prerogatives of monarchy and the church. In Rome, in the
heart of the Vatican itself, a secret society called Sodalitum Pianum
was formed under the direction of Monsignor Umberto Benigni. Benigni
sacrificed his rising clerical career and his future role in the Society
for the Propagation of the Faith to found and run Sodalitium Pianum.
The basic function of Sodalitum Pianum was to gather information for
key Curia officials - the Vatican administration - and for the Pope
on what was actually happening inside the Church. It received its support
from several influential Cardinals and from the defender of traditional
Church privileges, Pope Pius X.
Sodalitum Pianum was for all intents and purposes a secret police force.
Its job was to fight the challenge posed by Modernism to the traditional
church teachings. Internally, it would make rebellious priests march
to the dictums of the church hierarchy, and it hunted to uncover any
sources of internal heresy. It was founded in 1909 and terminated in
1914, when Pius died. But it was reborn in 1915 and continued until
1921, when it was formally disbanded. Despite formal cessation of its
activities, the heritage of Sodalitum Pianum would continue. As Sodalitum
Pianum waged its battle from Rome, in France another Catholic secret
society thrived. It had appeared some thirty-six years earlier. The
roots and the ideas of the latter day "Priory of Sion" come
directly from this group, the Hiéron du Val d'Or.
The Force Behind the "Priory of Sion"
In 1873, the very curious organization called Hiéron de Val
d'Or was founded. It made its base near the Catholic shrine at Paray-le-Monial.
Here, two centuries earlier, the mystic St. Marguerite-Marie Alacoque
beheld visions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, beginning the Catholic
devotion to the Sacred Heart. Paray-le-Monial had a long history within
the Catholic Church. The first of several monastery facilities, a Benedictine
abbey, was established there as early as 973. Later, the area seemed
to foster Protestants, and in 1618 the Jesuits were called upon to save
the faithful from the usurpers. The Jesuits had remained at Paray-le-Monial
ever since and the Sacred Heart became the paramount devotional symbol
for the Jesuit Order, which was consecrated to the Sacred Heart in 1872.
(2) Paray-le-Monial was an important point on the Jesuit compass and
at least one member of the Society of Jesus would become a key founder
of the Hiéron du Val d'Or. At Paray-le-Monial the Hiéron
du Val d'Or built a museum and research center in 1877 and housed itself
in a pentagonal building reflecting the Hiéron's interest in
geometry and sacred architecture. Long established as a Catholic pilgrimage
site, from 1873 onwards Paray-le-Monial began to attract more visitors.
Thousands Catholics from all walks of life journeyed to Paray-le-Monial
in devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, hoping to stem the changes
of the times. The Hiéron du Val d'Or deliberately targeted these
pilgrims as its potential recruits.
Victor Drevon, a Jesuit priest, and a nobleman from Spain, the Baron
Alexis Sarachaga, were the two key founders of the Hiéron. In
1854, Drevon, then 34 years old, established the Association of the
Communion of Reparation in the ancient monastery and Jesuit base at
Paray-le-Monial with the purpose of atonement, or reconciliation, of
man and God through the mediation of Jesus. For his part, the wealthy
Baron Sarachaga was a devoted but esoterically oriented Catholic. His
family linage claimed the famed mystic, St. Teresa of Avila, and he
was a personal friend of the besieged Pope Pius IX and his successor
Leo XIII. Drevon brought the focus and discipline of the Jesuits to
the Hiéron, and Sarachaga brought his wealth, his influential
Vatican and social connections, and his odd Catholic/esoteric orientation,
which the Hiéron proclaimed as esoteric Christianity, or Christian
Hermeticism. As the spiritual head of the Hiéron and titular
head of its church approved school, the Insititut des Fastes ("Fastes"
refers to Roman calendar church feast days), Sarachaga would dedicate
the last forty years of his life to the Hiéron, until his death
in 1918. It would be become a forge in which the shock troops of the
anti-Masonic and anti-occultist Catholic Ultra-Traditionalists would
be molded and it would reflect Sarachaga's eclectic ideas.
The Hiéron du Val d'Or focused on propagating a very Catholic
focused worldview, born in the church-challenged circumstances of the
times, encompassing the occult and the monarchy, and a return to worldly
glory for the church. It countered occultist's claims of a universal
tradition. To the Hiéron, the only universal tradition was a
Catholic Christianity, which was, like Atlantis, lost, and which must
be rediscovered. The Hiéron version of Christianity traced directly
back to an idealized vision of Atlantis via the Celts, Judaism, and
Egypt. Christianity, according to the Hiéron, originated in Atlantis
and was itself the universal tradition. Atlantis, the legendary lost
civilization at the root of humanity became, to the members of the Hiéron,
an idealized vision of the world as it should be, and a code word embracing
every aspect of their vision. As proof of this heritage, the Hiéron
revealed to its adherents the name Aor-Agni (Light-Fire), that it claimed
opened the secrets of all knowledge of the universe, as taught in its
school.
As important to the Hiéron and its members as rediscovering
its version of the lost Catholic heritage by preserving Celtic sacred
sites, and by studying symbolism, astrology, and a peculiarly Catholic
Kabbalah, was the heritage of the future. The Hiéron was obsessed
with preparing for the year 2000. That was when the golden time would
come - an absolute monarch would rule Europe and, eventually, the world.
The Great King, the worldly reign of Christ the King. And the Vatican
would be supreme again, together with this King. The Pope and the King
would rule by fiat over a United States of Europe. Their dictums would
be absolutely obeyed. Behind them would stand a secret elite, powers
behind the throne in the service of Christ, "eminences grises from
whom the great of this world seek counsel." - as the latter-day
"Priory" would try to depict itself. (3) The Hiéron
wanted, as onetime Plantard associate and later adversary Jean-Luc Chaumeil
wrote, "a theocracy, wherein nations would be no more than provinces,
their leaders but proconsuls in the service of a global government consisting
of secret elitists. For Europe the regime of the Great King implied
a double hegemony of the papacy and the Empire... . . "(4). And
the devoted members of the Hiéron were dedicated, willing to
sacrifice and work to achieve these goals.
The Hiéron had another purpose, a secret one. It secretly and
forcefully advocated that Masonry was an anti-Christian movement requiring
reformation. A secret and sacred war must be fought against Freemasonry
by the church and its phalange, the Hiéron, a war which would
give birth to a new and "Christian Freemasonry of the Great West"
(5), or the "Occident". For Catholic Ultra-Traditionalists,
the Grand Lodge of French Masons and claims for an ancient common spiritual
primacy in books like Blavatsky's would be replaced by a "Grand
Occident Lodge" and the spiritual primacy of Catholic Christianity.
"Occident", too, grew to become a key password for the prolonged
and intense activities of the Hiéron's Catholic vanguard to supplant
Freemasonry with an Ultra-Traditionalist Catholic creation. By overcoming
the threat of occultists with a creation which proved Catholic supremacy,
they would bring Masons and occultists back into the fold of the Catholic
church.
Great effort was made to clearly differentiate the teachings of the
Hiéron from those of other esotericists and especially Freemasons.
For the Hiéron and its followers, Masonry had become corrupt.
The corruption could be clearly traced and even dated. Freemasonry had
once been noble. But the influence of the English had become too strong
in the late 18th century. The English branch had been corrupted because
it was dominated by Protestants. The Germans, too had become corrupted,
and this corruption eventually spread to French Masonry. The corruption
was caused by the Illuminati of Bavaria - which had been led by a Jew!
They had corrupted Masonry and the French Revolution. To Hiéron
acolytes, the French Revolution was originated by the nobility and the
church who, because of their higher consciousness, deemed it necessary
to help their lesser evolved citizenry by graciously and voluntarily
surrendering all their privileges and powers. But the revolution became
twisted and violent because of the influence of corrupt elements of
Illuminati-dominated Masonry. Masonry had, in fact, became a Jewish/Protestant
tool which overthrew the Catholic Church and the nobility in France
and laid virtual siege to the Vatican itself. Any claims of a descent
of Freemasonry from the Templars were merely proof of its corruption,
because the Templars, too, had lost their way. But their positive principles
survived and were now embodied in the "Occidental Masonry"
advocated by the Hiéron. And so Freemasonry became a hated symbol,
a target which had to be reformed and replaced by intentional and covert
actions of the elite troops and superior Catholic Hermeticists dispatched
by the Hiéron du Val d'Or.
But common pilgrims were not the only recruits sought by the Hiéron.
To realize its goals, the Hiéron needed to attract an elite.
And it did, drawing to it royalty and the wealthy and many artistic
and intellectual notables. A very prominent intellectual drawn to the
odd esoteric spiritual recipe of the Hiéron was Louis Charbonneau-Lessay,
a well-born Catholic author and former priest. Charbonneau-Lessay was
widely known and acclaimed in scholarly, religious, and esoteric circles
for his research and writings on the use of symbols in medieval Catholic
times. His major work on this subject, The Bestiary of Christ,
is still in print today. Charbonneau-Lessay actively sought esoteric
knowledge. From his studies he had concluded that the Templars held
a secret and special knowledge and he was drawn to contact several secret
societies and to the Hiéron school to search for it.
When Drevon had died in 1880, Sarachaga increased his already potent
influence in the Hiéron and his ideas dominated it for 38 more
years. The activities of the Hiéron were encouraged and its practices
which seemed to conflict with Catholicism were protected by Sarachaga's
friends Pope Pius IX and Pope Leo XIII. When Pius X became Pope in 1903,
the conflict between the church and state in France was so intense that
the Vatican needed Sarachaga and his devoted followers more than ever.
In 1903 the French church became subject to state overview and in 1905
the Law of Separation in France nullified Napolean's old agreement with
the church. The church lost its property and revenue in France, while
by 1907 on the spiritual and intellectual front Pius X was so besieged
by Modernism that he wrote a Papal Encyclical against it. With the passing
of Pius in 1914 and the beginning of the First World War, the French
Catholic Church was pushed further away from its traditional prominence
in French life. And in 1917, six mystical visions of the Virgin Mary
at Fatima, Portugal, spoke of a new threat to the church from Russia,
and a mysterious Catholic end-times prophecy. All these factors emphasized
the need among Traditionalist Catholics for a reformation of the Masonic-Jewish
forces that to their view were behind the devastating blows to church
and royalty.
From 1910 throughout the turbulent time when First World War raged,
the symbolism of the Sacred Heart and related symbols and spiritual
aspects progressively gained prominence in Catholic intellectual and
religious circles. The monarchist Abbé Felix Anizan had been
focused on this subject since 1909. In 1921, after the death of Baron
Sarachaga, Abbé Anizan started a journal called Regnabit
("He will reign"), Revue Universelle du Sacre-Coeur,
funded by a bequest from Sarachaga and supported by a number of high
ranking clerics. Its name referred to a prominent Hiéron theme,
the Kingdom of Christ coming at the end of the Millennium. In 1922,
at the request of Archbishop Louis-Ernest Dubois of Paris, Charbonneau-Lessay
began to write for Regnabit, increasing his involvement and interest
in the work at the Hiéron.
René Guénon also came into prolonged contact with the
Hiéron at this time through Charbonneau-Lessay, whose knowledge
he wanted to share, and through their mutual association with the anti-Masonic
magazine, La France anti-maconnique. And another figure who at
the same time began moving visibly into the orbit of the Hiéron
was Paul Le Cour. Years later La Cour would be alleged in "Priory
" publications as a friend of "Priory" creator Pierre
Plantard. In November of 1923, Le Cour began an intense period of contact
with the Hiéron du Val d'Or through Jeanne Lepine-Authelain,
an aging Hiéron founding member.
In 1918, with the death of Sarachaga, three administrators headed the
daily affairs of the Hiéron, Gabriel de Noaillat, Mathe Devuns,
and their associate, Jeanne Lepine-Authelain. Absent Sarachaga's powerful
influence, internal church forces critical of the practices and philosophy
of the Hiéron began to politic against it in church circles.
As a defensive measure the administrators increasingly moved the Hiéron
into more conventional Catholic circles. In 1925, the Hiéron
triumphantly received formal recognition from the Vatican for the creation
of the Feast of Christ the King. But by February 1926, the three aging
lay administrators passed away. With Abbé Felix Anizan under
mounting pressure from church officials in France and in the Vatican
to moderate its practices, and no full-time administrators to run its
affairs, the Hiéron lost control of its facilities at Paray-le-Monial.
The Hiéron disappeared.
But while it may have disappeared as a physical entity, the Hiéron's
ideals continued without abatement. Its work was carried on by those
who adhered to Sarachaga's original principles. In 1926, Le Cour quickly
founded a group called Societe d'Etudies Atlanteennes and its successor
"Atlantis" in 1927, to carry on the ideas of the Hiéron.
Also in 1927, at the age of 56, Le Cour began to write books and publish
a magazine trumpeting key Hiéron and Sarachaga themes on Atlantis,
astrology, and other metaphysical subjects. His last book was published
in 1955, after his death, and just before the "Priory of Sion"
was born. Le Cour was regarded by the adherents of the Hiéron
as the spiritual heir to Baron Sarachaga, a leadership transition symbolized
by a particular Sarachaga ring Jeanne Lepine-Authelain left to him.
In fact, the groundwork for this transition had been laid in the contentious
years after Sarachaga's passing. During its last few years, the Hiéron
was a hotbed of conflicting esoteric topics molded in the vision of
Ultra-Traditionalist Catholicism. The esoteric intellectual and spiritual
intensity of the atmosphere at Paray-le-Monial is witnessed by the presence
of Charbonneau-Lessay and Rene Guenon, who were drawn to the topics
it studied. The rapid founding by Le Cour, within four months after
the loss of the Hiéron facilities, of a well subscribed successor
society to carry on the ideas of the Hiéron, and Le Cour's publication
in 1927 of his first book perpetuating the key points of Sarachaga's
philosophy, speaks more of a determined plan to continue the spirit
and principles of the Hiéron than an independent impulse. Le
Cour's organization still exists today, with some 3,000 members.
In 1922, as the future Hiéron program was being conceived, Georges
"Count Israel" Monti created an esoteric society called the
Groupe occidental d'etudes esoteriques. Two unique characteristics
of this group clarify in light of the history and goals of the Hiéron
du Val d'Or and they foreshadow the principles behind the later formation
of the "Priory of Sion" and its wartime incarnation, Alpha
Galates. Those two characteristics are the specific goal of reconciling
esoteric orders with the Catholic Church, and claiming a fictional affiliation
with occultist Alister Crowley. Claiming a fictional affiliation - in
short, lying - would later be raised to a new level by the "Priory
of Sion." But for a religious fanatic, the end always justifies
the means. For Monti's group, its highly contradictory cover story served
well for the real purpose of Groupe occidental d'etudes esoteriques:
acting in the esoteric world to implement Hiéron ideals to reform
Masonry from within and reorient it under the firm direction of Catholicism.
It is most likely that Monti was affiliated both directly and spiritually
with the Hiéron and that he was acting on its behalf. His long
affiliation with the devoutly Catholic Josephine Péladan as his
secretary and the goals of Péladan's Order Rose-Croix Catholique
of the Temple and the Grail, founded in 1891 to reveal the mysteries
and prepare for the coming of Christ are also perfectly in keeping with
the goals of the Hiéron. The Jesuit educated Monti moved in overlapping
circles with Paul Le Cour. Their mutual interests seem to coincide -
a study of Anthroposophy; an interest in its predecessor, Theosophy;
an affiliation with Péladan's Order of the Rose-Croix Catholique;
and very strong anti-Semitism. Another important and revealing similarity
is an emphasis on political activity and reformation of the body politic.
If, as is advanced in this hypotheses, Monti was acting on behalf of
and in concert with the progeny of the Hiéron, his documented
breathless insistence on meeting important people and being associated
with secret political operations are in keeping with activities the
Hiéron would seek out to reform the influence of Masonry. All
these activities would be necessary to win control of Masonry and then
use its presumed influence to prepare for the coming kingdom in the
year 2000.
The word "occidental" would later became a password into the
paradigm of the "Priory of Sion." It means the West, and specifically
Western Europe. It is the differentiator of the split in French Masonry.
The Lodges which were aligned with the tradition of French Masonry were
called "Orient". The lodges aligned with Catholic Traditionalists
and which sought to bring Masonry under the rule of Vatican Catholicism
were called "Occident." A Masonic reconciliation with the
church was one of the goals of the Hiéron du Val d'Or, and of
Monti's group. The Hiéron saw the future world run by a group
of elitists - their members. This is exactly the elitist role sought
by George Monti for himself, and it is how the successor organizations,
Alpha Galates, and later the "Priory of Sion," would strive
to position their image.
As a conscious and deliberate front for the work of Hiéron adherents
in implementing its goals of reforming Masonry and reconciling it with
the Catholic Church, the leader of Groupe occidental d'etudes esoteriques
would not be inaccurately described by the Grand Lodge as a trafficker
in information and, given the Jesuit presence at Paray-le-Monial and
Jesuit involvement in the Hiéron formation and activities, a
Jesuit agent. In 1936, one year after his close friend and associate
Dr. Camille Savoire severed his association with the Grand Orient Lodge
and one month after he was publicly so described by the Grand Lodge,
Georges Monti would die under mysterious circumstances and Groupe
occidental d'etudes esoteriques would disappear. Sixty years later,
the "Priory of Sion" would allege Camille Savoire to have
been one of its key members.
The next small person who would become enamored with the ideals emanating
from the world of the Hiéron would be sixteen when George Monti
died. He, too, would very soon become the front man for groups carrying
forward the cause of the Hiéron, a cause he himself would come
to adopt. And he, too, would come to a sad end. His name was Pierre
Plantard.
The Education of Pierre Plantard
His father was a butler, killed in an accident while Pierre Plantard
was still young, but in middle age he would allege his father was a
member of the nobility. His mother, a sometime cook for the wealthy,
would support him well into adulthood on a small pension received from
his father's accident. He was an unsuccessful student, not advancing
beyond primary school to higher or trade education, unemployed, drifting,
his only brief job as the sexton of St Louis d'Antin parish in Paris.
In 1936, when Pierre Plantard, the future founder of the "Priory
of Sion," was sixteen, for the French right and some devout Catholics
a horrific event took place - a Jewish socialist, Leon Blum became French
prime minister. Both his faith and his political orientation mobilized
these groups against Blum. In 1937, the young and poorly educated Pierre
Plantard suddenly became precociously politically active when he tried
to found an organization called "The French Union" and to
distribute a periodical "The Renewal of France." His co-officers
in The French Union were very close to his own youth: Simone Gabrielle
Brue, and Andre Bergerand, both also born in 1920; and a secretary,
France Brubius, was three years older. (6) In that same year, Paul Le
Cour would publish a work on astrology, "The Era of Aquarius,"
containing future predictions colored by his dedicated Hiéron-focus.
In 1938, Plantard published and distributed for free "French Renewal"
a pamphlet with a circulation a 10,000. It was printed by Poirer Murat,
who later would print another publication ostensibly for Plantard. Now
18, Plantard was also active with Groupement Catholique de la Jeunesse,
a Catholic youth group. Supposedly he was involved in its formation.
By 1939 he was speaking to small gatherings sponsored by this group,
which arranged free holidays for young people. In 1940 Plantard was
writing directly to Marshall Pétain, leader of the Nazi Collaborationist
government at Vichy, warning of a Masonic-Jewish plot. In 1941, French
authorities denied Plantard his application to found an organization
called "French National Renewal". According to a 1941 police
report, (7) Plantard was unemployed and supported by his mother. They
had lived together for fourteen years in two sublet rooms, which were
former maids' quarters. But in 1942, Alpha Galates, an organization
headed in name by Plantard and alleging a substantial membership, made
its appearance, with its first issue of Vaincre, an ardently
pro-Vichy periodical featuring articles by a number of prominent rightists
on superficial esoteric, and extreme right-wing political themes. Illustrated
and produced on good quality stock, it, too, was printed by Poirer Murat.
Where did the money come from to fund all these activities?
Obviously it did not come from Plantard or his mother. By 1942, he
was 22 and still unemployed. He had a minimum of formal education. Most
of the police reports about his activities from this wartime period
when political activity was investigated dismiss him as an eccentric.
But a 1945 police report on Alpha Galates, provides an insight in its
list of the officers theoretically serving with Plantard on its leadership
committee. They were Jacques Theureau, Alpha Galates vice president,
an actor living with his parents and one year younger than Plantard;
Suzanne Libre, its secretary, two years younger than Plantard, and living
with her parents while studying acting; and Jules Tisser, the Treasurer
of Alpha Galates. He was 24 years older than Plantard, a childless WWI
veteran employed as the chief accountant at a manufacturing firm. (8)
The dreary police report is oblivious to Jules Tisser. He is like an
invisible man. Accountants sometimes are. But it is an odd circumstance
that a man old enough to be Plantard's father and holding a responsible
position would be associated with a group of young people in a chimerical
organization. And that he would gladly submit to the leadership of its
illustrious chief, Plantard, who police reports saw as an "odd
young man"(9) and a "deranged individual"(10). Wartime
France was a difficult economic period. Why would a chief accountant
- a very good job in a time of high unemployment - risk his position
by involvement in the enterprise of Alpha Galates if it were just the
immature work of a few politically impassioned but confused young people?
But if a group of determined adults impassioned about its religious
concepts being implemented in society were promoting a young front man
to send its message and spending scarce funds on free publications,
they would want one of their numbers involved to watch the puppets.
And to count the money. Someone like an older and very experienced accountant.
The unemployed, devoutly Catholic Pierre Plantard was a front man for
older people dedicated to the concepts of the Hiéron du Val d'
Or. He did not have the money to pay for and distribute multiple runs
of 10,000 copies for his first publication, nor for the 1300 to 4500
free copies claimed by the six issues of the illustrated Vaincre.
Nor did a young man of 22 - even an unemployed one with a lot of time
on his hands - have the knowledge to write all the Vaincre articles
by himself nor to understand obscure esoteric references in some Vaincre
articles. But older men who adhered to the concepts of the Hiéron
du Val d'Or did.
In the first issue of Vaincre is a particularly interesting
illustration that reveals the real sources for this publication and
the puppet masters behind it. It shows a solitary horseman in Celtic
dress carrying a flag and riding into a distant sunrise, which reads
"1946" and is labeled with the symbol of Aquarius - the time
of the coming of the Great Monarch. Either side of the road he rides
is labeled "Bavaria" and "Brittany". The start of
the road is labeled "1937". On the rider's flag is a symbol
called the Cross of the South. And the road he rides is labeled "United
States of the Occident."
It is debatable whether young Pierre Plantard could have created this
illustration. It sums up too neatly the philosophy of the real animators
behind Alpha Galates. 'Occident," or West, is a term closely associated
with Ultra-Traditionalist Catholic efforts to reform Masonry into alignment
with the Catholic Church. A United States of the West is the vision
of a western European super government under the hegemony of France.
It is the vision of Hiéron du Val d'Or. A Celtic rider affirms
the Hiéron emphasis on its ties to Celtic traditions. The Cross
of the South is in keeping with the Hiéron's interest in symbology:
a cross with a heart is a specifically Hiéron symbol, and the
Cross of the South relates to another Hiéron interest, a Catholic
oriented astrology. In 1942, few people would have knowledge of the
meaning of this symbol, or of its existence unless they were well steeped
in the teachings of the Hiéron du Val d'Or. Young Pierre Plantard
would not have known the workings these concepts. As a front man, he
would have sat admiring and obedient at the feet of men who helped mold
the effort to see the ideals of the Hiéron become reality.
Several other factors confirm that this illustration, Alpha Galates,
and its front man Pierre Plantard were creatures of Hiéron acolytes.
Young Plantard was involved with Catholic youth groups and was said
to be the leader of one which provided free vacations for Catholic youth.
In 1920, the Jesuits formed the Catholic Scouts youth group and, later,
the Catholic Rover Scouts to inculcate young people with proper religious
and political values. At the same time, Abbé Felix Anizan of
the Hiéron formed a youth group to recruit young people to the
Hiéron, a group referred to by Paul Le Cour in his 1920's writings
as a force to be used in helping to bring Hiéron policies to
a future reality. The youth group with which the young Pierre Plantard
was associated was modeled along these lines. Alpha Galates, by its
constitution, was anti-Masonic and anti-Semitic, confirming the presence
of Hiéron values. Like key people associated with Hiéron
ideals, Plantard would be repeatedly confirmed by police reports as
anti-Semitic and anti-Masonic. (11) By coincidence, both of Plantard's
publishing ventures involved the same printer. And while the later well-known
Robert Amadou may have claimed to discontinue his work with Alpha Galates,
he was associated with, and published in, Le Cour's journal Atlantis.
In the issues of Alpha Galates' Vaincre, Robert Amadou and Pierre
Plantard echoed the philosophy of the Hiéron. As Amadou would
write for Vaincre, Chivalry (meaning traditional non-Masonic
Orders ) belonged " . . . not in opposition to the Church, but
within the heart of it"(12). Plantard, or someone writing under
his pseudonym of Pierre de France, would take the neo-fascism of the
Hiéron and the French far right to an extreme by proclaiming,
"I want Hitler's Germany to know that every obstacle to our own
plans does harm to him also, for this is the resistance put up by Masonry
that is undermining German might."(13) Like Amadou, he would write
of the new face the Hiéron followers saw for the esoteric orders
that foreshadowed the "Priory of Sion" hoax: " . . .
what happened after the disappearance of [the last Templar Grand Master]
Jacques De Molay will no longer hamper our progress since from now on
the orders will be kept in existence."(14)
Last is astrology. It figured in the world of the Hiéron du
Val d'Or and more prominently in the post 1926 expressions of its teaching.
Paul Le Cour was an important figure in the development of French astrology
in the twentieth century. Of his eleven books, his most revised and
reprinted work was "L'Ere du Verseau" ("The Era of Aquarius").
It was first published in 1937 using different astrological processional
calculations than those in vogue at the Hiéron base at Paray-le-Monial.
Le Cour announced his calculations saw the beginning of a key period
in 1937- 1946. This was the period which Alpha Galates, the front for
the followers of the Hiéron and predecessor of the "Priory
of Sion," specifically indicated by the dates in the illustration
in their publication, Vaincre. Le Cour himself is specifically
referenced in the same first issue of Vaincre as Paul Lecourt,
a punctuation closer to his real name, Paul Lecour.
The activities of this group faded in the last years of the war. Soon
the older leaders passed on. But Plantard and others dedicated to their
secret, carried on their ideas. In 1947, Paul Le Cour and writers sharing
the Hiéron philosophy called for the creation of a new order
of knighthood, and in 1947 Plantard formed a new group for the purpose
of "historical research," The Latin Academy. In 1956, following
the death of Paul Le Cour, Plantard legally formed the "Priory
of Sion".
In the 1950's Plantard began to appear at the old Celtic religious
site of Rennes-le-Chateau, researching the background that would create
the "Priory of Sion" fiction. Gradually both fictional documents
and new editions of "Priory" publications appeared. These
"Priory documents" reproduce the positions of Alpha Galates
and the Hiéron, including calls for a United States of Europe.
These are a clear indication that the "Priory of Sion" program
issues from the Hiéron principles. It shows that Plantard and
the followers of his generation of Hiéron acolytes had no interest
in new ideals. Plantard tried to relink with his earlier associates
and successfully joined with Philippe Chérisey, who he had first
met in 1938. Other "Priory" articles would tie Plantard with
names of people from the wartime years, key people associated with perpetuating
Hiéron goals. Their citation affirms the presence of the Hiéron
du Val d'Or in its cadet operation, the "Priory of Sion."
These articles, written by Plantard's first wife, associated Plantard
reverentially with Georges "Count Israel" Monti, Paul LeCour,
and one "Th. Moreux." (Abbé Theophilus Moreux, a Jesuit,
was a noted astronomer who wrote a book on Atlantis. He was imprisoned
in Frenes prison for his resistance activities in 1943.). In 1962-65,
the activities of the "Priory" shifted into a higher gear
as its sought to capitalize on publicity from the Gisors affair and
began to deposit fabricated documents in libraries, postdating them
to the prior decade.
One example, which also illustrates how the Hiéron descended
"Priory" saw esoteric groups as a threat and sought to control
them in a manner similar to the original Hiéron, is a fabricated
document giving the fictitious "Priory" Grand Master the title
of Jean 23rd. This title does not refer to the Catholic Pope, John XXIII.
Limited information appeared in esoteric circles in the 1960's about
a small but genuine esoteric group whose Grand Master bore that title.
Using this name is an attempt by the "Priory" to blend its
identity with the real organization to achieve what esoteric groups
call "authority." It shows how the "Priory" reacted
to esoteric activities posing a perceived threat to its goals. The fiction
of the Templars being subservient to an ancient "Priory" was
also conceived at this time to counter the revival, with which the real
group was associated, of interest in the Templars. And, at the same
time, the "Priory" begin to associate itself with a new generation
of Ultra-Traditionalist Catholics, who held positions similar to Hiéron
ideals.
On October 11, 1962, Pope John XXIII inaugurated the Second Vatican
Council, promising its result would "shake the heavens and the
earth." For parts of the Catholic world, it did just that. John's
successor, Pope Paul, expanded the College of Cardinals, forced mandatory
retirements, reformed church practices and teachings, and endorsed the
council decision to hold mass in the vernacular. This tidal wave of
change increased "Priory of Sion" activity. When internal
critics of the church reforms spoke out in open rebellion, the "Priory
of Sion" claimed them as its members. It specifically alleged as
one of its own a prominent critic of Vatican reform and an advocate
for a return to the church governance of the past that resembled the
vision of the Hiéron, Archbishop Marcel Lefevbre.
Lefebvre, who had a political predisposition to vocally supporting
repressive dictatorships, urged a return to the Tridentine (Latin) mass
and an end to Vatican council reforms. He soon formed his own seminary
and ordained his own priests, in violation of Vatican rules. Lefebvre
christened his opposition organization the Sacred Society of Pius X
(SSPX) in honor of the turn of the century Pope who condemned Modernism
and instituted the Soldatum Pienum. For Lefevbre, this was the model
for the Church. His stance agreed with the end-times scenario the Hiéron
adherents saw rapidly approaching.
Throughout the 1970's and 1980's, Plantard and his "Priory"
rode a wave of publicity from inaccurate and fanciful books about the
Rennes-le-Chateau affair, which would become the basis for The DaVinci
Code. The "Priory" continued to wave as its banner the
themes of the Hiéron du Val d'Or: the "Priory" as the
ultimate authoritative esoteric body representing a universal tradition
that spans western history; and the Grand Monarch, a coming of the Christ
embodied in their fantasy of the bloodline descended from Jesus. As
researchers Bernardo Sanchez da Motta and Peter O'Reilly have shown,
Hiéron du Val d'Or originated documents and symbols reappeared
on documents used to allege a pedigree and a secret heritage for the
"Priory of Sion" hoax. (15) That hoax would be treated as
fact by the author of The DaVinci Code and its falsehoods perpetuated
in his novel.
Plantard supposedly resigned from the "Priory of Sion" in
1984, but in 1989 reappeared to revive it. The reason for this attempted
return was because an important French astrologer claimed 1989 would
be a key year for world political events. That made urgent the need
to position Hiéron ideals for the year 2000, a year the Hiéron
saw as the worldly return of Christ, the monarchy, and Church hegemony.
Instead 2000 was a year when Pierre Plantard would pass away, he and
his "Priory of Sion" having been exposed in 1989 by a French
judge as a fraud. Yet with the passing of Plantard, still others have
stepped forward to attempt to carry on the myth of the "Priory
of Sion". But why would they continue this fiction?
The purpose of the "Priory of Sion" begins in an adherence
to the original fanatical, self-deluding precepts set forward by the
Hiéron du Val d'Or. Most specifically, the mission of the "Priory"
is to crush Freemasonry and esoteric groups by replacing them with an
Ultra-Traditionalist version. To aid that process, they have created,
in occultist Anne Osmont's description of Monti's goal, an "illusory
society." Its purpose is to superimpose over Masonry and esoteric
orders an allegedly esoteric super-society via a fabricated ancient
lineage and claims to spiritual primacy or "authority." In
the minds of those who to this day adhere to the programs of the Hiéron
du Val d'Or, this will bring Masonic and esoteric groups under control
of the Catholic Church, paving the way for the Hiéron fantasy
of the return of Christ as a worldly ruler rushing in a restoration
of Catholic Traditionalism, monarchy, and Vatican power. Working to
create the realization of this fantasy is the secret purpose of the
"Priory of Sion" and the reason for its existence.
But this secret bears in it a tragedy of multiple meaning. For over
a hundred years, Masonry and Judaism have endured attacks and terrible
distortions of the truth by Hiéron deluded fanatics. Now, because
the immensely successful novel The DaVinci Code presents as fact
a "Priory of Sion" which propagates the mad dreams of the
Hiéron du Val d'Or, a wide public has been exposed to a twisted
version of esoteric ideas that many may mistake for reality. Instead
of leading people to Christian ideals, the "Priory of Sion"
has led them away. The end result will be as Anne Osmont wrote of Monti's
group "to destroy all which is dear and precious" to staunch
Catholics and esotericists alike. The lesson from the "Priory of
Sion" secret is an ancient one. It is in having the integrity to
find and follow one's own beliefs. For if we allow fanatical minds like
those behind a Hiéron du Val d'Or or a "Priory of Sion"
to define for us the form and meaning of our beliefs, then we quickly
become captive to the twisted terrain created by those minds.
NOTES
(1) Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, Henry Lincoln. Holy Blood, Holy
Grail. Delacorte Press. New York. 1982, p.148.
(2) Malachi Martin, The Jesuits. The Linden Press/Simon &
Schuster. New York. 1987, p. 218. Also see p.209.
(3) Baigent et. al. Holy Blood, Holy Grail, p. 196, quoting
an article in Priory publication Circuit.
(4) Baigent et. al. Holy Blood, Holy Grail. p. 172, quoting
Jean-Luc Chaumeil, Le Trésor du triangle d'or. Paris.
1979, p. 139 ff.
(5) Pier Luigi Zoccatelli. "Notes on an unpublished correspondence
between René Guénon and Louis Charbonneau-Lassay"
A paper presented at CENSUR 99 conference, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania,
1999. p.3.
(6) May 9, 1941 police report. It is also reproduced and translated
on www.priory-of-sion.com.
(7) Ibid. Also see February 8, 1941 police report.
(8) February 13, 1945 police report. It is also reproduced and translated
on www.priory-of-sion.com.
(9) Ibid.
(10) January 3, 1943 police report. It is also reproduced and translated
on www.priory-of-sion.com.
(11) June 6, 1946 and May 9, 1941 police reports. They are also reproduced
and translated on www.priory-of-sion.com.
(12) Robert Amadou, "The Place of Chilvary" Vaincre.
October 21,1942. This article is also reproduced and translated at www.priory-of-sion.com.
It references the work of Paul Le Cour.
(13) Pierre de France-Plantard. "27 December 1942" Vaincre.
January 21, 1943. This article is also reproduced and translated at
www.priory-of-sion.com
(14) Ibid.
(15) Peter O'Reilly. "More on Paul Le Cour, The Hiéron
and the Priory" The Rennes Observer. June 2001, pp.18-20.
Bernardo Sanchez da Motta, "Pilhagem a Paul Lecour" http://bmotta.planetaclix.pt/prieure2.html
SOURCES
(c) 2004 by Robert Richardson. All rights reserved.
Robert Richardson is the author of The Unknown Treasure: The Priory
of Sion Fraud and the Spiritual Treasure of Rennes-le-Château
(Houston, TX: NorthStar, 1998), available from Pratum Book Co.,
PO Box 985, Healdsburg, California 95448, USA. knowledge@pratum.com.
This article is published on Alpheus with the kind permission of the
author and will be in a new edition of his book The Unknown Treasure.
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