Jesus. Lucy believed the Cathars were descended from an early Gnostic sect
called the Johannites who considered John the Baptist the true
Messiah. Jesus, so the story goes, was merely one of John’s
disciples. Jesus openly said, ‘None is greater than John. He
is more than a
prophet.’ In other words, Jesus himself acknowledged that John was
the real Messiah. But things changed and Jesus decided to betray
John, and one of his fellow conspirators was Salome. That’s why she
asked for John’s head. There’s supposedly a gospel called The Gospel According to Salome , suppressed by the early Christian leaders, that relates the
whole sordid tale.
‘ In the book, Salome
claims that Caiaphas, the High Priest of the Temple was a secret
follower of John the Baptist, as were Pontius Pilate, Judas
Iscariot, and the Roman soldier who thrust a spear into Jesus. All
of them had vowed to avenge John, and the Johannites subsequently
revered all of them. Pilate in particular was an extraordinary
individual. Very little was officially recorded about his life, but
it’s likely that he was born in Fortingall in Scotland, son of a
Druid and related to a Scottish tribal chief called Metallanus. Metallanus wanted to establish good relations with Rome, so he sent
the sons of several prominent families to Rome to be brought up as
Romans, with Roman names. Pilate was one of those. The Royal Scots,
the oldest regiment in the British Army, claim to be descended from
Pontius Pilate’s bodyguard. With his Druidic family background,
Pilate was highly receptive to the Gnostic message.
‘ The Knights Templar
were also believed to be Johannites. Every Grand Master of the
Knights Templar took the name John. The Catholic Church accused the
Templars of worshipping a severed head called Baphomet. Lucy said
this was none other than John the Baptist’s preserved head. At
their trial by the Inquisition, the Templars were accused of
trampling and spitting on the Christian Cross. Again, this made
perfect sense according to Lucy’s theory. Even the Templars’ famous
red cross was far from conventional. It wasn’t a Latin cross with
unequal arms of the type that Jesus was crucified on, but a Cross
pattée with equal arms. This allowed them to masquerade as
Christians while actually showing they weren’t Christian at all to
those who understood the symbolism.’
‘ That’s some theory,’
Gresnick said.
‘ Why are Delta Force so
interested in Lucy’s ideas?’ Harrington asked.
‘ My guess is that Lucy
rediscovered or elaborated on something the Nazis knew about the
Holy Grail,’ Gresnick said. ‘Otto Rahn, in two books Kreuzzug gegen den Gral –
Crusade Against the Grail, and Luzifers
Hofgesinf – Lucifer’s Court, had already
put forward the case that the Grail Romances were a coded reference
to Catharism. Like her, he said the Quest for the Holy Grail was a
symbolic representation of the Cathars’ search for God. The
Procession of the Grail Hallows was a reconstruction of the
Cathars’ most sacred initiation ceremony.’
Harrington tapped the table with his
fingers. ‘Is there any hard evidence that the Cathars wrote the
Grail stories?’
Gresnick spun his pen between his
fingers. ‘The evidence is circumstantial, but persuasive.’
‘ And what about the
theory that the Cathars and the Knights Templar were closely
related?’
‘ Again, circumstantial
but convincing. The Templars’ main powerbase was in the Languedoc,
exactly where the Cathars lived. Many Templars came from Cathar
families. The Templars refused to join in with the Catholic
Church’s persecution of the Cathars even though, as elite Catholic
Crusaders, they ought to have led the attack. In fact, they were
suspected of giving safe haven to many prominent
Cathars.
‘ The Cathars were
subjected to a savage Crusade by knights from northern France, had
to endure all the rigours of the Inquisition and were eventually
wiped out. A few decades later, the Templars were
called the Johannites who considered John the Baptist the true
Messiah. Jesus, so the story goes, was merely one of John’s
disciples. Jesus openly said, ‘None is greater than John. He
is more than a
prophet.’ In other words, Jesus himself acknowledged that John was
the real Messiah. But things changed and Jesus decided to betray
John, and one of his fellow conspirators was Salome. That’s why she
asked for John’s head. There’s supposedly a gospel called The Gospel According to Salome , suppressed by the early Christian leaders, that relates the
whole sordid tale.
‘ In the book, Salome
claims that Caiaphas, the High Priest of the Temple was a secret
follower of John the Baptist, as were Pontius Pilate, Judas
Iscariot, and the Roman soldier who thrust a spear into Jesus. All
of them had vowed to avenge John, and the Johannites subsequently
revered all of them. Pilate in particular was an extraordinary
individual. Very little was officially recorded about his life, but
it’s likely that he was born in Fortingall in Scotland, son of a
Druid and related to a Scottish tribal chief called Metallanus. Metallanus wanted to establish good relations with Rome, so he sent
the sons of several prominent families to Rome to be brought up as
Romans, with Roman names. Pilate was one of those. The Royal Scots,
the oldest regiment in the British Army, claim to be descended from
Pontius Pilate’s bodyguard. With his Druidic family background,
Pilate was highly receptive to the Gnostic message.
‘ The Knights Templar
were also believed to be Johannites. Every Grand Master of the
Knights Templar took the name John. The Catholic Church accused the
Templars of worshipping a severed head called Baphomet. Lucy said
this was none other than John the Baptist’s preserved head. At
their trial by the Inquisition, the Templars were accused of
trampling and spitting on the Christian Cross. Again, this made
perfect sense according to Lucy’s theory. Even the Templars’ famous
red cross was far from conventional. It wasn’t a Latin cross with
unequal arms of the type that Jesus was crucified on, but a Cross
pattée with equal arms. This allowed them to masquerade as
Christians while actually showing they weren’t Christian at all to
those who understood the symbolism.’
‘ That’s some theory,’
Gresnick said.
‘ Why are Delta Force so
interested in Lucy’s ideas?’ Harrington asked.
‘ My guess is that Lucy
rediscovered or elaborated on something the Nazis knew about the
Holy Grail,’ Gresnick said. ‘Otto Rahn, in two books Kreuzzug gegen den Gral –
Crusade Against the Grail, and Luzifers
Hofgesinf – Lucifer’s Court, had already
put forward the case that the Grail Romances were a coded reference
to Catharism. Like her, he said the Quest for the Holy Grail was a
symbolic representation of the Cathars’ search for God. The
Procession of the Grail Hallows was a reconstruction of the
Cathars’ most sacred initiation ceremony.’
Harrington tapped the table with his
fingers. ‘Is there any hard evidence that the Cathars wrote the
Grail stories?’
Gresnick spun his pen between his
fingers. ‘The evidence is circumstantial, but persuasive.’
‘ And what about the
theory that the Cathars and the Knights Templar were closely
related?’
‘ Again, circumstantial
but convincing. The Templars’ main powerbase was in the Languedoc,
exactly where the Cathars lived. Many Templars came from Cathar
families. The Templars refused to join in with the Catholic
Church’s persecution of the Cathars even though, as elite Catholic
Crusaders, they ought to have led the attack. In fact, they were
suspected of giving safe haven to many prominent
Cathars.
‘ The Cathars were
subjected to a savage Crusade by knights from northern France, had
to endure all the rigours of the Inquisition and were eventually
wiped out. A few decades later, the Templars were
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