The Priory of Sion

60 Minutes ^ | 4/30/2006 | Jeanne Langley

[conserv371]

Since it was published three years ago, Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" has become one of the most popular novels of all time, with more than 30 million copies in print worldwide. With a major movie based on the book due out soon, the book seems assured of a place on the bestseller lists for a considerable time to come. What has attracted readers to "The Da Vinci Code" is its central theme, which Dan Brown claims is not fiction but fact — that a mysterious European society, known as the Priory of Sion, has for centuries guarded a momentous secret. That secret, which is the theory at the heart of the novel, is that Jesus Christ married Mary Magdalene and today their descendants are living in France. It's not surprising that this has incurred the wrath of many Christians, including the Vatican, while others have wondered if there might not be some truth to all of this.

Well, wonder no more. Correspondent Ed Bradley reports on the real secret of the Priory of Sion.

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To follow the trail of the Priory of Sion, you first need to go to a small, remote village in the foothills of the French Pyrenees called Rennes le Chateau and to go back in time more than 100 years. It was here that the Priory was said to have had a mysterious influence on the village priest, Berenger Sauniere, who spent money on a scale that was way beyond his means.

After lavishly redecorating the interior of the church, Sauniere built a grand estate for himself, with a promenade that stretched along the edge of the village. At one end he constructed a tower, where he entertained guests and housed his extensive library. Saunière died in 1917, but the mystery of his wealth lived on. In the 1950's, newspaper reports suggested that Sauniere had discovered a fabulous treasure and soon Rennes Le Chateau began to be invaded by treasure hunters from all over the world.

One of those treasure hunters who now gives tours of Rennes Le Chateau and has become a major player in this story is Henry Lincoln, a British scriptwriter. Lincoln says his interest was first aroused when he came across a book containing reproductions of two parchments. These had supposedly been found by Sauniere behind the altar in his church and had led him to that treasure. Each contained a passage from the Gospels, written in an ancient script, and was said to contain a secret message.

"Ah, I thought, I've got the makings of a film here. Don't forget that was my career. I was a writer for television and I thought 'this is a damn good subject for a documentary,'" says Lincoln.

But in the three documentary films that Lincoln made for the BBC, no treasure was ever found. He suggested that Sauniere, the priest of Rennes Le Chateau, had acquired his mysterious wealth through his association with a shadowy organization, and the clues were in those parchments.

"My researches have thrown up several times the name Priory of Sion. Could this be the meaning of 'PS?'" Lincoln wondered.

Lincoln decided that it was, and he went on to suggest the secret Sauniere took to his grave was that the Priory of Sion's role was to protect none other than the descendants of Christ.

[Eastbound]

"It should make a difference to you b/c the "theory" that Jesus was married and fathered children is patently false."

It may be false, but that was not the point. True or false, it wouldn't diminish his Messiahship nor his glory. Why would it be important to you that Jesus would not have married?

[Antoninus]

From The Da Vinci Hoax website:

"Brown’s site states that this cryptic message “hints at a shocking historical secret which allegedly has been guarded since 1099 by a European secret society known as the Priory of Sion.” Nevermind that the Priory of Sion was founded in the 1950s in France by a political radical, that its mysterious history is an admitted fabrication, and that it has been proven more than once to be a complete hoax. And yet the Priory of Sion is a central element in the plot and logic (so to speak) of The Da Vinci Code."



This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to know the true FACTS behind Dan Brown's "fiction".

[Antoninus]

Hey, well lookee here....

Is this the mainstream media giving prime time FREE prime-time publicity to The Da Vinci Code? Well, I'm shocked. SHOCKED.

Here I thought if only we Christians stayed quiet, this movie wouldn't generate any buzz. Guess that was a pretty dumb idea.

[Antoninus]

Do you object to free- thinking?

I object to thinking which is free of facts--which is what all this Duh Vinci stuff is.

[bourbon]

First, it IS false, and that is the point.

People like Dan Brown who broker lies about Jesus do so to achieve their own nefarious ends. Giving credence to the falsities which underlie the Da Vinci Code only serves to promote error and confusion about Christ and his teachings.

Furthrmore, if it were true that Jesus married Mary Magdalene (which it manifestly is not), it could diminish his "Messiahship" and his glory as revealed to us in the historical Christ. For one, a non-celibate Christ undermines the image of Christ as the bridgegroom of the Church, which was discussed by Christ (Mark 2:19) and by John the Baptist (John 3:29).

[Eastbound]

"I object to thinking which is free of facts--which is what all this Duh Vinci stuff is."

'Duh Vinci.' :> Good one!

Would it be more accurate to say you object to the phenomena which causes people to believe a lie after the truth is established? Well, maybe that phenomena has something to do with the way the truth is presented. Everyone has the right to be pursuaded in their own mind what the truth is. Though truth never changes, our understanding of it does. The Spirit of Truth must be present to enlarge upon that understanding. To encourage the desire for it.

Could it be that is what is lacking here? But even so, who here is a parent who presumes the authority and responsibility to instruct a neighbor's child?

But then, this thread is not a classroom. It is a marketplace of ideas. Want to out-sell your competitor? Better merchandising is the key. Talk up the unique features and benefits of your own product rather than ridicule the product in the next booth.

For myself, I'm just window-shopping and asking questions.

[Aquinasfan]

Ten years later and now back in Paris, Plantard gave the Priory of Sion a fictitious pedigree by drawing up that list of Grand Masters and depositing it in the Bibliotheque Nationale.

LOL! Thanks for the info.

[Aquinasfan]

I forget which book I read it in, but part of this whole 'mystery' was the mention of the source of Berenger Sauniere's wealth -- contributed by the Vatican to keep Sauniere silent about the bloodline.

Read the article. The priest's wealth came from plain old-fashioned fraud. He was selling masses.

[Eastbound]

"For one, a non-celibate Christ undermines the image of Christ as the bridgegroom of the Church, which was discussed by Christ (Mark 2:19) and by John the Baptist (John 3:29)."

Do you think the church, as the bride, should be barren? Spiritually speaking of course. As I think about it, you present a valid reason for Jesus to have been married and a father, for it establishes a natural happening upon which the spiritual allegory can rest.

[theFIRMbss]

>The original Lincoln works are "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" and "The Messanic Legacy" ... While not truly scholarly, they are not pure fiction ...

I liked those books, but
I found "The Di Vinci Code"
boring beyond words.

[Aquinasfan]

True or false, it wouldn't diminish his Messiahship nor his glory.

Jesus recommends celibacy "because of the kingdom of heaven." Certainly, He would have followed His own advice.

Matthew 19:12

"For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."

[Eastbound]

"Jesus recommends celibacy "because of the kingdom of heaven." Certainly, He would have followed His own advice."

But what of his first recorded 'miracle' and presense at Cana which sanctified a marriage?

[bourbon]

Eastbound, neither Jesus's celibacy nor priestly celibacy diminish the sanctity of marriage in any respect. Acts of celibacy and dedication to the service and love of God are acts of sacrifice which glorify God and create the opportunities for spirtual fatherhood or motherhood which are different from (but not necessarily better than) actual motherhood or fatherhood.

I, for one, am very glad that Jesus did not have any children. If he had, early Christians would probaby have been torn apart over the question of who were the heirs to his Kingdom, much like the Muslims, whose principal sects argue to this day over who are the proper authorities regarding his teachings--Muhammad's family or the caliphs?

As it stands, thankfully Christ left us no such tangled ambiguities. His legacy was directly bestowed on his Church and the apostles instead.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

It took cBS this long to figure out it was a hoax? There were articles about this and the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail back in the 1980s. Yet, just a year or so ago ABC was still peddling the hoax. No serious historian has gone along with the theory or uncovered any valid evidence which supports it. Even IF Leonardo da Vinci "believed" the Jesus-married-Mary-Magdalen theory, all you have then is some speculation that a fruitcake artist in the 16th century believed a heresy and NOT "proof" that the ideas behind it are true (a rather big distinction). But this kind of thing draws the anti-Catholic kook hysteria out of the woodwork.

What happened to the tunnel the Vatican was building to connect the papal palace to the basement of the White House? [irony, sarcasm, biting satire alert]

[Aquinasfan]

But what of his first recorded 'miracle' and presense at Cana which sanctified a marriage?

Nothing wrong with marriage, as bourbon said. Priestly celibacy is a big subject that doesn't lend itself to quick answers...

Before turning to the history of this observance it will be convenient to deal in the first place with certain general principles involved. The law of celibacy has repeatedly been made the object of attack, especially of recent years, and it is important at the outset to correct certain prejudices thus created. Although we do not find in the New Testament any indication of celibacy being made compulsory either upon the Apostles or those whom they ordained, we have ample warrant in the language of Our Saviour, and of St. Paul for looking upon virginity as the higher call, and by inference, as the condition befitting those who are set apart for the work of the ministry. In Matt., xix, 12, Christ clearly commends those who, "for the sake of the kingdom of God", have held aloof from the married state, though He adds: "he who can accept it, let him accept it". St. Paul is even more explicit:

I would that all men were even as myself; but every one hath his proper gift from God .... But I say to the unmarried and to the widows, it is good for them if they so continue, even as I.

And further on:

But I would have you to be without solicitude. He that is without a wife is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please God. But he that is with a wife, is solicitous for the things of the world, how he may please his wife: and he is divided. And the unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit. But she that is married thinketh on the things of this world how she may please her husband. And this I speak for your profit, not to cast a snare upon you, but for that which is decent and which may give you power to attend upon the Lord without impediment. (1 Corinthians 7:7-8 and 32-35)

Further, although we grant that the motive here appealed to is in some measure utilitarian, we shall probably be justified in saying that the principle which underlies the Church's action in enforcing celibacy is not limited to this utilitarian aspect but goes even deeper. From the earliest period the Church was personified and conceived of by her disciples as the Virgin Bride and as the pure Body of Christ, or again as the Virgin Mother (parthenos meter), and it was plainly fitting that this virgin Church should be served by a virgin priesthood.

Celibacy and the Clergy

[Eastbound]

Bookmarked for response later. Thanks for your replies.

[danalaina]

Quote from CBS expose:
"Under French law, it’s necessary to deposit the statutes of every new association with the authorities. That’s how a government official there was able to give us information about it."

First, please know that I'm not suggesting TDVC is anything beyond a marginally entertaining piece of fiction.

But...Didn't this statement above strike anyone else as amusing as it relates to supposed facts of the book? The head of a "secret" society isn't very likely to go rushing off to the authorities to announce the society's existence to the government.

How might that go?

Plantard: "I want to start a secret society, please."
Bureaucrat: "What's the name of your organization?"
Plantard: "The Priory of Sion. Rats! I wasn't supposed to tell you that. It's secret."

Again, let me state that I'm not out to praise TDVC as truth. As this relates to Plantard's delusions of grandeur, I have little doubt that he was either a con man or a loony (or maybe both). However, as this relates to TDVC, I can't really regard this "evidence" as proof that such a society never existed. It's illogical. For all I know, there might well have been a Priory of Sion active in the 12th century and created for the purpose of making sure that all the horses going about Jerusalem were properly shod. Anything Plantard might have to say on the matter would have to be regarded as tripe all around.