The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail<\/em> asserts that the Priory of Sion is an organization of extraordinary conspiracy, comparable to beliefs about the Illuminati, over a millenia old, and that many high-profile figures (such as Leonardo da Vinci, Claude Debussy, Victor Hugo, and Isaac Newton) have been the leader, or Grand Master, of the secret society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In return, this book then inspired Dan Brown\u2019s own international bestseller, The Da Vinci Code<\/em>, which was then adapted into a film starring Tom Hanks. Brown\u2019s fictional tale documents an underground conspiracy by the Catholic church to hide Jesus\u2019 bloodline, in which the Priory of Sion protects and exalts the said descendants of Jesus and Mary Magdalene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though there have been other accounts of the Prieur\u00e9 de Sion in the media, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail<\/em> and The Da Vinci Code<\/em> thrust the organization into an international spotlight, demonizing them as blasphemers in the eyes of many. It can be gathered that all of this attention \u2014 much of it negative \u2014 was overwhelming for the Prieur\u00e9 de Sion, and that they may have wanted to redirect the conspiratorial narrative placed upon their group, leading them to officially register and reintroduce themselves to society in 2015, led by Grand Master, Marco Rigamonti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What is the true story behind the Priory of Sion?<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the Priory of Sion<\/u><\/a> website, the group is an Order of Chivalry, which works through \u201csymbols, ancient rituals, theurgic practice and traditions, in order to live a personal and collective spirituality in communion with our Brothers and Sisters\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The organization asserts that it was founded in 1099 in Jerusalem at the Abbey of \u201cOur Lady of Mount Sion\u201d by Godfrey of Bouillon. The site states that their Order was officially registered for the first time in 1956 and dissolved in 1993 before re-registering in 2015, \u201cperpetuating the legitimate Pierre Plantard de Saint-Clair\u2019s lineage, through the actual Grand Master, Marco Rigamonti\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is much suspicion about the Priory of Sion\u2019s claims, as many seem grandiose and often unbelievable. Scholarly records claim that the organization is not a secret society, but rather an elaborate hoax perpetrated by a Frenchman named Pierre Plantard<\/u><\/a>, who used the false name \u201cPierre Plantard de Saint-Clair\u201d, beginning in 1956. Dissenters believe Plantard manufactured evidence to prove that he was a descendant of Jesus and Mary Magdalene \u2014 a successor Merovingian dynasty, the \u201cGreat Monarch\u201d of Nostradamus\u2019 prophecy, and the rightful heir to the French throne \u2014 and that he eventually saw organization, the Prieur\u00e9 de Sion, as a failure which led to its dissolution in 1993. Some accounts<\/u><\/a> even state that Plantard fantasized about creating an anti-Semitic, conservative organization modeled after medieval orders of chivalry, not what the Priory of Sion claims to stand for today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the organization does not necessarily have proof to support many of their tenets, causing theological scholars to dismiss their beliefs, the Prieur\u00e9 de Sion holds steadfast while still maintaining allowance for skepticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Priory of Sion does affirm many previous notions about the organization that were mentioned in The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n First, the Priory of Sion believe that there are legitimate descendants of Jesus and Mary Magdalene<\/u><\/a>, but do not \u201cpretend to propose this genealogy like a certain fidelity to history\u2026 because we don\u2019t have the relics to prove it storically\u201d which the organization says is due to Nazis burning documents that support these theories during the Holocaust. They also claim Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, and Michel de Nostredame as former Grand Masters<\/u><\/a>, a title now held by Marco Rigamonti<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Notably, the organization expresses disgust at being branded with negative, conspiracy-fueled accusations of meddling with global affairs in comparison with another infamous secret society, the Illuminati \u2014 which is rumored to control all political affairs without public knowledge. The Prieur\u00e9 de Sion states that the Order is \u201capolitical and forbids its members to be made a place of political debate\u201d and that the Priory of Sion is \u201cdiscreet and reserved, but is not a secret society\u201d as their members and chapters are officially registered. However, in a truly strange admission, their site<\/u><\/a> clarifies that \u201cPriory of Sion does not find anything criminal or reprehensible in the correct definition of the term “Illuminati”, since it is not a sense that implicitly includes fraud, deceit or concealment undue or even any deliberate manipulation of truth towards peoples.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The future of the Priory of Sion: what comes next?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Priory of Sion\u2019s generous 2017 donation to Rennes-le-Ch\u00e2teau is groundbreaking for two reasons. First, it is significant that the organization chose the village, as is home to the Church of Mary Magdalene, an important destination in The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail<\/em> as an exalted space for the Priory of Sion. Most importantly, it marked the organization\u2019s first foray into being a regular society (and introduction to their current Grand Master, Marco Rigamonti) making it plausible that the general public may be able to learn more about the Prieur\u00e9 de Sion, as its mission \u2014 until otherwise spoken by the Order \u2014 has been merely speculation up until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even after giving the world a glimpse into their Order, there is no doubt that the Priory of Sion is a deeply esoteric group that is steeped in lore and mystery. During a modern era that is so chaotic and overwhelming for many, it seems reasonable that some would try to find a connection to something larger than themselves with staunch tradition \u2014 something that both the Priory of Sion and the general public can agree with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are intrigued by the Prieur\u00e9 de Sion, their website<\/u><\/a> offers more insight into the Order, and according to Grand Master Marco Rigamonti, they are accepting new members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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