Mission and Vision Statements of Knights Templar

De-facto Mission Statement of Knights Templar (they did not have one in modern terms, of course) had two components: external and internal. External component had two versions: official (overt) and secret (covert).

Official external Mission Statement is well-known:

“To serve Jesus Christ and His Church by keeping and protecting from Muslims and other enemies Jerusalem and the Outremer (Crusader states in the Holy Land)”

Secret external Mission Statement is obvious:

“To serve God the Heavenly Father by keeping and protecting from Muslims and other enemies the Ark of the Covenant and – by extension – Jerusalem and the Outremer (Crusader states in the Holy Land)”

Internal Mission Statement is obvious, too:

“Lead all Templars to Kingdom of Heaven in the afterlife”

In other words, salvation of their souls (from Hell, obviously).

These Mission Statements defined strategic objectives of the order: (1) maintaining existing borders of the Outremer – at a minimum; (2) expanding these borders whenever and wherever possible; and (3) creating internal conditions for Templars which will all but guarantee salvation of their souls in the afterlife.

To achieve this objective, Hugh of Champagne and Bernard of Clairvaux (the real founders of Knights Templar) envisioned a military-religious monastic order (religious first and military second) supported locally by priests and secular workers. And in Europe – by a giant, powerful and efficient financing and recruiting machine (a pan-European multinational Templar corporation).

To achieve their military objectives, the Templars must become the elite shock troops of the Cristian army which will all but guarantee the victory of the latter in every battle with their Muslim adversaries.