Bernard-Raymond Fabré-Palaprat
Bernard-Raymond Fabré-Palaprat (29 May 1773 – 18 February 1838) was the son of a surgeon in the Cahors. He studied at the diocesan seminary and was ordained a priest; however, he left the priesthood to study medicine in Montpellier and Caen, where he received his medical degree on 12 April 1798. He obtained another medical degree in Paris on 16 September 1803.
On 4 November 1804 Fabré-Palaprat founded the Order of the Temple and revealed the existence of the Larmenius Charter (or “Charter of Transmission”). The Larmenius Charter, started in Latin in 1324, listed 22 successive Grand Masters of the Knights Templar from 1324 to 1804, with Fabré-Palaprat’s name appearing last on the list.
The Charter is named after Johannes Marcus Larmenius, who is believed to have written the document and was believed to have been appointed Grand Master by Jacques de Molay while imprisoned, thereby having the power to appoint his successor (Thomas Theobaldus Alexandrinus in 1324; the first name on the list).
Fabré-Palaprat was awarded the Legion of Honour for his defence of Paris in 1814, and received the July Medal for his actions during the Three Glorious Days of the Revolution of 1830. The Regency of the Order of the Temple was at one stage passed on to Joséphin Péladan, later becoming amalgamated among other occult groups headed by Papus, finally becoming legally incorporated by the Sovereign Order of the Initiatory Temple (OSTI), and its outer order with Templar Research Institute being conceived by Raymond Bernard in 1988. Templar Research Institute also continues to protect and perpetuate L’Ordre Martiniste established by Papus, into which Joseph Péladan had been initiated.