Order of the Solar Temple
Esoteric new religious movement (1984–1997) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Order of the Solar Temple (French: Ordre du Temple solaire, OTS), or simply the Solar Temple, was an esoteric new religious movement and secret society, often described as a cult, notorious for the mass deaths of many of its members in several incidents throughout the 1990s. The OTS claimed to be based upon the ideals of the Knights Templar and incorporated a mix of Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, and New Age ideas. It was founded by Luc Jouret and Joseph Di Mambro in 1984, in Geneva, Switzerland.
Ordre du Temple solaire | |
Abbreviation | OTS |
---|---|
Predecessor |
|
Formation | 1984 |
Dissolved | 1997 |
Type | |
Headquarters | Saconnex d'Arve (1984–1993) |
Region | |
Membership | 300–400 (core members) |
Founder | Joseph Di Mambro |
Grand Master |
|
Key people | Michel Tabachnik |
Di Mambro was a French jeweler, esotericist, and serial fraudster, while Jouret was a Belgian homeopath who lectured on alternative medicine and related spirituality. After meeting at one of these lectures they became close, and the OTS was formed out of a union between groups they were involved in. Di Mambro had founded several past esoteric groups, and had previous affiliation with a number of other organizations. The group was active throughout several French-speaking countries, as well as Australia.
Following increasing legal and media scandal, including investigations over arms trafficking and money laundering in multiple countries, as well as conflict within the group, the founders began to prepare for what they described as "transit" to the star Sirius. In 1994, they first ordered the murder of a family of ex-members in Quebec, before orchestrating mass suicide and mass murder on two communes in Switzerland. In the following years, there were two other mass suicides of former OTS members in France and Quebec; in total, 77 people died in the course of these events, the classification of which as either mass suicide or mass murder is disputed. The OTS was a major factor in the toughening of the fight against cults in France.