Order of the Solar Temple

The Order of the Solar Temple (or Ordre du Temple Solaire, International Chivalric Organization of the Solar Tradition) was a secret society. It existed in the second half of the 20th century. It was based on the belief that the Knights Templar still existed.  

OTS was started by Joseph Di Mambro and Luc Jouret in 1984 in Geneva as l'Ordre International Chevaleresque de Tradition Solaire (OICTS) and renamed Ordre du Temple Solaire.  

OTS is considered to be a sect. The organisation was involved in mass suicides in France, Switzerland and Canada. The beliefs of the society were a mix of protestant Christianity and New Age philosophy; it also used and changed different Freemason rituals. 

74 members were killed in four events that occurred in 1994, 1995 and 1997. Today these events are seen either as mass murder or as collective suicide.

Category:Secret societies
Category:Organizations based in Geneva