The medieval military orders were religious institutions whose members had professed to a life of combat and prayer that integrated them into a religious landscape exceedingly defined by diversity. And yet still very little is known about the military orders’ religious functions in the dioceses in which they held ecclesiastical possessions. By focusing on one military in particular, the Order of the Temple, this study aims to achieve two goals: first, to provide a critical overview of recent scholarship in the emerging field of military order (and especially Templar) religion, and second, to examine aspects Templar religious involvement in medieval society in general and the reactions of senior clergymen to the Templars’ religious engagement on parish level in particular. It argues that the Templars proved very keen on expanding their network of parish churches and that in so doing they proved willing to engage with the lay public on a much larger scale than has hitherto been believed
