Ordre du Temple solaire | |
 The variety of the Templar Cross used by the OTS | |
| Abbreviation | OTS |
|---|---|
| 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 |
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 was a neo-Templar movement, claiming to be a continuation of the Knights Templar, and incorporated a mix of Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, and New Age ideas. It was led by Joseph Di Mambro, with Luc Jouret as a spokesman and second in command. It was founded in 1984, in Geneva, Switzerland.
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. 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.
Following increasing legal and media scandal, including investigations over arms trafficking and pressure from an ex-member, 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 in 1995 and in Quebec in 1997; in total, 74 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.