What if the Holy Grail was not the cup from which the Lord Jesus Christ drank wine for the last time? What if the Holy Grail symbolized the bride of the Lord Jesus, the Savior Christ and the Son of God? What if this was just one of the truths that the Holy Church has been hiding for about two thousand years? The mystery and wonder that lies in people's faith and beliefs are more important than the facts that might prove them right or wrong. In "The Da Vinci Code" the key characters have an unshakable faith and act accordingly, determining the fate of the protagonists, Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu, and the outcome of the novel. A murderous albino, a recklessly determined British historian, and the heroic brotherhood called the Priory of Sion all have a common goal: to influence the fate of the Holy Grail in favor of their faith and beliefs. Their individual searches and encounters with the protagonists reveal details about the truth and lies that cloud the perception of the Holy Grail. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay From the first episode of the story until the climax, an albino is depicted as a monk sent by the Church to kill every person who stands in the way of achieving the Holy Grail. Silas believes that because Opus Dei and Bishop Aringarosa led him to wash away his sins, his goal lies in following the self-punishing ways of his cult and helping whatever the Church wishes to achieve. His blind faith in the Church is demonstrated when he justifies his actions by thinking that "his service to God today had required the sin of murder, and... in his heart for all eternity." Silas believes that the ends justify the means. He doesn't believe it's wrong to kill because he will find the Grail. This aspect of him is clear when he thinks to himself before one of his murders that "The keystone. It will lead us to our ultimate goal." Therefore, Silas represents the Church's ability to completely change people, turning them into cult followers, an important idea in the novel. A British historian named Leigh Teabing is shown as determined to use any means possible to reveal the truth about the Holy Grail to the world, thus destroying the foundations of a number of tenets of Christianity. Teabing is actually the mysterious Master who ordered all the murders and explains that Langdon and Sophie's murders and betrayal are noble when he says, "[It] would have been so much simpler... Instead I risked everything to take the easier course noble." Like Silas, Teabing also believes that the ends justify the means. During the climax, he explains this when he says that "Every quest for the Grail requires sacrifice." It is ironic because, although he is the one who orders the murders, he makes no personal sacrifices in his so-called "grail quest". Therefore, Teabing represents people's ability to manipulate others and fuel their causes by "sacrificing" them. At the center of the novel is the search that brings the protagonists ever closer to a jealously guarded Christian secret, the true Holy Grail. The Prior of Sion who guards this secret believes that, however explosive the secret may be, the truth must be kept alive. For this reason alone, numerous members have sacrificed their lives to follow their beliefs. Langdon explains this to Sophie when he says, “The Priory promised that no matter how long…, so the truth would never die.” Since its founding, the Priory of Sion has only passed this secret on to four men at the same time. Teabing later consolidates Sophie's knowledge on the subject when she says, "But brothers would never talk....