diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7281c23
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+1.7
+===
+
+* The MarkdownHelper Templating component integration (and corresponding
+  `templating.helper.markdown` services) are no longer added unless you
+  have the `symfony/templating` component installed.
diff --git a/DependencyInjection/KnpMarkdownExtension.php b/DependencyInjection/KnpMarkdownExtension.php
index 8f045c1..ca56e44 100644
--- a/DependencyInjection/KnpMarkdownExtension.php
+++ b/DependencyInjection/KnpMarkdownExtension.php
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ use Symfony\Component\DependencyInjection\Alias;
 use Symfony\Component\DependencyInjection\ContainerBuilder;
 use Symfony\Component\DependencyInjection\Loader\XmlFileLoader;
 use Symfony\Component\HttpKernel\DependencyInjection\Extension;
+use Symfony\Component\Templating\EngineInterface;
 
 class KnpMarkdownExtension extends Extension
 {
@@ -29,7 +30,10 @@ class KnpMarkdownExtension extends Extension
 
         $loader = new XmlFileLoader($container, new FileLocator(__DIR__.'/../Resources/config'));
         $loader->load('parser.xml');
-        $loader->load('helper.xml');
+        // BC to support the PHP templates in the Templating component
+        if (interface_exists(EngineInterface::class)) {
+            $loader->load('helper.xml');
+        }
         $loader->load('twig.xml');
 
         if ('markdown.parser.sundown' == $config['parser']['service']) {
diff --git a/Helper/MarkdownHelper.php b/Helper/MarkdownHelper.php
index 09754c5..0b3974f 100644
--- a/Helper/MarkdownHelper.php
+++ b/Helper/MarkdownHelper.php
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ namespace Knp\Bundle\MarkdownBundle\Helper;
 use Knp\Bundle\MarkdownBundle\Parser\ParserManager;
 use Symfony\Component\Templating\Helper\HelperInterface;
 
+/**
+ * @deprecated The MarkdownHelper was deprecated in 1.7 and will be removed in 2.0.
+ */
 class MarkdownHelper implements HelperInterface
 {
     private $parserManager;
@@ -27,6 +30,8 @@ class MarkdownHelper implements HelperInterface
      */
     public function transform($markdownText, $parserName = null)
     {
+        trigger_error('The MarkdownHelper was deprecated in 1.7 and will be removed in KnpMarkdownBundle 2.0.', E_USER_DEPRECATED);
+
         return $this->parserManager->transform($markdownText, $parserName);
     }
 
diff --git a/composer.json b/composer.json
index ea1d7a2..a06ef60 100644
--- a/composer.json
+++ b/composer.json
@@ -21,11 +21,11 @@
         "php":                      ">=5.5.9",
         "symfony/framework-bundle": "~2.8|~3.0|^4.0",
         "symfony/dependency-injection": "~2.8|~3.0|^4.0",
-        "symfony/templating": "~2.8|~3.0|^4.0",
         "michelf/php-markdown":     "~1.4"
     },
     "require-dev": {
-        "phpunit/phpunit":          "~4.5"
+        "phpunit/phpunit":          "~4.5",
+        "symfony/templating": "~2.8|~3.0|^4.0"
     },
     "suggest": {
         "symfony/twig-bundle": "to use the Twig markdown filter",