Chivalric Masonry
Chivalric Masonry is Composed of Three Degrees (Orders) Based on The Time and Activities
Surrounding Europe, the Holy Lands and the Christian Crusades; The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross, The Order of Knight of Malta, and The Order of the Temple. The Masonic Orders of the Temple and Malta are founded upon the Traditions of the Chivalric Orders of Knighthood of the middle ages, and the Rite has therefore acquired the title of Chivalric Masonry.
Chivalric Masonry is Composed of Three Degrees (Orders) Based on The Time and Activities
Surrounding Europe, the Holy Lands and the Christian Crusades; The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross, The Order of Knight of Malta, and The Order of the Temple. The Masonic Orders of the Temple and Malta are founded upon the Traditions of the Chivalric Orders of Knighthood of the middle ages, and the Rite has therefore acquired the title of Chivalric Masonry.
ORDER OF RED CROSS
The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross is founded upon Truth - a divine attribute, the foundation of every virtue.
Set in the period of the Royal Arch Mason degree, a grand council is convened at Jerusalem to deliberate upon the unhappy condition of the country and to devise means to secure the favor of King Darius and his consent to proceeding with the rebuilding of the city and temple. Zerrubbabel, represented by the candidate, offers to travel to the Persian court and remind the King of his former promise to aid the Jews in the work. He participates in a royal debate and when his turn comes, he proclaims THE ALMIGHTY FORCE OF TRUTH. King Darius is so impressed that he grants Zerrubbabel his wish. Zerubbabel reminds him of his vow. The King makes a decree accordingly, and to perpetuate it he creates the Order of the Red Cross, founded upon TRUTH, and confers it upon Zerrubbabel.
Here we bid farewell to all the degrees having to do with the building of King Solomon's Temple, its destruction, and the rebuilding of the city and temple, and we go forward to the period of the Crusades when the Orders of Knighthood were formed to recover the Holy Sepulcher and to protect the pilgrims who went to visit its sacred shrines. It is also at this point that the York Rite takes on a distinctly Christian character in which the candidate is recruited as a knightly soldier to wage war against the enemies of Christ.
Set in the period of the Royal Arch Mason degree, a grand council is convened at Jerusalem to deliberate upon the unhappy condition of the country and to devise means to secure the favor of King Darius and his consent to proceeding with the rebuilding of the city and temple. Zerrubbabel, represented by the candidate, offers to travel to the Persian court and remind the King of his former promise to aid the Jews in the work. He participates in a royal debate and when his turn comes, he proclaims THE ALMIGHTY FORCE OF TRUTH. King Darius is so impressed that he grants Zerrubbabel his wish. Zerubbabel reminds him of his vow. The King makes a decree accordingly, and to perpetuate it he creates the Order of the Red Cross, founded upon TRUTH, and confers it upon Zerrubbabel.
Here we bid farewell to all the degrees having to do with the building of King Solomon's Temple, its destruction, and the rebuilding of the city and temple, and we go forward to the period of the Crusades when the Orders of Knighthood were formed to recover the Holy Sepulcher and to protect the pilgrims who went to visit its sacred shrines. It is also at this point that the York Rite takes on a distinctly Christian character in which the candidate is recruited as a knightly soldier to wage war against the enemies of Christ.
ORDER OF MALTA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN PASS
The Knights of Malta were first called Knights Hopitallers of St. John of Jerusalem and were known to have been in existense as early as 1099 A.D. It was the first organized body whose avowed purpose was the aid and care of those injured on a battlefield. The teaching of Christian applications of Masonic precepts begins with the Order.
Shifting to the time of the Crusades, the members represent soldiers of the Cross, and the Order is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. The candidate humbly solicits to be admitted to the privilege of the Mediterranean Pass to enable him to safely undertake a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulcher. This is a very sublime and sacred Order, which culminates in the enrollment of the suppliant as a Knight of Malta. The ceremonies of the Pass degree refer to the shipwreck of Saint Paul upon the island of Melita or Malta, and the viper that came out of the fire and clung to his hand, as related in the Acts of the Apostles. The Order of Malta describes the history of the original order of Hospitaliers who were famed for the construction and maintenance of hospitals for the poor.
Shifting to the time of the Crusades, the members represent soldiers of the Cross, and the Order is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. The candidate humbly solicits to be admitted to the privilege of the Mediterranean Pass to enable him to safely undertake a pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulcher. This is a very sublime and sacred Order, which culminates in the enrollment of the suppliant as a Knight of Malta. The ceremonies of the Pass degree refer to the shipwreck of Saint Paul upon the island of Melita or Malta, and the viper that came out of the fire and clung to his hand, as related in the Acts of the Apostles. The Order of Malta describes the history of the original order of Hospitaliers who were famed for the construction and maintenance of hospitals for the poor.
ORDER OF THE TEMPLE
The Order of the Temple is the crowning glory of York Rite Masonry. Here the aspirant progresses in the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth. At the empty tomb grows a sprig of acacia, teaching that we shall dwell forever in the realms of life and light eternal.
No Degree or Order in Masonry is more solemn, more impressive or more soul-searching than the Order of the Temple. It becomes a fitting climax to the labors of the humble penitent, who has faithfully performed the symbolic seven years of preparation for this consummation of his endeavors, his knighting as a Christian Warrior.
Knights Templar were so named because of their close association with the site of the Temple, during the number of years that they occupied and held Jerusalem. The Ancient Order of the Temple has been dispersed, and the warlike spirit of the Order has passed away, but there remains a spirit of refined and moral Chivalry, which prompts its members to be ever ready to defend the weak, the innocent, the helpless and the oppressed and thus warrant the title of true KNIGHTS TEMPLAR.
The Order of the Temple has been called the most beautiful of all the Orders and Degrees of Masonry; and no Mason, who is a believer in the Christian religion, should be satisfied until he has received this, the capstone of the York Rite.
No Degree or Order in Masonry is more solemn, more impressive or more soul-searching than the Order of the Temple. It becomes a fitting climax to the labors of the humble penitent, who has faithfully performed the symbolic seven years of preparation for this consummation of his endeavors, his knighting as a Christian Warrior.
Knights Templar were so named because of their close association with the site of the Temple, during the number of years that they occupied and held Jerusalem. The Ancient Order of the Temple has been dispersed, and the warlike spirit of the Order has passed away, but there remains a spirit of refined and moral Chivalry, which prompts its members to be ever ready to defend the weak, the innocent, the helpless and the oppressed and thus warrant the title of true KNIGHTS TEMPLAR.
The Order of the Temple has been called the most beautiful of all the Orders and Degrees of Masonry; and no Mason, who is a believer in the Christian religion, should be satisfied until he has received this, the capstone of the York Rite.
Freemasonry demands only a belief in a monotheistic God, where Hindu, Muslim, Jew and Gentile may together worship around its altars. The Christian Freemason alone has at his disposal a branch of the fraternity where he is free to interpret the teachings of the Symbolic Lodge according to his religious belief. The Masonic Orders of Christian Knighthood are the logical outcome of the Christian Mason's belief in Christ as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. That Mason believes Christ's hand will raise the dead to life, and in His Holy Name the True Word is found and restored at last. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
Integrity, Obedience, Courage
Worth Commandery #19, Knights Templar
1100 Henderson Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1320
Fort Worth, Texas 76101-1320
questions/comments to: webmaster
1100 Henderson Street
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1320
Fort Worth, Texas 76101-1320
questions/comments to: webmaster