I have been told that my late father was a Knight of the Red Cross, in York Rite Freemasonry. What does this mean? Could you tell me about what responsibilites he would have, or what he would be in charge of, or in what regard his involvement would be as a mason.

Please let me know what you can about the Order of the Red Cross.

CC

From what I've read, the Order of the Red Cross of Constantine, Knights of the Red Cross of Constantine, or whatever, is the highest honor in York Rite Freemasonry.

[edit on 13-11-2004 by chief_counsellor]

CC,

In the "York Rite" of Freemasonry (in the U.S.A. and some other places) consists of 4 groups or Masonic "bodies" the Symbolic or "Blue" Lodge, the Chapter, Council and Commandery. A Master Mason may petition to join and may join only the Chapter, only the Chapter & Council or all 3 groups. However membership in these groups is predicated upon membership in the lower group. In other words, on cannot petition the Commandery without being in the Council, and one cannot be a member of the Council without being in the Chapter, although in most states each is a separately organized and governed body, all of which together comprise the "York Rite" (Confused?) :-)

The Chapter Degrees consist of: Mark Master, (Virtual) Past Master (not to be confused with "Actual" Past Master which is someone who has presided as Master of the Blue Lodge) Most Excellent Master & Royal Arch Mason.

The Council Degrees are Royal Master and Select Master (there is another degree of the Council called Super Excellent Master. This degree is not conferred or required in all jurisdictions...but it is in some) More confused? :-)

The Commandery Degrees (called Orders) are, Order of the Red Cross, Order of Malta and Order of the Temple (or Knight Templar) KT being the terminal degree in the York Rite System.

There is an invitational org. for Royal Arch Masons called the Red Cross of Constantine. There is also the Royal Order of Scotland, the Knight Masons, and some others that predicate membership on being a Royal Arch Mason. These groups are by invitation only and no particular extra duties are expected of members of them. Masonry has literally dozens of "side" and "extra" degrees for those who are interested in participating. Sometimes I think we have too many degrees...

As far as the "highest honor in York Rite Freemasonry" there really isn't an "official" one. As I've said, Knight Templar is the highest degree in that system. For those who've served as presiding officer over all 4 York Rite bodies (that includes the Blue Lodge which is the foundation stone) there is the Knight of York Cross of Honor (KYCH) which is a big honor, but there's also the Knight Templar Grand Cross, the York Rite Sovereign College and it's "Order of the Purple Cross" and some others.

To add to the confusion, although many of these degrees mentioned are conferred outside the U.S. in some form or fashion, they're not necessarily organized in this manner and some places do not confer several of them at all. On top of all of which, despite grand titles, and officers jewels, etc. etc. the highest degree of Freemasonry is still the 3rd Degree: Master Mason.

Regards,





[edit on 13-11-2004 by senrak]

Senrak is right on, that's exactly how it is. There is no badge of distinction higher than that of the Master Mason's Apron.

The other honors are nice, but they aren't to detract from the fundamentals of the order.

From the website you posted it says

The Order of The Red Cross Of Constantine is an invitational organization and is considered by many to be the highest honor that can be awarded within York Rite Masonry. The membership of each Conclave is limited.

This is where I read that the Order of the red cross is the "highest honor".

Originally posted by chief_counsellor
From the website you posted it says

The Order of The Red Cross Of Constantine is an invitational organization and is considered by many to be the highest honor that can be awarded within York Rite Masonry. The membership of each Conclave is limited.

This is where I read that the Order of the red cross is the "highest honor".

CC,

This is one of the problems with Masonic degrees. As you know there are quite a few (I don't even KNOW how many) invitational degrees beyond the basic Lodge and the York & Scottish Rites. Each of these invitational groups considers itself to be quite an honor...and of course they are, but the term "highest" is a relative thing. Many members of the York Rite Sovereign College consider the "Order of the Purple Cross" to be the highest honor in York Rite Masonry. Some members of the Royal Order of Scotland consider that to be the highest honor, etc. etc.

I guess the best explanation is, the Red Cross IS a high honor among it's membership, as are other Masonic honors. But such honors don't carry any particular extra duties, etc....they're just honors for hard-working Masons.

Regards,