Friday, October 24, 2014

The Royal Order of the Masonic Knights of the Scarlet Cord

The Royal Order of the Masonic Knights of the Scarlet Cord is an appendant body originally stemming from the Order of the Secret Monitor, but in America, one needs only be a member of the Allied Masonic Degrees. This is an invitational order which requires Masons to be members of the 2nd grade/degree of the Order of the Secret Monitor known as "Prince." This order is composed of 6-grades:
Grade 1: Ostiartii or Doorkeeper
Grade 2: Lectors or Readers
Grade 3: Fellow or Healer & Exorcist
Grade 4: Councillor
Grade 5: Keeper of the Hidden Secret
Grade 6: Prince of Jerusalem
The first three Grades are conferred in a Consistory, the 4th Grade is conferred in a Council of Elders, the 5th Grade is conferred in a Council of Entrusted, and the 6th Grade is conferred in a Council of Princes. To be eligible for the 4th Grade, one must have presided over the Consistory. To advance to the 5th Grade, one must have received the four previous Grades and be an officer (appointed or elected) Grand Council of AMD for the USA. To receive the 6th Grade, one must have received the 5th Grade and have served as an elected Grand officer within the American AMD.

The 1st Grade tells the story of Rahab and his hiding the Jewish spies from the King of Jericho. The 2nd Grade tells the story of Ruth, her marriage to Boaz, and her son Obed, the grandfather of David. The 3rd Grade surrounds the resolve of the Maccabees to retain their faith in the face of tyranny. The 4th Grade depicts the carrying of the Ark of the Covenant over the River Jordan and its entrance into Jericho. The 5th Grade surrounds Nebuchadnezzar's attack on Jerusalem and accounts for the disappearance of the Ark of the Covenant. The 6th Grade is centered on the Maccabee's fight for independence around 150 BC.

Every member wears a scarlet cord, but the fashion in which it is worn may change depending on what grade you hold.

Within the United States, the Order is still small with only a couple of courts established. The Grand Officers of the Grand Council of the AMD of the USA also sit as Grand officers of the Grand Conclave of the Royal Order of Masonic Knights of the Scarlet Cord of the United States of America. They correspond as follows:
Grand Conclave (Grand Council)
Grand Summus (Sovereign Grand Master)
Deputy Grand Summus (Deputy Grand Master)
Grand Chancellor (Senior Grand Warden)
Vice Grand Chancellor (Junior Grand Warden)
Grand Treasurer (Grand Treasurer)
Grand Registrar (Grand Secretary)
Grand Director of Ceremonies (Senior Grand Deacon)
Grand Herald (Junior Grand Deacon)
Grand Episcopus (Grand Chaplain)
Grand Sword Bearer (Grand Director of Ceremonies)
Grand Guarder (Grand Marshal)
Grand Watchman (Grand Tyler)
The constituent body is known as a Conclave and is led by the following officers (with corresponding AMD Council officers):
Conclave (Council)
President (Sovereign Master)
Chancellor (Senior Warden)
Vice Chancellor (Junior Warden)
Treasurer (Treasurer)
Secretary (Secretary)
Director of Ceremonies (Senior Deacon)
Herald (Junior Deacon)
Episcopus (Chaplain)
Watchman (Tyler)
This order was established in 1889 by Bro. Frederick Adolphus Philbrick as a way to promote the Benevolent Fund of the Order of the Secret Monitor. Brother Philbrick also wrote the original rituals of the order which were rewritten and updated in 2009; although the 1st Grade is still the original version as written in 1889. The Order continued until 1929 when it fell into disuse and sat dormant for nearly 80-years.

On November 17, 2006, the Most Worthy Supreme Grand Ruler Peter Glyn Williams convened a special meeting of Summus Conclave No.3 initiated 12 new members. He consecrated a new Conclave and continued to reinvigorate this Order. Within a year's time, there were over 400 members who had received the 1st Grade. It was during this time that the rituals were revised. From 2008 to 2010, this Order had spread to neighboring provinces and across to the United States, and numbered around 2,500 members.

Several Brothers from the Grand Council of the AMD of the USA went over to England in 2008 and received the first 3-grades Grand Conclave of the Order of Secret Monitor of England and Wales by authority of the Most Worthy Supreme Grand Ruler Peter Glyn Williams. Then at Masonic Week in 2009, Peter Glyn Williams conferred the 1st Grade upon 223 Masons. Then on November 11, 2009, Peter Glyn Williams conferred the Preparation and Installation of a President Ceremony upon several members of the Grand Council of the AMD of the USA.

On February 13, 2010, the Grand Conclave of the Royal Order of Masonic Knights of the Scarlet Cord of the United States of America was formed by the authority of Brother William R. Logan who was the Sovereign Grand Master of the Allied Masonic Degrees of the United States of America, under whom the Order of the Scarlet Cord falls under in the United States. In July of 2010, the Order of the Scarlet Cord in England became an independent body from the Order of the Secret Monitor thus becoming the "Ancient and Masonic Order of the Scarlet Cord." This body traveled back to the United States to confer upon certain American Brothers the final two grades.

The Order has continued to grow within the United States and the Grand Conclave meets at Masonic Week in Reston, VA. The Grand Conclave of the United States is presided over by Bro. Robert G. Davis, Most Distinguished Grand Summus.

References

1. Knights of the Scarlet Cord. (n.d.). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Secret_Monitor#Knights_of_the_Scarlet_Cord 

2. Royal Order of Masonic Knights of the Scarlet Cord. (n.d.). Retrieved from Allied Masonic Degrees: http://www.alliedmasonicdegrees.org/scarletcord.htm 

3. The Royal Order of the Masonic Knights of the Scarlet Cord. (n.d.). Retrieved from Grand Conclave of the Order of the Secret Monitor for Northern Australia and Papua New Guinea: http://www.osmnorthernaustralia.org.au/Scarlet_cord.htm 

4. The Scarlet Cord. (n.d.). Retrieved from Provincial Grand Conclave of Durham of the Order of the Secret Monitor: http://www.osm.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26&Itemid=8 

5. Williams, P. G. (2001, June 8). History. Retrieved from The Ancient and Masonic Order of the Scarlet Cord: http://www.thescarletcord.org.uk/history.html

3 comments:

  1. I am in the USA. Where can I buy a 3rd Grade Jewel adorned with the silver anointing horn?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am in the USA. Where can I buy a 3rd Grade Jewel adorned with the silver anointing horn?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'd say contact your Council Secretary, but if you want to order it yourself you could look at http://genericmasonic.homestead.com/regalia_price_list.pdf

      Delete