The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

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Chapter 7 - Rituals
7.1.5 The Masonic and Military Order of the
Red Cross of Constantine 1397
This order of Masonic knighthood, whose original title was Imperial,
Ecclesiastical and Military Order of the Red Cross of Rome and Constantine,
was founded in 1865 by Robert Wentworth Little. 1398 The ancient title indicates
that its ritual consisted of three degrees, respectively "Prince," "Priest," and
"Knight" (cf. p. 7).
There were several orders of a similar name, which rouse confusion in the
determination of its ancestry. According to the ritual itself (p. 7), the order
appears to have been first organized in the United Kingdom by Charles Shirreff
about A.D. 1780, and was re-organized in 1804 by Waller Rodwell Wright.
However, in Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia it is stated that it has been traced in
England to 1788 with a reorganization in 1804, but that recent research found
this to be the Red Cross of Babylon or Palestine instead 1399 .
Likewise, there was an order called "Imperial Constantinian Order of Saint
George," created by a Macedonian Prince in 1870 and passed about among
European royalty in the 18 th and 19 th centuries. This political and ecclesiastical
order had nothing to do with the Masonic one, and therefore, the Grand
Sovereign of the Masonic Red Cross of Constantine issued a proclamation in
1871 which disclaimed any connection with the Macedonian order. In this
proclamation, he also asserted that the Masonic order was derived from one of
Baron von Hund's degrees in the Strict Observance, but according to Coil's
Masonic Encyclopedia, this must have referred to some modifications which
were made when the system of the Strict Observance was introduced into
England, because there was no Red Cross degree in Continental Strict
Observance. 1400 To avoid further confusion regarding the two Red Cross orders,
the Masonic one changed its name to "Military and Masonic Order of the Red
Cross of Constantine."
Up to 1957, the English body had chartered 214 conclaves, with 15,651
members in 1958. The Grand Imperial Council of England chartered 47
conclaves in the U.S. between 1865 and 1875. Many of those united to form state
Grand Councils, and several states formed Grand Imperial Councils. By 1956,
200 Grand Cross Knights had been made in the U.S. 1401 Today, the governing
body is the United Grand Imperial Council of the Knights of the Red Cross of
Constantine and Appendant Orders for the United States of America, Mexico,
and the Philippines. 1402
1397
If not otherwise noted, the quotations for this section are taken from The Ceremonies of the
Masonic and Military Order of the Red Cross of Constantine, Ritual No. 1, 1967.
1398
Cf. CME, p. 200.
1399
Cf. ibid.
1400
Cf. ibid.
1401
Cf. ibid.
1402
Cf. homepage at http://www.unitylodge.org/appendantbodies/appendant_redcross.html