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

Chapter 7 - Rituals 455
As a concordant body of York Rite Masonry, membership is by invitation
only, and the order is often considered the highest honor that can be awarded
within York Rite Masonry. 1403 "The membership of each Conclave is limited. An
individual must have demonstrated a high level of dedication and performance in
his Masonic activities." 1404 The candidate has to be proposed by a knight
member, and an unanimous ballot will decide about his being elected.
The ritual is based on the historical figure of Caius Flavius Valerius Aurelius
Claudius Constantinus (ca. A.D. 270-337), who is said to have been born at York
(cf. p. 7). Succeeding his father as Governor of Spain, Gaul and Britain, he was
proclaimed Emperor of the West by the Roman Legions at York. He defeated
Maxentius at the battle of Saxa Rubra near Rome in 312, and thus established his
position, being accepted by the Senate as the lawful Emperor. In 323, he also
brought the Empire of the East under his control by defeating Licinius near
Byzantium, and became Emperor of the East and West. He transferred the capital
from Rome to Byzantium in 328 and renamed the latter Constantinople. He was
the first Roman Emperor who openly encouraged Christianity:
Among the other acts of Constantine, his encouragement of learning is
conspicuous; he also ordered that the Scriptures should be carefully kept
and frequently read in all churches; and he devoted a fourth part of his
revenues to the relief of the poor and to other pious purposes. On this
account his memory will abide in the minds of good men and Christian
Masons until Time shall be no more. (p. 37)
As to his actual date of conversion, there is no certainty; some place it in 337
at his deathbed, while others connect it with the legend of the foundation of the
Order of the Red Cross. There is a bishop named Eusebius associated with its
foundation, however, since two bishops with this name were contemporary with
Constantine, it is uncertain which one is referred to. Eusebius of Nicomedia
(died A.D. 342), a supporter of the Arian Heresy, having been exiled and
ultimately restored to favor, is said to have baptized the Emperor. The other,
Eusebius Pamphili (ca. A.D. 263-348), was Bishop of Cæsarea and the "father of
ecclesistical history." He took part in the Council of Nice which was convened
by Constantine in 325, and which condemned the Arian Heresy and promulgated
the Nicene Creed, however, since he was in sympathy with the Arian doctrine,
he fell out of favor for some years. He later became reconciled with Constantine,
who allegedly related to him the vision of the Cross and showed him the
Labarum (cf. p. 8-9).
In accordance with the Preamble to the General Statutes of the Order, the
candidate has to be a Royal Arch Mason (p. 5). Belonging to the "East and West"
class of initiatory rites (cf. p. 5), the Order of the Red Cross of Constantine
consists of three degrees. The first Degree is that of Knight-Companion and
leads from the Pagan dispensation to the Christian. It uses the legend of the
1403 Ibid.
1404 Cf. homepage at http://www.unitylodge.org/appendantbodies/appendant_redcross.html