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

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Chapter 7 - Rituals
brother would rise again, and said "I am the Resurrection and the Life, he that
believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (p. 54).
After this lecture, the candidate is communicated sign and pass of this degree,
its appropriate color being green, "an emblem of nature's life and beauty, and a
symbol of Martha's trustful faith and hope of immortality" (p. 55). According to
the Manual, the color is represented by the Pine Leaf. 1461 The emblem of the
degree is the Broken Column, a symbol of the uncertainty of human life.
Finally, the candidate is escorted by the Conductress to the fifth and last point
of the Star, the station of Electa. The thoughts lying behind the adoption of
Electa into the Eastern Star degree system are thus expressed in Macoy's
Manual:
The structure of Freemasonry [...] is so peculiar that we, Master
Masons, above all other men, are taught to respect patience and
submission under wrongs. That there will be a day of judgment, when
all wrongs shall be redressed by the Divine hand, we firmly believe.
Therefore, when we find in history a person whose confidence in
God's justice gave her perfect patience and submission amidst the most
inhuman wrongs, we seize upon that character as our own. We adopt
and protect it. We hail it as a Masonic character, and we claim whatever
credit or honor may be associated with it.
Such a character [...] we discover in the traditions of our fathers. It is
alluded to in the Second Epistle of John, under the title of ELECTA.
And we have so surrounded the submission of that noble and heroic
woman under wrong, and her matchless benevolence, with emblems,
legends, and tokens of recognition, as to make of it a section in
ADOPTIVE MASONRY. 1462
The officer Electa rises and relates her story: The second epistle of John is
addressed to "the elect lady and her children." Electa, a lady of noble family and
well-known for her benevolence to the poor, is said to have lived in the days of
St. John the Evangelist. She would welcome the poorest footsore beggar and
refresh him with the richest wine in a golden cup. Although reared a Pagan,
Electa like Ruth converted to Christianity. In these times, the Roman emperor
issued an edict that all followers of Christ should renounce their faith under
penalty of death. A band of soldiers visited Electa and demanded that she
trample the cross under her foot. She, instead, pressed it to her bosom with ardor
and cast her eyes upward (58). Here ends the description of the ritual of Electas
fate, just stating that she "was subjected to severe trials and the most bitter
persecution" (57). However, the manual goes more into detail, stating that when
she refused to insult the cross, her whole family was cast into a dungeon for one
year. Then, the Roman judge offered her another opportunity to recant, and upon
1461 Ibid, p. 51.
1462 Macoy, Manual of the Order of the Eastern Star, p. 61/62.