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

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Chapter 7 - Rituals
members of Job's Daughters are taught an example of historical or Biblical
heroes and receive an ethical education based on loyalty, honor, and fidelity.
7.2.6.1 Masonic Boys' Order: "Clean and Manly
Youths" Enacting the Trial and Martyrdom of
the last Grand Master of the Knights
Templar, Jacques DeMolay 1505
The Order of DeMolay for boys aged 1506 14 to 20 was founded by Frank S.
Land in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1919 with the aim of inspiring the boys to
become better sons, better men, and better leaders. Membership in this order is
not restricted to sons or relatives of Masons, but a belief in God is prerequisite
for initiation. A leaflet which we found in the DeMolay ritual used for this
analysis, headed "DeMolay in a Nutshell. Do You Know...," underlines the
positive impact of this boys' order on society by stating it as a fact that DeMolay
is a dynamic force in combating juvenile delinquency. It also emphasizes that
Senior DeMolays have become leaders in every walk of life, which shows that
boys raised in this order develop leadership qualities and are possibly more
favored concerning their later career than other boys of their age. Further, the
leaflet depicts the Order of DeMolay as a first step towards Freemasonry, by
saying that over 50% of all DeMolays become Masons, and that almost 100
DeMolays have become Grand Masters of Grand Lodges, and that more than 200
DeMolays have attained the 33° in Masonry. 1507
The Grand Council of 75 members and deputies governs this boys' order.
They meet each year in March, the month in which DeMolay was killed. Local
chapters have to be sponsored by a Masonic or Appendant order, like the Royal
Arch chapter or a Commandery of the Knights Templar. According to Coil's
Masonic Encyclopedia, in 1955, there were more than 1600 active local
DeMolay chapters, many of which were located in foreign countries, with a
membership of 130,000.
The Order of DeMolay has two degrees, 1. Initiation and 2. Knighthood for
Boys (called DeMolay Degree in the ritual), which are followed by awards for
merit: 3. Representative Award; 4. Legion of Honor; 5. DeMolay Medal of
1505
If not otherwise noted, the quotations for this section are taken from Ritual of Secret Work of the
Order of DeMolay, Issued by The International Supreme Council Order of DeMolay. Eleventh
edition. Printed in U.S.A., 1969. This booklet has the register number 68765 and was issued to
Hobart Chapter at Hobart, Ind., to a certain Ewald St. Reed on August 28 th , 1969.
1506
According to the Tennessee DeMolay homepage, the age is from 12-21. Cf.
http://www.tndemolay.org/
1507
The ritual used here is dated 1969, consequently, the above-quoted numbers are already outdated.
They are merely used to prove that the Order of DeMolay can be considered a start for a later
Masonic career.