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

Chapter 7 - Rituals 641
place the compass above the square in the Third Degree (spirit over matter).
However, neither in the Pythian Knights ritual, nor in the manual and hand-book,
an explanation for the arrangement of the swords could be found.
The preparations for the Rank of Page are more elaborate than for the First
Degree. In Masonry, the coffin (as a drawing on the carpet) is used in the Third
Degree, however, in the first rank of the K.O.P., an open coffin, containing a
skeleton, is placed on two trestles, covered by a black pall reaching to the floor.
On the coffins are laid two crossed swords, with the hilts toward the Prelate, and
on these the open book of law (just like the sword and Bible arrangement on the
altar in the Rank of Page). According to the directions (p. 29), robes appropriate
to the official stations can be worn. When the lodge-room is thus equipped, the
Keeper of Records and Seal and the Master at Arms enter the ante-room, where
the candidate is waiting, and ask him several questions which are similar to the
sometimes practiced Masonic inquiry in the Chamber of Reflection. The Keeper
of Records and Seal writes the answers into a book, and returns to the lodgeroom,
where they have to be approved of. If they are found satisfactory, the
Master at Arms retires to the ante-room and prepares the candidate by placing on
him a white sash and blindfolding him.
The entry into the lodge-room corresponds to the Masonic procedure; the
Inner Guard asks who comes, and the Master of Arms replies that it is he with "a
stranger who desires to be initiated into the mysteries of the rank of Page" (p.
30), which in Masonry would have been "a poor blind candidate who is desirous
of having and receiving a part in the rights, light and benefits of this worshipful
Lodge" 1598 . The Chancellor Commander informs the stranger about the
foundation day and the aims of the order, and then he is led to the Prelate who is
to administer to him the obligation. The Prelate explains the meaning of the
white sash, which reminds us of the white lambskin apron given to an Entered
Apprentice: "White has ever been an emblem of purity; and to the members of
this order it represents that purity of purpose essential to admission here." (p.
33). Hereafter, the stranger is required to kneel on both knees and to put his
right hand on the book of law. Before the stranger repeats the obligation, the
hoodwink is removed to give him back all his faculties. The text resembles the
Masonic one:
I solemnly promise that I will never reveal the password, grip, signs or
any other secret or mystery of this rank, except in a lodge of this order,
recognized by and under the control of the Supreme Lodge Knights of
Pythias, or when being examined by the proper officer of a lodge, or to
one whom I know to be a member of this rank. 1599
1598
Cf. Masonic Ritual from New York, 1980, p. 30/31.
1599
For comparison of this first paragraph of the obligation with Masonry, see Section 4.4.2,
"Alphabets and Cipher Writing".