Mackey A G - Encylopedia of Freemasonry - The Grand Masonic ...

168 COMMANDER
COMMITTEE
indeed, the writer himself admits that the
Masons denied its truth .
Commander. 1 . The presiding officer in
a Commandery of Knights Templar. His
style is "Eminent," and the jewel of his office
is a cross, from which issue rays of light . In
England and Canada he is now styled "Preceptor
." 2. The Superintendent of a Commandery,
as a house or residence of the Ancient
Knights of Malta, was so called .
Commander, Grand. See Grand Commander
.
Commander-in-Chief . The presiding
officer in a Consistory of Sublime Princes of
the Royal Secret in the Ancient and Accepted
Scottish Rite. His style is "Illustrious." In
a Grand Consistory the presiding officer is a
Grand Commander-in-Chief, and he is styled
"Very Illustrious ."
Commandery. 1 . In the United States
all regular assemblies of Knights Templar are
called Commanderies, and must consist of the
following officers : Fminent Commander,
Generalissimo, Captain-General, Prelate,
Senior Warden Junior Warden, Treasurer,
Recorder, Warder, Standard-Bearer, Sword-
Bearer, and Sentinel . These Commanderies
derive their warrants of Constitution from a
Grand Commandery, or, if there is no such
body in the State in which they are organized,
from the Grand Encampment of the United
States. They confer the degrees of Companion
of the Red Cross, Knight Templar, and
Knight of Malta .
In a Commandery of Knights Templars, the
throne is situated in the East. Above it are
suspended three banners : the center one
bearing a cross, surmounted by a glory; the
left one having inscribed on it the emblems of
the Order, and the right one, a paschal lamb .
The Eminent Commander is seated on the
throne ; the Generalissimo, Prelate, and Past
Commanders on his right ; the Captain-General
on his left- the Treasurer and Recorder,
as in a Symbolic Lodge ; the Senior Warden
at the southwest angle of the triangle, and
upon the right of the first division ; the Junior
Warden at the northwest angle of the triangle,
and on the left of the third division ; the
Standard-Bearer in the West, between the
Sword-Bearer on his right, and the Warder on
his left ; and in front of him is a stall for the
initiate . The Knights are arranged in equal
numbers on each side, and in front of the
throne. In England and Canada a body of
Knights Templars is called a "Preceptory"
2. The houses or residences of the Knights
of Malta were called Commanderies, and the
aggregation of them in a nation was called a
Priory or Grand Priory .
Commandery, Grand . When three or
more Commanderies are instituted in a State,
they may unite and form a Grand Commandery
under the regulations prescribed by
the Grand Encampment of the United States .
They have the superintendence of all Command
eriea of KnightsTemplars thatare holden
in their respective jurisdictions .
A Grand Commandery meets at least an-
nually, and its officers consist of a Grand Commander,
Deput Grand Commander, Grand
Generalissimo, (rand Captain-General, Grand
Prelate, Grand Senior and Junior Warden,
Grand Treasurer, Grand Recorder, Grand
Warder, Grand Standard-Bearer, and Grand
Sword-Bearer .
Committee. To facilitate the transaction
of business, a Lodge or Grand Lodge often
refers a subject to a particular committee for
investigation and report . By the usages of
Masonry, committees of this character are
always appointed by the presiding officer ; and
the Master of a Lodge, when present at the
meeting of a committee, may act, if he thinks
proper, as its chairman ; for the Master presides
over any assemblage of the Craft in his
jurisdiction.
Committee, General . By the Constitution
of the Grand Lodge of England, all matters
of business to be brought under the consideration
of the Grand Lodge must previously
be presented to a General Committee, consisting
of the President of the Board of Benevolence,
the Present and Past Grand Officers,
and the Master of every regular Lodge, who
meet on the fourteenth day immediately preceding
each quarterly communication. No
such regulation exists in any of the Grand
Lodges of America .
Committee of Charity. In most Lodges
there is a standing Committee of Charity,
appointed at the beginning of the year, to
which, in general, a plications for relief are
referred by the Loge. In cases where the
Lodge does not itself take immediate action,
the committee is also invested with the power
to grant relief to a limited amount during the
recess of the Lodge .
Committee of Finance. In many Lodges
the Master, Wardens, Treasurer, and Secretary
constitute a Committee of Finance, to
which is referred the general supervision of the
finances of the Lodge .
Committee on Foreign Correspondence.
In none of the Grand Lodges of this
country, forty years ago, was such a committee
as that on foreign correspondence ever appointed
. A few of them had corresponding
secretaries, to whom were entrusted the duty
of attending to the correspondence of the
body : a duty which was very generally neglected
. A report on the proceedings of other
bodies was altogether unknown. Grand
Lodges met and transacted the local business
of their own jurisdictions without any reference
to what was passing abroad .
But within the last twenty or thirty years,
improvements in this respect began to show
themselves. Intelligent Masons saw that it
would no longer do to isolate themselves from
the Fraternity in other countries, and that, if
any moral or intellectual advancement was to
be expected, it must be derived from the intercommunication
and collision of ideas ; and the
first step toward this advancement was the
appointment in every Grand Lodge of a committee,
whose duty it should be to collate the
proceedings of other jurisdictions, and to elim-