Royal Order of Masonic Knights of the Scarlet Cord
History:
The order was developed in the British Isles in 1889 and founded upon ancient 18th Century documents from the Amsterdam Masonic archives. The rituals and ceremonies were rewritten and enriched by one of the authors of the three rituals currently used in our Secret Monitor ceremonies, His Honour Judge Frederick Adolphus Philbrick.
Candidates for membership of The Royal Order of Knights of the Scarlet Cord were required to be Princes of the Order, and holders of a special Badge showing membership of the Fund of Benevolence of the Order of the Secret Monitor.
There were six grades of membership with a fee paid for each. The money being deposited in the Benevolent fund account. Due largely to the expense of being a member the order went into abeyance in 1929.
No further contributions where made to the Benevolent Fund and with no demands being made, the fund has increased in value through investment.
The Benevolent Fund:
Any member of the order can become a member of the Benevolent Fund and thereby qualified to wear the distinguishing jewel. There are six grades with increasing levels of donation up to £150. Donations can be treated as ‘Gift Aid’
Steward £20 Vice President £40 President £60
Vice Patron £80 Patron £100 Grand Patron £150
The Royal Order of Masonic Knights of the Scarlet Cord:
This is an appendant rite of the Order of the Secret Monitor and as such the ceremonies are conducted in a ‘Consistory’, which is opened in an adjourned Conclave of Secret Monitors.
Scarlet Cord Conclave No. 500:
The Most Worthy Brother Peter Glyn Williams, Grand Supreme Ruler, consecrated the Scarlet Cord Conclave in London on 5th December 2006. Since that date and up to mid November 2007 some 450 Secret Monitors have received the first grade of the Order in that Conclave.
The Order in the Provinces:
In early November 2007 the Grand Supreme Ruler granted permission for the Order to be devolved into the Provinces and Districts.
The Provincial Grand Supreme Rulers of the Provinces of Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire & Shropshire requested permission to consecrate a Scarlet Cord Conclave to serve the membership of the three Provinces to be known as ‘The Scarlet Cord Conclave of the Midlands’. This request was granted and the Conclave was consecrated by the Most Worthy Grand Supreme Ruler at Kings Heath, Birmingham on Wednesday, 23rd January 2008.
For more information on this Conclave please
click
Qualification for membership of the Scarlet Cord remains the same as it did in 1889, i.e. A Prince of the ‘Order of the Secret Monitor’ and member of the Benevolent Fund.