Red Cross of Constantine

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Welcome to the website dedicated to the Surrey Division of the Order of the Red Cross of Constantine....

Or to give it its full title - The Masonic and Military Order of the Red Cross of Constantine and the Orders of the Holy Sepulchre and St John the Evangelist.

This Surrey Division is one of 26 in the UK controlled from the Grand Imperial Conclave of the Order. Grand Imperial Conclave is headed by the Grand Sovereign, and assisted by Grand Officers and a secretariat which is based at Mark Masons Hall, London.

I am honoured and very privileged to be the Intendant-General of this Division. I am assisted by a Deputy Intendant-General, a Divisional Recorder (equivalent to the Provincial Secretary) and an executive of senior members.

Every candidate for admission into the Order must be a Royal Arch Mason and profess his belief in the Trinitarian Christian Faith.

There are four ceremonies embodied in the Orders, which form a complete ritual. These are made up of three individual ‘rituals of admission’, into the Masonic and Military Order of the Red Cross of Constantine in a Conclave, into the Order of the Holy Sepulchre in a Sanctuary and into the Order of St John the Evangelist in a Commandery. The other two degrees are ‘chair degrees’, comprising entrance to the two major positions in the Conclave, the Sovereign and the Viceroy.

If you would like further information about joining the Masonic Order of the Red Cross of Constantine in Surrey, or wish to visit a Red Cross Conclave in Surrey, then please complete and submit the Enquiry Form found on the "Contact Us" page of this website.

R.Ill.Kt. Simon McCarthy

Intendant-General for Surrey

The Companion Orders

The Red Cross Of Constantine

Constantine, a Roman, was destined for the college of Emperors but following the death of his father, he was hailed by the Legions in York as Augustus and became the Governor of Britain and Gaul. After several successful battles across the Alps and Italy he eventually established himself as the lawful Emperor of both the East and West and transferred the capital of the empire from Rome to Byzantium, later to be named after him.

It is said that his conversion to Christianity began one evening after a long day’s march with his army. He believed he saw a sign from heaven; a pillar of light in the form of a special cross. A standard bearing a cross was ordered to be carried before him in the wars. Several Christians in his army came forward and avowed their faith, following which Constantine directed that they should wear on their armour a red cross. Having been successful in battle it is said that Constantine with the help of his chief bishop, Eusebius, opened a Conclave of the Knights of the Order whose members became the bodyguard of their Sovereign.

It seems likely that the Order of the Red Cross of Constantine was being worked in England by 1780. After a number of changes to the organisation, the earliest documented date of the Order in its present form is 1865.

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Red Cross of Constantine

The Companion Orders

The Red Cross Of Constantine

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