A Sketch Of The Philosophy, Traditions, And Records Of The Masonic Order Of The Red * Or Knights Of Constantine, At Present Under The Command Of Lord Kenlis, M. Ill. G. Sov.

A SKETCH OF THE PHILOSOPHY , TRADITIONS , AND RECORDS OF THE MASONIC ORDER OF THE RED * OR KNIGHTS OF CONSTANTINE , AT PRESENT UNDER THE COMMAND OF LORD KENLIS , M . ILL . G . SOV .

LONDON , SATURDAY , DFCFUJBFB 29 , 1 SGG .

By Bro . ROBERT WENTAA'O KTH LITTLE . , P . M ., & c . ( Oonlinued from page 46 G . ) Macarius , Patriarch of Jerusalem , in order to provide for the defence of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre , requested the Emperor Constantino to

place under his command a body of Knights AVIIO should be sworn to defend the sacred sanctuary against the incursions of the barbaric tribes of Syria . The patriarch ' s desire Avas complied Avith , a . certain number of Red Cross Knio-hts

beinpselected , AVIIO after having received the sacrament solemnly vowed to defend the Holy Sepulchre , and never to forsake the Christian relio ; ion . The Knights of the Hol y Sepulchre therefore derived their origin from the Order of

Constantino , and formed the nucleus of those great orders of chivalry Avhich became so renoAvned and powerful in the twelfth and folloAving centuries . After the death of Constantino the Red Cross Order continued to flourish , in the year 4-5 G it

Avas confirmed by Pope Leo , in a letter Avhich that pontiff addressed to tho Emperor Marcian , and the rule of St . Basil Avas directed to be adopted by tho order . Many of the philosophical members accordingly Avithdrew into the Deserts of

Thebais , and other Avild places where they lived such exemplary lives as to be termed " Kadosh " or " Kodesh , " a Hebrew word signifying " holy " or sanctified . The Emperor Leo I . also recognised the

institution by according the privilege of admission into the revived Ordo equestris of the Holy Roman empire to the military section of the order . The laharum or standard of Constantino Avas deposited Avith great solemnity in one of the Churches in Brescia Avhere it continued to be

exhibited as a relic down to the period of the French Revolution . In 1099 , after the entry of the Crusaders into Jerusulem , Godfrey de Bouillon remodelled and extended the Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre and many of the most zealous members became also Knights of St . John of -Jerusalem .

Richard Coeur de Lion Avas enrolled as a follower of the Red Cross banner and in after days another of our Plantagenet Kings , Edvvard I . Avas initiated into the mysteries of tho order , and fought in Palestine . After the first Crusades eighty-one Knights ,

under the conduct of Garimoot , patriarch of Jerusalem , travelled into Sweden , aud having admitted the Archbishop of Upsal into their fraternity , they entrusted to his charge the archives of the order Avhich the prelate received and placed in a tomb of marble , sealed Avith four seals .

The warriors then returned to Jerusalem , butfinding that all hope of permanently reconquering the Holy Land Avas at an end they resolved to abandon the attempt , and seek in their several countries the means of perpetuating the order . Some sought refuge in Perugia , ancl others offered

their services to the Emperor Isaac Angelus Comnenns , AVIIO having directed inquiries to be made as to the alleged antiquity of the brotherhood , and finding the proofs satisfactory , in 1190 rei'ived the order on a scale of increased splendour .

The Comnenian family Avere considered to be the lineal descendants of Constantino , and no less than thirty-four emperors Avere afterwards Grand Masters of the Order . From this epoch the Knights Avere sometimes called the illustrious

order of the Golden Angel , or the angelic society , in allusion to the name of the Emperor AVIIO reorganized the confraternity . , The Kni ghts of the

Holy Sepulchre Avere incorporated Avith the Knights of Rhodes , the name adopted by tlie Order of St . John after their expulsion from Jerusalem , and as members of the latter bod y they possessed great Avealth in most of the Europeat kingdoms . Their chief seat in England Avas

at Clerkenwell , then a village adjoining London , where their ancient habitation is to be found at . the present day . The last Grand Master of the House of Comnenns , who ruled over the Order of the Red Cross Avas Andrew Angelus FJavius

Comnenns , titular Prince of Macedonia , and Duke of Drivasto , who in 1 G 99 resigned that dignity into the hands of the reigning * Duke of Parma , who completely eliminated the masonic element from the ceremonies of the order , and

continued it merely as an honorary institution of Knighthood . It has since been annexed to tho croAvn of Naples , but in 1810 , the Ex-Empress of France , Maria Louise declared herself the supreme