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Contents . PAGE . FREEMASOHS' 3 IAGAZINE : — Masonic Red Cross Order and tho Imperial Constantinian Order of St . George—By R ., 33 ° SO Freemasonry in France 8 'f The 3 tasons in Cuba 88 31 asonic Jottings—No . 30 89

Masonic Notes and Queries 90 Correspondence 91 3 Iasonic Sayings aud Doings Abroad 92 3 IAS 0 NI 0 3 IIRR 0 K : — Masonic 3 Iems 93 CRAFT LODGE MEETIXGS : — 3 Ietropolitan ,, 93 Provincial 93 India 98 Royal Arch 100 List of Lodge , & c , Afeetings for ensuing week 100 To Correspondents 100

Masonic Red Cross Order And The Imperial Constantinian Order Of Saint George.

MASONIC RED CROSS ORDER AND THE IMPERIAL CONSTANTINIAN ORDER OF SAINT GEORGE .

LONDON , SATTTJIDAT , JTTLY 30 , 1870 .

By R ., 33 ° . It may be satisfactory to premise the following observations on the Imperial Constantiuian Order of St . George , by remarking that the latter is held in trust by the heir and representative of the last

reighing sovereign of the Byzantine Empire , as its lawful guardian , and cannot be otherwise disposed of , save by the restoration of that Empire , when indeed , an adverse decision of the

people ; would necessitate its surrender , but without prejudice to the inherent pretensions of the present representative's family , which would simply again lapse into abeyance , until some future revolution of Imperial fortune should once more revive them .

An ample explanation having already appeared before the public , ot the title of the Imperial House of Rhodocanakis , to represent the Byzantine throne and , consequently , the Grand Mastership of the Imperial Order in question ; it will only be

necessary to refer briefly to the circumstances that—in addition to their collateral claims through the Lacapenus , Phocas , Argyrus , Comnenus , Botaniates , Angelus , Lascaris , Vatatzes , Cantacuzenus , Palaeologus , and other Imperial Houses—the

chief pretensions of this House rest under the peculiar circumstances of the Empire , on the marriage , in 1614 ., of H . R . H . Prince Demetrius Rhodocanakis with the Princess Theodora Palaeologina sole heiress of her father , Theodore Palaeologus ,

sixth titular or hereditary Emperor of the Byzantine Empire , ancl , ie facto , as well as de jure , Grand Master of the Imperial Constantinian Order

of St . George . Prom this marriage is lineally descended H . I . H . Prince Joannes Rhodocanakis , of the castle of that name , in the Island of Chios , Titular Emperor of the Byzantine Empire , and Grand Master of the Imperial Order in question ,

and to whom is heir-apparent , his eldest son H . I . H . the Prince Demetrius Rhodocanakis 33 ? . These titular distinctions , being also hereditary , are duly recognised ; and the Princes of this House , in all their official transactions , as well as

in ordinary intercourse with Governmental authorities throughout Europe , are invariable distinguished by the Imperial prefix to their names ancl

style . These passing observations ai-e partly necessary where the public ear has been so often abused , by the sinister efforts of certain parties at various times , to appropriate the rights of this family .

The Constantinian Order of St . George is asserted by most , if not by all , writers on the subject , to have been instituted in the year A . D . 312 , by the Emperor Constantino the Great , for the protection and preservation of the celebrated

sacred standard , the "Labarum ; " but the earliest Statutes of the Order known , are those promulgated in the year A . D . 1192 , by the Emperor Isaac II . Angelus .

Were it the purpose of these remarks to enter into all the details of the constitution of this Order , and to trace the succession of Grand Masters , from Constantino the Great , their reputed original ; the earlier dislocations and reconnections of

dynasties in the Imperial line , might be geneologically explained ; but it is more convenient to confine ourselves at present to the Order , as remodelled , or even instituted by the Emperor Isaac Angelus , leaving each reader to determine for himself the

true value of such information as is open to all on the subject . All that bears upon this point in the Statutes themselves is as follows : —

'' Having this in view day and night . We ( Isaac Angelus ) observed with deep sorrow of soul , the decline and languor into which the greatest and most renowned Institution of the State—tbe most holy , most noble , and most illustrious Order of

St . George , founded by our ancestor and predecessor , Constantino the Great , has fallen . " The fair and reasonable assumption here , is , that the Emperor would never have used such expressions without the fullest justification , exposed as he was , to contemporary critics , all more or less cognizant of current events , and who had