Membership

Membership of The Rose Croix 

The Rose Croix degree is one of the degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Rite, an Order of Freemasonry as old as the Craft itself. The Rose Croix degree is in fact the 18th of 33 Degrees of the Rite. In the ceremony of joining a Rose Croix Chapter, a brother is ‘Perfected’ as a ‘Prince Rose Croix of Heredom’.

Our Order is governed by the ‘Supreme Council 33 Degree for England and Wales and it’s Districts and Chapters Overseas’ and has HRH Duke of Kent, Grand Master of the Craft, as its Patron.

Full details of the requirements for membership of the Order are given in the ‘Rules of the Supreme Council’, but advice would be given by a Recorder (he is the Secretary of a Chapter) or any of the members. 

Essentially, a candidate must have been a Master Mason for at least a year and be in good standing with the Craft before he can join this Order. He must have received his three Craft degrees in a Lodge under The United Grand Lodge of England unless otherwise authorised in the Rules by the Supreme Council. Like all other orders in Freemasonry a candidate must profess a belief in a Supreme Being, but membership is open to members of all faith groups.

The Supreme Council suggests that prospective candidates should apply for membership of a Chapter near to their home or place of work. 

As in other Masonic Orders, a member of a Chapter will be invited to progress through several Offices in succession, should he so wish, before attaining the Chair as Most Wise Sovereign. The learning requirements of these offices are minimal.

The ritual of the Chair requires more work but is usually shared throughout the year. It is not necessary to have been a Worshipful Master of a Lodge before becoming Sovereign. 

Some of the names of the Offices in a Chapter, for example, Captain of the Guard, are reminders of the days, long ago, when the Rose Croix Degree was worked by the Knights Templar.