Welcome to the home page of Rose of Sharon Chapter Rose Croix No 35. Here you will find information about our Order in general and our Chapter in particular.
18th Degree Collar and Jewel of
The Rose Croix of Heredom
The Rose Croix of Heredom
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’. In England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, this degree is specifically Christian.
Our Order is governed by the Supreme Council 33° for England and Wales and its Districts and Chapters Overseas. There are other Supreme Councils, for example, for Scotland. 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.
To be a Candidate;
You must have been a Master Mason for at least one full year and be in good standing with the Craft before you can be elected to this Order.
You must have received the three Craft degrees in a Lodge or Lodges under The United Grand Lodge of England unless otherwise authorised in the Rules of the Supreme Council. Master Masons of the Sovereign Grand Lodge of Malta are qualified to join.
You must profess the Trinitarian Christian Faith. You will be required to sign a declaration to this effect.
Progression
As in other Masonic Orders, as a member of a Chapter you will be invited, over a period of years, to progress through a number of Offices in succession, should you so wish, before attaining the Chair as Most Wise Sovereign. The learning requirements of these offices are minimal. The ritual of the Chair requires considerably more work but is usually shared throughout the year, the Sovereign conducting various different parts of the ceremony of Perfection at different meetings. It is not necessary to have been Worshipful Master of a Lodge before becoming Sovereign.
The Degrees of the Ancient and Accepted Rite.
The first three degrees are deemed to be equivalent to the first three degrees of the Craft.
The Intermediate degrees, the 4th to the 17th, are conferred on a candidate by name just before the ceremony of the 18th degree.
One or two of these Intermediate Degrees are demonstrated each year at some places in the UK, by the King Edward VII Chapter of Improvement Demonstration Team. Mostly, these degrees continue the stories of the Hiramic legend.
The degree of the Rose Croix of Heredom, the 18th, is the last of the degrees of the Rite that can be conferred by a Chapter.
Subsequent degrees are conferred by the Supreme Council of Sovereign Grand Inspectors at the Headquarters of the Order, known as the ‘Grand East’, at No 10 Duke Street in London.
Usually, members are recommended to be given the 30th degree after having served as Most Wise Sovereign of a Chapter, and having been a member of the Order for at least three years. The 19th to 29th degrees are again conferred by name.
Promotion to the Higher Degrees, 31st, 32nd, and 33rd, is strictly limited to senior members.
The Ceremony
The VSL used in the ceremony is the Bible. The ritual is metaphor based on the first verse of St. John’s Gospel (at which the Bible is open for most of the time) extolling the principles of Christianity. Almost every line of the ritual is either a direct quotation of, or Masonic allusion to, verses of the New Testament, culminating in Christ’s words to the Disciples in St. John 13:34.
The scriptural references tend to be tantalisingly brief, forever offering new insight for the Christian Freemason. The last part of the ceremony incorporates ‘a secular feast of fraternal rejoicing’, whose origins pre-date even Christianity.
The Rose Croix in Malta
There is one Rose Croix Chapter in Malta. Rose of Sharon Chapter No 35 is a very old and distinguished Chapter, being founded in 1871. It meets three times a year on the second Monday of February, April (Enthronement Meeting) and November.
Regalia
The only regalia required initially are the collar and jewel pictured at the top of this article.. The significance of the symbolism in the designs of the collar and jewel is explained during the ceremony. The beautiful apron of the degree ceased to be worn many years ago. Examples of these aprons can still be seen in our Malta Masonic Museum.
Dress worn at Rose of Sharon is usually a dinner jacket, although a dark suit and sobre tie is acceptable, particularly for visitors. If not in evening dress, wearing a black tie is not appropriate as this is a degree of rejoicing rather than mourning.
Higher degrees have their special collars or sashes.
30th Degree Sash
31st Degree Collar
32nd Degree Collar
Lecture by Sovereign Grand Commander
Further interesting information is available in a Youtube lecture given by the then head of the Order, Most Puissant Brother, Alan John Englefield 33°, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient and Accepted Rite on 18th August 2020 as part of the Freemasons Without Borders series and titled ‘An Introduction to the Ancient and Accepted Rite’. (Click here to view in full size.)
Are You Interested?
If you are interested in becoming a member of our wonderful Order please contact our Recorder: