Societas Rosicruciana
The Societas Rosicruciana (or
Rosicrucian Society) is a Rosicrucian order which limits
its membership to Christian Master
Masons. The order was founded in Scotland,
but which now exists in England,
Scotland, Canada,
France,
Portugal,
Romania,
Ireland and
the United
States. While a prospective member must be a Trinitarian Christian Master
Mason in good standing with a Grand
Lodge that is recognized by the Grand Lodge of the
jurisdiction in which the Society meets, the various
Societies have no other Masonic links, ties, or official
recognition. Additionally, in a few jurisdictions membership
is by invitation only. As the Society offers assistance to
all its members in working out the great problems of nature
and science, it functions in some respects as a research
society.
[
edit] History
The Societas Rosicruciana claims a link to the original
Rosicrucian Brotherhood
and bases its teachings on those found in the
Fama and Confessio Fraternitas texts
published in Germany in the early 1600s, along with other
similar publications from the same time.
There are a number of Societas Rosicrucianas throughout the
world:
- Societas Rosicruciana in Scotia (SRIS; Scotland)
- Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA; England)
- Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis (SRICF;
United
States)
- Societas Rosicruciana in America (SRIAm; United
States)
- Societas Rosicruciana in Canada (SRIC; Canada)
- Societas Rosicruciana in Gallia (SRIG; France)
- Societas Rosicruciana in Lusitania (SRIL; Portugal)
- Societas Rosicruciana in Romania (SRIR; Romania)
- Societas Rosicruciana in Hibernia (SRIH; Ireland)
[
edit] Societas
Rosicruciana in Scotia (SRIS)
The first Societas Rosicruciana was that of Scotland, known
as the Societas Rosicruciana in Scotia (SRIS).
[
edit] Societas
Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA)
The Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia was founded
in 1867 and derived from the SRIS following the admission of
William James Hughan and Robert Wentworth Little into that
order. The two of them were advanced quickly in Scotland and
granted a warrant to form a Society in England. The formation
meeting took place on June 1, 1867 in Aldermanbury,
London, with
Frater Little elected Supreme Magus.
Australian colleges belong to provinces within the Societas
Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA).
[
edit] Societas
Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis (SRICF)
The Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus
Foederatis (Rosicrucian Society of the United States)
was formed on September 21, 1880, through Colleges founded
again through Scotland. The Pennsylvania College received a
charter from SRIS on December 27, 1879. This was followed by
charters issued to New
York on April 9, 1880; Massachusetts,
May 4, 1880; Maryland,
May 10, 1880; and Vermont on September 22, 1880. Of all the
Colleges in the United States, only the one located in
Massachusetts maintains
continuity from its origins and was never
reorganized.
[1]
[
edit] Societas
Rosicruciana in America (SRIAm)
In 1909, Dr.
George Winslow Plummer (1876-1944) founded the
Societas Rosicruciana in America, apparently seceding
from the SRICF; this group dropped the requirement that members
be Christian Master Masons and admits women. It was never
formally recognized by the SRIA, as they (the Societas
Rosicruciana in Anglia) have formal relations in the USA with
the SRICF.
[
edit] Societas
Rosicruciana in Canada (SRIC)
The Societas Rosicruciana in Canadiensis was
first mentioned in a declaration dated May 31, 1876, but it was
not formally constituted (by a Col. McLeod Moore, through his
acquaintance with John
Yarker) until September 19 of that year. Most of the
membership came from the town of Maitland,
Ontario. The society constituted a High Council exactly
one year later, but the Society went into abeyance at some
point after 1889.
[2]
In 1936, Ontario College was created via a charter from
SRICF. Manly
Palmer Hall's father, E.H.D. Hall, a member of Canada's
first Rosicrucian Society, was voted a charter member of the
Ontario College. Due to possible jurisdictional issues,
rather than procure a charter from SRIA or SRIS, a Canadian
High Council was formed on June 29, 1997, and the SRIC is
now an independent body.
[3]
Societas Rosicruciana in Hibernia
(SRIH)
The Societas Rosicruciana in
Hibernia, (SRIH) was brought about through the efforts of two
Irish Masons, namely, Frater Rev. Sean P. McCabe and Frater
John Phelan, both of whom previously held membership of an SRIA
College in England. It was formally Declared on 1st August,
2008 and is the official regular Societas for the Island of
Ireland, (Hibernia) and exists independently of any other
organisation.The SRIH is recognised by the Body of
Christ.
Structure and
governance
The Order is subdivided into
three smaller orders, each with its own governance. The various
orders confer a total of nine degrees, here called
grades
.
[4]
First Order
Members of the 1st Order
(Frater (singular) Fratres (plural)) meet in a College, which
is equivalent to a Lodge. A College is empowered to confer the
first four degrees of the Society, also called the
Learning
Grades.
- Grade I -
Zelator
- Grade II -
Theoricus
- Grade III -
Practicus
- Grade IV -
Philosophus
A minimum of six months must
elapse between the receipt of each grade. However, the emphasis
on the work of the society is learning; therefore every member
is encouraged to deliver a paper of their own work on some
topic of interest in open college.
Second Order
This is equivalent to a
Masonic Provincial Grand Lodge, and is headed by a
Chief
Adept and his
deputy (Suffragan) who have jurisdiction over all of the first
order Colleges within the Province.
The Chief Adept is empowered
to confer three further Grades at this level to
deserving Fratres of Grade IV who have been members of
the Society for a minimum of four years.
- Grade V - Adeptus
Minor
- Grade VI - Adeptus
Major
- Grade VII - Adeptus
Exemptus
A minimum of one year must
elapse between the receipt of grades at this level. A member
can only serve as the Celebrant (Master) of a College of the
First Order after receiving the Grade of Adeptus
Exemptus.
Third Order
This is equivalent to a
Grand Lodge, and is
headed by a Supreme
Magus, Senior
Substitute Magus and Junior Substitute Magus.
Members of the second order
who have given service to the society and been selected by the
Supreme Magus for such advancement may be awarded a further two
Grades.
- Grade VIII -
Magister
- Grade IX -
Magus
Influences
In 1888, three members of SRIA
(
William Robert Woodman,
William Wynn Westcott,
and
Samuel Liddell MacGregor
Mathers
[5]) formed the
Hermetic Order of the Golden
Dawn, which removed
the restriction on membership, allowing non-Christians,
non-Freemasons, and women to join. A great deal of the SRIA
structure survived in the new order, which went on to greatly
influence (some might say cause) the modern occult revival in
the 20th century.
Due to the fragmentary nature
of Rosicrucian orders, there are a number of historical
Rosicrucian societies with similar names that either no longer
have a Masonic connection, or have gone dormant: The SRIA (A
for "America") was chartered by the SRIA (in England) in
Philadelphia in 1878. It reformed in 1889 as Societas
Rosicruciana in the United States (SRIUS), and reformed again
as SRIA in 1912. In 1916 the order began admitting women, and
its charter was revoked. It is in existence today, but has no
Masonic connections whatsoever.
[6]
Known members
References
External links
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