The Societas Rosicruciana (or Rosicrucian Society) is a

Rosicrucian Rosicrucianism is a spiritual and cultural movement that arose in Europe in the early 17th century after the publication of several texts purported to announce the existence of a hitherto unknown esoteric order to the world and made seeking its ...

order which limits its membership to

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Master Masons. The order was founded in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, but now exists in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Scotland,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

, and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. While a prospective member must be a

Trinitarian The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the Fa ...

Master Mason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

in good standing with a

Grand Lodge A Grand Lodge (or Grand Orient or other similar title) is the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A Grand Lodge or Grand Orient is the us ...

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 some 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.

History

The Societas Rosicruciana claims a link to the original

Brotherhood. It bases its teachings on those found in the ''Fama'' and ''Confessio Fraternitas'' texts published in Germany in the early 17th century, along with other similar publications from the same time. There are a number of Societas Rosicrucianas throughout the world: *Societas Rosicruciana in Scotia (SRIS;

) *Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA;

) *Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis (SRICF;

) *Societas Rosicruciana in Canada (SRIC;

) *Societas Rosicruciana in Lusitania (SRIL;

)

Societas Rosicruciana in Scotia (SRIS)

The first Societas Rosicruciana was that of Scotland, known as the ''Societas Rosicruciana in Scotia'' (SRIS). As at January 2014 there are seven Colleges in Scotland, three in Australia, one in Hong Kong and one in Finland. The Colleges in Scotland are the Metropolitan College (Edinburgh), the East of Scotland College (Dundee), Abraxas College (Falkirk) the West of Scotland College (Glasgow), the Muse Coila College (Stewarton, Ayrshire) the Inverness College (Inverness) and the Semper Discens College (Aberdeen). The Colleges in Australia are the Aurora Australis College (Petersham, NSW) and the Hunter Valley College (New Lambton, NSW) The Huon Pine College is in Launceston, Tasmania. The Hong Kong College is in Hong Kong. The Aurora Borealis College is in Seinäjoki, Finland.

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 Robert Wentworth Little (1840 – April 11, 1878) was a clerk and cashier
at the Grand Lodge of Bri ...

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 London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, with

Robert Wentworth Little Robert Wentworth Little (1840 – April 11, 1878) was a clerk and cashier
at the Grand Lodge of Bri ...

elected Supreme Magus. Most Colleges in Australia belong to provinces within the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA).

Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis (SRICF)

The Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis is a Rosicrucian Society based in the United States. Its history begins with the formation of a Grand High Council on April 21, 1880. Its official consecration occurred on September 21, 1880, by three Colleges chartered by the Societas Rosicruciana In Scotia. High Grade senior Christian Freemasons in the United States in search of the Classical Rosicrucian Society for Masons in the United Kingdom became interested in organizing a similar body in the United States. They did so under Scotland's authority (Societas Rosicruciana In Scotia) with the help of Most Worthy Charles Matier of the SRIS, as early as 1873. This effort died out two years later under the care of R.W. Frater George S. Blackie VIII and was then re-chartered by the SRIS later again in 1878. Dr. Jonathon J. French was a IX grade head of the Rosicrucian Society of the United States and opened the Matier Royal Provincial College with a charter from Lord Inverurie,

Earl of Kintore Earl of Kintore is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1677 for Sir John Keith, third son of William Keith, 6th Hereditary Earl Marischal of Scotland (see Earl Marischal for earlier history of the family) and Chief of Clan ...

and Supreme Magus of the SRIS. The college was named after Charles Fitzgerald Matier, the first Supreme Magus of SRIS who served in 1876. Harold Van Buren Voorhis insists that the Illinois College under Dr. French was never truly active, and it certainly was short-lived as Dr. French died an untimely death in 1879. Harold Voorhis also insisted that Frater Stodart Blackie's early charter in New York had been nothing more than an unsubstantiated rumor. It has since been established as historical fact. In 1878, a group of senior U.S. Masons (Daniel Sutter, and Charles W. Parker) led by Charles E. Meyer (1839–1908) of Pennsylvania traveled to England and on July 25, 1878 were initiated into the grade of Zelator at Yorkshire College at Sheffield. They applied for a charter, but getting no response, turned to Scotland and received a charter from the college in Edinburgh in 1879. Scotland's Society is actually the oldest as Walter Spencer is recorded as having been initiated into the SRIS by Anthony Oneil Haye in 1857, and there are documents in the SRIA archives that show that both Robert Wentworth Little and William J. Hughan were initiated in 1866 and 1867 by Anthony O’Neal Haye, Magus Max, Ros. Soc. Scot. With H.H.M. Bairnfathur signing as Secretary. The Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia was formed in England in 1866 by Robert Wentworth Little. The SRIA later felt the need to charter the current SRIS on October 24, 1873. A second charter was granted by the SRIS for a college in New York, and Fratres from Philadelphia and New York met in Philadelphia on April 21, 1880 and formed a High Council, then known as the SRRCA or the Societas Rosicrucianae Reipublica Confoedera America, was later changed to the Society of Rosicrucians in the USA by Most Worthy Frater Shryock in his capacity as Supreme Magus and then properly Latinized in 1934 by & at the suggestion of Dr. William Moseley Brown under the regime of Most Worthy Frater Hamilton. Brown composed the name (Societas Rosicruciana In Civitatibus Foederatis) himself and submitted it on January 17, 1934. The SRICF has operated continuously since its formation in the 19th Century, and is thriving today with an upsurge of young Masons being invited into its ranks with great enthusiasm and demonstrated scholarship. Membership is by invitation only & predicated on regular mainstream Masonic affiliation as well as a profession of Christian faith. Membership was initially restricted to 36 members per College, but this was changed in 1908 by MW Thomas Shryock to 72 members per college. The See of the High Council is in Washington, D.C. The SRICF is in amity with the SRIS (Scotia) and the SRIA (Anglia) as well as the SRIC (Canada) and has helped the cause of Rosicruciana by empowering High Councils in their own sovereignty around the World. They are the SRIL in Lusitania (Portugal), SRIG in Gallia (France) and the SRIR (Romania). The society issues an annual journal known as Ad Lucem composed of academic articles on things related to Rosicrucianism & esoteric streams of Christian Mysteries. There is also an annual report, The Rosicrucian Fama. Many of the Colleges have their own individual organs which are produced quarterly as well as annually. The governing body of the Society is known since 1911 (having dropped ‘Grand’ from its title) as The High Council which is composed of Fratres of the Third Order (IX and VIII), plus any College Celebrant not a member of the Third Order. The head of the Society is titled The Supreme Magus who was elected ad vitam up until circa 1991 when the constitution of the Society was changed to reflect that Supreme Magi are elected each triennium. Unlike the SRIA in England, a Chief Adept in the SRICF does not have regional powers, but rather is in charge of an individual College. Typically there is but one College per state, exceptions having been made for both New York and California due to their size and population.

List of Supreme Magi of the SRICF

*Charles E. Meyer, 1880–1908 * Thomas J. Shryock, 1908–1918 *Eugene A. Holton, 1918–1927 *Frederick W. Hamilton, 1927–1940 *Arthur D. Prince, 1940–1950 *Harold V.B. Voorhis, 1950–1979 *Laurence E. Eaton, 1979–1984 *Henry Emerson, 1984–1986 *William G. Peacher, 1986-1992 *Joseph S. Lewis, 1992-1995 *James M. Willson, Jr., 1995-1998 *Thurman C. Pace, Jr., 1998-2007 *William H. Koon, II, 2007–2019 *Jeffrey N. Nelson, 2019–Present

Notes

KGC~ Knight Grand Crosses are awarded to IX grade Magi for exemplary effort in the work of the Society & Rosicrucianism in general.

Societas Rosicruciana in Canada (S.R.I.C.)

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 John Yarker (17 April 1833 – 20 March 1913) was an England, English List of Freemasons, Freemason, author, and occultist. He was born in Swindale, Shap, Westmorland, in the north of England. He moved with his parents to Lancashire and on to ...

) until September 19 of that year. Most of the membership came from the town of

Maitland, Ontario Maitland, Ontario is a small village within Augusta township in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Canada. It is located along the St. Lawrence River approximately east of the City of Brockville. The village was briefly settled in th ...

. The society constituted a High Council exactly one year later, but the Society went into abeyance at some point after 1889. In 1936, Ontario College was created via a charter from SRICF.

Manly Palmer Hall Manly Palmer Hall (18 March 1901 – 29 August 1990) was a Canadian author, lecturer, astrologer and mystic. Over his 70-year career he gave thousands of lectures and published over 150 volumes, of which the best known is ''The Secret T ...

'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.

Societas Rosicruciana in Lusitania (S.R.I.L.)

The Societas Rosicruciana in Lusitania (SRIL) was constituted on October 5, 2002 in Portugal. Its High Council was empowered by the Societas Rosicruciana in Civitabus Foederatis (USA) and the first Supreme Magus, Pinto Coelho, was consecrated by the M.W. Supreme Magus Thurman Pace Jr (SRICF). Membership is by invitation only and predicated on regular mainstream Masonic affiliation as well as a profession of Trinitarian Christian faith. Membership are restricted to 72 members per College, and they are called Fraters. The SRIL is in amity with all regular Rosicrucian Societas: Societas Rosicruciana in Scotia (SRIS), Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (SRIA) and, Societas Rosicruciana in Civitas Foederatis (SRICF). The various Societies have no other Masonic links, ties, or official recognition. The Societas Rosicruciana in Lusitania has, through mutual help and fraternal encouragement, help to unravel the great problems of Life, to discover the Secrets of Nature, to study the system of Philosophy taught by the Fratres of the Rose-Cross since the year of 1440 and to seek the meaning and symbolism of all the heritage of Wisdom, Arts and Literature of the ancient world. The governing body of the Society is The High Council which is composed of Fratres of the Third Order (IX and VIII), plus any College Celebrant not a member of the Third Order. The head of the Society is titled The Supreme Magus was elected ad vitam but according to the revised constitution of 2019 the SRIL Supreme Magus is now elected for 3 years renewable while having the support of the members of the High College. Fraters. The basic structures of Rosicrucian Societies are called Colleges. At present, there are Colleges under SRIL's jurisdiction in the North and Central/South of Portugal Province and in the North, Central and South of Italy Province. There are currently petitions for the constitution of new College in the Center of Portugal. The Supreme Magus has his own College, called the Metropolitan College. Cavaleiro Grande Cruz (CGC)- Knight Grand Crosses is the SRIL most important High Council award. It is awarded to Supreme Magus of brother jurisdictions and IX grade Magi members for outstanding services. The SRIL bi-annual publication is called "Demanda"

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''.

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. 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

, 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

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn

In 1888, three members of SRIA, William Robert Woodman,

William Wynn Westcott William Wynn Westcott (17 December 1848 – 30 July 1925) was a coroner, ceremonial magician, theosophist and Freemason born in Leamington, Warwickshire, England. He was a Supreme Magus (chief) of the S.R.I.A and went on to co-found t ...

, and

Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers Samuel Liddell (or Liddel) MacGregor Mathers (8 or 11 January 1854 – 5 or 20 November 1918), born Samuel Liddell Mathers, was a British occultist. He is primarily known as one of the founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a cerem ...

, formed the

Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn ( la, Ordo Hermeticus Aurorae Aureae), more commonly the Golden Dawn (), was a secret society devoted to the study and practice of occult Hermeticism and metaphysics during the late 19th and early 20th ce ...

, 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 the modern Western occult revival in the 20th century.

Societas Rosicruciana in America (SRIAm)

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. In 1879, a College was established in Philadelphia, Pa., under warrant from the High Council of Scotia (Scotland) by a number of Americans who visited England and received their degrees from York College of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia. Colleges were established soon after 1879 in New York, Boston, and Burlington, Vt., and were recognized in full by the S.R.I. Anglia; they organized their own High Council, and the body thus constituted became known as the Societatis Rosicrucianae in the United States, admitting only 32nd degree Masons. A member of Massachusetts College, in Boston, having received the VIII Degree constituting him a Provincial Magus, engaged in special research work. He later received his IX Degree direct from Apponyi, a leading Rosicrucian in Hungary, constituting him a Prince Chief Adept and Magus. The American organization being largely inoperative at the time, he undertook the formation and institution of a branch of the Fraternity in the Western Hemisphere that would devote itself exclusively and assiduously to the true Rosicrucian Art and Operation, open to both sexes on a basis of true equality. The transition of this member, Illustrious Frater Sylvester Clarke Gould, late of Manchester, N. H., on July 19, 1909, prevented the fulfillment of his personal ambition, and the actual work of organization and institution devolved upon the Imperator and Supreme Magus of the Society, George Winslow Plummer, who had received full initiation and authority to begin the work in New York from Frater Gould before his passing.To Those Who Seek, 2002 Society of Rosicrucians/SOCIETAS ROSICRUCIANA IN AMERICA

References

{{Reflist

External links

Societas Rosicruciana in ScotiaSocietas Rosicruciana in AngliaSocietas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis (SRICF)Societas Rosicruciana in Lusitania (SRIL)Societas Rosicruciana in AmericaRosicrucian Society in AmericaSocietas Rosicruciana in Canada
Christian mysticism Masonic organizations Rosicrucian organizations de:Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia fr:Rose-Croix#La Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia