Order of the Knights of The York Cross of Honour

Origins and history

Compared with most of the orders on this site, KYCH is young, and its origins are clearly recorded. It was founded at Monroe, North Carolina, on 13 March 1930. A few months later, on 6 June 1930, the Convent General of the Knights of the York Cross of Honour was set up to govern it. The Convent General is still the Order’s supreme body. It is led by a Grand Master-General and charters local units called Priories, each presided over by an Eminent Prior.

The Order grew up within American York Rite Masonry, where a Mason progresses through the Lodge, the Royal Arch Chapter, the Council of Royal and Select Masters and the Commandery of Knights Templar. Becoming the presiding officer of all four takes many years of work, and KYCH was created to recognise the relatively few who achieve it. Prince Hall Freemasonry has its own Convent General of the Knights of the York Cross of Honour, with Alpha Priory No. 1 in Ohio among its Priories.

Qualifications for membership

KYCH has some of the most demanding entry requirements in Freemasonry. A candidate must have presided over each of the four York Rite bodies. The titles differ from one jurisdiction to another, but the meaning is the same:

• Craft Lodge: Worshipful Master (a Past Master);
• Royal Arch Chapter: Excellent High Priest in the United States, or First Principal under Australian and British usage;
• Cryptic Council: Illustrious Master, or Thrice Illustrious Master;
• Knights Templar: Eminent Commander of a Commandery in the United States, or Preceptor of a Preceptory or Priory elsewhere.

Some members argue that a candidate should have actually served a term in each chair, not merely been installed. Adding up the years needed to lead all four bodies shows why most members are seasoned Masons by the time they are invited.

How members are chosen

Membership is strictly by invitation, and a written one at that. Descriptions of the Order written by its own members say plainly that “no individual should aspire to membership”. A qualified Mason who has done his work well may be proposed by an existing member, ideally without ever knowing it. The proposal is held over to the Priory’s next stated meeting and then balloted on. In some jurisdictions the ballot must be unanimous. Only if the ballot succeeds is the candidate told, and invited to petition. One practical benefit of this discretion is that a Mason who is proposed but not elected need never find out, which spares everyone embarrassment.

The Order’s guiding idea is that membership is earned only through service. Freemasons in New South Wales describe its principles as a continuation of the teachings of the four bodies its members have already led, and they describe its standards as among the highest of any Masonic organisation.

The jewel and the Grand Cross

The KYCH jewel sums up the Order in one design. According to a description prepared for the Order in 1999:

• a crown stands for a life dedicated to the service of God and humanity, as a true leader would offer;
• four emblems represent the four York Rite bodies the member has led;
• a four-coloured cord repeats the theme: blue for the Lodge, red for the Royal Arch Chapter, purple for the Cryptic Council and white for the Knights Templar;
• rays stand for the light and knowledge that flow from service to the fraternity and to mankind.

There is also a higher distinction. A member who goes on to preside over one of the four Grand York Rite bodies (a Grand Lodge, Grand Chapter, Grand Council or Grand Commandery) becomes a Knight Grand Cross of Honour. He receives one “quadrant” in the colour of each Grand body he has led, and the Convent General issues a certificate recording one, two, three or all four quadrants.

The Order in Australia

KYCH has no separate Australian grand body. Australian Priories work directly under the Convent General in the United States. According to the Freemasons NSW & ACT booklet on associated orders (2015), there was then a single Priory in New South Wales and another in Queensland. The New South Wales Priory met four times a year, one of those meetings being the annual installation of its Eminent Prior. The same booklet named Eminent Knight Donald H. Gunner as the Grand Master-General’s personal representative in Australia, and gave a joining fee of $250 (covering registration with the Convent General and regalia) and annual dues of $60. These details change over time, so check them with the Priory before relying on them.

What membership means

Perhaps the best summary of the Order’s spirit comes from Most Eminent Knight Donald E. Friend, Grand Master-General, closing the Convent General session of 1995:

“As a Knight of the York Cross of Honour, you are a proven servant of the Masonic Fraternity. Your inspiration has come from your past, your duty is in the present, and your hope is in the future.”

“I ask you always to remember – in all you do, in all you say, in all your actions, take a good look at yourself: you are someone’s impression of Freemasonry.”

For more information or if you would like to join, please visit the following URLs:
– https://kych.org/york-cross-of-honour/
– http://masonic.wikidot.com/knight-york-cross-of-honour
– https://www.mwphglco.org/knights-of-the-york-cross-honour/
– https://issuu.com/apmgraphics/docs/freemason_nsw_act_other_orders

Because membership is by invitation only, there is nothing to apply for. The path is to serve your Lodge, Chapter, Council and Preceptory well, and to let the work speak for itself.