In Summary:
The 30th degree in the southern jurisdiction of the Scottish rite is known as the Knight Kadosh. It is a ceremony of initiation performed by certain branches of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. The degree is centered around a trial scene in a Civil Court in England in the 14th century, during the reign of Edward II. The candidate, representing a knight, aspires to be advanced and finds himself a defendant at the bar of justice. The lesson learned in this hard school of experience is the focus of the degree.

Initial Note:
The lesson of this degree is to be true to ourselves, to stand for what is right and just in our lives today. To believe in God, our country, and ourselves.

Regalia Notes:
No apron is worn in this degree.

The cordon is a black watered silk ribbon, four or five inches wide, edged with narrow silver lace, and worn across the body, from left to right.

The letters ‘K’ and ‘H’ are embroidered in scarlet silk on the front part of the cordon. They stand for the Hebrew words meaning ‘Holy Temple’.

Also embroidered on the cordon are two Teutonic crosses and a double-headed eagle, his wings extended, holding a poniard in his claws. The two heads and the blade of the poniard are of gold. The handle of the poniard is oval, one-half of it white and the other black. The colors represent the division of good and evil in the universe.

The jewel is a double-headed eagle, with wings spread, and measuring about one inch across from outside to outside of the wings. The eagle rests upon a Teutonic Cross one and a half inches in size. The eagle is of silver, and the cross of gold, enameled with red.

Duties are:
• Labour unceasingly for the good of mankind.

For Reflection:
• Are knightly values obsolete in the modern world?

Lessons:
• Arm yourself with faith in God, love toward your fellow man, and knowledge. Great examples are the noblest legacies from the past; they enrich a nation more than wealth or power.

Important Symbols:
• Three skulls, three funeral urns, the mystic ladder, and the double-headed eagle.

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Additional Notes:
This is the last of the Chivalric Degrees of Scottish Rite Masonry. The lessons are derived from history. The historical figure associated with the legend is Jacques DeMolay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, an order created during the Crusades. It was destroyed by Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V in the early 14th Century. DeMolay was put to death, having renounced his confession which had been extracted under torture. Before his death, he accurately predicted the deaths of both Philip and Clement within a year.

The word Kadosh is Hebrew and Pike says that it means “holy.” hence Knight Kadosh means Holy Knight or Knight of the Temple. The good and true knight Kadosh is armed outwardly with steel but inwardly with faith in God, love toward his fellow man, and knowledge. The primary purpose of the degree is to make real, in action, the noblest sentiments of man.

The knight Kadosh has as his mission to restore to man all his powers and the whole dignity of manhood and to make true again the ancient description of the man that he was made in the image of the Deity.

IMPORTANT NOTE IN THIS DEGREE:
To War Against Ignorance, Tyranny, Despotism, and Vice:
“The arms wherewith to war against Tyranny, Superstition, and Ignorance are Knowledge, Virtue, Love, and Charity for mankind”. (Legenda XIX-XXX, p.161)

As part of this oath taken in the 30th degree, the webmaster of this website, has made this one of his major goals, hence the reason for this website!

Sources:
Purchase ‘A Bridge To Light‘ by Rex R. Hutchens
Purchase ‘Morals & Dogma‘ by Albert Pike.