HISTORY

A certain Rosicrucian by the name of Simon Studion was primarily responsible for the formal reactivation of the Rosicrucians, Knights of the Mystic Rose (KMR) in the late 1500s. He was at that time Grand Master of one Rosicrucian branch in Germany, and he later became an Imperator of the Rosicrucian Order. In 1586, under the sponsorship of Henry IV, king of France and Navarre, Frater Studion organized an international convention that formally recognized the reestablishment of the Rosicrucians, Knights of the Mystic Rose. Attendees in the convention were knighted as Chevaliers. As such, it was their sworn duty to protect the Order, uphold its teachings and symbols, and prevent all forms of persecution, all in the name of religious freedom and scientific thinking.

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The Rosicrucians, Knights of the Mystic Rose is a perpetuation of the tradition of the KMR, which was reorganized at the Cruce Signatorum Conventus held on July 27, 1586 in Lüneberg, Germany and was chronicled by Simon Studion in his work “Naometria.” The purpose of the MCE during that time was to activate the surviving remnants of the Order of the Temple in Jerusalem (the Knights Templar) and that of the Ancient Rosae Crucis, and to actualize the mystical and spiritual doctrinal teachings and practices of both.

 

The KMR was directed to peacefully promote religious freedom, freedom of thought, and freedom of inquiry. The purpose of the KMR was to establish an exoteric body of Light to direct and guide humanity towards evolution and personal development.

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In ancient times, the KMR was composed of warrior-initiates, most of them men, who defended it and its supreme chief. They were a highly select group, for the nature of their responsibility demanded utmost loyalty, courage, dedication and trustworthiness. In times of turbulence, the Militia is called upon to protect the Order, its chief officer and its symbols from abuse and degradation.

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A period of particular interest was the European Crusades in the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries. At this time, a most revered symbol, namely the cross, was being used in a manner that was most debasing and shameful. The cross, painted on flags or carried on staffs, was carried into battlefields and other areas of torture, persecution and bloodshed. For the KMR, such use of the cross for destructive and atrocious purposes was terribly wrong.  They saw it as insulting and indeed sacrilegious.

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“To set the situation right, the KMCE was therefore established. The MCE never became an active body of prosecutors or crusaders, but merely silent defenders who were pledged never to unsheathe the sword except in absolute defense. The organization became greatly enlarged in later centuries, not as a true military organization, but as a group of those who defend the KMCE emblem and the cross with their moral strength rather than with any physical strength.” – Imperator Saralden

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The Cross as a Mystical Symbol

In the eyes of every Rosicrucian, the cross is not a symbol of Christianity, but an emblem with deep mystical interpretation. It was first used in ancient Egypt, or possibly even earlier in legendary Atlantis, when a mystic stood at sunrise, faced the East and lifted his arms sideways in a solemn gesture of adoration of the Giver of life - the Sun. Finishing this gesture, he then turned to the west and made the same salutation, this time to the place where life ended. The mystic’s shadow, cast by the sun he worshipped, formed the figure of the cross. Thus to him, the cross became a symbol signifying that life is but a shadow, the shadow of the cross.

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The cross has other revered meanings. It also represents the toils and labors of life, as well as the karma that we have to endure while embodied in earthly flesh. To the ancient Egyptians, it symbolized immortality, reincarnation and the continuity of life. The Egyptian cross, which they used in their rituals, is now referred to as the Crux Ansata, meaning the “Cross of life.” It is often depicted as held by gods, goddesses, pharaohs and other highly respectable individuals.

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Practically all ancient cultures, not just the Egyptians, considered the cross as a sacred symbol. For one, the Phoenicians of old held the Tau cross in great regard as a mystic emblem.  Celtic, American Indian, Roman, Greek and Slavonic mystics- and of course, many Christian mystics- all had their own versions of the cross. The swastika, in its many forms, is in fact an adaptation of the cross. What is common in all these versions of the cross is its profound, yet often hidden, mystical significance.

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In the very symbol of our beloved KMR, the cross primarily represents man, while the rose represents the awakening of man’s heart. There is dew in the rose that represents Cosmic Consciousness. Finally, the triangles depict the Law of the Triangles, referring to the creation of manifestation in the cosmic and material planes.