Knight Masons of the U.S.A.

The Knight Mason Degrees have their origins to the earliest records of Masonry, in fact there is some indication that the Knight Mason Degrees may have been developed even before the degree of Master Mason! There are three degrees; Knight of the Sword, Knight of the East, and Knight of the East and West. These "Green" degrees are ancient and are in essence "Old Testament." They are to some extent similar to the 15th, 16th, and 17th degrees of the Scottish Rite and are based on the legend of Zerubbabel. Until the mid-Nineteenth Century they were worked in Ireland under the auspices of the Royal Arch Chapters and later the Commandery Preceptories. In 1923 the Grand Council of Knight Masons in Ireland was formed and assumed responsibility for the degrees from the Preceptories.

In 1936 a group of Masons in North Carolina brought the degrees to the United States under a Provincial Grand Council. In 1968, the Provincial Grand Council was constituted as the Grand Council of Knight Masons of the United States. Today, there are approximately 60 Councils of Knight Masons in the U.S. with some 6000 members. Membership is by invitation only. Candidates must be Royal Arch Masons, although some Councils informally require Commandery membership and experience as a presiding officer of some one of the York Rite bodies.