Heritage in the Rose – In league with St. Mark
By H.E. Chev. Brent Spencer, GMKR
We, knights in heart, soldiers in fact, modern centurions of justice, spiritual warriors, men and women in God’s service, are not weak, ashamed, introverted, nerds or actors, but battle hardened, life hardened, God softened champions. We have been proven through fire, made pure by grace, and made ready by character. We are each and every one worthy of both of love and respect. We are modern day warriors, who stand before society and make it known to all that the good people of our communities need not fear. The line has been drawn before us in the ground and danger will not cross past us. As a modern day warrior we advance towards the sound of the guns, we advance towards adversity when challenged, we maintain tenacity when laughed upon, because just like in ancient times, when help is needed, regardless of whom it is, and regardless of how we were previously treated, we advance in defense of all, to protect all while demonstrating our chivalric ideals without expectations of reward or recognition.
This order does not claim to be of some ancient lineage. We are a new order, one that is less than four years old. However, we honour the heritage of the ancients, hold dear the virtues of the cannon of chivalry, and choose to preserve and promote the rites of ancient traditions that grew out of the mores of knights a thousand years ago.
So, how did this order get started? How did it come to be known by its familiar title? How did we get to where we are?
Sometime back in the last millennium (about 1999), five of the founding officers came to know each other through the course of discussing common interests in knighthood and chivalry by way of an internet forum called “Chivalry and Knighthood” initiated by Chev. Paul Grant as the public forum sponsored by the Military and Chivalric Order of the Sword of England. This site brought together Baron Paul Grant of London, Chev. Dan Winger of Los Angeles, Count Misha Zigas in Australia, Chev. Mark Douglas in North Dakota, and myself, Brent Spencer in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. Over a period of two or three years we discovered we had many interests in common, many friends in common, and unique types of backgrounds in common ~ which were in fact uncommon backgrounds: investigators, intelligence specialists, lawyers, soldiers with special operations experience, and law enforcement officers. What bound us all together was a serious interest in chivalry, service, and our Christian faith.
These unique backgrounds brought forward to me a twenty year old memory from the dusty files in the back of my mind. I remembered studying and reading how, for over a thousand years, the rose had been a symbol of secret service. I remember reading how a Roman general had made it a practice of laying a rose on the table in his briefings to indicate that “what is said here, stays in here”. I also remembered that at some time in the middle ages, a practice developed whereby secret messages or caches of weapons were hidden beneath a rose bush and the term dagger sub rosa, or dagger under the rose, came to be associated with secret agents and undercover investigators, soldiers in secret service to their kings or lieges.
What grew out of this was the idea that, given our common interests in chivalry and knighthood, perhaps we could form an alliance and call ourselves “the Knights of the Rose”. On January 16th 2001, I proposed this to the group with no ready expectation of the consequences.
The group readily endorsed the idea and Mark Douglas, a lawyer in North Dakota, who is now our Justiciar, remarked that if it was put together correctly, we might indeed form what could be the first legitimate order of chivalry created in the new millennium. It was agreed amongst us to start researching what this might involve.
Dan Winger wrote to ask if I would consider being the Grand Master. I agreed, on the condition that it was with the complete assent and backing of the group – which was granted.
I knew then and there that this order was going to be a very big and special responsibility…and that God had a sense of humour to put me in charge of such a thing.
Paul Grant was chosen as our Grand Senescahal in respect of his extensive knowledge of chivalric matters and orders, and indeed his own experience as Grand Master – Order of the Sword. Mark started researching historical precedents in regard to who could serve as a “fons honourum”, or fount of honour. I started researching constitutions of ancient orders and started drafting a charter and warrant of authority that could be presented for signing by an appropriate fons honourum. Dan, our supreme encourager, started researching contact information for various seated and unseating monarchs and noble families.
It came to mind that I had read somewhere of bishops having formed orders of knighthood, but I could not remember where I had read it. It was as if the planted and watered seed had sun upon it and such were the conditions of mother earth that it had started to grow and bloom. Paul referred me to Bishop Peter Compton-Caputo as a possible fons. This incredible man of God had been a detective before becoming a minister, and once a minister became a chaplain with the Annapolis Naval Academy, establishing in my mind that he was a man held in high esteem. I contacted him in Maryland and laid out for him the concept behind the order, a part of which was to give recognition to those with service backgrounds. He said he’d be proud to put his signature and bishop’s seal to our charter, which he did dated July 4th 2002 in Washington, D.C. At the same time, he agreed to act as our first Chaplain General. What he did, though, was sign and seal a copy of the Constitutional Statutes and the original typewritten draft of the Charter, in spite of the stated plan to have two parchments made up in calligraphy (a copy of which would be displayed in the cathedral in Washington, and one kept with the Grand Master). It was as if he had a sense of something coming, or our Lord knew something was coming and had him do that, for only one month later he died of a massive heart attack. He was leaving his church following an evening service and God took him home, ending a long period of physical suffering.
Following the signing of the Charter and Warrant of Authority, I was called on to write and issue Grand Priory charters for Canada, Australia, England and Wales, the United States, and New Zealand (which has subsequently been put under the auspices of Australia as a Priory). Misha accepted the mantle of command for Australia, Dan for the United States, Paul for England and Wales (later as Grand Prior for the United Kingdom), and Mark as our Justiciar. In our respective spheres, we started spreading the word.
I shared the idea with Orland DeLong, who was on the advisory board of St. John Ambulance in Edmonton with me. He agreed to come on as Grand Prior for Canada. Retired RCMP Superintendent Peter Curley, an Officer in the Order of St John, agreed to come on as our Grand Marshal, and retired Major Eric Vincent, KStJ, an RCMP vet as well as being a soldier and government investigator, came on as our Registrar General and DSR qualifier.
Shortly after our first Chaplain General left us, our forum was joined by Bishop Kyrill, who was seeking a home where he could develop his love for chivalry. As he got to know us, and we him, we developed a great mutual respect and he eventually agreed to join us as Grand Chaplain for the US Grand Priory. Plans now started to gel for the planning of the 1st International Investiture for the Order in Edmonton, (held July 13th, 2002). Bishop Kyrill agreed to attend as the overseeing clergy, and to initiate the Order’s first official function by conducting the first accolade in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, knighting me in God’s service. A week before the investiture, I asked him if he would consent to accepting a dual role and become our next Chaplain General. As a blessing to us all, he accepted and has been a spiritual cornerstone to the Order ever since. His discussions with clerical friends resulted in a Vatican official putting forward an official request for a blessing on our order, which was issued and sent to us in September 2003.
The order continues attracting new members, wonderful Christian people from all walks of life, united in their interest in chivalry. The order has become a special home for those wanting to involve themselves in a chivalric order that bases its membership standards on personal character over exorbitant fees, and one that offers an opportunity to build and make a mark, not only in the lives of the members, but in their respective communities, churches, and branches of service or business. The order has also become a ministry in its own right, and an avenue of ministry for chaplains of diverse denominational backgrounds.
What all of this has shown me, is that God’s hand was on the formation of this order from its inception, and in guiding the right people to it. It is blessed and blesses in return. As long as we continue to give the glory and honour to our Lord for his blessings and direction, the order will continue to flourish and act as a beacon of hope in a dark world.
And how is it we chose to rest our order in the patronage of St. Mark? What is it about this holy man that we should align ourselves with him. St. Mark was, first and foremost, an evangelist. To him Jesus was the wonder-working Son of the Living God ! It is believed that he wrote to impress the Romans, who understood only power. He showed them power. He wrote of Jesus’ miracles and authority over demons. He wrote of Jesus calming the storm, taking his Godly authority over even the elements of nature. Mark traveled widely with both Paul and Peter and is known to have gone to Alexandria – seat of the world’s greatest collected writings at the time, home of the dynasties of ancient Egypt. He is represented by a winged lion, and most often with a book ~ aptly illustrating his courage, his movement across great distances in the ancient world to spread the gospel of Christ, and for his writing and being connected to great learning.
I hope that this article helps you get a sense of what a wonderful gift we have been given, and are able to give to others. We have a very special responsibility in making sure that we leave future generations a legacy of great spiritual value. We have and are making history, so we must make it a part of history that others can look back on and say “I’m glad they did that”, and “I’m proud to be a member of this venerable order, created way back at the beginning of the second millennium.” Let us leave for others a special greeting that has its own profound meaning ~
“Welcome to the world of modern chivalry. Welcome to the Christian Order of the Rose.”