DUTIES:

Reverence and obey the Deity.

Serve the truth.

Protect virtue and innocence.

Defend the people against tyranny.

FOR REFLECTION:

Is virtue an armor stronger than the strongest metal?

IMPORTANT SYMBOLS:

St. Andrew's Cross, castle in ruins,

armorless knight.

The Twenty-ninth Degree

"Scottish Knight of Saint Andrew"

~Summary"

In this degree, the Mason learns that there is no

contradiction between religion and science; that

religion can be better understood through science

and science can be better understood by religion.

He who denies science is as fanatical as he who

denies religion. Our lifetime is limited in time; thus

we must see God within this limited period of our

time. Yet, God transcends all time; he is an energy

over and beyond time. There is no other energy that

creates that energy. There is no end to that energy.

Freemasonry is thus the continual effort to exalt the

divine in man over the human so that we may come

to better understand the nature of God in our time.

The jewel is a St. Andrew's Cross, of gold, with a large emerald in the center, surmounted by the helmet of a

 knight, and with a thistle of gold between the arms at the bottom. It is worn suspended from the collar. The

emerald signifies the manliness and uprightness of chivalry, its color that of the renewal of virtue,

always bright and sparkling. The thistle is the national emblem of Scotland and recalls a tradition that

...the Danes invaded Scotland and stealthily surrounded Staines Castle.

They took off their shoes to wade the moat, only to find it dry and

 filled with thistles. The resultant yells and curses roused the garrison,

and the Danes were  soundly defeated (Leach, p. 1108).

The banner of the Order is a green St. Andrew's Cross on a white field fringed with gold. At the end of each arm of the cross is one of the four Hebrew letters that form the Ineffable Name of Deity. Above the cross is a circle of five stars with a thistle in the center.

A Knight of St. Andrew wears a green collar edged with crimson, over the neck, and a white silk scarf,

fringed with gold, and worn fro left to right.

   "St Andrew is said to have been crucified on an X-shaped cross, although there is no historical evidence to support this claim. Andrew is a Greek name and means 'manly.' St. Andrew was the brother of St. Peter and one of the first disciples chosen by Jesus. His character is one to be emulated; the Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible describes St. Andrew:

 He was continually open to new light; he was pliable and teachable. When truth broke upon him, he accepted it enthusiastically and wished others to share it (Vol. A-D, p. 126).

St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland; and the cross bearing his name appears on the Scottish flag. He is said to have appeared to Hungus, King of the Picts in the ninth century, promising him victory in a battle with the English King Athelstan who sought to conquer Scotland. In the sky that night St. Andrew placed the shape of the cross on which he was crucified as a token of this promise or covenant. The Picts defeated Athelstan and thereby maintained their liberty, for a while.

   The degree is obviously chivalric, but not purely so. It is best viewed as transitional, for in its symbolism it links the 28th Degree, Knight of the Sun, a purely Philosophical Degree, with the 30th, Knight Kadosh, a clearly chivalric degree.

    Masonic scholars have long sought to learn the origin and development of Masonry; many have seen in the Knights Templar, numerous parallels to suggest this Order practiced the Masonry of the Middle Ages. The Knights Templar were ordered to disband and relinquish all their possessions by Pope Clement V in 1307. Many were imprisoned in France and executed or tortured at the order of Philip the Fair. These impoverished and persecuted Knights sought refuge in other countries, joining acceptable orders or changing their name. In the Legenda we read the story that in Scotland they found protection and joined the army of King Robert Bruce. Since the Templar's assistance was vital of the victory of Bruce over Edward II of England, this legend tells us Bruce created the Order of St. Andrew of Scotland, thereby subsuming the Templars into the Scottish system of knighthood." (Hutchens, pp. 270-272)