Constantine I, also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. After his father's death in 306, Constantine was proclaimed as emperor by his army at Eboracum (York), where in modern times a statue in his memory has been erected near to the Minster.

It is said that his conversion to Christianity began one evening after a long day’s march with his army. He believed he saw a sign from heaven; a pillar of light in the form of a cross. A standard bearing a cross was ordered to be carried before him in battle. Several Christians in his army came forward and avowed their faith, following which Constantine directed that they should wear on their armour a red cross. Having been successful in battle it is said that Constantine with the help of his chief bishop, Eusebius, opened a Conclave of the Knights of the Order whose members became the bodyguard of their Sovereign.

It is believed that the Order of the Red Cross of Constantine was being worked in England by 1780. The earliest documented date of the Order in its present form is 1865.

The Ceremonies

This Christian Order is in two parts. The first ceremony consists of the Candidate’s admission, obligation, and then the Installation as a Knight-Companion of the Red Cross of Constantine, in which the historical basis of the Order is also detailed.

In separate ceremonies the Knight-Companion builds on what he has already been taught and in the ceremony of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre and St. John the Evangelist this knowledge is further expanded and the ultimate aims of Freemasonry are revealed. These two ceremonies, together with the two Installation ceremonies leading to the principal Chairs in the Red Cross of Constantine, are undoubtedly among the most impressive ceremonies in the whole of Freemasonry.