Theta
Delta Chi
Initiation
Ritual
Αρχαδελφον
- President
No date
Καρυκον
- Herald
Ταμερον
- Treasurer
Γραφιστ
- Recording Secretary
Επιγραφιστ
- Corresponding Secretary
Σιμβυλιον
− Executive Council
First
Degree
The
Karukon will conduct the initiate through the ceremony, as he is blindfolded.
All
brothers are in black robes. The Archadelphon has a crown with A___v on it, and
sash of white with the emblems and letters of the fraternity. The brothers form
a semi-circle around the Altar.
K
arrives at the charge door with the initiate and knocks 4 times
T:
Who desires admission into our councils?
K:
A Brother
T:
By what authority demand you this? Not every one that sayeth ‘Brother Brother’
is received into our councils.
K:
I demand it by the authority, which declares: ‘Ask and it shall be given,
knock and it shall be opened unto you’
Tameron
opens the door partially
T:
Truly, advance and give the sign by which alone you can be admitted into our
secret chambers.
Karukon
gives the grip and the Tameron closes the door and locks it with chains after
seeing the initiate
T:
But who attends you?
K:
A stranger
T:
Wherefore does a stranger seek to enter our councils?
K:
He is in search of friends in this lonely world
T:
Most honored Archadelphon, a stranger in search of friends seeks admission into
our Brotherhood.
A:
Brethren, will ye have compassion on this stranger? Are ye willing that another
come among you?
Charge:
Ekomen
A:
We are willing that he enters if our brother will be his surety
T:
Brother wilt thou be surety for the stranger’s worth?
K:
I will
The
door is opened and the Karukon ushers the initiate to the altar. All brothers
rise with a finger over their mouth in a token of silence.
The
Altar is arranged with the cloth draped over it and a skull on top of two femurs
behind a bible opened to Proverbs 18:24. Candles are placed to illuminate the
altar and two brothers are designated to stand beside the altar with swords. The
Graphist will stand beside the Archadelphon with the bell chime.
A:
You have already signified you willingness and desire to become a member of our
fraternity, You have now, therefore but to bind yourself by the same oath, which
we have each taken to become a full participant in all the privileges which we
enjoy. Kneel and receive the oath of secrecy.
Karukon
directs the initiate to kneel and place his hand on the bible.
A:
Do you John Doe in the presence of these witnesses and in the fear of God,
solemnly swear and affirm that you will preserve inviolate the secrets of this
fraternity from now and forever
Initiate:
I do (chime *)
A:
Believing then that you will thus faithfully act and relying upon your honor and
integrity as a gentleman to preserve unbroken the oath which you have just
taken, we cheerfully intrust to you the secret principles and welfare of our
fraternity
It motto
in which these principles are embodied is Θαρσουμεν
Δαιμονι
Χαριτης,
which means “We Believe in the Divinity of Friendship”
The
wisest of inspired writers has declared that ‘A man that hath friends must
show himself friendly, and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother’.
With the poet we can say ‘ the friendships of the world are often
confederacies in vice or leagues of pleasure’
Ours has
the severest virtue for its basis, and such a friendship ends but life. Will you
swear allegiance to this motto and through it to our Fraternity? Do you swear to
make its principles the guide of your interaction with your fellow brethren, and
to prove a true and steadfast friend in sickness and in health, in good and evil
rapport, in prosperity and in adversity?
Initiate:
I do *
Every
brother in turn places his hand on the head of the initiate and says “I bless
this friendship; may it prove firm faithful and mutual” and returns to his
place. While this is occurring, the swords are drawn and prepared. Prior to
unmasking of the initiate, they are lit so the initiate sees a pair of crossed
flaming swords and the Archadelphon.
The
initiate is unmasked.
A:
Of the emblems of our fraternity, the Stars are emblematical of Hope and
Fidelity, whose cheering rays assure us that the Star of Hope will never be
extinguished, while that of Fidelity shines for steadfast. Do you swear in truth
to maintain and protect these emblems of Hope and Fidelity?
Initiate:
I do *
A:
The Arrows are the symbols of Wisdom and Truth. Their course is ever onward and
upward. ‘Wisdom is better than rubies, and all that may be desired is not to
be compared unto it’. Truth is, of itself, an immortality. Though ‘crushed
to earth’ it ‘shall rise again’; though physical force and combined
influences bury it in the grave of centuries, it shall have a resurrection, and
become a principle changeless and coexistent with the authority of God. Do you
swear to cherish and cultivate these in common with the members of this
fraternity and in token, of you sincerity, invoke these brethren you witnesses?
Initiate:
I do *
A:
The Daggers are
the symbols of Vigilance and Secrecy. One Argus-like holding perpetual and
sleepless watch guards that sacred institution of our fraternity, the
Constitution. The other averts all attacks made upon the same sacred object of
its care. These are the protection of our constitution. Do you swear to wield
these weapons with energy and faithfulness on the preservation of this
constitution and this fraternity?
I do *
A:
The volume on the
badge is emblematical of the constitution--- that constitution which cements the
social and moral strength of the fraternity and connects this brotherhood by
obligation and by oath. It is the guide of our path and the direction of our
counsels. As a faithful member of the Fraternity, do you swear to adhere to the
objects of these symbols?
Initiate:
I do *
A:
The Badge is
emblematical of the friendship which shields our fraternity from the insidious
approach of envy and the attacks of mercenary hate. Let us but present an
unbroken front, and, like the Aegis of Minerva, it will render us invincible and
insure beyond a doubt the perpetuity of that friendship of which it is so
emphatically an emblem. Do you swear to reserve that friendship and to regard
its influences and objects as vitally important to the union and character of
this fraternity?
Initiate:
I do *
A:
You have now sworn
to the several obligations of our Fraternity. Do you now solemnly swear, before
God and the witnesses here present and with the realizing sense of the baseness
of a false oath ever to remain a fellow-member of the Theta Delta Chi Fraternity;
that you will unceasingly labor for her lasting interest and welfare that you
will faithfully obey the requirements of her Constitution and that above all you
will preserve her secrets most inviolable?
Initiate:
I do *
A:
In the witness
whereof, you do now invoke the Supreme Being that in case you willfully neglect
or refuse to keep this as well as all other future pledges to the Fraternity to
call down upon your head the most dire punishments inflicted upon the faithless
and the utter ruin of all your hopes of temporal happiness and prosperity?
Initiate:
I do * * *
Karukon
assists the initiate to rise
A:
Having thus
consecrated yourself to the best interest of our fraternity, and having thus
pledge yourself by all the bonds of a sacred and responsible oath to remain
faithful to her in every emergency, we cheerfully and with open arms welcome you
as a brother in the Theta Delta Chi Fraternity
You are
now recognized as an initiated member of our beloved fraternity and will
henceforth receive that protection from all of its members of which our shield
is so emblematical. In return, you are expected, as a faithful member, to
contribute to its reputation by your firm an manly conduct, by your courtesy and
gentlemanly behavior towards all with whom you associate, but most especially
towards your Brother; and lastly, by preserving strictly secret all its
transaction, whether of the least or greatest importance.”
By a
regulation which prudence and a care eye to our own preservation have induced us
to adopt, you will be, as each of us has been in turn, prohibited from perusing
our Constitution, or being made acquainted with its contents, until the next
meeting when you will become a participant in all the privileges, honors, and
mysteries of our Fraternity. In the meantime, permit me to express the hope that
you will henceforth be animated by the same zeal and anxiety for the welfare of
our Fraternity as ourselves, in token of which we now greet you with the
friendly gasp of Theta Delta Chi.
The
Archadelphon replaces the candidate pin with the member badge and teaches the
grip. The index finger is to be bent to form the line across the Theta. The
middle and ring fingers are extended to the base of the other brother’s palm
to form the sides of the Delta. The pinky is crossed to form the Chi. The Senior
brother places his left hand on top of the grip in public while the Junior
brother places his left hand on the bottom. The initiate now shakes hands with
each brother in the Charge----
A:
We look upon you now as consecrated to the services of our Fraternity, and we
deem it as well our privilege as our duty to encourage you to a full performance
of the pledges which you have made. May that Divine Being who alone enables us
to perform our respective duties bless the friendship which we have this night
rendered sacred; may the connection which this night you have formed prove a
blessing indeed; and may ‘God grant that our beloved fraternity be perpetuated
through all future generations’
The
Karukon places the blindfold back on the initiate. As the initiate is lead out
the brothers sing the Doxology:
“Father
we raise our hymns to thee
We live
in Theta Delta Chi
And on
our hearts inscribed shall be
THETA
CHI DELTA (all
brothers stomp the ground once)
When….we….die”
Second
Degree
This
is the meeting following the First Degree. After the minutes have been read and
seconded the meeting is suspended. The Karukon brings in the initiates.
A:
Hitherto you have been debarred from some of the privileges which we have
enjoyed, but we now welcome you as a full member of our beloved Fraternity. You
have stood well the test which each of us has borne in turn, and we now hail you
as a Brother who has shown himself worthy of full confidence.
There
are certain regulations which we have adopted to guard against imposition, in
the practice of which it is necessary that you should become perfect. When you
meet a person that you are not certain is a member of Theta Delta Chi, you must
test him by the following signs:
Place
the index finger of your right hand aside your nose and say “Chi”.
He
should do likewise and reply “
When you
wish to enter a meeting, you must approach the door of the antechamber alone,
giving one knock, whisper into the ear of the Karukon opening it, and say
“Thuron” meaning ‘threshold’. Proceeding to the door of the inner
chamber, you must give two low raps and one louder and the door being opened by
the Tameron, whisper in his ear “Chiar” meaning ‘grip’ and give the grip
uncovered. You must be careful in the observance of these ceremonies, since
secrecy, with which our transactions are conducted greatly depends upon these,
as guards against imposition.
In
conclusion, let your zeal for the welfare of our Brotherhood be ever on the
increase; let your vigilance in averting whatever may detract form its
reputation or that of any of its members, be unsleeping; let your preservation
of its mysteries and transactions from the rude gaze of the world be constant
and like the vestal fires of old, ever
renewed
and burning, our Fraternity will shine brighter and brighter unto the perfect
day.
Manner
of Opening a Meeting
The
Karukon knocks twice low, once high says:
Brethren in the Theta Delta Chi, this meeting of our beloved Fraternity is
hereby opened. Let good will and harmony reign throughout our deliberations.
Charge:
“So mote it be”, sings the Invocation
“Oh
Thou eternal one
Light of
the midday sun
Our
source and end
With
thine untiring eye
Guard
Theta Delta Chi
With
wisdom from on high
Her
councils lend.”
Archadelphon
reads the Preamble: We
believing in that the most binding duty of man is the improvement of his
intellectual, moral, and, above all, social being; and that the bond of mutual
and unreserved Friendship will promote and preserve their cultivation in the
highest degree; and also believing that Secrecy is the only shield to protect us
from the scrutinizing curiosity of the world; and that Friendship, to be lasting
must be limited in the number of its participants, -- do hereby ordain and
resolve ourselves into a Fraternity, having for its purpose the cultivation of
these principles and capacities of our nature. The chief characteristics of this
Fraternity shall be an honorable and confiding friendship; a Friendship founded
on mutual esteem and dependence, -defended by that charity which, while it
pardons the faults of each, endeavors to improve and reform; -which Friendship
we will perpetuate by the veil of eternal secrecy.
Manner
of Closing a Meeting
The
Karukon knocks twice low, once high says:
Brethren, this meeting of our Fraternity is hereby dissolved; return to your
respective duties till called again to renew in union our social joys.
Charge
“So Mote It Be”, sings doxology
“Father
we raise our hymns to thee
We live
in Theta Delta Chi
And on
our hearts inscribed shall be
THETA CHI DELTA (stomp)
When…we…die.”