Knights of the Maccabees
Knights of the Maccabees was a fraternal organization formed in 1878 in London, Ontario, Canada. A related but separate organization, "Maccabees of the World", was also established, the two merging under the title "The Knights of the Maccabees of the World" (KOTMOTW), later shortened to the Maccabees in 1914. 2008,
Most active in the U.S. state of Michigan, the group's fraternal aspects took a backseat to providing low-cost insurance to members. In the society's early years it also provided other final-expense related benefits such as society cemeteries.
History
The original group named Maccabees were a priestly family of Jews who organized a successful rebellion against the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV and reconsecrated the defiled Temple of Jerusalem.[1] "The aspects of Maccabeus's feats that appealed to the founders of the modern Maccabees were steadfastness and persistence; his wisdom in the use of power; and the fact that he seems to have been the first recorded military leader to order his soldiers to reserve a part of their spoils for the widows and orphans of their fallen colleagues, and lastly his unwavering determination to protect the particular nation and culture of his people in their ancestral land.".[2] As a fraternal organization, the Knights of Maccabees want to emulate his example.
19th Century
- In 1878, the Knights of Maccabees was founded by Nathan Boynton in London, Ontario in Canada and was reorganized in 1883.[3]
- The Knights of the Maccabees had a membership of 209,831 in 1896.
20th Century
- By 1920 the ladies' auxiliary, Ladies of the Maccabees, alone claimed more than 200,000 members.
- In 1926 they established their headquarters at the Maccabees Building in downtown Detroit, Michigan. In 1960 the Maccabees relocated to a new building in Southfield, Michigan - a suburb of Detroit. In 1986 they built new 251,000-square-foot (23,300 m2) office building, once again in Southfield.
- In 1941 the group gained control of the Michigan Union Life Association, furthering its transformation from a benefit society into a modern, legal-reserve insurance company.
- In 1962 the group changed its name again, this time to the Maccabees Mutual Life Insurance Company.
- In the 1990s the organization was demutualized and sold to the Royal Insurance Group and operated under the name Royal Maccabees Life Insurance Company.
- In 1999 Royal Maccabees was sold by its parent company, Royal & SunAlliance Financial Services, to Swiss Re.[4] Swiss Re merged it into its subsidiary, Reassure America Life Insurance Company.[5]
21st Century
- In 2008, the Knights of the Maccabees has returned to its fraternal roots after a long history as a mutual reserve life insurance company. Some remaining members in California revived the Knights of the Maccabees no longer as a benefit insurance organization but completely as a Fraternity. It has been modernized and redesigned for the 21st century with a new focus on the fraternal character of the Order.[6]
- As of January 2011, the Knights of Maccabees as a revived Fraternal organization has tents in Northern California and Central Florida with some members located in other States in America, Canada, Israel and the United Kingdom.[7]
Motto
The motto of the Knights of Maccabees is the latin "Astra Castra Numen Lumen" which means "The stars my camp, the Deity my light".[8]
Organizational Structure
The modern Knights of Maccabees accepts men and women of good moral character. The offices of a KOTM Tent are [9]:
- Grand Commander
- Commander
- Lt. Commander
- Knight Commander
- Captain of the Guard
- Knight Record Keeper
- Master at Arms
- Sergeant
- Chaplain
- Inner Guard
- Outer Guard
- Sentinel
- Picket
- Members who do not hold office are called Warriors
Degrees
- Degree of Protection - In the Degree of Protection, the candidate was introduced to the demands of Honor, Courage, and Obedience. The candidate learned the history of Maccabee household and how it protected Judea from King Antiochus during the war of independence. To prove themselves fit to "join in the cause of humanity," the tyros had to undergo an ordeal.
- Degree of Friendship - In the Degree of Friendship, the Commander takes the part of Mattathias, the Lt. Commander that of Judas, the Past Commander that of John (son of Mattathias), and the Chaplain that of Eleazar (son of Mattathias). The candidate received instruction in the nature of friendship.
- Degree of Loyalty - In the Degree of Loyalty, the dramatic work revolved around the following characters: Apelles, Mattathias, Matthathias's four sons, Judas, Soldiers, while the candidate, Sentinel, and a Knight took the parts of Jewish peasants. In keeping with the Maccabee legend of the revolt at Modin the patriarch Mattathias remained steadfast to the Jewish religion when ordered to make sacrifice to Roman gods and at great personal risk stops an apostate Jew from offering sacrifice to false gods. The lesson derived from his example was that of genuine patriotism and inculcated the duty to uphold and defend the rights of liberty and conscience when they are threatened by irresponsible power in any form. Additionally, the candidate was reintroduced to the ghost of Eleazar and finally sees the end of the rebellion.[10]
References
External links