| The
Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for
North America is an international fraternity of approximately
800,000 members who belong to 190 Shrine Temples throughout
North America. Thirteen Masonic brothers founded the
Shrine in New York City in 1872 on the basis of the Masonic
principles of brotherly love, relief and truth, adopting the
requirement that only a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason can
petition to become a Noble of the Mystic Shrine.
The
basic organizational unit of the Shrine is the Temple, which is
governed by an elected board called the Divan. The Divan
is headed by the Potentate, who is the presiding officer of the
local Temple. All Shrine Temples are subordinate to the
Imperial Council, which meets annually. The Imperial
Council is composed of representatives elected by each Temple,
all past and present Imperial officers, and emeritus
representatives. The Imperial Divan, the Shrine's
governing board, is headed by the Imperial Potentate, the
Shrine's highest officer and consists of 13 elected officers
plus an Imperial Chaplin. A new officer is elected to the
Imperial Divan each year and moves up one rung in succeeding
years. Only the Imperial Treasure and Imperial Recorder do
not move up the Imperial line, but are, generally re-elected to
their current posts.
The
best known symbol of Shrinedom is the distinctive red fez with a
black tassel, the Shrine's official headgear, that
all Shriners wear at official functions, has been handed down
through the ages. The fez derives
its name from the holy city of Fez, Morocco, and was chosen as
part of the Shrine's Arabic (Near East) theme, which was
developed by the two men who were the driving force behind the
new order. William Florence, a popular actor, and Walter
Fleming, a prominent New York physician. Both men knew the
fledgling fraternity needed an appealing backdrop against which
the color and pageantry of the Shrine could be played
out.
Walter
Fleming |
William
Florence |
Legend
says that Florence conceived of the Arabic theme when he
attended a party in Marseilles, France hosted by an Arabian
diplomat. At the end of the party, the guests became
members of a secret society in an elaborate ceremony.
Florence realized that this might be the ideal vehicle for the
new fraternity; and he made copious notes and drawings of the
ceremony.
When Florence
returned to the states, he showed his material to Fleming, and
together the two men created the rituals, designed the costumes,
and formulated the salutation. The first Shrine Temple -
Mecca Temple- was organized in New York City, and the new
fraternity was on its way. The turn of the century brought
a dramatic increase in Shrine membership and a growing desire
for an official Shrine philanthropy. Individual Temples
had always supported various charitable causes, but now the
Shrine was ready for its own philanthropic cause.
Thus was born, in 1922, the first Shriners Hospital for Crippled
Children, dedicated to providing excellent medical care to
children with orthopaedic diseases and injuries, at no cost to
the patients, the parents or any third party.
The
concept was so successful, and the potential for helping children
so great, that additional Shriners Hospitals followed the first,
and the Shrine's hospital network grew rapidly. In 1936, the
hospital network had expanded to the point that the Shrine
separately incorporated its philanthropy, creating a wholly
distinct charitable corporation to distinguish its philanthropic
activities from its fraternal activities.
During
the 1950s, Shriners began looking for other ways they could help
children, they became aware of the lack of medical expertise in
burn care. Each year, thousands of children are crippled,
disfigured, or killed by this tragic hazard of childhood.
Thus,
forty years after opening its first Shriners Hospital for Crippled
Children, the Shrine opened its three Shriners Burns Institutes,
each with a three-fold purpose of helping children, conducting
burn research and training medical personnel in the treatment of
burns.
Today,
there are 19 orthopaedic Shriners Hospitals and three Shriners
Burns Institutes located throughout the United States, Canada, and
Mexico. all 22 Shriners Hospitals adhere to the principles
laid down in 1922 - all care would be free to any child under 18 (originally
14) in need of orthopaedic or burn care, with only the condition
that treatment at another facility would place a financial burden
on the family.
Today,
the Shrine and its hospitals, while maintaining their separate
legal and financial identities, are inextricably linked through
the Shrine's founding and support of Shriners Hospitals for
Crippled Children have become known as the "heart and soul of
the Shrine".
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