June 24

June the 24 is a special day to many. For the Freemasons it is the beginning of the organizational year.  I have often wondered about the significance of this day—why there are special festivals, why it is the beginning of a organizational new year, why it is considered a “special” day when no ordinary meetings are to take place.  I undertook some research for a presentation to my Masonic Lodge and I thought you might be interested in some of my findings as well.  I don’t pretend to present to you an AUTHORITATIVE answer.  But I will share with you some facts, some speculation, and some history the might suggest an answer to you for the significance of this day, and you may draw your own conclusions.

What significance does June 24 hold?  Currently it follows about three days after the date of the Summer solstice—the time when the tilt of the Earth's axis is orientated the most toward the Sun, causing the rising of the Sun to reach its northernmost extreme. The name solstice is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in its apparent movement north or south. At the Summer solstice the Earth is positioned so that the North Pole is leaning 23-and-a-half degrees toward the sun. As seen from Earth, the sun is directly overhead at noon 23-and-a-half degrees north of the equator, at an imaginary line encircling the globe known as the Tropic of Cancer (from Latin tropicus "pertaining to a turn," from Greek tropikos "of or pertaining to a turn or change, or to the solstice" from trope "a turning". The notion is of the point at which the sun "turns back" after reaching its northernmost or southernmost point in the sky). This is as far north as the sun ever gets, and all locations north of the equator have day lengths greater than 12 hours. The Summer solstice is the time on this world when there is the greatest amount of light possible, for it is the longest duration of daylight during the year with all of the implications that this brings—more growth, pleasure, activity, educational opportunity, and more.  But after the summer solstice the Earth’s axis begins to move away from the sun and the light of the sun begins to decrease, as the days get ever shorter.  So June 24, while associated with the Solstice, comes AFTER the solstice rather than upon it.  Are their other significances to the 24th of June?

The Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist falls on June 24. St. John was a Jewish preacher and ascetic who drew large crowds on the banks of the Jordon River.  His message was a demand for repentance from evil ways, and baptism in view of the imminent coming of the Kingdom of God.  Most know the basics of John’s Baptism of Jesus, his death by beheading, and the rest of his life’s story from the Bible, so I will not address the remainder of his biography.  Suffice it to say that Jesus’ own ministry followed John’s and some of Jesus’ early followers and disciples were followers of John.  But what does John the Baptist have to do with June 24?

Early church tradition describes John as endowed with prenatal grace.  The Gospel of Luke tells us that John was the child of Zachariah and Elizabeth whose birth was foretold by the angel Gabriel.  Both Zachariah and his wife were of the priestly lineage; Zachariah of the line of Abijah and Elizabeth of the daughters of Aaron.  Therefore John automatically held the priesthood of Aaron.  On the basis of Luke’s account of John’s birth, the Catholic Church celebrates the birth of John six months before the birth of Jesus, which, of course, is celebrated at Christmas.

The question naturally arises, then, as to why the celebration for the birth of John falls on June 24 rather than June 25 if the date is to be precisely six months before Christmas. The festival falls on June 24 because of the Roman way of counting, which proceeded backward from the first day of the succeeding month. Christmas was "the eighth day before the First of January". Consequently, Saint John's Nativity was put on the "eighth day before the First of July." However, since June has only thirty days, in our present calendar, the feast falls on June 24. 

The significance of the feast falling around the time of the solstice is considered by many to be significant, recalling the words of John the Baptist with regard to Jesus: "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).  With the Birth of Christ celebrated following the Winter solstice, the “light” starts to increase with each passing day.  With the celebration of St. John’s Birth following the Summer solstice the “light” begins to decrease with each passing day, as the days grow shorter.  In other words at the Summer solstice the light begins to decrease, while at the Winter solstice the light begins to increase.

Who Was John?

John followed the example of previous Hebrew prophets, living austerely, challenging sinful rulers, calling for repentance, and promising God’s justice.  He is depicted as an ascetic wearing camel hair and with a staff and scroll inscribed ecce agnus dei Latin for “Behold the Lamb of God”. John is the patron saint of the Knights Hospitaller of Jerusalem, the Free and Accepted Masons—and MANY other organizations, states, and principalities. 

In the Catholic Church most of the Saint’s Days celebrate their death rather than their birth.  John is an exception to this rule, but John’s death IS celebrated by observing a feast on August 29. Neither historians nor the Gospels tell us where John was buried, but traditions of Johns burial, re-interments, and dispositions are numerous. I will not address those here.  I will leave you with one tradition, however: the burial-place of John the Baptist was at Sebaste in Samaria, and mention is made of his relics being honored there around the middle of the fourth century.  Historians record that the shrine was desecrated under Julian the Apostate around 362, the bones being partly burned. Portions of the rescued relics were carried to Jerusalem, and then to Alexandria, where on May 27, 395, they were laid in the basilica that was newly dedicated to John the Baptist on the former site of the temple of Serapis.   From there many traditions have John’s “body” dispersed all over the world. What became of the head of John is difficult to determine, as there are MANY sites that claim to have a part of the “body” of John.  One interesting tradition holds that the Knights Templar were rumored to have possession of the saint’s severed head. 

Regardless of the outcome of his head, St. Augustine noted that with John’s death: “Thus was done to death the greatest amongst them that are born of women, the prize awarded to a dancing girl, the toll exacted for an oath rashly taken and criminally kept.”  

There is a tradition from “time immemorial” for celebrations at the Summer Solstice.  Bonfires celebrations, parties and observances are documented, but perhaps one of the better descriptions of this day is "Joy, which is the characteristic of the day, radiated from the sacred precincts. The lovely summer nights, at St. John's tide, gave free scope to popular display of lively faith among various nationalities. Scarce had the last rays of the setting sun died away when, all the world over, immense columns of flame arose from every mountain-top, and in an instant, every town, and village, and hamlet was lighted up". The custom of the "St. John's fires", whatever its origin—Celtic or Christian—has, in certain regions, endured unto this day. 

It is held by some that John was of the sect of the Essenes. But few really understand what an Essene is, and this topic is worthy of full papers in its own right, but I will share with you a miniscule amount of some of the characteristics of the Essenes and the similarities with which we may be familiar.  What follows is NOT a complete study of the Essenes, but rather it is an introduction to their character.

Essene Character

The historian Josephus describes the Essenes partly as a philosophical school like the Pythagoreans and represents them as a kind of monastic order with semi-pagan (non-mainstream religious) rites. They were particularly scrupulous regarding the Sabbath and devoted this day to reading and allegorical interpretation of the Law.  They practiced the virtues of love and holiness and were a part of many of the cities and villages of Judea.  They were men of intense patriotic sentiment.  Parts of their rites were accorded only to the elite of the priesthood who were “initiated into the mysteries of the Holy Name and other secret lore.”  They were identified as men entrusted with secret lore given in a whisper.

A community of Essenes existed in Jerusalem into the second century which insisted that each member practice a trade and taught that each should devote a third part of the day to the study of Torah, a third to devotion, and a third to work.  In connection with their work, a group of them used a name to describe themselves as “Builders”.  Their name was given the meaning of “builders of a higher world” and afterward applied to the Rabbis in general.
They obtain their philosophy by means of allegorical interpretation.  Their love of virtue is proved by their freedom from: love of money, of high station, and of pleasure; by their temperance and endurance, by their having few wants, simplicity and mild temper by their lack of pride and the like.  Their institution is not based upon family connections, which are not matters of free choice, but upon zeal for virtue and philanthropy.
 
Like the Templars they have common dress—a thick cloak in winter and a light mantle in summer.  White robes were their signatures. Mighty kings have admired and venerated these men and conferred honors upon them.  They teach the immortality of the soul and that the reward of righteousness must be fought for by martyrdom.  They go forth to work their trades until the fifth hour when having performed the required ablutions they put on linen aprons to conceal their privy parts and observe sobriety and moderation in eating and drinking.  All pay due attention to the president and whatever he orders they obey as law.  Especial zeal they manifest in offering sympathy and succor to those in distress, and above all they refrain, as leading to mischief, from all forms of passion and anger. They avoid swearing and consider their word as more binding than any oath.

It is reported that oaths of an awful character are administered.  Their oaths included: promising to treat whatever is related to the Divinity with reverence, and to observe righteousness toward men, striving to do injustice to none; not to hate anyone who as done him injustice, but rather to pray for his enemies; to side always with the righteous in their confrontations, which one author notes “this proves, if anything, that the Essenes were fighters rather than mere contemplatives; to show fidelity to all, and particularly to those in authority for without God’s decree, no one is given power to rule over the order for the election of the head of the order is not made without the guidance of the Holy Spirit; that should he be appointed to rule he will not abuse his authority, nor refuse to submit to the rules, nor ornament himself beyond what is customary; to ever love the truth and reprove those who are guilty of falsehood; to neither steal nor pollute his conscience for the sake of gain; that he will not conceal anything from the members of the order, nor disclose anything to outsiders, even though tortured to death; and never to communicate the doctrines differently from the manner in which he received them himself.

The objective of the Essenes was to make themselves worthy of being participants of "the Holy Spirit," or recipients of divine revelations, and of being initiated into the mysteries of God. They claimed to possess by tradition from the founders of the Synagogue the correct pronunciation and the magic spell of the Holy Name. They traveled far and wide to organize Essene communities and provide them with the three elements of their doctrine: instruction, worship, and charity (and they were especially hardworking in pursuit of benevolent work). 

In an old Armenian version of Philo's dictionary of Hebrew names, "Essene" is explained as "in silence". The suggestion may be made that the Essenes, "the observers of secrecy," designated also "the sin-fearing", had a chamber in the Temple, and in every community, where they deposited their gifts of charity in secret and whence the respectable poor drew their support in secrecy, a thing that could only be done upon the presumption that the money belonged to all alike. Each community had its administrative body consisting of its best men who took charge of the collection and distribution of charity.

John the Baptist seems to have belonged to the Essenes, but in appealing to sinners to be regenerated by baptism he inaugurated a new movement that paved the way for Christianity.  While it appears that the Essenes may have been “confrontational”, even martyrs, for their beliefs, Christianity, began to attract men of a more peaceful nature who had previously been Essenes. This does not provide one with a complete picture of the Essenes, but one should be able to see similarities to men and women of character in other organizations.

St. John’s Day and Warfare

So sacred was St. John's day deemed, that it is recored that at the Battle of Tontenay in 841 “two rival armies, meeting face to face on 23 June, by common accord put off the battle until the morrow of the feast.”  This, however, on at least one battle, was NOT the case.  On St. John’s Day in 1314 a battle took place that forever changed the history of the world.  The events leading up to this battle are worthy of our consideration.

Templars are familiar with the arrest of the Knights Templar by King Phillip “the Fair” in 1307, and that in March of 1314 Jacque de Molay was burned at the stake after his inquisition.  From this time forward, the Knights Templar were dispersed into the world, and were soon to be dissolved as a Catholic Order.  They were released from their obligation to defend and protect only the Catholic Church. Also in the year 1314 the Battle of Bannockburn took place where forces led by Robert the Bruce defeated Edward II of England forever changing the world.

Here are but SOME of the components regarding this world changing event:

In 1291 the Fall of Acre occurred and the Templars were forced to evacuate the cities on the mainland of the Holy Land and the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem is exterminated.  (Also in this year Eleanor of Aquitaine is born).  In this year Scottish nobles recognize the authority of Edward I, King of England, to mediate the resolution of a crisis of succession created by the death of King Alexander III of Scotland some five years prior.  This recognition leads to a long political struggle whereby the kings of England claim authority over the kings of Scotland, leading to a state of conflict between the two countries.

By mid-March of the year 1296, there was a standoff across the Anglo–Scottish border between the armies to the two countries.  The year 1297 was to see the country erupt in open revolt and the emergence of Andrew de Moray and William Wallace as the first significant Scottish patriots.

After clearing the English out of Scotland, Wallace turned his mind to the administration of the country, and one of his early intentions was to resume commercial and diplomatic ties with Europe and win back the overseas trade that Scotland had enjoyed under Alexander III.

In January 1298, Philip IV of France had signed a truce with Edward that did not include Scotland, thereby deserting his Scots allies. In March of this year Wallace was knighted.

During 1299, a Papal bull from Rome dictated to Edward that he desist his attacks and start negotiations with Scotland, however Edward ignored the Bull, and in May 1300, Edward I led a campaign into Scotland. In August, the Pope sent a letter demanding that Edward withdraw from Scotland and, Edward, due to the lack of success, arranged a truce with the Scots on October 30 and returned to England. 

In July 1301, Edward launched his sixth campaign into Scotland, aiming to conquer that nation by force.  Edward faced both excommunication by the Pope for his actions, and a possible invasion by the French.  Nevertheless he continued with his campaign for conquering his northern neighbor.

The year 1302 brings and interesting development. Robert the Bruce writes a letter on March 11, 1302, to “the anxious monks of Melrose Abbey”.  He assures them that, although in the past he had enrolled the abbey's tenants into his army of Carrick and led them all over the country, now “troubled in conscience” he promises never to demand such service in the future “unless the common army of the whole realm is raised for its defence (sic)”.  It is interesting to note that Melrose Abbey is a Cistercian Abbey. 

Also in this year, and more serious to the Scottish patriots, was the loss of support from Philip IV of France and subsequently the Pope. In 1302 Philip faced revolt at home when he confiscated all Jewish property in France.  He became too involved in his own difficulties to care about the Scots. He had also created a schism between himself and the Pope, whose support for the Scots faded without Philip’s influence.  

In 1307 Edward II ascended to the throne of England, and all of the political turmoil created by Phillip was focused upon the Knights Templar.  It culminated in their dispersion when Phillip “the Fair” arrested them in 1307, in the inquisition climaxed by the death of the Grand Master in 1314, and in the dissolution of the Catholic order shortly thereafter. But did the Templars continue to have a part on the world stage?  We see that prior to 1302 The Bruce had called to warfare the Cistercian tenants on his land.  Might the same thing have happened in 1314?

The 1314 English invasion of Scotland culminated in the battle of Bannockburn, when not long after daybreak on June 24, the Scots surprised King Edward when Robert's army emerged from the cover of the nearby woods. As Bruce's army drew nearer, preparing for battle, they paused and knelt in prayer. Edward is supposed to have said in surprise "They pray for mercy!" One of his attendants replied "For mercy, yes, but from God, not you. These men will conquer or die" a truly Scots, Essene, and Templar sentiment.

Bruce then committed his whole Scots army to an inexorable bloody push into the disorganized English mass. With the English formations beginning to break, a great shout went up from the Scots, "Lay on! Lay on! Lay on! They fail!"   Soon afterward a group of individuals with weapons and banners appeared and to the English army, close to exhaustion, this appeared like a fresh reserve and they lost all hope. The English forces north of the Bannock Burn broke into flight. Sources differ in the numbers of casualties, but one author, weighing up the available evidence, states, “it seems doubtful if even a third of the foot soldiers returned to England. Out of 16,000 infantrymen, this would give a total of about 11,000 killed. The Scottish losses appear to have been comparatively light, with only two knights among those killed.”

The Scottish victory was complete and, although full English recognition of Scottish independence was not achieved until more than ten years later, Robert Bruce's position as king was greatly strengthened by the events at Bannockburn on St. John’s Day.  As Scots have literally changed the world with their knowledge, their courage, their fortitude, and their leadership, the St. John’s Day of 1314 was truly a world changing event, for without a Scotland, the world would be a vastly different place.

 A legend has developed that Robert I was saved at the critical juncture of the battle by a force of Knights Templar - a story with no foundation in the documents of the time.  There is only: 

•    the coincidence of history—the Scottish and French alliances failing at the time the French persecution of the Templars commenced, followed by the church persecution of the Templars;
•    the timing of key political events—the climax of the Templar downfall and the elimination of their Grand Master freeing the Knights Templar from loyalty to a Grand Master or of the organization to the Pope, at the same time that the King of Scotland finds himself in need of their service for the national defense;
•    political alliances—the French King’s abandonment of Scotland, and of the Templars; and that letter from Robert the Bruce in 1302 indicating that Cistercian abbey tenants at Melrose would be called up when national defense warranted it;

among other evidences to indicate that even if there are no historical DOCUMENTS proving such, there is certainly enough EVIDENCE to suggest that the Templars did indeed, play some part.

Were the Templars a part of the St. John’s Day Massacre at Bannockburn? It is certainly POSSIBLE that they were, even probable that some Templar Knights were involved.  But no “concrete” documentable evidence satisfies the historians.  But it is clear that after St. John’s Day in 1314 the Templar Order’s Light continued to decline into in the spiritual winter and the darkness of the world.

Conclusion

St. John’s Feast Day on June 24 marks the time when the light begins to fade. However, through Freemasonry, the many Templar Orders around the world, and others, “more light” is being brought to mankind.  It marks a time when man shall require additional light, for the days grow shorter and colder, but there is ALWAYS hope.  For the hope of the winter solstice and the celebration of the priest-king of the Order of Melchizedek shall mark the time when the light begins to grow ever stronger and ever longer.  It is cause for joy, hope, and indeed a reason to celebrate the return of spiritual light to mankind.  This is what makes June 24 a special time, for though darkness may prevail for a time there is always hope for the solstice, the turning back towards the strengthening of the light. 

As we celebrate St. John’s day with the lighting of our own fires, it brings new meaning to “you are the light of the world”, for as the light of the natural world decreases, our light serves as “the light of the world” until such time as “THE Light” returns.  Until then we are called, Templars, to “tend the flame” and to “let YOUR light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven.”

Non nobis Domine, non nobis.  Sed nomini tuo da gloriam.