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Click <HERE> to view the FALL 2024 Edition (November 1, 2024) of the Pythian International.
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Welcome
Thank you for visiting the website of the Knights of Pythias. The Order of Knights of Pythias, a great international, non-sectarian fraternity founded in Washington, DC, by Justus H. Rathbone, in 1864, became the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the Congress of the United States after careful investigation by then-President Abraham Lincoln.
The Order of Knights of Pythias is an international, non-sectarian fraternal order established in Washington, DC, on February 19, 1864, by Justus H. Rathbone. It was the first fraternal order to be chartered by an Act of Congress.
Our fraternal order follows three distinguishing principles, Friendship, Charity, and Benevolence. Domains of the Order exist in most states and provinces, and subordinate lodges are located in many cities and towns across the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Our order bases its lessons and builds its ritual mainly on the familiar story of the friendship of Damon and Pythias. These historical characters lived about four hundred or more years before the beginning of the Christian era. They were members of a school founded by Pythagoras, the father of Greek philosophy. Their loyalty to each other, the adventures that beset them, and the outcome of this noble friendship form the basis for one of the most beautiful stories of history, as exemplified in our ritual.
The Knights of Pythias supports charitable, benevolent, fraternal, and social activities through its subordinate lodges, their members, and the communities each serves.
The primary charity supported by Supreme Lodge is the American Cancer Society. Our Grand Lodges and Subordinate Lodges support many other charities and programs.
The real common thread throughout the Knights of Pythias involves our commitment to helping people; when asked what we do, we simply answer: We volunteer! We help people! This common thread shows itself in everything we do. If someone approaches a Pythian and asks what we do, a Pythian simply lists what our order and the Pythian's home lodge do and asks them if they want to help volunteer. The Supreme Chancellor's Message outlines our annual program and reflects that imperative yearly.
For information on becoming a member of the Order of the Knights of Pythias, please send a request through our “Ask About Membership” form. A brother from your state will follow up to inform you about our Order and the nearest lodge.
Reach Supreme Lodge Knights of Pythias at:
Supreme Lodge Knights of Pythias
458 Pearl Street
Stoughton, MA 02702-1655
Phone: 781-341-2422
Fax: 781-341-0496
Email: supremelodge@pythias.org