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Oregon Pythians

Friendship, Charity and Benevolence

Declaration of Principles

Pythian knighthood had its conception in the exemplification of the life test of true friendship exiting between Damon and Pythias.

Friendship, or mutual confidence, being the strongest bond of union between man and man, and only existing where honor has an abiding place, is adopted as a foundation principle.

As the ideal knight of olden time was the personification of all the higher and nobler attributes of man's nature, the candidate for knighthood had to prove himself worthy of acceptance by those who valued friendship, bravery, honor, justice, and loyalty.

The Knights of Pythias is dedicated to the cause of universal peace and is pledged to the promotion of understanding among men of good will as the surest means of attaining it.

The order of Knights of Pythias -- founded in Friendship, Charity, and Benevolence, which it proclaims as its cardinal principles -- strives to gather into one mighty fraternity worthy men who appreciate the true meaning of friendship; who are cautious in word and act; who love truth; who are brave in defending right; whose honor is untarnished; whose sense of justice will prevent, to the best of their ability, a personal act or word injurious to the worthy; whose loyalty to principle, to family, to friends, to their country, and to the constituted authority under which they enjoy citizenship is undoubted; and who, at all times, are prepared to do unto others as they would that others should do unto them.

"Friendship" -- Life's Most Valuable Commodity

It Cannot Be Bought, It Cannot be Sold. It Must Be Earned.

The Order Knights of Pythias was founded in Washington, D.C., by Justus Henry Rathbone and six other young men, on February 19, 1864, and quickly spread through out the land, sought after by men everywhere who were tired of conflict and hungry for the outstretched hand of true friendship.

Today, more than a century after its founding, men of good will and friendly persuasion, together with their sister organization, carry on the proud tradition and seek to disseminate friendship in all parts of the United States and Canada.

Through the rituals of the Order and by the lessons taught and ceremonies performed, the Order seeks to take hold of the hearts of men in a never-ending quest for International Brotherhood. Present at every lodge meeting is the open Bible, our book of law, resting upon an altar and the flag of the country in which the lodge is located, displayed with dignity and love. These symbols signify that the Knights of Pythias and Pythian Sisters have a belief in a Supreme Being and love for their country.

The Order does not seek to shape the creed of its members and is not a religious organization. It is required that everyone who seeks membership must have a belief in a Supreme Being. How the members worship that Supreme Being is a matter of their personal choice.

Our order the Knights of Pythias

Support charities. We live by this and continuously strive to provide. We have attained a height of charity in many different and varying ways, here are but a few:

We are the charter representatives for Scouting, both the Cubs and Boys;
Support Special Olympics for those special children;
Oregon Gardens has a unique sensory garden section that we provided;
Our helmet program is helping to protect those up coming young minds;
Coats for kids program to keep the youngsters warm;
Bikes for young readers and helmets for all;
Special teachers fund for those little extras for school children to have a bit more than what today's school system alone can provide.

Our charity goes beyond just monetary funds; we provide ourselves and the use of our lodges for any worthy cause that we deem merit able and stand steadfast to help accomplish a charitable goal.

The Knights of Pythias have benevolence as one of our most important ingredients to our order. We have been in Oregon since 1884 supporting friendship and charity where benevolence has helped us to maintain and stay who we are. We have fundraisers, patron dues, real estate income, and some successful investment strategies to help us with our charities and promotion of friendship.

In this day and age of mankind if all men were bound by benevolence think what a world this could be. No task or goal to large, no person hungry, no child left crying, no fear of thy neighbor, etc... This may be a dream but we still continue to work towards this goal no matter how taunting it is, if it's within our power to make difference then we will.

What a wonderful world this could be.