The Order of Quetzalcoatl, a Brotherhood of Fire and Feathers

The din of the 400 or so people gathered in a hotel conference room is pierced, suddenly and dramatically, by the sonic blast of a conch. All at once, the players take their place and a four-act drama begins to unfold, centered on the mythic Aztec figure of Quetzalcoatl.

Thus begins the third ceremonial degree of one of the least-known branches of Freemasonry.

For all its full-feathered pomp, the Order of Quetzalcoatl exists primarily for altruistic reasons. Established in 1945, the order raises funds to benefit the Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Mexico City. The ritual was developed by Arthur Elian, a former member of the Anezah Shrine in Mexico City, and upon the opening of the hospital, the degree was conferred on many American visitors to the facility. They in turn began conferring the degrees stateside, establishing “teocallis,” or temples, of the order around the country.

The order involves three levels of membership: Initiates (who must be Masons and Shriners and are only accepted by invitation) are referred to as a coate (pronounced co-AH-tay, meaning “tribesman”); they can advance to the degree of artisan and ultimately master artisan. In order to obtain the final degree, they must attend the order’s annual Feast of Fire national convention and make a pilgrimage to the Temple of Quetzalcoatl at Teotihuacán.

Money raised by the order helps underwrite the hospital’s transportation fund. The order also operates the Q Foundation, which helps pay for temporary housing for patients and their families, as well as international travel to the hospital, which specializes in burn injuries and neuromusculoskeletal conditions. The hospital treats patients regardless of their family’s ability to pay.

There are chapters of the group in California and throughout the country, which are organized under a supreme teocalli.

Meanwhile, the Shrine is seeing significant growth in Central and South America, with chapters surging in Mexico and Brazil in particular. In fact, the Anezeh Shriners in Mexico City saw membership jump from just 280 in 2017 to nearly 1,200 this year, according to Shriners International.