Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis (SRICF)

The Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis (SRICF) is an American Rosicrucian society rooted in 19th-century Freemasonry. Its origins trace to efforts by Christian Freemasons in the United States to create a body similar to the British Rosicrucian tradition. Early attempts in the 1870s under Scottish authority faltered, but in 1878 senior U.S. Masons secured a charter from the Societas Rosicruciana in Scotia (SRIS) for a college in Philadelphia. A second charter followed for New York, and on April 21, 1880, members from both colleges formed a High Council, initially called the Societas Rosicrucianae Reipublica Confoedera America. The name evolved over time and was formally Latinized to Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis in 1934.

Membership is by invitation only, open to Christian Master Masons, and originally capped at 36 members per college—expanded to 72 in 1908. The society’s headquarters (the See of the High Council) is in Washington, D.C., and it maintains friendly relations with affiliated Rosicrucian bodies internationally. The SRICF produces an annual journal (Ad Lucem) and other publications. Governance is by a High Council, led by a Supreme Magus elected every three years.