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The term "third order" comes from Saint Francis of Assisi who started a first order for men and second for women, who withdrew from ordinary life, and a third order for dedicated people in the everyday world, living separately but bound together by a common spiritual way.

We are a new kind of third order, one composed of men and women from many faiths and cultures who are bound together not by creed, dogma or ritual but by that universal spirit that is within and beyond
all religions.

The Universal Third Order is represented by a blue gentian, a rare flower which grows in the high mountains of the world – the Himalayas, Andes, Rocky Mountains, Alps, – and a few are scattered in other isolated areas
of the world. The gentian reminds us that those who
are dedicated to a spiritual life are few in the world's
total population. They, like the flower, blossom best in high, clear light and need solitude. The gentian stands
for encouragement and the faith needed to keep
moving forward.