the degree rituals of the northern masonic jurisdiction1].pdf · 2019-12-06 · from the venture on...

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The Degree Rituals of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction

C. DeForrest Trexler, 33°

If thetimeevercomeswhentheScottishRitedeterminestoremainstatic,whenitsphilosophymaynotbeadjustedtotheneedsofachangingworld,thenisthetimeforitsobsequies.Untilthen,itsleadersshouldneveraban-don study of the philosophy of its ritualistic teachings that, by recast andrevision,itmaykeepinthevanofadvancingcivilization.

—MelvinMaynardJohnson,33°,Sov\Gr\Comm\

1943Allocution

ItshallbethedutyoftheCommitteeonRitualisticMatterstostudyandfromtimetotimetosuggestrevisionofallritualsandceremonialsoftheScottishRitewithinthisjurisdiction,tomakerecommendationswithrespectthereto,andtoreportthereontotheSupremeCouncilateachannualmeeting.

—Constitutions135–1(5)

Morethan30yearshavepassedsincepublicationofTheRit-ualsof theSupremeCouncil,33°, for theNorthernMasonicJurisdic-tion,U.S.A.Thisuniqueworktracedtheobscureandcomplexori-ginsanddevelopmentofthe29ScottishRitedegreeritualsthrough

thecourseof200yearsfromtheearliestsurvivingsource,HenryFrancken’s1783manuscriptof300pages,believedtobebasedonearlierFrenchritualsentrustedtoFranckenbyStephenMorin.

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TheauthorofThe Rituals,Ill.IrvingE.Partridge,33°,ActiveMemberforConnecti-cut,waseminentlyqualifiedforthetask.AmemberoftheSupremeCouncilCommit-teeonRituals1since1951,hehadservedaschairmanfor15years,1957–72,andwouldbecalledupontoresumethatpostin1977–78.Despitethecredentialshebroughttotheproject,PartridgereadilyconcededcreditforthecontentofThe Ritualstohispre-decessor,Ill.McIlyarH.Lichliter,33°,ActiveMemberat-Largeandcommitteechair-manin1945–57.BroughttotheSupremeCouncilbySovereignGrandCommanderMelvinMaynardJohnsonin1942,LichliteremergedasthepreeminentscholarandauthorityonthedegreeritualsoftheNorthernMasonicJurisdictionduringthe20thcentury.Lichliterdevotedmorethanadozenyearstoresearchandanalysisoftheritualsofthejurisdiction,compilingvoluminousnoteswhichdescribedtheircontentandtracedtheirdevelopment.Lichlitercontinuedhisstudiesuntil1958.

Lichliterwasmorethananantiquarian.HebelievedthatScottishRiteMasonrywasnotsimplytheworkingofritualforitsownsake.Ritualwasthemeansofpre-sentingMasonicphilosophythatmenmightunderstandthereasonandpurposeof life,andtherebygaintheknowledgeandinspirationtobetterthemselvesandsociety.Thelogicalextensionofthisbelief is thatas lifeandsocietyarecontinu-allychanging,sotheritualmustbeadaptedfromtimetotimetoremainrelevant.Lichliter’scopiousnotesincludedrecommendationsastohowthedegreeritualsmightberevisedandimproved.Inthisconviction,heprobablywasinfluenced,andcertainlywasencouraged,byGrandCommanderJohnson.Incontrasttotheopin-ionthatprevailedinmanyotherScottishRitejurisdictions,JohnsonbelievedthatritualexistedtoservetheRite,nottheotherwayaround.

Although Johnson and Lichliter were prominent advocates of ritual revision,thepractice,asweshallsee,didnotbeginwith,norhasitbeenconfinedto,theirefforts.AsIll.ArturodeHoyos,33°,recentlyhasnoted,“TheSupremeCouncil,33°,NMJ,hasalongstandingpracticeofritualrevision.Ratherthanusingonlythetra-ditionallegendsandthemesoftheScottishRite,manyofitsdegreesemploymod-ernthemestoteachitslessons.”2

Consistent with this philosophy, the degree rituals of the Northern MasonicJurisdictionhavecontinuedtoevolve.SincepublicationofPartridge’sworkin1976,all29ritualshavebeenrevisedatleastonce,manyofthemextensively,andsomehavegonethroughasmanyasfourrevisions.Sixentirelynewdegreeritualshavebeenwrittenandintroduced,andonepreviouslywithdrawnhasbeenreintroduced.Fiveritualsextantin1976havesincebeenwithdrawnandreplaced.

Itisofpassinginterestthatin1960theSupremeCouncilsoftheNorthernandSouthernJurisdictionsoftheUnitedStatesagreedtojointmeetingsoftheirrespec-

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TheDegreeRitualsoftheNorthernMasonicJurisdiction

tiveCommitteesonRitualsforthepurposeofpromotinggreateruniformityindegreework.Beforeanymeetingswereheld,however,theSouthernJurisdictionwithdrewfromtheventureonthegroundsthatitsritual,writtenbyAlbertPike,already“wasasperfectashumanlypossible.”Hence,therewasnoreasontodiscusschange,not-withstandingthatPikehimselfhadbeenthegreatestinnovatorofMasonicritualand,overaperiodof30yearsto1884,hadrevisedtheinitialversionsofhisownrituals.Perfectornot,therealitywasthatValleysacrosstheSouthernJurisdictionroutinelywereabridgingandadapting thePikeritual tosuit their individual situations.Per-hapsitwasinevitablethat,startingin1985,theSouthernJurisdictionbegantosoftenitsstancebyundertakingtomodifyandsimplify,thatis,abridge,thePikeritual.Thisprocessculminatedin2000withissuanceofThe Revised Standard Pike Ritual.

ArgumentWhyisrevision(thatis,change)ofMasonicritualnecessaryordesirable?MasonscometotheScottishRitefromthesymbolic lodgeimbuedwithabelief inthepurportedancientoriginandimmutabilityofMasonicritualandstricturesagainstinnovation.Yetwhatmanyregardasthespiritualcoreofsymboliclodgeritual,theHiramiclegendoftheMasterMason’sdegreewasitselfaninnovationthatdidnotcomeintogeneralusageuntiladecadeormoreaftertheformationofthefirstGrandLodge.

TheScottishRitedegreeritualsrecordedintheFrancken Manuscriptandwhatweknowoftheircommunicationduringmostofthenineteenthcenturywereskel-etalcomparedtothedramatizedallegorieswithwhichwearefamiliar.Forexample,the20°and27°rituals,notedfortheirimpressivedramas,didnotincludedramaticsectionsatalluntiltheywereaddedbytherevisedritualsof1896.Moreover,themedievaltrialdramaofthe30°(formerlythe31°)didnotappearuntil1938anddidnotbecomeapermanentpartoftheritualuntil1949.Evenmorerecentisthedra-maticsectionofthe11°whichdidnotappearuntil1974.Perhapsmostsurprisingofallisthefactthatthe“Constans”allegoryofthe31°,consideredbymanyofourBrethrentorepresenttheessenceofScottishRiteritual,madeitsfirstappearanceaslateas1916,whenitwasaddedtotheceremonialritualofthe32°.

During thepast 150years the formatofScottishRitedegree ritualshasbeencompletelytransformed.Thetraditionalfullformritual,establishedbytheFrenchrituals of the mid-1700s and no doubt based on the form of the symbolic lodgedegrees, consisted of a ceremonial opening, followed by reception of the candi-date,theobligationandinvestiture,andalectureorcatechism,oftenverylengthy,explainingthehistory,symbolism,andlessonofthedegree.Inthelate19thcenturythelectureandcatechismwereincreasinglyreplacedbyadramaticallegorywhich

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duringthe20thcenturybecametheprincipalcomponentofmostdegreerituals.Inotherwords,thedramatichadsupersededthedidacticasthepreferredmethodofcommunicatingtheessenceoftheritual.Bytheendofthelastcentury,thecer-emonialportionwasdisappearingentirelyfrommostdegreerituals,leavingonlythedramaticsection,orallegory,astheritualofthedegree.

SeveralnoteworthyexamplesofradicalrevisionofScottishRitedegreeritualsoccurredduringthefirsthalfofthe20thcentury.In1922,FrederickofPrussiaandtheEuropeansettingofthe20°ritualweresupersededbyGeorgeWashingtonandtheAmericanRevolution.Thechangewasbelieved,andsubsequentlyproven,tobemoreeffectiveincommunicatingthelessonsofpatriotismandtrustworthinesstoanAmericanaudience.In1942,thedramaofthe26°ritual,basedontheperse-cutionofearlyChristians inancientRome,wasreplacedbythebiblicalstoryofJosephandhisbrotherswhichwasseenasanimprovedmediumtocommunicatethelessonofmercy.Thatsameyear,anelaboratedramaticproductionsetagainstthe colorful background of Herod’s Temple replaced the time-honored, solemnanddidacticritualofthe17°,basedontheBookofRevelation.

Wehavetoucheduponthephilosophicaljustification,ifnottheimperative,forritualisticrevision.Ifthepurposeoftheritualistoimpartamorallessonandshapepersonalbehavior,thenitmustbemeaningfulandinspiringtotheindividualstowhom it is communicated. This, in turn, requires that the method in which theritualiscommunicatedbeunderstandableandthatitscontentberelevantintheprevailingsocialculture.Society,asweknow,issubjecttocontinuingchange,andduringthepast30-oddyearsthatchangehascomeatanacceleratedrate.Ofcourse,truthandthecontrastbetweenmoralrightandwrongdonotchange.Butmeansofcommunicationandinterpretationmustberesponsivetoculturalchangeifthemessageistobeunderstood.

Degree RealignmentWithoutquestion,themostsignificantsingledevelopmentinthedegreeritualofthisjurisdictionsince1976hasbeentherealignmentortransferoffourdegreeritu-alsintheirentiretyfromtheConsistorytotheLodgeofPerfection.Asearlyas1974,theCommitteeonRituals’ longrangepolicyforritualrevisioncalledforrealign-mentoftheritualisticallegoriesoftheLodge,Council,Chapter,andConsistoryinalogical,approximatelyhistoricalsequence.ThisrequiredthetransferoftheOldTestament-basedallegoriesofthe23°,24°,25°,and26°fromtheConsistorytotheLodgeofPerfection.Moreover,theConsistoryritualscontaineddramaticallego-riesthatillustratedimportantmorallessonswhichwereseenasanimprovement

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over traditional Lodge of Perfection degree rituals that were nothing more thanextensionsoftheHiramiclegendexemplifiedinthesymboliclodge.

AlthoughtheproposedrealignmentwasnotpresentedfortheSupremeCoun-cil’sapprovaluntil1985,implementationproceededrapidlythereafter.Thetransferbeganin1986andwascompletedin1993,replacingtheexistingritualsofthe5°,6°,9°, and 12°. The greatest challenge, or rather opportunity, of the process was thenecessitytopreparefourentirelynewdegreeritualstoreplacetheOldTestamentallegoriesintheConsistory.Inspired,nodoubt,bythesuccessofthe“Washington”allegoryofthe20°,allofthenewritualswerebasedonmorecontemporaryAmeri-canthemes.Thus,theaimwasforScottishRiteritualtoprovideamoretimelyandrelevantmessageaswellasamorecoherentone.

What’s in a Name?Notwithstanding extensive changes in the form and substance of degree ritualsovertheyears,thetitlesofthedegreesremainedrelativelyconstantfromtheearly19thcentury.Thisresultedinthetraditionaltitlesofmanyofthedegrees,howevergrandiloquent,becomingincreasinglyarcane,obscure,andirrelevanttotheritual.In1979theCommitteeonRitualsconsideredtheincreasinginconsistencybetweenthetitlesandtheritualsofvariousofthedegrees,butdeterminedthatdegreetitlesweremandatedbytheConstitutionsoftheSupremeCouncil.Thus,thetraditionaldegreetitleswereleftinplace.

Therethematterrestedfornearlyaquartercentury.Inthemeantime,thetrans-ferofthefourOldTestamentdegreeritualsfromtheConsistorytotheLodgeofPerfectionandtheirreplacementbyentirelynewritualshadmadetheanomalyofdegreetitlesmoredifficulttooverlook.In2003thecommitteerevisitedtheques-tionofdegreetitlesthatborenorelevancetothesubjectmatteroftheritual.Primecasesinpointwerethe6°,“IntimateSecretary,”theritualofwhichnowwasbasedonthebiblicalstoryofMosesandthebrazenserpent,andthe25°,“KnightoftheBrazenSerpent,”nowwitharitualbasedonthelifeofBenjaminFranklin.Appro-priatechangesinthetitlesofthe6°,9°,24°,25°,and27°wererecommendedandapproved,togetherwithpertinentenablingamendmentstotheConstitutions.Insubsequentyearssimilarchangesweremadeinthetitlesofthe4°,12°,23°,26°,30°,and31°,aswellasabbreviationsofthetitlesforthe10°and15°.

Matters of StyleRitualrevisionmostfrequentlytakestheformofstylisticchangesinthedialogue.Thechoiceofawordandtheturnofaphrase,thoughhighlysubjective,arefarfrom

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arbitrary distinctions without a difference or elevations of form over substance.Theycanmatteragreatdealinattractingandretainingtheappreciationoftheaudi-ence,nolessthaninfacilitatingtheeffectivedeliveryoflinesbyamateuractors.Thedialoguemustnotonlyconveythe intendedmessageandbeclearlyunderstood,itmustcapturetheattentionoftheaudienceand,ideally,impressandinspirethemindandtheemotionswiththemessageweareseekingtocommunicate.

Themeaning,usage,andnuanceofmanywordschangeovertime,sotheymaynolongerexpressthesamethoughtorbeunderstoodinthesamewayastheywerebypreviousgenerations.Gayandawesomearebuttwoexamplesofwordsthathaveundergonesuchachangewithintherecentpast.Grammaticalstylealsoevolveswithtime.Theflorid,verbosestyleofdiscourse,sonaturalandpopularattheturnofthe20thcentury,nolongerisinvogueorevenunderstoodbymany.Wordsandstylesofspeechmustbemodifiedinordertocommunicatetosucceedinggenerations.

The situation is complicated by the fact that authors of the degree rituals inmanycases intentionallyusedstylesof speech,suchasKingJamesEnglish, thatwerearchaicevenintheirday.Perhapstheintentionwastoimbuethelanguageoftheritualwithamoreelevatedandpoetictonethanwaspresentinordinaryverbaldiscourse.Theresult,unfortunately,hasbeenthatovertimeritualisticdialoguehasbecomeincreasinglylessimpressiveandintelligibletocontemporaryaudiences.

Audiences of the early 20th century also were accustomed to lengthy theatri-calperformances,featuringlongmonologues.Incontrast,contemporaryaudiences,conditionednodoubtbymodernmedia,expectand tolerateonlymuchshorterpresentationsinwhichthoughtsarecommunicatedinbriefexchangesofinteractivedialogue,inthenatureofeverydayconversation.Inotherwords,themessageofthedegreeritualmustbecommunicatedwithinashorteraudienceattentionspan.

Techniques and TechnologyTheacceleratingpaceofvisualartstechnologyandtheexpandinguseofnewthe-atrical techniques have raised the bar for achieving the necessary effect of the-ater,“suspensionof[audience]disbelief.”ScottishRiteValleyshavebeenobligedto accommodate these developments if they expect to communicate the degreeritualseffectivelytoaudiencesthathavebecomeaccustomedtothem.ManyVal-leyshaveintroducedcomputerizedlightingandsoundcontrols.Useofaconven-tionalmaincurtainandscenerysetsmayhelpcreateimpressivevisualtableaus,butoftencompromisesthepresentationbybreakingthecontinuityofthedramaandlosingaudienceattentionbyexcessivedeadcurtaintime.Hence,traditionaltech-niquesincreasinglyarebeingsupersededbyimaginativeuseofopenstageconcepts,

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scrimsandscenerydropsorflies,andelectronicprojections,resultinginsignificantsavingsoftime,cost,labor,and,mostimportantofall,audienceappreciation.

VideorecordingofdegreeritualswasfirstsanctionedbytheSupremeCouncilin 1986, subject to specified conditions, for the limited purposes of training, cri-tique,andevaluation. In2003 theSupremeCouncildiscontinuedpublicationofthedegreeritualsinprintedbookform,apracticethatdatedbackatleastto1870.Henceforth, all the degree rituals were recorded on a single computer disk, anupdatedcopyofwhich isdistributedtoeachValleyannually.Thistransitionhasgreatlyfacilitatedtheprocessofritualreviewandrevision,andaccelerateddistribu-tiontotheValleysofthecurrentversionoftheritual,nottomentionthesubstantialsavingsthathaveaccruedtotheSupremeCouncilbyeliminationofprintingcosts.

The Question of ResourcesRitualisticrevisionalsohasbeendrivenbyconditionsandchangeswithinthefra-ternity.OnehundredValleys,moreorless,spreadacrossthe15-statejurisdiction,from the Atlantic to the Mississippi River, and from Canada to the Ohio River,represent diverse aggregations of human and material resources. Degree ritualsthatrequireamulti-scenestageproduction,withasizablecastandelaboratecos-tumesandsets,maybeanacceptablechallengeforlarge,well-endowedValleys,butbeyondthecapabilitiesofsmallValleyswithslenderresources.Theusualresultisthatsucharitualneverappearsinthedegreeschedulesofthelatter,or,ifitdoes,ispresentedinanunimpressive,inadequatemanner.TheoptimumgoalshouldbetodevisearitualwithoptionsthatcanbepresentedinfullpanoplybyValleysabletopursuethatoption,butprovidingforbasiccast,dialogue,andscenerequirementssothattheritualcanbepresentedinameaningfulandinspiringmannerbyallVal-leysinthejurisdiction.

Membership trends since the 1970s have had an impact on the availabilityof degree cast participants in every Valley of the jurisdiction, regardless of sizeor location.Auniversalcomplaintfromdirectorsisthattheynolongerareabletocastthedegrees.Largedegreecastsoncemayhavebeendesirabletoprovideopportunities formemberparticipation,aswellas fortheatricaleffect.Butpres-entrealitycallsforritualsthatcanbepresentedeffectivelybyminimalnumbersofessentialcastmembers.

Time and SchedulingOneofthegreatestinfluencesonritualrevisionistheelementoftime.InrecentdecadesScottishRitereunionshavebeencontractedintoincreasinglytightertime

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schedules.EvenlargeValleysarechallengedbythiskindofpressure.Thedayislongpastwhencandidatesanywhereinthejurisdictionexperienceall29degreesbeforeattainingthe32°.Atpresent,twoeight-hourdailysessionsprobablyrepresentthemaximumindegreeprograms.InmanyValleysitcanbeconsiderablyless.One-dayreunions, originally introduced as special occasions to accommodate candidateswhose occupational obligations would not allow their participation for a longerperiod,soonbecamecommonplaceoccurrences.

One-dayreunionsprovideadequatetimeforcandidatestowitnessthesixdegreerituals required as a minimum for advancement to the 32° (Constitutions 516-1).A schedule that provides only the minimum requirement, however, affords littleopportunityforcandidates,andmembersforthatmatter,towitnesstheremaining23degreeritualsandexperiencethefulldegreesystemoftheRiteasitwasintendedanddesigned.In1990theCommitteeonRitualsreportedasamatterforconcernthegrowingtrendtowardshorterreunionsandthepresentationoffewerdegrees,ascandidateswhowitnessonlytherequireddegreesarenotexposedtothecom-pletephilosophyofScottishRiteMasonry.

SuchconcernsledtotheScottishRitepassportprogram,proposedin1999,toencourage32°MasonstowitnessalltheScottishRitedegrees.ThefollowingyeartheSupremeCounciladoptedapolicygoalforeachValleyinthejurisdictiontopresenteveryoneofthe29degreesatleastonceduringasix-yearcycle.Ofcourse,both of these programs are dependent upon voluntary compliance by membersandValleys.Theirsuccesshasbeenlimited.

Moreeffectiveinaddressingtheproblemgeneratedbyshorterreunionsched-uleshasbeenthepolicyof thecommittee inrevisingthedegreerituals tomakethem more concise. This policy was first formalized in 1995, when the SupremeCouncilapprovedarecommendationofthecommitteetoeliminatetheopeningandceremonialsectionsfromallfuturerevisionsofthedegreerituals(exceptforthe32°).Theeffectwasthatthedegreeritualswouldbeginwiththeprologue.Thepolicywasjustifiedonthegroundsthatwiththetrendtowardshorterreunionsandfewerdegreeexemplifications,itisbettertodispensewiththeceremonialsectionsanddevoteasmuchaspossibleofthelimitedtimeavailabletopresentationoftheallegories(dramas)thatcontaintheMasoniclessonsofthedegrees.

Thispolicysubsequentlywasextendedinimplementationtoeliminating,ormaking optional, scenes not deemed essential to dramatize the philosophicalthemeofthedegree.Furthermore,ritualrevisioninmajorparthasbecometherewriting of dialogue to delete superfluous material and render passages moreconciseinexpression.

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Agoalof ritual revisionpursuant tothesepolicies is toenableeachof the23non-mandatorydegreeritualstobepresentedatleastonceoveratwo-yearcycleoffourtwo-dayreunions.

Notwithstandingtheseefforts,however,the21stcenturybroughtarevolution-aryinnovationinMasonicmembershipthatappearedtorequireanequallyrevolu-tionaryresponse.GrandLodgesacrossthejurisdictionbegantosponsor“one-dayclasses,” whereby candidates could receive all three symbolic lodge degrees and,in addition, become a Scottish Rite Mason in a single day. Obviously, in such avenue the timeallotted to theScottishRitedegreeworkwasextremelybrief, insomecasesbarelymorethanonehour.Theseconditionspermittedthepresenta-tionofonlyonedegree,eitherthe14°orthe32°,beggingthequestionwhetheranyphilosophicallessoncouldbeeffectivelycommunicated,letalonethephilosophyofScottishRiteMasonry.

Theresponse,in2004,tothechallengeposedbythe“one-dayclass”wasanewdeparture indegreeritual. Itdidnotpurport tocommunicateamoral lesson initself,butrathertogivethecandidateapreviewofthephilosophicalpresentationshe could expect to experience on his ritualistic journey through the degrees ofScottishRiteMasonry.

L o d g e o f P e r f e c t i o n

A Long Journey—The Fourth DegreeDespiteitsprominentpositionasthefirstoftheLodgeofPerfection,orso-called

“Ineffable,”degrees,theritualofthe4°,untilveryrecently,hashadarelativelylan-guid,uneventful,anduninspiringdevelopment.

AsrecordedinHenryFrancken’s1783manuscript, the4°ritualwassimple incontentaswellasinform.ItrepresentedalodgeofSecretMastersconvenedtofillavacancyamongtheguardiansoftheHolyofHoliesoftheunfinishedTemple.Thelessons,obviouslyenough,weresecrecyandsilence.

Seventy-oddyearslater,AlbertPike’sritualgreatlyelaborateduponFrancken,addinganantiphonalinvocationofdutyasthelessonofthedegreeandintroducingacatechismonthevariousnamesofGod.ThePikeritualwastheprimarysourceforthe4°Ritualof1871,thefirstversiontobeapprovedbytheSupremeCouncilaftertheUnionof1867.Severaladditionsanddeletionsweremadeinthesucceed-ingritualsof1894and1917.Exceptfortheadditionofaceremonialcleansingofthecandidate,however,therewasnosignificantchangeincontent.

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The prevailing attitude toward the ritual was best expressed in few words byMcIlyarLichliterin1943,“Dead.Dull.Overloadedwithsymbolism.”Manyagreedthatwhatwasneededwasamoredramaticritual.Nevertheless,noeffectivestepsweretakentoaddresstheneed.

Thechangesintroducedwiththeritualof1955weremoreofformthansubstance.AnewceremonialsectionincludedaformalopeningoftheLodgeofPerfection,acoverobligationforalltheLodgeofPerfectiondegrees,andanintroductorylegendandprologue.Theso-called“drama”wasnotdramaticatall,butsimplyamodernizedversion of the traditional initiation ritual, that is, reception, obligation, investiture,andlesson(lecture),togetherwiththeceremonialcleansingandantiphonalonduty.

Theritualof 1955was indeeddistinct frompreviousrituals,buttherewasnorealdifference.Nevertheless,itremainedtheauthorizedritualofthe4°forhalfacentury.In1984theSupremeCouncilapprovedarequirementthatthe4°mustbeexemplifiedbyeveryValleyatleastonceayear.ItwasanattempttoestablishtheimportanceofthedegreeasabridgefromthesymboliclodgetotheScottishRite.However,despitenumerousattemptsduringthesucceedingyears,theCommitteeonRitualswasunabletoproduceameaningfulimprovementonwhatwasgener-allyconsideredtobeanunsatisfactoryritual.

Forthreesuccessiveyears,commencingin1987,thecommitteereportedacon-tinuingstudyto improvetheviabilityofthe4°ritual.Then,during1991–94,thecommitteereportedthereviewofnofewerthansixproposedrevisionsoftheritual,allofwhichwereattemptstointroduceadramaticscenetoportraytheMasoniclessonofduty.Noneofthesixwasfoundtobesuitable.Then,anunprecedentedcallwasextendedtoScottishRiteMasonsthroughoutthejurisdictiontocontrib-utetotheeffort.Apparently,noacceptableresponseswerereceived.In2002thecommitteeconsideredthreeseparateproposalsforanew,dramatic4°ritual,allofwhichwerebasedonOldTestamentthemes—DavidandGoliath,MosesandtheBurningBush,andAbrahamandhissons—thefirstofwhichreachedthepointofa trialexemplification.Noneof them,however,wasconsideredtobeacceptable.ThemostthecommitteecouldaccomplishwastoamendtheceremonialsectiontoexpandreferencestotheSolomoniceratoaccommodatethefourdegreeritualstransferredtotheLodgeofPerfectionfromtheConsistory.

Theapparentlyinsolubleproblemofthe4°hadbeenaroundforaconsiderabletimeandhadbaffledgenerationsofritualistslongbeforetheturnofthe21stcen-tury.EvenAlbertPike,thatmostprolificofScottishRiteritualists,confessedhisfrustrationinanallocutiondeliveredinhis70thyearthattheLodgeofPerfectionritualswerenotalltheyshouldorcouldbe,butthat“Wecannotdoallthings.”

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Then, in 2004, circumstances took a sudden, unexpected and dramatic turn.Recentdevelopmentsinmembershipwerehavingaradicalimpactonthepresen-tationofdegreerituals.GrandLodgeshadbeguntoauthorize“one-dayclasses,”inwhichitwaspossibleforcandidatesnotonlytoreceiveall threesymbolic lodgedegrees,butalsotobecomeScottishRiteMasonsonthesameday.Toaccomplishthis,thetimeavailableforScottishRiteritualwork,ofnecessity,allowedexemplifi-cationofonlyonedegree,eitherthe14°orthe32°.Whatevertheresultsinexpand-ingmembership,thesituationwasmostunsatisfactoryinsofarasexposingcandi-dates tothedegreeritualsandcommunicatingtothemthemoralphilosophyoftheScottishRite.Nevertheless,the“one-dayclass”appearedtobeafeatureoftheMasoniclandscapefortheforeseeablefuture.

Toaccommodatethenewsituationcreatedbythe“one-dayclass”andtorestoretheviabilityoftheScottishRitedegreesystem,SovereignGrandCommanderWal-terE.Webberproposedpreparationofanew4°ritualthatwouldbetherequiredinitialdegreeforScottishRitecandidates.TheproposedritualwouldintroducethecandidatetotheRiteasheidentifiedwithanexemplarpassingthroughfourdra-maticscenes,eachrepresentingoneofthecoordinateBodiesoftheScottishRite.Ineachscene,theexemplarwouldencountersomeofthecharacters,dramaticsitu-ations,andphilosophypresentedinthedegreeritualsoftherepresentativeBody.Ineffect,theproposedritualwouldbearitualisticpreviewoftheScottishRitedegreesystem.Hopefully,itwouldencouragecandidatestoreturntoviewthedegreeritu-alstheyhadnotyetexperienced.

AroughdraftofadegreeritualconformingtotheoutlineproposedbyGrandCommanderWebberwaspreparedvirtuallyovernightbyIll.JamesL.Tungate,33°,ActiveMemberforIllinoisandamemberoftheCommitteeonRitualisticMatters.Withinafewmonthstheritualwascompletedandstagedinatrialexemplification.Ascompleted,theritualconsistedofaprologue,anintroductoryscenewheretheexemplar,anewly-madeMasterMason,methisguidethroughtheScottishRite,followedbyfourscenesinwhichtheexemplarencounteredaselectionofcharac-tersandpassagesofdialogue(so-called“modules”)fromtheritualsofthe8°,12°,16°,18°,20°,23°,24°,and31°.TheproposednewritualwaspresentedtotheSupremeCouncilandapprovedasthe4°TentativeRitualof2004,underanew,descriptivetitle,“MasterTraveler.”

In2007,afterafewyearsofpresentationacrossthejurisdiction,thetentativeritual was revised by the addition to scene five (Consistory) of modules for the22°,26°,and27°.Moreover,themodulesforthe22°,23°,24°,26°,and27°weremadeoptional,anytwoofwhichweretobepresented,togetherwiththerequiredmod-

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ulesforthe20°and31°.ThepurposeofthisrevisionwastoallowindividualValleysgreaterflexibilityinusingtheritualtointroducecandidatestothedegreesystemoftheScottishRite.

The4°tentativeritualrepresentedanewdepartureinScottishRitedegreeritu-als.Itwasunprecedentedinconcept,insubstance,andinmannerofpresentation.

Sacred Fire—The Fifth DegreeTheritualofthe5°,“PerfectMaster,”asitappearedintheFrancken Manuscript,fol-lowedthetraditionalpatternoftheearlierFrenchritualsfromwhichitwasderived.Acandidatewasreceivedandobligated,thengivenalongexplanatorylectureandcatechismthatincludedadescriptionofthefuneralandtombofHiramAbif.

Seventyyearslater,theCarson/VanRensselaerritual³presentedsimilarthemesintheformofafuneralserviceatthetombofHiramAbif,inculcatingrespectforthememoryofadeceasedbrotherasthelessonofthedegree.Withvariouschangesandembellishments,thesethemescontinuedtoevolvethroughseveralritualsuntiltheyemergedin1960asadramatizationofaLodgeofSorrowforHiramAbif.

AlthoughtheLodgeofSorrowwasalogicalculminationoftheritualisticdevel-opment of the 5° since the Francken ritual, it provoked adverse criticism. Manyviewedthe1960ritualasagratuitousandessentiallymeaninglessextensionoftheHiramiclegendexemplifiedinthesymboliclodgewhichservednopurposeinthedegreesystemoftheScottishRite.

Increasing disenchantment with the Hiramic legend as a degree theme coin-cidedwithplansoftheCommitteeonRitualstoreplaceseveraloftheLodgeofPerfection degree rituals with Old Testament-based rituals from the Consistory.Theso-calleddegreerealignmentpolicywasapprovedbytheSupremeCouncilin1985,andthreeyears later,afterhavingsurvivedinevolvingformsformorethan200years,the5°ritualbecamethesecondLodgeofPerfectiondegreeritualtobewithdrawnandreplacedunderthispolicy.

Thenew5°TentativeRitualof1988wasthe23°ritualof1930.ItwasbasedontheOldTestamentstoryofthesonsofAaron,who,bytheirself-absorbedinattentionandneglectofduty,allowedthesacredfireintheTabernacletobeextinguished.TheprimeauthoroftheritualwasEnglish-bornIll.JohnLloydThomas,33°,lateranActiveMemberforNewYorkandamemberoftheCommitteeonRituals,whosubmittedadraftritualtothecommitteein1907.⁴Thisdraftwasapprovedasthe23°Ritualof1908,which,withminorrevisions,becametheritualof1930.

Thetentativeritualwassupersededbytherevised5°Ritualof1996,whichcon-tainedstylisticchanges to“modernize” thedialogueanddeleted theceremonial

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section, inaccordancewith thepolicyadoptedby theSupremeCouncil in 1995.Furtherstylisticchangesweremadeintheritualof2007,eliminatingpassagesofdialogue considered to be extraneous or obscure to modern audiences, such asmentionoftheShekinah.Anachronisticreferenceto“Jehovah”waschangedto“theLord,”andtheequallyahistoricalreferenceto“Hell”wasdeleted.Therecentrevi-sions,however,haveleftintactthecontentoftheThomasritual.

A Matter of Faith—The Sixth DegreeThe6°intheFrancken Manuscriptboretheunusualandunwieldytitle“PerfectMas-terbyCuriosityorIntimateSecretary.”Thisname,atanyrate,wasdescriptiveofthereception,wherethecandidateintrudedintothepresenceofKingSolomonasanunintentionaleavesdropperandtherebygainedadmissiontothedegree.AnotherunusualfeaturewasthefactthatthelectureexplainedthedeltaassymbolicoftheChristiantriad,Faith,Hope,andCharity,ananomalyfortheOldTestamentset-tingoftheritual.Nevertheless,thisexplanation(althoughdeletedbyAlbertPike)remainedapartofthe1871ritual,thefirsttobeapprovedaftertheUnionof1867.Asuccessionof6°ritualsovermorethan150yearsmadeonlyminorverbalchanges,exceptforabbreviatingthetitleofthedegreeto“IntimateSecretary,”improbableasthatnamemayhavebeenforaScottishRitedegree.

Amajorrevisionfinallyappearedintheritualof1966althoughitremainedcon-sistentwiththeessenceoftheFranckenritual.Inaccordancewiththeconventionalformofdegreeritualsastheydevelopedduringthe20thcentury,aceremonialsec-tion,includingtheobligationandinvestiture,wasfollowedbyadramatizedelabo-rationoftheeavesdroppingincidentrepresentedinthereceptionoftheFranckenritual.Thisremainedtheritualofthe6°formorethanaquartercentury.

In1985theSupremeCouncilapprovedthetransferofdegreeritualswithOldTestamentthemesfromtheConsistorytotheLodgeofPerfection.Thisplanulti-matelyresultedinwithdrawalofthetraditional6°ritualwhichinsubstancedatedbackmorethan200yearstotheFrancken Manuscript.Itwasreplacedin1993byatentativeritualthathadbeentheritualofthe25°,“KnightoftheBrazenSerpent.”The1993tentativeritual,withsomemodifications, laterwasapprovedas the6°Ritualof1996.

Thenewritualofthe6°consistedofaprologue,andintroductorysceneone,inwhichtheofficersofthelodgediscussedtheproblemsandneedsofthecontempo-raryworldinpreparationforthelessonofthedegreewhichthenwasexemplifiedindramaticforminscenetwo.Thedramatization,whichdatedbackto1896andowedits inspirationtoAlbertPike,wasbasedonthebiblicalaccountofMoses

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andtheBrazenSerpent.Thelessonofthedegreewasfaith—inourselves,ineachother,andinGod.

Severalyearslaterfurtherrevisionsweremadewiththeritualof2003.Presen-tationofsceneonewasmadeoptionalandtheprologuewasmovedtoa logicalsequence preceding scene two. A number of stylistic changes were made in thedialogue. Finally, the title of the 6° was changed from the now totally irrelevant

“IntimateSecretary”tothehighlydescriptive“MasteroftheBrazenSerpent.”

Equity—The Seventh DegreeFewdegreeritualsoftheScottishRitecanbetracedinrecognizableformfromori-ginsasearlyasthatofthe7°,“ProvostandJudge.”NotonlyisitfoundintheFrancken Manuscriptof1783,butthatversionalsoappearstohavebeenaliteraltranslationofearlierFrenchritualsdatingbackto1754.Thetitleofthedegreewasderivedfromabiblicalsource,thatis,theofficersappointedoverIsraelbyDavid(IChronicles23:4).Thelessonofthedegreefromitsinceptionhasbeentruth,equity,andjustice.Thedrama,asweknowit,adisputebetweenworkmeninaquarryanditseventualresolution,wasfirstintroducedwiththeritualof1894.Thiswasamplifiedbyaddi-tionofthetrialscenein1915.The1941ritualaddedanoptionalbriefintermediatesceneinpantomime,depictingthetheftofthekeystone.

Thusmattersstoodformorethan30yearsuntilthetentativeritualof1974.Afteran extended period of trial exemplifications across the jurisdiction and furthermodifications,thisversionwasapprovedastheritualof1980.Asfinallyapproved,therevisedritualincludedamarginallyshortenedceremonialopening,afewmod-estwordchangesinthedrama,andeliminationoftheoptionalpantomimescene.

Theritualof2005eliminatedtheceremonialopeninginitsentirety,consistentwiththepolicyadoptedbytheSupremeCouncilin1995,andmadeanumberofsty-listicchangesinthedialogueofthedrama.However,thecastofcharactersandthedramaticthemepresentedinthequarryandthetrialscenesremainedintact.Today,themessageofthe7°isessentiallythesameasthatwhichappearedinFrenchritu-als250yearsagoandisdramatizedinthesamefashion,asaquarrydispute,thatwasintroducedintotheritualinthe1890s.

David and Solomon—The Eighth DegreeTheritualofthe8°providesareadyexampleofthedevelopmentalpatternofmanyScottishRitedegreerituals.TheFrancken Manuscriptincludedacompleteritualforthe8°,entitled“IntendantoftheBuilding.”Theritualcontainedthetraditionalele-mentsofaScottishRitedegreeritual—opening,reception,obligation,investiture,

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andalecture,explainingthesymbolismofthedegree.ThethemewasthecreationbyKingSolomon,intheroleofThricePotentMaster,ofasuperintendentoftheworkmenontheTemple.

SubsequentritualswereeithercopiesofFranckenoraddedonlyminorembel-lishments.AllofthiswasgreatlyelaboratedandpresentedinmoredramaticformbyAlbertPike’sritual,whichinessencewastheritualadoptedaftertheUnionof1867andusedinthisjurisdictionformorethanacentury.

Then,beginningin1979,theCommitteeonRitualsembarkedonarevisionoftheritual.TheprimeauthoroftherevisionwasIll.WilliamW.Merrill,33°,amem-ber of the Valley of Detroit and a consultant to the committee. Merrill added adramaticsectionintwoscenesthatdepictedDavid’sselectionofSolomonashissuccessorandthebuilderof theTemple.Tocompensate for theadditionof thedramaticsection(15pages)andtoavoidgreatlyextendingthelengthoftheritual,Merrillsignificantlyshortenedtheceremonialsectionwhichcontainedtheorigi-nalelementsoftheritual.Theaimwastocommunicatethelessonofthedegreeindramaticform,asanallegorywhichwasbelievedtobemoreeffectivethanthetraditionaldidactic formofMasonicritual.Therevisedversionwasapprovedastheritualof1981.

Twenty-fiveyearslateranotherrevisionoftheritualdeletedtheceremonialsec-tioninitsentirety,consistentwiththepolicyadoptedbytheSupremeCouncilin1995,therebyreducingtheplayingtimebyathird.Theprologuewasmodifiedtoincludeanexplanationofthelessonofthedegreeinsteadofsimplyrecitingthebib-licalbackgroundofthedrama.Modestchangesweremadeinthedramatoeliminatesuperfluous and obscure dialogue. The anachronistic reference to “Jehovah” waschangedto“theLord.”Inallotherrespectstheritualof2006preservedthecontentofthedramaandstillbearstheoriginalFranckentitle,“IntendantoftheBuilding.”

Who Serves God Best?—The Ninth DegreeTheritualofthe9°,asitappearedintheFrancken Manuscript,followedtheusualpattern of early Scottish Rite rituals—a ceremonial opening and reception, theobligationandinvestiture,andalongexplanatorylecture.ThethemewasderivedfromtheHiramiclegendexemplifiedinthesymboliclodge,inparticular,themur-derofHiramAbifandtheensuingpursuitoftheassassins.Thelessonwasaforbid-dingadmonitiononvengeanceandthebreachofanobligation.

SubsequentritualsmadevariousrefinementsontheFranckenritual,includingadramatizationoftheselectionbylotofninecraftsmenwhoweretopursuetheassassins;hencethetitleofthedegree,“MasterElectofNine.”(Pike’svariationon

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thiswas“KnightEluofNine.”)Suchwastheformoftheritualof1871,thefirsttobeapprovedbytheSupremeCouncilforthe9°aftertheUnionof1867.Itremainedsubstantiallyunchangedfornearlyacentury,untilthefirstofasuccessionoftenta-tiveritualswasintroducedin1965.

Thecriticismwrittenin1943byMcIlyarLichliterwasbutoneexpressionofdis-satisfactionwiththeritualsofthe9°and10°,bothofwhichwerebasedonthesametheme,pursuitoftheassassinsofHiramAbif.Inadditiontotheissuewhetherthisthemeprovidedanappropriatebasisforthemorallessonstobeexemplifiedintwodegrees of the Scottish Rite, the version of the Hiramic legend portrayed in thedegreeritualwasatvariancewiththatexemplifiedinthesymboliclodge,despitethefactthatthelatterwaspartoftheexperienceofeveryFreemasonandtheveryreasonwhythelegendwasthethemeofthetworituals.

Consequently,overaperiodof15yearscommencingin1965,threesuccessivetentative rituals were prepared for both the 9° and the 10°. The primary authoroftheseeffortswasIll.WilliamH.Cantwell,33°,ActiveMemberforDelaware,amember,andforatimechairman,oftheCommitteeonRituals.TheculminationofCantwell’sworkwasacombinationritualforthe9°and10°,thetentativeritualof1980.Thiswasalogicalstep,asformanyyearsithadbeencustomarytopresentbothdegreeritualsinconjunctionasacontinuousperformance.

The1980tentativeritual,however,wasquicklyovertakenbyeventsandneverwas issued. Since 1974, the Committee on Rituals had been working by fits andstartstowardamajorrealignmentofdegreerituals.TheplanentailedatransferofritualsbasedonOldTestamentthemesfromtheConsistorytotheLodgeofPer-fection.Bytheearly1980stherealignmentwasbecomingareality.TheproposalwasformallyapprovedbytheSupremeCouncilin1985,andin1986the9°becamethefirstLodgeofPerfectionritualtobewithdrawnandreplacedbyadegreeritualtransferredfromtheConsistory.

Anydoubtsaboutthemorallessonstobederivedfromthetraditionalritualofthe9°weremorethanaddressedbyitstransplantedreplacement,thetentativerit-ualof1986.Thenew9°ritualfeaturedadramaticallegorythathadoriginatedastheliteraryhandiworkofIll.JohnLloydThomas,33°,lateranActiveMemberforNewYorkandamemberof theCommitteeonRituals, thathadbeenadoptedbytheSupremeCouncilin1909astheritualofthe24°.Theallegory,consistingofasingle,albeitlengthyscene,depictedafictitiouseventatthededicationoftheTemple,anassemblyofrepresentativesofmanyreligionssummonedbyKingSolomon.AfteradiscussionofmanyviewsonthenatureofGod,disruptedbyavoiceofskepti-cism,thedramaticactionclimaxedwithanexpressionofspiritualunityinspiredby

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amovingpleaforauniversalfaithofservicetohumanity.“Godisbestservedbythosewhobestservetheirfellowmen.”

Thetentativeritualwassubsequentlyconfirmedasthe9°Ritualof1992.Althoughthesubstanceoftheritualdidnotprovokecriticism,itspresentationdidposecast-ingandschedulingdifficultiesforLodgesofPerfection.Thiswastakenintoconsid-erationinthefollowingdecadewhentheritualwasnextreviewedandrevised.

The2003revisionwasprimarilytheworkofIll.C.DeForrestTrexler,33°,ActiveMemberforPennsylvaniaandchairmanoftheCommitteeonRitualisticMatters.ItdeletedthebriefceremonialsectioninconformitytothepolicyadoptedbytheSupremeCouncilin1995,althoughmuchdialoguefromtheceremonialwasincor-poratedinarelativelylongprologuetosetthebackgroundfortheallegory.Moresignificantwerechangesintheallegory.Inadditiontoextensivestylisticrevisionsinthedialogue,theessentialcastwasreducedbyathird,includingtwooftheeightrepresentativesofforeignreligions.⁵Theoveralleffectwasasubstantialdecreaseinplayingtime,therebyfacilitatingpresentationoftheallegorybyLodgesofPer-fection.Finally, thetraditional titleof thedegree,“MasterElectofNine,”whichnolongerwasrelevanttothecontentoftheritual,waschangedto“MasteroftheTemple.”Theserevisionswereapprovedasthe9°Ritualof2003.

Disobedience—The Tenth DegreeAspartoftheRiteofPerfection,theritualofthe10°appearedintheFrancken Man-uscriptunderthetitle“IllustriousElectofFifteen.”Itwasinthetraditionalformofdegreeritual,withreception,obligation,andexplanatorylecture.Inthemid-19thcenturytheritualwasexpandedbyAlbertPike,whoinjectedsymbolismwithphil-osophicalmeaningsandtitledit“IllustriousEluofFifteen.”AlthoughavirtualcopyofthePikeritualwasinuseaftertheUnionof1867,itwassupersededin1871byashorterritualthatomittedmuchofPike’ssymbolismandadoptedthemoderntitle

“MasterElectofFifteen.”TheinfluenceofPikereappearedintheritualof1894.Theearlyritualsofthe10°,asthoseofthe9°,werebasedonathemefromthe

Hiramiclegendexemplifiedinthesymboliclodge;thatis,thepursuitandappre-hensionoftheassassinsofHiramAbif.Thelessonthatpervadedthevariousver-sions of the ritual was obedience to authority. The ritual of 1917 dramatized theepisodeoftheassassinsintwoscenes,whichwasexpandedtofivescenesinthetentativeritualof1966, inadditiontothetraditionalelementsoftheceremonialsection.Forsomeyears ithadbeencustomarytopresentthe10° inconjunctionwiththe9°,astheritualsofthetwodegreeswerebasedonthesamethemeandthedramaticactionfromthe9°ritualtothe10°wascontinuous.

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Thesuccessionofthreetentativeritualsproposedforthe10°(asforthe9°)overaspanof15yearsfrom1965indicateddissatisfactionwiththecontentoftheritualandrepeatedefforts toreworktheHiramic legendand improvethemessage.Asearlyas1943,McIlyarLichliterhadcriticizedtheritualsofboththe9°and10°aspresentingaversionoftheHiramiclegendthatdifferedfromthatexemplifiedinthesymboliclodgetowhichtheScottishRiteritualsobviouslywereintendedtorelate.TheprimaryauthorofthetentativeritualswasIll.WilliamH.Cantwell,33°,ActiveMemberforDelaware,amemberandonetimechairmanoftheCommitteeonRit-uals.Cantwell’seffortsculminatedinashort-livedattempttocombinetheritualofthe9°withthatofthe10°intoasingleritualwhichwasapprovedbytheSupremeCouncilasthe9°and10°TentativeRitualof1980.Intheeventthecombinedritualneverwasissued.BythistimetheCommitteeonRitualswasmovingtoimplementaplantoreplaceseveraloftheLodgeofPerfectiondegreerituals,includingthatofthe9°,withdegreeritualsfromtheConsistoryhavingOldTestamentthemes.

Atthatjuncture,thecommitteeabandonedeffortstosalvagetheHiramicleg-end theme and in 1985 proposed a new ritual for the 10°, based on the apostasyofSolomon.Itconsistedofashortceremonialsection,prologue,andadramaticallegoryofthreescenes.Thethemewasconsistentwiththetraditional lessonofthedegree,“Theviolatorofhisobligationsshallnotgounpunished.”Theprimaryauthorofwhatbecamethenew10°TentativeRitualof1986wasIll.RobertL.Mill-erSr.,33°,ActiveMemberforIndianaandchairmanofthecommittee.

Thenewtentativeritualwasconfirmedasthe10°Ritualof1992andremainedin effect until revised fourteen years later. The ritual of 2006 abbreviated thedegreetitleto“MasterElect,”deletedtheceremonialsectioninaccordancewiththecurrentSupremeCouncilpolicy,andmadeamodestnumberofmainlysty-listicchangesintheprologueandtheallegory.Theritualofthe10°isoneofthefewcurrentScottishRitedegreeritualstohavealessonthatisposedinnegativeratherthanpositiveterms.

The Bad Steward—The Eleventh DegreeThe Francken Manuscript contained the full text of a ritual for the 11°, “SublimeKnight Elected,” in the traditional form of opening, reception, obligation, and alengthylecture,whichincludedacatechismofsymbolism.TheritualofAlbertPike,titled“SublimeKnightEluofTwelve,”introduced,amongotherthings,anexpla-nation that abuses committed by his tax collectors prompted King Solomon toappointsupervisors,orElus,whichwasexemplifiedintheritual.Thefirst11°ritu-alsinuseaftertheUnionof1867,includingthatapprovedin1871,werevariationsof

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thePikeritual,andborethemoderntitle,“SublimeMasterElected.”Theritualof1894wasessentiallyacondensedversionofthePikeritual.Nochangesweremadeinthisritualforthenext80years.

Theritualof1974transformedthedegreebyintroducingasubstantialdramaticsectionoffivescenesand47pagesfollowingabriefceremonialsection.ThedramaportrayedastoryofabuseandfraudperpetratedbyoneofSolomon’staxcollectors.ExposureofthewrongdoingpersuadestheKingtoappointoneofthevictimsandaselectgroupofhisassociatesas“SublimeMasters”tosuperintendthecollectionoftaxes.AprincipalreasonforthechangewastoprovideLodgesofPerfectionwithanopportunitytopresentamajordramaticritual.

Thepurposeapparentlywasserved,asthe1974ritualcontinuedinusefor30yearswithoutsecondthoughtsonthepartoftheCommitteeonRituals.However,concernsdiddevelop.ThelongdramawithfivescenechangesandasubstantialcastwasnoteasilyaccommodatedbytheschedulingconstraintsandlimitedresourcesofmanyLodgesofPerfection.Therevisedritualof2004wasintendedtoalleviatethesedifficultiesandfacilitatepresentationofthedegreewhilepreservingthecon-tentofthedramaticritual.

Theritualof2004eliminatedthebriefceremonialsection,inaccordancewiththeSupremeCouncilpolicyadoptedin1995,aswellasthe“Interlude”scenetwoof the dramatic section. Moreover, the lengthy scene four (revised scene three),whichwasentertaining,butdidnotsignificantlyadvancetheactionofthedrama,wasmadeoptional.Thesechangesshortenedtheplayingtimeoftheritualbyasmuchasathirdandeasedthecastingrequirements.

Stylisticrevisionsweremadeinthedialogue.Repetitiousandsuperfluouspas-sagesweredeleted.Anachronismswerecorrected.Finally,theinexplicableandpos-siblyderogatoryuseofArabicnamesforcertain,lessthanexemplary,charactersinthedramawaschangedtoHebrewnamesappropriatetothetimeandplacerepre-sented.TheprimeauthoroftherevisedritualwasthechairmanoftheCommitteeonRitualisticMatters,Ill.C.DeForrestTrexler,33°,ActiveMemberforPennsylvania.

Quality of Mercy—The Twelfth DegreeHenryFrancken’s12°ritual,“GrandMasterArchitect,”containedalong(tenpage)lectureandcatechismthatreviewedthemoralsymbolismofnumerousbranchesofscientificknowledge,thefiveordersofarchitecture,andthemathematicalinstru-ments.Assuch,theritualwascloselyrelatedtothesymboliclodgedegrees,inpar-ticulartheFellowcraft,andintroducedfundamentalsofsymbolicMasonryintotheScottish Rite. In yet another extension of the Hiramic legend, the setting of the

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ritualwastheSchoolofArchitectureestablishedbyKingSolomonafterthedeathofHiramAbiftotraincraftsmentocompletethedesignandbuildingoftheTemple.Theritualwasnotdramatic,nor,throughitslonghistory,diditlenditselftoadra-maticpresentation.

The1871ritual,thefirsttobeapprovedaftertheUnionof1867,definedtheles-sonofthedegreewiththephrase“Virtueisasnecessaryastalents.”SubsequentritualsweregreatlyinfluencedbyAlbertPike,emphasizingthefiveordersofarchi-tecture to which the candidate was introduced in the Fellowcraft Degree of thesymbolic lodge. The 1917 ritual introduced an optional semi-dramatic scene inwhichtherelativequalitiesofvariousancienttypesofarchitectureweredebated.In1968,anewtentativeritual,laterapprovedasthe12°Ritualof1976,broughttheSchoolofArchitectureforwardintimetotheRenaissance.Thetelescopingoftimewasintendedtocorrecttheanachronismofdiscussingthefiveordersofarchitec-ture,whichwereofclassicalorigin,inaSolomonicsetting.However,italsocreatedanotheranomaly,asallthedegreeritualsoftheLodgeofPerfection,bydefinition,weresupposedtobesetintheSolomonicera.Beforetoomanymoreyearspassed,thisissuebecameacademic.

TheproposalbytheCommitteeonRitualstotransferdegreeritualswithOldTestamentthemesfromtheConsistorytotheLodgeofPerfectionwasapprovedbytheSupremeCouncilin1985.Asaresultofthispolicy,the12°Ritualof1976,whichhadevolvedfromthe1783Franckenritual,waswithdrawnin1993.Itsreplacement,thetentativeritualof1993,wasverydifferentineveryrespect.

Thenewritualof the12°wasamodifiedformof thedramaticallegory fromthe26°,whichitselfwasofcomparativelyrecentorigin.IntroducedtotheScottishRitedegreesystemwiththe26°Ritualof1942,theallegorywasadramatizationofthefamiliarbiblicalstoryofJosephandhisbrothers,andwasconsideredtobeanidealvehicletoteachthethenlessonofthe26°—mercy.TheprimaryauthoroftheallegorywasIll.ErnestW.Hotchkiss,33°,amemberoftheValleyofDetroit,whohadwrittenthedramasomeyearsearlier forpresentationbyScottishRiteplayersinhisValley.

Despitegeneralagreementas to theappropriatenatureof the theme, it tooknearlytenyearsforthe“Joseph”allegorytobeawardedpermanentstatusastherit-ualofthe12°.Theproblemswerepracticalones,similartothoseexperiencedwithotherdegreeritualstransferredfromtheConsistorytotheLodgeofPerfection.Thelengthoftheritual,sizeofthecast,andstagingrequirementsoffourscenechangesandthreedifferentsetsposedproductiondifficultiesforsmallerandsingle-bodyValleys,aswellasunderthetimeconstraintsimposedbythetrendtowardshorter

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reunionschedules.Theschedulingandcastingproblemswerepartiallyaddressedinthetentativeritualof1996,whichdeletedtheceremonialsectionincompliancewiththepolicyadoptedbytheSupremeCouncilthepreviousyear.However,theCommitteeonRitualsrecognizedthatthiswasnotacompletesolution.

Thisled,in2002,toacompleterewriteoftheprologueandtheallegory,ofwhichIll.C.DeForrestTrexler,33°,ActiveMemberforPennsylvaniaandchairmanoftheCommittee,wastheprimaryauthor.Themostradicalchangewasthereductionoftheallegoryfromfivetotwoscenes(revisedscenesthreeandfiveofthetentativeritual),withoutrequiringachangeofset.Asrewritten,thesescenescontainedacondenseddramatizationofthestoryofJosephandhisbrothers,aswellastheles-sonofthedegree.ArevisedversionofsceneoneofthetentativeritualwasretainedforoptionaluseasanintroductoryscenebythoseValleyswithadequatecastingandstagingresourcesandtimeinthereunionschedule.Inadditiontoextensiverevisions in thedialogue, severalchangesweremade for thesakeofgreatercon-sistencywiththestoryasrelatedinthebiblicalbookofGenesis.Asaresultoftheforegoing,the12°Ritualof2002representedaconsiderablesimplificationofcast-ingandstagingrequirementsaswellasshorteningofplayingtime.

Afurtherstepneededtobetaken.In2005,thenameofthedegreewaschangedfromtheoncedescriptive,butnowarcane“GrandMasterArchitect”totheapro-pos“MasterofMercy.”

Royal Arch—The Thirteenth DegreeAcompleteritualforthe13°,byname“TheRoyalArch,”isrecordedintheFrancken Manuscript.Writtenforacastoffivelodgeofficers,itconsistedofanopeningandprayer,reception,obligation,alonglecturerecitingthelegendoftheRoyalArchofEnoch,andaclosinginwhichthesignsandwordsofthedegreewererehearsed.Thesettingoftheritualwasanundergroundvault.Duringthereception,threecan-didateswereadmittedatatime.Descendingintotheearthbyropeandretrievingthedeltaprovedthemworthytoreceivethesecretsofthedegree.

Bythemiddleofthe19thcentury,theCarson/VanRensselaerritual(1853)andthat of Albert Pike (1855) still retained the substance of the Francken ritual butwithmoredramatizationunderthename“KnightoftheNinthArch.”FollowingtheUnionof1867,theCarson/VanRensselaerritualessentiallywasadoptedbytheSupremeCouncilastheritualof1871.Withtheritualof1894,thedegreereceiveditsmoderntitle,“MasteroftheNinthArch.”Theritualof1917wasarevisedandabridgedversionoftheCarson/VanRensselaerritualwhichcontinuedinuseformorethanhalfacentury.

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Thetentativeritualof1971,approvedastheritualof1977,representedanexten-siverevisioninthestructureofthe13°,althoughthesubstancewasretained.InthefashionofScottishRitedegreeritualsoftheperiod,itwascomprisedofaceremo-nialopening,reception,andobligation,followedbyaprologueanddramaticsec-tion,orallegory,offivescenes,alternatingbetweentheaudiencechamberofKingSolomonandtheentrancetothesubterraneanTempleofEnoch.Thelegendthathadbeencommunicatedbythelectureinpreviousversionsoftheritualwasnowdramatizedintheallegory.

Anotherextensiverevisionwasintroducedwiththe13°Ritualof2004.Con-sistentwiththepolicyadoptedbytheSupremeCouncilin1995,theceremonialopening,reception,andobligationwereeliminated.Theprologuewasshortened.Although the five alternating scenes were retained in the allegory, there werenumerous stylistic changes and abridgements in the dialogue. The result was asignificantreductioninplayingtime.Despitetherevisions,thesubstanceoftheritual remained that of Carson/Van Rensselaer and consistent with the themefound in Francken, albeit recast in form for the benefit of contemporary audi-ences. “Difficulties and dangers, however great, should not deter the true andfaithfulBrother….”

Perfection—The Fourteenth DegreeAmongthe25degreesoftheRiteofPerfectioncataloguedbyHenryFranckeninhis1783manuscript,noritualwaslengthierormoredetailedinexpositionthanthatofthe14°,titledsimply“Perfection.”Overtime,thetitleofthedegreeevolvedinto

“GrandElectMason,”fromthesettingoftheFranckenritualinaLodgeofGrandElectMasters.

ManyelementsoftheFranckenritual,inmodernizedform,remainapartofthecurrentritual.Aftertheopeningandreception,theexaminationreviewedthewords,signs,andlessonsoftheprecedingLodgeofPerfectiondegrees.Thiswasfollowedbytheconfessionalinquiry,theobligation,anointing,ringpresentation,covenantoffriendshiporaroba,asymbolicsharingofbreadandwine,andtheinvestiture.NolongerinuseisthehistoricallecturethattracedthehistoryofIsraelfromthereignofKingSolomonandalegendaryhistoryofFreemasonrydowntotheCru-sadesandtheKnightsofSt.John(nottheKnightsTemplar),whichaccountedfortwo-thirdsofthe39manuscriptpagesthatFranckendevotedtothe14°.

To Francken’s already long and multi-sequence ritual, the 1853 Carson/VanRensselaerritualaddedthelesson,anantiphonalrecitalofscripturalpassages,theTenCommandments,and,aspartoftheinvestiture,thesymbolismofthecollar,

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apron,andgirdleofperfection.Allofthiswasthebasisoftheritualof1871,thefirsttobeapprovedaftertheUnionof1867.Thesubsequentritualsof1894,1917,1927,and1938incorporatedanumberofminorchanges,themaineffectofwhichwasincrementallytocondensethehistoricallecture.

Then,in1945,theCommitteeonRitualssettoworkonamajorrevision.Thisproject,atleastinitsinitialstages,wasabortive,asthecommitteecouldnotagreeamongthemselvesonadraftofproposedrevisions.Pointsofcontentioninvolvedtheconfessionalnatureoftheinquiryandwhetherornottoretainthehistoricallecture. The issues were heatedly debated by the Active Members in the Execu-tiveSessionof theSupremeCouncilandreferredbacktothecommitteefor fur-therstudy.Toresolvetheimpasse,SovereignGrandCommanderMelvinJohnsonappointedanewcommittee,chairedbyMcIlyarLichliter.

Afterayearofintensiveeffortandmultipledraftrevisions,aswellassolicitationofcommentsfromacrossthejurisdiction,thecommitteeproposedarevisedritual,which was approved by the Supreme Council as the 14° Ritual of 1946. The endresultofthisprocesswasthatmostoftheritualhadbeenrewrittenandconsiderablyshortened,althoughthesubstanceremainedintact.Theopeningwasmadeoptional.Inmajorbreakswiththepast,theinquirywasdirectedtotheindividualconscience,therebyeliminatingpublicconfession,andthelong,traditional,historicallecturewasdeleted.AnewobligationemphasizedcharityandreverenceforGod.

Theritualof1976includedanewprologue,shortenedthereceptionandringdialogue,eliminatedexemplificationofthedegreesignsfromtheexaminationandinvestiture, altered the sequence of portions of the ritual, inserted a number ofstagedirections,andaddedanepiloguetotheclosing.ItalsointroducedadramaticelementinthepersonofMosestopresenttheTenCommandments.

During1986–93,severaldegreeritualsweretransferredfromtheConsistorytotheLodgeofPerfection,replacingtheexistingritualsofthe5°,6°,9°,and12°.Thisdevelopmentnecessitatedchanges in theexaminationwhichmadespecificrefer-encetothesupersededrituals.Thiswasaddressed inthe14°TentativeRitualof1995bycondensing thereviewofLodgeofPerfectiondegrees intoasinglepara-graphsothatitnolongerwasacatechismofeachoftheprecedingdegrees.

Other significant changes also appeared in the tentative ritual. The sequenceofobligation,ring,covenantoffriendship(aroba),andanointingwasrearranged.MorecontroversialwerethedeletionoftheinvestitureandtherewordingofthemanyscripturalpassagesoftheritualtoconformtotheNewRevisedStandardEng-lishBible.ThiswasoneofthefirstinstancesinwhichscripturalpassagesinadegreeritualofthejurisdictiondidnotfollowthetraditionalKingJamestranslation.

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In2000,theSupremeCouncilrestoredtheinvestitureand,withthismodifica-tion,thetentativeritualwasapprovedasthe14°Ritualof2000.

Writingin1945,McIlyarLichliterhadcriticizedtheritualofthe14°aslackingincontinuousactionanddramaticunity.Itwas,inhisview,acollectionofuncon-nectedsequences.Despitethreemajorrevisionsduringthenexthalfcentury,thisimportantritualintheScottishRitedegreesystemwasstillconsideredbymanytobelessthansatisfactory.

Consequently,afterabriefperiod,therewasanotherrevision,resultinginthe14°Ritualof2006.Theopening,whichhadbeenoptionalsince1946,waseliminated,consistent with the policy adopted by the Supreme Council in 1995. The exami-nation was further modified and shortened. Reference to the “Holy Bible” waschangedtothe“VolumeoftheSacredLaw.”Whiletheoverallsequenceoftheritualwasretained,extensiverevisionsweremadeinthestagedirectionsandthedialogueforthesakeofconsistencyandclarityandtoeliminatesuperfluouspassages.SomeoftheThricePotentMaster’sdialoguewasreassigned,orpermittedtobereassigned,toothermembersofthecastinordertorelieveexcessivemonologues.

TheissueofbiblicaltranslationwasrevisitedandresolvedbydecidingtoretaintheNewRevisedStandardversionintroducedin1995,exceptforthe23rdPsalm,whichrevertedtothemorefamiliarandpoeticlanguageoftheKingJamestranslation.

AnoptionwasaddedtopermittheTenCommandmentstobedeliveredbytheorator,insteadofMoses,wheretheritualispresentedbyacastinmodernMasonicdressratherthaninSolomoniccostume.

A recurring issue with the 14° was the proper setting of the ritual. Tradition-ally, as with other Lodge of Perfection degrees, the setting was the Solomonicera.Fromthebeginning,however,thisposedananachronism.Philosophically,asAlbertPikerecognized,thesettingoftheritualshouldbethepresent.Moralcon-ceptsfromthehistoricpast,manyofwhichwereunknowninthetenthcenturybc,areintroducedaslessonsofthedegree.Theinconsistencyneverhasbeenfullyresolved.Thus,thesetforthe14°continuestobefurnishingsassociatedwiththeTempleofSolomonandthecastmayappearinSolomoniccostume,orinmodernMasonicdresswearingtheregaliaoftheLodgeofPerfection.Eitherispermittedbythecurrentritual.

WithallduerespecttotheopinionofDr.Lichliter,theritualofthe14°maybelackingindramaticunitybecause,unlikemostotherScottishRiterituals,itisnotandneverwasintendedasadramaticpresentation.Despiteextensiverevisionstotheritualovertheyears,generationsofritualistshavebeenreluctanttostrayveryfarfromtheoriginalelementsofthedegreeasitexistedin1783.Thus,today’srit-

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ualofthe14°,“GrandElectMason,”isnotallthatfarremovedfromtheessentialsfoundintheFrancken Manuscript.

c o u n c i L o f P r i n c e s o f J e r u s a L e m

If fornoother reasonthantheirnumber, theritualisticdevelopmentof the twodegreespresentedintheCouncil,PrincesofJerusalem,hasbeencomparativelylesscomplexandcontentiousthantheelevenconferredintheLodgeofPerfection.Theessenceofthecurrentritualsofthe15°and16°maybetracedtotheFrancken Manu-scriptof1783.Oftencalled“TheHistoricalDegrees”oftheScottishRitesystem,theritualsarebasedonincidentsrelatingtothereturnoftheJewstotheirhomelandfromtheBabyloniancaptivityandtheconstructionoftheSecondTempleinthelatesixthcenturybc.Sharingacommonhistoricalsettingandprotagonist,theJew-ishprinceZerubbabel,aswellasasimilardramatictheme,thesedegreesalsosharethesameprologuewhichisgivenonlyinthe15°whenbothdegreesarepresentedduringthesamesessionoftheCouncil.

The15° ritualsofFrancken(1783),Carson/VanRensselaer(1853),andAlbertPike(1855)allwerebasedonthethemeofZerubbabel’sappealtoKingCyrusonbehalfofhispeople“toreturntoJudeaandrestoretheTemple.”Theyalsosharedthe same title for the degree, “Knight of the East, or Sword.” The tempting ofZerubbabel todisclosethe“SecretsofFreemasonry”as theprice forhisrequestfirstappearedintheCarson/VanRensselaerandPikerituals,butnotindramatizedform.Dramatizationwasintroducedwiththeritualof1878,althoughthemoderntemptationscenedidnotappearuntiltheritualof1911.Itisbelieved(althoughnotdocumented)thatthisscenewaswrittenbyIll.EugeneS.Elliott,33°,amemberoftheValleyofMilwaukee,sometimepreviousto1902andmayhavebeenpresentedinthatValleyforsomeyearsbeforeitsinclusioninthedegreeritual.

Themodernritualofthe15°datesfrom1920andcontinuedvirtuallyintact,withonlyonesignificant revision,untilearly in thepresentcentury.SeveralchangeswereapprovedbytheSupremeCouncilin1959.Theseincludedeliminationofthefourth, anticlimactic and superfluous scene in the Apartment of the West, con-sistingmainlyofalecturedescribingwhattheaudiencehadalreadywitnessedinthe action of the preceding scenes, and moving the obligation from the end ofthedegreetotheopening.Theritualof1999wasthefirstcompleteeditionofthe15°ritualsincethatof1943,anddifferedfromthelatteronlybyincorporatingthechangesapprovedin1959.

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Asaresultof the2003decisiontorecordalldegreeritualsoncomputerdiskanddiscontinuepublicationofthedegreeritualsinbookform,andinviewofthefactthatastudyhadnotprecededpublicationofthe1999ritual,theCommitteeonRitualisticMattersmadeacompletereviewofthe15°ritual,lastdonemorethan45yearsbefore.Theresult,the15°Ritualof2005,representedanextensiverevisionofthepreviousritual,ineffect,thefirsttobepromulgatedsince1943.

Despitethescopeofthe2005revision,thehistoricalsetting,dramatictheme,cast of characters, and Masonic lesson were unchanged. However, the ceremo-nialopening,obligation,andsashandswordinvestitureweredeleted,consistentwiththepolicyadoptedbytheSupremeCouncilin1995.Forsimilarreasons,thelengthyentranceandintroductionsofprincesandsatrapsweredeletedfromthedrama.Thedialoguewasrewrittentorenderarchaicandobscurelanguageintelligi-bletoacontemporaryaudience.Severaloverlylongoressentiallymeaninglesspas-sagesweredeleted.Theordealsequencewasrewrittentoincludeanactiveinterces-sionbyDanielonbehalfofZerubbabel.Historicallyquestionablereferencestothepracticeandsecretsof“Freemasonry,”whichdatedbacktothemid–19thcenturyrituals,werechangedtothemoreambiguous“AncientCraft.”The1943prologue,whichwasalengthyrecitationofbiblicaleventsanddates,withonlyasinglesen-tencedevotedtotheMasoniclessonofthedegree,wassubstantiallyrevisedandshortened.Vestigialreferencetothe“ApartmentoftheEast”wasremoved.Finally,thetitleofthedegreewasshortenedto“KnightoftheEast.”Theresultwasseenasamoreaudience-friendlypresentationwithamuchreducedplayingtime.

Thethemeofthe16°ritualrecordedbyFranckenwasthestoryfromtheOldTestamentBookofEzraandtheApocryphalBookofEsdrasofanembassy,ledbyZerubbabel,sentfromJerusalemtothecourtofKingDariustorequestassistanceinrebuildingtheTemple.Inthemid–19thcenturytheCarson/VanRensselaerritual,aswellasthatofAlbertPike,followedtheaccountfromEsdrasalmostverbatimtofeatureZerubbabel’sspeechextollingthepoweroftruthasthelessonofthedegree.Asinthecaseofthe15°,dramatizationwasintroducedwiththeritualof1878.

Themodernritualofthe16°,“PrinceofJerusalem,”alsoappearedin1920.Asitscompanion15°,itwassubjecttoamajorchangein1959,whenthefinalscene,theApartmentintheWest,waseliminatedforthesamereasons.Thechangewascar-riedforwardintheritualof1992,amorethoroughrevision,inwhichthedialoguewas rewritten (“modernized”) to appeal to a contemporary audience. Historicalbackgroundtotheritualwasprovideddramaticallybyadditionaldialogueinthefirstscene,notwithstandingthatmuchofthisalsowaspresentedtotheaudienceinlectureformintheprologuesharedbythe15°andthe16°.Theduplicationwas

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eliminatedwhenthenewprologuewrittenforthe15°in2005wasmadeapartofthe16°ritualthatsameyear.

The16°Ritualof2007 incorporatedfurtherrefinements indialogue,eliminat-ingsuperfluouswordingandmarginallyshorteningtheplayingtime.Anachronis-ticuseofthename“Jehovah”wasreplacedby“theLord.”Theclimaxoftheritual,Zerubbabel’sdialogueontruthandtheresponsebyKingDarius,wasrearrangedforgreaterdramaticeffect.As in thecaseof the15°Ritualof2005, therevisionsmadetothe16°ritualin1992and2007haveleftthedramatictheme,castofcharac-ters,andMasoniclessonunchanged.

c h a P t e r o f r o s e c r o i x

AsintheCouncil,thetwodegreeritualspresentedintheChapterofRoseCroixshareacommonhistoricalsetting,inthiscase,thatoftheNewTestament.Unlikethe Council degrees, however, the ritual of each of the so-called “PhilosophicalDegrees”ofRoseCroixhasgonethroughaverydifferentprocessofdevelopment.

Theritualofthe17°,“KnightoftheEastandWest,”thatappearedintheFrancken Manuscript seems to have been a stand-alone ritual with a chivalric background,that is,KnightsTemplar, featuringsymbolismandpassages fromtheNewTesta-mentBookofRevelation.Earlyritualsofthedegreeincludedadisclaimerthatitwasa“DegreeofChivalry,”historicallyunrelatedtoFreemasonry.TheritualthatwasapprovedbytheSupremeCouncilin1870hadatrophiedintoabriefprelude,amereappendagetothe18°,concernedwiththesearchfortheLostWord.Andsoitcontinuedintothemiddleyearsofthe20thcentury.

In 1939, a dramatic allegory, replete with pageantry and a large cast, was pro-posedasareplacementritualforthe28°andwasapprovedfortrialexemplificationastheTentative28°Ritualof1940.TheprimaryauthorwasDr.HarryK.Eversull,32°,aclergymanandpresidentofMariettaCollegeinOhio.Thesettingofthealle-gory was King Herod’s Temple which supplanted the Second Temple of Zerub-babel inthefirstcenturybc.ItsoonbecameapparenttoSovereignGrandCom-manderMelvinJohnson,amongothers,thatthe“HerodAllegory”couldprovideaconvenienthistoricalandphilosophicalbridgefromtheCouncildegreestothe18°.WhatbecameoneofthemorebizarrechainsofeventsintheritualistichistoryoftheSupremeCouncilwassetinmotion.

In 1942, the 17° ritual inusesince 1870wasabruptlywithdrawnand,as recom-mended by Commander Johnson, was replaced by the tentative 28° ritual which

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became the 17° Ritual of 1942. Unfortunately, the new ritual was not universallyaccepted.Asurveyconductedin1954disclosedthatmanyValleyshadnohistoryorintentionofpresentingthe1942ritualbecauseofwhatwereperceivedtobedemand-ingcastandstagingrequirements.Ratherthanattemptingtomodifytheritualtofacil-itateitspresentation,in1957,theSupremeCouncilwithdrewthe“HerodAllegory”andrestoredthetraditional17°ritualthatithadsupersededonly15yearsearlier.

Thirtyyearspassed.Then,theValleyswereheardfromagain,thistimeexpress-ingdiscontentthatRoseCroixChapters,incontrasttotheotherScottishRiteBod-ies,couldpresentonlywhatamountedtoasingledegree.Therestored17°ritual,ofcourse,hadresumeditsoldplaceasbutapreludetothe18°. Inresponse, the

“Herod Allegory” was resurrected and, beginning in 1989, was rewritten severaltimesoverthecourseofthenextfiveyearstoaddresstheproductiondrawbacksthat previously had discouraged its presentation and to reinforce its connectionwiththe18°.ThefirstdraftwastheworkofIll.TheodoreE.Torok,33°,amemberoftheValleyofTrenton(CentralJersey)andaconsultanttotheCommitteeonRitu-als.⁶SubsequentdraftswerepreparedbyIll.RichardW.Parker,33°,ActiveMemberforVermont,amemberandlaterchairmanoftheCommittee.

Finally,themodified“HerodAllegory”returnedasthe17°TentativeRitualof1994,forthesecondtimedisplacingthetraditionalritualofthe17°.Thetentativerituallaterwasapprovedasthe17°Ritualof2002.ThenewritualendedwiththesealingoftheBookofLife,thuscreatingalinktotheritualofthe18°.InstructionspublishedwiththeritualexpresslypermittedindividualValleystoadjustthesizeofthecasttoconformtostagecapacity,providedthereweresufficientactorstomakethescenerealistic.Theritualwastobedramatizedasasinglescene,therebyelimi-natingtheneedforscenechangesandmultiplesets.

A further revision of the “Herod Allegory,” approved a few years later as the17°Ritualof2007,removedtheceremonialsectioninconformitywiththepolicyadoptedbytheSupremeCouncilin1995.Anumberofwordingchangesweremadeintheprologueandtheallegorymostlystylisticinnature.Afewsuperfluouspas-sagesweredeletedaswastheunlikelyintentionoftheEssenes“tovisittheschoolsofphilosophyinGreeceandRome.”

Manyelementsofthepresent18°ritual,“KnightofRoseCroix,”werepresentintheFrancken Manuscript.Theseincludedthesymbolismofthepelican,thecubicstone,thethreepillarsoffaith,hope,andcharity,themysticletters“I.N.R.I.,”anduseofJesusofNazarethastheexemplar.WheretheFranckenritualdifferedmostradicallyfromthemodernritualwasinthestipulationthatonlyChristianscouldbeadmittedtothedegree.

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The18°ritualapprovedbytheSupremeCouncilin1870reinforcedandperpetu-atedtheoriginalChristianemphasisofthedegree.Thiscircumstancewasnotwith-outitscritics,however.Forone,AlbertPike,SovereignGrandCommanderoftheSouthernJurisdictionandarenownedMasonicritualistinhisownright,objectedtothe18°ritualoftheNorthernMasonicJurisdictionasa“strictlyChristiandegree.”TherebuttaltoPikewasthathewasaninnovator,whohadchangedtheritualofthe18°totransformwhatalwayshadbeenaChristiandegreeintoauniversaldegree.

Theissueneverwascompletelyresolved,assomevoicescontinuedtoadvocatearitualwithamoreuniversalmessage,thatistosay,acceptabletoallmonotheisticfaiths.Thispointofviewfinallygainedconcessions in theritualof 1942, furtherrefinedin1964,whichmadewidespreadchangestorephraseordeleteovertlyChris-tiandialogueandincludedanewprologuethatemphasizedtheuniversalcharacterofthedegree.However,asitdoestothisday,theritualretainedChristiansymbols,theBeatitudes,“TheStoryoftheCross,”themysticletters,andJesusofNazarethastheexemplarofthedegree.Anotherrefinementtowardamoreuniversalritualwasmadein1987,whenthename“Jesus”replaced“Christ”intheprologue.

In1990–91,andagainin2007,theCommitteeonRitualisticMattersexpressedconcernthattheuniversalistphilosophyofScottishRiteMasonrywasbeingcom-promisedbylocalValleysembellishingpresentationsofthe18°withnon-ritualistic,unauthorizedChristiansermons,prayers,andhymns.Astotheritualitself,how-ever,the18°remainsinequipoisebetweentraditionalistsanduniversalists.Ineffect,ithasretaineditsChristiancharacterbuthasbeenpurgedoftheologyanddogma.

Aside from issues of Masonic philosophy, the ritual of the 18° has beenimpactedbytheredefiningchangesmadeinthe17°.Aspreviouslyexplained,the17°Ritualof 1957,basedontheBookofRevelation,hadbeenpresented incon-junctionwithandasapreludetothe18°.Thedecisiontowithdrawthatritualin1994 prompted a revision of the 18° ritual to incorporate introductory materialformerlycommunicatedaspartofthe17°.Thisresultedinthe18°TentativeRit-ualof1994.Thetentativeritualalsointroducedastylisticinnovationthatwouldhaveritualisticramificationsbeyondthe18°.ThenumerousscripturalpassagesintheritualwererewrittenaccordingtotheNewRevisedStandardEnglishBible,replacingthetime-honoredKingJamesversion.Thetentativeritualwasapprovedasthe18°Ritualof1999.

Furtherrevisions followedintheritualof2007.ThebriefceremonialsectionwaseliminatedconsistentwiththepolicyadoptedbytheSupremeCouncilin1995.Amodestnumberofstylisticchangesweremadeinthedialogue.Useoftheword

“Shekinah” was discontinued for the sake of clarity to modern audiences. Signifi-

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cantly,suggestionstoshortentheritualandtoremovepassagesrelatingtotheCru-cifixionandtheResurrectionwereresisted.Noneoftherevisionsmadetothe18°ritualsince1964havealteredthedramaticthemeofMasoniclessonofthedegree.

c o n s i s t o r y

Good and Evil—The Nineteenth DegreeThe19°,“GrandPontiff,”nowthefirstoftheConsistorialdegrees,wasoneoftheRiteofPerfectiondegreesrecordedintheFrancken Manuscript.Initsearliestform,itconsistedprimarilyofakindoflecturewithreferencestothe“NewJerusalem”andothersymbolsfromtheNewTestamentBookofRevelation.AlbertPike’srit-ualexpandedontheseelementstoincludeaseriesof12lecturesonthestrugglebetweengoodandevil.Theritualof1886developedthisthemeintoadramaticalle-gorywhichformsthebasisofthemodernritual.ItintroducedPhiletustheNeo-phyte,hisvisittotheShades,andthepersonifiedSpiritsofEvilandofMasonry.Thisritualcontinuedintactuntilashortenedformappearedin1953.

AftermorethanacenturyofpresentationstoScottishRiteMasons,makingitoneofthelongestrunningdegreeritualsintheJurisdiction,the19°ritualunder-wentmajorrevisions.Thisprocesswasnotquicklyoreasilyaccomplished.Overaperiodoffiveyears,commencingin1988,asuccessionoffivedraftrevisionswereprepared. The primary author of these successive revisions was a clergyman, Ill.RichardC.Thistle,33°,amemberoftheValleyofSouthBendandaconsultanttotheCommitteeonRituals.

Inthecourseoftheserevisions,theritualwasrewritteninmorecontemporarylanguage.AnadditiontotheprologueexplainedthederivationofthewordPontifffromtheLatinpontifex, literally“bridge-builder.”TheappearanceoftheSpiritofEvilandhisconfrontationwiththeSpiritofMasonrywerestagedasavisionofthepontiffs.Theobligationandtheanointingwereeliminatedasanticlimactictotheprincipalactionoftheallegory,therebysettingaprecedentthatwouldbefollowedinsubsequentrevisionsofotherdegreerituals.Inplaceofthesedeletions,achargewasaddedatthecloseoftheritual.Thefifthsuchrevisionwasapprovedasthe19°TentativeRitualof1993.

Fornineyearstheapprovedrevisionremainedinlimboasthetentativeritualuntil itwassupersededbyafurtherrevision,the19°Ritualof2002.The2002rit-ualretainedtheprologueandscenesoneandtwoofthetentativeritualwithoutchangeandmadetwominordeletionsfromdialogueinscenesthreeandfive.

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Majorchanges,however,weremadeintheclimacticscenefour.Thedanceofthe“imps,”orspiritsofdarkness,waseliminatedbecauseoftheperceptionthatinmanypresentations it fosteredaHalloween-likeatmospherethatdetractedfromtheseriousmessageoftheritual.Thevoicesofgloomandofprophecyalsoweredeleted, their dialogue being spoken, respectively, by the Spirit of Evil and theSpiritofMasonry.MuchconsiderationwasgiventosubstitutingaSpiritofGoodfortheSpiritofMasonrybecauseofpossiblyunintendedreligiousconnotationsarisingfromthischaracter’sconfrontationwithandtriumphovertheSpiritofEvil(thatis,Satan).Ultimately,itwasdecidedthatsuchachangewoulddetractfromtheMasoniccharacteroftheritual.Hence,thecharacterwasstyledthe“SpiritofFreemasonry”andthe“DefenderofGood.”

Notwithstandingthemanychangesembodiedinthe1993and2002rituals,theactionsequenceanddramaticthemeofthedegreehaveremainedthesame—theperennialconflictbetweengoodandevil.

Master for Life—The Twentieth DegreeItisnoexaggerationtoobservethattheallegoryofthe20°formanyyearshasbeenregardedasthemostpopularandinspiringoftheConsistorialdegreerituals,dueinnosmallmeasuretoitspatrioticAmericantheme.Ofcourse,theearlyformoftheritualasitappearedintheFrancken Manuscriptwasquitedifferent.Itwascom-prisedprincipallyofninesymboliclightsandalengthylecturereviewingthesym-bolsofFreemasonry.Perhapsthemostuniquefeatureofthedegreewasitsthree-foldtitle—“VenerableMaster,”“SovereignPrince,”or“MasteradVitam.”

ThefirstmajorrevisioncamewithPike’sritualinthemid–19thcentury,“Ven-erableMaster,”which in turnwasrevisedshortly thereafterbytheritualof 1866,underthemoderntitle,“MasteradVitam,”orMasterforLife.Thecoreelementsofthe1866ritualwerethepresentationofagavelandFrancken’sninesymboliclights,representingtheprinciplesofMasonicleadership.Thisremainedtheceremonial,or“candle”sectionofthe20°throughthe19thandmostofthe20thcenturies.

A radical departure was introduced with the ritual of 1896, when a dramaticallegorywasaddedtowhatuntilthenhadbeenaceremonialritual.Theprotago-nistoftheallegorywasKingFrederickofPrussia,thelegendarypatronofScottishRiteMasonry,whosupposedlyconvenedthefirstSupremeCounciloftheRite.AsbecamethepatternforotherConsistorialdegreeallegories,thecastwasmadeupofprominenthistoricalcharacters,whoallegedlywereFreemasons,althoughtheactionoftheallegorywasnotbasedonanhistoricalevent.Inthesettingofalodgemeetingin18thcenturyEurope,astoryoftreacheryunfoldedinwhichaFreema-

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sonwasexposedashavingmisusedhisfraternalassociationstocommitespionage.At theconclusion,Frederick issuedtheRegulationsof 1762as thebasic lawandpresentedthedouble-headedeagleastheemblemofScottishRiteMasonry.

Theritualwasreissuedwithoutchangein1915.IntheaftermathofWorldWarI,however, there was much sentiment for removing the allegory to a setting thatwould have more relevance, interest, and inspiration for American Masons. Theresult, which appeared in the ritual of 1922, transferred the dramatic plot, muchofthedialogue,andtheMasoniclessonofthe“Prussian”allegorytoanAmericansettingwiththeAmericanMasoniciconGeorgeWashingtonreplacingFrederickastheleadcharacter.TheprimaryauthorofthetransplantedallegorywasJ.FrankDavis,32°,K.C.C.H.,ofSanAntonio,Texas.

AsthefirstScottishRitedegreeritualwithanAmericansettingandtheme,the20°Ritualof1922enjoyedimmediateacceptance.Withinafewdecadesitspopular-itywasenhancedbythepatrioticfervorgeneratedduringtheeraofWorldWarII.Theallegorywassowellreceivedthatovertheyearstherewererepeatedrequestsfor permission to make public presentations. All such requests, of course, wererejected,asby lawandbycustomthedegreeworkoftheRitemaybeexhibitedonlytopersonswhoareScottishRiteMasonsoftherequisitedegree.

In 1936, a prologue and epilogue to the allegory were approved for optionaluse on a trial basis. The effect was to portray the drama as a multi-scene dreamsequence.Theadditionalscenesneverwereadoptedaspartoftheritualandwerewithdrawnin1951.

Theritualwasreissuedwithoutsignificantchangein1939and1951.Morethan40yearsthenpassedbeforetheritualagainunderwentscrutinybytheCommitteeonRituals.IntheinterimconcernhadarisenoverthedepictionofsomeprominenthistoricalcharactersintheallegoryasMasons,asnodocumentaryevidencewasknowntoprovetheirmembership.TherealsowasaquestionastowhenandwhereLafayettehadbecomeaMason.Theseconcernsoverhistoricalaccuracywerepar-tiallyaddressedin1980,whentheCommitteeonRitualsdirectedthatsomeofthecharactersintheallegorybereplacedbyotherswithprovenMasoniccredentials.

Thesignificantchangemadebytheritualof1994waseliminationoftheceremo-nialopening,thatis,the“candlesection,”whichdatedbackmorethan200yearstotheFrancken Manuscript.Thisceremonyhadbeentheessenceofthe20°ritualuntiltheallegorywasintroducedshortlybeforetheturnofthe20thcentury.ItsremovalfromtheritualwasunquestionablyablowtoScottishRitetradition.Itwasjustified,however,forthesakeoffacilitatingpresentationoftheallegory,whichexemplifiedwhathadevolvedastheMasoniclessonsofthedegree.ForthisreasontheSupreme

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Council already had made the presentation of degree ceremonials optional, andmanyValleysroutinelyomittedthemintheinterestoftighteningreunionsched-ules.Althoughitwentunsaid,continueduseoftheceremonialwiththeallegoryinfactperpetuatedadichotomyinthedegree.Thetwosectionsofthedegreehadevolvedfromwhollydifferentsourcesand,especiallyafterthepatrioticAmericandramahadbeenintroduced,communicatedtwoentirelydifferentlessons.Indeed,withtheremovalof theonlypartof the20°ritual thatwasrepresentativeof theoriginaldegree,thenameitself,“MasterforLife,”becameanon sequitur.

Tenyearslaterarefinementwasmadetotheallegoryforthesakeofdramaandemphasis.ThefinallinesofdialogueandstagedirectionsweredeletedsothattheallegorywouldconcludewithWashington’sringingstatementoftheMasonicatti-tudetowardthecrimeoftreason.

The first major revision of the “Washington” allegory since its introductioncamein2007,the85thanniversaryofitsintroduction.Thelastvestigesofthecer-emonialopening,includingtheobligation,wereeliminatedinaccordancewiththepolicy adopted by the Supreme Council in 1995. The admission of characters tothelodgeroomwasrearranged.Extensivestylisticchangesweremadeinthepro-logueandthroughouttheallegory.Severalpassagesofdialogue,consideredoverlylengthy,wereabridged.Forreasonsofcharacterportrayal,theseincludedthefinalexchangebetweenWashingtonandtheAmericantraitor,Arnold.

Theresultwasadegreeritualofmarginallyshorterplayingtime,butnosignificantchangetothecastofcharactersordramaticaction.Theaveragespectatorshouldfindthedifferencesbetweenthe20°Ritualof2007andthepreviousversionimpercep-tible,whilehopefullyreceivinganimprovedappreciationofitsMasonicmessage.

Let Justice Be Done—The Twenty-first DegreeTheritualofthe21°laysclaimtowhatisprobablythemostunusualoriginofanydegreeintheScottishRitesystem.TheritualthatappearedinFrancken’s1783man-uscriptunderthetitle“PrussianKnightorNoachite”hadnoapparentconnectionwiththetraditionalMasonicsymbolismoftheSolomonicTemple.ThepatternofFrancken’s ritualwasconventionalenough.Therewas theopening,containingalectureintheformofacatechism,followedbyarathersimplereception,obligation,and investiture, concluding with a long historical lecture. The subject of the lec-tureswastheOldTestamentstoryofNoahandacuriouslegendconcerningPeleg,thereputedarchitectoftheTowerofBabel.AftertheConfusionofTongues,PelegallegedlyhadtakentheartsofMasonrytoNorthernEurope,thatis,PrussiaandGermany,wherehistombsupposedlywasdiscoveredinthesixthcenturyad.

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The name of Peleg appears in genealogical lists in the Book of Genesis as adescendantofNoahandanancestorofAbraham,contemporarywiththeConfu-sionofTongues.Moretothepoint,however,althoughNoah,togetherwithmanyotherbiblicalandhistoricalfigures,ismentionedasapractitioneroftheMasonicartsinthefancifulhistorycontainedinAnderson’sConstitutions,thereisnorefer-encetotheMasonicassociationsofPeleguponwhoselegendaryroletheritualofthe21°wasbased.

TheFrenchritualwhichwasthesourceofFrancken’s21°supposedlywastrans-latedfromanearlierGermanritualin1757.Thetitleofthepresidingofficeroftheassembly depicted in the ritual was “Lieutenant Commander.” The position ofGrandMasteroftheOrderwasreservedforKingFrederickofPrussia.

Soitremainedfor70-oddyears.Then,in1855,theritualofAlbertPikemadeanabruptdeparturefromtraditionandintroducedthedramaticthemethatinlargemeasurecomprisesthecurrentritual.Pikeselectedfortheback-groundofhisrit-ual the mysterious secret tribunals (vehmgerichte) of medieval Germany.⁷ Theseextra-legaltribunalsdispensedwhatwaspurportedtobeimpartialjustice,regard-lessofrankoraffluence,forcriminalactsandexcessescommittedbyminionsofbothchurchandstate.Thevehmgerichteapparentlyhadthreegradesordegreesofmembership,therebyparallelingthelaterorganizationofthesymboliclodge.Asthemottoofthe21°,PikeadoptedtheLatinformofafittingphrase,“Letjusticebedonethoughtheheavensshouldfall.”

At theUnionof 1867, thePikeritualwas theaccepted formof the21° in thisJurisdictionwithan importantaddition—theOrdealof theThreeTests. In1886,theritualwasfurtherelaboratedbyexpandingthereceptiontointroduceanum-berofhistoricalrulersoftheperiod,includingKingsRichardtheLionheartedandPhilipAugustus.Theadditionofthesecharacterswasahistoricalintheextreme,aninstanceofcelebritynamedroppingthatwasmeaninglessforthedevelopmentofthedramaticaction.

Thenextchangeofnotewasmadeintheritualof1919.Asaresultofpatrioticemotions generated by World War I, which also would motivate replacement oftheoriginalallegoryinthe20°bythe“Washington”allegory,referencesto“Prus-sia”weredeletedfromtheritual.Thetitleofthedegreewasalteredto“PatriarchNoachite,”virtuallytheonlyvestigeoftheoriginalFranckenritual.Somewhatsur-prisingly,theGermansettingoftheritualremainedunchanged.

In 2003, the reference to “Belus,” a form of Baal, the infamous deity of theancientCanaanites,andtheword“infidel,”usedasagratuitousandderogatoryref-erencetotheIslamicfaith,wereremovedfromtheritual.

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Thefirstsignificantrevisionoftheritualsince1886camethefollowingyear.Asinthecaseofotherrecentdegreeritualrevisions,lengthofplayingtimeandthenumber of essential cast members were major considerations. The opening andreception,moreover,werenotseparatesectionsoftheritual,asPikehadincorpo-ratedthemasanintegralpartofanoverlylong,singlescenedrama.Thus,downsiz-ing the essential cast to only ten characters, plus optional supernumeraries, pro-videdameanstoachieveasignificantreductionintheplayingtimeoftheritual.Fewersecondarycharactersallowedthetime-consumingreceptiontobedeletedaswellasportionsofdialoguethatdidnotcontributetodevelopmentoftheaction.Eliminationfromthecastoftheprominentnamesaddedbytheritualof1886alsoimprovedthehistoricalcredibilityofthedrama.Thedialoguewasrevisedthrough-outtorewordmanyarchaic,awkward(tothemodernear),inconsistent,orsuper-fluouspassages.StagedirectionswereinsertedtoclarifythestagingoftheThreeTests.TherevisedPrologueincludedanexplanationofthemottoofthedegree.Ill.C. DeForrest Trexler, 33°, Active Member for Pennsylvania and chairman of theCommitteeonRitualisticMatters,wastheprimaryauthoroftherevisedritual.

Many of the extensive revisions made in the ritual of 2004 had the effect ofstrippingawaytheembellishmentsaddedtoPike’sritualfromthe1880s.Theresultpreservedtheessenceandhopefullytheinterestofhis150-yearoldcreation.

The Twenty-second “Musical” DegreeThe22°appearedinHenryFrancken’smanuscriptbyname,“KnightoftheRoyalAxe,”aliteraltranslationfromtheFrench,butwithoutaritualtext.AllthatFranckenrecordedaboutthedegreewasalegendaboutthecedarsofLebanonconcerninguseofthewoodinthebuildingoftheTemplesofSolomonandZerubbabel.Thishasledtoconjecturethatthe22°wasintendedonlyasa“pass”degreewithoutacompleteritualandlessonofitsown.

Aritualforthe22°didnotcomeintoexistenceuntilAlbertPike’sinitialdraftin 1855. Against the background of the Cedars of Lebanon, Pike introduced thesymbolictoolsofthewoodsman—thesaw,theplane,andtheaxe—aswellasthedignityoflaborasthelessonofthedegree.ThiswastheapprovedritualforuseintheNorthernMasonicJurisdictionatthetimeoftheUnionof1867and,withonlyslightchanges,fornearly130yearsthereafter.Overtime,thealternatetitle,“PrinceofLibanus”(Lebanon)becamegenerallyacceptedforthedegree.

Duringthe1930s,avariationoftheritualdeveloped.Ill.JuliusB.Christman,33°,andIll.OttoJ.Goffeney,33°,membersoftheValleyofSouthBend,adaptedtheritualtobepresentedinoperaticstylewithmembersofthecastperformingvocal

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music,bothsolosandchoruses.In1942,thismusicalversionwasapprovedbytheSupremeCouncilasanalternateritualforthe22°,thusbecomingtheonlymusicaldegreeritualtobeauthorizedinthejurisdiction.

Despiteinitialpopularity,useofthemusicalritualunfortunatelybecamelessfrequent. By the 1970s, few Valleys were able to assemble sufficient numbers ofplayerswiththerequisitemusicaltalent.In1977,theCommitteeonRitualssoughttoaddresstheproblembyhavingthemusicofthe1942ritualrearrangedandtrans-posedintolowerkeystofacilitateperformancebylessaccomplishedvocalistsandbyquartetsinplaceofchoruses.Althoughthissolutionseemedfeasibleinconcept,itwouldnotbeimplementedformanyyears.

Theprojectwassuspendedin1984aftertwosuccessiveconsultantsretainedbythecommitteefailedtoproducethedesiredresults.Thecommitteerenewedtheeffortin1987andpersistedthroughsixmoreyearsandtheservicesoffourmoreconsultants. Finally, a computer-generated, rearranged and transposed musicalscorewasproduced,incorporatedintheritual,andapprovedasthe22°TentativeRitualof1993(MusicalVersion).

Thefollowingyear,anextensiverevisionwasmadeofthe1939(non-musical)ritual, still essentially the 140-year old Pike ritual. A brief prologue was added,replacingtheceremonialopening.Theobligation,investiture,andclosingalsowereeliminatedaswasthehistoricallecture,asurvivaloftheLegendofLebanonthathadbeenalltherewastothedegreeintheFrancken Manuscript.Whatremainedwasthedramaticallegory.Inaddition,manystylisticchangesweremadeto“mod-ernize”thearchaicdialogue.Finally,thetextofthemusicalversionwasconformedtothenon-musicalversion,sothat,exceptforthemusicalselectionsintheformer,theritualofbothversionswasidentical.Theserevisionswereapprovedasthe22°Ritualof1994(bothmusicalandnon-musicalversions).

Notwithstandingthelengthyprocessandradicalrevision,whichresultedinashortritual,easytostage,withasmallcast,astraightforwardmessage,andachoicebetweenpresentingeitheramusicaloranon-musicalversion,the22°didnotseemtogainpopularity,basedontheinfrequencyofitspresentationacrosstheJurisdic-tion.Thispromptedanotherreviewoftheritualin2007.

Inadditiontomodestrevisionsinwording,theactionoftheallegorywastrans-planted from the slopes of biblical Mount Lebanon to a 19th century Americanforest.Thecastwascostumedinordinaryworkclothing,forexample,denimover-alls,flannelshirts,etc.,appropriatetothetransposedtimeandplace.Thus,the22°Ritualof2007becamethesixthConsistorialdegree(togetherwiththe20°,23°,24°,25°,and26°)tobegivenamorecontemporaryAmericansetting.

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The Twenty-third “Four Chaplains” DegreeItwasnotuntilthemiddleofthe19thcenturythattheritualofthe23°wasrecordedinanysurvivingform.IthadbeenmentionedbyJeanFrederickDoszedardskiin1805asoneoftheFrench“PhilosophicalGrades,”underthetitle“ChiefoftheTab-ernacle.”However,noindicationofitscontentwasgiven.KillianVanRensselaer’s1845manuscriptprovidedsignsandpasswordsforthedegreebutnothingfurther.

AswasthecasewithseveralotherScottishRitedegrees,thewritingofacom-pleteritualforthe23°apparentlyhadtoawaitthecreativepenofAlbertPike,whogavenoindicationofhissource.Pikegavetheritualamosaicsettingconsistentwiththetraditionaltitleofthedegree,theTabernacleintheWilderness.TheritualwaspresidedoverbyAaron,as“MostExcellentHighPriest,”assistedbytwoofhissonsasWardens.The formof the ritualwas traditionalwithanopening, recep-tion,examination,obligation,aseriesoftencharges,andconcludingwithalonginvestiture and lecture interpreting the symbolism of the ritual. The Pike ritualwasadoptedbythisjurisdictionaftertheUnionof1867andcontinuedinuseformorethan40years.

Earlyin1907,Ill.JohnLloydThomas,33°, laterActiveMemberforNewYorkandamemberoftheCommitteeonRituals,metwiththecommitteeandsubmit-tedfortheirconsiderationaproposednewritualforthe23°.UsingthesettingofthePikeritual,ThomasproposedadramatizationoftheOldTestamentstoryofthesonsofAaron,whoneglectedtheirdutytotendthesacredfireintheTabernacle.In1908,amodifiedformoftheThomasproposalwasapprovedbytheSupremeCoun-cil,replacingthePikeritual.Subjecttominorrevisionsmadein1930,theritualof1908remainedtheritualofthe23°forthenext80years.

In1985,theSupremeCouncilapprovedarecommendationbytheCommitteeonRitualstotransferdegreeritualsbasedonOldTestamentthemesfromtheCon-sistorytotheLodgeofPerfection.Thisdecision,ofcourse,impactedthe23°.Beforetheplancouldbeimplemented,however,anacceptablenewritualhadtobeavail-abletoreplaceeachritualtransferredfromaConsistorydegree.

In the case of the 23°, the genesis of the replacement ritual went back to the1960s,precedingitseventualadoptionby20ormoreyears.Ill.JohnH.VanGor-den,33°,ActiveMemberforNewYork,hadwrittenadramaticallegory,“TheFourChaplains,” as a suggested degree ritual. It was based on the celebrated incidentduringWorldWarIIwhenfourU.S.ArmyChaplainsgaveuptheir lifejacketstosaveinjuredservicemenandperishedaboardatorpedoedtrooptransportintheNorthAtlantic.However,thetimeforsuchanallegoryasaScottishRitedegreeritualhadnotyetcome.

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By1983,withtheprospectofritual“realignment”andtheneedfornewdegreerituals on the horizon, Van Gorden’s proposal was being revisited. A consultanttotheCommitteeonRituals,Ill.HaydnR.Jones,33°,amemberoftheValleyofSouthBend,Indiana,andlaterTrenton(CentralJersey),wasassignedtopreparethe script of a dramatic allegory suitable for a degree ritual based on the “FourChaplains”theme.

Theunderlyinghistoricaleventseemedready-madeforthethemeofaScottishRitedegreeritual,justasithadbeenatocsinforpatrioticmoralewhenitoccurredin1943.Itwasmorethanareallifestoryofheroismandself-sacrifice,whichwar-timeeventsproducedinabundance.Therewasanecumenicalmessage.Thefourprotagonists had come from diverse backgrounds and represented different reli-giousfaiths(Protestant,RomanCatholic,andJewish).

Nevertheless,thesubjectdidhaveadownside.Theproposedritualwouldbethefirsttohaveamodern,indeed,acontemporarysetting.SomemembersoftheCommitteeonRitualshadsecondthoughtsaboutadegreeallegorybasedonaneventwithinlivingmemory.Modernritualsettingshadthepotentialofarousingreactionsfrompersonalexperienceandbeliefsthatcoulddistractattentionfrom,orevencompromise,themorallessonthatwasbeingexemplified.Degreeritualswithbiblicalorremotehistorical,evenAmericanRevolutionary,backgroundsdidnot have the same potential for distraction or controversy. In the end, however,thesereservationswereovercome.

In1986,thecommitteereportedthatanallegorybasedontheWorldWarIIinci-dentof“theFourChaplains”wouldbeproposedasthenewritualofthe23°.TheworkofHaydnJoneshadbeensubstantiallycompletedbythattime.Theproposedritualwouldbeinnovativeinrespectsotherthanitscontemporarysetting.Thecer-emonialopeningandprologuewerefollowedbyaneight-scenedrama,withacastofmore than30characters,concludingwithanepilogue.Thesceneswere intro-ducedandlinkedbyanarratorrepresentingasurvivoroftheevent.Tofacilitateitspresentation,whichmanyValleyswouldfindtobechallengingandsomedaunting,theproposedritualincludedamplestagedirections,productionnotes,andscenediagramsexplainingthattheallegorywasdesignedtobepresentedwithnoscen-eryandwithonlylimitedstageproperties.Thus,moderntheatertechniqueswereappliedtopresentationofaScottishRiteritual.

In1988,aftertrialexemplifications,theallegoryof“TheFourChaplains”becamethetentativeritualofthe23°.Theprevious“SacredFire”ritualwasassignedtothe5°intheLodgeofPerfection.Eightyearslaterthetentativeritual,withsomemodi-fications,wasapprovedasthe23°Ritualof1996.

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Thefirstcompletereviewofthe“FourChaplains”ritualwasatwo-yearprocessundertakenin2006–08undertheprimaryresponsibilityofIll.LawrenceD.Inglis,33°,ActiveEmeritusMemberforIllinoisandmemberoftheCommitteeonRitualis-ticMatters.Thereviewresultedinnumerousandsignificantrevisions,althoughthedramaticthemeandprimarylessonremainedintact.Thereviewincludedresearchofthehistoricaleventonwhichtheritualwasbased,aswellasthebiographiesofthefourprotagonistsandcommentssubmittedbymembersacrossthejurisdiction.

The brief ceremonial opening was eliminated in accordance with the policyadoptedbytheSupremeCouncilin1995.TheprologuewassubstantiallymodifiedbydeletionofthebetterpartofthreeparagraphsthatattemptedtopreserveastrainedconnectionwiththeOldTestamentstoryofthe“SacredFire,”whichhadbeenthethemeofthe23°ritualbeforeitstransfertotheLodgeofPerfectionin1988.Refer-encestothe“SacredFire”whichreoccurredintheallegoryalsowereeliminated.

Thequotationonreligious toleration in theprologue, fromPresidentandIll.BrotherTruman’saddressatthededicationoftheChapeloftheFourChaplainsin1951,wasreplacedbyobservationsonfraternalloveandself-sacrificemadeinthesame address. The latter remarks were considered more consistent with the pri-marylessonofthedegree.AnexcerptfromIll.BrotherTruman’saddressemphasiz-ingthelessonofthedegreealsowasaddedtotheepilogue.

Theparaplegicnarrator,whoidentifiedhimselfbynamenotfoundamongthecrewandpassengersofthetroopshipDorchester,andincrediblyas“amemberofthis Valley,” was replaced by an anonymous survivor. A new, historically factualcharacterandincident,relatingtotheglovesofoneoftheChaplains,wereadded.

Numerous passages of dialogue were deleted from the allegory because theywere considered superfluous to the dramatic action or lesson of the degree, orbecausetheysimplywereimprobable.Scenefive,whichdramatizedanunlikelyver-balandphysicalaltercationbetweenoneoftheChaplainsandafictitiouscrewman,andwhichdidnotcontributetothethemeoftheritual,wasdeletedinitsentirety.

The scriptural reading in the renumbered scene five was reworded from thatoftheNewRevisedStandardEnglishBibletotheKingJamesversion,asthefor-mer had not yet been written in 1943. Many refinements in wording were madethroughouttheallegoryforthesakeofclarity,style,orhistoricalorliteraryaccu-racy. Among these was the rewording of the Hebrew prayer in the renumberedsceneseven.Profanityalsowaseliminatedfromthedialogue.

Theresultofthesethorough-goingrevisions,the23°Ritualof2008,preservedthedramaticthemewithgreaterattentiontohistoricalaccuracyandaclearerstate-mentofthemorallesson.Italsorepresentedasubstantialshorteningofplayingtime

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overthepreviousritualwhichhadbeenthelongestofthe29degreerituals.Finally,therevisedritualrenamedthedegreefromthetraditional“ChiefoftheTabernacle,”whichdatedfrom1805,buthadbeenirrelevantsince1988,to“KnightofValor.”

The Twenty-fourth “American Indian” DegreeTheritualofthe24°,likethatofthe23°,atleastinanyidentifiableform,wasalate-comertotheScottishRitesystem.TherewasnopredecessortothecurrentdegreeritualpreservedaspartoftheRiteofPerfectionritualsinHenryFrancken’s1783man-uscript.Thetraditionaltitleofthedegree,“PrinceoftheTabernacle,”wasmentionedin1805byJeanFrederickDoszedardskiinreferencetoaFrenchdegree,butnodetailsoftheritualweregiven.KillianVanRensselaer’s1845manuscriptprovidedsignsandwords for the degree, indicating that the lesson was toleration, but nothing more.Thus,uptothemiddleofthe19thcentury,thecontentofthe24°ritualisunknown.

Then, enter Albert Pike. Among the degree rituals he completed in 1855 wasaritual forthe24°.Pike’ssourceforthisritualremainsamystery.Ostensiblysetin thetimeofMoses, theritualmeanderedthroughthecenturies inananachro-nisticmélangeofphilosophicalideas.Attimesitborderedontheoccult,attimesonMasonicsymbolism,arrivingatPike’sdoctrineofequilibrium.Therewasnodiscernibletheme.Thelessonofthedegree,inessence,wasGod,country,andthepursuitofhappiness.ItwasnotPikeathisbest.

Nevertheless,perhapsnotonlyforlackofsomethingbetter,butsimplyforlackofanythingelse,thePikeritualwasacceptedforthe24°ofthisjurisdictionaftertheUnionof1867.Moreover,thisritualcontinuedinuse,withbutafewminorchanges,forthenext42years.

Finally, in 1909, the Supreme Council withdrew the Pike ritual and approveda new ritual featuring a dramatic allegory for the 24°. The primary author of thenewallegorywasEnglish-bornIll.JohnLloydThomas,33°,wholaterwaselectedanActiveMemberforNewYorkandappointedamemberoftheCommitteeonRituals.TheThomasAllegorydepictedafictitiousincidentduringthededicationofKingSolomon’sTemple.AdiscussiononthenatureofGodbyrepresentativesofvariousreligions was disrupted by a voice of skepticism. The disharmony ultimately wasresolvedbyaneloquentdeclarationoftheuniversalfaithofservicetohumanity.

The24°Ritualof1909,insubstance,remainedinuseformostofthe20thcentury,andprobablywouldhavecontinuedintothe21stcenturyaswellhaditnotbeenforotherdevelopments.In1985,theSupremeCouncilapprovedtherecommendationoftheCommitteeonRitualstotransfertotheLodgeofPerfectionthoseConsis-torialdegreeritualsbasedonOldTestamentthemes.Thefirstoftheseritualspro-

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posedtobetransferredtotheLodgeofPerfectionwasthatofthe24°whichwastobereplacedbyanew“AmericanIndian”allegory.

Obviously,themostchallengingaspectoftheso-called“realignment”ofdegreeritualswastofindorprepareritualstoreplacethosethatwereremovedfromtheConsistory degrees. In the case of the 24°, the solution came in 1983 with a pro-posalthatanewritualbewrittenonthethemeofanAmericanIndianpetitioningformembershipinacolonialsymboliclodge.TheprimaryauthoroftheproposedritualwasIll.HenryJ.Cooper,33°,ActiveMemberforRhodeIslandandamember/consultantoftheCommitteeonRituals.Thenewritual,consistingofaprologueandadramaticallegoryinthreescenes,wascompletedin1985andwasapprovedbytheSupremeCouncilastheTentative24°Ritualof1986.

The1986tentativeritualwasonlytheseconddegreeritualin65years(afterthe20°Ritualof1922)tohaveanAmericansetting.Itwasaninstantsuccess,due,nodoubt,tothefamiliarappealofanAmericanfrontiersceneandbuckskin-clad,featherandbead-adornedcastmembers.Thedramaticthemeoftheritualalsowasafactorinitswidespreadacceptance.Itposedthereal-lifedilemmaexperiencedatonetimeoranotherbymostactiveMasons.Underwhatcircumstanceswasuseoftheblackballjustifiedinballotingonapetitioner?Onaclimacticnoteofhighdrama,theallegorycametoanendbeforetheresultoftheballotwasannounced,thequestionlefttolingerunansweredintheindividualconsciencesoftheaudience.

Largerissuesalsowerepresented.Thequalificationofthepetitionerwascastintermsofmisunderstanding(thatis,ignorance)ofNativeAmericanreligiousbeliefs.Thediscussionofthosebeliefs,concludingwithacknowledgmentofthespiritualbrotherhoodofmanunderauniversalHeavenlyFather,wasreminiscentofthepre-viousritualofthe24°.Theapparentlessonwastolerationofreligiousandculturaldiversity.However, inthesocialcontextof late20thcenturyAmerica,manyper-ceivedatacitlessonofracialtolerance.

Thetentativeritualeventuallywasapprovedwithoutchangeasthe24°Ritualof1993,althoughpublicationofthefinalritualwasdelayed.

Despiteitspositivereception,theritualwasplaguedbyconcernsfor“politicalcorrectness.”Consultantswereenlisted to reviewthedialogue toopinewhetherNativeAmericanswereportrayedinapatronizingorstereotypicalmanner.Inthe2002–03 revision, pejorative adjectives, such as “drunken” and “depraved” weredeleted. Native American dialogue was revised to reflect grammatical simplicity,butavoidingstereotypicalmonosyllablescharacteristicof“HollywoodIndians.”Inaddition,anumberofpassagesconsidered tobesuperfluouswereeliminated.Amajorchangewasthedeletionofhighlyimprobablewoodlanddialogueinwhich

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aHarvardgraduatelecturedNativeAmericansoncomparativereligion.Withtheforegoingrevisions,the24°Ritualof2003inallotherrespectspreservedthesub-stanceofthe1986tentativeritual.⁸

Finally, the traditional title of the 24°, which was of uncertain origin and formany years had been all there was of record to the degree, was changed from

“PrinceoftheTabernacle”tothedescriptive“BrotheroftheForest.”

The Twenty-fifth “Ben Franklin” DegreeThe1855ritualofAlbertPikewastheearliestsurvivingritualof the25°.True, inthe first decade of the 19th century Doszedardski had mentioned the degree byname,“KnightoftheBrazenSerpent,”asoneoftheFrench“PhilosophicalGrades,”andKillianVanRensselaerhadrecordedthesignsandpasswordsofthedegreeinhis1845manuscript.However,neitherofthesesourcesprovidedanythingofthecontentoftheritual.Pike,himself,didnotciteasourceforhiswork,leavingustoconcludethatitwasaproductofhisowncreation.Thethemeoftheritualwaseasyenoughtocreate.Itwassuggestedbythetraditionaltitleofthedegree.AfterPike’sfashion,however,theOldTestamentstoryofMosesandthebrazenserpentwassecondarytoanexpositionofsymbolismandthephilosophyofequilibrium.

Consequently,thePikeritualwasvirtuallyallthatexistedofthedegree,anditremainedtheauthorizedritualofthe25°inthisjurisdictionfor30yearsfromtheUnionof1867.Then,therevisedritualof1896introducedadramatizationoftheOldTestamentstoryofthebrazenserpentandemphasizedfaithasthelessonofthedegree.Anotherrevisionin1951addedanewceremonialsectiontotheritualbutmadelittlechangeinthedrama.In1993,the1951ritualwastransferredtotheLodgeofPerfection,becomingtheritualofthe6°,whereitremainstothepresenttime,insubstancethe1896dramaoftheBrazenSerpent.

Theremovalofthe“BrazenSerpent”ritualfromthe25°waspartofthe“realign-ment” of degree rituals with Old Testament themes from the Consistory to theLodgeofPerfection,apolicyapprovedbytheSupremeCouncilin1985.Thisdeci-sion,ofcourse,necessitatedthepreparationofnewritualstoreplacethetraditionalritualsoftheConsistorydegrees.Inthecaseofthe25°,theoriginofthereplace-mentritualbegantwodecadesbeforeitfinallywasimplemented.

In1974, inanticipationofthenationalbicentennialcelebration,theSupremeCouncilapprovedthepreparationofadramatizationofeventsinthelifeofBen-jaminFranklintobemadeavailabletoValleys forpresentationduring1976.TheCommitteeonRitualssubsequentlyrecommendedthatthe“FranklinAllegory”beconsideredasatentativealternateritualforthe25°.

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Texts of the proposed allegory were distributed to selected Valleys for trialexemplification.However,theresponsetoaquestionnairesenttoallConsistoriesin the jurisdiction was not favorable to the proposal. Consequently, in 1977 thecommittee reported that the proposed allegory “would not harmonize with ourdegreestructurechronologicallyorhistorically”andrecommendeditswithdrawal.Theissueseemedpermanentlyputtorestin1980,whenthecommitteeapprovedtheplayBenjamin Franklinforpublicpresentation.

Nevertheless,retirementoftheFranklinthemewasonlytemporaryandinter-estinthesubjectsoonwasrevived.Theapprovalandimplementationofthedegreeritual “realignment” policy during the 1980s increased the priority for finding areplacementritualforthe25°.Asaresult,severalalternativescriptsontheFrank-linthemewereconsideredbythecommitteeaspotentialdegreerituals.Finally,in1992,Ill.RobertL.MillerSr.,33°,ActiveMemberforIndianaandchairmanofthecommittee,completedadraftritualontheFranklintheme,consistingofamainprologue and two dramatic scenes separated by a second prologue, as a replace-mentforthe25°.Aftertrialexemplificationsandanumberofmodifications,thisproposalwasapprovedin1993asthetentativeritualofthe25°,permittingtransferofthe“BrazenSerpent”allegorytothe6°.ThenewtentativeritualwasthelasttobeapprovedasareplacementforaConsistoryritualtransferredtotheLodgeofPerfectionandbecamethethirddegreeritual(afterthe20°and24°)tohavean18thcenturycolonialAmericansetting.

Althoughthetentativeritualwasapprovedin2000astheritualofthe25°,thecommitteepostponedpublicationpendingfurtherstudy.Therewasaquestionofdramaticunity,asthetwoscenesofthedramaportrayeddifferent,disconnectedevents inFranklin’s life,separatedbynearly60years.SceneonerepresentedtheinterviewoftheyoungFranklinbyacommitteeinvestigatinghispetitionformem-bershipinaMasoniclodge.MostofthedialogueofthescenecenteredonFranklinhaving fatheredachildoutofwedlock.Scene tworepresentedaMasonic lodge(withfuturepresidentsandfellowMasonsWashingtonandMonroeinattendance)honoringBrotherFranklinonhis82ndbirthdaybyrecallingsomeof thesalientpubliceventsinhisdistinguishedlife.

Upon reconsideration, the Committee on Ritualistic Matters recommendedeliminationofsceneone,as,intheirview,itdidnotcontributetothethemeofthedegree;thatis,Franklin’slifetimeofpersonalaccomplishmentsandpublicservice.Thisallowedthesecondprologuetobeeliminatedaswell.Scenetwowasretainedwithoutchange.Themainprologuewasrewrittentoemphasizepersonalindustry,exemplified in the life of a prominent Freemason, Benjamin Franklin, as the les-

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sonofthedegree.Theeffectoftheserevisionswastoeliminateonescenechange,reducethecastbythreespeakingroles,anddecreasethelengthofthescriptbyone-third,withaconsequentshorteningofplayingtime.Thetraditionalandnowmean-inglesstitleofthedegree,“KnightoftheBrazenSerpent,”waschangedto“MasterofAchievement”toreflectthecurrentsubjectmatterandlessonoftheritual.Theserevisionswereincorporatedinthe25°Ritualof2003.

AlingeringissueforMasonicscholarswasFranklin’sMasonicstatusandwhetherhewouldhaveattendedaPennsylvanialodgeatthetimedepictedintheritual.Thiswasaddressedinthehistoricalnotestothedegreewithoutinjectingcomplicationsintothedramaoftheritual.

The Twenty-sixth “Gettysburg” DegreeThedevelopmentof the ritualof the26°hasbeenadrama in itselfandat timesalongthewayhasbeenacenterofintensecontroversy.Theearliestsurvivingritualforthedegreedatesonlyfromthemid–1850s.Morerecently,therehavebeenfourdifferentritualsforthe26°withinthespaceof65years.

The26°wasnotpartoftheRiteofPerfection.Thus,nomentionofit is intheFrancken Manuscript.Infact,itwasnotmentionedinanyearlyritualsourcesuntil1805(Doszedardski’smanuscript),andthenonlybyname,withoutmore.AccordingtotheMasonicscholarAlbertMackey, theoriginal titleof thedegree,(translatedfromtheFrench)“PrinceofMercyorScottishTrinitarian,”referredtothe“TripleCovenant”madebyGodwithhumanitythroughAbraham,Moses,andJesusChrist.

Wehavenowrittenritualforthe26°beforeAlbertPike’s1855opusof53pages.ThesettingofPike’s ritualwas thecatacombsofancientRome.Pike’s inevitableseries of long lectures described the tribulations of early Christians during thePersecutionofEmperorDomitian.AttheUnionof1867thePikeritualforthe26°(therewasnoother)wasadoptedbytheNorthernJurisdictionand,exceptforanabridgementof(only)31pagesin1911,remainedinusefor75years.

In 1938, the Committee on Rituals reported bluntly that the ritual of the 26°“failedutterlytoteachthequalityofmercyas itshouldbetaught intheScottishRite.”Soonthereafter, thecommitteesettledonwhatappearedtobeamoresat-isfactorytheme,theOldTestamentstoryofJosephandhisbrothers.Atentativeritualwasapprovedfortrialexemplificationin1940.Itwasbasedonaplay, Joseph and His Brethren,writtenforpublicpresentationbyIll.ErnestW.Hotchkiss,33°,amemberoftheValleyofDetroit.

Althoughothercompositionsonthesubjectwereconsidered,thesubstanceofthetentativeritualwasapprovedasthe26°Ritualof1942.Precededbythecustomary

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ceremonialopening,reception,andprologue,theallegoryof“JosephandHisBreth-ren”wasdramatizedinfivescenes,exemplifyingthelessonofthedegree,mercy.

For50yearsthereafterthenewritualserveditspurposeuntilitwasimpactedby the 1985 decision to transfer to the Lodge of Perfection those ConsistorialdegreeritualsbasedonOldTestamentthemes.Thus,in1992,the“JosephAllegory”becametheritualofthe12°,where,inamodifiedform,itstillremains.

Ofcourse,themostchallengingaspectoftheexercisewasfindingasuitablereplacementritualforthe26°.FromtimetotimetheCommitteeonRitualshadconsideredtheefficacyofadegreeritualbasedontheAmericanCivilWar.Thefirst substantive possibility to this end appeared in the late 1970s with House Undivided,adramatizationofincidentsrelatingtoFreemasonryduringtheCivilWar,basedonbookofthesametitlebyIll.AllenE.Roberts,33°.Therebeingnoimmediateneedforanewdegreeritual,theopportunitypassedby.PublicationofHouse UndividedwasapprovedbytheSupremeCouncilin1979forpresentationtothegeneralpublic.

Asthe1980sprogressed,theneedfornewritualstoreplacethosetransferredfromtheConsistorydegreestotheLodgeofPerfectiontookonnewurgency.Thegoal of the committee crystallized on development of a degree ritual with Abra-ham Lincoln as the central character, notwithstanding the fact that Lincoln hadnot been a Freemason. Eventually, in each of the years 1988–90, the committeereportedworkonanewritualforthe26°basedonanincidentrelatingtoLincoln’sGettysburgAddress.ThethemehadbeensuggestedbyaplaywrittenmanyyearspreviouslybyIll.HenryJ.Cooper,33°,ActiveEmeritusMemberforRhodeIsland,a member/consultant of the committee, and primary author of the “AmericanIndian”ritualofthe24°.Cooper,assistedbyIll.RobertF.Case,33°,ActiveMemberforNewYorkandamemberofthecommittee,assumedtheprimaryroleinmodi-fyingtheplayandincorporatingMasoniccontenttomakeitsuitableforadegreeritual.Afteranumberofrevisionsandtrialexemplifications,the“LincolnAllegory”wasproposedandapprovedasthe26°TentativeRitualof1992andsubsequentlyasthe26°Ritualof1999,althoughnotwithoutpersistentopposition.

The new ritual was well received. It had a familiar subject as a theme and itplayedwelldramatically.Itconsistedofaprologueandthreesceneswithtwosetchanges, a script of only seventeen pages, and required only four speaking roles.Despitethis,theritualneverwasabletoconvinceitsdissenters.

Insummary, thecaseagainst the“LincolnAllegory”was that itwasartificialandcontrived,when,asHouse Undividedhaddemonstrated,thereweremanyreallifeeventsreflectingonFreemasonryduringtheCivilWarthatcouldserveasthe

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basisforadegreeritual.LincolnwasnotaFreemason.Why,then,shouldhebethecentralfigureinaMasonicdegreeallegory?

Thetruthofthematterwasthatthestorylineofthe“LincolnAllegory”wasnotMasonic,norwasitfactual,norwasitoriginal.Itssourcewasafictionalshortstory,

“ThePerfectTribute,”writtenin1906byMaryShipmanAndrews.ItplayedonthepopularmythofLincoln’shumanityandwhatcriticsmightdescribeasmaudlinsentimentality.Perhapsmoreimportantthantheoriginandsubstanceofthestorywasthefactthatithadbecomeaprominentfeatureofthepublicdomain.Ithadbeenportrayedonfilminthe1940sandagainontelevisioninthe1990s.Passagesofdialogueinbothproductionswereverbatimwiththeritual.Thisgaverisetotheinevitableinquiry,iftheritualcanbeshowntomillionsbythemassmedia,whycan’titbepresentedtofamilies,friends,andprospectiveScottishRiteMasons?

Consequently,in2001,onlytwoyearsafterapprovalofthe1999ritual(butafteraturnoverofmembersonthecommittee),theCommitteeonRitualsdecidedtorecommendwithdrawalofthe“LincolnAllegory”asadegreeritualandauthorizeitspresentationtogeneralaudiences.Noactionwastakentoimplementthisdeci-sionuntil2004,whenthecommitteerecommendedtotheSupremeCouncilthatthe1999ritualofthe26°bewithdrawnandapprovedforpublicpresentation.Initsplace,thecommitteerecommendedpreparationofanew,factually-basedCivilWardegreeritualwithaMasonictheme.Specifically,thecommitteeproposedadrama-tizationofthehistoricalincidentmemorializedintheNationalCemeteryatGet-tysburgbythe“FriendtoFriend”MasonicMemorialerectedanddedicatedbytheGrandLodgeofPennsylvaniain1993.Despitestrenuousoppositionfromformermembersofthecommittee,therecommendationwasapproved.

Ill.C.DeForrestTrexler,33°,ActiveMemberforPennsylvaniaandchairmanoftheCommitteeonRitualisticMatters,wasassignedtopreparethenewdegreerit-ualpursuanttotherecommendationapprovedbytheSupremeCouncil.Theresultconsisted of a prologue and four dramatic scenes with three set changes, a castofsevenspeakingrolesandoptionalwalk-ons.AllcharacterswerehistoricalandknowntohavebeenFreemasons.Thestory,toldinflashbackfromthefirstscene,wastheMasonicfriendshipofUnionGeneralHancockandConfederateGeneralArmisteadthatendedwiththeirconfrontationandthelatter’sdeathatGettysburg.PeriodmusicwasarrangedforsceneinterludesandthefinaleandwasrecordedforusebyConsistoriesunable toprovide livemusicians.Thetraditional titleof thedegree,“PrinceofMercy,”wastobechangedto“FriendandBrotherEternal.”

Allwascompletedandrecommendedbythecommitteeforapprovalin2005,onlytoencounterthemostunanticipatedandacerbiccriticismofaritualisticpro-

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posal and the work of the committee since the impasse over the proposed revi-sionofthe14°ritualin1945.Intheend,theproposedritualwassparedoutrightrejectionandtabled,onlytoberecalledthefollowingdayandreferredbacktothecommittee for furtherstudy.Thus, the“LincolnAllegory” remained inplaceastheritualofthe26°insteadofbeingreleasedforpublicpresentationthatyearasmanyhadexpected.

Asthecriticismsof theproposedritualhadbeennonspecific, thecommitteewas at some loss as to what modifications might improve its acceptability. Theapproachpursuedwastoreducethelengthandcomplexityoftheproposedritual.Thefirstsceneandtheflashbackfeature,aswellasoneoftheprincipalcharacters,were eliminated. There was minor editing of the dialogue, but the substance ofthedramaremained.Arevisedversionwaspresentedandapprovedoverminorityoppositionasthe26°TentativeRitualof2006.“FriendandBrotherEternal.”The

“LincolnAllegory”waswithdrawnasadegreeritualandapprovedforpublicpre-sentationasThe Last Full Measure.

Church and State—The Twenty-seventh DegreeAsthe27°wasnotamongthedegreesoftheRiteofPerfection,noreferencetoitappearedintheFrancken Manuscript.Itwasmentionedonlybyname,“CommanderoftheTemple,”inan1804manuscriptofunknownauthorshipwhichprovidednohintoftheritual.Moreover,itisunlikelythatanyoftheConsistorialdegreesotherthanthe30°–32°wereconferredinthisjurisdictionpriorto1845.

Thefirstritualofthe27°inauthorizeduseaftertheUnionof1867includedanelaborateceremonialopeningandreceptionofaPrinceofMercy,26°,intoanorderofknighthooddedicatedtothefivequalitiesofhumility,temperance,chastity,gen-erosity,andhonor.ThechivalricorderportrayedintheritualwasrepresentedtobethehistoricOrderoftheTeutonicKnights.Althoughsomesourceshaveclaimedthatthe27°ritualoriginallywasbasedontheOrderoftheKnightsTemplar,thereisnoevidencetosupportthiscontention.

The dramatic section did not appear until 1896 when the convocation scenewitha13thcenturyhistoricalsettingwasaddedtotheritual.Thisadditiongreatlyextendedthe lengthoftheritualandexpandedthecasttomorethan50playerswith accompanying costume requirements. Another innovation was that the tra-ditional five qualities were eclipsed in importance by the three vows of chastity,obedience,andcharity.

Afternearlyhalfacentury,theritualof1944introducedmajorrevisions,almostallofwhichaffectedtheoriginalceremonialopeningratherthanthedramaticsec-

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tion.Thenumerousvowsassumedbythenoviceweregreatlycondensedandrefer-encestohisMasonicassociationsanddutiesweredeletedasanachronismsinthe13thcenturysettingof theritual.Theobligationwasreplacedbyashortercoverobligation.Thehistoricallecturewasremovedandportionsincorporatedinanewprologue.Thepoeticdirgealsowaseliminatedandthepreviousemphasisontheimminenceofdeathwasreducedtothesymbolicdisplayofthependantsword.Thefivequalities,whichoriginallyhadbeentheprincipallessonsofthedegree,disap-pearedfromtheritual.Beliefinafreechurchwithinafreestate,neitherseekingtodominate theother,asdramatized in theconvocationscene,emergedas thepri-marylessonofthedegree.

Another40yearsweretoelapsebeforetheritualnextwasscrutinizedbytheCommitteeonRituals.Notwithstandingthedramaandpageantryoftheritualthatgavethe27°widespreadpopularity,severalproblemswerebecomingapparentinitspresentation.Forone,additionoftheelaborateconvocationscenetothepre-existingritual,withprotractedprocessionals,individualentrances,andrecession-als,significantlylengthenedtheplayingtimeofthedegreeandgaveitadualmes-sage.Foranother,thelargecast,costuming,andstagingrequirementsweredifficult,if not impossible, for smaller Valleys to produce. Finally, although the dramaticconfrontationbetweensecularauthorityandthePapacywashistorical,itunfortu-natelyprovidedopportunitiesforunscriptedanti-Catholicbiastomanifestitselfinsomeperformances.

Despiteallofthis,fewchangeswerereflectedinthe1983ritual.⁹Themostobvi-ouswastheintroductionofanalternativeshortversionwhichprovidedamarginaleasingofproductiondifficultiesbyuseofaslightlyabridgedopeningandreceptionprecedingtheconvocationscene.Moresubtlewastheadditionofwordingtotheprologue,implyingthatthedisputewhichgaverisetothedramaticconfrontationbetweenchurchandsecularleaderswascausedbypoorcommunications,ormis-representationsperpetratedbydeviousunderlingsratherthanbyinherentantago-nismbetweenthetwoinstitutionsortheirrespectiveleaders.

Twentyyearslatertheritualunderwentathoroughrevision.Theprimaryauthoroftherevisionthatbecamethe27°Ritualof2003wasIll.C.DeForrestTrexler,33°,ActiveMemberforPennsylvaniaandchairmanoftheCommittee.Therevisedrit-ualdeletedtheopening,obligation,andreception.Notonlydidthissignificantlyreducethelengthoftheritual,itresolvedthedualmessageofthedegreebyelimi-natingthelastvestigesoftheoriginal19th-centuryritual.Thelessonofthedegreewasframedunambiguouslytoaddresstheever-presenttensionbetweensecularandreligiousauthority,anissuethatiswithustodayasitwasduringthe13thcentury.

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Therevisedritualmademinordeletionsandstylisticchangesintheprologue.Althoughthethemeandprincipalcharactersoftheconvocationscene,or“drama,”remained intact, the revisions were extensive. The dialogue, which reflected astilted,artificial,andoverlyverbosestyle,waslargelyrewritten.Latinintonations,frequentlymispronouncedormadethesubjectoflevity,andsomeobscurehistor-icalreferenceswereeliminated.DerogatoryreferencestoIslam,althoughanaccu-ratereflectionofattitudesduringthehistoricalperiodportrayed,wereconsideredunnecessarydistractionsfromthemessageoftheritualandwererephrasedinlessoffensivelanguage.

The number of prescribed characters and supernumeraries in the cast wassharplyreduced.Onlyfivechivalriccharactersandonemonarch,EmperorFred-erick,wereretained.Fivetemporalrulers,whoseparticipationintheconvocationwas gratuitous to the dramatic action (as well as historically questionable), andtheir largelyextraneousdialogueweredeleted.Theproclamationat theopeningoftheconvocationandtheanticlimacticrecessionaltowardthecloseofthedegreealsowereremoved.Theresultofallthiswasasubstantialreductionincastingandstagingrequirementsaswellasplayingtime.

Thedramaofthe27°isbasedonanhistoricalevent,theconvocationatFerren-tino,Italy,inMarch,1223,whenPopeHonoriusIIIandEmperorFrederickIImettodiscussanewCrusadetorecoverJerusalem.Portionsofthedramatizationintheritual,however,areimplausibleorfabricated.ThisincludeswhatisrepresentedtobetheunderlyingcauseofillfeelingbetweenthePopeandtheEmperor,anirreli-giouswritingcalledThe Three Imposters.Infact,thisdocumentdidnotappearuntiladozenyearsaftertheeventsdramatizedintheritualduringthereignofasubse-quentPope.Intheritual,theissueisconvenientlyresolvedbyFrederick’sdismissaloftheallegedauthoroftheoffensivewriting,hisChancellor,PetrusdeVeneis.Inhistorical fact,originof thedocumentwasnotattributedtoVeneisbut toPapalpartisansseekingtodiscredittheEmperor.VeneiswasaneloquentproponentofsecularauthoritywhocontinuedtoenjoyFrederick’strustandfavorforanother26yearsbeforehewasremovedfromofficeforembezzlement,notblasphemy.Tocorrecttheseanachronismsandinaccuracies,however,wouldhaveevisceratedthedramaticqualityoftheritual.Thus,forthesakeofdramaandthemorallessonofthedegree,Veneishasremainedthevillainofthepiece.NotforthefirsttimeinScottishRiteritual,dramaticlicensehasprevailedoverhistoricalfact.

Finally, the ritual of 2003 changed the traditional title of the degree, “Com-manderoftheTemple,”to“KnightofJerusalem”asamoreaccuratereflectionofthedramaticsetting.

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Search for the Truth—The Twenty-eighth DegreeProbablythemostunusualoreven,assomemightsay,uniquedegreeritualoftheScottishRiteisthatofthe28°.Thedegreeoriginatedasthe23°oftheRiteofPerfec-tion.ItappearedassuchintheFrancken Manuscript,theritualoccupyinganexcep-tionallengthof35closelywrittenpages.TheprincipalofficerintheritualwasFatherAdam,assistedbyBrotherTruthandanumberofspiritualbeings,whoremainedintheceremonialsectionofthemodernritual.AccordingtoFrancken,thedegreewastitled“TheKeyofMasonry,”althoughFrenchritualsusedthemorefamiliartitle“KnightoftheSun.”FrederickDalcho’smanuscriptritualof1801adoptedthetitle“KnightoftheSunorPrinceAdept.”

Asonemightexpect fromitssheer length, theritualwasverbose,filledwithmuch mystical symbolism that provided no discernible practical lesson. AlbertMackey,the19thcenturyMasonicscholar,attributedtherootsoftheritualtoHer-metismandthemedievalJewishtheosophyofCabalism.AllofthiswasgristforthemillofAlbertPike,whoexpandedtheFranckenritualto65printedpagesofinterminable, rambling, esoteric lectures on mystical concepts, without a com-monthemeorpracticalapplication.ThePikeritualwasadoptedverbatimbytheSupremeCouncilaftertheUnionof1867andcontinuedinuseformorethan40yearsundertheDalchotitle“KnightoftheSunorPrinceAdept.”

Finally,in1910,Ill.JamesI.Buchanan,33°,ActiveMemberforPennsylvaniaandchairmanoftheCommitteeonRituals,preparedarevisedritualforthe28°,whichwas approved by the Supreme Council the following year. Although the 1911 rit-ualaccomplishednotameanfeatbycondensingthePikeritual into30pages, itdidnothingtoimprovetheexpositionorcontent.Dissatisfactionwiththeritualremained widespread and grew during the 1920s and 1930s, but acceptance of ameaningfulreplacementwasslowincoming.

In 1938, matters finally came to a head. The Committee on Rituals reportedthattheritualofthe28°“doesnotlenditselftosatisfactorypresentation.…Thedegreeistooesotericandunreal.”SovereignGrandCommanderMelvinMaynardJohnsonagreedwiththisappraisalandappointedaspecialcommittee,comprisedofsixprominentclergymen,toprepareanewritualbasedonthecontributionsmade by ancient religions to the “Search for Truth.” In the event, the full com-mitteenevermet,butoneofthedesignatedmembers,Dr.HarryK.Eversull,32°,presidentofMariettaCollege,preparedadraftritualbasedonthebuildingofKingHerod’s Temple. Although Eversull’s draft did not meet Commander Johnson’scriteria,amodifiedversionwasapprovedin1940fortrialexemplificationasthetentative28°ritual.

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Thesubjectmatterofthetentativeritualwassoonrecognizedtobemoreappro-priateasanintroductiontotheRoseCroixDegree.Consequently,onCommanderJohnson’srecommendation,in1942,itwasapprovedastheritualofthe17°.Thus,thePikeritual,initsoriginalandcondensedversions,“admittedlyunsatisfactoryandunworkable,unrealandtooesoteric”survivedtheefforttoreplaceitandremainedtheritualofthe28°forwelloveracentury.InthewordsofMcIlyarLichliter,chair-manoftheCommitteeonRituals,writtenin1946,theritual“isnotworthyofaplaceintheAncientAcceptedScottishRite.…Ifthereisanythingmorechaoticinoursystem,Idonotknowwhatitis.”

There matters stood, despite well nigh universal dissatisfaction, until 1980,whentwomembersoftheValleyofChicago,Ill.N.TracyWalker,33°,M.S.A.,andBro.WilliamR.Deutsch,32°,M.S.A.,apparentlywithoutany initiative fromtheSupremeCouncil,preparedadramaticritualonthesearchfortruththeme.Thedramawasbasedonthe17thcenturyBrotherhoodoftheRosyCross,anobscureorganizationofscholarsandphilosophersfromvariouslands,faiths,andcultures,whichsomehavetheorizedinfluencedthetransitionfromoperativecraftmasonrytospeculativeFreemasonry.Theactiondepictedinthedramawasnothistorical,buttheprotagonist,EliasAshmole,isknowntohavebeenaFreemasoninthetran-sitionalyearsprecedingtheformationoftheGrandLodgeofEnglandin1717.

ThedraftritualfounditswaytotheCommitteeofRitualsandwasthesubjectoftrialexemplificationsin1981and1982.Consistingofaceremonialsection,pro-logue,andallegory,itwentthroughseveralrevisions,primarilyinvolvingIll.HaydnR.Jones,33°,aconsultanttothecommittee.Finally,itwasproposedandapprovedasthe28°Ritualof1984,undertheabbreviatedtitle“KnightoftheSun.”After200years,duringmostofwhichithadbeenthesubjectofcriticismanddissatisfaction,theFrancken/Pikeritualhadbeenwithdrawnandreplaced.

Themostrecentrevisionofthe28°ritual,thatof2006,eliminatedtheceremo-nialsectioninaccordancewiththepolicyadoptedbytheSupremeCouncilin1995andmadeafew,minorwordingandstylisticchangesintheprologueandthealle-gory.Noneofthesechangesalteredthecontentofthe1984ritual.

Toleration—The Twenty-ninth DegreeThe 29° was not part of the Rite of Perfection. Therefore, it was not mentionedin theFrancken Manuscript. Itappeared for thefirst time insurvivingrecords inKillianVanRensselaer’s1845manuscript.Theritualwasgivenonlyinoutlineform,describingthedecorations,signs,andwordsofthedegree,withoutsuggestionastothecontentoftheritual.AswasthecasewithmanyotherdegreesoftheScot-

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tishRite,itremainedforAlbertPiketoproduceacompleteritualforthe29°basedonapurportedchivalricorderoftheCrusadescalled“GrandScottishKnightofSt.Andrew.”Thepracticeofcharitywastheprimarylessonofthedegree.However,itdoesnotappearthatthePikeritualwaseveradoptedforuseinthisjurisdiction.

The29°ritualinuseattheUnionof1867wastheHays-Raymondritualof1864.AlthoughitobviouslywasinfluencedbyPike,borrowingtheobligationandotherelementsfromhisritual,thecentralfeatureofthedegree,nowstyled“KnightofSt.Andrew,”wasaninnovativedramaticallegory.CaptiveKnightsofSt.Andrewgrantedtherequestoftheircaptor,theTurkishSultan,tobemadeamemberoftheir Order after having been persuaded that the essential tenets of the Koranwere compatible with their own Christian beliefs. Thus, the dramatic theme ofthedegreeanditslessonoftolerationhaveremainedintactfromthe1860stothepresentday.

Theritualof 1896extravagantlyexpandedtheallegorywith lengthyspeechesandevenaddedaclimacticbattlescenebetweentheKnightsandtheTurks.10Theseembellishmentswerenotoflongduration,however,andweregraduallyeliminatedfromsubsequentrevisionsoftheritual.Theritualsof1907and1915abridgedthelongerspeechesanddeletedthebattlesceneasinconsistentwiththelessonofthedegree.Furtherabridgmentsweremadeintheritualof1933.

Thechangesapparentlydidnotgofarenoughforthecritics.Forone,achair-manoftheCommitteeonRituals,McIlyarLichliter,complainedthatthelectureontoleration,whichhadbeenapartofthe1864ritual,wastoolongandanticlimac-tic.Finally,after45years, thecommitteeagainaddressedthe29°.Theresultwastheritualof1978whichcontainedarewrittenprologue,moreabridgmentsintheallegory,andconvertedthetolerationlectureintodialogueform.

A quarter century later there was a much more thorough revision. The brief,optionalopeningwasshortenedfurther,aswastheprologue.Stylisticchangesweremade to “modernize” the affected King James English which appeared through-out the allegory. Passages that could be construed as disparaging to Islam werereworded.Muchofthedialogue,whichwasdeemedtobeoverlylongorextrane-oustothedramaticaction,suchastherecitalofalengthybiographyofSt.Andrew,was abridged or deleted entirely. The most significant deletion was the long dia-logue on toleration at the end of the allegory which had replaced the lecture inthe1978ritual.ConsistentwiththecriticismmadebyLichlitermanyyearsbefore,thismaterialwasconsideredunnecessaryandanticlimactictothedramaticactionthatalreadyhadcommunicatedthe lessonof thedegree.Nevertheless, thisdele-tionalsowasnotwithoutitscritics.Thus,theallegorywasendedonthedramatic

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climax,theSultanbeingcreatedaKnightofSt.Andrew.Thisrevision,approvedasthe29°Ritualof2003,resultedinamuchshortenedplayingtimeandamoreacceptablepresentationforacontemporaryaudience.

Thesubstanceoftheallegory,aswellasthetimelesslessonofthedegree,tolera-tion,remainsthesametodayaswhenitfirstwasintroducedmorethan140yearsago.Thedramaticthemeofthe29°wasremarkablyprescientofthesectarianstrife,purportedlyarisingfromreligiousdifferences,thathastakencenterstageagainintheworldofthe21stcentury.

Practice Justice—The Thirtieth DegreeTheritualofthe30°appearedintheFrancken Manuscriptasthe24°oftheRiteofPerfection,underthegrandiosetitle“GrandElectedKnightofKadoshorKnightoftheWhiteandBlackEagle.”TheHebrewwordKadoshwastranslatedas“conse-crated,orsetapart.”AccordingtoAlbertMackey,thedegreeoriginatedinFrancein1743andby1758hadacquiredthetitle“GrandElectKnightKadosh.”

The Francken ritual consisted of 25 manuscript pages. The brief opening wasfollowedbythereception,whichincludedanaddressonthehistoryofMasonryfromthetimeofKingSolomontotheCrusades.Aftertheobligationandaseriesofadmonitions,thecandidatewasrequiredtoascendanddescendtheso-called

“MysteriousLadder”ofsevensteps.Therefollowedalonghistoryofthesuppres-sionoftheKnightsTemplarandthemartyrdomofGrandMasterJacquesDeMolay,whichwaslikenedtothemurderofHiramAbif,theinvestiture,andaconcludinglectureintheformofacatechism.

Bythemiddleofthe19thcenturythreemajorversionsofthe30°ritualwereinuse—thoseofKillianVanRensselaer,CharlesLaffon-Ladebat,andAlbertPike.IneachoftheseritualsthedramaticelementsweremuchenhancedfromFrancken.Thecandidatewasconductedthroughasuccessionofapartmentsandfacedapanelofjudges.Melodramaticsymbols,suchastombsandcoffins,skullsandskeletons,wereintroduced.Amultiplicityofvowsbecamemoremilitant.VanRensselaertookthecandidateonapilgrimage.Pike,apparentlyfollowingtheleadofLaffon-Lade-bat,introducedanindictmentofintoleranceandbigotryallegedlypracticedbytheRomanCatholicChurch.Ofcourse,theendresultofalltheseembellishmentswasanincreaseinthelengthoftheritual.

AnabridgmentoftheVanRensselaerritualapparentlywasinuseinthisjuris-diction at the Union of 1867, which, with adaptations from the Pike ritual, wasapproved as the 30° ritual in 1875. The ritual was further revised and condensedin1904,and,forthefirsttime,issuedseparatelyfromtheritualsforthe31°and32°.

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Previously,the30°hadbeenconsideredpartofatrilogywiththe31°and32°.Onlyminorchangesweremadetotheritualin1930and1938.

The attempted synthesis of the Van Rensselaer and Pike rituals was not easilyaccomplishedandcontributedtofuturedifficultiesinacceptanceoftheritual.Thefactthatthe1904ritualcontinuedsubstantiallyintactforacentury,thatnorevisionsatallweremadeintheritualfromthe1930suntilthe21stcentury,anditsabsencefromtheagendaoftheCommitteeonRitualsduringallthatperioddidnotsignifyavoteofconfidence.Quitethecontrary,itwasevidenceofdisuseanddisinterestaswasamplydemonstratedbytheinfrequencyofitspresentationacrosstheJurisdiction.

AllofthiscameasnosurprisetoMcIlyarLichliter,whosparedfewwordsinhis1946criticismofthe30°ritual.Hefounditsevolutionhaphazard,withoutalogicalororderlypattern.Asaresult,itsstagingwasawkwarditsactiontiresome,itsmes-sageconfused.Asidefromobviousshortcomingsofinordinatelengthandarchaic,obscurelanguage,itwasanticlimactic,bothinternallyandincomparisonwiththehighlydramaticallegoriesoftheConsistorialdegreesthatprecededit.Inessence,itwasaritualisticdinosaur,asurvivorofthedidacticstylethathadbeencharacter-isticofMasonicritualinanearlierage.Hissolutionwasthattheritualwouldhavetobeentirelyreconstructedandrewritten.

In 2004, the Committee on Ritualistic Matters finally took the long overduestepofconfrontingtheritualofthe30°.ThecommitteequicklyarrivedatthesameconclusionLichliterhadreachednearly60yearsearlier.Attemptstosalvagetherit-ualbyrewriteendedinfrustration.TheritualsimplydidnotexpressameaningfullessonforScottishRiteMasonsofthe21stcentury.Hence,thedecisionwasmadetorecommendwithdrawaloftheritualanditsreplacementbyahighlymodifiedversionofwhatthenwastheritualofthe31°.

Thereplacementritual,takenfromthe31°,itselfpresentedproblems.Althoughitscurrentformwascomparativelyrecentbyritualisticstandards,datingonlyfrom1949,thescriptranto45pages.UseinthedialogueofarchaicEnglishwordsaswot(know)andyclept(named),andthelegaltermthwert-ut-nay(generaldenial)requiredaglos-sarybeappendedtotheritual.That,ofcourse,didnothingfortheaudience,formanyofwhomtheexperiencewasalmostlikeajourneytoTolkien’sMiddleEarth.

The31°Ritualof1949consistedoftheusualceremonialopeningandprologue,followedbyadramatizationofaciviltrial in14thcenturyEngland.TheprimaryauthorofthetrialscenehadbeenIll.HaroldWhittakerConnell,33°,amemberoftheValleyofMilwaukeeandaconsultanttotheCommitteeonRituals.Alawyerbyprofession,ConnelldevotedtwoyearstoresearchingandrecreatingamedievalEnglishtrial.Unfortunately,hedidnotlivetoseethefruitsofhislabors.Thetrial

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scenewasapprovedaspartofthe31°tentativeritualin1938,ayearafterConnell’suntimelydeath.TheScottishRitedegreesystemtherebyacquiredathirdritual,inadditiontothe7°andthe21°,thatusedadramatizedtrialsceneinanhistoricalset-tingtoportrayasimilarlesson,justice.

The2004committeerecognizedthemeritsinthework.Thetrialscenewaseasytostageandcouldbeentertainingaswellasinstructive.However,therewouldhavetobeextensiveeditingofthedialogueintomorecontemporaryEnglishandcon-densationoftheritualtotheessenceofthetrialscene.Thevocabularyandgram-mar of the dialogue was “modernized,” but the substance and sequence, as wellas the cast, of the scene were left intact. Significant shortening of the ritual wasaccomplishedbyeliminationoftheceremonialopening,asmandatedbythepolicyadoptedbytheSupremeCouncilin1995,andbydeletingtheopeningportionofthetrialscene,inwhichthejudgesidentifiedthemselveswithfamouslawgiversofhistory,anexercisethatcontributednothingtothedramaticaction.

Finally, the former title of the 31°, “Grand Inspector Inquisitor Commander,”wasabbreviatedbydroppingthelasttwowordsandreplacedthemeaninglesstitleofthe30°,“GrandElectKnightKadoshorKnightoftheWhiteandBlackEagle.”Thesechangesandtransferofthemodifiedritualfromthe31°wereapprovedbytheSupremeCouncilasthe30°Ritualof2004,“GrandInspector.”

Knight Aspirant—The Thirty-first DegreeNeitherthe31°noranyrecognizablepredecessortothedegreewaspartoftheRiteof Perfection and recorded in the Francken Manuscript. Nothing is known of theritualofthedegreeprevioustoKillianVanRensselaer’smanuscript,writtenin1845orshortlythereafter.Formuchofthe19thcenturythe30°–32°wereconsideredandprobablyconferredasaunit,the“Kadosh,”andtheywererecordedinthatmannerbyVanRensselaer.However,tenorsopagesofVanRensselaer’smanuscriptcanbeidentifiedwithwhatlaterbecamethe31°,“GrandInspectorInquisitorCommander.”

Thefirstdistinctritualofthe31°wascompletedbyAlbertPikein1859.Fromitscentralprinciple,justice,Pikecreatedaceremonialanddramaticritualthatportrayedthetrainingofajudge.ThePikeritualwasadoptedbythisjurisdictionattheUnionof1867.Subsequentrevisionsofthe31°ritualin1875,1904,and1930attemptedthedifficulttaskofsynthesizingthePikeritualwiththeearlierritualofVanRensselaer.

Inthemid–1930sIll.HaroldWhittakerConnell,33°,amemberoftheValleyofMilwaukeeandaconsultanttotheCommitteeonRituals,undertookthescholarlyrecreationofa14thcenturyEnglishtrialcourtasadramaticsceneforthe31°.In1938,ayearafterConnell’suntimelydeath,theproductofhislaborswasadoptedaspartof

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thetentativeritualofthe31°,adramaticportrayalofjustice,whichPikehaddefinedasthecentralprincipleofthedegree.Thetentativeritualsubsequentlywasapprovedasthe31°Ritualof1949andremainedinplaceformorethanhalfacentury.

In2004,theCommitteeonRitualisticMattersrecommendedwithdrawalofthetraditionalritualofthe30°anditsreplacementwithanextensivelymodifiedver-sionofthetrialscenefromthe31°.Inplaceofthetransplantedritual,thecommitteerecommendedthatthe“ConstansAllegory”bemovedfromthe32°andmadethenewritualofthe31°,tobecalled“KnightAspirant.”Theallegory,withamedievalsetting,dramatizedtheVigilofanaspirantforknighthood,hisspiritualtrialbythetemptations of personal self-interest, and ultimately his supreme sacrifice in thecauseofthe“RoyalSecret”towhichallScottishRiteMasonsaspire.

Althoughbythelate20thcenturydramaticallegorieswerefeaturedinmostofthedegreeritualsoftheScottishRite,itwastheallegoryofthe32°thatcametobeidentifiedsimplyas“theallegory.”FormanyScottishRiteMasons,“theallegory”hadcometorepresenttheepitomeofthedegreeritualsoftheRite.Becauseofitsuniquestatus,theallegorywasconsideredcapableofstandingaloneasadegreeritualinitsownright,ratherthancontinuingtoservesimplyasthedramaticcom-ponentofalarger,morecomplexritual.Indeed,thedegreeschedulesofmanyCon-sistoriesinthejurisdictionalreadyweretreatingtheallegoryasifitwereaseparatedegreeinsteadofanintegralpartofthe32°.

Tointroducethenewritualofthe31°,anewprologuewaswritten,whichcon-sisted,inessence,oftheformerclosingdialogueofthe32°ceremonialsectionthathadintroducedtheallegory.Nochangesweremadeinthedialogueoftheallegory.

Giventheprominencethattheallegoryhasattained,itmaycomeasasurprisetomanyScottishRiteMasonsthatithadnotbeenatraditionalpartofthe32°ritualandcannotbetracedbacktotheoriginsofthedegree.Itdidnotbecomepartofthedegreeuntilitwasaddedtotheceremonialin1916.Theprimeauthorofthealle-gorywasIll.JohnLloydThomas,33°,ActiveMemberforNewYorkandamemberoftheCommitteeonRituals.Thomasearlierhadauthoredtheceremonialsectionofthe32°aswellaswhatlaterbecametheritualsofthe5°andthe9°.

Theallegory,stillsubstantiallyasThomashadwrittenit,andthenewprologuewereapprovedasthe31°Ritualof2004,“KnightAspirant.”Nevertheless, theso-called“bifurcation”ofthe32°ritualandthetransferoftheallegorytothe31°pro-voked more intense controversy than normally has been aroused by ritualisticchanges.Anadverseandattimeshighlyemotionalreactionacrossthejurisdictionstemmedlargelyfromattachmenttothelong-standingpracticeofpresentingtheallegoryasthefinaletoConsistorydegreeconferrals.

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The most recent version is the 31° Ritual of 2008. It incorporated a numberof revisions in wording, most of which preceded the vigil. The most significantchangewastheadditiontotheprologueofseveral linesfromTennyson’sGuine-vere,describingknightlyvirtues.Theselinesformerlyhadbeenpartoftheintro-ductionoftheallegoryintheclosingdialogueofthe32°ceremonialthathadbeenadaptedastheprologueofthe31°in2004.Thechangethuswasmoreamatterofrestorationthanofinnovation.

Sublime Prince—The Thirty-second DegreeThe32°of theScottishRitehad itsoriginas the25thand lastdegreeof the18thcentury Rite of Perfection and may be traced back to a French degree that wasextant250yearsago.TheFrancken Manuscriptof1783didnotrecordtheritualofthedegree,butitdiddescribeamajorcomponent,thesymbolismofthecamp,dis-closedthesignsandpasswordsofthedegree,andprovidedthemotto,thenasnow,Spes Mea in Deo Est.Alsothenasnow,apersonadmittedtothedegreewasstyled

“SublimePrinceoftheRoyalSecret.”Theearliestsurvivingritualofthedegreeappearedin1845,orsoonthereafter,in

themanuscriptofKillianVanRensselaer.Atthetimeasingleritualencompassedthe30°,31°,and32°.Inthatportionofthecompositeritualassociatedwiththe32°,setintheperiodoftheCrusades,thecandidatewasmadeaprisonerbyMoslemsandrescuedbyKnightsTemplar.By1875,perhapsundertheinfluenceoftheAmericanCivilWaranditsveterans’organization,theGrandArmyoftheRepublic,the32°hadbecomeamilitarydegreewithaGrandMasonicArmyattiredinaprescribedCon-sistoryuniform.Therescueofthecandidatewasmadeinadramaticbattlescene.

By the turnof the20thcentury,however, themilitary influencehadrun itscourse.Reflectingthechangingtrend,Ill.JohnLloydThomas,33°,latertobecomeanActiveMemberforNewYorkandamemberoftheCommitteeonRituals,pro-posedanewritualforthe32°.WhatThomasproposedwasadignifiedceremonialwithmuchimproveddialogue,andwithoutdramatization.Adoptedasatentativeritualin1912,itbecamethebasisofthelaterceremonialsectionandthecurrentritualofthe32°.

Afewyears later,becauseofcontinuing interest inadramaticritual,Thomasrevised the tentative ritual, separating it into two sections. The first was the cer-emonialritualwiththesymbolismofthecamp,obligation,andinvestiture,climax-inginastirringcalltopatriotism.Thiswasfollowedbyanewdramaticallegory,amedieval scene that portrayed the vigil of Constans, an aspirant for knighthood,whoovercamethetemptationsofpersonalself-interestandultimatelymadethe

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supremesacrificeinthecauseofthe“RoyalSecret.”Thenewritualwithceremo-nialandallegorywasapprovedasthe32°Ritualof1916andremainedsubstantiallyunchangedforalmost90years.11

Theritualof1950addedtotheobligationastatementontheunityofFreema-sonry,whichdatedbacktotheUnionof1867,butwhichhadbeendeletedfromthe1875ritual.Thetentativeritualof1978introducedchangesintheallegory,reassign-ingsomepassagesofdialoguefromthePrinceCommandertotheBishop.Moresignificantly, the tentative ritual introduced Constans’ soliloquy over his armorduringthevigil.Theclosingceremonywaseliminatedasanticlimactic,sothatthedegreeendedwhenthecurtainfellontheallegory.Thesechangeswereincorpo-ratedintheritualof1981.

In 2003 a further revision to the allegory eliminated one of Constans’ fourtempters as being unconvincing and adding nothing to the dramatic action thatwasnotalreadyprovidedbyanotherofthetempters.

ThefollowingyeartheCommitteeonRitualisticMattersrecommended“bifur-cation”ofthe32°ritual,byremovingtheallegoryfromthedegreeandreassigningitastheritualofthe31°toreplacetheformerritualofthatdegreewhichhadbeentransferredtothe30°.Therewereseveralreasonsforthisdecisionwhichhadbeenunderconsiderationbythecommitteeforseveralyears.

Firstly,the32°hadbecomeanoverly-longritualisticanomaly,containingbothaceremonialandadramaticcomponent,notwithstandingthatthisformathadbeendiscontinuedineveryotherdegreeritual.Secondly,theallegorywasnottradition-allyapartofthe32°,havingbeenaddedtotheritual,and,comprising17pagesofdialogue,itcouldstandaloneasacredibledegreeritualinitsownright.Thirdly,thetwocomponentsofthe32°ritual,aformalMasonicceremonialandadramaticmedievalallegory,weresodifferentincharacterthatinpracticetheyhadbecomevirtuallytwoseparatedegrees.InmanyConsistories,theirpresentationusuallywasscheduledassuch,notinimmediatesequenceastwosuccessiveactsofasingledra-maticpresentation,asoriginallyintended.ThisdevelopmentgaverisetoconcernthatinpracticetheAllegoryhadcometoovershadowtheceremonial,whichoftentookontheappearanceofamereprefaceorinterlude.

Moreover,despitetheneedforchange,traditionmustcountforsomething.Aswehaveseen,thelastthreedegreesoftheScottishRitehadbeenconsideredasaritualisticunit formuchof theirhistory.Thus, it seemed logical that theritualis-ticreplacementforthe31°shouldcomefromthe32°.Finally,theceremonialwasdirectly representativeofwhatoriginallyhadbeen the lastdegreeof theRite. Itcontainedanoverviewofthephilosophicallessonsexemplifiedinallthepreceding

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degreesincludingthatdramatizedintheallegory.Itembracedtheobligation,inves-titure,andproclamationofaSublimePrince,32°ScottishRiteMason.Hence,theceremonialshouldremaininplaceastheritualofthe32°,asitalwayshadbeen.

With removal of the allegory, several modifications were required in the cer-emonial. The concluding dialogue, designed to introduce the allegory, also wasremovedfromthe32°andbecamethenewprologueof the31°.ThesequenceoftheflagpresentationwasalteredsoastofollowtheinvestitureandproclamationofthenewSublimePrince.Theceremonialwasgivenaclimacticconclusionwiththestirringcalltopatriotismanduniversality,“lookingforwardtothedaywhenloveofcountryshallbejoinedtoloveofhumanityandtheScottishRitestandardshallriseinpeacefultriumphoveraworldwidebrotherhoodofman.”

Theforegoingchanges,asrecommendedbytheCommitteeonRitualisticMat-ters,wereapprovedasthe32°Ritualof2004.

Acompletereviewofthe32°ritualwasmadefouryearslater,resultingintherevised 32° Ritual of 2008. This revision included a number of stylistic changes,mostofthemdeletionsofwordsorphrasesconsideredsuperfluousorofquestion-ablemeaning.Referencetothe“HolyBible”waschangedto“VolumeoftheSacredLaw.”Themostobviouschangewasthereplacementof“Constans”bythe“KnightAspirant”inthecastofcharacters.Thepurposeofthissubstitutionwastopreventpossiblemisidentificationofthischaracterwiththeprotagonistoftheallegoryofthe31°andtorepresentadvancementofthecandidatefromKnightAspirantofthe31°toSublimePrinceinthe32°.

e P i L o g u e

ThemissionoftheSupremeCouncilCommitteeonRituals(RitualisticMatters),asstatedinthereportofthecommitteefor1976,theyearIll.BrotherPartridge,33°,publishedThe Rituals,isto“studyourdegreesinacontinuingefforttomakethepresentationofourdegreelessonsmoreimpressiveandinspiring.”

Nearly30yearslaterthecommitteereportedthatits“pervasivechallenge…istoprovideadegreesystemthatembodiesthephilosophyofScottishRiteMasonry,andthatcanbecommunicatedinanunderstandableandinspirationalmannerbyallValleys.…”

Truth is fixed and unchanging, but the revelation of truth is progressive. Weinterpretlifeintermsofthemoralandphilosophicalteachingsofthepast.Fromtheselessonswemustdevelopamoralcodeandphilosophyinourowndaysothat

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menmighthaveaguide,amoralcompassasitwere,tothetruthwhichtheycanunderstandandinterpretintheirowntime.

ThedegreeritualsoftheScottishRiteofFreemasonryalwayshavebeenaworkinprogress.Theyneverareafinishedthing.

Copyright©2008,SupremeCouncil,33°,AASR,NMJ.Allrightsreserved.

Editor’s Note: This essay on the history of the Scottish Rite Degrees in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction is outstanding. We are grateful to Grand Commander John Wm. McNaughton, 33°, for permitting our Society members to have access to this important information; thus enabling those who are outside the Northern Jurisdiction to better understand how our northern Brothers have perceived the teachings of the Rite and its role in carrying out the Rite’s mission of enriching the philosophy of the Symbolic Lodge.

Like those of the Mother Supreme Council, the Degrees of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction can be traced to Stephen Morin and the rituals of the OrderoftheRoyalSecret which he transferred to North America through New Orleans as early as 1763. The Jurisdiction names as its ritual patriarch, Henry Andrew Francken, a Dutch Mason who was deputized by Morin to confer the high degrees throughout the world. Francken traveled to New York in 1767 and began conferring degrees and transcribing manuscript copies of Morin’s rituals. In 1783, he organized his work into a 300-page manuscript form which became the founding basis of the Northern Jurisdiction work.

The correspondence between the North and South follows a line of deputized author-ity, starting with Morin to Francken. Francken, in turn, deputized Moses Michael Hayes in Philadelphia; who deputized Barend Moses Spitzer in Charleston; who deputized John Mitchell an Inspector over the OrderoftheRoyalSecret. On May 24, 1801, Mitch-ell deputized the Reverend Frederick Dalcho, and two weeks later the two of them cre-ated the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree for the United States of America. Thus, the Mother Supreme Council of the world was formed.

The Constitutionsof1786 allowed for one Supreme Council in each nation and two in the United States. In 1813, Emanuel De La Motta, Charleston, elevated J. J. J. Gourgas and Sampson Simson to the 33°. A few months later, the Supreme Council of the North-ern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States was established. The system of Ineffable and Sublime Degrees, largely originating from Morin and practiced in both the North and the South, was finally denoted the Scottish Rite in 1804. Thus, there is little question-ing the American Scottish Rite held title to a similar ritual beginning. And both were inspired by the French hautesgrades.

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The Morgan Affair and resulting anti-Masonic movement created havoc in the progress of Masonry at any level until 1842, when the Supreme Council began rebuilding the infra-structure of the higher Degrees. This is where Albert Pike comes in.

With the post-Morgan revival era, officers in both jurisdictions attempted ritual revi-sions, but Pike proved to be unmatched among his peers as both a ritual writer and teacher of comparative religion, mythology and philosophy. Grand Commander Mackey loaned the Southern Jurisdiction’s ritual collection to Pike, who transcribed and bound them into a large volume. Mackey sent a copy of this collection to the officers of the Supreme Council of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction.

In 1857, Pike completed his first revision of the 4°–32°, and this work (the MagnumOpus) formed the basis for what would ultimately become the official work of the Scot-tish Rite in many Supreme Councils across the world. There is no question the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction adopted a good portion of the Pike work, and the same was prac-ticed from 1857 until well into the 20th century. One needs only to review the Northern Jurisdiction Supreme Council officer Charles McClanachan’s work published in 1914 to see a heavy correspondence between the work of the two American jurisdictions during this period.

Not much changed until the 1950s, when the Northern Jurisdiction made a stun-ning, yet reasoned, policy change in how it reviewed the mission of the Scottish Rite. This change is thoroughly articulated in the essay presented in this volume of Heredom and won’t be expanded upon here, but the essence is that, in our own time, the North-ern Masonic Jurisdiction has sought to make the rituals of the Rite as dynamic as the changing society in which we live. Rather than using the traditional mythos and themes of the Scottish Rite as promulgated by Pike’s style and intellect, the NMJ has chosen to employ modern cultural settings and themes to teach its lessons. It permits its members to actively participate in the evolution of its ritual form. The Southern Jurisdiction, on the other hand, has held true to the form and substance of the Rite’s original European themes and Pike’s extraordinary embellishment, with an intended application of mean-ing across all times and cultures.

The result has been a clear demarcation in the form and substance of Scottish Rite teaching between the two jurisdictions. The Northern Jurisdiction perceives that Masonic ritual development has long been a process of creative innovation, beginning with the invention of the trigradal degree system and the introduction of the Hiram legend in the craft Lodge. It reminds its adherents of the short and simple ceremonial forms of Masonry’s speculative beginnings, and traces the expansion and complexity of its ritual language into dramatized allegories which found their way into so many rites and orders through the 18th and 19th centuries.

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While the NMJ acknowledges the philosophical foundation and justification of the Rite’s teachings, it earnestly insists that the moral lessons to be imparted must have meaning and inspiration to those to whom they are communicated. And in a society that reads less, knows less, and has precious little patience for old ideas and arcane secrets, a contemporary and reasoned communication of moral lessons seems a good match for our own time.

The Southern Jurisdiction, on the other hand, has chosen to hold to the view that the traditions of Masonry are the themes and ideas themselves; that the thought and study which goes into the acquisition of knowledge is the essence of the work. Pike saw Masonry as something imposing and majestic, mysterious and grand. He likened it to the pyramids, perhaps lonely on the landscape, yet filled with hidden and undiscovered chambers which could be unearthed only by the enlightened individuals of each genera-tion. Like the Sphinx half-buried in the sand, the Scottish Rite’s symbolism was its soul. And symbols, to be understood, must be interpreted by each symbol user around his per-sonal insight and experience. Symbol interpretation and meaning is individual work.

Thus, the approach of the NMJ is to introduce the morality and ethics of Freema-sonry to the popular culture of men with the aim that its lessons will improve the indi-vidual and his society. It is exoteric in its nature. For the SJ, the method is more inwardly focused on the psychology of being. It advances the notion that a man must discover who he is by first going deep within himself to find the secrets of his life and purpose. Through this process of self discovery, he becomes transformed as an enlightened individual who then possesses the skills to transform others. It is a discipline of learning directed only at a chosen few—the Elus of each generation. Its teachings are esoteric in its nature.

Of course, it can well be argued that both approaches are progressive in their own way and hold much worthiness and merit for the consideration of good and thoughtful men. Neither approach is wrong. Indeed, it would be hard to prove one is better than the other. Both work when the individual makes a conscious effort to integrate the Rite’s les-sons into his own intellect, heart and soul. To the extent this happens, the Scottish Rite improves the man and the society in which he lives.

It is important to remember that, in the Scottish Rite, as in Masonry, the search is for Light. The search for Light is always a symbol of education, knowledge, and enlighten-ment. There is much of all three to be harvested from the rituals of the Rite in both the Northern and Southern Jurisdictions. The bottom line for both is that the proof of any method of transmitting knowledge is in the power of its communication.

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C h r o n o l o g i C a l D e v e l o p m e n t o f

n . m . J . D e g r e e r i t u a l s

from the union of 1867 By date of supreme council approval of ritual or

revision

Lodge of Perfection4°–1871,1894,1917,1953t,1955,2004t,2007t5°–1871,1894,1917,1941,1958t,1960,1988t,1996,20076°–1871,1894,1917,1941,1962t,1966,1993t,1996,20037°–1871,1894,1915,1941,1970t,1974t,1980,20058°–1871,1894,1917,1941,1981,20069°–1871,1894,1917,1941,1965t,1966t,1980t,1986t,1992,200310°–1871,1894,1917,1941,1965t,1966t,1980t,1986t,1992,200611°–1871,1894,1917,1941,1967t,1973t,1974,200412°–1871,1894,1917,1941,1968t,1976,1993t,1996t,200213°–1871,1894,1917,1941,1971t,1977,200414°–1871,1894,1917,1927,1938,1946,1976,1995t,2000,2006

Council, Princes of Jerusalem15°–1878,1911,1920,1943,1959,1999,200516°–1878,1911,1920,1959,1992,2007

Chapter, Rose Croix17°–1870,1914,1942,1957,1994t,2002,200718°–1870,1936t,1942,1958t,1961t,1964,1994t,1999,2007

Consistory19°–1880,1886,1934,1953,1993t,2002

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20°–1880,1886,1896,1922,1939,1951,1994,2004,200721°–1880,1886,1915,1919,1933,1936,1974,2003,200422°–1880,1896,1920,1939,1994,200722°(MusicalVersion)–1942,1993t,1994,200723°–1880,1908,1988t,1996,200824°–1880,1908,1918,1930,1988t,1996,200325°–1880,1896,1909,1951,1993t,2000,200326°–1880,1911,1940t,1942,1981,1992t,1999,2006t27°–1880,1896,1930,1944,1983,200328°–1880,1911,1920,1940t,1984,200629°–1880,1896,1907,1915,1933,1978,200330°–1875,1904,1930,1938,200431°–1875,1904,1930,1938t,1949,2004,200832°–1875,1912t,1916,1934,1950,1978t,1981,2003,2004,2008t=TentativeRitual

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C h a i r m e n o f t h e

s u p r e m e C o u n C i l , n . m . J . ,

C o m m i t t e e s o n r i t u a l s

EnochTerryCarson Ohio 1868–1882CharlesThomsonMcClenachan NewYork 1882–1896NicholasRandleRuckle Indiana 1897–1900JamesIsaacBuchanan Pennsylvania 1900–1916WilliamGeake Indiana 1916–1927JohnProutyMcCune Ohio 1927–1930NorrisGreenleafAbbott RhodeIsland 1930–1934DelmarDuaneDarrah Illinois 1934–1944GeorgeEdwardBushnell Michigan 1944–1945McIlyarHamiltonLichliter Ohio 1945–1957IrvingEmersonPartridgeJr. Connecticut 1957–1972AlbertNewtonHeplerJr. Indiana 1972–1973WilliamHenryCantwell Delaware 1973–1975WayneEdwardStichter Ohio 1975–1977IrvingEmersonPartridgeJr. Connecticut 1977–1978RobertLowellMillerSr. Indiana 1978–1994RichardWaldoParker Vermont 1994–2001CharlesDeForrestTrexler Pennsylvania 2001—

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B i B L i o g r a P h y

TheprimarysourcematerialforthisworkarethetextsoftheNorthernMasonicJurisdictionScottishRitedegreeritualsinuseduringtheperiodsince1975;selectedRitualsinusepriortothatyear;andthereportsoftheSupremeCouncilCommit-teeonRituals(RitualisticMatters)for1974andsubsequentyears,publishedannu-allyintheAbstract of ProceedingsoftheSupremeCouncil.

Secondary sources are the historical notes that accompany the text of mostDegreeRituals;the1996updatededitionofNewburyandWilliams’A History of the Supreme Council, 33°, A.A.S.R., N.M.J., U.S.A.;SamuelH.Baynard’s1938History of the Supreme Council, 33°, A.A.S.R., N.M.J. U.S.A.;RobertL.Miller’sThe Walls Came Tumbling Down,areadableandoftentongue-in-cheekmemoiroftheauthor’slongtenureasamemberandchairmanoftheSupremeCouncilCommitteeonRituals;selectedmanuscriptnotesonthedegreeritualspreparedbyMcIlyarLichliter,onfileinthearchivesoftheScottishRiteMasonicLibraryatLexington,Mass.;Par-tridge’sThe Rituals of the Supreme Council, 33°, for the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A.;PaulT.Million’s“ReportontheRitual,”ScottishRiteLeadershipConfer-ence2000(S.J.);ArturoDeHoyos’article“DevelopmentoftheScottishRiteRitu-als,”publishedinThe Plumbline,vol.14,no.4(Spring2007);andScottish Rite Ritual Monitor and Guide(2007)bythesameauthor.

n o t e s

1. The Supreme Council Standing Committee on Rituals and Ritualistic Matter wasrenamedin2002astheCommitteeonRitualisticMatters.Theterm“CommitteeonRituals,”whereverusedthroughoutthiswork,referstothesamecommittee.

2.Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor and Guide(2007),p.90n1.

3.EnochTerryCarson’s1853ritualapparentlywasbasedonthe1845ms.ofKillianVanRensselaer.Hence,thatworkisreferencedthroughoutastheCarson/VanRensselaerRitual.

4. Ill. Brother Thomas (1857–1925) made a prolific and important contribution to thedegreeritualsofthisScottishRitejurisdiction.Writingintheearly20thcentury,hisworkhasstoodthetestoftime.Hewastheprimeauthorofthebasicritualsthatarestillinusetodayforthe5°,9°,31°,and32°.

5.Twocastdeletions,theChinesemerchantandthePersianpriest,wereapparentanach-ronisms.ItisunlikelythatdirectcommercialcontactsexistedbetweenChinaandtheMid-dleEastinthetenthcenturybc.EvenlessexplicablewasthepresenceofadiscipleofZoro-

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astersome400yearsbeforethelatter’slifetime.

6.Ill.BrotherTorok’stalentsasadramatistwereevidencedbyhispopularMasonicthemeplayDecember’s Rose,publishedbytheMasonicServiceAssociationin1988forpresentationtoMasonicandnon-Masonicaudiences.

7.Pike’sapparentsourceandpossibleinspirationforselectingthevehmgerichteasthebackground for the 21° ritual was an 1837 publication, Secret Societies in the Middle Ages byThomasKeightley,whichalsowasasourceusedbyAlbertMackeyforhisencyclopedia.The1827novelAnne of Geiersteinbythepopularauthoroftheperiod,SirWalterScott,alsocannotbeoverlookedasapossiblesource.

8.Therewassomeconcernovertheapparentlyanachronisticreferenceintheritualtothe“TrailofTears,”atermusuallyassociatedwiththeforciblerelocationoftheCherokeesduring the 1830s. While the Cherokee incident may have been the most infamous, manysimilarrelocationsofNativeAmericanpeoplesoccurredovertheyears.Thus,itwasdecidedtomakenochangetothereferenceintheritual.

9.AccordingtothenchairmanoftheCommitteeonRituals,Ill.RobertL.MillerSr.,33°,(The Walls Came Tumbling Down),therewasinsufficientsupportamongtheActiveMem-bershiptoapprovemoresubstantialrevisionsinthe27°Ritualof1983.

10.Thebattlescenealsowasafeatureofthe32°ritualatthisperiod.

11. Ill. Brother Thomas was eminently qualified for the task of rewriting the 32° ritualduring1911–16.Hepreviouslyhadauthoredtheritualsofthe23°and24°,nowtheritualsofthe5°and9°.

Volume 17, 2009 193

i n D e XPrepared by

S.BrentMorris,33°,g\c\,Fellow&MackeyScholar

AAaron and sons, ritual theme 136, 161Abbott, Norris Greenleaf 187Anne of Geierstein, W. Scott (1827)

n7 189Armistead, Gen. Lewis A., CSA, ritual theme

170Arnold, Gen. Benedict, USA, ritual theme 157aroba of covenant of friendship 146, 147Ashmole, Elias 175

BBaal, canaanite deity 158Babylonian captivity of Jews, ritual theme 149Beatitudes, ritual theme 153Belus. See BaalBible used in Masonic ritual 148

King James 147, 148, 153, 163New Revised Standard 147, 148, 153, 163

Book of Life, ritual theme 152Buchanan, James Isaac 174, 187Bushnell, George Edward 187

CCantwell, William Henry 140, 142, 187Carson, Enoch Terry 187

ritual ms.. See Scottish Rite rituals, N.M.J., Carson/Van Rensselaer rituals

Case, Robert F. 169cedars of Lebanon, ritual theme 159Cherokee Nation, forced relocation, ritual

themen8 189

Christians, Roman persecution of, ritual theme 128

Christman, Julius B. 159Connell, Harold Whittaker 178, 179Constitutions of 1786 184Cooper, Henry J. 165, 169covenant of friendship or aroba 146, 147cubic stone in 18° 152Cyrus, king of Persia, ritual theme 149

D“Degree Rituals of the Northern Masonic Juris-

diction, The,” C. D. Trexler 125–190Dalcho, Rev. Frederick 174, 184Daniel, prophet, ritual theme 150Darius, king of Persia, ritual theme 150, 151Darrah, Delmar Duane 187David, king of Israel 138Davis, J. Frank 156degrees

4°, Secret Master 133–1365°, Perfect Master, Sacred Fire 136–137, 1626°, Intimate Secretary, Master of the Bra-

zen Serpent 129, 137–138, 1667°, Provost and Judge 138, 1798°, Intendant of the Building, David and

Solomon 138–1399°, Master Elect of Nine, Master of the

Temple 13910°, Elect of Fifteen, Master Elect 141–14211°, Sublime Knight Elected 127, 14212°, Grand Master Architect, Master of

Mercy 143, 169

194 Heredom

Index

13°, Royal Arch, Knight of the Ninth Arch, Master of the Ninth Arch 145–146

14°, Perfection, Grand Elect Mason 146–149

15°, Knight of the East 149–15116°, Prince of Jerusalem 149–15117°, Knight of the East and West 151–154,

17518°, Knight Rose Croix 151–154

Christian-only requirement, N.M.J.A. Pike objecte 153Francken Ms. 152removed in 1942 153

19°, Grand Pontiff 154–15520°, Master ad Vitam 127, 128, 155–15721°, Prussian Knight or Noachite 157–159,

17922°, Prince Libanus, “Musical Degree”

159–16023°, The Four Chaplains 161–16424°, Prince of the Tabernacle, American

Indian allegory 164–16625°, Knight of the Brazen Serpent, Lincoln

allegory, Friend and Brother Eternal 129, 137, 166–168

26°, Prince of Mercy or Scottish Trinitar-ian, Gettysburg Degree 127, 128, 144, 168–171

27°, Commander of the Temple, Knight of Jerusalem 171–173

n9 18928°, Knight of the Sun 151, 174–17529°, Knight of St. Andrew 175–17730°, Knight Kadosh, Grand Inspector 127,

177–179, 18131°, Knight Aspirant 127, 178, 179–181, 181,

182, 18332°, Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret 127,

181–183de Hoyos, Arturo 126De La Motta, Emanuel 184DeMolay, Jacques 177Deutsch, William R. 175Domitian, emperor of Rome, ritual theme 168Dorchester, USS, WWII vessel 163Doszedardski, Jean Frederick 161, 164, 166, 168

EElliott, Eugene S. 149equilibrium, doctrine of 164Essenes, ritual theme 152Eversull, Dr. Harry K. 151, 174

F“Friend to Friend” Masonic Memorial, Get-

tysburg National Cemetery 170Four Chaplains (WWII), ritual theme 161Francken, Henry Andrew 125, 184Francken Manuscript (1783) 125

4° 1335° 1366° 1378° 1389° 13910° 14111° 14212° 14313° 14514° 146, 14915° 14916° 14917° 15118° 15219° 15420° 127, 155, 15622° 159, 16024° not mentioned 16426° not mentioned 16827° 12727° not mentioned 17128° 17429° not mentioned 17530° as 24° 17731° not mentioned 17932° 181

Franklin, Benjamin, ritual theme 129, 166–168Frederick, king of Prussia (the Great), ritual

theme 128, 155, 158Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor 173

GGeake, William 187Goffeney, Otto J. 159Gourgas, J. J. J. 184

Volume 17, 2009 195

Index

HHancock, Gen. Winfield Scott, USA, ritual

theme 170Hayes, Moses Michael 184Hays-Raymond ritual (NMJ, 1864) 176Hepler Jr., Albert Newton 187Herod’s Temple, ritual theme 128, 151, 152, 174Hiram Abif (Abi or Abiff)

funeral 136murder likened to that of DeMolay 177pursuit of his assassins, ritual theme 140

Historical Degrees, Scottish Rite. See Scottish Rite rituals, N.M.J., Council, Princes of Jerusalem

History of the Supreme Council, 33°, A.A.S.R., N.M.J., U.S.A., The, G. A. Newberry & L. L. Williams (1996) 188

History of the Supreme Council, 33°, A.A.S.R., N.M.J. U.S.A., S. H. Baynard (1938) 188

Honorius III, pope 173Hotchkiss, Ernest W. 144, 168House Undivided, A. E. Roberts (1961) 169

II.N.R.I. in 18° 152Ineffable Degrees, Scottish Rite. See Scottish

Rite rituals, N.M.J., Lodge of PerfectionInglis, Lawrence D. 163

JJehovah, ritual theme 151Jesus of Nazareth, ritual theme 152, 153Jewish captivitity in Babylon, ritual theme 149Johnson, Melvin Maynard 126, 147, 151, 174

quoted 125Jones, Haydn R. 162, 175Joseph and his brothers, ritual theme 144, 145,

168

KKnights, Teutonic 171Knights Templar, ritual theme 151

LLadder, mysterious of Kadosh 177Laffon-Ladebat, Charles 177Lichliter, McIlyar Hamilton 126, 134, 140, 142,

147, 148, 175, 176, 178, 187Lincoln, Abraham, US president, ritual theme

169

MMackey, Albert Gallatin 168, 174, 177, 185Magnum Opus, A. Pike (1857) 185Masonic leadership, ritual theme 155McClanachan, Charles 185McClenachan, Charles Thomson 187McCune, John Prouty 187McNaughton, John Wm. 184Merrill, William W. 139, 167

n9 189Miller Sr., Robert Lowell 142, 187Mitchell, John 184Morin, Stephen 125, 184Moses

brazen serpent, ritual theme 129, 137, 166–168

Ten Commandments, ritual theme 147

NNew Jerusalem, ritual theme 154Noah‘s ark, ritual theme 157

OOrder of the Royal Secret 184

PParker, Richard Waldo 152, 187Partridge Jr., Irving Emerson 126, 183, 187Peleg, Tower of Babel architect, ritual theme

157pelican in 18° 152Philetus the Neophyte, ritual theme 154Philip II Augustus, king of France 158Philosophical Degrees, Scottish Rite.

See Scottish Rite rituals, N.M.J., Chapter of Rose Croix

Pike, Gen. Albert, CSA 185frustration with Lodge of Perfection ritu-

als 134n7 189objected to Christian-only NMJ 18° 153Scottish Rite rituals 127

4° 133

196 Heredom

Index

6° 1378° 13910° 14111° 142–14312° 14413° 14514° 14815° 14916° 15019° 15420° 15521° 158, 15922° 15923° 160, 16124° 16425° 16626° 16828° 17429° 17630° 177, 17831° 179

vehmgerichte ritual theme introduced by 158

pillars of faith, hope, and charity in 18° 152

Rracial tolerance, ritual theme 165Regulations of 1762 156Revelation, Book of, ritual theme 153, 154Revised Standard Pike Ritual, The (SJ, 2000)

127Richard, king of England (the Lionhearted)

158Rituals of the Supreme Council, 33°, for the

Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A., I. E. Partridge 188

Roberts, Allen E. 169Ruckle, Nicholas Randle 187

SSatan, ritual theme 155Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor and Guide, A. de

Hoyos (2007) 188Scottish Rite rituals, N.M.J. 125–190

American settings 167bibliography 188Carson/Van Rensselaer rituals (1853)

5° 13613° 145, 14614° 14615° 14916° 150n3 188

Chairmen of the Supreme Council, N.M.J., Committees on Rituals 187

Chapter of Rose Croix, 17° & 18° 151–154chronological development 185–186Consistory, 18°–32° 154Constans Allegory 127, 180, 181, 182contemporary American settings 160Council, Princes of Jerusalem, 15° & 16°

149–151degree “realignment” 128–129, 136, 140, 162,

165, 166, 167King James Bible 147, 148, 153, 163Lodge of Perfection, 4°–14° 133–149need for revision 127–128New Revised Standard Bible 147, 148, 153,

163reduced time 131–133themes

Aaron and his sons 136, 161Armistead, Gen. Lewis A., CSA 170Arnold, Gen. Benedict, USA 157Babylonian captivity of Jews 149Beatitudes 153Book of Life 152cedars of Lebanon 159Cherokee Nation, forced relocation

n8 189Christians, Roman persecution of 128Cyrus, king of Persia 149Daniel, prophet 150Darius, king of Persia 150, 151Domitian, emperor of Rome 168Essenes 152Four Chaplains (WWII) 161Franklin, Benjamin 129, 166–168Frederick, king of Prussia (the Great)

128, 155, 158Hancock, Gen Winfield Scott, USA

170Herod’s Temple 128, 151, 174Jehovah 151

Volume 17, 2009 197

Index

Jesus of Nazareth 152, 153Joseph and his brothers 144, 145, 168Knights Templar 151Lincoln, Abraham, US president 169Masonic leadership 155Moses

brazen serpent 129, 137, 166–168Ten Commandments 147

New Jerusalem 154Noah’s Ark 157Peleg, Tower of Babel architect 157Philetus the Neophyte 154racial tolerance 165Revelation, Book of 153, 154Satan 155Solomon, apostasy of 142Spirit of Evil 154–155Spirit of Masonry 154–155trial scene 179truth, power of 150, 151vehmgerichte 158Washington, George 128Zerubbabel 149, 150, 151

Van Rensselaer, Killian, ritual ms. (1845). See also Scottish Rite rituals, N.M.J., Carson/Van Rensselaer rituals

24° 16429° 17530° 177, 178n3 188

Volume of the Sacred Law 148, 183Secret Societies in the Middle Ages, T. Keight-

ley (1837)n7 189

Shekinah (word), in ritual use 153Simson, Sampson 184Solomon, apostasy of, ritual theme 142Spirit of Evil, ritual theme 154–155Spirit of Masonry, ritual theme 154–155Spitzer, Barend Moses 184Stichter, Wayne Edward 187Supreme Council, Northern Masonic Jurisdic-

tion, U.S.A.met with S.J. for ritual uniformity, 1960

126rituals 125–190. See also Scottish Rite ritu-

als, N.M.J.

Supreme Council, Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A., Mother Council of the World

met with N.M.J. for ritual uniformity 126

T“The Perfect Tribute,” M. S. Andrews (1906)

170Templar, Knights 171theater techniques, modern, in S.R. ritual 162Thistle, Richard C. 154Thomas, John Lloyd 136, 137, 140, 161, 164, 180,

181n11 189n4 188

Torok, Theodore E. 152n6 189

Trexler, C. DeForrest 143, 145, 159, 170, 172, 187author 125–190

trial scene, ritual theme 179Truman, Harry S, US president 163truth, power of, ritual theme 150, 151

VVan Gorden, John H. 161, 162Van Rensselaer, Killian H. 161, 166, 177

ritual ms. (1845). See also Scottish Rite rituals, N.M.J., Carson/Van Rens-selaer rituals

31° 17932° 181

vehmgerichte, ritual theme 158Veneis, Petrus de 173Volume of the Sacred Law 148

WWalker, N. Tracy 175Walls Came Tumbling Down, The, R. L. Miller

188Washington, George, US president

ritual theme 128, 129, 156Webber, Walter E. 135

ZZerubbabel, prince of Jerusalem, ritual theme

149, 150, 151

198 Heredom

Index

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