SCOTTISH RITE


 

The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite ( commonly known as simply the Scottish Rite ) in each country is governed by a Supreme Council. There is no international governing body - each Supreme Council in each country is sovereign unto itself.

In the United States of America there are two Supreme Councils: one in Washington, DC, and one in Lexington, Massachusetts, which control the Southern Jurisdiction (SJ) and Northern Masonic Jurisdiction (NMJ), respectively. In the SJ, individual states are referred to as Orients and local bodies are called Valleys; the NMJ uses only Valley. Each Valley has up to four Scottish Rite bodies, and each body confers a set of degrees. In the SJ these are the Lodge of Perfection (4°-14°), Chapter of Rose Croix (15°-18°), Council of Kadosh (19°-30°), and the consistory (31°-32°). In the NMJ, the bodies are the Lodge of Perfection (4°-14°), the Council of Princes of Jerusalem (15°-16°), the Chapter of Rose Croix (17°-18°), and the Consistory (19°-32°). In both jurisdictions the Supreme Council controls and confers the 33rd Degree of Sovereign Grand Inspector General.

In the United States the Lexington, Massachusetts-based Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, formed in 1813, oversees the bodies in fifteen states: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Vermont. Orients in the other thirty-five states, districts and territories in the United States are overseen by the Southern Jurisdiction. Based in Washington, D.C., the Southern Jurisdiction is the "Mother Supreme Council of the World," being the first Supreme Council, and was founded in Charleston, South Carolina in 1801.

In the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States, the Supreme Council consists of no more than 33 members, and is presided over by a Grand Commander. Other members of the Supreme Council are called "Sovereign Grand Inspectors General" (S.G.I.G.), and each is the head of the Rite in his respective Orient (or state). Other heads of the various Orients who are not members of the Supreme Council are called "Deputies of the Supreme Council."
In the Northern Jurisdiction the Supreme Council consists of no more than 66 members. All members of the Supreme Council are designated Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, but the head of the Rite in each Valley of the Northern Jurisdiction is called a "Deputy of the Supreme Council."
 
In England, whose Supreme Council was warranted by that of the Northern Jurisdiction of the U.S.A, the Rite is known colloquially as the "Rose Croix" or more formally as "The Ancient and Accepted Rite" (continental European jurisdictions retain the "Écossais"). The only local bodies are "Rose Croix Chapters"; many degrees are conferred in name only, and degrees beyond the 18° are conferred only by the Supreme Council itself.

 

THE SCOTTISH RITE DEGREE

Attainment of the third Masonic degree, that of a Master Mason, represents the attainment of the highest rank in all of Masonry. Any Master Mason stands as an equal before every other Master Mason, regardless of position, class, or other degrees. Additional degrees are sometimes referred to as appendant degrees, even where the degree numbering might imply a hierarchy. Appendant degrees represent a lateral movement in Masonic Education rather than an upward movement. These are not degrees of rank, but rather degrees of instruction.

In many countries, some Craft Lodges use Scottish Rite ritual in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd degrees.

In the United States, members of the Scottish Rite can be elected to receive the 33° by the Supreme Council. It is conferred on members who have made major contributions to society or to Masonry in general.
The titles of the degrees in the Southern Jurisdiction are as follows. Titles for some degrees are different in the Northern Jurisdiction. These titles are in parentheses where they occur :

4° Secret Master

5° Perfect Master

6° Intimate Secretary

7° Provost and Judge

8° Intendant of the Building

9° Elu of the Nine (Master Elect of the Nine)

10° Elu of the Fifteen (Master Elect of the Fifteen)

11° Elu of the Twelve (Sublime Master Elected)

12° Master Architect (Grand Master Architect)

13° The Royal Arch of Solomon (Master of the Ninth Arch)

14° Perfect Elu (Grand Elect Mason)

15° Knight of the East, or of the Sword

16° Prince of Jerusalem

17° Knight of the East and West

18° Knight of the Rose Croix (Knight of the Rose Croix of H.R.D.M.)

19° Grand Pontiff

20° Master of the Symbolic Lodge (Master ad Vitam)

21° Noachite or Prussian Knight (Patriarch Noachite)

22° Knight of the Royal Axe (also known as Prince of Libanus in both jurisdictions)

23° Chief of the Tabernacle

24° Prince of the Tabernacle

25° Knight of the Brazen Serpent

26° Prince of Mercy, or Scottish Trinitarian

27° Knight Commander of the Temple (Commander of the Temple)

28° Knight of the Sun, Prince Adept

29° Scottish Knight of St. Andrew

30° Knight Kadosh (Grand Elect Knight Kadosh)

31° Inspector Inquisitor (Grand Inspector Inquisitor Commander)

32° Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret

 

In the Southern Jurisdiction, a member who has been a 32° Scottish Rite Mason for 46 months or more is eligible to be elected to receive the "rank and decoration" of Knight Commander of the Court of Honour (K.C.C.H.) in recognition of outstanding service. After 46 months as a K.C.C.H. he is then eligible to be elected to the 33rd Degree. In the Northern Jurisdiction, there is only the 46-month requirement, and while there is a Masonic Service Award, it is not a required intermediate step towards the 33°.


33° Inspector General (In the Southern Jurisdiction a recipient of the 33rd Degree is called an "Inspector General." Most recipients, as honorary members of the Supreme Council, are designated "Inspectors General Honorary." Active members of the Supreme Council are designated "Sovereign Grand Inspectors General.")