What Is Scottish Rite Masonry?
The Scottish Rite Fabric and its Origin. 1. Starting from the original twenty-five degrees of perfection elaborated in France by certain Scotch royalist refugees, the Scottish Rite has been developed into a complete system of progressive Masonic organization from the first degree of Masonry to the thirty-third and last degree. The idea of thirty- three degrees is said to have been suggested to correspond with the thirty-three years of the life of the Savior. The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, in the form that it exists today, was elaborated from the “Degrees of Perfection” or the “Ancient and Accepted Rite,” as they were called. These Degrees of Perfection were originated by certain adherents of the House of Stuart, who in 1754 had taken asylum in the Jesuit College of Clermont in Paris. One of these degrees was known as the Degree of Scottish Master, which together with the facts that the originators were mostly Scotch, is supposed to have given rise to the name of the “Scottish
It is a branch of Freemasonry designed to supplement and amplify the philosophical teachings of the first three degrees. It presents in degrees from the fourth to the thirty-second an interpretation of the lessons of the Craft degrees by the use of drama and lectures appealing to both the ear and eye to teach the great truths which Freemasonry professes. Thirty-three including the Craft degrees. However the Craft degrees are accepted as conferred by the Grand Lodges. The Thirty-third is conferred directly by Supreme Council, the governing Body of the Rite. The fourth to the fourteenth inclusive are conferred by Lodges of Perfection. The fifteenth to the eighteenth inclusive are conferred by Rose Croix Chapters. The nineteenth to the thirty-second inclusive are conferred by Consistories. Each Lodge, Chapter and Consistory is an organized Body within the Valley (geographical area) served by it. Any connection with Scotland would seem to be vague. The reason may be that one or two of the
Almost every Master Mason who is invited or afforded an opportunity to petition for the Scottish Rite Degrees, naturally raises the question in his mind, “Why should I take the Scottish Rite Degrees? It is a fair and quite appropriate question for him to ask, as it is of utmost importance that the prospective initiate have a clear and definite understanding of what the Rite stands for, and is endeavoring to accomplish. Herewith, though of necessity brief, is set forth some of the aims and purposes of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. The Scottish Rite is a rite of instruction. It interprets the symbols and allegories of Masonry in the light of history and philosophy, using the words of the supreme prophets of humanity, ceremonials of the great religions of the world, and significant episodes from history, to point the moral and adorn the tale. Prior to the beginning of World War II, before the Totalitarian aggressors suppressed the Craft in most of Europe, there were thirty-seven Supre
