Introduction
Origins
The Name
Southern Jurisdiction
International Character of the Scottish Rite Today
Government of the Rite
Degrees of the Rite and Initiation Fees
Interested in Becoming a Master Mason
or Scottish Rite Mason?
Introduction
Service to others—service to you. These are the
twin goals of Scottish Rite Freemasonry. In 135 Childhood Language
Disorder Clinics, Centers, and Programs in our 37 Orients (states),
including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, children with
communication disorders are taught to speak, read, and learn.
Each year in two great medical centers, the Atlanta
and Dallas Scottish Rite Hospitals, thousands of victims of accident
or disability are restored to active, happy lives.
In homes for the aged, centers for youth and,
in cases of natural disaster, support from the Scottish Rite Foundation
relieves the worried and counsels the troubled.
Through local scholarships grants and patriotic
programs, the Scottish Rite benefits your community in direct
and dynamic ways every day of the year.
We are rightly proud of these achievements. They
are the culmination of generations of Scottish Rite Brethren working
to strengthen and improve America. Welcome to our ranks. Through
your participation, even greater good can be accomplished.
But the Rite does not end here. The Rite serves
you.
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Origins
Our age-proven traditions and noble ideals enrich
your life with new horizons of personal achievement. Our dynamic
programs offer you opportunities for leadership. Most of all,
our sincere Scottish Rite fellowship will bring you lifetime friendships
and provide delightful occasions to be shared with your wife and
family. Get to know your local Scottish Rite officers. Like you,
they are good men working for a good cause. They are eager to
share and glad to help. Ask. You are sure to find a way to participate
in Scottish Rite endeavors that will suit your desire and schedule.
And should you be able to visit our nation’s capital,
please include a tour of our national headquarters, the House
of the Temple, located just 10 blocks from the White House. It
is an inspiring architectural monument. Cordial Brothers are available
every day, even on weekends if arranged beforehand, to show you
the Temple’s magnificent ceremonial rooms. Or, perhaps, you would
like to pause in The Supreme Council’s excellent library, the
very first opened to the public in the District of Columbia, or
visit the building’s several impressive ceremonial rooms and museums.
Wherever you go, you will be welcome, for no matter where your
Valley is, this great building is your Scottish Rite home.
To get a better idea of all the Scottish Rite
has to offer, scan the pages of this booklet. Keep it for future
reference. It will come in handy for understanding the history,
structure, honors, and services offered to you as a member of
the Scottish Rite, the world’s most dynamic and beneficent Fraternity!
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The Name
In announcing its establishment to the Masonic
world in that Manifesto, dated December 4, 1802, the name was
given as the Supreme Council of the Thirty-third Degree for the
United States of America. The word Scotch appeared in connection
with one of the early Supreme Council Degrees, and Scotish (sic)
was included in the name of one of the detached Degrees conferred
by the Supreme Council.
The name Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite first
appeared in an 1804 agreement between the Supreme Council of France
and the Grand Orient of France. Beginning with the administration
of Grand Commander Albert Pike in 1859, it came into general use
in the Southern Jurisdiction and elsewhere. Many Scottish Masons
fled to France during political upheavals in the 17th and 18th
centuries, at a time when the Degrees of the Rite were evolving
in French Freemasonry. This has caused some to think mistakenly
that the Rite originated in Scotland. Actually, however, a Supreme
Council for Scotland was not established until 1846.
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Southern Jurisdiction
The Grand Constitutions of 1786, in the earliest
known text in the possession of John Mitchell and Frederick Dalcho,
provided for two Supreme Councils in the United States. The Supreme
Council at Charleston sent one of its Active Members to New York
and authorized him to establish in 1813 a Supreme Council for
the Northern Jurisdiction of the United States of America. With
this accomplished, The Supreme Council at Charleston in 1827 ceded
to the Northern Supreme Council the 15 states north of the Ohio
and east of the Mississippi Rivers. The Southern Supreme Council
retained jurisdiction over all other states and territories (at
home and abroad) of the United States.
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International Character
of the Scottish Rite Today
The Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction
recognizes in its fraternal relations 40 Supreme Councils and
four National Grand Lodges practicing the Rites that include the
Scottish Rite, in different countries throughout the world. Each
regular Supreme Council has declared its general adherence to
those Grand Constitutions of 1762 and 1786, but each, being a
sovereign Masonic Body, has made variations in its Statutes to
meet its own particular needs. This is especially true as to the
number of members composing a Supreme Council. Some have retained
the original limitations of nine Active Members. In our Jurisdiction
the number of Active Members is limited to 33. In other Jurisdictions
larger or smaller limitations have been set. To maintain the spirit
of international unity, the Mother Supreme Council participates
in overseas conferences with other Supreme Councils.
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