History of the Scottish Rite

Mural in the Scottish Rite Masonic Center, Lake Worth, FL

by Bro. Bernard Thomas, 33°
Portraying the building of King Solomon's Temple at Jerusalem

    The local Scottish Rite organization, called a "Valley", confers the 4th through 32nd degrees in degree-conferring meetings. The Scottish Rite is sometimes called the "University of Freemasonry" because it uses extensive allegory and drama in its Degrees to explore the philosophy, history, religions, ethics and ultimate truths that guide Freemasons' lives.

    The Scottish Rite shares the belief of all Masonic organizations that there is no higher degree than that of Master Mason. The degrees are in addition to, and in no way "higher" than, those of Blue or Craft Lodge Masonry. Scottish Rite Degrees simply amplify and elaborate on the lessons of the craft, providing further knowledge of Masonry, the building of the Temple and ancient religions with memorable lessons ranging from the days of chivalry to modern times.

     The degrees of the Scottish Rite are one-act plays, often staged with costume, scenery, special effects and the full rigging of any production. Their purpose is to examine different philosophies, ancient religions and systems of ethics. Through all of these, people have tried to answer certain universal questions. The degrees of the Rite do not tell a person what he should think about these questions. Instead, they tell him about what great thinkers and civilizations of the past have thought and they try to create a situation in which the candidate or Brother can gain insight. Agreeing with Socrates that the unexamined life is not worth living, the Rite helps with this self-examination by providing reference points.    

    Theatre is the oldest known means of teaching, especially of teaching abstract ideas. It was one of the principal means of instruction in the Middle Ages as well as in ancient Greece and Rome. Masonry borrows the techniques of theatre to make its lessons more impressive and to aid the candidate in forming the beginnings of what it is hoped will be a lifelong pattern of study and thought. Most of the degrees are set in ancient Israel because it is from the legends surrounding King Solomon's Temple that Masonry takes many of its parables and lessons. Ancient Egypt and medieval Europe also serve as degree settings.

     Almost every Master Mason who is 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. Here are a few reasons.
    
    The Scottish Rite Degrees give us a sense of historical values and standards. Today is the child of yesterday, and no one can understand the significance of the epochal events that are shaking the world unless he sees them from the vantage point of history. Out of the crises of the past, man has discovered principles that are as solid as the mountains, as enduring as the stars.
    
    The moral truths that prevailed in Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome are just as valid, just as imperative in the digital 21st century. In his confidence in the reality of these principles, man has built his faith in the permanent value of moral truth. Here is to be found the basis of optimism, of faith in the free institutions and of confidence in a civilization resting on ethical principles. No man can witness the degrees of the Scottish Rite and be either a cynic or a pessimist. They renew his faith in God, in man and in the process of history.
    
    The Scottish Rite Degrees put into picturesque but explicit language the civic and social ideals implicit in the Blue Lodge degrees. For centuries Freemasonry has been a tremendous force for enlightenment, freedom and social progress in Europe and the Americas. It was neither caprice nor mere prejudice that caused the Nazis and Fascists to proscribe Freemasonry. Why did the Nazi oppressors hate Masonry? Why did they violate the emblems of the Craft? Why did they hunt down with ruthless cruelty our Masonic leaders? Particularly, why did the totalitarians persecute "Masons of all degrees"? They knew that tyranny is threatened wherever a Masonic Lodge or Temple exists.
    
    Freemasonry is a compelling and conquering spiritual force, and the reasons are revealed in the Scottish Rite Degrees. Scottish Freemasonry is the foe of intolerance, fanaticism and superstition. It battles every form of racial and sectarian prejudice and bigotry. It is a mighty exponent of freedom in thought, religion and government. Thus, 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, ceremonies of the great religions of the world and significant episodes from history to point the moral and adorn the tale.
    
    The Scottish Rite makes application of the doctrines of Freemasonry to every realm of human activity. The individual Mason is taught to put into practice in his personal life and thought the lessons learned in the Blue Lodge.
    
    Socially, the Scottish Rite is Freemasonry militant, not in the sense of propaganda and agitation, nor by endorsing specific causes or sponsoring particular political movements, but by showing through illustrations from history and human evolution how the Mason may make his influence felt for the principles of free thought, free government, free education and free religion. The Scottish Rite Mason is the foe of intolerance, bigotry and ignorance in all their forms. That is what the Scottish Rite Degrees are all about.

     The actual roots of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry go deep into ancient times. Our teachings proceed our formal organization by thousands of years. The Scottish Rite is formed from an accumulation of Masonic lessons and experiences. Artifacts of the Scottish Rite are scattered throughout the history of many races, cultures, and societies. The signs, symbols, inscriptions, concepts, and teachings can be found in the studies most of the ancient world. They are inscribed on tombs and temples of India, the ruins of Nubia and down through the Egyptian valley of the Nile to its very delta. They are of Chaldera, Assyria, Persia, Greece, Rome and even ancient Mexico and the Yucatan.

     The formalization of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry as we know it evolved as the Rite of Perfection over 200 years ago on the continent of Europe. It was then written as the Constitutions of 1762. Later the Grand Constitutions of 1786 were enacted and became the creative and derivative laws for us and all our descendant Supreme Councils of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.

    Scottish Rite may be the one universal Freemasonry; in fact, in many lands it is the only Freemasonry. Prior to the beginning of World War II, before the totalitarian aggressors suppressed the Craft in most of Europe, there were thirty-seven Supreme Councils in existence, including countries from Italy to the Argentine and New Zealand and from the United States to China and South Africa.

     Our Supreme Council was organized at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1801. That body is considered the Mother Supreme Council of the World, and hence all regular and recognized Supreme Councils throughout the world, must trace the pedigree of their constitution to that body.

     The members of the Scottish Rite learn about their organization, history and mission of the Rite by progressing through a system of twenty-nine degrees of instruction. Through these degrees, the members are taught and strengthened in their understandings of the highest ethics, the wise expositions of philosophy and religion, the blessings of charity, the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule. They are provided a forum from which they may explore the concepts and learn the meanings of symbols, words and phrases long considered lost. These were the truths that Plato, Pythagoras, Socrates, Homer and other intellects of the ages held in high esteem.

     Through their instructive and historic degrees, Scottish Rite Masons discover and may develop a comprehensive knowledge of the rites of heritage, philosophy, religion, morality, freedom and tolerance. They strengthen their understanding of, and bonds with, their creator, country, families and themselves.

     Out of all this, the Scottish Rite and its membership, have set for themselves a mission of supporting a number of spiritual, charitable and moral programs. They are dedicated to their Scottish Rites activities, the maintenance of moral standards and spiritual values, the pride of patriotism, the love of flag and country and the dispensing of charity without regard to race, color, or creed.

     These men, as with all Masons, stand for positive programs, yet they will fight with moral courage and enthusiasm every force or power that would seek to destroy freedom, spread spiritual despotism or political tyranny. They firmly believe and support the concept that the sovereignty of the United States of America and other democratic countries resides in the very control of the people themselves.

     The Scottish Rite is Masonry, constructively, in action. This is a perilous time in the history of our beloved country. These are days when every man must rally to the cause of freedom and loyalty, when love of country is sorely needed. There is no organization that holds freedom more dear or patriotism more of an ideal than the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Patriotic men do well to ally themselves with such an Order, that they may lend their strength, their talents, and their influence to the preservation of the principles upon which our great democracy was founded.

     Freemasonry is engaged in building a temple, a temple not made with hands, but made up of dreams, the aspirations, the hopes, the inspired visions of humanity. Scottish Rite Masons are builders of that temple. Their prayers, their purposes, their efforts are intelligently directed toward that end, to create in the minds of men a place from which shall flow the light of toleration, humility, love of righteousness, devotion to truth and justice, which shall illuminate the world that is to be. This Rite of Freemasonry is committed to no particular social system; it fosters no political or intellectual propaganda. Rather, its mission is to create and stimulate in human hearts that pure sentiment that springs from a literal and wholehearted acceptance of the truth of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man.

     To every Master Mason who is desirous of more light and a better understanding of Freemasonry, the Scottish Rite appeals, because:

• It offers an unsurpassed field for the study of Masonry.

• It enlarges upon and explains and applies the symbols of Masonry.

• It exemplifies and makes clear the truths and allegory of the Blue Lodge.

• It presents an unequaled opportunity for the practical demonstration of the teachings of Freemasonry.

• It gives you a fellowship in its literature, with the deepest minds and purest character of Freemasonry.

• It allows you to participate in the glorious work of spreading the word of the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man.

• It gives you a greater incentive to higher thoughts and nobler deeds, because of a greater knowledge of your responsibilities and the history of the institutions of the Scottish Rite.

• It creates within you a greater love for chivalry; a greater respect for philosophy, and a never-ending love for your mother Lodge.

• It inculcates patriotism, love of the flag, respect for law and order and undying loyalty to constitutional government.

• It carries out the sublime principles of Masonry by cooperating in every way with the Blue Lodge, by maintaining an ever-increasing interest in Masonry.

• It brings the Brethren from various Lodges together at frequent intervals whereby the spirit of Brotherhood and Fraternity is reflected in everyday living.

     The Scottish Rite Degrees appeal to the mind and heart through the eye as well as through the ear. Instruction is given by drama, allegory, and symbolism in the great lessons to be learned in history, music, the arts and sciences, Masonic philosophy, morality and various religions. The atmosphere of the sanctuary is not that of a schoolroom, but rather that of a gracious fellowship of learners who sit at the feet of the prophets and sages of all times, and imbibe inspiration from their words of wisdom.

     To those who are interested in securing a broader understanding of Freemasonry and desirous of upholding and fostering of the American Way of Life, the Scottish Rite is an effective instrument for the promotion and maintenance of these objectives.