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explanation of the york rites
by Pete Normand
33rd Degree in the Scottish Rite
K.Y.C.H. in the York Rite
Please let me add my two cents worth. As both a York Rite Mason,
and I am a
Past Presiding Officer in all the York Rite Bodies and a K.Y.C.H. (Knight York
Cross of Honour), and a Scottish Rite Mason, 33rd Degree and a Board Member of
the Scottish Rite Research Society, I have to correct some of the things that
have been said here.
THREE IN ONE:
First of all, the York Rite is not actually a "rite" in the
same sense that the Scottish Rite is. That is, the York Rite is not unified
under one governing body, but is rather split into various components, each with
its own governing body. The first of these, the "Royal Arch Chapter," forms
the "Capitular Rite." The second is the "Cryptic Rite." And the third is the
"Chivalric Rite."
CHRISTIANS ONLY:
The third of these, and therefore the entirety of the York Rite, is not open to
all Freemasons. It is open to Christian Masons only. However, the Scottish Rite,
as a unified Rite of Freemasonry, is open to all good Freemasons of whatever
faith. If you live in one of the 15 northeastern states you will be joining the
Scottish Rite Northern Jurisdiction. If you live in one of the remaining 35 U.S.
states or in our nation's capital, you will be joining the Scottish Rite
Southern Jurisdiction.
CRYPTIC RITE:
The degrees of the Cryptic Rite were actually side degrees of
the Scottish Rite that had fallen into disuse. They were then taken over by
and worked in Royal Arch Chapters until they were reclaimed by the Scottish
Rite. Finally they were relinquished by both the Scottish Rite and the Capitular
Rite and were allowed to be worked in separate Councils, becoming what we now
call the "Cryptic Rite."
CAPITULAR RITE:
In the Articles of Union agreed to by the two rival grand
lodges in England at their Union in 1813, it stated "that pure ancient Masonry
consists of three degrees, and no more, viz., those of the Entered Apprentice,
the Fellow Craft, and the Master Mason (including the Supreme Order of the
Holy Royal Arch)." You will notice that it does NOT say "the E.A., F.C., M.M.,
AND the Holy Royal Arch." Rather, it actually "includes" the H.R.A. degree as
part of the M.M. degree. This was added to appease the members of the Ancients
Grand Lodge who worked the degree in their lodges as a completion of the M.M.
degree, whereas the lodges under the Moderns Grand Lodge did not. To this day,
the United Gr. Ldg. of England still follows this system, conferring the
Royal Arch Degree on its Master Masons. But, it is done in Chapters of the Royal
Arch, which are a part of the Supreme Grand Chapter of the Royal Arch.
THE LOST WORD:
Many hold the misguided belief that the M.M. Degree is not
complete in and of itself, but needs the Royal Arch Degree for completion. Of
course, this is nonsense. The Word of a MM is "lost" in the MM Degree because,
philosophically, it is unknowable, or ineffable. The true "secret" of Masonry
is that, in our lives, we are always searching for truth, and it will never be
found until we reach our final reward. To suspect that the "lost word" is
simply some mumbo-jumbo that will be given you in the Royal Arch degree after
you
pay your fee, only indicates that someone did not understand the real lessons
of the MM Degree.
THE ROYAL ARCH DEGREE:
The Royal Arch Degree is conferred in BOTH the York
Rite and in the Scottish Rite. In the York Rite it sits atop the 4-degree Capitular Rite and is therefore the 7th Degree of the York Rite. In the Scottish
Rite, it is the 13th Degree. In the York Rite version of the degree, the degree
is set during the building of the Second Temple, that is, the Temple of
Zerubbabel, built about the year 516 B.C.E. (although the Degree uses the date
530
B.C.E.), and relates to the discovery of a secret vault beneath the ruins of
Solomon's Temple which had been built about 1000 B.C.E. and destroyed by the
army of Nebuchadnezzar, King of the Chaldeans, in 586 or 587 B.C.E., thus
beginning the period known as the Babylonian Captivity. 70 years later, Prince
Zerubbabel returns from the captivity and builds the Second Temple.
However, the older version of the degree appears to be the Scottish Rite
Thirteenth Degree which places the degree not at the end of the Babylonian
Captivity in 530 B.C.E., but much earlier, at the building of the original
Temple of
Solomon, about 1,000 B.C.E. This is why the degree in its Scottish Rite
version is called "Royal Arch of Solomon." In this degree, three workmen
discover a
secret vault within the mount upon which they plan to construct Solomon's
Temple.
In both degrees, a "word" is discovered. But in the York Rite version it is,
allegedly, the word that was "lost" at the death of Hiram Abiff. In the
Scottish Rite version, it is the ineffable and unknowable name of God that was
revealed to Enoch and inscribed by him upon a cubicle stone and set upon a
triangular pedestal within the secret vault.
HIRAM ABIFF:
Let me also add that the story of Hiram Abiff, while somewhat
abbreviated in the Master Masons Degree, is expanded upon in the Scottish
Rite. The story of the aftermath of the murder of Hiram and the story of the
ruffians and their capture by the Fellowcrafts sent to find them is ellucidated
and
expanded in the degrees of the 4th through the 12th. In the Scottish Rite
Third Degree, the ruffians are not captured. That is because in the Scottish
Rite
version of the Degrees, it takes 14 degrees to reach "perfection." And so the
degrees 4 through 14 are called the "Lodge of Perfection." So, if you really
want "the rest of the story," you have to see the degrees of the Lodge of
Perfection.
WHICH RITE IS OLDER?
Well, that depends on what you mean by older. If you mean, "which Rite, in its
present form, with all the degrees together, is older?", then the answer has to
be "The Scottish Rite." The Scottish Rite of 33 Degrees came together in its
final form in the year 1801. But there were older versions of the Rite that
collected together a lesser number of degrees as early as the mid-1700's and
prior to 1750: that is, "The Rite of Perfection," etc.
The York Rite, with all four of the degrees of the Royal Arch Chapter, and
the degrees of the Council, as well as the degrees of the Commandery, did not
solidify until the late 1800's. As late as 1871, the Grand Council of
Massachusetts called a convention of Grand Councils from 14 states and adopted a
resolution that Cryptic Degrees should be under the exclusive jurisdiction of
Grand
Councils and that no Cryptic Mason should be recognized unless he had received
the degrees in a Cryptic Council or by the Scottish Rite, and NOT under the
authority of a Royal Arch Chapter.
So you can see, that even as late as 1871, the York Rite had not quite "come
together" as a "Rite" by any loose definition.
KNIGHTS TEMPLAR:
Some misquided Masons join the York Rite, instead of the
Scottish Rite, under the impression that this is the only way to "become a
Knight Templar." What they don't understand is that the Scottish Rite IS the
Knights Templar, and no less a Templar body, and possibly more so, than the York
Rite Templars.
The full name of the Scottish Rite is "The Knights Commander of the House of
the Temple of Solomon of the Thirty-Third and Last Degree of the Ancient &
Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry." (whew) This IS the Knights Templar, or
Knights of the Temple of Solomon, "Militiae Templo Hierosolomitanae."
Further, there is not just one "Templar" Degree in the Scottish Rite, but
several. The 27th Degree is "Knight Commander of the Temple." In the 28th
Degree,
"Scottish Knight of St. Andrew," the candidate represents a Knight Templar
after the suppression of the Order. He seeks admission into the Order of Knights
of St. Andrew who are but Templars who have been given refuge by Robert the
Bruce, King of Scotland. The candidate is captured by what appears to be the
Holy Inquisition of the Church who accuse him of being of the heresy of being a
Freemason. But this is only a test, and because he refuses to renounce his
previous vows, he is admitted and made a Knight of St. Andrew.
KNIGHT KADOSH.
But the most important Knight Templar degree of the Scottish
Rite is the 30th Degree of "Knight Kadosh." The word "Kadosh" means "Holy" or
"separated," as anything "holy" is "separate" and apart from the rest. It
refers to the "Kadosh Kadoshem," or "Sanctum Sanctorum," of Solomon's Temple.
Part of the degree is set in an asylum of Knights Templar where the assembly
decides whether the candidate is worthy to be advanced any further. While
standing
guard as part of his vigil, he is confronted by the spirit of a deceased
knight who advises him to abandon his post and flee with his life. He remains
steadfast and is eventually rewarded.
As a side note, just to show the pedigree of the name "Kadosh" as part of the
Templar orders of the Scottish Rite, in 1791, a controlling body of the order
in England was known officially as "the Grand Elect Knights Templar Kadosh
and Holy Sepulchre of St. John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta." Two
years later, the Duke of kent, Grand Patron of the Order, name Thomas Dunckerly
Grand Master of the Knights of Rosy Cross, Knights Kadosh, and Knights
Templar."
Many would argue that the Scottish Rite 18th Degree, "Knight Rose Croix," is
a Templar Degree in disguise. I would agree.
Nevertheless, the structure of the Supreme Council, the governing body of the
Rite, is that of the Knights Templar. That is why the presiding officer is
called "The Grand Commander." The Scottish Rite Caps are in fact caps of
knighthood. They are the last remaining vestige of chivalric regalia. And, I
have to
tell you, its a lot easier to wear than a Knights of Columbus uniform.
I have to advise you that in the Scottish Rite you get more degrees and more
"bang for your buck." But, both are wonderful and neither should be avoided.
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