DEGREES OF THE SCOTTISH RITE
The Ancient and Accepted Rite of Freemasonry.
1° APPRENTICE MASON
2° COMPANION MASON
3° MASTER MASON
High or “Philosophical” Degrees:
4°SECRET MASTER:
Teaches truth and consequently the existence of one God, and the relations existing between man and his Heavenly Father.
5° PERFECT MASTER:
Teaches us the love of God for the human race, and the magnitude of divine attributes.
6° INTIMATE SECRETARY:
Develops and fully proves the sublime and consoling doctrine of the immortality of the soul.
7° PROVOST AND JUDGE:
Teaches justice as the neces-sary consequence of the relations between God and man.
8° INTENDANT OF THE BUILDING:
Teaches the necessity of order, without which, society cannot exist.
9° MASTER ELECT OF NINE:
Teaches us that no one has the right to take the law into his own hands. That the interests of society require that the adminisiration of justice should be entrusted to a certain number of pure and upright men, for the benefit of all, and that true Masonry discountenances all acts of violence.
10°MASTER ELECT OF FIFTEEN:
Teaches that it does not consist with the good of society, that all should pretend to command, and that the administration of order, or the executive power, like that of justice, or the judicial power, must by confided to a few of the wisest and most experienced of the citizens.
11° SUBLIME MASTER ELECTED:
Teaches us that the laws which are to govern a community must be elaborated, or the legislative power exercised, by the most able and honest citizens, and that to such men only it belongs, to represent the people in the legislative assemblies, there to maintain the rights and freedom of the people.
12° GRAND MASTER ARCHITECT:
Teaches that by labor alone we can obtain happiness, for our fellow beings and our-selves, and that to whatever degree of civilization man-kind may attain, a true Mason will never cease to labor, that he may thereby make more complete the condition of his brethren.
13° MASTER OF THE NINTH ARCH:
Teaches the utility of study, as the only means of drawing nearer to our Heavenly Father, and practicing true religion, the object of which is to attain a knowledge of the perfections and unbounded munificence of God, and thereby to be-come more and more perfect, by imitating his kindness in our relations with our brethren.
14° GRAND ELECT MASON:
You receive the reward of your labors. You were admitted to the sacred vault where you saw the end of all mystic forms, which the ignorance of mankind has made necessary. You then saw the future destiny of Freemasonry, that is of man, who enters upon the inheritance given him by his Heavenly Father. God is no longer to be feared, but to be loved with all the heart, mind and strength.
15° KNIGHT OF THE EAST OR SWORD:
Teaches hope and faith in the new Era which dawns upon mankind, when men will be emancipated from dead forms and ceremonies, and when the whole power of man’s intellect will be exerted to obtain a perfect knowledge of truth, and of the laws that flow from it.
16° PRINCE OF JERUSALEM:
Teaches that every religion, of mere forms and ceremonies and external practices, must eventually crumble to pieces, for it is a dead body without 4 soul, and that the Masonry of the Ancient Rite, founded on the simple and pure doctrine of love, toleration and reason, must be eternal, because it is true and a reality, and being positively that which the Master from Nazareth taught, and every true child of our Heavenly Father may well adopt and profess it.
17° KNIGHT OF THE EAST AND WEST:
Teaches that every good and intelligent Mason must look upon himself as a pioneer, preparing the way for greater and better men to come after him, and that he must be content to work and do his duty, whether the results of his labor are manifest and visible during his life, or not; to sow no matter who reaps. Soldier of truth, he must always march straight onward, following the route which she indicates, to every loyal man. Death alone must make him pause. Age gives no discharge from her service, and every true Mason may be certain, that if he manfully toils and fights in her cause, he will, whether the effect of his labors be seen by his mental eyes or not, leave to others who come after him, a noble heritage, ever to increase, as Mason follows Mason, in uninterrupted succession until men shall succeed each other in this world no longer.
18° KNIGHT ROSE CROIX:SCOTTISH RITE
Illustrates, by example, the truth of this doctrine of accumulation of intellectual wealth by inheritance, for in it are exhibited all the sublime truths, the axioms of ethics and philosophy, discovered and uttered by all former intellects, whose names, shining in the past, are so many resplendent proofs of the perfectibility of mankind, gathered and combined, in the sublime teachings of the Master from Nazareth, who was the possibility of the race made real. He passed away in doing good, and we are rich with the splendid inheritance he left us. His death teaches us civil and religious toleration, and that, short as is cur mental vision, and limited as our knowledge of the great mysteries of God and nature must ever be, we must never persecute, or ever become a stranger, to our brethren, because the opinions which they enunciate, conflict with those that we entertain, or are accustomed to hear. For in this degree the new law of love is taught, and the chief pillar among the three, with which are here replaced the ancient pillars of the temple, is charity, which not only relieves the wants, but is tolerant of the errors and mistaken opinions of other men. The degree is open to men of all creeds, who believe in the fundamental doctrines of the Ancient and Accepted Rite of Masonry. Every man who endeavors to teach at all, has a mission to perform. God tolerates him and allows him to teach, and we may well do the same. For after all, the will of God governs, and the doctrine that is true will prevail, while what is false will not. What is persecuted grows, but if error be com-batted, with no other weapons than those of Masonry, the total regeneration of humanity will come in God’s good time.
19° GRAND PONTIFF:
Teaches us that, as true apostles of the doctrine of civil and religious toleration, we must, as it were, bridge the abyss that divides us from our brethren, who adhere to the old law and ceremonial observances of the past, and win them over to us by kindness and reason. When man is no longer a slave, we must appeal to his heart and intellect, if we would bring about the reign of peace, harmony and science. There are no other meant by which an intelligent man can be convinced, however he may be compelled.
20° MASTER AD VITAM:
Teaches us the necessity of caution, in addition to energy and daring, that those who tread upon and live by the propagation of false creeds, may not defeat our plans for the emancipation of human intellect.
21° PATRIARCH NOACHITE:
Teaches you to strive arnestly to learn the means necessary to vindicate the power of truth, in bringing together all God’s children, whatever their religious and political opinions. That means to raise man to the consciousness of what he is, and will soon become; what he ought to be.
22° PRINCE OF LIBAN:
Teaches you that even after succeeding in that object, you would still need to be ever watchful and always on the alert, to bar the way of entrance against sectarianism.
23° CHIEF OF THE TABERNACLE:
Teaches that after firmly establishing the institution of the Rite, we should profoundly study the doctrine of the master from Nazareth, and expound to our brethren of the old law its practical and sublime lessons. The old law has not effected the happiness of mankind, nor have the old philosophies.
24° PRINCE OF THE TABERNACLE:
Teaches how arduous is the task of a true Mason, who endeavors to oppose sectarianism, for the sectarian will always obstinately maintain his own, narrow and exclusive creed, as the absolute and only truth, and such creeds will long continue to hold a large portion of mankind in bondage.
25° KNIGHT OF THE BRASEN SERPENT:
Teaches us to maintain the doctrine of liberty, equality and fraternity, as the only means of gathering around us the intelligent and good men of every lineage, creed and opinion, to repel and defeat the encroachments of idle theorists and kingly and priestly usurpers.
26° PRINCE OF MERCY:
Teaches us how a sincere and lasting alliance may be effected between the three intellectual classes of men: The disciples of the natural law and of philosophy; those of the law of Moses, and the other ancient faiths, and those who follow the doctrine of the Rite, or the law taught by the Grand Master from Nazareth. However crude, defective and erroneous men’s opinions may be, they will always listen to the voice of mercy, benevolence and affection.
27° COMMANDER OF THE TEMPLE:
Teaches that the noblest reward, of him who has proved himself the apostle and champion of universal peace and tolerance; who has aided fraternity to overcome and annihilate all formulas that stood in his way, will be to enjoy the fruits of his toil, among those who were once divided, but by his exertions have been brought to remember that they are brethren. Knowing this, the Mason’s thirst for knowledge increases, and he learns that only by profound study, can he solve the great problem of the ultimate destiny in store for humanity.
28° KNIGHT OF THE SUN:
Solves that problem and shows the ultimate result of the doctrine of our Master; of that doctrine which is the way, the truth and the life. It is, that mankind are at last to become one single peaceful family, whose father and head is the eternal God, infinite in love.
29° KNIGHT OF THE SAINT ANDREW:
Teaches you how much can be effected in a righteous cause by perseverance. When the, Ancient Rite of Masonry shall have accomplished its mission, men will rest in the true Edeno in a realm where peace and fraternity will reign.
30° KNIGHT KADOSH:
Teaches us to organize that army of tried and veteran Masons, that is to defend the rights of mankind against unlimited regal despotism, sacerdotal usurpation and intolerance, and the monopolies of rank, caste and privilege, and cause these usurpers to tremble, like the Babylonian king, when (according to the legend) an awful hand wrote the word of judgment on the wall of his banquet chamber.
31° GRAND INSPECTOR INQUISITOR COMMANDER: SCOTTISH RITE
This Degree is concerned with Masonic justice, and it urges the aspirant to study moral philosophy and philosophy of law, to pay particular attention to the moral theories and the normative thought of such great lawgivers as Moses (the main author of the Pentateuch), Zoroaster (the founder of the religion of ancient Persia), Confucius (the great Chinese philosopher and author of his seminal Analects), Hermes Trismegistus, Socrates, Mohammed (the Prophet of Islam), and Alfred the Great (King of Wessex from 871 to 899 AD), and to remain committed to the following teachings of Jesus Christ: “if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14–15). “Don’t judge, so that you won’t be judged. For with whatever judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:1–2). 32 “Don’t judge according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24). “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). The Jewel of the 31st Degree of the Scottish Rite is a white Teutonic Cross.
32° SUBLIME PRINCE OF THE ROYAL SECRET: SCOTTISH RITE
This Degree urges the aspirant to review the previous thirty-one Degrees and to study metaphysics and philosophy of religion in order thus to be able to fully appreciate and understand the “royal secret” of Freemasonry, which consists in a peculiar, symbolic Masonic Crusade whose purpose is to take possession of a mystical ‘Jerusalem’ that consists in the achievement of the following Masonic ends: to heal all inner dissensions and produce peace and harmony in the external world; to make charitable judgment universal; to spiritually elevate the masses of mankind in order to become aware of their true interests; to substitute the fraternal spirit for tyranny and usurped privilege; and to establish a social order in the image of the divine order. The Jewel of the 32nd Degree of the Scottish Rite is a golden Teutonic Cross with a red rose at its center.
33° SOVEREIGN GRAND INSPECTOR GENERAL: SCOTTISH RITE
This Degree teaches the aspirant that his goal, as an Inspector General of the Order, is not to cause fruitless battles and bloodshed in order to recapture the land that was sacralized by the life and the death of our Most Puissant Lord, Jesus Crist, but to recapture our God-given rights, to substitute truth for error, and to substitute freedom and justice for despotism and anomy; for, then and only then, will we have recaptured the “the only true Holy Land,” which is “the patrimony of love, intelligence, and charity, which our Father has given us.” The Emblem and Jewel of the 33rd Degree of the Scottish Rite is a golden/purple crowned double-headed eagle with stretched wings and holding a sword in its claws, bearing also the inscriptions “Deus Meumque Jus” (God and My Right) and “Ordo Ab Chao” (Order out of Chaos).his concludes the complete Scottish Rite.
