Supreme Council, Scottish Rite, Northern Jurisdiction, USA

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US states in the Northern Jurisdiction

The Supreme Council, Scottish Rite, Northern Jurisdiction, based in Lexington, Massachusetts, oversees the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in fifteen states: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Vermont.[1] Formed in 1813, the Northern Jurisdiction is divided into "Valleys" (as opposed to the Southern Jurisdiction, which divides itself into "Orients").[2] Each Valley has up to four subordinate bodies, and each body confers a set of degrees.

Organization[]

In the Northern Jurisdiction, the Supreme Council consists of no more than 66 members. All members of the Supreme Council are designated Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, but the head of the Rite in each Valley of the Northern Jurisdiction is called a "Deputy of the Supreme Council." The Northern Council meets yearly. The current Sovereign Grand Commander is Ill. Peter J. Samiec, 33° who was installed as Sovereign Grand Commander in August 2021.

In the Northern Jurisdiction, there is a 46-month requirement for eligibility to receive the 33rd degree, and while there is a Meritorious Service Award (as well as a Distinguished Service Award), they are not required intermediate steps towards the 33°.

A recipient of the 33rd Degree is an honorary member of the Supreme Council and is therefore called an "Inspector General Honorary." However, those who are appointed Deputies of the Supreme Council that are later elected to membership on the Supreme Council are then designated "Sovereign Grand Inspectors General." In the Northern Jurisdiction a recipient of the 33rd Degree is an honorary member of the Supreme Council, and all members are referred to as a "Sovereign Grand Inspectors General."

Leadership[]

The head of the NMJ is the Sovereign Grand Commander. The list of Sovereign Grand Commanders is as follows:

Peter John Samiec (2021-Present)
David Alan Glattly (2017-2021)
John William McNaughton (2006-2017)
Walter Ernest Webber (2003-2006)
Robert Odel Ralston (1993-2003)
Francis George Paul (1985-1993)
Stanley Fielding Maxwell (1975-1985)
George Adelbert Newbury (1965-1975)
George Edward Bushnell (1953-1965)
Melvin Maynard Johnson (1933-1953)
Frederic Beckwith Stevens (1932-1933, 1933)
Leon Martin Abbott (1921-1932)
Barton Smith (1910-1921)
Samuel Crocker Lawrence (1909-1910)
Henry Lynde Palmer (1879-1909)
Josiah Hayden Drummond (1867-1879)
Killian Henry Van Rensselaer (1860-1867)
Edward Asa Raymond (1851-1860)
Giles Fonda Yates (1851)
John James Josephn Gourgas (1832-1851)
Sampson Simson (1825-1832)
Daniel Decius Tompkins (1813-1825)

Degree structure[]

Members of the Northern Jurisdiction are required to have achieved the third degree of Masonry (Master Mason) in their local lodges before they can apply to join the Scottish Rite. The Northern Jurisdiction offers 29 additional degrees, with a final 33rd degree conferred as an honor for service to the fraternity and society. However, taking these additional degrees does not give one higher "rank" in Masonry. While the higher numbering might imply a hierarchy, the additional degrees are considered "appendant degrees". They represent a lateral movement in Masonic education rather than an upward movement, and are degrees of instruction rather than rank.[3]

In 2004, the Northern Jurisdiction rewrote and reorganized its degrees.[4] Further changes have occurred in 2006.[5] As of 2016 the degrees offered by the Northern Jurisdiction are:

Degree Northern Jurisdiction[6]
4° Builder
5° Perfect Master
6° Master of the Brazen Serpent
7° Provost and Judge
8° Intendant of the Building
9° Master of the Temple
10° Master Elect[7]
11° Sublime Master Elected
12° Master of Mercy
13° Master of the Ninth Arch
14° Grand Elect Mason
15° Knight of the East, or
Knight of the Sword
16° Prince of Jerusalem
17° Knight of the East and West
18° Knight of the Rose Croix de Heredom
19° Brother of the Trail
20° Master ad Vitam
21° Patriarch Noachite
22° Prince of Libanus
23° Knight of Valor
24° Brother of the Forest
25° Master of Achievement
26° Friend and Brother Eternal[8]
27° Knight of Jerusalem
28° Knight of the Sun, or
Prince Adept
29° Knight of Saint Andrew
30° Grand Inspector
31° Knight Aspirant
32° Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret
33° Sovereign Grand Inspector General

History[]

Although most of the thirty-three degrees of the Scottish Rite existed in parts of previous degree systems,[9] the Scottish Rite did not come into being until the formation of the Mother Supreme Council at Charleston, South Carolina, in May 1801.

On May 1, 1813, an officer from the Supreme Council at Charleston initiated several New York Masons into the Thirty-third Degree and organized a Supreme Council for the "Northern Masonic District and Jurisdiction". On May 21, 1814 this Supreme Council reopened and proceeded to "nominate, elect, appoint, install and proclaim in due, legal and ample form" the elected officers "as forming the second Grand and Supreme Council...". Finally, the charter of this organization (written January 7, 1815) added, “We think the Ratification ought to be dated 21st day May 5815."[10]

Officially, the Supreme Council, 33°, N.M.J. dates itself from May 15, 1867. This was the date of the "Union of 1867", when it merged with the competing Cerneau "Supreme Council" in New York. The current Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States, was thus formed.[11]

References[]

  1. ^ Website of the Northern Jurisdiction
  2. ^ Valleys of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction
  3. ^ Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction website: Frequently asked questions - "Are Scottish Rite degrees higher than those of a Master Mason?"
  4. ^ Freemasons for Dummies, Christopher Hodapp, ISBN 0-7645-9796-5, Hungry Minds Inc, U.S., 2005. pp. 224-225
  5. ^ The Northern Light Magazine, November 2006; p. 6 "Ritual Changes."
  6. ^ Freemasons for Dummies, Christopher Hodapp, ISBN 0-7645-9796-5, Hungry Minds Inc, U.S., 2005. pp. 226-227
  7. ^ Formerly "Master Elect of Fifteen." The Northern Light Magazine, November 2006
  8. ^ Formerly "Prince of Mercy." The Northern Light Magazine, November 2006
  9. ^ de Hoyos, Arturo, "Development of the Scottish Rite Rituals", in Scottish Rite Ritual, Monitor and Guide 2d ed. (Washington, D.C.: Supreme Council, 33°, S.J., 2009), pp. 109-118.
  10. ^ de Hoyos, Arturo (2010). "A Brief History of Freemasonry and the Origins of the Scottish Rite". The Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor and Guide (PDF) (3rd ed.). Washington, D.C.: Supreme Council, 33°, Southern Jurisdiction. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-9708749-3-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-11-23.
  11. ^ de Hoyos, Arturo, "The Union of 1867" in Heredom (Washington, D.C.: Scottish Rite Research Society, 1995), vol. 5:7-45.
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