‘Masonic miscellany’

     
This edition of The Magpie Mind admittedly is a mess, but here are announcements of some great local events, so be sure to scroll all the way through.

Last weekend, I had the chance to enjoy some time in my alma mater’s main research library and, instead of doing something useful, I poked through a tiny bit of the thousands of unusual texts pertaining to Freemasonry. Here are just a few images:

• Tomorrow night, The American Lodge of Research will meet to hear Worshipful Master Michael Chaplin present his paper “Patron Saints of the Operatives.” Eight o’clock in the Colonial Room on 10 at Masonic Hall (71 West 23rd Street in Manhattan).

• Monday, November 9 is the deadline for booking your seat at the Scottish Rite Valley of Central Jersey’s Rose Croix celebration featuring Billy Koon:

Click to enlarge.

• Next Wednesday, Bro. Mohamad will speak at Livingston Masonic Lodge in New Jersey:

Click to enlarge.

• Congratulations to the new officers of the Masonic Library and Museum Association: President Aimee Newell, Vice President Brian Rountree, Secretary Cathy Giaimo, and, returning for another term, Treasurer Eric Trosdahl.

• The MLMA’s 2016 annual meeting is planned tentatively for October at the Lee Lockwood Scottish Rite Library and Museum in Waco, Texas.

• Speaking of Masonic libraries, the Grand Lodge of Nebraska dedicated its library and museum last month at the grand lodge headquarters in Lincoln.

• On Sunday, November 8, Cincinnati Masonic Lodge No. 3 in Morristown, New Jersey (39 Maple Avenue) will unveil the Morristown Masonic Center Museum and Library with an opening reception. Dignitaries to include the chairman of the New Jersey Historical Commission, the chairman of the Morristown Historic Preservation Commission, and RW Bro. Glenn Visscher of the Museum of Masonic Culture in Trenton (and a Past Master of the lodge). 

• Looking around the interwebs, I recently found the finest source of Masonic news: The Past Bastard. Click here and be amazed!

• Madison Masonic Lodge No. 93 in New Jersey has undertaken the project of replacing the headstone of Jepthah B. Munn, who was Grand Master of Masons for the State of New Jersey in the 1820s. Donations are welcome here.

I shot these photos Monday in the Presbyterian cemetery across the street from the lodge and, as you can see, this stone has seen better times.

Munn deserves the overdue attention. He was grand master during the age when grand masters were graaaand! A quick history:

In 1837, the Grand Lodge of New York expelled a number of Masons and closed a few lodges that were at labor in New York City. (I haven’t yet learned why they were expelled.) These brethren regrouped and called themselves St. John’s Grand Lodge. At that time, the Grand Lodge of New Jersey adopted a resolution voicing its support of New York’s authority to expel these Masons. This resolution was passed to make it clear from the start that all New Jersey lodges were prohibited from having communication with this clandestine grand lodge.

However, St. John’s Lodge No. 2 in Newark (it became No. 1 later) ignored the prohibition and other, less formal, requests from individual grand officers, and had Masonic intercourse with these New York guys, hosting them in their lodge, etc. For their role in this, Jepthah Munn and John Darcy, both past grand masters, were punished by Grand Lodge of New Jersey for defying grand lodge’s order to not interact with those expelled Masons.

During all of this, some New York lodges, in retaliation for the New Jersey past grand masters’ meddling in this episode, refused to allow New Jersey Masons to visit their lodges. This feuding continued for a number of years, even into the 1850s. What has to be remembered during all of this is that this period is the tail end of the anti-Masonic era that came in the wake of the “Morgan scandal” that nearly saw the fraternity in New York and New Jersey wiped out. For example, in 1842 New Jersey Freemasonry consisted of 162 Masons in eight lodges. So this bickering is kind of like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Also, this episode is not all that unusual in the 19th century history of New York Masonry. In the early years of the 1800s, a split between the “country lodges” and the “city lodges” took place that really caused problems. Two very real grand lodges coexisted until 1827, when they united.

Anyway, the clandestine grand lodge Munn aided is not unknown to New York scholars (there actually is a New York lodge named after Munn). He was an interesting man: Born in East Orange in 1780, where there is a Munn Avenue; a renowned medical doctor, who served as president of the Medical Society of New Jersey in 1828, and a co-founder and eventual president of the Morris District Medical Society; a respected member of the New Jersey General Assembly.

He was made a Mason in 1804 in Paterson Orange Lodge 13; affiliated with Cincinnati No. 3 in Morristown, serving as Master from 1809 to 1814; was warrant master of Chatham Lodge 33 (now Madison 93) from 1814 to 1819; and affiliated with St. John’s No. 1 in 1850. Was elected Senior Grand Warden of Grand Lodge in 1817, and served as Grand Master from 1820 to 1824.

Because of his activity in the New York episode, Munn—and this is why I’ve been crazy about him from the minute I learned of him about seven years ago—was subjected to charges of unmasonic conduct in 1842. Charges dropped the next year. Censure was imposed by Grand Lodge in 1850, but withdrawn in 1852. He continued to attend grand lodge communications through 1860, until ill health slowed him down. He died in 1863 in Chatham.
     

‘A command performance?’

     

Masonic Templars who happen to be in or near Jenkintown, Pennsylvania next Monday may want to waste the evening listening to the Magpie Mason as he delivers his lecture titled “What Masons Can Learn from the Rule of St. Benedict.”

Kensington-Kadosh Commandery 54 meets in the Masonic Temple at 443 Old York Road in Jenkintown. This commandery marked its 134th anniversary on May 30.

This lecture was inspired by SK Chuck Blatchley of Montjoie Commandery 29 in Pittsburg, Kansas. Chuck is one of the brilliant lights at Masonic Light, and years ago he explained this classic text’s significance to the medieval Knights Templar, and pointed out how portions of it speak quite clearly to Freemasonry as well. It’s fascinating material, even in my hands, and I hope to see you at Kensington-Kadosh.

Billy Koon

But then, the following Monday–June 21: the Summer Solstice–the fratres are encouraged to get to Trinity Commandery 17 in Westfield, New Jersey for the Personal Visit of M.E. William H. Koon, II, Grand Master of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States of America. (Or, as we know him, Billy.)

The education for this evening will be provided by X, who will present his lecture on the many variations of crosses, and what they symbolize. This is the same lecture he gave during the salon at the very first Rose Circle conference in 2006 (although it feels like ten years ago).

     

‘The Number 7’

I want to tell you about the progress enjoyed by The Masonic Society, the research and education foundation created in 2008 to serve the Craft in North America.

Since introducing ourselves, membership in the Society has grown to nearly 1,100! Issue No. 7 of The Journal is now arriving in our members’ mailboxes, and our on-line discussion forum is buzzing with 687 members discussing 3,464 topics.

And we are prepared for a busy 2010 in the wake of our annual meeting held two weeks ago at Masonic Week in Virginia.

The Journal is a quarterly magazine containing Masonic information written by authors from all over the world. Speculative papers, academic writings, news stories, history, fiction, poetry, great photography, insightful opinion and other editorial elements reviving the golden age of Masonic publishing.

Features in the new issue include:

“The Secret’s in Our Sauce,” by Roger S. VanGorden

“The Operatives Meet in London,” by Thomas Johnson

“Restructuring American Freemasonry, Part II: Appendant & Affiliated Bodies and York Rite Freemasonry,” by Mark Tabbert

“The Odd Fellows and Their Journey to Inclusiveness,” by Dr. R.L. Uzzel

“George Washington Masonic Memorial Celebrates a Century,” by George Seghers

“Fluid Freemasonry” by Michael Poll

“Walking the Walk: Regular Steps in Freemasonry” by Randy Williams

“Applying the Lessons of the Craft” by Jason Marshall

“Eastbound Night” by Kerry D. Kirk

“The Enigmatic Masonic Calendars” by Christopher L. Hodapp

Plus the latest in Masonic news from around the world, Masonic Treasures, and more. And news of current events, info on terrific Masonic happenings this spring, and other news from around the Masonic world. It is a top quality publication that, frankly, has inspired other national Masonic periodicals to revise their own operations. (Issue No. 8 of our Journal will be released in April.)

A subscription to this magazine is only one of the benefits of membership. Members are granted access to the Society’s on-line forum, where hundreds of Masons from around the globe interact every day, helping each other learn more about our fraternity.

And of course it wouldn’t be a Masonic organization without goodies like pins and membership cards, but the Society cranks up the quality of these items, producing elegant symbols of membership that earn accolades. In addition, each member receives an 11x14 patent, personalized and highly stylized that you’ll want professionally framed. It is a very impressive document, on parchment with a hand-stamped wax seal.

But the true benefit of membership in The Masonic Society is the learning experience. Whether it’s an eye-popping topic in the magazine, or just simple conversation in the forum, there is no end to what a Mason can learn from his brethren in this organization. It’s the best 39 bucks I’ve ever spent in Masonry.

Our new President is Michael Poll, the publisher of Cornerstone Books.

Our Editor-in-Chief is W. Bro. Chris “Freemasons for Dummies” Hodapp.

And our Directors, Officers and Founders include many leaders in Masonic education, including authors, publishers, curators, lecturers and Master Masons like you and me.

Brethren, there is a lot of confusion in the Temple over Freemasonry. “Dan Brown this,” “Templar treasure that” and all kinds of superstitions never should distract the brethren from Truth. The Masonic Society offers one way to uphold Truth with like-minded Masons from all over the world, and have some fun doing it. I hope you’ll check us out.

Chris Hodapp and Billy Koon at The Masonic Society’s annual meeting February 12 in Alexandria, Virginia.

Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis

Masonic Week 2010: The Rosicrucians

The High Council Societas Rosicruciana in Civitatibus Foederatis (Rosicrucian Society of the United States) met on Thursday.

From left: Thurman, Marcel, Rob, David, X, and Billy.

Left: Tony Clifton.

Right: David Dixon Goodwin, IX°, GC, Junior Deputy Supreme Magus.

Grand Archivist David Lindez, IX°, GC

and Sean Graystone, IX°, Third Acolyte.

Left: Thurman C. Pace, Jr., Past Supreme Magus.

Right: Aaron Shoemaker, IX°, Director of Ceremonies.

David with Supreme Magus William H. Koon II, IX°, KGC.

David D. Goodwin with X.

(Sorry for the blur. I shot this from very far away.)

Richard Van Doren, left, with Thurman C. Pace, Jr.

     

‘Passing the baton’

     

Magpie file photo

Mike Lakat and Bud York, both Past Grand Commanders,
greet SK Thurman Pace.

For 43 years, Thurman C. Pace, Jr. has presided in the East of Trinity Commandery when conferring the Order of the Temple, but last night was his swansong. (Actually there was one exception last November when Grand Master Billy Koon paid an Official Visit to confer the Order.) He has been retiring, gradually, from various Masonic duties in recent years, and while he certainly remains very active, he believes it is best to “pass the baton” – or sword, as the case may be – to a new generation.

Thurman is a Past Commander of Trinity Commandery No. 17 in Westfield, New Jersey; a Past Northeast Department Commander; and an Honorary Past Grand Master of Grand Encampment. And he is a past grand or past supreme of almost everything else in Masonry in the United States. I am not able to list every capacity in which he has served the Craft, but I cannot resist pointing out how there are Rosicrucian colleges in France and Portugal named in his honor.

Naturally, it was he who knighted me when I received the Order of the Temple in 2000. “It’s great to see another Rose Croix man!” he said, greeting me upon being knighted. One of the few truly indelible memories in my Masonic life.

The Magpie Mason was unable to attend the ceremony last night, so these are file photos from the Magpie Archives.
     

‘Truth Crosses the Bridge’

   

Piers, John and Rob at Trinity on Monday night.

It was a typically memorable evening at Trinity Commandery No. 17 on Monday. There are about 10 Templar commanderies in New Jersey, but I think everyone acknowledges that Trinity offers the most. In its ritual work, education, camaraderie, and other characteristics, Trinity is regarded highly around the country. Even Grand Master Koon is a member here. For the program Monday night, Commander Rob Morton welcomed to the podium SK Piers Vaughan, past commander of historic Morton Commandery No. 4 in New York City, which is another outstanding KT commandery that confers its Orders in the Church of the Incarnation, a landmark Episcopal church on Madison Avenue. Piers also is a bishop in the Old Templar Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and is an archbishop in the Ecclesia Rosae Rubeae and Aureae Crucis. Loyal Magpie readers also know him from St. John’s Lodge No. 1, Ancient York Masons in New York’s First Manhattan District, and from the Rose Circle Research Foundation.

Trinity is preparing to confer the Illustrious Order of the Red Cross in June, so Piers’ chosen topic worked perfectly.

“In the movie ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,’ Indiana has to select the Holy Grail from a table covered with goblets. Finally, eschewing the gold, silver and bejeweled chalices, he reaches for a simple little pottery cup at the back of the table,” Piers began. “From among the sea of ‘empty vessels’ he has selected the simplest, the least impressive of those on offer, and he has chosen the most important treasure of all: the Holy Grail. In a similar vein, we often search for meaning among the better known degrees of our beloved Craft, yet sometimes the greatest treasure lies in a place we least expect. The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross is often seen as a curiosity, a mildly interesting piece of whimsy which we put on before the ‘important’ degrees of Malta and Temple. This quaint little play in three acts about a man being sent to the court of a king, crossing a bridge only to be arrested, and then restored to his former estate seems to teach us little. And the strange debate within the degree, about wine, kings and women seems almost out of place in a Masonic ceremony.

“Yet this little degree is one of the oldest of all Masonic degrees, and so venerated that it occurs in the Allied Masonic Degrees in England under the title Red Cross of Babylon, is strongly alluded to in the Royal Order of Scotland, and even features in the Order of Knight Masons, the ne plus ultra of Irish Freemasonry. Further afield, in continental Masonry it is the 16° of many Scottish Rite systems, and is the only degree surviving intact from the mysterious rite of the Elect Cohens of the Universe of Martinez de Pasqually.

“Why would such an apparently innocuous degree be thought worthy of such preservation, especially in such exalted bodies as the Royal Order of Scotland and the Knight Masons of Ireland? Even stranger, why would it be considered a pivotal degree in early magical systems, this degree which talks of a journey and an apparently frivolous debate?”

Piers went on to give the scriptural and legendary basis of the Order. The Knights know it already, and others can read an apt summary here. But what is it trying to teach us, Piers asked.

“The Order is usually split into three Acts,” he said. “In Act I, the Sanhedrin lament the fact that their efforts to rebuild the City and Temple at Jerusalem are constantly thwarted, either by aggressive enemies or by indifferent edicts. They elect to send an ambassador to the Court of Darius to plead their case. Zerubbabel offers to go, as he is known to the King at Babylon. In Act II, Zerubbabel attempts to cross a river by means of a bridge, but is arrested by guards and imprisoned. In Act III he is brought before the King, and his commitment to Truth and to his vows result in his being released and exalted, and, following the famous debate, he is allowed to return to his native land bearing gifts, with the promise of a free pass for him and his fellows.

“Although the journey is sandwiched between what appear to be two more impressive sections, do not let this distract you. The journey is in fact the most important part of all!”

This artifact is a fragment of a Babylonian stele, and is on display in the Museum at the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. It dates to approximately 500 BCE, and tells the story of the rebuilding of the Temple by Cyrus, the Persian king, on the 12th day of the fourth year of his reign.

“Now, many Masonic degrees explicitly talk of a journey:
• the Second Degree
• the Third Degree
• the Most Excellent Master Degree
• Mark Degree
• Most Excellent Master Degree
• Holy Royal Arch
• Royal Master Degree
• Select Master
• Super-Excellent Master.

“They all contain journeys, and if one accepts that all circumambulations are a symbolic journey, then all Masonic degrees contain such a journey,” Piers continued. “We find the symbolic use of a journey in many important books, not least Chaucer’s ‘Canterbury Tales,’ Bunyan’s ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ and Dante’s ‘Inferno.’ Of all the Masonic systems of degrees, the journey undertaken by Zerubbabel in the Illustrious Order of the Red Cross is perhaps the most strange of all.

“In the Holy Royal Arch we learn that the name Zerubbabel signifies ‘Truth.’ Zerubbabel, like the ‘Pilgrim’ of Bunyan, is therefore the embodiment of this quality. It is ‘Truth,’ therefore, which undertakes this extraordinary journey, traveling, it might be noted, from West – or Jerusalem – to East – or Babylon – in a surprising reversal of the usual journeying which leads to the Holy City. In this case enlightenment is sought not in the Holy Land but beyond its shores. What is most important about this particular journey is that it is two-way. The immense significance of this will become apparent when we consider the fact that the journey involves crossing a bridge.

“Where or what is this mysterious river over which Zerubbabel must cross? An indication of the answer, surprisingly, lies in the preface to the Red Cross of Babylon Degree, published in England, which is worth quoting at length:

In the great religions of the world – for example Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Confucianism, Shintoism – there is a tradition that the soul has to cross the river of death, usually over a bridge, but sometimes by ferry as in Greek mythology, or by dividing the waters as Elijah did before his translation… In all the Rites, crossing the bridge is a symbolical representation of death, while the subsequent experience of the candidate is emblematical of the judgment of the soul.

“In this sense the bridge is also like Jacob’s ladder in the First Degree; it is a means of crossing a divide or chasm which separates two places. Much is made in the Book of Ezra about being ‘over the river,’ or ‘this side of the river’ and ‘beyond the river,’ so using the idea of the river as a key delimiter between two lands or empires. So what is the nature of these two worlds, this river and this bridge?

“The river has often been used as a symbol for the veil of forgetfulness or death, and its waters wash both cares and remembrances from the transitioning soul,” our teacher continued. “The two lands represent the conscious and subconscious worlds.... There is a veil which separates these two worlds, and this can only be pierced by means of traversing a path or bridge. Truth, then, crosses the bridge between the earthly world and the celestial plane, there to be detected as an intruder (naturally, for he is both conscious and living); yet he was chosen for this task because in the legend from the Red Cross of Babylon ‘Zerubbabel was formerly well-known to the King, and now offers his services to undertake the hazardous enterprise of traversing the Persian dominions, and seeking admission to the presence of our Sovereign.’ So it appears that Truth was accustomed to crossing this bridge in the past in order to communicate with this mysterious ‘King,’ but may have forgotten how to do it, which is why he is stopped, recognized as not belonging to that second world, and apprehended.”

“However, on receiving an audience with the mysterious ‘King’ he is recognized and a final test is put to him,” Vaughan added. “This test is one of determining that he understands the importance of silence or secrecy. Truth demonstrates his understanding of the importance of keep silent on secret matters, and the ‘King’ now welcomes him as a friend. The mortal is accepted in the land of the dead, or the subconscious world. But has his mysterious bridge been ‘burned,’ and will he be allowed to return to the material plane with the gifts he will learn on this journey?

“Now we come to the most perplexing part of the story – the Immemorial Discussion, in which three arbiters argue the supremacy of wine, the power of the king, women, and truth. At first glance this debate seems almost out of place in the scheme of things. Why would this be a central part of the ritual? If accepted at face value, it has little to teach us, but we have learned by now that the debate itself is a symbol of something else, something higher.

“The topic, not surprisingly, is about strength. Can the goals of Zerubbabel be achieved through physical, material or temporal objects, such as wine, women or kingly power (and remember that Christ himself was tempted with bread and kingly power)? Even though Zerubbabel is given the task of arguing the strength of women, he comes to realize that only Truth can set him free. That is to say, that the strength which he seeks to build his personal Temple lies within himself. Well pleased with this result, the ‘King’ asks him what he needs, and he replies the ability to return as needed, in order to learn more. This is granted (in the symbolism of passports). And this is no casual gift, for Truth now has the ability to pass between the two planes of existence without further let or hindrance. Furthermore, he is lavished with more gifts and talents to take back with him to the material plane.

“And finally, in a supreme gesture, the king gives him words of power and a sigil to enable him to make the transition in future. In knowing that the power to transform and to build the Temple within lies inside himself, he now has the power to move between life and death itself. Death no longer holds any terrors for our hero.”

Piers’ entire paper, replete with explanation of more esoterica and symbolism, can be read here.
     

The Grand College of Rites

It is very easy to explain why the Grand College of Rites is one of my favorite groups of Masons: It is focused on a single, important job, and it performs that task perfectly. I imagine the work behind the scenes is sometimes a bit like making sausages, but the work gets done, and without the usual fanfare of Masonry. Let those who have ears hear.

Last year, there was an inconvenient shortage of American flags in the meeting rooms of Masonic Week, and the Magpie Mason had to appeal to the front desk to ensure one was delivered to the AMD’s meeting place. No such problem arose this year when, in fact, several of the events had color guards present the Stars and Stripes. At the GCR’s meeting, the color guard included none other than M.I. Urban T. Peters, the Grand Chancellor himself. He was accompanied by a delegation from Washington Council No. 3 of the National Sojourners.

One of the Sojourners then gave “A Toast to the Flag.” (If you’re tempted to think this a little hokey, remember that Masonic Week takes place on the weekend before Washington’s birthday, and that we’re in Virginia, having left the Hotel Washington, our home for nearly 80 years. It was the bicentennial year of Washington’s birth that coincided with the creation of the original AMD Weekend participants.)




It being the annual meeting, the officers for 2008-09 were installed. Our new M.I. Grand Chancellor is David D. Goodwin of New York. “I’m going to rely on Art de Hoyos for direction, and do nothing that Thurman says!” he joked about his plans for the year.

And there were a few surprises too. R.I. Gary D. Hermann, our long-serving Grand Registrar, announced his retirement. “Due to my advanced age and approaching senility,” he said to sympathetic laughter, “I do not wish to be re-elected.”

R.I. Billy Koon rose to pay tribute to this valued officer, recounting the circumstances of 12 years ago that led Gary to the Grand Registrar’s desk. Apparently, his predecessor was less than diligent in getting the work done, maintaining proper records, etc. The College’s funds were not accounted. The computer purchased for him to discharge these duties was instead put to other uses. Archives were stored in boxes on a wet concrete floor. With an administrative performance like that, it’s a wonder the GCR remained functioning. So R.I. Hermann restored order and helped guide the College through more than a decade of stability and growth. (In fact, it was mentioned later that this year saw the largest expansion of GCR membership in its history.) After a round of applause, Billy introduced a motion, seconded by Thurman Pace, to make Hermann our Grand Registrar Emeritus. Passed unanimously of course.

Remember that mysterious briefcase from Pulp Fiction? Yeah, it belongs to the GCR. Here, R.I. Gary Hermann announces his retirement as its guardian.

While those of us in the ranks of the GCR were surprised by Hermann’s retirement, I bet no one was at all shocked by the decision to aptly reward both Dan Pushee and Paul Newhall, the two coordinators of events at Masonic Week, with the GCR’s Knight Grand Cross, a badge of distinction given in thanks to those few who labor especially hard for the College.

Paul Newhall, left, and Dan “As Below, So Below” Pushee, right, were honored with the GCR’s Knight Grand Cross.

These two men are responsible for executing all the plans – not just for the GCR – set by the Masonic Week organizers, and for “herding the grand masters,” as one phrased it, ensuring that everyone is properly registered for their events. In short, Dan and Paul make everything happen, and if you’ve ever attempted to arrange a single event anywhere in Freemasonry, you should appreciate what these poor souls suffer, yet they make it look easy.

Anyway, the purpose of the Grand College of Rites is embodied by its Publications Committee, quarterbacked by Grand Archivist Arturo de Hoyos. The GCR has three aims:

• The study of the history and ritual of all Rites, Systems and Orders of Freemasonry not under the control, jurisdiction and/or stewardship or regularly existing and recognized Masonic bodies.

• The elimination of sporadic efforts to resuscitate or perpetuate Rites, Systems and Orders of Freemasonry in the United States, except to bring them under control of the Grand College of Rites.

• The collection and preservation of rituals of various Rites, Systems and Orders of Freemasonry ordinarily not available to Masonic students.


These goals culminate every year in the publication of “Collectanea,” the transactions of the GCR. Each book consists of a body of rituals from defunct Masonic fraternities, and sometimes the constitutions and other defining literature. For the past decade, “Collectanea” has explored the many variations and permutations of what used to be the Rite of Memphis. Since 1999 we’ve read:

• Ritual of the Ancient and Accepted Egyptian Rite of Memphis 96º, also Constitution and By-Laws of the Sovereign Sanctuary, Valley of Canada.

• Lectures of a Chapter, Senate & Council: according to the forms of the Antient and Primitive Rite, but embracing all systems of High Grade Masonry. Translated from the French by John Yarker, 33-96º.

• Rituals of Calvin C. Burt’s Egyptian Masonic Rite of Memphis, Sovereign Sanctuary (95º) of the Valley of Chicago.

• Statutes, Public Ceremonials and History of the Antient & Primitive Rite of Masonry … for the United Kingdom [by John Yarker].

• Constitution and General Statutes for the Government of the Antient & Primitive Rite of Masonry … for the Continent of America [by Alexander B. Mott].

• Manual of the Degrees of the Antient & Primitive Rite of Masonry … for Great Britain and Ireland [by John Yarker], Part 1, 4º–33º.

The Magpie Mason doesn’t mind admitting that he’s a little Memphis’ed out after all that reading. But to be fair, this is pretty important information to some of us, not just for the historic and educational values, but because there have been con artists in recent years who sold degrees and regalia of the Memphis Rite. Some of you know who I mean, but it must also be understood that there are sincere workings of Memphis in America, albeit in organizations that go unrecognized by the mainstream. And then there are jurisdictions abroad that are recognized by the mainstream that work the Memphis degrees, so it gets pretty confusing. (David, feel free to jump in here.)

The history of the GCR is intertwined with that of Memphis Masonry.

In 1931, J. Raymond Shute II, of Monroe, North Carolina, obtained information from Harold V. B. Voorhis, of Red Bank, New Jersey, that the Right Reverend Henry V. A. Parsell of New York, New York, was a surviving member of the defunct Egyptian Rite of Memphis in the United States.

Following some correspondence between Brothers Shute and Parsell, and talks with a few other interested brethren, it was decided and agreed to revive this Rite and thus gain control of it, together with its rituals and archives. The purpose of such action was to give a body to be subsequently formed—a Grand College Rites—some material to publish, namely rituals. The idea of forming of a Grand Body to print rituals of dormant Masonic bodies having been already planned by Brother Shute and a few brethren interested in such a project.

I guess it could be said that the GCR itself is a Memphis spin-off.

Admittedly, it – like a lot of Freemasonry – could sound frivolous to an outsider, but the doings of the Grand College of Rites are hugely significant to the efforts to conserve Masonic heritage. No one was really shocked by the discussion of another group in the United States that is busy encroaching on the GCR’s identity and mission, resulting in the College now having to spend its money on lawyers to safeguard its intellectual property. Who says Freemasonry is a sacred retreat from the concerns and employments of the world?

Look well to the briefcase! – R.I. Martin Starr and Grand Archivist Art de Hoyos keep an eye on things.

‘From Commandery to Consistory’

     


When the planets align just so, it is possible to have a York Rite Commandery and a Scottish Rite Consistory meet on consecutive evenings. Or maybe it’s just coincidence. Either way, that’s how it worked out this week. Trinity Commandery, No. 17 met in Conclave on Monday, followed by New Jersey Consistory last night.

The occasion at Trinity was especially memorable for many reasons. We were treated to the visit of M.E. William H. Koon, II, Grand Master of the Grand Encampment of the United States. He’s an Honorary Member of our Commandery, so it’s tempting to think of him as just Billy, an informality he does not discourage at all.

The purpose of the evening was to confer the Order of the Temple upon 15 Knights of Malta, and Billy presided over the ritual conferral, leading Trinity’s officers through the ceremony. This cannot be taken for granted because of the excellent quality of the ritual work refined over many years at Trinity. The Knights certainly have “their way” of doing things. (A grand officer once admiringly dubbed Trinity the “Cecil B. DeMille Commandery” for the ceremonial flourishes that make its ritual work unique in New Jersey, unique for its effective esoteric transmission.) Anyway, the Grand Master and Trinity’s Knights had no opportunity to rehearse, but complemented each other’s efforts magnificently nonetheless.

Another reason that circumstance is notable is for the singularity of having anyone else confer the Order. The Order of the Temple at Trinity was conferred for 43 years by Thurman C. Pace, Jr., Honorary Past Grand Master, but he gladly stepped aside for this memorable occasion.

The sizable class included many friends: Hansel from Sons of Liberty, Geoffrey from Essex Lodge, Gordie from Scott Chapter, and others. I’m glad they were able to advance to this key Masonic experience. The Order of the Temple, in the hands of a Commandery that knows its business, makes for an unforgettable and inspiring experience.

The Order was followed by a round of awards presentations. It’s great to see friends recognized for the hard work they put into their Freemasonry. Honestly, “hard work” is an understatement in some instances.

X, a recent Past Commander of Trinity, who also is a veritable mainstay of many York Rite organizations and those organizations’ events near and far, was duly recognized with the Templar’s highest honor: the Knight Commander of the Temple. Here he is being invested with the jewel by Thurman.



Similarly recognized was Mike Lakat, Grand Commander of New Jersey. Despite serving on his staff as editor of our monthly magazine, I actually do not know Mike very well, but it is obvious to anyone that he exudes class, professionalism and fraternal friendliness. He is precisely what Masonry would want in its leaders. These top awards were given very correctly. Our fraternity too often heaps titles and jewels on those who do not necessarily earn them. Sometimes it is a kind of momentum, like a snowballing effect, where rank is bestowed upon one because he already has so many others. In these instances, merit clearly won the day.

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The Scottish Rite’s equivalent of the YR’s Commandery is its Consistory, which “consists” of 32° Masons. The 32° itself is titled “Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret,” and the meeting of New Jersey Consistory on Tuesday was devoted to a discussion of what that secret is, decoding the symbols and ritual that impart it.

The degree has changed over the generations, so what a Google search can yield might not reveal the current form of the degree. Our lecturer did his best to explain various ritual elements for the benefit of all present, especially those who had just received this degree on Saturday.

Most importantly the term “secret” should not be understood as something to be hidden from the world, but rather as synonymously with “mystery,” because it is something intangible that we ought to seek in every aspect of life, not just in ritual contexts.

The trestleboard of this degree, nicknamed “The Camp,” is pregnant with symbols, as it is the accumulation of the symbolism of the entire corpus of AASR degrees. The significance of Frederick the Great, the history of the Rite of Perfection, and other subheadings were covered.

The presentation concluded with a revealing look at what the 33° used to be. Not to be confused with the modern 33°, which was written about 50 years ago to impart a variety of Masonic ideals, this original 33° was intended to continue the Templar lessons of the 30th, 31st and 32nd degrees of Scottish Rite Masonry circa 1804. I’ll have to leave you in suspense on that one.