The Degree Rituals The Supreme Council, 33 ... - Scottish Rite, NMJ

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22 The Degree Rituals A Matter of Faith — The Sixth Degree The 6° in the Francken Manuscript bore the unusual and unwieldy title “Perfect Master by Curiosity of Intimate Secretary.” This name, at any rate, was descriptive of the reception, where the candidate intruded into the presence of King Solomon as an unintentional eavesdropper and thereby gained admission to the degree. Another unusual feature was the fact that the lecture explained the delta as symbolic of the Christian triad, Faith, Hope, and Charity, an anomaly for the Old Testament setting of the ritual. Nevertheless, this explanation (although deleted by Albert Pike) remained a part of the 1871 ritual, the first to be approved after the Union of 1867. A succession of 6° rituals over more than 150 years made only minor verbal changes, except for abbreviating the title of the degree to “Intimate Secretary,” improbable as that name may have been for a Scottish Rite degree. A major revision finally appeared in the ritual of 1966 although it remained consistent with the essence of the Francken ritual. In accordance with the conventional form of degree rituals as they developed during the 20th century, a ceremonial section, including the obligation and investiture, was followed by a dramatized elaboration of the eavesdropping incident represented in the reception of the Francken ritual. This remained the ritual of the 6° for more than a quarter century. In 1985 the Supreme Council approved the transfer of degree rituals with Old Testament themes from the Consistory to the Lodge of Perfection. This plan ultimately resulted in withdrawal of the traditional 6° ritual which in substance dated back more than 200 years to the Francken Manuscript. It was replaced in 1993 by a tentative ritual that had been the ritual of the 25°, “Knight of the Brazen Serpent.” The 1993 tentative ritual, with some modifications, later was approved as the 6° Ritual of 1996. The new ritual of the 6° consisted of a prologue, and introductory scene one, in which the officers of the lodge discussed the problems and needs of the contemporary world in preparation for the lesson of the degree which then was exemplified in dramatic form in scene two. The dramatization, which dated back to 1896 and owed its inspiration to Albert Pike, was based on the biblical account of Moses and the Brazen Serpent. The lesson of the degree was faith — in ourselves, in each other, and in God.
The Degree Rituals Several years later further revisions were made with the ritual of 2003. Presentation of scene one was made optional and the prologue was moved to a logical sequence preceding scene two. A number of stylistic changes were made in the dialogue. Finally, the title of the 6° was changed from the now totally irrelevant “Intimate Secretary” to the highly descriptive “Master of the Brazen Serpent.” 23
Page 1 and 2: The Degree Rituals of The Supreme C
Page 3 and 4: 1. The Degree Rituals Contents Fore
Page 5 and 6: Foreword to The Degree Rituals The
Page 7 and 8: The Degree Rituals Commander Johnso
Page 9 and 10: The Degree Rituals Several notewort
Page 11 and 12: The Degree Rituals What’s in a Na
Page 13 and 14: The Degree Rituals Techniques and T
Page 15 and 16: The Degree Rituals Time and Schedul
Page 17 and 18: The Degree Rituals A Long Journey
Page 19 and 20: The Degree Rituals To accommodate t
Page 21: The Degree Rituals ber of the Commi
Page 25 and 26: The Degree Rituals David and Solomo
Page 27 and 28: The Degree Rituals The 1980 tentati
Page 29 and 30: The Degree Rituals Disobedience - T
Page 31 and 32: The Degree Rituals The Bad Steward
Page 33 and 34: The Degree Rituals Quality of Mercy
Page 35 and 36: The Degree Rituals Royal Arch — T
Page 37 and 38: The Degree Rituals Perfection — T
Page 39 and 40: The Degree Rituals Consequently, af
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Page 43 and 44: The Degree Rituals The Rose Croix D
Page 45 and 46: The Degree Rituals pelican, the cub
Page 47 and 48: The Degree Rituals Good and Evil
Page 49 and 50: The Degree Rituals Master for Life
Page 51 and 52: The Degree Rituals it went unsaid,
Page 53 and 54: The Degree Rituals dieval Germany.
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The Degree Rituals rewritten. Latin
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The Degree Rituals committee, compr
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The Degree Rituals Toleration — T
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The Degree Rituals Practice Justice
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The Degree Rituals The 31° Ritual
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The Degree Rituals Although by the
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The Degree Rituals Sublime Prince
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The Degree Rituals Moreover, despit
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Chronological Development of Northe
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The Degree Rituals Chairman of the
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The Degree Rituals 93
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