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

24 The Degree Rituals
Equity — The Seventh Degree
Few degree rituals of the Scottish Rite can be traced in recognizable form
from origins as early as that of the 7°, “Provost and Judge.” Not only is it
found in the Francken Manuscript of 1783, but that version also appears to
have been a literal translation of earlier French rituals dating back to 1754.
The title of the degree was derived from a biblical source, that is, the officers
appointed over Israel by David (I Chronicles 23:4). The lesson of the degree
from its inception has been truth, equity, and justice. The drama, as we know
it, a dispute between workmen in a quarry and its eventual resolution, was
first introduced with the ritual of 1894. This was amplified by addition of the
trial scene in 1915. The 1941 ritual added an optional brief intermediate scene
in pantomime, depicting the theft of the keystone.
Thus matters stood for more than 30 years until the tentative ritual of 1974.
After an extended period of trial exemplifications across the jurisdiction and
further modifications, this version was approved as the ritual of 1980. As finally
approved, the revised ritual included a marginally shortened ceremonial
opening, a few modest word changes in the drama, and elimination of the optional
pantomime scene.
The ritual of 2005 eliminated the ceremonial opening in its entirety, consistent
with the policy adopted by the Supreme Council in 1995, and made a
number of stylistic changes in the dialogue of the drama. However, the cast
of characters and the dramatic theme presented in the quarry and the trial
scenes remained intact. Today, the message of the 7° is essentially the same
as that which appeared in French rituals 250 years ago and is dramatized in
the same fashion, as a quarry dispute, that was introduced into the ritual in the
1890’s.