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

34 The Degree Rituals
the Scottish Rite degree system with the 26° Ritual of 1942, the allegory was
a dramatization of the familiar biblical story of Joseph and his brothers, and
was considered to be an ideal vehicle to teach the then lesson of the 26° —
mercy. The primary author of the allegory was Ill. Ernest W, Hotchkiss, 33°,
a member of the Valley of Detroit, who had written the drama some years
earlier for presentation by Scottish Rite players in his Valley.
Despite general agreement as to the appropriate nature of the theme, it
took nearly ten years for the “Joseph” allegory to be awarded permanent status
as the ritual of the 12°. The problems were practical ones, similar to those
experienced with other degree rituals transferred from the Consistory to the
Lodge of Perfection. The length of the ritual, size of the cast, and staging requirements
of four scene changes and three different sets posed production
difficulties for smaller and single-body Valleys, as well as under the time constraints
imposed by the trend toward shorter reunion schedules. The scheduling
and casting problems were partially addressed in the tentative ritual of
1996, which deleted the ceremonial section in compliance with the policy
adopted by the Supreme Council the previous year. However, the Committee
on Rituals recognized that this was not a complete solution.
This led, in 2002, to a complete rewrite of the prologue and the allegory,
of which Ill. C. DeForrest Trexler, 33°, Active Member for Pennsylvania and
chairman of the Committee, was the primary author. The most radical change
was the reduction of the allegory from five to two scenes (revised scenes
three and five of the tentative ritual), without requiring a change of set. As
rewritten, these scenes contained a condensed dramatization of the story of
Joseph and his brothers, as well as the lesson of the degree. A revised version
of scene one of the tentative ritual was retained for optional use as an introductory
scene by those Valleys with adequate casting and staging resources
and time in the reunion schedule. In addition to extensive revisions in the dialogue,
several changes were made for the sake of greater consistency with
the story as related in the biblical book of Genesis. As a result of the foregoing,
the 12° Ritual of 2002 represented a considerable simplification of casting
and staging requirements as well as shortening of playing time.
A further step needed to be taken. In 2005, the name of the degree was
changed from the once descriptive, but now arcane “Grand Master Architect”
to the apropos “Master of Mercy.”