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

The Degree Rituals
The Rose Croix Degrees
As in the Council, the two degree rituals presented in the Chapter of Rose
Croix share a common historical setting, in this case, that of the New Testament.
Unlike the Council degrees, however, the ritual of each of the so-called
“Philosophical Degrees” of Rose Croix has gone through a very different
process of development.
The ritual of the 17°, “Knight of the East and West,” that appeared in the
Francken Manuscript seems to have been a stand-alone ritual with a chivalric
background, i.e., Knights Templar, featuring symbolism and passages from
the New Testament Book of Revelation. Early rituals of the degree included
a disclaimer that it was a “Degree of Chivalry,” historically unrelated to
Freemasonry. The ritual that was approved by the Supreme Council in 1870
had atrophied into a brief prelude, a mere appendage to the 18°, concerned
with the search for the Lost Word. And so it continued into the middle years
of the 20th century.
In 1939, a dramatic allegory, replete with pageantry and a large cast, was
proposed as a replacement ritual for the 28° and was approved for trial exemplification
as the Tentative 28° Ritual of 1940. The primary author was Dr.
Harry K. Eversull, 32°, a clergyman and president of Marietta College in
Ohio. The setting of the allegory was King Herod’s Temple which supplanted
the Second Temple of Zerubbabel in the first century B.C. It soon became
apparent to Sovereign Grand Commander Melvin Johnson, among others,
that the “Herod Allegory” could provide a convenient historical and philosophical
bridge from the Council degrees to the 18°. What became one of the
more bizarre chains of events in the ritualistic history of the Supreme Council
was set in motion.
In 1942, the 17° ritual in use since 1870 was abruptly withdrawn and, as
recommended by Commander Johnson, was replaced by the tentative 28° ritual
which became the 17° Ritual of 1942. Unfortunately, the new ritual was
not universally accepted. A survey conducted in 1954 disclosed that many
Valleys had no history or intention of presenting the 1942 ritual because of
what were perceived to be demanding cast and staging requirements. Rather
than attempting to modify the ritual to facilitate its presentation, in 1957, the
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