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

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64 The Degree Rituals The Twenty-fifth “Ben Franklin” Degree The 1855 ritual of Albert Pike was the earliest surviving ritual of the 25°. True, in the first decade of the 19th century Doszedardski had mentioned the degree by name, “Knight of the Brazen Serpent,” as one of the French “Philosophical Grades,” and Killian Van Rensselaer had recorded the signs and passwords of the degree in his 1845 manuscript. However, neither of these sources provided anything of the content of the ritual. Pike, himself, did not cite a source for his work, leaving us to conclude that it was a product of his own creation. The theme of the ritual was easy enough to create. It was suggested by the traditional title of the degree. After Pike’s fashion, however, the Old Testament story of Moses and the brazen serpent was secondary to an exposition of symbolism and the philosophy of equilibrium. Consequently, the Pike ritual was virtually all that existed of the degree, and it remained the authorized ritual of the 25° in this jurisdiction for 30 years from the Union of 1867. Then, the revised ritual of 1896 introduced a dramatization of the Old Testament story of the brazen serpent and emphasized faith as the lesson of the degree. Another revision in 1951 added a new ceremonial section to the ritual but made little change in the drama. In 1993, the 1951 ritual was transferred to the Lodge of Perfection, becoming the ritual of the 6°, where it remains to the present time, in substance the 1896 drama of the Brazen Serpent. The removal of the “Brazen Serpent” ritual from the 25° was part of the “realignment” of degree rituals with Old Testament themes from the Consistory to the Lodge of Perfection, a policy approved by the Supreme Council in 1985. This decision, of course, necessitated the preparation of new rituals to replace the traditional rituals of the Consistory degrees. In the case of the 25°, the origin of the replacement ritual began two decades before it finally was implemented. In 1974, in anticipation of the national bicentennial celebration, the Supreme Council approved the preparation of a dramatization of events in the life of Benjamin Franklin to be made available to Valleys for presentation during 1976. The Committee on Rituals subsequently recommended that the “Franklin Allegory” be considered as a tentative alternate ritual for the 25°.
The Degree Rituals Texts of the proposed allegory were distributed to selected Valleys for trial exemplification. However, the response to a questionnaire sent to all Consistories in the jurisdiction was not favorable to the proposal. Consequently, in 1977 the committee reported that the proposed allegory “would not harmonize with our degree structure chronologically or historically” and recommended its withdrawal. The issue seemed permanently put to rest in 1980, when the committee approved the play Benjamin Franklin for public presentation. Nevertheless, retirement of the Franklin theme was only temporary and interest in the subject soon was revived. The approval and implementation of the degree ritual “realignment” policy during the 1980’s increased the priority for finding a replacement ritual for the 25°. As a result, several alternative scripts on the Franklin theme were considered by the committee as potential degree rituals. Finally, in 1992, Ill. Robert L. Miller Sr., 33°, Active Member for Indiana and chairman of the committee, completed a draft ritual on the Franklin theme, consisting of a main prologue and two dramatic scenes separated by a second prologue, as a replacement for the 25°. After trial exemplifications and a number of modifications, this proposal was approved in 1993 as the tentative ritual of the 25°, permitting transfer of the “Brazen Serpent” allegory to the 6°. The new tentative ritual was the last to be approved as a replacement for a Consistory ritual transferred to the Lodge of Perfection and became the third degree ritual (after the 20° and 24°) to have an 18th century colonial American setting. Although the tentative ritual was approved in 2000 as the ritual of the 25°, the committee postponed publication pending further study. There was a question of dramatic unity, as the two scenes of the drama portrayed different, disconnected events in Franklin’s life, separated by nearly 60 years. Scene one represented the interview of the young Franklin by a committee investigating his petition for membership in a Masonic lodge. Most of the dialogue of the scene centered on Franklin having fathered a child out of wedlock. Scene two represented a Masonic lodge (with future presidents and fellow Masons Washington and Monroe in attendance) honoring Brother Franklin on his 82nd birthday by recalling some of the salient public events in his distinguished life. Upon reconsideration, the Committee on Ritualistic Matters recommended elimination of scene one, as, in their view, it did not contribute to the theme 65
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