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

The Degree Rituals
Church and State — The Twenty-seventh Degree
As the 27° was not among the degrees of the Rite of Perfection, no reference
to it appeared in the Francken Manuscript. It was mentioned only by
name, “Commander of the Temple,” in an 1804 manuscript of unknown authorship
which provided no hint of the ritual. Moreover, it is unlikely that
any of the Consistorial degrees other than the 30°-32° were conferred in this
jurisdiction prior to 1845.
The first ritual of the 27° in authorized use after the Union of 1867 included
an elaborate ceremonial opening and reception of a Prince of Mercy,
26°, into an order of knighthood dedicated to the five qualities of humility,
temperance, chastity, generosity, and honor. The chivalric order portrayed in
the ritual was represented to be the historic Order of the Teutonic Knights. Although
some sources have claimed that the 27° ritual originally was based on
the Order of the Knights Templar, there is no evidence to support this contention.
The dramatic section did not appear until 1896 when the convocation
scene with a 13th century historical setting was added to the ritual. This addition
greatly extended the length of the ritual and expanded the cast to more
than 50 players with accompanying costume requirements. Another innovation
was that the traditional five qualities were eclipsed in importance by the
three vows of chastity, obedience, and charity.
After nearly half a century, the ritual of 1944 introduced major revisions,
almost all of which affected the original ceremonial opening rather than the
dramatic section. The numerous vows assumed by the novice were greatly
condensed and references to his Masonic associations and duties were deleted
as anachronisms in the 13th century setting of the ritual. The obligation was
replaced by a shorter cover obligation. The historical lecture was removed
and portions incorporated in a new prologue. The poetic dirge also was eliminated
and the previous emphasis on the imminence of death was reduced to
the symbolic display of the pendant sword. The five qualities, which originally
had been the principal lessons of the degree, disappeared from the ritual.
Belief in a free church within a free state, neither seeking to dominate the
other, as dramatized in the convocation scene, emerged as the primary lesson
of the degree.
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