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

78 The Degree Rituals
the 29°. The result was the ritual of 1978 which contained a rewritten prologue,
more abridgments in the allegory, and converted the toleration lecture
into dialogue form.
A quarter century later there was a much more thorough revision. The
brief, optional opening was shortened further, as was the prologue. Stylistic
changes were made to “modernize” the affected King James English which
appeared throughout the allegory. Passages that could be construed as disparaging
to Islam were reworded. Much of the dialogue, which was deemed
to be overly long or extraneous to the dramatic action, such as the recital of
a lengthy biography of St. Andrew, was abridged or deleted entirely. The most
significant deletion was the long dialogue on toleration at the end of the allegory
which had replaced the lecture in the 1978 ritual. Consistent with the
criticism made by Lichliter many years before, this material was considered
unnecessary and anticlimactic to the dramatic action that already had communicated
the lesson of the degree. Nevertheless, this deletion also was not without
its critics. Thus, the allegory was ended on the dramatic climax, the Sultan
being created a Knight of St. Andrew. This revision, approved as the 29° Ritual
of 2003, resulted in a much shortened playing time and a more acceptable
presentation for a contemporary audience.
The substance of the allegory, as well as the timeless lesson of the degree,
toleration, remains the same today as when it first was introduced more than
140 years ago. The dramatic theme of the 29° was remarkably prescient of the
sectarian strife, purportedly arising from religious differences, that has taken
center stage again in the world of the 21st century.