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

8 The Degree Rituals
Argument
Why is revision (i.e., change) of Masonic ritual necessary or desirable?
Masons come to the Scottish Rite from the symbolic lodge imbued with a
belief in the purported ancient origin and immutability of Masonic ritual and
strictures against innovation. Yet what many regard as the spiritual core of
symbolic lodge ritual, the Hiramic legend of the Master Mason’s degree was
itself an innovation that did not come into general usage until a decade or
more after the formation of the first Grand Lodge.
The Scottish Rite degree rituals recorded in the Francken Manuscript and
what we know of their communication during most of the nineteenth century
were skeletal compared to the dramatized allegories with which we are familiar.
For example, the 20° and 27° rituals, noted for their impressive dramas,
did not include dramatic sections at all until they were added by the revised
rituals of 1896. Moreover, the medieval trial drama of the 30° (formerly the
31°) did not appear until 1938 and did not become a permanent part of the ritual
until 1949. Even more recent is the dramatic section of the 11° which did
not appear until 1974. Perhaps most surprising of all is the fact that the “Constans”
allegory of the 31°, considered by many of our Brethren to represent
the essence of Scottish Rite ritual, made its first appearance as late as 1916,
when it was added to the ceremonial ritual of the 32°.
During the past 150 years the format of Scottish Rite degree rituals has
been completely transformed. The traditional full form ritual, established by
the French rituals of the mid-1700’s and no doubt based on the form of the
symbolic lodge degrees, consisted of a ceremonial opening, followed by reception
of the candidate, the obligation and investiture, and a lecture or catechism,
often very lengthy, explaining the history, symbolism, and lesson of
the degree. In the late 19th century the lecture and catechism were increasingly
replaced by a dramatic allegory which during the 20th century became
the principal component of most degree rituals. In other words, the dramatic
had superseded the didactic as the preferred method of communicating the
essence of the ritual. By the end of the last century, the ceremonial portion
was disappearing entirely from most degree rituals, leaving only the dramatic
section, or allegory, as the ritual of the degree.