UNITY WITHIN THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE A.A.S.R.

 

Leon Zeldis, 33°

 

Past Sovereign Grand Commander

Supreme Council of Israel

 

 

 

            Despite its historical foundation as a single body in a specific place and time, (Charleston, 1801) the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite has evolved and transformed itself in the course of the centuries elapsed.

            It would be fruitless to try to analyze this process within the framework of a brief presentation to our conference. This would be neither possible nor fair to the variety of interesting and valid versions of our rituals and degrees. Consequently, I propose to submit to your judgment only a sketchy approach to this subject, which may inspire others to pursue its study further.

            As we all know, the complete 33-degree A.A.S.R. is structured in four - or even five - distinct cycles or stages. The first cycle is composed of the three symbolic degrees, now entrusted to the stewardship of Grand Lodges, which constitute the entrance gate to the symbolic transformation of the profane unto the initiate, the Master Mason.

            Death and rebirth being the core lesson of initiation – not only Masonic, but generally speaking, as an ethnologic phenomenon – the consequences and implications of this process are further examined in the following cycle, that of the Lodge of Perfection. The initial degree of this cycle, the 4th, properly stresses the importance of silence and secrecy, so much more needed in the "higher" degrees of the Rite, which must protect its philosophical and esoteric teachings from those unprepared to receive them. Although the following degrees of this cycle are focused on crime and punishment, a careful examination of the traditions exemplified by these degrees will show that many other ideas are presented, developed, and conclusions drawn, which have application in the daily life of our brothers, including such principles as fidelity, prudence and justice.

            The third cycle, which is centered on the 18th Degree (Rose-Croix) is strongly mystical, stressing the lessons of Faith, Hope and Charity, and the links between Man and the Creator.

            The next cycle focuses on philosophical and historical issues, including the Templar legends (30th) culminating with the 32nd Degree, the Consistory, which discloses the inner structure of the Rite and its purpose.

            The 33rd and last Degree stands alone, and may be regarded as separate from the four cycles of Degrees I have just described. Although it is generally referred to as an administrative degree, it really closes the circle, so to speak, returning to the symbol of death witnessed by the candidate before his Initiation, in the Chamber of Reflection, while underlining the heavy moral obligations imposed on the Sovereign Inspectors General.

            While the original texts of the various key degrees I have just mentioned, the 4th, 18th, 30th, 32nd and 33rd. have been kept more or less unaltered, the rituals of intermediate degrees are much less uniform in the Masonic world.

            One of he reasons, of course, if the fact that these degrees were incorporated into our Rite at different times and places. Furthermore, as the Rite spread worldwide being translated into many different languages, linguistic and semantic variations became inevitable.

            Moreover, the social background of Freemasons also evolved, and the style of writing changed accordingly. The verbosity, frequent religious references and appeal to obscure esoteric elements characteristic of 19th century writing, gradually gave place to the straightforward, rationalistic style preferred in the previous century, and it is not difficult to predict that the tendency to abbreviate the texts, to make the ceremonies shorter, more agile, and more contemporary, will become more pronounced in the present century.

            A further element pushing to diversity is the need to adapt our rituals to the special needs of local Masons. For instance, in our own Supreme Council, we have found it necessary to modify in some ways the ritual of the 18th degree to make it acceptable to our brethren of Jewish, Moslem or Druse faith. While keeping the esoteric message intact, we have found ways to interpret its symbols in a manner that does not focus on a single religious tradition.        

            In the Northern Jurisdiction of the United States of America, some intermediate degrees have been changed to reflect American historical episodes, making them more appealing to the local membership.

            We must not close our eyes to a more pressing issue that stands as an obstacle to the universality of our craft, and that is the religious requirement imposed by some Supreme Councils, which excludes brethren of a different faith. Although this problem is slowly evolving and approaching a partial solution, we must recognize that established traditions are particularly difficult to change when they touch the region of religion.

 

Despite all the reasons that I have described, we believe that this does not exempt us from making an effort to regain a measure of uniformity, if not in the text of the rituals, at least in the philosophy that inspires them.

 

A first step in this direction would be frequent visitations between brethren if different jurisdictions, including the possibility of organized visits by groups of brethren focusing on a single degree.

 

The exchange of ritual books, and their translations, would also contribute to a better understanding of our current situation, and perhaps could assist some jurisdictions in revising their own rituals. A central library or repository for the collection, comparison and study of world-wide rituals could become a wonderful instrument assisting researchers and ritual developers.

 

Jerusalem, for its symbolic importance, could be the proper location for such an institution, provided suitable financing is made available to support it.

 

These are preliminary suggestions, submitted as stepping stones towards future resolutions.