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The Supreme Council, Scottish Rite, Northern Jurisdiction oversees the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in fifteen states: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Vermont.[1] This territory has existed since 1827 when the NMJ gained jurisdiction "over the then 14 states situated east of the Mississippi and north of the Mason-Dixon Line. Wisconsin was not yet a state, but part of Michigan."[2]
Formed in 1813, the Northern Jurisdiction is divided into "Valleys."[3] Each Valley has up to four subordinate bodies, and each body confers a set of degrees. The four subordinate bodies are the Lodge of Perfection, which confers degrees 4 through 14, the Council of Princes of Jerusalem, which confers degrees 15 and 16, the Chapter of Rose Croix which confers the 17° and 18° and the consistory which confers degree from 19 to 32.
Beginnings
Most of the thirty-three degrees of the Scottish Rite existed in parts of previous degree systems.[4] In 1767, the Ineffable Lodge of Perfection had been chartered in Albany, NY, and awarded up to the 25th Degree.[5] Similar bodies were formed in Philadelphia and Charleston awarding degrees up to the 25th, but all had died out by 1800.[6]
The Scottish Rite in the United States, and the awarding of degrees up to the 33rd, formally came into being with the creation of the Mother Supreme Council at Charleston, South Carolina, in May 1801.
In 1806, a member of the Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction named Antoine Bideaud traveled to New York City and conferred the 30, 31, and 32 degrees upon John Joseph Gourgas and four other Frenchmen for $46 each.[6] This was done under they table by Bideaud to make a little extra money.
In early 1813, Emmanuel De La La Motta, Grand Treasurer of the Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, was in New York for health reasons and learned of these Scottish Rite Masons. Over the course of a few months, their status was regularized within the Scottish Rite.
The founding six members included the men who would become the first three Sovereign Grand Commanders, Daniel D. Tompkins, Sampson Simson, and John Joseph Gourgas, as well as three others, John Gabriel Tardy, Richard Riker and Moses Levy Maduro Peixotto.[7]
Supreme Council Foundation
On May 1, 1813, an officer from the Supreme Council at Charleston initiated several New York Masons into the Thirty-third Degree and organized a Supreme Council for the "Northern Masonic District and Jurisdiction". On May 21, 1814, this Supreme Council reopened and proceeded to "nominate, elect, appoint, install and proclaim in due, legal and ample form" the elected officers "as forming the second Grand and Supreme Council...". Finally, the charter of this organization (written January 7, 1815) added, "We think the Ratification ought to be dated 21st day May 5815."[8]
The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction had rivals for control of the Scottish Rite in the North, including from the Cerneau Supreme Council. While their dispute was multifaceted, some scholars argue that a chief difference was that the early version of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction was inclusive of Jewish members, while the Cerneau Supreme Council excluded them.[9]
After the Morgan Affair, the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction was inactive from 1832 to 1843,[10] with "Gourgas and Yates were effectively a Supreme Council of two people, preserving the organization's records and corresponding with one another about the plight of American Freemasonry." During this period, a number of men gave up their memberships as Freemasons in the face of wider anti-Masonic ostracism.[11]
Schism of 1860
In 1860, at a meeting of the Supreme Council, the sitting Sovereign Grand Commander, Edward Asa Raymond, "refused to act on a motion, blocked a motion to adjourn, and then declared the Council closed. The next day, immediately after the opening and the reading of the minutes, he closed the Council 'sine die,' or indefinitely, and walked out."[12] Killian Henry Van Rensselaer was elected as Lieutenant Grand Commander in Raymond's absence, who then served as acting Grand Commander.
Raymond would leave the Supreme Council completely, and along with Grand Treasurer Simon W. Robinson, formed their own rival Supreme Council, named after Raymond, which would soon merge with the Hays Cerneau Council. In early 1862, expelled his successor, Killian Henry Van Rensselaer from this new Scottish Rite order.[13]
A few months later, in May 1862, Raymond was accused of "a spirit of insubordination" and attempting to continue to function as Sovereign Grand Commander despite having been removed from office, and expelled from the original Northern Masonic Jurisdiction.[14]
The Schism of 1860, which began as an internal leadership dispute ultimately led to two competing Supreme Councils operated in the Northeast until a reconciliation in 1867.[15]
Officially, the Supreme Council, 33°, N.M.J. dates itself from May 15, 1867, as this was the date of the "Union of 1867", when the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction merged with the competing Hays-Raymond Cerneau Supreme Council[16] in New York, thus forming the current Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States.[17][18]
20th and 21st centuries
Originally located in New York, the headquarters of the NMJ was in downtown Boston for much of the late 19th and 20th century.[19][20] From 1927 to 1968, the offices were located in the Statler Hotel,[2] moving to Lexington, Massachusetts in 1968.[19] In 2013, the headquarters building was sold to the town of Lexington,[21] with the offices of the Sovereign Grand Commander moving into the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library located next door.
In December 2023, Past Sovereign Grand Commander, David Glattly criticized the Supreme Council over internal bickering and financial mismanagement.[22] In February 2024, Glattly was expelled from the order, initially without explanation. [23][24][25] In March 2024, the current Sovereign Grand Commander, Walter F. Wheeler claimed Glattly's expulsion was due to ballot fraud, inappropriate employment practices, lack of budgetary control, expense control and excessive spending, failures of corporate governance and a toxic workplace environment under Glattly's stewardship.[26]
Philanthropy
Masonic Learning Centers for Children, Inc. which provide tutoring for children with dyslexia in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction is the primary charity of the Northern Jurisdiction.[27]
In the Northern Jurisdiction, the Supreme Council consists of no more than 66 members. All members of the Supreme Council are designated Sovereign Grand Inspectors General. In addition, the head of the Rite in each Valley of the Northern Jurisdiction is called a "Deputy of the Supreme Council."[28]
The Northern Jurisdiction meets yearly, in recent years alternating between the headquarters in Lexington, Massachusetts in even years and a large city in the Northern Jurisdiction in odd years.[29] However, in 2023 the annual meeting was in Lexington, Kentucky, which is located in the Southern Jurisdiction.
The head of the NMJ is the Sovereign Grand Commander. A total of 23 men have held this office since 1813, including one who only held the position in an acting capacity.[30] Henry Lynde Palmer's tenure of 30 years was the longest, and Giles Fonda Yates, who served for only 10 days, was the shortest.
Three Sovereign Grand Commanders of the Northern Masonic Jurisdictions have been expelled from Scottish Rite Supreme Councils, either during or after their terms had ended namely Edward Asa Raymond and Klliian Henry Van Rensselaer in 1862 and David Alan Glattly in 2024.
The current Sovereign Grand Commander is Ill. Walter F. Wheeler, 33° who was installed to the post in August 2023 at the annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky.[28] The list of Sovereign Grand Commanders[31] is as follows:
| Number | SGC | Years in Office | Number | SGC | Years in Office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Decius Tompkins | 1813–1825[32] | 13 | Melvin Maynard Johnson | 1933–1953[33] |
| 2 | Sampson Simson | 1825–1832[34] | 14 | George Edward Bushnell | 1953–1965[35] |
| 3 | John James Joseph Gourgas | 1832–1851[36] | 15 | George Adelbert Newbury | 1965–1975[37] |
| 4 | Giles Fonda Yates | 1851[38] | 16 | Stanley Fielding Maxwell | 1975–1985[39] |
| 5 | Edward Asa Raymond | 1851–1860[40] | 17 | Francis George Paul | 1985–1993[41] |
| 6 | Killian Henry Van Rensselaer | 1860–1861 (acting); 1862–1867[42][43] | 18 | Robert Odel Ralston | 1993–2003[44] |
| 7 | Josiah Hayden Drummond | 1867–1879[45] | 19 | Walter Ernest Webber | 2003–2006[46] |
| 8 | Henry Lynde Palmer | 1879–1909[47][48] | 20 | John William McNaughton | 2006–2017[49] |
| 9 | Samuel Crocker Lawrence | 1909–1910[50] | 21 | David Alan Glattly | 2017–2021[51] |
| 10 | Barton Smith | 1910–1921[52] | 22 | Peter John Samiec | 2021–2023[53] |
| 11 | Leon Martin Abbott | 1921–1932[54] | 23 | Walter F. Wheeler | 2023–Present[55][28] |
| 12 | Frederic Beckwith Stevens | 1932–1933 (acting)[56] |
Total membership has fluctuated over the years, reaching a peak in the late 1960s:[2]
| Year | Total membership | Year | Total membership |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1879 | 7,366 | 1969 | 510,583 |
| 1909 | 61,252 | 1979 | 502,114 |
| 1929 | 300,839 | 1989 | 412,612 |
| 1939 | 209,385 | 1999 | 296,687 |
| 1949 | 377,845 | 2009 | 171,230 |
| 1959 | 489,198 | 2019 | 99,273 |
Members of the Northern Jurisdiction are required to have achieved the third degree or Master Mason degree in their local lodges before they can apply to join the Scottish Rite. The Northern Jurisdiction offers 29 additional degrees, with a final 33rd degree conferred as an honor for service to the fraternity and society. However, taking these additional degrees does not give one higher "rank" in Masonry. While the higher numbering might imply a hierarchy, the additional degrees are considered "appendant degrees". They represent a lateral movement in Masonic education rather than an upward movement, and are degrees of instruction rather than rank.[57]
In 2004, the Northern Jurisdiction rewrote and reorganized its degrees[58] and further changes occurred in 2006.[59] As of 2023, the degrees offered by the Northern Jurisdiction can be divided into four categories:
- Lodge of Perfection (4°–14°); set in the Old Testament
- Council of Princes of Jerusalem[60] (15° and 16°); set during and after the Babylonian Captivity
- Chapter of Rose Croix[61] (17° and 18°); set before and during the time of Jesus
- Consistory[62] (19°–32°); set from the Middle Ages to 1943
Some of the degrees are historical, while others can be considered historical fiction. As of 2024, the topics of the degrees are as follows:[63]
| Degree | Name[64] | Setting and/or Topic | Degree | Name[62] | Setting and/or Topic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4° | Builder | Present Day/Hiram Abiff | 19° | Brothers of the Trail | Oregon Trail (1849)[65] |
| 5° | Perfect Master | Nadab and Abihu | 20° | Master ad Vitam | George Washington
and Benedict Arnold (1784)[66] |
| 6° | Master of the Brazen Serpent | Neushtan | 21° | Patriarch Noachite | Imperial Free City of Dortmund (1190s) |
| 7° | Provost and Judge | Building of Solomon's Temple | 22° | Prince of Libanus | Lumberjacks in the Pacific Northwest
(Late 1800s or early 1900s) |
| 8° | Intendant of the Building | Adonijah | 23° | Knight of Valor | Four Chaplains (1943)[67] |
| 9° | Master of the Temple | Dedication of Solomon's Temple | 24° | Brother of the Forest | Native Americans and
Colonial America (late 1700s)[68] |
| 10° | Master Elect[69] | Solomon and his wives | 25° | Master of Achievement | Benjamin Franklin (1788)[70] |
| 11° | Sublime Master Elected | Tax Collectors during the Reign of Solomon | 26° | Friend and Brother Eternal[71] | Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial (1863)[72] |
| 12° | Master of Mercy | Joseph | 27° | Knight of Jerusalem | Pope Honorius III and Emperor Frederick II (1223)[73][74] |
| 13° | Master of the Ninth Arch | Vault of Enoch | 28° | Knight of the Sun | Elias Ashmole (1650) |
| 14° | Grand Elect Mason | Initiation Ceremony | 29° | Knight of Saint Andrew | Battle of Nicopolis (1396) |
| 15° | Knight of the East[75] | Zerubbabel during the Babylonian Captivity[76] | 30° | Grand Inspector | A Courtroom
Reign of Edward II (1307- 1327) |
| 16° | Prince of Jerusalem | Building of the Second Temple[76] | 31° | My Brother's Keeper | Green Dragon Tavern (1770) |
| 17° | Knight of the
East and West |
Herod's reign, main gate of the Second Temple | 32° | Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret | Knighthood; Middle Ages |
| 18° | Knight of the
Rose Croix de Heredom |
Old Testament; Crucifixion; Resurrection | 33° | Sovereign Grand Inspector General | Tribe of Levi |
33rd Degree
In the Northern Jurisdiction, there is a 46-month requirement for eligibility to receive the 33rd degree, and while there is both a Meritorious Service Award and a Distinguished Service Award, they are not required as intermediate steps towards the 33°. A recipient of the 33rd Degree is an honorary member of the Supreme Council and is therefore called an "Inspector General Honorary." However, those who are appointed Deputies of the Supreme Council that are later elected to membership on the Supreme Council are then designated "Sovereign Grand Inspectors General."
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