User:ALR/Draft Appendant Bodies

Whilst there is no degree in Freemasonry higher than that of Master Mason, there are a number of related organisations which have as a prerequisite to joining that one be a Master Mason or have some relation to a Master Mason. These bodies are commonly referred to as appendant bodies. They generally use an initiatory system similar to Freemasonry, in that they use ritual, allegory and symbolism to communicate principles of a moral, ethical or philosophical nature.

Appendant bodies are administered separately from Freemasonry and within each there is a system of offices which confer rank within that order alone; some of these bodies style themselves as (or are considered to be) Masonic due to the membership requirement that one hold the Master Mason degree.

A number of phrasings are used to describe these appendant bodies, none offering an accurate description; side, additional, advanced or higher degrees. The latter two especially elicit protest from avid supporters of Craft Masonry, because not only does that designation contradicts the statement that there is no degree higher than that of Master Mason, but it also implies a more direct connection than actually exists.

History

The history of Craft Masonry, prior to the formation of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717 is unclear, and the history of the various appendant bodies is even more opaque. The Antients Grand Lodge in England, formed in 1751, allowed a wide range of rituals to be worked, whilst the Grand Lodge of England, then known as the Moderns frowned on anything beyond the three Speculative degrees of Craft Masonry, viz. the Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason. Following the merger of the two Grand Lodges in 1813 it was agreed that Pure Antient Masonry consisted of these three degrees and no more.

The period from 1740 to 1813 saw a host of Masonic rites emerge, as there were brethren for whom the Grand Lodge system was insufficient. These new rituals enlarged the scope of Masonry and encompassed many elaborations, some of which included elements which had previously been practiced within the craft. Many rites proved to be transient and died out (some being no more than a written record without evidence of having been practiced), but some proved more resilient and survived through amalgamation.

Recognition

Different Masonic jurisdictions vary in their relationships with appendant bodies, if at all. Some offer formal recognition, while others consider them wholly outside of Freemasonry. This leads to some such bodies not being universally considered as appendant bodies, but rather separate organizations that happen to require Masonic affiliation for membership.

Membership

Membership of the various appendant bodies of Freemasonry requires the candidate to be a Master Mason or have a familial relationship to a Master Mason. Some require the candidate to be a Trinitarian Christian, whereas Craft Masonry accepts candidates from any faith as long as they declare a belief in a Supreme Being. Additional requirements may include prior membership of additional orders or having held specific office in a preceding order.

Membership of many of the appendant bodies is strictly invitational; in some cases one must merely express an interest to receive this invitation, others being more strict and seeing the invitation as an honour reserved for few.

Survival

The appendant bodies which have survived to the present have done so by containing ritual content perceived as being of value to the participants. The ritual of those orders which have not survived are collected and demonstrated by the Grand College of Rites which provides a mechanism to preserve the history and traditions associated with Freemasonry.

The Appendant Bodies

The bodies themselves are accorded different status and position in different Masonic jurisdictions, and furthermore do not exist in all Masonic jurisdictions. Distinctions are noted below if known.

Examples of these appendant orders include:

• The Mark Master (UK,part of York Rite Royal Arch in the US)
• The Holy Royal Arch (UK,called simply Royal Arch in the US
• Royal Ark Mariners (UK,)
• The United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and St John of Jerusalem, Palestine Rhodes and Malta. Colloquially known as the Knights Templar in the UK, although the latter is the official title in the US.
• Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, also known as Antient and Accepted Rite in the UK England.
• The Masonic and Military Order of the Red Cross of Constantine and the Orders of the Holy Sepulchre and of St John the Evangelist. Colloquially known as the Red Cross of Constantine. This is part of the Knights Templar system in the US
• Royal and Select Masters. Colloquially known as Cryptic Masonry. It forms the second tier of the York Rite in the US, where it is called the Council of Royal and Select Master Masons.
• The Allied Masonic Degrees - invitational only in the US.
• The Order of the Secret Monitor (UK only?)
• The Order of the Worshipful Society of Free Masons, Rough Masons, Wallers, Slaters, Pavoirs, Plaisterers and Bricklayers. Colloquially known as the Operatives. (UK only, though operative only Craft Lodges do exist in the US) The Operatives is not the same as an operative only Craft Llodge, it is a separate order with 9 grades
• The Holy Royal Arch Knights Templar Priest - invitational only in the US
• Royal Order of Scotland - (invitational only in the US, candidate must be a Trinitarian Christian.)
• The Scottish Rectified Rite or Chevaliers Bienfaisants de la Cite Sainte (CBCS) (UK only?)
• The Rite of Baldwyn at Bristol - Practiced only in the city of Bristol, UK.
• Societas Rosicruciana
• The Royal Order of Eri
• The August Order of Light
• Knight York Cross of Honor (US)
• York Rite College (US) 'Is this the York Rite?
• Order of the Eastern Star (US only?) Note that OES is banned under UGLE as being Quasi-Masonic

In the United States the Mark Master, Holy Royal Arch, Royal and Select Masters, and (Masonic) Knights Templar are combined under the York Rite which provides an overarching governing body. Comment from MSJ Sort of. Royal Arch Chapter, Council of R&SMM, and KT are all York Rite and have overlapping membership, but they each have their own Grand Whatever that governs each independently of the others. I moved the other info into the list above.

ALR Can we try The York Rite consolidates x,y,z into a single progressive structure in the US I'm conscious that York Rite has its' own page, although the treatment of the orders outside the US is clumsy there too. I'm also sensitive to the fact that some of these already have articles, and some of the others possibly justify it, so would avoid adding too much to the straight list. Once there is a list we could perhaps add a few lines about each, spinning out a further article if required. The majority are invitational elsewhere, either in fact or practice. Finally most of them exist in a wide range of places so it wouldn't be appropriate to limit the statement to UK ONLY.

Further Orders

A small number of bodies exist whose purpose is not the employment of ritual to further the development of initiates, but to engender a fun, social atmosphere and further the masonic principle of ''Charity'':

• Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, colloquially known as the Shriners
• Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm, colloquially known as the Grotto
• Tall Cedars of Lebanon
• Ye Antient Order of Noble Corks

Youth Organizations

A number of youth organizations exist, mainly North American, which are associated with Freemasonry, but are not Masonic in their content (Comment from MSJ: That is very debatable. Having seen Rainbow and DeMolay ritual done in the lodge room of Lodge of Instruction (which works differently here than in the UK, IIRC, which is why it could be done), I'd say that it teaches a lot of the same principles, and has ritual which needs to be memorized. A Master Mason is required to be at meetings as an advisor, so while there is no S&C, it's a pretty good approximation, so if you want to make a case for the statement, you're going to need to clarify the definition of "Masonic content".

These include:

• DeMolay International, for boys aged 12–21;
• Job's Daughters International, for girls aged 10-20 with a Masonic family relationship
• International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, for girls who have Masonic sponsorship.

Organisations not associated with Freemasonry

There are some organisations which are commonly perceived as being related to Freemasonry; some of these benefiting from charitable support by Masonic or appendant bodies, and some merely borrowing the structure. In addition a number of organizations and fraternities such as the Orange Order style themselves along Masonic lines, using similar regalia and ritual. However they are not part of Freemasonry and are not accorded recognition as such.