Masons & Freemasons
Secret Societies
What Is Meant by the York Rite?
What Is Meant by the York Rite?
YORK RITE MASONRY is the Christian Route of Masonry following the
teaching of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who said, "Suffer little children
to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of Heaven'."
AFTER you become a Master Mason, no matter what added Masonic honor may come to
you, no matter how high you may rise in the symbolic branches of the order, if
you keep your vows as a Master Mason you have attained all there is, fulfilled
all there is and received all there is to be received that fraternity and
brotherhood, existing under a common impulse, can dispense among those who
embrace the laws and edicts of a common procedure.
"Masonry, after all, is but a rule for orderly righteousness."
Royal Arch Masonry:
"The first step in York Rite Masonry is through the Royal Arch.
This branch is known as the 'Chapter,' and consists of four degrees. They are
Mark Master, Past Master, Most Excellent Master and the Royal Arch. They bear,
perhaps, a closer relation to what is known as speculative Masonry than is
contained in any of the works and symbols which have grown out of the three
degrees previously received. They are, in fact, a continuance rather than an
amplification of Ancient Craft Masonry in that in these degrees is recovered the
'lost word,' in the protection of which Hiram Abif lost his life. They bear the
same relation to your Masonic progress that the High School bears to the Grammar
School, or that of the work of a finished artist to the efforts of one who while
having obtained an artist's credentials, lacks in maturity and experience."
"Royal Arch Masonry has a broadening influence upon the Master's
mind. It is a logical sequel to what you have already undertaken and gives you
an opportunity of participating in the solution of the problem it presents. It
makes you feel that you are a better man for having worked out your own
conception of service. and the lessons taught remain with you as a practical
guide in your daily life."
Cryptic Masonry:
"Should you desire to more thoroughly familiarize yourself with
York Rite Masonry, it is suggested you join with the Council of Royal and Select
Master, an adjunct to the York Rite. It is not obligatory in the sense of
graduation, but it is absolutely necessary if you want to get the full benefit
of the York Rite. "In these degrees, the Royal Master, Select Master and
Super-excellent Master, we find, beautifully exemplified, the regard which comes
to loyal, faithful and persevering Masons. The work is historic and impressive.
To take all the Masonic work and omit the Cryptic Rite would be to forego the
most nourishing of the foods which go into your Masonic sustenance. There is
little outward glory in taking these degrees, but they afford the Masonic
student a source of intense interest and are necessary to a complete
understanding of all Masonic procedure."
The Order of The Knights Templar:
"When you have passed through the Royal Arch you become eligible
to take the first step in the Order of Knights Templar. This Order is composed
of three orders, the Illustrious Order of the Red Cross, the Order of Malta and
the Order of the Temple (Knights Templar). In the lessons you will experience
the most interesting, the most serious and the most sublime impression which can
come to any one who is concerned with those impulses in life which make for
better manhood, better citizenship and a better society. They take you from the
most ancient times to the moment that you are yourself reminded of all that will
some day remain of the shell which you now occupy.
"The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross is taken from the Bible
and from the history of the Jews at the time of Darius Hystaspis ruler of
Persia. It is a simple lesson of how a great monarch was moved to recognize the
religious zeal of an oppressed people, and contains a sublime comparison of
those forces in life which contend for supremacy. It is designed to impress upon
you that there is but one God and that human nature changes but little over
great cycles of time. It prepares you for a more serious participation in the
work which is to follow, and leaves with you a clearer understanding of its
purport.
"The Order of Malta is a symbolic degree, which, like the Order of
the Knights Templar, found its inception in the period of the Crusades. Its
adherents are known as the Knights of St. John. The Malta cross, which is worn
by Knights Templar in uniform, is symbolic of this degree.
"The Order of Knights Templar, which is conferred upon you in the
Order of the Temple was founded in the Twelfth century, being much older than
Ancient Craft Masonry in its present form. Its purpose was to defend the Latin
Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was a union of the religious With the militant spirit
and filled a crying need of the time. Its origin, history and temporary
suppression by Philip the Fair and Pope Clement in 1312, furnish the most
absorbingly interesting story which has ever connected the activities of any
society of men since the dawn of civilization.
"One reason why you are urged to become affiliated with the York
Rite is that the world is today in greater need of the Order of Knights Templar
than were the heroic crusaders of the Twelfth century. There is more at stake,
more to save. You will find in the precepts of this institution a renewed
conviction that right must prevail, that oppression, by any class whatsoever, is
wrong and incompatible with Christian thought. It still combines a religious and
militant spirit, and is pledged to defend those principles and ideals upon which
civilization is based.
"When you have been created a Knight Templar you will have been
reconsecrated to the service of your country.
"It is an order particularly fitted to American institutions. It
embraces those ideals which have made human liberty the watchword of ages. You
are impressed with your responsibility not only as man and a Mason, but as a
citizen and defender of the society of which you are a part. Nothing seditious
can live in the ranks Knights Templar. It offers no asylum to the disloyal and
no succor to those who seek to destroy what our forebears have builded. To a
Knight Templar you must be right with God and country, honest with yourself and
with others, ever ready to lay down your life, if need be, in the service of
truth, righteousness and justice. You are pledged to follow the banner of your
Order and the American flag wherever they lead in human service, no matter what
may be your condition in life or station in society.
"If you are willing to subscribe to these precepts you are welcome
into the York Rite of Masonry, into the Royal Arch, the Council and the Order of
Knights Templar. You are welcome not only a member, a sojourner, a companion and
knight, but as an active worker in any or all of these activities."
