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The Consistory
The Consistory confers the 19° - 32°. These lessons portray many memorable lessons that range in settings from the days of chivalry through the 20th century.
The Traditional and Chivalric Degrees of the Consistory
19° - Grand Pontiff - This degree proclaims the spiritual unity of all who believe in God and cherish the hope of immortality, no matter what religious leader they follow or what creed they profess. It is concerned primarily with the perennial conflict between light and darkness, good and evil, God and Satan.
20° - Master ad Vitam - This degree is a drama of the American spirit confronting the challenge of disloyalty and treason. Masonic principles and leadership are subjected to a crucial test. The degree demonstrates the Masonic condemnation of all who conspire against the security of the nation and the happiness of our people.
21° - Patriarch Noachite - This degree teaches that Freemasonry is not a shield for evil doing and that justice is one of the chief supports of our fraternity.
22° - Prince of Libanus - In this degree, the dignity of labor is demonstrated. It is no curse, but a privilege, for man to be allowed to earn his sustenance by work. Idleness, not labor, is disgraceful.
23° - Chief of the Tabernacle - This degree teaches that those with faith in God and love for their fellow man will make great sacrifices to help others.
24° - Prince of the Tabernacle - This degree teaches that a mutual belief in a Supreme Power should bind all men together in a world-wide brotherhood.
25° - Knight of the Brazen Serpent - This degree teaches that there are desert stretches in every individual life in the history of every nation, with a resultant breakdown of discipline and a loss of faith. This degree is a clarion call to faith -- in ourselves, in each other, and in God.
26° - Prince of Mercy - This degree teaches the quality of mercy, that it is a spirit of compassion and a tenderness of heart which disposes us to overlook injuries and to treat an offender better than he deserves.
27° - Commander of the Temple - This degree teaches that Scottish Rite Freemasonry believes in the concept of a free church in a free state, each supreme in its own sphere, neither seeking to dominate the other, but cooperating for the common good.
28° - Knight of the Sun - This degree using the symbolism of the tools and implements of architecture teaches that by building high moral character among its adherents, Freemasonry may advance man's determined quest for the achievement of unity and good will throughout the world.
29° - Knight of St. Andrew - This degree emphasizes the Masonic teachings of equality and toleration. We are reminded that no one man, no one Church, no one religion, has a monopoly on truth; that while we must be true and faithful to our own convictions, we must respect the opinions of others.
30° - Grand Elect Knight Kadosh - This degree sets forth the tests and ceremonies that symbolize the experiences we must undergo in the building of excellence in character.
31° - Grand Inspector Inquisitor Commander - This degree teaches that we should give every man the benefit of innocence and purity of intentions. He who would judge others must first judge himself.
32° - Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret - This degree
describes the victory of the spiritual over the human in man and the conquest
of appetites and passions by moral sense and reason. The exemplar represents
every Freemason, eager to serve humanity but caught between self-interest
and the call of duty. Duty often requires sacrifice, and sometimes the
supreme sacrifice.
