Mother Supreme Council of the World

The Mother Supreme Council of the World was the first Supreme Council of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, from which all other Supreme Councils and Subordinate Bodies of the Scottish Rite derive. [ [http://www.scottishritecalifornia.org/scottish_rite_history.htm "Scottish Rite History"] "Scottish Rite California". Accessed June 2 2008.] Its full name is "The Supreme Council (Mother Council of the World) of the Inspectors General Knights Commander of the House of the Temple of Solomon of the Thirty-third Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry of the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States of America." [ [http://scottishrite.org/who/faqs.html "FAQs about Masonry."] "The Supreme Council, 33°, A.A. & S.R. of Freemasonry, S.J., USA", (2006). Accessed June 2 2008.] It is more commonly known as The Supreme Council, 33°, Southern Jurisdiction, or by some other varying degree of complete titulage. It remains the main governing body for Scottish Rite Freemasonry in its jurisdiction, [ [http://scottishrite.org/where/hq.html "About the Building"] "The Supreme Council, 33°, A.A. & S.R. of Freemasonry, S.J., USA" (2006). Accessed June 2 2008.] and is one of two Supreme Councils in the United States.

The Scottish Rite is one of the appendant bodies of Freemasonry that a Master Mason may join for further exposure to the principles of Freemasonry. To join the Supreme Council, one must attain the 32° of the Scottish Rite, and then be conferred the honorary 33°.

The first philosophical document of the Mother Supreme Council of the World was "Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry," written by Confederate General Albert Pike (Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite's Southern Jurisdiction; head of the Mother Supreme Council of the World) in 1872. A copy of Morals & Dogma was given to every new member in the Southern Jurisdiction until 1974, when it was deemed "too advanced to be helpful to the new Scottish Rite member." The book given to new initiates then became "Clausen's Commentaries On Morals and Dogma" by Henry C. Clausen, then Rex Hutchens' "A Bridge to Light", and in 2006 "Scottish Rite Ritual and Monitor" by Arturo de Hoyos.

History

In 1811 the Mother Supreme Council began construction of a national headquarters of the Supreme Council, called the House of the Temple. Finished in 1815, the House of the Temple remains their headquarters to this day. It is located at 1733 Sixteenth Street, NW, in the District of Columbia. [ [http://scottishrite.org/who/sj.html "Southern Jurisdiction"] "The Supreme Council, 33°, A.A. & S.R. of Freemasonry, S.J., USA" (2006). Accessed June 2 2008.] The House of the Temple also contains the remains of Albert Pike, the author of "Morals and Dogma".

In 1813, a member of the Mother Supreme Council of the World established in New York a Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction of the United States of America. In 1823, the Supreme Council granted jurisdiction of the fifteen states east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River to the Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction. [ [http://scottishrite.org/who/sj.html "Southern Jurisdiction"] "The Supreme Council, 33°, A.A. & S.R. of Freemasonry, S.J., USA" (2006). Accessed June 2 2008.]

Other

The Supreme Council in 1923 made a gift of $1 million to the George Washington University in D.C., to fund the creation of a School of Business. [ [http://encyclopedia.gwu.edu/gwencyclopedia/index.php/Business,_School_of_-_History "School of Business"] "The GW Hatchet", January 11 1928. Accessed June 2 2008.]

External links

* [http://scottishrite.org/ "Scottish Rite Freemasonry"] "The Supreme Council, 33°, A.&A.S.R. of Freemasonry, S.J., USA" (2008).
* [http://www.scottishritecalifornia.org/scottish_rite_history.htm "Scottish Rite History"] "Orient of California" (2008).

References