James A. Marples, 32°
223 E. Brownie St., Rose Hill, Kansas 67133–9706

In traveling to Charleston, South Carolina, in October 2001 to receive honors, Scottish Rite Brethren are following in the steps of a famous Brother who made the same journey in 1853.

The Supreme Council's holding its Bicentennial Session in Charleston, South Carolina, is really a "coming home" event. The Rite has had its official See in Charleston since 1801, even though our national headquarters has been in Washington, D.C., since 1870. This year, the Supreme Council will go to Charleston to join with Brethren from throughout the nation and world for the combined gala Bicentennial Celebration and historic 200th anniversary Biennial Session (September 30–October 3, 2001).

In March of 1853, a 43-year-old man made a similar journey to Charleston to receive additional Masonic Degrees. He was a well-educated man who joined the Masonic Lodge and rose quickly to preside as Grand High Priest of Royal Arch Masonry in his state. He began the year 1853, however, in Washington, D.C., where in February he was duly received and created a Masonic Knight Templar in Washington Commandery No. 1 K.T.

Immediately following that impressive ceremony, he was handed a telegram sent to him from a Templar who hailed from South Carolina Commandery No. 1, Sir Knight Albert G. Mackey, 33°. In that message was a notice directing the younger man to appear before Dr. Mackey, at once, in Charleston. The summons called him, on his honor as a newly made Knight Templar, to appear there before Bro. Mackey, who had previously given the young man words of Masonic Instruction. At that time, he had been told that completing the Degrees of Knight of Malta and The Order of the Temple (Knight Templar Degree) would better equip him to receive advanced rituals, the Scottish Rite Degrees, that Mackey wished to communicate to him.

Consequently, the young man packed up a few articles of clothing and essentials, along with his newly acquired Templar Sword and Chapeau, mounted a horse in the Capital City, and headed toward Charleston. For one leg of his journey, he boarded a train. On another portion, he rode as a passenger in a horse-drawn carriage. Reaching the outskirts of Charleston, he walked the final distance to Dr. Mackey's home—only to wait a considerable time in the parlor while Mackey hastily gathered together a pile of loose-leaf papers, totally unbound and almost unorganized. When the young man asked what the papers were, Mackey replied they were the rituals of the Ancient and Accepted Rite. Mackey did not use the word Scottish, and later he only referred to the Order by its initials: A.&A.R.

Mackey sat the young man down and tested his knowledge on the Degrees from Entered Apprentice through Knight Templar. Satisfied with the responses, Mackey opened a Holy Bible and asked the younger man if he still sought "further Light" in Masonry. The answer was in the affirmative, so Mackey proceeded to communicate the Degrees 4° to 32° inclusive by reading from the cahiers. Thus began an arduous session, three days long, of lectures by Mackey and responses by Pike. The sessions were lengthy and involved, yet their mutual dedication to "improving themselves and others in Masonry" offset any weariness they might have otherwise had.

At the completion of the 32°, Mackey proclaimed the young man a Prince of the Royal Secret and handed him some old, tattered pages of the ritual that they had skimmed over. He urged the new Brother to study them in detail and to go forth from Charleston to propagate the Rite across the Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A., to "worthy and well-qualified Masons of high standing."1 The young man emerging from Charleston was none other than Brother Albert Pike, 32°, who was elevated to 33° only four years later.

Before leaving Charleston, Pike and Mackey walked through a local cemetery where many of the graves were of Masons, and their headstones had Hebrew lettering. By taking the Degrees in Charleston, Pike had a close link to the roots of the Supreme Council. In addition, the southern charm of Charleston, with its focus on "society circles," appealed to Pike's attachment to fraternal societies.

Undoubtedly, Pike's zealous promotion of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite was shaped as much by the sights he saw in Charleston as by the words of ritual that came from Mackey's lips. Pike joined a Rite that was relatively unheard of and bordering on extinction, yet his efforts gave it new strength and grandeur. Just as Charleston grew and prospered, Pike wanted the Scottish Rite to grow and prosper.

Now in 2001, the Bicentennial Celebration and Biennial Session of the Supreme Council, 33°, are being held in Charleston. This will allow attending Brethren to experience the New Charleston, along with the Old Charleston that played such a strong role in the founding of our Order. It will also allow Brethren to follow in the footsteps of Ill. Bro. Pike by witnessing a Special Conferral of Honors and going forth, as did Pike, re-energized to promote the Scottish Rite across our land to all "worthy and well-qualified Masons of high standing."