|
Robert L. Goldsmith, 33°
Grand Orator and S.G.I.G. in Florida
10474 Wellington Springs Way, Jacksonville, Florida 32221–1100
We can be proud of our achievements over the
past 200 years,
but we cannot rest on our laurels.
 To
those who drove over the roads and flew over the lands and oceans
to be here today, we are honored by your presence at this our
Bicentennial Biennial Session of the Mother Supreme Council of
the World. We hope you enjoy your visit to this city, Charleston,
South Carolina, the birthplace of Scottish Rite Freemasonry in
this country.
I appear before you today to speak of the past,
present, and future of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite
of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, United States of America.
Come with me, if you will, for a stroll into the past.
Envision Charleston in 1801, several years before
many of the historic Charleston landmarks were constructed. True,
by then they did have Fort Moultrie, which began its life as a
simple redoubt of palmetto logs and sand from which soldiers of
the American Revolution, under the leadership of Colonel William
Moultrie, repulsed a British fleet on June 28, 1776. But it was
several years later before Charleston's beautiful old historic
district was developed. It wasn't until 1803 that the Joseph
Manigault House, considered one of the finest mansions in the
country, was constructed, and the lovely homes along the Battery
were not constructed until between 1820 and 1850. Even the magnificent
public building, Hibernian Hall, did not come into being until
1840. However, the one building of great importance to the Scottish
Rite Fraternity, Shepheard's Tavern, did exist in 1801.
The first Scottish Rite Supreme Council was formed
on May 31, 1801, at Shepheard's Tavern. This is when it all
came together. This was the birth of the Mother Supreme Council
of the World. But even before this date, the Scottish Rite of
Freemasonry was beginning to take shape. Scottish Rite Masonry
first emerged, at various times and places, in Scotland, England,
and France. It is impossible to trace the original wellspring,
but we know now that a confluence of tributary streams flowed
into a reservoir at Bordeaux, France. Regular units developed
and were known as the Rite of Perfection. It was this Rite that
Stephen Morin, in 1761, was empowered to bring into the Western
Hemisphere. Degrees for the Rite of Perfection were formalized
under the Secret Constitutions of 1761 and 1762. These Degrees
were conveyed by merchant Brethren to cities on the American mainland,
including New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1763, and Charleston, South
Carolina, in 1783.
The Grand Constitution of 1786 provided for the
extension of the Rite to the Thirty-third Degree, governed in
a country by a Supreme Council. This opportunity was seized by
a group of eleven Brothers in Charleston, led by Brothers John
Mitchell and Frederick Dalcho. It was they who opened the first
"Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree of the United States"
on May 31, 1801. However, it wasn't until 31 years later
that the name "Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite" first
appeared in the 1832 French publication of the Grand Constitutions.
With the start of the administration of Sovereign Grand Commander
Albert Pike in 1859, the name "Scottish Rite" came into
general use in the Mother Jurisdiction and elsewhere.
During this time of celebrating our two centuries
of accomplishment, we must stop and reflect upon the name Albert
Pike. He was a pioneer, a crusader for justice for Native Americans,
a reformer, a journalist, a philosopher, a prominent Washington
lawyer, and a Civil War general. Yet the main focus of the greater
part of his life was the Fraternity of Freemasonry. He was the
organizer and for many years, 32 to be exact, the leader of the
Scottish Rite. Pike was a truly remarkable man. During his first
year as Grand Commander, he completely revised the 4th through
the 32nd Degrees. This revision became known thereafter as the
"Pike Ritual." The ritual served us well for the next
140 years. His leadership strengthened the administration of the
Rite and allowed it to prosper. Since Pike's time, our Fraternity
has been under the leadership of 17 Grand Commanders, each of
whom has contributed to the world acclaim that has been bestowed
upon our Order.
Enough of these historic recollections. The past
is history, and we can be proud of our achievements over the past
200 years. But we cannot rest on our laurels. Rather, we must
use our past good deeds as a springboard for further accomplishment
of our goals. These are, simply stated, the moral, spiritual,
and intellectual development of mankind. The present and the future
must be our concerns today, primarily our concern for the future.
This Bicentennial Celebration gives us cause to
count our blessings. We learn our mission in a system of progressive
Degrees of instruction. We teach our members the highest ethics,
the wise expositions of philosophy and religion, the blessings
of charity. Our code of personal conduct stems from the precepts
of chivalry, the Ten Commandments, and the Golden Rule. We carry
out our mission in a series of spiritual, charitable, and moral
programs. We make living a vital action, and our activities include
the recovery and maintenance of moral standards and spiritual
values, the pride of patriotism and love of flag and country,
the dispensing of charity without regard to race, color, or creed.
We stand for positive programs and fight, with moral courage and
enthusiasm, every force or power, including spiritual despotism
and political tyranny that would seek to destroy freedom. Ours,
therefore, has been a strong voice for human dignity, political
justice, moral values, and civic responsibility. We must do what
we can to ensure that the Scottish Rite will always be available
in future years.
My Brothers, join with me today at this our Bicentennial
Biennial Session, regardless of what Orient or Supreme Council
you represent. Let us renew our obligations and pledge to promote
Scottish Rite and, thereby, guarantee that future generations
will benefit from the influence of this great Fraternity and that
countries throughout the world will be a better place because
of the presence of Scottish Rite Freemasonry.
God bless Scottish Rite Freemasonry wherever it
exists.
|
