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Jim Tresner, 33° Grand Cross
 Original oil painting by Bro. Robert
H. White, 32°
The 30° closes the Council
of Kadosh. There is no apron. There is, instead, a cordon (see
right) of black, watered-silk
ribbon, edged with narrow silver lace. The letters K and H are
embroidered in scarlet silk. They represent the Hebrew words
which mean “House of the Temple.”
Also embroidered in scarlet silk are two Teutonic
Crosses* and
a double-headed eagle with a poniard in his talons. The heads
of the eagle are gold. In addition to the Teutonic cross, the
Degree makes use of crosses of several different shapes as symbols.
The principal jewel of the Degree is a silver
double-headed eagle, holding a poniard in his talons as on the
cordon. He rests on
a Teutonic cross of gold, enameled in red. A second jewel is
a poniard of silver with a gold hilt. The lengthy part of the
hilt is enameled, half in white and half in black.
The regalia also includes a sword, sword belt,
and a fringed black silk sash worn around the waist. The sword
has a cross-shaped
hilt, and the buckle of the sword belt is like the jewel of the
27°, save that the shield bears the initials J. B. M.
A primary meaning of the double-headed eagle is
balance or equilibrium, much the same symbolism as in the scales.
And it suggests that,
in almost everything, a balance can be found between seeming
opposites. This is one of the great lessons of the Rite, and
it is taught in various ways in many of the Degrees.
The plot of the Degree is easy to specify; its
meanings are not. A Knight of St. Andrew wishes to become a Knight
Kadosh. When
he makes his third request, he is escorted to a place of darkness
where he encounters a Preceptor. The Preceptor advises him to
hold fast to his courage and not to retreat, no matter what happens.
When the preceptor leaves, the Candidate experiences a terrifying
encounter which may be real or may be only the projection of
his own mind. The Preceptor returns and instructs him in the
ways of virtue past.
He also warns the Candidate that he must face
the judgement of the Frank Judges, whose decision has the power
of life and death.
Their agents have looked into and made report of his life. If
he is not found worthy, he will die. The Can-didate survives
the judgement, and the history of the Knights Templar is revealed
to him. It is also explained to him that the Knights Kadosh do
not fight to revenge DeMolay. Rather, they fight in the present
world to oppose tyranny and to protect the weak.
And then, it is essentially left to him. He knows
what tyranny is. He has been made aware that a king, a president,
a congress,
or a school board can enforce it. He has been assured that tyranny
is not something that happened only in the past; it is something
which happens every day in his world. He may encounter examples
of it a dozen times a day, and a dozen times a day he will have
to decide whether to let tyranny continue or to oppose it. If
he truly understands the 30th Degree, he realizes that he has
undertaken a very great responsibility. But a true Knight Kadosh
also understands that if no one fights, the battle is lost before
it starts. In the famous words of the comic strip character Pogo, “We
have met the enemy, and he is us.”
*The
Teutonic Cross may be
thought of as a Greek Cross with a short bar at the end of each
arm. Another way of saying
it is to say that a Teutonic Cross is
a Greek Cross Potent. (Potent, in the language of heraldry, means that the arms
terminate with a bar. It is not the same thing as a crosslet, for a crosslet
is set in a short distance from the end of the arm.) In the Scottish Rite, this
cross forms the jewel or symbol of several of the higher Degrees. But in the
jewels and emblems of some Degrees, a second Teutonic Cross, double potent (with
two crossbars at the end of the arms) is added to, i.e. charged, upon the first
cross. And an escutcheon (shield-shaped plate) with a design is surcharged upon
the second cross. In the case of the example given of the 30° (shown right),
the device has the initials J.B.M. for Jacobus Burgundus Moliensis (Jacques DeMolay).
Prints of the individual Scottish Rite Degree paintings may be
obtained from Bro. George J. Stoklas, KCCH, by calling 202-483-7448
or sending an e-mail to embcamera@aol.com.
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Jim Tresner,
Valley of Guthrie, Okla., is the Director of the
Masonic Leadership Institute; Editor of The Oklahoma
Mason, Member of the Steering Committee, Masonic
Information Center; Director of Work in Guthrie; and
author, among other books, of Albert Pike: The Man
Beyond the Monument and Vested in Glory: The
Regalia of the Scottish Rite. Contacts: Grand Lodge
of Oklahoma, P.O. Box 1019, Guthrie OK 73044; Tel.
405-282-3212; Fax 405-282-3244;
okmasonmag@hotmail.com |
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