“Boost one another!” was the slogan chosen by a group of Masons who met in San Francisco’s Mission Masonic Temple in 1905 to organize a Masonic social club. The “Boosters,” as they were originally called, came together with the intent to further the teachings of Freemasonry in everyday life outside the confines of the Lodge Room. A Council of Twelve was selected to govern the new organization and Charles H.S. Pratt was chosen as the first “Kadih Al Malik” or King of the Ceremonials. The original Constitution and By-Laws said, “It is secret, not that it has anything to conceal, but simply that it may choose its own associates. It is to be one family of boosters and brothers and has the same right of protection, as has the household. Its membership shall be composed of our best citizens, moral, upright, virtuous, law-abiding fathers, husbands, sons and brothers, and all of them Masons in good standing.” The first initiation Ceremonial and Banquet was held on December 12, 1905, at Pioneer Hall in San Francisco.
Through the years the organization continued to grow and in January 1910 the name was changed to the Ancient Egyptian Order of Sciots [SIGH–ots] with a Supreme Pyramid replacing the original Council of Twelve. The Constitution of the Sciots adopted a preamble “to bind closer the tie of Masonic Brotherhood, to promote the well-being and elevate the condition of its members, to widen the field and increase the harvest of brotherly love; to cultivate the Social and Fraternal Instincts and increase the Happiness of those who are or may become members of it; to provide for its Government, and to lay the foundation of a permanent Fraternal and Social Organization.” The stated purpose of the Ancient Egyptian Order of Sciots is to “unite all Master Masons in a closer bond of friendship, fellowship and cooperation” and in so doing, each petitioner promises that he will endeavor to visit his Lodge, or a Lodge in his jurisdiction, at least once a month. Members are encouraged to participate in the conferral of Masonic Degrees and to assist in other Lodge functions. “Sciotry,” as it is called, prides itself in endeavoring to keep Masons active in the Symbolic or Blue Lodge. The Sciots have sometimes been called the “Shrine of the Blue Lodge” because any Master Mason in good standing is eligible to join and when the Sciots were formed and for many years thereafter, Shriner membership was limited to Knights Templar or 32nd Degree Masons.
Much like the Shrine’s Arabic them, Sciots use Egyptian symbolism, titles, and even wear fezzes as part of their official regalia. The ritual is said to be based upon an association called the “League of Neighbors” which supposedly existed around 1124 B.C. on Khios (or Scios), a Greek island located off the coast of Syria in the Aegean Sea. The Egyptians supposedly visited the island frequently and acquainted themselves with the League, which existed for the mutual assistance of the islands inhabitants. The “Moral” of the Ancient Egyptian Order of Sciots is:
Our neighbor’s assistance and cooperation in your business affairs;
The strong grip of a friend to help you over the rough places in life;
A kind word spoken in your behalf or your defense;
A watchful care over your brethren in their journey through life;
And a full measure of innocent amusement;
Is worth many times more to you while living, than the most beautiful requiem, over the most unctuous sermon, or the most elaborate pyramid over your remains when you are dead.
The elected officers of the Supreme Pyramid include a Pharaoh, Supreme Mobib, Supreme Armeses, Supreme Pastophori, Supreme Lecturer, Supreme Scribe, Supreme Chancellor and three Supreme Trustees. There are also more than a dozen appointed Supreme Officers, several Deputy Pharaohs, and Ambassadors. The Supreme Pyramid meets annually in November and semi-annually in May.
Local bodies of Sciots are called Pyramids and are presided over by a Toparch. Other elected officers of the Pyramids are the Mobib and Scribe and some Pyramids have an auxiliary group for women called a Sciotress Club. Pyramids of the Sciots exist in California, New Jersey, and Illinois and there is a Sciots Club in Nevada. Like most Masonic organizations, Sciotry is charitable and maintains a Youth Activity Program that sponsors groups like the Order of DeMolay, Rainbow Girls, and Jobs Daughters. There is also a Foundation Fund for the rehabilitation of underprivileged and needy children.
The Order celebrated its 100th Anniversary in 2005 and was highlighted at the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia, during May of that year.
For further information, please contact the Supreme Pyramid, Ancient Egyptian Order of Sciots, 13360 Portofino Dr., Del Mar, CA 92014-3557, (858) 755-0931, http://www.sciots.org/.
Dr. Gary Parks, Past Pharaoh, Supreme Scribe, generously helped with information about the Sciots in this article.
References
Coil, Henry Wilson. Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. Richmond, Va.: Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co., 1995.
Denslow, Ray V. “Masonic Rites and Degrees.” Transactions of the Missouri Lodge of Research, vol. 12, 1955.
Schmidt, Alvin J. The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Institutions: Fraternal Organizations. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1980.
Stevens, Albert C. The Cyclopedia of Fraternities. 2nd ed. New York: E.B. Treat & Co., 1907.
Whited, Jesse M. “Ancient Egyptian Order of Sciots.” The Builder Magazine. Vol. X, No. 5., May 1924.
Voorhis, Harold V.B. Masonic Organizations and Allied Orders and Degrees: A Cyclopaedic Handbook. [New York]: Press of Henry Emmerson, 1952.
