Besides being the home of Huntsville Lodge No. 364, F. & A. M, Huntsville is also the home of five other prominent Masonic bodies.  They are:

 

Huntsville Chapter No. 154, Royal Arch Masons

Huntsville Council No. 77, Royal and Select Masters

Saint John’s Commandery No. 36, Knights Templar

Arkansas York Rite College No. 142

M:.W. Carson Scott Council No. 385, Allied Masonic Degrees

 

 

 

 

      The York Rite of Freemasonry is a system of degrees which include those of the lodge, chapter, council and commandery, often referred to as American Rite Masonry. While most of the degrees of this rite were born and nurtured in England, yet it is in North America that they have attained their highest development, and it is in America that there is a regular arrangement of the degrees.  In the U.S., they are often referred to as “Ancient Craft Masonry” and in bringing them all under that heading, we see that they are related to the Symbolic Degrees conferred in the Lodge.  The York Rite can be viewed as an aggregate of four Bodies, forming one whole, and one cannot stop on the way and have a complete understanding of Ancient Craft Masonry. Membership in the Chapter, Council and Commandery is by petition while membership in the College and Allied Masonic Degrees is by invitation only. For now, we will discuss only the 4 bodies considered to by York Rite Bodies, the Lodge, Chapter, Council and Commandery.

 

      Before going further, we will review with you the various degrees or orders conferred in the York Rite.

 

          The Symbolic Lodge consists of three degrees

              1. The Entered Apprentice

              2. The Fellowcraft

              3. Master Mason

 

          The Chapter of Royal Arch Masons

              1. Mark Master

              2. Past Master

              3. Most Excellent Master

              4. Royal Arch Mason

 

          The Council of Royal and Select Masters

              1. Royal Master

              2. Select Master

              3. Super Excellent Master

 

          The Commandery of Knights Templar

              1. Order of the Red Cross

              2. Order of Malta

              3. Order of the Temple (Knight Templar)

The York Rite—Invitations Unnecessary

 

      If you are a master mason, all you have to do is petition the other bodies.  They will be glad to add you to their ranks.  The only restriction is that in order to receive the Order of the Temple, you must believe and practice Christian virtues and believe in Jesus Christ.  You will be glad that you received these degrees as they complete and amplify the degrees of the Symbolic Lodge.  The most common remark made by Masons who receive these degrees is that they wonder why they took so long to petition to receive them.  Remember, you were taught early in your Symbolic Degrees that Freemasonry is a progressive science, attained only be degrees.  You may not be able to be active in the work of the York Rite, but you will be glad that you took the degrees.  There are no lectures to learn before you progress, so the small amount of time it takes to receive these degrees is well worth the time.

 

      So that you can be better informed about these degrees, we will give you a small synopsis of  each degree, beginning with that of Mark Master; the first degree of the Chapter.   Each of the bodies has a separate page that tells about each degree along with a little history of our local bodies.