Council
of Kadosh, Degree Descriptions
The Degree
description below is reprinted with the permission of the
Scottish Rite Journal.
Nineteenth
Degree
Grand
Pontiff
Jim Tresner, 33°, Grand
Cross
PO Box 70, Guthrie, Oklahoma 73044–0070
Photo:
Oil painting by Bro. Robert H. White, 32°
The title of this Degree sometimes causes
confusion, for the term "pontiff" is sometimes applied to the Pope. But
the word is used here in its original sense of "bridge builder." A
Mason is to build bridges to the future, both his own future and the
future of his society and culture. Our nation is great, not by
accident, but because of the sacrifices and efforts of our parents,
grandparents, great-grandparents, and all those who have gone before
us. One of the key lessons of this Degree is the importance of building
for the future. Another is the certainty that good will triumph over
evil. Those lessons are reflected in the regalia of the Degree.
Perhaps the most unusual piece of regalia for
the 19° is the blue satin fillet or headband. (See photo
above.) Embroidered with twelve gold stars, it brings together two of
the traditional colors of the Blue Lodge, blue and gold, and
symbolically suggests that the process of bridge building begins in
those foundation Degrees.
But the ritual tells us that the fillet also symbolizes purity, for the
slightest contact of the satin with the earth will soil it. It reminds
us that it does no good to try to be "virtuous most of the time" or
"usually honest." We have to strive for perfection, even if we know
it's not possible to attain.
The blue color also symbolizes the heavens.
Thus, the fillet and its stars become a kind of miniature of the
"starry canopy of heaven." The twelve stars are rich in symbolism,
referring to, among others, the twelve tribes of Israel, the twelve
gates of the New Jerusalem, the twelve signs of the zodiac, the twelve
fruits of the Tree of Life, and the twelve Apostles. A little thought
will suggest ways in which each of those sets of twelve represents a
bridge toward heaven or the future.
The same twelve stars appear on the cordon.
The cordon is crimson bordered with white. We have already seen that
crimson symbolizes zeal and white symbolizes purity. The suggestion
here is that the Grand Pontiff must act with zeal and determination,
but that that zeal must be set off or confined by the greatest possible
purity of morals, character, and motivation. The A & W (Alpha
and Omega) on the cordon are used in their traditional meaning of "the
first and the last" and, therefore, represent totality.
The regalia also includes the breastplate of
a High Priest of ancient Israel. The breastplate is of gold, set with
twelve different stones. On each stone is engraved, in Hebrew
characters, the initial of one of the names or attributes of God as
cited in the ritual.
The jewel of the Degree is a rectangular
plate of solid gold. On one side is an Aleph (a), the first letter of
the Hebrew alphabet, corresponding to the Greek Alpha. On the other
side is a Tau (Z), a letter of the Hebrew alphabet that corresponds to
the Greek Omega. Again, the suggestion is of the first and the last,
the beginning and the end, the full cycle, totality.
The Degree reminds us that we are supposed to
make a difference in the world. We are to make it a better place for
others, and we are not to do that reluctantly but with zeal and fire.
But we must always be sure of the purity of our own motives. A Mason
who desires to help the world or to benefit others so that he can feed
his own ego or for self-aggrandizement, completely misses the point.
The Scottish Rite
Journal - September 2000
Jim Tresner
is Director of the Masonic Leadership Institute and Editor of The
Oklahoma Mason. A frequent contributor to the Scottish Rite Journal and
its book review editor, Illustrious Brother Tresner is also a volunteer
writer for The Oklahoma Scottish Rite Mason and a video script
consultant for the National Masonic Renewal Committee. He is the
Director of the Thirty-third Degree Conferral Team and Director of Work
at the Guthrie Scottish Rite Temple in Guthrie, Oklahoma, as well as a
life member of the Scottish Rite Research Society, author of the
popular anecdotal biography Albert Pike, The Man Beyond the Monument,
and a member of the steering committee of the Masonic Information
Center. Ill. Tresner was awarded the Grand Cross, the Scottish Rite's
highest honor, during the Supreme Council's October 1997 Biennial
Session.
