The latest news
Read all about it.....
Inspector General
V.... Bro. D.R. Jarvis 33°
10th November 2023
The Ancient and Accepted Rite under the Supreme Council 33° for England and Wales and its Districts and Chapters Overseas
District of Berkshire
berks.district.recorder@btinternet.com
Dear Brother & Prince Rose Croix,
Hopefully you will have received the communication from Supreme Council (dated 10th November 2023) regarding amendments to the requirements for membership of our Order, and to some related parts of our ritual. You should also be in possession of Supreme Council's Announcement Notice and FAQ's.
On 31 October I attended a 'National Conference of Inspectors General' hosted by Supreme Council. The purpose of the Conference was to enable Supreme Council to explain their reasons for the amendments. The opportunity was then given for consideration with other Inspectors General. Following much personal thought, I was confident in expressing my support for the changes and the reasons for making the amendments. To my knowledge, the great majority of Inspectors General fully supported the decision to move to a more inclusive membership, and that the proposed amendments to the ritual were proportionate and appropriate.
I feel it may be helpful if I share my personal thoughts with you:
Firstly; When I was Appointed Inspector General for the charge and supervision of all Chapters in the District of Berkshire on behalf of Supreme Council, I agreed to uphold the authority of the Supreme Council and the dignity of the Order. However, whilst this personal obligation was to the forefront of my mind, it was not the primary reason for my being comfortable in giving my support to the Council's decision, in good faith.
Supreme Council has given very deep thought; considerable discussion; and informative consultation for a significant period of time. Appropriate and meaningful consideration has been applied to the whole process, leading to Supreme Council's decision to make these important changes.
I am reminded that we are all part of an organisation (pure Ancient Masonry- the Craft the Holy Royal Arch, and I believe the Mark degree), which are basically open to any man who can affirm his belief in TGAOTU. I am further very conscious that, as in all walks of life,
Freemasonry has to evolve and adapt to modern life. Therefore, inclusion and shared ethos is much better than exclusion of followers of other doctrines from the meaningful enjoyment of membership. I am confident these changes clearly demonstrate the Christian ethos that lies deep within 'our' Order; of extending a warm welcome to all; to enable the ideals and goodness of Christian teachings to be shared across a multi-faith membership. At the same time the amendments allow for a better understanding for Christian members, of the parallel ideals to do good which are contained in the chosen doctrines of other members.
I firmly believe this is a positive step forward by Supreme Council. The amendments in no way denigrates or dilutes the Christian footing of 'our' beautiful and meaningful Order that is so special to us all. The ritual continues to reflect Jesus' journey from Good Friday to Easter Sunday as it takes a candidate from darkness to light and impresses upon him the importance of Faith, Hope, and Charity, whilst also encouraging the adoption of Love, Care, and Compassion for one's fellow man. It is our task to preserve our Order in all its beauty; to pass on to future generations the principles of true and genuine Perfection into the meaningful and inspiring Ancient and Accepted Rite'.
I therefore commend to you all the amendments to the requirements for membership of our Order, and to some related parts of our ritual.
I will be very happy to address any issues or concerns which may arise, either personally or if members feel it would be helpful in their own Chapters. A Chapter of Improvement has been arranged at Sindlesham on Saturday 18th November commencing at 9-30am. This will be an opportunity to answer any concerns you may have regarding the 18 °ceremony or our Order in General.
Yours most sincerely and fraternally,
V..Ill..Bro. D.R. Jarvis 33°
TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED RITE
UNDER THE SUPREME COUNCIL FOR ENGLAND & WALES 10 November 2023 Dear Sir and brother —
Last week a National Conference of Inspectors General was held in London. Many fruitful discussions took place in an attempt to strengthen the Order for the next generation of members. New documents and guides are being developed for use by Inspectors General, a new narrative is being created to help members explain to others what the Order means to them and to encourage them to join, and the Supreme Council has retained a new Head of Strategy to help achieve these and other goals.
The most significant issue discussed at the Conference was the continued existence of the requirement that a candidate for the Order profess the Trinitarian Christian faith, a matter the Council has had under consideration for many years. Members in England and Wales are often surprised to learn that almost no other Supreme Council around the world imposes any religious restriction on membership. Most Councils have never had a Christian restriction, and those that once did have almost all long since removed it. Furthermore, unlike many other Orders of Freemasonry which are Christian throughout the world, the Ancient and Accepted Rite is almost completely Universal in its nature and content. Even within the system as practised in England and Wales, the only one of the 33 degrees with any significant Christian content is the 18°. Nonetheless, after considering the matter in great detail over many years, the Supreme Council remains adamant that it would be inappropriate, given the foundational identity of the Rose Croix degree as a Christian working within this jurisdiction, to ‘de-Christianise’ the ritual of the 18°, which we all know and hold in such high regard. Our ritual is fundamentally reflective of the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth and it would, in the Council’s opinion, not be appropriate to remove or ‘water down’ the Christian character of the degree.
However, the Supreme Council is equally convinced that the Order’s current stance fails to reflect the Christian—and masonic—need to be loving towards all and to treat one another with equity. To that end, the Council has come to the unanimous conclusion that the requirement to profess the Trinitarian Christian faith should no longer be a requisite of admission to this Order, which strives to be reflective of a modern, inclusive society. In the Council’s view, to remove the restriction is the Christian thing to do. There are many good people prevented from experiencing the Higher Degrees of Freemasonry, who would enjoy membership and who would be assets to our Order; there is no reason why they should not join if they wish, provided they are willing to strive to uphold the Christian ideals of faith, hope and charity exemplified by the life and teachings of Jesus, so beautifully represented in the 18°.
By Order of the Supreme Council.
Dr G R E Shilson 33°
Grand Secretary General H∴E∴
The decision to move from a restrictive to a more inclusive membership criterion naturally raises certain queries, which it is hoped the attached document will answer.
Declaration 2023/06
19th July 2021
TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED RITE WITHIN HOME DISTRICTS OR GROUPS
UNDER THE SUPREME COUNCIL FOR ENGLAND AND WALES
Dear Sir and brother,
You will have seen UGLE’s announcement last week in line with HM Government’s decision to move to Step Four of the ‘roadmap to recovery’ with effect from Monday, 19th July 2021, when most legal restrictions brought about by the Coronavirus pandemic will be removed.
Having considered the Government’s decision, the Supreme Council for England & Wales is pleased to direct that, for now, it will impose no additional restrictions beyond those required by law. In practice, this means that, from today, there will be no restriction on meetings being held as usual, although all members must of course continue to comply with national or local legislation as required.
Members are also expected to comply with any reasonable requirements set out by individual masonic halls (such as with regard to the wearing of face coverings in their premises), to use common sense at all times with regard to their own health and to be considerate of those around them who may be more risk-averse or particularly vulnerable. It will of course continue to be a matter for each member whether he wishes to attend a Chapter and nobody should feel pressured to attend where they feel uncomfortable doing so. Likewise, it is essential that any candidate for the Order is made aware of— and comfortable with—the fact that there may be some physical contact during the ceremony.
In order to enable a smooth transition to Step Four, for the remainder of July and during August Chapters may continue to choose whether or not to meet. From 1st September 2021, however, all Chapters are to resume meeting as normal and from that date no Chapter meeting may be cancelled. As always, however, a meeting may be abandoned owing to inquoracy if necessary.
During July and August, decisions may continue to be made under the principles for remote decision- making set out by the Supreme Council last year. However, from 1st September 2021 all decisions must be made in open Chapter as before.
For the avoidance of doubt, the temporary amendments to the 18° Ritual issued by the Supreme Council in December 2020 are hereby rescinded, although may of course be needed again in the future should the Government reintroduce physical distancing or restrictions on numbers.
19th July 2021
Declaration 2021/4
Finally, you are reminded that, as always, a member may elect to partake of the Third Point symbolically should he prefer to do so.
We are all aware that the ending of physical distancing restrictions does not mean an end to Coronavirus, which will continue to have an impact on our lives for many years to come. Likewise, it is of course possible that by the time September comes, the situation has again evolved, new legislation has been introduced and new guidance must be issued by the Masonic Powers. However, the direction in this letter is intended to provide members with some degree of certainty as we move to the next phase of the UK’s response to the pandemic. Should circumstances change significantly from now, new directions will of course be issued.
The Supreme Council thanks you for your patience and continued support throughout this difficult period and looks forward very much to the Order flourishing fully once again from the autumn.
Yours faithfully and fraternally,
Dr G R E Shilson 33°
Grand Secretary General HE
2
King Edward VII
Rose Croix Chapter of Improvement
Under the authority of the Supreme Council 33 of the Ancient and Accepted Rite for England and Wales and its Districts and Chapters Overseas
Recorder: IllBro Peter Lambert 30 Email: plambert4033@yahoo.co.uk Tel: 0781 276 5630
To: Recorders of Rose Croix Chapters
Annual Circular 2021
29 Beaconfield Avenue Epping
CM16 5AX
As many of you will be aware the 2020 demonstration season could not be delivered as expected due to the Covid 19 crisis. The demonstrations of the of the 14th degree, Grand Elect Perfect & Sublime Master, were initially held over until 2021 but as the crisis is still ongoing, we have had to postpone all demonstrations to 2022 with the agreement and support of the Supreme Council.
All Princes who applied for tickets for the 2020 were offered the choice of a full refund or to carry over their payment to 2021. All those that requested a refund have been paid, some have donated their payments to charity and those who have asked for the funds to be carried over had been registered as paid for the 2021 demonstrations.
We have already sent out a letter, via District & Group Recorders, to every Chapter outlining options for those who have pre-purchased tickets to ask whether they wish their funds to be carried over to 2022 or have a full refund.
Dates for 2022 are being finalised and will be confirmed in my 2022 Annual Circular and will be found the 2022 Year Book. Provisional dates and venues can be found on the KE VII website (www.kevii.org.uk).
In the meantime, we have been working towards offering our monthly Chapter of Improvement meetings on a virtual basis (via Zoom).
We will have to restrict this at first to those Princes who have already attended the physical Chapter of Improvement previously but may be able to extend this to any Prince of the Order under our Supreme Council at a later date.
To take part in one of our virtual monthly Chapters of Improvement a Prince will have to apply by e-mail to me at the e-mail address above no less than 7 days prior to the scheduled meeting and I will send them a zoom link to enable them to sign on.
Applications to take part will have to include the applicants full name and the name and number of their Chapter to enable us to ensure only qualified Princes are admitted to the meeting.
If any Prince wishes to deliver any of the points, opening & closing or intermediate degrees, they will need to advise me in their initial e-mail. We will allocate this on a first come first served basis.
During the Chapter of Improvement all attendees will be muted other than the Prince delivering the point, the Preceptor providing the usual guidance and the Director of Ceremonies who will also read out the rubric to keep the point flowing.
As before the Chapters of Improvement will be held on the first Thursday of every month (except August) starting from the one scheduled for March on the following days.
4th March 2021
1st April 2021
6th May 2021
3rd June 2021
1st July 2021
2nd September 2021 7th October 2021 4th November 2021 2nd December 2021
We look forward to seeing as many Princes as possible at these meetings.
During the above the standard version of the 18th degree ritual will be used as set out in the Supreme Council’s ritual book dated 2008.
We continue with these virtual meetings until we are able to meet physically at Duke Street, St James, London as before.
Finally, may we thank you for your continued support for the COI by way of your annual affiliation fee, which is so helpful in our continued production of the demonstrations of the Intermediate Degrees.
Yours Sincerely and Fraternally
Peter Lambert Recorder
cc. Inspectors General, District/Group Recorders
