Victorian Freemasons will be interested to read about how several independent Masonic Orders are combined in the USA. For an escoteric discusion of how these Masonic Orders might interact in Australia, see Sojourning in Subconscious.
The following article was originally an email to me and the author athorised its publication here.
If, by the York Rite, you mean that as practiced in the USA, then I have to point out one correction; The York Rite is actually four bodies (although most here will say only three)
1.
The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge, and its subordinates is the foundation upon which the whole of the York Rite is built, without it, it all falls down in a heap.
2.
The Most Excellent Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Masons is the second of the York Rite bodies, along with its subordinate Chapters, of course which work the degrees of Mark Master Mason, (virtual) Past Master, Most Excellent Master, and the Sublime Degree of Royal Arch Mason.
3.
The Most Illustrious Grand Council, Royal and Select Master Masons, with its subordinate Councils, is the third of the four in the York Rite, here. The Councils confer the degrees of Royal Master, Select Master, and (in Massachusetts and some other Council Jurisdictions) Super Excellent Master.
4.
The forth and final unit in the four that make up the York Rite is the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar, and Appendant Orders, and their subordinate Commanderies, which confer the Orders of Christian Knighthood; The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross, Knight of Malta, and the Order of the Temple. ( Now the Grand Commanderies, in turn are under the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar, and the Appendant Orders, of the United States of America, but for now lets leave that aside.)
Also to make matters more interesting, here, some of the Grand Chapters and some of the Grand Councils are 'under' the General Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Masons an the General Grand Council, Royal and Select Master Masons, then again some, including Massachusetts, are not. Is your head spinning yet?!?, some of us feel the same way.
It is true that it is easy to 'see' it as one unit because for some years now the York Rite has had a single 'unified petition form'. What it really is the three petitions printed in one unit; the candidate fills out the three sections and submits the whole thing to his sponsor who will separate it and turn the proper sections over, with the fee, to the Chapter Secretary, the Council Recorder and the Commandery Recorder (who sometimes, but not always is a single person {a glutton for punishment!}); the three sections are acted upon in turn by the Chapter, the Council, and the Commandery.
Occasionally, we get a brother who wishes to take one body at a time, get the feel of its work and possibly go through the Chairs before going on to the next body. If he is very strong in his determination that that is how he wants to do it and does not cave in under the pressure to go all the way (either in a single day at a York Rite Festival, or one degree per month, one right after the other), he may really learn well and become VERY proficient.
Enough for now, OK?!?
Fraternally,
George E. Noon
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