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The term York Rite is a term most often used in the United States of America to refer to a collection of Masonic degrees that, in most other countries, are conferred separately. As such, it constitutes one of the two main branches of Masonic Appendant Bodies in United States Freemasonry , which a Master Mason may join to further his knowledge of Freemasonry. Its name derives from the city of York , where, according to a Masonic legend, the first meetings of Masons in England took place, although only the lectures of the York Rite College make reference to that legend. The other principal branch of Freemasonry in the United States is the Ancient And Accepted Scottish Rite . Some obediences of the Scottish Rite , outside the United States where the York Rite is not active, may confer some of the York Rite degrees. The divisions within the York Rite and the requirements for membership differ from Jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but the essentials are the same. In all the workings, the one requirement is that all applicants be in possession of the degree of Master Mason (the third degree of Freemasonry ). The York Rite is not found as a single system in the majority of countries outside the United States, nor are any of the separate degrees subject to the local Grand Lodge jurisdiction. Each sovereign and distinct rite or "Order" elsewhere has some differences in ritual details to the York Rite system. However, provided that the Grand Lodge in question regards the parent "Craft" jurisdiction as regular, each distinct Order has recognised fraternal inter-relations with the respective Rite within the York system. YORK RITE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA The York Rite in the United States is actually a grouping of separate Rites joined in order, namely the Capitular Rite, or Royal Arch Masons (General Grand Chapter - Royal Arch Masons International), the Cryptic Rite, or Cryptic Masons (General Grand Council - Cryptic Masons International) and the Chivalric Orders, or Knights Templar (Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States of America). The bodies of the York Rite are: Royal Arch Masonry Royal Arch Masonry is the first order a Master Mason joins in the York Rite. The Chapter works the following degrees:
Cryptic Masonry Membership in the ''Council of Cryptic Masons'' (or the ''Council of Royal and Select Masters'' in Great Britain and several states in the USA) is not required for membership in the Knights Templar in some jurisdictions, so it is frequently skipped. It is called Cryptic Masonry or the Cryptic Rite because a Crypt or underground room figures prominently in the degrees.
In Great Britain, a ''Most Excellent Master'' degree is offered between Select Master and Super Excellent Master. Knights Templar The Knights Templar is the final order joined in the York Rite. Unlike other Masonic bodies which only require a belief in a Supreme Being regardless of religion, membership in Knights Templar is open only to Master Masons who promise to defend the Christian faith. Its affiliation with Masonry is based on texts that indicate persecuted Templars found refuge within the safety of Freemasonry. http://www.knightstemplar.org/faq1.html Templar FAQ , accessed January 10, 2007. A local Knights Templar organization is called a Commandery in the United States and a Preceptory elsewhere. In the United States, Knights Templar consists of three degrees:
EQUIVALENT BODIES OUTSIDE THE USA Mark Man and Mark Master
Holy Royal Arch The Degree of the Holy Royal Arch is very similar to that of the Royal Arch Mason in the York Rite and contains many layers of complexity within its ritual. A candidate for Exaltation is required to have been a Master Mason for four weeks or more. Supreme Grand Chapter of England How to Join Royal Arch In Scotland the candidate must also be a Mark Master Mason, a degree which can be conferred within Chapter if required.
Council of Royal and Select Masters Outside the United States the Cryptic Council confers the four degrees identified above. Candidates are required to be members of a Royal Arch Chapter and a Mark Master Mason. The Knights Templar See Also: Masonic Knights Templar Officially known as ''The United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and of St John of Jerusalem, Palestine, Rhodes and Malta'', this order is colloquially known as the Knights Templar. Bodies of the order are known as Preceptories. In Great Britain and other countries these Preceptories confer three degrees:
Membership is by invitation and candidates are required to be Master Masons, holders of the degree of the Holy Royal Arch and to sign a declaration that they profess the Doctrine of the Holy and Undivided Trinity. In the United States, this body is officially known as the Knights Templar. It is not invitational, though the same membership requirements still apply, and the body itself is called a Commandery. In some jurisdictions, membership in a Council is required prior to being eligible for the Knights Templar, and there are non-Christians who are members in some Commanderies. Hodapp, Christopher L. ''Freemasons for Dummies''. page 200. ISBN 0-7645-9796-5 SEE ALSO REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
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