Ancient and Primitive Rite

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The Ancient and Primitive Rite is a masonic high-degree Rite similar to the Rite Primitif de Namur, the York Rite, the Rectified Scottish Rite.

1 History
2 Current Penetration
3 Notable Members
4 Degrees
5 External links

[edit] History

The Rite began around 1805 amongst Napoleon's soldiers in Egypt who were Freemasons. It was based primarily on the degree work of the Philadelphes of Narbonne as well as several other masonic Rites that were operating in France during this period. The Rite was then introduced to France from Egypt by Samuel Honis in 1815 and also spread to Italy. In 1856 the Rite was established in the USA, Romania, Australia and Switzerland by Jacques Etienne Marconis de Negre. During the Civil War, the Rite in the USA lost so many members that it fell into a decline from which it never recovered. The Rite did, however, continue to be practiced in Europe and was chartered for the jurisdiction of Chile in the 1920's where it is still practiced and where it survived until recent times.

[edit] Current Penetration

The Rite has experienced somewhat of a renaissance recently, and is now being practiced once again in United States of America, France, Chile, Brazil, Ecuador, Lebanon, Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay, England, Italy, Mexico, Monaco, Venezuela, Portugal and the Dominican Republic.

[edit] Notable Members

Famous people who have been members of the Rite include Kenneth McKenzie, John Yarker, Salvatore Zola, David McLellan and several members of the Romanian royal family prior to the suppression of Freemasonry as a whole by the Communists in that country.

The mysticism and rituals of people such as the Comte de Cagliostro, Martinez Pasqually and Louis Claude de Saint-Martin have influenced this Rite of Freemasonry.

[edit] Degrees

The Rite confers 91 degrees starting from the 4th degree and going to the 95th in four series. The Rite as it was originally practiced in Egypt also had symbolic lodge degrees which were unique, similarly to Scottish Rite and York Rite, which were the official ritual of the Grand Lodge of Egypt, a regular masonic body. The degree rituals of the Rite are chivalric in nature with kabbalistic, hermetic, biblical and mythological influences. The degrees* of the Rite as they are worked today (in Spanish), are thus:

Section One - Chapter Rose + Croix

4 Grado - Maestro Discreto

5 Grado - Perfecto Maestro Arquitecto

6 Grado - Secretario Intimo o Sublime Maestro

7 Grado - Caballero Intendente de los Edificios

8 Grado - Maestro Prevoste y Juez

9 Grado - Caballero Maestro Electo de los Nueve

10 Grado - Ilustre Caballero Electo de los Quince

11 Grado - Sublime Caballero Electo

12 Grado - Caballero Gran Maestro Arquitecto

13 Grado - Caballero del Arco Real

14 Grado - Caballero Gran Electo de la Bóveda Sagrada

15 Grado - Caballero de la Espada o de Oriente

16 Grado - Caballero Príncipe de Jerusalén

17 Grado - Caballero del Oriente y Occidente

18 Grado - Caballero Rosa Cruz

Second Section - Senate of Hermetic Philosophers

19 Grado - Sublime Escocés de la Jerusalén Celeste

20 Grado - Venerable Gran Maestro de las Logias

21 Grado - Caballero o Patriarca Noaquita

22 Grado - Caballero del Líbano o Real Hacha

23 Grado - Caballero Jefe del Tabernáculo

24 Grado - Caballero de la Águila Roja

25 Grado - Caballero de la Serpiente

26 Grado - Escocés Trinitario

27 Grado - Caballero de la Ciudad Santa

28 Grado - Caballero del Templo

29 Grado - Caballero Maestro Escocés

30 Grado - Gran Inquisidor

31 Grado - Sublime Príncipe del Real Misterio

32 Grado - Caballero Teutonico

33 Grado - Sublime Caballero Kadosch

34 Grado - Caballero de la Escandinava

35 Grado - Gran Caballero del Templo

36 Grado - Caballero Philalethes

37 Grado - Caballero Hospitalario

38 Grado - Caballero del León

39 Grado - Caballero Comendador de la Estrella

40 Grado - Grado- Caballero de la Triple Cruz

41 Grado - Caballero del Arco Iris

42 Grado - Caballero del Líbano

43 Grado - Sublime Sabio Filósofo Hermético

Third Section - Sublime Council of the Mystic Temple

44 Grado - Caballero Masón Iluminado

45 Grado - Caballero Masón Sublime

46 Grado - Caballero Masón Perfecto

47 Grado - Caballero de las Siete Estrellas

48 Grado - Caballero Templario Kadosch de la Palestina

49 Grado - Sublime Sabio de las Pirámides

50 Grado - Sublime Caballero

51 Grado - Caballero del Phoenix

52 Grado - Minero Clave Masónica Grado 1

53 Grado - Lavador Clave Masónica Grado 2

54 Grado - Soplador Clave Masónica Grado 3

55 Grado - Fundidor Clave Masónica Grado 4

56 Grado - Escudero Novicio

57 Grado - Caballero Bienhechor de la Ciudad Santa

58 Grado - Profeso Caballero Bienhechor

59 Grado - Gran Profeso Caballero Bienhechor

60 Grado - Sublime Guardián de los Tres Fuegos

61 Grado - Caballero del Delta Sagrado

62 Grado - Sublime Sabio de Eléusis o de Heliópolis

63 Grado - Caballero de las tres Águilas

64 Grado - Sabio Pontífice de Mitras

65 Grado - Interprete de los Jeroglíficos

66 Grado - Juez Filosofo Gran Comendador Desconocido

67 Grado - Caballero del Arco Iris

68 Grado - Caballero de la Cábala

69 Grado - Sabio Caballero de la Rama Dorada

70 Grado - Verdadero Masón Adepto

71 Grado - Caballero del Temple

72 Grado - Caballero de los Argonautas

73 Grado - Aprendiz Elu Cohen

74 Grado - Compañero Elu Cohen

75 Grado - Maestro Elu Cohen

76 Grado - Grand Arquitecto

77 Grado - Grand Electo de Zorobabel

78 Grado - Comendador de Oriente

79 Grado - Sublime Filosofo

80 Grado - Caballero Filosofo

81 Grado - Caballero del Vellón Dorado

82 Grado - Patriarca de Memphis

83 Grado - Caballero de la Estrella

84 Grado - Caballero Profeso de la Estrella de Oriente

85 Grado - Sublime Caballero de la Estrella

86 Grado - Sublime Maestro del Anillo Luminoso

87 Grado - Sublime Príncipe de la Masonería

88 Grado - Gran Electo de la Sagrada Cortina

89 Grado - Caballero Adepto de la Aguila o del Sol

90 Grado - Sublime Maestro de la Gran Obra:

Section Four - Sovereign Sanctuary

91 Grado - Gran Catequista de la Orden

92 Grado - Gran Defensor de la Orden

93 Grado - Grande Regulador General de la Orden

94 Grado - Gran Administrador de la Orden

95 Grado - Gran Conservador General de la Orden

Several degree names are shortened in order to fit into the space on this page. In addition, there are several alternative rituals for many degrees.

The Rite as it exists today operates in the same spirit as the masonic Metropolitan College in Paris where the degrees of all high degree rites which were present at that time were available to master masons, so that they could make up their own mind as to their value. The Rite does this in order to preserve and use as much of the tradition of high degree masonic rituals as possible.