Ancient and Primitive Rite

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The Ancient and Primitive Rite, also called the Order of the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Mizraim, is a Masonic Rite first popularized by John Yarker and generally considered clandestine by Masonic organizations within the UGLE framework.

History

Yarker's Rite

As promulgated by John Yarker, it was a combination of the Oriental Rite of Memphis (established 1814), and Rite of Mizraim (established 1813), both in France, and it never had more than 300 members. Yarker claimed a history going to Bonaparte's armies in Egypt, and traced the development of the Rite until his present day. He professed also that "Its Rituals embrace all Masonry, and are based on those of the Craft universal; they explain its symbols, develope [sic] its mystic philosophy, exemplify its morality, examine its legends, tracing them to their primitive source, and dealing fairly and truthfully with the historical features of Symbolical Masonry. They contain nothing in their teaching but what Mahommedan, Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Brahmin, or Parsee may alike acknowledge."

Degrees

The Rite of Memphis confers a set of degrees, numbered from 4° through 32°:

First Series: Chapter

Class II: College

• 4° - Discreet Master
• 5° - Sublime Master
• 6° - Knight of the Sacred Arch
• 7° - Knight of the Secret Vault

Class III: Chapter

• 8° - Knight of the Sword
• 9° - Knight of Jerusalem
• 10° - Knight of the Orient
• 11° - Knight of the Rose Croix

Second Series: Senate

Class IV: Senate

• 12° - Knight of the Red Eagle
• 13° - Knight of the Temple
• 14° - Knight of the Tabernacle
• 15° - Knight of the Serpent
• 16° - Knight Sage of Truth
• 17° - Knight Hermetic Philosopher

Class V: Areopagus

• 18° - Knight Kadosh
• 19° - Knight of the Royal Mystery
• 20° - Knight Grand Inspector

Third Series: Sublime Council

Class VI: Consistory

• 21° - Grand Installator
• 22° - Grand Consecrator
• 23° - Grand Eulogist
• 24° - Patriarch of Truth
• 25° - Patriarch of the Planispheres
• 26° - Patriarch of the Vedas

Class VII: Council

• 27° - Patriarch of Isis
• 28° - Patriarch of Memphis
• 29° - Pontiff of the Mystic City
• 30° - Perfect Pontiff, Sublime Master of the Great Work

Official

Grand Tribunal

• 31° - Grand Defender
• 32° - Prince of Memphis

References

• Prescott, Andrew. The Cause of Humanity: Charles Bradlaugh and Freemasonry
• Boris Nicolaevsky, “Secret Societies and the First International,” in The Revolutionary Internationals, 1864–1943, ed. Milored M. Drachkovitch (Stanford, 1966), 36-56.

External links

• from the Grand Lodge of British Columbia & Yukon, an outline of the history and principles of the rite as written by John Yarker.