The Rules of Ritual and Passports

by Thomas R. Labagh, 33°, Active for PA; Chair, Ritualistic Matters Committee

There are a lot of rules that govern our Scottish Rite Rituals, and most of them appear in the Supreme Council Constitution. Here are some salient points:

✔ The rituals cannot be translated into another language except by permission. All conferrals and business must be conducted in the English language.

✔ No member of the Rite shall print, copy, or distribute any work purporting to be a ritual or any portion or illustration of the same, except as authorized.

✔ With proper approval, costumes, stage settings, and other paraphernalia belonging to a Valley may be used in the presentation of public plays or other entertainments; however, the ritualistic use of such items shall not be disclosed.

✔ Video recording of the degrees for training and critique purposes or evaluation at the direction of the Supreme Council Committee on Ritualistic Matters is permitted under very specific approvals and conditions.

✔ Recording of the obligation, signs, and the communication of passwords is prohibited.

✔ Subordinate Bodies shall confer the degrees in strict conformity with the rituals authorized by the Supreme Council.

✔ The rituals of another Jurisdiction may be used in a Valley in this Jurisdiction if the proper written approvals are obtained. No passport credit may be given.

✔ The use of OUR rituals in another jurisdiction may likewise be permitted with proper written approvals.

✔ A Valley may exemplify degrees in another Valley in the same state or in another state only with the Deputies’ consent.

There are other considerations not directly referenced in the Constitutions. For example, the articles published in The Northern Light written about the degrees by HGA graduates or by Supreme Council members are permitted because they have been authorized by the Sovereign Grand Commander and do not disclose large portions of the text of the degree.

Some members may remember when it was acceptable to perform Vignettes of certain degrees. However, they were removed from use in the 1990s and are not sanctioned for performance as shortened degrees. While any Valley could, for educational or entertainment purposes, perform a part of a current ritual at a tiled Stated or Club meeting, no abridged text may be presented as a replacement for a degree or to be credited as a degree in a passport. Passport credit is only to be given for the performance of current degree texts. Some Valleys exemplify older degrees, but these are for historical and educational purposes only and do not count as the conferral of degrees when it comes to stamping the passports.

Lastly, while modernized performances of our rituals using new language, 21st-century props, puppets, etc. can be fun or a novelty and can enhance one’s understanding of a degree, they CANNOT be performed for initiation purposes, nor can any passport credit be given for watching them. The Deputies have the final say on the creation and use of “radio” degree performances, which are essentially readings of the degrees without props and with the addition of sound effects.