Master Craftsman
About the Master Craftsman program
The Scottish Rite Master Craftsman (SRMC) program is an exciting, by-mail correspondence course designed and administered by staff at the House of the Temple in Washington, DC, under the guidance and leadership of the Supreme Council, 33°, of the A&A Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, USA. Currently, three courses and a Group Studies Program constitute the SRMC.
What will you study?
While a Scottish Rite, SJ, member may use Group Studies program at any time, the three courses are meant to be taken in the following order:
- Program I: The Symbolic Lodge will familiarize students with aspects of the development of Blue Lodge Masonry and explore some of its developing symbolism. This will reveal that the “High Degrees” began to develop soon after formation of the Premier Grand Lodge (1717). Albert Pike’s book, Esoterika: The Symbolism of the Blue Degrees of Freemasonry, along with Arturo de Hoyos’s Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor & Guide (3d ed.) will be used to demonstrate a rational and philosophical interpretation for much of what is found in Craft Masonry.
- Program II: Scottish Rite History & Ritual consists of six lessons, utilizing the Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor & Guide by Arturo de Hoyos, 33°, Grand Cross, and A Bridge to Light (4th ed.) by Rex Hutchens, 33°, Grand Cross, as its textbooks.
- Program III: Scottish Rite Philosophy uses Albert Pike’s Morals & Dogma, Annotated Edition, by Arturo de Hoyos, 33°, Grand Cross and returns to the ritual of the Scottish Rite to re-explore it on a deeper level, by looking for the moral lesson imparted in each degree and then applying that lesson to one’s everyday life. The course consists of 33 quizzes, grouped into 10 sections
Upon completion of each course listed above, the participant will be rewarded with a medal or pins to denote multiple completions.The Group Studies program operates differently from the three courses.
Master Craftsman Study Group
A group setting is far and away the best way to learn and experience all that these programs have to offer. This is simply because Freemasonry is not a solitary pursuit, but rather a social experience—we gather in Lodges together for a reason! In fact, social engagement while finding more light in Masonry can be (and often is) more rewarding than simply answering some questions about a reading assignment. This is because you are learning not only about yourself through the ritual and its symbolism, but about others and their unique relationship to the deep philosophies and mysteries that are contained in the material, too.
Brother John Parrish, 32º is the leader and coordinator for the Greenville Valley Master Craftsman Study Group. John has led several study groups, and is planning more for the future.