Hello brothers, I am interested in joining the York Rite. I would like to get opinions about it and how it differs from the Scottish Rite. Is the out come of completing it the same? Please try to be elaborate with out revealing to much. Freemason Connect Mobile
The York Rite is composed of 3-bodies: the Royal Arch Masons, Cryptic Masons, and Knights Templar. The Royal Arch completes the story of the 3rd degree conferred in most American Lodges and the Cryptic Masons answers some questions from the Royal Arch. The Knights Templar leaves the story of the King Solomon and moves into Christian knighthoods. The Scottish Rite is a bit more philosophical than the York Rite which is a bit more historic in nature, but still has plenty of esoteric nature to it. I'm in both Rites, but I personally prefer the York Rite.
It varies with each area, but the bodies I belong to hold 2-3 day Festivals, but we don't skip any degrees like you would in the Scottish Rite. My body does every degree full form. Sometimes we'll confer them one at a time, but it depends on time and availability. I wish we did this more often as doing 2-day conferral can overload a candidate.
There are some similarities in the story, but there are some glaring differences. I could write a book on it. Most Lodges in America are "York Rite Lodges" and the York Rite (particularly the RA and Cryptic degrees complete the 3rd degree) while the Scottish Rite (and Scottish Rite Craft degrees) have a slightly different storyline. They are also presented differently. Scottish Rite is usually shown as a play while the York Rite has it's candidates more involved with the degree conferral (similar to the Lodge).
Why does it seem S.R is more popular? D.C. Is the headquarters but yet many call york the american rite Freemason Connect Mobile
There are those who think the Scottish Rite is more popular because of the "ego" thing of getting the 32nd Degree, whereas the York Rite doesn't number their additional degrees and there aren't as many. I had other reasons for choosing the Scottish instead of the York.
Back in the early 20th and late 19th century, the Knights Templar was much more popular than the Scottish Rite, then the Shrine was the most notable, now it's the Scottish Rite. The term "York Rite" is misleading. It really should be the American Rite. The use of "York" comes from the legend of York and King Athelstan, but this is not explained in the degrees (sadly). It wasn't until I joined the York Rite College that I truly started seeing how it all fit. The Scottish Rite, SJ, is headquartered out of DC, but the Royal Arch, Cryptic Masons, and Knights Templar are not headquartered out of there.
It is also argued that the term is misleading because it's not truly a unified "rite." Each of the bodies (Chapter, Council, and Commandery) have their own independent national bodies, with none having any authority over any of the others. In Scottish Rite the Lodge of Perfection, Chapter of Rose Croix, Council of Kadosh, and Consistory of Masters of the Royal Secret are all under the direction of the Sovereign Grand Inspector General (or Deputy of the Supreme Council in some cases) who is a member of the Supreme Council in Washington D.C.
I have been reading in a few books that it may have originated in England between rival factions of masons. York rite that is. Freemason Connect Mobile
I'm interested in joining the York rite is there any York right lodges in southern West Virginia Freemason Connect HD
I'm an EA right now with the intent of going York rite. I was hoping I could get some thoughts and opinions from brothers who have taken those degrees. Also why does it seem that the york rite is mentioned less than Scottish rite.
This is not 100 percent the case, but a pretty good observation (if I do say so myself) ... York Rite bodies are more spread out and located on the local level. Scottish Rite valleys are fewer and located in metropolitan areas. Scottish Rite degrees are numbered. That leads the profane to hear 33 and go "Oooooh, you are a HIGH degree." Whereas the YR degrees have names and titles. When someone says they are a KYCH, a non-Mason says "A whaaaat?" Because SR is located in larger cities, it tends to be dominated (aka controlled) by tuxedo-wearing lawyers/bankers/bigwheels/etc. These types tend to seek publicity for their actions. YR members tend to be more down to earth types who focus on their Masonry and don't worry about recognition. I think, many times, throughout history, men have used SR as a stepping stone to quickly get eligible to join the Shrine. It was publicized that way. YR Masons are more interested in focusing on the YR bodies. Again, this isn't 100 percent true for every man in either group, and it isn't meant to sound negative toward SR. It's just an observation.
Don't think we should turn this into a SR vs YR "which is better" discussion, but will offer some observations. I don't think I can quite agree with your observation there. In fact I find it more that the YR is seen as a stepping stone into getting invitation to the multitude of invitation bodies that is attached to it. In the SR you only have the KCCH and the 33rd degree so in my experience you often find masons more interested in light and less interested in titles in there. SR also has a rumor to be the "university of masonry"so will agree that you probably see more people in there with longer educations who seek a more intellectual pursuit as you mention.
