Difference between revisions of "Rectified Scottish Rite"

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(Add public history and organisation of the Rectified system, without ritual instructions)
 
(Expand historical account of the 1782 reform and Swiss continuity; link convention articles)
 
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==Formation==
 
==Formation==
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Its development drew on French Masonry, the Strict Observance and the teaching of [[Martines de Pasqually]]. The Convent of the Gauls in 1778 adopted constitutional codes for the Rectified lodges and the Knights Beneficent of the Holy City. The reform subsequently gained European approval at Wilhelmsbad in 1782.<ref name="rerhistory" />
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Its development drew on French Masonry, [[The Strict Observance]] and the teaching of [[Martines de Pasqually]]. [[The Convent of Lyon (1778)|The Convent of the Gauls in 1778]] adopted constitutional codes for the Rectified lodges and the Knights Beneficent of the Holy City. The reform subsequently gained European approval at [[The Convent of Wilhelmsbad (1782)|Wilhelmsbad in 1782]].<ref name="rerhistory" />
  
 
==Public organisation==
 
==Public organisation==
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==Religious character==
 
==Religious character==
 
The Grand Prieuré des Gaules presents Christian faith, moral development and practical beneficence as central to the system. Its account identifies both Christian tradition and Pasqually’s teaching on humanity’s spiritual condition as formative influences.<ref name="gpdg">[https://www.gpdg.org/about-3 Grand Prieuré des Gaules, “Maçonnerie et Chevalerie”, public account of the Rectified system’s sources and aims].</ref>
 
The Grand Prieuré des Gaules presents Christian faith, moral development and practical beneficence as central to the system. Its account identifies both Christian tradition and Pasqually’s teaching on humanity’s spiritual condition as formative influences.<ref name="gpdg">[https://www.gpdg.org/about-3 Grand Prieuré des Gaules, “Maçonnerie et Chevalerie”, public account of the Rectified system’s sources and aims].</ref>
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==Templar heritage and the 1782 reform==
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The resolutions of Wilhelmsbad distinguished chivalric tradition from lawful succession to the medieval Templars. They acknowledged that the evidence examined did not establish such succession and rejected an attempt to restore the suppressed order. At the same time they preserved a chivalric organisation and continued to assert a relationship with the Templars. This qualified position is more precise than describing the Rectified system either as the medieval order's continuation or as wholly detached from Templar tradition.<ref>''[https://gpsdf.org/documents/Wilhelmsbad.pdf Le Recès du Convent de Wilhelmsbad]'', transcription of the resolutions dated 1 September 1782, articles I–III and XII.</ref>
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==Swiss continuity==
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Switzerland became an important centre for the system's survival. H. R. Hilfiker's historical account dates the independent Great Priory of Helvetia to 1779 and records its confirmation at Wilhelmsbad. During the nineteenth century the Swiss bodies maintained the Rectified tradition while its organisation elsewhere declined. The formation of the Swiss Grand Lodge Alpina in 1844 brought the Craft lodges under that Grand Lodge, with higher Rectified bodies retaining their own administration.<ref>H. R. Hilfiker, “Historical Sketch on the Origin and the Development of the Scottish Rectified Rite in Switzerland”, translated by Fulke Radice, ''[https://www.quatuorcoronati.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/AQC-68-1955.pdf Ars Quatuor Coronatorum]'', vol. 68 (1955), pp. 85–89.</ref>
  
 
==Related names==
 
==Related names==
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==See also==
 
==See also==
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* [[The Strict Observance]]
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* [[The Convent of Lyon (1778)]]
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* [[The Convent of Wilhelmsbad (1782)]]
 
* [[Élus Coëns]]
 
* [[Élus Coëns]]
 
* [[Martinism]]
 
* [[Martinism]]
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{{Martinism navigation}}
 
{{Martinism navigation}}
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{{Early Masonic history}}
  
 
[[Category:Martinism]]
 
[[Category:Martinism]]
 
[[Category:Knights Templar and Other Masonic Orders]]
 
[[Category:Knights Templar and Other Masonic Orders]]
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[[Category:Early Masonic history]]

Latest revision as of 16:12, 29 September 2026

The Rectified Scottish Rite is a Christian Masonic system associated particularly with Jean-Baptiste Willermoz. The French expression Régime Écossais Rectifié describes its organisation as a whole, while Rite Écossais Rectifié refers more specifically to its ritual form. Both are commonly abbreviated RER.[1]

Formation

Its development drew on French Masonry, The Strict Observance and the teaching of Martines de Pasqually. The Convent of the Gauls in 1778 adopted constitutional codes for the Rectified lodges and the Knights Beneficent of the Holy City. The reform subsequently gained European approval at Wilhelmsbad in 1782.[1]

Public organisation

The published account of the system distinguishes a Masonic class from an Inner Order. The Masonic class comprises the three Craft degrees and Scottish Master of St Andrew. The Inner Order includes the preparatory status of Squire Novice and the Knights Beneficent of the Holy City, usually abbreviated from the French as CBCS. Eighteenth-century accounts also identify a further body devoted to doctrinal study, called the Profession.[2]

Religious character

The Grand Prieuré des Gaules presents Christian faith, moral development and practical beneficence as central to the system. Its account identifies both Christian tradition and Pasqually’s teaching on humanity’s spiritual condition as formative influences.[3]

Templar heritage and the 1782 reform

The resolutions of Wilhelmsbad distinguished chivalric tradition from lawful succession to the medieval Templars. They acknowledged that the evidence examined did not establish such succession and rejected an attempt to restore the suppressed order. At the same time they preserved a chivalric organisation and continued to assert a relationship with the Templars. This qualified position is more precise than describing the Rectified system either as the medieval order's continuation or as wholly detached from Templar tradition.[4]

Swiss continuity

Switzerland became an important centre for the system's survival. H. R. Hilfiker's historical account dates the independent Great Priory of Helvetia to 1779 and records its confirmation at Wilhelmsbad. During the nineteenth century the Swiss bodies maintained the Rectified tradition while its organisation elsewhere declined. The formation of the Swiss Grand Lodge Alpina in 1844 brought the Craft lodges under that Grand Lodge, with higher Rectified bodies retaining their own administration.[5]

Related names

The Rectified system is distinct from the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, whose 33-degree organisation is administered by Supreme Councils. “Scottish” occurs in the names of several Masonic systems and does not identify a single governing body.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “Historique du RER”, L’Initiation, reproducing a historical account published by the Grand Prieuré des Gaules in 1995.
  2. ↑ L’Initiation, “Organisation du RER (Régime Écossais Rectifié)”.
  3. ↑ Grand Prieuré des Gaules, “Maçonnerie et Chevalerie”, public account of the Rectified system’s sources and aims.
  4. ↑ Le Recès du Convent de Wilhelmsbad, transcription of the resolutions dated 1 September 1782, articles I–III and XII.
  5. ↑ H. R. Hilfiker, “Historical Sketch on the Origin and the Development of the Scottish Rectified Rite in Switzerland”, translated by Fulke Radice, Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, vol. 68 (1955), pp. 85–89.
  6. ↑ Supreme Council for England and Wales, “History”, public history of the Ancient and Accepted Rite.

Martinism and its historical background: Overview · Martines de Pasqually · Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin · Jean-Baptiste Willermoz · Papus · Augustin Chaboseau · Élus Coëns · Rectified Scottish Rite · Comparison with related traditions

Early Masonic history

Chronology: Timeline of early Freemasonry

Documents: The Old Charges · The Regius manuscript · The Cooke manuscript · The Schaw Statutes · The St Clair Charters · The 1723 Constitutions

Scottish lodges and ideas: William Schaw · Early Scottish lodges · Lodge Mother Kilwinning · Mary's Chapel · Canongate Kilwinning · Haughfoot Lodge · Operative and speculative Freemasonry · The art of memory and Freemasonry · Freemasonry and the Royal Society · The Templar theory of Masonic origins

People: Robert Moray · John Theophilus Desaguliers · James Anderson · William Preston · Andrew Michael Ramsay

Chivalric systems: The Strict Observance · Karl Gotthelf von Hund · Lyon (1778) · Wilhelmsbad (1782) · Jean-Baptiste Willermoz · Rectified Scottish Rite

English Grand Lodges: Formation of the first Grand Lodge · Antients and Moderns · Laurence Dermott · Ahiman Rezon · The Union of 1813

Ireland, Scotland and overseas: Early Irish Freemasonry · Grand Lodge of Scotland · Military and travelling lodges

France and the Jacobites: Early French Freemasonry · Freemasonry and the Jacobites

Atlantic connections: Benjamin Franklin · The Lodge of the Nine Sisters · George Washington · Paul Revere · African Lodge No. 459 · Prince Hall

Research: Sources for studying early Freemasonry · Masonic museums and libraries

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