Ritual , Secrecy , and Civil Society
of the Grand Consistory established in the East of Charleston South Carolina .
J [ ea ] n B [ aptis ] te M [ arie ] Delahogue K . H . P . R . S .
Ex Sovereign Grand Insp [ ecto ] r Gen [ era ] l of the 33 rd Degree , Lieutenant Grand Commander for the western French leeward and windward islands . 24
This manuscript contains the rituals of Sublime Masonry , degrees 15 °– 25 °. Upon close examination , it is almost textually identical to the 1786 Ahmed Francken manuscript that was re-discovered in 2009 and also contains beautiful illustrations of the regalia for each degree . This means that the French speaking brethren of La Candeur translated the ritual book given to them by brother Long , and fine copies were made for Deputy Inspector Generals , to expand the rite abroad .
At the end of this manuscript , there are Tyler ’ s instructions for the Ancients rituals of Entered Apprentice , Fellow Craft , Master Mason , and Past Master along with a copy of the 1787 Constitution of York Masons . This is presumably a copy of the constitution of the Grand Lodge of South Carolina , Ancient York Masons given to La Candeur along with excerpts derived from the 1797 La Candeur translation of the Ancients rituals , for the construction of Tyler ’ s manual .
The Constitutions of 1762 : Construction of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite . 1797
To better understand the evolution of what became the Scottish Rite , one should consider the study of the evolution of its governing constitution . The governing document of the Order of the Royal Secret was the Constitutions of 1762 . Alain Bernheim has previously demonstrated that these constitutions were , in fact , a modified form of the 1763 constitutions of the Grand Lodge of France and even Morin even writes to Chaillion de Jonville in 1764 concerning his receipt of them . It is this document that was used by Morin and Francken to create a constitution for the Order of the Royal Secret .
There are many differences between the two and the issue is complicated further considering that there are many examples that demonstrate a clear evolution of the text over time . The sources used for this comparison are the 1763 Grand Lodge of France Constitution , the 1771 version of the Constitutions of 1762 , the 1786 version in the Ahmed Francken manuscript , and the 1797 Aveilhé version which is identical to and endorsed by de Grasse-Tilly ’ s in his version .
Jean Baptiste Aveilhé was born in 1763 in Merides and was an engineer and has several patents on file at the United States Patent Office . He sought refuge first in Philadelphia and joined
24 Pierre Dupont Delorme ritual book , second volume . Archives of the Supreme Council 33 °, Southern Jurisdiction .
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