The Order of Ancient , Free & Accepted Masonry for Men & Women
II . The Structures And Rites Of The Order The Constitution and government adopted by the Order were based on the general structure of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite as defined in the Grand Constitutions of Scotland in 1786 , later revised by the Convention of 11 Supreme Councils from different countries who met at the Zenith in Lausanne , Switzerland , on September 22 , 1875 .
The Order was organized as a complete pyramidal structure from the base of the first degree to the pyramidion formed by the Supreme Council , and modeled after the structure of the Droit Humain — which is not surprising , given its origins .
The Order practiced the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite , though it was not limited to this rite . The first level of the pyramid was that of the ancient and traditional English Freemasonry , in other words the three Craft degrees , the ritual Inner Working ceremony , for the establishment of the Worshipful Master , as they were practiced in the British Isles , particularly in the Scottish Grand Lodge , with a few specific changes . These included preliminary ceremonies ( the entrance and exit in cortège , censing , lighting of three chandeliers — Wisdom , Strength , and Beauty ) and the arrangement of the altar in the center of the lodge . A six-pointed star with the letter “ G ” at the center hung above the altar . Note that the only French lodge of the A . F . A . M , L ’ Echelle de Jacob , no . 27 , I Neuilly , enjoys a certain autonomy and practices the English Emulation rite , along with the preliminary ceremonies .
Mark Masonry and the Holy Royal Arch were added to the Craft Masonry . All the degrees formed a linear progression : six months after become a Master , a Brother could apply for advancement in a Lodge of the Mark ; three months or more later , he could request admission in a Chapter of the Royal Arch . As the Supreme Council held the authority over the lodges of the Mark and the Chapters of the Royal Arch , the members of the Supreme Council had to be Past Masters of a Craft Lodge , Past Masters of a Mark Lodge , and Past-Zorobabels of a Royal Arch Chapter .
The unique characteristic of the Order was that it was the heir and trustee for many rituals that come for a system generally known as “ Operative Masonry ,” for which Miss Bothwell-Gosse received an authorization . In 1909 , her position as editor in The Co-Mason brought her in contact with the Brethren Clement Stretton and John Yarker , who created the Worshipful Society of Freemasons , Rough Masons , Wallers , Paviors , Plaisterers , and Bricklayers . We have already demonstrated that this had no connection to Masonry prior to 1717 in a study presented at the Cercle Renaissance Traditionnelle Conference in 1999 . 10 In the wake of this encounter , Miss Bothwell-Gosse was admitted into this system the following year , and then rose to its highest level . This had a considerable impact on her life and her Masonic work . From its creation , the Order of the A . F . A . M . was influenced by the specific events that had consequences on the structures and rituals ; indeed , certain elements of the seven degrees of the Annual Dramas from Stretton ’ s system were adopted . 11
The first result was that , while the Supreme Council remained the executive body for the entire Order , there existed an administrative institution for the Craft , Mark , and Royal degrees — in other words , “ Ancient Masonry ”— independent of the Scottish degrees . This was the Grand Lodge of Installed Masters presided by three Grand Master Masons , who represented the three Grand Masters who presided over the construction of King Salomon ’ s Temple in Jerusalem .
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 10 See Bernard Dat — La Maçonnerie “ operative ” de Stretton : survivance ou forgerie ? 11 See Frederick W . Seal-Coon — An old-time “ Operative ” Midsummer Ceremony .
! 6