Lodge
of Perfection Degree Descriptions
The Degree
description below is reprinted with the permission of the
Scottish Rite Journal.
Thirteenth Degree
The Royal Arch Of Solomon
Jim
Tresner, 33°, Grand Cross
PO Box 70, Guthrie, Oklahoma 73044–0070
Photo: Oil
painting by Bro. Robert H. White, 32°
The apron of Thirteenth Degree
is crimson, red with an a mixture of blue, symbolizing zeal with a
spiritual dimension. On the apron is the rayed triangle, the emblem of
Deity and Light. In the center is an ancient form of the Hebrew letter yod,
meaning Deity. The cordon is purple, blue with an admixture of red,
again representing spirit with an element of zeal.
The jewel is circular. On the
front are the initials of Latin words, which translate "In the reign of
Solomon, wisest of Kings, Adoniram, Joabert, and Satolkin found under
the ruins the most precious treasure." The letters surround an
engraving of two men lowering a third into an underground vault. On the
reverse of the jewel, the rayed triangle is repeated. The figures and
words relate to the legend of the Degree, which tells how, during the
building of the Temple of Solomon, three workers discovered the vaults
constructed long before by Enoch, containing a cube of agate into the
surface of which he had placed a triangular plate of gold emblazoned
with the Name of God.
An important message of the
Degree is that it is easy for the Name of God to be lost; that is, it
is easy for the impulse to seek God to turn aside into superstition,
fear, or temporary concerns. The Degree’s use of the Name of
God to symbolize a person’s understanding of God and the
relationship between himself and his Creator warns us that we must not
allow ourselves to construct false idols in the place of Deity. We must
not, in other words, make a god of money, or social position, or
political expediency, or anything else.
The great promise of the
Degree is that when a person truly begins to experience his own
spirituality, when one discovers the luminous pedestal with the cube of
agate and the triangle of gold, a personal transformation takes place.
We start to become different people—richer in spirit, more
compassionate, more truly human.
But it is an active
search—zeal with a touch of spirituality, spirituality with a
touch of zeal—that never ends as we grow closer to Deity in
mind, heart, and spirit.
The Scottish Rite Journal
- August 1999
Jim Tresner
is Director of the Masonic Leadership Institute and Editor of The
Oklahoma Mason. A frequent contributor to the Scottish Rite Journal and
its book review editor, Illustrious Brother Tresner is also a volunteer
writer for The Oklahoma Scottish Rite Mason and a video script
consultant for the National Masonic Renewal Committee. He is the
Director of the Thirty-third Degree Conferral Team and Director of Work
at the Guthrie Scottish Rite Temple in Guthrie, Oklahoma, as well as a
life member of the Scottish Rite Research Society, author of the
popular anecdotal biography Albert Pike, The Man Beyond the Monument,
and a member of the steering committee of the Masonic Information
Center. Ill. Tresner was awarded the Grand Cross, the Scottish Rite's
highest honor, during the Supreme Council's October 1997 Biennial
Session.
