New Members

JOIN THE YORK RITE!

If you have an interest in joining our great fraternity, contact any York Rite member. To find a York Rite member, just ask at your local Masonic Lodge. He’ll be glad to provide you with a petition for the degrees of York Rite Masonry and help you fill it out. The only requirement is that you be a Master Mason in good standing with your local Masonic Lodge.

Download a petition here.

THE CAPITULAR (CHAPTER) DEGREES

Mark Master: A Degree that emphasizes the lessons of regularity, discipline, and integrity. It is a most impressive Degree centered on the story of the Fellowcraft of the quarry and their role in the building of the Temple. Its importance in English Craft Masonry can be judged by the fact that it operates as a separate Grand Lodge, and is highly sought by members of the Craft in that jurisdiction.

Past Master: A Degree that emphasizes the lesson of harmony. This Degree is conferred because ancient custom required that a Mason must be a Past Master in order to be exalted to the Royal Arch. In some Grand Jurisdictions, this Degree is conferred upon all sitting Masters of the Blue Lodge. The Degree confers no actual rank upon the recipient but is exemplified to maintain the ancient custom.

Most Excellent Master: A Degree that emphasizes the lesson of reverence. This Degree is centered on the dedication of the Temple after its completion, particularly the consecration of the Sanctum Sanctorum and the descent of the Host into the Temple. It is complementary to the Mark Master Degree and completes the symbolic lessons introduced in that Degree.

The Royal Arch: The completion of the Master Mason Degree and the summit of the original Degrees of the Blue Lodge as practiced in the Antients Lodges of England before 1820. The Degree explains the origins of the Substitute Word found in the Master Mason Degree, the recovery of the Ineffable Word, and its concealment within the Royal Arch Word. This Degree, together with the Master Mason Degree, may have once been exemplified as one large or "super" Degree, with the Master Mason Degree explaining the loss of the Master's Word and the Royal Arch explaining the recovery of the Master's Word.

THE CRYPTIC (COUNCIL) DEGREES

Royal Master: A Degree emphasizing the lessons of patience and fortitude. The Degree centers around the Fellowcraft Masons who were artificers fabricating the fittings and furniture of the Temple. It is unusual in that the first part of the Degree depicts events taking place before the death of Grand Master Hiram Abif, and the last part depicts events occurring after his death.

Select Master: A Degree emphasizing the lessons of devotion and zeal. The Degree centers on the construction and furnishing of a Secret Vault beneath the Sanctum Sanctorum of the Temple, and the deposition of those secrets pertaining to the Craft by the three ancient Grand Masters of the Craft. This Degree bridges the events surrounding the concealment and loss of the Ineffable Word and the events leading to the recovery of the Word in the Royal Arch Degree.

THE CHIVALRIC (COMMANDERY) ORDERS

Illustrious Order of the Red Cross: An Order emphasizing the lesson of truth. Elements of this Order were practiced in Ancient Lodges before the final form of the Master Mason Degree came into use. It is still practiced in the full ceremonial form by the Knight Masons of Ireland and the Knight Masons of the United States, and as the Red Cross of Babylon in the English Order of the Allied Masonic Degrees.

Order of Malta: An Order emphasizing the lesson of faith. This Order requires the Mason to profess and practice the Christian faith. The pass degree of the Mediterranean Pass prepares the candidate for the Order by introducing the lesson and example of the unfearing and faithful martyr of Christianity. The Order is centered on allegorical elements of the Knights of Malta, inheritors of the medieval Knights Hospitaller.

Order of the Temple: An Order emphasizing the lessons of self-sacrifice and reverence. It is meant to rekindle the spirit of the medieval Knights Templar devotion and self-sacrifice to Christianity. The history of the Masonic Order is long and convoluted, with the Order's ritual differing between that conferred in England and in the United States. That practiced in the United States has a slight militant zeal to the lesson of Christianity, whereas the English ritual is more allegorical. However, the American ritual is most impressive, and more emphasis is placed on the solemnity and reverence associated with the Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Christ.

WE WELCOME NEW MEMBERS TO THE YORK RITE AT FESTIVALS!

The Chapter and Council Degrees will be conferred on Saturday, September 10, 2022.

The Commandery Orders will be conferred on Saturday, September 17, 2022.

Breakfast will be served at 7:00 AM, and the Degrees will begin at 8:00 AM.

Courtesy candidates are welcome to attend.

Contact McKinneyYorkRite@gmail.com with questions.

DEGREE FEES

The Degree Fees for McKinney York Rite are as follows:

  • Haggai Chapter No. 53 Royal Arch Masons: $200.00
  • Haggai Council No. 38 Royal and Select Masters: $100.00
  • McKinney Commandery No. 34 Knights Templar: $200.00