The Degree Rituals
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The 1980 tentative ritual, however, was quickly overtaken by events and never was issued. Since 1974, the Committee on Rituals had been working by fits and starts toward a major realignment of degree rituals. The plan entailed a transfer of rituals based on Old Testament themes from the Consistory to the Lodge of Perfection. By the early 1980’s the realignment was becoming a reality. The proposal was formally approved by the Supreme Council in 1985, and in 1986 the 9° became the first Lodge of Perfection ritual to be withdrawn and replaced by a degree ritual transferred from the Consistory.
Any doubts about the moral lessons to be derived from the traditional ritual of the 9° were more than addressed by its transplanted replacement, the tentative ritual of 1986. The new 9° ritual featured a dramatic allegory that had originated as the literary handiwork of Ill. John Lloyd Thomas, 33°, later an Active Member for New York and a member of the Committee on Rituals, that had been adopted by the Supreme Council in 1909 as the ritual of the 24°. The allegory, consisting of a single, albeit lengthy scene, depicted a fictitious event at the dedication of the Temple, an assembly of representatives of many religions summoned by King Solomon. After a discussion of many views on the nature of God, disrupted by a voice of skepticism, the dramatic action climaxed with an expression of spiritual unity inspired by a moving plea for a universal faith of service to humanity. “God is best served by those who best serve their fellow men.” The tentative ritual was subsequently confirmed as the 9° Ritual of 1992. Although the substance of the ritual did not provoke criticism, its presentation did pose casting and scheduling difficulties for Lodges of Perfection. This was taken into consideration in the following decade when the ritual was next reviewed and revised.
The 2003 revision was primarily the work of Ill. C. DeForrest Trexler, 33°, Active Member for Pennsylvania and chairman of the Committee on Ritualistic Matters. It deleted the brief ceremonial section in conformity to the policy adopted by the Supreme Council in 1995, although much dialogue from the ceremonial was incorporated in a relatively long prologue to set the background for the allegory. More significant were changes in the allegory. In addition to extensive stylistic revisions in the dialogue, the essential cast was reduced by a third, including two of the eight representatives of foreign