Supreme Council, Scottish Rite, Northern Jurisdiction, USA
Organization
In the Northern Jurisdiction, the Supreme Council consists of no more than 66 members. All members of the Supreme Council are designated Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, but the head of the Rite in each Valley of the Northern Jurisdiction is called a "Deputy of the Supreme Council." The Northern Council meets yearly.In the Northern Jurisdiction, there is a 46-month requirement for eligibility to receive the 33rd degree, and while there is a Meritorious Service Award, they are not required intermediate steps towards the 33°.
A recipient of the 33rd Degree is an honorary member of the Supreme Council and is therefore called an "Inspector General Honorary." However, those who are appointed Deputies of the Supreme Council that are later elected to membership on the Supreme Council are then designated "Sovereign Grand Inspectors General." In the Northern Jurisdiction a recipient of the 33rd Degree is an honorary member of the Supreme Council, and all members are referred to as a "Sovereign Grand Inspectors General."
Degree structure
Members of the Northern Jurisdiction are required to have achieved the third degree of Masonry in their local lodges before they can apply to join the Scottish Rite. The Northern Jurisdiction offers 29 additional degrees, with a final 33rd degree conferred as an honor for service to the fraternity and society. However, taking these additional degrees does not give one higher "rank" in Masonry. While the higher numbering might imply a hierarchy, the additional degrees are considered "appendant degrees". They represent a lateral movement in Masonic education rather than an upward movement, and are degrees of instruction rather than rank.In 2004, the Northern Jurisdiction rewrote and reorganized its degrees. Further changes have occurred in 2006. As of 2016 the degrees offered by the Northern Jurisdiction are:
| Degree | Northern Jurisdiction |
| 4° | Master Traveler |
| 5° | Perfect Master |
| 6° | Master of the Brazen Serpent |
| 7° | Provost and Judge |
| 8° | Intendant of the Building |
| 9° | Master of the Temple |
| 10° | Master Elect |
| 11° | Sublime Master Elected |
| 12° | Master of Mercy |
| 13° | Master of the Ninth Arch |
| 14° | Grand Elect Mason |
| 15° | Knight of the East, or Knight of the Sword |
| 16° | Prince of Jerusalem |
| 17° | Knight of the East and West |
| 18° | Knight of the Rose Croix de Heredom |
| 19° | Brother of the Trail |
| 20° | Master ad Vitam |
| 21° | Patriarch Noachite |
| 22° | Prince of Libanus |
| 23° | Knight of Valor |
| 24° | Brother of the Forest |
| 25° | Master of Achievement |
| 26° | Friend and Brother Eternal |
| 27° | Knight of Jerusalem |
| 28° | Knight of the Sun, or Prince Adept |
| 29° | Knight of Saint Andrew |
| 30° | Grand Inspector |
| 31° | Knight Aspirant |
| 32° | Sublime Prince of the Royal Secret |
| 33° | Sovereign Grand Inspector General |
History
Although most of the thirty-three degrees of the Scottish Rite existed in parts of previous degree systems, the Scottish Rite did not come into being until the formation of the Mother Supreme Council at Charleston, South Carolina, in May 1801.On May 1, 1813, an officer from the Supreme Council at Charleston initiated several New York Masons into the Thirty-third Degree and organized a Supreme Council for the "Northern Masonic District and Jurisdiction". On May 21, 1814 this Supreme Council reopened and proceeded to "nominate, elect, appoint, install and proclaim in due, legal and ample form" the elected officers "as forming the second Grand and Supreme Council...". Finally, the charter of this organization added, “We think the Ratification ought to be dated 21st day May 5815."
Officially, the Supreme Council, 33°, N.M.J. dates itself from May 15, 1867. This was the date of the "Union of 1867", when it merged with the competing Cerneau "Supreme Council" in New York. The current Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States, was thus formed.