The Ancient and Primitive Rite, also called the ''Order of the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Mizraim'', is a

Masonic Rite A Rite, within the context of Freemasonry, refers to a comprehensive system of degrees that hold the capability to initiate and advance a newcomer through various stages of Masonic knowledge and experience. In some cases, a Master Mason can be i ...

first popularized by

John Yarker John Yarker (17 April 1833 – 20 March 1913) was an England, English List of Freemasons, Freemason, author, and occultist. He was born in Swindale, Shap, Westmorland, in the north of England. He moved with his parents to Lancashire and on to ...

. It has been considered irregular by

Masonic Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

organisations such as the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

since at least 1860.

History

's Ancient and Primitive Rite grew out of the

Rite of Memphis-Misraim The Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm is a masonic rite combining Western esotericism, esoteric spirituality with humanitarian ideals. Created in Naples in September 1881, it emerged from the fusion of two distinct masonic systems ...

, which itself was a combination, formed in 1881, of the ''Rite of Memphis'' and the ''Rite of Misraïm'', both of which appeared in France at the beginning of the 19th century. Yarker had been introduced to the ''Rite of Memphis'' in 1871 during a visit to New York,.Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon, ''The Antient and Primitive Rite of Masonry''
(online)
accessed 20 June 2015 As well as establishing the Ancient and Primitive Rite, Yarker would later become Deputy International Grand Master (1900) and International Grand Master (1902) of the

. He formed the Ancient and Primitive Rite with 33 degrees by eliminating duplicative degrees from the Rite of Memphis-Misraïm. Yarker's Rite claimed a history going to

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's armies in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and traced the development of the Rite until his present day. He professed also that "''Its Rituals embrace all Masonry, and are based on those of the Craft universal; they explain its symbols, develope icits mystic philosophy, exemplify its morality, examine its legends, tracing them to their primitive source, and dealing fairly and truthfully with the historical features of Symbolical Masonry. They contain nothing in their teaching but what Mahommedan, Christian, Jew, Buddhist, Brahmin, or Parsee may alike acknowledge.''" Until Yarker's death in 1913, there was never more than a total of 300 members.

Degrees

The Rite of Memphis confers a set of degrees, numbered from 4° through 32°:Sovereign Sanctuary, 33rd Degree, in and for Great Britain and Ireland. ''Manual of the Degrees of the Antient and Primitive Rite of Masonry''. 1881.

First Series: Chapter

Class I: Intro

*1° – Entered Apprentice *2° – Companion *3° – Master Mason

Class II: College

*4° – Discreet Master *5° – Sublime Master *6° – Knight of the Sacred Arch *7° – Knight of the Secret Vault

Class III: Chapter

*8° – Knight of the Sword *9° – Knight of Jerusalem *10° – Knight of the Orient *11° – Knight of the Rose Croix

Second Series: Senate

Class IV: Senate

*12° – Knight of the Red Eagle *13° – Knight of the Temple *14° – Knight of the Tabernacle *15° – Knight of the Serpent *16° – Knight Sage of Truth *17° – Knight Hermetic Philosopher

Class V: Areopagus

*18° – Knight Kadosh *19° – Knight of the Royal Mystery *20° – Knight Grand Inspector

Third Series: Sublime Council

Class VI: Consistory

*21° – Grand Installator *22° – Grand Consecrator *23° – Grand Eulogist *24° – Patriarch of Truth *25° – Patriarch of the Planispheres *26° – Patriarch of the Vedas

Class VII: Council

*27° – Patriarch of Isis *28° – Patriarch of Memphis *29° – Pontiff of the Mystic City *30° – Perfect Pontiff, Sublime Master of the Great Work

Official

Grand Tribunal

*31° – Grand Defender *32° – Prince of Memphis *33° – Grand Sovereign

Bibliography

Notes

References

* Prescott, Andrew.
The Cause of Humanity: Charles Bradlaugh and Freemasonry
' * Boris Nicolaevsky, "Secret Societies and the First International," in ''The Revolutionary Internationals'', 1864–1943, ed. Milored M. Drachkovitch (Stanford, 1966), 36–56.