Supreme Council, Scottish Rite (Southern Jurisdiction, USA)

The Supreme Council, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, USA is the first Supreme Council of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, founded in 1801. Its official full name is "The Supreme Council (Mother Council of the World) of the Inspectors General Knights Commander of the House of the Temple of Solomon of the Thirty-third Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry of the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States of America."[1] It is also commonly known as The Supreme Council, 33°, Southern Jurisdiction, or by some other varying degree of complete titulage. It is sometimes called the Mother Supreme Council of the World. It is the governing body of Scottish Rite Freemasonry in its jurisdiction,[2] and is one of five Supreme Councils in the United States, along with the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, two Prince Hall Affiliated Supreme Councils, and the Supreme Council of Louisiana.

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It claims that all other Supreme Councils and Subordinate Bodies of the Scottish Rite are derived from it,[3] although some degrees in the Scottish Rite were practiced before the Southern Jurisdiction was organized. It oversees the Scottish Rite in 35 states.[4] The other 15 states fall under the Northern Jurisdiction, which is an independent body.

The Scottish Rite is one of the appendant bodies of Freemasonry that a Master Mason may join for further exposure to the principles of Freemasonry. To join the Supreme Council, one must attain the 32° of the Scottish Rite. The 33° is an honorary degree which only some members obtain.

In the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States, the Supreme Council consists of no more than 33 members, and is presided over by a Grand Commander. Other members of the Supreme Council are called Sovereign Grand Inspectors General (SGIG), and each is the head of the Rite in his respective Orient (or state). Other heads of the various Orients who are not members of the Supreme Council are called Deputies of the Supreme Council.

An important philosophical document of the Southern Jurisdiction was Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, written by Albert Pike in 1872. A copy of Morals and Dogma was given to every new member in the Southern Jurisdiction until 1974. The book given to new initiates then became Grand Commander Henry C. Clausen's Clausen's Commentaries On Morals and Dogma (1976), then Rex Hutchens' A Bridge to Light (1988). Following the adoption of the "Revised Standard Pike Ritual," Hutchens' book was revised in 2010 by Scottish Rite Grand Archivist and Grand Historian Arturo de Hoyos. Currently, de Hoyos' Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor and Guide (2007, rev. 2010) is now distributed to new members as is Albert Pike's Morals and Dogma: Annotated Edition (2011).