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Just as a Grand Lodge is the governing body for Masons in each jurisdiction, so a Supreme Council is the governing body for Scottish Rite Masons and charters all subordinate bodies. Voting members of the Supreme Council are chosen from among those members who have obtained the 33°. These members are referred to as Active Members, and there are never more than 33 active members. Scottish Rite Masons in Virginia are under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Council for the Southern Jurisdiction which is known as the Mother Supreme Council because the other Supreme Councils around the world derive from this Supreme Council. All States and territories in the United States are under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Council for the Southern Jurisdiction except for 15 states (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin), the jurisdiction for which was ceded by the Supreme Council for the Southern Jurisdiction to the Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction in 1815. Each Supreme Council is headed by a Sovereign Grand Commander. The head of the Supreme Council for the Southern Jurisdiction is Ill. Ronald A. Seale |
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The Headquarters of the Supreme Council for the Southern Jurisdiction is the House of the Temple, located at 1733 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC, between R and S Streets. It is a monumental building by the famous architect John Russell Pope, whose accomplishments include the National Archives, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Westbuilding of the National Gallery of Art. The design of the House of the Temple is an adaptation of the famous Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World." The building and its extensive Library and Museum are open Monday through Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. There is a nominal fee for the tour, but no charge for Masons, active duty and retired military, and their families. |
