19th Degree: Grand Pontiff

Transcripts, Chapter Markers and Show Notes for all episodes are available from our website - WayOfTheHermit.com.

This degree is the first in the "Council of Kadosh," a series of "Chivalric" degrees, and discuss the mystical and philosophical nature of these degrees, as well as the meaning of the term "Kadosh," a Hebrew word often translated as "holy" but more accurately meaning "separated." David and Gene explore the idea of being "set apart" from others, following a different set of rules or living by a different standard, which is the essence of priesthood. They also touch on the paradoxical nature of the word, which can also mean "unclean" or "defiled," suggesting that defining what is "holy" implicitly defines what is "unholy".

The Ritual of the Degree is founded on apocalyptic mysteries relating to the New Jerusalem that proclaims the “Alpha and the Omega”, the beginning and the end of things. The symbolism of the ritual space, the twelve columns representing the twelve signs of the zodiac and the twelve tribes of Israel, and the ritual's connection to the "Twelve Apostles" in the New Testament are discussed, before delving into the ritual's depiction of the Apocalypse - the complete annihilation of the old world view and values. The purpose of the Degree, is to free a person from the bondage of servile and base behavior, by shattering and destroying the structures of the old and faulty systems of belief.

This series on the Scottish Rite uses the following primary sources (which you are encouraged to read as well):

• Albert Pike's Morals and Dogma: Annotated Edition
• Scottish Rite Ritual Monitor & Guide
• A Bridge to Light

Diagrams

• 19th Degree Jewel (front)
• 19th Degree Jewel (back)
• High Priest's Breastplate
• Column Placement & Traversal in 19th Degree Ritual
• Tree of Life

Overview

• 01:14 Introduction
• 01:49 The Council of Kadosh
• 05:10 Degree Ritual
• 10:11 Purpose of the Degree
• 11:31 Morals and Dogma
• 12:48 Our Actions Continue After We Die
• 13:41 The Dead Govern, and the Living Obey
• 16:01 Sow, that Others May Reap
• 16:38 We Build Slowly and Destroy Quickly
• 18:42 Lucifer Blinds and Deceives Selfish Souls With His “Light”
• 21:44 The Apocalypse and the Symbolic Attributes of God
• 22:47 The Three Principles of Being
• 24:11 The Four Worlds of Kabbalah
• 26:48 Jewel of the Degree
• 27:19 Melchizedek, Priest of the Most High God
• 28:52 The Breastplate of the High Priest
• 30:28 The New Jerusalem
• 31:42 The Mark of the Beast
• 33:51 King Solomon is The Beast
• 35:29 No Buying or Selling
• 36:43 The New Law

Links

• Tree of Life (Wikipedia)
• Four Worlds of Kabbalah (Wikipedia)
• Number of the Beast (Wikipedia)
• Lucifer (Wikipedia)
• Solomon (Wikipedia)
• Melchizedek (Wikipedia)
• New Jeru