Allegiance

The four Co-ordinate Bodies of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite  of Freemasonry sitting in the Valley of Jacksonville, Orient of Florida, derive their charters from and acknowledge and yield allegiance to the Supreme Council (Mother Council of the World) of the Inspectors General Knights Commanders 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 whose See is at the Grand Orient of Charleston, in the state of South Carolina, now sitting in Washington, D.C., of which .... Illustrious Ronald A. Seale,33° is Sovereign Grand Commander of the Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A.; Illustrious David Kruger, 33° is Grand Secretary General of the Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A.; Illustrious Robert L. Goldsmith, 33° is the Sovereign Grand Inspector General in the Orient of Florida, U.S.A.; and Illustrious Roy Conner Sheppard, 33° is the Personal Representative of the S.G.I.G. and chairmen of the Executive Committee in the Valley of Jacksonville.

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The material presented in this section is extracted from a pamphlet written in 2000 by J. Roy Crowther, 33 degree and thereafter published with the approval and authority of Illustrious Robert Louis Goldsmith, 33 degree, Sovereign Grand Inspector General in Florida.

When the United States purchased the two Territories of Florida from Spain in the year 1821 it gave the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction automatic jurisdiction over the new territories. The two territories were consolidated into the Territory of Florida in 1822 and together they would become the 27th State of the Union in 1845.

Brother Edward Rutledge Ives is credited with the establishment of the first bodies in the Orient of Florida and our Supreme Council History, records a Lodge of Perfection; a Council of Princes of Jerusalem, and a Chapter of Rose Croix as being organized in the City of Alligator, Florida In compliance with petitions dated April 22 and 27, 1853. The name of the City of Alligator was changed to Lake City on January 15, 1859.

Brother Ives was recognized as organizing the St. Johns Lodge of Perfection, a Council of Princes of Jerusalem, and a Chapter of Rose Croix, in Jacksonville, soon after the end of the War Between the States. On January 15, 1870 Illustrious Brother Ives passed away. Buried in the Oakland Cemetery of Lake City, his grave is marked with a monument with the emblem of the Double Eagle at the top and the Square and Compass beneath the lettering.

In 1901, the one hundredth anniversary of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, charters were issued to the following bodies in the Orient of Florida: Alpha Lodge of Perfection No.6 at Gainesville; Tau Lodge of Perfection No. 7 at Tampa; Bruce Council of Kadosh No. 1 at Plant City; McLean Council of Kadosh No. 2 at Jacksonville; Tampa Consistory No. 1 at Plant City; and Florida Consistory No. 2 at Jacksonville.

In the year 1919, the Supreme Council charted Venus Lodge of Perfection No. 12, to meet at Lake Worth, Florida. Two years later, in 1919, permanent charters were issued for the Akairous Chapter of the Rose Croix No. 6 at Lake Worth. In 1923, charters were issued for Menthra Council of Kadosh and Lake Worth Consistory, both to be located in Lake Worth.

In the early mid-fifties, to comply with Supreme Council Statutes, all bodies in the Orient of Florida changes their names to the name of the city or town where they held their meetings.

From the mid-fifties through the end of that decade, Florida Scottish Rite of Freemasonry grew by leaps and bounds. Charters were issued to the Ocala Council of Kadosh, Orlando Consistory, Panama City Chapter of Rose Croix, and the Tallahassee Chapter of Rose Croix. In 1959, a charter was given to the Fort Myers Lodge of Perfection, the Panama City Council of Kadosh, the Panama City Consistory, and the Tallahassee Consistory.

Most Worshipful Robert Louis Goldsmith, who served as Grand Master of Free and Accepted Masons of Florida, in 1983, became the seventh Sovereign Grand Inspector General of the Orient of Florida. Brother Goldsmith had received the 33-degree Honorary, on December 10, 1983, and was appointed Deputy of the Supreme Council on May 3, 1988. He was crowned an Active Member of the Supreme Council and Sovereign Grand Inspector General in Florida in October 1989. Brother Goldsmith presently serves as the Grand Orator of the Supreme Council and Grand Representative to the Supreme Councils of Slovenia and Italy, has served on various committees and presently serves as Chairman of the Committee on Jurisprudence and Legislation, the Committee 2001 Bicentennial, and on the Committee on Benevolence and Fraternal Assistance.

The Scottish Rite Foundation of Florida, Inc. was established in 1975 and the first Aphasia Clinic was opened in Tampa. Since that first clinic opened, the Florida Scottish Rite Brethren have established additional clinics in Jacksonville, Tampa, Ft. Myers, Lakeland, New Port Richey, Orlando, Palm Beach, Panama City, Pensacola, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota. During the short period of time since the inauguration of this program, the Childhood Language Disorder Clinics of Florida have treated thousands of children, with a high percentage of these being either cured or greatly improved.