Valley of Philadelphia
The Valley of Philadelphia is a constituent body of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction (NMJ), seated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is one of the Valleys operating under the Supreme Council, 33°, NMJ, whose Grand East is in Lexington, Massachusetts. The Valley meets in Gothic Hall of the Masonic Temple at One North Broad Street in Philadelphia.
Overview
The Valley of Philadelphia confers the 4°–32° of Scottish Rite Freemasonry on Master Masons in good standing whose Blue Lodge membership is in a jurisdiction in fraternal amity with the Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. Like other NMJ Valleys, it operates under the Supreme Council's stated core values: Reverence for God, Justice, Toleration, Devotion to Country, Service to Humanity, and Integrity.
Constituent Bodies
The Valley of Philadelphia is composed of four Scottish Rite bodies, each responsible for a portion of the degree sequence:
- Philadelphia Lodge of Perfection: 4°–14°
- DeJoinville Council, Princes of Jerusalem: 15°–16°
- Kilwinning Chapter of Rose Croix: 17°–18°
- Benjamin Franklin Consistory: 19°–32°
History
Philadelphia has a long association with the higher degrees of Freemasonry in America. Masonic historians note that a Lodge of Perfection — conferring the early "Ineffable Degrees" of the Rite of Perfection imported from France via the West Indies — was established in Philadelphia around 1781–82, making it one of the earliest bodies of its kind on the North American continent, alongside similar early lodges in Albany, New York (1767) and Charleston, South Carolina (1783). That early Philadelphia body was short-lived, ceasing activity by 1789, well before the modern American Scottish Rite structure took shape.
The Scottish Rite as it exists today traces its formal U.S. origin to May 31, 1801, when the Supreme Council, 33°, was organized in Charleston. The Northern Masonic Jurisdiction was subsequently established in New York City in August 1813 by certificate from the Charleston (Southern Jurisdiction) Supreme Council, giving rise over time to the network of NMJ Valleys — including Philadelphia's — operating across the fifteen states of the Northern Jurisdiction today.
Governance
The Valley of Philadelphia is led by a slate of elected and appointed officers, consistent with NMJ Valley governance structure, and answers to the Pennsylvania Council of Deliberation and, ultimately, the Supreme Council, 33°, NMJ. Valley activities are supported by a part-time virtual office located on the third floor of the Masonic Temple.
Membership
Petitioners must be Master Masons in good standing in a Blue Lodge recognized in amity with the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. The Valley accepts petitions from Master Masons throughout the greater Philadelphia region. Men not yet raised as Master Masons are directed to Pennsylvania's "Be a Freemason" program as a first step toward Blue Lodge membership.
