The Old Chicago York Rite Bodies have moved to the Jefferson Masonic Temple at 5418 W. Gale St., Chicago, and meet on 4^th Tuesdays, with fellowship dinner at 6:30 p.m. and Stated Meetings starting at 7:30 p.m. For contact and other information, visit www.chicagoyorkrite.org. York Rite Freemasonry consists of four bodies that confer the following degrees and orders:

LODGE OF ANCIENT CRAFT MASONRY

Entered Apprentice or First Degree

Fellowcraft or Second Degree

Master Mason or Third Degree

CHAPTER OF ROYAL ARCH MASONS

Mark Master or Fourth Degree

Past Master or Fifth Degree

Most Excellent Master or Sixth Degree

Royal Arch Mason or Seventh Degree

COUNCIL OF CRYPTIC MASONS

Royal Master or Eighth Degree

Select Master or Ninth Degree

Super Excellent Master Degree

COMMANDERY OF KNIGHTS TEMPLAR

Illustrious Order of the Red Cross

Mediterranean Pass and Order of Malta

Order of the Temple

In completing the three degrees of the Blue Lodge, you become a York Rite Mason. But only in the Capitular degree of Royal Arch Mason can you discover the Lost Word for which a substitute is given you in the Third Degree. Only in the Cryptic Degrees can you learn how the Word was preserved through the ages. And only in the Chivalric Orders can one fully appreciate from their inspiring perspective the role of the Divine Word in the immortal destiny of the human soul. We encourage you to seek the further Masonic light which only the York Rite Bodies can impart. Many of your Blue Lodge brethren can assure you that you will thoroughly enjoy the journey!

La Fayette Chapter No. 2, Royal Arch Masons

Constituted July 12, 1844

The Capitular Degrees. Royal Arch Masonry provides an opportunity for Master Masons desirous of further light to explore some of the deeper mysteries of the Craft. The four degrees of the Chapter, in which candidates take an active part, are truly some of the most profound and impressive in Freemasonry. In the Royal Arch Degree itself, the Lost Word of a Master Mason is rediscovered in a beautiful ceremony that takes the candidates through the destruction of King Solomon’s Temple, the seventy years of the Babylonian captivity, and the ultimate return to the Holy Land to aid and assist in the rebuilding of the Temple of the Most High. No other degrees are so intimately linked with the Blue Lodge or have so ancient and noble a history.

As the oldest Masonic body in Chicago, La Fayette Chapter No. 2 has a rich fraternal heritage with a membership that includes the following distinguished Companions:

REV. WILLIAM F. WALKER

Grand Master of Masons of Illinois, 1845

JAMES VAN ZANDT BLANEY

Grand High Priest of Illinois, 1851

Grand Commander, Knights Templar, 1857-58

WILLIAM W. MITCHELL

Grand High Priest of Illinois, 1861

HOSMER A. JOHNSON

Grand Commander, Knights Templar of Illinois, 1861

GEORGE W. DEERING

Grand Commander, Knights Templar of Illinois, 1862

WILEY M. EGAN

Grand High Priest of Illinois, 1864

Grand Commander, Knights Templar of Illinois, 1871

President, Chicago Board of Trade, 1867-68

Member, Illinois General Assembly, 1871

HENRY C. RANNEY

Grand Commander, Knights Templar of Illinois, 1865

Commander in Chief, Oriental Consistory, 1871-72

JAMES H. MILES

Grand High Priest of Illinois, 1868

DEWITT C. CREGIER

Grand Master of Masons of Illinois, 1870-71

Mayor of Chicago, 1889-91

THEODORE T. GURNEY

Commander in Chief, Oriental Consistory, 1873-75

Grand Commander, Knights Templar of Illinois, 1875

Grand Master of Masons of Illinois, 1878-79

CARTER H. HARRISON, SR.

Mayor of Chicago, 1879-87, 1893

ABRAM D. GASH

Grand Master of Masons of Utah, 1897

EDWARD COOK

Grand Master of Masons of Illinois, 1897-98

JAMES B. MCFATRICH

Grand Commander, Knights Templar of Illinois, 1899

Commander in Chief, Oriental Consistory, 1903-05

SMYTH CROOKS

Grand Commander, Knights Templar of Illinois, 1907

JAMES HAMILTON LEWIS

United States Senator from Illinois, 1913-19

HARRY W. HARVEY

Grand High Priest of Illinois, 1915

THOMAS ALBERT STEVENS

Grand Commander, Knights Templar of Illinois, 1915

RALPH H. WHEELER

Grand Master of Masons of Illinois, 1915-16

WILLIAM HALE THOMPSON

Mayor of Chicago, 1915-23, 1927-31

WILLIAM ANTHONY EICHLER

Grand High Priest of Illinois, 1922

Chicago Council No. 4, Cryptic Masons

Chartered September 26, 1855

The Cryptic Degrees. The Council of Royal and Select Masters is also known as the Cryptic Rite and provides continuity for what otherwise would be a significant void in the complete story of the York Rite. The degrees controlled by the Grand Councils in the United States are Royal Master, Select Master, and Super Excellent Master. The first two degrees are known as the “Degrees of Preservation” because they recount the concealment and preservation of the treasures revealed in the Royal Arch. Councils were not formed until the early 1800s and only in the United States. During the late 1800s, as a result of an economic crisis, the Council degrees were temporarily transferred to the jurisdiction of the Grand Chapters in certain states, including Illinois.

St. Bernard Commandery No. 35, Knights Templar

Chartered October 26, 1870

The Chivalric Orders. Freemasonry demands only a belief in a Supreme Being, whereas the Commandery provides transition to the ideals of Christian chivalry. The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross tells the story of the Jewish Prince, Zerubbabel, securing permission of the Persian King Darius to rebuild the Second Temple at Jerusalem. In the Order of the Knight of Malta, the candidate represents a knightly warrior of the Crusades prior to his departure for the Holy Land. In the Order of the Temple, the candidate represents a knight aspirant desiring to join the Knights Templar during the period after the Crusades. Following several trials of his faith, courage and humility, he is rewarded by achieving his desire.