Cerneau Rite Masonic Regalia
Little known in Europe, the
Cerneau Rite was much talked about in the United States in the 19th century. It is in fact a version of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, which owes its name to a French Freemason named Joseph Cerneau (1763-1840~1845). He settled in Santo Domingo, where he practised the 25-degree Rite of Perfection, which was established in the West Indies thanks to the Patent Morin, the origin of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite. The Haitian Revolution (1802-1803) forced him to leave the island and he finally settled in New York, where in 1807 he founded a Sublime Consistory of the Princes of the Royal Secret for America (Rite of the 25th degree), which he quickly transformed into a Supreme Council of the 33rd degree, although it is not known how he obtained this rank.
The Supreme Council of Charleston (established in 1801), the only legitimate power of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite in America, took exception and, after investigation, declared this new Supreme Council illegitimate and established the Supreme Council for the Northern Jurisdiction of the United States in New York in 1813. A fierce battle ensued, with the exclusion of all those who had had dealings with Cerneau's Supreme Council. The affair ended with the merger of the two Supreme Councils in 1867, putting an end to the
Cerneau Rite for the time being.
In 1878, the
Rite of Cerneau was revived by Harry J. Seymour, the introducer of the Memphis Rite in the United States, who sold it to William H. Peckham around 1880. Peckham's Supreme Council operated for about twenty years. But in 1881, the
Cerneau Rite was also revived by the Folger and Thompson brothers. The Folger-Thompson Supreme Council died out around 1925.
The
Rite of Cerneau would have remained unnoticed in France had not Jean Bricaud (1881-1934), who had become Grand Master of Memphis-Misraïm in 1914, been unable to obtain a Patent of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite from the Supreme Council of France, but had obtained one from the Folger-Thompson Supreme Council. In this way, the Rite was established in France in the wake of the Egyptian Rites.
On Nos Colonnes, you will find all the Masonic Regalia (aprons, sashes, collars, collar jewels, etc.) used in the Symbolic Lodges of the Cerneau Rite.
