Massachusetts Consistory

Consistory is responsible for conferring the 19th through the 32nd degrees. These degrees demonstrate the challenges of social and moral conflicts, drawing on lessons from the age of chivalry through modern day. The term “Consistory” comes from the Latin consistere (“stand firm”), which led to the term consistorium (“assembly place”). Historically, the word consistory has referred to either a council of the advisors of Roman emperors or the papal consistory, a meeting of the Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church. Within Freemasonry, Consistory refers to an assembly of Scottish Rite officers who, under the auspices of the Supreme Council, grant degrees.