What is the York Rite in Freemasonry?

Historically, the York Rite refers to the system organized or modified around the Revival of 1717 and practiced for fifty years by the Constitutional Grand Lodge of England 1. In its original form, it consisted strictly of the three Symbolic Degrees of Craft Masonry, with the Master Mason degree originally containing within itself the secrets later transferred to the Royal Arch 1. This early system was subsequently carried to France and America 1.

In modern usage, particularly in the United States, the name is almost universally applied to a broader system of degrees conferred across distinct governing bodies 1. This structure includes Craft Masonry, the Holy Royal Arch given in Chapters, Council degrees such as Royal Master and Select Master, and the Chivalric degrees of the Commandery 1.

However, Albert C. Mackey argued that using the title "York Rite" for this modern series of degrees is an inaccuracy 1. Because it incorporates additional degrees never known to the original English rite and separates the Royal Arch from the Third Degree, Mackey asserted that the modern system practiced in the United States is justly designated the American Rite rather than the York Rite 1.