Welcome

Greetings and blessings from Benaiah Sovereign Grand Lodge! We welcome all to our website. It is with great humility and honor that we continue operate to the Glory of the Great Architect of the Universe. We speak blessings and prosperity to all. Our history is vast and growing into a legacy each day. 

Benaiah Sovereign Grand Lodge was founded on April 16th 2014 in the State of Virginia. The founders of the Sovereign Grand Lodge are the following:

Sovereign ILL Michael Davenport, 33rd

Sovereign ILL Julius V. Armstrong III, 33rd

Sovereign ILL Troy Baker, 33rd 

                   Sovereign ILL Dana Simmons, 33rd ** (no longer affiliated with Benaiah Sovereign Grand Lodge)

Benaiah Sovereign Grand Lodge is a legal multi State Masonic nonprofit organization with IRS Tax Exempt 501(c)10 Fraternal Order Status pending (2016). Our Masonic organization is founded upon the principals of Brotherly Love, Fellowship and Unity. In order to comply with the laws of the land, Benaiah Sovereign Grand Lodge filed articles of incorporation with Virginia and Ohio State Corporation Commission offices that govern nonprofit organization legal state status. Benaiah Sovereign Grand Lodge was approved by the Secretary of the State Virginia Corporation Commission and the Secretary of State Corporation Commission of Ohio (https://sccefile.scc.virginia.gov/Business/0776993) to operate as a nonprofit approved entity in Virginia and Ohio ( as a foreign non-profit organization in accordance with the approval from the Secretary of the State of Ohio, State Corporation commission (http://www5.sos.state.oh.us/ords/f?p=100:7:0::NO:7:P7_CHARTER_NUM:2290895). 

What this means is Benaiah Sovereign Grand Lodge can legally operate as a multi-state approved non-profit organization, with the actual legal authority to operate as such provided by the State Corporation Commission with the Secretary of each State’s approval. This is a significant historical distinction for our organization that differentiates Benaiah Sovereign Grand Lodge from other organizations that may list Masonic not for profit operations. However, these organizations may be fictitious in nature and not in compliance with the laws of the land that govern that State (this is a Masonic requirement). Overall, there is a plethora of Masonic organizations in the United States with various Masonic rights. We do not contest or criticize any other Masonic body, but only tell the story of Benaiah Sovereign Grand Lodge.

Our Masonic organization has three Masonic Charters, providing Masonic lineage with hundreds of years of Masonic history. To provide Masonic authority to confer degrees 1-33, Benaiah Sovereign Grand Lodge has the Masonic and legal right to  Charter Grand Masonic organizations provided by the Supreme Council 33rd and Last Degree of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of the Independent State of Ohio, the United States of America, its territories and dependencies (Degrees 1-33) Charter. This process was ratified in August 2014, and concluded in December 2014. An update to reinstate this historical Masonic Charter document was completed on August 20th2014, with final updates ratified on August 4th 2015. The legal incorporation of the documents in which Benaiah Sovereign Grand Lodge has dates back to the mid 1700’s and was ratified in the years of 1902 and 1910, in Ohio and New York. The history of this Masonic Rite is in line with the Joseph Cerneau Rite.

Historical research provides evidence that the Joseph Cerneau Rite has a significant and prominent history in the United States. In accordance with an excerpt from New Edition of the brief history of the ancient and accepted Scottish rite of Freemasonry, together with a historic sketch of the so-called revival of Freemasonry in 1717, states the following: “Joseph Cerneau in the city of New York in the year 1807, and (is) the only legitimate power over the degrees of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in the United States of America, its Territories and Dependencies; and they propose to continue the good work.”  In addition to the information to give a brief description of this Rite is from The Condensed History of The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Masonry From Its Introduction into the United States To The Present Time Issued by the Grand Consistory of the State of New York 1903, As Organized by T.I. Joseph Cerneau, M.P.S.G.C October 27th, 1807 states the following: 

“It is conceded by all the authorities on Scottish Rite Masonry, at the Ancient  Accepted Scottish Rite was established by the Ancient Council of the Emperors of the East and West, an  organization created in Paris in 1758, having a Chamber in the old Grand Lodge of France….

In 1761 that Council of Emperors of East and West appointed Stephen Morin as Grand Inspector, giving him certain powers over the then known twenty-five degrees. At this time the ‘Council of Emperors of the East and West’ and the Grand Lodge of France were under the direction of the same Grand Master, Count De Clermont, prince of the royal blood, and shortly thereafter all the Masonic organizations in France were merged in the Grand Orient of France. On the 17th day of August, 1766, Morin was removed for cause, his powers revoked and annulled, and Bro. Martin, of St. Fredericks Lodge, was appointed and commissioned to establish Perfect and Sublime Masonry in all parts of the then New World. At this period the 25 degrees existing when Morin was commissioned in 1761 had been increased by the Grand Orient to 33 and it was decreed by the Grand Orient that the 33rd should be the last degree of Free and Accepted Masonry and govern them all. The first body to work the 33rd degree under this decree was the Primitive Scottish Rite at Naumur, France, 1770….Joseph Cerneau, born in France in 1765, immigrated to San Domingo, and became the Master of La Reunion Desiree Lodge ; was invested by Bro. Martin with the degrees and appointed Deputy Grand Inspector, with power to confer the degrees and establish bodies in America. In 1801 he established a Supreme Council in San Domingo. In 1806 he came to the United States, and on the 27th of October, 1807, he organized The Sov Grand 

Consistory for the United States of America, its Territories and Dependencies.” 

This is just a small sample of the rich history of Masonic process and Rites that will continue to be in Masonic historical reviews forever. Benaiah Sovereign Grand Lodge is proud to be a part of the growing legacy of Masonic Rites and will continue to build upon solid ground with all Masonic organizations dedicated to Brotherly Love and Fellowship globally.

The journey for building commonality and Masonic union was continued in the fall of 2014. In accordance with the process for increased Masonic commonality from various affiliations, members from multiple Masonic jurisdictions representing the States of Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, The District of Columbia, Georgia, and Florida, organized in Salisbury, MD, in October 2014, to ratify plans and Masonic agreements to become a Sovereign Grand Masonic organization. At this meeting Benaiah Sovereign Grand Lodge was given full rights and authority of the Executive Supreme Council Ancient and Accepted Rite of North America Charter dated November 2010 Warrant of Constitution (Degrees 4-33), presented by a Charter member notated on the actual Charter. An additional third Charter was granted to Benaiah Sovereign Grand Lodge by the Supreme Council for the Ancient and Accepted Rite of North America Charter, given via letter of transfer in November 2014. This Charter has Masonic lineage to the Masonic High Council of the World. In Jan 2015, Benaiah Sovereign Grand Lodge conducted its first Chartering Ceremony (Williamsburg, Virginia), to place Masonic Charters to various Grand Lodges and Lodges.

Today, Benaiah Sovereign Grand Lodge is committed to building a strong organization, founded upon Masonic principals and following the laws of the land. Benaiah Sovereign Grand Lodge is dedicated to producing quality relations and building a meaningful Masonic presence in the United States its territories and dependencies. We look forward to growing our commonality with various additional Masonic Organizations World-Wide. 

Our legacy continues each day!