The Order of Mark Master Masons is an appendant order of Freemasonry that exists in some Masonic jurisdictions, and confers the degrees of Mark Man and Mark Master.[1]
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Administrative structure
The administration of this degree varies greatly from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, though in all jurisdictions, the candidate is required to be a Master Mason to be eligible for this degree.
In England, Europe and Australasia, the Mark Degree is conferred in separately warranted Lodges under the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons. The candidate for advancement is required to be a Master Mason. In England and Wales, the governing body is The Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of England and Wales and its Districts and Lodges Overseas, which also controls the Royal Ark Mariner degree; conferred in separately warranted Royal Ark Mariner Lodges.
In Scotland, the Mark Degree is conferred in a Craft lodge and is seen as completion of the Fellowcraft degree, although the candidate is required to be a Master Mason. The degree may alternatively, and exceptionally, be conferred in a Holy Royal Arch Chapter as a prerequisite for exaltation to the HRA. In Queenland Australia, the Mark Master's Degree can be conferred by a Royal Arch Chapter under the Supreme Grand Chapter of Queensland or by a Mark Master mason's lodge under the Grand Lodge of Mark Master masons in Queensland. His entry into the Chapter is preceded by a short ceremony of Mark Lodge Affiliation, if the candidate has already been advanced into the Mark degree.
In the US, this degree forms part of the York Rite.
Allegorical legend
Similarly to Craft Freemasonry, the Mark Degree conveys moral and ethical lessons using a ritualised allegory based around the building of King Solomon's Temple. The events of the degree require the candidate to undertake the role of a Fellowcraft, thus the degree is seen as an extension of the Fellowcraft Degree and the philosophical lessons conveyed are appropriate to that stage in a candidate's Masonic development.
History
Following the Union of the Antients and Moderns Grand Lodges and the formation of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813, the articles of union stated that there would be three Craft degrees only, including the Royal Arch, excluding the Mark degree.
As Freemasonry spread around the globe in the 18th and 19th centuries, Mark Masonry became well established and now has a worldwide presence, with six daughter Grand Lodges and the degree being worked under alternative administrative structures elsewhere. In England, the current Mark Grand Master, HRH Prince Michael of Kent, is the younger brother of the Craft Grand Master, HRH Prince Edward, Duke of Kent.
References
- ^ Jackson, Keith B. Beyond the Craft. London: Lewis Masonic, 2005. ISBN 09780853182481
External links
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