Importance
of Chapter and Council to a Mason
Paul
C. Howell
Past
Grand High Priest, Michigan
The evolution of Freemasonry since it came
into the modern era in 1717, with the forming of the first Grand Lodge in
London, England, has been a long an arduous task. Masonry propose it has
changed little since its formation in 1717.
Is Masonry the same as it was when it was originally conceived? Yes and no.
Yes. The moral teachings and
lessons are basically the same. They
have not changed much over these many years.
A Master Mason today is and would have been a Master Mason in years gone
by, and vice versa.
No. Throughout the years Masons
have had a tendency to make things more palatable for the common man to
join. In some instances shortening the
length of time, both on a given evening, in what he required for the candidate
to learn, and in some cases in the length of time between receiving one degree
and the next.
How does the Chapter and Council fit into this entire situation?
The Mark
Master Mason Degree offered in the Chapter was originally part of the
Fellowcraft Degree and was removed for the expedience of the degree. It used to be required that a Fellowcraft had
to be a “Marked Man” prior to completing the Fellowcraft Degree and being able
to pursue his endeavors as a Master Mason.
That portion of the Fellowcraft Degree has been carried on for all
Master Masons in the Royal Arch Chapter.
In the Master Mason Degree the Brother is taught a substitute word for
the Master Mason. The Master Mason
Degree used to give the Brother the substitute word and then explain to him the
true word and meaning of the Word of Master Mason. Again this latter potion of the ritual was
removed for expediency reasons. The
degree was way too long for the average man.
Too much to learn and know at one time.
Too much to expect him to comprehend.
That portion of the Master Mason Degree explaining the True Word of a
Master Mason has been preserved in the Royal Arch Chapter.
In many jurisdictions a Brother desiring to the Master of his Lodge must
have instruction relative to the operation of a Lodge. These jurisdictions require that a Brother
receive the degree of Past Master, prior to or at the time of his being
installed as a Master of his Lodge. This
degree is conferred in a Chapter of Royal Arch Masons.
The Most Excellent Master Degree is peculiar to the United States. In it we discover how the Master’s Word was
preserved for future generations to discover.
This degree cannot be shown to have any special significance to any of
the original degrees of Masonry. It has
been incorporated into the Royal Arch system of degrees as an educational
building block of Masonry.
The Cryptic Degrees of the Council are the Royal Master and the Select
Master Degrees. These degrees were and
are continued explanatory degrees for the first three degrees in Masonry.
The Royal Master Degree explains in a short, but very beautiful and
impressive manner, the reason for the Lost Word and the explanation for the
hiding of the Word for future generations.
In the Select Master Degree the sacred treasures are deposited in a
secret location, later to be found in the Royal Arch Degree. The degree impresses upon you a lesson of
patience. Besides the lesson of patience
the allegory of this Degree contains the preservation of the Master’s Word.
The Super Excellent Master Degree is the only degree in Masonry that
deals with the actual destruction of the first temple in Jerusalem. It is an expansion of that depicted in the
Royal Arch Degree.
The degrees within the Council beautifully expand and explain the
degrees portrayed in the Chapter of Royal Arch Masons. Since the Chapter Degrees were and should be
considered a part of the degrees portrayed to the Master Mason, so should those
for the Council be considered in order for the Master Mason to better
understand and therefore practice those moral and spiritual lessons taught him.
In order to understand the true meaning of any story, one should read
all the chapters within a book. A Master
Mason who has not received the degrees of the Chapter and Council has only
received three of the chapters in a very beautiful soliloquy. The Master Mason has received a story that is
yet unfinished.
(Reprinted from The Royal Arch Mason, Volume 19, Number 11, Fall 1999, pages 345 - 346)
