Royal & Select Masters

THE ORDER OF ROYAL & SELECT MASTERS

THE MISSING LINK

The building, destruction and rebuilding of the Temple at Jerusalem forms the cornerstone of our Masonic ritual and that these legends and in particular, the search for the Master Word are allegorical representations of the search for Truth, the essence of our Masonic philosophy.

In the Third Degree, we are informed that the Word or, more precisely, the form of its pronunciation was deemed to have been lost following the death of Hiram Abif, only to be rediscovered in an underground vault by the Sojourners preparing the ground for the foundation of the Second Temple some 470 years later.

The Order of Royal & Select Masters, often know as the Cryptic Degrees, is open to those who are both Royal Arch and Mark Master Masons and consists of four highly dramatic degrees.  These outline the initial steps taken during the building of the Temple to preserve copies of the holy vessels and sacred treasures in a secret vault, the burial of the Word by the two surviving Grand Masters after Hiram’s death, the completion and dedication of the Temple and finally the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar and his army.  It can be seen, therefore, that the Cryptic Degrees form a vital and interesting link between the Craft and Royal Arch, making the connection much more logical and completing the legend of King Solomon and his Temple. The Four Degrees are as follows:

The Select Master

The preparations for the building of the Temple having commenced in the Mark Degree, the three Grand Masters are anxious that the form of the sacred treasures, including the Ark of the Covenant, could be lost forever in the event of the Temple being sacked. They therefore arrange for a small number of Select Masons, sworn to secrecy, to construct a secret vault beneath the Holy of Holies and deposit replicas therein. This degree outlines the construction of the vault and the consequences of an innocent intruder straying therein.

The Royal Master

The Temple is nearing completion and certain overseers are anxious to receive the Master Word and be honoured with the rank of Royal Master before their employment ceases. Shortly before his death, Hiram Abif explains to one of these Overseers, Adoniram, that with patience and industry he will, in due time, receive it. This discourse is widely regarded as the most beautiful ritual in any Masonic Degree.

The Most Excellent Master

Hiram Abif has been slain and, after a period of mourning, the holy relics are transferred into the completed temple.  King Solomon prepares to dedicate it to the Most High and, to celebrate the joyous occasion, confers the Degree of Most Excellent Master on his most trusted and skilful workmen, amongst whom are those who built the secret vault.

The Super Excellent Master

The temple had stood in all its glory for nearly 400 years but had then fallen to Nebuchadnezzar and his army.  The king and his principal citizens were taken into captivity in Babylonia. Zedekiah, Nebuchadnezzar’s puppet King, has rebelled against him and fled, leaving the remaining citizens to defend the Temple and pledge their devotion to God.

The Silver Trowel
The Order of the Silver Trowel, or Thrice Illustrious Master’s Degree, is typically worked at District level and is bestowed by recommendation of the District Grand Master to the Most Illustrious Grand Master on members of the Order who have passed through the Chair and have shown particular merit and usefulness to their District.
Amongst all the Degrees in Freemasonry, it is one of the most poignant, involving the death of King David and the entrusting of his young son Solomon with the task of building the Temple that he had so long planned for.
Interestingly, this degree serves as a link between the Order of the Secret Monitor, the Ancient and Masonic Order of the Scarlet Cord and the degrees of the Craft.
Recipients of the degree wear a sterling silver trowel on their apron and are entitled to wear a similar, but smaller, silver tie-pin.

The Excellent Master
Otherwise known in other Orders as “The Veils”, this degree is worked in Scottish Rite and in Bristol before Exaltation into Royal Arch Chapter.

In England, it is reserved for those Cryptic Masons who are recommended by their District Grand Master and selected by the Most Illustrious Grand Master for preferment into this highest of degrees worked in the Order.

The degree links the Tabernacle, built by Aholiab and Bezaleel and consecrated by Moses at the foot of Mount Horeb in the Wilderness of Sinai, with both King Solomon’s Temple and the Second Temple, and even extends to explaining a connection with the Robes of the Royal Arch.

Thus, it illustrates the single unbroken thread that binds all the Degrees of all the Solomonic Orders together.

The Solomonic Legend

Qualifications to participate:

A Freemason who wishes to be 'chosen' as a Select Master must be a Master Mason, a Mark Master Mason and a Companion of the Holy Royal Arch.

You can find out more about Freemasonry, the Mark degree, the Royal Arch, and other Companion Orders by visiting our contact pages on this website.