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Allied
Masonic Degrees
The
Allied Masonic
Degrees
is an organization based on
interest and ability in Masonic research and scholarship. Membership is
by
invitation and is open to Companions who have completed the Chapter
degrees.
The local bodies are styled "Councils", and the national supervisory
body is the Grand Council. Councils are presided over by a Sovereign
Master,
who is assisted by eight other officers. The structure and office
titles of the
Council are very similar to corresponding offices and ritual in the
Blue Lodge.
The maximum number of active members of any Council is limited to 27.
Some
Councils are very selective (in my Council, Ten Sephiroth No.255, a
MAXIMUM of
two invitees per year are selected). Papers and discussions of Masonic
and related
topics are typically held at Council meetings. The AMD controls 10
degrees, but
which ones (if any) are actually "worked" is decided by each Council
for itself. Ten Sephiroth Council works three: Royal Ark Mariner,
Knight of
Constantinople and Grand Tylers of Solomon.
Upon joining, the candidate is
given a preliminary lecture on the history, aims, and purposes of
the AMD,
then introduced into the Council room, takes a "blanket" obligation,
and is taught the necessary signs. This is sufficient to make him a
member of
the AMD. The insignia of a Brother of the AMD is shown at left. Any
degrees
that are conferred follow the obligation ceremony.
The regular
degrees under the
control of the AMD, and a brief description of each, are presented in
the table
below:
| DEGREES
CONTROLLED BY THE AMD |
| Degree |
Synopsis |
| St. Lawrence the Martyr |
The
candidate is requested to undergo
a signal test of his courage, after which he is obligated, instructed
in the history of St. Lawrence, and given the signs and words of the
degree. Also explained are the significance of the gridiron and hackle,
the special symbols of the degree. |
| Secret
Monitor |
This
degree typifies the beauties of
brotherly love, as exemplified in the example of David and Jonathan. It
is based on their story and is semi-dramatic in character. The
candidate receives an obligation, signs, and words and a lecture
relating to the degree. The special symbol is the arrow. |
| Royal Ark
Mariner |
This
degree is set in the time of Noah and his sons, and relates events
prior to, during, and after the Flood. The degree is interesting
because much of it is set in unrhymed meter, and because axes are used
in place of gavels and undressed aprons for lambskin ones. The
candidate receives the customary obligation, signs, words and a
lecture. The lesson taught is one of trusting in God's goodness and
mercy. Earlier in AMD history, separate Lodges of Royal Ark Mariners
were attached, or "moored", to a particular Council, but this is no
longer practiced. |
| Knight
of Constantinople |
This
degree teaches the important lessons of humility and equality. It is
set in the time of the Emperor Constantine, in the city of Constantinople.
Two haughty Roman nobles learn the lessons previously cited in a most
striking manner. Again, an obligation is administered and signs,
word,and a lecture given. |
| Grand Tylers
of
Solomon |
This
degree bears a close affinity to the Select Master Degree of the York
Rite Council. Like the latter, it is set in a subterranean vault and
relates the story of an unwitting intruder into a secret council. The
degree teaches that all Masons must be effective tilers and guard their
Lodges against the unworthy and the irreligious. |
| Excellent
Master |
This
degree is somewhat reminiscent of the Royal Arch Degree and Illustrious
Order of the Red Cross. The candidate represents a Jewish sojourner
freed from Babylonian captivity, who desires to return to Jerusalem and labor on the new Temple.
He passes four veils in order to gain admission to the Sanhedrin
sitting in Council. |
| Masters
of Tyre |
This
degree has three sections. The first takes place in the court of Hiram,
King of Tyre who agrees to assist Solomon in building his Temple
by sending men, materials, and Hiram Abiff. The second section takes
place in a quarry near Jerusalem
and
involves Craftsmen discussing a conspiracy. The third section occurs
back in Hiram's court at Tyre,
where in
memory of the deceased Chief Architect this degree is instituted as a
memorial. There are several lectures throughout the course of the
degree. |
| Architect |
In
this degree, the candidate states his abhorrence of the crime against
GMHA, and is asked to participate in a memorial to the Chief Architect.
After being obligated, he receives two catechisms. |
| Grand
Architect |
Here,
the candidate represents Moabon, an Architect, who brings plans for the
completion of the third level of the Temple. His
ideas being adopted, he is rewarded by being obligated and created a
Grand Architect. In this degree, as in that of Architect, there are
also two catechisms recited. |
| Superintendant |
This
degree concludes the trilogy of Architect, Grand Architect, and
Superintendant. Now, Moabon (the candidate) is elevated to the exalted
station of Chief Architect (or Superintendant) to replace the one lost
to treachery. He assumes an obligation, and is given a catechism on the
furniture and adornment of the Temple. |
|
|
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A Brother elected to preside over an
AMD Council must
receive the Installed Sovereign Master degree before he can be
installed in
that office. The badge of a Sovereign Master is shown at left. The
degree of
Past Sovereign Master involves the relation of an occurrence that
transpires
between Solomon, a Mason named Adonirum, and a visiting dignitary to
Solomon's
court. The candidate assumes an obligation, is instructed in signs and
words,
and receives a lecture on the incidents upon which the degree is
founded. |
|
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The
highest honor that can be awarded to an AMD member by his Council is
that of
Knight of the Red Branch of Eri, given for unselfish and faithful
service to
his Council and/or the AMD. There are no set requirements, and each
Council
sets its own rules for selection. In my Council, we award at most one a
year
and some years, not at all. The insignia of a Knight is shown at left.
The
Order is divided into three degrees, Man-at-Arms, Esquire, and Knight.
The
ritual is one of Irish knighthood and much of the phrases, terms, and
names are
couched in the Irish language. The Order is not actively "worked",
and the text is readily available to all AMD brethren in the AMD ritual
book. |
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