Allied Masonic Degrees
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The Allied Masonic Degrees (AMD) are a series of
Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to Fraternity, fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of Stonemasonry, stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their inte ...
degrees conferred by ''Councils of the Allied Masonic Degrees''. The Allied Masonic Degrees form an appendant order of Freemasonry that exists in some
Masonic jurisdiction There are many organisations and orders which form part of the widespread fraternity of Freemasonry, each having its own structure and terminology. Collectively these may be referred to as Masonic bodies, Masonic orders or appendant bodies (or ...
s; its degrees are conferred only by invitation. Councils of the Allied Masonic Degrees exist in Great Britain, the United States, Canada, France, Australia and Congo, and their members also educate one another by presenting research papers on Freemasonry.


Organization

The structure is very much like that of the craft lodges, with the exception that the offices of Secretary and Treasurer may be combined in some councils.


The degrees in the UK

The entry degree is the ''Order of Saint Lawrence the Martyr''. This is the requisite for participating in Council meetings. The other four degrees, which can be taken in any order, are ''Knight of Constantinople'', ''Grand Tilers of Solomon'', ''Grand High Priest'', and ''Red Cross of Babylon''. However, the degree of the Grand Tilers of Solomon is normally taken last by a candidate. In England and Wales, the
Order of the Secret Monitor The Order of the Secret Monitor (OSM) is an appendant order of Freemasonry. History The first known references to the Order of the Secret Monitor are known to be Dutch in origin, being first mentioned in 1778 as the Order of Jonathan and David i ...
, once part of the AMD, now has its own independent conclaves. The Order is administered from
Mark Masons' Hall, London Mark Masons' Hall in London is the headquarters of The Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of England and Wales, which is also responsible for the Royal Ark Mariner degree. It is located in 86 St James's Street in the central London district of St ...
. * ''Knights of Constantinople — Plymouth Working'': In 1865 a Council of Knights of Constantinople was formed in Devonport,
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
. In 1910 three remaining councils, Numbers 33, 34 and 35 conceded to the Grand Council of the Allied Masonic Degrees, but in doing so, obtained for themselves the right to wear their own distinctive apron, and the privilege and exclusive right to confer the degree as practised by the Plymouth Councils since 1865. Only Christian brethren are eligible to join the Plymouth Working. In Scotland, there is no direct equivalent of the Allied Masonic Degrees, nor are the degrees for which it is responsible carried out under the auspices of any of the Scottish masonic bodies, although the 'Red Cross of Babylon' is a truncated version of the Scottish 'Babylonish Pass' degree under the control of the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland. There is no reciprocal agreement on intervisitation in the 'Lodge & Council' degrees between the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland and the Council of the Allied Masonic Degrees. Nonetheless, ''The Grand Council of the Allied Masonic Degrees of England and Wales and Districts and Councils Overseas'' has been recognised since 2004 as a 'Masonic Body in Amity with The Grand Lodge of Scotland'


The degrees in the US

In the United States of America, a national ''Grand Council'' charters local councils, which confer their degrees on selected
Royal Arch Masons Royal Arch Masonry (also known as "Capitular Masonry") is the first part of the York Rite system of the Masonic degrees. Royal Arch Masons meet as a ''Chapter'', and the Royal Arch Chapter confers four degrees: ''Mark Master Mason, Past Master, ...
. Most councils are limited to twenty-seven members, but the ''Council of the Nine Muses'' is limited to nine authors (the new Sovereign Master must read a new essay), and the Grand Master's Council has no limit, either numerically or geographically. The officers of a Council utilize many of the same titles as the officers of a
Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
, with the presiding officer being denominated 'Sovereign Master." The Councils are given wide discretion as to choose how frequently they meet and what programs to pursue. Generally speaking, Councils study or discuss Freemasonry in some way at each meeting. The Grand Council has created some internal honors, the most notable being "Knight Grand Cross". The degrees conferred in the United States are: *Royal Ark Mariner *Order of the Secret Monitor **Brotherhood of David and Jonathan: Induction **Brotherhood of David and Jonathan: Admission of a Prince **Installed Supreme Ruler (OSM chair degree) *Knight of Constantinople *Order of Saint Lawrence the Martyr **Installed Worthy Master (OSLM chair degree) *Architect *Grand Architect *Superintendent *Grand Tiler of Solomon *Master of Tyre *Excellent Master *Installed Sovereign Master (AMD chair degree) *Installed Commander Noah (RAM chair degree) * Ancient Order of Corks (recreational; special rules apply) *The Order of the Scarlet Cord (special rules apply) *Royal Order of the Red Branch of Eri and Appendant Orders (honorary) **Man at Arms (optionally included with basic membership) **Esquire (optionally provided as an honor) **Knight (optionally provided as an honor) **Knight Commander (available to a member who has completed a term as Sovereign Master of his Council) **Knight Grand Cross (a Brother who has served as a Grand Officer in the Grand Council) **Supreme Grand Cross (a Brother who has been installed as Sovereign Grand Master)


The degrees in Canada

In Canada, the degrees conferred are: *St. Lawrence the Martyr *Installed Master of St. Lawrence Optional degrees are: *Knight of Constantinople *Grand Tilers of Solomon *Excellent Master *Masters of Tyre *Architect (implied prerequisite degree for Grand Architect) *Grand Architect (implied prerequisite degree for Superintendent) *Superintendent Royal Order of the Red Branch of Eri: (given at the Annual Assembly, or by the District Deputy Grand Master) * Optional Degrees (included with basic membership but can be conferred): **Man at Arms **Esquire *Required Degree: **Knight (on request; requisite for election as Sovereign Master) *Ranks: **Knight Commander (a Knight who has served a term as Sovereign Master of his lodge) **Knight Grand Cross (a Knight Commander who has been elected to the Grand Council) **Supreme Grand Cross (a Knight Commander who has been installed as Sovereign Grand Master) "Fun" degrees: (given at the Annual Assembly) * Ye Ancient Order of Corks * Order of the Bath


References

{{York Rite Masonic organizations