About the Order

A little about R&SM

More formally entitled “The Order of Royal and Select Masters of England and Wales and its Districts and Councils Overseas” it is routinely referred to as “Cryptic Masonry” or the “Cryptic Degrees”. It was formally constituted in July 1873 by four councils chartered two years earlier by the York Rite Grand Council of New York. The order is administered today from Mark Masons’ Hall in London.

Complete the Jigsaw of your masonic journey through the Craft, Mark, Holy Royal Arch and join the Royal and Select Masters.

To become eligible for membership a candidate needs to be a Royal Arch Mason and a Mark Mason as well, of course, as a member of the Craft. The unit is called a Council, members are called Companions and at the head of a Council is the Thrice Illustrious Master. This title is, in all probability, derived from the qualification to be eligible to “rule” a council, at one time, of having been through the three chairs of Master of a Craft Lodge, Master of a Mark Lodge and First Principal of a Royal Arch Chapter.

Councils are organised into Districts, there being some 25 separate Districts in England and Wales. Each district holds an annual meeting to transact its business and appoint District Officers. In a similar manner to a council, which has at it’s head the Thrice Illustrious Master, a District is lead by a District Grand Master, assisted by a Deputy District Grand Master and a District Grand Principal Conductor of the Work. Grand Council governs all the Councils in England and Wales together with some abroad, for example in South Africa, The Caribbean and The Channel Islands.

The word “Crypt” comes from a Greek word meaning “hide, conceal, or secrete” and thus has come to mean a vault, cave, or other place of underground concealment. The Cryptic degrees are centred on stories involving a vault or crypt where certain treasures were hidden beneath King Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem for very specific purposes.

There are 6 ceremonies in all (similar to the way the craft has 3) with the first 4 being worked in councils. These four steps link the degree of Master Mason with those of Mark Master Mason and the Holy Royal Arch. They are Select Master; Royal Master; Most Excellent Master and Super Excellent Master. There are 2 further degrees which are granted by the Grand Master on those recommended to him for further preferment who have long and/or distinguished service. These are worked only in authorised councils and are the degrees of Thrice Illustrious Master (also known as the Silver Trowel) and Excellent Master (also known as the Passing of the Veils). Each of the six ceremonies are colourful, thought provoking and that of the Royal Master contains what many consider some of the most impressive and thought provoking ritual in Freemasonry.