The First Three Degrees

Freemasonry

New Zealand Freemasonry recognises six Degrees as Pure and Ancient Freemasonry. The first three as shown below.

Following admission by secret ballot, a candidate (or Lewis – the son of a Mason) is initiated into Freemasonry and receives his First Degree becoming an Entered Apprentice. After a delay of typically one month or longer he is passed to the Second Degree and is known as a Fellowcraft. After at least another month he is then raised to the Third Degree as a Master Mason. This entitles him to all the privileges as a member of a Lodge and also allows him to take further Degrees if he so chooses.

A Master Mason may be elevated to the rank of Installed Master in a Lodge. This is a rank, not a degree, however a ceremony worked by a Board of Installed Masters is conducted for this advancement.

A breast jewel as shown on the right is also worn by Past Masters who have completed their year of office. Bars on the ribbon indicate further years of service in the chair as Master of a particular Lodge.

The ceremonies of the first three degrees in Freemasonry deal with the erection of King Solomon’s Temple, and in the third, the death of the principal architect, Hiram Abiff who according to Masonic legend was responsible for the building of this biblical edifice. With his death were lost of the secrets of a Master Mason. This is generally referred to as the Hiramic Legend. While much of the story told is based on fact and the scriptures, the third degree was embroidered by early speculative masons who used a great deal of poetic licence in turning a very minor scriptural figure into a major hero. 

Prior to 1717 when the English Grand Lodge was founded, there were generally only two recognised degrees, the Entered Apprentice. and Fellow Craft. In those times there was no mention of the Hiramic Legend and we can only presume that although known, it was not used in speculative workings prior to this period. 

The earliest text which described a three degree system is Prichard’s exposure of 1730, “Masonry Dissected”. Interestingly it indicates that the 3rd degree was not a newly created ceremony but is quite vague about its previous place in the ritual.

In various French Exposures circa 1744-1757 there are brief hints of a fourth degree which suggest that the Scottish workings used a ceremony which embodied certain themes which may have belonged to the Royal Arch. This was a fourth degree quite separate from the Mark Degree which is described later.