The Most Excellent Master Degree is a product of American innovation. The earliest record of conferral dates back to 1783 in a Royal Arch Chapter in Middletown, Connecticut. It dramatizes the historical incidents of the completion and dedication of the First Temple of Jerusalem, and why King Solomon, instead of his father King David, was chosen to build the Temple.
Filled with pageantry, the work of building the Temple which was dramatically halted during the conferral of the Master Mason Degree is finally completed. Here the Candidate learns work once rejected by the builders as rubbish is instead of great importance as the headstone of the corner to complete the Temple. The underlying lessons teach that building one's life and character requires enthusiasm, perseverance and sacrifice, but in service to God the faithful and dedicated will in time, receive reward for their practical and spiritual labors.
The Most Excellent Master Degree is the only degree that forcibly brings attention to the completion and dedication of King Solomon's Temple; the very concept upon which all Masonic symbolism has been based. It is the ritual authority which confers the opportunity and obligation for a Royal Arch Mason to disseminate light and knowledge to less informed brethren.
In American and York Rite Masonry, the Capitular Degree of Most Excellent Master serves as the preparatory basis for Companions who choose to continue their journey of Masonic discovery by receiving the knowledge of a Royal and Select Master in the Cryptic Council.
From GGCRAMI (General Grand Chapter Royal Arch Masons International) Archives
