Masonic Ranks and Hierarchy: How Lodge Offices Actually Work

A candidate once asked me, a little nervously, how many ranks he would have to climb before anyone in the lodge took him seriously. I told him he would be taken seriously the moment he was initiated, and that the titles he would hear were not ranks in the military sense at all. They are offices, held for a season, and then passed on. That distinction is the key to understanding Masonic hierarchy.

Freemasons have a phrase for it: we meet upon the level. Inside the lodge, a judge and a janitor, a banker and a bricklayer, sit as equals. The offices exist so that the lodge can do its work in good order, not to set some men above others.

§Degrees are not ranks

The first confusion to clear is between degrees and offices. A degree is a stage of initiation. In the Craft lodge there are three: Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason, described in The Three Degrees of Freemasonry. Once a man is a Master Mason he has received every degree the Craft lodge confers. Higher numbered degrees, including the famous 33rd, belong to optional appendant bodies and carry no authority in the lodge, as The 33rd Degree Explained sets out.

An office, by contrast, is a job. A Master Mason may be elected or appointed to an office for a year, carry out its duties, and then move on. Offices give structure to meetings, ceremonies and the business of the lodge.

§The officers of a lodge

Titles vary slightly between jurisdictions, but a typical lodge in the English speaking world has the following officers. You will see them sitting in particular places in the lodge room, each with a jewel of office on his collar.

• Worshipful Master: presides over the lodge for a year, much like a chairman. What Is the Worshipful Master in a Lodge? explains the title.
• Senior Warden: second in command, sits in the west and usually becomes Master the following year.
• Junior Warden: sits in the south and oversees the brethren during refreshment.
• Treasurer: keeps the lodge finances. Often a long serving brother re elected year after year.
• Secretary: keeps the records, handles correspondence and petitions, and is often the most knowledgeable man in the building.
• Senior and Junior Deacons: carry messages and guide candidates through the degrees.
• Stewards: assist the Deacons and help prepare candidates and refreshments.
• Chaplain: offers the prayers that open and close the lodge.
• Tyler: guards the door from outside. What Is the Tyler in Freemasonry? tells his story.

Some lodges add a Marshal, Organist, Almoner, Director of Ceremonies, Mentor or Inner Guard, depending on local tradition. English lodges, for example, have an Inner Guard inside the door as well as the Tyler outside it.

§Progressing through the chairs

In many lodges there is a recognised progression. A new Master Mason might be appointed Steward, then move each year to Junior Deacon, Senior Deacon, Junior Warden, Senior Warden and finally Worshipful Master. This is called going through the chairs, and it takes most men five to seven years.

The progression is not automatic, and nobody is obliged to join it. Many excellent Masons never hold office and contribute through charity, mentoring or simply showing up faithfully. Others serve as Secretary or Treasurer for decades without ever wishing to be Master. A good lodge values both. If you are worried about the time involved, How Much Time Does Freemasonry Take? gives honest figures.

§Past Masters

When a Worshipful Master completes his year he becomes a Past Master, styled W. Bro. in many jurisdictions, as I am. Past Masters often advise the current officers, coach ritual and help candidates. The title is a mark of service completed. It does not confer authority over the sitting Master, whose word governs the lodge during his year.

Every Past Master started as a candidate with questions. Take the free Readiness Quiz and see where your own journey begins.

§Grand Lodge and its officers

Above the individual lodges sits the Grand Lodge, which governs all the lodges in a state, province or country. It is led by a Grand Master, elected for a term, with Deputy Grand Masters, Grand Wardens, a Grand Secretary and many other officers. In larger jurisdictions there are also District or Provincial officers who oversee groups of lodges. These men often carry titles such as Right Worshipful or Most Worshipful. What Is a Grand Lodge? explains how the system holds together.

Grand Lodge officers have real administrative authority. They issue charters, settle disputes, set rules for dues and ritual, and represent the jurisdiction to other Grand Lodges. Yet when a Grand Master visits a lodge, he is still greeted as a brother. Brethren stand to honour his office, not to bow to the man.

§Styles of address

• Bro.: any Master Mason.
• W. Bro.: Worshipful Brother, usually a Past Master or certain Grand Lodge officers.
• R.W. Bro.: Right Worshipful Brother, typically a senior Grand Lodge or District officer.
• M.W. Bro.: Most Worshipful Brother, reserved for a Grand Master or Past Grand Master.

These styles appear on letters and programmes, and you will hear them used formally in the lodge. Outside, most brethren simply use first names. Nobody expects a new candidate to know the forms, and getting them wrong is never held against you.

§Meeting on the level

I return to that phrase because it matters. The level is one of the working tools of a Fellowcraft and teaches that all men are equal in the sight of the Great Architect. A lodge where officers lord it over the brethren is a lodge that has forgotten its own teaching. If you visit a lodge and sense that kind of atmosphere, look elsewhere. How to Choose the Right Lodge offers questions to ask.

In the healthy lodges I have known, the Master is the first to arrive and the last to leave, the Wardens are setting up chairs, and the Past Masters are washing dishes after the dinner. Hierarchy in Freemasonry is a structure of service, and the higher a man goes, the more he is expected to give.

If you would like to see these offices in action, the best introduction is a first visit. What Happens on Your First Visit to a Lodge will tell you what to expect when you meet them in person.