Back to: Protected: Introduction to the Fellow Craft Mason Education Course
SYMBOLISM OF THE DEGREE
In the degree of Fellowcraft, we try to emphasize the dignity and worth of the individual. Man should be an instrument of the Supreme Architect of the Universe. As such, he is a workman whose duty is to invent, create and achieve, and by doing so, express his own genius and individuality.
All Lodges are designed to encourage the development of individual genius and to allow man to become as great as he wants to be if he works hard. The main principle of this form of government is that the State should not interfere with the individual’s Freedom any more than is necessary to preserve government by the State, but still give the individual freedom to flourish.
The Degree of Fellowcraft symbolizes man in the prime years of his life. He is shown as an adult who is ready to accept the responsibility of life, not only for himself, but for his family and all of society. When the Mason assumes the duties and privileges of a Fellowcraft, he is taught that he is responsible for his own Destiny and that of the State.
The themes of this degree are education and achievement. The more a man learns through pursuit of knowledge, the more he achieves.
EVOLUTION FROM OPERATIVE TO SPECULATIVE
We are unable to accurately pinpoint the time when we went from Operative Masons to Speculative Masons. The change was gradual and probably stretched over a period of more than 50 years. It began early in the 1600s and may have begun with the acceptance of patrons into the Operative Lodges, as was mentioned in the Entered Apprentice Degree.
Others who were not interested in becoming Stonemasons followed the patrons. Those who were admitted by consent of the Operative Masons became “Accepted Masons.” Membership was sought after because of the spiritual, social and cultural advantages available, and this is when our Craft grew rapidly in numbers.
The decline of Gothic architecture and the reduced demands for great building projects had greatly lowered the number of skilled Operative Craftsman needed to carry on the construction during this time. At the beginning of the eighteenth century the Speculative Mason grew in num bers to the point that they soon became the larger force and gained control within the framework of the Lodge. Even though they adhered mostly to the old traditions, they did bring about some radical changes. One of these changes was the changing in the division of grades or degrees from two to three. The second degree became the Fellowcraft and the third was called the Master Mason. If we had not become Speculative Masons, our Craft was faced with extinction.
Many of the institutions of that day did pass into oblivion, but by becoming Speculative, the Craft has grown to a point never envisioned by its founders. Much of this growth can be attributed to the formation of the Grand Lodge of England at the meeting of the four old Lodges of England, which held a meeting in the Goose and Gridiron Tavern in 1717, at which a Mason by the name of Anthony Sayer was elected Grand Master.
From that meager beginning, Masonry spread over much of the world and many Grand Lodges have developed with their own Constituent Lodges.