How does the Mark Master Mason degree relate to the Fellow Craft degree?

The symbolic connection between the Fellow Craft degree and the Mark Master Mason degree lies in their shared focus on labor and moral order: while the Fellow Craft degree inculcates the necessary exercise of all the duties of life, the Mark degree teaches the importance of performing those duties with systematic regularity 2. In its moral allegory, the Mark Master represents the faithful servant rewarded for conscientious work, exemplified by the stone rejected by the builders that ultimately becomes the head of the corner 2.

Historically, the practice of selecting a mark belonged directly to the Fellow Craft, who chose an identifying mark to distinguish his work, reaffirm his obligations of fidelity and charity, and receive his wages 1. In Scottish practice, this historic link was formerly reflected in a structural division: the Mark Man degree was conferred directly upon a Fellow Craft, whereas the Mark Master degree was reserved for a Master Mason 2. Following a later agreement between the Grand Lodge and the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland, these two aspects were amalgamated into a single degree restricted to Master Masons 2.

In the modern system under the Grand Lodge of Mark Masters in England, as well as in other jurisdictions, a candidate must likewise be a Master Mason to be eligible for initiation into the degree 2. Symbolically, the degree retains this operative heritage through ceremonies set around work in the quarries, using that physical setting to unfold spiritual instruction 3.