Why does the Royal Ark Mariner degree stand apart from the Craft?

Biblical narrative and historical origins separate the Royal Ark Mariner degree from Craft Masonry. As Cumberland and Westmorland Mark Masons states, the ritual setting of the degree is based on the biblical legend of Noah and the Great Flood rather than the construction of King Solomon's Temple. Lodge Burroughs Strange No. 87 notes that these commemorated events are pre-historical, predating the Volume of the Sacred Law, and thus do not form part of the traditional furniture of a Craft Lodge.

Symbolism and trade traditions also distinguish the degree from the Craft. Arthur Edward Waite explains that the Royal Ark Mariner degree is connected with the Legend of the Flood and uses rainbow colouring 2. Furthermore, Cumberland and Westmorland Mark Masons notes that the degree was historically associated with the trade of carpenters and woodworkers rather than the stonemasons of the Craft. In terms of operative history, the Royal Ark Mariner originated in the eighteenth century among operative Masons to preserve mutual support and real fellowship apart from speculative gentlemen 1.

Governance further sets the degree apart from the Craft. Robert Lomas observes that the Royal Ark Mariner operates as a special lodge attached to a Mark Lodge, under the rule of the Grand Mark Lodge 1. Cumberland and Westmorland Mark Masons likewise notes that the degree is governed separately under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons rather than a Craft Grand Lodge.

Historical developments and administrative restructuring following the 1813 Union explain why the Royal Ark Mariner degree is worked under the jurisdiction of Mark Master Masonry. Following the Union, additional degrees were forced to fend for themselves, resulting in the creation of sovereign bodies and structural alliances to preserve various rites 1. Arthur Edward Waite noted that while the degree is attached to the Mark for almost unsearchable reasons symbolically, it was brought under formal governing bodies during this period of consolidation 2.

According to Mark Masons' Hall, the Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of Royal Ark Mariner officially came under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons in 1871. Mark Masons' Hall further notes that the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons subsequently purchased full rights to the Grand Lodge of Royal Ark Mariners on 10 June 1884 for £25.

Structurally, a Royal Ark Mariner Lodge operates as a special unit attached to a Mark Lodge, in a manner similar to how a Royal Arch Chapter is attached to a Craft Lodge 1. Mark Masons' Hall states that Royal Ark Mariner Lodges are moored to existing Mark Lodges and assume their roll number. Under this administrative framework, the Grand Master of the Mark is ipso facto the Grand Master of the Royal Ark Mariners, with the degree being governed by the Grand Master's Royal Ark Council, while candidates must first be Mark Master Masons to qualify for entry.