Allied Masonic Degrees of England and Wales and Territories Overseas

If you haven't done so yet, read my Introduction to the Allied Masonic Degrees, to which this post is a follow-up.

We're almost half way through my original 11-day series on AMD. In my studies I have discovered that the practice of The Grand Council of Allied Masonic Degrees of England and Wales and Territories Overseas is interesting enough to warrant a post of its own.

In my post about The Order of the Secret Monitor I mentioned that AMD in Europe no longer controls the Secret Monitor Degree. Well, it turns out that the Grand Council AMD of England, etc., currently controls only five degrees, as compared with the ten which the GC of AMD of the USA controls. However, the overlap between these two systes is only partial. In Europe, the following degrees constitute AMD:

• St. Lawrence the Martyr
• Knight of Constantinople
• Red Cross of Babylon
• Grand Tylers of Solomon
• Grand High Priest
  

Additionally, St. Lawrence the Martyr is received by every initiate into AMD, and the remaining four degrees are worked thereafter in any order. Upon completion of all five degrees, the AMD member receives a pentagonal breast jewel featuring the emblems of each of the degrees. It looks like a snazzy jewel.

So, it sounds like an interesting system, with some trade-offs compared to the way it is done here in the USA. I prefer working the degrees when possible, and it seems that their system is set up to do exactly that, whereas it is only the option of a Council in the USA to do so.

In conclusion, this discovery means that you're going to get two bonus posts after my initial series is completed. In these bonus posts, I will share my findings on the degrees of Red Cross of Babylon and Grand High Priest, the two additional degrees that The Grand Council of AMD of England, Wales, etc., works that are not to be found in my GC of AMD of the USA ritual book.