Senior Deacon
An appointed officer who carries messages from the Master, welcomes and attends visitors, and conducts candidates through the degrees.
Also searched as: senior deacon duties · what does a senior deacon do
- Station
- Near the Master in the East, at his right, in the common American arrangement.
- Jewel
- In most American Lodges, the square and compasses with a sun in the center. In England, a dove bearing an olive branch.
- How chosen
- Usually appointed by the Master, though some American Lodges elect their Deacons. Often the office a brother holds just before the Wardens' chairs.
The office
The Senior Deacon is the Master's messenger on the floor of the Lodge. He carries word from the East to the West and elsewhere as the Master directs, receives and introduces visiting brethren, and conducts candidates during the degrees, which makes his one of the busiest ritual parts in the Lodge.
Deacons carry rods or staves of office, often topped with the emblem of their jewel. The Grand Lodge of England describes its Deacons' role as guiding candidates through ceremonies; its Deacons wear a dove rather than the American sun.
In a Lodge that advances its officers in order, the Senior Deacon is commonly the last stop before Junior Warden.
The emblems: Lodge Officers' Jewels, the Square and Compasses.
In context: Visiting Another Lodge: Etiquette, Dues Card, Avouchment
Frequently asked questions
What does the Senior Deacon do in a Masonic Lodge?
An appointed officer who carries messages from the Master, welcomes and attends visitors, and conducts candidates through the degrees.
How is the Senior Deacon chosen?
Usually appointed by the Master, though some American Lodges elect their Deacons. Often the office a brother holds just before the Wardens' chairs.
What is the Senior Deacon's jewel?
In most American Lodges, the square and compasses with a sun in the center. In England, a dove bearing an olive branch.
What does S.D. stand for in Freemasonry?
S.D. is the abbreviation for Senior Deacon. An appointed officer who carries messages from the Master, welcomes and attends visitors, and conducts candidates through the degrees.
Sources
Drawn from what Grand Lodges publish about their own officers, the published monitors and Mackey. Duties are described in plain words; nothing here comes from, or goes beyond, any obligated material. Offices, titles and duties vary by jurisdiction, and your Lodge Secretary is the authority for yours.
- Grand Lodge of Maine, Membership card background information
- United Grand Lodge of England, What is a Lodge and its officers?
- Thomas Smith Webb, The Freemason's Monitor; or, Illustrations of Masonry (1797)
- Albert G. Mackey, An Encyclopædia of Freemasonry (1873)