Worshipful Master
The presiding officer of a Masonic Lodge, elected for a term (usually one year) and installed in the East, where he chairs every meeting and directs the work of the degrees.
Also searched as: master of the lodge · WM masonic · master of a masonic lodge
- Station
- The East.
- Jewel
- The square.
- How chosen
- Elected by the members of the Lodge, usually for one year, and then installed. Most Grand Lodges require him to have served as a Warden first; the exact rule is in each Grand Lodge's constitution.
The office
The Master runs the Lodge. He presides at its meetings, conducts or directs the degree work, appoints most of the other officers, and answers to the Grand Lodge for the Lodge's conduct during his year. Grand Lodge sites describe him simply as "the leader of the lodge."
"Worshipful" is an old English honorific meaning worthy of respect, the same sense in which English mayors and magistrates were long called "Your Worship". It has nothing to do with worship in the religious sense, and it is a title of office: it goes with the chair, not with the man.
In many American Lodges the Master wears a hat while presiding, the only brother in the room to do so. That is a custom rather than a universal rule, and some jurisdictions do not follow it.
The Master is not of a higher degree than anyone else in the room. He is a Master Mason elected to an office, and when his year ends he becomes a Past Master. The Master Mason degree remains the highest in Freemasonry.
The emblems: the Square, the Common Gavel, Lodge Officers' Jewels.
Buying for him
A brother elected Master is often given a personal gavel, a monitor, or a keepsake engraved with his Lodge and year. The Past Master items come at the end of his year, not the start.
Read next: The Three Degrees of Blue Lodge Masonry
Frequently asked questions
What does the Worshipful Master do in a Masonic Lodge?
The presiding officer of a Masonic Lodge, elected for a term (usually one year) and installed in the East, where he chairs every meeting and directs the work of the degrees.
How is the Worshipful Master chosen?
Elected by the members of the Lodge, usually for one year, and then installed. Most Grand Lodges require him to have served as a Warden first; the exact rule is in each Grand Lodge's constitution.
What is the Worshipful Master's jewel?
The square.
What does W.M. stand for in Freemasonry?
W.M. is the abbreviation for Worshipful Master. The presiding officer of a Masonic Lodge, elected for a term (usually one year) and installed in the East, where he chairs every meeting and directs the work of 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)