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The legend of the First Degree is narrated during the Induction Ceremony and tells the story of the remarkable friendship which existed between David and Jonathan. During the ceremony the Candidate is instructed in a certain course of action to be adopted when a brother is about to do anything which might prove injurious to himself and it teaches a beautiful lesson on Friendship and Fidelity.
The Admission ceremony to an Assembly of Princes is also derived from the Book of Samuel and narrates how Saul sought the life of David. It further relates an interesting legend of the methods contrived to thwart the efforts of the jealous King.
By reading the Old Testament books of Samuel, all the names of the Conclave Officers fall into place.
The last named degree is unusual when compared with the other Orders of Freemasonry, in that the ceremony of Installation constitutes the Third Degree of the Order pertaining to the Kingship of David and is fundamentally concerned with the headship of a Conclave. Embodied in the ritual of this degree, however, is the ceremony of commissioning, which gives rank and status within the Order as a whole, a certificate being issued to that effect.
The full title of the Order is "The Order of the Secret Monitor, or Brotherhood of David and Jonathan, in the British Isles and its Districts and Conclaves Overseas". It has its headquarters at Mark Masons' Hall, 86, St. James's Street, London, and the head of the Order is termed the "Grand Supreme Ruler".
There are now over 500 Conclaves spread between some 30 Provinces or Districts. Each Province or District has a Provincial or District Grand Supreme Ruler at its head.
From the very moment of our initiation as a craft mason we are made aware that Brotherly Love is to be the feature that should permeate every word, deed and thought within, and without, our assemblies, and should be the very touchstone of our practice, the blazon of our intentions and the very monitor of our utterance. Although strongly adhering to this basic craft tenet, our illustrious founding fathers in 1887 firmly believed that there was a need for a more intimate tie with this principle that could be handed down to posterity by those who approved and could appreciate its worth. They also felt that the single-degree ceremony composed by Dutch settlers of Jewish descent, which had been in use throughout Continental Europe, North America and in other parts of the world since the 17th century, should be revised to include their more meaningful and inspiring purpose.
The compassion and eloquence of our first Grand Supreme Ruler, Dr. Issacher Zackarie, a highly acclaimed orthopaedic surgeon and physician, who had been a trusted friend of President Lincoln, and the first Grand Master of the Craft Grand Lodge of California, and His Honour Judge F.A. Philbrick, Q.C., Grand Registrar of the United Grand Lodge of England, who was noted for his legislative and drafting skills, were charged with the important task of re-writing the ritual of the Ceremony of Induction, and to be the authors of the new Ceremonies for the Admission of a Prince of the Order, and the Installation and Commissioning Ceremonies of a Supreme Ruler.
The Order was regularly Constituted in London in 1887; it is non-denominational and open to every member of a Regular Craft Constitution. Our rituals and ceremonies generate a deeper understanding of the Craft principle of brotherly love, and demand a higher level of commitment to their precepts by every Brother of David and Jonathan.
From the website of Supreme Grand Conclave
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