"You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit that befits repentance!" These were the words of John the Baptist as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew when he spoke to the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Information about St. John the Baptist, other than New Testament accounts, is limited to what Flavius Josephas, the Jewish historian, wrote in the 1st century.
In the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, the author states the angel Gabriel foretold John's birth. Gabriel told Zechariah your wife, Elizabeth, will bear a son; you will be joyful and glad; and you will name him John. Gabriel continued, your son will not drink wine and other strong liquids, he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will prepare people for the Lord. Later in the same chapter, the birth of the child is described. Elizabeth and her neighbors and kinsfolk rejoiced. The baby was circumcised on the eighth day. Elizabeth named the baby John, which meant "Jehovah's gift". John was born to Zechariah, a priest, and Elizabeth, daughter of a priestly family. John was a cousin of Jesus. Zechariah and Elizabeth died when John was quite young. But, by this time, John had learned to take care of himself. He lived in the desert, ate locusts and wild honey, and was clothed with camel hair.
Also, John became dedicated to God. A Nazarite is an Old Testament term for a man dedicated to God. John was made a Nazarite for life. Members took a special vow for a fixed term, and abstained from alcoholic beverages, avoided corpses, never cut their own hair, and were strong in spirit. A breach of observance called for purificatory rites.
Another group of religious men, the Essenes, are believed to have worshiped near where John the Baptist lived. Most information about this order comes from Pliny the Elder, Philo Judaeus, and Flavious Josephus. The Essenes were a small Jewish religious order which originated in the 2nd century, B.C. They had disciplines of secrecy, and wore only white garments. Their beliefs included purification through baptism, and abhorrance of untruthfulness. The sect ceased to exist in the 2nd century, A.D.
Biblical scholars differ in opinion about whether John the Baptist was a member of the Essene Sect. Some say it is plausible. Some believe that St. John was not a member of this holy community. The Essenes wore white robes, emblematic of the purity they sought, dwelt in brotherhoods and societies, and seasoned their bread with hyssop; while John was dressed with a coat of camel's hair and leathern girdle, was a loner much of his life, and ate his bread with honey.
Because John lived a solitary and austere life, some consider him to have been a monk.
In addition to preaching baptism of repentence, John denounced the sins of Herod Antipas, especially his marriage to his brother's wife, Herodias. Herod imprisoned John because John persisted in embarrassing Herod with this accusation. Tradition says that Herod's and Herodias' daughter, Salome, demanded John's head, and John was executed. However, Salome is not mentioned in the New Testament, only "daughter of Herodias."
John's place of imprisonment and death was the fortress of Machaerus on the east side of the Dead Sea. He was buried at Sebaste, Samaria, which is now, Sivas, Turkey. The tomb was desecrated in the Fourth Century under Julian the Apostate, and his relics were scattered. Numerous churches claim to possess St. John's artifacts.
Four symbols are attributed to John the Baptist. They are the color white, the lamb, the axe, and monks. White represents purity and joy. It is the color of baptism, and is used at Easter, Christmas, and when praising saints. The lamb and axe are iconographic emblems. John 1:29 states "The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" Biblical scholars have different viewpoints about this passage. Theories include (1) John did not actually speak these words; (2) Jesus imparted his conception of his vocation to John when they spent time together; (3) John had a revelation about Christ's mission; and (4) John referred to a sacrificial offering in the Temple. In the Gospel of Matthew, John says, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit that befits repentance. . . . Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." John compared the Pharisees and Sadducees to vipers because the snake has been equated with tempting men to sin. John was concerned about the sins of men, and equated the axe with sin. A person who repents is sorry for his sins and failures. These people set good examples, and the trees bear good fruit. If a sinner does not repent, then he sets a bad example, and the tree bears bad fruit.
Monks are the patronage of St. John the Baptist. John's raiment of camel's hair, leathern girdle about his loins, and subsistence of locusts and wild honey were characteristic of monks living in the Middle East and North Africa.
Why did Freemasons adopt John the Baptist as their patron saint? In 16th century England, guilds and crafts were required by English law to dedicate to some patron saint.
Girolamo Savonarola, an Italian religious reformer, of the 15th Century, is also referred to as "a second John the Baptist A legend suggests that when Savonarola crossed the Apennines from Genoa to Florence, his strength failed him. A mysterious stranger appeared, restored his courage, led him to a hospice, compelled him to take food, and afterwards accompanied him to his destination. On reaching the San Gallo gate the stranger vanished, saying, "Remember to do that for which God hath sent thee?"
Could this mysterious stranger and Savonarola have been Masons?
"The firm integrity of Saint John the Baptist, which induced him to forego every minor consideration in discharging the obligations he owed God; the unselfish firmness with which he met martyrdom rather than betray his duty to his Master; his steady reprove of vice, and continued preaching of repentance and virtue, make him a fit patron of the Masonic Institution." (Holy Bible, Heirloom Bible Publishers, 1964).
Why is St. John the Baptist honored on June 24th?. The date was fixed in the late 4th Century as June 24, six months before Christmas Day because according to Luke, Elizabeth became pregnant six months before the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary. Note: In 46 BC, when the Roman "Julian Calendar" was adopted, December 24th was the shortest day of the year. Therefore, December 25th was the first annual day that daylight began to increase. In 1582 AD. Roman Catholic Pope Gregory the XIII caused the current "Gregorian Calendar" to be adopted, in order to eliminate the solar time shift error introduced by the "Julian Calendar." Until the fourth century Jesus’ birthday had been celebrated on January 6th. For the cult of Sol Invictus, however, the crucial day of the year was December 25—the festival of Natalis Invictus, the birth (or rebirth) of the sun, when the days began to grow longer. Under Constantine’s Nicean Council, 325 AD, Christianity brought itself into alignment with the regime and the established state religion.
June is also the time of the summer solstice. The summer solstice has been a time of celebration since early recorded time. Man expressed the equality of time between night and day by dancing, feasting, and playing music. Thus, our celebration of St. John the Baptist is also a continuation of ancient customs. The lamb has in all ages been deemed an emblem of innocence. Innocence is represented by the color white. Originally, innocence meant doing no injury to others. Monks withdraw from society by living alone, or in monasteries. They try to find God, a new outlook on life, or their own meaning through meditation and prayer. Our Lodges are dedicated to the Holy Saints John. Masons allude to a certain point within a circle. The circle is the boundless universe, and the point in the center is the individual Mason. The circle is bordered by two perfect parallel lines which represent the staffs of John the Baptist and John the Evangelist.
Truth is a divine attribute and the foundation of every virtue; to be good men and true, is the first lesson we are taught in Masonry. On this theme we contemplate, and by its distastes endeavor to regulate our conduct; hence, while influenced by this principle, hypocrisy and deceit are unknown among us; sincerity and plain dealing characterize us, and the heart and tongue join in promoting each other's welfare, and rejoicing in each other's prosperity.
As Masons, we know the square is the symbol of truthfulness and honesty. When our actions are proper, then our actions are right. And, when our actions are right, we should be proud to wear the Square and Compasses.
St. John the Baptist gave us this important lesson about our conduct: Standing for the truth is more important than life itself. St. John the Baptist stood for the truth, and was not afraid of the consequences. He spoke against sin, urged repentance, proclaimed the coming of the Messiah, and denounced Herod's incestuous marriage. He was executed because he told the truth.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Thursday, March 10, 2005
The Hiram Key
The Hiram Key
Pharaohs, Freemasons and the Discovery of the Secret Scrolls of Jesus
Published by Arrow in the UK and Element in the USA
The Hiram Key is the result of the mutual curiosty of two Freemasons, Robert Lomas and Christopher Knight. Over nine years ago we decided to try and find out the origins of Freemasonry just for our own amusement. What we discovered was so interesting that we decided what we had found had to go into a book and the International Best-seller The Hiram Key was the result. Here is a brief summary of what the book contains.
When we set out to investigate the origins of Freemasonry we quickly found that the only feasible source of its odd and pointless rituals, of living resurrection, had to be the Knights Templar. We found clear evidence that these Knights had excavated the ruins of Herod's Temple and recovered both writings and treasure. From the Copper Scroll, discovered at Qumran we were able to reconstruct what sort of items they may have found.
We then set out to answer why there should be scrolls containing living resurrection rituals hidden under Herod's Temple. This led us into the study of the Qumran Community, which produced and hid the Dead Sea Scrolls, and to look closely at the Nag Hammardi Library. Here we found clear evidence of a political row over the importance of the resurrection of Jesus as a source of authority for the early Roman Church and so we then looked at how it had been set up.
It soon became clear that the Roman Church was a political creation of Constantine, who himself remained a high priest of Sol Invictus, at the Council of Nicea and incorporated the legends of Mithra suitably coloured with overtones of the Greek mystery tradition.
The early Jerusalem Church established by Jesus and James seemed to have died out almost completely with the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD and so in order to attempt to recreate the thinking of those Church founders we went back to investigate the origins of religion in the land of Sumer. Here we found precursors of the Old Testament Creation myths and the story of the origins of Moses but most importantly we found the first references to the Pillar as a link between man and God. Tracing this myth down through Egypt we found that it formed part of the creation myth of the Two Lands of Egypt and was used as part of the kingmaking ritual of Egypt in ensure the stability of the Kingdom under the lintel of God.
From the story of Abraham we found that he had arrived in Egypt during the time of the Hyksos invasion, when Egypt's original kings were confined as puppet rulers in Thebes. Looking closely at Egyptian records, Masonic ritual and legend, and the Book of Genesis we found the very odd story of the resurgence of the New Kingdom, when the Hyksos were driven out of Egypt and the Theban Kings restored. We also found that the origins of the story of Hiram Abif, the hero of the main Masonic myth, could be explained by the circumstances of the death of Seqeuenre Tao II. Here, we believe, was the origin of the Masonic living resurrection story which the Knights Templar had rediscovered from the Qumran Scrolls.
We could now easily trace the story of the two pillars down through the line of Moses via Gideon, Abimelech and Samson to the establishment of Boaz and Jachin outside the original Temple of Solomon.
By studying the writings of Ezekiel we found how the Egyptian king making rituals of the line of David had been fully converted to the service of Yahweh, by the Jews during the Babylonian Captivity. From Ezekiel's writings about the building of a spiritual temple we discoverd the main preoccupation of the Essenes, who founded the Qumran Community, even their name, in Arabic Qumran, translated as the people of the two pillars and the arch. The concept of the two pillars of the Jewish faith, the Kingly Messiah (Mispat) of the line of David and the Priestly Messiah (Tsedeq) of the line of Levi working together to support the lintel of Yahweh to ensure the establishment of the Kingdom of God (Shalom) in Israel became very clear.
Using this knowledge we were able to reconstruct the period of Jesus' attempt to establish an independent Jewish state as the Kingly Pillar to John the Baptist's Priestly Pillar. After the execution of John, Jesus took on both roles and but met with opposition from his brother James. We rebuilt their story from Jewish sources as far as the crucifixion of Jesus and the speech of James immediately afterwards.
At this point Paul attempted to take over the followers of Jesus and James to found his own religion based largely on the mystery cult of Mithra but drawing on some of the spiritual heritage of James and his followers. The strong opposition of James to the Macabees lead to his killing when he, like his brother before him, tried to take control of the Temple. The resultant uprising ended with the destruction of the Herod's Temple and the eventual wiping out of the Qumran based Judaism at Masada. The 'Assumption of Moses' gave clear instructions that the most important scrolls and tithed treasure of the group were to buried under the Temple. The Copper scroll gave an inventory of what was buried where, it was made of copper so that it could be cleansed before handling by a priest when the treasures were recovered at some future date. With the destruction of the followers of James there was nobody left to contradict the misinterpretations of Paul.
At this point the original teachings of Jesus and James along with the rituals of the Jerusalem Church were lost, buried under the ruins of Herod's Temple, until 1118 when the Templars dug them up. A copy of one of the documents they recovered was made by Lambert of St Omer and survives in Ghent University, it shows James as both the pillars of the New Jerusalem.
The scrolls were taken to Scotland for safe keeping and passed into the care of the St Clair family of Rosslyn. When the Templars were destroyed in 1307 a sizeable remnant fled to Scotland and became firmly established at Rosslyn, where the St Clair's became hereditary Grand Masters. In 1446 William St Clair almost lost the scrolls in a fire at the castle and so he decided to build a permanent home for them in a copy of Herod's Temple which is now known as Rosslyn Chapel. The ground plan of the chapel is an exact copy of the ground plan of Herod's Temple, which was not known to archaeologists until the Wilson expedition of 1890. Above ground the building is a copy of the Heavenly Jerusalem shown in Lambert's copy of one of the scrolls. Sir William founded Freemasonry to preserve the secrets of the hiding of these scrolls and to carry the clues for their eventual recovery. He hid these clues within the verbal ritual he developed for Freemasonry, from the rituals the Templars had learned from the scrolls of Jesus and James.
We have every reason to believe that the scrolls are still buried where Sir William put them and we continue to support an archaeological excavation to recover them .
Possible Contents of the Scrolls
In tracing the history of the scrolls we have been able to deduce some of their possible contents from the effects they have had on the development of society.
1. The growth of science stems directly from the instruction to better know God's work by studying the hidden mysteries of nature and science. This led to the founding of the Royal Society by Freemasons.
2. The development of democracy via Magna Carta, the Declaration of Arbroath, the founding of Parliament and the writing of the American Constitution all stemmed from the type of organisations developed by the Templars and improved by their successors the Freemasons, using the knowledge of the teachings of the scrolls about equality in the sight of God.
3. The encouragement towards self improvement, by building within oneself a spiritual Temple to the glory of God, and the encouragement of charitable support for the needy is the basis of the teaching of Ma'at which has characterised the transmission of these secrets from Seqeuenre Tao via the Line of David to Jesus and James and finally to the Templars/Freemasons.
Comment.
For many scientifically trained people the supernatural overtones of the Christian story detract from the spiritual lessons the Church has to offer. A God who can and does interfere with the laws of physics has to be omnipotent and hence cannot also be a loving God.
The teachings of Jesus, we have found during this research, show him to be greatest prophet to have ever lived but that even he did not believe himself to be God. He has provided the insights and teachings which have led to the present development of scientific democracy but these teachings have survived not because of the efforts of the Church but despite its attempts to suppress them since the Council of Nicea.
For a loving God who wishes to encourage the spiritual development of people whilst still allowing the freedom to reject Him this seems to be a very effective way of influencing and encouraging people without forcing conformity.
The Jewish model of the two earthly pillars of king and priest working together to provide the stability of the heavenly keystone of God stills seems to have a lot to offer and we suspect that if we ever uncover the scrolls of the Jerusalem Church of Jesus and James this is one of the possible insights into the nature of God that they will provide us with.
Pharaohs, Freemasons and the Discovery of the Secret Scrolls of Jesus
Published by Arrow in the UK and Element in the USA
The Hiram Key is the result of the mutual curiosty of two Freemasons, Robert Lomas and Christopher Knight. Over nine years ago we decided to try and find out the origins of Freemasonry just for our own amusement. What we discovered was so interesting that we decided what we had found had to go into a book and the International Best-seller The Hiram Key was the result. Here is a brief summary of what the book contains.
When we set out to investigate the origins of Freemasonry we quickly found that the only feasible source of its odd and pointless rituals, of living resurrection, had to be the Knights Templar. We found clear evidence that these Knights had excavated the ruins of Herod's Temple and recovered both writings and treasure. From the Copper Scroll, discovered at Qumran we were able to reconstruct what sort of items they may have found.
We then set out to answer why there should be scrolls containing living resurrection rituals hidden under Herod's Temple. This led us into the study of the Qumran Community, which produced and hid the Dead Sea Scrolls, and to look closely at the Nag Hammardi Library. Here we found clear evidence of a political row over the importance of the resurrection of Jesus as a source of authority for the early Roman Church and so we then looked at how it had been set up.
It soon became clear that the Roman Church was a political creation of Constantine, who himself remained a high priest of Sol Invictus, at the Council of Nicea and incorporated the legends of Mithra suitably coloured with overtones of the Greek mystery tradition.
The early Jerusalem Church established by Jesus and James seemed to have died out almost completely with the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD and so in order to attempt to recreate the thinking of those Church founders we went back to investigate the origins of religion in the land of Sumer. Here we found precursors of the Old Testament Creation myths and the story of the origins of Moses but most importantly we found the first references to the Pillar as a link between man and God. Tracing this myth down through Egypt we found that it formed part of the creation myth of the Two Lands of Egypt and was used as part of the kingmaking ritual of Egypt in ensure the stability of the Kingdom under the lintel of God.
From the story of Abraham we found that he had arrived in Egypt during the time of the Hyksos invasion, when Egypt's original kings were confined as puppet rulers in Thebes. Looking closely at Egyptian records, Masonic ritual and legend, and the Book of Genesis we found the very odd story of the resurgence of the New Kingdom, when the Hyksos were driven out of Egypt and the Theban Kings restored. We also found that the origins of the story of Hiram Abif, the hero of the main Masonic myth, could be explained by the circumstances of the death of Seqeuenre Tao II. Here, we believe, was the origin of the Masonic living resurrection story which the Knights Templar had rediscovered from the Qumran Scrolls.
We could now easily trace the story of the two pillars down through the line of Moses via Gideon, Abimelech and Samson to the establishment of Boaz and Jachin outside the original Temple of Solomon.
By studying the writings of Ezekiel we found how the Egyptian king making rituals of the line of David had been fully converted to the service of Yahweh, by the Jews during the Babylonian Captivity. From Ezekiel's writings about the building of a spiritual temple we discoverd the main preoccupation of the Essenes, who founded the Qumran Community, even their name, in Arabic Qumran, translated as the people of the two pillars and the arch. The concept of the two pillars of the Jewish faith, the Kingly Messiah (Mispat) of the line of David and the Priestly Messiah (Tsedeq) of the line of Levi working together to support the lintel of Yahweh to ensure the establishment of the Kingdom of God (Shalom) in Israel became very clear.
Using this knowledge we were able to reconstruct the period of Jesus' attempt to establish an independent Jewish state as the Kingly Pillar to John the Baptist's Priestly Pillar. After the execution of John, Jesus took on both roles and but met with opposition from his brother James. We rebuilt their story from Jewish sources as far as the crucifixion of Jesus and the speech of James immediately afterwards.
At this point Paul attempted to take over the followers of Jesus and James to found his own religion based largely on the mystery cult of Mithra but drawing on some of the spiritual heritage of James and his followers. The strong opposition of James to the Macabees lead to his killing when he, like his brother before him, tried to take control of the Temple. The resultant uprising ended with the destruction of the Herod's Temple and the eventual wiping out of the Qumran based Judaism at Masada. The 'Assumption of Moses' gave clear instructions that the most important scrolls and tithed treasure of the group were to buried under the Temple. The Copper scroll gave an inventory of what was buried where, it was made of copper so that it could be cleansed before handling by a priest when the treasures were recovered at some future date. With the destruction of the followers of James there was nobody left to contradict the misinterpretations of Paul.
At this point the original teachings of Jesus and James along with the rituals of the Jerusalem Church were lost, buried under the ruins of Herod's Temple, until 1118 when the Templars dug them up. A copy of one of the documents they recovered was made by Lambert of St Omer and survives in Ghent University, it shows James as both the pillars of the New Jerusalem.
The scrolls were taken to Scotland for safe keeping and passed into the care of the St Clair family of Rosslyn. When the Templars were destroyed in 1307 a sizeable remnant fled to Scotland and became firmly established at Rosslyn, where the St Clair's became hereditary Grand Masters. In 1446 William St Clair almost lost the scrolls in a fire at the castle and so he decided to build a permanent home for them in a copy of Herod's Temple which is now known as Rosslyn Chapel. The ground plan of the chapel is an exact copy of the ground plan of Herod's Temple, which was not known to archaeologists until the Wilson expedition of 1890. Above ground the building is a copy of the Heavenly Jerusalem shown in Lambert's copy of one of the scrolls. Sir William founded Freemasonry to preserve the secrets of the hiding of these scrolls and to carry the clues for their eventual recovery. He hid these clues within the verbal ritual he developed for Freemasonry, from the rituals the Templars had learned from the scrolls of Jesus and James.
We have every reason to believe that the scrolls are still buried where Sir William put them and we continue to support an archaeological excavation to recover them .
Possible Contents of the Scrolls
In tracing the history of the scrolls we have been able to deduce some of their possible contents from the effects they have had on the development of society.
1. The growth of science stems directly from the instruction to better know God's work by studying the hidden mysteries of nature and science. This led to the founding of the Royal Society by Freemasons.
2. The development of democracy via Magna Carta, the Declaration of Arbroath, the founding of Parliament and the writing of the American Constitution all stemmed from the type of organisations developed by the Templars and improved by their successors the Freemasons, using the knowledge of the teachings of the scrolls about equality in the sight of God.
3. The encouragement towards self improvement, by building within oneself a spiritual Temple to the glory of God, and the encouragement of charitable support for the needy is the basis of the teaching of Ma'at which has characterised the transmission of these secrets from Seqeuenre Tao via the Line of David to Jesus and James and finally to the Templars/Freemasons.
Comment.
For many scientifically trained people the supernatural overtones of the Christian story detract from the spiritual lessons the Church has to offer. A God who can and does interfere with the laws of physics has to be omnipotent and hence cannot also be a loving God.
The teachings of Jesus, we have found during this research, show him to be greatest prophet to have ever lived but that even he did not believe himself to be God. He has provided the insights and teachings which have led to the present development of scientific democracy but these teachings have survived not because of the efforts of the Church but despite its attempts to suppress them since the Council of Nicea.
For a loving God who wishes to encourage the spiritual development of people whilst still allowing the freedom to reject Him this seems to be a very effective way of influencing and encouraging people without forcing conformity.
The Jewish model of the two earthly pillars of king and priest working together to provide the stability of the heavenly keystone of God stills seems to have a lot to offer and we suspect that if we ever uncover the scrolls of the Jerusalem Church of Jesus and James this is one of the possible insights into the nature of God that they will provide us with.
Freemasonry: From England to the Colonies to the USA
1
Freemasonry: From England to the Colonies to the USA
R.W. Douglas L. Jordan, K.Y.C.H., K.C.C.H., O.P.C.
Past District Deputy Grand Master
Past Grand High Priest
Grand Governor for Virginia, YRSC of NA
I . Where did Masonry start?
Without a doubt, Masonry has existed from the time when "the memory of man
runneth not to the contrary" - that is from "time immemorial." Some Masonic writers in
the late 190' Century claimed Noah as our founder. Those of us who have had the
pleasure of witnessing Springfield Lodge's presentation on Cleopatra's Needle are
aware of the very Masonic symbols that were found under the base of an Egyptian
obelisk that was erected about 1500 B.C. John Robinson in Born in Blood provides
much evidence that we owe our lodges to the Knights Templar who needed a cover
following their suppression by the Catholic Church in 1307.
The most generally accepted view, points to the guilds of freemasons. Operative
masons have always been involved in the building of temples and other monuments
from antiquity to the present day. Written evidence indicates that sometime before
926 AD masons had formed guilds or lodges but appear to have had some problems in
their government. The Regius Poem or Halliwell Manuscript, which dates from 1390,
tells how Athelstan, King of All England, called an Assembly at York in 926 to consider
the government of the Master Masons and Craftsmen. At this assembly, fifteen Articles
were adopted for the government of the Master Mason. These Articles include that:
The Master must be steadfast, trusty and true.
His apprentice must be of lawful blood and have his limbs whole.
The Master must teach his apprentice.
The Master must do nothing that would turn the craft to shame.
In addition, Fifteen Points were adopted for the government of the Craftsmen. These
include that:
The Craftsman must love well God and holy church and his master and fellows.
2
The Craftsman must keep his Master's counsel in chamber and in lodge.
The Craftsman must respect the chastity of his master's wife and his fellow's
concubine.
The Craftsman must swear never to be a thief and never to help any of false craft.
The poem ends in a manner well known to us: "Amen!, Amen!, So mote it be! Say we
all for charity"
These so-called "Gothic Constitutions," with later restatements, were the law for the
government of the craft for the next 750 years.
In the middle of the 17th Century, joining the Masonic Lodge became a desirable thing
for gentlemen to do. Kilwinning Lodge No. 0 in Kilwinning, Scotland was primarily an
operative lodge claiming descent from the lodge formed when the abbey was built in
1140. Their minutes of 1672 show the admission of Lord Cassilis as a speculative
Mason. The diary of Elias Ashmole, who donated the Ashmolean Museum to Oxford
University, records under the date of October 16, 1646 that he was made a Free
Mason at Warrington in Lancashire. From this and other notes by other writers, it can
be concluded that there were a number of small lodges located around England and
Scotland, and that many of them included speculative members.
Until 1717 , however, Masonry remained a truly secret society - one whose very
existence, let alone its membership, was not publicized. Its lodges met in various
taverns and ale houses for dinner, sociability, and a little degree work. (Since the new
members paid for the banquet, the degree work was probably an essential activity.) Its
membership, especially in the cities, was increasingly made up of speculative masons,
not operative ones. Then on June 24, 1717 at the Goose and Gridiron Ale House in St.
Paul's Churchyard, London, Freemasonry came out of the closet. Speculative Masonry
had become too popular an activity, and four lodges felt that some sort of control
should be exercised. They had met at the Apple Tree Tavern in 1716 and there formed
a Grand Lodge pro tempore. At the meeting in 1717 they elected one of their number,
Anthony Sayer ("Oldest Master Mason and then Master of a Lodge") as Grand Master
and agreed to hold a Grand Feast once a year. Sayer also appointed Grand Wardens
and "commanded the Master and Wardens of Lodges to meet the Grand Officers every
Quarter in Communication." The four lodges were those that met at the Goose &
Gridiron Ale House, the Crown Ale House, the Apple Tree Tavern, and the Rummer and
Grapes Tavern. (Masonry had a different view of taverns in those days.) They agreed
3
that only the Grand Lodge would have the authority to issue a warrant, and that
lodges without warrants were unlawful.
l l Moderns, Ancients and Others
The Moderns
The Grand Lodge constituted in 1717 was titled'"The Right Worshipful Fraternity
of Accepted Free Masons," and later became "The Most Ancient and Honourable
Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons under the Constitution of England" more
generally known as The Premier Grated Lodge or The Grand Lodge of England. Their
purpose was to revive the institution from its depressed state. Their original
jurisdiction extended for about three square miles, not all England, but they were
certainly the start of today's Grand Lodge system.
They are often called "The Moderns," a term that probably originated with their
rivals. And rivals there were. Some lodges felt that the creation of a Grand Lodge was
in violation of Masonic law, while others simply were against being ruled from the city.
By 1725 the Lodge in York had declared itself a Grand Lodge. The ultimate problem
arose when Dr. James Anderson, D.D. was commissioned "to digest the (Gothic
Constitutions) into a new and better method." His Constitutions were adopted in 1723
and the 1738 edition included changes in the modes of recognition to tell the true from
the imposter - a change that was greatly disapproved in some circles, and possibly was
the immediate cause of the formation of the "Antient" Grand Lodge.
The Antients
On July 17, 1751 "The Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and
Accepted Masons, according to the Old Institutions" usually referred to as the "Antient
Grand Lodge of England" or "Atholl Grand Lodge" was formed by six lodges that
appear to have been mostly of Irish Masons. The work of this Grand Lodge was similar
to that used in both Ireland and Scotland. Laurence Dermott was its guiding hand,
serving as Grand Secretary from 1752 to 1771 and then Deputy Grand Master until
1787. He wrote its Book of Constitutions - the Ahiman Rezon (i.e. the Law of Prepared
Brothers, or A Help to a Brother.) This title will be found in the law of many US Grand
Lodges, including that of Virginia.
A key provision of the Antient work was the inclusion of the Royal Arch Degree
as a part of the working. This was a stumbling block for all proposals to unite the two
Grand Lodges, and was also source of problems among lodges in the US.
4
Although Freemasonry in the United States was no longer influenced by that of
England, we should note in passing that on November 25, 1813 the two Grand Lodges
united as "The United Grand Lodge of Ancient Freemasons of England." The key
compromise in The Articles of Union "declared and pronounced, that pure Ancient
Masonry consists of three degrees, and no more, viz., those of the Entered Apprentice,
the Fellow Craft and the Master Mason (including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal
Arch.)"
Others
Although early Irish Masonic records are lacking, there is a Freemason's Stone in
Dublin which appears to date from about 1602, and a lecture given in Dublin University
in 1688 makes references that imply that Masonry was not unknown at that time. The
Grand Lodge of Ireland was established no later than 1725 and followed the Ancient
form of work.
Scotland had many operative lodges, but apparently speculative members were
not very welcome, and a central authority even less so. (John Robinson notes that
American Freemasonry can be classed as Reformed, English - Conservative, and
Scottish - Orthodox.) The example of England and Ireland proved too strong, however,
and in 1736, thirty-three lodges met in Edinburgh and constituted the Grand Lodge.
In addition, four other Grand Lodges were established in England prior to 1800,
but most of these had no influence on Freemasonry in the United States. The notable
exception was the Lodge at York which declared itself a Grand Lodge in 1725. While
never particularly successful, it expired in 1790, it was the lodge of William Preston,
whose Illustrations of Masonry as revised by Thomas Smith Webb form the basis for
most of our Lodge ritual today.
III Masonry in the Colonial United States
Masonry arrived in the Colonies in 1682 when John Skene of Aberdeen Lodge,
came to Burlington, New Jersey. Nothing much more is known of him.
Over the next 50 years Colonial Freemasons exercised the immemorial right of
Masons to form a lodge and make Masons. Coil reports evidence that although no
chartered lodge existed in the Colonies, a lodge was held in King's Chapel in Boston in
1720, and that the Boston News Letter for May 25, 1727 gave a detailed account of
the Grand Lodge meeting in London.
5
Starting in 1730, the Modern Grand Lodge appointed Provincial Grand Masters in
the Colonies. The first Provincial Grand Master in America was Daniel Coxe, appointed
for New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania in 1730. There is no record of his
performing any actions as a Grand Master. The Modern Grand Lodge also warranted
lodges throughout the colonies starting with St. John's Lodge in Boston in 1733, and in
that same year, Henry Price was appointed Provincial Grand Master for North America.
He opened the St. John's Grand Lodge in Boston, and issued warrants to lodges in
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and
elsewhere.
The Grand Lodge of Scotland warranted lodges throughout the colonies starting
in 1756 with St. Andrew's Lodge in Boston and Blandford Lodge in Virginia. They also
appointed Capt. John Young as Provincial Grand Master in 1757. Joseph Warren was
appointed in 1769 to have authority "at Boston and within 100 miles of the same." In
1773 this was expanded to cover the "continent of America." As Grand Master he
opened the Massachusetts Grand Lodge and issued warrants for lodges in
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, and New York.
Ireland warranted a number of traveling lodges with the Army in America. These
lodges initiated colonists who later became members of other early lodges. The
initiation of Prince Hall and 14 others into an army traveling lodge near Boston in 1775
was an event that continues to have ramifications in Masonry today.
Kilwinning Lodge in Scotland, which claims to be the oldest active lodge in the
world, issued warrants to other groups to make Masons on behalf of the Mother
Lodge. The first of these was issued in 1677 to Cannongate Kilwinning which still
meets in Edinburgh on St. John Street, near the Cannongate. Although Kilwinning
Lodge joined in the formation of the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1725, a dispute over
their proper place on the list caused them to break away in 1743 for a period of over
60 years. In this period they warranted other "Kilwinning" Lodges, including now
extinct lodges located in Virginia at Tappahannock and Falmouth, and perhaps also our
Kilwinning-Crosse #2-237 and Fredericksburg #4.
IV The First United States Grand Lodges
The death of Joseph Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775 left
the lodges under his jurisdiction in a state of confusion, since his authority was a
6
personal one, and did not include the naming of a successor. Thomas Smith Webb
recounts the events following his death as follows:
The brethren, influenced by a pious regard to the memory of the late
grand master, were induced to search for his body, which had been rudely and
indiscriminately buried in the field of slaughter. They accordingly repaired to the
place, and by directions of a person who was on the ground at the time of his
burial, a spot was found where the earth had been recently turned up. Upon
removing the turf, and opening the grave, which was on the brow of a hill, and
adjacent to a small cluster of sprigs, the remains were discovered, in a mangled
condition, but were easily ascertained (by an artificial tooth); and, being decently
raised were conveyed to the state house in Boston; from whence, by a large and
respectable number of brethren with the late grand officers attending in
procession, they were carried to the stone chapel where an animated eulogium
was delivered by brother Perez Morton. The body was then deposited in the
silent vault...
On March 8, 1777 the brethren assembled, formed the Massachusetts Grand
Lodge, and elected Joseph Webb their Grand Master. By 1783 there was some
misgiving over this act, and so a committee was appointed to examine the record.
Their final conclusion was that although such action was unprecedented, the political
facts made it necessary and therefore it was proper. They also observed that the
existence of two Grand Lodges in England along with Grand Lodges in Ireland and
Scotland showed that there is no universal authority in Masonry. This was the first
independent Grand Lodge formed in America. It was closed sine die at the merger of
the St. John's and Massachusetts Grand Lodges in 1792 .
The next Grand Lodge was formed in Virginia on October 13, 1778 following a
series of meetings that began in May of 1777. Since the history of the Virginia Grand
Lodge is a separate topic, I will leave that story for later.
The minutes of the forming of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania typify the
occurrences in most of the Colonies.
"The grand officers, together with the officers and representatives of a
number of regular lodges under their jurisdiction unanimously resolved "That it is
improper that the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania should remain any longer under
the authority of any foreign Grand Lodge." Arid the said Grand Lodge did then
close, sine die. The Grand convention thus assembled did then and there
unanimously resolve that the lodges under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of
7
Pennsylvania, lately holden as a provincial grand lodge under the authority of the
Grand Lodge of England should, and did form themselves into a grand lodge to
be called the "Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania and Masonic jurisdiction thereunto
belonging".
A notable exception occurred in the State of New Jersey. A convocation of
Master Masons in 1787 declared that it being necessary to have a grand lodge, the
Grand Lodge of New Jersey was thereby created, officers elected, and new charters
issued. This is the only instance in which a Grand Lodge was formed by individual
Master Masons not acting as representatives of their Lodges.
V The Spread Across the Continent
Since colonial times, after each new state was admitted, a Grand Lodge was
formed so that today we have Grand Lodges in each of the 50 states and in the District
of Columbia. In the course of these creations, interesting events occasionally occurred:
When the state of Tennessee was admitted to the union in 1796, St. Tammany
Lodge No. 29 was working in Nashville under a North Carolina charter. Over the next
several years North Carolina chartered a dozen more lodges. In 1811 these lodges
requested that North Carolina assent to the formation of a Grand Lodge of Tennessee.
This resulted in a long period of discussion, but on December 27, 1813 the Grand
Lodge of North Carolina delivered the "Great Charter" that established the Grand
Lodge of Tennessee. Never before had one Grand Lodge actually chartered another
since it would appear to make the recipient subservient to the giver. There is no
evidence that Tennessee has ever considered themselves subservient to North
Carolina.
In Louisiana, the presence of charters from New York, Pennsylvania, the Grand
Orient of France, and the Provincial Grand Lodge of Marseilles as well as a mixture of
English and French speaking lodges greatly complicated the agreements. As a result of
the essential compromises made at that time, Louisiana lodges were permitted to work
in the York, French and Scottish Rites. I understand that even today some Louisiana
lodges confer the first three degrees using the Scottish Rite ritual.
In California a meeting was held in March 1850 to discuss the formation of a
Grand Lodge. Four lodges were present: Western Star No. 58 with a Missouri charter,
Connecticut No. 175 with a Connecticut charter, New Jersey Lodge UD with a New
Jersey Charter and Pacific Lodge UD who neglected to bring their charter. These
representatives agreed to form the "Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Ancient York
8
Masons of California." A month later, there was a problem raised - the Pacific Lodge
charter had been issued by the Grand Lodge of Ancient York Masons of Louisiana
which at that time was considered clandestine by Missouri, and there was a question
whether a UD lodge could participate in forming a Grand Lodge. Fortunately California
Lodge No. 13 with a District of Columbia charter, was represented, providing three
regular charters, and the new Grand Lodge was established.
When Hawaii, our youngest Grand Lodge, was planning its separation from
California, a problem was encountered in determining which lodge should be Number
1. Their solution was based on that adopted by Massachusetts nearly 200 years
before. Their lodges are not numbered.
In 1784 the (Modern ) Grand Lodge of England chartered African Lodge #459 in
Boston, Massachusetts. This lodge remained on the rolls of the Grand Lodge until the
Union of 1813 when it and many others in America were dropped for failure to remit
payments to the charity fund. The lodge, however, was still functioning and granted
warrants to other lodges. It is the Mother of the Prince Hall Grand Lodges.
Virginia is the mother of two Grand Lodges. Five lodges chartered by Virginia
assembled in Lexington, Kentucky in 1800 and constituted the Grand Lodge of
Kentucky. Similarly, seven of the eight lodges that formed the Grand Lodge of West
Virginia had Virginia charters, as did seven others that later joined into the new Grand
Lodge in 1865.
The Grand Lodge of Ohio was formed in 1808 with the famous American Union
Lodge as No. 1 on its list. American Union Lodge was a travelling military lodge
chartered by Massachusetts during the Revolution. It had resumed working in Marietta
in 1790. Being unwilling to surrender their unusual charter, American Union refused to
join in the new Grand Lodge and continued to meet under the old charter. Finally in
1815 the Grand Master declared the Massachusetts charter to be forfeited and
American Union to be a clandestine lodge. The following year the Grand Lodge issued
a new charter to some of the American Union members, and the lodge still stands as
No. 1 in Ohio.
VI Conclusion
The defining characteristic of our Masonic organization is the Grand Lodge. The
Grand Lodge provides us with standards for ritual, administration, membership
requirements and fraternal intercourse. The very definition of a lodge in our ritual
requires the existence of a Grand Lodge to provide the warrant or charter which gives
the authority by which the brethren assemble. Thus, however Masonry may have been
initiated, modern Freemasonry originated in a London tavern on June 24, 1717.
Bibliography
John J. Robinson, Born in Blood, New York, 1989
Richard A. Rutyna and Peter C. Stewart, The History of Freemasonry in Virginia,
Richmond, 1998
Brown, Cummings, and Voorhis, Editors, Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, New York 1961
Albert G. Mackey, An Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, New York, Revised 1919
Thomas Smith Webb, The Freemason's Monitor, Salem, 1818
Freemasonry: From England to the Colonies to the USA
R.W. Douglas L. Jordan, K.Y.C.H., K.C.C.H., O.P.C.
Past District Deputy Grand Master
Past Grand High Priest
Grand Governor for Virginia, YRSC of NA
I . Where did Masonry start?
Without a doubt, Masonry has existed from the time when "the memory of man
runneth not to the contrary" - that is from "time immemorial." Some Masonic writers in
the late 190' Century claimed Noah as our founder. Those of us who have had the
pleasure of witnessing Springfield Lodge's presentation on Cleopatra's Needle are
aware of the very Masonic symbols that were found under the base of an Egyptian
obelisk that was erected about 1500 B.C. John Robinson in Born in Blood provides
much evidence that we owe our lodges to the Knights Templar who needed a cover
following their suppression by the Catholic Church in 1307.
The most generally accepted view, points to the guilds of freemasons. Operative
masons have always been involved in the building of temples and other monuments
from antiquity to the present day. Written evidence indicates that sometime before
926 AD masons had formed guilds or lodges but appear to have had some problems in
their government. The Regius Poem or Halliwell Manuscript, which dates from 1390,
tells how Athelstan, King of All England, called an Assembly at York in 926 to consider
the government of the Master Masons and Craftsmen. At this assembly, fifteen Articles
were adopted for the government of the Master Mason. These Articles include that:
The Master must be steadfast, trusty and true.
His apprentice must be of lawful blood and have his limbs whole.
The Master must teach his apprentice.
The Master must do nothing that would turn the craft to shame.
In addition, Fifteen Points were adopted for the government of the Craftsmen. These
include that:
The Craftsman must love well God and holy church and his master and fellows.
2
The Craftsman must keep his Master's counsel in chamber and in lodge.
The Craftsman must respect the chastity of his master's wife and his fellow's
concubine.
The Craftsman must swear never to be a thief and never to help any of false craft.
The poem ends in a manner well known to us: "Amen!, Amen!, So mote it be! Say we
all for charity"
These so-called "Gothic Constitutions," with later restatements, were the law for the
government of the craft for the next 750 years.
In the middle of the 17th Century, joining the Masonic Lodge became a desirable thing
for gentlemen to do. Kilwinning Lodge No. 0 in Kilwinning, Scotland was primarily an
operative lodge claiming descent from the lodge formed when the abbey was built in
1140. Their minutes of 1672 show the admission of Lord Cassilis as a speculative
Mason. The diary of Elias Ashmole, who donated the Ashmolean Museum to Oxford
University, records under the date of October 16, 1646 that he was made a Free
Mason at Warrington in Lancashire. From this and other notes by other writers, it can
be concluded that there were a number of small lodges located around England and
Scotland, and that many of them included speculative members.
Until 1717 , however, Masonry remained a truly secret society - one whose very
existence, let alone its membership, was not publicized. Its lodges met in various
taverns and ale houses for dinner, sociability, and a little degree work. (Since the new
members paid for the banquet, the degree work was probably an essential activity.) Its
membership, especially in the cities, was increasingly made up of speculative masons,
not operative ones. Then on June 24, 1717 at the Goose and Gridiron Ale House in St.
Paul's Churchyard, London, Freemasonry came out of the closet. Speculative Masonry
had become too popular an activity, and four lodges felt that some sort of control
should be exercised. They had met at the Apple Tree Tavern in 1716 and there formed
a Grand Lodge pro tempore. At the meeting in 1717 they elected one of their number,
Anthony Sayer ("Oldest Master Mason and then Master of a Lodge") as Grand Master
and agreed to hold a Grand Feast once a year. Sayer also appointed Grand Wardens
and "commanded the Master and Wardens of Lodges to meet the Grand Officers every
Quarter in Communication." The four lodges were those that met at the Goose &
Gridiron Ale House, the Crown Ale House, the Apple Tree Tavern, and the Rummer and
Grapes Tavern. (Masonry had a different view of taverns in those days.) They agreed
3
that only the Grand Lodge would have the authority to issue a warrant, and that
lodges without warrants were unlawful.
l l Moderns, Ancients and Others
The Moderns
The Grand Lodge constituted in 1717 was titled'"The Right Worshipful Fraternity
of Accepted Free Masons," and later became "The Most Ancient and Honourable
Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons under the Constitution of England" more
generally known as The Premier Grated Lodge or The Grand Lodge of England. Their
purpose was to revive the institution from its depressed state. Their original
jurisdiction extended for about three square miles, not all England, but they were
certainly the start of today's Grand Lodge system.
They are often called "The Moderns," a term that probably originated with their
rivals. And rivals there were. Some lodges felt that the creation of a Grand Lodge was
in violation of Masonic law, while others simply were against being ruled from the city.
By 1725 the Lodge in York had declared itself a Grand Lodge. The ultimate problem
arose when Dr. James Anderson, D.D. was commissioned "to digest the (Gothic
Constitutions) into a new and better method." His Constitutions were adopted in 1723
and the 1738 edition included changes in the modes of recognition to tell the true from
the imposter - a change that was greatly disapproved in some circles, and possibly was
the immediate cause of the formation of the "Antient" Grand Lodge.
The Antients
On July 17, 1751 "The Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and
Accepted Masons, according to the Old Institutions" usually referred to as the "Antient
Grand Lodge of England" or "Atholl Grand Lodge" was formed by six lodges that
appear to have been mostly of Irish Masons. The work of this Grand Lodge was similar
to that used in both Ireland and Scotland. Laurence Dermott was its guiding hand,
serving as Grand Secretary from 1752 to 1771 and then Deputy Grand Master until
1787. He wrote its Book of Constitutions - the Ahiman Rezon (i.e. the Law of Prepared
Brothers, or A Help to a Brother.) This title will be found in the law of many US Grand
Lodges, including that of Virginia.
A key provision of the Antient work was the inclusion of the Royal Arch Degree
as a part of the working. This was a stumbling block for all proposals to unite the two
Grand Lodges, and was also source of problems among lodges in the US.
4
Although Freemasonry in the United States was no longer influenced by that of
England, we should note in passing that on November 25, 1813 the two Grand Lodges
united as "The United Grand Lodge of Ancient Freemasons of England." The key
compromise in The Articles of Union "declared and pronounced, that pure Ancient
Masonry consists of three degrees, and no more, viz., those of the Entered Apprentice,
the Fellow Craft and the Master Mason (including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal
Arch.)"
Others
Although early Irish Masonic records are lacking, there is a Freemason's Stone in
Dublin which appears to date from about 1602, and a lecture given in Dublin University
in 1688 makes references that imply that Masonry was not unknown at that time. The
Grand Lodge of Ireland was established no later than 1725 and followed the Ancient
form of work.
Scotland had many operative lodges, but apparently speculative members were
not very welcome, and a central authority even less so. (John Robinson notes that
American Freemasonry can be classed as Reformed, English - Conservative, and
Scottish - Orthodox.) The example of England and Ireland proved too strong, however,
and in 1736, thirty-three lodges met in Edinburgh and constituted the Grand Lodge.
In addition, four other Grand Lodges were established in England prior to 1800,
but most of these had no influence on Freemasonry in the United States. The notable
exception was the Lodge at York which declared itself a Grand Lodge in 1725. While
never particularly successful, it expired in 1790, it was the lodge of William Preston,
whose Illustrations of Masonry as revised by Thomas Smith Webb form the basis for
most of our Lodge ritual today.
III Masonry in the Colonial United States
Masonry arrived in the Colonies in 1682 when John Skene of Aberdeen Lodge,
came to Burlington, New Jersey. Nothing much more is known of him.
Over the next 50 years Colonial Freemasons exercised the immemorial right of
Masons to form a lodge and make Masons. Coil reports evidence that although no
chartered lodge existed in the Colonies, a lodge was held in King's Chapel in Boston in
1720, and that the Boston News Letter for May 25, 1727 gave a detailed account of
the Grand Lodge meeting in London.
5
Starting in 1730, the Modern Grand Lodge appointed Provincial Grand Masters in
the Colonies. The first Provincial Grand Master in America was Daniel Coxe, appointed
for New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania in 1730. There is no record of his
performing any actions as a Grand Master. The Modern Grand Lodge also warranted
lodges throughout the colonies starting with St. John's Lodge in Boston in 1733, and in
that same year, Henry Price was appointed Provincial Grand Master for North America.
He opened the St. John's Grand Lodge in Boston, and issued warrants to lodges in
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and
elsewhere.
The Grand Lodge of Scotland warranted lodges throughout the colonies starting
in 1756 with St. Andrew's Lodge in Boston and Blandford Lodge in Virginia. They also
appointed Capt. John Young as Provincial Grand Master in 1757. Joseph Warren was
appointed in 1769 to have authority "at Boston and within 100 miles of the same." In
1773 this was expanded to cover the "continent of America." As Grand Master he
opened the Massachusetts Grand Lodge and issued warrants for lodges in
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, and New York.
Ireland warranted a number of traveling lodges with the Army in America. These
lodges initiated colonists who later became members of other early lodges. The
initiation of Prince Hall and 14 others into an army traveling lodge near Boston in 1775
was an event that continues to have ramifications in Masonry today.
Kilwinning Lodge in Scotland, which claims to be the oldest active lodge in the
world, issued warrants to other groups to make Masons on behalf of the Mother
Lodge. The first of these was issued in 1677 to Cannongate Kilwinning which still
meets in Edinburgh on St. John Street, near the Cannongate. Although Kilwinning
Lodge joined in the formation of the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1725, a dispute over
their proper place on the list caused them to break away in 1743 for a period of over
60 years. In this period they warranted other "Kilwinning" Lodges, including now
extinct lodges located in Virginia at Tappahannock and Falmouth, and perhaps also our
Kilwinning-Crosse #2-237 and Fredericksburg #4.
IV The First United States Grand Lodges
The death of Joseph Warren at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775 left
the lodges under his jurisdiction in a state of confusion, since his authority was a
6
personal one, and did not include the naming of a successor. Thomas Smith Webb
recounts the events following his death as follows:
The brethren, influenced by a pious regard to the memory of the late
grand master, were induced to search for his body, which had been rudely and
indiscriminately buried in the field of slaughter. They accordingly repaired to the
place, and by directions of a person who was on the ground at the time of his
burial, a spot was found where the earth had been recently turned up. Upon
removing the turf, and opening the grave, which was on the brow of a hill, and
adjacent to a small cluster of sprigs, the remains were discovered, in a mangled
condition, but were easily ascertained (by an artificial tooth); and, being decently
raised were conveyed to the state house in Boston; from whence, by a large and
respectable number of brethren with the late grand officers attending in
procession, they were carried to the stone chapel where an animated eulogium
was delivered by brother Perez Morton. The body was then deposited in the
silent vault...
On March 8, 1777 the brethren assembled, formed the Massachusetts Grand
Lodge, and elected Joseph Webb their Grand Master. By 1783 there was some
misgiving over this act, and so a committee was appointed to examine the record.
Their final conclusion was that although such action was unprecedented, the political
facts made it necessary and therefore it was proper. They also observed that the
existence of two Grand Lodges in England along with Grand Lodges in Ireland and
Scotland showed that there is no universal authority in Masonry. This was the first
independent Grand Lodge formed in America. It was closed sine die at the merger of
the St. John's and Massachusetts Grand Lodges in 1792 .
The next Grand Lodge was formed in Virginia on October 13, 1778 following a
series of meetings that began in May of 1777. Since the history of the Virginia Grand
Lodge is a separate topic, I will leave that story for later.
The minutes of the forming of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania typify the
occurrences in most of the Colonies.
"The grand officers, together with the officers and representatives of a
number of regular lodges under their jurisdiction unanimously resolved "That it is
improper that the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania should remain any longer under
the authority of any foreign Grand Lodge." Arid the said Grand Lodge did then
close, sine die. The Grand convention thus assembled did then and there
unanimously resolve that the lodges under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of
7
Pennsylvania, lately holden as a provincial grand lodge under the authority of the
Grand Lodge of England should, and did form themselves into a grand lodge to
be called the "Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania and Masonic jurisdiction thereunto
belonging".
A notable exception occurred in the State of New Jersey. A convocation of
Master Masons in 1787 declared that it being necessary to have a grand lodge, the
Grand Lodge of New Jersey was thereby created, officers elected, and new charters
issued. This is the only instance in which a Grand Lodge was formed by individual
Master Masons not acting as representatives of their Lodges.
V The Spread Across the Continent
Since colonial times, after each new state was admitted, a Grand Lodge was
formed so that today we have Grand Lodges in each of the 50 states and in the District
of Columbia. In the course of these creations, interesting events occasionally occurred:
When the state of Tennessee was admitted to the union in 1796, St. Tammany
Lodge No. 29 was working in Nashville under a North Carolina charter. Over the next
several years North Carolina chartered a dozen more lodges. In 1811 these lodges
requested that North Carolina assent to the formation of a Grand Lodge of Tennessee.
This resulted in a long period of discussion, but on December 27, 1813 the Grand
Lodge of North Carolina delivered the "Great Charter" that established the Grand
Lodge of Tennessee. Never before had one Grand Lodge actually chartered another
since it would appear to make the recipient subservient to the giver. There is no
evidence that Tennessee has ever considered themselves subservient to North
Carolina.
In Louisiana, the presence of charters from New York, Pennsylvania, the Grand
Orient of France, and the Provincial Grand Lodge of Marseilles as well as a mixture of
English and French speaking lodges greatly complicated the agreements. As a result of
the essential compromises made at that time, Louisiana lodges were permitted to work
in the York, French and Scottish Rites. I understand that even today some Louisiana
lodges confer the first three degrees using the Scottish Rite ritual.
In California a meeting was held in March 1850 to discuss the formation of a
Grand Lodge. Four lodges were present: Western Star No. 58 with a Missouri charter,
Connecticut No. 175 with a Connecticut charter, New Jersey Lodge UD with a New
Jersey Charter and Pacific Lodge UD who neglected to bring their charter. These
representatives agreed to form the "Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Ancient York
8
Masons of California." A month later, there was a problem raised - the Pacific Lodge
charter had been issued by the Grand Lodge of Ancient York Masons of Louisiana
which at that time was considered clandestine by Missouri, and there was a question
whether a UD lodge could participate in forming a Grand Lodge. Fortunately California
Lodge No. 13 with a District of Columbia charter, was represented, providing three
regular charters, and the new Grand Lodge was established.
When Hawaii, our youngest Grand Lodge, was planning its separation from
California, a problem was encountered in determining which lodge should be Number
1. Their solution was based on that adopted by Massachusetts nearly 200 years
before. Their lodges are not numbered.
In 1784 the (Modern ) Grand Lodge of England chartered African Lodge #459 in
Boston, Massachusetts. This lodge remained on the rolls of the Grand Lodge until the
Union of 1813 when it and many others in America were dropped for failure to remit
payments to the charity fund. The lodge, however, was still functioning and granted
warrants to other lodges. It is the Mother of the Prince Hall Grand Lodges.
Virginia is the mother of two Grand Lodges. Five lodges chartered by Virginia
assembled in Lexington, Kentucky in 1800 and constituted the Grand Lodge of
Kentucky. Similarly, seven of the eight lodges that formed the Grand Lodge of West
Virginia had Virginia charters, as did seven others that later joined into the new Grand
Lodge in 1865.
The Grand Lodge of Ohio was formed in 1808 with the famous American Union
Lodge as No. 1 on its list. American Union Lodge was a travelling military lodge
chartered by Massachusetts during the Revolution. It had resumed working in Marietta
in 1790. Being unwilling to surrender their unusual charter, American Union refused to
join in the new Grand Lodge and continued to meet under the old charter. Finally in
1815 the Grand Master declared the Massachusetts charter to be forfeited and
American Union to be a clandestine lodge. The following year the Grand Lodge issued
a new charter to some of the American Union members, and the lodge still stands as
No. 1 in Ohio.
VI Conclusion
The defining characteristic of our Masonic organization is the Grand Lodge. The
Grand Lodge provides us with standards for ritual, administration, membership
requirements and fraternal intercourse. The very definition of a lodge in our ritual
requires the existence of a Grand Lodge to provide the warrant or charter which gives
the authority by which the brethren assemble. Thus, however Masonry may have been
initiated, modern Freemasonry originated in a London tavern on June 24, 1717.
Bibliography
John J. Robinson, Born in Blood, New York, 1989
Richard A. Rutyna and Peter C. Stewart, The History of Freemasonry in Virginia,
Richmond, 1998
Brown, Cummings, and Voorhis, Editors, Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, New York 1961
Albert G. Mackey, An Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, New York, Revised 1919
Thomas Smith Webb, The Freemason's Monitor, Salem, 1818
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Mother’s Watch
She never closed her eyes in sleep till we were safe in bed,
And on party nights 'till we came home she often sat and read.
We little thought about it then as we enjoyed each fun filled day,
Just how much Mama worried while we children were away
And sometimes when we'd stay out late till one, or two or three,
It always seemed that mama heard the turning of the key
And when we'd step inside, she'd call and we'd reply
But we were too young back then to know the reason why.
'Till the last one came home at night she always kept a light,
For mama couldn't sleep until she'd kissed us ALL goodnight.
And once she said, "When you've all grown to women and to men,
Perhaps I'll sleep the whole night through, it might be different then".
And so it seemed both night and day we knew a mothers care,
For every night when we came home we found her waiting there.
But then there came the night when were called to gather 'round her bed.
"The children are all with you now", the kindly doctor said.
And in her eyes gleamed that old time tender light,
That told us that she'd been waiting, just to be sure we were alright.
And she smiled that old familiar smile and prayed for God to keep,
Her children safe throught the years, and then mama...then mama went to sleep.
Speech:
Rest assured as you kneel beside your bed in prayer tonight that your mother is looking
down upon you from on high, and from her soul-filled eyes one glistening tear will fall
onto the pedals of your flower, strengthening you anew in your efforts to be worthy of
her hopes and aspirations for you.
And on party nights 'till we came home she often sat and read.
We little thought about it then as we enjoyed each fun filled day,
Just how much Mama worried while we children were away
And sometimes when we'd stay out late till one, or two or three,
It always seemed that mama heard the turning of the key
And when we'd step inside, she'd call and we'd reply
But we were too young back then to know the reason why.
'Till the last one came home at night she always kept a light,
For mama couldn't sleep until she'd kissed us ALL goodnight.
And once she said, "When you've all grown to women and to men,
Perhaps I'll sleep the whole night through, it might be different then".
And so it seemed both night and day we knew a mothers care,
For every night when we came home we found her waiting there.
But then there came the night when were called to gather 'round her bed.
"The children are all with you now", the kindly doctor said.
And in her eyes gleamed that old time tender light,
That told us that she'd been waiting, just to be sure we were alright.
And she smiled that old familiar smile and prayed for God to keep,
Her children safe throught the years, and then mama...then mama went to sleep.
Speech:
Rest assured as you kneel beside your bed in prayer tonight that your mother is looking
down upon you from on high, and from her soul-filled eyes one glistening tear will fall
onto the pedals of your flower, strengthening you anew in your efforts to be worthy of
her hopes and aspirations for you.
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