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Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 14th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. Modern Freemasonry broadly consists of two main recognition groups: Regular Freemasonry, which insists that a volume of scripture be open in a working lodge, that every member professes belief in a Supreme Being, that no women be admitted, and that the discussion of religion and politics do not take place within the lodge; and Continental Freemasonry, which consists of the jurisdictions that have removed some, or all, of these restrictions.
The history of Freemasonry encompasses the origins, evolution and defining events of the fraternal organisation known as Freemasonry. It covers three phases. Firstly, the emergence of organised lodges of operative masons during the Middle Ages, then the admission of lay members as "accepted" or "speculative" masons, and finally the evolution of purely speculative lodges, and the emergence of Grand Lodges to govern them. The watershed in this process is generally taken to be the formation of the first Grand Lodge in London in 1717. The two difficulties facing historians are the paucity of written material, even down to the 19th century, and the misinformation generated by masons and non-masons alike from the earliest years.
William Preston was a Scottish author, editor and lecturer, born in Edinburgh. After attending school and college he became secretary to the linguist Thomas Ruddiman, who became his guardian on the death of his father. On the death of Thomas, Preston became a printer for Walter Ruddiman, Thomas' brother. In 1760 he moved to London and started a distinguished career with the printer William Strahan. He became a Freemason, instituting a system of lectures of instruction, and publishing Illustrations of Masonry, which ran to several editions. It was under Preston that the Lodge of Antiquity seceded from the Moderns Grand Lodge to become "The Grand Lodge of All England South of the River Trent" for ten years. He died on 1 April 1818, after a long illness, and was buried in St Paul's Cathedral.
Hundreds of conspiracy theories about Freemasonry have been described since the late 18th century. Usually, these theories fall into three distinct categories: political, religious, and cultural. Many conspiracy theories have connected the Freemasons with worship of the devil; these ideas are based on different interpretations of the doctrines of those organizations.
The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron Tavern in London, it is considered to be the oldest Masonic Grand Lodge in the world, together with the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and the Grand Lodge of Ireland.
Prince Hall Freemasonry is a branch of North American Freemasonry created for African Americans founded by Prince Hall on September 29, 1784. There are different organizations which purport to be of Prince Hall Freemasonry: the independent, ‘Prince Hall Affiliated’ or ‘PHA’ Grand Lodges, most of which are recognized by their State Grand Lodge counterparts and the United Grand Lodge of England, being considered ‘regular’ in freemasonry; and those under the jurisdiction of a ‘National Grand Lodge’, ‘Prince Hall Origin’, or otherwise non-Prince Hall Affiliated lodge or Grand Lodge, considering them ‘irregular’,‘clandestine’ and unrecognized by both the Prince Hall Affiliated masonic bodies, and their ‘mainstream’ masonic counterparts. Prince Hall Freemasonry is the oldest and largest predominantly African-American fraternity in the United States.
The Grand Lodge of Ireland is the second most senior Grand Lodge of Freemasons in the world, and the oldest in continuous existence. Since no specific record of its foundation exists, 1725 is the year celebrated in Grand Lodge anniversaries, as the oldest reference to Grand Lodge of Ireland comes from the Dublin Weekly Journal of 26 June 1725. This describes a meeting of the Grand Lodge to install the new Grand Master, The 1st Earl of Rosse, on 24 June. The Grand Lodge has regular Masonic jurisdiction over 13 Provincial Grand Lodges covering all the Freemasons of the island of Ireland, and another 11 provinces worldwide.
The Grand Lodge of Antient Free and Accepted Masons of Scotland is the governing body of Freemasonry in Scotland. It was founded in 1736. About one third of Scotland's lodges were represented at the foundation meeting of the Grand Lodge.
The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, officially The Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania and Masonic Jurisdictions Thereunto Belonging, sometimes referred to as Freemasons of Pennsylvania, is the premier masonic organization in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Grand Lodge claims to be the oldest in the United States, and the third-oldest in the world after England and Ireland, having been originally established as the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in 1731. This claim is disputed by both the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and the Grand Lodge of Virginia.
The Grand Lodge of New York is the largest and oldest independent organization of Freemasons in the U.S. state of New York. The headquarters of the Grand Lodge is the Grand Lodge Building located at 23rd Street in Manhattan.
William Henry Macleod Read was an active participant in the commercial, political and social life of Singapore and the Malay states between 1841 and 1887.
Masonic ritual is the scripted words and actions that are spoken or performed during the degree work in a Masonic lodge. Masonic symbolism is that which is used to illustrate the principles which Freemasonry espouses. Masonic ritual has appeared in a number of contexts within literature including in "The Man Who Would Be King", by Rudyard Kipling, and War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy.
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from the loose organization of medieval masons working in the medieval building industry.
Freemasonry in Scotland in lodges chartered by the Grand Lodge of Scotland comprises the Scottish Masonic Constitution as regular Masonic jurisdiction for the majority of freemasons in Scotland. There are also lodges operating under the Scottish Masonic Constitution in countries outside of Scotland. Many of these are countries linked to Scotland and the United Kingdom through the Commonwealth of Nations and prior colonies and other settlements of the British Empire although there are several lodges in countries such as Lebanon, Belgium, Chile and Peru, which do not have such connections.
Jesselton Freemason Hall in present-day Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Malaysia is the meeting place for the Masonic lodges in the former Jesselton area. It was opened since 1951 during British Crown rule.
Masonic Hall, also known as Masonic Lodge and Freemason's Hall, is a Masonic hall located on Coleman Street in Civic District, Singapore.
References
- ↑ Lim, Kuang Hui (8 August 2023). The Lodge Singapore No. 7178 E. C., 1952-2002 : 50th anniversary. Lodge Singapore. p. 27. ISBN 978-9810466800.
- ↑ "Hush-hush world of the Freemasons". The Straits Times . Singapore. 8 December 1995. p. 8.
- ↑ Makepeace, Walter; Brooke, Gilbert E; Braddell, Roland St J (1991). One hundred years of Singapore. Oxford University Press. p. 428. ISBN 0-19-588572-4.
- ↑ Hao, Wan Meng (15 April 2011). Heritage Places of Singapore. Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte. pp. 77–78. ISBN 9789814312950.
- ↑ Lee, Vanessa (19 June 2010). "Inside the Inner Sanctum". Today . Singapore. p. 2.
- ↑ Zechariah, Natasha Ann (8 December 2012). "Bigger home for Freemasons". The Straits Times . Singapore. pp. 14–15.
- ↑ Sreenivasan, Ven (8 December 2008). "Veil Lifts a Tad on a Fascinating Social Network". Business Times. Singapore. p. 8.
- ↑ "The Freemasons of Singapore: Opening up to the modern world". Yahoo News. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ↑ Neo, Renee (7 June 2019). "Freemasons go public about their new charitable foundation for needy students in Singapore". The Straits Times. ISSN 0585-3923 . Retrieved 3 August 2023.
- ↑ "South East Asia History". DGLEA.net. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
