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The Lectures of the Three Degrees in Craft Masonry is a series of manuals on Freemasonry that are arranged in the form of catechisms to be memorized. They cover rituals and symbolism associated with the three degrees of Craft Freemasonry in question and answer form. During the second half of the 19th century, the Lectures gradually ceased to be used regularly in English Lodges.
The question and answer procedure was the traditional way in which Freemasons were instructed in Masonic ritual and symbolism before printed ritual books became more widely available. [1] Usually, the members of a Masonic Lodge would sit around a table and the Worshipful Master would ask set questions of each member in turn to test their knowledge of the Masonic ritual and moral teachings. Replies and questions were stylized and a Freemason would have to demonstrate proficiency in answering the questions about his Masonic Degree before he would be allowed to proceed to the next degree. These catechisms became known as "Lectures of the Craft" [1] and were gradually developed into a comprehensive instructional system that covered not only the ritual and symbolism, but also the spirit and morals of Freemasonry. [2] Like the actual Lodge rituals, also the Lectures were revised from time to time as Freemasonry developed. [1]
From the 18th century onwards, there were different systems of Masonic Lectures in circulation. William Preston's system of Lectures, developed from 1772 onwards, and John Browne's Master Key, first published in full in 1801, were the first to reach a broader audience. By the time the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) was formed in 1813 there were at least three systems of Masonic Lectures current in the London area. [2]
At the formation of the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) in 1813, the various Masonic rituals then in use in England and Wales were standardized under the supervision of the Duke of Sussex. [3] A new Masonic ritual for use by UGLE was worked out by the "Lodge of Reconciliation" and it was soon realized that the system of Lectures would also have to be adapted, for the purpose of instruction in the new UGLE procedures and to suit the Masonic symbolism to the new UGLE practice. [2]
When the Duke of Sussex was asked what should be done about the Lectures, he replied to the effect that the Worshipful Masters of the various Masonic Lodges should adapt their existing Lectures to the new standardized UGLE ceremonies and give them in their own words. [3] Accordingly, none of the different systems of Masonic Lectures then in circulation ever received formal approval from UGLE in the same way as approval was accorded in 1816 to the new Masonic ritual worked out by the "Lodge of Reconciliation". [2] The result was that the Lectures were not revised and they gradually ceased to be given as part of regular Lodge meetings. [3] Only a few Lodges continued using the Lectures regularly.
Over time, the version of the Lectures developed for the Grand Stewards' Lodge in London became the most widely accepted. The system of questions and answers demonstrated regularly by the Grand Stewards' Lodge was based closely on the catechism contained in John Browne's Master Key, which itself represented the standard usage of the Lectures by the former Premier Grand Lodge of England. By 1817, this had been adapted to conform to the new UGLE ritual put forward by the "Lodge of Reconciliation", and arranged into 15 individual sections that were grouped into three Lectures, one for each degree of Craft Freemasonry. [2]
When the regular demonstrations of the Lectures by the Grand Stewards' Lodge ceased in the 1860s, the Emulation Lodge of Improvement, formed in 1823, became the leading body regularly working them. [2] The Emulation Lodge of Improvement has demonstrated the Grand Steward's Lodge system of Lectures continuously since 1823, although rehearsal of the Emulation Ritual has always been its main work. These lectures are still published by Lewis Masonic to this day.
While some light alterations have been made since the 1860s to the version of the Lectures that was originally developed for the Grand Stewards' Lodge (indeed the Grand Stewards' Lodge made some revisions in the early 1860s), the Lectures still demonstrated by the Emulation Lodge of Improvement are largely those which were worked in 1817 and, except for the necessary corrections to fit them to the new UGLE procedures after 1813, they have very much the same content as the Lectures worked in English Freemasonry in the late 18th century. [2]
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their descent from the 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.
A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered by a Grand Lodge, but is subject to its direction only in enforcing the published constitution of the jurisdiction. By exception the three surviving lodges that formed the world's first known grand lodge in London have the unique privilege to operate as time immemorial, i.e., without such warrant; only one other lodge operates without a warrant – the Grand Stewards' Lodge in London, although it is not also entitled to the "time immemorial" title. A Freemason is generally entitled to visit any lodge in any jurisdiction in amity with his own. In some jurisdictions this privilege is restricted to Master Masons. He is first usually required to check, and certify, the regularity of the relationship of the Lodge – and be able to satisfy that Lodge of his regularity of membership. Freemasons gather together as a Lodge to work the three basic Degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason.
The York Rite, sometimes referred to as the American Rite, is one of several Rites of Freemasonry. It is named for, but not practiced in, York, Yorkshire, England. A Rite is a series of progressive degrees that are conferred by various Masonic organizations or bodies, each of which operates under the control of its own central authority. The York Rite specifically is a collection of separate Masonic Bodies and associated Degrees that would otherwise operate independently. The three primary bodies in the York Rite are the Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, Council of Royal & Select Masters or Council of Cryptic Masons, and the Commandery of Knights Templar, each of which are governed independently but are all considered to be a part of the York Rite. There are also other organizations that are considered to be directly associated with the York Rite, or require York Rite membership to join such as the York Rite Sovereign College but in general the York Rite is considered to be made up of the aforementioned three. The Rite's name is derived from the city of York, where, according to one Masonic legend, the first meetings of Masons in England took place.
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.
In Freemasonry, regularity is one of the factors by which individual Grand Lodges judge whether to recognise one another for the purposes of allowing formal interaction at the Grand Lodge level and visitation by members of other jurisdictions. Each individual Grand Lodge determines which other Grand Lodges it considers Regular.
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.
Freemasonry in Malta has a lengthy history dating from the eighteenth century. The main masonic influences have been from the United Grand Lodge of England, the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and the Grand Lodge of Ireland. Today Regular Freemasonry is under the jurisdiction of the Sovereign Grand Lodge of Malta, formed in 2004.
There are many organisations and orders which form part of the widespread fraternity of Freemasonry, each having its own structure and terminology. Collectively these may be referred to as Masonic bodies, Masonic orders, Concordant bodies or appendant bodies of Freemasonry.
In Craft Freemasonry, sometimes known as Blue Lodge Freemasonry, every Masonic lodge elects or appoints Masonic lodge officers to execute the necessary functions of the lodge's life and work. The precise list of such offices may vary between the jurisdictions of different Grand Lodges, although certain factors are common to all, and others are usual in most.
Emulation Lodge of Improvement is a Lodge of Instruction which first met on 2 October 1823, and is held under the sanction of Lodge of Unions No. 256 in the English Constitution. It restricts admission to Master Masons in good standing. The aim of the lodge is to preserve Masonic ritual as closely as is possible to that which was formally accepted by the newly formed United Grand Lodge of England in 1816 and as amended since.
There are a number of masonic manuscripts that are important in the study of the emergence of Freemasonry. Most numerous are the Old Charges or Constitutions. These documents outlined a "history" of masonry, tracing its origins to a biblical or classical root, followed by the regulations of the organisation, and the responsibilities of its different grades. More rare are old hand-written copies of ritual, affording a limited understanding of early masonic rites. All of those which pre-date the formation of Grand Lodges are found in Scotland and Ireland, and show such similarity that the Irish rituals are usually assumed to be of Scottish origin. The earliest Minutes of lodges formed before the first Grand Lodge are also located in Scotland. Early records of the first Grand Lodge in 1717 allow an elementary understanding of the immediate pre-Grand Lodge era and some insight into the personalities and events that shaped early-18th-century Freemasonry in Britain.
Freemasonry in Denmark was first established in 1743 and is today represented by a number of Grand Lodges. The oldest and biggest Masonic Grand Lodge in Denmark is the Danish Order of Freemasons, in English also known as the Grand Lodge of Denmark.
The Royal Arch is a degree of Freemasonry. The Royal Arch is present in all main masonic systems, though in some it is worked as part of Craft ('mainstream') Freemasonry, and in others in an appendant ('additional') order. Royal Arch Masons meet as a Chapter; in the Supreme Order of the Royal Arch as practised in the British Isles, much of Europe and the Commonwealth, Chapters confer the single degree of Royal Arch Mason.
Tracing boards are painted or printed illustrations depicting the various emblems and symbols of Freemasonry. They can be used as teaching aids during the lectures that follow each of the Masonic Degrees, when an experienced member explains the various concepts of Freemasonry to new members. They can also be used by experienced members as reminders of the concepts they learned as they went through the ceremonies of the different masonic degrees.
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.
With 84 lodges and 3’350 members, the Grand Lodge Alpina of Switzerland (GLAS) is a Swiss Masonic obedience founded in 1844.
The Grand Lodge of British Freemasonry in Germany is a Masonic Grand Lodge in Germany working in the English language and following English Masonic traditions. It was founded as a District Lodge in 1957 and after various transformations was eventually recognised as Grand Lodge in 1980. This Grand Lodge is one of the five United Grand Lodges of Germany (VGLvD). It currently has members from a variety of nations and in addition to the "resident members" in Germany, there are "non-resident members" all over the world. Currently, 19 lodges work under the GL BFG, mainly in North Rhine-Westphalia, but also in Lower Saxony, Hamburg, Munich, Berlin and also near Frankfurt.
The Grand Lodge of Macedonia is a Grand Lodge for Freemasonry in the Republic of North Macedonia. Founded in 2005 by the United Grand Lodge of England, it is the only Regular Masonic jurisdiction in North Macedonia.
Operative Masonry or The Worshipful Society of Free Masons, Rough Masons, Wallers, Slaters, Paviors, Plaisterers and Bricklayers or simply The Operatives is a fraternal guild claiming a history of hundreds of years over which customs, traditions, knowledge and practices were developed and handed down. It is an invitation only, Masonic society dedicated to preserving the history, rituals, and traditions of medieval operative stonemasons guilds in England and Europe that were the precursors to modern speculative Freemasonry.
The Standard Scottish Rite is a Masonic rite practiced primarily in Scotland. It is considered one of the oldest rites in Freemasonry, with origins dating back to the late 16th century. The rite is known for its rich history, symbolism, rituals, and focus on brotherly love.