The Official History of Freemasonry – Part 2
The Three Stages Theory of Origin Until a few years ago, most Masons accepted the direct descend theory from Medieval Masonry to the modern Craft through…
Freemasonry
Freemasonry consists of fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local fraternities of stonemasons, which from the end of the fourteenth century regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. The degrees of freemasonry retain the three grades of medieval craft guilds, those of Apprentice, Journeyman or fellow (now called Fellowcraft), and Master Mason. These are the degrees offered by Craft (or Blue Lodge) Freemasonry. Members of these organisations are known as Freemasons or Masons. There are additional degrees, which vary with locality and jurisdiction, and are usually administered by different bodies than the craft degrees.
The basic, local organisational unit of Freemasonry is the Lodge. The Lodges are usually supervised and governed at the regional level (usually coterminous with either a state, province, or national border) by a Grand Lodge or Grand Orient. There is no international, world-wide Grand Lodge that supervises all of Freemasonry; each Grand Lodge is independent, and they do not necessarily recognise each other as being legitimate.
Allied Masonic Degrees – Degrees of Significance
Of the many ‘extra-Craft’ degrees, those five controlled by the Grand Council of the Order of the Allied Masonic Degrees are probably the least known: one has to be a Mark Master and a Royal Arch Mason to be eligible and this double qualification will exclude many. There are also fewer private Allied Councils than there are lodges, or equivalent bodies, for the much larger orders of Mark and Royal Ark Mariners and even of smaller orders, such as the Royal and Select Masters.
Following in Noah’s Footsteps – Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of Royal Ark Mariner
To many Masons who do not know much about it, even to many Mark Master Masons who have not gone on to become Ark Mariners, the Royal Ark Mariner can seem to be just a quaint, short little degree about Noah’s Flood whose members wear rainbow coloured aprons. It may be attached to the Mark degree, but it is often dismissed as being of very little ritual significance.
What’s Your Answer?
A Mason is sometimes asked by a friend, a neighbour, or a business associate, “What do the Masons do?” The question may be worded more generally, “What…
Report of the Board of General Purposes – 11 June 2014
Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge 11 June 2014 Report of the Board of General Purposes Minutes The Minutes of the Quarterly Communication of 12…
Cleopatra’s Needle: John Hamill traces its masonic history
From the Nile to the Thames One Freemason proposed the idea of presenting Cleopatra’s Needle as a gift to the British…
Letchworth’s shop manager Kevin Duffy explains how the business has grown
Attention to retail With Freemasons from across the world flocking through its high-arched doors, Letchworth’s is proving to be a popular…
Did you see what it’s all about?
Grand premiere Forget the box office. There’s a movie exclusive on the front cover of this issue of Freemasonry Today. Sarah Holmes goes…
The story of Augustus John Smith philanthropist and Freemason
The welfare estate When Augustus John Smith signed a lease to run the Isles of Scilly, he created an infrastructure that would transform living…
Grand Secretary’s column – Summer 2014
From the Grand Secretary Many readers will know of the Royal Arch 2013 Bicentenary Appeal for the Royal College of Surgeons. The…