Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a worldwide fraternal organization. Its members are joined together by shared ideals of both a moral and metaphysical nature, and, in most of its branches, by a common belief in a Supreme Being. Freemasonry is an esoteric art, in that certain aspects of its internal work are not generally revealed to the public. Masons give numerous reasons for this, one of which is that Freemasonry uses an initiatory system of degrees to explore ethical and philosophical issues, and this system is less effective if the observer knows beforehand what will happen. It often calls itself "a peculiar system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols."

Organizational structure

Main article: Grand Lodge

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There are many different jurisdictions of governance of Freemasonry, each sovereign and independent of the others, and usually defined according to a geographic territory. Thus there is no central Masonic authority, although each jurisdiction maintains a list of other jurisdictions that it formally recognizes. If the other jurisdiction reciprocates the recognition, the two jurisdictions are said to be in amity, which permits the members of the one jurisdiction to attend closed meetings of the other jurisdiction's Lodges, and vice-versa. Generally speaking, to be recognized by another jurisdiction, one must (at least) meet that jurisdiction's requirements for regularity. This generally means that one must have in place, at least, the ancient landmarks of Freemasonry—the essential characteristics considered to be universal to Freemasonry in any culture. In keeping with the decentralized and non-dogmatic nature of Freemasonry, however, there is no universally accepted list of landmarks, and even jurisdictions in amity with each other often have completely different ideas as to what those landmarks are. Many jurisdictions take no official position at all as to what the landmarks are.

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Freemasonry is often said to consist of two different branches: the Anglo and the Continental traditions. In reality, there is no tidy way to split jurisdictions into distinct camps like this. For instance, jurisdiction A might recognize B, which recognizes C, which does not recognize A. In addition, the geographical territory of one jurisdiction may overlap with another's, which may affect their relations, for purely territorial reasons. In other cases, one jurisdiction may overlook irregularities in another due simply to a desire to maintain friendly relations. Also, a jurisdiction may be formally affiliated with one tradition, while maintaining informal ties with the other. For all these reasons, labels like "Anglo" and "Continental" must be taken only as rough indicators, not as any kind of clear designation.

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The ruling authority of a Masonic jurisdiction is usually called a Grand Lodge, or sometimes a Grand Orient. These normally correspond to a single country, although their territory can be broader or narrower than that. (In North America, each state and province has its own Grand Lodge.) The oldest jurisdiction in the Anglo branch of Freemasonry is the Grand Lodge of England (GLE) (the Moderns), founded in 1717. This later became the United Grand Lodgre of England (UGLE) when it joined with another English Grand Lodge (the Antients) in 1813. It is today the largest jurisdiction in England, and generally considered to be the oldest in the world. Its headquarters are at Freemasons Hall, Great Queen Street, London. The oldest in the Continental branch, and the largest jurisdiction in France, is the Grand Orient de France (GOdF), founded in 1728. At one time, the Anglo and Continental branches recognized each other, but most jurisdictions cut off formal relations with the GOdF around the time it started unreservedly admitting atheists, in 1877. In most Latin countries, and in Belgium, the French style of Freemasonry predominates. The rest of the world, accounting for the bulk of Freemasonry, tends to follow the English lead.

Related Topics:
Grand Lodge - 1717 - Grand Orient de France - 1728 - 1877 - Belgium

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Most jurisdictions allow their members to visit Lodges in recognized jurisdictions without reservation, leaving it to the foreign Lodge to confirm that the two jurisdictions are in amity. The UGLE, on the other hand, requires its members to check with them before visiting lodges abroad to confirm amity.

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Lodges

Contrary to popular belief, Freemasons meet as a lodge and not in a lodge.

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According to Masonic legend (see below), the operative lodges (the Medieval lodges of actual stonemasons) constructed a lodge building adjacent to their work site where the masons could meet for instruction and social contact. Normally this was on the southern side of the site (in Europe, the side with the sun warming the stones during the day.) The social part of the building was on the southern side, hence the social gathering of the lodge is still called the South.

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Early speculative lodges (which included members who were not actual stonemasons) purportedly met in taverns and other convenient public meeting places, and it is presently said they employed a Tyler to guard the door from both malicious and simply curious people. This could also be a revision of the word tether, used to tie the door closed.

Related Topics:
Tavern - Tyler - Tether

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Lodge buildings have for many years been known as temples. In many countries this term has now been replaced by Masonic Centre. (See also Shriners and their temples.)

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In North America, the lodge in which a member becomes a Master Mason is known as his "Blue Lodge". The Blue Lodge is the foundation of a collection of further appendant Masonic groups or bodies, such as the York Rite and Scottish Rite. To be a member of these other bodies, a man must pay dues to a regular Masonic Lodge. The Blue Lodge and its ceremonies establish the fundamental bond which makes all Masons "brothers", and is the cement which binds all other appendant Masonic bodies together.

Related Topics:
York Rite - Scottish Rite

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Specialist lodges

Some specific specialist lodges exist within many Masonic jurisdictions.

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The most obvious are the specially constituted Lodges of "Research and Instruction" (R&I). These are associated with a world-wide organization of Masonic research, typically specialising in discovering and interpreting historical records and the meanings of Masonic symbolism left unrecorded, and for preserving and developing Masonic ritual. Membership in these Lodges is typically open to interested members of other, normally-constituted Lodges.

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There are also Lodges formed by groupings of persons with similar interests or background, such as "old boy" Lodges associated with certain schools, universities, military units, or businesses.

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Concordant and appendant bodies

Freemasonry is associated with several appendant bodies, such as the Scottish Rite, which is a system of Freemasonry developed on the Continent (particularly in France), and the York Rite, which includes three sovereign and distinct rites: the Holy Royal Arch, Royal and Select Masters (aka Cryptic Masonry), and Knights Templar. (In regard to the (Masonic) Templars, this particular organization is limited to Cryptic Masons of the Christian faith and does not in any way impose this requirement on the entire York Rite system, as is commonly and erroneously believed.)

Related Topics:
Scottish Rite - York Rite - Knights Templar

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Other groups include the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (Shriners), the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm (Grotto), the Tall Cedars of Lebanon, and others, all of which tend to expand on the teachings of Craft or Blue Lodge Freemasonry—often with additional so-called higher degrees—while improving their members and society as a whole. The Shrine and Grotto tend to emphasise fun and philanthropy and are largely a North American phenomenon.

Related Topics:
Shriners - Grotto - Tall Cedars of Lebanon

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Different jurisdictions vary in how they define their relationship with such bodies, if at all. Some may give them some sort of formal recognition, while others may consider them wholly outside of Freemasonry proper. Not all such bodies will be universally considered as appendant bodies, some being simply considered as more or less separate organizations that happen to require Masonic affiliation for membership. Some of these organizations may have additional religious requirements, compared to Freemasonry proper (or "Craft Masonry"), since they approach Masonic teachings from a particular perspective.

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There are also certain youth organizations (mainly North American) which are associated with Freemasonry, but are not necessarily Masonic in their content, such as the Order of DeMolay (for boys aged 12–21), Job's Daughters (for girls aged 10-20 with proper Masonic relationship) and the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls (for girls 11–20 who have Masonic sponsorship). The Boy Scouts of America is not a Masonic organization, but was first nationally commissioned by Freemason Daniel Carter Beard. Beard exemplified the Masonic ideals throughout the Scouting program.

Related Topics:
Order of DeMolay - Job's Daughters - International Order of the Rainbow for Girls - Boy Scouts of America - Daniel Carter Beard

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