The Journal of The Masonic Society, Issue #24 by The Masonic Society

The Journal

Of The Masonic Society

Spring 2014

Issue 24

Spring 2014

Issue 24

FEATURES THE JOURNAL OF THE

MASONIC SOCIETY WWW.THEMASONICSOCIETY.COM

ISSN 2155-4145

Executive Editor Michael Halleran editor@themasonicsociety.com

1427 W. 86th Street, Suite 248 Indianapolis IN 46260-2103 Editorial Committee Kenneth W. Davis - Reviews Editor Queries concerning prospective articles should be sent to: paper-submissions@themasonicsociety.com Design & layout John A. Bridegroom, FMS - Art Director Officers James R. Dillman, President John Palmer, 1st Vice President Clayton J. Borne III, 2nd Vice president Nathan C. Brindle, Secretary/Treasurer Christopher L. Hodapp, Editor Emeritus Directors Kenneth W. Davis José O. Díaz Andrew Hammer Aaron Shoemaker Gregg Hall Gregory J. Knott Gord Vokes These guidelines apply to the reuse of articles, figures, charts and photos in the Journal of The Masonic Society. Authors need NOT contact the Journal to obtain rights to reuse their own material. They are automatically granted permission to do the following: Reuse the article in print collections of their own writing; Present a work orally in its entirety; Use an article in a thesis and/or dissertation; Reuse a figure, photo and/or table in future commercial and noncommercial works; Post a copy of the article electronically. Please note that Authors must include the following citation when using material that appeared in the Journal: “This article was originally published in The Journal of The Masonic Society. Author(s). Title. Journal Name. Year; Issue:pp-pp. © the Journal of The Masonic Society.” Apart from Author’s use, no material appearing in the Journal of The Masonic Society may be reprinted or electronically distributed without the written permission of the Editor. Published quarterly by The Masonic Society Inc. 1427 W. 86th Street, Suite 248, Indianapolis IN 46260-2103. Full membership for Master Masons in good standing of a lodge chartered by a grand lodge that is a member of the Conference of Grand Masters of Masons of North America (CGMMNA), or recognized by a CGMMNA member grand lodge. (includes Prince Hall Grand Lodges recognized by their counterpart CGMMNA state Grand Lodge): $39/ yr., ($49 outside US/Canada). Subscription for nonmembers: $39/yr., ($49 outside US/Canada). POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Journal of The Masonic Society, 1427 W. 86th Street, Suite 248, Indianapolis IN 46260-2103 © 2014 by The Masonic Society, Inc. All rights reserved. The MS circle and quill logo, and the name “The Masonic Society” are trademarks of The Masonic Society, Inc. and all rights are reserved.

Facing an Unspoken Issue by Robert M. Wolfarth, MMS

The last years of the york grand lodge Part Two by David Harrison, Ph. D.

The Mystic Tie: Tying and Untying with words by Joi Grieg

The Observant Mason by Andrew Hammer, FMS

Freemasonry and Modern Western Esotericism by C. Douglas Russell

SECTIONS 4 President’s Message 5 News of the Society 8 Conferences, Speeches, Symposia & Gatherings 12 36 From the Editor 24 Masonic Collectibles 32 Book Reviews THE COVER: Masonry Dissected by Samuel Pritchard, the first known Masonic exposé revealing the Master Mason degree, published in London in 1730. Wildly popular among Masons and non-Masons alike, Masonry Dissected sold out and was re-printed through three editions within the first eleven day, and was subsequently translated into Dutch (1736), German (1741) and French (1745). English editions continued to be printed into the nineteenth century. This well- preserved fourth edition is on display in the Indiana Masonic Library and Museum. SPRING 2014• 3

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

The mission continues... by James Dillman, FMS

n my initial President’s Message, I provided a list of objectives that I hoped to accomplish during my term in office. One of those objectives was to communicate with the membership to determine how we might be of better service to you. As previously noted, we want to be more than just a magazine. We believe we took a big step in that direction by co-sponsoring The Quarry Project. We have held mid-year meetings in Indianapolis, New Orleans, Salt Lake City, and Philadelphia. All of those meetings featured several speakers and a banquet. We have been contributing sponsors to a few different Masonic workshops and symposiums.

I would like to hear ideas from you, our members, on how we might improve on or expand our mission to promote Masonic research. I would also be interested in any comments you have about the Journal of The Masonic Society. We considered including a questionnaire in a forthcoming issue, but it occurred to me that I have received a number of these types of surveys myself and I have yet to fill out any of them. I also get a steady stream of online requests asking me to fill out one kind of survey or another and I always decline. I doubt if most of you are more inclined to fill out and mail a survey than I am. As such, I think the best way to accomplish this is to simply ask those of you who have suggestions or thoughts about the job we’re doing to send them directly to me. Please send them to president@themasonicsociety.com or via U.S. Mail to The Masonic Society, 1427 W. 86th Street, Ste. 248, Indianapolis, IN 46260-2103. Make sure that you address them to my attention. I pledge to read and respond to every one in as timely a manner as my schedule allows. Since we last published, the Editor of the Journal of The Masonic Society, Michael Halleran, has assumed the title of Most Worshipful Brother, owing to his election as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Kansas back in March. We congratulate MW Bro. Michael and send along our best wishes to him as he leads the brethren of Kansas for the next year. They could not have chosen a more dedicated, capable, or worthy brother. M.W. Bro. Michael has also marked his one-year anniversary as Editor of the Journal. He has done a stellar job with the magazine and has been a true pleasure to work with. This will be a challenging year for him as he fulfills his other duties as a husband and father, practicing attorney, and Grand Master of Kansas. Please remember Michael in your devotions and ask the Grand Architect to grant him good health, safe travel, and the strength necessary to keep up with his busy schedule. W. Bro. John A. Bridegroom has likewise celebrated his one-year anniversary as Art Director of the Journal. John is responsible for the layout and photography and is a most talented graphic artist. He has done artwork for many different Masonic organizations all over the country. I think you’ll agree that the Journal is as aesthetically pleasing as any periodical published anywhere. John is also a very busy Freemason. He was just elected to serve as Grand Conductor of Council for the Grand Council of Cryptic Masons of Indiana. He has also been appointed as the new Public Relations & Marketing Director for the Grand Lodge of Indiana and chairs the committee that oversees The Indiana Freemason, the official publication of the Grand Lodge of Indiana. 4 • SPRING 2014

This is a bit personal, but also something that I know will be of great interest to all of you. W. Bro. Chris Hodapp, Editor Emeritus of the Journal of The Masonic Society, continues to fight health issues. Most of you know that Chris underwent successful surgery for cancer a few years ago. He remains cancer free, but is plagued with chronic back pain as a result of the very invasive surgery he underwent. His doctors have had no success at alleviating his pain. Chris takes heavy doses of painkillers, which do little more than take the edge off. The side effects from the medication along with the constant pain affect his ability to concentrate, to travel, to sleep, or do just about any of the things that we take for granted. Ask him how he is doing and he’ll say he is fine. But he’s not. Everything Chris does is a struggle. The Masonic Society owes a tremendous debt to Chris. It was largely Chris’s name on the magazine that gave immediate credibility to TMS. It was shortly after TMS was founded that his health problems first began. Throughout his diagnosis, treatment, and surgery for a life threatening disease, Chris continued to edit, write, and lay out the magazine with little or no help. He also handled all of the advertising. He did it all for a pittance of a salary. I have no idea how he did it, but he did and I’m eternally grateful to him, as all of you should be. I’m asking all of you to please keep Chris and his wife Alice in your thoughts and prayers as Chris struggles with this chronic pain and the debilitating side effects of the medication.

Jim Dillman is a native of Royal Center, IN and attended Ball State University. He was raised in Royal Center Lodge No. 575 in Royal Center, IN on March 4, 2000. After relocating to Indianapolis in 2002, he affiliated with Logan Lodge No. 575 in Indianapolis and served as Worshipful Master in 2005. He also affiliated with Lodge Vitruvian No. 767 in Indianapolis, serving as Worshipful Master in 2011. He is a member of the Dwight L. Smith Lodge of Research and is a certified Master Ritualist. In May, 2008, he was presented the Grand Lodge of Indiana’s Order of Service to Masonry by Grand Master Duane L. Vaught. Jim is a member of the board of directors of the Masonic Library and Museum of Indiana. In December, 2013 he was reelected to his eighth term as President of the Indianapolis Masonic Temple Association. He is a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Indianapolis, where he currently serves as Senior Warden in the Adoniram Lodge of Perfection. He has also presided over all three York Rite bodies. He is a member of Knight Masons , AMD,Yeomen of York, and the York Rite Sovereign College. In 2011, he was elected to receive the Knight York Cross of Honor. In 2013, he was awarded the Grand Commandery of Indiana’s Distinguished Service Award. Jim is the director of work for Levant Preceptory, a group of Masonic Knights Templar who confer the Order of the Temple in authentic Templar costumes. Jim is a founding member and a Fellow of the Masonic Society. He has written for the Indiana Freemason Magazine, and The Art of Manliness website. He resides in Indianapolis and works as a 911 dispatcher in the Indianapolis 911 Center.

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News of the Society

e now have well over 6,000 likes on the TMS Facebook page. If you have not liked the page yet, please do so. We will use the page to make announcements and keep you updated on the news of The Masonic Society. Obviously, most of those 6,000 likes are from non-members. We endeavor to screen those we add to the page to whatever extent we are able to do so from looking at someone’s Facebook page. Occasionally, someone with bad intentions slips through the cracks and posts something inappropriate. We monitor the page regularly and remove the inappropriate material as quickly as possible. We also block the individual when this occurs. Thus far, this hasn’t been a major problem, but if you see something questionable, odds are that it won’t stay up long. Many thanks go out to Past TMS President Bo Cline for his valuable assistance with the Facebook page.

The Masonic Society is now on Twitter. Follow us at @MasonicSociety.

TMS COMMEMORATIVE JEWELS STILL AVAILABLE... BUT NOT FOR LONG We have a very limited number of the Fifth Anniversary Commemorative Jewels remaining. They are $12.00 including shipping. We also have the official TMS ties available. You may purchase these along with back issues of The Journal of the Masonic Society by visiting our store on the website at www.themasonicsociety.com .

Brian Hood, who brought the case along with his father, claimed in court he was ‘effectively gagged’ after forming part of a retention team which put forward an alternative to selling the Masonic in central Belfast.” http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northernireland/freemasons-claim-they-were-gagged-in-row-over-belfastmasonic-hall-high-court-29958458.html

SALT LAKE CITY OPEN HOUSE WELL ATTENDED The Freemasons of Salt Lake City, UT opened their doors to the public on May 3, 2014. The open house was well attended and much of the local media took note. KUTV Channel 2 had a three-minuteplus report on their evening newscast. The Salt Lake City Masonic Temple was dedicated in 1927 and is an example of Egyptian Revival architecture that was popular at the time. Aside from being a meeting place for many Masonic organizations, the temple is frequently rented out to the public and one of its lodge rooms was once converted into a courtroom for a scene in a movie. http://www.kutv.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_11038.shtml

LODGE HALL TRANSITIONS TO DORMITORY IN MILWAUKEE

FREEMASONS CLAIM THEY WERE ‘GAGGED’ IN ROW OVER BELFAST MASONIC HALL It’s always distressing to learn of disharmony in any lodge and even more so when one of the parties involved decides to seek remedy in the courts. From the Belfast Telegraph: “Masonic rules were not properly followed in the suspension of a father and son from the order, the High Court heard today. A judge was told of alleged procedural breaches in the action taken against Stewart and Brian Hood following a disputed proposal to sell the body’s Belfast city centre headquarters. The Hoods, who run an electrical, plumbing and heating contractor business, were suspended on a charge of ‘unmasonic conduct.’ They are seeking to have the sanction declared void which could then see them reinstated at their lodge in Templepatrick, Co Antrim. Disciplinary action to suspend the Hoods was first taken in 2009. But they argue that rather than going to the Dublin-based Grand Lodge of Masons in Ireland, the matter should have been dealt with at provincial level in Antrim.

A former Masonic Temple in Milwaukee is set to become a dormitory for Marquette University students. Constructed in 1911, the temple was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, celebrating its 100 year anniversary in 2011, but despite its status as a city landmark, it has become another in a long line of historic Masonic buildings to be repurposed. From the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel: The former Kilbourn Masonic Temple, just west of downtown Milwaukee, is being converted into housing for Marquette University students. The 14,800-square-foot building, 827 N. 11th Sreet, will have rooms for 35 students once renovations are completed this summer, said SPRING 2014 • 5

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News of the Society Fouad Saab, the project’s architect and construction manager. The building will be a “high-quality rooming house,” Saab said, and could be used by a fraternity. Part of the two-story building, the former temple’s meeting room, is being renovated into a lounge area and dining hall, he said.

District 19. ‘This member in question has resigned as treasurer and is suspended from the fraternity pending legal action. We are extremely disappointed that a fellow free mason would betray this trust, and we would like to thank the community for their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time,’ said Waadevig.”

http://www.jsonline.com/business/former-masonic-temple-tobecome-housing-for-marquette-students-b99256004z1-256784381. html

According to the news report Galland also has a prior record out of Hood River County, Oregon involving the unlawful issuance of checks. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and his bond is set at $100,000.

CHEAT, WRONG OR DEFRAUD? LODGE TREASURER CHARGED WITH EMBEZZLEMENT

AASR SJ CELEBRATES THE CRAFT The Scottish Rite, SJ held the third annual Celebrating the Craft web seminar on May 17. The six-hour webathon was streamed live from the House of the Temple, where it was hosted by wellknown comedian Norm Crosby and radio newsman and host Jim Bohannon. Half of the money raised went toward the renovation and repair of The House of the Temple, the headquarters of the AASR, SJ. The remaining half went to Scottish Rite Charities throughout the Southern Jurisdiction. www.srmason-sj.org

A Vancouver, WA Masonic temple was embezzled out of $800,000 by its treasurer says Fox 12 in Portland, OR: “Nearly $800,000 was stolen from a local Masonic temple, and one of their own is a suspect. FOX 12 has confirmed the temple’s former treasurer, Jesten Jay Galland III, is now sitting in a Clark County jail cell charged with theft and forgery. Court documents say Galland wrote checks to himself and his company, Jay Galland Consulting, totaling nearly $800,000 over the course of six years. ‘Local members discovered the missing funds from the Vancouver accounts and immediately reported the theft to authorities,’ said Paul Waadevig, the deputy of the grand master for the Masons

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News of the Society ith great pride and appreciation, The Masonic Society welcomes the following brethren as our esteemed new members. Jay Allen Elvin Dewey Anderson Tony Arnette Brent L. Arnold S. Jeffrey Baine Kyle Baker Anthony Ballo George Banagan Ernest C. Barth James Brian Black Reed A. Bornholdt Domenick R. Botto Robert Winton Bourn Ed Brandon Mark G Brown George W. Brutchen George Albert Burt Derek Fitzgerald Byrne Dr. Esmeraldo Macaso Cabana Hector Julian Camacho Adam D. Campbell Dr. Donald G. Charpentier Jr. Michael H Confort Noel H Coward Jr. Millard Crask James M Crawford

James Crenner Amari EADC Daniel-Bey Paul W Daugherty Richie Davidson Robert Joseph Davis Jr. Americo A Diopa Jr. Gary D. Dixon Dr. Ragip Baris Erman Roy E Estrill, Jr. Stanley Ferguson Christopher John Gamblin Frederick K. Gisler James D. Givens Jr. Michael F Glanders Jesher Yu Go David M Gossen Freddy Griffin Hale Richard Hall Charles O. Hancock Wayne L. Harrison Thomas C. Helm George B. Hixon Charles L. Hollinger Wayne L Huffman Lance S Kates Fred S Kaufman

Bill Keenan Phil Kill Kevin J. Kubacki Leslie D Lauder David Craig Lavery Jack Webster Lester, Jr. Robert J Lippek Willians Franklin Lira dos Santos John L. Logan Jim MacConnell Arthur Macken Alan Mackenzie Brian R Marra Mark G Mattern Charles John Matulewicz IV Jeremy Moak Dean Moore Gregory Myers Rev. Charles Hart Nalls David Justin Nash Dave Oaks Craig A Olson David E Ozvat Richard W Peterson Christopher M Provost Moacir Rebostini

Brian E Reed Dillon Thomas Reed Joseph J Rella Richard J Robbins Dave B Salo Jason H Sanderson Wade E. Sheeler Jeremy Ross Simmons Mark A Sledge Timothy C Smith Dr. Sonny J Stetson Sean M Teaford James Rivers Thompson Steven Tiner Charles P. Uhle Steven Lyle Vanek Giovanni A. Villegas Rein Voog Adam C Wall Prof. Michael Warren Weissberg James J Werman Harry J Werner Sr. Larry Gene Wilson Jon M Woodward Peter S. Zalizniak

IN MEMORIAM

A world traveler, Tommy was very active in numerous Masonic organizations. He held the top leadership positions in many of the groups. Tommy always had his tuxedo packed and ready to go as he and Jane enjoyed traveling to meetings and conferences throughout the Northeast and Canada. His calendar was filled with Masonic meetings almost every night of the week. He was a member of TMS since 2009.

He was also a devoted Freemason and member of Lodge 536 in Berkeley, MI. He was a member of TMS since 2009.

. Bro. Thomas R. Johnson, 71, of Saint Clair, died Monday at Schuylkill Medical Center.

ro. Richard Oliver Randolph, 59, of Naples, FL passed away unexpectedly on October 13, 2013.

ro. John Christopher Shull John Christopher Shull, beloved husband of Laurel, left this world much too soon on 7 October, 2013. He was a member of TMS since 2010.

ro. Allen L. Walker, 70, of Mansfield, died Friday, Sept. 13, 2013, at Arnot Ogden Medical Center, Elmira, NY.

. Bro. John William Comstock, a retired U.S. Customs and Border Protection supervisory inspector, died Feb. 26 under hospice care in his Pendleton home

Allen was a member of St. James Episcopal Church, Mansfield. He was a member of FriendshipWilliams 400 Lodge, Jenkintown and proud of being a part of The York Rite. He was a United States Army veteran of the Vietnam War. Allen was a Naval Liason for Northrup Grumman, Long Island, NY. He was a founding member of TMS.

Active in Masonic organizations, he was a past master of Fellowship Lodge 1175 and the Western New York Lodge of Research. He also was active in the Valley of Buffalo of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite and many of the York Rite bodies. He also was a past noble grand of United Lodge 98, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

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Renew your membership now online at www.themasonicsociety.com

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Conferences, Speeches, Symposia & Gatherings July 13-14, 2014 Fort Degree 2014 Presented by Palmer Lodge No. 372, Fort Erie, ON Friday 7:30 P.M.: Buffalo, N.Y. Colonial Degree Team exemplifies a degree in Palmer Lodge Saturday 10:30 A.M.: St. Paul’s Anglican Church: “Traveling Warrants” lecture by Bro. Joseph Curry, 2nd Lieut., founding member of Canada Lodge, Kandahar, Afghanistan Saturday 7:30 P.M.: Harmonie 699 exemplifies 1st Degree in the courtyard of Old Fort Erie. Info: http://www.fortdegree. com fortdegree@gmail.com July 17-19, 2014 Rocky Mountain Masonic Conference, Atlantis Hotel and Casino, Reno, NV Speaker: MW Bro. Michael Halleran, GL KS Details: TBA www.nvmasons.org Saturday, August 9, 2014 John L. Cooper III Fellowship of the Northern California Research Lodge Speaker: Bro. Jay Kinney, 2014 Fellow Topic: The Mysteries of High Grade Freemasonry: The Uses of Bafflement San Francisco Scottish Rite Lecture: 6:00 P.M. Reception: 7:00 P.M. Info: Jordan.Yelinek@gmail.com August 15-17, 2014 Fifth Annual Masonic Restoration Foundation Symposium Cincinnati Masonic Center, 314 East Fifth Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Speakers and workshops focused on enabling Freemasons and lodges to improve their Masonic experience. Hosts: Lodge Vitruvian No. 767 (IN), Caliburn Lodge No. 785 (OH), Arts & Sciences Lodge No. 792 (OH) and Lodge Ad Lucem No. 812 (PA). Registration is $100.00. www.mrfsymposium.org/ August 16-23, 2014 Scottish Rite Valleys of Harrisburg, PA and Aruba El Sol Naciente Lodge, Orenjestad, Aruba 2 A.A.S.R. Northern Masonic Jurisdiction Degrees 2 A.A.S.R. Netherlands Jurisdiction Degrees Contact: Simon Q. Oduber sqoduber@ setarnet.aw

August 27-31, 2014 Summer 2014 International Masonic Workshop Athens, Greece, Keynote Speaker: Dr. Michael Kearsley, Secretary, Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076, 2014 Prestonian Lecturer, Non-tyled event, Sponsor: Phototecton www.phototecton.org August 28-31, 2014 Austrailian and New Zealand Masonic Research Council Biennial Conference, WHJ Mayers Lodge of Research, Cairns, Far North Queensland http://www.anzmrc2014.com/ September 20, 2013 Wilmington Lodge No. 804 236 High St., New Wilmington, PA Masonic Education Symposium 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. $30.00 per person includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner. EA and above welcome. Speakers: Charles M. Harper, Sr., Juan Sepulveda, Adam T. Osman, Shawn Gorley. Contact: Shawn Gorley at shawn@ drivenbylight.net

September 20-21, 2014 14th Annual California Masonic Symposium: Freemasonry and the Foundation of the American Republic September 20: San Francisco, CA September 21: Pasadena, CA Details forthcoming http://www.freemason.org Saturday, October 12, 2014 Buckinghamshire Association for Masonic Research: Papers Day, Bletchley Masonic Hall, Queensway, Bletchley, MK2 2BZ, 10:30 A.M., Non-tyled event. Speakers: Yasha Beresiner, Brian Hilton, John Wade Contact: Robert W. Chevin at ranchmuir@ btinternet.com www.bamr.co.uk

he scene amidst which C

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COMMENT

Facing an Unspoken Issue By Robert M. Wolfarth, MMS

sit in the west in one of my two lodges. As such, my duty is to help ensure that peace and harmony prevail among the brethren. I am pleased to say that there is peace and harmony in both lodges.

An issue stands before us worldwide, however, which many Masons fear to discuss due to the anxiety that the subject could be divisive, or at least awkward. Until we speak directly about this matter, the probability of continued peace and harmony is threatened. I refer to the subject of how lodges should handle issues that could arise during the routine activities of gay men in our lodges.

making decisions on how best to serve our brothers? If so, then we attend to no-one’s best interests. I am honored to be active in Freemasonry, whose members have historically often helped to lead social thought. But we are behind on this issue. For example, the US military has already dealt with the topic. Gay men and women have served in the military for many years, and are now openly accepted. Thus, the issue’s relevance there is diminishing. Meanwhile, gay men are “coming out” in sports, politics, entertainment, and corporate America.

imilarly, there are now—and always have been—gay and bisexual Masons. Like all members before and after them, they have met the requirements for membership in our organization, and they are entitled to the same rights, privileges, burdens, and responsibilities as any brother.

Notice that my subject is not whether a homosexual man should be allowed into the lodge. Hopefully, most brethren would acknowledge that such a question is senseless, and that gay men are already sitting in lodge with us: good brothers serving their lodges, their communities, and their Supreme Being. Believing that they are not among us or are somehow “lesser” brethren is absurd. Categorical judgments of gay brothers are as archaic and inaccurate as categorical judgments of African-American brothers, Jewish brothers, brothers who are electricians, or any other subgroup of Freemasons. The subject before us is this: if we avoid discussing this topic, are we turning away from

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Similarly, there are now—and always have been—gay and bisexual Masons. Most keep a low profile, and often this is for the same reason that heterosexual men do not discuss their romantic lives in lodge: it is not an appropriate forum. But our homosexual brothers, like our heterosexual brothers, should never feel compelled to hide their identity. Like all members before and after them, they have met the requirements for membership in our organization, and they are entitled to the same rights, privileges, burdens, and responsibilities as any brother. Philosophically, this should not be an issue. The immediate question

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is how to handle practical situations which could arise in lodges with openly gay men, including romantic situations. For your consideration, I propose the following topics as examples:

• How should your lodge handle inappropriate jokes, comments, and derogatory terminology?

• If an openly gay Master appoints a gay Mason to the officer line, is he susceptible in your lodge to accusations of favoritism?

• How should decorum be maintained when gay couples that are both lodge officers “break up” during their tenure as officers?

• How should your lodge handle tension between former partners within the lodge who have split up?

• Are there members of your lodge who are not comfortable with a gay Mason in a position to chaperone a children’s activity?

• Is your jurisdiction ready to host homosexual wedding ceremonies in Masonic buildings, alongside heterosexual wedding ceremonies?

• Should Grand Lodges speak out, say nothing, speak in generalities, or speak only behind the scenes about these issues?

• What is the impact of acknowledging gay Masons upon our ritual and customs? Examples include using the word “spouses” instead of “ladies,” the possible impact on the wording of our Master Mason obligation, and so forth.

Generally speaking, I believe that most if not all of these issues can be addressed by returning to our roots for guidance. The wisdom

contained in the lectures, charges, and ancient manuscripts of our fraternity continually counsel us on how to treat each other and the world at large. It would be delightful to relax and assume that all such questions will peacefully work themselves out in every jurisdiction, but I fear that this approach is naïve. It is time to talk. This short editorial is neither adequate for the subject nor intended to propose specific answers. My goal here is to ask questions, and to urge you to ask questions so that discussions in your jurisdiction may begin. With any luck, the topics listed above (and many others) will never become divisive issues in your lodge. But they might someday, if we do not consider the consequences of silence and indecision today. I invite—indeed, I challenge—your jurisdiction and your lodge to speak openly about pertinent issues and to consider how to address them. Remember, this is not a political issue, nor is it a hypothetical issue. In my jurisdiction, we are discussing this topic. We have several openly gay brethren in one of my lodges, including two married couples and gay officers. We, as gentlemen and Masons, must face the issues before us with kindness and urbanity. In this way, and recalling our basic precept that it is the internal and not external qualifications of a man which recommend him to be a Mason, we will help ensure that peace and harmony prevail for ages to come. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Robert Wolfarth currently serves as the Junior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge, F & AM of Utah, as well as editor of The Plumbline, the Journal of the Scottish Rite Research Society. In this editorial, he speaks on behalf of no office or organization, but for himself only.

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FROM THE EDITOR

2B1ASK1: OUTD8D, NTWORKN N GOT2GO by Michael Halleran, Editor

Long before Twitter, some inventive Freemason thought up the slogan 2B1ASK1. Catchy and timely, it echoed the pseudo-acronyms of vanity license plates, which arrived on the scene in the United States in the 1970s, and it said, apparently, all that needed to be said about Masonic membership. To be(come) one, ask one. Its origins are difficult to determine, though. Internet rumor suggests it was developed by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in the 1980s, but my sources there cannot confirm that. Regardless, by the late 1980s the phrase was Masonically ubiquitous and twenty years later, it still has legs. Today a google search finds the tagline to be a regular feature of many Masonic websites. The origins of 2B1ASK1 might be unclear, but its purpose is no mystery. It directly addressed two issues that confronted Masons in

Membership is still in decline across all jurisdictions and trends point downwards. More troubling however, 2B1ASK1 has picked up hitchhikers over the years as individual lodges, members, and even grand lodges, have applied it with a long trowel and buckets of mortar. Originally silent on who it was should who do the asking – it now stands for the proposition that any man who meets the requirements is “in.” “You’ve probably seen our slogan ‘2B1Ask1,’” one website proclaims, “on a vehicle’s window or bumper sticker. It’s a great honor to be a Mason, however Masons are not supposed to ask you to become one of us. You have to do the asking. If you would like to be considered, and are serious about it, find out if you qualify to be one by making that first step, and asking to be one.” Another site proclaims “[t]o become a Mason, you need only to ‘ask,’ meet the qualifications, and be accepted by a lodge.”

B1ASK1 has not delivered results. It failed in its original purpose to deliver members and over its lengthy lifespan, it has cheapened the organization

the twentieth century, and with which we continue to grapple today. The primary issue was the linear decline in membership that began in the late 1960s and which remains problematic.

The second issue is the absolute bar on recruiting. The prohibition against solicitation is old. Preston’s second edition of Illustrations of Masonry (1775), uses the familiar phrase “unbiased by friends and uninfluenced by mercenary motives, you freely and voluntarily offer yourself a candidate for the mysteries of Masonry,”1 and this restriction is still in effect today. It has not been accepted without question, however. Masonic visionary Dwight Smith, Past Grand Master of Indiana (1945) and Grand Secretary (1947-1979) saw this clearly. Assemble in one room a half-dozen Masonic leaders of any Jurisdiction, or any group of Jurisdictions, in the United States today. Get them to talking about Freemasonry, its present and its future. I am willing to place a small wager that within 15 minutes one of them will say, “Well, it seems to me that sooner or later Masonry is going to have to face up to reality and discard the foolish notion that a good man, highly esteemed in his community, may not be invited to petition for the degrees.2 Somewhere in that discussion 2B1ASK1 was born. It neatly circumvented (or circumambulated) outright solicitation, but despite its cleverness, thirty years on we can say definitively that it failed. 12 • SPRING 2014

Clearly logos and hashtag marketing cannot convey the subtleties of any organization, but reading these websites, one comes away with the impression that Freemasonry is similar to a government benefit or a low interest credit card – you’re pre-qualified! Just fill out the form! Is this the message we’re looking for? Either way, 2B1ASK1 has not delivered results. It failed in its original purpose to deliver members and over its lengthy lifespan, it has cheapened the organization by promoting the view that any man over eighteen who avows the existence of the Almighty is a cinch to get in. We count the greatest men throughout history among our members. Through our rituals we associate with them, and in so doing, we explicitly reject that Masonry is either ordinary or some form of entitlement. 2B1ASK1 suggests otherwise, and it’s time for it to go. NOTES: 1

William Preston. Illustrations of Masonry, 2d., London, 1775, 59.

wight Smith. “Into the Highways and Hedges,” Why This Confusion in the D Temple? (1966) http://www.vitruvian.org/papers/WhyThisConfusion.pdf (Accessed 2 May 2014). It should be noted that Smith was no proponent of solicitation, and he vigorously opposed any form of recruitment.

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HISTORY

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by David harrison, Ph.D.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: In the second of a two-part series, Masonic historian Dr David Harrison documents the demise of the York Grand Lodge, which existed intermittently in eighteenth century England. This article is an excerpt from Harrison’s forthcoming book The York Grand Lodge published by Arima Publishing. VARIOUS WINDINGS As the York Grand Lodge was seemingly coming to an end, there was another lodge that was in the process of being constituted after the Lodge of Fortitude - its constitution being mentioned in the last minute entry we have of the York Grand Lodge on August 23, 1792, though which lodge in particular remains a mystery. Barker Cryer mentions that there was an opinion that this lodge could have been the Lodge of Hope in Bradford,1 which still exists and has in its possession a version of the Old Charges, referred to as the old York Manuscript Constitution or the Hope MS, which has been dated to c.1680; Masonic historian William Hughan likening it to the York MS of 1693.2 The Lodge of Hope however, was constituted under the ‘Moderns’, on March 23, 1794, although it had originally conferred its Mark degree under the old York Manuscript Constitution.3 In the Mark Register, which began in 1852, there is a list of certain brethren that had been carried forward from a now lost older register, and amongst these names was Brother R.M. Scholefield, who was a Mark Mason from the Lodge of Hope during the opening decades of the nineteenth century. Scholefield was deputed by the lodge to attend the foundation of the UGLE in 1813 in order to ascertain the position of the Hope Mark degree under the new regulations, he then returned to Bradford with an arrangement that the Lodge of Hope could continue to practice the Mark degree as conferred by the old York Manuscript Constitution, which it still practiced independently until 1873 when it finally joined the Mark Grand Lodge, and still meets as the Old York TI Lodge.4 This instance of the Lodge of Hope Mark degree being conferred by a York Manuscript Constitution could be an example of a lodge, which in seeking higher degrees, was, like the brethren of the Lodge of Friendship in Oldham, able to cross the Grand Lodge divide without prejudice. There seems to be a consensus within the history of the Lodge of Hope that the lodge may be related to an older working lodge

York Manuscript Constitution, and how they came to practice the Mark degree. The Brethren of Hope could thus be members of a larger Masonic networking community as a ‘Modern’ lodge, but with the possession of the old York Manuscript Constitution, they could have the ancient right to practice other degrees.6 There was however, a group of Freemasons who termed themselves ‘Made as York Masons’ residing in Wigan, who subsequently joined the ‘Modern’ Lodge of Sincerity; ten in all from 1789-1802. All were from Wigan, except one from nearby Ashton, which suggests that these ten brethren were local, and could have originally joined a lodge in the Wigan area which had a ‘York’ influence. There are no other records of a ‘York’ lodge being established so far into Lancashire, and certainly no record of such within the York Grand Lodge minutes, but there was an ‘Antient’ lodge in Wigan called the Lodge of Antiquity which termed its members as ‘York Masons’.7 All ten of these ‘York Masons’ that had joined the Lodge of Sincerity, had previously been members of this Wigan based Lodge of Antiquity, a lodge formed in 1786; its early minutes proudly referring to the York legend of Prince Edwin. It was not uncommon for ‘Antient’ lodges to refer to the York legend in their warrant, or indeed to refer to their members as ‘York’ Masons, but the fact that the members of Antiquity referred to themselves so strongly as being ‘Made as York Masons’ when joining a ‘Modern’ lodge, hints at a possible ‘York’ influence to their original lodge working. Indeed, the Lodge of Antiquity was, up until 1860, named the Antient Royal Arch Lodge, suggesting that, as an ‘Antient’ lodge, they practiced the Royal Arch ‘degree’ within the confines of the lodge, and not in a separate Chapter as the ‘Modern’ lodges did.8 The first of the ten ‘York Masons’ to join Sincerity was named William Hilton; an Innkeeper from Wigan, and he had originally joined Antiquity on October 2, 1786. He then went on to join Sincerity on May 24, 1789, a note in the ‘Remarks’ column of the Sincerity membership book stating that he was ‘Made by the York masons but joined the English Constn’, a statement which seems to suggest he was a member of a lodge under the York Grand Lodge but then joined either a ‘Modern’ or ‘Antient’ lodge. The second of these ‘York Masons’ was Thomas Hilton (or Halton), a hairdresser from Wigan, he had joined Antiquity in 1787, and joined Sincerity on February 21, 1793,

ike the York Grand Lodge, the Wigan Grand Lodge practised the Royal Arch as a separate degree, and they also worked the Knights Templar and Mark ‘degrees’.

in the area, and despite being consecrated as a ‘Modern’ lodge, it is clear that there was an influence from the York Grand Lodge. At the first meeting of the Lodge of Hope, a number of Brethren visited from the Lodge of Harmony, a ‘Modern’ lodge which was based in Halifax and had been warranted in 1789.5 Certain Hope Brethren had previously been members of Harmony, and it has been theorised by the Yorkshire Masonic historian C.J. Scott, that certain Bradford Masons under the York Grand Lodge could have gone through a re-making ceremony in the Lodge of Harmony and went on to found the Lodge of Hope in Bradford - the location of a gathering of Masons under York in 1713. No evidence has yet come to light of this, but as a theory, it attempts to explain how the Lodge of Hope may have come to possess the old

the ‘Remarks’ column firmly stating in the present tense that he was ‘A York Mason’. Interestingly, a Freemason who had joined in 1794 was described as ‘An ancient Mason’, though he was not a member of Antiquity. After July 1799, the other eight of the ten brethren are described as being ‘formerly’ York Masons, a reference perhaps to the recent demise of the York Grand Lodge, or maybe just the particular way of referring to their status as being formerly a member of Antiquity.9 The Lodge of Antiquity was consecrated on June 21, 1786, by brethren from none other but Lodge No. 39 in Manchester and Lodge No. 196 in Bolton - along with a member from Lodge No. 171 in Salford who was also present at the consecration. All these were Antient Lodges SPRING 2014 • 15

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The Lodge of Sincerity went on to become the leading lodge in the rebel Grand Lodge of Wigan, forged from the Liverpool Masonic Rebellion of 1823, and even though it was disallowed to discuss the United Grand Lodge during their meetings, and almost unheard of that they would accept visitors from lodges under the UGLE, it is recorded that they had visitors from Yorkshire during a meeting on September 14, 1867.14 It was not recorded what Yorkshire based lodge visited Sincerity in Wigan, but the lodge was certainly open to Freemasons who were of more ‘Antient’ persuasions. Like the York Grand Lodge, the Wigan Grand Lodge practised the Royal Arch as a separate degree, and they also worked the Knights Templar and Mark ‘degrees’. THE END OF THE YORK GRAND LODGE

Robert Sinclair Esq., Grand Master of York in 1782. Sinclair, along with past Grand Master Wolley and the Grand Chaplain of York, visited the ‘Modern’ York ‘Union’ Lodge in the opening years of the 19th century.

William Blanchard became the last surviving member of the York Grand Lodge, and was the custodian of the minutes and documents of the York Grand Lodge after its demise. He became the main source of information for Masonic historians in the early nineteenth century, and a number of sources mention him, or a member of his family as supplying documents; local historian G. Benson mentioned that it was a ‘Captain Blanchard’ who presented the Records of the York Grand Lodge to the York-based ‘Union’ Lodge in 1837,15 though in the official history of the lodge, William Blanchard himself is cited as presenting many of the records to the Union Lodge in 1817.16 Blanchard apparently gave the Grand Lodge Board (painted by Thomas Beckwith back in 1778) to Bro. Turner of the ‘Union’ Lodge, and Arthur Edward Waite revealed that Blanchard was the source for the mysterious documents seen by Godfrey Higgins, and mentioned that Blanchard had given documents and papers to local York historian William Hargrove.

based in Lancashire, and Lodge No. 39 in particular, as we have seen, had an interesting link to the York Grand Lodge; around the same time the Lodge of Antiquity was founded in Wigan, certain members of Lodge No. 39 along with John Hassall, had signed a petition addressed to the York Grand Lodge for the ‘Warrant of the Jerusalem Encampment of Knight Templar, the first and premier encampment of all Lancashire’.10 John Watson who served as Worshipful Master of Lodge No. 39 for six months from the December of 1785, and was present at the first meeting of the Encampment, and James Ashton of Lodge No. 196, who was also present at the first Encampment meeting, were also both at hand for the constitution of the Lodge of Antiquity in Wigan.11 It seems that this may be an example of certain Freemasons in Lancashire seeking access to further degrees as practised by ‘York’ and inspiring the working of the other lodges. Lodge No. 171 also had a ‘York’ connection; a certain Peter Berside had moved to Lodge No.171 after petitioning for a ‘York’ Lodge at Doncaster in 1779 - a tenuous link, but it does reveal how Masons of ‘York’ persuasion had moved into Lancashire and may have inspired elements of a York stylisation and fashion within certain lodges.12 All the ten ‘York Masons’ were local to the Wigan area, and seemed to have been initiated into Antiquity, as it is indicated in the Antiquity membership lists when a particular Mason was a new or joining member. Lodge No. 171 in Salford ceased in 1793; according to Lane’s Masonic Records, the Warrant was cancelled due to the lodge taking a ‘Modern’ constitution. Another Lodge No. 171 was consecrated in Bury in 1803, and was later called the Prince Edwin Lodge, celebrating the York Edwin legend.13 16 • SPRING 2014

Dr Francis Drake, Grand Master of York in 1761. Drake was the leading force behind the revival of the Grand Lodge in 1761.

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Gould in his History of Freemasonry also mentions Hargrove seeing the 1780-1792 minute book in the hands of Blanchard in 1819.17 Whatever the story, like James Miller - the last surviving Mason under the Wigan Grand Lodge over a century later, Blanchard became much sought after for information concerning the York Grand Lodge, as it soon became swathed in Masonic mystery.

Lodge - the ‘York’ members being well received by a local ‘Modern’ lodge which had been founded on the principles of union.

According to the history of the York ‘Union’ Lodge, certain members of the York Grand Lodge had subsequently joined the Union Lodge, such as Brother J. Consitt who joined in July 1789 ‘after the demise of the York Grand Lodge.’19 However, when the last known In the first minute book of the Grand Master Edward Wolley Manchester based Jerusalem visited the York ‘Union’ Lodge on Preceptory, there is a copy letter August 27, 1802, he signed himself dated July 8, 1791, which gives as a member of the York Grand an indication of the dire state the Lodge. The Rev. John Parker visited York Grand Lodge was in. The the York ‘Union’ Lodge a total of letter from Br. George Kitson 25 times between 1802-1814, and of York and addressed to ‘Mr. he was regularly referred to in the Hassall,’ concerns the application minutes as the ‘Grand Chaplain’ of warrants for further degrees by to the York Grand Lodge.20 It was the Encampment, and the obvious the Rev. Parker who seemed to lack of activity in York: have especially endeared himself to the ‘Union’ Lodge, first appearing ‘...you have so long been disappointed at a Lodge of Emergency where of your warrants. The illness of our he conducted the ceremony for G.M. and the absence of our Deputy the burial of a Brother Dunn on Admiral Robert Fairfax, Deputy President of York in 1721. G. Who has been long in London is March 10, 1802.21 The Reverend the reason of our delay – Bro. Wooley was duly thanked by the lodge in I am told will soon return and as our a letter, and during a meeting on G.M. is a little better, I hope very soon we shall hold a Chapter and a RE the first of June that year for ‘The Thanksgiving for the Blessings of Peace’, and then the Secy will have orders to prepare and send you the warrants.’ he accompanied the lodge on a procession, giving a much thanked discourse, and was later joined by fellow York Grand Lodge member It seems that the lack of communication persisted as on April 14, Robert Sinclair.22 1793, five members of the Encampment were nominated to visit ‘Mr. Singelair.’ This was obviously a reference to Robert Sinclair, and The Rev. Parker continued to visit quite regularly, seemingly being in the July, the expenses of a brother sent to York were paid, and it adopted by the local ‘Modern’ Lodge; the Reverend being invited to seemed that some kind of a discussion took place - either concerning preach appropriate sermons at the Parish Church of St. Helen’s after the warrants or to discuss the future of the Encampment in light of processions by the lodge, such as the one proposed by the Master on the the decline of the York Grand Lodge. Either way, on the 20th of May, interment of Lord Nelson on December 16, 1805, and the procession 1795, the Encampment had a new warrant under the Dunkerley Grand on July 7, 1814, to celebrate the peace following the Napoleonic War. Encampment and entered into a new phase in its history.18 Parker’s death and burial in the June of 1815, at the age of 74, was mentioned in the York Courant, where the good Reverend was referred The York Grand Lodge continued officially until 1792, but, as we have to as ‘being Grand Chaplain in the Grand Lodge of all England, to the seen, its last two subordinate lodges; the Druidical lodge in Rotherham Provincial Grand Lodge of York, and the Apollo and Union Lodges’, and lasted to around 1795 and the Lodge of Fortitude in Hollinwood, that ‘several of the fraternity were present.’23 Parker had also evidently Lancashire, may have lasted until 1802. When examining the local York endeared himself to the York based Apollo Lodge, having conducted based ‘Modern’ ‘Union’ Lodge, the influence of the Grand Lodge may

he earliest colleges in America were founded by various religious denominations. Harvard, William and Mary, Yale, and Princeton were only the first such universities. What is almost totally missing from the standard histories is the influence of Freemasonry in the development of American education.

have even survived into the early years of the nineteenth century; with some of the surviving York Grand Lodge members, such as Blanchard, the last known Grand Master Edward Wolley, Robert Sinclair and especially the Rev. John Parker, interacting with and visiting the ‘Union’

the burial service for the ex-York Grand Secretary John Browne while Brethren of the Apollo Lodge had attended and taken part in the ceremony.24

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Interestingly, with the decline of the York Grand Lodge, the Provincial Grand Lodge of Yorkshire had started to meet regularly once more after December 1803, becoming more pro-active, and in October 1805, the Hon. Lawrence Dundas became Deputy Provincial Grand Master. Dundas had been present at the meeting of the York ‘Union’ Lodge on August 27, 1802, when Edward Wolley and the Rev. Parker had attended, and Dundas went on to become the first Provincial Grand Master of the newly created Province of the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire, being installed on August 14, 1821.25 The large Yorkshire Province had been split in two in 1817 to make it more manageable, a move which, in light of the rebellion that was to come in Lancashire, was very wise.

apparent. Nevertheless, the York working, and the ability to share the working of higher degrees was still an attraction to various ‘Modern’ and ‘Antient’ Masons in Yorkshire and Lancashire, and this ultimately led to a continued ‘York’ influence in certain areas, such as the Lodge of Hope in Bradford and the practise of Masonry in the Oldham area. Even further into Lancashire, in Manchester and Wigan, there is evidence of sustained ‘York’ influences.

Throughout its later life, the York Grand Lodge continued to include prominent local gentlemen, such as William Siddall Esq., who served as Mayor the same year he served as Grand Master in 1783, Sir Thomas Gascoigne, Bart., and William Blanchard, who was the last Grand Secretary, and It can be said that the owned the York Chronicle. spirit of the York Grand Indeed, as with the Wigan Lodge was still very much Grand Lodge later in alive with the activities the nineteenth century, of prominent members intelligent and dedicated such as Sinclair, Wolley Freemasons such as Dr and the Rev. Parker, who, Francis Drake, William incidentally, did not Blanchard and Robert join any other lodge. It Sinclair, because of their seemed that the essence location in the north of of the York Grand Lodge England, may never have at least, may have indeed had a chance to work at continued into the early Grand Lodge level for decades of the nineteenth the ‘Moderns’ or even the century, its embers finally ‘Antients’. Their work dying with the last of its in constituting lodges, members. conducting their own ritual and organising CONCLUSION and administrating a The York Grand Lodge board, painted by York member Thomas Beckwith in 1778. Beckwith was a renowned York artist. professionally run Grand In all, a pattern developed Lodge at York, in the in regard to the fate of the face of opposition from lodges under the York Grand Lodge; they either faded away quickly, the ‘Modern’ and ‘Antient’ Grand Lodges, was a testament to their or seemed to be replaced by new lodges; mainly under the ‘Modern’ dedication. Tradesmen and working class men such as John Hassall, Grand Lodge, such as the Druidical Lodge in Rotherham which, after a dedicated Freemason who worked tirelessly founding new lodges its demise, witnessed five ‘York’ brethren being members of the Phoenix despite being poorly educated and being imprisoned for debt, may Lodge; the Ripon Lodge which was ‘replaced’ by the Royal Oak Lodge, never had had the chance to be so trusted in establishing lodges and which met at the same Inn and had four members from the local ‘York’ even Royal Encampments, if he was a Mason under the ‘Modern’ or lodge, and the Knaresborough Lodge which was ‘replaced’ by the ‘Antient’ Grand Lodges. Newtonian Lodge, which again had at least four members from the previous local ‘York’ lodge. The early York lodge at Halifax had been The ‘Union’ Lodge was founded in York in 1777 by both ‘Antient’ quickly replaced by the ‘Modern’ Lodge of Probity, hinting at the fate and ‘Modern’ Freemasons and became a bastion to the memory of the of its later subordinate lodges. York Grand Lodge.26 According to the official ‘Union’ Lodge history, the brethren were still using the ‘York Working’ of the ritual in 1822 Perhaps the localised York Grand Lodge was too limited for the when the lodge finally agreed to adopt the new system, as taught by the networking ambitions of its brethren; the limitations of visiting other Lodge of Reconciliation, which had been set up by the UGLE. Despite lodges and being part of a larger Masonic community becoming more 18 • SPRING 2014

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members under ‘York’ lodges at Rotherham and Hollinwood were active in various other lodges until the first few decades of the nineteenth century and the memory of York Masonry with its independent ritual and outlook continues to fascinate Masonic historians today. POSTSCRIPT In December 2005, just over 200 years after the York Grand Lodge disappeared; a small group of Freemasons came together and called themselves the Grand Lodge of All England held at York. A convocation of the Grand Lodge took place at Bedern Hall at York on June 12, 2006, preceded by a meeting of St. John’s Lodge; the Grand Lodge installing, investing and proclaiming its Grand Master Elect John Gordon Graves, who then invested his Grand Officers.30 The Grand Lodge had, for a brief number of years, a rather active online presence; with an impressive website and lively discussions on certain forums, where their Grand Secretary - actor Peter J. Clatworthy - put forward how the ‘revived’ Grand Lodge was based, like the old York Grand Lodge, on the Edwin legend and, in essence, that they were a legitimate revival.31 However, they soon attracted criticism, and despite a lodge being founded in Dayton, Ohio in the US on November 21, 2007, and a reported meeting held in the Crypt of York Minster in June 2008, where the Grand Master received ‘The Order of Service to Freemasonry’ from the Chancellor of The Grand Loge De France, Jean-Claude Hertz,32 they had completely disappeared from the internet by 2010. So, could this new York Grand Lodge have claimed legitimacy? Perhaps if they had in their possession a version of the ‘Old Charges’ which had been used by the original York Grand Lodge, or, at the very least, if they had emerged from a lodge which had claimed that their ritual had elements of the York Working and had the support of other York based Brethren.

this, the ‘Union’ Lodge decided to continue the ‘York Working’ as no member of the lodge had seen the new system demonstrated.27 The York architectural historian John Browne, who joined the Union Lodge in 1825, was heavily influenced by Antient York Masonry and studied the Antient ritual, and the lodge still uses the ‘York Working’ today. In the current York Working Ritual Book, it states ‘that the Ritual used in the York Lodge is most likely to be that of the “Moderns” with perhaps a little influence from the “Antients” and possibly some from the Grand Lodge of All England’, and as the York ‘Union’ Lodge had regular visitors from the York Grand Lodge and became the home for the York relics, it is no surprise that elements of the York Grand Lodge ritual seeped into the ‘Modern’ lodge.28 In a similar fashion to its earlier manifestation, the revived York Grand Lodge seemed unable to sustain its initial momentum, and finding it hard to compete with both the ‘Moderns’ and the ‘Antients’, it faded away, a rapid decline taking place from the 1790s.29 However, the influence of the York Grand Lodge survived; with the continuation to the present day of the Royal Encampment of Knights Templar in Manchester that was originally under York and the practise of the Mark ‘degree’ conferred by York at the Lodge of Hope in Bradford. Former

The old York Grand Lodge artefacts are still safely in the possession of the York ‘Union’ Lodge, so it would be extremely difficult for a legitimate claim to be made by any group of independent Freemasons. Indeed, only four members of this new organisation were ever publically mentioned online,33 and at the time of writing, there is no evidence that they are still active.34 This extraordinary episode does signify how the York Grand Lodge continues to inspire, even if it was in name only. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr David Harrison is a Masonic historian from the north-west of England who successfully defended his PhD on the origins and development of Freemasonry in England at the University of Liverpool in 2008, where he has also worked as a lecturer. Harrison has so far written four works on the history of Freemasonry; The Genesis of Freemasonry – his PhD thesis (Lewis Masonic, 2009), The Transformation of Freemasonry, (Arima, 2010), The Liverpool Masonic Rebellion and the Wigan Grand Lodge, (Arima, 2012), and most recently A Quick Guide to Freemasonry (Lewis Masonic, 2013). He has also published many papers and articles on the subject of Freemasonry, in magazines such as Knight Templar Magazine, SPRING 2014 • 19

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The Ashlar, Freemasonry Today, and presently writes for The Square. A Master Mason in the Lodge of Lights No. 148 in Warrington, England, Harrison’s forthcoming work on the York Grand Lodge is due to be published at the end of 2014. NOTES 1 2 3 4

5 6

8 9 10 11 12 13

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

arker Cryer, York Mysteries, p.374. B William James Hughan, The Old Charges of British Freemasons, (London: Simpkin, Marshall and Co., 1872), 12. Waite, Secret Tradition in Freemasonry, 46-7. See Bernard H. Springett, The Mark Degree, (London: A. Lewis, 1968), 15-17. Springett comments in the history section of the book that early Mark Masonry was worked in Yorkshire, and presents evidence that it was also practiced in the Marquis of Granby Lodge No. 124 in Durham, in 1773. Springett also theorises that the Mark degree may have been taken to the south of England by Thomas Dunkerley. For information on the Lodge of Harmony in Halifax, which still meets today in Huddersfield, see Hanson, Lodge of Probity, 124-125. C.J. Scott, The Tradition of The Old York T. I. Lodge of Mark Master Masons: An enquiry into early Freemasonry at Bradford and neighborhood 1713-1873. A paper given before the Old York T.I. Lodge at Bradford on November 28th, 1911. Scott was the Chaplain to the Old York T.I. Lodge. http://www.bradford.ac.uk/ webofhiram/?section=york_rite&page=tradoldyork.html [accessed October 30, 2013] A List of the Members of the Lodge of Sincerity No. 402, 29th of January, 1787 – 5th of September, 1821. Pemberton Masonic Hall, Wigan. Not Listed. This document is a Photostat copy of a now lost membership list of Sincerity. It does however correspond to the original transcribed by Norman Rogers in his paper ‘The Lodge of Sincerity, No. 1 of The Wigan Grand Lodge’, in AQC, Vol. LXII, (1951),33-76. Also see J. Brown, Masonry in Wigan being a brief history of the Lodge of Antiquity No. 178, Wigan, originally No. 235, (Wigan: R. Platt, Standishgate and Millgate, 1882), 55. Brown put forward in the history that ‘Atholl’ lodges did sometimes refer its members as ‘York Masons’, on page 16. Ibid. Ibid. Norman Rogers, Two Hundred Years of Freemasonry in Bolton, (MAMR, 1941), 48. Shepherd & Lane, Jerusalem Preceptory No. 5, 12-14. Brown, Masonry in Wigan, 55. See Lane’s Masonic Records <http://www.hrionline.ac.uk/lane > [accessed June 12, 2013] For recent information on lodges in Bolton and their social makeup see the work of David Hawkins, Membership of the ‘Anchor and Hope’ Lodge, Bolton, 1732-1813, a paper presented to the ICHF, 2009. David Harrison, The Liverpool Masonic Rebellion and the Wigan Grand Lodge, (Bury St. Edmunds: Arima, 2012), 72, taken from the transcribed Lodge of Sincerity minutes in Rogers, ‘The Lodge of Sincerity’, in AQC, Vol. LXII, 48. G. Benson, John Browne 1793-1877, Artist and the Historian of York Minster. (York: Yorkshire Philosophical Society, 1918), 5. Wood, York Lodge, 33. Gould, History of Freemasonry, Vol.II, 419. Shepherd & Lane, Jerusalem Preceptory No. 5, 26-7. Wood, York Lodge, 31 and 122. Minute Books of the York ‘Union’ Lodge No. 236, number 10 and 11. See also Barker Cryer, York Mysteries, 351-2. Minutes of the Union Lodge, York, No. 236, Book 10, January 1796-December 1808, 10th of March, 1802. Duncombe Place, York. Ibid, 1st of June, 1802. The entry refers to a ‘Br. Sinclair’ honouring the lodge with his company, but it seems obvious that this is Robert Sinclair who is being referred to, and Masonic historian and Librarian of the York ‘Union’ Lodge G.Y. Johnson

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24 25

27 28 29 30

indicated this confidently in his transcription of the minutes. See the photo of this entry. There was also a ‘Bro. Sinclair’ who visited the Lennox Lodge No. 123, in Richmond, in July, 1812. Wood, York Lodge, 18. The death of the Rev. Parker is reported in the York Courant on Monday, the 19th of June, 1815, and his burial on Monday, the 25th of June, 1815. Barker Cryer, York Mysteries, 434-5. Albert Morton, Lennox Lodge No.123, (Richmond: 1947), 15-21. The Hon. Lawrence Dundas (became a joining member of the York ‘Union’ Lodge in September 1802 and a subscribing member of the Lennox Lodge (based in Richmond, Yorkshire) in December 1830. The Dundas family became embedded with nineteenth and Twentieth century English Freemasonry; the Hon. Thomas Dundas (afterwards the 2nd Earl of Zetland) becoming Provincial Grand Master of the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire in 1834, and serving as Grand Master from 1844-1870. The York Grand Lodge documents which collectively date from the 17th of March, 1712 and end on the 23rd of August, 1792, are in the possession of the York ‘Union’ Lodge. There are no Minutes however from 1734-1761 and a possible earlier minute book/roll listing earlier meetings from 1705-1712 has disappeared. There are two minute books which include the minutes from 1761-1780, but there are no minutes after this date except the final minute entry of the 23rd of August, 1792 which is on a scrap of paper. Other York Grand Lodge relics, including furniture, jewels and the original Warrant for the Lodge of Fortitude, are all held at Freemasons Hall, Duncombe Place, York, which is the current residence of the York ‘Union’ Lodge No.236. Gould had stated that the 1780-92 volume of Minutes from the York Grand Lodge was missing at the time of his writing in the 1870s. They are still missing, apart from the rough minute of the meeting on the 23rd of August, 1792. Wood, York Lodge, 20. Anon., York Working of the Masonic Ritual compiled from manuscript records in the possession of the York Lodge No. 236, (York: Ben Johnson & Co., 1981), 2. Gould, History of Freemasonry, Vol.II, 419-21. Also see Waite, New Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, Vol.II, 482. The records of Bedern Hall, York, reveal that a meeting did take place on this date, organised by the Grand Secretary Peter J. Clatworthy. The existing manager of the Hall still remembers the meeting as a dinner event with attendees from all over the country. See Trevor W. McKeown, ‘An historical outline of freemasons online’, Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon, (2008), 31. McKeown certainly notes the coincidence of the founding of the independent Regular Grand Lodge of England in January 2005 and the founding of the Grand Lodge of All England later that year. Indeed, some of the online sources have indicated that the Masons behind the formation of the Grand Lodge of All England had previously been involved with Masons from the Regular Grand Lodge of England, which also uses the Edwin legend on its website. The Grand Loge De France is not recognised by the UGLE, but they do have a lodge which meets in London called The White Swan Lodge No. 1348: <http:// www.thewhiteswan.org/ > [accessed the 12th of March, 2014]. The Brethren of the ‘revived’ York Grand Lodge mentioned online were Grand Master John Gordon Graves; Grand Secretary Peter J. Clatworthy; Grand Chancellor Richard Martin Young and the first WM of the St John’s Lodge in Dayton, Ohio, Daniel Scherr. There have been many independent (or irregular) Grand Lodges in the US, and the ‘revived’ York Grand Lodge seems to have targeted Freemasons for possible recruitment from this pool; indeed, Scherr had previously been a member of two of these Grand Lodges in the US, and from correspondence with Jeff Peace, an ex-Freemason from Georgia who was once linked to the independent Halcyon Lodge in Ohio, he recalled being approached by the ‘revived’ York Grand Lodge with an offer to join, but turned it down. See MQ, Issue 17, April 2006, UGLE Publications. <http://www.mqmagazine. co.uk/issue-17/p-05.php > [accessed March 12, 2014].

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LANGUAGE

The Mystic Tie:

Tying and Untying with words

By Joi Grieg

mystic tie connects Masons, binding them to one another and exemplifying the universality of Freemasonry. This universality is framed by the language we use to describe the fraternal experience. Some words, such as regular or clandestine that are used in relation to Freemasonry may have been learned informally or, in some cases, taken from the rules and regulations

There is a good body of scholarly work in philosophy, sociology and linguistics on social inclusion and exclusion and how language contributes to or interferes with this bonding. Crossing linguistics and sociology, there is an area of study called the language of inclusion and exclusion that looks at the categorizations, words, and phrases that highlight distinctions between in-groups and out-groups.1 Often, the

hen words like recognized, full, or regular are used, many feel included and part of the in-group. These words convey “claiming” and “legitimacy,” as do terms like brethren.

of Grand Lodge, Obedience, or other bodies one is part of, tie Masons together into a metaphysical chain of union through inclusion or untie some through exclusion.

work is specific to a topical area like nationality or gender. Within the scholarly work, there appears a pattern for the in-group to continuously update the terminology with the intention to mostly exclude or, more rarely, include by using language highlighting distinctions between the groups with a binary logic of us versus them. Applying these concepts to Masonic language is of interest. The term mystic tie was popularized in 1786 by the Scottish poet and Freemason Robert Burns in his poem, “The Farewell to the Brethren of Saint James Lodge in Scotland”:

Adieu! a heart-warm fond adieu; Dear brothers of the mystic tie! Ye favored, ye enlighten’d few, Companions of my social joy;2 Albert Mackey, known for his many Masonic books, published a book with this title in 1867 that stated, “That sacred and inviolable bond which unites men of the most discordant opinions into one band of brothers, which gives but one language to men of all nations and one altar to men of all religions, is properly, from the mysterious influence it exerts, denominated the mystic tie;…”3 Chris Hodapp, the author of Freemasons for Dummies, stated that this mystic tie, “mythically and symbolically binds its members to millions of brethren around the globe, spanning the centuries. This bond is what allows two strangers to meet on a street in a foreign land and greet each other as though they’ve known each other all their lives...”4 Phrases like the Craft and the mystic tie are viewed as inclusive and serve to bind Freemasonry.

The 1786 poem, “The Farewell,” where Robert Burns popularized the term, the mystic tie, published in Poems chiefly in the Scottish Dialect. Courtesy: University of Glasgow School of Critical Studies Corpus of Modern Scottish Writing

When Masons are part of jurisdictions that recognize each other, they permit Masonic acknowledgement of one another and, in most cases, this permits them to sit together in a tyled Lodge. Likewise, full membership in The Masonic Society requires that:

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1. You must be a Master Mason, and currently in good standing of a Lodge 2. Your Lodge must be chartered by a recognized Grand Lodge 3. Your Grand Lodge must be either: a. A member of the Conference of Grand Masters of Masons in North American (CGMMNA) b. Recognized by at least three CGMMNA member grand lodges5 When words like recognized, full, or regular are used, many feel included and part of the in-group. These words convey “claiming” and “legitimacy,” as do terms like brethren.

I know this to be true, though I’ve heard otherwise. That because various Masonic jurisdictions (such as the United Grand Lodge of England, the US Malecraft Grand Lodges and etc.) are not in amity with my jurisdiction, and because I’m a woman, I can’t possibly be Regular. I’ve also been counseled that, slander though this be, I should take it in good part and be grateful my Malecraft brethren speak to me at all. And yet I know myself to be Regular because the Ritual and Masonic jurisprudence say that I am. So I am.9 As this illustrates, what is regular for one may not be for another so this word, while inclusive, may warrant some caution.

Prince Hall Masonry is making progress towards being included as regular with forty-one states and the District of Columbia recognizing them.6 Prior to that, their experience is described by Tony Pope in an article published by an international Prince Hall research society as, “For

Moving to the term profane, it is described in Mackey’s Masonic Dictionary as “the original and inoffensive signification of profane is that of being uninitiated; and it is in this sense that it is used in Freemasonry,

over two centuries, Prince Hall Masons have been labeled clandestine, insulted, ignored, denied entry to other lodges, and virtually confined to a Masonic ghetto.”7 Even today where recognized, there may be limitations as noted by Indiana’s oldest Prince Hall Lodge, Central Lodge No. 1:

simply to designate one who has not been initiated as a Freemason.”10 It was used in ancient times and meant outside the temple and later was used in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, becoming the base of the English word profanity. A number of Masonic jurisdictions have moved to the use of words uninitiated or non-Mason to avoid the feelings of stigmatization or rejection that may be felt.

number of Masonic jurisdictions have moved to the use of words uninitiated or nonMason to avoid the feelings of stigmatization or rejection that may be felt.

The 41 (out of a total of 51 — 80%) U.S. Grand Lodges listed below have adopted resolutions that say Prince Hall Masonry is “regular.” Almost all of them (probably at least 39 of the 41) have adopted “full recognition,” in the same sense they recognize any other Grand Lodge, some have granted recognition to the extent of permitting inter-visitation but not dual memberships (this is almost always requested by the Prince Hall Grand Lodges involved), and some have adopted resolutions recognizing a particular Prince Hall Grand Lodge subject to adoption of similar action by the Prince Hall Grand Lodge involved.8 Likewise in the sphere of mixed Masonry (also known as co-Masonry), itself controversial to the majority in Freemasonry, the use of these terms is cause for some consternation. In her essay, “I Am Regular,” by Karen Kidd, a female Mason from the United States, who received the 2007 World Award by the Internet Lodge 9659, United Grand Lodge of England, the author stated frankly: I am Regular.

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In the same year (1849) that Albert Gallatin Mackey established and edited the Southern and Western Masonic Miscellany, he published The Mystic Tie: Or, Facts and Opinions, Illustrative of the Character and Tendency of Freemasonry. Credit: Collection of Joi Grieg and Photographs by George Strumfels

The term clandestine as it applies to Freemasonry dates back to 1784 and has a specific Masonic definition. According to Mackey, it is “One made in or affiliated with a clandestine Lodge.” which is, “[a] body of Freemasons or of those improperly claiming to be Freemasons, uniting in a Lodge without the consent of a Grand Lodge....”11 Usage of the term may be defined in a jurisdiction’s constitution, code, or other rules. As an example, the Code of the Grand Lodge of Iowa gives the following definition, “A clandestine lodge is one without a Dispensation, Charter, or Warrant from a recognized Grand Lodge.”12 So, for some Masons, usage of this term may be mandated by their jurisdiction. Incidentally, the word’s origins go back to Latin and the original meaning was secret or hidden. It is still used that way in a number of communities, especially within the intelligence community.13 The Phylaxis Society has a Commission on Bogus Practices. This has a very specific focus related to Prince Hall; however, the terms bogus and clandestine are used interchangeable by some Freemasons. Most Masonic dictionaries do not

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include an entry for the term bogus. The word itself is generally attributed to the late eighteenth century to a machine to make counterfeit money. Some Masons refer to organizations that offer degrees or other Masonic materials that bear little or no resemblance to materials legitimately transmitted as bogus and there may be broad agreement that this is an appropriate derisive term.

World Award for the best short paper in 2007 by a Mason who was not a member of a Lodge in the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) selected by the UGLE Internet Lodge 9659 Short Papers Competition. Credit: Internet Lodge 9659, United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) and the author of the article, Karen Kidd.

Let’s move to three additional terms: cowan, intruder, and eavesdropper. Cowan is defined as one with unlawful Masonic knowledge; an intruder is one with neither knowledge nor secrets, and an eavesdropper as one who intentionally or unintentionally becomes aware of Masonic knowledge.14 Or, put another way, these terms refer to unintended transmission or intentional deception about one’s status in Freemasonry. It may include those who unknowingly followed what they thought was a Masonic process that none or nearly none recognize. Like the term bogus, many within Masonry may agree these are appropriate terms that exclude. There is some use of the term irregular; however, there is variance in how this term is understood. As an example, in the Grand Lodge of Maine’s Constitution15, the word irregular is used to refer to a situation where a Mason was not legally constituted for a specific ceremony in a lodge with a charter that is recognized. It can be cured by healing the candidate with the approval of the Grand Master in a regularly constituted Lodge. Others use the term interchangeably with clandestine or don’t use it at all. Unaffiliated and nonaffiliated may also be used. In some jurisdictions, they are viewed as the same. In others, there are differences such as a nonaffiliated Mason is one who ceased to be a member of a Lodge for a reason other than suspension or expulsion. The California Masonic Code refers to those belonging to lodges not recognized as unrecognized Masons and states that, “California Masons may engage in any activity with an unrecognized Mason so long as they do not share…”16 specific information. The term unrecognized is generally seen as neutral and inclusive. Within Masonry, there are a breadth of terms that tie Masons together and others that separate them. As these examples illustrate, some of the words used may be accurate and represent appropriately the definition used in the rules and regulations of the jurisdictions one is a part of. Other usage may be more slang and not appropriately reflect the definitions used within and across jurisdictions. As these words seem to have a clear impact on the broadness of the mystic tie and the universality that many seek, there appear to be opportunities to better understand terms that tie Masons together and include them, updating as appropriate, within the rules and regulations of the relevant jurisdictions. There are choices that have been made such as California’s use of unrecognized as contrasted with others that have Constitutions or other rules requiring the use of clandestine to those Masons that are not in jurisdictions theirs recognize. Each, within their obligations, the rules they abide with, and/or the values one has, also has the choice to use inclusive language that ties Masons

to each other and all of humanity and, for those who are Masons, to the mystic tie. This potential for a difference between recognition, which involves treaties between jurisdictions, and general Masonic terminology, which can possibly be inclusive and respectful regardless of the current recognition or Masonic status, offers opportunity for progress towards more universality.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Joi Grieg is an active writer, lecturer and researcher of Masonic history, symbolism and customs. She recently spoke on this topic for the Roosevelt Center for the Study of Civil Society and Freemasonry at their conference At a Perpetual Distance: Universal Freemasonry and Its Historical Divisions. She is a Past President and Chaplain of the Maryland Masonic Research Society and she is a frequent contributor to the Journal of the Masonic Society. (Endnotes) 1

arlou Schrover and Willem Schinkel, eds., The Language of Inclusion and Exclusion M in Immigration and Integration (Routledge: Oxford, 2014), paraphrased from introductory materials and related articles. Robert Burns, Poems chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, Kilmarnock: John Wilson, 1786, 228. Albert G. Mackey, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry and Its Kindred Sciences,McClure:Philad elphia,1917, 588. C hristopher Hodapp, Freemasons for Dummies, 2nd Edition, Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2012, 62. The Masonic Society Website, http://www.themasonicsociety.com/index.php/

society-membership/membership-requirements. ccording to the Masonic Service Association of North America on their A

2 3 4

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

website page at http://www.msana.com/princehall.asp. Tony Pope, “The Wesley Room {Why Brother with Overseas Recognition?}” Dr. Charles H. Wesley Masonic Research Society, http://hariam.org/CHWR/012twr.html. Central Lodge No. 1, “List of States & Countries that Recognize Prince Hall Affiliated Masonry, electronically available at http://chooseprincehall.com/ centrallodge1/ph_recognition.html, 1. Karen Kidd, “I Am Regular, ” Internet Lodge 9659 Short Papers Competition 2007, http://www.internet.lodge.org.uk/component/edocman/?task=document. viewdoc&id=163 Albert Mackey, Mackey’s Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, as quoted in the masonicdictionary.com at http://www.masonicdictionary.com/profane.html. Ibid at http://www.masonicdictionary.com/clandestine.html. Grand Lodge of Iowa Masonic Code, electronically available at http:// grandlodgeofiowa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/IowaMasonicCode.pdf, 35. Usage example at vocabulary.com at http://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/ clandestine. Summarized using multiple sources. Maine Constitution and Standing Regulations, § 120, found electronically at http://www.mainemason.org/resources/constitution/glconstitution2.asp. California Masonic Code, Interpretation of § 409.020 found electronically at www.calodges.org/no551/CaliforniaMasonicCode2012.pdf.

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Masonic Bookplates In January 2013 Remo Wolf, the famed Italian ex-libris artist passed away aged 97. I feel privileged to have commissioned him to prepare and design my personal Masonic bookplate, which incorporates the Quatuor Coronati Lodge name and number. Bookplates, frequently referred to as “Ex Libris,” i.e. from the Library of, are personalised and specially designed labels, usually pasted inside the front cover of a book, to indicate ownership. They are widespread and examples are extant from the sixteenth Century. Bookplates have been printed from woodblocks and copper and steel plate engravings as well as the lithographic processes. By their very nature, they lend themselves to thematic motifs, as they will invariably represent in their design the interests A Masonic bookplate designed of the owner. The earliest by Remo Wolf for the author. bookplates, to be found within the covers of antiquarian and often valuable books, have the owner’s armorial designs as the theme. Such bookplates were intended not only to indicate ownership and prevent theft but also to add to the aesthetic appearance of the volume into which they were pasted. Freemasonry, considering its rich and wonderful symbolism, has lent itself particularly well to book lovers who were also Freemasons. One of the earliest Masonic bookplates belongs to one of the most famous of all Irish Freemasons, Laurence Dermott (1720-91), inter alia, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of England named the Antients. It was founded in 1751 in direct competition with the existing Grand Lodge of 1717, known as the premier Grand Lodge or Moderns. The book plate has been reliably dated to 1755 and was found by Bro William Speth in 1892 in the inside cover of a first edition of Ahiman Rezon, the book of constitution of the Antients Grand Lodge, which Dermott authored. The design on the bookplate constitutes a coat of arms, with his name Lau Dermott appearing in the manuscript style of his own handwriting and is followed by the letters G. S. referring to his Masonic post as Grand Secretary. Other Masonic emblems are scattered at the base of the design. Two particularly well known American Freemasons with their own bookplates are Dr Albert G Mackey (1807-81), the Masonic jurist 24 • SPRING 2014

and prolific author, whose works include The Lexicon of Freemasonry (1845) and the mammoth and popular Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry (1874 enlarged in 1891 by C T McLenachan and revised by R J Clegg in 1946). The other famed American Freemason is the Bostonian Paul Revere (1734-1818), the quintessential Revolutionary patriot and hero and Grand Master of Massachusetts in 1795. He designed his own bookplate incorporating armorial motifs without Masonic emblem Back in Britain, another well-known Brother in Masonic literary circles is Edward Conder (1861-1934), author of the most important book on the operative working stone Masons, titled The Whole Craft and Fellowship of Masons (1894). It was republished by the Masonic Book Club (USA) in 1988. His bookplate was designed by William H Rylands (1846-1922), a founder and first senior warden of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge No 2076 in London, in about 1860. Not surprisingly the armorial design includes the arms of the Masons Company of London. Another Armorial bookplate is that of brilliant Masonic student Chetwode Crawley (1844-1916). He was a pioneer student of Irish Freemasonry and author of the seminal work Caementaria Hibernica. He, like Paul Revere, designed his own bookplate into which he incorporated the coat of arms of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, his country of origin. An interesting curiosity, maybe irony is a better word, is the bookplate belonging to the infamous Brother Reverend John Chetwode Crawley (18441916). www.irishmasonichistory.com Dr William Dodd (1729-77), Past Grand Chaplin and the first to hold that post from1775 to 1777. It incorporates the motto Wise & Harmless, sentiments not easily reconciled with a Mason expelled from the fraternity and hanged for forgery! Some of the most beautiful bookplate designs relate to Masonic institutions rather than individuals. The Library and Museum of Freemasonry in London, at one time, had a series of splendid armorial bookplates still to be found in the covers of many of the volumes in the Library. The earliest bookplate was engraved in 1887. It has a plain depiction of the arms of the United Grand Lodge of England and is 70mm square. In 1919 - the year that the College of Arms formally

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and finally recognised our coat of arms that had existed since the Union of 1813 - a wide border was added, bearing eight lions as now approved. The design was executed by Musset’s Heraldic Office, the legal engravers based in London. The new design created a lavish and powerful bookplate with the arms dominating and intricate foliage added, breaking through the borders to give an impressive three dimensional effect. Many private Lodges have issued their own bookplates Undated Masonic bookplate. http:// including our own Quatuor www.phoenixmasonry.org/ Coronati Lodge 2076. We have masonicmuseum/masonic_ an extensive book collection bookplates.htm deposited in the Library and Museum of Freemasonry most of which have one of two separate bookplates inserted and pasted into the inside cover. The designs incorporate the Lodge’s logo of the Four Crowned Martyrs. As to my friend Remo Wolf, whom I remember with this article, he was born in the Province of Trento on 29 February 1912. During his extensive and successful career he exhibited and won prizes at many Italian and international art exhibitions. His contribution to the art of the Ex Libris, toward which he dedicated much of his attention in his

later years, is accentuated by the use of wood blocks, highly popular and now considered very desirable items among collectors. Bibliography & further reading: Bookplate Society Bookplates in Britain London 1979 Prescott, Winward Masonic Bookplates, Colorado, 1918 Rylands, William Harry AQC,vol.18 p.147 Tatsch, J H & Prescott, W Masonic Bookplates Iowa 1928 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Yasha Beresiner, a law graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, was initiated in London in 1975. He is a past master of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076 (UGLE), and is a Grand Officer in England (PGStB), Israel (Hon SGW) and Italy (PSGW). He is a Kellerman Lecturer (ANZMRC 2000) and he is active in many orders beyond the Craft. He has published eleven books, five of which concern Freemasonry, in addition to hundreds of articles in periodicals worldwide.

Undated Masonic bookplate. http:// www.phoenixmasonry.org/ masonicmuseum/masonic_ bookplates.htm

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Getting a Grip:

Addressing Religious Prejudice in Masonic Ritual

by Andrew Hammer, FMS

he Oxford English Dictionary defines prejudice as “preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience.” The use of the word in common parlance has come to be understood as an accusation of intolerance, when what one really wants to address is only a matter of ignorance. If we take the positive implication from that definition, then such flawed preconceptions can be easily remedied with both reason and experience.

of the soul, but lacks any knowledge of the resurrection of the body. But the Master Mason is assured that this problem will be remedied by his introduction to the “faith in the Lion of the Tribe of Judah”, which seems to allude to a Christian interpretation of biblical symbolism, if not an overt solicitation to Christianity.

In a handful of jurisdictions in the United States, the language used in one section of the Master Mason lecture used to explain the several grips in Masonry, is a brazen comparison of religious belief, one that flies in the face of the universality of our institution. In that explanation, a gradation of faith is presented to the brother, quite explicitly, as if to propose a preferred religious belief to him.

This is also an odd way to speak about the previous ranks of those we have agreed to call brothers. It is yet another example of the persistent behavior of humans to insert something they are personally fond of into everything they encounter, even when they know it is not really appropriate to do so.

Before we delve into it, it should be stated that this bothersome construction of thoughts is not something that has gone unnoticed all these many years, until your humble correspondent decided to bring attention to it. One of the things about Masonic history that is as amusing as it is frustrating, is that errors on the part of ambitious authors are noticed almost instantly by diligent brothers at the time they are published, but are then blithely ignored by those who seem determined to accept whatever erroneous perspective on the Craft is being offered. It is no different in this case. Brethren have been complaining about this particular bit of verbiage since it entered into our Masonic world somewhere about the 1820s, yet that fact is put aside with the cloudy— and false—explanation that “it has been there since ‘time immemorial’, and we cannot change it.” The 1820s may look like a venerable moment in antiquity when we look back upon it from today, but it is important to remember that it is also over 100 years away from the creation of the Premier Grand Lodge. The early nineteenth century was a time when innovation in ritual was rife in the United States. Entire concepts that previously did not exist in Masonic narrative were introduced during this time (e.g. the beautiful virgin weeping over the broken column), by men who can—and must—be called innovators. Here is where our story of the grips begins.

Albert Mackey explains this language as follows in his Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, under the listing “Dispensations of Religion”: This symbolism, which was the invention of a peripatetic lecturer in the South about fifty years ago, is so forced and fanciful in its character, that it did not long survive the local and temporary teachings of its inventor… Without elaboration as to the identity of the author, Mackey goes on to say that it “…is only preserved here as an instance of how symbols, like metaphors, may sometimes run mad.” Except that this “madness” did survive and still exists in some jurisdictions, and is taught to the Master Mason as part of his understanding what we are all about. Beyond the obvious problem with that kind of preferential—and unMasonic—religious ranking passing as instruction, the greater problem is that it is factually wrong, which means that Masons in those jurisdictions are teaching bad theology to their brethren. Let’s start with the explanation of the “Jewish dispensation”. Gentiles may not be aware that in the daily prayer service of all Orthodox Jewish synagogues, and even in the newest edition of the Reform Jewish prayer book, Jews are instructed to pray the following verse:

Let’s be a bit clearer about what we’re talking about, by using an excerpt from The Freemason’s Universal Monitor, published in Ohio and submitted to the Library of Congress in 1890.1 This version of the lecture uses the language in question, in which the grips of Masonry are bizarrely explained as corresponding to a specific religious faith (or the perceived lack thereof ) assigned to each of the degrees.

Clearly then, it cannot be said that in Judaism, “the resurrection of the body was not clearly taught,” and therefore this lecture has, for generations, made a false assertion about a particular religion that should not be allowed to stand in the light of accurate knowledge.

The Apprentice is considered to be little more than a rank heathen with no chance of salvation. The Fellow Craft apparently represents “the Jewish dispensation”, which, the brother is told, teaches the immortality

But the problem goes a bit further. The description of the Entered Apprentice’s grip makes reference to the “dim light of nature and the religion of reason”. Certainly one can understand the inadequacy of

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Blessed are you, Lord, who resurrects the dead.

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nature alone to reveal the majesty of Creation. But Masonry itself is founded in the pursuit of reason guided by Divine Providence. It arose in a time when men combined the right to reason with their faith to combat the oppression of kings and clergy, and seek freedom for all men. Of course, reason is not or should not be a religion, but it is by reason that we are able to discover the philosophical principles that allow for the deeper exploration of our faith. Reason cannot possibly be the enemy of the Mason, especially when the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts has been telling brothers to “Follow Reason” for nearly 300 years. And let’s get back to this phrase about the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. This allusion first appears not in the New Testament, but rather in the Torah, in Genesis 49:9, when Jacob refers to his son Judah as gur aryeh Yehuda, or “the young lion of [the tribe of ] Judah”. This in actuality means that Judah himself is the Lion of that tribe. I know of no religion that believes in Judah as salvational. So the description of the significance of that entity found in this particular language is inaccurate, even in its attempt to convey the message it sought to deliver in the first place. How then, do we get away from this conundrum of sectarian religious doctrine entering into and remaining in the ritual, in these places that still hold on to this “fanciful” explanation of grips? One option would be to avoid piques or quarrels about religion altogether, and focus on the big picture, that is, on what is actually intended to be taught to the Mason about life and faith itself as he moves through the three degrees. Consider the following explanation, of how the development of religious faith in man is an uplifting and educating rite of passage necessary for the self-development of any man: What our Craft is seeking to teach is that the Apprentice, with his mere observation of natural law in the world around him, has not yet attained the skill or wisdom to understand his purpose in life. It then offers that the Fellow Craft, even though he has now learned to work and produce perfect stones, with which magnificent structures can be erected, cannot through these great works alone understand his ultimate destination. His abilities may give him a sense of purpose, but yet not a sense of destiny or meaning. This is the province of the Master Mason. Through the information given at his raising, the Master Mason has arrived at the point where he can understand that only through reliance on Deity can he be a complete and immortal being, able to seek the meaning of life through worship of the Eternal.

What if the jurisdictions which use this explanation of grips were to instead use language like this author proposes below, which inculcates the necessity of faith in a Supreme Being in completing the man and Mason, and carrying him through to eternal life? By the EA _, or * * * * *, we are reminded that by the dim light of nature, we have no hope in immortality; we know not but that our bodies go down to the earth, like beasts of the field, there to remain. By the FC _, or * * * * *, we learn that although the works of man may be wondrous and magnificent, they alone cannot gain us admittance into the realm of the spirit. By the S _ of a MM or LP, we know that through faith in the power and the mercy of the Great Architect of the Universe, our souls will become immortal, and our bodies transcend the physical death, to attain life everlasting. Here, in a simple change of language, from specific and unreasonable religious classifications to a general description of the power of faith, we manage to teach better the actual lesson meant to be taught to the Mason as he completes his journey. We explain to him, without proselytizing for any one faith, how a man goes from knowing nothing, to knowing himself, to knowing God, however he conceives of that Great Architect. Grand Lodge ritual commissions and custodians of the work should take note, that while we have an obligation to defend the traditional language of our historical ritual, we have an equally important duty to not uphold poorly framed, inaccurate, and prejudicial statements from earlier times which not only betray our claims to possess and revere knowledge, but actually make us look unlearned and ignorant as Masons. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Andrew Hammer is Past Master of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, in Alexandria, Virginia. He is author of Observing the Craft: The Pursuit of Excellence in Masonic Labour and Observance, and regularly speaks to lodges on that theme, as well as philosophical aspects of the Craft. He is a board member of the Masonic Society, the Masonic Restoration Foundation, and is a member of the Executive Committee of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association. (Endnotes)

1 The Freemason’s Universal Monitor, published by John D. Caldwell, Past Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Ohio, 1890, 111-12.

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ESOTERICISM

Freemasonry and Modern Western Esotericism By C. Douglas Russell In 2011, Antony R. Baker, the Master of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076 in London, titled his installation address “The Road Less Travelled: The Authentic & Esoteric Schools--Time for a More Integrated Approach.”1 He labels the authentic school of Masonic research “historical;” the esoteric school, “symbolic” or “interpretive.” According to Baker, the esoteric school has been unduly criticized, and marginalized. Academic approaches to esotericism that are described below hold promise for moving past anti-esoteric views--in part by using methods of the authentic school. The goal is to begin building a foundation for esoteric studies in Freemasonry that serves as an alternative to placing our researchers in opposing camps. Baker describes Quatuor Coronati Lodge as having been founded to study Freemasonry’s history, symbols and legends, but he counted only 24% of papers published in the annual Transactions between 1886 and 1900 as symbolic; and just 7% between 1996 and 2010. He notes that proponents of the authentic school have directed criticism, and even hostility, toward the esoteric school, but “there is nothing incompatible in the study of the history of Freemasonry and the study of the interpretation of our rituals and ceremonies.”2 In 2012, Baker’s thoughts were echoed in Heredom, The Transactions of the Scottish Rite Research Society. Joshua Gunn observed that the two schools of Masonic studies are often designated “authentic” and “romantic.”3 He sees this distinction as useful for research, but he reports that some advocates for the authentic school are more than critical, dismissing works of the romantic school as worthless. Gunn argues there is value in the approach of each school; that “a middle way can be sought.”4

published in 1844 by Freemasons Monthly Magazine in Boston. The orator had spoken of the “hidden beauties and excellencies” to be discovered in Masonic philosophy and symbolism then asked, “are we here this evening of the exoteric or the esoteric school of Masonry? . . . If by these brief allusions to the internal philosophy of Masonry, I have excited in any present a desire to seek and to cultivate it, the few moments thus passed around a Brother’s memory, have not been fruitlessly occupied.”7 The orator was Albert Mackey. In 1845, a few edited paragraphs from his Funeral Oration were published in his Lexicon of Freemasonry. The entry is titled, “ESOTERIC AND EXOTERIC MASONRY, from two Greek words signifying interior and exterior.”8 Mackey describes the “Exoteric Mason” as one who has seen the “beautiful fabric” which is the exterior of the ritual, and stopped there. Men become “Esoteric Masons” by seeking “a further and more intimate knowledge of the structure than has been presented to their view—they enter and examine its internal form—they traverse its intricate passages, they explore its hidden recesses, and admire and contemplate its magnificent apartments.”9 The appeals of Baker, Gunn, and Mackey to give more attention to esoteric aspects of the Craft might well fall on deaf ears. Many Masons are anti-esoteric--apparently for good reasons. The term “esoteric” has served as a catchall for “all things mysterious,” found in occult or metaphysics sections of bookstores: yoga, divinatory arts, ancient Egypt, UFO’s, parapsychology, magic, tarot, New Age, New Religious Movements, and channeling.10 These writings often appear to be

he orator had spoken of the “hidden beauties and excellencies” to be discovered in Masonic philosophy and symbolism then asked, “are we here this evening of the exoteric or the esoteric school of Masonry?”

So far, the “authentic school” has been characterized as “historical”; the “esoteric” approach as “symbolic,” “interpretive,” and “romantic.” What do these terms mean? Why does the word “esoteric” have such negative connotations? The methodology of the authentic school is “an evidence-based approach to the study of Masonic history and research into Freemasonry.”5 It arose out of a concern that Masonic legends had been confused with actual history. Gunn identifies Albert G. Mackey as one Masonic author who could be rightly criticized for historical errors, but argues that works on philosophy and symbolism by Mackey and other esoteric Masons, are best understood as rhetoric. They were often written as “lectures,” where meticulous research isn’t expected. The goal of Masonic oratory “was not so much to prove something and chronicle facts as much as it was to provoke, inspire, or both.”6

entirely fanciful, sometimes without any connection to a tradition or even to a coherent point of view; but among them are great works of philosophical and spiritual literature. This begs the question, how is it possible to evaluate esoteric authors and their works in order to identify those worth exploring? Clear definitions of what is esoteric are bound to help.

Here’s an example of oratory making its way into print. In 1843, the Junior Warden of a Charleston, South Carolina lodge died unexpectedly. The Master of a nearby lodge delivered the funeral address, which was

Items 1 and 2 belong together. Something that is private is esoteric only if implicit teaching is involved. Masonic business meetings may be closed to the public but minutes and budget items are exoteric--about

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In 2008, Masonic author and editor Shawn Eyer described three aspects of esotericism in Freemasonry: (1) the esoteric as private, or secret elements of ritual, reserved for tiled lodge; (2) as implicit teaching, discovered by interpreting symbolism and ritual language; and (3) as a universal approach, e.g. Rosicrucianism, neo-Platonism, hermeticism, kabbalism and alchemy.11

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facts, not symbolism. Item 3 is a set of historical currents researched by Antoine Faivre, well-known French scholar of Western esotericism. In 1992, Faivre presented his model of esoteric currents as a “form of thought.”12 It quickly became a basis for establishing departments and chairs of esoteric studies in universities, along with international associations of scholars, journals, and over forty titles in the SUNY Press series in Western Esoteric Traditions.13 Faivre observed that esotericism was ill-defined. The writings of religionists conflated it with their own spiritual belief systems. Universalists made it synonymous with the sacred in general. The alternative Faivre advocates is “. . . an empirical approach of a historicocritical type.”14 He describes the esoteric as a “group of specific historical currents” within the history of ideas: a “form of thought.” Many of Faivre’s colleagues adopted his paradigm, while also investigating Western esotericism as “discourse,” and as “gnosis.” Western esotericism as a form of thought is seen by Faivre as an object of academic studies. Approaching esotericism “as an attitude of mind, as an ensemble of forms of spirituality, allows us to avoid doing violence to historical data. . . . We shall regard the ‘esotericism’ of the modern West as an identifiable form of spirituality because of the presence of six fundamental characteristics distributed in varying degrees within its vast concrete historical context.”15 There are four intrinsic characteristics: “symbolic correspondences between tangible phenomena and mystical forces; ‘living nature,’ or nature as a network of mystical linkages, influencing and influenced by subtle operations; the fundamental role of imagination in acquiring sacred wisdom; [and] the concept of transmutation [of individual character].”16 All four must appear together for an object of study to be considered esoteric. Two non-intrinsic elements may also be present: the practice of concordance—finding the commonalities between spiritual traditions; and transmission— imparting occult knowledge by means of a master teacher, or through ritual.

often regarded as possible to achieve corresponding knowledge about nature, and thereby about God.”20 Given that Faivre’s historico-critical approach parallels the methods of the authentic school, what becomes of the gap between the authentic “historical” approach and esoteric “interpretive” practices? If both schools can apply historical methods, are they still in opposing camps because one is interpretive and the other isn’t? To interpret is “to explain the meaning of (information or actions).”21 “Interpretation” is called “hermeneutics,” particularly when applied to literary or religious texts. A “hermeneutic” is the framework by which meaning is derived—a method or theory of interpretation.22 Historians of the late nineteenth century--when Quatuor Coronati Lodge was founded--didn’t necessarily see themselves applying hermeneutics. They were influenced by the modernist quest for a scientific approach to knowledge. They saw their romanticist counterparts writing history “simply as a form of English literature [that] supplied uplift and emotional satisfaction rather than a careful and scholarly account of evidence.”23 Modernists aimed to create a rational, authentic history. “Ideally, the historian wore the white coat of the laboratory and brought to the art of writing about the past a dispassionate objectivity.”24 However, as the discipline of historiography evolved, many twentieth-century historians became convinced that there are hermeneutics in all writing of history. “Beware the historian who claims to have no theory, for there walks confusion.”25 Each of us brings a point of view, a bias, to our studies. In this light, it is not just the esoteric school that is interpretive; the authentic school is also. That’s more common ground: both schools may use historical methods, and both apply hermeneutics as well. As for the esoteric school’s hermeneutics, there are those who claim that no framework is needed for interpreting symbolism and allegories. According to Masonic author Allen E. Roberts, “One can only state his personal views in so far as his perception helps him to

soteric writings might be justifiably criticized where there is the appearance of a strictly personal hermeneutic, or no evidence of historical context and wide reading. On the other hand, esoteric authors are sometimes belittled, even when their erudition is obvious.

Western esotericism as discourse is emphasized by Kocku von Stuckrad of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. Von Stuckrad sees esotericism in social contexts: as written or spoken dialogue or debate— “an element of discourse in the European history of religion. . . . [It] can be identified as follows: the pivotal point[s] of all esoteric traditions are claims to ‘real’ or absolute knowledge and the means of making this knowledge available.”17 Communicating such knowledge has been termed “the rhetoric of a hidden truth.”18 Western esotericism as gnosis is an alternative to Faivre’s empirical approach: “a mode of knowledge emphasizing the ‘experiential,’ the mythical, the symbolic, rather than forms of expression of a dogmatic and discursive order.”19 It is knowledge of a personal nature--inner enlightenment. “Through increased knowledge of the individual self, it is

see this symbolism.”26 Roberts seems to be suggesting that there could be as many interpretations as there are Masons. If symbols and allegories can mean anything, or everything, they are rendered meaningless. Esoteric writings might be justifiably criticized where there is the appearance of a strictly personal hermeneutic, or no evidence of historical context and wide reading. On the other hand, esoteric authors are sometimes belittled, even when their erudition is obvious. Researchers must learn to discriminate legitimate criticism from anti-esoteric rhetoric. Two Masonic reference works are good starting points for research: Mackey’s Encyclopedia of Freemasonry27 and Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia (CME), edited by Allen E. Roberts.28 For

Albert G. Mackey (1807-1881) Permission: Courtesy of Heredom, Transactions of the Scottish Rite Research Society.

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esoteric studies, see also Hanegraaff’s Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism.29 It is reasonable to assume that Mackey’s encyclopedia has some degree of pro-esoteric bias and that CME has instances of anti-esotericism. After all, Mackey is known for voluminous esoteric writings; and Coil appears to favor the authentic school. Henry Coil described himself as a lawyer most interested in facts, who consulted “the seven or eight [Masonic] histories now recognized as authentic.”30

esoterically-oriented institutions, including Freemasonry starting in the eighteenth century and the Theosophical Society in the nineteenth century.37 Masonic reference works do include entries on the Mysteries, and on esoteric thought currents, institutions and authors.38 The esoteric or inner nature of man has been the subject of the science of psychology in the twentieth century. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung’s “depth psychology offers another modern paradigm for esotericism.”39 Hanegraaff’s Dictionary has entries on “Jung” and “Jungism.”40 It includes a six-page entry, “Freemasonry,”41 and the index lists over 100 pages where Masonry is mentioned. Freemasonry is often referred to, or discussed in some detail, in books on Western esotericism referenced in the endnotes below. Henrik Bogdan has two full chapters on Masonic ritual.42 These works are particularly useful for their objectivity: their point of view comes from outside the Craft.

Before revising CME, Roberts had written of Mackey’s Encyclopedia Volume III, “Critics universally condemned it.”31 This seems like rhetoric, not fact. There were nine printings of Volume III in its first twenty years. It contained over 50 endorsements from prominent Masons.32 The CME entry on Mackey correctly notes that his works contained errors, but at times Allen E. Roberts (1917-1997) Courtesy Ken Roberts. it turns severely critical. It claims Mackey’s Symbolism of Freemasonry is A direction for further research is to “in places revolting in [its] surrender study esoteric Masonic authors in the to doctrines of sun-worship and sexspirit suggested by Faivre. If we discover worship.”33 This seems to ignore Mackey’s such ideas as astrology, alchemy or magic explanations in the opening sections that “in the work of [Renaissance philosopher] Ficino, we do not reproach him for it, but the book is about philosophy.34 we simply place him in a vast intellectual The CME entry also declares that criticism tradition that had been too long neglected of Mackey in an anti-Masonic book “was and avoided by the historians and which justifiable as a prophylactic agency.”35 It’s is represented by an extensive and difficult as if the Craft must be protected from literature, which still needs . . . a great Mackey’s esoteric writings because they fuel effort of study and exploration.”43 Another anti-Masonry. Masonic author William S. suggestion for research is to enter the debate Burkle argues that Freemasonry’s reputation about esotericism as inherent in the origins has suffered far more from allegations of of Craft Masonry versus being introduced treason in England, the Morgan affair in the later, by Freemasons with esoteric interests. U.S., and the anti-masonry of the Catholic A third area to explore is esoterically-based Church. “Specific allegations of occultism articles in Masonic journals. It is reasonable have never played a significant role in to assume that there are about 100 such inflicting lasting damage or discredit to articles in the Transactions of Quatuor the Craft. Even in today’s world of internet Coronati, given the figures reported here at access such misinformation has not been the beginning. effective . . . because for the most part, these allegations are so fantastic as to be Finding common ground between the laughable.”36 authentic and esoteric schools is a promising step beyond the perception that Masonic Mackey’s and Coil-Roberts’ encyclopedia scholars are in opposing camps. Historical entries on the esoteric are brief. They and esoteric styles might well be framed as were written at a time when esotericism complimentary approaches to knowledge: was narrowly defined. Scholars indicate rational and intuitive, empirical and The Esoteric as Discourse: Illumination comes that esotericism has manifested in various metaphysical. “Exoteric” and “esoteric” are through discussion of the symbols on a tracing forms through history: for the ancients, useful labels for research purposes, especially board. Courtesy of House of the Temple Library, the Mysteries; in the Renaissance, the Washington D.C. when “exoteric” includes administration esoteric thought currents; and in modernity, of lodges, social gatherings, philanthropy, 30 • SPRING 2014

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and education. However, in most Masonic endeavors, we had best dispense with binary labeling. It tends to divide us. Albert Mackey and Allen Roberts were exemplary Masonic leaders, each having esoteric and exoteric aspects. Mackey wrote extensively on esoteric topics, yet his nineteenth-century encyclopedia is still useful for contemporary researchers, respected for its scholarship. Roberts has written histories and biographies, and is well-known for editing Coil’s encyclopedia, yet he also wrote arguably the best introductory book on symbolism in Freemasonry.44

9 10 11 12

In closing, here are Roberts’ inspiring words explaining an esoteric way of knowledge, followed by Mackey extolling the joys of esoteric studies: “Hiram drew his designs for the building and beautifying of the Temple in the Sanctum Sanctorum, or Holy of Holies. There he received the inspiration he needed because he felt the presence of God. There he could concentrate without being disturbed. Man, in order to build and improve his Spiritual Temple, must do so in the presence of God. He, too, must find a retreat where he can concentrate and meditate. In his retreat, man can let God help him draw the designs that will improve his life. There he can ponder the lessons and ‘secrets’ he has learned from the ritual of the Craft.”45 If a Mason “has ever felt a desire to seek and cultivate the internal philosophy of masonry, let him advance in those rarely trodden paths; the labor of such a pursuit is itself refreshment, and the reward great. Fresh flowers bloom at every step; and the prospect on every side is so filled with beauty and enchantment, that ravished at the sight, he will rush on with enthusiasm from fact to fact, and from truth to truth, until the whole science of masonry lies before him invested with a new form and sublimity.”46 ABOUT THE AUTHOR C. Douglas Russell is Junior Warden of the Southern California Research Lodge, Full Member of the Guthrie Scottish Rite Academy of Reflection, and is a member of the Pasadena Valley A.S.S.R. and three California Blue Lodges: Academia (Traditional Observance) Lodge No. 847 Oakland, Home Lodge No. 721 Van Nuys, and Organist at Hollywood Lodge No. 355 Tarzana. He is a retired psychotherapist and educator who has studied Ageless Wisdom teachings and practiced occult meditation for over 40 years. He has explored secular mindfulness techniques since 2002.

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

NOTES

2 3 4 5 6 7 8

ntony R. Baker, “The Road Less Travelled: The Authentic & Esoteric Schools-A Time for a More Integrated Approach,” Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, Vol. 125, 2012. 1-14. Ibid. 13. Joshua G. Gunn, “The Well Hung Tongue,” Heredom, Vol. 20, 2012, 211-228. Gunn is Associate Professor of Communication Studies, University of Texas. Ibid. 215. Quatuor Coronati Lodge website homepage, www.quatuorcoronati.com Gunn. 216. Albert G. Mackey, “A Funeral Oration,” The Freemasons’ Monthly Magazine, Vol. III, No. 7, May 1, 1844. 211. Albert G. Mackey, A Lexicon of Freemasonry, 2nd ed. (Charleston: Walker and James, 1852). 133.

39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46

Ibid. 134. Antoine Faivre, Western Esotericism, A Concise History. (Albany: SUNY Press, 2010). 2. Shawn Eyer, “Defining Esotericism from a Masonic Perspective,” The Journal of the Masonic Society, Issue #2, Autumn 2008. 16-21. Faivre, Western Esotericism, 11-15. Faivre’s more detailed presentation of this paradigm appeared the same year in “Introduction I,” Modern Esoteric Spirituality, Antoine Faivre and Jacob Needleman, eds. (New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1992). xi-xxii. Faivre references works of colleagues: Henrik Bogdan, Western Esotericism and Rituals of Initiation. (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2007). Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke, The Western Esoteric Traditions, A Historical Introduction. (New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2008. Wouter J. Hanegraaff, ed., Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism. (Boston: Brill, 2006). Arthur Versluis, Magic and Mysticism, An Introduction to Western Esotericism. (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2007). Kocku von Stuckrad, Western Esotericism: A Brief History of Secret Knowledge. (Oakville: Equinox Publishing, Ltd., 2005). Faivre, Western Esotericism, 10. Faivre and Needleman, eds., Modern Esoteric Spirituality. xv. Brian Hodges, Review of Bogdan’s Western Esotericism and Rituals of Initiation, in Shawn Eyer, ed., Ahiman, A Review of Masonic Culture and Tradition, I, 2009. 132-34. Italics added. Von Stuckrad. 10. Ibid. This is a header with words capitalized, in Faivre, Western Esotericism. 3. Bogdan,Western Esotericism and Rituals of Initiation. 5. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/ (accessed April 4, 2014). Ibid. Michael Bentley, Modernizing England’s Past, English Historiography in the Age of Modernism 1870-1970. (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005.). 5. Ibid. 9. Ibid. 11. Allen E. Roberts, The Craft and its Symbols. (Richmond: Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Company, Inc., 1974). x. Albert G. Mackey, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, with Supplemental Volume by H. L. Haywood. (New York: Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Co., Inc., 1909, rev. ed. 1946, ninth printing 1966). Henry Wilson Coil, Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia, Allen E. Roberts, ed. (Richmond: Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Co., Inc., 1996). Referenced in Note 13. Henry Coil, “On Writing an Encyclopedia,” A Daily Advancement in Masonic Knowledge, The Collected Blue Friar Lectures, Wallace McLeod and S. Brent Morris, eds. (Richmond: Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Co., Inc., 2005). 36. Allen E. Roberts, “Masonic Encyclopedias: The Source of Masonic Knowledge,” Short Talk Bulletin, Vol. 68, Allen E. Roberts, ed. (Highland Springs, VA: Masonic Service Association, October, 1990). Mackey, Encyclopedia. 1571-1577. Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia. 395. Albert Mackey, Symbolism of Freemasonry. (New York: Clark and Maynard, 1882). 9-21. Coil’s Masonic Encyclopedia. 395. William Steve Burkle, “A Guide for the New Esoteric Freemason,” Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry, May 3, 2012. http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/ esoteric_freemason.html (accessed 3/8/13). Burkle’s argument is about Masonic esotericism generally, not specifically about Mackey. This is a synopsis of concepts presented in Von Stuckrad and in Faivre’s Western Esotericism. Esoteric Masonic authors named by Baker or Gunn include Mackey, Albert Pike, A.E. Waite, W.L. Wilmshurst, and Manly P. Hall. Goodrick-Clark. 247. Hanegraaff, Dictionary. 648-655. Ibid. 382-388. Bogdan. 67-120. Faivre, quoting Kristeller, in Western Esotericism. 23. Roberts, The Craft and Its Symbols. Ibid. 84. Mackey, Lexicon. 136.

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IN PRINT

Book Reviews: Current Sacred Secrets: Freemasonry, the Bible and the Christian Faith by Mike Neville Sacred Secrets is largely a reference work that lists many scripture references from the Hebrew and Christian volumes of sacred law as they relate to the Craft of Freemasonry and its ritual. In between the references to Masonic ritual and scripture texts, the author shares some Biblical and Masonic history and the connections he sees between that history and Freemasonry. The author is an English Mason who is involved in Craft Masonry and the English York Rite. If you are a US Mason, you should be aware that there are ritualistic differences between jurisdictions, so that some references will connect to Blue Lodge and York (American) Rite Freemasonry and some will seem out of place. Depending on your religious background and how you view the history of Christianity, you may agree or disagree with some of Neville’s interpretations of the texts of Christian history or scripture. But one of the things I’ve always valued about Freemasonry is that each of us has the freedom and responsibility to interpret the ritual of our gentle Craft as we feel led and as it helps us grow Masonically. There is no one valid interpretation of many of our symbols. The author divides the book into Biblical historical periods rather than by degree or degree system, beginning with the “The Book of Genesis,” “The Time of Moses,” and “The Iraelites Secure the Promised Land.” The book contains some good photos, maps, and illustrations, though I found some of the black and white photos of the author in Israel and Palestine to be not all that clear. Having just made a trip to what people of several faiths call the “Holy Land” it seemed to me that some of those photos could have been better. While I enjoyed reading the book, I was rather disturbed by some of Neville’s final conclusions. On page 222 the author declares that “perhaps the greatest secret of Freemasonry is that there are no secrets.” What he is referring to is that the religious texts of the Bible are all available to everyone, Craft and profane. He is also referring to the passes, grips, and words of the Craft. However, I would contend that if the author believes that these are what really constitutes the secrets of Freemasonry, he may have missed the point. I am one among many Freemasons who believes that the real secrets of Freemasonry are found in the heart of the individual freemasonry where each of us was first made a Mason. You can no more give away those secrets than you can give away the initiatic experience that you had when you first entered the west gate, first crossed the threshhold of of the lodge, and first became a man obligated 32 • SPRING 2014

to other self-obligated men and Masons. Even reading the ritual without living the ritual leaves one devoid of the secrets and the power of Freemasonry. Neville’s book is a good solid work of research into the Biblical references of Freemasonry as found in English Craft and York Rite ritual. His religious ideas are interesting, but like all religious ideas they are a matter of individual opinion. His conclusions I’d challenge and encourage him to delve deeper into the mysteries before he declares they do not exist. Reviewed by Timothy D. Bonney The History Press (2013), 256 pages Paperback US$24.95, UK£18.99; Kindle US$15.49 Observations and Potentials by Robert Streeter This book promotes Masonic renewal based on a fundamental change in rituals. Streeter references such Masonic authors as Samuel Prichard, William Preston, and Albert Mackey and such nonMasonic authors as Melville, Darwin, and Shakespeare as a basis for understanding Freemasonry’s declining membership, vitality, and enthusiasm, and for exploring ways to bridle the descent. Streeter’s proposed ritual system aims to change the focus of ritual to address present and future needs. The book’s preface discusses declining membership and argues that ritual revitalization is necessary for the Craft’s survival and vitality. Streeter argues that current rituals lack impact for more knowledgeable contemporary minds. However, he provides no substantial evidence for his theory that decreasing membership results from outdated rituals. He does, however, point out that ritual has changed dramatically from its origins to now, even if those changes have happened subtly over time. The first chapter dissects what ritual is and what importance it has had in Freemasonry, currently and historically. Streeter points out how the Entered Apprentice degree arrived in North America in the minds of men and not in a ritual book, resulting in inconsistencies from the beginning. The author plants the seed of “change is OK” and proposes verbally and physically different floor work, involving the candidate in a more contemporary atmosphere. In the second chapter, focusing on the Fellowcraft degree, the author compares operative masons, simple in their theology, to contemporary speculative Freemasons, working as mathematicians, cosmologists, and other scientists. Streeter discusses religion and science as applied to this degree. The third chapter, on the Master Mason degree, provides a history of this relatively young degree. The author also speculates about

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religion and death and advocates rituals in which the candidate is tried at the stations. He argues that ritual flows much better with new emblems, on the level of contemporary man’s understanding and intelligence. In his fourth and final chapter, “Exploration,” Streeter promotes the value of complete, thorough, and accurate knowledge of the fraternity’s past as the basis of its present and future design. This book will be of use to many Masons for its Masonic references. It is a book to read, study, and reference, whether or not you subscribe to Streeter’s version of Masonic renewal. Reviewed by Darryl Lynn Chapman Self-published, 522 pages Hardback US$35 from www.observationsandpotentials.com Curiosities of the Craft: Treasures from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts Collection by Aimee E. Newell, PhD, Hilary Anderson Stelling, and Catherine Compton Swanson On July 30, 1733, Henry Price, by virtue of his recent appointment by the Grand Lodge of England as “Provincial Grand Master of New England and Dominions and Territories thereunto belonging,” presented a charter to the First Lodge (now Saint John’s Lodge) at the Bunch of Grapes Tavern in Boston. The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts (GLMA) thus became the third oldest grand lodge in the world (behind England and Ireland) and the first in the Western Hemisphere. In the ensuing 280 years, the GLMA has amassed an amazing collection of artifacts that illustrates its rich history. The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library have collaborated to publish Curiosities of the Craft, a 288-page volume featuring photographs from the GLMA collection, each accompanied by a historical vignette providing details about the object, its creator, former owner, or donor. The vignettes are evidence of the meticulous research conducted on the items by authors Newell, Stelling, and Swanson, all members of the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum and Library staff. The coffee-tablesized book is beautifully illustrated and photographed in color. The featured items include everything you would expect to find in a Masonic museum collection: aprons, jewels, gavels, certificates, photographs, letters, and Masonic jujus. There is also a significant amount of art, ceramics, and silverwork, and a flintlock pistol carried by John Paul Jones. A snuffbox, a boot scraper, and a gorgeous Masonic scherenschnitte (paper-cutting) from Germany are some of the more unusual items. Aside from age, the uniqueness of many of the items comes from the famous names attached to them: George Washington, Paul Revere, Joseph Warren, and the

Marquis de Lafayette among many others. The archives displayed, the vast majority of them from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, tell us much about Freemasonry as it was practiced in its earliest days on this continent and an equal amount about life outside of the fraternity. As someone who always keeps an eye out for the weird and wacky, my personal favorite is a simple poster from an anti-Mason, advertising his intent to expose the Royal Arch degree in a Boston theater in 1830 for the “prices reduced” amount of twenty-five cents, with a money-back guarantee to “any respectable Mason [who] will formally deny its essential correctness.” And then there was J. V. C. Smith, the deputy grand master of Massachusetts, later elected mayor of Boston, who in 1851 brought home from a trip to Jerusalem a piece of stone from the foundation of the Temple of Solomon. He noted that “it was procured by myself with considerable difficulty, the place being guarded by an armed Turkish soldier.” This is not an inexpensive book, but dividing the price by the potential number of hours of enjoyment it offers makes it a true bargain. Anyone interested in US history, Freemason or not, will treasure this book. Reviewed by James Dillman Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts and the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library (2013), 288 pages Hardback US$44.95, from www.massfreemasonry.org The Historical Significance of Freemasonry to Public School Education: Book 1 by Rodney W. Lancaster Lancaster examines the role of Freemasonry in the philosophical roots and development of public education in the United States. Early writers such as Karl Krause, William Preston, George Oliver, and Albert Pike influenced Masonry as a system of truth, morality, and symbols. Lancaster argues that the resulting Masonic values have been significantly intertwined with the creation of the public school model as we know it today. From the creation of the Boston Latin School in 1735 to present-day schools, Freemasonry has advocated, funded, and supported the public school movement. Freemasonry’s advocacy of public education has been included in the writings of educators such as John Dewey, Horace Mann, and George Counts. Lancaster also notes that the United States Supreme Court has had many justices who were Masons, and

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that these justices have played a significant role in upholding such Masonic values as the separation of church and state and the support of public education for all. In 1857 the Scottish Rite was instrumental in the creation of the National Education Association (NEA), a group that advocates for public education. Lancaster also writes of Dr. Sam Lambert, who represented Masonic values in his position as president of the NEA. Lambert was a supporter of President Jimmy Carter and active in the 1976 creation of the US Department of Education. Lancaster has written a cogent and well-researched chronicle of the historic relationship of Freemasonry with the rise of the American public school. The question remains as to the commitment of Freemasons to be “free thinkers” who are willing to challenge pedagogical knowledge in defense of Masonic values of truth and morality. Charter schools, vouchers, and growing numbers of private schools all will demand that Masons continue to believe in the value of public schools. Reviewed by Blair L. Kaufman American Star Books (2013), 136 pages Paperback US$19.95

Book Reviews: Classic Introduction to Freemasonry by Carl H. Claudy Recommending books and writings about Freemasonry designed specifically for the new Mason is a demanding challenge. While a liberal supply of publications are worthy of the time required to read about our fraternity’s history, symbolism, and origins, few offer the succinctness of Carl H. Claudy’s three-part series of booklets, Introduction to Freemasonry, written in 1931. Claudy, an American magazine writer, journalist for the New York Herald, and author of a number of books relating to photography and aviation, was also a Masonic leader, speaker, playwright, and essayist. In addition, he is well remembered for several handbooks for Masons. Claudy’s writing style is comfortable and enlightening, and he comes across as a grandfather telling us a story, not just an author giving us a welcome offering of Masonic light. Howard R. Cruze, PGM of New Jersey, writes in the foreword of Introduction to Freemasonry, Every candidate has an inherent right to understand the reality of our rites, the meaning of our mysteries, the truth of our tenets, and the significance of our symbols. Many lodges attempt to intrigue the new brother with books. Some books are forbiddingly large; others are 34 • SPRING 2014

too learned; others assume that the reader has a knowledge which he does not possess. Some books are dull with many facts and no vision, while others are too specialized or confined to one viewpoint. These three volumes are different. Cruze is 100 percent accurate. This work offers three volumes, each about forty pages, specifically for the new Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason. In addition, Claudy’s work continues to serve as an excellent refresher for the veteran Mason as well. Reviewed by John Bizzack Available in multiple free or low-cost editions MEET THE REVIEWERS: John Bizzack, PhD, is an active member of Lexington Lodge No. 1, Kentucky, where he is education chair, and Louisville Scottish Rite. He is a member of the Masonic Society, Texas Lodge of Research, Southern California Research Lodge, Scottish Rite Research Society, and Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076, Correspondence Circle. He is author of three books on Freemasonry: Discovering Freemasonry in Context; When History Fails, Legend Prevails; and For the Good of the Order. Timothy D. Bonney, a founding fellow of the Masonic Society, was founding master of Specialis Procer Lodge No. 678, Iowa. He is past grand chaplain of the Grand Council of R&SM of Iowa, a member of the Scottish Rite and Knight Commander of the Court of Honor, and a member of Iowa York Rite bodies. Bonney is senior pastor of Grace United Methodist Church, Sioux City, Iowa. Darryl Lynn Chapman is a law enforcement officer with twentysix years’ experience, including working undercover and leading a drug enforcement unit. He has been a Freemason since 1991 and is a published Masonic author. Past master of Stooksbury Lodge No. 602, Tennessee, he is this year’s recipient of two honorary degrees, the Order of the Silver Trowel and the Order of the High Priesthood. James Dillman is president of the Masonic Society. He is past master of Logan Lodge No. 575 and Lodge Vitruvian No. 767, both in Indianapolis. He is a member of the board of directors of the Masonic Library and Museum of Indiana and is serving his eighth term as president of the Indianapolis Masonic Temple Association. Dillman is active in Scottish and York Rites and has received the Grand Lodge of Indiana’s Order of Service to Masonry. Blair Kaufman is a member of Albuquerque Lodge No. 60 and first ceremonial master of Ballayut Abayad Shrine Temple in Albuquerque. He is a career educator who has been a teacher and elementary school principal for twenty-five years. Kaufman is currently an elementary school principal, and for the past eighteen years he has served on the governing board of Central New Mexico Community College.

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Masonic Treasures

Fin de Siècle GM Jewel This impressive Grand Master’s jewel belonged to James H. McCall (18491925) of Wichita who served as the 26th Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Kansas A.F.& A.M. in 1896. Measuring a formidable 6 ¼ inches tall, the 2.3 ounce gold jewel was made by the Edwards & Sloane Jewelry Company in Kansas City, Missouri, and is studded with precious stones. It bears the name of McCall on the banner which is flanked by the Knight Templar symbol on the left and McCall’s Scottish Rite rank on the right. McCall was influential in the founding of the Kansas Masonic Home in 1896 and was the former editor and publisher of the statewide Masonic newsletter, the Kansas Freemason . Courtesy Tracy L. Bloom, PGM, Grand Secretary, Grand Lodge of Kansas.