WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED MASONRY

There are legends and there is history
and there is MASONRY

    There are more theories than facts about the origins of Masonry.  Factually, it can be traced to the self-regulating guilds which grew up in Europe in the 12th and 13th Centuries.

    The term "lodge" itself is derived from the building which housed the workmen at a major construction site.  Warrants issued by religious houses, cathedral chapters, and secular lords permitted the workmen to govern themselves within area of the construction site free from constraint by ecclesiastical or lay courts.  Each "lodge" was under supervision of wardens who were elected by the workmen, but the wardens were accountable to the general contractor who was also the architect for the project.

    As early as the 1300's, rudimentary forms of ceremonies called "degrees" were derived from the "everyman" plays of the Middle Ages.  These were more fully developed in the 1600's and 1700's by Mason's Lodges throughout England, Ireland, and Scotland.  Each Lodge seems to have developed its own unique ritual for accepting apprentices, advancing these in time to fellows of the Craft, and, eventually, to overseers or masters.

    Between 1600 and 1700, society in the British Isles was transformed by the commercial and industrial revolution.  Mason's Lodges ceased to be guilds of building trades and became a social meeting ground for the entrepreneurial middle class and the aristocracy.  Masons Lodges began to take in members who never intended to hold a chisel to a stone, but did recognize a need to circumvent the social mores which prevented communication between classes.  Only through membership in social clubs could one meet ones social un-equal.

All forms of Art, including friendship
rely on symbolic language

    Grand Lodges were formed in the 1700's and under their guidance individual Lodges were encouraged to standardize their rituals - with indifferent results.  In Scotland the custom continued that each Lodge write its own around a core story common to all Lodges.  In England it became customary to employ one of three distinct rituals, while Ireland opted for only one.

    Masonry came to the New World from England, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy.  In each of the colonies as it became a part of the United States, a Grand Lodge was established from among the local Lodges.  Some Lodges created themselves; some had been chartered by some European Grand Lodge; others were started as a Military Lodge attached to a troop of soldiers from a foreign government.  Each Grand Lodge adopted its own standard ritual for its Lodges - and while each is distinctive, each is similar.

    One might well ask, of what value is this organization in modern society?  It fulfills the same function that made it valuable in the 17th and 18th Centuries.  It provides an opportunity for people to meet as equals regardless of their religious, ethnic, cultural, or social status.

    Masonry is the oldest and Largest Fraternity in the world.  Masonic Lodges exist in all except the most totalitarian societies.  Masons form friendships across the world, bridging the gulf of language, age, or experience.  Their common bond is simple:  Masons are community oriented.  They see mankind as one family.  So, they support many charitable projects.  Some focus on local problems, others are global in nature.  Food banks, Habitat for Humanity, literacy outreach, and a host of health concerns are among the many activities supported by local Masons.  Each Lodge, as an independent entity, selects its own goals for its charitable activity.  Masonry would honor God by serving mankind.

    Common to all Masonic Lodges are legends and stories that deal with the building of the Temple of Solomon in the city of Jerusalem.  Almost all of the ritual work in Masonry is taken directly from the Old and New Testaments.  And, because the founders of Masonry took such pride in the soaring majesty of the Medieval cathedrals with which they were intimately connected, the focus of Masonry is really about the imperative each person ought to feel about building his or her own spiritual center, a temple for the worship of God.

    Because Masonry was often witness to sectarian strife during its formative years in the 16th, 17th, and 18th Centuries, it has insisted that Masons avoid debates over religious doctrines.  While each Mason is required to have a belief in God, defining the content of that faith for another Mason is virtually unthinkable.  The awe and honor due the Creator by mere mortals is held to be a matter of individual conscience.  A Mason is at peace in the presence of the Holy and attempts to have respect for the feelings of others for what they hold sacred.

    If you would like to know more about this Gentle Craft, please contact a Masonic Lodge in your area or the Grand Lodge of Washington at 1-800-628-4732.  You may contact Diamond Lodge using the Contact Us link to your left.

    Masonry does not solicit members, but if you have decided, of your own free will and accord, to join in our endeavors, you may download a petition here.