Masonry is an ancient craft dating back about 12,000 years when man as the Hunter-Gatherer in the Near East incorporated stone in the building of his dwelling places. Early advances in masonry grew through the construction of Temples, the Pyramids and other well-known historical buildings. The era of classical masonry began with the erection of the first of the Greek stone temples, the Parthenon, the Acropolis in Athens. Roman architecture owes much to Greek architecture, but were greater in size..

When the Emperor Constantine declared Christianity to be the religion of the Roman Empire in 313 a Christian church was built in the township, but when the Emperor Julian “the Apostate” came to power it was destroyed in 361.

English and European masons kept up the craft constructing castles, fortifications and other public facilities, an intensive program of cathedral building that continued almost without a break from around 500 until at least 1700. In England the operative freemasons or Guild Masons were organised with royal approval from at least as early as the Annual Assemblage of 926, which is reputed to have been encouraged and authorised by King Athelstan. The lodges of operative masons assembled under the guardianship of craft guilds, which originally were in the form of religious fraternities that continued until Henry VIII disendowed all religious fraternities by the Act of 1547. It is evident from the old catechisms and the Ancient Charges, that the masters of operative lodges were responsible for the moral and religious conduct of their apprentices and fellows, as well as for their welfare and practical training in the craft of masonry. It also is clear that the tools and working methods used by the operative masons were woven into simple dramas that were enacted to illustrate moral principles. These dramas were adapted by Dr James Anderson and others and incorporated in the speculative rituals still used in masonic lodges.

The 12th century saw the development of the Gothic style of cathedrals in France, where the height of the building almost became an obsession and flying buttresses were used to support the main aisles, completes the story of the intimate association between freemasonry and religion. The Cathedral of the Notre-Dame in Paris probably is the best-known example of this style. It was begun in 1163 and completed when the western towers were erected in about 1240.

MODERN FREEMASONRY EMERGES

Many hypotheses have been advanced about the evolution of modern speculative freemasonry. One suggestion is that members of the four speculative lodges in London, who joined to form the first Grand Lodge of England in 1717, invented speculative freemasonry. Another suggestion perceives freemasonry as a direct offshoot of the Rosicrucian Movement, an occult-cabalistic-theosophic "Brotherhood", who would have exerted a strong 'Christian' influence on modern speculative development.

In London the Fellowship of Masons, probably established in about 1356, had an inner conclave known as the Acception. From the 1620s its members included operative masons and also many who were not tradesmen. The conditions prevailing during the Reformation made it necessary to maintain the utmost secrecy within fraternities, which explains the dearth of records in England and is the reason why it is much more difficult to establish the emergence of speculative freemasonry in England than it is in Scotland.

The modern period of Freemasonry dates from the founding of the first Grand Lodge on St. John's Day, 1717, in London. Four "old lodges" gathered together at the Goose and Gridiron Ale House and organized the first Grand Lodge.

The time was ripe for an institution of free-thinkers such as Masonry to spread in the Western world. The Enlightenment was beginning on the Continent, while England itself was still in transition to a more liberal state, having cast off the "divine-right" concept of monarchy with James II only a few years previously; the insurrection of "The 15" was just past, with that of "the 45" yet to come. The organizations of Masonry spread rapidly from England to the Continent, particularly to France, Austria-Hungary, and the Germanic states. Shortly, lodges would be organized in the New World as well.

Rival English Grand Lodges

The first Grand Lodge in England was soon to be challenged by a rival organization. Some authors have termed this a schism, but other recent scholarship claims that the rival Grand Lodge originated from Lodges in other parts of the British Isles, notably Ireland. Whatever the case, the new organization sought to attract members by claiming greater authenticity through the use of the term "Antient" as part of their name. The Antient (or Ancient) Masons were also known as "Athol" Masons, from the Duke of Athol being one of their early Grand Masters.

It would be appropriate now to consider the “de-Christianising of the Craft” that masonic authors often mention. Any Christian influence stemmed from the fact that, when purely speculative freemasonry was being organized under the first Grand Lodge, Christianity was the only religion recognised in England. For centuries in England and Europe, it had been the custom of the old crafts and guilds, including the masons, to have their own patron saints on whose days festivals were held. Many ancient lodges held a festival on June 24, the summer solstice that had been a day of heathen rejoicing, but in early Christian times became St John the Baptist’s day. The masons also held a festival on the winter solstice, December 27, which was another day of heathen rejoicing that became St John the Evangelist’s day. Although other saints were held in high regard by freemasons, including the Quatuor Coronati or Four Crowned Martyrs, nevertheless the two Saints John were adopted as the patron saints of Freemasonry, giving rise to such old expressions as “a St John’s Lodge” and “the St John’s Men”. In the early days of speculative freemasonry the officers of lodges were installed every six months, usually on the festival days of the two Saints John. Nowadays the masonic festivals are usually held annually, for example on St George’s Day in England, on St Patrick’s Day in Ireland and on St Andrew’s Day in Scotland.

There is no record of Jesus Christ being referred to in any of the Craft rituals, but it has been suggested that some of the symbolism might have been given a Trinitarian explanation. The records of some catechisms in the early 1700s include references of a Christian character, more particularly in the Royal Arch. The “precious corner-stone for a firm foundation”, from Isaiah 28:16 and the use of the tau cross as “a sign of the righteous on the foreheads of the Lord’s people”, from Ezekiel 9:4, have also been questioned because of their later Christian connotations. Even the pentalpha, a magical sign used in ancient times as a talisman against the danger of fire and adopted in freemasonry as an emblem of the five points of fellowship among other things, was questioned because it became a Christian symbol alluding to the five wounds of Christ. These and other symbols of ancient origin, like the triple tau, survived the “de-Christianising of the Craft”. From the early 1720s the Jewish membership of lodges steadily increased, after which any Christian overtones that might have appeared in the craft rituals were progressively eliminated.

THE TEMPLAR INFLUENCE

There is strong evidence of an association between the Knights Templar and freemasonry in Scotland, especially in relation to the Mark and the Royal Arch. The French historian Gaetan Delaforge made a special study of the Knights Templar. He states in his book, The Templar Tradition in the Age of Aquarius, that their real task was to obtain relics and manuscripts containing the secret traditions of Judaism and ancient Egypt. The Knights Templar included many operative freemasons and also engaged locals to work with them constructing a wide range of castles, hospitals and ecclesiastical buildings in the Holy Land over about 150 years.

Looking west it seems that the Templars almost certainly landed on the New England coast of America early in 1308 and after settling there journeyed back to Scotland more than once. This contention is supported by the famous image of a fourteenth century knight carved on a rock at Westford in Massachussets and also by the stone tower at Newport in Rhode Island, constructed like a round Templar church, that was referred to as an existing “Norman Villa” by the Italian navigator Giovanni de Verrazano, who was thought to be the first European to discover that part of the coastline.

OTHER INFLUENCES ON FREEMASONRY

Among the more tenuous possible associations are the Druids, the Culdees, the Rosicrucians, the Mithraic cult, the Essenes, who were closely connected to the Pythagoreans, and probably had a greater influence. Menahem, a Diaspora Essene, founded the Magians whose name reflects their Babylonian culture. They shared the traditions of the Palestine Essenes, but did not enforce seclusion nor have the same strict views on morality.

Herod held Menahem and all Essenes in honour and trusted them throughout his reign. The decision of Herod to train 1,000 priests as masons probably was in deference to Menahem’s influence. The preparation and obligation of candidates at Qumran and the degrees and allegorical instruction that they received, are detailed in the Manual of Discipline, the scroll called Community Rule. They are closely mirrored in freemasonry.

Socio-religious craft clubs called the Collegia flourished at the height of the Roman Empire and probably accompanied the Roman armies and their masons to Britain. Collegia were organised among Geeks, Egyptians, Etc. and were based around the worship of some god or hero. It is believed that the famous Orphic mysteries, so often described by Masonic writers, were begun in
this manner. Collegia of worshippers of Bacchus existed in the second century; there is a record of such a collegium dated 186 B.C. These and other Greek collegia were called by various names, thiassoi, hetairai, etc.

Political activity among the Greeks sometimes assumed the collegiate form, especially among the lower classes and among colonies of resident aliens, the latter of whom usually settled at or near some seaport.  There were political collegia at Athens in the time of Pericles, and they caused much trouble.  In 413 B.C. a group of them conspired to overthrow the democratic government.

Collegia became more or less common in Egypt in the first century B.C., especially among the worshippers of Isis.  Apuleius mentions one such organization under date of 79 B.C., and there is reason to believe that they had existed much earlier.  In many cases they took the form of burial clubs, about which more anon.  Records of the existence of such associations in the famous region of the Fayum have been found, bearing date of 67 B.C. In Asia Minor, also, traces of collegia have been unearthed, and it is believed that Thyatira had a larger number than any other city in Asia; its college of smiths became known throughout the world.

In spite of the great mass of regulations and restrictive laws of the Roman Collegia, and of the severe penalties hedging them all about, a great many collegia came into existence under conditions and for purposes that violated the statutes. These were known as collegia illicits, and gave the officials just such trouble as bootleggers give nowadays. Some of these unlawful associations were of a religious character, others were hatching places for political intrigues. It is amazing to discover how many collegia there were.

Some came into existence to secure a decent burial but the great majority of collegia came into existence for more mundane purposes, resembling our modern-day trade unions.  Almost every profession, art, and trade had its own organisation made in due form. It has been alleged by many Masonic writers that collegia of masons, or builders and architects, occupied a distinctive place and enjoyed special honours and privileges.

THE COLLEGIA AND FREEMASONRY

The collegiate organisation may justly be considered as one item in a long chain of general as sociational development, the last link of which is the modern Freemason Fraternity. There are three or four theories which hold that one may trace a certain tenuous continuity between the Roman collegia and modern Freemasonry.

During the 1800s and early 1900s, Freemasonry grew dramatically. At that time, the government had provided no social "safety net". The Masonic tradition of founding orphanages, homes for widows, and homes for the aged provided the only security many people knew.

Today in North America, the Masonic Fraternity continues this tradition by giving almost $1.5 million each day to causes that range from operating children’s hospitals, providing treatment for childhood language disorders, treating eye diseases, funding medical research, contributing to local community service, and providing care to Masons and their families at Masonic Homes.

We will NEVER know the true modern-day ambitions of Freemasonry. I wonder how many of the members are actually stone masons!!