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Anglo-American Freemasonry
Anglo-American Freemasonry (also self-described as Regular Freemasonry) is a loose network of overlapping chains of mutually recognized Grand Lodges, forming a Regular Masonic jurisdiction. For the most part these trace their descent from one of "original" British Grand Lodges, with mutual recognition based on adherence to certain core values, rules and membership requirements (known as Landmarks). Different branches of Freemasonry Freemasonry is often said to consist of two branches ''not in mutual regular amity'': *Anglo-American style, or Regular Freemasonry * Continental style, or Liberal Freemasonry The majority of Masonic jurisdictions around the world follow the Anglo-American style. The United Grand Lodge of England lists 194 Grand Lodges which it considers to be Regular and the Grand Lodge of New York lists 202 which ''it'' considers to be Regular, while the umbrella organisation for Liberal Freemasonry, CLIPSAS, lists 90 members. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Lodge
A Grand Lodge (or Grand Orient or other similar title) is the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A Grand Lodge or Grand Orient is the usual governing body of "Craft", "Blue Lodge", or "Symbolic" Freemasonry in a particular jurisdiction. The first Masonic Grand Lodge was established in England in 1717 as the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster, soon to call itself the Grand Lodge of England. The head of a Grand Lodge is called the Grand Master, and the other officers of the Grand Lodge prefix "Grand" to the titles of Lodge officers. Many Grand Lodges have also established ''Provincial Grand Lodges'' as an organizational layer between themselves and member Lodges. In the United States, a Grand Lodge will often divide its area of control into "Districts" or "Regions." There is no central body to oversee all of the Grand Lodges in the world (nor, indeed, all of Freemason ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regular Masonic Jurisdiction
:''This article deals with organization in ''Craft'' or ''Blue Lodge'' Freemasonry. See the appropriate article for information on organization in appendant Masonic bodies such as York Rite and Scottish Rite.'' In Freemasonry, regularity is one of the factors by which individual Grand Lodges judge whether to recognise one another for the purposes of allowing formal interaction at the Grand Lodge level and visitation by members of other jurisdictions. Each individual Grand Lodge determines which other Grand Lodges it considers Regular (and the standards for determining this are not uniform between Grand Lodges). Regularity and its origins History There are a number of groupings of Masonic jurisdictions which consider themselves regular, and recognise others as regular, yet consider others to be irregular. There is no globally centralised Masonic organisational system, and therefore the criteria for regularity are not consistent across all Grand Lodges. Ancients and Moderns The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Continental Freemasonry
Continental Freemasonry, otherwise known as Liberal Freemasonry, Latin Freemasonry, and Adogmatic Freemasonry, includes the Masonic lodges, primarily on the European continent, that recognize the Grand Orient de France (GOdF) or belong to CLIPSAS, SIMPA, TRACIA, CIMAS, COMAM, CATENA, GLUA, or any of various other international organizations of Liberal, i.e. Continental Freemasonry. The larger number of Freemasons, most of whom live in the United States–where Regular Freemasonry holds a virtual monopoly–belong to Masonic lodges that recognize the United Grand Lodge of England and do not recognize Continental Freemasons, regarding them as " irregular". Two branches of Freemasonry Freemasonry has two branches "not in mutual regular amity": * the Anglo/American "Regular" tradition of jurisdictions, typified by the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), and the various Grand Lodges in the United States. * the European "Continental" tradition of jurisdictions, typified by GOdF, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Grand Lodge Of England
The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic grand lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron Tavern in London, it is considered to be the oldest Masonic Grand Lodge in the world. Together with the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and the Grand Lodge of Ireland, they are often referred to by their members as "the home Grand Lodges" or "the Home Constitutions". History Moderns and Ancients in English Freemasonry Prior to 1717 there were Freemasons' lodges in England, Scotland, and Ireland, with the earliest known admission of non-operative masons being in Scotland. On St John's Day, 24 June 1717, three existing London lodges and a Westminster lodge held a joint dinner at the Goose and Gridiron alehouse in St Paul's Churchyard, elected Anthony Sayer to the chair as Grand Master, and called themselves the Grand Lodge of London and Westmin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts established by England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered , of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its constitutional, legal, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was described as "the empire on which the sun never sets", as the Sun was always shining on at least one of its territories. During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of the globe, and in the process established large overse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prince Hall Freemasonry
Prince Hall Freemasonry is a branch of North American Freemasonry for African Americans founded by Prince Hall on September 29, 1784. There are two main branches of Prince Hall Freemasonry: the independent State Prince Hall Grand Lodges, most of which are recognized by White Masonic jurisdictions, and those under the jurisdiction of the National Grand Lodge. Prince Hall Freemasonry is the oldest and largest (300,000+ initiated members) predominantly African-American fraternity in the nation. History Petitions for admittance into existing lodges Prior to the American Revolutionary War, Prince Hall and fourteen other free black men petitioned for admittance to the white Boston St. John's Lodge.Maurice Wallace, "Are We Men?: Prince Hall, Martin Delany, and the Masculine Ideal in Black Freemasonry," ''American Literary History'', Vol. 9, No. 3. They were declined. The Masonic fraternity was attractive to some free blacks like Prince Hall because freemasonry was founded upon i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swedish Rite
The Swedish Rite is a variation or Rite of Freemasonry that is common in Scandinavian countries and to a limited extent in Germany. It is different from other branches of Freemasonry in that, rather than having the three self-contained foundation degrees and seemingly-endless side degrees and appendant bodies, it has an integrated system with ten degrees. It is also different in that, rather than moving through the offices or 'chairs', progress in the Swedish Rite is based on moving through the ten degrees. A fundamental difference is the Swedish Rite's position on religious affiliation: Anglo/American 'Regular' Masonry requires a belief in any theistic religion and Continental 'Liberal' Masonry does not require belief in any religion, whereas Swedish Masonry is specifically Christian, and requires a Christian trinitarian belief in all its members. Nonetheless, the main Swedish Rite constitutions are all recognised as regular by the United Grand Lodge of England, and stand in f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
