Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
William Preston's system of Lectures, developed from 1772 onwards, and John Browne's Master Key, first published in full in 1801, were the first to reach a broader audience. By the time the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) was formed in 1813 there were at least three systems of Masonic Lectures current in the London area. [2]
The whole system is transmitted to initiates through the medium of Masonic ritual, which consists of lectures and allegorical plays. [2] Common to all of Freemasonry is the three grade system of Craft or Blue Lodge freemasonry, whose allegory is centred on the building of the Temple of Solomon, and the story of the chief architect, Hiram Abiff. [3]
In Freemasonry, the first three Masonic degrees constitute the fundamental degrees in all Rites they are called Blue Lodge of Craft degree.. Over time, various systems of optional "high Masonic degrees" or "Side Degree" have been added to these three fundamental degrees, practiced in workshops known as perfection lodges or chapters.
Except for rare exceptions, Masonic rites are most of the time under the control of Grand Lodges for the first three degrees then under the control of a concordant body for any upper degrees. [2] [3] The most practiced rite in the world from the Entered Apprentice degree is the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. [4]
As different Masonic jurisdictions established official, or standard, degree rituals the creation of new tracing boards by artists waned, and has since largely disappeared in favour of standard designs. Nonetheless, some masonic artists have experimented with very modern designs for the twenty-first century. [9]
Royal Arch Masonry (also known as "Capitular Masonry") is the first part of the American York Rite system of Masonic degrees. Royal Arch Masons meet as a Chapter, and the Royal Arch Chapter confers four degrees: Mark Master Mason, Past Master, Most Excellent Master, and Royal Arch Mason.
Get AOL Mail for FREE! Manage your email like never before with travel, photo & document views. Personalize your inbox with themes & tabs. You've Got Mail!
In the British Isles, most of continental Europe (including the masonically expanding states of eastern Europe), [1] and most nations of the Commonwealth (with the notable exception of Canada), the teachings of Royal Arch Masonry are contained in the "Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch" – a stand-alone degree of Freemasonry which is open to those who have completed the three Craft degrees.