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Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) [1] [2] [3] or simply Masonry includes various fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 14th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. Freemasonry is the oldest ...
Freemasonry in the United States is the history of Freemasonry as it was introduced from Britain and continues as a major secret society to the present day. It is a fraternal order that brings men together (and women through its auxiliaries) to gain friendship and opportunity for advancement and community progress.
Masonic lodge in the City of Brussels, Belgium. A Masonic lodge, also called a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry.. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings.
Open to master masons and their female relatives, members were once compelled to join the Order of the Eastern Star first, but the two organisations became separate in 1921. [13] Ladies' Oriental Shrine of North America Founded in 1903 in Wheeling, West Virginia, the order has over 16,000 members in 76 Courts across North America. A woman must ...
A Rite, within the context of Freemasonry, refers to a comprehensive system of degrees that hold the capability to initiate and advance a newcomer through various stages of Masonic knowledge and experience. In some cases, a Master Mason can be invited to join a different rite after having reached Mastery to further his knowledge.
The Vatican has confirmed a ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons, a centuries-old secretive society that the Catholic Church has long viewed with hostility and has an estimated global membership ...
The basic unit of Freemasonry is the Masonic Lodge, [3] which alone can "make" (initiate) a Freemason. Such lodges are controlled by a Grand Lodge with national or regional authority for all lodges within its territory. A masonic lodge confers the three masonic degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft (or Fellow Craft), and Master Mason. [4] [5]
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