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Document TitleSTB-95-03 THE REGULAR FREEMASON
STB-95-03
Music by Brother J. L. F. Mendelssohn.
THE REGULAR FREEMASON
by Bro. Michel L. Brodsky
This STB was extracted from a paper written by
Bro. Michel Brodsky and published in Vol.106-
1993 of Ars Quator Coronatorum (Transactions
of Quator Coronati Lodge # 2076) This Paper
describes the process by which Freemasons are
deemed to be "regular" in english Lodges
Editor
Man, being a social animal, establishes very
specific peculiar relationships between himself
and those whom he encounters during his life:
family, schools, business, church, sports clubs
and Freemasonry are groups in which such
relationship~ arise. They mature as his age
increases; from a child dependent on parents he
progresses to being a father and a grandfather.
Similarly, the freemason develops from an
Entered Apprentice through degrees and offices
until becoming the senior member of his lodge.
If viewed within an historical perspective, there
can be observed the transformation in these
relationships when they are subjected to the changes
in environment of the society in which we live.
The term 'regular freemason' represents a
complex set of relations delineating the common
field which binds the individual freemason and
organized Freemasonry. The boundaries
of the field are expressed by 'landmarks', a
distinctive word whose exact and comprehensive
meaning, though never authoritatively defined
or taught, can only be understood by a 'regular
Freemason'.
Whichever theory of origin of Freemasonry is
preferred, one may assume that, prior to the
establishment in 1717 of the first Grand Lodge,
the operative modes of recognition were
sufficient to establish the quality of a visiting
brother and indeed his right to visit and to obtain
assistance in case of need. Freemasons in a
given locality would know each other well.
Visiting brethren had to prove themselves
before being admitted into a lodge or petitioning
for help, though it is conceivable that, as more
lodges were established, some form of written
recommendation may have been carried by those
traveling far from home. The caution exercised
toward a visitor, aimed both at the protection of
the societies of Freemasonry and at the exclusion
of Cowans and impostors from the benefit of
charity, is evidenced in the first ritual texts In the
early Masonic catechisms there are questions
which a visitor had to answer before he could be
admitted to a lodge. As soon as lodges began to
work (independently, if the 'operative' option is
favored) it was necessary to determine that he
was a freemason and that his lodge and its members
could be acknowledged as regular. When,
through intervisitation,. ties between lodges
became more formal, and as lodges gave
allegiance to the Grand Lodge, it had to be
understood by all that masonic duty included
extending charitable assistance to a visiting
brother.
Because in the eighteenth century there was
neither social security nor personal or medical
insurance, the problem of assistance to needy
brethren was one that the young Grand Lodge of
England had to tackle within its limited financial
ability. Funds granted by the General Charity
had to be directed exclusively to members of the
regular Craft. This was possibly a contributing
factor in persuading lodges to accede to the premier
Grand Lodge and a place on its register
offered at least a moral guarantee of reciprocity.
Changes in attitudes and the evolution of
English society between 1640 and 1715 created
a climate of opinion in which religious; tolerance.
the transfer of political power from the King to
Parliament, and the appearance of an executive
capable of decision making created conditions in
which Freemasonry could appear openly and
grow. It included the coexistence of a large number
of diverse denominations who had to comply
with governments opposed to a monopolistic
religious solution. Consequently many dissenters
were tolerated as long as they did not represent a
threat to the stability of the State. The concepts
developed during the Civil War of the 1640s
were translated into positive legislation, such as
the imposed use of the English language in the
Courts of Justice. On the other hand some laws
were repealed such as those which let to
censorship. Here was the foundation of modern
democracy and it enabled freemasons to meet
openly and to associate themselves in a confederation
of Lodges known as a Grand Lodge.
When the first ephemeral masonic lodges met
in the middle of the seventeenth century a period
of serious civil upheaval their status must
have been precarious. The use of secret modes of
recognition may have been borrowed from the
operative craft with some of their symbols to
protect the personal safety of the brethren as well
as their workings. After the Jacobite rising of
1715 England was reasonably free of civil strife.
This enabled Freemasonry to come into the open
as an organization in 1717. Its survival required
some specific conditions. among them an
acknowledgment by the public and the State that
though the society claimed to possess exclusive
secrets its purpose was not to cover religious or
political conspiracies. Those secrets enabled the
society to exclude 'cowans and intruders' from
its meetings.
The concept of the 'regular freemason' originated
with the need to protect the fraternity as a
lay institution with its own charitable activity and
to restrict access to private meetings assembled
only for the purposes of Freemasonry The
process called for internal legislative action by
the Grand Lodge and the 'General Regulations'
compiled in 1720 by George Payne then Grand
Master. are included in the 'Constitutions of the
Free-Masons' published under the editorship of
James Anderson in 172s. They accurately define
the relationship between the lodge and the
brethren, between the private lodges and Grand
Lodge and between the Grand Lodge and the
Grand Master. Of special interest are:
VIII. If any Set or Number of Masons shall
take Upon themselves to form a Lodge without
the Grand-Master's warrant. the
regular Lodges are not to countenance them, nor
own them as fair Brethren....
This does not require comment and is still valid
today.
Xlll. They shall also consider of the most
prudent and effectual Methods of collecting
and disposing of what Money shall be given
to or lodged with them in Charity, towards
the Relief only of any True Brother fallen
into Poverty or Decay; but of none else: ...
This establishes the qualification of petitioners
for such charity.
The Constitutions of 1723 describe the base
necessary for the government of the Craft but
circumstances change and new rules were from
time to time adopted by Grand Lodge. Some
years later, the first edition being out of print, a
'New Book of Constitutions' was compiled and
edited by James Anderson in 1738. The concept
of the 'regular freemason' is not formulated as
such but is implicit, as is demonstrated in:
Vlll. (as modified on 31 March 1735)... The
Grand Lodge decreed, that no Person so
[clandestinely] made, nor any concerned in
making him, shall be a Grand-Officer, nor an
Officer of a a particular Lodge, nor shall any
such partake of the general Charity if they
should come to want it.
No other definition of a 'regular freemason'
was written during the next century and a half.
While the obligations of freemasons under the
Grand Lodge are inherent in Article I of the
'Charges' in the 1723 Book of Constitutions, the
concept of the 'regular freemason' in Grand
Lodge rules is easier to define by omission than
by affirmation. In 1755 Grand Lodge acted
positively, prompted-we may assume-by the
need to protect its Charity and to exclude from its
provisions the members of the newly-formed
Grand Lodge of the Antients. Thus:
"24 July 1755. Ordered that every Certificates
granted to a Brother of his being a Mason
shall for the future he sealed with the Seal of
Masonry & signed by the G:S. for which
Five Shillings shall be paid to the Use of the
General Charity."
And a year later there was another resolution:
"13 August 1756. Ordered that a Copper
Plate be engraved for printing the
Certificates to be granted a Brother of his
being a Mason & that a Dye he cut & an
Engine made wherewith to seal the same in
consequence of the Order of the Q:C, held
the 24th day of July 1755 so that the whole
expense thereof do not exceed Twelve
Guineas.
Ordered that the Treasurer do pay any Sum
not exceeding Twelve Guineas for the said
Plate Dye & Engine."
From this date onwards a 'regular freemason'
is easy to identify. He is in good standing with
his lodge, and he regularly pays his dues, and the
lodge contributes as decided from time to time
by Grand Lodge-the specified sums to the
General Charity and sends an annual list of its
members to the Grand Secretary. These conditions,
when fulfilled, enable the traveling brother
to receive a printed and scaled Certificate
identifying him as a fit and proper freemason who will
be welcomed in any lodge within the authority of
the Grand Lodge of England. A similar procedure
was enforced by the Grand Lodge of the Antients.
To this day, an English freemason who carries
a Grand Lodge Certificate, pays his dues and
abides by the Constitutions of the United Grand
Lodge of England is deemed a 'regular freemason'.
He is entitled to visit any regular lodge and
he enjoys all the privileges of membership of the
Craft.
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