MASONIC EDUCATION COURSE - PART THREE

The Master Mason

“…the Freemason, whilst always in search of truth, is destined never to find it in its entirety.”

Developed by Kent Henderson & Tony Pahl Adapted by Kris Stevens & David De Forest

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2007 Version

Property of Bro.

Date Raised to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason:

PUBLICATIONS OF HAN YANG LODGE NO. 1048 S.C.

Masonic Education Course Part 1: The Entered Apprentice

Masonic Education Course Part 2: The Fellowcraft

Masonic Education Course Part 3: The Master Mason

Masonry in Korea: The Story of Han Yang Lodge No. 1048

Continuity Manual: Han Yang Lodge No. 1048

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TTAABBLLEE OOFF CCOONNTTEENNTTSS

Introduction & Overview iv

The Masonic Education Course v

Syllabus vi

References vii

Video References viii

Introduction to the Master Mason Degree ix

Glossary 1

Verbal Requirements 9

The Obligation 10

Questions & Answers Demonstrating Proficiency In This Degree 11

3rd

Degree Catechism 12

The Five Points of Fellowship 13

Written Requirements 14

The 3rd Degree - Its Teachings & Symbolism 15

Masonic Charity 18

Involvement of Master Masons in the Lodge 21

Other Degrees and Orders in Freemasonry 22

Readings 24

Excerpt from “Sons of Light” (Pages 25-35) 25

Excerpts from “Freemasonry-A Celebration of the Craft” (Various) 29

Excerpt from “Freemasonry-A Celebration of the Craft” (Pages 214-217) 34

Excerpt from “Prosper The Art” (Chapter 23) 38

Excerpt from “Prosper The Art” (Chapter 15) 43

Excerpt from “A Masonic Panorama: Selected Papers of Rev. Neville Barker Cryer” (Chapter 5) 48

Excerpt from “Masonic Discoveries” (Chapter 3) 52

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INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW

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THE MASONIC EDUCATION COURSE

After a considerable time in planning, the Masonic Education Course for "European Concept" lodges was introduced in 1996.

The course is simple in concept and application, yet comprehensive. Its aim is to provide new brethren with a broad, yet

thorough knowledge of the Craft. The Course is divided into three sections, for the Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and

Master Mason. For each section, candidates are presented with the course material. They are asked to read the reference

material provided and answer the comprehension questions applicable to each.

Each candidate is additionally required to learn the answers to the "verbal" questions set for each degree. The rules for

promotion in Han Yang Lodge are as follows:

(1) No candidate can be approved for promotion to the next degree until having:

(a) satisfactorily completed the relevant components of the Education Course, and

(b) proven his competency in the answers to the relevant "verbal" questions to the satisfaction of the Lodge

Education Committee, or a delegated member(s).

(2) A newly-raised Master Mason cannot receive his Grand Lodge Certificate, nor be invested in any lodge office other

than Steward, until he has satisfactorily completed Section Three of the Course.

ABOUT THE COURSE AUTHORS

Kent Henderson, PGSwdB, is current (1996) Secretary of both Lodge Epicurean No. 906 and Lodge Amalthea No. 914. A

trained educator, he is a Past Master of The Scotland Lodge of Research No. 218 and co-editor of its annual Transactions. He

is a graduate of the Grand Lodge of South Australia's Masonic Education Course, and the author of many papers and books on

freemasonry including Masonic World Guide (Lewis Masonic, London, 1984) and The Masonic Grand Masters of Australia

(Drakeford, Melbourne, 1989). He is a member of most other Masonic Degrees and Orders, and a past master in many.

Tony Pahl, a Vietnam Veteran who served in the Royal Australian Air Force for 20 years, is a foundation petitioner and

Immediate Past Master of Lodge Epicurean No. 906. He is a Chairman of the Lodge's Education Committee and a key

member of its Promotions & Ceremonial Committee and possesses a wide knowledge of freemasonry, particularly its ritual

and ceremonial aspects.

NOTES FOR CANDIDATES

Candidates will be presented with Section One of the Course on their Night of Initiation, with Section Two on their Night of

Passing to the Second Degree and Section Three upon their Night of Raising to the Third Degree.

Candidates are welcome to proceed through each section of the course at their own speed. Candidates will be individually

advised and assisted by their appointed tutor for the course, which in most cases will be their Lodge Mentor.

It will be necessary for each candidate to attain a reasonable standard of response to the questions posed in each Section of the

Course, prior to being approved for promotion to the next degree.

A candidate's tutor/mentor will also assist in attaining proficiency in the Verbal Requirements for each degree, in

addition to the written Course Requirements.

Successful candidates will receive a Certificate upon the completion of each of the three parts of the Course. Upon the

completion of the total course, a Certificate of Masonic Education will be presented in Open Lodge.

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SYLLABUS - MASTER MASON CERTIFICATE

Part 1: The 3rd Degree - Its Teachings & Symbolism Sons of Light, by K. Linton

Pages 25-35: "A Journey Through the Third Degree"

Part 2: Masonic Charity Freemasonry - A Celebration of the Craft,

by J. M. Hamill & R. A. Gilbert

Pages 214 - 217: "Charity & Charity in Action"

Prosper the Art, by J. G .Sullivan

Chapter 23 - "Special Features & Lodges"

Part 3: Involvement of Master Masons in the Lodge Prosper the Art, by J. G. Sullivan

Chapter 15: "The Involvement of Master Masons"

Part 4: Other Degrees and Orders in Freemasonry A Masonic Panorama:

Selected Papers of Rev. Neville Barker Cryer", by N. B. Cryer Chapter 5: "What is the Point of other than the Craft Degrees?" Masonic Discoveries, Lodge of Research Transactions, 1988 Chapter 3: "The Allied Masonic Degrees" by J. B. McColl

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REFERENCES

The references used in the course are as follows:

Cryer, Rev. N. B. A Masonic Panorama - Selected Papers the Rev. Neville Barker Cryer

Australian Masonic Research Council, Melbourne, 1995.

de Pace, M. Introducing Freemasonry

Lewis Masonic, London, 1983.

Hamill, J. M. Masonic Perspectives - The Collected Papers of John Hamill

Australian Masonic Research Council, Melbourne, 1992.

Hamill, J. M. & Gilbert, R. A. Freemasonry, A Celebration of the Craft

McKenzie, London, 1992.

Henderson, K. W. Masonic World Guide

Lewis Masonic, London. 1984

Henderson, K. W. The Masonic Grand Masters of Australia

Drakeford, Melbourne. 1989.

Jones, B. E. Freemasons Guide & Compendium

Harrap, London, 1950.

Linton, K Sons of Light

United Grand Lodge of Scotland, Melbourne, 1983.

Mc Coll, J. B. The Allied Masonic Degrees

in Henderson, K.W. & Love, G. C. (Ed.), Masonic Discoveries

Lodge of Research No. 218, Melbourne, 1988.

Sullivan, J. G. Prosper the Art

Square One Publications, Melbourne. 1986.

Wells, R. A. Understanding Freemasonry

Lewis Masonic, London. 1991

Some Other Useful References (there are many more):

Carr, H. The Freemason at Work. 6th Edition

Lewis Masonic, London, 1981.

Henderson, K. W. & Love, G. C. Transactions (various titles)

Scotland Lodge of Research No. 218. Melbourne, 1988-1996.

Hepburn, R. Questions & Answers. 2nd Edition

Masters' & Past Masters Lodge No. 130, Christchurch, New Zealand, 1983.

Jackson, K. B. Beyond the Craft. 3rd Edition

Lewis Masonic, London, 1987.

Pick, F. L., & Knight, G. N. The Pocket History of Freemasonry. 7th Edition

Muller, London, 1983.

Thornton, P.T. A Century of Union

United Grand Lodge of Scotland, 1989.

Thornton, P.T. The History of Freemasonry in Scotland

United Grand Lodge of Scotland, 1978.

Various Editors Ars Quatuor Coronatorum

Transactions of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No.2076 (EC)

London. Volumes 1 - 107. 1884-1995.

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VIDEO REFERENCES

Centennial Celebrations 1990 - GL of New Zealand

Gratefully received & Faithfully applied - GL of NZ

Grand Installation, 1990 - GL of New Zealand

Grand Installation, 1994 - GL of South Australia

Grand Installation, 1991 - GL of South Australia

Grand Installation, 1993 - GL of Western Australia

Friend to Friend (Ontario, Canada)

To Measure & Fit (Netherlands)

Freemasons (England) - UGL of England

Angelo‟s Story - UGL of New South Wales

UGL of Scotland, 1889 - 1989 - UGL of Scotland

Beechworth Re-enactment - UGL of Scotland

Centenary Grand Installation, 1989 - UGL of Scotland

Echuca – Riverboats, Redgums, Romance - UGL of Scotland

Grand Installation, 1995 - UGL of Scotland

Lowan Re-consecration - UGL of Scotland

Opening the Mind to the Future - GL of New Zealand

Freemasonry Today & Tomorrow - UGL of England

Freemasonry in N. S. W. - UGL of New South Wale

The Freemasons – Toth and Parsons Productions

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INTRODUCTION TO THE MASTER MASON DEGREE

Similarities exist in all the degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry. Each has an entry, a reception, a

circumambulation, an obligation, a bringing to light. Each discovers certain symbols to the initiate and, in

demonstration and in lecture, gives him the key by which he may unlock the door behind which he will find

their meaning.

In its Second Section the Sublime Degree departs from the familiar. Instead of being concerned with moral

principles and exhortations, as is the first degree, or with architecture and learning, as is the second, it

answers the cry of Job, "If a man die, shall he live again?"

The degree delves into the deepest recesses of a man's nature. While it leads the initiate into the Sanctum

Sanctorum of the Temple, it probes the Holy of Holies of his heart.

As a whole the degree is symbolical of that old age by the wisdom of which "we may enjoy the happy

reflections consequent on a well-spent life, and die in the hope of a glorious immortality."

But it is much more than that. It is at once the universal and yearning question of man throughout all ages

and its answer. To teaches no creed, no dogma, no religion; only that there is a hope of Immortality; there is

a Great Architect by whose mercy we may live again, leaving to each brother his choice of interpretations by

which he may read the Great Beyond.

It teaches of the power - and the powerlessness - of evil. For those who are happy in a belief in the

resurrection of the physical body, the Sublime Degree has comfort. For those whose hope is in the raising

only of that spiritual body of which Paul taught, the degree assures of all the longing heart can wish.

When the lesson of the greatest hope and the dearest wish of all mankind is made manifest, the Sublime

Degree turns to this life and this brotherhood, and in the symbolism of the Lion, the exposition of the Five

Points of Fellowship, the means by which a Mason may claim all that a man may from his brother, and the

Word, ties together the Hiramic Legend and daily living in a manner which no thoughtful man may see and

hear without a thrill, a way at once awe-inspiring and heartening, terrible but beautiful, sternly

uncompromising yet strangely comforting.

It is because the degree is all this - and more, much more, which cannot be put into words - that it means so

much to those of whom it becomes a part. The ceremony is not of the earth, earthy, but of that land of the

inner life, that home of the spirit where each man thinks the secret thoughts he tells never - never.

Pull the flower to pieces; remain the petals, a perfume, but no rose. Play the symphony, isolated note by

note; sound is heard, but no music. Every word Milton wrote is in the dictionary but great poems may not

there be found.

So of any written account of this degree; we may write of its symbols, analyze its legend, tell of its meaning,

but we pronounce but words without a rhyme, make a flower of wax, a song muted. The best we may do is

to point out a path up the high mountain of spiritual experience which is the Sublime Degree, that he who

climbs may see it with a new view - and clearer eyes.

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GLOSSARY

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A MASTER’S WAGES

In the world of business the employer usually sets the wage for which the workman must labor. The

employer is governed partly by the law of supply and demand, partly by his own cupidity or generosity. The

wage he pays may be to some extent fixed by labor unions; only occasionally must be pay whatever the

workman demands. Usually he pays as little as he can for as much as he can get.

In the Masonic world all this is different. A Master's wages are as large as he wants them to be! He can ask

any wage he will and get it if he is willing to work for it. No labor union sets the scale; the law of supply and

demand does not operate; neither cupidity nor generosity is involved. The only question asked is, "Can you

earn the wages you ask?"

A Master's wages are paid in coin of the heart, not of the mint. They are earned by what a Mason does with

his mind, not his hands. In operative days a Freemason set so many stones and received each man his penny.

In Speculative Freemasonry a Master builds into his spiritual temple as many perfect ashlars as he can and

receives for his labor uncounted coins of happiness, satisfaction, knowledge, understanding and spiritual

uplift.

In operative days a Mason's earning power was circumscribed by his strength and his skill. In Speculative

Masonry a Mason's earning power is circumscribed only by his wit and his desire. He may read these little

books, receive his penny, and be satisfied. Or he may see them for what they are: only an introduction, a

gateway, a sign pointing out the path and read and study and ponder until he has earned not one but a

handful of pennies, each penny a thought, each thought a blessing, making life easier to live.

Archaeologists dig through the ruins of a city to uncover a forgotten one below. Push the spade in deeper

and below the forgotten city is yet another, older, different, twice forgotten of men. City buried under city,

patiently uncovered by the student's excavating tools - such are the symbols of Freemasonry.

Dig through the outer shell and find a meaning; cut down through that meaning and find another; under it if

you dig deeply enough you may find a third, a fourth - who shall say how many teachings?

The Master Mason builds. Before he builds he digs a foundation. Let him who would receive all that

Freemasonry has to give dig deeply into the symbolism, the history, the philosophy, the jurisprudence and

the spiritual meanings of the Ancient Craft.

So, and only so, will he become a real Freemason - free to travel in foreign countries and receive Master's

wages.

ACACIA

Acacia is the name given to the wood of the Shittah tree, Shittim in the plural. It was used in the

construction of the Tabernacle and making the sacred furniture. Ex. Chapters 25 to 28. This tree is found in

different species in various parts of Palestine. Its wood is very hard, and is esteemed sacred among the

Hebrews. As an evergreen this tree presents an uninterrupted appearance of youth and vigor. Among

Masons it is the symbol of the Immortality of the Soul. The ancients, therefore, as well as the moderns,

planted evergreens at the heads of graves. Freemasons wear evergreens at the funerals of their brethren, and

cast them into the grave. The acacia is the plant which should be used on these occasions, but where it

cannot be obtained, some other evergreen plant, especially the cedar, is used, as a substitute.

APPROBATION

Approval, commendation or praise; a formal or official act of approval.

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BLUE LODGE

What is the peculiar characteristic of the color Blue? The three degrees of symbolic Masonry are clothed in

or ornamented with blue, it is a color of truth or fidelity; and it is a remarkable fact that the brethren have

ever remained true to the blue degrees, while the authenticity of the other degrees have often been disputed,

and in many places altogether denied. This durable and beautiful color was adopted and worn by our

ancient brethren as the peculiar characteristic of an institution which has stood the test of ages, and which is

as much distinguished by the durability of its materials or principals, as by the beauty of its

superstructure. It is an emblem of universal friendship and benevolence; and instructs us that, in the mind of

a Mason, those virtues should be as expansive as the blue arch of Heaven itself. 2 Cor. 5:1 Psalm 8:1 and 3

FIVE POINTS OF FELLOWSHIP

There are duties owing by every Freemason to his Brethren, which, form their symbolic allusion to certain points of

the body, and from the lesson of brotherly love which they teach, are called the Five Points of Fellowship. They are

symbolically illustrated in the Third Degree, and have been summed up by Dr. Oliver as "assisting a Brother in

distress, supporting him in his virtuous undertakings, praying for his welfare, keeping inviolate his secrets, and

vindicating his reputation as well in his absence as in his presence."

HIRAM ABIF

When King Solomon was about to build a temple to Jehovah, the difficulty of obtaining skilful workmen to

superintend and to execute the architectural part of the undertaking was such, that he found it necessary to

request of his friend and ally, Hiram, King of Tyre, the use of some of his most able builders; for the Tyrians

and Sidonians were celebrated artists, and at that time were admitted to be the best mechanics in the

world. Hiram willingly complied with his request, and dispatched to his assistance an abundance of men

and materials, to be employed in the construction of the Temple, and among the former, a distinguished

artist, to whom was given the superintendence of all the workmen, both Jews and Tyrians, and who was in

possession of all the skill and learning that were required to carry out, in the most efficient manner, all the

plans and designs of the King of Israel. Of this artist, whom Freemasons recognize sometimes as Hiram the

Builder, sometimes as the Widow's Son, but more commonly as Hiram Abif, the earliest account is found in

the First Book of Kings 7:13-14, where the passage reads as follow: "And King Solomon sent and fetched

Hiram out of Tyre. He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a

worker in brass, and he was filled with wisdom and understanding, and cunning to work all works in

brass. And he came to King Solomon and wrought all his work." Also see 2 Chr. 2:13-14 - 2 Chr.

4:16 Most or all of the legend of Hiram Abif is made up. He is supposed to have died seven years after

starting work on the Temple. The legend is one of the "secrets" of Freemasonry, which most Masons will

do their best to avoid recounting. It is, however, well documented, as follows:

Every noon - High Twelve, in Masonic parlance - Hiram Abif went into the temple to pray. Three Fellow-

Craftsmen, not yet Master Masons, determined to wait for him as he came out and to force him to give them

the secret word of recognition of the Master Mason. Their names were Jubela, Jubelo, and Jubelum. These

are the Ruffians of Masonic tradition. Jubela was waiting at the south gate, where the Master went

first. When Abif refused to divulge the word, Jubela struck him in the throat with a 24-inch rule. The

Master hastened for the west gate, where Jubelo demanded the word; when it was refused, Abif was struck

on the chest with Jubelo's square. Finally, at the east gate, a blow between the eyes from Jubelum's setting

maul completed the job. Abif fell dead, still having refused to disclose the word - or, as Freemasons have it,

the Word or the Word. The murderers buried their victim over the brow of Mount Moriah and placed a

sprig of acacia on the grave. The murderers were rapidly discovered (before the body was found!) as they

tried to escape to Ethiopia. A search party went out by no less a person than King Solomon (in Masonic

tradition, a chum of the builder) soon found the grave, marked by the evergreen sprig. Then, after the

Entered Apprentices and the Fellow-Craftsmen had failed to resurrect their Master, he was raised by the

Master Mason with the "strong grip of a lion's paw."

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HIRAM KING OF TYRE

Hiram was one of the most noted of all the Kings of Tyre; he was contemporaneous with both David and

Solomon, and on intimate terms with both. Like Solomon, he was much disposed to mysticism; tradition has

it that the two kings often exchanged enigmas for solution. In legendary Masonry, Hiram, King of Tyre,

was Grand Master of all Masons, and Hiram Abif was Master of the Order in Jerusalem. Viewing the

Temple after its completion he recognized the pre-eminence of the Great Architect of the universe in its

perfections, and yielded the supremacy in Masonry to Solomon Jedediah as the representative of

Jehovah. In the symbolic supports of Masonry he represented the pillar of strength, because, "by his power

and wealth he assisted the great undertaking." Legendary Masonry represents him as frequently visiting

Jerusalem for consultations with Solomon and the chief architect Hiram Abif during the construction of the

Temple. Formed friendly alliance with David... 2 Sam. 5:11 - Supported Solomon in the building of the

Temple... 1 Kings 5:1-11 - Supplied workmen and material for the construction of the Temple... 1 Kings

9:26-28 - 2 Chr. 2:3-16 - Refused 20 cities offered to him by King Solomon... 1 Kings 9:10-12 - 2 Chr.

8:1,2

LAWS OF FREEMASONRY

Master Masons are obligated to abide by the laws, resolutions, and edicts of the Grand Lodge, the bylaws of

the particular lodges of which they are members, and to maintain and support the Landmarks and the ancient

usages and customs of the Fraternity.

The written laws, based on the General Regulations and the Old Charges first printed in 1723, are the

Constitution and by-laws of the Grand Lodge, its resolutions, regulations, and edicts, and the by-laws of the

particular lodge. The Ancient Landmarks are written in some jurisdictions; in others they are a part of the

unwritten law.

The General Regulations as set forth in Anderson's Constitutions were adopted shortly after the formation of

the Mother Grand Lodge in England. Unquestionably they embodied the laws of Masonry as they were

known to the four old lodges which formed the first Grand Lodge and hence have the respectability of

antiquity.

In general the Old Charges are concerned with the relations of the individual brother to his lodge and his

brethren; the General Regulations with the conduct of the Craft as a whole. The General Regulations permit

their own alteration by Grand Lodge - the Old Charges do not.

Many civil laws are provided with measures of enforcement and penalties for infringement. Masonic law

knows but four penalties: reprimand, definite suspension, indefinite suspension, and expulsion. These

penalties for serious infractions of Masonic law may be ordered after a Masonic trial and a verdict of guilty,

but mercy is much more a part of Masonic law than of civil law. Infractions of Masonic law resulting in trial

and punishment are rare, compared to the number of Masons, the vast majority of whom are so willing to

obey the laws that enforcement is seldom required.

There is no universality of Masonic law in all jurisdictions. Different latitudes, characters of people, ideas,

have all left their marks upon the enactments of our Grand Lodges. In the majority of essentials they are

one: in some particulars they hold divergent views. Most Grand Lodges adhere to the spirit of the Old

Charges, and - so far as modern conditions permit - to the sense of the General Regulations.

Masons desiring to understand the laws by which the Craft is governed and the legal standards by which a

Grand Lodge measures its laws, resolutions, and edicts should read both the Old Charges and the General

Regulations of 1723. The last (thirty-ninth) of these General Regulations reads, "Every Annual Grand Lodge

has an inherent Power and Authority to make new Regulations, or to alter these, for the real benefit of this

Ancient Fraternity; provided always that the old Landmarks be carefully preserved," etc.

The old landmarks or the Ancient Landmarks as we usually term them are thus those foundations of the law

of Masonry which are not subject to change. Had the Mother Grand Lodge formulated the Ancient

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Landmarks, it would have saved much trouble and confusion for Grand Lodges which came after.

Apparently the unwritten law of Masonry - the common law - was so well understood and practiced then that

it was not thought necessary to codify it.

Masons customarily observe a great body of unwritten law; our ancient usages and customs which are not

specified in print. But the Landmarks have been reduced to print and made a part of the written law in many

jurisdictions.

The Landmarks bear the same relation to Masonic law in general as the provisions of Magna Carta bear to

modern constitutional law. Just as Magna Carta specified some of the inherent rights of men which all

governments should respect, so the Landmarks crystallize the inherent characteristic fundamentals which

make Freemasonry, and without which the Institution would be something else.

Mackey states that the Landmarks are:

1. The modes of recognition.

2. The division of symbolic Masonry into three degrees.

3. The legend of the Third Degree.

4. The government of the Fraternity by a Grand Master.

5. The prerogative of the Grand Master to preside over every assembly of the Craft.

6. The prerogative of the Grand Master to grant Dispensation for conferring degrees at irregular

intervals.

7. The prerogative of the Grand Master to give Dispensations for opening and holding Lodges.

8. The prerogative of the Grand Master to make Masons at sight.

9. The necessity for Masons to congregate in Lodges.

10. The government of the Craft when congregated in a Lodge, by a Master and two Wardens.

11. The necessity that every Lodge, when congregated, should be duly tiled.

12. The right of every Mason to be represented in all general meetings of the Craft.

13. The right of every Mason to appeal from his brethren, in Lodge convened, to the Grand Master.

14. The right of every Mason to visit and sit in every regular Lodge.

15. That no visitor, unknown to the brethren present, can enter a lodge without first passing an

examination according to ancient usage.

16. No Lodge can interfere with the business of another Lodge.

17. Every Freemason is amenable to the laws and regulations of the Masonic jurisdiction in which

he resides.

18. A candidate for initiation must be a man, free-born, unmutilated and of mature age.

19. A belief in the existence of God as the Grand Architect of the Universe.

20. Belief in a resurrection to a future life.

21. A "Book of the Law" constitutes an indispensable part of the furniture of every lodge.

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22. The equality of all Masons.

23. The secrecy of the Institution.

24. The foundation of a Speculative science upon an Operative art.

25. These Landmarks can never be changed.

With these as a foundation, the Old Charges for precedent, the first General Regulations for organic law,

Grand Lodges write and adopt their constitutions and by-laws and particular lodges write and adopt their by-

laws, which are usually subject to approval by Grand Lodge, a Grand Lodge Committee, or the Grand

Master. Grand Masters, ad interim, issue edicts and make decisions; often these are later incorporated by the

Grand Lodge into the written law of the jurisdiction. All of these together, except where they conflict (as

some of the early General Regulations necessarily conflict with later enactments made to supersede them)

form the legal structure of Freemasonry.

Undeniably it is much looser than the similar body of law for the government of a nation. If Masonic law

were interpreted wholly by the letter - as is necessarily the case in civil law - the government of the Craft

might often be as loose as its statutes. But as a matter of fact the Craft is well governed. Its ancient usages

and customs so soon win their way into the hearts of new brethren that there is a great resistance to any

attempt to change the old order, unless necessity shows that it is inescapable. Masons much prefer to

whisper good counsel to an erring brother than to subject him to Masonic trial.

M.M.

Master Mason.

POINT WITHIN A CIRCLE

This is a symbol of great interest and importance, and brings us into close connection with the early symbolism of the

solar orb and the universe, which was predominant in the ancient sun-worship. The lectures of Freemasonry give

what modern Monitors have made an exoteric explanation of the symbol, in telling us that the point represents an

individual brother, the circle the boundary line of his duty to God and man, and the two perpendicular parallel lines

the patron saint of the Order--St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist. But that was not always its symbolic

signification, we may collect from the true history of its connection with the phallus of the Ancient Mysteries. The

phallus was among the Egyptians the symbol of fecundity, expressed by the male generative principle. It was

communicated from the rites of Osiris to the religious festivals of Greece. Among the Asiatics the same emblem,

under the name of lingam, was, in connection with the female principle, worshiped as the symbols of the Great Father

and Mother, or producing causes of the human race, after their destruction by the deluge. Here, then, was the first

outline of the point within a circle, representing the principle of fecundity, and doubtless the symbol, connected with

a different history, that, namely, of Osiris, was transmitted by the Indian philosophers to Egypt, and to the other

nations, who derived, as is elsewhere shown, all their rites from the East.

RAISED

This expressive term is used to designate the reception of the candidate into the third or sublime degree of a Master

Mason, and alludes both to a part of the ceremony and to our faith in the glorious morn of the resurrection, when our

bodies will rise, and become as incorruptible as our souls. Hos. 6:2 - 1 Cor. 6:14 - John 11:23 - Job 19:26, 27

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SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST

One of the Patron Saints of Freemasonry, and at one time, indeed, the only one, the name of Saint John the

Evangelist having been introduced subsequent to the sixteenth century. His festival occurs on the 24th of

June, and is very generally celebrated by the Masonic Fraternity. Dalcho (Ahiman Rezon, page 150) says

that "the stern integrity of Saint John the Baptist, which induced him to forego every minor consideration in

discharging the obligations he owed to God; the unshaken firmness with which he met martyrdom rather

than betray his duty to his Master; his steady reproval of vice, and continued preaching of repentance and

virtue, make him a fit patron of the Masonic Institution."

SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST

One of the Patron Saints of Freemasonry, who‟s Festival is celebrated on the 27th of December. His

constant admonition, in his Epistles, to the cultivation of brotherly love, and the mystical nature of his

Apocalyptic visions, have been, perhaps, the principal reasons for the veneration paid to him by the Craft.

SETTING MAUL

The "Setting Maul", in operative Masonry is used for setting stones, that is, tapping them to a firm seat in the mortar

by urging them sideways into place. It is in Speculative Freemasonry a symbol, in the Third Degree, reminding us of

the death of the builder of the Temple, which is said to be effected by this instrument. It is considered by some to be

a symbol of untimely death. In some Lodges it is improperly used by the Master as his gavel, from which it totally

differs in form and symbolic signification. The gavel is a symbol of order and decorum; the setting-maul, of death by

violence.

SIGN OF DISTRESS

This is probably one of the original modes of recognition adopted at the revival period, if not before. It is to be

found in the earliest ceremonies extant of the eighteenth century, and its connection with the Third Degree makes it

evident that it probably belongs to that Degree. To Freemasons of the Nineteenth Century, it is called the Grand

Hailing Sign, to indicate its use in hailing or calling a Brother whose assistance may be needed. SPECULATIVE

Theoretical rather than practical; involving, or based on, intellectual questioning and curiosity; marked by meditating

or pondering on a subject.

SUBLIME

Lofty, grand or exalted in thought; expression or manner; of outstanding spiritual, intellectual or moral worth;

tending to inspire awe.

TILER’S OATH

Before a strange and unknown visitor can gain admission into a Masonic Lodge, he is often required to take the

following oath:

"I, A.B., do hereby and hereon solemnly and sincerely swear that I have been regularly initiated, passed, and raised to

the sublime Degree of a Master Mason in a just and legally constituted Lodge of such; that I do not now stand

suspended or expelled; and know of no reason why I should not hold Masonic communication with my Brethren."

It is called the Tiler's Oath, because it is usually taken in the Tiler's room, and was formerly administered by that

officer, whose duty it is to protect the Lodge from the approach of unauthorized visitors. It is now administered by

the Committee of Examination, and not only he to whom it is administered, but he who administers it, and all who are

present, must take it at the same time.

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T. M. H.

The name given to the Deity in a Master Mason‟s Lodge, symbolically represented in the Lodge room by the

letter “G”. Freemasonry reverences all the titles by which God is known, and he is reverently called the

"Holy Name," just as the term "Ineffable Name" is often used.

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VERBAL REQUIREMENTS

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THE OBLIGATION OF A MASTER MASON

I A.B., in the presence of T.M.H., and in the body of this chartered and right worshipful l… of M.Ms., regularly assembled

and properly constituted, of my own free will and accord, do hereby and hereon, solemnly and sincerely, promise and swear,

that I shall always hele, conceal and never reveal, any of the secrets or mysteries of, or belonging to, the degree of a M.M., to

anyone in the world, except to him or them, to whom the same may justly and lawfully belong; and not even to him or to them

until after due trial, strict examination, or a full conviction that he is, or they are, worthy of that confidence; or in the body of a

M.M.‟s l… duly opened on the c…. I also solemnly engage myself to adhere to the principles of the s… and c…s, to adhere to

answer and obey all lawful signs and summonses sent to me from a M.M.‟s l…, if within my power to do so, and to plead no

excuse save those of sickness or the pressing emergency of my public or private avocations. I further solemnly pledge myself

to maintain and uphold the f… p… of f…, in act as well as in word; that my h… given to a M. M. will be a sure pledge of

brotherhood; that my f… will travel through dangers and difficulties to unite with his in forming a basis of mutual defence and

support; that the posture of my daily supplications will remind me of his wants, and dispose my heart to succour his

weaknesses and relieve his necessities so far as may be fairly done without detriment to myself or my connections; that my

b… will be the sacred repository of his s…s, when entrusted to my care, murder, treason, felony and all other offences

contrary to the laws of God and the ordinances of the realm being at all times especially excepted; and finally I shall maintain

a M.M.‟s honour, and carefully preserve it as my own. I shall neither injure him myself nor knowingly suffer him to be injured

by others, if within my power to prevent it; but, on the contrary, shall boldly repel the slanderer of his good name, and most

strictly respect the chastity of those nearest and dearest to him, in the persons of his wife, his sister and his child. To all these

points I solemnly swear fidelity, without evasion, equivocation, or any mental reservation whatsoever, under no less a penalty,

on the violation of any of them, that that of being branded a wilfully perjured individual, void of all moral worth. So help me

T.M.H., and keep me steadfast in this, my solemn obligation as a M.M.

Brethren remember your obligation! These notes are provided to assist you in remembering the traditional

penalties which neither could nor would be enacted nowadays. Rather we rely on the fact that if you were to

reveal secrets of our art, you would become a willfully perjured individual void of all moral worth and totally

unfit to be accepted into the society of men and particularly the Brotherhood of Freemasons. Be cautious

Brethren.

M.M.

That of having…

T_ _ B_ _ _ C_ _ I_ T_ _ _ _, the

B_ _ _ _s T_ _ _ _ there from and

B_ _ _ _

to A_ _ _s in the C_ _ _ _ _, and

B_ _ _ _ by the H_ _ _ _ _ _ _ W_ _ _ and

S_ _ _ _ _ _ _

T_ the F_ _ _ C_ _ _ _ _ _ _ Corners

O_ the E_ _ _ _, that no trace or

remembrance of so vile a wretch may

longer be found among men, particularly M.Ms.

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QUESTIONS WHICH MAY BE ASKED TO DEMONSTRATE PROFICIENCY IN THE 3rd

DEGREE

1. How got you raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason? Answer: By undergoing a previous examination in open lodge and by being entrusted with a test of merit leading to that degree.

2. Where were you then conducted? Answer: To a convenient room adjoining a Master Mason's Lodge for the purpose of being prepared.

3. How were you prepared? Answer: By having both ankles, both breasts and both knees made bare, and both heels slipshod.

4. What enabled you to claim admission? Answer: The help of God, the united aid of the square and compasses, and the benefit of a pass grip and a pass word.

5. Give me that pass word. Answer: T - - - - C - - - .

6. The import of the word? Answer: W - - - - - - P - - - - - - - - - -.

7. How did you gain admission? Answer: By the knocks of a Fellow Craft.

8. On what were you admitted? Answer: Both points of the compasses presented to both breasts.

9. On your admission into the lodge, did you observe anything different from its usual appearance? Answer: I did - all was in darkness, save a great light in the East.

10. To what does that darkness allude? Answer: The darkness of death.

11. Am I to understand that death is the peculiar subject of this degree? Answer: It is indeed.

12. From what circumstance? Answer: From the untimely death of our Grand Master Hiram Abif.

13. What were the working tools with which our Master was slain? Answer: The plumb rule, level, and heavy setting maul.

14. How came you acquainted with his death? Answer: By having figuratively represented our Master, Hiram Abif, when I was raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason.

15. On what were you raised? Answer: On the five points of fellowship.

16. What symbol marks the resting place of the dead in a Master Mason's Lodge? Answer: A sprig of Acacia.

17. What are the Working Tools of a Master Mason? Answer: The skirret, the pencil, and the compasses.

18. What do the working tools symbolize? Answer: The skirret points out that straight and undeviating line of conduct laid down for our pursuit in the Volume of the Sacred Law, the pencil teaches us that our words and actions are observed and recorded by the Most High, and the compasses remind us of His unerring and impartial justice.

19. What, as a Master Mason, are now entrusted to your care? Answer: The Landmarks of the Order. 20. What are they? Answer: The Rites, and established usages and customs of our Order.

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3rd DEGREE CATECHISM

RWM – Whence come you?

WJW – From the E…, RWM.

RWM – Whither are you directing your course?

WSW – To the W…, RWM.

RWM – What inducement do you have to leave the E… and go to the W…?

WJW – To seek for that which was lost, which, by your instruction and our own endeavours, we hope to find.

RWM – What was that which was lost?

WSW – The genuine s…s of a MM.

RWM – How came they to be lost?

WJW – By the untimely d… of our Master H… A….

RWM – Where do you hope to find them?

WSW – On the c….

RWM - What is a c…?

WJW – A point within a circle from which all parts of the circumference are equidistant.

RWM – Why on the C…?

WSW – Because that is a point from which a MM cannot err.

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THE FIVE POINTS OF FELLOWSHIP

H… to h…, I greet you as a brother;

F… to f…, I shall support you in all your laudable undertakings;

K… to k…, the posture of my daily supplications will remind me of your wants;

L… b… to l… b…, your lawful s…s, when entrusted to my keeping, will be carefully preserved as my own;

And, l… h… over b…, p… o…, I shall defend your character in your absence as in your presence.

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WRITTEN REQUIREMENTS

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PART 1 - THE 3RD DEGREE - ITS TEACHINGS & SYMBOLISM

Reference

"SONS OF LIGHT" by RWBro. K.G. Linton

Pages 25 to 35 - "A JOURNEY THROUGH THE THIRD DEGREE"

1. What does Linton mean by the term "the voice of nature"?

2. Why, according to Linton, does the 3rd Degree candidate advance to the altar by seven steps?

3. What is the point of the charge in the 3rd Degree called the "Retrospect"?

4. Linton asks the question, "How do we know that the soul of man can be immortal?” How?

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5. What is the symbolism of the hand "slips" in the Raising Ceremony?

6. Linton states that "contemplation is our real journey through the 3rd Degree". What does he mean?

7. In the 3rd Degree Ceremony, what is the purpose of our contemplation of the emblems of mortality?

8. In a few sentences, describe the purpose of the 3rd Degree.

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9. Linton considers that the character of Hiram Abif is a crucial symbol in the 3rd Degree legend. What is he a

symbol of? Explain.

10. Why is the 3rd Degree Candidate physically made to represent Hiram Abif in the ceremony, rather than be

permitted to sit as a spectator?

11. Briefly describe the symbolism of the Working Tools of the 3rd Degree.

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PART 2 - MASONIC CHARITY

Reference

"FREEMASONRY - A CELEBRATION OF THE CRAFT" by Hamill and Gilbert

Pages 214 to 217 - "CHARITY" and "CHARITY IN ACTION"

1. What are some practical ways that Freemasons practice charity in the community?

2. What are some of the Masonic and non-Masonic charities supported in your community or abroad?

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Reference

"PROSPER THE ART" by RWBro. J.G. Sullivan

Chapter 23 - "THE UNITED GRAND LODGE OF VICTORIA - SPECIAL FEATURES AND LODGES"

Note: Although this reading is specific to The United Grand Lodge of Victoria, it is instructive as similar ‘special features

and lodges’ operate under the authority of the Grand Lodge of Scotland.

3. Briefly describe the work of the Freemasons' Hospital and the Royal Freemasons' Homes of Victoria.

4. What is the purpose of the Grand Lecturers Panel?

5. Sullivan mentions two specialist lodges in Victoria, the Rhetoric Lodge of Communication No. 831 and the Lodge

of Research No. 218. Briefly describe the functions of these two lodges.

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Using independent research, identify and describe similar „special features and lodges‟ currently operating under

the authority of the Grand Lodge of Scotland.

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PART 3 - THE INVOLVEMENT OF MASTER MASONS IN THE LODGE

Reference

"PROSPER THE ART" by RWBro. J.G. Sullivan

Chapter 15 - "THE INVOLVEMENT OF MASTER MASONS"

1. Sullivan describes over twenty ways in which Master Masons can involve themselves in their Lodge. Choose six

which appeal to you the most, describe them and comment on how effective they would be if applied to your Lodge.

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PART 4 - OTHER DEGREES AND ORDERS

Reference

"A MASONIC PANORAMA - THE SELECTED PAPERS OF THE REVEREND NEVILLE BARKER CRYER"

by VWBro. N.B. Cryer

Chapter 5 - "WHAT IS THE POINT OF OTHER THAN CRAFT DEGREES"

Cryer gives a brief description of the practice of the inter-relationship between the Craft and the main degrees beyond the

Craft in England, Ireland and Scotland.

1. He defines the core of Speculative Freemasonry as having six stages. Briefly summarize these six stages.

2. Cryer then asks the question, "How do the non-craft degrees fit into this pattern?" Briefly summarize

Cryer's answer to this question.

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Reference

"MASONIC DISCOVERIES" by RWBro. J.B. McColl

Chapter 3 - "THE ALLIED MASONIC DEGREES"

3. Name the six Masonic Orders beyond the Craft which McColl describes as being part of the Universal Group.

Why does he call them the Universal Grouping?

4. Name the orders beyond the Craft which McColl describes as being part of the Christian Dispensation? Why does

he call them the Christian Dispensation?

5. Why does McColl describe a range of additional Masonic orders as being a multi-branched tree?

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READINGS

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PART 1 - THE 3RD DEGREE - ITS TEACHINGS & SYMBOLISM

"SONS OF LIGHT" by RWBro. K.G. Linton

Pages 25 to 35 - "A JOURNEY THROUGH THE THIRD DEGREE"

With our minds modelled by virtue and science, the virtue of the First Degree, and the science, or knowledge, of the Second

Degree, we are prepared for the sublime experience of the Third Degree in Freemasonry.

Man has a triple existence, inasmuch as he has a three-phased nature. He has a physical existence, as do all other animals, but

man differs from other animals in that he has a mental or intellectual existence. He has also a soul, which though very real is

intangible. Although we cannot see it or touch it, we can hear its voice, which we know as our conscience, although we often

refer to it as our heart. In our ritual it is called the "voice of nature".

Thus, in the Sublime Degree, the degree of the soul, the Lodge is opened on the Centre, that point from which we cannot err.

We may ignore our conscience, we may even try to stifle it, and a man may become so hardened that its voice is barely

audible, but it is still there, telling us right from wrong, and it will never deceive us, for it is that point within the centre from

which we cannot err.

Seven is the number of completion or perfection; three is the spiritual number and four is the earthly number, and when the

two combine we get Seven, the perfect number, and so in the Third Degree the candidate advances to the East by seven steps,

which are divided into three and four. The three spiritual steps are taken slowly and reverently; the other four are bold or

marching steps.

Our journey through the Third Degree must necessarily begin, as does the degree itself, by a retrospect or resume of the

degrees which we have already passed, that we may the better be enabled to distinguish and appreciate the connection of our

whole system, and the relative dependence of its several parts. As we approach to God in each of the three degrees,

representing the three phases of our nature, we are able to view the whole Masonic structure from each of these three angles,

and so gain a complete conception of the unique Masonic philosophy.

Our first journey is symbolised by Jacob's Ladder, composed of many staves or rounds, pointing out as many moral virtues.

The three principal ones are Faith, Hope and Charity. Faith must necessarily be the first step in any approach to God, and

without Hope our journey would cease, but Charity, that sublime virtue derived from an emulation of God's love for man, must

be our ultimate aim in the First Degree.

Our Divine Creator so loves man that he accepts love of our fellow man, brotherly love, as love for himself, a truth beautifully

portrayed in a poem by James Leigh Hunt:

"Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase)

Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,

And saw within the moonlight in his room,

Making it rich and like a lily in bloom,

An angel writing in a book of gold.

Now exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,

And to the presence in the room he said:

'What writest thou?' The vision raised its head,

And with a look made all of sweet accord,

Answered: „The names of those that love the Lord'.

'And is mine one?' asked Abou. 'Nay, not so‟

Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,

But cheerily still and said: 'I pray thee then,

Write me as one who loves his fellow men.

The angel wrote and vanished. The next night

It came again with a great wakening light,

And showed the names whom love of God had blessed,

And lo, Ben Adhem's name led all the rest."

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Our second journey is symbolized by the Winding Stair, portraying our mental approach to God. By developing our

intellectual faculty, we may the better be enabled to discharge our duty as Freemasons and to estimate the wonderful works of

the Grand Geometrician of the Universe, knowing that, although we may observe the motions of the heavenly bodies, measure

their distance and calculate their periods and eclipses, we may not even hope to comprehend the magnitude of God's

handiwork.

Aristotle's principles remained unchallenged until Galileo appeared on the scene, but his findings were outdated by Newton,

and when we thought that we had arrived at the ultimate truth, Einstein recast our thinking with revolutionary discoveries.

How can we know when we have arrived at the ultimate truth? We can never know. Ultimate truth belongs to God alone.

Man's knowledge is much too frail a reed on which to lean, notwithstanding that the main aim and purpose of knowledge is to

enable us to appreciate the wonderful works of the Almighty Creator.

We know from archaeological discoveries that the ancient Egyptians had worked out the relationship between the radius and

circumference, and used it in their calculations; that they had an accurate knowledge not only of the motion of the earth in

relation to the sun and moon, but of all the planetary system; that they had compiled a correct calendar, based on a full

knowledge of the motion of the earth; in fact, nothing is more astonishing to those who study the records of the past than the

knowledge of science which these ancient Egyptian priests possessed.

Most of this knowledge, of course, was lost with the fall of Egypt, but much of it has been rediscovered, though only in the

last few hundred years, and even then the world little knew that it had all been known so long ago by these ancient Egyptian

astronomers and left written in signs and symbols on stones and papyri, which we are now enabled to decipher and read.

Modern astronomers have calculated the period of the Sun's orbit to be 25,827 years and now our archaeologists tell us that

these ancient Egyptians could have provided us with the precise figure.

About 250 years B.C., the ancient Greek mathematician Eratosthenes was in Syene in the Egyptian province of Assuan at the

time of the equinox. Knowing that he was on the tropic, he decided to measure the angle of the sun at mid-day. He found that

it was exactly ninety degrees as he had expected.

On the same day the following year, when he was back home in Alexandria, he made the same measurement. He now found

that there was a variation of 7.2 degrees, which, of course, is the fiftieth part of a circle, indicating that the 500 miles between

Syene and Alexandria must be the fiftieth part of the world's circumference. The resultant answer of 25,000 miles differs from

our latest calculation by a mere thirty miles.

What happened to this knowledge? The world seems to have known nothing of this some two thousand years later, when

Galileo was thrown into prison by the Inquisition for claiming that the world was round. One may sometimes wonder whether

there are yet things to rediscover that were known thousands of years ago, and whether the vast wealth of knowledge that is

ours today could too be lost. So much for the retrospect.

Our journey through this degree has hardly started before it seems to come to an abrupt end, when we arrive at the brink of the

grave, but really it is far from finished, for, if our mind is ready, it is at this point that we should begin the important

contemplative stage. If we will follow that course of contemplation, we will find that it is the greatest journey of the three. We

can well say "if we will", because many who wear the badge of a Master Mason have yet to make this journey and thus

become aware of the potential immortality of the soul of man.

How do we know that the soul of man can be immortal? We may have learned the lesson of the First Degree, and live in love

and charity with our neighbour, but even so we will not receive the answer to this question. It will prove a slip. We may have

learned the lesson of the Second Degree, and have developed our intellectual faculty even to perfection, but all the science and

accumulated knowledge of mankind cannot reveal what awaits us on the other side of the grave. It will prove a slip likewise.

Science may attempt to dissect and analyse, but is forced to lay aside its instruments, unable to prove even that there is a soul.

Then Reason makes its attempt. Plato and Cicero endeavoured to prove through logic the immortality of the soul. It‟s doubtful

that their arguments convinced either others or themselves. It is the same with the modern psychologist; with all his fascinating

studies on the workings of the human mind, his feeble light must flicker out on the brink of the grave. It proves a slip likewise.

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There yet remains the sure grip of Faith, that virtue which we confessed at the very outset of our Masonic career; that virtue

which enables us to ascend the first rung of Jacob's Ladder, the top of which reaches to the heavens. If man's spirit be

immortal, then surely we seek in vain with the light of any earthly beam. Neither the rays of the sun, nor the light of human

knowledge can penetrate that gloom, that darkness, that ignorance, which veils from our eyes all knowledge of a future life.

The eye of human reason cannot penetrate that mysterious veil unless assisted by that light which is from above. What is this

light which is from above? To try to explain spiritual light to those who have not experienced it is like trying to explain

physical light to a blind man, and to those who have the experience the explanation is, of course, quite unnecessary. Let us,

therefore, not dwell on that point at this juncture, but attain our objective, I hope, another way and return to the point later.

Suffice to say that spiritual light must be sought within. Just as the letter "G" is found in the Middle Chamber, we find God in

our own soul -- symbolically speaking, in our own heart.

Just as the First Degree represents the dawn of day with its first gleam of light, and the Second Degree represents the fullness

of day, when we must get all our work done, so we now find ourselves in the West, where the sun is sinking and we realise

that darkness will soon be upon us.

Thus we stand on the brink of the grave and, peering across, as it were, to the other side, we realise that all beyond is veiled in

darkness. But if this realisation leads us to really contemplate, then our darkness becomes so visible, that we come face to face

with the mysterious veil. This is when the faith that was born in the First Degree, and developed in the Second, becomes that

glimmering ray which enables us to penetrate the veil, and so, in contemplation, we pass right through the grave, and begin the

most important stage of our journey.

This contemplation is our real journey through the Third Degree. If we have mastered the lessons of the other two degrees, we

can make this journey through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and discover that we are not afraid to die, and the still,

small, but insistent voice of the soul will not remind us in vain to remember now our Creator and to perform our allotted task

while it is yet day.

This voice of the soul - this voice of nature - so insistently reminds us that it resides within this perishable frame, that, if we

will only listen, it certainly will inspire a holy confidence, that our Creator will enable us to conquer death, or in the more

poetic words of the ritual "that the Lord of Life will enable us to trample the king of terrors beneath our feet, and lift our eyes

to that bright morning star."

What bright morning star? The universe is composed of solar systems like our own, and each of these solar systems consists of

a central sun with its circle of planets, and each of these central suns, like our sun, emits light. To us they are so many stars.

Our sun is our star, and when it rises it is the morning star. As an unknown poet has written:

We contemplate when the sun declines

Our death in deep reflection,

And when again it rising shines,

Our day of resurrection.

We watch that sun set with the fullest possible confidence that it will rise again tomorrow, and if we have been among the

faithful and obedient of the human race - if we have been successful in each of our other two journeys - then we can

contemplate our own setting with that same confidence; that is: "we may lift our eye to that bright morning star, whose rising

brings peace and tranquillity to the faithful and obedient of the human race."

Our contemplation of the Emblems of Mortality reminds us that our dust must return to the earth whence it came but our faith

in the Fatherhood of God insists on the immortality of the soul, and assures us that our spirit will return to God who gave it.

This is to believe that the soul of man is a tiny spark of the Divine Being, and can therefore never die, and will be at peace

only when in perfect harmony with its divine source.

"Man is the measure of all things," said the ancient sage, Pythagoras, "but man himself in the higher reaches of his being

cannot be measured. He is like an inlet of the sea; looking landward it is limited; looking seaward it is linked with the infinite.

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"I think God's thoughts after Him," said Kepler, the famous German astronomer, several centuries ago as he looked through

his telescope to the stars. This is true of all human thinking, all noble living, and all up leaping aspiration. Truly He that made

us set eternity in our hearts and restless we must remain, until we find reunion with His will, in which is our only peace.

In his well-known book, The Builders, from which I have already freely quoted, Dr. Joseph Fort Newton asks us to consider

what it means to say that the soul of man is akin to the Eternal soul of the Universe. It means that we are not just shapes of

mud placed here by chance, but sons of the Most High, citizens of Eternity, deathless as God our Father is deathless, and that

there is placed upon us an abiding obligation to live in a manner worthy of the dignity of an eternal soul.

And so we learn that what a man thinks, the purity of his feelings, and the character of his activity and career, are of vital and

ceaseless concern to the Eternal. Here is a philosophy that lights up the world like a sunrise, confirming the dim dumb

certainties of the soul, evolving meaning out of mystery and hope out of what would else be endless despair. It brings out the

colours of human life, investing our fleeting mortal years - brief at their longest and broken at their best - with enduring

significance and beauty. It gives to each of us, however humble and obscure, a place and a part in this stupendous plan; it

makes us fellow workers with the Eternal in his redemptive making of humanity, and it binds us to seek His will in every

phase of our being.

This belief - this philosophy - this simple faith - based on the Fatherhood of God, the Brotherhood of man, and the immortality

of the soul, is that same light which is from above. It is this belief that enables us to trample the king of terrors beneath our

feet, and make eternal plans for our soul; it is this belief that is the light of a Master Mason.

We will never really complete our journey through the Third Degree until the Almighty calls us to cease labour; until then we

can make the journey only in contemplation. This very contemplation will teach us that the mysterious power of life that

moves us now is an infinitesimal spark of that infinitely vast and utterly incomprehensible power that impels, controls, guides

and rules the whole universe, in which time, and space - yes, and love - are eternal.

May we never betray our own soul, so that it may continue in harmony with the Divine Source whence it sprang; and when it

has fulfilled its mission in this life, may it return to that same source to which it will ever belong. With the aid of this

glimmering ray the soul now sees as through a glass darkly, but in the life to come, it will know, as St. Paul tells us, even as it

is known.

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Additional Resources on the Teachings and Symbolism of the 3rd

Degree

From Freemasonry - A Celebration of the Craft, by J. Hamill & R. A. Gilbert.

THE LEGEND OF HIRAM ABIF

As a degree the Third is not much older than 250 years - the first recorded mention is in the year 1723 - but the Hiramic

Legend, it seems, is much older than we realize. The Graham Manuscript, discovered as recently as 1936, records events of

the thirteenth century, and mentions similar legends connected with Noah and Bezalel.

There are those that believe that the Hiramic Legend is derived from a Phoenician interpretation of the Egyptian legend of Isis

and Osiris, and brought to England many centuries later by the Crusaders. There it remained suppressed, because of the

domination of Masonry by the Church of Rome, which could not be expected to accept anything emanating from the Jews,

whom they intensely hated for their crucifixion of Christ. According to this line of argument, the legend saw the daylight only

as the domination of the Church waned; but there is, of course, no proof of this, even if it does sound feasible. Nevertheless,

the Hiramic Legend is an indispensable part of Freemasonry, and the following Prestonian Lecture plants a beautiful thought

in the mind of each of us, for we have all passed through the great Masonic ordeal. Here is the lecture, "Making of a Nation",

by George Draffen (1966):

"During the ceremony of the Third Degree, which is so well named the Sublime Degree, you can hardly fail to have been

impressed by the tragedy of Hiram Abif. To understand it, and to appreciate to the full its profound richness of meaning, is

something that will remain with you as long as you live.

"Since the drama of Hiram Abif is ritualistic, it is a mistake to accept it as history. A ritualistic drama does not pay heed to

historical individuals, times or places. It moves wholly in the realm of the spirit. The clash of forces, the crises and fates of the

human spirit alone enter into it, and they hold true of all men everywhere, regardless of who they are or when or where. There

was a Hiram Abif in history, but our Third Degree is not interested in him. Its sole concern is with a Hiram who is a symbol of

the human soul, that is, its own Hiram Abif. If, therefore, you have been troubled with the thought that some of the events of

the drama could not possibly have happened, you can cease to be troubled. It is not meant that they ever happened in ancient

history, but that they are symbols of what is happening in the life of every man.

"For the same reason it is an inexcusable blunder to treat it as a mere mock tragedy. Savage peoples employ initiation

ceremonies as an ordeal to test the nerve and courage of their young men, but Freemasonry is not savage. Boys at school often

employ ragging, which is horseplay caricature of the savage ceremonial ordeals, but Freemasonry is not juvenile. The

exemplification of our ritualistic drama is sincere, solemn and earnest. He who takes it trivially betrays a shallowness of soul,

which makes him unfit ever to become a Mason.

"Hiram Abif is the actual symbol of the human soul, yours, mine, any man's. The work he was engaged to supervise is the

symbol of the work you and I have in the supervision, organization and direction of our lives from birth to death. The enemies

he met are none other than the symbols of those lusts and passions, which are in our own breasts, or in the breasts of others,

and make war on our character and our life. His fate is the same fate that befalls every man who becomes a victim to those

enemies: to be interrupted in one's work, to be made outcast from the lordship (or mastership) over one's own self and, at the

end, to become buried under all manner of rubbish -- which means defeat, disgrace, misery and scorn. The manner in which he

was raised from that dead level to that living perpendicular again is the same manner by which any man, if it happens to all,

rises from self-defeat to self-mastery. And the Sovereign Great Architect, by the power of whose word Hiram Abif was raised,

is that same God in whose arms we ourselves forever lie, and whose mighty help we also need to raise us out of the graves of

defeat, or evil, and death itself.

"Did you ever wonder, while taking part in that drama, why you were personally made to participate in it? Why you were not

permitted to sit as a spectator?

"You were made to participate in order to impress upon you that it was your drama, not another's there being exemplified. No

man can be a mere spectator of that drama, because it takes place in his own soul. Likewise it was intended that your

participation should itself be an experience to prepare you for becoming a Master Mason, by teaching you the secret of a

Master Mason - which is that the soul must rise above its own internal enemies if ever a man is to be a Master Mason in reality

as well as in name. The reality of being a Master Mason is nothing other than to be a master of one's own self.

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"Did you wonder why it was that the three enemies of Hiram Abif came from his own circle, and not from outside? It is

because the enemies to be most feared are always from within, and are ignorance and sins. As the Sacred Volume reminds us,

it is not that which has power to kill the body that we need to shun, but that which has power to corrupt the spirit.

"Did you wonder why it was that after Hiram Abif was slain there was so much confusion in the Temple? It was because the

Temple is the symbol of a man's character, and therefore breaks and falls when the soul, its architect, is rendered helpless,

because the craftsmen are symbols of our powers, and they fall in anarchy when not directed and commanded by the will at the

centre of our being.

"And did you wonder why the Lodge appeared to neglect to explain this ritualistic drama to you at the end of the Degree? It

was because it is impossible for one man to explain the tragedy of Hiram Abif to another. Each must learn for himself, and the

most we can obtain from others is just such hints and scattered suggestions as these now given to you. Print the story of Hiram

Abif upon your mind, ponder upon it; when you yourself are at grips with your enemies recall it and act according to the light

you find in it. By doing so you will find that your inner self will give in the form of first-hand experience that which the drama

gave you in the form of ritual. You will be wiser and stronger for having the guidance and the light the drama can give to

you."

THE WORKING TOOLS

There are three working tools in each of the three degrees, referring to the three phases in man's nature. This emphasis is

repeated throughout our three degrees: three degrees, three principal officers, three movable jewels, three ornaments, three

pieces of furniture, three pillars and three ruffians.

Each of the nine tools has a moral significance: the Twenty-four Inch Gauge, the Common Gavel and the Chisel of the First

Degree are the tools of preparation; the Square, Level and Plumb Rule of the Second Degree are the tools of proof; the Skirret,

Pencil and Compasses of the Third Degree are the tools of plan.

First, the workman, knowing little of the ultimate design, has to learn the use of the tools of preparation which enables him to

shape the stone. The skilled craftsman, knowing what is required by the plan, has to test the work, and for this purpose he must

have a full knowledge of the tools of proof; the Master has to prepare the plan for the skilled craftsman, and for this purpose

he uses the tools of plan.

The apprentice takes the rough stone from the quarry and on it he uses the tools of preparation to achieve the Rough Ashlar.

The craftsman takes the Rough Ashlar and under his skilful hand It becomes the Perfect Ashlar and is placed in the building

according to the plan of the Master.

Each of us are the living stones, which are to form the Temple not made with hands, and so that the Temple may be perfect,

each one of us has to be so, for the Temple will only be as good as the stones that form it. Masonry is more than a ritual; it is a

way of living. It offers us a method and a plan, by which we may build a character so strong and true that nothing, not even

death, can destroy it. If we act justly, love mercy and walk humbly before God, then we can serenely await the solemn moment

when we must quit this transitory scene with a clear conscience and a trust in the mercy of God.

The Twenty-four Inch Gauge represents the twenty-four hours of the day, part to be spent in prayer to Almighty God, part in

labour and refreshment and part in serving a friend or brother in time of need, without detriment to ourselves or connections.

This is a reminder to the Initiate that he is mortal, that he has so many years of life, with so many days to each year, and so

many hours to each day. It is only the immortals that do not have to concern themselves with time, for to them it no longer

exists; for us mortals each day has twenty-four hours. Later we may learn the secrets of immortality, but first we must make

full use of our mortality. In other words, time and space are given to us with all their limitations to prepare ourselves for the

ampler freedom of after life. Time is but the gateway to eternity, and by learning to use our time, we prepare ourselves for

eternity.

The first lesson for the Initiate is time, and how to use it, and that time is divided into three parts: for God, for our neighbour

and for ourselves. The first is emphasised throughout our ritual; we put our trust in God, our Lodge opens and closes with

prayer. Prayer is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end, but we must not stop at prayer, the definite act of homage to

the Great Architect, but carry out His will through the whole day.

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The second is our duty to our neighbour, and that does not mean to take good care of ourselves and if we have a few crumbs

left over to scatter them to the poor. It means that we give and go on giving to our neighbour, but do not make our own family

suffer in consequence of that giving. In other words, remember our neighbour, but do not neglect our own family in the

process. The words "without detriment to yourself or connections" have been quite a stumbling block, and the cause of

deprecation among superficial thinkers. It is, however, only superficial thought that is scandalized. There must be some order

in the fulfilment of our obligations, and a man has no right to neglect his family in order to wear a jewel, even of Masonic

charity. And giving does not mean just giving cash out of a large superfluity. There is no real gift without the giver feeling it.

There are many different kinds of gifts; some have cash from their pocket, others have advice, encouragement and sympathy

from the heart, and others again may provide help in some sort of practical work or service.

Our duty to ourselves has two parts: Work and refreshment. Without work the gifts that we have been given are wasted -- the

great gifts of talent of mind and body, which have been entrusted to our keeping. The finest steel will rust and lose its temper

if it is not used, and the finest intellect will become dulled, and the finest muscles waste, if neither are put to use as planned by

our Maker. Excess never yet spelled efficiency. So refreshment is enjoyed. Refreshment, like recreation, means nothing if not

renewal. The very word "recreation" means creating again; or, in other words, a renewal of our strength and power.

The Gavel, we are told, represents the force of conscience, which, of course, is the voice of our own soul, or as our ritual puts

it "the voice of nature" and the "centre from which we cannot err". It is this inner voice that is ever ready to warn us when

without it we would err. If we let conscience guide us, and are prompt to heed it, we will find its voice becoming stronger and

clearer with every day of our lives; but, if we fail to heed it, failure becomes a habit, and its voice will eventually become so

weak that it is barely audible, so that finally there is no warning at all and its owner becomes a really evil person.

Conscience, like the Gavel, will "knock off all superfluous knobs and excrescences" so that the rough stone of our character

will become the Perfect Ashlar fit for the Temple.

The Chisel is the last of the three working tools of the First Degree, and rightly so, because the Chisel should never leave our

hand. As our ritual tells us: "the Chisel points out the advantages of education, by which means alone we are rendered fit

members of every civilized society". "Points out the advantages of education" -- and is that not the whole theme of the Second

Degree? There we are exhorted to extend our researches into the hidden mysteries of nature and science. "Science" in that use

is the ancient word for knowledge, and education is the acquisition of knowledge, the way to which lies up the Winding

Staircase. As the workman, with the aid of a chisel gives form and regularity to the shapeless mass of stone, so education by

cultivating ideas and polishing rude thoughts transforms the ignorant savage into the civilized being.

The Chisel furthermore demonstrates the advantages of discipline. The mind like the diamond in its original state is

unpolished, but by grinding away the external coat we are enabled to discover the latent beauty of the stone. Thus education

discovers the latent beauties of the mind, and draws them forth to range over the field of matter and space in order to display

the summit of human knowledge, our duty to God and man.

After drawing the candidate's attention to the Chisel, we then exhort him to make a daily advancement in Masonic knowledge.

He is then ready for the Second Degree.

The tools of the Fellowcraft -- the Square, Level and Plumb Rule are amply explained in a previous chapter, so I will here

content myself with several additional remarks.

The Square, of course, is one of the most important tools in Freemasonry for, besides being the first working tool in the

Second Degree, it is also the Second Great Light.

The true Level is the surface of a fluid at rest, and we shall find the true Freemason when we find a man who has passions and

desires like our own, but who is master of his own soul, who can endure the worst calamities of misfortune and not become

bitter, and who can meet the greatest good fortune and still keep his feet on the ground; as Rudyard Kipling said:

"and treat those two impostors just the same".

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Men differ in nature, heredity and opportunity, but above all, in the ability to make full use of their talents or to overcome their

disabilities. We can all, however, do our best with what means we have; the greater a man's wealth, or the greater his

intelligence and ability, then the greater his responsibility. We must work with the full length of our cable tow.

So Masonry teaches us equality of regard. On the floor of the Lodge all men are equal and brothers - equal in our regard, and

brothers in the great brotherhood of man.

The Plumb Rule is the emblem of integrity, and with the man of integrity we can entertain no doubt. We know how he will act,

and what he will do, because he stoops to nothing mean or petty, a debt of a few cents is just as sure to be paid as one of a

thousand dollars; where his attendance is expected there he will be. The man of integrity is ruled by duty and loyalty, and will

never take an unfair advantage.

The Plumb Rule consists of a weight hanging freely at the end of a line; the principle that actuates it is the influence of gravity.

No matter where it is placed, it always points to the centre of the earth. So it is in the spiritual world, but here it points

unerringly to God.

A man of integrity does not envy the wealth, the power, or the intelligence and good fortune of another, nor does he despise

those less fortunate than himself. He harbours no avarice, injustice, malice, revenge, nor an envy and contempt of mankind,

but holds the scales of justice with equal poise.

In the Third Degree, the Skirret is an implement which acts on a centre pin, whence a line is drawn to mark out the ground for

the foundation of the intended structure. Symbolically, the Skirret points out that straight and undeviating line of conduct laid

down for our pursuit in the Volume of the Sacred Law; and so to "square”, "level" and "upright" we must add "straight".

"Straight'' is defined as the shortest distance between two points; and in our dealings with God, our neighbour and ourselves,

we find that the shortest path is that which is straight. We can easily be tempted to take an easier path and so forsake the

straight, perhaps at first just a little, but that "little" can become a habit. To keep on the straight requires restraint, which is

rarely easy.

A criminal usually begins with a small theft or perhaps just a lie, just something small, but it is that "little" that leads a long

way round. A lie often requires another, till we find that we have strayed a long way from the truth. As Shakespeare said: "Oh,

what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."

A cross-examining counsel, however clever and able, is often beaten by the witness who persistently speaks the truth, no

matter how simple and unsophisticated the latter may be. The straight path may lead uphill, or it may lead down the valley; it

may cross the grass in the meadow, or it may follow that stony path on the side of the hill, where the sharp edges cut our feet

and each step is stained with blood; but it will lead the shortest way to the rest that should come to the traveller.

Life does not consist of one moment of impact by one solitary force, it consists of very many moments with the influence of a

great number of forces, each one pulling away from the straight and narrow path, but, if our direction is rightly set, our path

will be safe. With the Skirret to guide him, the Mason works with a spiritual balance; accidental influences, however powerful,

will be overcome and the goal will be reached.

With the Pencil the skilful artist delineates the building in a draft or plan for the instruction and guidance of the workmen. Our

building has been delineated in a draft or plan for our instruction and guidance by the Great Architect of the Universe. It is for

us to understand what is meant by each detail of the design, so that our life, when considered in the time to come, and in the

light of that plan, will be judged by its conformity to that plan.

We all know that in the erection of a building, just how easy it is to misread the plan, and how we need a good light. We have

only to seek, and we will find the light that we need. The light of a Master Mason is but darkness visible, that is, ignorance

realized, for there is no greater darkness than ignorance not realized.

The Compasses remind us of His unerring and impartial justice, who, having defined for our instruction the limits of good and

evil will reward or punish us as we have obeyed or disregarded His divine commands. They remind us to so limit our desires

in every station of life, that, rising to eminence by merit, we may live respected and die regretted.

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Dr. Mackey tells us that the Volume of the Sacred Law gives us light on our duty to God, the Square on our duty to our

neighbour, and the Compasses on our duty to ourselves, which great duty is that of circumscribing our passions and keeping

our desires within bounds.

It is worthy of note that, while the Square is a rigid angle, the Compasses are infinitely adjustable; this surely suggests to us

that the circles of our sympathy and understanding can be adjusted as circumstances demand. If the circle is taking in just one

other, whose confidence we treasure, we must remember that his secrets we must keep as our own; if our circle is extended

further it will include all the members of the Lodge, and still further it can include all members of the Craft.

Let us remember the words of Edward Markham:

"He drew a circle that left me out,

Heretic rebel, a thing to flout,

But love and I had the will to win,

We drew a circle that took him in."

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PART 2 - MASONIC CHARITY

"FREEMASONRY - A CELEBRATION OF THE CRAFT" by Hamill and Gilbert

Pages 214 to 217 - "CHARITY" and "CHARITY IN ACTION"" by Hamill and Gilbert

CHARITY

„THE POSTURE OF MY DAILY SUPPLICATIONS WILL REMIND ME OF YOUR WANTS‟ those outside the Craft are

unsure of what Freemasonry actually is, they usually have a better clearer picture of what it does. Its charitable work is well

known, and while the needs of brethren in distress have always been a priority for the Craft, Masonic charity has never been

restricted to Freemasons alone. Indeed, the vital importance of charity is emphasised to the newly-made mason during the

course of his initiation, and although the first Charity Committee, set up in 1724, was designed for the „Relief of distress‟d

Brethren‟, Masons were giving generously to wider charities from the first days of the speculative Craft.

When General Oglethorpe (1696-1785) began his settlement of the Colony of Georgia in 1732 he received the active support

of the Craft, whose members raised a collection „to send distressed persons to Georgia where they may be comfortably

provided for‟. Thus began a long and noble tradition of relief, wherever and whenever the need arose, with no distinction

made between Mason and non-Mason.

The duty of Masons to „give in the cause of charity‟ was stressed by William Preston in his Illustrations of Masonry (1772)

He laid it down as axiomatic that „To relieve the distressed is a duty incumbent on all men, but particularly on Freemasons,

who are linked together by an indissoluble chain of sincere affection. To soothe the unhappy, to sympathise with their

misfortunes, to compassionate their miseries, and to restore their troubled minds, is the great aim we have in view‟

Since Preston‟s time, Masonic charities have been active in the relief of human suffering in almost every country in the world.

Today some hundreds of millions of dollars are distributed every year by Masonic bodies worldwide: for medical care and

research; for social and cultural welfare; and for the relief of victims of both natural and man made disasters. There is, of

course, considerable support for Masonic hospitals in many countries, for institutional homes for elderly Masons and their

dependants and for Masonic widows and orphans. But this is not at the expense of non-Masonic charities and it is too little

recognised that the relief of Masons by fellow Masons removes considerable financial burden from the community at large

and releases funds to meet the needs of others.

Natural disasters strike without warning, and for over 150 years the Craft has responded swiftly to meet the immediate and

subsequent needs of victims. From the Hanover floods of 1825 to the Armenian earthquake of 1985 and the hurricane that

swept through the West Indies in 1939, Masonic charities have been among the first to offer financial aid.

The needs of other victims, whether of war, man made disasters, or of poverty, have also been met. Freemasons throughout the

world sent help after the Chicago fire of 1871, as they did to aid those whose children died in a school which was

overwhelmed by the avalanche of a „slag heap‟ (coal waste tip) in Aberfan, Wales in 1966 and the victims of the poison gas

cloud at Bhopal in 1985. Two years later the United Grand Lodge of England gave £250,000 for the charity Shelter‟s Crisis at

Christmas appeal, and other projects are regularly supported on the same scale by the Craft in the United States and around the

world. In wartime the sufferings of combatants and civilians alike have been relieved - air-raid victims in World War Two,

support for the South Atlantic Fund following the Falklands conflict in 1983, and, in 1991, contributions for troops involved

in the Gulf war.

Extending its charity to other causes other than the relief of suffering, the Craft also remembers its operative roots. In recent

years the United Grand Lodge of England has supported the restoration funds of every cathedral in England and Wales. On a

more practical level, it has given grants to assist the stonemasons‟ yards at the cathedrals of Canterbury, Gloucester and

Winchester, and also at Selby Abbey.

Important though all these causes are, the most visible and significant Masonic charities are those devoted to medical and

community care. Of the £18 million disbursed by Masonic charities in England in 1990, and the £525 million raised by the

American Masonic philanthropy in the same year, the largest proportions were allocated to aiding the sick and the elderly

through a remarkably diverse range of research and support programs.

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In Britain three-quarters -of-a-million-pounds has been given since 1984 to hospices for the terminally ill. In 1997 a trust fund

of more than £600,000 was established to support research projects by the Royal College of Surgeons - matched over the past

decade by aid given to other university and hospital based research: at Nottingham, Liverpool, the University of Wales and at

Royal Maudsley and Great Ormond Street Children‟s Hospitals.

Even more extensive is the support given to hospitals and research programs in the United States. The First Hospital for

Crippled Children was founded by the Shriners (the Ancient and Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine) at Shreveport,

Louisiana, the Prince Hall Masons have set up Camp Chicota as a summer camp for underprivileged children.

The many Masonic Bodies in the United States also support a wide range of research programmers. These include the Kansas

Oncology Center, the auditory research funded by the Royal Arch Research Assistance Program, and the work on

arteriosclerosis of the Cryptic Masons Medical Research Foundation.

Charitable provision for the elderly has always been an important Masonic concern, reflected in the homes for the aged

Masons in Britain, Australia, the United States, and in many other parts of the world. Mental health has also been a priority.

For more than fifty years the Scottish Rite, Northern Jurisdiction, has maintained an extensive research programme into the

causes of schizophrenia, while the practical problems of mental disorders have been addressed by grants approved for the

275th

anniversary of the Grand Lodge of England. These total more than £2 million to be used for community homes and work

projects for the mentally handicapped. Significant support is given into research into drug abuse, both by the United Grand

Lodge of England and by the Conference of Grand Masters in America, which established the National Masonic Foundation

for the Prevention of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

The wider aspect of Masonic charity is demonstrated in the life‟s work of the English industrialist William Lever (1851-1925),

first Viscount Leverhulme and founder of the famous soap company, Lever Brothers Ltd. His career as a public benefactor

began in 1888 with the building of the model village of Port Sunlight on the Mersey estuary. He followed this by setting up a

profit sharing plan for his workers - one of the first of its kind. The Lady Lever Art Gallery was his gift to the public in

memory of his wife, and the Leverhulme Trust grants very substantial sums each year to both academic research and

educational projects.

In America there are many Masonic educational programmes, from the Scottish Rite Abbott Scholarships for undergraduates

and the Illinois Scottish Rite Nursing Scholarships, to the national museums and libraries at Lexington, Massachusetts,

Washington D.C., and elsewhere. For instance, the George Washington Masonic National Memorial is, through its collections,

a valuable resource for students of American history. Among the most important of such foundations is the Scottish Rite

Masonic Museum of Our National Heritage at Lexington, which contains changing exhibitions on many aspects of American

and Masonic history, as well as a magnificent library, and runs a wide range of stimulating educational programmes. It is also

developing one of the most extensive collections of Masonic artefacts in the world.

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CHARITY IN ACTION

AND NOW ABIDETH FAITH, HOPE, CHARITY, THESE THREE; BUT THE GREATEST OF THESE IS CHARITY. 1

Corinthians 13:13

Philanthropy is an inseparable part of the Masonic Fraternity in every land, but it is most prevalent in America.

Whether they are local luncheon groups with a few dozen participants or national groups with memberships in the hundreds of

thousands, an almost universal feature of Masonic organizations is their sense of duty in supporting charity. A study of

American Masonic charities is essentially a study of the evolving needs of western society. When food and shelter were both

immediate and regular concerns, Masons responded with firewood and the fruits of the harvest. When care of widows, the

aged and orphans were worries, Masons erected retirement homes and orphanages. When education was needed, Masons built

schools and established scholarships, and, as these requirements became improved upon, Masons turned their philanthropy to

more specific needs within the community: to crippled children; cancer patients; burn victims; those whose speech, language,

sight or hearing is impaired; the homeless; the mentally ill; and many others.

Why Masons are so concerned with Philanthropy can be explained by considering what Masonry is. While there is no

agreement on the actual origins of Freemasonry, the nature of the Order that has grown from the first Grand Lodge of 1717 is

clear: it has become a worldwide Fraternity teaching universal principles of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. In a broader

sense it teaches and promotes borderless brotherhood, moral improvement, mutual support, religious toleration. Civic

betterment, freedom of thought, and universal charity. The latter, as if echoing the words of St. Paul to the Corinthians „the

greatest of these is charity‟ is undeniably the most noticeable activity. Certainly, Freemasonry without Charity could never be.

Even when Masonry was a much smaller organisation than it is today, its charitable work was both public and generous - as

with the „distressed brethren‟, who in 1733 were helped to start a new life in the newly founded Colony of Georgia. Similarly,

the Masons of Rhode Island put Charity to the fore in 1791 when one of the first actions of the newly founded Grand Lodge of

Rhode Island was, „ a collection made of £11./9.4 Law Money, to be invested into Wood & distributed to the Poor of this

Town the ensuing Winter.‟

The growth of Masonic Philanthropy has been governed by the gradual development of the Craft. Masonry is not static, and

just as society changed its structures as it evolved, so did Freemasonry. Throughout the eighteenth century, and for much of

the nineteenth, its evolution in America followed the pattern set in Britain and in Europe, although the final shape of American

Masonry was determined much more by the very different political and cultural conditions of a new, pioneering country.

The westward expansion of America was accompanied by the growth and maturation of its institutions. The social

organisations that served the first colonists were not well suited for towns, and those appropriate for small farming villages did

not meet the needs of industrial cities. The Masonic Fraternity was subject to the same social pressures for change, but it

followed a unique evolutionary path. Rather than change its basic organisational unit. The local Lodge, Freemasonry spun off

a constellation of collateral organisations, each meeting different needs that arose at different times.

After expanding in organisational and symbolic complexity, American Masons sought to bring women within their sphere.

This aim was achieved with the foundation of the Eastern Star in 1855, the Amaranth in 1873, and the White Shrine of

Jerusalem in 1894. Both men and women belong to these groups, and to many others of a similar nature - all of which are

associated with the Masonic Order by fraternal and family ties. A similar tie binds Masonically sponsored youth groups to the

Craft. They were founded much later than the orders for women - Order of DeMolay in 1919, Job‟s Daughters in 1920, and

the Order of Rainbow for Girls in 1922 - but they are no less important.

The next growth in Masonry was away from the seriousness and rather solemn morality of the Lodge and towards more lively

enjoyment of social pleasures. With this approach in view, Orders were founded such as the Shrine (1872), the Grotto (1889),

and the Tall Cedars of Lebanon (1902). They are, in sense, peculiarly American, for such bodies have become much more

deeply entrenched in America than in Britain and Europe - where philosophically speculative Orders rather than socially

active ones have become the norm.

This brief outline of the gradual evolution into the complex structure that is Freemasonry today indicates the organisational

adaptations Masonry has made to continue to meet the needs of its members. It serves to show also how the development of

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Masonic Philanthropy has been determined by positive changes within Masonry as much as by the changing needs of society -

for every Masonic body has its own part to play in the charitable work of the Craft.

Individual cases of distress are often still met by a local Lodge or Chapter, but the evolution of American society and the

geographic dispersal of Lodge members have made such needs less common and less easily recognised. To meet these

changes, American Masons have turned to more organised forms of relief. A Masonic Home for widows and orphans was

founded, in Kentucky, as early as 1886. This action was followed by the Grand Lodge of North Caroline in 1872 and since

then by most other states: thirty-nine state Grand Lodges maintain homes for aged Masons and their widows and eleven still

have orphanages, but the need for the latter has diminished over the years.

The existence of such homes has been used to argue that Masonic Philanthropy is directed principally towards its own

members, but this charge cannot stand up. According to a 1991 report by Brent Morris over half of the money given by

American Masons for charity benefits society at large: today, more than 58% of Masonic Philanthropy is directly spent on the

American Public. The list seems endless, but includes clinics devoted to childhood speech, language and learning disorders;

the Museum of Our National Heritage in Lexington, Massachusetts; the Peace Chapel and Auditorium at the International

Peace Garden on the U.S.-Canadian border in North Dakota; a foundation paying for sight-saving eye surgery; dental care for

the handicapped; and medical research in cancer, schizophrenia, arteriosclerosis, aphasia, and muscular dystrophy.

This partial list only scratches the surface, but the point is deep: Freemasons are dedicated to the relief of mankind, and their

works are a living testimony to their ideals.

Masonic Philanthropy is well organised and the vast sums raised for charitable purposes are carefully distributed, but

nationally organised activities are only a part of the story: each local Lodge and Chapter has its own philanthropic work which

is carried on without fuss and is rarely known to the public. Nor is such philanthropy limited to financial giving. For example,

the Masonic Service association quietly oversees a Hospital Visitation Program with a goal that every V.A. Hospital in the

United States has a Masonic volunteer working with patients. How can a financial value be placed on the more than 500,000

hours a year spent on this work.

The most visible part of Masonic Philanthropy, however, is the provision of hospitals, health care and medical research. This

work involves huge budgets, as with the Shrine which expended almost $325 million during 1991, and it is easy to point with

pride to the Shriners‟ Hospitals and to the sublime simplicity that motivates the philanthropy behind them: if a patient can be

helped, the services are provided - cost is never a consideration. Basic medical research, on the other hand, has a lower public

profile; for it is not as photogenic as large hospitals and smiling patients, but its results are every bit as important and they

illustrate perfectly the universality of Masonic giving, for they benefit all mankind.

It is a relatively simple matter to calculate the extent of Masonic Philanthropy in the areas of health, educational and

institutional support of the elderly, and to set out significant contributions to no-Masonic national charities; for example,

special support is given to the Muscular Dystrophy Association by the Tall Cedars of Lebanon, and to the American Diabetes

Foundation. But it is far more difficult to calculate the increased community activity by individual Masons who have been

inspired to greater service by the teachings of their Craft.

This inspiration is, perhaps, best seen in the Masonic contributions to the International Peace Garden straddling the border

between North Dakota and Manitoba. Every year an International Music Camp is held in the Garden, with performances often

presented in a unique 2,000 seat auditorium built in 1981 by the Masons of North Dakota and Manitoba and shaped like the

Masonic Square and Compasses. This Masonic Memorial Auditorium was a gift from American and Canadian Masonry to the

Peace Garden, just as the Peace Chapel, Built in 1970, was provided and is maintained by the General Grand Chapter of the

Order of the Eastern Star as a gift to all people who seek world peace through divine guidance.

In these and many other ways, Masonic Philanthropy, which is truly international in scope, reaches every walk of human life.

It is maintained and applied by Masons in every country where Freemasonry is established. For Masons everywhere it can

justly be said that Charity is their Way of Life.

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"PROSPER THE ART" by RWBro. J.G. Sullivan

Chapter 23 - "THE UNITED GRAND LODGE OF VICTORIA - SPECIAL FEATURES AND LODGES

Freemasons' Hospital

The Freemasons' Hospital is controlled by a board of management which is deemed to be another board of Grand Lodge.

The origins of the hospital go back to the early 1930s when a proposal to establish a Masonic private hospital was submitted

to Grand Lodge. This received official approval and planning and fund raising commenced. Approximately three acres of land

were purchased in East Melbourne with a substantial frontage to Clarendon Street with sides to both Albert and Grey Streets.

Construction followed and, ultimately, the Freemasons' Hospital opened its doors and admitted its first patient in April 1937.

The hospital was built as a three-story structure with accommodation for 56 patients and 39 nursing staff. The original

financing of the hospital was effected from Masonic contributions and donations.

With the passage of time, it became evident to the Board that the hospital as erected was not large enough to cope with a

growing demand and that some extension of facilities was necessary. While demand was an important consideration for the

board in determining its attitude, it was also guided by the economic standpoint having particular regard for the substantial

area of land available.

Further planning was undertaken, representing Stage 2 of development which, eventually, was to lead to construction in 1956

of an additional wing along Clarendon Street and down Albert Street, increasing the bed total to 104.

Several years later, the hospital was the recipient of a magnificent bequest of nearly $800,000 from the estate of Brother

Arthur Rowe of the City of Coburg Lodge No 318. As a direct result of this gift, it became possible to develop a further

extension (Stage 3) which was completed in 1970. This extension encompassed an increase in bed capacity to 156 with an

additional two operating theatres to take the total number to four and substantial extensions to services such as kitchens,

boilers and lifts. In 1977, the theatre suite was extended with the addition of a fifth operating theatre.

The latest major development occurred another four years later with the opening in 1981 of a link wing unit which was

designed as an arthritis and injuries unit. This expansion was intended to provide advanced facilities for the treatment of

osteo-arthritis sufferers and to cater for people sustaining sporting injuries, especially those affecting knees, ankles and

muscles of the lower limb. This wing contains theatres, and gymnasium and hydrotherapy pool facilities.

This was not the only proposed increase in services, however, as building plans also embraced the later provision of three new

ward floors, a new recovery room as well as administrative area and entrance foyer extensions and space for a computer

installation.

The hospital is not a Government institution. It is incorporated under the Hospitals and Charities Act and administered on

behalf of the United Grand Lodge of Victoria by a voluntary board of 24 members.

Apart from the Government support patient daily subsidy and the subsidy for surgical procedures, hospital revenue has to

come from patient fees, gifts and bequests, and the fund-raising efforts of hospital and Masonic groups.

Statistically, the position is that for the 12 months ended 30 June 1984, 6571 surgical operations were performed and 13,019

treatments were provided in the arthritis and injuries unit. Some 7861 in-patients were served, with a daily bed average of 122,

representing a high occupancy level of approximately 77 per cent.

Admission to the hospital is not limited to Freemasons. Indeed, while members of the Masonic order or their dependants are

eligible for a 15 per cent rebate on fees, fewer than one in every nine patients are Freemasons or their relatives.

In all ways, the Freemasons' Hospital, which now has a total bed capacity of 158, represents a most important contribution by

the Masonic Craft to the Health needs of the people of Victoria.

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The Royal Freemasons' Homes of Victoria

The Royal Freemasons' Homes of Victoria is governed by a board of management which, while operating as a separate entity

to the United Grand Lodge of Victoria, is nevertheless closely associated with the Grand Lodge in many ways. For example,

the Grand Master at any time is always the Chairman of the Board of Management and three Past Grand Masters are

appointed as trustees to act as formal custodian of Homes' properties.

The story of the Masonic Homes started in 1864 when the government of Victoria made a grant of land in the suburb of

Prahran for the establishment of a Masonic charitable institution. Some two Years later, the foundation stone was laid for the

erection of two cottages on the land.

From this small beginning has grown an extensive homes complex, comprising a central hostel on the land originally given by

the government, a number of independent units in various locations both in the metropolitan area and in country centres and

two nursing homes for the frail aged.

Any person of pensionable age may be admitted to any section of the Homes complex. Since the Homes depends substantially

on voluntary financial and other support from members of the Masonic order, however, it is considered only fair that first

priority in the matter of admission be extended to brethren and/or their dependants.

At the hostel at Punt Road, Prahran, single and double bed-sitting rooms accommodate up to 280 aged residents who need to

be provided with meals and other services. The area incorporates a community dining room, lounges, a number of health

facilities together with a variety of other services related to recreational interests and activities including libraries, billiards,

indoor bowls, lawn croquet, kiosks, gardening, film showings and outings. Residents have their own well-stocked shops. A

regular newsletter is circulated to all. Residents are free to come and go as they wish, they may entertain guests privately and

they may proceed on vacations of up to approximately three months' duration.

With the co-operation of local brethren, independent units have been planned and established by the Board of Management in

a progressive manner over the years in a number of locations, as follows:

Metropolitan Area

1964 Windsor 40 Units

1968 Murrumbeena 16 Units

1976 Coburg 24 Units

Country Centres

1975 Moe 16 Units

1978 Wangaratta 6 Units

1984 Geelong 16 Units

1984 Ballarat 16 Units

In addition, work has commenced on a 16unit building at Swan Hill and proposals are under consideration for further

independent units at Mildura and Mooroopna (since completed - Ed.)

All units are self-contained comprising bedroom, lounge, kitchen and bathroom for active aged people who are able to manage

a unit, undertake shopping and provide their own meals.

The nursing home, "Centennial House", erected in fairly close proximity to the Homes at Raleigh Street, Windsor, is a five-

storey building with a total of 207 beds available for frail aged patients. Those in need of prolonged nursing care have access

to physiotherapy and occupational therapy facilities, lounges and dining rooms. In relation to surgery needs, a special

arrangement has been entered into with the management of the Alfred Hospital. Volunteers provide regular staff with valuable

assistance. An internal bus service provided by a fidelity club enables hostel residents at Punt Road to visit patients in

Centennial House.

In addition to "Centennial House", the Board of Management, late in 1984, acquired a private nursing home in Noble Park.

This home, which was built only a little over 10 years ago, has a bed capacity of40, thus raising total available nursing home

accommodation to 247.

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The purchase of this property was assisted, substantially, by a donation from a charitable trust which was established to

perpetuate the memory of Brother George R G Langford, a former member of Balwyn Lodge No 275. The home has been

named "Darvall Lodge" in recognition of the service given to the Homes by one of the Homes Trustees, Most Worshipful

Brother Sir Roger Darvall, CBE, Past Grand Master.

In looking after the interests of approximately 650 aged people in their twilight years, the whole Royal Freemasons' Homes

organisation stands as a living example of the putting into practice of the great Masonic principles of charity, benevolence and

relief, and, in the eyes of the community, is a good advertisement showing Freemasonry at work.

To mark the centenary of the Homes in 1966, Her Majesty the Queen approved the use of the prefix, "Royal", in the title.

The Grand Lodge Library

The Grand Lodge Library is located on the ground floor of the Masonic Centre near the Albert Street entrance and is open

from 10.30 am to 4 pm each week-day.

There is a great wealth of Masonic literature available to brethren including all of the valued and authoritative writings of past

Masonic historians and researchers. But the library does not deal only with the past; modern writers are not overlooked and

new books are constantly being purchased and added to the shelves.

Other literature available includes the transactions of numerous research groups meeting in other Australian States and in

overseas countries, copies of Masonic lectures and lecturettes dealing with many different aspects of Freemasonry, together

with a wide variety of other journals, pamphlets, brochures, articles and extracts of Masonic information.

There are also many Masonic artefacts displayed in a museum section of the library including aprons and other items of

regalia, certificates, jewels, badges, stamps, glassware, photographs and other Masonic memorabilia.

Apart from the great volume of literature and associated material held in the library, the Grand Librarian or his assistants are

always ready to discuss matters of interest with brethren who are seeking to extend their Masonic knowledge. Where brethren

are unable to visit the Masonic Centre during the prescribed library hours, the Grand Librarian will endeavour to make

alternative arrangements.

The library is administered by a committee which is intent on making the library more than just a place where books and

artefacts are housed. The library is intended to operate as a combined information and research centre and advisory service to

cater for the individual needs of brethren. The committee's aim is to have the library seen as a most effective and virile

function within Grand Lodge.

Brethren may become members of the library for a subscription of merely $1.00 per annum, or they may prefer to take out a

life membership for an amount of $10.00. As would be expected, only library members are permitted to take books out on

loan. While there are some publications which cannot be taken away from the library because they are held as single copies

and are probably irreplaceable, all are available for perusal in the library. Individual country brethren may have books

forwarded to them provided postage is paid, while lodges can make arrangements to borrow a parcel of selected books for a

period.

Regional libraries have been established in several country centres for the convenience of local brethren and efforts are being

made to extend this procedure where appropriate facilities and interested brethren are available.

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Grand Lecturer's Panel

Some 15 years ago, the then Grand Lecturer established a small panel of experienced Masonic speakers to be available to

present lectures in lodges on request and to so assist in the dissemination of Masonic knowledge to brethren. Since then, under

successive Grand Lecturers, the panel has been expanded and it now comprises approximately 100 members covering both

metropolitan and country areas.

The combined lecture repertoire of the panellists is most extensive and there would be hardly a Masonic topic that would not

be covered. Indeed, it is gratifying to be able to say that not once over the years of the panel's existence has a Grand Lecturer

not been able to satisfy a request from a lodge for a speaker on any subject.

Members of the panel meet regularly and are thus able to keep abreast of developments within the jurisdiction and to exchange

views. They also take part in planned training programs which are arranged by the Grand Lecturer to ensure that lecturing

standards are maintained at the highest possible level.

Rhetoric Lodge of Communication No 831

The Rhetoric Lodge of Communication No 831, which meets monthly at the Masonic Centre, was consecrated in 1962 under

the name of Rhetoric Lodge. The change in title came in 1979. Prior to consecration as a regular lodge, the original members

had met as an informal Masonic public speaking group.

The special purpose of the lodge is to promote and cultivate the art of human communication, particularly in the conduct of

Masonic rites and ceremonies and associated functions and, as a result, to represent a Masonic effective speaking centre. It

aims to provide brethren with instruction and assistance in all facets of oral communication including presentation of ritual,

proposition of toasts and responses thereto, delivery of lectures and addresses of all types, leadership, chairmanship and

speechcraft skills generally. Attention is also given to the aspects of research and preparation of material where other than the

presentation of prescribed ritual is involved.

A complete syllabus for each Masonic year, usually using a central theme, is prepared by the lodge. Lodge meetings are

divided into several parts. After a standard opening to the lodge each month, the training program for each night usually

provides for an address to be presented to the gathering by a selected speaker on some aspect of Masonic communication,

following which time is allowed for a question and answer discussion period.

At the conclusion of this section of the program and the closing of the lodge, members and visiting brethren are invited to join

one of several small workshop groups or tutorial classes where experienced tutors will provide training and advice in

particular areas of the Masonic communication process. Amongst other things, the subject of degree ceremonial working will

be covered together with training in installation ceremonial work.

The festive board follows, during which the normal speeches in the South will be presented by nominated brethren plus,

perhaps, one or two special presentations, sometimes of a semi-humorous nature, by members of the lodge.

It is believed by many that a major reason for the apparent decline in interest and enthusiasm for Freemasonry has been due to

a lack of meaningful communication between brethren and between brethren and candidates in lodges. In such circumstances,

the Rhetoric Lodge of Communication is doing all it can to develop a training and guidance service of the highest quality to

offer to brethren to give them the opportunity to improve their personal communication skills and enable them to be able also

to constructively influence others.

Brethren who are relatively new to the order with little experience in speaking before an audience have much to learn by

attending meetings of the lodge. Guidance and information obtained at meetings of the lodge can be invaluable to a brother

during his progress through all of the offices leading to the Master's chair, during his year as Master and then, subsequently, in

his life as a past master. Brethren who join the lodge can also gain much from perusal and study of the lodge's educational

journal, Contact, issued every month.

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Credit must also be given to a number of senior members of the Rhetoric Lodge of Communication who have extended their

training efforts outside the lodge itself in playing leading roles in the planning of and preparation of material for the successful

wardens' leadership training courses introduced in recent years.

The Victorian Lodge of Research No 218

The Victorian Lodge of Research No 218, which meets monthly at the Masonic Centre in Melbourne from March to

November inclusive, was consecrated in October 1911. Originally, membership of the lodge was to be restricted to past

masters only but, subsequently, this requirement was abandoned and many master masons have joined the lodge over the

years.

At its formation the stated prime object of the lodge was the extension of Masonic knowledge by means of lectures and essays

but it was also hoped to present exemplifications of degree work in an endeavour to bring about some uniformity in working

between lodges. For a long time, however, the lodge has concentrated on lecture presentation.

An original lecture is delivered at each meeting except in the month of October, which is the occasion of the installation of

Master. The monthly lecture is always followed by a discussion session during which questions can be asked and criticisms

voiced. Such is the reputation of the lodge that many of the finest speakers in the constitution have accepted invitations to

present papers over the years.

The lodge arranges an interesting syllabus of lectures each year with the aim of covering as wide a spectrum of Masonic

knowledge and research as possible. The list of titles of the lectures consistently scheduled for presentation at the Lodge of

Research is an indication of the variety of topics dealt with by the speakers.

Membership of the Lodge of Research, which is open to every Master Mason in good standing in his own lodge, is an

invaluable aid to brethren wishing to extend their Masonic knowledge and scholarship. Not only do members have the

opportunity of attending lectures and taking part in the later discussion, but also they receive a printed copy of each lecture as

a permanent record which can assist in building up a personal Masonic library.

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PART 3 - THE INVOLVEMENT OF MASTER MASONS IN THE LODGE

"PROSPER THE ART" by RWBro. J.G. Sullivan

Chapter 15 - "THE INVOLVEMENT OF MASTER MASONS"

THE INVOLVEMENT OF MASTER MASONS

From comments made to me by many brethren during open forums and at other times, it seems clear that master masons would

take a greater interest in Masonic matters and be more regular in attendance at lodge meetings and other functions if they

could be given the chance to participate more actively in lodge activities.

The future of our order will depend to quite an extent on the interest and dedication of master masons and every effort should

be made to stimulate the enthusiasm of these brethren. Masters, in particular, should be constantly looking at ways and means

of affording their master masons the opportunity of achieving a greater degree of involvement in Masonic affairs.

As a guide to Masters in this task of seeking to involve master masons (and these proposals can also be addressed to lodge

wardens en route to the chair), the following suggestions and ideas are presented:

Appointment as lodge steward

After a candidate has taken his third degree, fairly early consideration could be given to offering him appointment as a

steward. The Master should explain the general duties attached to the position and indicate the advantages to the brother of

such closer involvement in the operations of the lodge.

In describing the various duties or responsibilities that can be allotted to stewards, the Master should ascertain whether the

brother has any particular interest or ability in respect of any of the various activities of the lodge. As an exercise in

developing keenness, it will also be helpful for the Master to make reference to other activities relating to the wider world of

Freemasonry.

Appearance Book and welcoming visitors

Masters can arrange for a steward or other master mason to be in charge of the appearance book at all meetings of the lodge.

Brethren who are given this responsibility should receive clear guidance regarding the manner in which visitors should be

welcomed and it should be emphasised to them that, in carrying out this task, they are acting as the representative of the lodge

and of the Master.

Visitors will be impressed to receive the hand of friendship as soon as they arrive at a temple and to be engaged in

conversation with someone who displays a personal interest in them. Appropriate questions can be asked concerning the name

and meeting place, etc, of the visitor's lodge, whether the lodge has had the pleasure of the visitor's company previously, the

reason prompting the present visit and other relevant matters.

If he so desired, the Master could, of course, arrange for the preparation of a roster of master masons to take charge of the

welcoming function from meeting to meeting.

Register of lodge members

A master mason could be nominated by the Master to be responsible, in collaboration with the secretary, for the maintenance

of a register of members containing general information relating to each member. The register could be in the form of a book

with alphabetical tabs, or it could be kept on a loose leaf basis.

The register, which could serve as a most helpful ready reference for the Master, could contain such data as the member's full

name and address, wife's name (if applicable), home and business telephone numbers, date of initiation, date of joining the

lodge and name of previous lodge(s) if the member is a joining member, list of offices held in the lodge or other lodges in

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different years, details of other Masonic associations, information regarding personal skills, interests or hobbies and other

appropriate matters.

Masonic anniversary scheme

At some lodges a toast is proposed at each meeting to those members whose initiation into Freemasonry took place in the

same month in a past year. The Master can appoint a master mason to control such a scheme.

As part of the arrangement, the brother responsible for the register of members would supply the anniversary scheme

"controller" with a monthly list showing those brethren who will celebrate the anniversary of their initiation during each month

(irrespective of the lodge in which it took place) and the number of years of membership in the Craft in each case.

The brother handling the anniversary scheme can advise the secretary and the Master on a monthly basis of the names of the

brethren who will celebrate their initiation anniversaries at the next meeting, so that appropriate arrangement can be made to

remind personally the brethren concerned of the occasion and to seek their attendance at that particular meeting. The reminder

can be in the form of a letter, telephone call, personal call, or by suitable endorsement on the lodge summons.

Arrangements can be made for a list to be supplied for each month to the brother who is selected by the Master to propose the

toast at the next meeting to those celebrating anniversaries. From experience, it is suggested that the proposer of the toast can

develop greater interest by commencing with the newest member celebrating an anniversary and finishing with the brother

with the longest period of membership of the order.

Appointment as lodge transport officer

A Master should give consideration to the appointment of a brother to take charge of transport arrangements in the lodge and

this is an obvious area where a master mason can be involved. A transport officer is particularly concerned with Providing a

means by which elderly or infirm members, or brethren who may be without transport facilities (permanently or temporarily)

may be called for and brought to and from lodge meetings. To ease parking problems and transport costs, there could be value

in extending the transport plan further and encouraging some of the regular members to travel to meetings and rehearsals in

groups of two or even three or four.

Arrangements of a similar nature could be made in relation to lodge social functions, particularly in relation to the transport of

lodge widows.

Social Committee membership

Social activities are an indispensable part of the life of a lodge. Stewards and other master masons should be encouraged to

support the social committee by attending committee meetings and taking part in the discussions at those meetings. This active

interest in all social functions will give master masons an increased sense of participation in the life of the lodge.

Masters can arrange for individual master masons to be given responsibility or part-responsibility for specific aspects of the

organisation of particular social events.

Appointment as lodge officers

Masters have the authority and opportunity to appoint master masons not only to the "floor-work" posts of inner guard, deacon

or warden, but also to the positions of secretary, assistant secretary, chaplain, almoner, choirmaster or organist. In addition,

master masons may be elected to the posts of treasurer, tyler or auditor.

In many lodges, of course, provision exists in the by-laws for several master masons to be appointed as master mason

representatives on the lodge committee of general purposes.

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Appointment of brethren to assist Almoner

Lodge membership may be such that the almoner is unable, by himself, to look after the interests of all brethren in an adequate

manner. In such circumstances, a Master could appoint an almoner's committee including several master masons, or,

alternatively, could nominate several master masons to act as assistants to the almoner as required.

Action could be taken to divide the total membership either alphabetically, geographically by age, or in some other

appropriate way, and to have the almoner and his assistants each responsible for a section, thus splitting the responsibility into

a more manageable one. The assistants would provide information to the almoner who would keep the Master fully informed

and submit a report to the lodge at each meeting.

Appointment as understudies for lodge officers

Worshipful Masters can appoint master masons as understudies or "stand-ins" for some of the lodge officers, including

wardens, deacons, inner guard, chaplain and tyler. Understudies would be encouraged to attend rehearsals regularly to develop

proficiency in ritual and ceremonial practices pertaining to their "substitute" posts, and to be ready to act for an absentee

officer at short notice. It would follow that understudies would need to be in attendance at lodge meetings before the time of

tyling to facilitate the making of substitution arrangements where required. Similar arrangements, of course, could apply in

relation to rehearsals.

Lodge newsletter

It is of great benefit to lodges and members to have a lodge newsletter prepared and issued with each lodge summons and a

Master can invite an interested master mason (or, perhaps, two brethren) to undertake this lodge function.

The newsletter can contain information relating to matters such as:

- the proceedings of the last lodge meeting and the program planned for the next meeting (and, perhaps, future meetings);

- happenings of interest at the festive board at the last meeting;

- proposed future social events;

- personal snippets of news concerning members and their families, including reference to matters such as illnesses, marriages,

engagements, births, retirements, deaths, interstate and overseas trips and honour awards;

-other Masonic matters of interest such as Grand Lodge functions and including, if desired, a short informative reference to

some aspect of Freemasonry for the enlightenment of members; and

-activities of the lodge ladies' committee.

Lodge Ritual

Following recent rule changes, Master Masons can now deliver any charge in any of the three degree ceremonies, except the

obligation and communication of the Secrets.

Tracing board lectures

The first and second degree tracing board lectures may be presented by suitably qualified brethren below the rank of warden.

This provides an opportunity to involve a master mason, or, because of the length of the lectures, several master masons who

may make the presentation as a group. These lectures may be given as part of an actual degree ceremony (when they should be

delivered after the working tools have been presented) or separately at another regular meeting. It is suggested that both

lectures should be given at least once per year for the instruction of brethren.

Lectures

Apart from the tracing board lectures, other lectures covering a variety of Masonic subjects can be obtained from the Grand

Lodge Librarian or from the Grand Lecturer. These can be presented at regular meetings by master masons -- either by an

individual member or by a group of brethren operating as a team. Or, a number of master masons could be employed in

presenting on a group basis "The Charges of a Freemason" as set out in the Book of Constitutions. Again, a number of master

masons could, under the control of an experienced brother, present a questions and answers session in lodge based on matters

dealt with in the Book of Catechetical Lectures available at the Masonic Centre. This book is, in effect, an instructional system

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in Freemasonry related to the ritual of the degrees but having a more comprehensive application. Master mason members

could be also encouraged to prepare their own lectures on Masonic topics, but these should be submitted to the Grand

Lecturer for approval before presentation in lodges.

Lecturettes

A large number of lecturettes of approximately five minutes' duration covering numerous aspects of Craft activities have been

developed for the enlightenment of brethren, and these are available from the Masonic Centre. Masters can arrange for Master

Masons to present these lecturettes at lodge meetings.

It has been suggested that one of these lecturettes be presented at each lodge meeting (or, at least, at some lodge meetings

during each year) either just before the first time of rising, or after the second time of rising.

Proposition of toasts

In connection with the allocation of toasts at the festive board, including those concerning newly-initiated brethren, visitors to

a lodge and those celebrating initiation anniversaries, Masters should ensure that master masons receive a fair share of this

responsibility.

Care should always be exercised to see that adequate notice is given to the proposer of any toast in order that he may have

sufficient time in which to prepare a presentation which will give pleasure to the recipient and satisfaction to the proposer.

This is especially necessary in the case of master masons, many of whom may be lacking in experience in speaking in public.

Brethren should be informed that there is no need to present lengthy propositions. Indeed, verbosity should be firmly

discouraged. As a guide, few of the toasts at the monthly festive board need be of more than three to five minutes' duration.

Harmony at the festive board

From among lodge members, including Master Masons, it may be possible to build up a choral group which can provide a

harmonious and impressive backdrop not only to the degree workings but also at the festive board. If instrumentalists are

available, they could add to the pleasure and enjoyment of the South either in solo presentations or in combination with the

choral group. Reciters of poetry and artists in other areas of entertainment could also be incorporated in a lodge harmony

group.

As part of "harmony" at the festive board, master masons, as well as other brethren, could be encouraged to prepare and

deliver short talks pertaining to their occupations, hobbies, crafts, travels or other interests. This type of presentation can be

both interesting and educational to brethren generally and represent an outward example of the application of the symbolism

of the chisel. At the same time, brethren speaking on matters of this nature on which they are well versed can gain confidence

in appearing before an audience which could assist them in carrying out ceremonial work in the lodge room.

Lodge of Instruction

Masters should stress to Master Masons the undoubted benefits which can be derived from their attendance at a lodge of

instruction, particularly guidance and instruction in the delivery of ritual and performance of ceremonial from experienced and

dedicated past masters. Attendance at a lodge of instruction, coupled with normal lodge rehearsals, can do much to assist

brethren to develop confidence in their ability to play an effective part in actual lodge workings.

Special instructional lodges and groups

Master masons should be informed of the value to be gained by their attendance at meetings of the Rhetoric Lodge of

Communication No 831and the Lodge of Research No 218, both of which meet as regular lodges at the Masonic Centre. The

Rhetoric Lodge of Communication serves to train brethren effectively in the various Masonic communication processes, while

the Lodge of Research provides general enlightenment for brethren in the presentation of lectures on a wide variety of

Masonic topics by leading speakers. Further information on both of these lodges will be included in a later chapter.

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Other research groups in Victoria include the Holden Research Circle which meets at the Camberwell temple, the Chisel

Lodge of Research No 434 which is a regular lodge meeting at Kerang, and the West Gippsland Research Group at Warragul.

Master masons could also be encouraged to consider seeking membership of the world-wide Correspondence Circle attached

to the Quatuor Coronati Lodge No 2076, English Constitution, meeting in London. This lodge, which is regarded as the

principal research body in the Masonic world, will also be referred to in more detail later.

Use of Grand Lodge library

Brethren, especially master masons, should be made aware of the service provided by the Grand Lodge library at the Masonic

Centre. The Grand Lodge librarian and his assistants are available to discuss any aspect of the Craft in which enquirers may be

interested, including such areas as history, philosophy, symbolism, administration, ritual, degree workings, universality and

other facets of the order.

Brethren may become members of the library at a normal subscription and this enables them to borrow books and other

material. The library, which also embraces a museum of Masonic regalia and other artefacts, will also be dealt with again in a

later chapter.

Visits to other lodges

Masters should arrange for newly-admitted brethren to visit other lodges as soon as possible and to accompany them on these

visits. Arrangements should also be made for a new member's proposer and seconder and/or the lodge mentor, if there be one,

also to attend and provide support on these occasions. When official visits are made to other lodges, Masters should make a

special effort to interest master masons in joining the lodge party.

Quarterly Communications

Masters should endeavour to interest master masons in attending Quarterly Communications of Grand Lodges to enable them

to gain a wider view of the operations and general activities of the craft.

Meeting with Grand Master

At periodical intervals, invitations are issued to new members of the order and their ladies to attend a short informal meeting

at the Masonic Centre at which the Grand Master and other senior Grand Lodge officers will be present. Masters should

recommend to brethren concerned that they make every effort to attend these meetings, first to meet the Grand Master

personally and, secondly, to have the opportunity of learning something of the purposes of Freemasonry right at the very

beginning of their Masonic careers.

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PART 4 - OTHER DEGREES AND ORDERS

"A MASONIC PANORAMA - THE SELECTED PAPERS OF THE REVEREND NEVILLE BARKER CRYER"

by VWBro. N.B. Cryer

Chapter 5 - "WHAT IS THE POINT OF OTHER THAN CRAFT DEGREES"

As may be apparent to anyone who has consulted my curriculum vitae, I have some justification for claiming to know

something about the degrees practised 'beyond the Craft'. The manner in which I came to be associated with so many and at a

fairly early age is a story in itself but one that I cannot tell here. Suffice it to say that without, at that point of my life,

understanding the relationship of all the steps I was taking there were those who were, unbeknown to me, guiding my steps

and making sure that I took them in the right direction and in the right order. It is only in my latter years when the whole

business of learning ritual, ruling Masonic units and undertaking leadership over several of them is done that I can sit back and

try to answer the question which this paper poses. It is a question that was actually put to me some three years ago and then

repeated during the time that I was preparing this lecture for delivery. It is thus the response to a real concern felt by some

Masons.

As I reflect on the path that I have taken I can only say that at this point I have a sense of having made a long journey in which

all the parts seem to fit. 1 feel this so confidently that I was about to respond to a request by some of my present colleagues in

York to write them a paper in which I could explain how all the different degrees and Orders fit together. It was then that the

second query on this paper's topic came up and I hope that what I say here may meet both purposes. If it does not my York

brethren will have to wait for something else.

What also spurred me on was an experience I had in visiting the Grand Scribe E of the Supreme Grand Chapter of Scotland at

the end of last year. We had been talking about the subsidiary degrees that now lie under the care and authority of that Grand

Chapter. He told me that one of the European Grand Lodges had now decided that it was time to prepare for the task of

allowing their growing number of members to complete the experience that they had so far had in practising the craft degrees,

including of course the Installation of a reigning Master. What they needed was advice on the most satisfactory way of

introducing the Holy Royal Arch. It is worth noting here that though this foreign Constitution is in full and happy relationship

with the United Grand Lodge and Supreme Grand Chapter of England they went to Scotland for this purpose.

What I found to be of interest and of relevance to this paper is the fact that, faced with such an enquiry the Supreme Grand

Chapter of Scotland was not inclined to say 'Well, we suggest that you do it just as we do' but took a quite new line. They said:

'if you are now ready to take this step into what is undoubtedly the ancient completion of the Craft steps then we want to

suggest that you do what we would like to do if we were able, but are not, and that is to start afresh. We would adopt the

following sequence: Mark, Super Excellent Master: Knight of the East; Royal Arch: Knight of the East and West; Grand High

Priest or Installation degrees. That, we feel, would more correctly complete the Masonic story.

It is not fitting for me to comment here on what may or may not be the correctness of this suggestion. All that I can do is

remark that in the mind of these senior Scottish Masons there was a place for the degrees after the Craft and the events,

especially of the Master Mason's degree, requiring the best possible succession of other steps to bring it to a satisfactory

conclusion.

That this is not just wilful irresponsibility on the part of the Scots is made abundantly clear by looking at the stance of the

older Grand Lodges in regard to other than the normal three degrees. All of them, as we well know, accept that in a significant

sense a Master Mason is not really a completed Mason until he has been through the Chair of his lodge. Whether or no such a

step is constitutionally regarded as a degree--though every Constitution requires an Installed Master to take an obligation, to

receive secrets and to hear some kind of historical explanation of his new status--this is not in any way thought to be

completely unnecessary.

On the contrary the brother who does not proceed to the Chair is usually the odd one out. This is not said in any sense of

disparagement of such a decision but the truth of Masonic history is that when a brother has been a Fellow (and was in earlier

days also called a Master) of the Craft then he was eligible for the Chair of a true Master Architect (hence the tools of the

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present 3o) and it was then the case that he could learn about the remaining „Mason Word' that was the climax of all

Freemasonry.

In England in the 18th century, and even in the chapters reluctantly allowed by the Premier Grand Lodge, it was the rule that

no one could proceed beyond the Craft unless he had completed the step of occupying the Craft lodge Chair. It was only after

1836 that the significant change was made which allowed 3o Masons to proceed to Exaltation in the Holy Royal Arch Order.

This was the natural and logical outcome of the agreement reached between the uniting Grand Lodges by the Act of Union in

1813: 'Pure and Ancient Masonry consists only in the degrees of Craft Masonry together with the Holy Royal Arch.' As far as

England was officially concerned a very effective compromise had been reached. The Craft's pre-eminence had been re-

affirmed--which meant that the protagonists of the Premier Grand Lodge were vindicated--whilst the place of the Royal Arch

as a necessary adjunct to the Craft was recognised--which pleased the members of the Antients Grand Lodge.

Now that the Royal Arch is administered as a separate entity in England, albeit by the same permanent officers, there has to be

some recognition that, whatever the 'technical or legal' connection with the Craft may be, those who enter the „supreme degree'

of the Holy Royal Arch are stepping beyond the bounds known only by those who remain 3o or even just Installed Master

Masons. Further, the Royal Arch Mason knows soon enough that he has taken a substantial step forward beyond the three

degrees and in any case has three more steps to take before he can encompass the whole of the new Order he has entered. Yet

all this, states the Act of Union, is a necessary completion of the Craft. One of the answers to my first question has already

been given. The Craft degrees in England are deemed incomplete without at least the exaltation into, and occupying the Chairs

of, the Holy Royal Arch.

In Scotland the situation is somewhat different. Following the pattern of the Premier Grand Lodge of England, the Scottish

Grand Lodge was for long adamant that Ancient Free and Accepted Masonry consisted of three degrees and no more. They

too recognised that the Mastership of a lodge had somehow to be included in that categorical statement but every effort was

made to prevent the same thing happening in Scotland that had occurred south of the border. There the activities of the Grand

Lodge of the Antients meant that such degrees as Mark Man and Mark Master, Passing the Chair, Super-Excellent Master,

Royal Arch and even Orders of Chivalry were all able to be practised on the authority of the Craft lodge warrant. This, they

vowed in Scotland, must not happen.

Then the problem arose. Certain very long-standing lodges proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that they had the established

custom of conferring some kind of Mark ceremony on those who were Fellow of the Craft Masons. It might be done in a

Master Masons' lodge but it was an ancient right for all those who had proved themselves to be true Fellows. What could the

Grand Lodge of Scotland do? Their decision was made more difficult in that, to avoid the English compromise, there had

already been established a Supreme Grand Chapter which had happily taken under its wing the Mark degree. Yet the Grand

Lodge could not allow the Grand Chapter to interfere in the life of the Craft Lodges by ruling their Mark ceremonies nor

would the old lodges concerned stomach any such interference. The Grand Lodge of Scotland accepted that whatever they

professed about the Craft degrees (and the Installation) they now had to countenance the practice of the Mark in some form

within and as part of old Craft working. The restriction of the Installation of a Master of a Mark Lodge to the authority of the

Supreme Grand Chapter was as far as compromise in that country went.

Again, however, we see that anyone who asks what is the point of the other than Craft degrees has to begin to recognise that

even the best intentions of clear-minded Grand Lodges cannot be maintained. There is some point and purpose in the practice

of what does not come strictly within the current definition of 'the Craft degrees'.

In Ireland it looks at first as if the ideal situation has been achieved, for the Grand Lodge in that land controls only the Craft

degrees and the Installation of a Master. Yet the very reason for the setting up of a Grand Chapter there was because Irish

Lodges in the 18th century practised a whole range of degrees under a Craft warrant rather like their cousins, the Antients in

England. In order to organise the range of degrees and bring some greater uniformity into Irish Masonry, especially when

there were also Encampments and their subsidiary degrees, the Grand Chapter was instituted, but so close had the Craft and

other degrees been for so long that it was fully acknowledged in Dublin that there could be no such declaration as had been

made in England or Scotland. The Grand Lodge may rule over the Craft degrees but no one pretends that in any way defines

the sole importance of that basic branch of Freemasonry. The so-called 'other degrees' are still acknowledged as being

important.

We thus find ourselves constitutionally in a situation where no one categorically excludes the non-Craft degrees though there

are different views as to how they should be regarded. What remains for us to do in this presentation is to answer two

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questions: what has been and should be the continuing core of speculative Freemasonry; and how do the other-than-Craft

degrees fit or not into that definition? These are big questions and I can only attempt my own answer to them. It is quite likely

that others will have their own views on them and I can only hope that if that is the case we can begin to develop a useful

debate. Let us begin to tackle the first issue.

THE CORE OF SPECULATIVE FREEMASONRY

In defining this matter there are, I believe, six stages:

We begin by joining the team of Masons who are engaged on the building of the temple as envisaged by King Solomon, with

the assistance of Hiram, King of Tyre. The latter provides not only essential materials but also some labour and in particular a

Master-Craftsman who is skilled in forging brass, but also in the planning, designing and overseeing of the whole work. It is

into the team which he directs that any new Mason is traditionally recruited and it is to learn the skills that he will be able to

wield and the tools that will enable him to perform, that the new apprentice commits himself by obligation. He soon realises

that he is very much part of a team and that he has obligations of care and co-operation towards the other members of his

lodge, as well as to the universal society of which he has become a member He is put on his honour to maintain the principles

of which he will now increasingly become aware. He is entrusted with his first 'secrets'.

After a suitable interval which represents his apprenticeship, he is considered for fuller admission into the society of Fellows

of the Craft. He has to prove himself competent in the work that has already been entrusted to him but he has also to show that

he is not only a mere „hand' but has a mind that can create. He has to prepare his own pieces of work for building into the

temple and at some point that work has to be seen and judged suitable for the sacred purpose for which it is destined--no less

than the temple sanctuary. He is told of how: Hiram the Master Architect has divided up the work into different classes of

workmen, each under their Overseers or Harodim. He is taught that because the temple is to be constructed „in silence on the

site' so the work Produced by him and others has to be marked in order that it may be laid in place without hesitation and also

that good work may be rewarded He is even told where to go to receive his wages and how to request them. He is again

warned that any who misuse their privileges will be punished and. as in his previous obligation that there are comparable

penalties He is even introduced to the various sciences that enable him to be a true Master of the Craft.

His progress in participating in the work at the temple site is such that he is now ready to he considered for a post of

management, first as one of the Harodim but thereafter, if judged fit, to be an Architect Master, able to draw designs, lay

schemes and manage the government of the work. He is even able to be considered as a possible future Hiram, the widow‟s

son, but in order to attain that high status he has to have learnt the secrets of a Master Overseer and rules over those who, like

himself, have regularly produced marked work according to the plans of the Grand Master of the Work, and become aware of

the great responsibility which that demands. He will realise what is still required to complete the temple building and he will

be aware not only of the danger of over-ambition revealed by some Overseers but also of the disastrous results when some of

those Overseers overstep the mark. The very Grand Master who is to be their and his pattern is murdered and only properly

entombed after being fortuitously discovered. The Grand Master Hiram Abif‟s removal from the scene means that a substitute

has to be found in order that the Grand Secret within a completed temple can be maintained.

The Mason is now so competent as a ruler that he is selected to be Hiram's replacement and becomes Adoniram. He helps to

complete the temple with its final Arch and Solomon can dedicate the edifice assisted by the Priests. Like Jachin and in the

presence of many Princes and Rulers, such as his ancestor, Boaz, was, and including the Queen of Sheba. Adoniram joins the

Kings in maintaining the Mason‟s Word in a sacred chamber beneath the temple and order is maintained amongst the

workmen.

Following the death of Solomon the kingdom is once more divided and eventually falls to the attacks of the Babylonians. The

Grand Secret or Mason's Word is similarly dissipated and lost. The nobility and rulers of Israel are taken into captivity and it

is only when Persia conquers Babylon that the opportunity arrives for a return to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. Men such

as Ezra and Nehemiah undertake the first task and at last a Prince, Zerubbabel, aided by prophets like Haggai, and the

priesthood, including Joshua Ben Jozedek, seek to undertake the rebuilding of the temple. They are rebuffed by the local

pagan rulers and only after Zerubbabel has appealed successfully to Cyrus can he come back and uncover the sacred chamber

and the lost Mason's Word. All who assist the Sanhedrim in this task are made Princes and Rulers.

The ultimate discovery is that the Mason's Word has a threefold form. All those who are deemed worthy of knowing it as

Rulers and Princes are made privy to it, and not simply Kings and their intimates as previously. Knowing the Word is of

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course not enough. Those who know it are expected to exemplify their knowledge by the kind of lives they live in society

generally. For their guidance and instruction biblical and historical figures are portrayed and imitation of their good deeds

encouraged--just as was recommended when Hiram Abif first suffered. When the good Mason has lived respected and died

regretted his whole life is complete.

HOW DO THE NON-CRAFT DEGREES FIT INTO THAT PATTERN?

Beginning of course with the recognition in the above survey that the Apprentice, Fellow Craft and present Master Mason

degrees are already there, it can, I hope, be seen how naturally, as in those old Scottish lodges, the Fellow of the Craft led to

the Mark Man (receiving your mark) and the Mark Master (taught how to receive wages and present your masterpiece as a

keystone), which latter skill meant that you were deemed fit to rule over a Fellowcrafts‟ Lodge before you became an

Excellent Mason as a ruler over a Master Masons' lodge. Having so proved your worth as a ruler you can the better take part

in the completion of the temple, though the Most Excellent Master degree fully entitles you to use your keystone masterpiece

as part of that final Arch-raising occasion and enables you to appreciate the Arch of the Rainbow which characterises the

Royal Ark Mariner degree.

You are now about to be admitted to the secrets of the inner chamber of the temple through the veils of the Super Excellent

degree, but first the degree of Knight of the East prepares you for the return from the exile and the Royal Arch experience

once you have reached Jerusalem. The Royal and Select Masters degrees tell of the trials experienced in seeking to restore the

temple and Jerusalem, whilst some of the Allied Degrees complete the story and also belong to the progress to the Arch chairs.

It is as one becomes a complete Ruler and Prince that the degrees of Rose Croix, Knight Templar, Red Cross of Constantine

and Royal Order of Scotland have their own lessons to convey, whilst the Knight Templar Priest and the Order of the Secret

Monitor provide biblical patterns for our behaviour that we should be honoured to follow. The operative degrees only serve to

underline the story of what it is to be a Temple Mason who might eventually become a Grand Master Mason.

If that seems to be fitting the existing degrees to a contrived pattern then I have to say that this is how it may appear because

of the form of Freemasonry that followed the early severance of the full Master's Part from the other sections of the original

Craft ceremonies. When in 1813 in England, and shortly afterwards in Scotland and Ireland, Grand Lodges sought to limit

their activities to what they deemed to be 'the Craft Degrees' then it was bound to look as if everything else was simply an

addition and a doubtful addition at that. What I have been trying to say in this paper is that this is a faulty way of considering

the question. To put it another way in the so-called non-Craft degrees we have fuller parts of what was originally the 'whole

Craft working‟ If you do not participate in the non-Craft degrees then you are actually missing out on some of the original

Freemasonry to which you are the rightful heir. That is their point and that is why I for one am so grateful that I was

introduced to them. I am, I would claim, a truly instructed and fully fledged Craft Mason. I know where I came from and I

know where I have arrived - at the Ne Plus Ultra of the ancient Craft.

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"MASONIC DISCOVERIES" by RWBro. J.B. McColl

Chapter 3 - "THE ALLIED MASONIC DEGREES"Transactions of the Victorian Lodge of Research, “Masonic

Discoveries” - 1989

Many brethren confuse the term "Allied Masonic Degrees" with the Appendant Orders of freemasonry. It so happens, the

A.M.D. is only one of the groups of degrees, ceremonials and Orders available to the searching Master Mason.

This paper will therefore, firstly sketch, rather briefly, what has come to be known as the "Appendant Orders" presently

working in the Sovereign State of Victoria, will define the A.M.D. and attempt to place it in proper perspective, when looking

at the whole labyrinthine structure of the Craft.

The second part of the paper will attempt a more detailed study of what comprises the A.M.D.

However, before attempting an overall explanation of the growth of our speculative tree, it is essential that the ground should

be prepared, the development of the root structure clearly understood, the strength of the trunk appreciated, and the strong

branches observed. Over the centuries the suckers, and spindly twigs and fruitless branches have been fortunately pruned

away. Now we are in a position to profit from the fruits of the labours of our predecessors.

Conscious of addressing a group of dedicated Masonic scholars, there should be no need to outline the background to the

development of Masonic philosophy, ideas, and ritual, or waste time stating what to you would be obvious. However as a copy

of this may be perused by a brother just starting to explore the tangled forest of Masonic research, perhaps you will pardon

some pedantry on my part, while we re-traverse ground that has been covered many times before.

Our system developed into three degrees, the pattern of which is or should he clear to all. Few realize however, that the whole

concept of F.M. is encapsulated in the first degree, when clearly understood and put into practice. Perhaps there is no need for

any other degrees. Why then are there so many other degrees and orders appendant to F.M.? What is their value? It is not the

aim of this study to justify their existence. Suffice it to say they do exist, and have withstood the tests of time. Those who have

tasted their fruits have derived intellectual and spiritual sustenance from them. The odd fact remains, even with diligent

research, understanding cannot be achieved without, not only depth and breadth of study, but also persistent meditation.

Remember the secrets of Nature are not to be revealed to all who search Her shrine, but only to those who are strong in faith

and humble in spirit.

Not all the branches of our amazing Masonic tree draw their sustenance directly from the story of King Solomon's Temple.

There are, as you well know, other sources of inspiration. A rather complex intertwining of philosophical ideas so intricate and

entangled, that it almost obscures the pattern of Truth. We all know that the story of the Temple is merely an allegory of our

search and discovery of the lost Word, but this knowledge in itself is of no consequence until we can feel it within ourselves

Elucidation comes with the interpolation of the legends related in all the Solomonic degrees into the story. Unfortunately the

manner in which we work the degrees tends to confuse rather than elucidate those who will not study. However, taking

cognizance of our Craft teaching, and making a serious study into the hidden mysteries of the nature of our science with a

close analysis of the chronological order of the Solomonic degrees, the system leads logically to its triumphant conclusion. A

worthwhile subject for a much deeper study in itself.

Our intrepid brother having climbed our speculative tree trunk, to the high degree of M.M. in a fruitless search for that which

was lost, is expected to be satisfied with substituted secrets. From here everything else in our figurative tree is appendant,

completely dependant upon the structure of the craft for sustenance. We should now pause, and reflect on the course we are

pursuing. Are we really looking for the genuine secrets of M.M.? If we find the genuine secrets, what then? Is there something

in these three allegorical degrees that we have missed? These tantalising questions will be left unanswered. Each must pursue

his own course of study, and arrive at his own conclusions. We are all conversant with the ritual of the three degrees, but not

all have studied the developments of these rituals. Perhaps further research in that direction may be profitable.

By now you will have pictured in your mind a mental diagram of a tree depicting the structure of F.M. universal, with its roots

deep in the depths of time, and the tantalising ancient mysteries. Its massive trunk depicting the strength of the three degrees

of the craft from which all branches spring, and the functional extant degrees expressed as the fruit, ripe for the picking,

available to all \the laboriously climb the trunk. Recognising limitations in our analogy, the level at which the various degrees

may be placed in our mental diagram must not be construed as their relative value. There is no doubt whatever the most

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important degree is the E.A. and perhaps the highest is the M.M. even though it is part of the figurative trunk with only

substitute secrets. Remember even a P.M. is merely a M.M. shackled with his substituted secrets, and burdened with greater

responsibilities.

You will be fully aware that in the late 17th and early 18th centuries throughout Europe there were many lodges working all

kinds of ceremonies each lodge could adopt new ceremonies or change old ceremonies as they thought fit. The formation of

the 1st G.L. in 1717 was an attempt to bring some order into the chaos. After the 1st G.L. was formed, and dubbed "the

Moderns other Grand Lodges came into existence working all types of ceremonies, including one in 1751 dubbed "Ancients".

By 1813 the United Grand Lodge of England was formed, and Craft Masonry firmly established much as we now know it.

During this period, other grand bodies were formed to control ceremonies much loved of many brethren but not part of the

three degree system as crystallised. In passing it is worth noting, that up until early this century there were many thousands of

Masonic, and pseudo-Masonic degrees that had been invented. Most of these mercifully have languished into oblivion. Only

some have survived each one making a useful contribution and adding colour to the Masonic fabric. Some rituals were

developed by very learned and wise brethren, while some unfortunately were written by individuals with their own

aggrandisement in view. Fortunately the winds of time have blown away the chaff and only nourishing grain remains. Even in

our early days on the Victorian gold fields some of these rather puerile ceremonies enjoyed a short lived existence. Bro. Peter

Thornton refers to them in his History of Freemasonry in Victoria.

Examine the structure of the Masonic fabric woven by our predecessors in the form of various degrees and orders now

available for our benefit. Perhaps some of you will be looking at this allegorical fabric and noting, not without some element

of truth, that it looks something like a Scotch tartan. For the purpose of this exercise, our rather complex interweaving of

Masonic degrees and Orders as the warp and weft of our fabric can be reduced to two clearly defined classifications.

Firstly the Universal grouping.

Secondly the Christian Dispensation.

The Universal group requires a belief in a Supreme Being, irrespective of what name or characteristic is given; incorporating

all religions, creeds, and sects, a firm belief in the Brotherhood of man and Fatherhood of God the all powerful Creator,

Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent.

The Christian group utilises the foundation firmly laid by the Universal group and builds structures epitomising various

aspects of Christian teaching.

There is no unanimity of opinion about logical steps from one Order or degree to another. Except for some clearly defined

links each order is separate and distinct, and most are independently autonomous with separate administration.

The following lists the bodies presently working in Victoria, abbreviated titles are used, the correct names will be found in the

Masonic Guide.

UNIVERSAL GROUP:

Craft Craft

Mark Master Masons M M M

Royal Ark Mariner R.A.M.

Royal Arch Chapter R.A.C.

Secret Monitor O.S.M.

Royal and Select R.S.M.

Allied Degrees A.M.D.

CHRISTIAN DISPENSATION:

Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite A. & A.R., or A. & A.S.R.

Royal Order of Scotland R.O.S

Knights of Constantine R.C. of C.

Knights Templar K.T.

Knight Templar Priests K.T.P.

Rosicrucians S.R.I.A.

Royal Order of Eri R.O.E.

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THE OPERATIVES:

In the above listing "The Operatives", with a system of seven degrees, has been omitted. This body known as "The Worshipful

Society of Free Masons, Rough Masons, Wallers, Slaters, Paviors, Plasterers, and Bricklayers", will be functioning in Victoria

after April 1989, as the Chirnside Mansion Assemblage. It will be added to the universal group. Even now there is a long

waiting list of brethren to join. (As of 1996, there were 14 Assemblages of this Order in Australia & New Zealand).

CHRISTIAN DISPENSATION

A. & A.R.

Analysing the Christian group, each one requires the candidate to be of the Christian belief. The Ancient and Accepted Rite

has a system of 33 degrees, most of which are merely conferred. We have two constitutions working in harmony, Australian

and Scottish. In October 1985 Chapters in Victoria holding allegiance to the English branch of the Rite, joined the newly

formed Australian Rite, whilst the Scottish Sovereign Chapters & Councils working the 18 degree & 30 degree respectively

opted to remain Scottish. The 18th degree is very strongly Christian in doctrine. Curiously the ceremony of the 18th degree in

each jurisdiction, though identical in principal is markedly different in detail. They are almost like two separate orders - which

is fair enough comment, for after all the English, followed by the Australians, dropped the word "Scottish" from the traditional

title of the Rite. The three degrees of Craft Masonry are taken as equivalent to the first three degrees of the Rite, consequently

only Master Masons are admitted.

R.O.S.

The Royal Order of Scotland functions as a Provincial Grand Lodge meeting in the Center, working two degrees, and owing

allegiance to Scotland. This body was formed to "correct the errors and irregularities that had crept into St. John's Masonry."

This introduces an interesting point for study. When Freemasonry was formulated, about the 15th century, it was essentially

Christian, and frequently referred to as St. John's Masonry. In the process of becoming universal some of the Christian

overtones, considered important by some brethren were in danger of being lost.

The Royal Order preserves these ideas. The teaching is conveyed in the ancient form of catechetic lectures in blank verse and

rhyming couplers. The standard of performance of the ritual is impeccable. In one sense, the R.O.S. should be placed first on

this list but by local rule only Master

Masons, who are also members of the A. & A.R. are eligible. Only really active Freemasons are placed on the waiting list.

Victoria sponsored the R.O.S. in W.A., Canberra, Tasmania, and S.A.

R.C. of C.

With regard to Conclaves of the Knights of Constantine, under the Grand Imperial Conclave of Victoria, a better

understanding can be gained by examining the full title of the Order, which is "The Masonic and Military Order of the Red

Cross of Constantine and the Orders of the Holy Sepulchre and SI, John the Evangelist." The first Order, that of the Red Cross

of Constantine belongs to the "East and West" class of Initiatory Rites, It consists of three degrees: - Knight, Priest, and

Sovereign Prince, which are grades in the scale of Initiation, incorporating one of the finest ceremonies in the whole Masonic

fabric. The appendant Orders attached to this branch are separate and distinct. Candidates for the R.C. of C. must be members

or a Craft Lodge and a Companion of a R.AC.

K.T.

The present Knights Templar have no connection whatever with the Medieval Military Orders. The Great Priory of Victoria

controls the Preceptories and Priories of the "United Religious, Military and Masonic Orders of the Temple and of St. John of

Jerusalem Palestine, Rhodes and Malta". The candidate, who must be a Master Mason and Royal Arch Mason, receives the

accolade in a strongly military Christian atmosphere within the Preceptory and the Knight of St. Paul and Knight of Malta in a

Priory.

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K.T.P

One of the oldest essentially Christian ceremonials of the appendant Orders and oddly enough, one of the most recent to be

organised under the control of a Grand body, is the Holy Royal Arch Knight Templar Priests, at one time referred to as the

Order of Holy Wisdom. Under its umbrella are grouped thirty odd miscellaneous degrees, otherwise unattached that are now

conferred upon the Knight Priest. Victoria can be justly proud of its effort in establishing this order in South Australia and

Western Australia where the order has taken root and flourished. The three Tabernacles in Victoria are under the Grand

College of England and Wales. This is the only Order now working in the state that requires candidates to be a P M. and a

subscribing member of a Craft Lodge a Royal Arch Chapter, and a Preceptory of Knights Templar.

S.R.I.A

Sociatas Rosicruciana in Anglia is not really an Order, Rite or Degree but a well established society of Christian Masonic

Master Masons.

Demiurgus College, the first in the State is well into its second hundred years of continuous working. With a system of nine

grades divided into three orders, it covers the whole gambit of philosophic and religious study. This Society has also spread

from Victoria to other States.

R.O.E.

The last of the group is the Royal Order of Eri, a very rare Order with a system of three degrees, and a complicated ritual

based on Ancient Irish folk lore. Membership is strictly by invitation only, drawn from Fratres of the S.R.I.A. with at least the

sixth grade.

The foregoing through longer than anticipated is unfortunately only sketchy. Much more could he said that would be of

interest but there still remains the Universal groups.

UNIVERSAL

Each order in this group except the A.M.D. is under local Grand bodies. Craft, Mark, -Ark Mariner, and Royal Arch have all

been ventilated in this Lodge in the past and no doubt will be a continued source of study-.

O.S.M.

Perhaps something should be said about the Order of the Secret Monitor, for at one stage it was part of the Allied Masonic

Degrees. This is one of the rare Orders where the installation into the chair is a degree in its own right, forming a well defined

system of three degrees. The Grand Council for Southern Australia has jurisdiction over Victoria, South Australia, Western

Australia, and Tasmania. Master Masons who join this delightful Order undergo a very simple ceremony, strongly underlying

the basic principle of brotherhood engendered in the Craft.

R.S.M.

The Royal and Select Masters, frequently referred to as the Cryptic Degrees, is a collection of four degrees worked in

Councils under the control of the Grand Council of Victoria. Drawing its members from experienced Master Masons who are

also Mark Master Masons and Royal Arch Companions. Some years ago candidates had to be installed Principles in the

R.A.C., but this local rule was dropped. Also until fairly recently the R.A.C. worked the first of this group of degrees: - The

Most Excellent Master, The persistence of this degree in the Holy Royal Arch Chapter for so many years in this state is a

classic example of Masonic error, inertia, and dogmatic resistance to correction It would have been far more intelligent for this

degree to be handed to the Mark administration, where it would fit quite comfortably as an extra ceremonial. However it was,

is, and always will be a pre-requisite for the Royal Master, Select Master and Super Excellent Masters degrees of the R.S.M.

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A.M.D.

It is now time to examine a little more closely the A.M.D., the last of the Universal Group. In England all the degrees and

Orders previously mentioned in the Universal Group, and most of the Christian bodies, were comfortably ensconced under

Grand administrations. A number of completely separate and independent degrees, mainly- in the Universal group worked by

various lodges, were left languishing. They were, no doubt well loved by many brethren, but not fitting comfortably into the

systems already established. A Grand Council of the Allied Masonic Degrees was established in 1879 to take control of the

miscellaneous bits and pieces which initially included such well defined workings as the O.S.M. and the Christian Order the

K.T.P., both later to have separate Grand bodies. Indeed, the Grand College of Holy Royal Arch K.T.P. was not created until

1923: and it was only in 1931 that the A.M.D. ceased working their Secret Monitor degree.

The degrees now worked in Councils of the A.M.D. are as follows: -

St. Lawrence the Martyr

Knight of Constantinople

Grand Tilers of Solomon

Red Cross of Babylon

Grand High Priest

ST. LAWRENCE OF MARTYR

Some brethren may think there is an obvious error here as the A.M.D. has been listed within the Universal group, yet one of

the degrees worked is that of St. Lawrence the Martyr, who was burnt to death by order of the Prefect in Rome on the 10th day

of August in the year 258 AD. He was a well known Christian Priest whose life times, and Martyrdom, indelibly documented

in the history and traditions of the Church, resulted in his canonisation. There is no mistake. The ritual and the lesson taught,

are universal in its appeal, and is an expansion of the principles of Craft Masonry.

The ceremony is woven around the circumstances of his martyrdom, stressing his fortitude and humility. The degree,

apparently based on one of the Medieval Mystery plays, is known to have been used by the operatives sometime prior to 1750,

in Lancashire and elsewhere in the British Isles as a means of identification when Masons travelled in search of work.

It is the degree in which all administrative work is done, and the ceremony of installation performed. There is no

interconnection between these degrees, ritually, historically or otherwise. Therefore there is no order of sequence of

precedence.

KNIGHTS OF CONSTANTINOPLE

This curious degree is one of the so-called "Side Degrees". At one time it was conferred by one Brother taking another "aside"

after a Lodge meeting, administering an obligation, reciting a traditional history, and communicating the secrets. The

ceremony now worked is a fully fledged degree

Researchers have not been successful in tracing the origin of the ceremony. There is evidence that it existed prior to 1830, and

it became very popular in the latter part of that century

As in all branches of our speculative science, the traditional history claims all antiquity, in story and detail, more in the realm

of fiction than fact.

The assembly is known as the Council, presided over by the Illustrious Potentate, and the members referred to as Sir Knights.

The episode, upon which the ceremony is based, allegedly takes place in the court yard of the palace of the Emperor

Constantine the Great in Constantinople during the fourth century A.D. Once again the useful lessons of humility and

universal equality are demonstrated. It is rather a delightfully simple but unforgettable ceremony, with a universal appeal to all

who have the true principals of Brotherhood at heart.

Other than basic philosophy, there is no connection with any other Order or degree.

The Master Mason

57

GRAND TILERS OF SOLOMON

This curious degree has much in common with the Cryptic degrees, and is clearly part of the Solomonic tradition. In the

U.S.A. it has been worked constantly since 1761. It is also known as "Masons Elect of Twenty Seven".

Traditional history related an alleged episode during the building of King Solomon's Temple, and as such, has a closer affinity

to Craft Masonry than any of the other degrees in this grouping. Although there is no direct reference to Royal Arch matters,

in one sense, it strengthens the justification for the existence of the R.A. ceremony, serving as another link between Craft and

Chapter.

Three principal Officers, W.M., S.W. and J.W., all sit in the East wearing the same robes as in the R.A.C. They represent S,

K. of I., H.K. of T. and H.A.B.

While H.A.B. is demonstrating his design for the "Altar of the Lord", the ceremony commences. It stresses the danger of

carelessness, and hasty judgement, and emphasises the importance of careful tiling - a lesson of which we should all take heed.

RED CROSS OF BABYLON

Consisting of a rather involved and profoundly mystical ceremonial, the degree is of considerable antiquity; and is closely

connected with the Royal Arch Chapter tradition.

Some constitutions, e.g. N.S.W. and W.A. work it in the R.A.C. as "Knights of the Sword", or "Knights of the East and West".

This procedure evolved through Scottish practice. Though similar to our practice, the Scottish style ceremony is arranged in

an entirely different sequence with considerable variation in detail. There is so much difference the degrees are not

interchangeable and separate obligations are required.

Some Masonic Scholars claim the R.A. evolved from the Red Cross of Babylon when it formed part of the Order of the

Temple. Irrespective of the merits or otherwise of the argument, there is no doubt the basic principles of the ritual existed and

was worked consistently long before the R.A.C., as we know it, came into being.

It appears the ceremony, which is divided into three parts, or points, came to us from three of the degrees of the "Rite of

Perfection", formed in Europe about the year 1754.

The candidate represents Zerubbabel who in the first part is appointed an emissary, assigned to journey from Jerusalem to

Babylon. Stressing the importance of fidelity, integrity, and truth, action takes place in the R.A. Council at Jerusalem, and in

the Throne Room of the Persian Court at Babylon. A short transitional link between the other two parts, called "Passing the

Bridge" is of ancient origin. Similar symbolic traces of spiritual truth are found in all cultures.

Unfortunately, as generally happens with Masonic ceremonies, mystical lessons are frequently lost on the average Mason.

However, to those willing to concentrate, absorb, and meditate, the spiritual rewards become treasured jewels.

The "Red Cross" fits in with the chronological sequence of the Solomonic thesis. Reconstruction of the Temple began in the

year 535 B.C., but was frustrated by the Samaritans who were descendants of those who fled when the Temple was oppressed.

The Samaritans wanted to assist in rebuilding but were refused, and were successful in having all reconstruction stopped. (Ref.

Ezra IV.)

Zerubbabel journeyed to Persia in the year 521 B.C. seeking help, and found that his friend Darius had succeeded to the

throne. Help was forthcoming and work resumed in the year 520 B.C.

Our Holy Royal Arch now commences its story at the time there were a considerable number of Jews remaining in Babylon

and the news of the rebuilding induced others to migrate back to their home country. Among these were the three Sojourners

of the R.A.C.

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GRAND HIGH PRIEST

When preparing a definitive statement on any subject for the instruction of the uninitiated it is always difficult to determine

where to start, and what may be divulged, without destroying the impact upon those who may seek participation at a later date.

The problem has no satisfactory solution on this occasion. We have been discussing degrees. Here we have an Order in the

true sense of the term.

The "Holy Order of Grand High Priest" has come to us through the centuries, perhaps not entirely pure and unsullied as we

now receive it. The basic essentials of the ritual have an aura of ancient vintage. Where and when it was first worked has never

been established. The main elements were used in some of the multitude of "High Grade" developed in the 1750 era on the

continent of Europe.

Consisting of two parts, the Order, as now worked seems to be an amalgamation of degrees worked separately until about

1780. Many consider this to be the ultimate climax of the Masonic progression. Perhaps, in one sense, this may be so, even

though the episodes depicted predate the building of King Solomon's Temple by some 900 years. The ceremony makes an

abrupt transition jumping nearly 400 years from the days of Melchizedek to the consecration of Aaron as the first Jewish High

Priest.

Universal in principle and teaching it has a strong appeal to companions with religious inclinations. The Order has always

been closely associated with R. A. Freemasonry. Under the original constitutions of the Grand Council, the candidate had to

be an Installed Principle of a Royal Arch Chapter. This pre-requisite existed until 1923 when changes were made permitting

the admission of Companions. Members of the Order are still referred to as "Excellent Companions".

It is variously known as the "Order of Melchizedek" and similar titles. That mysterious biblical figure features prominently in

the ceremony. The candidate represents the Patriarch Abram returning from the slaughter of the Kings. Many Companions

after participating ill the ceremony hasten to the V.S.L. to re-read Genesis Chapter 14, Psalm 133 and others, with a deeper

understanding. His dedication to the service of the Most High becomes profound. A man would have to be extreme in his

insensitivity not to be deeply, moved

CONCLUSION

The mental picture of a multi-branched tree though complex is a good analogy to describe the interdependence of each branch

on the basic structure, the Craft. The life of even the outermost twig is dependant on the strength of the Craft. Like many

deciduous trees from time to time it looses most of the leaves, but the tree remains alive, the sap runs back ready to surge once

again and leaf when the season is right.

The A.M.D. is one example of resurgence. The first Council of Victoria was consecrated in 1918. From the beginning the

Order was kept exclusive, quite deliberately. Only recently it was realised that artificial restrictions are not in the hue teaching

of the Craft. Every Freemason should be encouraged and given every facility to expand his knowledge, and understanding of

our wonderful Fraternity. It was 24 years before the second Council was established in Victoria, and since the Councils in

Victoria were constituted as a division of the Grand Council on the 12th Dec. 1983, the order has blossomed in South

Australia and Western Australia and with 4 active Councils in Victoria, and several in the pipeline.

Like the R. & S degrees the A.M.D. adds to our understanding of the R.A.C.; and strengthens our appreciation of the fraternity

as a whole. The fruits of all these appendant orders and Allied Degrees cater for a wide variety of tastes. It is worth

remembering that the deeper one becomes involved, the more dedicated our service, the greater the pleasure obtained.