Masonic High Council Meeting at London England
ANCIENT AND HONOURABLE FRATERNITY OF FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS

Ancient and Accepted Order of Freemasons

Freemasonry is a traditional and initiatic Fraternity Order based on the Mysteries and Traditions of the Ancient Craft Masons.

It constitutes an alliance of free men of good repute, of all origins, nationalities and faiths.
The goal of Freemasonry is the moral improvement of humankind.
To that end, Freemasons work towards the constant improvement of the condition of humankind, both on the spiritual and the material levels.

Freemasons recognize each other as Brethren and owe each other help and assistance.

In the constant search for truth and justice, Freemasons accept no hindrance and set themselves no limits.
They respect other people’s opinions and the free expression thereof. Freemasons seek the conciliation of the opposites and want to unite men in the actual practice of a universal set of morals, and in the respect of everyone’s personality.

Freemasons regard work as a right and a duty.

Freemasons respect the laws and the legitimate authority of the country where they freely live and meet.
Freemasons are enlightened and disciplined citizens and model their existence on the demands of their conscience.

In the practice of the Workings of the Craft, Freemason see that the traditional rules, ways and customs of the Order are preserved.

Freemasons, in the joint pursuit of the same ideals, recognize each other by means of words, signs and grips that are communicated traditionally in Lodge during the Initiation ceremonies.
The words, signs and grips, as well as the Rites and the symbols, are an inviolable secret and cannot be communicated to whoever has not the right to know them.

Each Freemason is free to disclose his Masonic membership or not, but he may not reveal that of a Brother.
The Freemasons join together to form, accordingly to Masonic tradition, private groups known as Masonic Lodges.
Lodges are governed according to the decisions made by the majority of Master Masons gathered in stated meeting, but cannot deviate from the general principles of Freemasonry nor the laws of the Grand Lodge to which they belong.

Lodges group together to form Grand Lodges, national and independent bodies, guardians of tradition, exerting undivided and exclusive juridiction over the three degrees of symbolic Freemasonry: Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason.

The Grand Lodges are governed in accordance with the traditional principles of the Universal Masonry, with their own constitutions and with the laws they have regularly promulgated for themselves.
They respect the sovereignty and independence of the other Masonic bodies and don’t allow themselves any interference in their internal affairs. They maintain among themselves the relationships necessary to the cohesion of Universal Freemasonry.

They freely enter treaties and fraternal alliances among themselves but do not acknowledge any Masonic authority, national or international, superior to their own.

They decide on their regulations alone and in a sovereign manner and take care alone of their own administration, their internal justice and discipline.

Thus is maintained the universal character of the Masonic Order, respectful of the personality of each national Masonic body, of the autonomy of each Lodge and of the individual freedom of each Brother, so that Love, Harmony and Concord might reign among all Freemasons.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP

· You must be a free man of at least 21 years of age.

· You must have a religious belief in a Supreme Being or Creator.

· You must be able to afford the costs of membership.

· You should be free from any criminal conviction.

· You must state honestly, upon your honour, that you freely and voluntarily wish to join, prompted by a favourable opinion of Freemasonry.

· You must likewise state honestly, upon your honour, that you have no mercenary or other unworthy motive for joining Freemasonry.

MASONIC TRIANGLE

Any three Master Masons may constitute a "Triangle", that is a minimal lodge which may meet ritually but may not Initiate, Pass or Raise.

MASONIC LODGE

A minimum of seven Master Masons may constitute a normal lodge, that is they may meet ritually and Initiate, Pass or Raise. Seven officers suffice to do the degrees: The WM, the SW, the JW, the Expert, the MoC, the Secretary and the Orator. However, and because of the fact that not all members of a new lodge may possibly attend at the same time all the time, Grand Lodge requires a minimum of 7 founding MMs. The founding members constitute a "temporary" lodge, which meets for a year without a charter, this is "under dispensation". After a year the RGLE Communication decides whether the new lodge has worked satisfactorily and will be granted a charter.

I was soon to discover

I thought to myself, as my hands touched the door,
What in the world am I doing this for?
Dressed as I never expected to be,
Were they going to play some fools game with me?

I stood there a moment, when I heard the command,
You must knock on the door with your own hand.
The door opened slightly, I thought to go in,
But to my surprise, there were questions again.

I knew not the answers, but luck was with me,
My guide seemed to know what the answers should be!
When the door finally opened, and I was led in,
I said to myself..........It's about to begin!

When they start to laugh, I'll hold my head high,
I'll not step back, no matter what the outcry!
As I walked on in, I could feel their eyes,
But I heard no laughter......I heard no outcries.

They seemed to be following some sort of skit,
I wasn't quite sure how all of it fit.
My apprehensions were eased, my fears were no more,
It was not as I imagined from without the door.

As I was soon to discover, it was a most solemn event,
Instruction and guidance were their only intent.
When it was all over I knew one thing for sure,
I would never regret..... that first knock on the door.

Petition for Membership in the Craft Freemasonry

Please either e-mail or mail your request to:

RW Bro. Steve Phillips
Grand Secretary

Email: MHCRGLE@aol.com

Please Note:

We acknowledge the existence of something called "UGLE" but we do not recognize it as being a regular Craft Grand Lodge. We are an altogether different organization from that of the "United Grand Lodge of England" commonly known as "UGLE". For those wishing to pursue the "UGLE" workings please visit their web site at www.ugle.org.uk

HOME

www.rgle.org.uk

Irregular and Unrecognised Grand Lodges

The Regular Grand Lodge of England reminds all Members of the Craft that they should take great care before joining any organisation which purports to be Masonic. If in doubt a written enquiry should be made of the Secretary General.
There are some self-styled Masonic bodies that do not meet these standards, e.g. which do not require a belief in a Supreme Being, or which allow or encourage their members to participate as such in political matters and some of these self-styled Masonic bodies have even become Service Clubs. These bodies are recognised by the Regular Grand Lodge of England as being Masonically irregular, and Masonic contact with them should be avoided at all times.