To symbolise the clothes of the early stonemasons, who wore leather aprons to protect themselves whilst at their work. This is just one of many legacies of the Operatives, continued by present day Freemasons. If you read the answer to this question in conjunction with the answers to two other questions frequently posed, namely ‘why is it necessary to adopt strange rituals?’ and ‘why do grown men run around with their trouser legs rolled up?’, ...
We are often asked why we roll up our trouser leg. The reason is entirely symbolic and simply shows the prospective member is a ‘free man’ with no marks of imprisonment (mark caused by a leg iron). Incidentally, a new member is only required to roll up his trouser leg on three occasions and never thereafter. He does not, or certainly should not, feel self conscious about it in any way, for he knows that ...
No. The ritual is a shared experience which binds the members together. Its use of drama, allegory and symbolism impresses the principles and teachings more firmly in the mind of each candidate than if they were simply passed on to him in matter-of-fact modern language.
The meeting is in two parts. As in any association there is a certain amount of administrative procedure – minutes of last meeting, proposing and balloting for new members, discussing and voting on financial matters, election of officers, news and correspondence. Then there are the ceremonies for admitting new Masons and the annual installation of the Master and appointment of officers. The three ceremonies for admitting a new Mason are in two parts – a ...
Basic Freemasonry consists of the three ‘Craft’ degrees (Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason) completed by the Royal Arch degree (Chapter). There are many other Masonic degrees and Orders which are called ‘additional’ because they add to the basis of the Craft and Royal Arch. They are not basic to Freemasonry but add to it by further expounding and illustrating the principles stated in the Craft and Royal Arch. Some of these additional degrees ...
It is not known. The earliest recorded ‘making’ of a Freemason in England is that of Elias Ashmole in 1646. Organised Freemasonry began with the founding of the Grand Lodge of England on 24 June 1717, the first Grand Lodge in the world. Ireland followed in 1725 and Scotland in 1736. All the regular Grand Lodges in the world trace themselves back to one or more of the Grand Lodges in the British Isles. There ...
Under the United Grand Lodge of England, there are 330,000 Freemasons, meeting in 8,644 lodges. Under the District Grand Lodge of Bombay there are about 1000 Masons in 23 Lodges. The Lodges are spread all over Western India in cities such as Mumbai, Pune, Lonavala, Igatpuri, Bhusaval, Deolali, Jabalpur, Nagpur, Ahmednagar, Sholapur and Goa. There are separate Grand Lodges for Ireland, Scotland and India. Worldwide, there are probably 5 million members.
Freemasonry is one of the oldest, secular, fraternal and charitable organisation. It teaches moral lessons and self-knowledge through participation in a progression of allegorical two-part plays.