Trinities, holy or otherwise, are complex entities. It was therefore with great enthusiasm, albeit intertwined with equal apprehension, that I travelled to the Plains of Salisbury, a centre of Army activity, to interview a man who was, in one person, Chaplain, Army General and Grand Officer. ‘We Three do meet and agree’ came to mind and Holy Royal Arch allusions developed throughout our meeting.
    I have heard him preach on two occasions and on each perceived a penetrative presence. He connected with each soul in a brotherly love punctuated with humour and a binding common touch. What was I to make of him that I could worthily share with the readers of Freemasonry Today? In what form of threesome would these facets of persons combine? His welcome to me, although late on a blizzard blown evening, could not have been warmer and I gratefully sojourned for the night. Over breakfast we discussed how people are chosen to be interviewed and spluttering over our corn flakes we agreed that his being interviewed by Freemasonry Today was exaltation indeed and I asked how he had achieved this supreme degree.
    ‘As a child in South Wales, I often stayed with my grandmother. She made me go to church even though she didn’t quite make it herself. I joined the choir, served at the altar and at age 11, at a communion service, realised that I wanted to be a priest. If Heaven’s bells rang and angels ascended and descended – I never heard or saw them. But, from then I gained purpose and motivation; my mother said, that as a person I picked up from that time. The reality of the sense of vocation remains with me and is still warm: a priest is what I am and what I wish to continue to be.’
    ‘I was ordained in Risca in South Wales, the parish to which, on my retirement from the Army at the end of July, I am returning as Vicar. Within a couple of years of ordination I was approached to become chaplain to a local Territorial Army unit, 104th Regiment Royal Artillery. A little later I became a regular Army chaplain on the understanding that it would only be for three years! Indeed, twenty eight and a half years later, being the substance of my ministry, becoming Chaplain General. Ah, serendipity all, God moves in mysterious ways.’

A Chaplain in the Army

We discussed the particular role of an Army Chaplain in general. They are appointed to a particular regiment or battalion to minister to all of the souls and their families. This duty of care applies regardless of whether or not they worship as Anglicans. It includes connecting other Christians and non-Christians to the leaderships of their particular persuasions.
    He went on to say, ‘The ministry in the Army is unique. As a chaplain you are there to go forward with the men on exercises and operations – you don’t stay behind. You face the same difficulties and dangers, the same privations and conditions – it is very very different. We are not pacifists or we could not sign up to the Army’s values; broadly we accept, in modern form, the Thomist apologia for a just war. But we are non-combatants as that enables us to minister over the whole area of battle and thereby minister to all, especially to the injured and dying.
    ‘From a personal knowledge of the men and their families, by having access to all parts of the camp, schools, barrack blocks and chapel, each chaplain has a unique overview of the unit. He can, in overall terms, advise the Commanding Officer about the health, strength and morale of the unit and if its core values are being realised. Uniquely, the chaplain observes the picture in the round through theological lenses and if things are going wrong he can give the priestly word. If there is injustice he can be as a prophet beseeching the C.O. in the Name of God. That name does resonate at all levels in the Army. Indeed four years ago a Brigadier, perhaps on a budgetary exercise, was seeking corporate, measurable indicators and outcomes, yet concluded in his report that the Army needed more Chaplains.
    ‘Perhaps this is because the Army is now increasingly more expeditionary – when putting soldiers into such situations the Ministry of God is needed. This is not just counselling – that is something else. I am not a trained counsellor, I am a priest. As soon as people are assigned to operations there is a unique concentration of the mind. A neighbourhood dispute about a hedge is not now quite so vital. On the troop ships sailing to the Falklands the services were packed to overflowing; on the way back the attendance increasingly, lessened. This shows that in certain situations the ministry of God does have a role. Chaplains and soldiers alike will tell you, over and over and over again, that operational service is, for those who survive, a life changing experience through having faced the ultimate reality of life – its transitory nature. The trivia may never be quite the same again.
    ‘Chaplains have been involved in exercises and operations that have led to death, have seen people die and seen people who have been mutilated. They have seen gruesome things that will remain with me for the rest of my life. If a chaplain and the Church of God cannot speak in a meaningful way at that point in people lives then we are saying something unfortunate about the whole message of the Gospel.’
    From this we retired with all respect and reverence and discussed the work of the Chaplain General in particular. He informed me, ‘Well of course after regimental duty it is largely managerial and administrative. I am responsible for the recruitment, training and the posting of chaplains and their professional development. We have 153 regular chaplains, ninety-seven with Territorial units and 150 with Army cadet forces. I offer advice on spiritual matters to both the Adjutant General and the Chief of General Staff. I am involved on ceremonial occasions such as the consecration of regimental colours and I sit on the General Synod of the Church of England.’
    I stifled a choke, explored into the vault of my brief case and found a scroll of vellum or parchment that had emanated from Synod, but could not read it. I asked, how he defined ‘spiritual’. That is to say, could it be understood other than as being an outcome of a particular religious codification.
    He replied, ‘“Spiritual” is the particular yearning and longing to understand the human situation in terms other than as just animal and material. It’s about that which is part of us all, that defines us and points to a reality beyond ourselves. It need not be tied up with any one theistic or deistic system of belief although of course for me, it is based upon my Christianity. “Spiritual” takes us away, beyond the trivial and routine, to an unlimited journey of exploration providing a sense of the beyond. “Spiritual” without God is not for me but others claim it and I would not denigrate their understandings and feelings. I would of course want to engage with them, but not to dismiss what they are saying.’

Freemasonry and Christianity

The scroll of vellum or parchment was now radiating in my hand.
    We theorised on a nameless, secular and fraternal organisation that denies that it is a religion or a substitute for religion. Yet, it cannot be denied that for some of its members it is indistinguishable from a religion. Although denying being a religion it asks those who would wish to join it to believe in a Supreme Being! We discussed how this could be possible without being a believer in some religious system that names and describes the characteristics of its Supreme Being. I asked, ‘How, outside of a recognisable religion, could either the question, or an affirmative answer, make sense.’
    He replied, ‘People can only answer within the limits of their experience. We welcome into Freemasonry those who will be seeking a daily increase in masonic knowledge. Therefore with an affirmative answer I would want them to share with us what it may mean for them. I would not be satisfied with clichés but to ensure that there is the potential for a new starting point, a commitment to explore and develop a rational, emotive, ethical and spiritual awareness through the pilgrimage of a masonic life. Being a priest does inform my masonry; I can never stop being a priest as I was ordained into indelible orders.’
    It was time to read what was written on the scroll. It was the Synod report that points to a number of fundamental reasons to question the compatibility of Freemasonry with Christianity. We discussed the fact that the Synod Committee could not understand how the world’s largest fraternal secular society could require a belief in a Supreme Being. I suggested that the report did not sufficiently explain why the actual question of compatibility was being raised at all and why, at all, members of religious groups would want to be Freemasons.
    We further considered that at local level the trumpet could be making an uncertain sound when in the same locality, a bishop may be refusing masonic support but a dean gratefully receiving it and faithfully applying it. We laughed at the anecdote ‘the church sanctifies all that it receives’. From our discussions I just hope that there may be a way forward, that will prevent entrenched positions and, with intellectual and emotional grit, find ways of further joint exploration that may lead to a daily increase in mutual understanding and respect.
    I could have talked with him for eternity. But, his staff chariot had arrived to spirit him away for God’s service. Perhaps the Venerable John Blackburn, Chaplain General of the Army and Grand Officer can be understood, not as trinity but as a triangle. His base is Christianity joined in service on the hypotenuse of the Army and on the square of Freemasonry.

Gerald Reilly is a member of St Osyth’s Priory Lodge, No. 2063, Clacton on Sea.