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BACK NEXT Autumn 2003 Issue 26 Letter from the Editor A New Era for London Freemasonry News and Views International News On The Level Wisdom, Strength and Beauty Locally Involved The First Masonic Flower Festival 275 Years of Freemasonry Modern Anti-Masonry The Mounties and Freemasonry The Red Cross of Constantine The Paths of Heavenly Science The Eaton Lodge Masonic Museum Brother Lightfoote's Journal Letters Review: The Gnostic Philosophy Review: Craft and Conflict Review: A Daily Advancement in Masonic Knowledge Review: The Seven Ordeals of Count Cagliostro Canon Richard Tydeman Copyright 1997-2008 FREEMASONRY TODAY Designed and Maintained by: Cyberpoint Limited

FREEMASONRY TODAY Autumn 2003 - Issue 26 - Index Michael Baigent - Letter from the Editor Who can forget his initiation? The trepidation outside the door of the Lodge room, the strange journey in darkness, the sudden restoration of vision, the charge and the feeling of brotherhood? To be amongst friends who all understood the moment and could share it with compassion and support. Then to find oneself placed in the north-east corner of the room. ‘It is customary’ we were told, ‘at the erection of all stately and superb edifices, to lay the first or foundation stone at the North East corner of the building. You, being newly admitted into Masonry, are placed at the North East part of the Lodge figuratively to represent that stone, and from the foundation laid this evening ...' A New Era for London Freemasonry The streams of Freemasons converging on Kensington for this most momentous of days for English Freemasonry, left leaden-grey skies outside for the glare of the bright lights in the Royal Albert Hall. This historic building last hosted a Grand Lodge gathering in 1967, when the Duke of Kent was first installed as Grand Master. This occasion established another landmark for English Freemasonry – the inauguration of the Metropolitan Grand Lodge and Metropolitan Grand Chapter of London ... News and Views New Provincial Grand Master for Yorkshire North and East Ridings — The Five Shires Celebrate 250 Years In Style — Hampshire And Isle Of Wight New Provincial Grand Master — New Deputy Grand Master Announced — Dorset Freemasons Raise £1.2 Million — Hampshire Masons Honour Historic Hospital — Hereford Masons Working With Local Age Concern — Gothic Flats For The Masonic School? — RMTGB A Sponsor For Disabled Children — Insurance Brings In Charity Money On the Level Canonbury Masonic Research Centre — Centre for Research into Freemasonry, Sheffield University — The Cornerstone Society International News Droit Humain Celebrates 200 Years In United States — Liberia Freemasons In The Line Of Fire — Freemasons Centre Stage For Bushfire Appeal — America's Oldest Survivor Of Iwo Jima Takes Nostalgic Flight — Queensland Board Of Benevolence Works With Private Lodges — A Vision For The Blind Wisdom, Strength and Beauty From the time when I was initiated, I found myself fascinated by the three ‘lesser lights’. Of course I understand why the three greater lights are the ‘greats’ of Freemasonry. The Volume of the Sacred Law, the Square and Compasses – these are at once the emblems of our ancient art and the implements we use for masonic development and progress. They constitute the true cornerstone of masonic practice. Yet for me personally, the three lesser lights have a true fascination, and are more personally relevant. Here’s something which relates to our individual aspiration, our journey. Here we are talking not about the attributes of the Almighty, nor the strict rules of the morality ... Locally Involved: Michael Baigent Interviews John Bonomy, Provincial Grand Master for East Kent John Bonomy OBE, as managing director of his family business prior to his appointment as Provincial Grand Master for East Kent in 1992, was well experienced in running a complex organisation, dealing with employees and the public. Taken aback by the discovery, on his appointment, that some lodges in the Province had never been visited by the Provincial Grand Master ... The First Masonic Flower Festival A Masonic Festival of Flowers; what would that be; where would it be held ? These were just a few of the questions raised when I ‘threw a pebble in a pond’ at a meeting with ladies, at the Rochdale Masonic Buildings, when representatives from the Province of East Lancashire area informed us about the fund-raising efforts for the ‘Grand Charity Festival 2004’ ... 275 Years of Freemasonry Celebrated in France How do you get more than 130,000 Freemasons, men and women, belonging to more than ten different rival jurisdictions, each passionate about the claims of his or her own masonic system, to act together in concord and brotherly love? French Freemasonry found the answer to this question in June this year, when over a thousand Freemasons gathered together in Lyon to celebrate 275 years of Freemasonry in France, and at the same time to assert that the values, culture and aims of Freemasonry united them more strongly ... Modern Anti-Masonry Ever since the eighteenth century Freemasonry has been a favourite whipping-boy of conspiracy theorists. However, in recent years a new breed of conspiracy writer has joined the traditional purveyors of this ‘black legend’ and a growing number of websites vent a new hatred of Freemasonry. One such site even offers two free downloadable tapes, alleging that Freemasonry is responsible for most of the world’s ills ... The Mounties and Freemasonry Like every little boy growing up in Canada, I had a great fascination with the Mounties. With their dress uniform of a low, broad-brimmed hat, scarlet jacket, and blue trousers with a yellow stripe, their Musical Ride, their horses, everything associated with them. They had dogs called King and saved the world from all types of dastardly deeds and they 'always got their man'. Imagine my joy when I learned that the Mounties ... The Red Cross of Constantine The Grand Imperial Conclave of the Military and Masonic Order of the Red Cross of Constantine and the Orders of the Holy Sepulchre and of Saint John the Evangelist, are governed from the Registry of the Orders which is situated at 86 St. James’s Street, London. The five ceremonies embodied within these Orders form a complete Rite comprising three individual ‘rituals of admission’ and two additional ‘chair degrees’. The whole is considered by many ... The Paths of Heavenly Science Freemasonry teaches by means of symbols. It is not alone in this. From the earliest times teachers have sought a means of expressing the ineffable, that for which words prove too limited; symbols allow the expression of a depth of ideas beyond mere words. In all ages buildings have been constructed and guided by symbolic principles; they thus share certain similarities – an incorporation of number symbolism, underground tunnels, stairs up to the light - all are used to serve an initiatory rather than a commercial or residential function ... The Eaton Lodge Masonic Museum Early Masonic history of the Provinces is often lost in the emphasis given to London when the origins of organised Freemasonry are discussed. Four London Lodges formed the Premier Grand Lodge on 24 June 1717 but Freemasonry already existed in various Provinces. It was in Warrington, on the border of Cheshire and Lancashire, that Elias Ashmole was made a Freemason in 1646, and Cheshire boasts the first Provincial Grand Master ... Brother Lightfoote's Journal Saint Senzi is the patron of Sithney, in Cornwall, close to Helston, where they do the Furry Dance, whatever that is. William Worcestre saw his tomb and he has a strong following in Brittany, but his main claim to fame is that he turned down the Almighty’s offer to make him the patron saint of girls. His grounds for so doing were, in my opinion, exceeding firm. He feared that he would never have a moment’s peace but suffer the purgatory of perpetual petitions for hats and shoes and handsome, well endowed young men, not to mention slenderness regardless of diet ... Letters to the Editor One-Day Classes — A Contrary View — St John's Lodge, Connecticut — Royal Arch Ritual — Freemasonry and the Archbishop — Lodge in Florence — Boaz and Beccles ... Review: The Gnostic Philosophy Review: Craft and Conflict Review: A Daily Advancement in Masonic Knowledge Review: The Seven Ordeals of Count Cagliostro Canon Richard Tydeman - Meek and Candid During the ceremony of Initiation the new Freemason is commended for his ‘meek and candid behaviour’, and I wonder if the meaning of that phrase is generally understood? Unfortunately the word ‘meek’ has become, for many people, synonymous with ‘weak’ and therefore by no means a desirable quality to possess. This is a pity because meekness in its original sense is a proof of inner strength and restraint. There are many references to meekness in the Bible which show it as being very far from weakness: for instance, in Numbers, (ch.12, v.3), we find ‘Moses was very meek’ – and I don’t think that even his most severe critics could ever have described Moses ...   Issue 26, Autumn 2003 © FreemasonryToday 1997-2008