Représentation d’un tableau de loge au premier degré, 1745.
PÉRAU : L’Ordre des Francs-Maçons trahi… Amsterdam,1745.
Il s’ a git du tableau donné comme étant “ i n ex act”. La
source de cet te inex acti tu de n’est pas indiqu é e , mais il est
probable que l’auteur fait référen ce aux gravu res de la séri e
Les coutumes des Francs-Maçons ou d’une source en rapport
direct avec la publication de celles-ci.
Les deux co l onnes sont disposées en avant d’un escalier
à sept degr é s . L’ e s c a l i er est sem i - c i rc u l a i re , précédé d’un
p avé mosaïque et con duisant à un autre pavé mosaïqu e .
Une balustrade renforce la séparation.
Trois fen ê tres non gri llagées sont disposées à l’Ori en t ,
au Midi et à l’Occident.
Au centre exact du tableau se trouve l’étoile flamboyante
accom p a gnée de la let tre G . Im m é d i a tem ent à sa droi te se
trouve la planche à tracer des maîtres, vierge de tout dessin.
À droi te de la fen ê tre d’Ori ent se tro uve la perpen d i c ulaire,
tandis que le niveau est à sa gauche.Au dessus de cette
fenêtre se trouve l’équerre, seule, les branches tournées vers
l ’ O cc i den t . À sa droi te , la pierre brute , à sa ga u che la pierre
cubique à pointe, surmontée de la “hache” et marquée de la
“Divine perpendiculaire”.
Au-dessus de l’équerre, la devise latine.
Provenant d’un point ex actem ent situé au milieu du
bord oriental, le cordeau se termine par des houppes et prés
en te seu l em ent deux lacs d’amour. Il est nommé “h o u ppe
dentelée” dans la légende accompagnant la gravure.
Les trois piliers sont indiqués sur les angles du tabl e a u
et sont disposés au N.-E., S.-E. et S.-O.
La bordu re est marquée d’un do u ble trait et com porte
l’indication des quatre points cardinaux.
dimanche 26 décembre 2010
Tableau de loge au premier degré, 1745
REAA vs. YORK / ASSR vs. YORK ??
QQHH:
Algunos de nosotros tenemos la suerte de poder trabajar o de haber trabajo de numerosos OOr:., LLog:. e incluso RRit:. . Esto, ademas de ser cultura general Mas:. no ayuda a tener una perspectiva diferente de la Ord:. y de los HH:. que la componen.
El Rit:. es un claro reflejo del sentir de una comunidad Mas:. e incluso de un país. Hasta aquí nada nuevo...
Suele suceder que HH:. iniciados en York terminen en LLog REAA y vice-versa.
- Que nos motiva a cambiar?
- Que sistema es el mejor?
- Es mejor uno que otro?
- Deberíamos trabajar en ambos o incluso estudiar ambos?
- Que marca la diferencia entre York y el REAA?
Aquí no estoy hablando de regularidad pues ambos RRit:. son regulares, pero mas bien de concepción de la Mas:. y del modus vivendi. No deseo levantar polémica ni causar disputa pero como MMas:. y libres pensadores, es nuestro deber renovar y refrescar nuestras ideas y conocimientos para no caer en el conformismo y el confort de las certitudes... si esto fuese el caso les ruego recuerden el día en el que vieron la Luz.
Melchizedek
Priest-king mentioned in Genesis 14:18-20 as having served as priest to Abraham: “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God (El Elyon). And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.”
Melchizedek is mentioned in Psalm 110 in connection with the ordination of a high priest by a king of Jerusalem in the line of David: “”The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
In the Book of Hebrews, this same order of priesthood is claimed for Jesus, and the following is said of Melchizedek in Hebrews 7:1-3: “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of
days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.”
There appears to have been a school of Gnostics known as “Melchizedekians,” who revered
Melchizedek as an avatar of Seth (third son of Adam) and Shem (second son of Noah, progenitor of the Semitic peoples). A gnostic tractate included in the Nag Hammadi Library bears the name of Melchizedek. This tractate elaborates on the role of Melchizedek as eschatological high priest, messianic warrior, and previous incarnation of Jesus Christ.
The name Melchizedek can be translated as “Righteous King” or “My King is Justice.”
Melchizedek was the “king of Salem,” and “Salem” was probably Uru-Salim, an old name of Jerusalem, whose king during the Israelite invasion of Canaan had the strikingly similar name of Adonizedek. As the priest of Abraham, Melchizedek can be considered the progenitor of the Abrahamic religions– Judaism, Christianity, Islam and their derivatives. Based in Genesis 14:18, he is sometimes credited with having substituted the sacrifice of bread and wine for that of animals. Many sacerdotal lineages, including the Roman Catholic, Mormon and Masonic Royal Arch, are traced in legend to Melchizedek.
For various reasons, many historians believe that Genesis 14:18-20 was inserted into the Book of Genesis at a later date, possibly to help justify the ordination of a non-Levite high priest by King David.
Also, it should be kept in mind that Jerusalem in the time of Abraham was inhabited by the Jebusites, a tribe of Canaanites which probably decended from the Hittites and Amorites. As priest-king of the Jebusites, Melchizedek would certainly have been a polytheist; and deities named Elyon and Zedek are both to be found in the Canaanite/Phoenician pantheon. The name Melchizedek could be translated “My The Invisible Basilica:
King is (the god) Zedek” as easily as “My King is Justice.”
Moderns, Ancients and Others
The Moderns
The Grand Lodge constituted in 1717 was titled’”The Right Worshipful Fraternity
of Accepted Free Masons,” and later became “The Most Ancient and Honorable
Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons under the Constitution of England” more
generally known as The Premier Grated Lodge or The Grand Lodge of England. Their
purpose was to revive the institution from its depressed state. Their original
jurisdiction extended for about three square miles, not all England, but they were
certainly the start of today’s Grand Lodge system.
They are often called “The Moderns,” a term that probably originated with their
rivals. And rivals there were. Some lodges felt that the creation of a Grand Lodge was
in violation of Masonic law, while others simply were against being ruled from the city.
By 1725 the Lodge in York had declared itself a Grand Lodge. The ultimate problem
arose when Dr. James Anderson, D.D. was commissioned “to digest the (Gothic
Constitutions) into a new and better method.” His Constitutions were adopted in 1723
and the 1738 edition included changes in the modes of recognition to tell the true from
the impostor – a change that was greatly disapproved in some circles, and possibly was
the immediate cause of the formation of the “Ancient” Grand Lodge.
The Ancients
On July 17, 1751 “The Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and
Accepted Masons, according to the Old Institutions” usually referred to as the “Ancient
Grand Lodge of England” or “Athol Grand Lodge” was formed by six lodges that
appear to have been mostly of Irish Masons. The work of this Grand Lodge was similar
to that used in both Ireland and Scotland. Laurence Dermott was its guiding hand,
serving as Grand Secretary from 1752 to 1771 and then Deputy Grand Master until
1787. He wrote its Book of Constitutions – the Ahiman Rezon (i.e. the Law of Prepared
Brothers, or A Help to a Brother.) This title will be found in the law of many US Grand
Lodges, including that of Virginia.
A key provision of the Ancient work was the inclusion of the Royal Arch Degree
as a part of the working. This was a stumbling block for all proposals to unite the two
Grand Lodges, and was also source of problems among lodges in the US.
Although Freemasonry in the United States was no longer influenced by that of
England, we should note in passing that on November 25, 1813 the two Grand Lodges
united as “The United Grand Lodge of Ancient Freemasons of England.” The key
compromise in The Articles of Union “declared and pronounced, that pure Ancient
Masonry consists of three degrees, and no more, viz., those of the Entered Apprentice,
the Fellow Craft and the Master Mason (including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal
Arch.)”
Others
Although early Irish Masonic records are lacking, there is a Freemason’s Stone in
Dublin which appears to date from about 1602, and a lecture given in Dublin University
in 1688 makes references that imply that Masonry was not unknown at that time. The
Grand Lodge of Ireland was established no later than 1725 and followed the Ancient
form of work.
Scotland had many operative lodges, but apparently speculative members were
not very welcome, and a central authority even less so. (John Robinson notes that
American Freemasonry can be classed as Reformed, English – Conservative, and
Scottish – Orthodox.) The example of England and Ireland proved too strong, however,
and in 1736, thirty-three lodges met in Edinburgh and constituted the Grand Lodge.
In addition, four other Grand Lodges were established in England prior to 1800,
but most of these had no influence on Freemasonry in the United States. The notable
exception was the Lodge at York which declared itself a Grand Lodge in 1725. While
never particularly successful, it expired in 1790, it was the lodge of William Preston,
whose Illustrations of Masonry as revised by Thomas Smith Webb form the basis for
most of our Lodge ritual today.
Zerubbabel: Who Was He?
Both Scottish Rite and Royal Arch Masons recognize the important role Zerubbabel plays in our ritual, but most of us (including the author) know very little about the man himself. We know, for example, that all Royal Arch Chapters are “erected to God and dedicated to Zerubbabel” — but who was this man?
Unfortunately, the Holy Bible provides scant information about the builder of the Second Temple. What little that is known, taken from our Volume of Sacred Law, is summarized in the following paragraphs.
The Temple that Zerubbabel built in Jerusalem in the sixth century BCE lasted longer than the Temples of Solomon and Herod the Great combined. However, Zerubbabel disappears from the Biblical narrative even before the Second Temple is dedicated. This has fueled speculation by leading theologians and Biblical scholars that he was possibly executed for leading a messianic movement that would have crowned him king of an independent Jewish nation.
The prophets of his day certainly seemed to have messianic expectations of Zerubbabel as a direct descendant of King David. Haggai said the Jew who helped lead the first wave of his people home from exile in Babylon would be used by Yahweh to destroy other nations: “On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel to be my servant, the son of Shealtiel, says the Lord, and make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts” (Haggai 2:23). The words “servant,” “signet ring,” and “chosen” indicate that Zerubbabel was most likely born during Judah’s five-decade exile in Babylon. In fact, the name Zerubbabel itself means “seed of Babylon.”
Though many leading citizens of Judah were exiled in 597 BCE, most were not taken until Babylon leveled Jerusalem in 587 BCE. Forty-seven years later, the Persians captured Babylon, and, within a year, the Persian king Cyrus II issued a decree allowing the Jews to return home to “rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel” (Ezra 1:3). Cyrus also restored the Temple’s treasures the Babylonians had stolen and agreed to help finance the building project.
The decree of 538 BCE was not unique. Cyrus, like Persian kings after him, had a policy of allowing captured people to return home and encouraged their native religions. Ancient non-Biblical sources show that Cyrus also gave money to rebuild temples in Ur and Uruk. Cambyses II, his son and successor, helped finance restoration of the temple at Sais, Egypt. And, Darius I, who succeeded Cambyses, won over the priests of Egypt by rebuilding their temples and restoring their incomes.
Zerubbabel was placed in charge of the returning Jews and given the title “governor of Judah.” He allowed the people about 14 months to get settled, build their homes and plant crops. Then, about 536 BCE, the Jews began in earnest to rebuild the Temple. Sometime after they laid the foundation over what is purported to have been Solomon’s Temple, opposition arose that slowed the work and finally brought the construction to a 15-year halt.
The opposition came from non-Jews in the region, perhaps descendants of settlers the Assyrians had brought in after they crushed the northern kingdom of Israel in 721 BCE as Samaritans living in the area who saw the resurgence of Judah as a political and military threat. Some of those people worshipped Yahweh and asked to help in the building of the Temple. The response of Zerubbabel and the other leaders was blunt: “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; just we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us” (Ezra 4:3). In retaliation, the neighbors harassed the builders to the point of bringing the work to a standstill, where it remained throughout the reign of Cyrus as well as that of his son Cambyses.
According to another school of thought, Sheshbazzar, possibly Zerubbabel’s uncle and then governor of Judah, led the first returnees and in the construction of the Temple. Zerubbabel himself did not arrive until about 521 BCE to oversee the second phase of building.
A year and a half into the reign of the Persian king, Darius, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah convinced Zerubbabel that it was time to finish the job. Haggai told Zerubbabel, then the governor of Judah, and Joshua, the High Priest, that the reason for the people’s inadequate harvests, their hunger, thirst and cold was that Yahweh was displeased with them for failing to restore His Holy House (Haggai 1:4).
The Jews resumed construction again “on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month” (Haggai 1:15). Once again, neighboring communities took notice of the project and raised objections, this time expressed to the governor of Syria. He asked who authorized the work. When Zerubbabel and the other Jewish leaders told him the Persians, the Syrian governor wrote to Darius asking him to confirm it by checking the royal archives.
Darius ordered the royal archives to be searched and found the decree of Cyrus. Then, he not only confirmed what the Jews had said, he ordered the non-Jews to leave the Jews alone and to give them any money from the royal revenues or supplies they needed to complete the Temple. If anyone did not comply, Darius said, “a beam is to be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled upon it” (Ezra 6:11).In a subsequent prophecy, Haggai promised that the Second Temple would surpass Solomon’s magnificent edifice in splendor as well as being filled with silver and gold. This was not to be.
According to some sources, Zerubbabel’s Temple was completed in 516 BCE, about three and a half years after the second effort began. Contrary to ancient legends, Zerubbabel never served as King of Judah. Zerubbabel, presumably the leader of the project, is nowhere mentioned in the details of the Temple’s completion and dedication.
Zerubbabel disappears from the Bible, except for three New Testament verses that include him in the genealogy of the Christian Master. Yet, this may mean nothing more than that his most memorable contribution to ancient Jewish history had been already recorded, and there was nothing significant left to be recorded.
The Symbolic Degrees
The Entered Apprentice is a bearer of burdens, the Fellowcraft a skilled workman and the Master Mason a director of the work.
The Entered Apprentice Degree, the first degree in Freemasonry, admonishes the candidate to obey the rules and regulations and learn to practice secrecy. The background of this degree, like many others, is the building of King Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. The Entered Apprentice is taught symbolically to labor upon the building of the Temple, to subdue his passions, and improve himself in Masonry. He receives here the beginning of the instructions which are to guide him in the search of the secret of Freemasonry.
The Fellowcraft is instructed in the principles of Geometry. The different Orders of Architecture are explained to him and he is enjoined to study the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences, and to proceed on his journey toward the attainment of Masonic knowledge.
The Master Mason is taught numerous very important moral lessons governing his conduct in the world towards others; that he must answer and obey the rules of the order; must not cheat, wrong or defraud a brother or a Lodge of Masons, but on the contrary must help, aid and assist a distressed brother, his widow and orphans. Preparation for the life to come is inculcated by beautiful ceremonies. The Temple is not yet completed, and those faithful craftsmen who have labored so long upon it are deprived, by the wickedness of others of that for which they have wrought. The candidate receives light as fully as it may come to him in the Symbolic Lodge, and the substitute for that which by further search he may hope to receive later, the real secret of the Master Mason. The building of the Temple symbolizes the perfection of our moral life and the continuous effort to erect within ourselves a spiritual building, a house not mad with hands, eternal in the heavens.
What is a Royal Arch Mason?
WHAT IS A ROYAL ARCH MASON? Unknown A ROYAL ARCH MASON is a man who began his Masonic career by seeking light as an ENTERED APPRENTICE.
Thus entering upon his labors and duties diligently, he soon realized the need for more light and knowledge, and so he sought to be passed to the degree of FELLOWCRAFT.
Still learning and trying, he realized his need for further light and education and by diligent labor, prepared himself to be raised to the sublime degree of MASTER MASON.
Being thus enlightened and entrusted with the purposes and uses of the working tools – the gauge – the gavel – the plumb – the square – the level – and the trowel, he labored faithfully in the quarries of life. Reaching that point that his work was found to be good, true, and square, he was advanced to the degree of MARK MASTER MASON.
With his efforts and labors with the chisel and mallet thus recognized, he was elevated to the status of a virtual PAST MASTER and proved his qualities of leadership, direction, and inspiration.
These qualities displayed in his life and conduct as well as in his labors, he was able to participate in the symbolism of the dedication of the Temple – viewing the light of God’s presence and power and being received and acknowledged as a MOST EXCELLENT MASTER.
After sustained effort and confirming evidence of faithful service, he was exalted to the HOLY ROYAL ARCH being entrusted with the mysteries of the triangle – emblematic of the power, light, and strength of God. In fulfillment of his quest for light, the Companion received the long-lost Master’s Word and rededicated himself to work of building that house not made with hands eternal in the heavens.
The Allied Masonic Degrees
The Allied Masonic Degrees are detached degrees, which, many years ago, were conferred under Craft Warrants and formed a part of the loosely governed Freemasonry, which afterward eliminated all save the three Craft degrees and the Royal Arch. All old references to the Royal Arch were invariably to the “Excellent Super Excellent Royal Arch Masons,” which comprised three grades. The Super Excellent has long since been discontinued, save in the veil-working of Irish Royal Arch Chapters, while the Excellent Master is a predicate to the Royal Arch in the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapters of Scotland and is worked in English Councils of Royal & Select Master The other degrees, likewise, were worked in Craft Lodges in both America and the British Isles. When Freemasonry discontinued the working of outside degrees, these degrees became practically dormant, although they were perpetuated and finally formed their own supreme heads, in many instances. They were finally grouped together under a governing head and hence the title of “Allied Masonic Degrees;” they have been allied together for mutual benefit and perpetuation. The working of these degrees in America is encouraged, but not required; the blanket obligation of the Council binding the newly invited brother sufficiently. Where it is possible, Grand Council recommends that some of the degrees be worked each year in order that the members may be fully informed as to the working. Membership in an Allied Council is limited by law to twenty-seven, and then only by invitation. It is predicated upon Royal Arch Masonry. Officers of a Council are the same as of a Craft Lodge, although the opening and closing ceremonies must remain true to the form prescribed.
_______________________
The Allied Masonic Degrees are detached degrees some of which, many years ago, were conferred under Craft warrants and formed part of the then loosely governed Freemasonry of the period. Many of these detached degrees became dormant in some places; although in others they were conferred as side degrees. In time, the better of these degrees were grouped together in an organized body under the title of the Allied Masonic Degrees. The degrees comprising the system in our jurisdiction in the USA are the Royal Ark Mariner, Secret Monitor, Knight of Constantinople, Saint Lawrence the Martyr, Architect, Grand Architect, Superintendent, Grand Tyler of Solomon, Master of Tyre, Excellent Master, Installed Sovereign Master, Installed Commander Noah, Red Branch of Eri, and Ye Antient and Olde Order of Corks. In addition, other dormant degrees may be added if the Grand Council decides to append them to the system. These degrees are conferred in the United States in Councils, chartered by the Grand Council of the AMD. Each Council is limited to twenty-seven members, with two exceptions. One of these exceptions is known as the Council of the Nine Muse #13 and it is limited to nine members. The other exception is Grand Master’s Council, A which has what is known as a “roving Charter”. The purpose of the latter Council is to provide a place of membership in the Allied Masonic Degrees for brethren residing in localities where Councils have not been organized. Membership in this Council, as well as every other Council of the Allied Masonic Degrees is by invitation only, and is predicated on membership in a Chapter of Royal Arch Masons. In addition to perpetuating these degrees, there is another and equally important purpose to the AMD. It brings together in small groups Freemasons who are interested in the advancement of all branches of Masonry, preparing themselves to better serve the Craft through the medium of study and research. By limiting the membership in a Council and acquiring members only by invitation, the result is a congenial group able to enjoy full fellowship when meeting together. Wherever there is an active Council of the Allied Masonic Degrees, it exerts an influence for the betterment of Freemasonry in all of the Masonic bodies of the area. There is no intent on the part of the Allied Masonic Degrees to detract from any organized and established body of Masonry. On the contrary, you will find our members active beyond the average in all local Masonic bodies. The real purpose of AMD is to stimulate interest in Freemasonry in general and bring together in small groups those who are interested in the study of Masonic subjects.
Principles of Good Leadership (Part 1 of 3)
1. Good Leadership is not an EGO-TRIP.
The important distinction lies in the direction of one’s flow of energy. If that flow is focused inward upon the ego, in the thought of one’s own importance, it becomes contractive and limiting. If, on the other hand, it is a radiation outward from one’s self it becomes expansive. The more powerful that outward flow, the more magnetic it will be and ultimately, the more self-transforming.
- Self-importance in a leader is self-defeating.
- The spirit of a group reflects the spirit of its leadership.
- The ego can be either a hindrance or an aid to creativity. It is an aid if its energy flow is toward the job to be done, rather than inward upon itself.
- Leadership is not an ego-game.
2. Good Leadership means RESPONSIBILITY.
- See leadership not in terms of glamor but of responsibility.
- Be not so much concerned with the opinions of others as with the truth.
- Be concerned not with praise or blame nor with your personal reactions but with action, with getting the job done.
- Concentrate on the longer rhythms in any project, not on temporary ups and downs.
- Be as ready to accept responsibility for failure as for success.
- Acceptance of responsibility means accepting the duty to find creative answers even when convention says there are none.
3. Good Leadership means SETTING ASIDE PERSONAL DESIRES.
- The true leader puts his personal wishes last, not first.
- A leader should ask himself in every circumstance, not “What would I like?” but rather, “What do I feel is needed?” and “What is right?”
- For every problem a good leader should ask himself, “What is trying to happen here?” One’s skill as a leader is demonstrated by his ability to tune in IMPERSONALLY to the flow of events.
- Leadership requires openness to the feelings of others and not insensitivity to them in the name of “getting on with the job.” To a major extent, their welfare is the job.
4. Leadership means SERVICE.
- See leadership as only a job, like any other.
- Leadership means giving service, not receiving it.
- Humility is more important in a leader than any medal for achievement.
- Humility is self-honesty.
- See God as the doer. View your work as service to him.
5. Good Leadership means LOYALTY.
- Work with people as they are, not as you would like them to be.
- Work with things as they are, not as you would like them to be.
- Be patient. Understand that it takes time to bring people to new points of view.
- To win loyalty, be loyal yourself, first.
- To win love, first give love, yourself.
- In correcting someone, consider first his readiness to hear what you have to say.
- Be loyal to your own, first.
6. Good Leadership is INTUITION GUIDED BY COMMON SENSE.
- The wise leader is more concerned with what IS than what ought to be.
- He is concerned more with what will work than with mere opinions, even his own.
- He is more concerned with truth than with being thought right.
- A wise leader convinces by sound reason, or by magnetism of his own conviction but not by the mere outward authority of his position or past experience.
- Discriminating supporters need to be cultivated, not merely impressed.
- Be wary of supporting your proposals on intuitive grounds alone. Try to present your ideas in such a way as to invite intelligent response.
- Always be guided by common sense.
- Common sense is the willingness to learn from experience.
7. The Importance of FLEXIBILITY.
- Be willing to admit your mistakes. Remember: truth alone wins out in the end.
- Keep your ideas of perfection fluid. Remember that perfection in human behavior is not a thing but a direction.
- Adapt your actions to reality.
- Deal afresh with each situation as it arises. See it as a thing in itself.
- Don’t make too many rules lest they destroy the spirit of your enterprise.
- Be open to other points of view. They might prove better than your own.
- Learn to be centered in your inner self and at rest.
8. The need for ACTION, not TALK.
- Leadership means action – not merely good ideas for action.
- Don’t waste so much energy in planning that you have none left over for acting on your plans.
- Action generates creativity.
- Almost any action is preferable to prolonged inactivity born of indecision.
9. Giving SUPPORT.
- Try always to strengthen your subordinates in their work, in their creativity and in their qualities of leadership.
- Encourage them in their projects.
- Allow them to learn by their mistakes.
- Be willing to compromise. Don’t ask more of people than they are to deliver or, if you do so, stretch their horizons gradually. Invite their support, don’t commandeer it.
- Accept only as much authority as they are willing to give you.
- Never assign any job that you wouldn’t be willing to do yourself.
10. Work with people’s STRENGTHS.
- Work to strengthen a subordinate’s best qualities rather than harping on his worst. You will accomplish more by encouraging others than by belittling them.
- Work more with your organization’s strengths than with its weaknesses. Channel more energy to those people in it who are in tune with what you are doing than to those whose tendency is to resist you.
- Don’t invest a disproportionate amount of energy in addressing negative situations. Strengthen the positive side rather than any negative energies that exist.
- Don’t allow subordinates to offer merely negative criticisms. They should offer solutions when they point out problems.
- Encourage the doers under you, not the mere talkers. Never court popularity for yourself. Be concerned with issues and with principles.
- Never speak from your own emotions or private prejudices but always from a sense of justice, fairness and truth.
11. What is TRUE SUCCESS?
- A true leader is neither attached to success nor afraid of failure.
- Success is not so much the completion of a specific project, as the energy that goes into completing it. Projects can fail but never the energy itself. A good leader works as much as possible through others, not directly himself.
- He is willing to compromise in little matters in order to win on the larger issues. The outcome of any project always reveals, however subtly, the kind of energy that went into its development.
- A leader who leads, truly, and never drives others, will create in his subordinates the most constructive possible attitudes and will ensure the best possible long range results for his and their labors. The true success of an undertaking depends more than anything else on the spirit of the people involved in it. The spirit of those people is a reflection, always, ofthe spirit of its LEADER.
This article written by John S. Jones, Grand High Priest, Grand Chapter State of NY Royal Arch Masons 2007.
Ark of the Covenant
The principal article of furniture in the Temple of Solomon at Jerusalem was the Ark of the Covenant. It was a small coffer or box which contained certain symbolic articles. It was surmounted by the cherubim and between the wings of these fabled characters was the shekinah or perpetual cloud, from which the bathkol (Hebrew: bat kol) issued when consulted by the High Priest. The idea of an Ark as a repository for some sacred article goes back into antiquity; these arks usually contained some symbol of Life and Stability; the Jewish Ark was undoubtedly copied from the Egyptian Ark. T’he degree of Most Excellent Master is intimately connected with the deposit of the Ark of the Covenant within the Sanctum Sanctorum of Solomon’s Temple. The Solomonic Temple was erected for the primary purpose of housing the Ark. After the destruction of the first temple there has been no record as to what happened to this article of furniture. [Contributed by Mark Adler, from Ray V. Denslow’s Encyclopedia A Royal Arch
Article was taken from Royal Arch Educational Minute, Grand Chapter State of NY Royal Arch Masons (www.ny-royal-arch.org)
Nine Reasons For Being Loyal To Freemasonry
This article was written by the late George Peter, Grand Historian of the Grand Lodge of NY. Originally authored in the 80′s and reprinted in the 1990 revision of the Officers Training Guide, it still holds true today for Masons, not only in NY but around the globe.
Nine Reasons For Being Loyal To Freemasonry
- Masonry is the oldest and most prestigious fraternal organization known to recorded history.
- Fraternalism is needed more in our present society than perhaps ever before.
- Members of a family learn to love, respect, and appreciate, have compassion for and to live with other members of the family.
- Freemasonry is an extension of that family circle; through the expanded family, Masons learn to be better Brothers within the Masonic family and thence to the world at large.
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- Clergymen, educators, philosophers and social scientists of today cannot seem to agree on any particular set of moral values. A genius of Freemasonry is the emphasis it places on supporting a set of moral values which have been honed by the test of time. It is a privilege to be loyal to that fraternity which continues to stabilize a moral code that is being eroded by indecision, experimentation and indifference by others.
- A second genius of Freemasonry is its proposition which states that one cannot build a better society without first building better ingredients of that society – e.g.; men. Masons may be proud to support such a proposition by perfecting the effectiveness of this ritual which is filled with lessons of how to be a better and more “upright” person.
- Freemasonry played a noble and impressive role in the formation of the United States government. Much of the insights, concerns and brilliance of Masonic stalwarts such as George Washington, Ben Franklin, Peyton Randolph, Robert Livingston, and scores of others helped to develop that profound document that we call our Constitution. Every Mason can be proud of the American and Masonic heritage which are so closely related.
- The Masonic Home at Utica is an example of Masonic principle put into action. Here, over 600 widows, orphans and older Masons are guests of New York State Freemasonry. It is with a sense of satisfaction that every New York State Mason may know that he is a host to these members of the Masonic family.
- The Masonic Medical Research Laboratory, also in Utica, and operated by the Grand Lodge of the State of New York, continues to make regular and important contributions to medical research which ultimately will lengthen the productive life of every human being. Every Mason should be justly proud to support this work and is invited to share by contributing to the research through annual giving to the Masonic Brotherhood Fund.
- Fraternities can help to break down the greatest of all barriers to a healthy society – the caste system which grows out of uncontrolled egos. Freemasonry is uniquely effective in this effort by teaching that it is a place “for the high, the low, the rich, the poor to meet together – on the level”. This one important contribution of Freemasonry is worth all the support that can be given to it.
- Freemasonry is an international fraternity. It exists in nearly every country in the world except where totalitarian governments have outlawed it by decree. Freemasonry is perhaps the strongest tie that binds the world into a universal brotherhood. It certainly has the potential to be even a stronger cord for that noble purpose.
Early Capitular Masonry
St. Andrew’s Royal Arch Chapter, No. 1, in Boston, can proudly boast a most illustrious history. This Royal Arch Lodge ‑ then so‑called ‑ James Brown, Master, met in that city August 28th, 1769. This is also the date of its Charter, but of what authoritative source derived is not stated, though of course the document itself explains. Thomas Waterman, Grand High Priest of Massachusetts, some time since kindly put me in possession of many particulars concerning this interesting old chapter. For a long period degrees were conferred therein extraneous to the Capitular system as we now have it, as will be observed by an extract from the second recorded meeting of “a Royal Arch Lodge,” held August 28th, 1769: “The petition of Brother William Dams coming before the lodge, begging to have and receive the parts belonging to a Royal Arch Mason, which being read was received and he unanimously voted in, and was accordingly made by receiving the four steps, that of an Excellent, Super‑Excellent, Royal Arch and Knight Templar.”
May 14th, 1770, Joseph Warren, who was Grand Master of Masons for the continent of America in the ante‑revolutionary period, by a commission dated March 7th, 1772, from the Earl of Dumfries, as Grand Master of Scotland, was made a Royal Arch Mason in St. Andrew’s Lodge. This was in the Mason’s Hall in the Green Dragon Tavern, on Union Street, although subsequently the chapter met at Mason’s Hall, north side of the Market House (Faneuil Hall Market.)
The degree of Mark Master was not connected with the other chapter degrees until November 28th, 1793. For the first time, November 15th, 1797, the designation St. Andrew’s Royal Arch Chapter appears on the record. No mention of the degree of Knight Templar is to be found after the meeting of December 3d, 1794, With these historic antecedents, St. Andrew’s has steadily pursued its course, holding a stated convocation once a month, and has now a membership of about 500. Of course, in the long list of distinguished officers in the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Massachusetts, very many have been selected from the Past High Priests of St. Andrew’s Chapter, all of whom have been ardent devotees of the Royal Craft.
It will be observed that this renowned chapter was instituted before the Capitular system, as we now have it, was promulgated, and probably in its archives are to be found the edicts announcing the changes which modified the work. To the student of Royal Arch Masonry the annals of this chapter must be a rich mine of instructive and interesting information.
In this connection, I revert to the meager published records of the General Grand Chapter of the United States, and on the first page I discover that on the 24th of October, 1797, several prominent companions met in Boston, and proceeded to organize that August body. St. Andrew’s chapter was represented by its leading officers, of whom Benjamin Hurd, Jr., was then High Priest, he having been elected in 1791, and held the office for seven years, and he also having held the office of General Grand King for a long period. When delegates from St. Andrew’s Chapter and King Cyrus Chapter, at Newbury port, met at the Green Dragon Tavern Tuesday, March 13th, 1798, and organized the Grand Royal Chapter of Massachusetts, Companion Hurd was elected the first Grand High Priest, and was re‑elected for three successive years.
These statements show that the General Grand Chapter had a prior origin to the Grand Chapter of Massachusetts, but of only a few months. The old commonwealth has always been loyal to the General Grand Body that her devoted Masons assisted in organizing, and a roll of the officers will reveal that several times her Grand Chapter has furnished efficient and faithful servants, among whom was John McClellan, of Boston, who was General Grand Treasurer from 1865 till his death, September 29th, 1878, and had been a member of St. Andrew’s Chapter from November, 1844.
It is doubtless justly claimed that records exist which prove beyond question that Chapter No. 3, (now Jerusalem Chapter No. 3), of Philadelphia, is the oldest Royal Arch Chapter in the United States, and that the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Pennsylvania, was the first Grand Chapter organized in this country. The minutes of Royal Arch Lodge, No. 3, as originally designated, are complete from December 3d, 1767, to the present date, and naturally enough are regarded as a sacred treasure. This, it will be observed, is a date anterior to the organization of St. Andrew’s Chapter Boston, but how much earlier Royal Arch Masonry was introduced into Philadelphia will probably never be known, because the destruction of the Masonic hall by fire, in the year 1819, caused great loss to the Masons of Pennsylvania, in the burning of nearly all their old records.
From this Jerusalem Chapter has grown the fourteen chapters now in Philadelphia and immediate vicinity, and the 102 chapters in the State, with an aggregate membership of about 11,000. All the chapters in Philadelphia are numerically large bodies, and the mother chapter reports a roll of 400 companions. In addition there are three Mark Master Mason’s lodges in that city, which have a membership of 2,000.
All through the vicissitudes of nearly a century and a quarter, Jerusalem Chapter has been conferring the Royal Arch degree, and it does not appear that any event, however momentous, has interrupted the regular assemblies of this time‑honored organization. In the Ahiman Rezon (edition 1825), we read: “This chapter, working under the warrant of No. 3, was reorganized by and had communion with a military chapter, working under warrant No. 351, granted by the Grand Lodge of England; and its proceedings were subsequently approved by that honorable body, as appears from a communication from its Deputy Grand Master Dermott.” How soon thereafter it became independent of English supervision does not appear.
The annals of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania show that on November 23d, 1795, the Grand Chapter was opened under the immediate sanction the Grand Lodge. The Grand Chapter met under the same auspices until January 5th, 1824, at which time it became independent, and it is worthy of note that it has never allied itself to the General Grand Chapter of the United States, which even then was a powerful body embracing sixteen Grand Chapters.
Of the early chapters working anterior to the organization of the Grand Chapter of Connecticut there were six, all represented in the convention at Hartford, May 17th, 1798, the real date of the formation of that Grand Body with elected officers. These six were as follows: Hiram Chapter, No. 1, located at Newtown; Franklin Chapter, No. 2, located at New Haven; Washington Chapter, No. 3, located at Middletown; Franklin Chapter, No. 4, located at Norwich; Solomon Chapter, No. 5, located at Derby; Vanden Broeck Chapter, No. 5, located at Colchester.
Authority for these chapters came from New York. Representatives of these bodies met in Hartford, July 5th, 1796, “to take into consideration matters relative to said chapters which may be deemed of expedience or utility,” hence that date is usually given as the date of the organization of the Grand Chapter of Connecticut. A like convention was held October 20th, 1796, at New Haven, but no further organization effected. Stephen T. Hosmer was the first Grand High Priest.
Joseph K. Wheeler, Grand Secretary of Connecticut, is quite positive that in Hiram Chapter as early as 1791, the degrees of Mark Master, Master in the Chair, and Most Excellent Master, were conferred. The bylaws of that old chapter show “the regular times of meeting” to have been bi‑monthly. In the year 1840, Hiram Chapter became delinquent, and has since been dropped from the roll of the Grand Chapter.
The name of Franklin designates two chapters. It was a, common thing in the early days, for Masons in that jurisdiction to duplicate names of lodges also.
As a matter of interest to all Royal Arch Masons I give the following dates of formation of several of the oldest subordinates and Grand Chapters: Jerusalem Chapter, No. 3, Philadelphia, anterior to 1758; St. Andrew’s Chapter, Boston, August 28th, 1769; Providence Chapter, No. 1, Providence, September 3d, 1793; Hiram Chapter, No. 1, Newtown, Conn., April 6th, 1791; King Cyrus Chapter, Newbury port, Mass., July 9th, 1790; Grand Chapter of Pennsylvania, November 23d, 1795; Grand Chapter of Connecticut, May 17th, 1798; Grand Chapter of Rhode Island, March 13th, 1797; Grand Chapter of Massachusetts, Oct. 24th, 1797; Grand Chapter of New York, March 24th, 1798; General Grand Chapter of the United States, January 24th, 1798.
To those familiar with the history of Capitular Masonry in the State of New York, the omission of Ancient Chapter No. 1, in New York city, will appear singular. The reason will be made obvious. The date of the origin of the old lodge first working the Royal Arch degree in the metropolitan city cannot now be ascertained, but it was most certainly the organization that subsequently became known as Ancient Chapter, which was enrolled under the Grand Royal Arch Chapter, August 28th, 1806. The history prior to 1798 is so mixed with tradition that scarcely anything more can now be determined; save that as early as 1763 the warrant for the original organization to confer the degrees up to Royal Arch came from England.
Providence Chapter No. 1, Providence, Rhode Island, has always held exclusive jurisdiction in that city, and with its seven hundred members is to‑day the largest Chapter in the United States, numerically more important than several Grand Jurisdictions which boast their dozen Grand Officers and a representation in the General Grand Chapter equal with the great States of New York, Illinois or Massachusetts.
Lesson of the Keystone
Consider for a moment the rejection of the Keystone by the Overseers. A Craftsman presented for inspection a stone of “Singular Form and Beauty.” No doubt he carried up this stone with great pride, feeling sure that in the noble and important work in which they were all engaged, would be received with acclaim, and would occupy a preeminent place in the glorious structure they were building.
True the Overseers did not immediately reject it. They passed it from one to the other to a final court of appeal ‑ the Master Overseer. They agreed that it was of singular form and beauty. They consulted together; they admitted that they had no knowledge of its place or purpose; it was not according to the plans with which they were familiar, and therefore not accepted.
The manner of its rejection should, however, be noted. In the presence of, and in the face of him who had presented it with so much pride, it was declared useless, unfit for the building, and not just set aside. In the most humiliating manner, thrown among the rubbish of ill conceived, poorly executed and defective work. The stone was rejected, not for poor construction, (for did they not all three agree that it, the stone, was of singular form and beauty?), but because it did not conform.
We can draw lessons from both sides ‑‑‑ from the two forces represented on the one hand by the Craftsman, and on the other by the Overseers. The first is the progressive mind, the latter the conservative. Both elements are present in society; both are necessary, even although they are opposing forces, because, when kept in balance, true progress be attained.
Let us then, unlike the young and inexperienced craftsman, not attempt to present Utopian ideas and opinions that our fellow men are not ready to accept. Let us remember, worthwhile advances are painfully slow. Radical ideas forced on others of more conservative mind, lead only to discord and strife. Evolution and not revolution is the way of progress, and that caution and patience are necessary in order to receive the acceptance and endorsement of others. Let us not forget, that for the one stone of “singular form and beauty” which was rejected. There were thousands of others unworthy and valueless, which properly belonged to the rubbish pile of discarded things.
Are our ideas worthy and timely? Are they Keystones that will ultimately be accepted and put to their proper use?
On the other hand let us not be ultraconservative like the overseers. They rejected the stone because it was of an unknown and peculiar shape. Let us keep an open mind in our daily life and do not reject things because they are peculiar, or unaccustomed, or unknown. Many of the great discoveries of life, of science, of religion, of philosophy, of industry, were first rejected. Then sought after eagerly and put to their proper use for the benefit of mankind.
Above all, be careful how we reject the thoughts, actions and discoveries of others. If we cannot accept, let us not judge harshly or condemn unjustly because we do not understand, or because they do not conform to our own preconceived ideas. Others have a right to their opinions and they may be as right as we are wrong. One day we may find generally accepted those things we so bitterly and hastily condemn. Let us not forget, “The stone the builder rejected is become the head of the corner.”
Ineffable Name
In order to understand the identity of the word with the name of God, and the identity of the name with God Himself, we must first consider the intimate relation which, the Israelites thought, existed between a man and his own name. This conception was not confined to the Israelites, for among the ancients of many lands and races, there was a general belief that a man’s name was part of himself and had an important bearing on his character. There was also a widespread superstition that the knowledge of the name gave the possessor power over the man that who bore the name. Therefore, only one’s intimate friends were allowed to know his real name, and to all others a substitute was provided.
The identity of a man with his name was believed to hold good in the case of gods with their names. Among the Hebrews it was especially true of Jehovah and His name. The name is Y H V H or is English J H V H which because we lack knowledge of its true pronunciation we usually call Jehovah. Moses received the name from God as told in the sixth chapter of Exodus. “And the Lord spake unto Moses and said unto him, I am the Lord. And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Issac, and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them.”
This then is the ineffable name. It is also called the Tetragrammaton, meaning the four letter word. The word “ineffable” is derived from the Latin and means something that is unutterable, that cannot or may not be spoken. This definition well illustrates the Jewish attitude to the Divine name. The “incommunicable name” is a frequent term for the name of the Deity, that is, a name that cannot be expressed or shared with another.
It is difficult to explain the meaning of the Name, because to define a thing is to place it within limits, and the Name that is above every name simply has no limits. It belongs the Self-Existent and Eternal Being who is infinite in all respects. Definitions which have been suggested must be recognized as describing only limited conceptions of the attributes of the Deity. The finite mind cannot begin to comprehend that which is infinite. Some of the definitions are: “I am,” “I am what I am,” “I am because I am”. “I am who I am,” “I will be that I will be”, “I will be,” these definitions are given in the marginal references in the revised version of the Bible. It is aptly expressed in the phrase well known to us all: “It shows him to be the actual future and all-sufficient God, who alone has His being in and of Himself, and gives to all others their being, so that He was what He is, is what He was, and shall be both what He was and what He is from everlasting to everlasting.
The Jewish people believed that this Holy Name, which they held in the highest veneration, was possessed of unbounded powers. “He who pronounces it,” said they, “shakes heaven and earth, and inspires the very angels with astonishment and terror. There is Sovereign authority in this name, it governs the world by power.” But it must be remembered that the true pronunciation has been lost.
The Jewish Encyclopaedia has this to say, “The name of God is more than a mere title. It represents the Hebrew conception of the Divine nature and character and relation of God to His people. It represents the Deity as He is known to His worshipers, and stands for all the attributes which He bears in relation to them and which are revealed to them.”
There are many references to the Name in all types of descriptions and in all kinds of circumstances in the V.O.S.L., the study of which is earnestly commended to every Companion. However, one thing must be pointed out. Neither in the Bible nor in Masonry, is it the mere knowledge of a certain name or its pronunciation that is important, but the knowledge of Him who bears the name. As Masons, that which we seek is not intellectual knowledge only, but personal contact and fellowship, of which knowledge of the Name is but a symbol.
Jeshua, Zerubbabel and Haggai
“JESHUA, Zerubbabel and Haggai Those three ancient worthies who formed the First Grand Council and held their meetings in Jerusalem”.
Moses was led to appoint Joshua, the son of Nun, as his successor during the final wanderings in the wilderness, and it was this Joshua who delivered the children of Israel into the Promised Land. His leadership role was military, political and spiritual.
JESHUA, the son of Jozaddek the High Priest, was the spiritual leader in the rebuilding of the temple, when the children of Israel were delivered from the Babylonish captivity. He shared the political leadership with Zerubbabel. He was probably born in Babylon during the Exile. He, being the logical successor in the Priestly line, was, we must assume, educated for the priestly task even in exile. As the spiritual leader, the Jewish people in captivity surely knew and trusted him. Since there was no government in exile, it is logical to believe that JESHUA had a great deal of influence in promoting the leadership of Zerubbabel during this return. To give us some idea of the number of people who were involved in this return, the house of JESHUA alone numbered nine hundred and seventy-three a small .house of only one priest.
ZERUBBABEL, “Son (male heir) of Shealtiel, Governor of Judah.” Actually he was the grandson of Jeconiah, a great grandson of Hezekiah, King of Judah. He was indeed a part of the Davidic line and as we see in the New Testament a part of the messianic line. Jeconiah had several sons; Shealtiel, Malchiram, Pedaiah, Shenazar, Jekomiah, Hoshama, Nedabiah. Pedaiah’s sons were Zerubbabel and Shimei. Zerubbabel was the father of Meshullam, Hananiah and Shelomith their sister. In Matthew we read that Zerubbabel begot Abiud. Thus we see that Zerubbabel was the nephew of Shealtiel, and that in the Old Testament, the male heir is always referred to as the son of his predecessor. The genealogy of Zerubbabel was through Abraham, David and after him we can trace to the birth of Christ. We cannot stress too greatly the importance of the messianic line of decent.
Zerubbabel was born in captivity, and being a Prince of the House of Judah, he was very probably afforded chances that other young captives would not have been offered. He was possibly a part of the Kings Body Guard. Let us remember how important royal blood lines were. In those days royal captives were considered royalty. Even in recent time we still find some of the European Royal Families in Exile still inter-marrying to preserve the blood lines.
As we well know, he was appointed first by Cyrus as the “Governor” of Judah and later by Darius. By this choice of a Prince of the house of Judah and working with JESHUA the High Priest, the people were eager to follow these men in returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the City and Temple. Zerubbabel was able to accomplish much in restoring the city and completing and dedicating the new temple.
HAGGAI was the first prophet of the restoration. His name means festal or feast. He was contemporary with Zachariah he was probably present at the destruction of the first Temple. He was a Levite, and as such was given special treatment during the captivity. He was an old man when he came back to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel to participate in the rebuilding of the Temple. Not much is known about him, except that which may be elicited from his writings. From the time and event descriptions, the book of Haggai is one of the most precisely dated books in the entire Bible. At one period there was a fifteen year lapse in the Work on the New Temple. During this period, the people had spent their time building homes, fanning and doing many other things, almost anything but doing God’s Business. They began to suffer crop failures, personal problems, bickering and fighting among themselves to a greater extent than usual. The Old Prophet encouraged them to repent and come back to God. Just twenty-four days after this encouragement, work was resumed on the Temple. Immediately their other problems were solved, and their needs were abundantly met. As we studied the book of Haggai, he referred to the “desire of all nations”, we still have this desire for the “peace that passeth all understanding.”
As we have looked at these three characters, we have found that they lived in the sixth century before Christ. They were a part of the Jewish nation in captivity. It was during this era Synagogue Worship began. This worship outside the Temple in Jerusalem was a new experience for the Jewish people. The governments had been overthrown, many of the political leaders had turned away from the worship of God, many of the people had been in captivity, the Temple had been destroyed, and confusion must have been the order of the day. Yet, with 0 of this, many of the people did repent and return to the worship of God.
As we continue our search for light and truth in York Rite Masonry, we see the importance of JESHUA, Zerubbabel and Haggai to our noble craft. Our Blue Lodges thread the Masonic allegory around the building of the Temple of King Solomon to, of course, represent the Temple of our present life. In Royal Arch Masonry, the allegory completes the erection of that temple, witnesses its destruction, and follows through to the building of a second temple, representing, as it does, the temple of our spiritual life. This leads to the contemplation of our relationship to the creator. As Solomon and the two Hirams labored to build the first temple, so we labor to build our present life. As JESHUA, Zerubbabel and Haggai laboured at the second temple, so we should build the foundation of our spiritual life.
One of the strange facts that surfaced as we studied the genealogy of Jesus, we found that from Adam to Moses, several instances were exhibited of changing names and personalities. As an example of this we find Abram becoming Abraham, and Jacob becoming Israel. From MOSES to the Birth of Christ, we find no distinctive changes in the names of those listed. With the selection of the twelve apostles, we find Simon became Peter, Saul became Paul, and with this we note that all study opens new vistas and other avenues to satisfy that curiosity and obtain a better understanding of our relationship to each other and to the great creator.
The Keystone in Royal Arch Masonry
It was a matter of great surprise to me when I was this afternoon informed by the committee of the Grand Chapter that I was to take part in the exercises of the evening. This surprise was increased when I remembered that on the floor of this Grand Chapter, as its officers and representatives, were men gifted, brilliant, and accomplished, known throughout the state, and whose names were as familiar as household words to Iowa Masons. But as the first Masonic lesson taught is obedience to the constituted authorities, it shall be my task this evening to speak to you briefly of the “Keystone of Royal Arch Masonry.”The keystone is that which gives strength and durability to the arch; so that which imparts to Royal Arch Masonry its vitality and perpetuity may be properly termed its keystone. It is in the traditions upon which an institution is founded and the principles it is intended to inculcate that will be found the elements of its strength and perpetuity.
Each one of the Grand Masonic Bodies has been founded upon some remarkable epoch in the history of the race, and the chosen emblems of each one have come to represent, not only to Masons, but to the world at large, vital and enduring principles.
Ancient Craft Masonry is founded upon that memorable period when Solomon, the wise king of Israel, erected his temple to the living God, and the traditions, symbolism, and ritual of the craft may be traced to that period, so remarkable in the history of the race.
The square and compass, the distinguishing badge of Ancient Craft Masonry, is today typical of virtue, morality, and rectitude.
Tomorrow there will be gathered in your beautiful city some of the most distinguished men of this grand state, who are proud to wear upon their breasts the cross of the Templars.
This magnificent branch of Masonry is founded upon that period of the world’s history when the proudest and best representatives of the days of chivalry, at the call of Peter the Hermit, rallied round the standard of the cross to rescue the sepulchre of our Savior from the hand of the Moslem.
The cross, which eighteen hundred years ago was to the civilization of that day what the gallows is to this ‑ the emblem of crime, dishonor, and ignominy ‑ is today the sign of the highest virtue and Christian civilization, the final token of the love of God for man, and the shrine at which the highest civilization of the day is proud to bow. As in the clays of old, when the waves of Galilee were madly tossed by the tempest, they recognized in the words of the lowly Nazarene the voice of their God, and were quiet, so do the mad passions of the human heart become softened and controlled by the grand principles of which the cross is the symbol; and it is recognized throughout the world as the token of redeeming love. So the keystone of Royal Arch Masonry has in its symbolism lessons important for civilization to learn.
Capitular Masonry, like its sisters, bases its traditions on a memorable period of human history. The history of the Jewish people is the most remarkable, interesting, and romantic of any race upon the face of the earth. From the time when for them the ten commandments were traced upon the tablets of stone by the finger of the Most High, down to the present, amid all their wonderful prosperity, their unparalleled suffering and unmerited persecution, their wonderful history has been a fruitful theme for the historian and an inspiration to the poet. It is upon one of the most memorable, and certainly the most pathetic, parts of that history that the traditions of Royal Arch Masonry are based.
You will remember that after the temple had been completed the city of Jerusalem was destroyed, and the temple sacked and leveled by an invading foe. The magnificent temple ‑ pride of the Jewish people, endeared to their hearts by the visible manifestation of the presence of their God ‑ was reduced to a pile of ruins; the holy vessels, the pride of their people, came into the possession of her foes, and the captive daughter of Judah was chained to the chariot wheels of her conquerors.
Nothing in the literature of the race, from the Iliad of Homer to the best productions of the nineteenth century, can equal in pathos and beauty the lamentations of the Hebrew poets over the destruction of the temple, the desolation of Judah, and the captivity of her people. They hung their harps on the willow, and could not sing the songs of their people in a strange land and as the captive of a foreign foe; but through all the sorrowing years of the Babylonian captivity, through all the desolation and sorrow that came upon them, the Jewish people never lost their love and reverence for their God, nor hope in the final deliverance of their race.
We can imagine the joy that filled their hearts when the captive prophet of the Jews interpreted for the King the meaning of the handwriting on the wall that foretold the downfall of their captors, and the deliverance of their of their race. What joy could equal that which inspired the hearts of this wonderful people when Cyrus issued his proclamation that they should be freed from their captivity to assist in re‑ building the city and temple of their God.
It is on the capture and destruction of Jerusalem, the years of their Babylonian captivity and the re‑building of the temple, that the traditions and principles of Royal Arch Masonry are founded. Its first great lesson is reverence for God, a lesson that reiterated from the first to the last step in Masonry. While the Mason institution is not intended to take the place of religion, it is intended to place its votaries upon the great cornerstone of all religion ‑ a reverence for, and a sense of responsibility to, the Most High.
From that wonderful history we also learn that, amid the desolation and sorrow that is so often the lot of humanity, it is our duty to place the most implicit reliance in the final triumph of truth and justice, and support ourselves under every affliction, with a realization that our lives and our fate are in the hands of Him “Who doeth all things well.”
We are also taught that every disaster and danger that besets our pathway will yield to patient and persistent effort, and though it may be our fate to work and search amid the ruins of our fondest hope, that patient work will bring from them fruits as a reward of our labor and a solace to our hearts.
Its tendency is to strengthen the bonds of friendship and brotherhood; and as no danger was so great, no difficulty so appalling, that it was not shared alike by the Jewish people in building the temple, so we are taught today that by the union of heart and hand in the great work of up-building society and advancing civilization of the we can best accomplish the work given us to perform.
May that God who was the trust and hope of the Jewish people through all their years of affliction, and who preserved His religion untarnished amid the captivity of His people and the desolation of their homes, inspire our hearts with the great principles and purposes of Royal Arch Masonry, that we may prove true to our profession and ourselves. If we do this, Masonry will be to civilization and society what the keystone is to the arch.
C. M. Harl
Installation of Grand Officers of the Grand Chapter RAM of Iowa at Oskaloosa, October 5th, 1887
The prosperity of Masonry as a means of strengthening our religion and propagating true brotherly love, is one of the dearest wishes of my heart, which, I trust, will be gratified by the help of the Grand Architect of the Universe.
Christian, King of Denmark.
A HANDBOOK FOR THE FREEMASON'S WIFE
Published by Lewis Masonic, 2009.
Hardback 116 pages.
Price, £9.99
ISBN: 978-0-853183-13-6
http://www.lewismasonic.com/product_info.php?products_id=459
L'Islam pacifique existe : Les Ahmadis
Les Ahmadis sont les disciples de Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Ce mouvement religieux dérivé de l'islam au XIXe siècle comprend deux courants distincts, l'Ahmadiyya Muslim Community et le Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement (Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat-i-Islaman). La communauté musulmane ahmadiyya compte à ce jour 20 millions de membres selon les chiffres officiels du mouvement, basés sur un recensement général de ses adhérents. Elle est présente dans plus de 190 pays. Le mouvement s'est fait le champion de l'humanitaire, surtout en Afrique, en construisant des hôpitaux, cliniques et dispensaires gratuits, mais aussi des écoles et des centres de formation ouverts à tous et gratuits.
Un grand nombre de médecins et professeurs ahmadis dédient leur vie bénévolement dans ces diverses structures. Certains observateurs comparent la relation de l'Ahmadiyya avec l'islam à celle du christianisme à l'égard du judaïsme, mais ce point de vue n'est pas accepté par l'Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
Historique et croyance
À la fin du XIXe siècle, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad de Qadian se proclama mudjaddid, le Messie annoncé mahdi et le prophète de son temps (les deux sous-sectes de l'Ahmadiyya interprètent cette dernière affirmation différemment). Mirza Ghulam Ahmad prétendit avoir accompli la prophétie du retour de Jésus. Lui et ses disciples affirmèrent que cet événement avait été annoncé par Mahomet le prophète de l'islam, ainsi que par plusieurs autres écrits religieux dans le monde[1]. En 1889, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad fonda sa communauté, à qui l'on donna plus tard le nom d'Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat. Depuis ses débuts, le but de l'Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat est le renouveau de l'islam. En 1914, quelques années après la mort de son fondateur, le mouvement se sépara en deux sectes : le Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement et l'Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.
Les croyances des musulmans ahmadis sont considérées comme étant hérétiques et déviantes par rapport à l'islam par beaucoup de savants du sunnisme et du chiisme. Les musulmans traditionnels réfèrent souvent aux Ahmadis par le terme Qadiani, qui signifie littéralement « de la région de Qadian en Inde », mais qui a acquis avec les années une connotation différente. Les musulmans traditionnels affirment que la revendication de Mirza Ghulam Ahmad quant à son essence prophétique et messianique violent les principes de base eschatologique de la tradition islamique, pour qui Mahomet est mentionné comme étant le dernier prophète, et que c'est Jésus et personne d'autre qui doit revenir à la fin des temps. Les deux sectes ahmadi fondent leur croyance sur une interprétation allégorique des références dans la littérature islamique au « retour de Jésus ». Cependant les deux sectes divergent en ce qui concerne la finalité de la prophétie, comme indiqué ci-dessous.
Liwa-e-Ahmadiyya (Flag of the Ahmadiyya)
Devise et Symboles
La devise des Ahmadis est « l'amour pour tous, la haine pour personne »[2].
Le minaret blanc (White Minaret) de Qadian est un symbole de l'ahmadisme et figure sur le drapeau de ce groupe religieux.
Discrimination et violences
L'Organisation de la conférence islamique les a déclarés non musulmans en 1973, leur interdisant le pèlerinage à La Mecque. Ils sont persécutés dans de nombreux pays[3] et les autorités pakistanaises ont souvent accusé les convertis à l'ahmadisme de blasphème, de violations des lois anti-ahmadis ou d'autres crimes[4].
Le 28 mai 2010, des attaques contre 2 mosquées de ce culte à Lahore font environ 80 tués et 80 blessés. Le Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan est soupçonné d'être l'auteur de ces actions[5].
El Islam Pacifico si Existe : Islam Ahmadía
El Movimiento Ahmadía del islam fue fundado por Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (* 1835, † 1908 de Qadian) el 23 de marzo de 1889 en la India. Sus elementos doctrinales incluyen polémicas declaraciones de su fundador como que él era el Mesías profetizado por las religiones monoteístas (el Emanuel judío, la segunda venida de Cristo y el Mahdi islámico), así como su declaración de que Jesús no murió en la cruz ni fue resucitado, sino que sobrevivió y escapó a India donde predicó entre los budistas y su tumba se encontraba en Cachemira.
Los musulmanes ahmadía forman, de acuerdo a su propia opinión, un movimiento reformado dentro del islam, reflexionando sobre la esencia de esta religión. Los musulmanes ahmadía se separan claramente de los grupos militantes y fundamentalistas destacando los elementos pacíficos y tolerantes del islam. No obstante, la gran mayoría de los musulmanes tradicionales consideran qu el movimiento ahmadí es apóstata y hereje y que no forma parte del Islam. La Liga Mundial Islámica declaró en su conferencia anual de 1974 que los ahmadí no eran musulmanes. Debido a esto los ahmadí han sufrido graves casos de persecución religiosa en muchos países, principalmente en Pakistán donde tiene prohibido predicar, declararse públicamente como musulmanes, orar en público ó en mezquitas no ahmadíes, etc. Se han reportado ataques violentos contra ahamadíes en Pakistán, Bangladesh e Indonesia.
Esta rama del Islam se fraccionó en 1914 en la Ahmadiyya Muslim Yamat (AMJ) y la Lahore Ahmadiyya Movimiento (Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat-i-Islam Lahore, AAIIL). El Jefe Supremo de la Comunidad Internacional Ahmadía del Islam es Jalifatul V. Mirza Masrur Ahmad desde el 22 de abril de 2003.
Creencias
Entre las posiciones más polémicas de los ahmadí se encuentra el que su fundador, Ahmad, era el verdadero sello de los profetas, y no Mahoma, algo que los musulmanes ortodoxos encuentran herético pues, según el Islam, Mahoma es el último profeta antes del fin del mundo y el Islam es la única religión sin errores. Ahmad apuntó a que era él el Mesías prometido y señaló los errores del Islam, por lo que la mayoría de los musulmanes consideran a los ahmadíes herejes y no musulmanes.
Otra posición que los hace controvertidos es que Ahmad y sus seguidores creen que Jesús no murió en la cruz y resucitó sino que escapó a India, predicando entre las tribus perdidas de Israel en dicho país y aseguró que muchos monjes budistas eran judíos (todo esto publicado en su libro Jesus en la India). Ahmad adujo haberse basado en investigaciones de los Evangelios, el Corán y textos budistas para sus declaraciones y que la tumba de Jesús (quien murió a la edad de 100 años) se encuentra en Cachemira.
También es parte de la doctrina ahmadí que las tribus de Gog y Magog profetizadas en el Apocalipsis son los modernos cristianos y los modernos musulmanes ortodoxos.[1]
Persecución en Pakistán
Hoy en día la comunidad Ahmadía del Islam está perseguida en Pakistan por parte del gobierno y sus habitantes.
mercredi 22 décembre 2010
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