Structure of Freemasonry

Grand Lodges, or Grand Orients as they are some times styled, are independent bodies that oversee and govern Freemasonry in any given jurisdiction, which could be country, state or set geographical area. There is no single governing body that presides over world-wide Freemasonry; connections between different jurisdictions depend solely on mutual recognition, although to an extent many Grand Lodges take their lead from the Grand Lodges of England (United Grand Lodge of England), Scotland (Grand Lodge of Scotland) and Ireland (Grand Lodge of Ireland).

Regularity

Regularity is a bit of a sticky point when it comes to explaining Freemasonry.

Grand Lodges or Grand Orients give one another mutual recognition according to criteria they each individually believe is required to be Freemasonry. This recognition allows formal interaction and communication at all levels of Freemasonry from Grand Lodge to giving individual Freemasons the opportunity to attend Lodge meetings in other recognised jurisdictions. For those that are not recognised no interaction is allowed and Freemasons of one Grand Lodge cannot visit the lodges of another Grand Lodge for which there own to not recognise as Freemasonry.

For this reason, all Grand Lodges maintain lists of other Grand Lodges, their jurisdictions and subsequently lodges they consider regular.

Grand Lodges and Grand Orients that afford mutual recognition, they recognise each other as Freemasonry, are said to be in amity and to determine whether or not recognition would be granted each Grand Lodge has a set of rules, called Landmarks, to which other Grand Lodges would have to adhere to in order to receive recognition.

There are some variations with the quantity and content of the Landmarks from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, which can make things a little confusing, whereby two Grand Lodges who recognise each other may in fact no recognise the same Grand Lodges elsewhere.

In general there are two branches of Freemasonry, those that stem from the United Grand Lodge of England, and those which fall under the spread of Freemasonry from the Grand Orient of France.

The various Grand Lodges and Grand Orients in amity with the United Grand Lodge of England are rightly or wrongly named as regular Freemasonry (sometimes termed Mainstream) whereas those who were born from the Grand Orient of France are referred to as "liberal" or "irregular" Masonry. Obviously those of the Grand Orient of France do not consider themselves as irregular or anything but Freemasonry, and it is not Freemasonry Universals place to suggest otherwise, but as a general guidance for those seeking information on Freemasonry these are the terms you will often see and hear so this will hopefully help you decipher it all.

Masonic Lodge

A Freemason Lodge is the basic organisational structure of Freemasonry. Every new Lodge is presented with a Warrant or Charter issued by the Grand Lodge which governs it’s location, authorising it to meet as a masonic lodge and work the degress of Freemasonry.

Freemasons who meet as a Lodge without displaying this document are deemed "Clandestine" and irregular, with the exception of a very few "time immemorial" Lodges who formation is pre-dating the formation of a Grand Lodge.

A Lodge must hold regular meetings at a fixed place and published dates. It will elect, initiate and promote its members and officers; it will build up and manage its property and assets, including its minutes and records; and it may own, occupy or share its premises. Like any organisation, it will have formal business to manage its meetings and proceedings, annual general meetings, committees, charitable endeavours, correspondence and the usual reports, membership and subscriptions, accounts and tax returns, special events and catering, and so forth.

A man can only be initiated, or made a Mason, in a Lodge that holds a valid warrant or charter, of which he often remain a subscribing member for life. Once initiated a Freemason can visit any Lodge meeting under any jurisdiction in amity with his own, normally any brother who has not been conferred the degree of Master Mason will visit alongside a brother who has. Freemasons intending on visiting another lodge outside their jurisdiction should first check the regularity of that Lodge, and must be able to satisfy that Lodge of his own regularity; and he may be refused admission if it is deemed possible his attendance may disrupt the harmony of the Lodge. If he wishes to visit the same Lodge repeatedly, he may be expected to join it and pay a subscription. Each jurisdiction will have certain protocols for Freemasons to follow with regard to visiting other lodge, especially those outside it’s jurisdiction.

Most Lodges consist of Freemasons living or working within a given town or neighbourhood.

Some Lodges are composed of Masons with a particular shared interest, profession or even background, such as schools, military, or similar. In some instances a lodge is set up specifically for those of a certain rank or position with Freemasonry, like a Stewards Lodge, Secretaries Lodge etc

The foundation and name may now be only of historic interest, as over time the membership evolves beyond that envisaged by its "founding brethren"; in others, the membership remains exclusive.

There are also specialist Lodges of Research, with membership drawn from Master Masons only, with interests in Masonic Research, whether that be the history of Freemasonry, the old rituals, the esoteric side etc. Lodges of Research are fully warranted but, generally, do not initiate new candidates or meet as frequently.

Lodges that have permission to confer degrees also often have a Lodge of Instruction, or similar name, which is an extension to the ordinary Lodge for the learning and rehearsal of Masonic Rituals.

To use the correct terminology Freemasons meet as a Lodge, not in a Lodge, the word "Lodge" referring more to the people assembled than the actual place.

However, in common usage, Masonic premises are often referred to as "Lodges". Masonic buildings are also sometimes called "Temples" but not in a religious sense as is so commonly thought in todays world, but a Temples of the Arts, which in itself doesn’t specifically mean pictures that hang on walls like most would think today. Due to the nature of todays world and the ever increasing demand for “political correctness” and attempts by Freemasonry to remove the doubts and speculation about itself many Masonic Temples have been re-dubbed as simple Masonic Centres or Halls.

Lodge Officers

Every Masonic Lodge elects certain officers to execute the necessary functions of the lodge's work.

The Worshipful Master is always an elected officer, and is the person who governs the lodge. The position is of fixed term, usually a year.

The Worshipsul Master will then elect his wardens the Senior and Junior.

All Lodges will also elect a Secretary and Treasurer, a Tyler or Tiler (who guards the door to the lodge room while a lodge is gathered), sometimes elected and sometimes appointed by the Master. In addition to these elected officers, lodges will have various appointed officers—such as Senior and Junior Deacons, Stewards, and a Chaplain who is often, but not necessarily, a clergyman (non-denominational activities).

The specific offices and their functions vary between jurisdictions, some will not have all, some will have more or some will be titled as something else but in general all Lodges will have the above.

These Officers are then replicated through the governing bodies of Freemasonry as well, at the Provincial (I believe only used in England to distinguish between counties) and Grand Lodge levels with the addition of the word 'Grand' somewhere in the title.

The Degrees

Freemasonry itself consists of 3 main degrees, that of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason. In England, Freemasonry also consists of the order of the Holy Royal Arch, which is normally considered an additional order in other areas of the world.

The degrees represent stages of personal development. Although there is a general theme or opinion on the degrees themselves and the content a Freemason is told that there is not only one single meaning to the allegories; as a Freemason works through the degrees and studies their lessons, he interprets them for himself

Along with the standard degrees of Freemasonry inside the lodge there are also secondary rituals performed for the appointment of officers, in particular for the installing of a new Worshipful Master.

There is no degree in Freemasonry higher than that of Master Mason, the Third Degree. There are, however, a number of organisations that require being a Master Mason as a prerequisite for membership, some of which are considered additional orders and degrees of Freemasonry, but are not actually Freemasonry themselves. A common mis-interpretation is that these are all Freemasonry.

Other degrees, orders and bodies

Often termed Beyond the Craft, these bodies have no authority over the Craft and are generally described as additional or appendant, and often provide a further perspective on some of the allegorical, moral and philosophical content of Freemasonry.

Appendant bodies are administered completely separately from Freemasonry and the Grand Lodges but are styled Masonic since every member must be a Mason and there own legends and rituals tie into that of Freemasonry in some way.

However, with that being said in some jurisdictions the relationship between these other orders and Freemasonry vary, if a relationship exists at all.

The Articles of Union of the "Modern" and "Antient" craft Grand Lodges, the historical point where the United Grand Lodge of England was formed in 1813 limited recognition to certain degrees, basically stating that Freemasonry consisted of 3 degrees only, viz Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, Master Mason and the order of the Holy Royal Arch. As you will see through the pages of this site there are a number of other degrees and rites that have been worked before, and since the Union. Some bodies are not universally considered to be appendant bodies, or even masonic but rather separate organisations in their own right that happen to require prior Masonic affiliation for membership. Some of these organisations have additional requirements, such as religious adherence i.e. to be of a specific faith or membership of other bodies as well as being a Master Mason.

Quite apart from these, there are organisations that are often thought of as being related to Freemasonry, but which have no formal or informal connections with Freemasonry. To save confusion, at this time, we will not include information on these here.