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Article FROM A LODGE OF THE SAINTS JOHN. Page 1 of 6 →
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From A Lodge Of The Saints John.
FROM A LODGE OF THE SAINTS JOHN .
BY CURIO HUNTER . WITH NOTES BY THE EDITOR .
[ We take this interesting paper from The Voice of Masonry , Chicago , U . S ., for April , inasmuch as it contains some remarkable statements to which I have thought well to append some careful notes . —El ) . M . M . ]
AS a portion of his occult instruction , every Freemason is taught to hail from a Lodge of the Saints John of Jerusalem . * This is not a mere arbitrary expression , but is vested with deep significance and instruction . Our lectures say that our ancient brethren dedicated their lodges to King Solomon because he was our first Most Excellent Grand Master , f but that modern lodges ( or lodges professing Christianity ) dedicate theirs to Saint
John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist , who were two eminent patrons of Masonry . This is about all the information respecting these worthies that is given in the ordinary lectures of the lodge , and much valuable and interesting knowledge is obtained in pursuing the investigation of the connection of the Saints John with our venerable societv .
One of the traditions of the Institution is that the first or mother lodge was held at Jerusalem and dedicated to Saint John the Baptist , and from it all other lodges are—figuratively—descended , and are given the same general name in connection with a local ancl distinguishing one . It was formerl y the practice to frame Masonic documents in the following language : J " From the Lodge of the Holy Saint John of Jerusalemunder the distinctive
, appellation of Lodge , No — . " Foreign lodges still observe this form , and not many years have elapsed since it was entirely abandoned in this country . At the time of the Operative Craft ' s greatest vigour it was , customary to dedicate and consecrate to some saint every structure erected for the worshi p of Almighty God—a custom that has come down to us in the practice now observed in naming such buildings after some eminent Christian saint or
martyr . It was also the custom in the earl y times referred to for each corporation of artists , artisans and trades , to choose a patron saint ; and the Freemasons selected Saint John the Baptist , and were in consequence frequently styled Saint John Brothers , § ancl the chief festivals of the Operative Masons of the Middle Ages were held on Saint John the Baptist ' s Day , and on the anniversary of the Four Crowned Martyrs , November 4 th . The first section of the second chapter of the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Scotland states that it practices and recognizes no degrees of Masonry but
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
From A Lodge Of The Saints John.
FROM A LODGE OF THE SAINTS JOHN .
BY CURIO HUNTER . WITH NOTES BY THE EDITOR .
[ We take this interesting paper from The Voice of Masonry , Chicago , U . S ., for April , inasmuch as it contains some remarkable statements to which I have thought well to append some careful notes . —El ) . M . M . ]
AS a portion of his occult instruction , every Freemason is taught to hail from a Lodge of the Saints John of Jerusalem . * This is not a mere arbitrary expression , but is vested with deep significance and instruction . Our lectures say that our ancient brethren dedicated their lodges to King Solomon because he was our first Most Excellent Grand Master , f but that modern lodges ( or lodges professing Christianity ) dedicate theirs to Saint
John the Baptist and Saint John the Evangelist , who were two eminent patrons of Masonry . This is about all the information respecting these worthies that is given in the ordinary lectures of the lodge , and much valuable and interesting knowledge is obtained in pursuing the investigation of the connection of the Saints John with our venerable societv .
One of the traditions of the Institution is that the first or mother lodge was held at Jerusalem and dedicated to Saint John the Baptist , and from it all other lodges are—figuratively—descended , and are given the same general name in connection with a local ancl distinguishing one . It was formerl y the practice to frame Masonic documents in the following language : J " From the Lodge of the Holy Saint John of Jerusalemunder the distinctive
, appellation of Lodge , No — . " Foreign lodges still observe this form , and not many years have elapsed since it was entirely abandoned in this country . At the time of the Operative Craft ' s greatest vigour it was , customary to dedicate and consecrate to some saint every structure erected for the worshi p of Almighty God—a custom that has come down to us in the practice now observed in naming such buildings after some eminent Christian saint or
martyr . It was also the custom in the earl y times referred to for each corporation of artists , artisans and trades , to choose a patron saint ; and the Freemasons selected Saint John the Baptist , and were in consequence frequently styled Saint John Brothers , § ancl the chief festivals of the Operative Masons of the Middle Ages were held on Saint John the Baptist ' s Day , and on the anniversary of the Four Crowned Martyrs , November 4 th . The first section of the second chapter of the Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Scotland states that it practices and recognizes no degrees of Masonry but