Wirtualny Wschód Wolnomularski

Freemasonry in the United States is a large topic. I hope to present an overview of its main structures in this presentation. Among the topics of note will be Freemasonry among women and blacks in America and the various paths they have followed over the years. Also, I will include information about Masonic youth organizations.

Scottish Rite Cathedral in Indianapolis, Indiana

When I first started researching this topic, I wrote to a friend of mine who is in the Scottish Rite in Evansville, Indiana. He explained things as follows:

“US lodges are set up by jurisdictions the North and South; in the south all memory work on first three degrees is done orally, one brother teaching a newer brother. In the North we have a code book using the first letter of each word – learn the code and you can learn the degrees easily. Blue lodges, the first three degrees, are numbered separately within each state on a first-come basis: the older the lodge, the lower the number. In Scottish Rite you get degrees 4 to 32 by watching degree work. The Hadi Shrine is more social, and you can now go from blue lodge to the Shrine yet skip Scottish Rite. That was not the case just a few years ago.”

So that’s one perspective on the basic structure of practicing American Freemasonry insofar as blue lodges and later advancement are concerned. Another topic of particular interest to us at this time regards the role of women in Freemasonry in the US. Despite popular opinion in Europe, there are women active in American Freemasonry. Let’s examine how:

Freemasonry is sometimes criticized for not admitting women as members. Since the adoption of Anderson's constitution in 1723, it has been accepted as fact by regular Masons that only men can be made Masons. Most Grand Lodges do not admit women because they believe it would violate the ancient Landmarks. While a few women were initiated into British speculative lodges prior to 1723, officially regular Freemasonry remains exclusive to men.

While women cannot join regular lodges, there are, mainly within the United States, many female orders associated with regular Freemasonry and its appendant bodies. These include the Order of the Eastern Star, the Order of the Amaranth, the White Shrine of Jerusalem, the Social Order of Beauceant, and the Daughters of the Nile. Each has its own rituals and traditions, but all are founded on the Masonic model.

It seems that a Women's Lodge did exist briefly in Boston in the 1790's. Its Worshipful Master, Hannah Mather Crocker (1763-1829) penned a series of letters on Free-Masonry which were published in Boston in 1815. She claims she had knowledge of the craft because "… in the younger part of life, [she] did investigate some of the principles of Free-Masonry" to assuage the fears of her friends whose husbands were Masons. And she goes on: "I had the honor, some years ago, to preside as Mistress of a similar institution, consisting of females only; we held a regular lodge, founded on the original principles of true ancient freemasonry, so far as was consistent for the female character." Another document mentions "A short address by the Mistress of St-Ann's Lodge".

It is believed that the first American Lodge of Adoption was formed in Philadelphia in 1778 by French officers in the Continental Army. In the 19th Century, Albert Pike, Supreme Commander of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, created a Rite of Adoption based on the French ritual. One of the first women to be initiated in his Lodge of Adoption was the sculptor Vinnie Ream Hoxie, who created the statue of Abraham Lincoln displayed in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.

Adoptive Masonry in the United States owes more to Rob Morris of Kentucky ((but originally from Boston), however. In 1850, he published an Adoption ritual under the name "The Rosary of the Eastern Star", which would lead to the creation of the Order of the Eastern Star (OES), a para-masonic body open to Free-Masons and their female relatives. The Eastern Star was based partly on the French Adoptive Rite and partly on several 19th century Orders in America which, in turn, were likely based on the French Order. Some of these early groups were Mason's Daughter, Mason's Wife, Heroine of Jericho, and True Kindred, among others. Rob Morris first conceived and arranged the Star Degrees in 1850, simplifying the ritual in 1860. From 1865-1868, Robert Macoy recast the ritual and organized the Chapter system. The Macoy ritual is the foundation of the OES as we know it today. It is based on teachings from the Bible, but is open to people of all monotheistic faiths. It has approximately 10,000 chapters in twenty countries and approximately one million members under its General Grand Chapter. Members of the Order must be at least 18 years old; men must be Master Masons and women must be a relative of a Mason. Originally, a woman would have to be the daughter, widow, wife, sister, or mother of a master Mason, but the Order now allows other relatives as well as allowing Rainbow Girls and Job's Daughters to become members when they come of age.

The Order of the Amaranth is a Masonic-affiliated women's organization founded in 1873. As in the Order of the Eastern Star, members of the Order of the Amaranth must be at least 18 years old; men must be Master Masons, and women must be related to Masons as wives, mothers, daughters, widows, sisters, nieces, aunts, et cetera, or have been active members of the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls or Job's Daughters International for more than three years and be recommended by a Master Mason.

Amaranth was based on Queen Christina of Sweden's court. Christina had created the "Order of the Amarantha" for the ladies and knights of her court. In 1860, James B. Taylor of Newark, New Jersey drew upon this order to create a new fraternal society. In 1873, Rob Macoy organized Taylor's society into the Order of the Amaranth, part of a proposed Adoptive Rite of Masonry. Eastern Star was to be the first degree, and until 1921, Amaranth members were required to join Eastern Star first.

In the Order's teachings, the members are emphatically reminded of their duties to God, to their country and to their fellow beings. They are urged to portray, by precept and example, their belief in the "Golden Rule" and by conforming to the virtues inherent in TRUTH, FAITH, WISDOM and CHARITY they can prove to others the goodness promulgated by the Order.

Amaranth is organized into Courts, under Grand Courts at the State level. The primary body is called the Supreme Council (which has some subordinate Courts directly under it, as well). Women members of the Order are addressed as "Honored Lady", while men are referred to as "Sir Knight".

The first co-masonic Lodge was founded in the United States in 1903. In 1907, the American Federation of the Human Rights was incorporated in Washington D.C. It has several Lodges in the U.S. There are other co-masonic bodies, among them George-Washington Union and the Grand Lodge Symbolic of Memphis-Misraïm. The were and still remain Women's Lodges or Grand Lodges working exclusively in Spanish, French or German.

With regard to blacks in the US, they were affiliated with what became known as Prince Hall Freemasonry. It derives from historical events in the early United States that led to a tradition of separate, predominantly African-American Freemasonry in there.

In 1775, an African-American named Prince Hall was initiated into an Irish Constitution Military Lodge then in Boston, Massachusetts, along with fourteen other African-Americans, all of whom were free-born. When the Military Lodge left North America, those fifteen men were given the authority to meet as a Lodge, form Processions on the days of the Saints John, and conduct Masonic funerals, but not to confer degrees, nor to do other Masonic work. In 1784, these individuals applied for, and obtained, a Lodge Warrant from the Premier Grand Lodge of England (GLE) and formed African Lodge, Number 459. When the UGLE was formed in 1813, all U.S.-based Lodges were stricken from their rolls—due largely to the War of 1812. Thus, separated from both UGLE and any concordantly recognized U.S. Grand Lodge, African Lodge re-titled itself as the African Lodge, Number 1—and became a de facto "Grand Lodge" (this Lodge is not to be confused with the various Grand Lodges on the Continent of Africa). As with the rest of U.S. Freemasonry, Prince Hall Freemasonry soon grew and organized on a Grand Lodge system for each state.

Widespread segregation in 19th- and early 20th-century North America made it difficult for African-Americans to join Lodges outside of Prince Hall jurisdictions—and impossible for inter-jurisdiction recognition between the parallel U.S. Masonic authorities.

Prince Hall Masonry has always been regular in all respects except constitutional separation, and this separation has diminished in recent years. At present, Prince Hall Grand Lodges are recognized by some UGLE Concordant Grand Lodges and not by others, but they appear to be working toward full recognition, with UGLE granting at least some degree of recognition. There are a growing number of both Prince Hall Lodges and non-Prince Hall Lodges that have ethnically diverse membership. I would add here, though, that my friend’s lodge in Evansville, while not officially ‘white’, has an unwritten policy (or tradition) of not initiating blacks, arguing that black have their own lodges, and even arguing that blacks are not, by definition, ‘freeborn’.

Getting back to regular Freemasonry, though, membership requirements vary greatly because each group sets its own requirements. Many of these, especially those that actually confer additional Masonic degrees and orders, limit membership to Master Masons only. Others require the candidate to either be a Master Mason OR have a familial relationship to one. Some require the candidate to be a Trinitarian Christian, which is more religiously specific than Craft Masonry, which accepts candidates of any faith as long as they declare a belief in a Supreme Being. Others require prior membership of other groups, or that a prospective member has previously held a specific office in a group.

Membership is sometimes open, and sometimes invitational. In the United States, the York and Scottish Rites make petitions available to all Master Masons but reserve the right to reject petitioners, while other groups like Priories of Knights of the York Cross of Honor require that a petitioner have presided over the four York Rite bodies (lodge, chapter, council and commandery), and others like the Knight Masons require that one be asked to join by a current member.

In the United States there are two main Masonic appendant bodies:

• The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, which is further subdivided into four bodies.

The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite in each country is governed by a Supreme Council. There is no international governing body — each Supreme Council in each country is sovereign unto itself in its own jurisdiction.

In the United States of America there are two Supreme Councils: one in Washington, DC, and one in Lexington, Massachusetts, which control the Southern Jurisdiction (SJ) and Northern Masonic Jurisdiction (NMJ), respectively. In the SJ, individual states are referred to as Orients and local bodies are called Valleys; the NMJ uses only Valley. Each Valley has up to four Scottish Rite bodies, and each body confers a set of degrees.

In the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States, the Supreme Council consists of no more than 33 members, and is presided over by a Grand Commander. Other members of the Supreme Council are called "Sovereign Grand Inspectors General" (S.G.I.G.), and each is the head of the Rite in his respective Orient (or state). Other heads of the various Orients who are not members of the Supreme Council are called "Deputies of the Supreme Council."

The Lexington, Massachusetts-based Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, formed in 1813, oversees the bodies in fifteen states: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Vermont. Orients in the other thirty-five states, districts and territories in the United States are overseen by the Southern Jurisdiction. Based in Washington, D.C., the Southern Jurisdiction is the "Mother Supreme Council of the World," being the first Supreme Council, and was founded in Charleston, South Carolina in 1801.

In the Northern Jurisdiction, the Supreme Council consists of no more than 66 members. All members of the Supreme Council are designated Sovereign Grand Inspectors General, but the head of the Rite in each Valley of the Northern Jurisdiction is called a "Deputy of the Supreme Council."

• The York Rite (sometimes called "The American Rite"), which, aside from the craft lodge, comprises four separate and distinct bodies: the Royal Arch Chapter (Capitular Masonry), the Council of Royal & Select Masters (Cryptic Masonry), the Commandery of the Knights Templar, and the York Rite College. The York Rite also includes Priories of Knights of the York Cross of Honor.

The York Rite in the United States is actually a grouping of separate Rites joined in order, namely the Capitular Rite, or Royal Arch Masons (General Grand Chapter - Royal Arch Masons International), the Cryptic Rite, or Cryptic Masons (General Grand Council - Cryptic Masons International) and the Chivalric Orders, or Knights Templar (Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States of America).

The bodies of the York Rite include:

Royal Arch Masonry, which is the first order a Master Mason joins in the York Rite. The Chapter works the following degrees: The Mark Master Mason degree is in some respects an extension of the Fellow Crafts' second degree. In some jurisdictions the degree is conferred in a Fellow Craft Lodge, that is, the second degree of the Blue Lodge.

• The Past Master (Virtual) degree is conferred because of the traditional requirement that only Past Masters of a Blue Lodge may be admitted to Holy Royal Arch. Because there are so many applicants for this degree, Virtual Past Master is required to qualify them for it. Much of the work is the same given to install the Worshipful Master of a Blue Lodge. There is no such requirement or procedure outside the USA.
• In the Most Excellent Master degree the building of King Solomon's Temple, which figures so prominently in Blue Lodge, has been completed. In England the degree is conferred by Cryptic Councils, along with three other degrees below.
• The Royal Arch Mason degree is said by many to be the most beautiful degree in all of Freemasonry. Following the convocation of Supreme Grand Chapter in England on November 10, 2004, there are significant ritual differences from that worked in the USA, fraternal inter-relations remain as before. Freemasons who reach this degree may continue to Cryptic Masonry or go straight to Knights Templar (where permitted—requirements vary in different jurisdictions).

Cryptic Masonry

Membership in the Council of Cryptic Masons is not required for membership in the Knights Templar in some jurisdictions, so it is frequently skipped. It is called Cryptic Masonry or the Cryptic Rite because a crypt or underground room figures prominently in the degrees.

• Royal Master
• Select Master
• Super Excellent Master

Knights Templar

The Knights Templar is the final order joined in the York Rite. Unlike other Masonic bodies which only require a belief in a Supreme Being regardless of religion, membership in Knights Templar is open only to Royal Arch Masons who promise to defend the Christian faith. Its affiliation with Masonry is based on texts that indicate persecuted Templars found refuge within the safety of Freemasonry.

A local Knights Templar organization is called a Commandery in the United States and a Preceptory elsewhere. In the United States, Knights Templar consists of three degrees:

• Illustrious Order of the Red Cross
• Order of the Knights of Malta (or simply Order of Malta)
• Order of the Temple

The following affiliated and/or appendant bodies admit Masons only, but confer no Masonic degrees or orders:

• Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, (A.A.O.N.M.S.). Shriners, as they are known colloquially, meet in Shrine "temples," and are well-known for their maroon fezzes, lavish parades, and sponsorship of children's hospitals.
• Royal Order of Jesters (R.O.J.) Colloquially known as "Jesters," local "courts" are limited to thirteen initiates yearly. Initiation, by invitation and unanimous ballot, is limited to members in good standing of the Shrine; see above.
• Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm. Colloquially known as "The Grotto;" members wear black fezzes.
• National Sojourners. An American patriotic organization for Master Masons who served as officers or warrant officers in the U.S. Armed Forces.
• Heroes of '76. An American patriotic side order of the National Sojourners; see above.
• Tall Cedars of Lebanon.
• Order of the Sword of Bunker Hill. An American patriotic side order, limited to the U.S. east coast.
• Order of Quetzalcoatl. Colloquially known as "The Q", a group mostly in the West and Southwest of the US.

The following affiliated organizations admit both Masons and non-Masons:

• Order of the Eastern Star. Membership is limited to Master Masons and their close female relatives. The Chapter is run by the women; the Master Mason is just there to help open the Chapter. The female relatives are wife, sister, daughter, niece, and various grands, step relatives and in-laws. Masons who are members of lodges under the United Grand Lodge of England are prohibited from joining this quasi-Masonic organization.
• Order of the Amaranth. An American androgynous order for Master Masons and their female relatives.
• Social Order of the Beauceant (S.O.O.B.). An American androgynous order for Knights Templar, their wives and widows.
• White Shrine of Jerusalem. An American androgynous order for Master Masons and their female relatives.
• Daughters of the Nile. Membership is limited to wives of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

Youth Organizations

A number of Masonic-affiliated youth organizations exist, mainly in North America, which are collectively referred to as Masonic Youth Organizations.

• DeMolay International is the most common. Young men from 12 to 21 are eligible.
• Order of Boy Builders, formerly folded into DeMolay, now apparently revived in Kentucky.
• A.J.E.F., Asociacion de Jovenes Esperanza de la Fraternidad, for boys aged 14 to 21, active in México, the United States, and Latin America.
• International Order of the Rainbow for Girls. Young ladies from 11 to 20 are eligible. Rainbow, though not active in all of the United States, is active in Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the Philippines.
• Job's Daughters Young ladies from 10 to 20, who are daughters of Master Masons or daughters of a majority Job's Daughter, are eligible. The "Jobies" have Bethels in Australia, Brazil, Canada, the Philippines, as well as in many states of United States.
• Order of the Constellation of the Junior Stars, for girls, a junior affiliate of the Order of the Eastern Star.
• Girls of the Golden Court, for girls 12 to 18, sponsored by the Order of the Golden Chain, and apparently centered in New Jersey.
• Organization of Triangles, confined to New York State, for girls and young women aged 10 to 21.

DeMolay is open for membership to young men between the ages of 12 to 21, and currently has about 18,000 members in North America. It uses a model of mentoring; adult men and women, often fathers and mothers of DeMolay members, and past DeMolay members, referred to as Senior DeMolays, mentor active Demolay members. The mentoring focuses on the development of civic awareness, leadership skills and personal responsibility.

As a member of the Masonic family of service organizations, DeMolay is closely modeled after Freemasonry, and like Freemasonry, members are initiated into DeMolay through ritual and an allegorical program. Though not directly connected to Freemasonry, DeMolay is considered an appendant body to it. DeMolay is also considered to be part of the Masonic Family along with other youth groups like Job's Daughters, and the Rainbow Girls. Unlike in Job's Daughters, a young man does not need to have a family tie or sponsor in a Masonic organization to join DeMolay.

DeMolay has seven Cardinal Virtues, which are:

• Filial Love
• Reverence for Sacred Things
• Courtesy
• Comradeship
• Fidelity
• Cleanness
• Patriotism

A Piece of Architecture delivered at the meeting of the "Wolność Przywrócona"/"Freedom Restored" Lodge (Grand Orient of Poland)

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