According to the 8th Landmark of Albert Makei , the great master of any grand lodge has the exclusive right to be ordained as a master freemason of any profane, bypassing the obligatory rituals of initiation as a student and apprentice [1] .
Content
- 1 Procedure
- 2 Masons undergoing a similar ritual
- 3 See also
- 4 notes
Procedure
Initiation into Masons was similarly noted by Albert Makei in the eighth of his “25 Landmark of Freemasonry” [2] . This landmark states [1] that:
The great master has the right to conduct initiation into the brotherhood without following the usual procedure.
Initiation from the profane to the degree of a master freemason, through the rare ritual of the great master, precedes the creation of a new lodge for the sole purpose - the initiation of the candidate. This box is called random . After the initiation of the candidate, it breaks up when the reason for its creation is completed [3] . Although the process of recognizing a candidate as a Freemason is usually associated with this ritual, the Masonic historian Lewis L. Williams noted that using his unique and undeniable power, a great master can act differently, for example, simply by indicating that a person must now be considered a master Freemason [4] .
The ritual itself is carried out in several ways, with minor differences. In one embodiment, it is accomplished through ordination, in another through the alternate laying of a sword (or sword) on the shoulders of the initiate, or by the blow of a hammer, that is, the announcement of a person as a master freemason with subsequent multiple blows of the hammer corresponding to the degree of the master freemason. As a rule, such a consecration is held in Masonic temples, but can also be held in other places. After the initiation, information is recorded in the protocol, and the initiate himself is part of a Masonic lodge at the direction of the great master [2] .
Masons having passed a similar ritual
The earliest cases in the history of speculative Freemasonry in which a person was recognized as a Freemason include the consecration of Franz I Stephen , Duke of Lorraine , in 1731 at Houghton Hall , fourteen years before his coronation as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire , and Frederick, Prince of Wales in 1737 [5] .
William Howard Taft was recognized as a Freemason of a random lodge created for this purpose on February 18, 1909, a few weeks before his inauguration as President of the United States [6] [4] . The lodge was set up around 4:00 p.m., in the Temple of the Scottish Rite in Cincinnati by Charles Hoskinson, the great master of the Great Lodge of Ohio, and consisted of him and William B. Mellish. The box broke up the same day after 6:00 pm [7] .
Other famous people who were ordained to the Masons by a similar ritual are: Joseph Smith , the founder of Mormonism [8] , Don King [9] , who was dedicated by the great master of the Grand Lodge of Ohio ( Prince Hall ) Odessa J. Kyle Jr. and General Douglas MacArthur , who was dedicated by the great master of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia [10] .
See also
- Masonic ritual
- Steel vault
- Ritual of Ancient Obligations
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 The Principles Of Masonic Law By Albert Gallatin Mackey
- ↑ 1 2 Mackey, Albert (1891). Manual of the Lodge. New York: Effingham Maynard & Co. p. 213.
- ↑ Poll, Michael (2005). Robert's Rules of Order - Masonic Edition. Cornerstone Book Publishers. p. 156. ISBN 1887560076 .
- ↑ 1 2 Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library: Making a Mason at Sight: The Case of President-Elect Taft
- ↑ An encyclopædia of freemasonry and its kindred sciences - Albert Gallatin Mackey
- ↑ Jeffers, H. Paul (2007). The Freemasons In America: Inside Secret Society. New York: Kensington Books. p. 231. ISBN 0806533633
- ↑ http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9B04E4D91731E733A2575AC1A9649C946897D6CF
- ↑ Encyclopedia of Mormonism. Macmillan 1992. p. 527. ISBN 0028796012
- ↑ 138th Proceedings of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Ohio F&AM. Columbus: Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Ohio. 1987. p. twenty.
- ↑ General Douglas MacArthur