AN OBJECTIVE VIEW OF FREEMASONRY (XVIII) – MASONIC RITUAL

By a blog reader

Another common reason voiced by critics to justify their claim that Regular Freemasonry is some form of devious religious sect is that the Freemasons engage in rituals.

As we have already seen, elaborate ritual was part of the fabric of all medieval guilds and those of the stone-masons from which freemasonry originated were no different. However, at some point in the late sixteenth century, masonic ritual began to assume a more speculative (philosophical) nature.

The universal degrees common to all regular masonic jurisdictions are those of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft (or Fellow Craft), and Master Mason – including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch which is considered as the completion of the third degree. Whilst regular Freemasonry recognizes no higher degree than that of Master Mason, there are additional degrees that are considered optional and these are called ‘side degrees’.

These degrees are offered only to those who are Master Masons. Most of these degrees are conferred by their own “Grand” bodies (independent from the Grand Lodges).

Ironically, contrary to what most detractors of Freemasonry imply,  most of these side degrees such as those conferred by the  Ancient and Accepted Rite for England and Wales known as “Rose Croix”, the Knights Templar and the Order of the Red Cross of Constantine, the Holy Sepulchre and of St John the Evangelist far from being even more devious are in fact explicitly Christian in nature and unlike the craft degrees (the first 3 degrees) all candidates for membership must profess the Trinitarian Christian faith.

It is important to point out that irregular masonry (which I have described before) developed its own set of rituals, particularly during the late 19th century such as that of the Rite of Memphis-Misraim. These rituals are unrecognized by Regular Freemasonry and therefore not practiced by regular Freemasons.

So what do Freemasons do in their rituals?

Masonic ritual consists of scripted words and actions that are dramatized through a series of lectures and allegorical plays where symbolism is employed to teach moral and ethical lessons, such as the four cardinal virtues of Fortitude, Prudence, Temperance, and Justice, and the principles of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth.

Masonic tracing boards used in lectures to explain Masonic Symbolism

The Legend of Hiram Abiff

Central to Masonic ritual is the building of King Solomon’s Temple and the Legend of Hiram Abiff.

Yes, it is a legend and therefore allegorical and no Freemason ever believed it to be anything other.

Thus accusations by detractors then that Freemasons believe in some alternative resurrecting deity as some cheap impostor of Christ is patently false and this continued allegation only persists either because of profound ignorance or plain dishonesty – because not only as we have said the ritual is to be taken allegorically and not literally but because crucially, Hiram does not resurrect at all.  True, the body is exhumed but only to be given a decent burial. Indeed with the demise of Hiram, Solomon informs his workforce of masons that the secret word of a master mason is now lost and replaces it with a substitute word.

The themes of the allegory are actually the importance of fidelity and the certainty of death. The degree impresses on the candidate the need to reflect constantly about one’s mortality and to therefore inculcate in him that the purpose of life is ultimately not about getting a prosperous job or about achieving prestige, power, or glory as all these things are ephemeral but that true purpose of life is preparation for a good death.

Depiction of Hiram, Architect and Master Mason, on a stained window in St. John’s Church, Chester.

Technically speaking, the only ‘secrets’ of Freemasonry are the various modes of recognition – grips (handshakes), passwords, and signs (hand gestures) that indicate one is a Freemason, but most Freemasons consider rituals too should also be kept secret even though most rituals have not only been long known and published but many masonic websites also offer detailed explanations of the symbology employed in these rituals.

Freemasons continue to treat their ritual as ‘secret’ for two different motives: one out of a sense of tradition and the other for pragmatic purposes, namely that if a candidate had to know exactly what goes on in a particular degree beforehand, then his experience of the degree will be greatly diminished just as the experience of someone who is about to read a book or watch a film would likewise be greatly diminished if he were to be informed of the plot and the details beforehand.

OATH TAKING

Another criticism is that these rituals involve the taking of binding oaths. But this too is nothing unusual. Oath-taking was pervasive not only in medieval gilds but at every level of medieval society. Oath-taking is still very common today. Doctors take the Hippocratic Oath, and members of parliament take an oath before assuming their Office. Witnesses take oaths in law courts, naturalized citizens take oaths pledging allegiance to their adopted countries and couples take oaths of fidelity in marriage. Even Scouts take oaths.

But you might protest, none of these oaths have penalties for breaking them. Well, that is not strictly true either because until very recently breaking an oath of allegiance was considered (and in several countries it still is) treason and could be punishable by death. Breaking an oath in the courts is still considered perjury and could easily mean a span in prison.

In any case, the oath in Regular Freemasonry does not include a physical penalty for breaking it:

“These several points I solemnly swear to observe, without evasion, equivocation, or mental reservation of any kind, in the certain knowledge that on the violation of any of them I shall be branded as a willfully perjured individual, void of all moral worth, and totally unfit to be received into this worshipful Lodge, or any other warranted Lodge, or society of men who prize honour and virtue above the external advantages of rank and fortune. So help me God, and keep me steadfast in this my Great and Solemn Obligation of an Entered Apprentice Freemason”

It is only during the explanation of tradition that the Master of the lodge informs the newly made mason that:

“But the danger which, traditionally, would have awaited you until your latest hour was the physical penalty at one time associated with the Obligation of a Mason, that of having your throat cut across had you improperly disclosed the secrets of Masonry. The full penalty was that of having the throat cut across, the tongue turned out by the root and buried in the sand of the sea at low-water mark or a cables length from the shore, where the tide regularly ebbs and flows twice in twenty-four hours. The inclusion of such a penalty is unnecessary, for the Obligation you have taken this evening is binding on you for so long as you shall live.”

Both quotes above are taken from British Emulation Ritual.

So once again, those who keep on insisting that Regular Freemasonry contains an oath that demands a bloody retribution if broken, do so contrary to the evidence.

In the next article, we’ll have an even closer look at what Freemasons understand by ‘secrets’, for that understanding is highly nuanced: Aspects of that understanding give us an insight into a world that is otherwise long gone, and some of it as the 20th century has demonstrated remains still highly relevant.