Special thanks to George Helmer FPS

MASONRY, JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY.

THE MASONIC REVIEW - 1854

Part 2 of 2

[Report to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts]

Q. "From whence came you."

A. "From the holy Lodge of St. John." This is an unequivocal
testimony of the first Grand Lodge, under the revived
system, to the fact that Lodges were dedicated to St. John.

In a formula used a little later than the middle of the last
century, which was called "the Old York Lecture," the two
Saints John occupy a prominent situation; the following is an
extract:-

Q. "To whom were they (Lodges) dedicated under the
Christian dispensation?"

A. "From Solomon, the patronage of Masonry passed to St.
John the Baptist."

Q. "Why were the Lodges dedicated to St. John the Baptist."

A. "Because he was the forerunner of our Saviour; and by
preaching repentance and humiliation, drew the first parallel
of the Gospel."

Q. "Had St. John the Baptist any equal ?"

A. "He had; St. John the Evangelist."

Q. "Why is he said to be equal to the Baptist?"

A. "Because he finished by his learning what the other began
by his zeal, and thus drew a second line parallel to the
former; ever since which time, Freemason's Lodges in all
Christian countries have been dedicated to the one or to the
other, or both of these worthy or worshipful men."

Says Dr. Oliver:- "In the original lectures compiled by Sayer,
Payne and Desaguliers, and improved by Anderson,
Desaguliers and Cowper; in the reviewers of Dunckerly and
Martin Clare, twice repeated; and in the extended rituals of
Hutchinson, Preston and others, which were in use down to
the reunion in 1813, and by some Lodges even to the
present time," "the Saints John occupy their place as the
patrons of Masonry; no link in the chain of evidence is
broken: for in no one ritual, whether ancient or modern,
which was in use during the whole century, were they
omitted."

It was a law of the English Grand Lodge established in 1721,
that the Lodges in and about London and Westminster,
should hold an annual communication on St. John the
Baptist's day, or else on St. John the Evangelist's day.

But that this was no new custom, no innovation upon ancient
usage is evident from a historical. fact. It is Stated that
Queen Elizabeth sent an armed force to break up the annual
Grand Lodge at York, which was always held on the day of
St. John the Evangelist; when Sir Thomas Sackville, the
Grand Master, induced the officers to be initiated, and their
report to the Queen was so satisfactory, that she gave them
no further disturbance. Thus it appears that more than one
hundred years before the revision of Masonry, by the Grand
Lodge in 1717, the Grand Lodge of York observed the
festival of St. John the Evangelist.

This custom it is said has existed from time immemorial, in
proof of which Dr. Oliver refers to a copy of the old Gothic
constitutions, which was produced at a grand festival on St.
John's day, in the year 1663, before Henry Jermyn, earl of
St. Albans, Grand Master.

Thus much we have deemed it proper to say upon the
historical point, involved in the matter under consideration,
by which it appears plainly enough, that the first we know,
and all we know of English Freemasonry, up to the present
century, recognizes the dedication of Lodges to GOD and to
the holy Saints John, as a part of the usages of the Order,
and the observance of the days set apart for the
commemoration of these two persons as Masonic festivals.

But we said that we received a part of our Masonry from
Scotland. It will be proper to advert, for the moment to the
decision of the Grand Lodge of Scotland touching thin
subject. "It is evident," says Dr. Oliver, "that the substitution
of the Saints John for Moses and Solomon was an article of
belief among the first Masons who introduced the Craft into
this island. The Kilwinning system, which may be traced
back to the 12th century, is called "St. John's Masonry;" and
in the present laws of the Grand Lodge of Scotland this
principle is unreservedly maintained in the provision
respecting "private Lodges, where all Lodges holding of the
Grand Lodge of Scotland are strictly prohibited and
discharged from holding any other meetings, than those of
the three Orders, of Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master
Mason, denominated ST. JOHN'S MASONRY."

We have shown that in our own Grand Lodge those parts of
the work and lectures, which the petitioners desire to have
expunged, were received from England and Scotland, and
that these two Grand Lodges held to them at the time they
transmitted the Institution to us, and they had been moreover
held by their predecessors from time immemorial.

When Masonry was in the custody of the Jews there is no
doubt that Lodges were dedicated to Solomon. But after the
destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem and dissolution of
the Jewish polity, both civil and ecclesiastical, Masonry
naturally fell into the hands of Christians. From that time to
this our tradition is, that they were dedicated to the Saints
John, and no historical facts have been, or can be, adduced
to show that tradition in this respect is erroneous.

We have no evidence that there have been any Lodges but
Christian Lodges since the destruction of Jerusalem. The
Jews have not been in a situation to hold Lodges. They have
had no country, no home, no nation, no government. They
have been flying from one country to another, seeking to
escape from the persecutions which everywhere pursued
them. That they have maintained their existence as a race,
dispersed as they have been over the earth, is a miracle,
which proves, if nothing else did, that they are the ancient
people of GOD, and that their condition for the last eighteen
hundred years is a fulfilment of divine prophecy.

Freemasonry did for them, what few if any other societies
ware willing to do. They were virtually outlawed in many
Countries, and in scarcely a single Christian nation were
they admitted to the enjoyment of the full privileges of
citizenship. Even in England at this very day, they are
debarred from holding a seat in Parliament. In some of our
own States, they are not eligible to hold any civil office, and
yet no where upon the face of the earth do they enjoy so
much of privilege, or are they as well treated as in England
and in the United States. Under such circumstances this
Institution, true to its principles as a cosmopolite society,
opens its doors to them and permits them to enter its pale, if
they desire to do so, with the assurance, if they do, that they
shall be hailed and treated as brethren; that there shall be
one spot which they may call home, where they may dwell in
safety and in peace; where they shall enjoy all its immunities
and privileges; eligible to any office, entitled to all the
benefits which the Fraternity have covenanted to extend to
each other. This was a very great favor, and we have no
doubt that our Israelitish brethren have esteemed it as such.

To the best of our information it was not until about the
middle of the last century that the Jews were admitted into
Freemasonry, with the exception of their connection with
spurious Lodges on the continent, - as Masonry was then
understood and practised.

Up to about the year 1754, there was no authorized form of
Masonic Prayer in use in the Lodges in England. The Prayer
Book was then a text-book of the Lodge. The Master was left
to his own discretion in this particular, although the general
practice was to select an appropriate form from the Liturgy.
About this time the Jews were first admitted into the English
Lodges; they very naturally objected then as they object
now, to the use of the forms of Christian worship. These
objections being yielded to, by some of the Masters, led to
irregularities in the devotional services of the lodge room.
But this did not meet the approbation of the old and eminent
members of the Order, who were desirous of transmitting to
their successors, the forms and lessons of Masonry as they
had learned them. In order to set this matter right by
authority, Dr. Manningham, then Deputy Grand Master, in
connection with Dr. Anderson, drew up the following prayer,
and laid it before the Grand Lodge at London for its sanction,
by which it was immediately adopted. It was published in the
"Freemasons' Pocket Companion" in 1754.

"Most Holy, and Glorious Lord God, thou Architect of heaven
and earth, who art the giver of all good gifts and graces! and
hath promised that where two or three are gathered together
in thy Name, thou wilt be in the midst of them; in thy name
we assemble and meet together, most humbly beseeching
thee to bless us in all our undertakings: to give us thy Holy
Spirit, to enlighten our minds with wisdom and
understanding; that we may know and serve thee aright, that
all our doings may tend to thy glory and the salvation of our
souls. And we beseech thee, O Lord God, to bless this our
present undertaking, and to grant that this our Brother may
dedicate his life to thy service, and be a true and faithful
Brother amongst us. Endue him with Divine wisdom, that be
may, with the secrets of Masonry, be able to unfold the
mysteries of godliness and Christianity. This we humbly beg,
in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord and
Saviour. Amen."

This historical incident clearly proves two important facto,
that previous to the year 1754, the English Lodges had been
accustomed to use prayer taken from a Christian Liturgy,
and secondly, that the admission of Jews into the Fraternity
caused a discussion of the propriety of such prayers, which
resulted in a decision of the Grand Lodge, by which a
Christian form of worship was adopted.

It is very evident from what has been said, that all the
Masonry which the world has known anything about, since
the destruction of Jerusalem, up to about one hundred yearn
ago, has been Christian Masonry, that is Freemasonry in the
hands of Christians, conducted by them after a manner
which has recognized, in some form or other, the fact and
authority of the Christian religion. Yet it does not exclude
persons who are not Christians. It requires belief in GOD as
an indispensible qualification. Professing that, if there be no
objection to the candidate as wanting in other qualifications,
he is admitted. In this sense we have received no other kind
of Masonry, and we can transmit no other. At the building of
the Temple, the society was mainly in the hands of the Jews,
now it is mainly in Christian hands, but open for Jews as well
as Gentiles. It is confined to no sect, and to no nation. We
trust that this Grand Lodge will be the last to do any thing to
change the Landmarks of the Order; to circumscribe its
influence, to restrict its usefulness, to render it national or
sectarian, or to commence, in any form, or for any purpose,
the mischievous work of innovation upon its well established
principles. For these reasons, and for others which might be
named, the committee recommend that the petitioners have
leave to withdraw. For the committee, GEORGE M.
RANDALL.

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