Ancient Duties (Freemasonry)

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Cover picture of the "Charges of a Free-Mason" by James Anderson

The term Old obligations (Old Charges) (1723) is used today name of the first constitution of the first Grand Lodge England and is used in Freemasonry generally regarded as a fundamental law understood.

history

On June 24, 1717, four Masonic lodges in London and Westminster united to form the first grand lodge . On September 29, 1721, the first English Grand Master John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu (* 1690; † 1749) commissioned the Scottish Presbyterian preacher James Anderson (1678-1739) to create a new constitution for the grand lodge from old Gothic constitutions to compose.

Anderson fit them in their own words to old Scottish guild announcements and also took in a slightly different form a series General Rules ( General Regulations ), which by the antiquarian and second Grand Master George Payne († 1757) on the basis of the old Gothic compiled Cooke manuscript and already was proclaimed at the Grand Lodge meeting on June 24 of the same year. This manuscript is a parchment made by English builders from around 1430/1440 and contains a kind of legend. Attached to it is a book from 1388 with instructions for the fulfillment of the duties of the brotherhood and for moral and religious behavior.

By December 27th of the same year, Anderson finished his work and presented it to a fourteen-member committee. In the final version it was finally approved by the Grand Lodge on January 17, 1723 and on February 28 of the same year it was publicly advertised in the "Postboy".

The old duties regulate the relationship between the lodge members and their non-Masonic surroundings, as well as the relationship to religion and politics. He also added that from this point in time - in England - women should no longer have access to Freemasonry, as was previously quite common, such as the York Manuscript No. 4, owned by the Grand Lodge of York. In 1712 Elizabeth St. Leger (later Elisabeth Alsworth) was a Freemason in Lodge No. 95 added. This lodge still exists in the city of Cork today - and is still recognized by the UGLoE today.

"The elders taking the Booke, he or shee (sic!) That is to be made Mason shall lay their hands thereon, and the charge shall be given."

"[If] the elders take the book, may he or she [sic] who is to be made a Freemason lay hands on it, and duty shall be imposed."

The creation of this constitution and the simultaneous claim to recognize lodges as Masonic lodges only if they obey the rules of this constitution caused general protests from old lodges, especially from those in York and Scotland. Anderson found himself exposed to polemics that caused him to stop visiting the lodges until he was only active as a Freemason again in 1735.

A second edition followed on January 26, 1738. Due to a number of ambiguities, there was a dispute within Freemasonry as to which of the two conditions was the right one.

content

Freemason's Duties

The Book of the Constitution begins with a dedication to the second Duke of Montagu and was signed by the naturalist and deputy Grand Master John Theophilus Desaguliers . The introduction consists of a fictional history of Freemasonry, which should underline the “venerable age” of Freemasonry in its style. This is followed by the actual content of the Old Duties . They contain numerous criteria for inclusion, e.g. B. only allow the inclusion of persons of morality who also respect the religion of other people. They also regulate the relationship with the state, politics and society as well as the lodge members with one another and with foreign Freemasons.

See also

Web links

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The Cooke Manuscript (Wikisource)