A secret society is one which conceals its membership, has secret meeting places, and of which the public has little or no knowledge of its organization or its principles. Sometime in the late seventeenth century, we believe the accepted masons outnumbered the operative masons, and we became a speculative organization rather than operative one. By becoming "speculative," we grew rapidly.Īs time went on, there became more and more of the accepted members than there were operative members. This was a big boost to Masonry, because the secret techniques of building trades were becoming more widely known, the requirements of architecture were changing, and our operative membership was declining. This practice probably originated when some of the people for whom craftsmen were working asked to be admitted and the practice grew with time. These were "accepted" Masons rather than operative masons. These men did not necessarily want to build buildings, they wanted to belong to the organization. Naturally, men wanted to become Freemasons to get the advantages the Craft had to offer. During the latter years of the Middle ages, there were few educated men outside the monasteries of the church. The word "accepted" also goes back to the time of the operative mason.
We believe this freedom for the operative mason may date back as far as the year 946 in York. Most workers were under bond to the owners of the land on which they worked. In Medival England, this freedom of movement was almost unheard.
For this reason, they were not placed under the same restrictions of other workers - they were "free" to do their work, travel and live their lives in a manner which befitted their importance. How did the words "free" and "accepted" originate? The ancient craftsmen were very skilled, and their craft was considered to be indispensible to the welfare of both church and state.
PASTOR GREG LOCKE TWITTER 2011 FREE
What does the title of Free and Accepted mean? But no matter what the title, all lodges work toward the same end. Those in the District of Columbia call themselves F.A.A.M. Masons in South Carolina call themselves A.F.M. This carried over to the United States where both titles are still in existence. One faction adopted the title "Ancient" and the other did not. The reason for this difference is that in England when Grand Lodges first started, there was a rivalry between two factions of Masons. & A.M., which means Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Titles of Grand Lodges in the United States vary. What do the titles of Grand Lodges - A.F.
Speculative refers to the peroid of time when men were accepted into the Craft without being physical builders, but rather were spiritual buildiers. They were the best at their craft, and they kept secret their methods of building. Operative refers to the time in our history when masons actually did the physical labor of building.
What is the difference between "Operative" and "Speculative" Masonry? This is the source of the first degree, the Entered Apprentice. Other men were admitted only after they had served a number of years of apprenticeship. They had officers and stations just like ours. Operative masons back then formed groups with structures similar to ours today. Operative masonry can be traced back to the Middle Ages and beyond. What caused the transistion from "Operative" to "Speculative" Masonry? A parade of nine thousand Freemasons, described in the event’s program as “an escort of Knights Templar”, marched up Fifth Avenue for the cornerstone ceremony. The items, they say, included a perfect and rough ashlar or stone, a trowel and a diamond-shaped aperture said to represent the Master’s jewel, all important Masonic symbols.
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