GRAND LODGE OF Discourse
What is Freemasonry?
In their Rituals, Freemasons say that Freemasonry existed at the time when King Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem and that all the builders of the Temple were organized into lodges, similar to modern Masonic lodges. It is also said that King Solomon, King Hiram of Tyre, and Hiram Abiff (the architect who built the temple) ruled these lodges as equal Grand Masters. However, the rituals are full of symbolism and allegories, and the story of the construction of King Solomon's temple rests neither on literary nor historical sources. It reflects in a dramatic way the principles of Freemasonry - faith, hope, justice, brotherly love, respect and observance of laws and morals.
About the existence of organizations whose traditions, principles and beliefs have been inherited by modern Freemasonry, we can only judge from some indirect data. Many historians and researchers of Freemasonry try to prove the connection of Freemasonry with the customs and rituals of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, as well as with the builders of the pyramids in ancient Egypt. Other sources make a connection between Freemasonry and the itinerant stonemasons of cathedrals and castles in the Middle Ages. Some prove the connection of the Freemasons with the Knights Templar and even with the secret brotherhood of the Rosicrucians.
Unfortunately, none of these theories can be proven indisputably to this day. There is evidence to support each of them. Perhaps closest to the truth is the theory of the mixed origin of Freemasonry - on the one hand, the traditions of the elevation of kings in ancient Egypt and the allegory of the builder Hiram Abif, inherited and passed down through the centuries by the ancient Jews, early Christianity and the Knights Templar, and on the other country, the traditions of the stonemason builders of the Middle Ages in Europe united in their guild, used to more fully fit the brotherhood into the society of the time.
Let us make a brief survey of the rites of admission and elevation into the degrees of Freemasonry in the light of the ancient custom known to us indisputably from history and literature.
In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh's authority was considered divine. Pharaoh himself was equal to the gods. Every ruler was also a "son of God" and merged with his father upon his death. The story of the god Osiris describes the cycle of the gods: the sky goddess Nur had five children, the eldest was Osiris, both man and god. As was customary in ancient Egypt, he married his sister Isis. Assisted by his chief assistant the god Thoth, he ruled wisely and his people prospered. His brother Seth was jealous of his success and killed him by cutting his body into pieces which he scattered along the Nile. Since Osiris left no heir, the right to rule would fall to Seth. Goddess Isis, however, did not despair. She ordered the pieces of Osiris' body to be found, brought to her, then by magic she managed to revive them for a moment and conceive a son. After conception, Osiris merged with the stars and assumed the rule of the realm of the dead. Isis gave birth to a son, Horus, who grew up, challenged and defeated Seth to a duel, after which he was proclaimed the first king of Egypt. Since then, every subsequent king was perceived as the god Horus, and at the moment of his death he became Osiris, and his son became the new Horus. The transfer of power upon the death of the pharaoh took place through the direct line of kinship to the oldest of his sons. In the rare cases when this was not possible (if the pharaoh had daughters from his legal wife and sons from his concubines), a council of priests was convened to determine the future ruler. The ritual of raising the pharaoh began at sunset. The designated new ruler was ushered by the high priests into a special room, where, after a special ritual (of which only indirect descriptions exist), he undertook a symbolic journey to the stars, met the gods, and was received by them. In the morning, after the ritual was completed, the old ruler was buried and the new one was elected and received the favor of the gods.
Here one can find many elements in common with those of the master degree ritual. Evidence has come down to us that the pharaoh and the high priests were organized into something like a lodge. The members of noble families by right participated in it, but we have evidence that the pharaoh could also introduce people from the common people.
Upper and Lower Egypt were united into one kingdom about 5,200 years ago. Before unification, each country had its own pillar of connection with God.
During the unification, both pillars were preserved. As a symbol of stability, they were connected to a heavenly crossbar. Thus a symbolic gate was formed facing east towards the rising sun. This definitely brings to mind some specific features in Masonic rituals and symbols. From historical sources we learn about an ideal, a concept defining ancient Egyptian civilization. When appointing a vizier, the pharaoh used the word "Maat". It was originally a physics term denoting alignment, order, and symmetry, the conditions necessary for the successful laying of the foundations of a temple. Subsequently, it began to symbolize righteousness, truth and justice. What more honest and concise description of the Freemasons' understanding of the order of the world?
The existence of four temples on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem is a historical fact. The first is King Solomon's temple built three thousand years ago. The second temple is described in the visions of the prophet Ezekiel during the resettlement of the Jews in 570 BC. The third was built by King Zerubbabel in the sixth century BC. The fourth was built by Herod at the time of Jesus Christ and was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
In the middle of the 20th century, scholars discovered a set of manuscripts known as the Qumran Scrolls. They reveal extremely interesting details about the life of the Qumran community. They were common-minded people who believed that if they led a monastic existence they would achieve spiritual and physical salvation. The community had a strictly expressed hierarchy, with the Guardian or the Grand Master at its top. There were also a number of degrees of membership. Initiation into the higher degrees took place by taking an oath and a vow of secrecy. The members wore white robes and claimed to have secret knowledge. It was the Qumran community that hid its secrets in the foundations of the last temple built on the Jerusalem hill.
The community had a strictly expressed hierarchy, with the Guardian or the Grand Master at its top. There were also a number of degrees of membership. Initiation into the higher degrees took place by taking an oath and a vow of secrecy. The members wore white robes and claimed to have secret knowledge. It was the Qumran community that hid its secrets in the foundations of the last temple built on the Jerusalem hill.
In this regard, the history of the Order of the Poor Wars of Christ and the Temple of Solomon, or as it is better known, the Order of the Knights of the Temple or simply the Order of the Templars, is particularly curious. Seven knights from France, led by Hugues de Peyenne, arrived in the Holy Land in 1118 and received from the then emperor Baldwin II the right to build their barracks on one of the hills in Jerusalem. This is the hill on which Solomon's temple was built. The task that the knights set for themselves is extremely challenging - to ensure the protection of the pilgrims who went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land from the infidels. Almost nothing is known about the first 9 years of the order's existence, except that no new members were accepted into the order and the brothers engaged in serious research on the remains of the temple. In 1126, the leader of the knights, Hugues de Payen, went to Europe together with two more of his brothers.
What the knights found in the ruins of Solomon's Temple is not known, but from the above it can be argued that they found the scrolls of the Qumran community. In just two years, they managed to obtain a papal bull legitimizing the order, with its own statutes - written by the abbot of Clairvaux - Bernard (nephew of one of the companions of Hugues de Payen and later proclaimed St. Bernard) and with a huge number of followers from all over Europe, ready to leave for the Holy Land. After this act, it was possible to receive them as knights and monks all over the world. The organization of the order is particularly interesting. According to the rules, all newcomers handed over their personal wealth to the order. Besides the brothers - knights in the order there were also two other categories. The first known as "sergeants". They were cleaners, watchmen and servants. The second group was the churchmen responsible for the spiritual needs of the brothers. They were the only literate members and also took care of the order's correspondence and archives. They also performed the church services, wearing white gloves all the time - as a symbol of purity. Doesn't all this remind you of the organization of Freemasonry today?
After the ban and dissolution of the Templar order, some of the brothers managed to save themselves in England and Scotland. There they evolved into a secret society so as not to be seen in the rest of Christendom. Another part of them, together with the entire fleet of the order, sailed in an unknown direction. Some of the ships and knights ended up among the ranks of the Mediterranean pirates (Templar ships were mostly galleys, which were superior in maneuverability to other vessels and therefore ideal for sea raids). From this fact most likely originates the phrase used when receiving a master's degree "You will become brothers of pirates and corsairs". The other part of the fleet headed along the west coast of Africa, with one part of the ships most likely reaching the shores of America long before Columbus.
Over the years, the secret brotherhood began to grow throughout Europe, sometimes under the guise of traveling master masons, sometimes as the mysterious brotherhood of the Rosicrucians. Despite severe persecution by the official Church, the Secret Brotherhood showed various manifestations, mainly in Protestant England.
One of the most notable such developments was the founding of the Royal Society of Science in the 17th century. The official policy of the English rulers to win ecclesiastical autonomy and independence from the papal throne helped the development of the brotherhood. Proceedings were more or less secret until 1717, when Freemasonry came into the open officially, with the installation of the first Grand Lodge of England.