Freemasonry is a Trinity, but not as you know it
Freemasonry is a Trinity. Not in the religious sense by any means.
Rather, Freemasonry is 3 things which are all related, can’t exist without each other and are different manifestations of “Freemasonry” as a whole.
But this Masonic Trinity is what confuses people and creates many misconceptions and misunderstandings. Especially as modern language no longer maintains the original meaning or our words and phrases.
So in this article I will share what the three elements of the Masonic Trinity are and how they cause confusion. By sharing these, it should help you understand the differences and dispel the misconceptions.
The Masonic Trinity
First, there is The Craft.
The Craft encompasses the ceremonies and the principles and lessons they teach. Think of the Craft as anything from the start of the ceremony of opening to the end of the ceremony of closing, and everything in between. It’s the spirit of Freemasonry
Second is Individual Masons.
Who we are as men when we become a Mason, it’s part of our identity as a person. There is the Fraternity or Brotherhood of Masons which are all the individuals who make up Freemasonry.
Third is the Organisation.
The Organisation is split in two elements, The Lodge and Grand Lodges. Lodges are a collective of individual masons, and Grand Lodges are a collective of individual lodges. The objects of a Grand Lodge is the Warrant Lodges and the objects of a Lodge is to Make Masons. The Organisation of Freemasonry is a collective of all the Organisations that make up Freemasonry. Our charities, Lodges & Grand Lodges etc.
How does the Masonic Trinity cause confusion?
The two elements of the trinity that cause the most confusion are Individual Masons and the Organisation. Let’s use a simple example that we hear all too often.
“Masons founded the USA”
This is an easier one to explain the misconception and how modern language has changed the meaning of the words.
Originally the syntax of this statement would have meant “that Men (the Founding Fathers) who were Freemasons founded the USA” but today it’s incorrectly interpreted to mean that “Freemasonry founded the USA”. Therefore it makes it sound like the organisation was responsible, but really it was individual men who just also happened to be Freemasons doing something.
There are several issues with this confusion though:
It confuses an element of who a person is with the actions of an organisation,
It implies there is a single authority of the organisation
Let’s consider the background of individual Founding Fathers of which only 5 were actually Masons. In fact, 9 were Lawyers, but we don’t hear “Lawyers founded the USA” - not as juicy as a Masonic conspiracy right?
There is also the misconception of a single authority for the organisation that is Freemasonry.
While the United Grand Lodge of England is the oldest formalised Grand Lodge and is seen as the authority, it doesn’t have any authority over any other Grand Lodge. It’s authority comes from its history, not from any control (it doesn’t actually have) of other Grand Lodges across the world, they are completely seperate and sovereign.
Even in Australia, each Grand Lodge is sovereign and there is no one authority. UGL NSW & ACT, UGL Victoria, UGL Queensland, Grand Lodge of SA & NT and Grand Lodge of WA are all sovereign, independent, with none having authority over any other. That of course doesn’t mean they don’t look to what each other is doing and share collective knowledge and follow a similar direction - why reinvent the wheel.
With the exception of a Provincial or District Grand Lodge, each Grand Lodge is masonically a completely different jurisdiction - and fully independent.
But this is not to say things are always done by individual masons.
A Lodge as a collective group can and does actually do things in their own name. Such examples include as things like donating to charity or helping the community.
While the actions are done by individuals who are Freemasons, at times they are performing those actions in representation of the collective, their Lodge. The same as, while a sports team is a collective of individual players, it’s the team who wins.
Therefore it’s important to understand that when an Individual who is a Freemason does something in their daily life, like being a CEO, it is not “Freemasons” running the company. Rather it’s a man who happens to be a Freemason, the same as he is a Son, Brother, Cousin, Uncle, Businessman, Entrepreneur or what other label you wish to give his identity doing something.
It is not the Craft, it is not the Organisation.
But the actions of all Masons and the things any Lodge & Grand Lodge does in their own right has an impact and reflects on the Masonic Trinity and Freemasonry as a whole. Stay just, upright and free.
-So mote it be.