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Regular Grand Lodge of Enland
ANCIENT AND HONOURABLE FRATERNITY OF FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS
A group of Regular Master Masons, disillusioned, disappointed and concerned by the state of the Administration and Management of the Masonic Order in general and the Craft in particular, assembled at Freemasons Arms, Convent Garden in London in order to put forward their legitimate concerns and to discuss and debate those issues being ignored by the Craft Administration. This Assembly of Masons at London, with the assistance of various highly respected and knowledgeable Brethren, Constituted and Consecrated a Masonic High Council for England and Wales in Due Form on the 25th of January, 2005.
The Masonic High Council is a de jure and de facto Sovereign Masonic Body with jurisdiction over the Craft in England and Wales and has issued a warrant for the Creation of its first Lodge, named Grand Lodge No.1, at the orient of London. Three other regularly established Lodges have requested to join the Masonic High Council.
Once this process in completed it is the aim of the MHC to establish a Regular Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of England in Accordance with the Old Constitutions.
The MHC/RGLE is a truly independent and self-governing body with authority over Craft Freemasonry in the symbolic degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason.
The MHC/RGLE is a male only organization.
The MHC/RGLE requires of all its members a belief in a Supreme Being or Creator.
The Volume of the Sacred Law is present and open at all its Lodge meetings and all Oaths and Obligations are made upon it.
The Masonic light and symbols are present at all Lodge meetings.
The discussion of religion and politics within MHC/RGLE Lodges is prohibited.
The MHC/RGLE observes the Ancient Landmarks and Old Constitutions and insists on them being observed within all its Lodges.
Concern for the Craft
Thoughtful Brethren have long endured serious dissatisfaction with the administration and state of the Craft in England. It was in direct response to these concerns that on the 25th of January this year a number of Master Masons came together to constitute a Masonic High Council, to prepare a firm Foundation for a Regular Grand Lodge of England true to the Ancient Constitutions and fundamental spiritual values of the Craft.
At the core of these concerns is the heartfelt lament that Masonry in England has effectively degenerated into a social and dining club, meeting upon the excuse of a initiating yet another candidate into a society whose only apparent purpose is to carry out initiations, whilst seeking to justify its existence through the business of institutional charity. And where the heirarchy classically maintains discipline through the assiduous manufacture of ‘honours’ whilst ignorantly sacrificing ancient form and spiritual value in obeisance to transient political correctness.
Harsh words indeed, and doubtless the majority of English Masons will persist in their disinclination to give any thought to there being anything more to the Order than this. But whatever it is, and however socially valuable in some respects it may be, it isn’t Freemasonry.
If the words of our initiation ceremonies are actually heeded, rather than airily dismissed as so much quaint mumbo-jumbo, we learn that we are speculative Masons. And as speculative Masons we are meant to moralise, philosophise and speculate upon the symbols of the Craft, as traditionally practised in Lodges of old, before the initiation sausage-machine had been cranked up. If Freemasonry means anything it means the making of the whole man, from rough ashlar to polished stone. It implies a psychological and spiritual journey through an esoteric interpretation of our rich symbology. For too long have English Freemasons wishing to pursue such studies in a working setting been effectively disenfranchised.
Thus the Masonic High Council, after heartfelt debate and consideration, regretfully concluded that our duty to the Craft in general and to our Brethren and to ourselves in particular far outweighed attachment to the United Grand Lodge of England which we, and very many others, believe has long neglected the core, esoteric values of Freemasonry and now represents little more than a grandiose façade of what was and what might have been. The almost overwhelming response received from numerous Brethren, both in England and overseas, has more than confirmed us in this belief.
John Garland, DGM
Masonic High Counil for England and Wales
“THE ACT OF REGULARITY”
1 – The Reinstatement of the full wording on the delivery of the Masonic Penalties.
2 – The freedom and right of a Lodge to Practice its Masonic ritual of choice, such as Bristol Rite, Emulation, Taylors, Universal, Logic, York, French, Ancient and Accepted, Ancient and Primitive, Adoniram, Swedish, Rectified Scottish Rite, Schroeder Rite, etc…
3 – The right of every Master Mason to use and chose an apron design as long it is decorated with symbols that relate to the Craft.
4 – No interference of the Craft in the so-called higher degrees and vice versa.
5 – An equilibrium between Masonic work, instruction and science and charitable and social duties.
6 – The option of reading the Masonic ritual in Lodge.
7 – Greater autonomy for the Symbolic Lodges.
8 – Better and more transparency in Grand Lodge decisions and affairs.
9 – Devolution of the Masonic Library, Museum and archives to the Craft legal owners.
10 – To permit all aspects of the esoteric Masonic tradition, such as symbols, words, uses and customs.
11 – Freedom of association outside of the Craft.
12 – To promote the spirit of Brotherhood among Freemasons.
13 - The reinstatement of the Mark Mason Ceremony as a complement of the Fellow Craft Degree.
www.rgle.org.uk
