Anderson book of constitutions of the grand chapter

Including an analysis of andersons constitutions of 1723 and 1738 paperback or softback by hyneman, leon and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The book of constitutions of the most worshipful grand lodge of ancient free and accepted masons of colorado with all revisions enacted through the close of the grand lodge session, january 28, 2012 published by the grand lodge a. Very little is known of the period from 1717 to 1721, due to lack of minutes and written material, but sometime during this period the revd. Grand lodge of london to be errors in the old manuscripts, anderson researched and attempted to update the document for modern use 1. It was taken by the grand lodge of ireland as the model for their book of constitutions in 1730.

Book of constitutions royal arch regulations by ugle issuu. To us american masons, who live under fortynine grand jurisdictions and to who m masonic jurisprudence is an almost necessary preoccupation, any new light on that formative and critical period, and especially on dr. The first grand principal is the holy royal arch equivalent of the grand master in craft freemasonry. Crawford has selected as one of his major fundraising projects the. On the 29th of september, 1721, he was commissioned by the grand lodge to collect and compile the history, charges, and regulations of the fraternity from the then existing ancient constitutions of the lodges. The following are the principal editions of the royal arch regulations to have been published since the formation of the united grand chapter in 1817 renamed supreme grand chapter in 1822. Anderson himself is still on the rack of criticism. Collected and digested by order of the grand lodge from their old records, faithful traditions and. All these lodges, be it noted, were in london, a fact amply justifying the optimism of. Many of these books are small, pocket sized publications. George payne took it upon himself to write the general regulations of a free mason, which were recited at his second installation as grand master in 1720. When in 1738, the grand lodge changed its name from grand lodge of london and westminster into the grand lodge of england.

The original andersons constitutions was published in 1723. If the holder of this office is a royal prince, as is currently the case, he is supported by a pro first grand principal. True to his material, anderson fixes the first grand assembly of english masons at york, under athelstans son, edwin, who is otherwise unknown to history. A facsimile of the original text with commentaries publications of the masonic book club. Andersons constitutions of 1723 freemason information. There is a remarkable similarity between his entry in the constitutions of his name as master of a lodge and author of this book, and in entry in the aberdeen mark book, of james anderson, glazier and mason and writer of this book. The supreme grand chapter is ruled by three grand principals, who have their headquarters. Collected and digested by order of the grand lodge from their old records, faithful traditions and lodgebooks, for the use of the lodges. Book of constitutions united grand lodge of england. Anderson was a freemason, and when, in 1721, on the revival of freemasonry in england, the grand lodge determined to produce an authoritative digest of the constitutions of the fraternity, the task was assigned to him enticks edition 1747 of the constitutions, p. This is a new edition of the the first masonic book printed in america, which was originally produced in philadelphia by benjamin franklin in 1734, and was a reprint of a work by james anderson who is identified as the author in an appendix printed in london in 1723.

For the use of the lodges in ireland, by edward spratt secretary. The title of the second, rewritten, edition of 1738 was the new book of constitutions of the antient and honourable fraternity of free and accepted masons, containing their history, charges, regulations, etc. The book was submitted for approval to grand lodge, and published by order of the grand master in 1723, with the addition of the outgoing grand masters method of constituting a new masonic lodge. Printed one year before the constitutions of the grand lodge of england, and being, as hughan holds, an exclusively operative document, it stands at the parting of the ways between operative and speculative masonry. The constitutions of the freemasons by james anderson. Assistant librarian bill kreuger now reports in the march 2020 issue of the grand lodge of iowa bulletin that grand master william r. Constitution of the grand chapter of royal arch masons of the state of new york. This is an online electronic edition of the the first masonic book printed in america, which was produced in philadelphia by benjamin franklin in 1734, and was a reprint of a work by james anderson who is identified as the author in an appendix printed in london in 1723. The constitutions of the freemasons james anderson. Andersons constitutions of 1723 general regulations, compiled first by m.

Andersons constitutions of 1723, are their landmarks. Grand lodge does not admit any such claim, nor can its views be represented by any such association. Freemasons united grand lodge of england worldcat identities. Collected from the book of constitutions published in england in the year 1738, by our worthy brother james anderson, d. James anderson was either commissioned or took it upon himself to. This is the seminal work of american masonry, edited and published by one of the founding fathers, and of great importance to. The board recommended, in accordance with rule 269, book of constitutions, that the annual dues including vat payable to grand lodge in respect of each member of every lodge for the year 2018 shall be. Twelve lodges attended the june quarterly communication of the grand lodge in 1721, sixteen in september, twenty in december, and by april, 1723, the number had grown to thirty. The full title of the 1723 edition was the constitutions of the freemasons, containing the history, charges, regulations, etc. It was written by james anderson, a presbyterian clergyman, at the request of john theophilus desaguliers, the third grand master of the grand lodge of england. Andersons constitutions were based on the old masonic manuscripts also called gothic constitutions and on the general regulations which had been compiled first by george payne in 1720. Also included is the booklet information and guidance for members of the craft and the the central masonic charity booklet. A few of our grand lodges, pennsylvania among them, continue to call their book of constitutions, the ahiman rezon. For a variety of reasons, operative masons, with the assistance of learned and.

Andersons constitutions of 1723 grand lodge of british. The grand secretary was instructed to purchase twelve copies of it 1802. In 18 the ancient grand lodge was dissolved by the union of the two grand lodges of england, and a new book of constitutions having been adopted for the united body, no subsequent edition of the ahiman rezon was ever published. The paperback of the the constitutions of the freemasons. The recorded history of grand lodge dates only from 1723 when the first minute book was commenced, and so for a contemporary account of the formation of grand lodge, and of the first six years of its existence, we have to depend almost exclusively on dr. James anderson, the authorcompiler of the constitutions ii of 1723. The following are the principal editions of the book of constitutions to have been published since the formation of the united grand lodge of england. Introduction the theory is that, at first, operative masonry existed simply as an art of building. The old constitutions of freemasonry grand lodge of iowa. The title of the second, rewritten, edition of 1738 was the new book of constitutions of the antient and honourable fraternity of free and accepted masons, containing their. Welcome to supreme grand chapter, which is the governing body for royal arch masonry in england, wales and the channel islands.

Though some have questioned the actual existence of the old charges to begin with, the resulting work of brother anderson, referred to. Southern regalia book of constitutions united grand lodge of england rb040 book of constitutions for united grand lodge of england, including the constitutions for the supreme grand chapter. There are three sections to andersons constitutions, the history of freemasonry, the charges or general rules to be. Digital masonic library greetings, at the library tab suggested reading of the website of the valley of schenectady, aasr, nmj, usa, is the below listing of. The new book of constitutions of the most ancient and. Lionel vibert, past master quator coronati lodge no. Notwithstanding the way in which grand lodge received the work after its publication, it took its place as the official manual, so that the fact that it was not official but essentially a private affair was entirely lost sight of. Andersons constitutions of 1723 masonic service association on. According to anderson, he was commissioned to digest the old gothic constitutions of freemasonry. The word landmarks occurs in print in its masonic sense for the first time in andersons first book of constitutions 1723 in the general regulations which had actually been compiled in 1720 and approved by grand lodge at its assembly in june, 1721. The royal arch regulations taken from the 2019 edition of the book of constitutions are available for download in pdf format as a read only document. In 1919, the grand chapter was organized, adopting the constitution of the grand chapter of alberta. It was reprinted verbatim for use in america by franklin in 1734.

And there shall be a book kept by the grand master, or his deputy, or rather by some brother whom the grand lodge shall appoint for secretary, wherein shall be recorded all the lodges, with their usual times and places of forming, and the names of all the members of each lodge. Notice of motion to amend the book of constitutions accordingly appeared on the paper of business. Book of constitutions general index may 2016 258 kb book of constitutions grand charity dec 2015 52 kb also available for download is the current edition of the booklet entitled information for the guidance of members of the craft 2015 399 kb. Lionel vibert, of marline, lansdowne, bath, england, is author of freemasonry before the existence of grand lodges and the story of the craft and is editor of miscellanea latomorum. Anderson whose constitutions is the groundwork of our laws, is not only interesting but useful. A facsimile of the original text with commentaries publications of the masonic book club anderson, james on.

A very complete collection of all editions is in the masonic library at philadelphia. Benjamin franklin, grand master of masons of pennsylvania. In 1920, 1938, 1949, 1955, 1961, 1971, 1983, 1991, 1998 and 2010, the grand chapter adopted and printed new constitutions with accumulated amendments. Expanded, revised, and republished, andersons 1738 constitutions listed the grand masters since augustine of canterbury, listed as austin the monk. The book of constitutions grand lodge of colorado page 1 constitution preamble we, the grand lodge of ancient free and accepted masons of colorado, in order to form a more perfect fraternal union, and to provide for and promote the general welfare of the. Books marked lockerare kept in a box in one of the lower lockers.