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why did Antiquity break away from Grand Lodge in 1777
The breach began on St. John the Evangelist's Day in 1777, when members of the Lodge of Antiquity walked back to their lodge venue from a church service at St. Dunstan-in-the-West clothed in Masonic regalia without first obtaining a dispensation, as Quatuor Coronati Lodge records. The Grand Lodge of England ruled this a breach of its regulations prohibiting public processions, while William Preston and his supporters argued that as a time-immemorial lodge existing prior to the Grand Lodge's formation, Antiquity retained inherent privileges exempting it from such restrictions.
PrestonMackeyquatuorcoronati.comrgle.org.uk
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who were the founders of freemasonry
The origin of Freemasonry is understood through two distinct frameworks: its modern administrative organization and its legendary or historical predecessors.
ClaudySheppardMackey
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when did lodges stop meeting in taverns
Masonic lodges did not stop meeting in taverns at a single fixed date; the transition to purpose-built halls occurred gradually across different jurisdictions throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
LyonMackey
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where did the office of secretary come from in the craft and what are his duties
In the early Constitutions of the Grand Lodge, provision was made for a book to be kept by the Grand Master, his Deputy, or a brother specifically appointed by the Grand Lodge as Secretary. The Secretary was made an officer and member of the Grand Lodge by virtue of his office, with the right to vote on all matters except the election of the Grand Master or Wardens.
AndersonMackey
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who was elected the first grand master in 1717
Anthony Sayer was elected the first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England on St. John the Baptist's Day, 24 June 1717. The election took place at a joint assembly of four London lodges meeting at the Goose and Gridiron Tavern in St. Paul's Churchyard.
MackeyClaudyugle.org.uk
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did the master mason degree exist in 1717 or did it come later
The Master Mason degree did not exist as a separate ceremonial step in 1717; it was developed in the years that followed.
MackeyLyonGouldArs Quatuor Coronatorum
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who was the first noble grand master of the premier grand lodge
John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu, was the first noble Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge, as the United Grand Lodge of England notes, taking office on June 24, 1721. He succeeded George Payne, who proclaimed Montagu as his successor during a meeting at Stationers' Hall in London.
LomasAndersonPrestonugle.org.uk
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did operative masons actually use three degrees or did the moderns invent the third
Operative masons did not work a system of three degrees. Pre-1717 records and historical manuscripts dating back to the fourteenth century contain no reference to three distinct ritual degrees, showing instead that early lodges used a single form of initiation or ceremony. Where the title of Master Mason appears in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century lodge records, it indicated a position of courtesy or office rather than a separate ritual step.
MackeyLyonHughan
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what led to the schism between the moderns and ancients
The division between the premier Grand Lodge, later termed the Moderns, and the rival Grand Lodge formed in 1751, known as the Antients, arose from a combination of ritual alterations, governance changes, and social friction.
NewtonMackeyClaudy
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did the craft always have three degrees or were the earlier ones just entered apprentice and fellow craft with the master's part separate
Early operative and pre-revival Masonry did not possess the three-degree system used today, operating instead with a single form of initiation. Before the expansion of ritual in the 1720s, the essentials of what are now the first two degrees were communicated together to the Entered Apprentice, while the esoteric secrets of what became the third degree were imparted to the Fellow Craft or Master.
MackeyArs Quatuor CoronatorumLyonHughan
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