what caused the schism between the Moderns and the Antients in 1751

The division arose from a combination of ritual alterations by the Premier Grand Lodge of England, social and economic frictions, and the status of unaligned Masons in London. To guard against published exposures and clandestine visitors, the Grand Lodge established in 1717 shifted certain modes of recognition and discontinued the formal Ceremony of Installation for Masters of lodges 1. These changes, along with perceived departures from traditional practices, led critics to label it the "Modern" Grand Lodge 12. Additional dissatisfaction within the Craft stemmed from administrative trends, such as restrictive rules regarding officer appointments and the transformation of many lodges into costly social clubs 12.

Although traditionally termed a schism, historical research demonstrated that the formation of the Antients' Grand Lodge in 1751 was not primarily an internal split 1. As Henry Sadler established, the founders were predominantly Irish Freemasons living in London who were excluded or unrecognized by the premier Grand Lodge 12. The majority of these founders had never owed allegiance to the 1717 body, deriving their origin from the Grand Lodge of Ireland, as a paper read before Quatuor Coronati Lodge notes.

Substantive ritual and structural disagreements further solidified the breach. Antients Masons criticized their rivals for abandoning the Master's installation ritual and for treating the Royal Arch as a separate degree rather than an integral part of Craft Masonry, as the United Grand Lodge of England states. Broader social, political, and economic differences also fueled the rivalry, with the Antients seeking a more accessible and mutually supportive fraternity 1.

Laurence Dermott served as the primary administrative, literary, and polemical driving force behind the Antients Grand Lodge following its formation in 1751 34. Initiated in Ireland in 1740 and installed as a Worshipful Master in Dublin in 1746 1, he served as Grand Secretary and later Deputy Grand Master of the Antients, as ugle.org.uk notes. Through his leadership, he transformed an initial gathering of unaffiliated Masons—many of whom were London Irish—into a powerful rival to the Premier Grand Lodge 41, as ugle.org.uk notes.

Dermott positioned the Antients as the true preservers of ancient Craft usage and intentionally coined the pejorative term "Moderns" to describe the original Grand Lodge, undermining its historical legitimacy, as quatuorcoronati.com notes. In 1756, he authored the Antients' book of constitutions, *Ahiman Rezon*, in which he criticized the Moderns for altering modes of recognition and departing from established ritual customs 41, as quatuorcoronati.com notes. Hughan notes that Lawrie severely condemned Dermott's writings for unfairly misrepresenting the Premier Grand Lodge 4. Conversely, Mackey disputes Gould's characterization of Dermott as a mere schismatic, arguing that Dermott sought to maintain ancient landmarks while desiring general comity across all British Masonic denominations 1.

Administratively, Dermott expanded the Craft under the Antients by issuing lodge warrants, initiation certificates, and establishing military lodges serving overseas, as ugle.org.uk notes. He kept distinct Christian sentiments within the Antients' documents and ritual practice 3.

In the Royal Arch, Dermott championed the stance that the degree was an integral part of the Third Degree in the Craft, directly opposing the Moderns' treatment of it as a separate degree, as ugle.org.uk notes. Although later critics claimed he created the Royal Arch by dismembering the Master Mason degree, Mackey demonstrates that Dermott was exalted in 1746 when the ceremony was already being conferred in London 1. His persistent advocacy sustained the rivalry until his death in 1791, paving the way for the eventual Union of 1813 3.