The 1784 St. John’s Day Sermon

The 1784 St. John’s Day Sermon

Dec 3, 2023 | Masonic History

MASONIC HISTORY

To Fear God: The 1784 St. John’s Day Sermon

On St. John the Evangelist Day 1784 at Morristown, New Jersey, The Rev. Uzal Ogden delivered a sermon before Lodge No. 10. Ogden was not a Freemason, but with that surname it is easy to see he had family connections to the fraternity, most probably through Moses Ogden and others at St. John’s Lodge in Newark. As for Lodge No. 10, this is the mysterious lodge in Basking Ridge chartered by the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.
Rev. Uzal Ogden
The reverend, an Episcopalian, was known to preach in New Jersey at both Trinity Church in Newark and at St. John’s Church in Elizabethtown, as well as at the more famous Trinity Church in Manhattan. He graduated from Princeton University at age 18, and was ordained in 1773 at 29. He was an experienced speaker by age 40 when he preached this sermon to the local Freemasons, and he did so without notes. The reason we have it today is the lodge requested a written copy for publication, causing the reverend to put quill to paper after the fact. Historically, we readers find ourselves a year after the Revolutionary War ended and almost two years before the founding of the Grand Lodge of New Jersey.

This sermon is far too long to reproduce here, so this focus is on one of its four key ideas: “to notice what it is to ‘fear God.'”

What is it to fear God? When the candidate for the degrees of Freemasonry seeks admission to a New Jersey lodge, the Worshipful Master orders that he be in the “fear of the Lord” upon entering. It must be important because it’s in all three degrees. (This is not the case here in New York, where the language is overtly different.) It is more specific than belief in a higher power. What does it mean?

To fear God, Ogden said, is to love or to serve Him. He illustrates this with multiple quotations of Scripture, including two attributed to King Solomon: “It shall be well with those who fear God. (Ecclesiastes 8:12) And “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (Proverbs 9:10) By the fear of God, he continues, “we are to understand a due observance of religion, which it may be said, consists of three particulars: knowledge, faith, and practice.”
“The first principle of religious knowledge requisite we should be acquainted with,” Ogden says, “is that there exists some Being superior to ourselves, who gave excellence to Creation, who inhabits eternity, whose knowledge is infinite, whose presence fills all space, whose power preserves and sustains all nature, and who possesses all possible perfection.”

“Can we behold the heavens above or the earth beneath,” he adds, “without acknowledging the infinite power, wisdom, and goodness displayed by some, though to us, invisible Architect?”

Faith, Ogden’s second particular in fearing God, also is the first of the principal rounds of the ladder—Faith, Hope, and Charity—reaching to Heaven that Freemasonry discusses in its First Degree. Ogden begins: “But it is to no purpose we are informed of these things unless we believe them. ‘Without faith,’ it is said, ‘it is impossible to please God, for he that comes to Him must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.’”

“To hope for the friendship of God,” he adds, “while we disclaim His authority…would be irrational, as futile, as it would be to…behold the light if deprived of the organs of vision!”

Of the third of his particulars—practice—Rev. Ogden is all about character. “Although it is most reasonable we should offer to our Almighty Creator and divine benefactor the oblation of our hearts; and though Christianity is calculated to deliver us from infamy and woe, and to exalt us to honor and happiness, how often are its benefits rejected?” he asks. “How many are there, even of those professing to revere this dispensation of mercy, who live regardless of its precepts, and who, in their actions with men are so far from ‘doing as they would be done unto,’ that no feelings of humanity; no sense of honor, nor any fear of divine vengeance, nor any thing but present punishment can divert them from acts of dishonesty, barbarity, and flagrant impiety?”

While there is no documentation of Rev. Uzal Ogden being a Freemason, it is clear that Lodge No. 10 chose its speaker for St. John the Evangelist Day wisely. He anticipated his audience and crafted his remarks accordingly, and we are fortunate the lodge opted to have his sermon printed so posterity may enjoy it.
Written by W. Bro. Jay Hochberg

WB Hochberg is the Senior Warden of The American Lodge of Research in Manhattan; is a Past Master of New Jersey Lodge of Masonic Research and Education 1786; and also is at labor in Civil War Lodge of Research 1865 in Virginia.

Masonic Revival and Unity

Masonic Revival and Unity

Nov 4, 2023 | Masonic History

MASONIC HISTORY

Masonic Revival and Unity

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for Brethren to dwell together in unity!”

 Psalm 133

On October 21, some 150 Freemasons assembled at Masonic Hall in New York City for the first Metropolitan Region Table Lodge, a ritualized communal meal exemplary of Masonic tradition. Actually, as Master of Ceremonies Sam Kinsey explained, Table Lodges are tiled, like our lodge meetings, and this event really was a Festive Board, but this didn’t confuse the conviviality of the night’s wholly Masonic experience.

The tradition of Accepted Masons dining together in ceremony predates the formation of the Premier Grand Lodge of London and Westminster in 1717. Ritual, ceremony, and education, whether esoteric or exoteric, had been communicated behind guarded doors of taverns and private homes by Speculative Masons in the seventeenth century.

In attendance at Masonic Hall were dignitaries including R∴W∴ Steven Adam Rubin, Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New York, who delivered an inspiring speech on the values of our fraternity; R∴W∴ Kinsey, Chairman of the Custodians of the Work; R∴W∴ James W. Gregg, Grand Sword Bearer, who performed a wonderfully impassioned rendition of “The Dash,” a poem by Linda Ellis; and R∴W∴ Wilber J. Salazar, Grand Representative of the Grand Lodge of Peru Near New York, one of the night’s key organizers.

The catering for the evening was on point and there were plenty of libations to go around, but I am still at a loss for words to describe how powerful it was to be in the presence of those 150 Masons singing “God Bless America” and Bro. Robert Burns’ “Auld Lang Syne” in concert. For many in the room, this was their first big Masonic event since the pandemic, and they delighted in reuniting with their brethren. For many more brothers admitted after 2020, myself included, this was the first opportunity to see the Craft celebrated in such a traditional fashion on such a wonderfully attended scale.

In this kind of setting, the progenitors of Speculative Freemasonry literally traced early designs upon the trestleboard we know today. Employing chalk, they drew the symbols on tavern floors while enjoying food and drink with their fellows. As the popularity and culture of Masonry grew, so did the number of lodges where they assembled. This tradition of dining together became the bedrock on which the sublime cornerstone of our speculative tradition was placed.

What made the formation of the Premier Grand Lodge in 1717 so enduring wasn’t a need to establish a governing body for the regulation of lodges; it was intended to unite the brethren to celebrate and uphold Brotherly Love. This Grand Lodge emphasized enjoying the fraternity in meaningful and beneficial ways, extending past the walls of any individual lodge to a broader network that served as a reminder that we are all members of the Universal Lodge, which extends to the four corners of the globe under the magnificent starry-decked heaven.

The Communication held by the Grand Lodge on June 24, 1717 was not the beginning of Speculative Masonry; it was a revival of Craft tradition. Speculative Masonry in London had seen a lull in activity and decline in leadership, as massive social and political upheaval shook England since the Civil War. By bringing together four local lodges of Free and Accepted Masons, and committing to strengthening the fraternity’s network and bonds in celebration, Freemasonry began to flourish and spread around the world so that we inherit it today.

And today our Craft requires revitalization again. It is commonly thought that this must start in our lodges, and I agree, but I also see so many lodges struggling for direction. Though it is critical to offer education and quality events in lodge, I believe it is imperative for the brethren to travel and engage with the fraternity at large. Encouraging attendance at events like the Metropolitan Region Table Lodge, Grand Lodge Communications, Masonic conventions, or the upcoming Grand Jurisdiction Unity Day are ways to strengthen our fraternal ties and pay homage to the traditional celebrations that united our fraternity three centuries ago. Events like these are where we glean the most valuable insights and experiences which help enlighten, engage, and inspire us, especially brethren new to the fraternity. It is by embracing in the Masonic bond that we become more than just members—we keep our Craft valuable, vibrant, and vital to our communities and to the human family at large.

Written by: Bro. Jason W. Short

Presently, Jason is the Treasurer of Aurora Grata-Day Star Lodge No.647, a Royal Arch Mason with Nassau Chapter 109, and 32º Sublime Prince of the AASR Valley of NYC.

Jason Short

The Double-Headed Eagle: “The Great Work”

The Double-Headed Eagle: “The Great Work”

Oct 26, 2023 | Masonic Education, Masonic History

MASONIC EDUCATION

The double-headed eagle: “the great work”

 

“The Sun is its father, the Moon is its mother, the Wind has carried it in its belly, its nurse is the Earth.”

The Double-Headed Eagle is a symbol dating back to ancient cultures such as the Egyptians, Babylonians, etc. The oldest such motif ever discovered was found in Jiroft, Iran and dates back to 3000 B.C. The symbol is known to have esoteric and alchemical connotations. The image on the right is from an old manuscript called “Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians of the 16th and 17th Centuries” and, as you can see, it also displays three alchemical glyphs for “Salt, Sulphur, and Mercury”. This symbol relates to the alchemical regeneration and transmutation of the “soul personality” in the individual: a spiritual alchemical awakening process that can only be integrated by upright living. The double-headed eagle is also known as the “phoenix, the bird of resurrection”. This mythical bird was said to live up to 500 or 1000 years. The phoenix was known as the Swan of the Greeks and the Eagle to the Romans. According to the ancient mystics, this bird was the symbol of the immortality of the Soul, one side Feminine (Left) relating to the Moon, the other Masculine (Right) relating to the Sun, representing the duality of the Spirit and the Soul, the Ba and the Ka of the Egyptian, and Eros and Psyche of the Greeks. In the words of Hermes Trismegistus:

“The Sun is its father, the Moon is its mother, the Wind has carried it in its belly, its nurse is the Earth.”

The union between these two dualities produces a spiritual awakening and an alchemical reaction within the soul personality of the individual. In the 16th century Rosicrucian manifestos, this is referred to as the “Alchemical Wedding” which is the alchemical Magnum Opus or the Great Work. The Rebis image from the book “Theoria Philosophiae Hermeticae” by Heinrick Nollius explains this union of opposites. You will find familiar Masonic emblems being held by the “Great Hermaphrodite”. In Freemasonry, the symbol of the 18th degree of the Scottish Rite is the pelican or the eagle. The Hebrew masculine noun “רחם” means “a kind of vulture or Pelican”. In fact, the name Abraham contains this very reference: “Ab” meaning “Father” and “Raham” meaning ”Pelican”. The name of Abraham correlates to an alchemical implication where Abram means “exalted father or sublime”. The major character of the Blue Lodge Degree Hiram in Hebrew means “Exalted Brother or Sublime”. These symbols and rituals, as well as the characters, are allegorical. They held that initiation elevated the soul from a material, sensual and purely human life, to a communion and celestial intercourse with the gods. The Three alchemical symbols “Sulphur, Salt, and Mercury” pertain to the three Degrees of the Blue Lodge.

In the words of one of the Church Fathers of Christianity Clement of Alexandria:

“Let us consider the strange sign which takes place in the East, that is in the districts near Arabia. There is a bird which is called the Phoenix. This is the only one of its kind, and lives 500 years;  and when the time of its dissolution in death is at hand, it makes itself a sepulcher of frankincense and myrrh and other spices, and when the time is fulfilled, it enters it and dies. Now, from the corruption of its flesh, there springs a worm, which is nourished by the juices of the dead bird and puts forth wings. Then, when it has become strong, it takes up that sepulcher, in which are the bones of its predecessor, and carries them from the country of Arabia as far as Egypt until it reaches the city called Heliopolis, and in the daylight in the sight of all it flies to the altar of the Sun, places them there, and then starts back to its former home. Then the priests inspect the registers of dates, and they find that it has come at the fulfillment of the 500th year.”

It is said that the Pyramid of Giza stems from the word phoenix. This bird is said to derive from the  name of the biblical character Enoch. The Pyramid is reputedly known as the “House of Enoch”. The word “pyramid” comes from the Greek “Pyramis” and “Pyramidos”. Pyramis may relate to the shape of the Pyramid whereas Pyramidos has been translated to “Fire in the Middle”. In Egypt, the Pyramid is called “Mer”. Some scholars believe it was called Per-Neter or “House of Nature or House of the Gods”. In Phoenician, it is Purimiddoh which means “light measures” and even in Hebrew the word “Midah” means “measure”. Moreover, the Greek word Pyramis is related to the pointy topped wheat cakes of the Egyptians because of its cone-like shape and its similarities to the Benben capstone that was once located on top of the pyramid. Curiously, the Egyptian word for Phoenix is “Bennu”.

“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Written by:

Bro. Rene Perez, 32°

Secret History of New York Freemasonry

Secret History of New York Freemasonry

Sep 11, 2023 | Masonic History

MASONIC HISTORY

The Secret History of
Freemasonry in New York

One Lodge Historian’s Search opened a portal to the past

Have you ever looked in your Lodge’s storage closet and noticed very old Lodge records? Well, Huguenot Lodge No. 46 (Tuckahoe, New York) was cleaning out our storage closet and we came across books that dated to the early 1800s. We started looking at them and noticed several last names that are on street signs throughout Westchester and Bronx Counties and this sent us off on an adventure to discover the early history of our Lodge.

It has amazed us how this process opened up to the history of the American Revolution and not just in our local area. Our Lodge had connections to Nova Scotia, Upstate New York, and even as far away as Sri Lanka! As the Lodge historian, I did a lot of the digging in and after sending multiple texts to our Lodge brothers, I thought, why don’t I just start making videos that will make these people come to life more than random isolated texts?

Our video project began with a trip to the Livingston Library to view our Lodge’s first meeting notes from 1796. The Chancellor Robert R Livingston Masonic Library of Grand Lodge of New York is one of the world’s largest collections of books, artifacts, memorabilia, and archival holdings relating to the subject of Freemasonry. At the library we learned how we went from Westchester Lodge No. 46, to Huguenot Lodge No. 448 and then to Huguenot Lodge No. 46. We also learned many other important facts, such as the names of the founding brothers of the Lodge, where some of them were raised and the fact that two brothers from Royal Arch No. 2 were the Lodge’s first visitors in 1796.

As we started researching the names of these men, the results were stories about the experiences they lived through and some of the amazing people who were related to them. Some are even portrayed in the musical Hamilton and what we learned about our local area and the Revolutionary War was a complete surprise. These men were common folks and others were from the wealthiest, most powerful and influential families of Colonial New York.

Image: With a catalog of 60,000+ books, 37,000 artifacts, and 13,000 photographs and slides, the Livingston Masonic Library is ideal for Masonic research.
We have produced several videos, but the work continues and we hope people enjoy the videos as much as we have enjoyed making them. We also would love to see our work encourage other Lodges to research their history and discover the interesting brothers of their past as well.

Written by: Bro. Lionel Justo, Huguenot Lodge No. 46, Tuckahoe, New York

Bro. Juston is also a Senior Demolay, Yonkers Chapter and an active member of Yorktown, Diamond, Thistle #555, as well as the Scottish Rite, Valley of the Hudson and Knights of St Andrew.

Celebrating 100 Years – Freemasonry In Finland

Celebrating 100 Years – Freemasonry In Finland

Sep 11, 2023 | Masonic History, Masonic Travel

MASONIC HISTORY

FREEMASONRY IN FINLAND

Celebrating 100 Years

Finland Centenary 2024

A Brief History

Since the Treaty of Nöteborg in 1323, Finland was a part of the Kingdom of Sweden for 500 years. As such, Freemasonry in that part of Sweden was practiced through the Swedish Rite. In 1756, St. Johannes Lodge was founded for the eastern province of Finland which held sessions in Stockholm and Turku (Finland’s oldest city located in the south). Starting in 1762, the Lodge held some sessions in Helsinki.

Following the Russo-Sweden War of 1808-1809, Finland was absorbed into the Russian Empire making Finland a self-governing Grand Duchy with allegiance to the Czar. Freemasonry was suppressed under the Russian Emperor, Alexander I who on Aug. 13, 1822 issued an order “…prohibiting secret societies and Masonic lodges.”

Did you know that our Grand Lodge of New York consecrated the Grand Lodge of Finland in 1924?
Finland, a picturesque Scandinavian country of 5.5 million is popularly known as “the land of a thousand lakes” (180,000 lakes).

Situated at the top of Europe, Finland has a history that spans 9,000 years. During the Crusades, Finland became part of the Swedish Kingdom and was later absorbed into the Russian Empire, finally declaring itself an independent state in 1917. Having visited Finland as a young man in the 1970s, I remember late summer nights where the sun did not set until after 2AM and the Finns robust, hearty and welcoming.

Today, across 40 locations in Finland there are now 180 Finnish Lodges and 7,300 Freemasons. America’s cultural ties with Finland span back more than 150 years. Between 1870 and 1920, 340,000 Finns immigrated to the United States mostly to Minnesota, Ohio and Illinois. A shared priority was to keep their heritage, language and traditions alive. Today, there are more than 650,000 Finnish-Americans in the US.

Operating in Foreign Countries

Only few Finnish Masons continued to practice in other countries like England, Scotland and France. Due to Russian political oppression, ongoing wars and the economic situation in Europe, many Finns from the Russian Grand Duchy emigrated abroad. According to the US Library of Congress 389,000 Finns immigrated to North America from 1870-1920, many taking jobs in mining and tenant farming. (image: many Finns were recruited by American mining companies to work in Michigan and Minnesota) Many Finns joined Freemasonry in the regions to which they immigrated especially in the Midwest, while Freemasonry as such no longer existed in the old mother country.

A New Finnish Grand Lodge

Finland declared its independence on December 6, 1917 which laid the foundations to establish its own Grand Lodge.

On May 2, 1922, the Grand Lodge of New York, in the spirit of Fraternity, assisted in the founding of the Grand Lodge of Finland. The Finnish automobile engineer Brother J.E. Tuokkola alongside lawyer and Brother Toivo H. Nekto (who attended law school in New York) started working on establishing the first Finnish Masonic Lodge, Suomi Lodge 1. Both Brothers Tuokkola and Nekto returned to Finland from the US and labored together to draw up a charter-member list of prospective members including the world renowned composer Jean Sibelius, General C.G. Mannerheim, Archbishop Gustaf Johansson, architect Lars Sonck, painter Pekka Halonen and composer Robert Kajanus. On August 14th, 1922, with hopes that Sibelius would serve as the Lodge Organist, it was recorded in the minutes that Jean Sibelius would compose “original, genuinely Finnish music for the lodge”. Other music performed in the Lodge, at first on a Mannborg harmonium, were classical works by Mozart, Beethoven and unique Masonic Ritual music for the third degree composed by Sibelius in 1922. To this day, Finnish Lodges use the music composed by Sibelius for the Webb ritual.

On August, 22 1922, Most Worshipful Arthur S. Tompkins, U.S. Representative from New York and Justice of the New York Supreme Court, who served as Grand Master of Free and Accepted Masons in the State of New York visited Finland on three occasions: in 1922, 1923 and 1924. MW Tompkins performed an induction to the Order according to the prescribed Entered Apprentice Ritual and Finland’s first Lodge or “Loosi” – the Suomi Lodge No 1 was born. It was an august beginning to a new and truly Finnish Freemasonry in a modern Europe and an example of American Freemasonry’s commitment to the Fraternity worldwide. (Image: Summons to Stated Communication Suomi Loosi (Lodge) No 1, Dec 28, 1922. 

Image: News article reporting the official visit from the Grand Lodge of New York

On May 2, 1922, J.E. Tuokkola sent to New York a request to establish a Lodge. On August 14, 1922, the establishment session of the temporary Suomi Maja 1 Lodge was held in Tuokkola’s residence in Helsinki, at the invitation of Toivo H. Nekton, an American-Finn who was appointed as the Deputy Grand Master of the Finland District. On August 18, 1922, MW Tompkins and four other Masonic representatives from the Grand Lodge in the State of New York led the ritual in the Säätytalo at the first Masonic session of independent Finland where 27 Brothers received all three degrees on the same day. This was followed by the establishment of Tammer Lodge No 2 (in Tampere) and Phoenix Lodge No 3 in 1923 (in Turku). The formal Consecration was performed by MW Tompkins in September 1924 and the Installation of W Bro Axel Solitander (a member of the “twenty-seven” original founders) of Suomi Lodge No 1 as the first Grand Master of Finland. In 1931, a Lodge was established at Abo (Turku) on the southwest coast of Finland.

The 1930s marked a challenging time for Finnish Freemasons during the Great Depression and in the years approaching the Second World War while many groups faced severe persecution across Europe. Membership dipped to 238 in 1938 and the Craft officially suspended activities in 1941 but continued “underground”, especially in the form of charitable work. At the close of the War in 1945, Finnish Freemasonry resumed its operations with zeal and in the booming 1950s expanded with the noted establishment of the Humanities Society which focused on Masonic education, speaking and charity. By the 1970s, membership grew from the original 300 of the 1920s to 4,000 by 1980 and soon culminated into the first Masonic conventions held in Turku and Tampere.

As the Grand Lodge of New York had collaborated with Finnish Freemasons to establish a Grand Lodge, so did the Grand Lodge of Finland collaborate with their Estonian neighbors in the founding of the Grand Lodge of Estonia in 1999. The Grand Lodge of Finland has continued to build amity and Masonic relations with its Grand Lodges in Scandinavia with regular Lodge visits. 

Image: Charter of Suomi Lodge No 1, May 3, 1923

Today, Lodge ritual is performed in Finland in Finnish, Swedish, English and German using the ritual developed by the Founding Father of American Masonry Thomas Smith Webb (1771-1819).

The Future

The Grand Lodge of Finland and the Grand Lodge of New York both celebrate profound Fraternal Bonds in 2024 as part of the Centenary of the Founding of the Grand Lodge of Finland. New York Brethren are particularly welcome to attend the celebrations, learn more about this event by listening to the recent Craftsmen Online Podcast on Finnish Freemasonry below.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to esteemed Brethren of the Grand Lodge of New York including RW Steven A. Rubin, Assistant Grand Master, RW Richard Schultz, Grand Secretary, RW Richard Bateman, Grand Pursuivant & Assistant Grand Secretary, RW Michael LaRocco, Executive Director, Robert R Livingston Library, VW Christophe Loubry-Boulanger.

And from our distinguished Brethren from Finland, our thanks to RW Lauri Helaniemi, Past Assistant Grand Master Centenary Program Director 2022-2024 and the team of devoted Brothers who have made this project possible.

Bro. Les Joynes and VW Christophe Loubry-Boulanger