What is Freemasonry?

Masonry is a society composed of free philosophical educative philanthropic progressive thinkers. All of us adopt the investigation of the Truth, in a full-of-freedom path.

The principles of “Initiatory Arts”, as Hermeticism, Kabbalah and Symbolism point out, as well as the traditional observation of senses about colors, numbers and ancient legends, are some of the evident characteristics conceived in Masonic teachings by means of rituals.

Masonry’s richness stands out when compared to other fraternal institutions precisely for uniting in its rites the Rosy Cross teachings from not only the ancient philosophers, but also the Templars, Pythagoreans, Christians, and Judaism, as symbolism for the Primitive Initiations.

We can affirm that Masonry is, therefore, a school of wisdom. The process of admission in the Masonic Order is not a conclusion, but a beginning of a new journey of dedication that is only prone to only yielding good returns.

In this Order, we aim to preserve very old traditions of mystical-initiatory teachings, composed of symbolic rituals and allegories. We are also always attentive to the principle of tolerance towards religious and political doctrines, overcoming rivalries that generate conflicts.

MASONRY HISTORIC CONTEXT

It is also common for Masonry to be defined as a “thousand-living institution” since much information from the first ones to put it in practice has been lost in the past. Thus, it is believed that this is a based-in-tradition order, such as the History of Universe, that owns previous actions beyond what is documented. However, we gathered in this excerpt a brief historical contextualization of our actuation.

By observing how Masonry history was constructed over the years, it is possible to line up a division in three periods: Ancient one or Legendary, Medieval or Operative, and Modern or Speculative. According to some historians, the ancient period arose around the 5th century BC, with the construction of the Temple of Salomon. In the beginning of the medieval period some artificer association arose, they performed the same professions, led by “Collegias Fabrorum” of the Roman Empire. The main goal of those groups was to protect the secrets that every profession had, sharing them with restricted groups, after some time of mutual learning between pairs.

At that time, the associations or Guilds (as they were also known) were composed of men whom we currently name Operative Masons, since they worked with manual activities in the constructions of palaces, cathedrals, mausoleums, bridges, and other projects in the legendary medieval era. In this historical overview, intellectual work was extremely restricted, which made it a privilege for few.

During the 17th century, cathedral construction started suffering a decrease, which hence influenced the activities of manual-field workers. Thus, several Guilds started accepting people of erudite knowledge as members of their meetings. These new members were called “Accepted Masons”, for they did not have any experience in the fields of constructions as the other brothers. This movement marked the modern period and gave Masonry a speculative direction.

After this meaningful change, the Masonic Order started to be an institution as it has been known so far: a great union where diverse knowledge is constructed, based on the principles of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. From 1717 until now, after a gathering of four Londoner Masonic Lodges, the number of Lodges and Grand Lodges recognized in several countries worldwide has not stopped increasing.

There are, approximately, two million Masons spread over 40 thousand active Lodges around the globe. In Brazil, 7,400 Lodges congregate around 220 thousand Masons. Confronting the numbers of existing Masons in the world, with 8 billion people spread in our six continents. The selectivity degree adopted for the acceptance in Masonic Order is noticeable.

We do not establish criteria for race, skin color or creed, but we center citizens on ideals that elevate humanity. Thus, there is a selection process when it comes to our members in the Order, who can be inserted in any segment of our organized society.