Encyclopedia Masonica

The right to be buried with the set ceremonies of the Order is one that, under certain restrictions, belongs to every Master Mason.

None of the ancient Constitutions contain any law upon this subject, nor can the exact time be now determined when funeral processions and a burial service were first admitted as regulations of the Order.

The first official notice, however, that we have of funeral processions is in November, 1754. A regu1ation was then adopted which prohibited any Freemason from attending a funeral or other procession clothed in any of the jewels or clothing of the Craft, except by dispensation of the Grand Master or his Deputy (see Constitutions, 1756, page 303).

There are no further regulations on this subject in any of the editions of the Book of Constitutions previous to the modern code which is now in force in the Grand Lodge of England. But Preston gives us the rules on this subject, which have now been adopted by general consent as the law of the Order, in the following words:

"No Mason can be interred with the formalities of the Order unless it be by his own special request communicated by the Master of the Lodge of which he died a member, foreigners and sojourners excepted; nor unless he has been advanced to the third degree of Masonry, from which restriction there can be no exception.

Fellow Crafts or Apprentices are not entitled to the funeral obsequies'' (see Illustrations, 1792, page 118).

The only restrictions prescribed by Preston are, it will be perceived, that the deceased must have been a Master Mason, that he had himself made the request and that he was affiliated, which is implied by the expression that he must have made the request for burial to the Master of the Lodge of which he was a member.

The regulation of 1754, which requires a Dispensation from the Grand Master for a funeral procession, is not considered of force in the United States of America, where, accordingly, Freemasons have generally been permitted to bury their dead without the necessity of such Dispensation.

The Encyclopedia Masonica exists to preserve the wealth of information that has been generated over the centuries by numerous Masonic authors. As Freemasonry is now Speculative and not Operative, the work of a Mason is now conducted in the quarries of symbolism, literature, history and scholasticism. Freemasonry encourages intellectual exploration and academic achievement in its members and many Masons over the years have taken up this calling. The result has been that an incredible amount of philosophy, symbolic speculation and academic insights have been created. However, as Freemasonry teaches, human knowledge is frail and fragile. It is easily lost in the turnings of the ages and unforeseen catastrophes can result in great setbacks to human knowledge.

For too long these great works have sat on forgotten shelves, gathering dust and concealing the light that could be shed on the darkness of our ignorance. The Encyclopedia Masonica has been created to act as an ark, sailing through time, to ensure that future generations of Freemasons have access to the same knowledge that inspired the Brethren that came before them. It will contain the works of such Masonic Luminaries as Albert G. Mackey, Manly Palmer Hall, G.S.M. Ward, Albert Pike and many others. The Encyclopedia Masonica is a living work and the volunteers of Universal Co-Masonry will continue to labor until the most comprehensive Masonic reference work the world has ever seen has been created. The Encyclopedia Masonica is open to any who wish to use it and will remain open so that the treasures contained within may increase the wealth of all those who seek its wisdom.