Encyclopedia Masonica

Anderson says in the Constitutions (1738, page 101) that Henry Jermyn, Earl of St. Albans, was Grand Master and held a General Assembly on the 27th of December, 1663, at which six Regulations, which he quotes, were made. Roberts, in his edition of the Old Constitutions printed in 1722, the earliest printed Masonic book that we have, refers also to this General Assembly; the date of which he, hoxvever, makes the 8th of December. Roberts gives what he calls the Additional Orders and Constitulions. The Harleian Manuscript, in the British Museum, numbered 1942, which Brother Hughan supposes to have the date of 1670, and which he has published in his Old Chargers of the British Freemasons (page 52, edition of 1872), contains also six new articles. The articles in Robert's and the Harleian Manuscript are identical, but the wording is slightly altered by Anderson after his usual fashion. Of these new articles, one of the most important is that which prescribes that the society of Freemasons shall thereafter be governed by a Master and Wardens. Brother Hughan thinks that there is no evidence of the statement that a General Assembly was held in 1663. But it would seem that the concurring testimony of Roberts in 1722 and of Anderson in 1738, with the significant fact that the charges are found in a manuscript written seven years after, give some plausibility to the statement that a General Assembly was held at that time.

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.