Encyclopedia Masonica

An ancient city of Phenicia, which in the time of King Solomon was celebrated as the residence of King Hiram, to whom that monarch and his father David were indebted for great assistance in the construction of the Temple at Jerusalem. Tyre was distant from Jerusalem about one hundred and twenty miles by sea, and was thirty miles nearer by land. An intercourse between the two cities and their respective monarchs was, therefore, easily cultivated The inhabitants of Tyre were distinguished for their skill as artificers, especially as workers in brass and other metals; and it is said to have been a principal seat of that skillful body of architects known as the Dionysiac Fraternity.

The City of Sidon, which was under the Tyrian government, was but twenty miles from Tyre, and situated in the forest of Leballon. The Sidonians were, therefore, naturally wood-cutters, and were engaged in felling the trees, which were afterward sent on floats by sea from Tyre to Joppa, and thence carried by land to Jerusalem, to be employed in the Temple building. Doctor Morris, who visited Tyre in 1868, describes it in his Freemasonry in the Holy Land (page 91) as a city under ground, lying, like Jerusalem, twenty to fifty feet beneath the debris or rubbish of many centuries. It consists, to use the language of a writer he has cited, of "prostrate and broken columns, dilapidated temples, and mounds of buried fragments."

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.