Freemasons: Secret men's business

jason

Seanchaí
Staff member
HANGING by a piece of barely visible thread is the letter G.
It is silver and large, about the size of a man’s head, and it hangs in another 309 rooms across Victoria in similar fashion.
For the freemasons gathering under it tonight, it is a representation of one their ancient order’s central tenets: there is God.
Although the organisation has traditionally been shrouded in secrecy, Freemasons Victoria’s grand secretary Peter Henshall is straightforward about what the once-esoteric organisation does. “Freemasonry is probably one of the world’s oldest fraternal organisations. It offers men over the age of 18 opportunities to develop themselves, interact with other like minded men, pursue community and charitable work and, in a general sense, adopt a principled way of life.”
He says freemasons believe in fraternity, acting honestly, equitably with their fellows — be they members, family or peer and acting in a principled way.


more Freemasons: Secret men's business - The Greater Dandenong Weekly
 

Casey

MM, RAM, 32nd.
"One of the world's oldest fraternal organizations"? I'd love to see their challenger.

If you say 1599 for Masonry as a presumptive birthdate for speculative, being the oldest extant records, that crushes pretty much everybody I can think of, at least off the top.

The Odd Fellows date to 1730. Redmen to 1834. Knights of Pythias to 1864. Moose, 1888. Eagles, 1898. Rotary to 1905. Kiwanis to 1915. Lions Club to 1917.

Even if you include fraternities and honor societies, the oldest there is Phi Beta Kappa, 1776.

Looks like we stand alone.
 
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