Masonic Research Awards Program

Masonic Research Awards Program Grand Lodge, F.A.A.M., of the District of Columbia

As part of its efforts to promote Masonic research and education within our jurisdiction, Pythagoras Lodge of Research (PLoR) is inviting all brethren to participate in a Masonic Research Awards Program by submitting papers on Masonic subjects of their choosing. There will be three (3) Awards for three (3) papers of varying lengths to be presented by the Grand Master at the Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge. Selection of honorees shall be made by the Awards Committee appointed by the Master and approved by members of PLoR. Guidelines and further information:

1. Deadline for submission of papers is August 31, 2007. 2. Papers must treat Masonic subjects. Work must be original, balanced and researched with appropriate endnotes or references. 3. Participants may submit one or multiple papers: Short Paper (500-750 words); Medium-length Paper (1000-1500 words); and Long Paper (over 2000 words) 4. Papers are to be submitted either (a) as a Word document in an email attachment to haroldgrainger01@aol.com. or (b) as hard copy mailed to the PLoR Secretary, Harold Grainger, 14914 Laurel Oaks Lane, Laurel, MD 20707-5518 5. With the permission of the submitter, a paper may be made available for presentation in a constituent Lodge, included in the PLoR Transactions, and/or published in the Voice of Freemasonry.

Who was Pythagoras and the Pythagorians?

Pythagoras was a philosopher, mathematician and a mystic born in Somas, Greece. He traveled to Egypt, Babylon, and India. The Pythagorians believed in transmigration of souls and were vegetarians. The very words "philosophy" (or love of wisdom) and "mathematics" ('that' which is learned) are supposed to have been coined by Pythagoras himself. With their group, mathematics was more close to a love of wisdom than was the exigencies of practical life and they had a rigorous dedication to keeping the soul pure while they attended their philosophical studies. (1) The Pythagorians, a school founded by Pythagoras, were interested in how things were related in the universe. They noted the fact that many things which were related could be stated by numbers. For example the length of a string was related to it's sound on an instrument. So they reasoned that the 'stuff' for which philosophers were looking was numbers. Numbers became things and entities for them and they taught the universe was built by numbers. A point was one, and a line was two, a triangle was three, a square was four, and since the harmonious octave reached over eight notes, eight was friendship. They developed a most complex system of numbers in their efforts to show how everything was actually made of numbers. (2)

(1) Reference: Paraphrased from A History of Mathematics, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2) Reference: Condensed from Ideas of the Great Philosophers, Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Making a Mason at Sight Walter Reed A rmy Medical Center, April 4, 2007

(L to R): Sissay Awoke, Grand Lodge Physician; Akram R. Elias, Deputy Grand Master; Sheldon I. Rappeport, Grand Lecturer; Mansour Hatefi, PGM, Grand Secretary; John Kriesel (seated); Richard E. Fletcher, PGM, Executive Secretary MSA; Robert B. Heyat, Grand Master; Sviatoslav V. Voloshin, Grand Lodge Photographer; Gerhard Meinzer, Grand Tiler; Robert F. Drechsler, Grand Treasurer

Voice of Freemasonry Grand Lodge, F.A.A.M. of D.C. 5428 MacArthur Blvd, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20016-2524

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