ST. JOHN’S DAY AND THE HOLY SAINTS JOHN
St. John’s Day and The Holy Saints John James T. Feezell Senior Grand Steward
n June 26th, 2009, the Craft assembled to honor one of the traditional patrons of Freemasonry, Saint John the Baptist. The assembly was held at the Scottish Rite Center of the District of Columbia, at 2800 Sixteenth Street, NW, at 7:30pm. The brethren were encouraged to bring their families.
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The focus of the evening’s program was to recognize the masters of our lodges, the “Princes of the Craft,” for their dedication to the Craft, and hear about the opportunities and challenges our lodges are addressing this year. It was also their moment to share with the brothers of every lodge in the jurisdiction, some of the victories, large and small, earned through the hard work and determination of our brothers. These victories are, of course, ours collectively, to the extent they advance the purpose and ideals of Freemasonry in Washington DC, and to preserve the legacy and trust passed on to us by our Masonic forbears.
The evening provoked questions about the significance of St. John to the Craft, and how he came to be adopted as a patron saint. This was the second Saint John’s day celebration in Grand Master Acquaah’s term. The first was held on December 27th, in honor of the Craft’s other patron saint, John the Evangelist. John the Baptist, however, may have been, at one time, the only patron saint of the Craft. Mackey, in his Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, writes that Saint John the Evangelist was not adopted as a co-patron until after the sixteenth century. It bears recalling that the Premier Grand Lodge of England, one of the two predecessor Grand Lodges to the current United Grand Lodge of England, was founded on June 24th, Saint John the Baptist Day, in 1717.
We are taught the two Saints John serve as examples of virtue and moral rectitude to us, as Masons. An early English catechism offers that Saint John the Baptist was chosen as an example The program also featured a of zeal and purity. John the thoughtful discussion by WB Saint John the Baptist in stained glass located Evangelist was selected as Peter Galitzin, on the legacy at Leicester Cathedral in England the model of thoughtful of Saint John the Baptist, deliberation to help us carry our Masonic designs and the award of scholarships to several meritorious into execution. students. At various points in the evening, we were treated to excellent musical entertainment by the There were, no doubt, other good and upright band: Organ.Ize. figures in history to serve as patrons. In the Bible, The Voice of Freemasonry
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