Man Among Men

MAN AMONG MEN

by Juliane Herrmann

Containing photographs taken during her search for a new perspective on the closed community of the Freemasons.

APPOINTED TO BE EXPLORED WITH CURIOSITY

The photographs were taken between 2012 and 2017 in Germany, England, Brazil, Israel and the Netherlands.

MAN AMONG MEN

by Yasha Beresiner

Around the world this year (2017) Masonic fraternities are celebrating the 300th anniversary of organised Freemasonry, and yet the questions and discussions as to the precise origins of the institution continue unabated. It would be natural to assume that modern Freemasonry is descended directly from the operative guilds, that is, the working stonemasons of Medieval times. Unfortunately, there is no evidence for such origins and other theories abound. What is clear is that today the Masons practise allegorically all the laws promulgated in the ancient charges and regulations that have applied to practising masons since the 14th century.

All Masonic symbolism is derived from this source.

Why masonry and not another profession? The stone masons held the skills and expertise that could raise the Church’s impressive cathedrals. To avoid this knowledge being abused or copied, they developed secret signals and conducted their meetings behind closed doors. As Gentlemen’s Clubs became more popular in society men took to the principles of Freemasonry to justify freedom of speech and to behave as equals to each other in a safe place.

The fraternity prospered from the start and its popularity is reflected in its surprisingly rapid and global spread. This is attributed to the 18th century ‘Travelling Warrants’ that authorised British military regiments to hold Masonic meetings anywhere they were stationed. By 1732 Freemasonry was introduced to Europe— France, Holland, Germany, and Belgium— and also to the Americas (1733) as well as Australia, New Zealand and India. Free-

masonry was the place to be. Notable members included figures of the Age of Enlightenment such as Voltaire, Mozart, Goethe, Lessing and Benjamin Franklin. Today the fraternity boasts some six million members worldwide.

Yet, notwithstanding its undisputed success and achievements, ‘What is Freemasonry?’ is a question still unanswered by students and scholars. This may be because membership in the organisation has a different significance for and effect on each of its members. It may be easier instead to understand what Freemasonry is not. It is not a religion or a substitute for a religion, although every prospective candidate is asked to declare his unspecified belief in a Supreme Being (making it hard to be a Freemason if you are an atheist).

Political discussion and religious proselytising of any kind is explicitly forbidden at Masonic meetings. Freemasonry has no dogma. It is a sociable club. It is the oldest non-denominational society open to men (and women) of every race and religion who seek spiritual advancement to better themselves and serve others.

To achieve this aim, members are taught the values they are to practise by way of ritual dramas that originate in antiquity and are derived, allegorically, from the usages and customs of the medieval stonemason’s guilds, mentioned above.

Their custom of strict secrecy was born from the need to protect the trade from impostors. This concept of secrecy was symbolically adopted by modern Freemasonry and has led to many odious and extraordinary claims by those criticising the organisation.

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