Freemasons and Noahides together do not want you to know that there is any connection between the two. Just look at this piece which appears on both the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon as well as the WikiNoah website. But try as they may they cannot hide the truth because Freemasons are defined as followers of the 7 Laws of Noah explicitly throughout Freemason literature. The 1738 Constitution specifically states that Freemasons are to follow the moral laws as a true Noahide and this is defined as the 7 Laws of Noah. Freemasons do believe that Noah was given 7 Laws by god after the flood. Many Freemason rituals and orders contain the name Noahide. The Freemasons declared the Zoroastrians of India to be Noahides and there is current Freemason-Noahide infiltration of the Zoroastrian community. Modern Freemason websites suggest Freemasons to follow the Noahide Laws and modern lodges admit that the Noahide Laws found in the constitutions likely refer to the 7 Noahide Laws. Modern lodges have also stated that the Noahide Laws fit with the morals of freemasonry. Noahidism has been promoted in the popular Freemason magazine The Square and by The Midnight Freemason Contributor.
Freemasons And Noahides Try To Hide Connections
Are freemasons really Noahides?
No.
Noahides, or those who refer to themselves as such, follow the Noahide laws, generally within the Judaic tradition. These laws comprise prohibitions of idolatry, blasphemy, forbidden sexual relations, murder, theft, consuming the limb of a living animal (an expression of cruelty to animals) and lawlessness (that is to say, requiring the setting up of courts and processes of justice).[3]
There are rival philosophies concerning the Noahide laws. The classical orthodox Jewish tradition, as found in Maimonides, the Maharal of Prague and the writings of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, views the source of the authority of the Noahide laws as being the giving of the Torah at Sinai to Moses and therefore of concern only to the Jews. Elijah Benamozegh (1823-1900), author of Israel and Humanity, and Aime Palliere, author of The Unknown Sanctuary, promoted the idea of an "independent" tradition which goes back to Adam and Noah, and thereby to be transmitted to the Gentiles. The growth of late twentieth century Noahide movements has been a source of concern to some Christians who view the ramifications of this philosophy as an anti-Christian attack.
These are religious discussions and therefore not of concern to Freemasonry. Freemasonry is not a religion.
Masonic author, Albert G. Mackey, defined Noachidae as the descendents of Noah; and Noachite as a reference to the legend "that Noah was the father and founder of the masonic system of theology."[4] Mackey neglected to define or detail that theology. Regular Freemasonry has never had a theology and Mackey was simply expressing his own opinion.
Mackey also wrote that the seven Precepts of Noah are preserved "as the Constitutions of our ancient Brethren"[5] but neither the oldest extant manuscript, the Regius Poem, nor the Cooke manuscript mention any such precepts. He can only have been referring to Anderson’s second edition of his Constitutions, published in 1738.
Non-masons, especially those hostile to Freemasonry, have been known to confuse references in masonic ritual to "the Moral Law," or "that religion in which all men agree" with the Precepts of Noah. Albert G. Mackey, in his History of Freemasonry, presented an historical background to the legends of Freemasonry but, in context, is clearly not ascribing the beliefs or practices of Judaism to those of Freemasonry.[6]
A legend of two pillars that survive the Deluge, containing the knowledge of the seven liberal arts and sciences, is contained in the "traditional history" of Freemasonry. The legend that Noah received seven commandments when God made His Covenant after the Flood is not a part of any extant pre-1717 manuscript. The sentiment that "all masons are true Noachidae" was part of "Brother Euclid’s Letter to the Author" included, with no historical authority, with the Rev. John Anderson’s 1738 Constitutions. The 1723 Constitutions contained the passage: "A Mason is obliged by his tenure to obey the moral law." In the 1736 edition Anderson completed the sentence with "as a true Noachida. 5 These references were dropped in the 1756 and subsequent editions, and have never played a role in the ritual or teachings of regular Freemasonry. Dermott’s unauthorized Ahiman Rezon copied
Anderson’s 1736 edition and also used the term "Noachida."
Anderson may have taken this idea from the Stonehouse MS., also titled the Krause MS., reproduced in Dr. Krause’s Three Oldest Documents. Probably written by a contemporary of Anderson and now accepted as spurious, it was first alleged to be a copy of the 926 York Constitutions.
Freemasons were called Noachidae by some authors, generally in reference to the Scottish Rite degrees, in a poetical allusion to the preservation and transmission of great truths. But these truths are not defined as the Precepts of Noah.
There is no connection between Noahides and Noachidae. One is a philosophy within Judaism, while the other is a poetical reference to Freemasonry and an eighteenth century attempt to create an older lineage.
The question only has meaning if one assumes that Freemasonry is a religion. Freemasonry is not a religion and has no doctrine.
SOURCE: "Anti-masonry Frequently Asked Questions". Grand Lodge of British Colombia and Yukon. Section 8, version 2.9. Retrieved 06/15/21 from: http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/anti-masonry/anti-masonry08.html
Repeated At
SOURCE: "Freemasonry and Noachite Law". WikiNoahi. Retrieved 06/15/21/ from: http://www.wikinoah.org/en/index.php/Freemasonry_and_Noachite_Law
Places where Freemasons are explicitly
defined as followers of the Noahide Laws
Albert Makey says Noachidae and Noachites refer to Freemasons who preserved the Noahide commandments among idolaters.
"Noachidae, Noachites. The descendents of Noah. A term applied to Freemasons. Noah having alone preserved the true name and worship of God, amid a race of impious idolaters. Freemasons claim to be his descendents, because they still preserve that pure religion which distinguished this second father of the human race from the rest of the world. And even when his descendents began again, in the plains of Shinar, to forget the Almighty, and to wander from the path of purity, the principles of Noah were still perpetuated by that portion of his race whom the Freemasons of the present day regard as their early predecessors. Hence, Freemasons call themselves Noachidae, or the sons of Noah."
SOURCE: (Mackey, Lexicon of Freemasonry, page 324, 2004, Barnes and Noble Publishing, Inc.), Retrieved 02/29/2020 From: http://fourwinds10.com/siterun_data/history/zionism/news.php?q=1240855358
Albert Makey names out each of the 7 Noahide Laws after stating Freemasons are "Noachidae"
Noachidæ, or Noachites – The descendants of Noah. A term applied to Freemasons. Noah having alone preserved the true name and worship of God, amid a race of impious idolaters, Freemasons claim to be his descendants, because they still preserve that pure religion which distinguished this second father of the human race from the rest of the world. And even when his descendants began again, in the plains of Shinar, to forget the Almighty, and to wander from the path of purity, the principles of Noah were still perpetuated by that portion of his race whom the Freemasons of the present day regard as their early predecessors. Hence Freemasons call themselves Noachidæ, or the sons of Noah.
Noah, Precepts of. – The precepts of the patriarch Noah, which were preserved as the constitutions of our ancient brethren, are seven in number, and are as follows:Renounce all idols.
Worship the only true God.
Commit no murder.
Be not defiled by incest.
Do not steal.
Be just.
Eat no flesh with blood in it.The “proselytes of the gate,” as the Jews termed those who lived among them without undergoing circumcision, or observing the ceremonial law, were bound to obey the seven precepts of Noah.
SOURCE: From ‘A Lexicon of Freemasonry’, by Bro. Dr. Albert G. MacKey M. D., Published in 1845. Retrieved 02/29/2020 From: http://www.noachide.org.uk/History/history.html
Kenneth MacKenzie names out each of the 7 Noahide Laws after stating Freemasons are "Noachidae"
Noachidæ. - Descendants of Noah. Applied in Masonic legend to the Craft in general, as being derived from Noah, traditionally claimed as the founder and father of Masonic theology, according to some theories, because the Masons preserved the traditions of the one God amidst the corruptions of surrounding faiths. In the second edition of Anderson’s “Constitutions” we read - “A Mason is obliged by his tenure to observe the moral law as a true Noachida.”
Noah, Precepts of. - Certain commandments transmitted to our times in documents of the ancient stonemasons, of no historical value, are thus called. They are-
Renounce all idols;
Worship the only true God;
Commit no murder;
Be not defiled with incest;
Do not steal;
Be just;
Eat no flesh with blood in it.These have been preserved in the Talmud. Maimonides says that the first six precepts were enunciated by Adam, and the seventh by Noah. They are not mentioned by Onkelos, Josephus, or Philo; still, they have been adopted by the Rabbins.
SOURCE: From ‘The Royal Masonic Cyclopaedia’ by Bro. Kenneth MacKenzie. Published in 1877. http://www.noachide.org.uk/History/history.html
Kraus MS. states Noahide Law is obligatory for Masons
In the Krause MS., under the head of " The Laws or Obligations laid before his Brother Masons by Prince Edwin," we find the fol- lowing article. (I translate from the German of Krause, because the original English document is nowhere to be found.) " The first obligation is that you shall sincerely honor God and obey the laws of the Noachites, because they are divine laws, which should be obeyed by all the world. Therefore, you must avoid all heresies and not thereby sin against God."
SOURCE: "The history of Freemasonry" by Mackey, Albert Gallatin, Retrieved 02/29/2020 From: https://archive.org/details/historyfreemaso05singgoog/page/n7]
Again, Kraus MS. states Noahide Law is obligatory for Masons
Anderson had, however, a particular object in the use of the word " Noachida." The Krause MS. says that the Mason "must obey the laws of the Noachites ; " that is, that he is to observe the seven precepts of Noah, without being required to observe any other religious dogmas outside of these — a matter which is left to himself. But Anderson says he "must obey the moral law as a true Noachida," by which he intimates that that title is the proper desig- nation of a Mason. And he has shown that this was his meaning by telling us, in a preceding part of his book, that " Noachidae was the first name of Masons, according to some old traditions."
SOURCE: "The history of Freemasonry" by Mackey, Albert Gallatin, Retrieved 02/29/2020 From: https://archive.org/details/historyfreemaso05singgoog/page/n7]
Albert C. Makey says Freemasons are called Noachidae, preserved the Noahide "religion"
Noachidae: The descendants of Noah. A term applied to Freemasons on the theory, derived from then Legend of the Craft, that Noah was the father and founder of the Masonic system of theology. Henee the Freemasons claim to be his descendants, because in times past they preserved the pure principles of his religion amid the corruptions of surrounding faiths. Doctor Anderson first used the word in this sense in the second edition of the Book of Constitutions: "A Mason is obliged by his tenure to observe the moral law as a true Noachida." But he was not the inventor of the term, for it occurs in a letter sent by the Grand Lodge of England to the Grand Lodge of Calcutta in 1735, which letter is preserved among the Rawlinson Manuscript in the Bodleian Library, Oxford (see Transactions, Quatuor Coronati Lodge, volume xi, page 35).
SOURCE: From "Noachidae" entry in ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FREEMASONRY AND ITS KINDRED SCIENCES by ALBERT C. MACKEY M. D.
1738 Constitution of Freemasonry
states Freemasons are to follow the Noahide Law
Old Charges States Freemasons Are Obliged To Follow Noahide Law
First of the Old Charges in the Book of Constitutions, edit., 1738. "A Mason is obliged by his tenure to ob- serve the moral law, as a true Noachida ; and if he rightly understands the Graft, he will never be a stupid Atheist, nor an irre- ligious libertine, nor ad against conscience.
SOURCE: An Encyclopedia Of Freemasonry 1916 Vol 1 - A G Mackey, Retrieved 02/29/2020 From: https://archive.org/details/An_Encyclopedia_Of_Freemasonry_1916_Vol_1_-_A_G_Mackey
In Some Charges Of Freemasonry Freemasons Are To Follow Noahide Law, Noahide Laws affirmed to be the laws of Freemasonry
"...(A) revision of the Old Charges...contained this passage: 'A Mason is obliged by his tenure to obey the Moral Law.' In the edition of 1738, Dr. Anderson has, without authority, completed the sentence by adding the words, 'As a true Noachida. ...the only religious laws which a Freemason is required to obey are those which are contained in the code that has been attributed to Noah. This sentiment is still further expressed toward the close of the 'Old Charges' where it is said that the Mason is obliged only 'to that religion in which all men agree,' excluding therefore atheism and requiring the observance of such simple laws of morality as are enjoined in the precepts of Noah."
SOURCE: "The history of Freemasonry" by Mackey, Albert Gallatin, Retrieved 02/29/2020 From: https://archive.org/details/historyfreemaso05singgoog/page/n7]
1738 Constitution Obligated Freemasons To Follow The Noachide Code, In Explaining This All 7 Noahide Laws Are Listed Out
"Noah, Precepts of. The precepts of the patriarch Noah, which were preserved as the constitutions of our ancient brethren, are seven in number, and are as follows: 1. Renounce all idols 2. Worship the only true God. 3. Commit no murder. 4. Be not defiled by incest. 5. Do not steal. 6. Be just. 7. Eat no flesh with blood in it. The 'proselytes of the gate', as the Jews termed those who lived among them without undergoing circumcision, or observing the ceremonial law, were bound to obey the seven precepts of Noah."
SOURCE: (Mackey, Lexicon of Freemasonry, page 325, 2004, Barnes and Noble Publishing, Inc.)
Freemason belief in the Noahide myth
Freemasons Believe In The Noahide Legend
It was in the six hundredth year of his age, that Noah, with his family, was released from the Ark. Grateful for his preservation, he erected an altar and prepared a sacrifice of thankofferinga to the Deity. A Masonic tradition says, that for this purpose he made use of that Stone of Foundation which he had discovered in the subterranean vault of Enoch, and which he had carried with him into the Ark. It was at this time that God made his Covenant with Noah, and promised him that the earth should never again be destroyed by a flood. Here, too, he received those commandments for the government of himself and his posterity which have been called "the seven precepts of the Noachidae."
SOURCE: From ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FREEMASONRY AND ITS KINDRED SCIENCES by ALBERT C. MACKEY M. D.
Noah Set Up The Noahide Laws
"After Noah’s emergence from the Ark, he is said to have promulgated seven precepts for the government of the new race of men of whom he was to be the progenitor... [1] To do justice [2] Worship God [3] Abstain from idolatry [4] Preserve chastity [5] Do not commit murder [6] Do not steal [7] Do not eat blood."
SOURCE: "The history of Freemasonry" by Mackey, Albert Gallatin, Retrieved 02/29/2020 From: https://archive.org/details/historyfreemaso05singgoog/page/n7]
Noah's Mystery Religion Of Arkite Influenced Freemasonry (Secret Noahides?)
"The influence of Noah on Masonic doctrine is to be traced to the almost universal belief of men in the events of the deluge, and a consequent establishment in many nations of a system of religion known to ethnologists as the 'Arkite Worship... Hence arose that system known to modern scholars as the 'Arkite Worship' in whose rites and mysteries, which were eventually communicated to the other ancient religions. There were always some allusions to the events of the Noahic flood — to the Ark, as the WOMB OF NATURE, to the eight persons saved in it, as the Ogdoad or sacred number — and to the renovation of the world, as symbolizing the passage from death to immortal life."
SOURCE: "The history of Freemasonry" by Mackey, Albert Gallatin, Retrieved 02/29/2020 From: https://archive.org/details/historyfreemaso05singgoog/page/n7]
Many rituals and orders contain the name Noahide.
Orders and rituals named "Noahide"
The 21st Degree of Freemasonry is called "The Noachite"
SOURCE: Pike, Albert. "Morals and Dogma", Chapter 21, Charleston South Carolina. SUPREME COUNCIL OF THE THIRTY-THIRD DEGREE FOR THE SOUTHERN JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES.1871. Retrieved 03/05/2020 from: https://www.sacred-texts.com/mas/md/md22.htm
There Was/Is A Freemason Order Called "Order Of The Nochites"
An Order under this name, called also the French Order of Noachites, was established at Paris, in 1816, by some of the adherents of the Emperor Napoleon. It was divided into three Degrees: 1. Knight 2. Commander 3. Grand Elect The last Degree was subdivided into three points i. Secret Judge ii. Perfect Initiate iii. Knight of the Crown of Oak
SOURCE: From ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FREEMASONRY AND ITS KINDRED SCIENCES by ALBERT C. MACKEY M. D.
"Noachide, Sovereign" is the title of a Freemason Degree (different from the 21st Degree Noachite)
NOACHITE, SOVEREIGN: The French title is Noachite Souverain. A Degree contained in the nomenclature of Fustier.
SOURCE: From ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FREEMASONRY AND ITS KINDRED SCIENCES by ALBERT C. MACKEY M. D.
The 21 Degree of Scottish Rite Freemasonry Is The "Noachite"
XXI.NOACHITE, OR PRUSSIAN KNIGHT.
SOURCE: Morals And Dogma by Albert Pike, Retrieved 02/29/2020 From: http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/apikefr.html
Freemasonry Built On Older "The order of Noachites or Chevaliers Prussian."
Nimrod is given as prominent a place in Part II., as Solomon is in Part [II., though it must be admitted that in another song of a later date it is stated that "he was no excellent Mason." The degree of "Noachite, or Prussian Knight" is based upon legends connected with the Tower of Babel though the ritual of 1768 bears very little resemblance to that printed bp Slade. The Tower of Babel figures on old " trazing-boards " and jewels in such a manner as to leave little doubt that it was at some time an important symbol in Freemasonry. I therefore think it is possible that Slade's publication may contain something which if not actually in use in his day had been worked at an earlier period in some such manner as he describes. Bro. J. C. BROOKHOUSE writes:- The very interesting paper read by Bro. Thorp upon Slade's " Freemason Examined" leads on to a further consideration beyond the '' exposure" itself, for a later author has seized the matter therein contained, has attributed the ritual to an actual society and has gone so far as to give a history, certainly rather sketchy but a history none the less, of the masonic body working the ceremonies which are thereby laid open. Among the modern books which have at various times and with various motives professed to publish to the world our secrets, " The Mysteries of Freemasonry," by John Fellows, A.M., is one of the best known; the edition in my hands was published in London and bears date 1866. The section of interest in this connection runs from the middle of page 324 to the foot of page 327 and is headed '' The order of Noachites or Chevaliers Prussian." Mr. Fellows opens his account of this order by stating that there is reason to believe that it was instituted by tlhe ancient Prussians and that it claims priority over that of the Freemasons of England. He continues that the ceremonies of the Noachites seem to have served in some measure as a model upon which those of Freemasonry were founded. Next there appear some extracts from Polish and Prussian history with the suggestion that the order was evidently a military organization and undoubtedly intended as a rallying point for the recovery of the civil and religious liberties of the nation, and a statement that the society was probably founded in the year 1000. A short quotation from Bernard follows :-" The Grand Master-General of the Order, whose title is Chevalier Grand Commander, is Frederick William, King of Prussia. His ancestors, for 300 years, have been protectors of this Order. The Knights were formerly known by the name of Noachites. " The Noachites, formerly called Prussian chevalier*^, are descended from Peleg, the Grand Architect of the Tower of Babel, their origin being more ancient than that of the Masons descended from Hiram. The Knights assembled on the night of the full moon in the month of March (the vernal equinox) in a secret place, to hold their Lodges ; and they cannot initiate a candidate into the mysteries of this Order unless by the light of the moon."l So much for the quotation from Bernard; we return to the ingenious Mr. Fellows, whose next paragraph deserves to be set out in full. " Great innovations have been introduced into the ceremonies of this Order. I have a copy of its ritual, which, from its antiquity and Druidical style, may be presumed 'This is apparently taken from Les Plus Secrets MystBres des haufs grades de la Maqonnerie ddvozlds, &c., 1768, in which the description of the grade of Le Noachite, ou Chevalier Prussien is said $0 be translated from the German by M. de Berage. 110 Transactiolzs of the Quahor Cmonati Lodge. genuine. It was reprinted from a London copy, by John Holt, New York
SOURCE: "Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, being the translation of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076 London." 1907. Retrieved 08/12/2020 from: http://www.masoniclib.com/images/images0/161571047136.pdf
The order of Noachites, or Chevaliers Prussian.
This order, there is reason to believe, was instituted by the ancient Prussians. It claims priority over that of the freemasons of England. The author of an expose of the ritual of that institution, which will be noticed below, gives just fifty-three years between the periods of the two establishments; and says, " This tradition is firmly believed." In corroboration of this fact, Dr. Anderson observes, " The first name of Masons, according to some old traditions, was Noachidse." The ceremonies of the Noachites seem to have served in some measure, as a model upon which those of freemasonry are founded. Although the scene of the establishment of this order is laid at the Tower of Babel, instead of the Temple of Solomon, the craft of masonry, as in the freemasons' society, is made use of to cover the real design of the institution, the maintaining of religious dogmas, if not the recovery of independence. The following remarks, in Guthrie's sketch of the history of ancient Prussia and Poland, will tend to show at what time this institution was probably formed. Speaking of Poland, he says, "From this period [830] for some centuries we have no very certain records of the history of Poland. The title of duke was retained till the year 999, when Boleslaus (the I.) assumed the title of king, and conquered Moravia, Prussia, and Bohemia, making them tributary to Poland." Of Prussia. — " The ancient history of Prussia, like that of other kingdoms, it lost in the clouds of fiction and romance. The inhabitants appear to have been a brave and warlike people. They were descended from the Slavonians, and refused to submit to the neighboring princes, who, on pretence of converting them to Christianity, wanted to reduce them to slavery. They made a noble stand against the kings of Poland; one of whom, Boleslaus IV. they defeated and killed in 1163. They continued Pagans, till the time of the latter crusades, about the year 1227." From the foregoing statements, it appears that the sway of Poland over Prussia, obtained in 999, was not of long duration; and it is reasonable to conjecture, that soon after the conquest, the people of Prussia established the order of Noachites. It was evidently a military institution, and undoubtedly intended as a rallying point, to operate as occasions might occur, for the recovery of the civil and religious liberties of the nation. Admitting that the society of Noachites was founded in the year 1000, which is highly probable, and provided the foregoing tradition be correct, the establishment of freemasonry in England, would have occurred about the middle of the eleventh century, which is as late as it is likely to have been neglected, after the edict of Canute prohibiting the open worship of the Druids. Bernard, in his account of this order, says, "The grand master, general of the order, whose title is chevalier grand commander, is Frederic William, king of Prussia. His ancestors, for three hundred years, have been protectors of this order. The knights were formerly known by the name of Noachites. " The Noachites, now called Prussian Chevaliers, are descended from Peleg, the grand architect of the tower of Babel, their origin being more ancient than that of the masons descended from Hiram. — The knights assemble on the night of the full moon in the month of March, [the vernal equinox] in a secret place, to hold their lodges; and they cannot initiate a candidate into the mysteries of this order unless by the light of the moon." Great innovations have been introduced into the ceremonies of this order. I have a copy of its ritual, which, from its antiquity and Druidical style, may be presumed genuine. It was reprinted from a London copy, by John Holt, New York, 1768. As a curiosity, and as bearing a relationship to the ancient mysteries, I will give an abstract of it. The order consists of two degrees, called Minor and Major; and the officers form what masonically may be termed a Chapter, to which the other members are not admitted. This chapter comports with the royal arch of freemasonry; for here the secret word, Belusy is revealed, which, the reader is aware, is the same as Osiris, personated by Hiram. The expounder of the order appears to have committed an error, in giving this word at the opening of the minor's degree j because it is expressly said afterwards, that it was unknown to all but officers.
SOURCE: The Origin, History & Purport of Freemasonry by John Fellows
A Freemason's Ceremonial Oath Includes To Promise To Behave Like A True Noachide
amination, by which one Mason may know another." The Examination was conducted by Sabas, who afterwards led the Candidate "round the Tower, and then knocked at the Brazen Gate nine Times. . . . In Order that the Watchman of the Gate might know, that he had been with me round the Tower, which was nine Miles." The diameter of the Tower was three miles, its height 5146 paces. "The Passage that went to the Top, was on the Outside, and, like a Winding Stair-Case, of a very great Breadth, so that Camels and Carriages might go up and down, and turn with Ease " ; 500,000 men were employed on the work for 53 years.l The reason this Tower was built so very extensive was " to make them a great Name, and also to save them from a second Deluge." The Candidate was led to Belus, who charged himTO obey the Master, Superintendent, Wardens and Deacons of the Lodge; to submit to their Directions, and do his 'L Daily Task with Freedom, Cheerfulness and Sobriety." TO " behave like a true Noachide, and instruct the younger Brethren, using all Endeavours to increase Brotherly Love."
SOURCE: "Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, being the translation of the Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076 London." 1907. Retrieved 08/12/2020 from: http://www.masoniclib.com/images/images0/161571047136.pdf
Freemason Noahidization of the Parsis
Parsis Dominated Indian Freemason Lodges
Abstract
Following closely in the wake of British imperialism, the first Indian lodge was constituted in 1730, by officials of the East India Company based in Fort William, Calcutta. From there, masonic lodges started to spawn in the other urban centres and army cantonments of the fast-expanding Indian Empire. As the native elites started expressing a growing interest in joining, India became a testing ground on which freemasonry, initially an all-white organization, could experiment its universal creed. The first Indian to become a mason was Umdat-ul-Umrah Bahadur, son of the powerful Nawab of the Carnatic. Following his lead, a handful of muslim noblemen were able to gain access to the fraternity. Local masons appeared to be more willing to fraternize with the Muslim. But in the 1840s, this pattern was somehow overturned, as the Parsi community grew to become the most represented group within Indian lodges. This paper seeks to examine the foundations of this newly acquired eligibility.
SOURCE: Simon Deschamps. "Freemasonry and the Indian Parsi Community: A Late Meeting On the Level". JOURNAL FOR RESEARCH INTO FREEMASONRY AND FRATERNALISM, VOL 3, NO 1 (2012). Published 15 Oct 2013. Retrieved 01/29/2021 https://journals.equinoxpub.com/JRFF/article/view/17814
Parsis Were Accepted In Freemason Lodges, Hindus Were Not
Masons in India were occasionally willing to let in Muslim aristocrats – Umdat ul-Umrah, eldest son of the Nawab of the Carnatic was made a member in 1775. Parsis were also allowed after a spirited campaign by Maneckji Cursetji, the first Indian sheriff of Bombay. But Masons refused Hindus, arguing that Masonry believed in a single Deity, which Muslims and Parsis did, but not Hindus. They also asked how Hindus could accept universal brotherhood while supporting caste barriers. (As a practical point, orthodox Hindus would not eat at the dinners that were an important part of Masonic life).
SOURCE: Doctor, Vikram. "How Masonry Built Integration In India", Economic Times, Published Oct 6th, 2017. Retrieved 06/30/20 from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/miscellaneous/how-masonry-built-integration-in-india/articleshow/60977201.cms?from=mdr
Letter To Grand Lodge Of Calcutta First To Use Term Noachidae
Noachidae: The descendants of Noah. A term applied to Freemasons on the theory, derived from then Legend of the Craft, that Noah was the father and founder of the Masonic system of theology. Henee the Freemasons claim to be his descendants, because in times past they preserved the pure principles of his religion amid the corruptions of surrounding faiths. Doctor Anderson first used the word in this sense in the second edition of the Book of Constitutions: "A Mason is obliged by his tenure to observe the moral law as a true Noachida." But he was not the inventor of the term, for it occurs in a letter sent by the Grand Lodge of England to the Grand Lodge of Calcutta in 1735, which letter is preserved among the Rawlinson Manuscript in the Bodleian Library, Oxford (see Transactions, Quatuor Coronati Lodge, volume xi, page 35).
SOURCE: From "Noachidae" entry in ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FREEMASONRY AND ITS KINDRED SCIENCES by ALBERT C. MACKEY M. D.
Freemasons Declare Parsis Noahides (First Reference To Noahide)
What those "old traditions" were nobody knows because there is no evidence that Operative Freemasons called themselves by that name. But it was in some use prior to 1738, for in 1734 Lord Weyrnouth ordered a letter to be sent to the Prov. Grand Master at Calcutta in which this curious statement was included: "Providence has fixed your Lodge near those learn'd Indians that affect to be called Noachidae, the strict observance of his Precepts taught in those Parts by the Disciples of the great Zoroastres, the learned Archimagus of Bactria, a Grand Master of the Magians, whose religion is much preserved in India (which we have no concern about), and also many of the Rituals of the Ancient Fraternity used in his time, perhaps more than they are sensible of themselves. Sow if it was consistent with your other Business, to discover in those parts the Remains of Old Masonry and transmit them to us, we would be all thankful ...." (A. Q. C. XI, p. 35.)
SOURCE: From ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FREEMASONRYAND ITS KINDRED SCIENCES by ALBERT C. MACKEY M. D.
Freemason Author And Zoroastrian Convert Inviteded By Scholar Of Zoroastrianism To Attend Noahide Coference
On the day Bahman, month Avan, 1373 A.Y.[ii], I received the naojote by a fully ordained Zoroastrian priest. This personal event took place in my hometown, Reggio Emilia, northern Italy. The venue for the holy ceremony was the “Patanjali Center”, a sort of Indian cultural outpost that looks out on a road where, in times gone by, an affluent of the great Po river used to flow.
...
In 1990 I got in touch with two outstanding western scholars: Mary Boyce, who kindly presented me with a copy of her Textual Sources for the Study of Zoroastrianism, and James Russell, who - invited by me in 1992 to be the guest speaker at a conference on the Noachide legacy (the universalist side of the Jewish tradition) - brought me his Zoroastrianism in Armenia and a number of intriguing papers on many topics connected with the Good Religion (from the symbolism of sun, cock and horse in ancient Iran, to the contemporary Parsi garbas and monajats)
...
In 1975 I had been made a Mason. Italian Freemasonry used to have strong philosophical connections; its symbolism of building and its enlightened universalism appealed to me. In 1977 - the year I graduated in Philosophy with a final dissertation on the great hindu thinker Shri Aurobindo - I wrote my first book on the subject (in 1990 it was also translated in Russian and published by “Progress” publishers in Moscow). My best accomplishment in the field of masonic studies has been the authorship of the Nuova Enciclopedia Massonica (in three volumes, 1989-1995) favourably reviewed by the field magazines and the press at large. A few inadequate pages of that work deal with the symbolical and historical relationships between Zoroastrianism and Freemasonry (the historical ones having to do mainly with the masonic membership of many Parsi philanthropists and scholars of the past two centuries). I think the masonic ethos - which, for instance, emphasizes solar symbolism: Mozart wrote a wonderful lodge hymn devoted to the Sun as the “soul of the universe” - contributed to increase my interest for Zoroastrianism.
SOURCE: Moramarco, Michele. "On becoming a Zoroastrian in Italy: a shining naojote on a rainy day". Retrieved 01/29/2021 http://www.zoroastrian.org.uk/vohuman/Article/On%20becoming%20a%20Zoroastrian%20in%20Italy.htm
Same Freemason Zoroastrian Convert Is Author Of Book That Seems To Be Blending Zoroastrianism And Christianity
Michele Moramarco (Reggio Emilia, 6 October 1953) is an Italian author on Masonic ritual and history, a pop musician, and an advocate of Mazdean Christian Universalism.[1]
SOURCE: "Michele Moramarco". Wikipeida. Retrueved 01/29/2021 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michele_Moramarco
www. Zoroastrian .org.uk profile
Michele Moramarco was born in Reggio Emilia, Italy, in 1953. He studied Philosophy and graduated in 1977 with a dissertation on the Indian thinker Shri Aurobindo. Later Michele specialized in Humanistic Psychotherapy, and authored numerous books and articles on various topics including: Freemasonry Studies (a Masonic Encyclopedia), Non-violence, the Noachide universalistic tradition, the psychological aspects of death and the history of comical theatre in Italy during the 60s.
Masons should promote Noahide laws
The Chevalier Ramsay used to declare: ìFreemasonry is indeed the resurrection of the Noachide religion, that of the Patriarch Noah, that religion prior to any dogma, which allows us to go beyond the differences and oppositions of the various faithsî. [as quoted on the site of the Grand Lodge of France]
"The descendants of Noah. A term applied to Freemasons on the theory, derived from the 'legend of the craft,' that Noah was the father and founder of the Masonic system of theology. And hence the Freemasons claim to be his descendants, because in times past they preserved the pure principles of his religion amid the corruptions of surrounding faiths. Dr. Anderson first used the word in this sense in the second edition of the Book of Constitutions: 'A Mason is obliged by his tenure to observe the moral law as a true Noachida.' But he was not the inventor of the term, for it occurs in a letter sent by the Grand Lodge of Calcutta in 1735, which letter is preserved among the Rawlinson MSS. in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. (See Ars Quartuor Coronatorum, xi., 35.)
In The History of Freemasonry - Its Legendary Origins, Mackey devotes an entire chapter to the Masonic connection with the figure of Noah and so covers the topic more thoroughly. In that chapter he admits that "the story of his [Noah's] life has exercised a very important influence in the origin and the development of the principles of Speculative Masonry". Mackey writes of references to both Noah and the system of faith attributed to him, and cites several references from early Masonic manuscripts. According to Mackey, "In the Halliwell Poem his [Noah's] name and the flood are merely referred to as denoting an era of time in the world's history. It is only a statement that the tower of Babel was begun many years after 'Noees flod [sic]'." In the Cooke Ms more details are furnished about Noah, but they generally follow the Biblical account. From the time of the Dowland MS. forward, says Mackey, "the reference to Noah is exceedingly meager."
Enter Dr. Anderson
Mackey shows that it was Dr Anderson who decisively introduced the character of Noah into Freemasonry as a Fraternal Patriarch. Dr Anderson, in his Constitutions, refers to Noah and his sons as "all Masons true" and claims that the "offspring of Noah...dwelt together as NoachidÊ.". In Dr Anderson's first edition of the Book of Constitutions, published in 1723, he says, "A Mason is obliged by his tenure to obey the moral law". In the 1738 edition, he qualifies this moral law with the phrase "as a true Noachida." Mackey states that this was done by Dr Anderson "without authority". He goes on to say that the interpolation "was rejected by Entick, who edited the third and fourth editions in 1756 and 1767, and by Northouck, who published the fifth in 1784, both of whom restored the old reading, which has ever since been preserved in all the Constitutions of the Grand Lodge of England. Dermott however, who closely followed the second edition of Anderson's Constitutions, in the composition of his Ahiman Rezon, of course adopted the new term." Dr Oliver very much liked the term and "under his example, it has become of so common use that Noachida and Freemason have come to be considered as synonymous terms." But we have no way to know for certain that the change between the first and second editions of the Book of Constitutions was as Mackey proposed, "without authority". Proof of such authority may be lacking, but that is where the scholarly statement must rest. We are better off to seek the source of Dr Andersons association between Freemasons and what Anderson referred to as Noachides. Elsewhere in his work, Anderson states that "NoachidÊ was the first name of masons according to some old traditions". A study of the "old traditions" which may have influenced Anderson sheds some light on this subject. One possible source for the introduction of this term into Masonry is contained in a work known as the York Constitution. The claimed date of this manuscript is 926 of the common era, though this is suspected to be greatly exaggerated and scholars suggest an early 18th century date for this manuscript. This manuscript was one of three Masonic documents contained in the work of Dr Krause (1781-1832) titled, Die drei ”ltesten Kunsturkunden der Freimaurerbr¸derschaft, [The Three Oldest Professional Documents of the Brotherhood of Freemasons]. Quoting again from Mackey's History of Freemasonry it says, "in the Krause MS., under the head of 'The Laws or Obligations laid before his Brother Masons by Prince Edwin,' we find the following article. 'The first obligation is that you shall sincerely honor God and obey the laws of the Noachites, because they are divine laws, which should be obeyed by all the world. Therefore, you must avoid all heresies and not thereby sin against God.'"
It is likely that Dr Anderson, the theologian, found in the Noachide system, a doctrine that fit nicely with the universal theological thrust of Freemasonry. The root element of such thinking can be summarized as follows. According to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as most ancient peoples there was a deluge in which mankind was punished for corrupting Godís way on the earth. The hero of the epoch, called Noah, by Jews, Christians and Muslims, became the progenitor of the post flood world. Legend accords to this figure that he was singled out by God for his unsurpassed righteousness in his generation. Since he was considered righteous amidst a world of evil doers, he must have followed some moral code. Various ancient sources record attempts to define this ancient code of morals and ethics. The Book of Jubilees, copies of which were found among the corpus of manuscripts discovered in the Dead Sea Caves gives one such enumeration of laws given by the Deity to Noah2. Judaism also informs us of this faith in various places within its sacred Talmud3. Jewish sages traditionally divide the laws that have universal implications into 7 categories. These seven ëcategoriesí are therefore known to Jews as "The seven Laws of Noah" or the "Noachide Covenant". The earliest reference to the "7" laws in a Jewish source lists them as follows; a positive injunction to establish a system of justice, prohibitions against idolatry, blasphemy (profaning the name of God), sexual immorality, bloodshed, robbery and the consumption of blood (or literally a limb torn from a living animal)4. In other places the actual number of Laws vary. However one lists or classifies the universal moral laws, it stands to reason that all of humanity is responsible for certain moral and ethical duties. It is this ancient ethical code, that according to Drs Anderson and Oliver, as well as Dermott, forms the basis for Masonic practice. This system of theology predates the ministries of Moses, Jesus and Mohammed and therefore is a fitting place for men of all these faiths to meet and function as partners for a better and more peaceful future. The John J. Robinson Center's Masonic Research Branch advocates a return to this ancient code of beliefs and seeks to promote its principles by pointing Masons to their Old Charges contained within Dr Andersonís work of 1738.
"A Mason is obliged by his tenure to observe the moral law as a true Noachide; and if he rightly understands the Craft, he will never be a stupid Atheist nor an irreligious Libertine, nor act against conscience. In ancient Times, the Christian Masons were charged to comply with the Christian usages of each country where they traveled or worked; being found in all nations, even of divers religions. They are generally charged to adhere to that religion in which all men agree (leaving each brother to his own particular opinions); that is, to be good men and true, men of honor and honesty, by whatever names, religions, or persuasions they may be distinguished; for they all agree in the three great articles of Noah, enough to preserve the cement of the lodge. Thus Masonry is the Center of Union, and the happy means of conciliating persons that otherwise must have remained at a perpetual distance." (Andersonís Constitutions of 1738)
Presidential Recognition of this Ancient Code of Ethics
President George Bush signed an historic resolution of both Congressional Houses, recognizing the Noachide Laws as the "bedrock of society from the dawn of civilization". He urged the United States to take a lead in "returning the world to the ethical values contained in the Seven Noahide Laws". This historically significant document is recorded as House Joint Resolution 104, Public Law 102-14.
As Masons, we believe that as good citizens and promoters of all good and virtuous causes, we should take a leading role in this worthy enterprise. By so doing, we would be fulfilling the Old Charges and returning to the founding ideals of our order.
Footnotes
1. ENCYCLOPDIA OF FREEMASONRY, and Its Kindred Sciences,&c. by Albert G. Mackey, M.D. 33ƒ. Published by The Masonic History Company, New York and London 1917. [back]
2. According to the Book of Jubilees (7:20ff), the list of laws are as follows; to observe righteousness, to cover the shame of their flesh, to bless their Creator, to honor parents, to love their neighbor and to guard against fornication, uncleanness and all iniquity. [back]
3. See for example, Sanhedrin 56-60; Yad, Melachim, 8:10, 10:12. [back]
4. This, first explicit reference to the Noachide laws is found in the Tosefta, a work believed to have been edited in the late 2nd century of the common era. [back]
Copyright The Robinson Center, 2001
The names of the degrees of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite (Northern Masonic Jurisdiction) of which the Valley of Indianapolis is a part, seem to some Brethren as quite different and to other Brethren, the names appear to be quite exotic.
The name of the 21st degree, Patriarch Noachite, was one that especially intrigued me. What is a Patriarch Noachite was what does he or it have to do with Freemasonry? It should be noted that Noachite has various spellings, among them: Noahide, Noahchite, Noachidae, and Noachida. So, how does this fit into Freemasonry?
T he earliest known reference is in a 1735 letter from the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England to the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Calcutta. It is the fourth paragraph of the letter that is pertinent to this discussion. “Providence has fixed your Lodge near those learn’d Indians that affect to be called Noachidae…”
The earliest wide usage of Noachite, or in this case Noachida, is found in the first charge of the second or 1738 edition of the Constitutions of the Grand Lodge of England written by the Rev. James Anderson.
“A Mason is obliged by his Tenure to observe the Moral Law, as a true Noachida...” The second paragraph has the following sentence, “…For they all agree in the 3 great Articles of Noah, enough to preserve the Cement of the Lodge.”
What did the Rev. Anderson mean by his use of Noachida in the revised First Charge?
The Encyclopaedia Judaica provides an answer. Noachide laws are “…the seven laws considered by rabbinic tradition as the minimal moral duties enjoined by the Bible on all men. The seven Noachide laws as traditionally enumerated are: prohibitions of idolatry, blasphemy, bloodshed, sexual sins, theft, and eating from a living animal, as well as the injunction to establish a legal system.” The Noachide laws “…are derived from the divine commands addressed to Adam and Noah, the progenitors of all mankind, and are thus regarded as universal.”
This discussion of the Noachide laws largely fits within the moral teachings of Freemasonry. And it is probably why the Rev. Anderson saw fit to include the reference to them in the 1738 edition of the Constitutions of the Grand Lodge of England.
But, there are seven Noachide Laws and Anderson alludes to only three. Which three did he mean? The good Reverend did not elaborate, but several Masonic scholars have speculated what he meant. One theory is Anderson meant the Masonic triad of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth. Perhaps the most likely explanation is that Rev. Anderson was referring to Genesis Chapter 6, verse 9. “These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.”
SOURCE: By William K. Bissey. "What's a 'Noachite'?". The Double Eagle. November 2001, Volume 51, Number 5. Retrieved 10/3/21 from: https://aasr-indy.org/assets/documents/DoubleEagle-51-5.pdf?fbclid=IwAR11zuwHgZlDlej1Y8TliMJ82YbXFnL9yAz8k0ZgKLKtGvgO2gRX_tUpfx0
The popular Freemason magazine The Square has published an article promoting the Noahide Laws as part of Masonic history. Freemasons are playing both sides of the street, denying they are Noahides but admitting it too.
https://www.thesquaremagazine.com/mag/article/202102the-noachite-legend-and-the-craft/
DOWNLOAD PDF OF ARTICLE: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mWtglDk7Kqzwv8ID1vn6kiclQAF2Sb6w/view?usp=sharing
Even more Freemasons as the Midnight Freemason Contributor admit that they follow the Noahide Laws.
http://www.midnightfreemasons.org/2020/06/the-noahchites.html
The Noahchites
Japheth to go to their father Noah's grave for to see if they could find anything about him to
lead them to the valuable secret which this famous preacher had...
For I hope all will allow that all things needful for the new world was in the Ark with Noah.
Now these 3 men had already agreed that if they did not find the very thing itself,
that the first thing that they found was to be to them as a secret...
They not doubting, but did most firmly believe that God was able and would also
prove willing, through their faith, prayer and obedience, to cause what they did find to prove
as valuable to them as if they had received the secret at first from God Himself at its headspring.
So [they] came to the grave, finding nothing save the dead body almost consumed away.
Taking a grip at a finger, it came away... so from joint to joint... so to the wrist...
so to the elbow... so they reared up the dead body... and supported it...
setting foot to foot... knee to knee... breast to breast... cheek to cheek... and hand to back...
and cried out 'Help, Oh Father'...
As if they had said 'Oh Father of Heaven, help us now, for Our earthly father cannot'...
so laid down the dead body again and not knowing what to do...
so one said: 'Here is yet marrow in this bone' and
the second said: 'But a dry bone' and
the third said: 'It stinketh'.
So they agreed to give it a name as is known to free masonry to this day...
so went to their undertakings, and afterwards works stood."
2. Worship the one true God.
3. Commit no murder.
4. Be not defiled by incest.
5. Do not steal.
6. Be just.
7. Eat no flesh with blood in it.
