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155-664: Masonic historians such as William Bissey Gary Leazer (quoting Coil's Masonic Encyclopaedia ), and S. Brent Morris , assert that "the Masonic abbreviation G.A.O.T.U., meaning the Great Architect of the Universe, continues a long tradition of using an allegorical name for the Deity." They trace how the name and the abbreviation entered Masonic tradition from the Book of Constitutions written in 1723 by

310-412: A Lesser Festival on 28 January. The Catholic Church honours Thomas Aquinas as a saint and regards him as the model teacher for those studying for the priesthood. In modern times, under papal directives, the study of his works was long used as a core of the required program of study for those seeking ordination as priests or deacons, as well as for those in religious formation and for other students of

465-419: A Talmudic scholar. His reward for his labours was the copyright on the work. In time, and to Anderson's dismay, it was condensed into "pocket" editions over which he had no control and from which he received no income. It was expanded, updated, and re-published in 1738. The historical section, which comprises almost half the book, has already been described. This is followed by the "Charges", general rules for

620-657: A saint . A monastery at Naples, Italy, near Naples Cathedral , shows a cell in which he supposedly lived. His remains were translated from Fossanova to the Church of the Jacobins in Toulouse , France, on 28 January 1369. Between 1789 and 1974, they were held in the Basilica of Saint-Sernin . In 1974, they were returned to the Church of the Jacobins, where they have remained ever since. When he

775-432: A Charter granting to Sir William St Clair of Rosslyn the right to purchase patronage over the masons of Scotland. Kilwinning is noticeably absent from the list of lodges appending their endorsement. The charter seems to have lapsed when St Clair fled following a scandal, and a second charter was granted to his son, also William St Clair, in 1628. This patronage was surrendered by their descendant, another William St Clair, on

930-534: A Freemason, omitting only the ritual. Although the historical section was attacked at the time, and ever since, as being a work of obvious fiction, the work remains a milestone in masonic history. The "Antient Charges" published in the current Book of Constitutions of the United Grand Lodge of England have altered little from those originally published by Anderson. In common with other trades or mysteries, medieval masonry recognised three grades of craftsman;—

1085-426: A Grand Geometrician. For in some manner or other, whether obvious or hidden, there seems to be a geometric basis to every object in the universe." History of Freemasonry The history of Freemasonry encompasses the origins, evolution and defining events of the fraternal organisation known as Freemasonry . It covers three phases. Firstly, the emergence of organised lodges of operative masons during

1240-480: A Great Architect of the Universe also occurs in Martinism . Martinists hold that while it is possible to "invoke" him, it is not to adore him. Whole worship is traditionally reserved only to God, invocation can be also proper of an angel or demon . James Hopwood Jeans , in his book The Mysterious Universe , also employs the concept of a Great Architect of the Universe, saying at one point "Lapsing back again into

1395-587: A build in silverpoint on a prepared parchment or board. These would be realised on the ground by using a larger compass than the one used for drafting. Medieval architects are depicted with much larger compasses and squares where they are shown on a building site. Fine detail was transferred from the drawing board by means of wooden templates supplied to the masons. The Master Masons who appear in record as presiding over major works, such as York Minster, became wealthy and respected. Visiting Master Masons and Master Carpenters sat at high table of monasteries, dining with

1550-567: A careless and unsubstantiated remark made by John Noorthouk in the 1784 Book of Constitutions of the Premier Grand Lodge of London. It was stated, without support, that King Charles II (older brother and predecessor to James II ) was made a Freemason in the Netherlands during the years of his exile (1649–60). However, there were no documented lodges of Freemasons on the continent during those years. The statement may have been made to flatter

1705-518: A clergyman, an eminent scientist, and a Fellow of the Royal Society . The last commoner to serve as Grand Master was George Payne in his second term of office in 1720/21, when he wrote The General Regulations of a Free Mason [ sic ] which were later incorporated in Anderson's Constitutions. Thereafter, in what appears to be a deliberate attempt to raise the profile of the organisation, all

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1860-401: A collection of his responses to questions de quodlibet posed to him by the academic audience; and both Expositio super librum Boethii De trinitate ( Commentary on Boethius's De trinitate ) and Expositio super librum Boethii De hebdomadibus ( Commentary on Boethius's De hebdomadibus ), commentaries on the works of 6th-century Roman philosopher Boethius . By the end of his regency, Thomas

2015-422: A conclusion given in advance is not philosophy, but special pleading . I cannot, therefore, feel that he deserves to be put on a level with the best philosophers either of Greece or of modern times. This criticism is illustrated with the following example: according to Russell, Thomas advocates the indissolubility of marriage "on the ground that the father is useful in the education of the children, (a) because he

2170-871: A culminating chapter on Thomas, in which Adams calls Thomas an "artist" and constructs an extensive analogy between the design of Thomas's "Church Intellectual" and that of the gothic cathedrals of that period. Erwin Panofsky later would echo these views in Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism (1951). Thomas's aesthetic theories, especially the concept of claritas , deeply influenced the literary practice of modernist writer James Joyce , who used to extol Thomas as being second only to Aristotle among Western philosophers. Joyce refers to Thomas's doctrines in Elementa philosophiae ad mentem D. Thomae Aquinatis doctoris angelici (1898) of Girolamo Maria Mancini, professor of theology at

2325-461: A distinction between "demonstrations" of sacred doctrines and the "persuasiveness" of those doctrines. The former is akin to something like "certainty", whereas the latter is more probabilistic in nature. In other words, Thomas thought Christian doctrines were "fitting" to reason (i.e. reasonable), even though they cannot be demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt. In fact, the Summa Theologica

2480-636: A history of the craft of masonry. The oldest known work of this type, The Halliwell Manuscript, also known as Regius Poem , dates from between 1390 and 1425. This document has a brief history in its introduction, stating that the "craft of masonry" began with Euclid in Egypt, and came to England in the reign of King Athelstan (924–939). Shortly afterwards, the Matthew Cooke Manuscript traces masonry to Jabal , son of Lamech (Genesis 4: 20–22), and tells how this knowledge came to Euclid, from him to

2635-488: A large number of formal problems in geometry. Three years as a journeyman would often finish with the submission of a masterwork dealing with a set problem in construction or design. At this point, he was considered qualified, but still had a career ladder to climb before attaining the status of Master Mason on a large project. In his function as architect, the Master Mason probably made his plans for each successive stage of

2790-401: A life of celibacy. According to the official records for his canonization, Thomas drove her away wielding a burning log—with which he inscribed a cross onto the wall—and fell into a mystical ecstasy; two angels appeared to him as he slept and said, "Behold, we gird thee by the command of God with the girdle of chastity, which henceforth will never be imperilled. What human strength can not obtain,

2945-521: A master's degree in theology. He lectured on the Bible as an apprentice professor, and upon becoming a baccalaureus Sententiarum (bachelor of the Sentences ) he devoted his final three years of study to commenting on Peter Lombard 's Sentences . In the first of his four theological syntheses, Thomas composed a massive commentary on the Sentences entitled, Scriptum super libros Sententiarium ( Commentary on

3100-553: A metaphor alluding to the godhead potentiality of every individual. "(God)... That invisible power which all know does exist, but understood by many different names, such as God, Spirit, Supreme Being, Intelligence, Mind, Energy, Nature and so forth." In the Hindu mythology, Lord Vishvakarma is regarded as the “God of Architecture”. He is the supreme god of craftsmanship and perfect engineering. Viśvakarma (meaning "all creating" in Sanskrit )

3255-456: A palatable, modern form. The resulting constitutions are prefaced by a history more extensive than any before, again tracing the history of what was now freemasonry back to biblical roots, again forging Euclid into the chain. True to his material, Anderson fixes the first grand assembly of English Masons at York, under Athelstan's son, Edwin, who is otherwise unknown to history. Expanded, revised, and republished, Anderson's 1738 constitutions listed

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3410-544: A science, by which he meant a field of study in which humanity could learn more by its own efforts (as opposed to being totally dependent on having divine revelation planted into our minds). For Thomas, the raw material data of this field consists of written scripture and the tradition of the Catholic Church. These sources of data were produced by the self-revelation of God to individuals and groups of people throughout history. Faith and reason, being distinct but related, are

3565-786: A secret escape from detention was less damaging than an open surrender to the Dominicans. Thomas was sent first to Naples and then to Rome to meet Johannes von Wildeshausen , the Master General of the Dominican Order . In 1245, Thomas was sent to study at the Faculty of the Arts at the University of Paris , where he most likely met Dominican scholar Albertus Magnus , then the holder of the Chair of Theology at

3720-538: A series of important disputations on the power of God, which he compiled into his De potentia . Nicholas Brunacci [1240–1322] was among Thomas's students at the Santa Sabina studium provinciale and later at the Paris studium generale . In November 1268, he was with Thomas and his associate and secretary Reginald of Piperno as they left Viterbo on their way to Paris to begin the academic year. Another student of Thomas's at

3875-670: A set of regulations for the governance of masons and their lodges now known as the Schaw Statutes. These state "They shall be true to one another and live charitably together as becometh sworn brethren and companions of the Craft." They mention wardens, deacons, entered prentices and cowans. The second Schaw statutes, a year later, included in their negotiations a representative of the Lodge of Kilwinning (now Lodge Mother Kilwinning No 0) in Ayrshire, which

4030-643: A specific form (He is anthropomorfic in the person of Jesus Christ God). John Calvin , in his Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536), repeatedly calls the Christian God "the Architect of the Universe", also referring to his works as "Architecture of the Universe", and in his commentary on Psalm 19 refers to the Christian God as the "Great Architect" or "Architect of the Universe". The concept of

4185-463: A way that is fitting to the instruction of beginners." While there he also wrote a variety of other works like his unfinished Compendium Theologiae and Responsio ad fr. Ioannem Vercellensem de articulis 108 sumptis ex opere Petri de Tarentasia ( Reply to Brother John of Vercelli Regarding 108 Articles Drawn from the Work of Peter of Tarentaise ). In his position as head of the studium , Thomas conducted

4340-402: A worker in freestone, a grainless sandstone or limestone suitable for ornamental masonry. In the 17th century, building accounts of Wadham College the terms freemason and freestone mason are used interchangeably. Freemason also contrasts with "Rough Mason" or "Layer", as a more skilled worker who worked or laid dressed stone. The adjective "free" in this context may also be taken to infer that

4495-409: A writing table and six English books, making him comfortably well-off and literate. The following century and a half produced few new manuscripts. The Dowland manuscript , whose original is now lost, and Grand Lodge No 1 , for the first time locate Edwin's assembly of Masons at York. The Lansdowne , originally dated to this period, is now thought to date from the 17th century. During this period,

4650-500: Is Aeterni Patris , the 1879 encyclical by Pope Leo XIII stating that Thomas's theology was a definitive exposition of Catholic doctrine. Leo XIII directed the clergy to take the teachings of Thomas as the basis of their theological positions. Leo also decreed that all Catholic seminaries and universities must teach Thomas's doctrines, and where Thomas did not speak on a topic, the teachers were "urged to teach conclusions that were reconcilable with his thinking." In 1880, Thomas Aquinas

4805-706: Is believed by some to have been some kind of supernatural experience of God. After taking to his bed, however, he did recover some strength. In 1274, Pope Gregory X summoned Thomas to attend the Second Council of Lyon . The council was to open 1 May 1274, and it was Gregory's attempt to try to heal the Great Schism of 1054, which had divided the Catholic Church in the West from the Eastern Orthodox Church . At

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4960-516: Is better recorded than in England, where there are no known internal records of lodge proceedings. The first recorded admission of non-masons was on 3 July 1634 at Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No. 1 , in the persons of Sir Anthony Alexander, his elder brother, Lord Alexander, and Sir Alexander Strachan of Thornton. Sir Anthony was the King's Principal Master of Work, and the man who had effectively blocked

5115-837: Is filled by the Mânâ Rabbâ, the Great Spirit, from which emanates the First Life . The First Life prays for companionship and progeny, whereupon the Second Life, the Ultra Mkayyema or World-constituting Æon, the Architect of the Universe, comes into being. From this architect come a number of æons , who erect the universe under the foremanship of the Mandâ d'Hayye or gnôsis zoês, the Personified Knowledge of Life. The Great Architect may also be

5270-583: Is known in Catholic theology as the Doctor Angelicus ("Angelic Doctor", with the title "doctor" meaning "teacher"), and the Doctor Communis ("Universal Doctor"). In 1999, John Paul II added a new title to these traditional ones: Doctor Humanitatis ("Doctor of Humanity/Humaneness"). Thomas Aquinas was most likely born in the family castle of Roccasecca , near Aquino , controlled at that time by

5425-409: Is more rational than the mother, (b) because, being stronger, he is better able to inflict physical punishment." Even though modern approaches to education do not support these views, "No follower of Saint Thomas would, on that account, cease to believe in lifelong monogamy, because the real grounds of belief are not those which are alleged". Thomas Aquinas viewed theology, "the sacred doctrine ", as

5580-521: Is now bestowed upon thee as a celestial gift." From then onwards, Thomas was given the grace of perfect chastity by Christ, a girdle he wore till the end of his life. The girdle was given to the ancient monastery of Vercelli in Piedmont, and is now at Chieri , near Turin . By 1244, seeing that all her attempts to dissuade Thomas had failed, Theodora sought to save the family's dignity, arranging for Thomas to escape at night through his window. In her mind,

5735-538: Is probable that architects started to join the lodges of the masons they worked with. It is also possible that, along with other professional bodies (including the East India Company ), operative masonic lodges began to raise money by charging the gentry for admission to their "mysteries". Another opinion states that masonic lodges deliberately recruited the rich and powerful in an attempt to improve their pay and working conditions. On 20 May 1641, Sir Robert Moray

5890-475: Is the Great Architect of the Universe perceived as the Holy Trinity . To Brother Bokhary He has been revealed as Allah ; to Brother Melwani He is probably perceived as Vishnu . Since I believe that there is only one God , I am confronted with three possibilities: It is without hesitation that I accept the third possibility.. The Swedish Rite , which has the prerequisite of professing to Christian Faith, uses

6045-472: Is the deity of the creative power that holds the universe together according to the Rigveda and is considered to be the original creator, architect, divine engineer of the universe from before the advent of time, also the root concept of the later Upanishadic figures of Brahman and Purusha in the historical Vedic religion. Hindu scriptures describe many of Vishwakarma's architectural accomplishments. Through

6200-504: Is to study God. The ultimate goals of theology, in Thomas's mind, are to use reason to grasp the truth about God and to experience salvation through that truth. The central thought is " gratia non tollit naturam, sed perficit " (' grace does not destroy nature, but perfects it'). Thomas believed that truth is known through reason, rationality ( natural revelation ) and faith ( supernatural revelation ). Supernatural revelation has its origin in

6355-652: Is uncertain, since no minutes were taken until 1723. It is known that the four lodges mentioned above held an assembly at the Goose and Gridiron, in St Paul's Churchyard, on, 24 June 1717 (the Feast of St John the Baptist ). They agreed to restore their "Quarterly Communications," four meetings a year for the transaction of masonic business, and an annual assembly to elect the next Grand Master. At this meeting, they elected Anthony Sayer , Master of

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6510-531: The Disputed Questions on Truth (1256–1259) and the Summa contra Gentiles (1259–1265). His commentaries on Christian Scripture and on Aristotle also form an important part of his body of work. He is also notable for his Eucharistic hymns, which form a part of the Church's liturgy. As a Doctor of the Church , Thomas Aquinas is considered one of the Catholic Church's greatest theologians and philosophers. He

6665-558: The Encyclopædia Britannica to denounce it. A German bookseller and Freemason, living in Paris, working under the assumed name of C. Lenning, embellished the story further in a manuscript titled "Encyclopedia of Freemasonry" probably written between 1822 and 1828 at Leipzig . This manuscript was later revised and published by another German Freemason named Friedrich Mossdorf (1757–1830). Lenning stated that King James II of England, after his flight to France in 1688, resided at

6820-630: The Summa Theologiae , which he conceived specifically suited to beginner students: "Because a doctor of Catholic truth ought not only to teach the proficient, but to him pertains also to instruct beginners. As the Apostle says in 1 Corinthians 3:1–2, as to infants in Christ, I gave you milk to drink, not meat , our proposed intention in this work is to convey those things that pertain to the Christian religion in

6975-561: The Children of Israel ( while they were in Egypt ), and so on through an elaborate path to Athelstan. This myth formed the basis for subsequent manuscript constitutions, all tracing masonry back to biblical times, and fixing its institutional establishment in England during the reign of Athelstan. Shortly after the formation of the Premier Grand Lodge of England , James Anderson was commissioned to digest these "Gothic Constitutions" in

7130-543: The Cistercian Fossanova Abbey after again falling ill. The monks nursed him for several days, and as he received his last rites he prayed: "I have written and taught much about this very holy Body, and about the other sacraments in the faith of Christ, and about the Holy Roman Church, to whose correction I expose and submit everything I have written." He died on 7 March 1274 while giving commentary on

7285-697: The Collegium Divi Thomae de Urbe . For example, Mancini's Elementa is referred to in Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man . The influence of Thomas's aesthetics also can be found in the works of the Italian semiotician Umberto Eco , who wrote an essay on aesthetic ideas in Thomas (published in 1956 and republished in 1988 in a revised edition). Twentieth-century philosopher Bertrand Russell criticized Thomas's philosophy, stating that: He does not, like

7440-525: The Complutenses and others. During the 19th century, a movement that came to be known as neo-scholasticism revived Catholic scholarly interest in scholasticism generally and Thomas in particular, as well as the work of the Thomists of second scholasticism. The systematic work of Thomas was valued in part as a foundation for arguing against early modern philosophers and "modernist" theologians. A good example

7595-584: The Grand Lodge of Scotland , which are empowered to confer the Mark Master Mason degree on Master Masons, as an extension to the second or Fellowcraft degree. (see main article, Freemasonry ) Anderson's 1723 constitutions seem to recognise only the grades of Entered Apprentice, and the Fellowcraft/Master. Hence the third degree emerged sometime between 1723 and 1730, and took some time to spread within

7750-570: The Kingdom of Sicily (in present-day Lazio , Italy), c.  1225 . He was born to the most powerful branch of the family, and his father, Landulf of Aquino, was a man of means. As a knight in the service of Emperor Frederick II , Landulf of Aquino held the title miles . Thomas's mother, Theodora, belonged to the Rossi branch of the Neapolitan Caracciolo family. Landulf's brother Sinibald

7905-533: The Knights Hospitaller . At this point, the history of the craft in Continental Freemasonry diverged from that in England. Anderson's histories of 1723 and 1738, Ramsay's romanticisation, together with the internal allegory of masonic ritual, centred on King Solomon’s Temple and its architect, Hiram Abiff , have provided ample material for further speculation. The earliest known ritual places

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8060-595: The Knights Templar became involved in the myth, starting with Karl Gotthelf von Hund 's Rite of Strict Observance , which also linked in the exiled House of Stuart . The murder of Hiram Abiff was taken as an allegory for the death of Charles I of England . Oliver Cromwell emerges as the founder of Freemasonry in an anonymous anti-masonic work of 1745, commonly attributed to Abbé Larudan . Mackey states that "The propositions of Larudan are distinguished for their absolute independence of all historical authority and for

8215-610: The Reformation occurred. It was at one time assumed that the church was the major employer of masons, and, with the Dissolution of the Monasteries , the lodges disappeared. It was also believed that the craft "guilds" were abolished in England in 1547. On the death of Henry VIII, Archbishop Cranmer sought to advance the reformation by the abolition of guilds and fellowships. In 1548, "The bill of conspiracies of victuallers and craftsmen"

8370-424: The Song of Songs . In 1277, Étienne Tempier , the same bishop of Paris who had issued the condemnation of 1270, issued another more extensive condemnation. One aim of this condemnation was to clarify that God's absolute power transcended any principles of logic that Aristotle or Averroes might place on it. More specifically, it contained a list of 219 propositions, including twenty Thomistic propositions, that

8525-466: The mendicant orders , which had come under attack by William of Saint-Amour . During his tenure from 1256 to 1259, Thomas wrote numerous works, including: Quaestiones Disputatae de Veritate ( Disputed Questions on Truth ), a collection of twenty-nine disputed questions on aspects of faith and the human condition prepared for the public university debates he presided over during Lent and Advent ; Quaestiones quodlibetales ( Quodlibetal Questions ),

8680-483: The 20th century, as seen in the praise offered by Pope John Paul II in the 1998 encyclical Fides et ratio , and similarly in Pope Benedict XV 's 1921 encyclical Fausto Appetente Die. Some modern ethicists within the Catholic Church (notably Alasdair MacIntyre ) and outside it (notably Philippa Foot ) have recently commented on the possible use of Thomas's virtue ethics as a way of avoiding utilitarianism or Kantian "sense of duty" (called deontology ). Through

8835-515: The Averroists ) in which he reprimands Averroism as incompatible with Christian doctrine. During his second regency, he finished the second part of the Summa and wrote De virtutibus and De aeternitate mundi, contra murmurantes ( On the Eternity of the World, against Grumblers ), the latter of which dealt with controversial Averroist and Aristotelian beginninglessness of the world. Disputes with some important Franciscans conspired to make his second regency much more difficult and troubled than

8990-408: The College of St. James in Paris. When Albertus was sent by his superiors to teach at the new studium generale at Cologne , in 1248, Thomas followed him, declining Pope Innocent IV 's offer to appoint him abbot of Monte Cassino as a Dominican. Albertus then appointed the reluctant Thomas magister studentium . Because Thomas was quiet and did not speak much, some of his fellow students thought he

9145-478: The Grand Masters have been members of the nobility. Desaguliers is often described as the "father" of modern freemasonry. It was Desaguliers who inscribed the dedication to Anderson's Constitutions, headed the committee which directed and approved them, and supplied the "Gothic Constitutions" from which they were formed. Although he only served one term as Grand Master, he was twice Deputy Grand Master under figurehead Grand Masters, and at other times behaved as if he

9300-400: The Grand Masters since Augustine of Canterbury , listed as Austin the Monk . William Preston's Illustrations of Freemasonry enlarged and expanded on this masonic creation myth. In France, the 1737 lecture of Chevalier Ramsay added the crusaders to the lineage. He maintained that Crusader Masons had revived the craft with secrets recovered in the Holy Land , under the patronage of

9455-408: The Great Architect of the Universe has been used many times within Christianity . An illustration of God as the architect of the universe can be found in a Bible from the Middle Ages and the comparison of God to an architect has been used by Christian apologists and teachers. Thomas Aquinas said in the Summa : "God, Who is the first principle of all things, may be compared to things created 'as

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9610-478: The Jesuit College of Clermont, where his followers fabricated certain degrees for the purpose of carrying out their political ends. By the mid-19th century, the story had gained currency. The well-known English Masonic writer, Dr. George Oliver (1782–1867), in his Historical Landmarks , 1846, carried the story forward and even claimed that King Charles II was active in his attendance at meetings—an obvious invention, for if it had been true, it would not have escaped

9765-463: The Middle Ages, then the admission of lay members as "accepted" (a term reflecting the ceremonial "acception" process that made non-stone masons members of an operative lodge) or "speculative" masons, and finally the evolution of purely speculative lodges, and the emergence of Grand Lodges to govern them. The watershed in this process is generally taken to be the formation of the first Grand Lodge in London in 1717. The two difficulties facing historians are

9920-416: The Order at the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva began in 1255 as a community for women converts but grew rapidly in size and importance after being given over to the Dominicans friars in 1275. In 1288, the theology component of the provincial curriculum for the education of the friars was relocated from the Santa Sabina studium provinciale to the studium conventuale at Santa Maria sopra Minerva, which

10075-437: The Platonic Socrates, set out to follow wherever the argument may lead. He is not engaged in an inquiry, the result of which it is impossible to know in advance. Before he begins to philosophize, he already knows the truth; it is declared in the Catholic faith. If he can find apparently rational arguments for some parts of the faith, so much the better; if he cannot, he need only fall back on revelation. The finding of arguments for

10230-464: The Reverend James Anderson . They also note that Anderson, a Calvinist minister, probably took the term from Calvin's usage. Christopher Haffner's own explanation of how the Masonic concept of a Great Architect of the Universe, as a placeholder for the Supreme Being of one's choice, is given in Workman Unashamed : Now imagine me standing in lodge with my head bowed in prayer between Brother Mohammed Bokhary and Brother Arjun Melwani. To neither of them

10385-399: The Santa Sabina studium provinciale was Blessed Tommasello da Perugia. Thomas remained at the studium at Santa Sabina from 1265 until he was called back to Paris in 1268 for a second teaching regency. With his departure for Paris in 1268 and the passage of time, the pedagogical activities of the studium provinciale at Santa Sabina were divided between two campuses. A new convent of

10540-399: The Sentences ). Aside from his master's writings, he wrote De ente et essentia ( On Being and Essence ) for his fellow Dominicans in Paris. In the spring of 1256, Thomas was appointed regent master in theology at Paris and one of his first works upon assuming this office was Contra impugnantes Dei cultum et religionem ( Against Those Who Assail the Worship of God and Religion ), defending

10695-439: The Templars, and Rosslyn before arriving at modern Freemasonry. These claims are challenged by Robert Cooper, the curator of the Grand Lodge of Scotland 's library and museum, in his book The Rosslyn Hoax . The first rational study of masonic history was published in Germany, but Georg Kloss 's 1847 work, Geschichte der Freimaurerei in England, Irland und Schottland was never translated. When Findel's History of Freemasonry

10850-404: The University of Paris for a second time, a position he held until the spring of 1272. Part of the reason for this sudden reassignment appears to have arisen from the rise of " Averroism " or "radical Aristotelianism " in the universities. In response to these perceived errors, Thomas wrote two works, one of them being De unitate intellectus, contra Averroistas ( On the Unity of Intellect, against

11005-401: The University of Paris when the Dominicans from his home province called upon him to establish a studium generale wherever he liked and staff it as he pleased. He chose to establish the institution in Naples and moved there to take his post as regent master. He took his time at Naples to work on the third part of the Summa while giving lectures on various religious topics. He also preached to

11160-503: The abbey in early 1239, Landulf and Theodora had Thomas enrolled at the studium generale ( university ) established by Frederick in Naples . There, his teacher in arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music was Petrus de Ibernia . It was at this university that Thomas was presumably introduced to Aristotle , Averroes and Maimonides , all of whom would influence his theological philosophy. During his study at Naples, Thomas also came under

11315-421: The abbot. The historical record shows two levels of organisation in medieval masonry, the lodge and the "guild". The original use of the word lodge indicates a workshop erected on the site of a major work, the first mention being Vale Royal Abbey in 1278. Later, it gained the secondary meaning of the community of masons in a particular place. The earliest surviving records of these are the laws and ordinances of

11470-725: The altar alongside the Bible and the Decretals . This happened within the historical timeframe of the " second scholasticism ", a trend during the 16th and 17th centuries that saw renewed interest in the works of scholars of the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries, in spite of humanism as a contrary trend. Second scholasticism gave special emphasis to the works of Thomas Aquinas and John Duns Scotus , with more Franciscans following Duns Scotus, and more Dominicans and Carmelites following Thomas. "Thomists", or those following Thomas, included Francisco de Vitoria , Thomas Cajetan , Franciscus Ferrariensis , Domingo de Soto , Domingo Báñez , João Poinsot ,

11625-400: The apprentice, the journeyman, and the master. An apprentice who had learned his craft became a journeyman, qualified to do all manner of masonic work. The master was also qualified as a project manager, often functioning as architect as well. He would sketch the day's work on a tracing board for execution by the journeymen and apprentices. The Schaw Statutes of 1598 show how this had evolved in

11780-574: The architect is to things designed' ( ut artifex ad artificiata )." Commentators have pointed out that the assertion that the Grand Architect of the Universe is the Christian God "is not evident on the basis of natural theology alone but requires an additional 'leap of faith' based on the revelation of the Bible". However, the Aquinas' God was not neutral (He is interpreted as the Highest Good) and it has

11935-647: The bishop had determined to violate the omnipotence of God. The inclusion of the Thomistic propositions badly damaged Thomas's reputation for many years. By the 1300s, however, Thomas's theology had begun its rise to prestige. In the Divine Comedy (completed c. 1321), Dante sees the glorified soul of Thomas in the Heaven of the Sun with the other great exemplars of religious wisdom. Dante asserts that Thomas died by poisoning, on

12090-485: The bold assumptions which are presented to the reader in the place of facts." The anti-masonic writings of Christoph Friedrich Nicolai implicated Francis Bacon and the Rosicrucians , while Christopher Wren 's connection with the craft was omitted from Anderson's first book of constitutions, but appeared in the second when Wren was dead. The seed or the myth of Stuart Jacobite influence on Freemasonry may have been

12245-400: The conduct of Freemasons, and Payne's Regulations, the specific rules by which Grand Lodge and the lodges under its control were to be governed. The ceremony for dedicating a new lodge was briefly outlined, and the work finished with a section of songs. For the first time, the old hand-written charges and constitutions was replaced by an accessible, printed condensation of all there was to being

12400-606: The craft, there were now disillusioned ex-masons willing to make money out of "exposures" of freemasonry. The Constitutions of the Free-Masons , "For the Use of the Lodges" in London and Westminster, was published in 1723. It was edited by the presbyterian clergyman, James Anderson , to the order of John Theophilus Desaguliers , and approved by a Grand Lodge committee under his control. This work

12555-409: The craft. After a brief blessing, these documents describe the seven Liberal Arts , assigning predominance to Geometry, which is equated with Masonry. They then proceed to a history of masonry/geometry, finishing with King Athelstan, or Edwin, his brother or son depending on source, assembling England's masons to give them their charges. The regulations or charges follow, usually with instructions as to

12710-497: The craft. The fact that it did spread seems to many scholars to indicate that the tri-gradal system was not so much innovation, as the re-organisation of pre-existing material. The Mason word, once given to the Entered Apprentice, was now conferred in the third degree with the five points of fellowship, and the two linked words formerly bestowed on a fellowcraft were split between the first two degrees. The new Master Mason degree

12865-405: The crudely anthropomorphic language we have already used, we may say that we have already considered with disfavour the possibility of the universe having been planned by a biologist or an engineer; from the intrinsic evidence of his creation, the Great Architect of the Universe now begins to appear as a pure mathematician." To that Jinarajadasa adds his observation that the Great Architect is "also

13020-502: The derivation therefrom of the five points of fellowship, which appears in the Graham Manuscript of 1725, where the body being sought and exhumed is that of Noah. The origin of this re-organisation is unknown. The earliest reference to the conferment of a third degree is from London, from the minutes of "Philo Musicae et Architecturae Societas Apollini", a short-lived musical society composed entirely of Freemasons. These minutes record

13175-585: The early 20th century in the nouvelle théologie movement (meaning "new theology"). It was closely associated with a movement of ressourcement , meaning "back to sources", echoing the phrase " ad fontes " used by Renaissance humanists. Although nouvelle théologie disagreed with neo-scholasticism about modernity, arguing that theology could learn much from modern philosophy and science, their interest in also studying "old" sources meant that they found common ground in their appreciation of scholastics like Thomas Aquinas. The Second Vatican Council generally adopted

13330-413: The effect of extending Thomas's detention. Thomas passed this time of trial tutoring his sisters and communicating with members of the Dominican Order. Family members became desperate to dissuade Thomas, who remained determined to join the Dominicans. At one point, two of his brothers resorted to the measure of hiring a prostitute to seduce him, presumably because sexual temptation might dissuade him from

13485-465: The entered apprentice ritual and the fellowcraft/master were sometimes condensed into one ceremony. In Pritchard's Masonry Dissected , an exposure of masonic ritual written in 1730 by a disillusioned ex-mason, we see for the first time something recognisable as the three degrees of modern Freemasonry. On being admitted to a lodge, a new mason naturally progresses through the degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason. There still remains

13640-529: The existence of God and his Attributes (Unity, Truth, Goodness, Power, Knowledge) through reason, certain specifics may be known only through the special revelation of God through Jesus Christ . The major theological components of Christianity, such as the Trinity , the Incarnation , and charity are revealed in the teachings of the church and the scriptures and may not otherwise be deduced. However, Thomas also makes

13795-452: The feast of Corpus Christi are still sung today, such as the Pange lingua (whose final two verses are the famous Tantum ergo ), and Panis angelicus . Modern scholarship has confirmed that Thomas was indeed the author of these texts, a point that some had contested. In February 1265, the newly elected Pope Clement IV summoned Thomas to Rome to serve as papal theologian. This same year, he

13950-572: The first masonic lodge in the porchway of King Solomon’s Temple. Following Anderson, it has also been possible to trace Freemasonry to Euclid , Pythagoras , Moses , the Essenes , and the Culdees . Preston started his history with the Druids , while Anderson's description of masons as " Noachides ", extrapolated by Albert Mackey , put Noah into the equation. Following Ramsay's introduction of Crusader masons,

14105-466: The first use of the word "freemason" in English. It was immediately struck out, and replaced with the word "mason". The poem claims that these assemblies were ordained by King Athelstan and that he also linked the wages of a mason to the cost of living. The Cooke Manuscript, dating from about 1450, set the pattern for what Anderson called the "Gothic Constitutions", the older histories and regulations of

14260-443: The first. A year before Thomas re-assumed the regency at the 1266–67 Paris disputations, Franciscan master William of Baglione accused Thomas of encouraging Averroists, most likely counting him as one of the "blind leaders of the blind". Eleonore Stump says, "It has also been persuasively argued that Thomas Aquinas's De aeternitate mundi was directed in particular against his Franciscan colleague in theology, John Pecham ." Thomas

14415-673: The form "The Threefold Great Architect of the Universe". The concept of the Great Architect of the Universe occurs in Gnosticism . The Demiurge is the Great Architect of the Universe, the God of Old Testament, in opposition to Christ and Sophia , messengers of Gnosis of the True God. For example: Gnostics such as the Nasoræans believe the Pira Rabba is the source, origin, and container of all things, which

14570-449: The formation in London of Quatuor Coronati Lodge , the first lodge dedicated to masonic research. The earliest official English documents to refer to masons are written in Latin — " sculptores lapidum liberorum " (London 1212), " magister lathomus liberarum petrarum " (Oxford 1391) — or Norman French — " mestre mason de franche peer " ( Statute of Labourers 1351 ). These all signify

14725-445: The formation of the Grand Lodge of Scotland in 1736, in spite of the fact that it never won the royal approval that would have made it valid. The lasting effect of the Schaw Statutes arose from the 1599 directive that the lodges should employ a reputable notary as secretary, and that he should record all important transactions. The Scottish lodges began to keep minutes, and therefore the appearance of "accepted" (non-operative) masons

14880-652: The four yugas (aeons of Hindu mythology), he had built several towns and palaces for the gods . Among them were, in chronological order, Svarga (Heaven) in Satya Yuga , Lanka in Treta Yuga , and Dwarka ( Krishna's capital) in Dvapara Yuga . In Max Heindel 's exposition, the Great Architect of the Universe is the Supreme Being, who proceeds from The Absolute , at the dawn of manifestation. The concept of God as

15035-461: The fraternity by claiming a previous monarch asa member. This folly was then embellished by John Robison (1739–1805), a professor of Natural Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh , in his 1797 work Proofs of a Conspiracy, an anti-Masonic polemic accusing Freemasonry of being infiltrated by Weishaupt 's Order of the Illuminati . The lack of scholarship exhibited by Robison in that work caused

15190-633: The influence of John of St. Julian, a Dominican preacher in Naples, who was part of the active effort by the Dominican Order to recruit devout followers. At the age of nineteen, Thomas resolved to join the Dominican Order. His change of heart, however, did not please his family. In an attempt to prevent Theodora's interference in Thomas's choice, the Dominicans arranged to move Thomas to Rome, and from Rome, to Paris. However, while on his journey to Rome, per Theodora's instructions, his brothers seized him as he

15345-460: The initiation and passing to the degree of Fellowcraft of Charles Cotton. Then, on 12 May 1725, the society took it upon itself to "pass" Brother Cotton and Brother Papillion Ball as Master Masons. This would nowadays be regarded as highly irregular. In March 1726 Gabriel Porterfield received the same degree in lodge Dumbarton Kilwinning in Scotland. That he was not the first is attested by the minutes of

15500-577: The inspiration of the Holy Spirit and is made available through the teaching of the prophets, summed up in Holy Scripture, and transmitted by the Magisterium , the sum of which is called "Tradition". Natural revelation is the truth available to all people through their human nature and powers of reason. For example, he felt this applied to rational ways to know the existence of God. Though one may deduce

15655-422: The installation of the new Grand Master was the occasion for a parade, originally on foot, later in carriages. This became the subject of some ridicule, until starting in 1740 there were also mock processions by anti-masonic groups, leading to the discontinuation of the practice in 1747. The rapid expansion of freemasonry also led to many new lodges failing after only a year or two. In addition to attacks from outside

15810-570: The lodge at York Minster in 1352. These regulations were imposed by the Dean and Chapter of the Minster . Nineteenth-century historians imposed the term " guild " on the "fellowships" of medieval tradesmen as an analogy with the merchant guilds . The masons were late in forming such bodies. The major employer of masons in medieval England was the crown , and the crown frequently employed masons by impressment . In other words, they were forcibly recruited when

15965-545: The lodge at the Apple Tree, of whom little else is known, and the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster was born. At this stage, it is unlikely that they saw themselves as anything more than an association of London lodges. This perception was to change very rapidly. The next year, George Payne became Grand Master. He was a career civil servant with the commissioners of taxes. In 1719, they elected John Theophilus Desaguliers ,

16120-501: The lodge system of Scottish masonry. An apprentice, after serving his term of seven years, could elect to pay to join a lodge, becoming an "entered apprentice". (Alternatively, he could elect to freelance on the lower grades of building work as a "Cowan".) The journeymen were referred to as "fellows" or "fellows of the craft", which accords with the Regius poem's injunction (line 51) that masons should "calle other felows by cuthe". The members of

16275-486: The lodge were "Brithers" (brothers), a Scottish legal term for those bound to each other by oath. The Master was simply the mason in charge of the lodge, or one who had held that distinction. While the swearing of some sort of oath goes back to the earliest records of organised masonry, the first recorded ritual is not until 1696, in the Edinburgh Register House manuscript. From this, and from other documents of

16430-462: The lodge's foundation, only two months earlier, where Apprentices, Fellowcrafts, and Master Masons are recorded as attending. In December 1728, Greenock Kilwinning recorded separate fees for initiation, passing and raising. Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas OP ( / ə ˈ k w aɪ n ə s / ə- KWY -nəs ; Italian : Tommaso d'Aquino , lit.   'Thomas of Aquino '; c.  1225 – 7 March 1274)

16585-685: The majority in the north and in Scotland. In 1716, four lodges and "some old Brothers" met at the Apple Tree Tavern in Covent Garden and agreed to meet again the next year to form a "Grand Lodge." These were the Goose and Gridiron, the Crown, the Apple Tree, and the Rummer and Grapes. The "old Brothers" were probably from the Cheshire Cheese and at least one other lodge. The early history of Grand Lodge

16740-417: The manner in which a new mason should swear to them. Also around 1450, the will of a mason from Beverley gives a tantalising glimpse into the emergence of masonic regalia. An inventory of John Cadeby's possessions mentions several zonae (girdles). Two were silver mounted, and one of these had the letters B and I in the middle, indicating Boaz and Jachin , the twin pillars of Solomon's Temple. He also owned

16895-420: The mason is not enslaved , indentured or feudally bound. While this is difficult to reconcile with medieval English masons, it apparently became important to Scottish operative lodges. A medieval Master Mason would be required to undergo what passed for a liberal education in those days. In England, he would leave home at nine or ten years of age already literate in English and French, educated at home or at

17050-503: The meeting, Thomas's work for Pope Urban IV concerning the Greeks, Contra errores graecorum , was to be presented. However, on his way to the council, riding on a donkey along the Appian Way , he struck his head on the branch of a fallen tree and became seriously ill again. He was then quickly escorted to Monte Cassino to convalesce. After resting for a while, he set out again but stopped at

17205-443: The meridionale during the first several decades of the order's life. The new studium provinciale at Santa Sabina was to be a more advanced school for the province. Tolomeo da Lucca , an associate and early biographer of Thomas, tells us that at the Santa Sabina studium Thomas taught the full range of philosophical subjects, both moral and natural. While at the Santa Sabina studium provinciale , Thomas began his most famous work,

17360-408: The need arose. The Halliwell Manuscript, also called Regius Poem , is the oldest known document of masonic origin. It was published in 1840 by Shakespearean scholar and collector James Halliwell who dated it to 1390. A. F. A. Woodford , the pioneering Masonic scholar and a founder of Quatuor Coronati Lodge , agreed with this dating. More recently, historian Andrew Prescott has dated the text to

17515-525: The notice of the historians of the time. Similarly, attempts to root Freemasonry in the French Compagnonnage have produced no concrete links. Connections to the Roman Collegia and Comacine masters are similarly tenuous, although some Freemasons see them as exemplars rather than ancestors. Thomas Paine traced Freemasonry to Ancient Egypt , as did Cagliostro , who went so far as to supply

17670-749: The order of Charles of Anjou ; Villani cites this belief, and the Anonimo Fiorentino describes the crime and its motive. But the historian Ludovico Antonio Muratori reproduces the account made by one of Thomas's friends, and this version of the story gives no hint of foul play. When the devil's advocate at his canonization process objected that there were no miracles , one of the cardinals answered, " Tot miraculis, quot articulis "—"there are as many miracles (in his life) as articles (in his Summa )". Fifty years after Thomas's death, on 18 July 1323, Pope John XXII , seated in Avignon , pronounced Thomas

17825-562: The other in Lyon. In Scotland, the lodges of masons were brought under the control of two crown-appointed officials, the Warden General and the Principal Master of Work to the Crown, the latter being in existence from 1539 at the latest. Towards the end of the century, William Schaw held both these posts. In 1598, in conference with the masters of lodges in south east Scotland, he produced

17980-411: The paucity of written material, even down to the 19th century, and the misinformation generated by masons and non-masons alike from the earliest years. Freemasonry's long history includes its early development from organised bodies of operative stonemasons to the modern system of speculative lodges organised around regional or national "Grand Lodges". The earliest masonic texts each contain some sort of

18135-700: The people of Naples every day in Lent of 1273. These sermons on the Commandments, the Creed, the Our Father, and Hail Mary were very popular. Thomas has been traditionally ascribed with the ability to levitate and as having had various mystical experiences. For example, G. K. Chesterton wrote that "His experiences included well-attested cases of levitation in ecstasy; and the Blessed Virgin appeared to him, comforting him with

18290-400: The petty (junior) school. From then until the age of fourteen, he would attend monastery or grammar school to learn Latin, or as a page in a knightly household would learn deportment in addition to his studies. Between the ages of fourteen and seventeen, he would learn the basic skills of choosing, shaping, and combining stone and then between the ages of 17 and 21, be required to learn by rote

18445-420: The principles of Christianity. Aquinas' natural law theory has been influential in shaping ideas about human liberty and the moral limits of government authority . He has been described as "the most influential thinker of the medieval period " and "the greatest of the medieval philosopher -theologians". Thomas's best-known works are the unfinished Summa Theologica , or Summa Theologiae (1265–1274),

18600-466: The rank of Installed Master, which comprises the Master in charge of the lodge and its past masters, and involves its own ritual, words and signs, but entails being elected to take charge of the lodge for a year. These are the regular degrees and ranks of "craft" masonry, common to all constitutions. Other, "higher" degrees are optional and require a mason to join a side-order, except in lodges constituted under

18755-558: The ritual. More recently, several authors have attempted to link the Templars to the timeline of Freemasonry through the imagery of the carvings in Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland, where the Templars are rumoured to have sought refuge after the dissolution of the order. In The Hiram Key , Robert Lomas and Christopher Knight describe a timeline starting in ancient Egypt, and taking in Jesus ,

18910-453: The sacred disciplines (philosophy, Catholic theology, church history, liturgy, and canon law ). Pope Pius V proclaimed St. Thomas Aquinas a Doctor of the Church on 15 April 1567, and ranked his feast with those of the four great Latin fathers: Ambrose , Augustine of Hippo , Jerome , and Gregory . At the Council of Trent , Thomas had the honour of having his Summa Theologiae placed on

19065-466: The same period, such as the Trinity College, Dublin manuscript of 1711, we can form an idea of the ritual of an operative lodge at the end of the 17th century. On taking of the oath of an Entered Apprentice a mason was entrusted with appropriate signs, a "Mason's Word", and a catechism. This was accompanied by much horseplay, which was probably excised as the craft became more gentrified. The fellowcraft

19220-405: The second St Clair charter, the lodges of Scotland being his own responsibility. The reasons that his brother and their friend were also admitted are unclear. The reasons and mechanisms for the transition of masonic lodges from operative communities to speculative fellowships remain elusive. As the responsibility for design shifted from the Master Mason to the architect in the sixteenth century, it

19375-546: The second quarter of the fifteenth century. The poem may be seen as a response to a stream of legislation dating back to the Black Death , and the Statute of Labourers 1351 , in which Edward III attempted to fix wages at pre-plague levels. The earlier date follows the 1389 ordinance ( 13 Ric. 2. Stat. 1 . c. 8) of Richard II requiring the guilds and fellowships to lay before him their charters and letters patent. In 1425, during

19530-547: The so-called Augustinians, were fearful that this introduction of Aristotelianism and the more extreme Averroism might somehow contaminate the purity of the Christian faith. In what appears to be an attempt to counteract the growing fear of Aristotelian thought, Thomas conducted a series of disputations between 1270 and 1272: De virtutibus in communi ( On Virtues in General ), De virtutibus cardinalibus ( On Cardinal Virtues ), and De spe ( On Hope ). In 1272, Thomas took leave from

19685-423: The stance of the theologians of nouvelle théologie, but the importance of Thomas was a point of agreement. The council's decree Optatam Totius (on the formation of priests, at No. 15), proposed an authentic interpretation of the popes' teaching on Thomism, requiring that the theological formation of priests be done with Thomas Aquinas as teacher. General Catholic appreciation for Thomas has remained strong in

19840-596: The sudden expansion of speculative masonry, with a corresponding rise in anti-masonic groups and publications. Initiations began to be reported in newspapers. The noble grand masters were often fellows of the Royal Society, but the Duke of Wharton (1722–23) had just had his Hell-fire club shut down by the government, and joined, or possibly formed, an anti-masonic group called the Gormagons almost as soon as he left office. From 1721

19995-593: The third Parliament of Henry VI , the Labourers Act 1425 ( 3 Hen. 6 . c. 1) banned the annual assemblies of masons. In 1356, the preamble to regulations governing the Trade of Masons specifically states that, unlike the other trades, no body existed for the regulation of masonry by masons. Finally, in 1376, four representatives of the "mystery" or trade are elected to the Common Council in London. This also seems to be

20150-460: The two primary tools for processing the data of theology. Thomas believed both were necessary—or, rather, that the confluence of both was necessary—for one to obtain true knowledge of God. Thomas blended Greek philosophy and Christian doctrine by suggesting that rational thinking and the study of nature, like revelation, were valid ways to understand truths pertaining to God. According to Thomas, God reveals himself through nature, so to study nature

20305-464: The various crafts, enacting plays about their various patron saints, were however suppressed. Robert Cooper, the archivist of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, believes that the lost mystery play of the masons may survive in the ritual of contemporary masonic lodges. An early continental history quotes a 16th-century source that, by 1535, there were two Scottish masonic lodges recorded in France, one in Paris and

20460-615: The welcome news that he would never be a Bishop." It is traditionally held that on one occasion, in 1273, at the Dominican convent of Naples in the chapel of Saint Nicholas , after Matins , Thomas lingered and was seen by the sacristan Domenic of Caserta to be levitating in prayer with tears before an icon of the crucified Christ. Christ said to Thomas, "You have written well of me, Thomas. What reward would you have for your labor?" Thomas responded, "Nothing but you, Lord." On 6 December 1273, another mystical experience took place. While Thomas

20615-466: The work of twentieth-century philosophers such as Elizabeth Anscombe (especially in her book Intention ), Thomas's principle of double effect specifically and his theory of intentional activity generally have been influential. The cognitive neuroscientist Walter Freeman has proposed that Thomism is the philosophical system explaining cognition that is most compatible with neurodynamics . Henry Adams 's Mont Saint Michel and Chartres ends with

20770-460: Was abbot of Monte Cassino , the oldest Benedictine monastery . While the rest of the family's sons pursued military careers, the family intended for Thomas to follow his uncle into the abbacy; this would have been a normal career path for a younger son of Southern Italian nobility. At the age of five Thomas began his early education at Monte Cassino, but after the military conflict between Emperor Frederick II and Pope Gregory IX spilt into

20925-448: Was Grand Master, forming irregular lodges to conduct initiations. It seems to have been Desaguliers who insisted that ritual be remembered rather than written down, leading to a dearth of material on the development of English ritual until after the formation of United Grand Lodge. These considerations cause many masonic historians to see him as the guiding intelligence as the new Grand Lodge embarked on an era of self-publicity, which saw

21080-462: Was an Italian Dominican friar and priest , the foremost Scholastic thinker, as well one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the Western tradition. He was from the county of Aquino in the Kingdom of Sicily . Thomas was a proponent of natural theology and the father of a school of thought (encompassing both theology and philosophy) known as Thomism . Central to his thought

21235-409: Was assigned jurisdiction over the west of Scotland. Edinburgh became the "first and principal" lodge and Kilwinning the "second and head" lodge of Scotland, attempting to appease all parties. Since neither the King nor the master of Kilwinning was present, the document was not regarded as final or binding. It was assumed that the King's warrant for the regulations would be obtained. In 1602, Schaw wrote

21390-593: Was canonized, his feast day was inserted in the General Roman Calendar for celebration on 7 March, the day of his death. Since this date commonly falls within Lent , the 1969 revision of the calendar moved his memorial to 28 January, the date of the translation of his relics to Church of the Jacobins , Toulouse . Thomas Aquinas is honored with a feast day in some churches of the Anglican Communion with

21545-458: Was celebrating Mass, he experienced an unusually long ecstasy. Because of what he saw, he abandoned his routine and refused to dictate to his socius Reginald of Piperno . When Reginald begged him to get back to work, Thomas replied: "Reginald, I cannot, because all that I have written seems like straw to me" ( mihi videtur ut palea ). As a result, the Summa Theologica would remain uncompleted. What exactly triggered Thomas's change in behaviour

21700-475: Was centred on the myth of Hiram Abiff , which itself consists of three parts. The first is the biblical story of the Tyrian artisan with a Northern Israelite mother who became a master craftsman involved in the construction of King Solomon's Temple. The second is the story of his murder by subordinates, which is similar to one of the legends of the French Compagnonnage . Lastly, the story of the finding of his body, and

21855-654: Was declared the patron saint of all Catholic educational establishments. Similarly, in Pascendi Dominici gregis , the 1907 encyclical by Pope Pius X , the Pope said, "...let Professors remember that they cannot set St. Thomas aside, especially in metaphysical questions, without grave detriment." On 29 June 1923, on the sixth centenary of his canonisation, Pope Pius XI dedicated the encyclical Studiorum Ducem to him. In response to neo-scholasticism, Catholic scholars who were more sympathetic to modernity gained influence during

22010-472: Was deeply disturbed by the spread of Averroism and was angered when he discovered Siger of Brabant teaching Averroistic interpretations of Aristotle to Parisian students. On 10 December 1270, the Bishop of Paris, Étienne Tempier , issued an edict condemning thirteen Aristotelian and Averroistic propositions as heretical and excommunicating anyone who continued to support them. Many in the ecclesiastical community,

22165-409: Was drinking from a spring and took him back to his parents at the castle of Monte San Giovanni Campano . Thomas was held prisoner for almost one year in the family castles at Monte San Giovanni and Roccasecca in an attempt to prevent him from assuming the Dominican habit and to push him into renouncing his new aspiration. Political concerns prevented the Pope from ordering Thomas's release, which had

22320-462: Was initiated into Freemasonry by several Freemasons who were members of the Lodge of Edinburgh. Although he was initiated into a Scottish lodge, the event took place south of the border: this is earliest extant record of a man being initiated into speculative Freemasonry on English soil. While lodge records show a gradual development of mixed lodges in Scotland, it is evident that the lodge which initiated Elias Ashmole at Warrington on 16 October 1646

22475-445: Was made to take a further oath, and entrusted with two further words and the "five points of fellowship", which in 1696 were foot to foot, knee to knee, heart to heart, hand to hand, and ear to ear. The distinction between a fellowcraft and a master is unclear, and in many documents they appear to be synonymous. As accepted masons became initiated, where the various words and signs could no longer be regarded as professional qualifications,

22630-445: Was mainly or entirely composed of speculative or accepted masons. In 1686, Robert Plot 's "Natural History of Staffordshire" contains a passage about persons of quality being admitted to the society of free-masons, whose history Plot finds invented and ridiculous. At the start of the Grand Lodge period, there appears to have been a predominance of purely speculative lodges in the south of England, with operative and mixed lodges still in

22785-845: Was ordered by the Dominican Chapter of Agnani to teach at the studium conventuale at the Roman convent of Santa Sabina , founded in 1222. The studium at Santa Sabina now became an experiment for the Dominicans, the Order's first studium provinciale , an intermediate school between the studium conventuale and the studium generale . Prior to this time, the Roman Province had offered no specialized education of any sort, no arts, no philosophy; only simple convent schools, with their basic courses in theology for resident friars, were functioning in Tuscany and

22940-476: Was passed, revoking their monopolies. In 1549 it was repealed, presumably because they were too useful to the government. The government continued to be a major employer of masons, who in London had moved from a fellowship to a corporation. While this was not chartered until 1666, the state used it in the sixteenth century to procure and indent masons for building projects. In addition, masons were increasingly employed by private individuals. The Saints day parades by

23095-606: Was redesignated as a studium particularis theologiae . This studium was transformed in the 16th century into the College of Saint Thomas ( Latin : Collegium Divi Thomæ ). In the 20th century, the college was relocated to the convent of Saints Dominic and Sixtus and was transformed into the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas , (aka the Angelicum ). In 1268, the Dominican Order assigned Thomas to be regent master at

23250-733: Was reprinted in Philadelphia in 1734 by Benjamin Franklin , who was that year elected Grand Master of Masons in Pennsylvania. It was also translated into Dutch (1736), German (1741), and French (1745). Anderson was minister of the Presbyterian church in Swallow Street , London, which had once been Huguenot church, and one of its four Deacons was Desaguliers' father. At the time of his meeting with Desaguliers, he seems to have passed himself off as

23405-428: Was responsible for the pastoral formation of the friars unable to attend a studium generale . In Orvieto, Thomas completed his Summa contra Gentiles , wrote the Catena aurea ( The Golden Chain ), and produced works for Pope Urban IV such as the liturgy for the newly created feast of Corpus Christi and the Contra errores graecorum ( Against the Errors of the Greeks ). Some of the hymns that Thomas wrote for

23560-575: Was slow. But Albertus prophetically exclaimed: "You call him the dumb ox [ bos mutus ], but in his teaching he will one day produce such a bellowing that it will be heard throughout the world". Thomas taught in Cologne as an apprentice professor ( baccalaureus biblicus ), instructing students on the books of the Old Testament and writing Expositio super Isaiam ad litteram ( Literal Commentary on Isaiah ), Postilla super Ieremiam ( Commentary on Jeremiah ), and Postilla super Threnos ( Commentary on Lamentations ). In 1252, he returned to Paris to study for

23715-411: Was the doctrine of natural law , which he argued was accessible to human reason and grounded in the very nature of human beings, providing a basis for understanding individual rights and moral duties . He argued that God is the source of the light of natural reason and the light of faith. He embraced several ideas put forward by Aristotle and attempted to synthesize Aristotelian philosophy with

23870-601: Was translated from German to English in 1866, Woodford in England and Murray-Lyon in Scotland were already active writers on the subject. Woodford was Findel's guide when he visited York to inspect manuscripts, and would shortly collaborate with Hughan in collecting, dating and classifying the old manuscript constitutions. Albert Mackey was no less active in America. The list of his published works start in 1844 with "A Lexicon of Freemasonry", and extend to his monumental Encyclopedia of Freemasonry in 1874. Increasing interest, and participation, in masonic studies led, in 1886, to

24025-415: Was working on one of his most famous works, Summa contra Gentiles . In 1259, Thomas completed his first regency at the studium generale and left Paris so that others in his order could gain this teaching experience. He returned to Naples where he was appointed as general preacher by the provincial chapter of 29 September 1260. In September 1261 he was called to Orvieto as conventual lector, where he

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