Development of Masonic Ritual
1390-1843+
(2009 Edition - Updated and Expanded)
Instructor: Christian A. Ratliff
Type of Course: Lecture/Discussion
Length of Course: 9:00am - 3:00pm
(Lunch provided: 12noon-1pm. A $5 donation for lunch is requested and will be collected at the meeting.)
Location: Newport Masonic Hall, Newport, Maine
Registration is required. Please be sure to register here.
This course is open to Master Masons only.
Proof of membership will be required.
If you attended this course in 2006 and 2007, you will want to come back to a more expanded and enhanced presentation. If you missed it then, you won't want to miss it this time around!
Course Description:
Section One:
We will cover early Masonic ritual as it developed in Europe from a simple obligation to a memorized system of questions and answers to the lectures we know so well today. So often as we experience the ritual in our lodges, we are left wondering where a line comes from or who wrote a lecture. This class answers these essential and engaging questions without dwelling on topics without end. During the lunch break we will have an open discussion period for detailed question and answer as well as sharing our own materials and experiences.
Section Two:
The class picks up as the Masonic ritual reaches America by discussing the primary authors of American Masonic ritual: Thomas Smith Webb and Jeremy Ladd Cross. The previous class closed out with a discussion of these authors and the Baltimore Convention of 1843. Since September of 2006, however, I have been engaged in personal research about the history of Masonic ritual here in Maine, allowing us to discuss in detail the development of Masonic ritual in our own State. This is a very special opportunity which you will not find in a book or lodge program. The class wraps up as we discuss the detailed differences between the 1874 edition of Masonic Ritual in Maine and the 1984 edition, under which we are governed today. Please consider joining us for this fun and practical class!
This class is dedicated to the memory of R. W. Bro. Ralph Johnson, Past D.D.G.M. of the 13th Masonic District.
Course Instructor:
Bro. Christian Ratliff is a Blue Lodge enthusiast with membership in Deering Lodge No 183, Hiram Lodge No. 180 and Triangle Lodge No. 1. He has served as Worshipful Master of Deering Lodge, in 2002, and Triangle Lodge, in 2004, and is presently a District Ritual Instructor for the Grand Lodge of Maine. He has been quite active in providing Masonic education for lodges. He believes there is nothing to particularly recommend him as an instructor other than his deep love of history, philosophy, theology and a willingness to read. He, like all of the brethren, is but a "rough ashlar."
Important Note
The Maine Masonic College complies with the Americans With Disabilities Act. If any conference participant is in need of reasonable accommodation, please forward a written request to the College Secretary for consideration at least one month prior to the activity.
The opinions expressed by Instructors and Regents of the Maine Masonic College do not represent an 'official' position of Freemasonry or of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Maine. No one person speaks for Freemasonry. Only the Grand Master can speak for Freemasonry within his own jurisdiction and then, only during his term of office.
This page last updated on Monday, March 9, 2009
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