Why The Holy Saints’ John?

W.B. Jon Patrick Sage

Authors Note: Although Masonry in no way claims one particular creed or theology, it is widely accepted that the Christian Faith, and by proxy- The Holy Bible- form the majority and the basis for many of our allegorical and figurative symbolisms. As it follows, if these symbolisms are rooted in those Scriptures, then many explanations for these symbolisms must also be found in those same Scriptures; which are also, as a whole, symbolic and would be better defined simply as a Volume of Sacred Law (V.S.L.). For this reason, the author references Christian writings and The Holy Bible in these explanations and arguments.

 

From the esoteric “…”, in the Masonic Monitor, we know why ancient Lodges were dedicated to King Solomon, and from the basis of the several degrees, traced to that early date, this makes sense. But, in modern times, Lodges are said to be dedicated to the Holy Saints’ John, namely St. John the Baptist, and St. John the Evangelist. How then, was the leap made, of some 1000 and some odd years [1], between Solomon and the latter Saint John the Evangelist [2]? We learn through the Biblical text and timelines that Solomon the King assumed the throne of David when he was 29 years old, at or around 490 B.C. Solomon was allowed to build the Temple at Jerusalem, and so establishes the basis for the operative legend and Masonic timeline. The Biblical accounts play no small part in the establishment of her numerous Saints, of which there were many more than only the few that we hear about today!

However these two Saints John came into the general usages of the Fraternity, and we will discuss this in greater detail, make no mistake that they were not the first, or only choices.  As a shining example, and if we are simply speaking in terms of Solomon’s temple and/or Jerusalem, then it is possible, and argued by some scholars, that one or both of the Sts. Johns were simply confused with the St. John of Jerusalem. Indeed, this has always been my feeling, and there is some reference to it, that the St. John of Jerusalem, in the Byzantine capacity, might have been the actual St. being sought after here. But- for whatever reason, the focus was at some point shifted to St. John the Evangelist, and then, according to an account related by John the Evangelist, St. John the Baptist.

If in terms of a professional capacity, St. Thomas, carrying the symbol of the square or builders rule, would have provided an already present example of the Patron Saint of masons and architects. As was the case in those days (the Medieval Period), it was customary for all Church’s, trades, cities, towns, and even most peoples and/or families, to have their own “personal” Saints of Patronage and/or protection, safekeeping. Other Early Saints, connected by chance or circumstance with early masonic guilds were St. George, and the famed Four Crowned Martyrs, or The Quatuor Coronati, the legend of which is an endlessly fascinating one.

It is interesting to note, that there always being a “certain point within a circle” associated with the two Sts. Johns, is a peculiar notion indeed. In a world of right angles and horizontals, and with the exception of the circumferences of the compass, we find a circle. Even though the circle is ultimately comprised of right angles, connected by the arc of a compass, the stand alone model used in the description of the Saints’ John has always been an intriguing idea. The circle, symbolically and in many cases, alludes to influences outside of the traditional Church and Masonic Order. By ancient lore, the circle, and in particular a flaming circle, was designated as a symbol of the sun, and hence- the celebration of, and representation of, the Zodiac, symbolisms with decidedly pagan origins.

holy sts. john

As was the case in those days, a festival with pagan origins often was adopted by the Church, and might then become the festival of that whole community. If these two occasions having to do with St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, were popular and accepted Religious and even secular dates on the ancient calendar, and furthermore; if they had (and they did), astrological significances, which would further ingratiate them with an Order concerned in speculative/philosophic happenings, then it is wholly understandable, along with the convenience of the names, and the places occupied by those figures, that the Masonic Order would choose both, or at least one of these, as her Patron Saint.

It is then perhaps purely though an economical study of history, that we find ourselves inexorably and undeniably connected with June 24 (St. John the Baptist Day), and December 27 (St. John the Evangelist Day). These dates have long been connected with pagan festivals. In short, and related to the Zodiac, June 21, was the Summer Solstice, which long preceded any hint of Christianity/Masonry, and is closely in line with June 24. Likewise, December 22, the Winter Solstice, is close enough to December 27 to warrant a strong connection. Presumably, according to early Church calendars, the dates chosen for the Sts. John fell by happenstance close to the aforementioned Solstice celebrations [3].

In addition to the already known and accepted Solstice celebrations, one of which occurring on or close to the day associated with St. John the Evangelist, it is then prudent to ask; how and why was St. John the Evangelist, in and of himself, chosen as a Patron Saint of Freemasonry? The answer, apart from an analogy and comparison of The Three Lesser Lights, i.e. John the Baptist, Jesus, and St. John the Evangelist, is found in the Biblical descriptions and writings of John the Evangelist.  In large part, these descriptions reside in the earliest parts of the degree of the Entered Apprentice, and then also in the Tenets of a Masons profession.

To learn to “subdue our Passions” is a foregone conclusion on WHY we want to become Masons. The word “passions”, is historically identified as human emotions such as anger, rage, strong feelings, etc. [4]. Thus to subdue these often uncontrollable and ill-directed emotions is to calm and positively focus our energies. St. John the Evangelist represented this, as evidenced by his changing, with age, from aggressive and reckless, to kind, thoughtful, and acting with purpose. Also, John is directly concerned with the first Tenet of a Mason’s profession, that being Brotherly Love, and which when practiced, easily gives way to the others- Relief and Truth. In I John Chapter 4, we find numerous and very well-articulated examples of the notion of Brotherly Love, and how that beautiful attribute figures into an agreeable model for life in general, but certainly, for the existence, and persistence of the Ancient Institution known as our Masonic Order [1].

The question now remains, how was St. John the Baptist entered into our lexicon of Masonic terms as a Patron Saint? If Masonry requires right angles horizontals, and parallels, then it would come as no accident to insist that one Patron be weighed against another; much as the Three Lesser Lights weigh and balance themselves; i.e., the Sun, Moon, and Master of the Lodge, and are regular and constant. In that vein of thought, and if John the Evangelist outlived and evangelized for Jesus (The Middle/Master of the Three Lights), it is natural to conclude that there must be a counter which would precede the Master, as it were. This, in no small way, comes in the way of St. John the Baptist. Although mentioned in prophesy as far back and even farther than Isiah, St. John the Baptist was the proclaimer and welcoming force for many concerning Jesus. In John 1:27 John the Baptist, answering questions as to whether he is the Christ, replied that “He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, but whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose” [1]. Thus, it has always been a common theme in the text(s) that John the Baptist was in many ways, a means of preparation and introduction of Jesus and the principles of the Gospel to the World. And so, by genealogically timed events and logic, John the Baptist is a natural beginning for the Work of John the Evangelist.

As an addendum to this conclusion, let us visit a story which persisted throughout the examination of these questions. St. John the Evangelist, after having been initiated into Masonry at an earlier date, was then found at an age upwards of ninety, having been asked by members of the early Craft to become Grand Master. John allegedly accepted this Office, but then shared the honors somewhat, and because of the zeal begun by St. John the Baptist, “drew a line parallel, ever since Free Mason’s Lodges have been dedicated both to St. John the Baptist, and to St. John the Evangelist” [2]. Although this story, taken from the dusty pages of The Freemasons Guide and Compendium, by B.E. Jones, is as interesting as it is peculiar. The account, although it is published, is apparently without much substantiation; even still, it could be one of the best clues we have today as to why one, or both, of these Saints Johns’ were selected by the Fraternity. Perhaps, it is an unlikely sequence of events of how the Saints’ John selected the Fraternity, and became her Patron Saints.

In any event, and however the course of events may have come to pass, the lectures in our degrees provide more than sufficient evidence to justify the choices of our Saints. Through the moral code of the Saints, demonstrated in their lives and recorded on the pages of the Holy Scriptures, we may find bits of Divinity, able to be liberally spread amongst the crumbs of our humble lives while on this planet, and beyond.

 

 

Please visit The Living Stones Magazine and More Light In Masonry for rock solid Masonic education, and some of Jon’s other articles!

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References

 

[1]       The Holy Bible, Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2013.

[2]       B. E. Jones, The Freemasons Guide and Compendium, London: George G. Harrap & Company, Ltd., 1950, p. 339.

[3]       “St. John The Evangelist,” New Advent, [Online]. Available: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08492a.htm. [Accessed 4 July 2014].

[4]       Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, Cambridge: The Riverside Press, 1960.

June 21st, Summer Solstice… The Holy Saints’ Johns and St. John the Baptist Day

THE FESTIVAL OF ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST

THE CRAFTSMAN – DEC 1866

 ***The Masonic Trowel

All Christian nations celebrate Christmas time – the anniversary of the birth of Christ, the founder of the Christian religion and the object of its worship. Many curious ceremonies are practiced by the people of Northern Europe, on each recurrence of this festival time, the signification and origin of which are little thought of by those who partake in them. The bringing in of the great Yule Log wherewith to make the great Christmas fire. The elevation of the oak tree bough, intertwined with the slender branches of the mistletoe, in each house, forming the kissing bush, which, for the period of twelve days, reigns supreme, and requires from all who pass beneath it, whether man or maid, submission to the kissing ordeal or payment of a fine. These and many other Christmas customs of the old world, are associated very closely with the commemoration of this anniversary season, yet in themselves are so foreign to the occasion, or rather are so wanting in all suggestion of meaning as appertaining to this Christian festival, that it is not a little surprising that more do not ask whence come these strange and peculiar usages. They have no natural relation ship to the celebration of the anniversary of Christ’s birth. There is but one answer to the inquiry here suggested, and that is, that these customs properly belong to the celebration of an anniversary season celebrated in the North of Europe for as many years before the birth of Christ as that time is previous to the present.

Two clays after Christmas comes the anniversary of the day given to St. John the Evangelist by the Church Calendar. Anciently this was the great Masonic Festival Day, latterly much neglected for Saint John the Baptist’s day, six months earlier in the year. The Evangelist’s Day was observed as the great Masonic Festival time from the period of the middle ages, when the Masons in Europe, actuated by their conflict with the Moslems of the East, began to christianize their system by the adoption of Saint John as their patron Saint. Saint John the Baptist’s day, on the other hand, did not rise to any note, even among Masons, until after the year 1720.

We have alluded to the Christmas customs in this connection, and for this purpose, namely, to claim that those customs belong with quite as much, if not more propriety to the Masonic anniversary of St. John the Evangelist on the 27th of December. We do not claim that these customs partake of any relationship to the Evangelist more than to his Lord and Master. The customs to which we allude are associated with this period of the year, and refer to celebrations observed by Masons long before the days of St. John or Jesus Christ. Centuries before in the oak forests of Germany or Britain, the old time Druids and Druidesses presided over similar festivals. The conquering church adopted the customs of the period, and adapting them to their new religious systems, assigned to them a Christian name, but failed to give to them a Christian signification. The Masons, finding the St. John’s day of the church occurred about the time when, for reasons having nothing to do with St. John the Evangelist, they had been in the habit of enjoying a festival season for ages, chose to call it St. John’s day, and so observe it; until those who have inherited their Masonry, having overlooked the true Masonic reason for the celebration at this season of the year, have very generally ceased to celebrate it, even as the anniversary of one of their patron Saints.

We regard it as very much to be regretted that Masons fail to celebrate the day of the Evangelist St. John. It is a loss to Masonry. It is a surrender of an opportunity to direct the minds of the Fraternity to the origin of their Institution, antedating the times of Christ and the Evangelist, antedating the times of the ancient Druids, who in celebrating the great winter festival were merely commemorating a season which had been observed by men and Masons from the beginning.

“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years.” As the sun ruled the day and the moon the night, so the moon marked the week of seven days and by its quartering the month of four weeks; so the sun measured the year, and the earth by its revolution and the eccentricity of its axis, pointed out the equinoxes and the solstices. Very much in Masonry has thus an astronomical origin. The moon has always been used to indicate by its quarterings the time for lodge meetings. And among all the nations of antiquity, the equinoxes and solstices were ever regarded as seasons of great importance. Especially in the ancient mysteries, was great stress laid upon the solstices, and the winter and summer solstice, the shortest day and the longest day of the year, commemorated with great ceremony. The well-known Masonic symbol, the point within a circle bounded by the two parallels – refers to this – the point, the sun, the centre of the solar system; the circle, the earth’s orbit around the sun; the parallels, where they touch the circle, the winter and summer solstice, the limit of the sun’s apparent course to the Northward and Southward of the Equator; the left hand perpendicular, Boaz or the Northern Pillar, the right hand perpendicular, Jachin, the Southern Pillar, standing in the porch of the Temple of the Lord, which is the Universe, while the Bible, as now placed in the symbol, or more properly in our opinion the sun, as the symbol of divinity, has its place in the Orient.

Just in the same manner as the Christmas celebration, and the Evangelist St. John’s celebration, Masonically refer to seasons having an astronomical origin, so even do those celebrated pillars in front of Solomon’s temple, although usually referred to the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire, which followed and preceded the Hebrews in the wilderness, – so even do these pillars refer to that older custom of erecting in front of temples one pillar to fire and another to the wind, in allusion to the solstices, in the one when the rays of Sol are most fiery, and in the other, when the winds of Boreas are most piercing and violent.

The summer solstice occurs about the twenty-first of June, near enough to the anniversary of St. John the Baptist to lead to the ready adoption by the middle age christianizing Masons of that day, in preference to the twenty-first. The Winter solstice occurs about the twenty-second of December, near enough to the day given by the Church to St. John the Evangelist, to induce the Masons to surrender to it their preference for the twenty-second. A day or two either way, it was thought, no doubt, made no essential difference. But a great mistake was committed. It cast adrift the Fraternity from the reverence for days and seasons of deep Masonic significance, and led them to the adoption of anniversaries which have no essential Masonic meaning. And during the present generation the entire neglect of the anniversary of St. John the Evangelist has led to the surrender of the Christmas festivities to the Church, which more properly and only legitimately belong to the Freemasons. Can this departure from old Masonic custom have gone so far as to render it altogether hopeless to expect that the great Masonic festival of the Winter solstice may ever be revived ?

Read more at the Masonic Trowel 

Brotherly Love

The first tenet of a Mason’s profession, Brotherly Love, is, in our Monitorial Lecture, followed closely by Relief and Truth. As we look closely at the descriptions of those tenets, it becomes apparent that Relief and Truth are supporters of Brotherly Love; that is to say, that Brotherly Love IS the central theme that runs throughout what ought to be to “professed” activity(s) of a Mason, and in order to do so, the elements of Relief and Truth must also be present and active. If we take that as accepted, then let us consider the central theme of Brotherly Love and its role in our Masonic and daily lives.

Continue reading Brotherly Love

The Moderns and the Ancients: The Pathway to Non-Sectarian Masonry from Christian Based Masonry

Foundational Elements: Religion within the Masonic Order

In the beginning of the journey of every Freemason, each has an individual answer for the inevitable question, “What has drawn you to Masonry”? For a great many, it is the allure of a possible mystique, the ancient rites of our Order that perhaps prompted them to ask for and ultimately gain admittance into the Lodge room. Others are no doubt influenced by a Father, Brother, Grandfather, even a friend in the workplace; who were or are Masons, and for such a reason, curiosity was piqued. There are a few who may join, or attempt to join, for other reasons; possibly thinking that the secrets of our world and universe will be offered to them at some point in the initiatory process. For whatever reason, and in whatever manner our Candidates come to us, there is one common thread that binds each of them. This is the indisputable and absolute demand of the Masonic Institution that her votaries possess a firm belief in Deity. Continue reading The Moderns and the Ancients: The Pathway to Non-Sectarian Masonry from Christian Based Masonry

Know Thyself: And All Good Things Must Follow

 

In and amongst our gentle Craft, we speak often of Freemasonry, and the importance of upholding and bolstering support of that Institution. However, I fear that part of the issue with the perceived weaknesses that Freemasonry faces, i.e. Membership, Financial, Public Relations, go hand in hand with and are a direct result of concentrating TOO MUCH on the Free Masonic Order, and TOO LITTLE on what it means to BE a Mason! To some, this will sound like nit-picking, but–there is a difference!

My thoughts have always been that I was a Mason, or at least possessed a Masonic philosophy, long before I became a Freemason. And then, at some point, when I came to understand that the Institution which might best fit my “profile”, and might be agreeable to me, was Freemasonry–I Petitioned and then joined as a Freemason. By definition in order to “be Made” a Mason, a man must pass through some Ritual, and take an Obligation. At that point, we are all, each one within the Fraternity, known to the others, as a Brother Mason… a member of the Free Masonic Fraternity.[1]

But, what–if anything… beyond what occurs in Ritual… makes you a Mason?

The answer lies NOT in any Ritual, or Obligation, or Institution whatsoever. “It” exists within each individual Mason, within our Hearts; which is after all, where we were first prepared to be made a Mason. Rev. Joseph Fort Newton 33rd DegreeThis definition of what I call, the “Heart of a Mason”, is defined most eloquently by one of my favorite Masonic authors, Rev. Joseph Fort Newton. On the last page of the Indiana Monitor and Freemason’s Guide, we find these thoughts, on what “makes” a Mason, specifically:

“When Is A Man A Mason”

“When is a man a Mason? When he can look out over the rivers, the hills, and the far horizon with a profound sense of his own littleness in the vast scheme of things, and yet have faith, hope and courage-which is the root of every virtue. When he knows that down in his heart every man is as noble, as vile, as divine, as diabolic and as lonely as himself, and seeks to know, and to love his fellow man. When he knows how to sympathize with men, even in their
sins – knowing that each man fights a hard fight against many odds,-and still believe in them when they do not believe in themselves. When he has learned how to make friends and to keep them, and above all how to keep friends with himself. When he loves flowers, can hunt birds without a gun and feels the thrill of an old forgotten joy when he hears the laugh of a little child. When he can be happy and high-minded amid the meaner drudgeries of life. When star-crowned trees, and the glint of sunlight on flowing waters, subdue him like the thought of one much loved and long dead. When no voice of distress reaches his ears in vain, and no hand seeks his aid without response. When he feels a social inequity as a personal sin, and a human calamity as a private bereavement-sharing the guilt and sorrows of his fellows. When he finds good in every faith that helps any man to lay hold of divine things and see majestic meanings in life, whatever the name of that faith may be. When he can look into a wayside puddle and see something beyond mud, and into the face of the most forlorn fellow mortal and see something beyond sin. When he knows how to pray, how to love, how to hope, how to meet defeat and not be defeated. When he has kept faith with himself, with his fellow-man, with his God; in his hand a sword for evil, in his heart a bit of a song-glad to live, but not afraid to die! Such a man has found the only secret of Masonry, and the one which it is trying to give to all the world.”[2]

Brethren and Friends, when each of us has come to the understanding of ourselves that Newton writes of, the understanding and continuation of our Craft will begin to become automatic. Indeed, if each individual Mason were as introspective about why he became a Mason, and what Masonic traits he values; there would be no need to “Ask1ToBe1”. Those in question, who are without the gates, would see a Light shine, and make haste to “ASKYOU2Be1”! This is my sincere belief, and it is not meant to badger or beat down any among us. But- it must become apparent to ourselves, before we ask or encourage others to join … Why Are YOU A Mason? In short, other than just plain Ritual, what makes you A Mason? The answer, I believe, will be found to have existed within you long before a Petition was filled out and submitted in order to receive our Degrees. The answer– your answer, resides in your heart, and when recognized, will become the greatest membership drive tool that has ever been utilized.

With or without a membership drive in mind; as a Mason– Know Thyself, and all good things must follow.

 

 

 

[1] John S. Nagy, “The Coaches Coach: Freemasonry-Masonry, an Unabashedly Blunt Primer” Building Hiram.Blogspot (June, 2013), accessed December 2014, http://buildinghiram.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-coaches-coach-freemasonry-masonry.html.

 

[2] Joseph Fort Newton, The Builders (New York: George H. Doran Company, 1914), 127-128.

 

 

Bro. Jon Patrick Sage

Continue reading Know Thyself: And All Good Things Must Follow