The mysteries and freemasonry

Title

Creator

Cipriano, Mateo D.

Identifier

A comparison of

Language

English

Source

The Cabletow Volume XLII (No. 1) January 1966

Year

1966

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

A comparison of. . . Itty&tenteA cmd By WB MATEO D. CIPRIANO, PM Dalisay Lodge No. 14 Freemasonry partakes of the na ture of the Mysteries of the olden times which flourished and attracted large followers in Greece during the era of the celebrated philosophers Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and then, afterwards, in the Roman em pire. Although the secret of their origin and real aim has not as yet been fully unraveled, yet judging from the elaborate ceremonies fol lowed in the initiation of candidates — which all tended to purify the lat ter from the impurities of life — we have reason to conclude that the Mys teries, in the same way as Freema sonry, had for high objective the bringing of man nearer his Creator. In Greece the known Mysteries were the Orphic, the Eleusinian, and the Samothracian or Cabiric, but the Eleusinian were seemingly the most important and caught the fancy of the people. The ceremonies of the Eleu sinian Mysteries consisted of four states: preliminary purification ; com munication of mystic knowledge; re velation of the holy things; and crowning or garlanding of the mystic. In Freemasonry, particularly in the Scottish Rite, these states are also obtaining although not as clearly and in the same order. In the Scottish Rite, for example, the preparation of the candidate is made by means of purification by fire and water, and once all the ceremonial requirements shall have been complied with, the masonic obligation, the sacred word, and other secret work arc revealed and communicated to the candidate. The writer, for one, believes that the masonic obligation and the sacred word and secret work stand for the “mystic knowledge” and the "holy things.” As to the “crowning or garlanding” of the mystic in ancient times, the clothing of the initiate in the habiliments of a Mason and his proclamation later on as a true and perfect Masonic Brother may be con sidered as its equivalent. There are other similarities be tween Freemasonry and the Myste ries. The ceremonies of initiation in the Mysteries used to be conducted in secret by the so-called hierophants, the revealers of the holy things, or at least under their guidance. In these our days the masonic degree work is also held in secret and Lodge Mas ters are called upon to conduct the ceremonies. These Lodge Masters, as may be readily surmised, stand in the place of the hierophants, and be cause, strictly speaking, they are sup posed to be conversant with the in tricacies of the ritual and secret work, it is also safe to presume that they are in Freemasonry the “revealers of holy things” in the Mysteries. Even in the admission of candi dates, there is a pronounced paral lelism between the Mysteries and Freemasonry. It was the require ment in the Mysteries that the can didate should be free, not a slave, of intelligible speech, pure of hand and also pure of soul. A sinner in the ancient times could never be admitted in the Mysteries; in our days a man Turn to next paga January, 1966 with a non-too-good reputation, much less an "ex-con,” cannot be made a Mason. But once admitted or initiated, the nevy Mystic was deemed to be a "privileged person” and the new Ma son becomes a “better man.” There is difference though between the two, in that Mysteries were a. kind of religion while Freemasonry is but a fraternity — brotherhood of hiiuf under the fatherhood of God. Also, it took in the Mysteries many d&ys' to hold the ceremonies of ini tiation. According to Isis Unveiled, ih sdrrie initiatory ceremonies the can didate was laid buried in the sarco phagus existing in the innermost part df the Pyramid of Cheops, in Giza, near Cairo. Egypt, for some days. In Freemasonry initiation .ceremonies are more simple and take not so long a time. Although Freemasonry is not a re ligion yet, due to the sublimity of its purpose, it is sponsored by great saints — in by-gone times by the Compte or St. Germain and at pre sent, according to the York Rite, it is dedicated to the Holy Saints John. It is said in The Hidden Life in Free masonry that whenever a Lodge meets, and immediately after the usual opening prayer is said, great in telligences in the form of angels come down attracted by the invocation and hover over the gathering members inspiring them in their work or deli beration. As part of the Lodge's community projects for this year, Dagupan City Lodge No. 1.18, F & AM constructed and donated to the City, on the urgent request of the City government, a police outpost near the entrance to the Lodge's Temple grounds. The outpost was turned over to the City through City Mayor Libcrato LI. Reyna (center, holding turn-over documents) by fforshipful Master Victorino C. Daroya (center, in coat and tie) in tho presence of officials of the City government, Council and Police Department, and members of the Lodge. The'outpost, costing more than P5.000.00 is situated at the western entrance to Dagupan City, and, together with, the outpost at the southern entrance and ,<fne.being built by another organization at, the eastern entrance, will make it difficult for criminal elements to enter or escape from the City. 10 The Cabletow

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