Planning for the events to mark the Tercentenary of the 1723 Constitutions began with zoom calls during COVID between UGLE, the Grande Loge Nationale Française and the Grand Lodge of The District of Columbia (Washington DC). Our original concept, that of celebratory celebrations and conferences in each nation’s capital, with the emphasis on educating and inspiring our own members, was fully realised and the full importance of that seminal document was loudly and joyously proclaimed in events that drew attendees from dozens of countries worldwide.
The year began with two major events. The first was the “Especial Meeting” of United Grand Lodge of England, held on 31st January, with some 1600 attendees filling the Grand Temple at Freemasons’ Hall in London. Among those present were Grand Masters and representatives from many American and European Grand Lodges and the Grand Masters of both Orders for Women Freemasons in England. Most of those present, however, were our own members who had successfully applied for tickets for this unique event. The scene was set by Bro Ric Berman, our own distinguished Masonic historian, and went on to include a talk by Bro Akram Elias, Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Washington DC, based on his Prestonian Lecture for 2023, “The 1723 Constitutions: the Indispensable Trowel Cementing America’s Foundations”. Brother Elias’ lively and enthusiastic delivery was a veritable tour de force – one he repeated in his delivery of his Lecture around the country during the course of the year. The programme culminated in a brilliantly entertaining short film produced by Bro Matthew Mitchell and narrated by Derek Jacobi. The Meeting was, in the words of the Pro Grand Master, Jonathan Spence, a “truly extraordinary and wonderful event”.
January also saw the opening of a new exhibition in the South Gallery of the Museum of Freemasonry in London. The exhibition told the story of the genesis of the1723 Constitutions and framed the context in which they were written. Amongst a rich selection of eighteenth-century Masonic artifacts, the exhibition featured extremely rare copies of the Constitutions once owned by two of Freemasonry’s most historically important Grand Masters: the 2nd Duke of Montagu, the first noble Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of England, and the 2nd Duke of Richmond. The exhibition told how the Constitutions gave the world a bold proclamation of values and how Freemasonry thereby became a key vector for Enlightenment principles, propagating ideas that included religious tolerance, meritocracy and self-improvement. It has been visited by many thousands of people, both Masons and members of the general public, and is still up and available to view.
The Grande Loge Nationale Française hosted a commemorative event in Paris in March, that had been meticulously planned and directed by their Grand Master, Bro Jean-Pierrre Rollet and their Grand Chancellor, Bro Gérard Icart (both committed members of the original zoom planning meetings). As one would expect, the Conference in Paris featured a wide range of stimulating and intellectually challenging talks by French and visiting speakers, who included distinguished university professors, theologians and essayists. The sheer ambition and breadth of the programme may be appreciated by looking at the full proceedings of the Conference that were published by GLNF’s Lodge of Research in their “Cahiers Villard de Honnecourt” series. The talks, on philosophy, history and spirituality, as well as on the important characters such as Desaguliers and James Anderson, are included in a beautifully published and illustrated booklet. GLNF gave the Tercentenary year a lasting record of the true importance of the Constitutions – far beyond the shores of England - as well as a most enjoyable and social occasion.
Across the Atlantic the Grand Lodge of Washington DC had its festivities in June. Under the title “Universal Brotherhood Celebration”, these were held over the St John’s Day weekend. After a reception on Capitol Hill delegates were taken to the House of the Temple, the Headquarters of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite, and one of the most distinctive and famous buildings in DC. There, a memorial plaque was unveiled to commemorate the Tercentenary and the visit of our own Pro Grand Master and his official delegation.
The inscription includes the words:
“Marking the invaluable contribution of the 1723 Constitutions, which enabled Masonic Lodges throughout the American colonies to foster a moral civic culture that sustained America, The Great Experiment”.
Bro Annas Kamara, GM of the Grand Lodge of Washington DC, also presided over a series of other very special events, including a Universal Lodge Meeting at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia
and a 1723 Seminar held at George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate in Virginia, where a wreath laying ceremony was held at Bro Washington’s own tomb in its grounds. The concluding Banquet Dinner was fittingly joyful and fraternal and it allowed our own Pro Grand Master to bestow much deserved praise and thanks on those who had organised so magnificent a Celebration, with Bros Elias and Kamara being particularly prominent. As in France, the souvenir booklet of the DC Tercentenary celebrations, is one for the history books and will be lodged in our own Library and Museum.
UGLE’s official celebrations concluded with a conference at Queens’ College, Cambridge in late September. Organised and run under the auspices of Quatuor Coronati Lodge, our UGLE Lodge of Research, and with the title “Inventing the Future: the 1723 Constitutions””, it included a panel of world-leading academic and Masonic speakers, who presented papers across a wide range of subjects and who revealed the context and legacy of the Constitutions. Over 160 delegates attended the event which was opened by the Pro Grand Master and included a dinner co-hosted by the Deputy Grand Master. The Conference papers will be published later this year.
In addition to these set piece events, more than twenty lectures were given in 2023 across England & Wales, and overseas, in Europe and America. They were in response to the widespread interest shown in the Constitutions, as Brethren grasp (as we hoped they would) their continued relevance today and appreciate how they did indeed help to ‘Invent the Future’. Gratifyingly, demand for presentations on the 1723 Constitutions continues, especially in Europe and the US, with talks being given most recently in Portugal and Belgium, with more planned for later this year.
In those dark COVID days, we had dared to look forward to a series of events which would bring our members together, and educate, entertain and inspire them. I think that we can claim to have succeeded and, perhaps, to have set a new benchmark for promulgating Masonic research amongst our membership across the world in accessible and enjoyable form.
