What is a Research Lodge?
Article: What is a Research Lodge?
By: California Hispanic and Latin American
Research Lodge (2023).
"The Research Lodge is a
Masonic research and study society. It is administered in the same manner as a
Craft Lodge. Its regular activities include quarterly State Meetings, Virtual
Meetings, and Educational Activities held throughout the year based on the
presentation of papers, study groups, ritual exemplifications, publication of
work, and a set of activities specifically dedicated to Masonic education and
research.
A research lodge exists for the purpose of
encouraging the exploration of the history and philosophy of Freemasonry
through the preparation and presentation of research papers. In America, there
is usually only one research lodge in a grand jurisdiction, and it meets less
often than regular lodges, perhaps only 2–4 times a year, with little or no
ritual other than the opening and closing ceremonies.
At a typical research lodge meeting there will
be one or more papers read by members or occasionally an invited guest. Most
research lodges publish the papers presented to them in annual transactions,
which are a particularly rich source of regional Masonic history and
biography.
The first research lodge in the world was
Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076, founded in London in 1884. According to the QC
web site, “the nine [founders] were intent on using an evidence-based approach
to the study of Masonic history and research into Freemasonry. This innovative
approach was intended to replace the imaginative writings of earlier authors on
the history of freemasonry. This new style and approach were later to be
referred to as the ‘authentic school’ of Masonic research.” The annual transactions
of the lodge, Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, contain some of the best factual
research into the history of Freemasonry.
Founded in 1930, the North Carolina Lodge of Research No. 666 was the first American research lodge. Its transactions, Nocalore, were published for 19 years and the lodge closed in 1954. The American Lodge of Research in New York, the second American research lodge, was founded in 1931, is still in existence, and continues to publish the Transactions of the American Lodge of Research. There is a score or more research lodges in the USA today, Royal Arch Chapters of Research, the Scottish Rite Research Society, devoted to Masonic research in general and the Scottish Rite in particular.” (Website - SC33SR-SJ : https://scottishrite.org/blog/about/media-publications/journal/article/freemasonry-q-a-what-is-a-research-lodge/ ).
And recently, on July 26, 2023, the Hispanic
and Latin American Research Lodge of California was established with the
objective of disseminating knowledge, conducting research, and deepening the
understanding of the Spanish Ritual of the Blue Lodge of California
(Preston-Webb) among all regular Masons in the state of California.
Additionally, the Lodge aims to exemplify and explore the symbolism of Latin
American Scottish Rite liturgies. The Research Lodge will unite the best of two
Masonic eras: the traditional 19th century with the most modern techniques of
research, communication, and dissemination of the 21st century and the
Internet.
The California Hispanic & Latin American
Research Lodge encompasses the entire state of California and is primarily
concerned with the educational advancement of Hispanic and Latin American
Masons, and the main goal of our research lodge for each member is to be able
to bring Masonic education to their lodge.
For the brothers seeking more light in Freemasonry, lodges and research societies are an excellent option.
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