The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

Chapter 2 – Historical Background 73
Lodges, each "Land" lodge being largely administratively independent. For the
United Grand Lodges, a Senate was formed, to which each party sent five
members. 183
The military lodges play an important role in German Freemasonry. The
Second World War caused large numbers of American, Canadian, and British
members of the troops stationed in Germany to erect their own lodges. Examples
for English-speaking Grand Lodges situated in Germany are the ACGL
(American-Canadian Grand Lodge) and the GL BFG (Grand Lodge of British
Freemasons in Germany). 184 With the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, the
number of servicemen declined drastically. In 1994, there were 52 Englishspeaking
lodges listed in Germany, having about 21,000 members. 185 The
distribution of American and British military lodges is interesting:
It will be noted that all ACGL lodges are in the Southern area of
Western Germany, while GLBF lodges are in the Northern area of
Western Germany. This reflects the American and British
'administrative zones' set up after World War Two. Since the
reunification of Germany in 1990, a number of lodges have been
chartered by the various German Grand Lodges in Eastern Germany,
particularly in main cities such as Leipzig (with five lodges currently)
and Dresden (two lodges). Undoubtedly this process will continue. 186
2.5 North America: Masonry for the Family
According to Coil, "[a]s in many other connections, there has been a
tendency on the part of Masonic writers to antiquate Masonic activities in
America as much as possible and sometimes more than probable." 187 One of
these attempts was the belief that some Jews opened a lodge in Rhode Island in
1656. Masonic authorities now agree that the first Freemason in North America
was John Skene, a member of Aberdeen Lodge from Scotland, who settled at
Burlington, N.J., in 1682. In 1730, the Grand Lodge of England issued the first
official act respecting the American colonies to Daniel Coxe, the Provincial
Master of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. 188 In the beginning of
Chapter 2., a chart is depicted that shows the founding dates of the singular
"mainstream" Masonic Grand Lodges in the United States.
It is claimed by some Masonic authorities that several of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence were Masons; others support the thesis that all of
183
Cf. Henderson and Pope, vol. II, p. 201.
184
Ibid.
185
Cf. CME, p. 288.
186
Henderson and Pope, vol. II, p. 206.
187
CME, p. 30.
188 Cf. ibid.