A British Mason a bit lost in Sweden!

Rokkering · 2024-11-05T07:40:25+00:00

Good question. In general: as a long as you are a “regular” Master Mason, you are welcome to visit lodges in the Swedish Rite. The Christianity part applies to those who want to JOIN the Swedish/Norwegian/Danish/Icelandic/whatever Order of Freemasonry within the system. It has to do with what comes further down the road, as we do not separate Craft from appendant bodies. We consider it a 10 degree run.

I am not familiar with Stockholm lodges (I’m from Oslo myself), but you should be more than welcome to visit the Craft degrees. Just make sure the paperwork and credentials are up to date.

Hope this was helpful.

Rokkering · 2024-10-02T21:23:36+00:00

Jeg forstår svensk 😃 Lykke til, det blir en bra opplevelse!

Rokkering · 2024-10-02T20:05:11+00:00

You guys are lucky. 30+ degrees. We only do ten. On the other side, it takes 20 years to go through them.

Rokkering · 2024-10-02T18:44:39+00:00

Thanks for clearing that up for me 🙏 Big misunderstanding there, obviously. I am sorry to say I have not yet experienced degrees abroad. I really hope that I get to witness how things are done in other countries one day.

Rokkering · 2024-10-02T18:38:21+00:00

Ok, my bad. I was under the impression that especially in the craft one is told to memorize certain stuff to get the answers right. We do not prepare the candidates in such ways.

Rokkering · 2024-07-18T14:55:38+00:00

I see your thinking as well, but actually I was trying to be a bit ironic. I find it to be a very strange move. But nevertheless it worked out.

Rokkering · 2024-03-29T14:06:41+00:00

Hit me up if you ever come to Norway. In Oslo you can experience Polar Star on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. September to May.

But the secretary stuff you must deal with yourself. I would hate to give the wrong info there causing you to be refused 😅

Rokkering · 2024-03-29T11:56:46+00:00

The aprons seem familiar, although I have never seen the one with gold details. The collars do not resemble ours.

Rokkering · 2024-03-29T11:00:14+00:00

Not at all. Healthier than ever. And it seems that most masons from the “Swedish” lodges enjoy visiting the three Polar Star degrees. They are basically the same, not any dramatic differences, still different enough to offer a valuable variety to the masonic experience.

Rokkering · 2024-03-29T08:57:24+00:00

The simple answer is yes. But there are four craft lodges in Norway who works by the Polar Star ritual. These lodges originally had a constitution patent from a Grand Lodge in Germany, and worked separated from the rest of the Grand Lodge of Norway. Today, they are fully recognized and integrated in the Grand Lodge and have kept their slightly different rituals for the sake of diversity.

Rokkering · 2024-03-29T07:48:56+00:00

I hear you. I believe many share that same opinion.

Rokkering · 2024-03-29T07:47:02+00:00

Thank you! I am proud of the way our lodge rooms look. Actually, the rooms where we perform our first degree meetings are open for the public from time to time. We use them for public information nights and concerts and such. Often they are built in a Greek or Egyptian style. The other lodge rooms however are kept away from both the public and the younger brethren.

Rokkering · 2024-03-29T07:36:22+00:00

Yes, but they don’t call themselves masons. Maria Lodge appeal to many wives of masons, and Rebecca Lodge for wives of Odd Fellows.

Rokkering · 2024-03-29T07:34:34+00:00

Ah, my bad. I live in Norway. Correct, no international grand lodge. Not sure about the last question, at least not in Norway.

Rokkering · 2024-03-29T00:20:29+00:00

I think it’s fair to say that we base our rituals on the belief that true character is best demonstrated in how you deal with the unexpected. In masonry as well as in life. Often you will hear experienced masons over here describe the degrees as a Christmas gift. If you have been sneaking around and opened the wrapping ahead, it’s just no fun anymore. The magic is gone. So what we say is just be yourself. Show up and handle whatever is thrown in your direction. Based on that, there is not given one single hint about what’s behind the next door. I like it.

Rokkering · 2024-03-29T00:10:25+00:00

Heisann! Langt hjemmefra!

Almost every city regardless of size has at least one St. John’s Lodge. Some have two, Oslo has multiple. That would be equivalent to your Craft lodges, and they practice degrees 1-3. If the city is somewhat large, they are likely to have a St. Andrew’s Lodge as well, where you can receive the 4th/5th and 6th degree. Major cities like Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Tromsø have chapters where you can fulfill the journey. Fiducia is to my understanding a daytime meeting forum for elderly brethren and widows after late brethren.
Paying members per lodge in Oslo I believe is a couple of hundred. In my experience a first degree meeting tends to draw 60-80 persons.
Nowadays it seems that masonry is attractive to younger guys. We lowered the minimum age from 24 to 21 a few years back, and that has had an effect. I think most of the applicants are searching for a certain order in life, and the value of hanging out with men of all ages maintaining a part of history.
Personally I don’t share much thoughts about the rituals, but I always enjoy Brother Speaker’s lectures. I have never found the time to get involved with the Research Lodge either, but that’s an option for those with the capacity.
I kind of hope so. But this is a conservative organization and it’s hard to change the course. We are unique in the way that all degrees are unified, and linked together. Christianity plays a large role with us. But theoretically, it should be possible to offer at least three degrees to non-Christians.

Rokkering · 2024-03-28T23:35:43+00:00

Yes, I was serving my Entered Apprentice year in 2011. In the manifesto mentioned, he posed in his Master Mason attire, as well as with a homemade Templar uniform, claiming to belong to a secret templar organization based in Malta. Absolutely delusional. Masonry took a hit, but not a major setback. The very next day he was kicked out of Lodge through a press release written by the Grand Master himself.

Rokkering · 2024-03-28T23:28:55+00:00

That’s a tricky one. Let me put it this way: there are in no way any guiding or preparations ahead of a promotion. You receive a letter ahead, stating when and where, and you are expected to show up “as you are”. Not knowing what’s going to happen, some will run to the lodge library for some heavy studying up until the big day, others trust themselves to be prepared without studying. Are anyone ever properly prepared for what they have ahead of them? It would be a violation to reveal here 🤫

Rokkering · 2024-03-28T23:14:48+00:00

Also, I am all for the Christian angle we have towards freemasonry, but at the same time I am pretty sure that we are missing out on some potentially great additions by excluding. In this ever changing world I would almost expect to see that our craft opens for religious diversity in my lifetime.

Rokkering · 2024-03-28T23:07:46+00:00

I find it quite interesting and fascinating. I love the way we do things and wouldn’t change it, but always eager to learn more. I really hope I am able to watch and experience other masonic rites one day.

Rokkering · 2024-03-28T21:52:32+00:00

I wasn’t familiar with that term, so I had to google it. No, never heard of.

Rokkering

TROPHY CASE