For more than sixty years English Freemasonry was split between two rival Grand Lodges, each convinced it preserved the authentic form of the rite. This division, known as the dispute between Antients and Moderns, had lasting effects on the structure of the rituals and on the degrees that still characterise English-speaking Freemasonry today.
A rival Grand Lodge
In 1751 some Freemasons active in London, largely of Irish origin, founded a new Grand Lodge. They called it the Grand Lodge of England according to the Old Institutions. Its members called themselves Antients, and somewhat ironically called the members of the Grand Lodge founded in 1717 Moderns.
The paradox is plain: the younger Grand Lodge declared itself ancient and accused the older one of having introduced innovations. That accusation was the heart of the dispute.
Laurence Dermott and the Ahiman Rezon
The driving force of the Antients was Laurence Dermott, an Irish house painter who became Grand Secretary in 1752. An energetic man and a brilliant polemicist, in 1756 he published his Grand Lodge's book of constitutions under the title Ahiman Rezon, an expression of Hebrew origin whose meaning is debated.
In the work Dermott openly criticised the Moderns, presenting them as those who had abandoned the ancient customs. The book went through many editions and circulated widely in the American colonies as well.
What divided the two Grand Lodges
The differences concerned mainly ritual and symbolic matters. The Antients' main charges were these:
- the Moderns had reversed the words of recognition of the first two degrees;
- they had neglected certain ceremonies, such as the installation of the Master of the lodge;
- they had made the rite less Christian in tone;
- they did not fully recognise the Royal Arch degree.
| Topic | Moderns | Antients |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1717 | 1751 |
| Words of the first degrees | Reversed order | Traditional order |
| Royal Arch | Initially ignored | Seen as completion of the third degree |
| Prevailing social class | More aristocratic | More popular and artisan |
It is often said that the Moderns reversed the words to protect themselves against printed exposures of the rituals, such as Samuel Prichard's Masonry Dissected of 1730. It is a plausible and widely repeated explanation, although the exact chronology is not certain.
The Royal Arch
The Royal Arch degree appears in the 1740s. Its legend tells of the rebuilding of the Temple of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile and the discovery, among the ruins, of an underground vault in which the divine name was kept. In this sense the degree presented itself as the recovery of what had been lost in the third degree.
For the Antients the Royal Arch was an integral part of Freemasonry. Dermott called it the root, heart and marrow of Masonry. Among the Moderns the degree met resistance, although several of their members practised it. In 1766 a Grand Chapter of the Royal Arch was formed with the support of leading Moderns.
Competition around the world
The schism did not concern England alone. The Grand Lodges of Ireland and Scotland recognised the Antients, and warrants for new military and colonial lodges were issued by both sides. Many lodges in British Army regiments carried the Antients' rite with them, helping to spread it across the Empire and in America.
The union of 1813
At the beginning of the nineteenth century both Grand Lodges were led by sons of King George III: the Duke of Sussex for the Moderns and the Duke of Kent for the Antients. This circumstance made dialogue easier. On 27 December 1813, the feast of St John the Evangelist, the two Grand Lodges united and the United Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of England was born. The Duke of Sussex became its Grand Master.
The articles of union established a principle that would endure: pure ancient Masonry consists of three degrees, Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason, including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch. In 1817 a unified Supreme Grand Chapter was constituted.
The Lodge of Reconciliation
To harmonise the rituals a Lodge of Reconciliation was set up, charged with establishing a common form of working. Its decisions were not written down in an official ritual but transmitted orally and demonstrated to the lodges. For this reason many slightly different versions of the English rite arose in the following decades, and they still coexist today.
The meaning of a dispute
The story of Antients and Moderns shows how, in initiatory societies, faithfulness to the handed-down form is felt to be essential. The dispute was not only about power but about authenticity: which word, which gesture, which degree was truly ancient. It is a question that runs through the whole history of the Western initiatory tradition.
In short
- In 1751 a rival Grand Lodge, that of the Antients, was founded in London.
- Laurence Dermott was its driving force and published the Ahiman Rezon in 1756.
- The differences concerned words of recognition, ceremonies and the Royal Arch degree.
- On 27 December 1813 the two Grand Lodges united as the United Grand Lodge of England.
- The union recognised three degrees, including the Royal Arch as the completion of the third.
