Regularity and Recognition: Knowing Which Lodges You May Visit, and Why

Overview

Regularity asks whether a Grand Lodge was lawfully formed and keeps the landmarks. Recognition is the act by which one sovereign Grand Lodge agrees to fraternal relations with another. A Mason may visit only lodges under Grand Lodges that his own Grand Lodge recognizes, so his Grand Lodge’s current list settles the question.

This guide traces the rules from Anderson’s 1723 Regulations and the charge given to every Master at installation. It continues through England’s 1929 Basic Principles and the North American Commission on Information for Recognition. It separates clandestine, irregular and unrecognized, using North Carolina’s code, and explains the 1877 break with the Grand Orient de France and the history of Prince Hall recognition. It shows that recognition can be withdrawn and restored, with the GLNF and the dispute between New York and Scotland over Lebanon. It then gives a practical checklist for visiting at home and abroad, guidance for a visiting committee, the signs of a bogus online Grand Lodge, and common mistakes.