Templar Edification

One of my favorite subgenres of historical holidays is “holidays that tried to replace other holidays and failed.” The Anglican Church, for example, instituted the festival of Harvest Home at the autumnal equinox in order to displace Michaelmas, the Feast of St Michael and All Angels, because they considered the latter to be too Catholic. This effort failed. The people still celebrated Michaelmas on 29 September. But they didn’t reject Harvest Home either. Instead, they simply welcomed both. I consider this a win-win scenario. Growing up in Pennsylvania, Harvest Home wasn’t a huge deal, but our congregation faithfully observed it, and I rather enjoyed that we did. Another example would be Guy Fawkes Night, or Bonfire Night, celebrated in the UK. Initially the Protestant hierarchy suppressed the Allhallowtide (Halloween, All Saints, and All Souls) again because it reeked a bit of Rome. Bonfire Night, on 5 November, commemorated the collapse of the Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament. I...

In the Royal and Select Masters Degrees we are introduced to Ahishar and Adoniram and their roles in teaching us the lessons that these two degrees have to offer. In the Royal Master degree we are introduced to Adoniram and the role he plays in teaching us about the death of Hiram Abiff and the Master’s word being lost. It is believed among individuals who are not Masons that Adoniram and Hiram Abiff are one in the same. Adoniram was a high ranking official in King Solomon’s court. He was responsible for overseeing the collection of taxes throughout Israel, a portion of which went into the building of King Solomon’s Temple. He was also responsible for and oversaw the labor force in the construction of the Temple. Adoniram was also responsible for acquiring and getting the resources needed for the Creation of the Temple to the Temple Mount. Adoniram is described in the Talmud as having great wisdom and dedication. He was the principal tax collector of Israel under King Solomon. He was a...