Alan Englefield – looking
after external relations
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From time immemorial – or from at least the
1750s! – Grand Lodge’s relations with our
sister Grand Lodges have been managed by
a combination of the Board of General
Purposes (and its predecessors), the Grand
Master’s advisers and the Grand Secretary.
For much of the period up to the late
20th century external relations was a gentle
art which took up little time. Occasionally
there were explosions of activity such as
the decision in 1876 by the Grand Orient
of France to drop the requirement that
candidates must have a belief in a
Supreme Being.
Then there was the decision to remove
all references to the Great Architect from
their rituals and the proliferation of new
Grand Lodges in Europe with the redrawing
of the map of Europe after the
cataclysm of the First World War.
But, in general, it was simply a case of
occasionally having to decide whether or
not a new Grand Lodge met our standards
of regularity and could be recognised as part
of the world wide family of Freemasonry.
After the Second World War the map of
Europe was again re-drawn into the Eastern
and Western blocs, leading to a reduction of
Freemasonry in Europe when it was forced
underground in the Eastern bloc countries.
At the same time, in what was becoming
an increasingly politicised world, there was a
growth of irregular Freemasonry with
bodies springing up claiming to be Masonic.
But they did not accept our basic principles,
in particular the bar on Grand Lodges or
brethren in their Masonic capacities making
public statements on matters of religious,
political or social policy.
As the oldest Grand Lodge, we have had
thrust on us the role of being the guardians
of regularity and in many ways are expected
to police what is regular and what is not.
Those are not roles that we have sought and
we cannot be an international policeman
solving problems within and between
Grand Lodges.
This role came very much to the fore in
the 1990s after the demise of the Eastern
bloc, the return of democratic institutions in
those areas and the very welcome reestablishment
of dormant, and making of
new Grand Lodges there.
This alone brought heavy pressure on
the Grand Secretary. For example, in 1989
we recognised 17 regular Grand Lodges
in Europe, today we recognise 34 with
another four under consideration! As a
result, the office of Grand Chancellor
was created.
The Chancellor’s main roles are to chair
the External Relations Committee, to advise
the Rulers, the Grand Master’s advisers and
the Board of General Purposes. He must
ensure that Grand Lodge’s policy on
external relations is carried through, and
to ensure that all correspondence in this
area is dealt with in a timely fashion.
As the Grand Chancellor is not a full
time employee, I shall be assisted by John
Hamill, Director of Communications and
Peter Roberts, our long-term External
Relations Adviser.
The Grand Chancellor will also assist the
Grand Master and the Rulers in representing
Grand Lodge on formal visits to sister Grand
Lodges and at international gatherings of
regular Freemasonry. With the revolution
in fast communication systems and the ease
and reasonable cost of travelling today, the
Masonic world is coming closer and closer
together and inter-visitation and the regular
exchange of information can only be good
for the future of regular Freemasonry
in general.
External relations cover our relations
with other Constitutions outside our own
and are my responsibility. England still has
over 800 Lodges meeting outside these
islands under District Grand Masters,
Grand Inspectors or being governed directly
from London.
Although many of them are separated
from us by great distances, they are still very
much an important part of the United Grand
Lodge of England and will continue to come
under the jurisdiction of the Grand Secretary.
Normally, when they are visited by a
Ruler, the Grand Secretary will accompany
them, not the Grand Chancellor. He has
already visited Ghana and in the autumn he
will accompany the Pro Grand Master when
he visits our Districts in India.
There are also areas where the Grand
Secretary and Grand Chancellor will work
together. During the summer we had our
usual tripartite meeting with Ireland and
Scotland. Because that meeting involves
both practical matters of Craft
administration and jurisprudence as well
as the discussion of relations between the
Home Grand Lodges and other Grand
Lodges, both the Grand Secretary and I were
present. The same applies with the annual
meeting of the European Grand Secretaries
and Grand Chancellors. Co-operation
between the two of us becomes even more
important in those areas overseas in which
we share territory not only with Ireland
and Scotland, but also with a local sovereign
Grand Lodge.
External relations are crucial to the future
harmony and stability of Freemasonry on a
global level.
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