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Article THE EARLIEST ATTACK OF THE CHURCH AGAINST SECRET SOCIETIES. Page 1 of 1 Article THE EARLIEST ATTACK OF THE CHURCH AGAINST SECRET SOCIETIES. Page 1 of 1 Article DO YOU TAKE THE NAME OF GOD IN VAIN? Page 1 of 1 Ad Untitled Page 1 of 1
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The Earliest Attack Of The Church Against Secret Societies.
THE EARLIEST ATTACK OF THE CHURCH AGAINST SECRET SOCIETIES .
BY ALBERT G . MACKEY , M . D . THE earliest attack of the Koraan Church upon Secret Societies that I can find is tho statute passed by tho Council of Avignon , which met iu June 1326 . This statute -will be found iu the 7 th volume ( p . 1507—8 ) of Hardouin's " Acta Concilwrum et Epistolce Becretales ac Constitutiones Summorum Pontificum . " ( Paris , 1714 . ) Before giving a literal translation of this document from the Latin original , it will be proper , for the better understanding of the
subject , to say something briefly of tho Gilds or Secret Socioties against whom it Avas directed . During the Middle Ages , and especially in the thirteenth , fourteenth and fifteenth centuries , Europe was pervaded by Social Gilds , as Toulmin Smith calls them , or Fraternities for mutual help , Avhich were , in fact , the precursors of the Craft Gilds , which
in turn gave rise to the corporations of builders , Avhich were the type of the modem Masonic Lodges . Thus there was a connection , historically , between these social Gilds of the Middle Ages , in form and organization , at least , and the institution of Speculative Masonry , and therefore the attack made upon it , iu the 14 th
century by the bishops assembled at Avignon , was the inauguration of that spirit of ecclesiastical persecution which Avas afterwards developed in the bulls of Clement the Twelfth and Benedict tho Fourteenth , and has at this day been renewed by Pius the Ninth .
Brentano , in his History and Development of Gilds ( p . 23 ) , thus briefly describes the organization of these Gilds , which he compares , in some respects , to our modern Benefit Socioties , a comparison Avhich , I think , might more aptly be made between them aud our Modern Lodges of Freemasonry . He says : The expenses of the Gilds were defrayed by the entrance fees , contributions , gifts
and legacies . There Avas a meeting at which officers were elected , and the members had on their entrance to declare by oath that they Avould fulfil their obligations . Persons of ill repute wero not admitted and members were excluded for misconduct . The members had a special livery or uniform dress , which was worn on their festivals aud at their meetings . Mutual assistance of the Gild
Brothers was enjoined , especially in old age , iu sickness , poverty and wrongful imprisonment , as well as in all . losses by fire , shipwreck , & c , and finally in the burial of the dead . It will be seen how all these characteristics are recognized in the Statute of Excommunication fulminated by the Council of Avignon , and thus we find that the opposition of the Church to all good works
not performed under ecclesiastical supervision , was as vehement and unreasonable in the fourteenth century as it has been in the eighteenth , and nineteenth . Pope John XXIL , in the tenth year of whose pontificate this statute was enacted at Avignon , is thus placed side by side with Clement , Benedict and Pius , a sacred quaternion of bigotry and intolerance . Avignon , it will be remembered , was at that time the seat of the pontifical court , to which
city it had been transferred in 1305 by Clement the Fifth . Pope John , under whose auspices the decree of excommunication was enacted , is described by Mosheim as being " crafty , insolent , weak , impudent and avaricious . " The statute is , of course , in the Latin language . It is contained in the 37 th chapter of the Acts of the Council , and literally translated is in the followine- words : —
CHAPTER XXXVII . Concerning the societies , unions and confederacies called confraternities which are to be utterly extirpated . Wliereas , in certain parts of our provinces , noblemen for the most part and sometimes other persons , have established unions , societies and confederacies , Avhich arc interdicted by the canon as well as by the municipal laws , who congregate in some place once a year
under the name of a confraternity , and there establish assemblies and unions , and enter into a compact confirmed by au oath that they will mutually aid each other against all persons whomsoever , their OAvn lords excepted , and in every case that each one will give to another help , counsel and favor ; and sometimes all Avearing a similar dress with certain curious signs or marksthey elect ono
, of their number as a chief [ majorem ] , to whom they swear obedience in all things ; Avhereby justice is offended , murders and robberies ensue , peace and security are banished , the innocent and the poor are oppressed , aud the churches aud ecclesiastics in a town infested by such societies suffer various injuries and great damage to their persons , possessions , rights and jurisdictions . Wishing at once to
check these pestiferous designs and pernicious undertakings , and to provide an appropriate remedy and to restrain from siu those who are uuder us , as it is the duty of the pastoral office , we do by the authority of the present Council , invalidate , dissolve and make void all assemblies , unions , societies and confederacies Avhich are called brotherhoods or confraternities hitherto instituted by clergymen or
laymen of whatsoever degree , stato , dignity or condition they may bo , and also the compacts , agreements aud regulations established among them , aud we declare them to be null and void and ' of no effect , decreeing that all tho oaths takon for tho performance of the aforesaid acts are cither illegal or worthless ; and wo ordain that no one shall be held to the observance of them , from Avhich oaths Ave provisionally absolve them ; so that , however , for their heedless
and idle oaths they shall receive a salutary penance from their uonfessors . Aud by the aforesaid authority wc prohibit them under penalty of excommunication to make use from this time forth as formerl y , of the said unions , societies , conventions and oaths ; they shall not institute cout ' rateruities of this kind ; one shall not give obedience nor afford assistance or favor to another ; nor shall they Avear clothing which exhibits the signs or marks of the condemned thing , nor call themselves brethren , priors or abbots of the afore -
The Earliest Attack Of The Church Against Secret Societies.
said society . And we ordain that this excommunication shall be ipso facto if they act to the contrary of the present statute af tor it shall have been published for two Sundays in the church of which they are parishioners . But indeed let each one within ton days from the time of the said publication seek a confessor to absolve him , so far as ho can , from the aforesaid oaths , and let him publicly
profess his unwillingness to bo any longer a member of the atoresaid society . We also forbid their forming from this time forth such confederacies , conspiracies or assemblies under the name of a confraternity , otherwise wo declare such attempts de facto invalid , void and of no effect , and Ave subject those forming and attempting
them to the sentence of excommunication , from which they shall in no way be absolved , unless by a provincial council , except in tho hour of death . But by this act wo do not inteud to disapprove of those fraternities formerly instituted for the relief of the poor in which there are no obligations nor oaths . —The Voice of Masonry .
Do You Take The Name Of God In Vain?
DO YOU TAKE THE NAME OF GOD IN VAIN ?
IT is the habit of the woi"ld to judge religious systems of morality aud philosophy , rather by the conduct of their professed disciples , than by the intrinsic merits of the systems themselves . If the conduct of the majority of the followers of any system of religion or morality , in their daily intercourse with mankind , is fouud to be marked by licentiousness or vice , perhaps tho conclusion is not unreasonable that the system itself has exerted some baneful
influence . If , however , it is the few who are vicious , aud thb many Avho are virtuous , the same mode of reasoning would exalt the system , and condemn the offenders against good morals , as having departed from its precepts . But the world does not always proceed through a train of logic to its conclusious . Public opinion is usually made up of a small modicum of reason intermixed Avith
a large quantity of prejudice and passion , each alike hostile to truthful conclusions . In this way Masonry has suffered greatly for the faithlessness of its professed votaries . Masonry has not unfrequently been charged with sacrilege , especially by its opponents . And why ? For one reason—because the Masonic creed everywhere recognises tho
existence of a Supreme Ruler of the Universe , invokes His blessing on all her undertakings , seeks His guidance in all her difficulties , and inculcates , as the first and chief principle of the Institution , reverence and respect for the name of Deity , Avhile some of her followers make it their aim to appear like infidels , scoffers at sectarian religion , and profaners of the Holy Name . In the Lodge
they profess respect for God Avith lips that erst were filthy with vile and indecent oaths . This is not Masonry . Those who indulge in such practices are strangers to her true spirit , and aliens from her affections . In all the teachings of Masonry , in its rites and ceremonies , iu its traditions , if there is anything more prominent than another ,
if there is any duty more frequently and earnestly impressed upon the mind than another , it is an habitual , a serious aud profound respect for our Creator and Preserver . The first paragraph that arrests the attention in the ancient Constitutions teaches us that a belief in the Eternal God , and tho rendering to him of that worship which is due to the Great Architect aud Governor of the
Universe , is the foundation and corner stone of the Masonic character . Nearly the first words which the candidate for the mysteries of Masonry hears , on being admitted within the sacred precints of the Lodge , is the voice of prayer addressed to tho Eternal Throne of Grace . The first object that meets his eye in the Lodge room
is the Book of God . And blind indeed he must be , if he does not discern this constant , ever living stream of reverential feeling flowing throughout the length of Masonry , fertilising , invigorating , and preserving its moral tenets . What is there in all this Avhich the profaner of the great merciful God ' s name can see but degradation in his own estimation as well as
that of his neighbours and companions ? What is there Avhich promises even toleration of him ? The Masonic motto in this respect is " procul este profani . " When profane swearing becomes consistent with the teachings of Masonry , let us cease to clothe ourselves Avith lambskin ; let us break the pot of incense and quench its pure flame ; let us blear the All-Seeing Eye ; lee us remove the
Book of Testimony from our midst ; in short , let us knock out the foundation aud supports of the Masonic edifice , and suffer it to fall to the ground a mass of shapeless ruins . " Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain . " If you wilfully and persistently break one of God's commandments ,
do you not violate the whole ? By profanity , force and effect are not added to a declamation , neither is polite swearing the mark nor the measure of a gentleman then ask yourself , am I in the habit of using tho namo of God profanely , and thereby violating His express law ? " By My name you shall know me . "—The Hebrew Leader .
Ad01103
NEATLY BOUND IN CLOTH , PRICE 8 s Gd . VOLUME I . Sent , Carriage Paid , to any address in the United Kin gdom , on receipt of . Cheque or P . 0 . 0 . London : —W . W . MOKGAN , 67 Barbican , E . C . Cloth Cases for Binding - can be had from the Offices , price ls 6 d each'
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Earliest Attack Of The Church Against Secret Societies.
THE EARLIEST ATTACK OF THE CHURCH AGAINST SECRET SOCIETIES .
BY ALBERT G . MACKEY , M . D . THE earliest attack of the Koraan Church upon Secret Societies that I can find is tho statute passed by tho Council of Avignon , which met iu June 1326 . This statute -will be found iu the 7 th volume ( p . 1507—8 ) of Hardouin's " Acta Concilwrum et Epistolce Becretales ac Constitutiones Summorum Pontificum . " ( Paris , 1714 . ) Before giving a literal translation of this document from the Latin original , it will be proper , for the better understanding of the
subject , to say something briefly of tho Gilds or Secret Socioties against whom it Avas directed . During the Middle Ages , and especially in the thirteenth , fourteenth and fifteenth centuries , Europe was pervaded by Social Gilds , as Toulmin Smith calls them , or Fraternities for mutual help , Avhich were , in fact , the precursors of the Craft Gilds , which
in turn gave rise to the corporations of builders , Avhich were the type of the modem Masonic Lodges . Thus there was a connection , historically , between these social Gilds of the Middle Ages , in form and organization , at least , and the institution of Speculative Masonry , and therefore the attack made upon it , iu the 14 th
century by the bishops assembled at Avignon , was the inauguration of that spirit of ecclesiastical persecution which Avas afterwards developed in the bulls of Clement the Twelfth and Benedict tho Fourteenth , and has at this day been renewed by Pius the Ninth .
Brentano , in his History and Development of Gilds ( p . 23 ) , thus briefly describes the organization of these Gilds , which he compares , in some respects , to our modern Benefit Socioties , a comparison Avhich , I think , might more aptly be made between them aud our Modern Lodges of Freemasonry . He says : The expenses of the Gilds were defrayed by the entrance fees , contributions , gifts
and legacies . There Avas a meeting at which officers were elected , and the members had on their entrance to declare by oath that they Avould fulfil their obligations . Persons of ill repute wero not admitted and members were excluded for misconduct . The members had a special livery or uniform dress , which was worn on their festivals aud at their meetings . Mutual assistance of the Gild
Brothers was enjoined , especially in old age , iu sickness , poverty and wrongful imprisonment , as well as in all . losses by fire , shipwreck , & c , and finally in the burial of the dead . It will be seen how all these characteristics are recognized in the Statute of Excommunication fulminated by the Council of Avignon , and thus we find that the opposition of the Church to all good works
not performed under ecclesiastical supervision , was as vehement and unreasonable in the fourteenth century as it has been in the eighteenth , and nineteenth . Pope John XXIL , in the tenth year of whose pontificate this statute was enacted at Avignon , is thus placed side by side with Clement , Benedict and Pius , a sacred quaternion of bigotry and intolerance . Avignon , it will be remembered , was at that time the seat of the pontifical court , to which
city it had been transferred in 1305 by Clement the Fifth . Pope John , under whose auspices the decree of excommunication was enacted , is described by Mosheim as being " crafty , insolent , weak , impudent and avaricious . " The statute is , of course , in the Latin language . It is contained in the 37 th chapter of the Acts of the Council , and literally translated is in the followine- words : —
CHAPTER XXXVII . Concerning the societies , unions and confederacies called confraternities which are to be utterly extirpated . Wliereas , in certain parts of our provinces , noblemen for the most part and sometimes other persons , have established unions , societies and confederacies , Avhich arc interdicted by the canon as well as by the municipal laws , who congregate in some place once a year
under the name of a confraternity , and there establish assemblies and unions , and enter into a compact confirmed by au oath that they will mutually aid each other against all persons whomsoever , their OAvn lords excepted , and in every case that each one will give to another help , counsel and favor ; and sometimes all Avearing a similar dress with certain curious signs or marksthey elect ono
, of their number as a chief [ majorem ] , to whom they swear obedience in all things ; Avhereby justice is offended , murders and robberies ensue , peace and security are banished , the innocent and the poor are oppressed , aud the churches aud ecclesiastics in a town infested by such societies suffer various injuries and great damage to their persons , possessions , rights and jurisdictions . Wishing at once to
check these pestiferous designs and pernicious undertakings , and to provide an appropriate remedy and to restrain from siu those who are uuder us , as it is the duty of the pastoral office , we do by the authority of the present Council , invalidate , dissolve and make void all assemblies , unions , societies and confederacies Avhich are called brotherhoods or confraternities hitherto instituted by clergymen or
laymen of whatsoever degree , stato , dignity or condition they may bo , and also the compacts , agreements aud regulations established among them , aud we declare them to be null and void and ' of no effect , decreeing that all tho oaths takon for tho performance of the aforesaid acts are cither illegal or worthless ; and wo ordain that no one shall be held to the observance of them , from Avhich oaths Ave provisionally absolve them ; so that , however , for their heedless
and idle oaths they shall receive a salutary penance from their uonfessors . Aud by the aforesaid authority wc prohibit them under penalty of excommunication to make use from this time forth as formerl y , of the said unions , societies , conventions and oaths ; they shall not institute cout ' rateruities of this kind ; one shall not give obedience nor afford assistance or favor to another ; nor shall they Avear clothing which exhibits the signs or marks of the condemned thing , nor call themselves brethren , priors or abbots of the afore -
The Earliest Attack Of The Church Against Secret Societies.
said society . And we ordain that this excommunication shall be ipso facto if they act to the contrary of the present statute af tor it shall have been published for two Sundays in the church of which they are parishioners . But indeed let each one within ton days from the time of the said publication seek a confessor to absolve him , so far as ho can , from the aforesaid oaths , and let him publicly
profess his unwillingness to bo any longer a member of the atoresaid society . We also forbid their forming from this time forth such confederacies , conspiracies or assemblies under the name of a confraternity , otherwise wo declare such attempts de facto invalid , void and of no effect , and Ave subject those forming and attempting
them to the sentence of excommunication , from which they shall in no way be absolved , unless by a provincial council , except in tho hour of death . But by this act wo do not inteud to disapprove of those fraternities formerly instituted for the relief of the poor in which there are no obligations nor oaths . —The Voice of Masonry .
Do You Take The Name Of God In Vain?
DO YOU TAKE THE NAME OF GOD IN VAIN ?
IT is the habit of the woi"ld to judge religious systems of morality aud philosophy , rather by the conduct of their professed disciples , than by the intrinsic merits of the systems themselves . If the conduct of the majority of the followers of any system of religion or morality , in their daily intercourse with mankind , is fouud to be marked by licentiousness or vice , perhaps tho conclusion is not unreasonable that the system itself has exerted some baneful
influence . If , however , it is the few who are vicious , aud thb many Avho are virtuous , the same mode of reasoning would exalt the system , and condemn the offenders against good morals , as having departed from its precepts . But the world does not always proceed through a train of logic to its conclusious . Public opinion is usually made up of a small modicum of reason intermixed Avith
a large quantity of prejudice and passion , each alike hostile to truthful conclusions . In this way Masonry has suffered greatly for the faithlessness of its professed votaries . Masonry has not unfrequently been charged with sacrilege , especially by its opponents . And why ? For one reason—because the Masonic creed everywhere recognises tho
existence of a Supreme Ruler of the Universe , invokes His blessing on all her undertakings , seeks His guidance in all her difficulties , and inculcates , as the first and chief principle of the Institution , reverence and respect for the name of Deity , Avhile some of her followers make it their aim to appear like infidels , scoffers at sectarian religion , and profaners of the Holy Name . In the Lodge
they profess respect for God Avith lips that erst were filthy with vile and indecent oaths . This is not Masonry . Those who indulge in such practices are strangers to her true spirit , and aliens from her affections . In all the teachings of Masonry , in its rites and ceremonies , iu its traditions , if there is anything more prominent than another ,
if there is any duty more frequently and earnestly impressed upon the mind than another , it is an habitual , a serious aud profound respect for our Creator and Preserver . The first paragraph that arrests the attention in the ancient Constitutions teaches us that a belief in the Eternal God , and tho rendering to him of that worship which is due to the Great Architect aud Governor of the
Universe , is the foundation and corner stone of the Masonic character . Nearly the first words which the candidate for the mysteries of Masonry hears , on being admitted within the sacred precints of the Lodge , is the voice of prayer addressed to tho Eternal Throne of Grace . The first object that meets his eye in the Lodge room
is the Book of God . And blind indeed he must be , if he does not discern this constant , ever living stream of reverential feeling flowing throughout the length of Masonry , fertilising , invigorating , and preserving its moral tenets . What is there in all this Avhich the profaner of the great merciful God ' s name can see but degradation in his own estimation as well as
that of his neighbours and companions ? What is there Avhich promises even toleration of him ? The Masonic motto in this respect is " procul este profani . " When profane swearing becomes consistent with the teachings of Masonry , let us cease to clothe ourselves Avith lambskin ; let us break the pot of incense and quench its pure flame ; let us blear the All-Seeing Eye ; lee us remove the
Book of Testimony from our midst ; in short , let us knock out the foundation aud supports of the Masonic edifice , and suffer it to fall to the ground a mass of shapeless ruins . " Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain . " If you wilfully and persistently break one of God's commandments ,
do you not violate the whole ? By profanity , force and effect are not added to a declamation , neither is polite swearing the mark nor the measure of a gentleman then ask yourself , am I in the habit of using tho namo of God profanely , and thereby violating His express law ? " By My name you shall know me . "—The Hebrew Leader .
Ad01103
NEATLY BOUND IN CLOTH , PRICE 8 s Gd . VOLUME I . Sent , Carriage Paid , to any address in the United Kin gdom , on receipt of . Cheque or P . 0 . 0 . London : —W . W . MOKGAN , 67 Barbican , E . C . Cloth Cases for Binding - can be had from the Offices , price ls 6 d each'