12th Annual California Masonic Symposium

19.04.2012

12th Annual California Masonic Symposium

The Emergence of Speculative Masonry. 

This year’s discussion is guided by the research of Henry Wilson Coil Lecturer A. Trevor Stewart, Ph.D., P.M., and addresses the following topics in Masonic history:

In the years between approximately 1600 and 1730, the working tools and techniques of medieval stonemasons’ guilds became the symbolic platform for the ethical system we know as Speculative Masonry.  Who were the gentlemen who joined these operative lodges?  Why were they interested in the operative craft?  Why did the operative stonemasons admit them?  What changes did these nonoperative Masons bring to the craft and why?  What was the influence of Rosicrucianism and alchemy on the emergence of Speculative Masonry?

Dr. Stewart’s research will be complemented by accompanying lectures from renowned Masonic scholars Shawn E. Eyer, editor of Philalethes magazine, and Timothy W. Hogan, author of “The Alchemical Keys to Masonic Ritual” and “The Thirty-Two Secret Paths to Solomon: A New Examination of the Qabbalah in Freemasonry.”

The lecturers will be joined by a panel of esteemed Masonic experts: María Eugenia Vásquez Semadeni, Ph.D.; John L. Cooper, III, Ph.D.; and Past Grand Master R. Stephen Doan.

We hope you will join us for this scholarly journey into the early days of Freemasonry, which defined our fraternity as we know it today.

The Symposium will be held on two dates and in two locations, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

• June 30, 2012:  San Francisco Scottish Rite, 2850 19th Avenue, San Francisco
• July 1, 2012:  Pasadena Scottish Rite, 150 North Madison Avenue, Pasadena

There is no cost to attend the Symposium, however, if you would like to take part in our optional lunch, the $15 meal fee must be paid in advance.

The Symposium will be recorded.  Presenters' papers and panelists' notes will be published online at freemason.org > member center > masonic education.

The Symposium is offered as a joint program of the Grand Lodge of California, the California Masonic Foundation and the Institute for Masonic Studies

Further information at: California Masonic Symposium website