Masonry

The article is devoted to topical issues of the Masonic movement in England at the turn of the 17th–18th centuries. Particular attention is paid to the development of the New Masonry in England. The author analyzes the most pressing issues of the transformation of the national Masonic organization. The activities and views of the organizers of the New Masonry are considered.

The focus of the author are the events of the European Masonic movement in the XVII – XVIIIth centuries. Analysis of sources helped to illuminate the causes the course of the reform of “old masonry” in Britain in the Modern history. It is shown that the change agents were the intellectuals, members of the Royal Society. Their aim was wide-ranging reforms society in the spirit of the concepts of the Enlightenment. As the author proves, new Grand Lodge actively exported their practices to Europe and North American colonies.

The article studies the topical question of the masonry movement in England’s of the 18th century. It particularly focuses on the history of the Grand Lodge of England. The author touches upon a very important problem of the national Masonic organizations’ transformation. The close connection of the “new” Freemasonry with the events in post-revolutionary England is emphasized.