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The first Grand Lodge, the Grand
Lodge of England (GLE), was founded on 24 June 1717, when
four existing London Lodges met for a joint dinner. This rapidly
expanded into a regulatory body, which most English Lodges
joined. However, a few lodges resented some of the modernisations
that GLE endorsed, such as the creation of the Third Degree,
and formed a rival Grand Lodge on 17 July 1751, which they
called the "Antient Grand Lodge of England". The
two competing Grand Lodges vied for supremacy—the "Moderns"
(GLE) and the "Ancients" (or "Antients")—until
they united 25 November 1813 to form the United Grand Lodge
of England (UGLE).
The Grand Lodges of Ireland and Scotland were formed in 1725
and 1736 respectively. Freemasonry was exported to the British
Colonies in North America by the 1730s—with both the
"Ancients" and the "Moderns" (as well
as the Grand Lodges of Ireland and Scotland) chartering offspring
("daughter") Lodges, and organising various Provincial
Grand Lodges. After the American Revolution, independent U.S.
Grand Lodges formed themselves within each State. Some thought
was briefly given to organising an over-arching "Grand
Lodge of the United States", with George Washington as
the first Grand Master, but the idea was short-lived. The
various State Grand Lodges did not wish to diminish their
own authority by agreeing to such a body.[6]
Although there are no real differences in the Freemasonry
practiced by lodges chartered by the Ancients or the Moderns,
the remnants of this division can still be seen in the names
of most Lodges, F.& A.M. being Free and Accepted Masons
and A.F.& A.M. being Antient Free and Accepted Masons.
The oldest jurisdiction on the continent of Europe, the Grand
Orient de France (GOdF), was founded in 1728. Most English-speaking
jurisdictions cut formal relations with the GOdF around 1877,
however, when the GOdF removed the requirement that its members
have a belief in Deity, and accepted atheists.[7] The Grande
Loge Nationale Française (GLNF)[8] is currently the
only French Grand Lodge that is in regular amity with the
UGLE and its many concordant jurisdictions worldwide.
Due to the above history, Freemasonry is often said to consist
of two branches not in mutual regular amity:
the UGLE and concordant tradition of jurisdictions (termed
Grand Lodges) in amity, and
the GOdF, European Continental, tradition of jurisdictions
(often termed Grand Orients) in amity.
In most Latin countries, the GOdF-style of European Continental
Freemasonry predominates, although in most of these Latin
countries there are also Grand Lodges that are in regular
amity with the UGLE and the worldwide community of Grand Lodges
that share regular "fraternal relations" with the
UGLE. The rest of the world, accounting for the bulk of Freemasonry,
tends to follow more closely to the UGLE style, although minor
variations exist.
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