Wisconsin Freemason Attends Masonic Meeting in Norway
Brother Roderick W. Anderson was invited to attend a Masonic meeting in Oslo, Norway by Brother Steinar Korsmo. A trip to Norway had already been planned and it worked out that the first Masonic meeting of the year was held on Friday evening, September 6, 2024, the day of arrival in Oslo.
Bro. Roderick Anderson in the Masonic Museum at Oslo Mason Hall, Oslo Norway, holding the original club (gavel) which was used in the meeting on the 24th of June, 1749. This meeting was on the Ladegasrdsøen peninsula (currently known as Bygdøy), to form the 1st Mason Lodge in Norway – St. Olaus to the White Gepard (Leoparden). This is currently a St. John Lodge I-III degree and the oldest lodge in Norway. On the 24th of June, 2024, this Lodge (and thereby the formal masonry in Norway) celebrated 275 years. In 1749, Norway was under Denmark rule, and the first lodge thereby was accepted under the Grand Lodge of Denmark where the King Fredrik V was the Grand Master. The Lodge was founded during the King’s official visit to Norway and he attended the meeting, probably he led the meeting with this club.
A tour of Mason Hall in Oslo was given by Arne Lie, Deputy Director of Information at Grand Lodge. Following the tour, Roderick attended a 3rd Degree meeting in Rosene Lodge which was followed by a full dinner in one of the dining halls.
From left: Steinar Korsmo, 1st speaker (orator) of the St. John Lodge St. Clemens to the Right Angle (I-III degree) and 3rd speaker of the St. Andrew Lodge Akershus (IV-VI degree); Roderick W. Anderson, 33rd degree Mason and Past Master of Sanctuary Lodge No. 347 in Eau Claire, Wis. Worshipful Master, Jon Jonsson, of the Lodge-St. Olaus to the three Roses (Rosene) which is one out of eight St. John Lodges (I-III degree) of the Swedish (Nordic) rite at the Oslo Mason Hall; Paul Brighton, Grand Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Grand Lodge of Norway.
The Norway lodges follow the Swedish Rite. The degrees progress in a vertical manner with no branches for appendant bodies (Scottish Rite, York Rite). For this reason, Brother Anderson was asked to wear regalia for all these bodies as is the custom in Norway.
The degrees in the Swedish Rite are:
St. John’s (Craft) Degrees (I-III)
1st Degree – Apprentice
2nd Degree – Fellow Craft
3rd Degree – Master Mason
St. Andrew’s (Scottish) Degrees (IV-VI)
4th Degree – Very Worshipful Apprentice
5th Degree – Fellow of St. Andrew
6th Degree – Illustrious Scottish Master of St. Andrew Lodge
Chapter Degrees (VII-X)
7th Degree – Very Illustrious Brother
8th Degree – Most Illustrious Brother
9th Degree – Enlightened Brother of St. John’s Lodge
10th Degree – Very Enlightened Brother of St. Andrew’s Lodge
11th Degree – Knights Commander of The Red Cross (R & K)
A bullet hole in this painting was left as a reminder of the time when, during WWII, the Nazis took over the Mason Hall in Oslo, Norway and destroyed much of the contents. It took a lot of time and money to restore the building to its current state.
