Akram R. Elias, 33°

An upcoming exhibit in Washington, D.C., celebrates Masonry’s role in the founding and development of our nation.

The entrance to the Temple Room of the House of the Temple is pictured
in Peter Waddell’s painting “Journey into Light.”

The November-December 2004 issue of the Scottish Rite Journal featured the article “The Initiated Eye: Secrets, Symbols, Freemasonry, and the Architecture of Washington, D.C.” It included information about a six-month-long exhibit, opening May 18, 2005, at the famous Octagon Museum, just three blocks from the White House. The exhibit premieres 20 original paintings that display to the world the role the Craft has played in the design and development of our Capital City and America. Two of the themes addressed by the various paintings, for example, are “A Meeting at the End of the Day,” picturing builders of the White House who were also Freemasons conducting a Lodge meeting on-site, and “The Light of Reason,” showing the unique significance of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial.

The exhibit will also highlight the contributions of the Craft to American life (e.g., education, philanthropy, and architecture) and will include a display of Masonic objects of historic and symbolic significance to the Craft. Along with the exhibit, a series of educational lectures will focus on themes such as the origins of Freemasonry, Masonic symbolism, America’s Founding Fathers who were Masons, Masonic architecture, walking tours of Washington’s important Masonic landmarks, and various musical and cultural events—all open to the general public.

Why are the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, the Scottish Rite Valley of Washington, D.C., and the Supreme Council, 33°, S.J., involved in this effort, and why now? For the past few years, America has witnessed the emergence of two important yet seemingly unconnected cultural phenomena. First, there is a renewed focus on the Founding Fathers of our country in such significant publications as Walter Isaacson’s Benjamin Franklin, An American Life in 2003. Second, there is a growing nationwide interest in Masonry. For many months, Dan Brown’s book The Da Vinci Code, a novel with strong Masonic allusions, has been at or near the top of the best-seller lists in America’s bookstores. Furthermore, the release of the fictional movie National Treasure, starring Nicolas Cage, undoubtedly added to growing public interest in the Masonic Order.

Peter Waddell is pictured above left with two George Washington University graduate Museum Studies students and Ill. Akram R. Elias, 33°, author of this article, standing in front of his painting “Building the Temple Within,” which expresses the symbolism of the ceremonies of Freemasonry and the Scottish Rite.

What is driving these two phenomena? The answer may lie with the tragic events of September 11, 2001. With our sense of invulnerability as a nation shattered, people are thirsty for visions that renew their self-confidence and buttress the belief that our nation can and will control its destiny. If the Founding Fathers, many of them Freemasons, were able to cooperate, despite their differences, and establish a new country against all odds, why can’t we do the same in the face of our contemporary challenges?

Given the general public’s mindset, Freemasons now, more than ever before, have an unparalleled opportunity to champion the cause of Masonry by making known to the world the role the Craft has played in the evolution of the American way of life. Masons in the nation’s capital are taking the first steps in this direction by sponsoring the Octagon Museum exhibit. The visitor will enter the exhibit driven by curiosity and will leave better informed about the Craft and wanting to learn more.

Peter Waddell, the painter commissioned to bringing this entire project to life, is a recently naturalized American citizen and a non-Mason. In an interview, he provided the following personal perspective on the Octagon exhibit.

“ I was at a Thanksgiving dinner and was explaining this project to the people there. No one at the table knew anything about Freemasonry, yet their eyes opened as I started telling them about the project. It seems to me that anything which helps people understand Freemasonry will help them understand the culture that contributed to the creation of this nation. Freemasonry needs to take credit for what it contributed to American philosophical thought and social values. As a historian as well as an artist, I realize there is a need to know Freemasonry and, as a result, to understand how the ideas of the Enlightenment formed the men and the documents that created America. It is important for the public to know that many of the Founders, including George Washington, were proud Freemasons. More importantly, the more people learn about the essence of Freemasonry, the more they are able to appreciate the ideals and sense of purpose that the Founding Founders had when establishing this country.”

That is the purpose of the exhibit. To learn more, visit the Web site of the Octagon Museum at www.archfoundation.org/octagon. Second, tell everyone in your community about this exhibit. If your local schools, associations, travel groups, or friends are among the 12 to 15 million persons planning trips to Washington, D.C., in 2005, encourage them to stop by the exhibit and participate in its exhibit-related cultural activities between May and November. All the Brethren, their families and friends, if possible, should take advantage of the unique opportunity provided by the Octagon Museum exhibit. FIAT LUX!

Akram R. Elias is Past Wise Master of the D.C. Evangelist Chapter of Knights Rose Croix, the Junior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, and a recipient of the Valentine Reintzel Medal for outstanding service to Freemasonry. He is the founder of Capital Communications Group, Inc., an international consulting firm that works closely with the U.S. Department of State in the area of public diplomacy. Contacts: P.O. Box 28115, Washington, DC, 20038; fmbuilder@msn.com