More than 1,600 attended the Especial Meeting of Grand Lodge on 31 January, including Grand Masters and Representatives from American and European Grand Lodges, and the Grand Masters of the Order of Women Freemasons and HFAF – Freemasonry for Women.

The programme – titled The 1723 Constitutions: Inventing the Future –  included talks from Dr Ric Berman and Akram Elias, Prestonian Lecturer for 2023 and former GM of the Grand Lodge of Washington DC, together with an outstanding filmed entertainment produced by Matthew Mitchell and narrated by Derek Jacobi.

The film can be viewed on Vimeo or on YouTube

The Especial Meeting was, in the words of the Pro Grand Master, Jonathan Spence, a truly extraordinary and wonderful event.

The Constitutions gave the world an astonishingly bold, almost revolutionary, proclamation of values. Starting with their promulgation, Freemasonry became an important vector for the principles of the Enlightenment, confidently propagating notions of religious tolerance, meritocracy, self-improvement by education and even democratic elections. Over time, these ideas spread to and were embraced across Europe and in America, shaping models of governance.