Basic Principles

CATENA has laid down in its Constitution the following Basic Principles which must be approved in writing by all Masonic groups (Grand Lodges, Obediences, independent Lodges) which apply for membership in CATENA:

• The foundation of Universal Freemasonry is the acknowledgement of a Supreme Reality in which we live and move and which is the reason our being.
• The First Grand Principle derived from this primal truth is the fundamental unity and equality of all human beings, expressed in Freemasonry as Brotherly Love, which springs from recognition of our spiritual kinship.
• The Second Grand Principle, derived from the first, is Relief of Suffering; firstly as far as possible to harm no living being, and secondly to give aid to those who are in distress.
• The Third Grand Principle is Truth, which is to have a free mind and to see things as they truly are without bias. This Principle especially relates to self-knowledge as unveiled to a Mason.