This office is a clear link back to the Mediaeval Guilds, which were all semi-religious bodies that often met in churches and chapels; a more direct survival is the use of ‘chapel’, headed by a ‘Father’ in the printing trade to designate a workplace trade union meeting. Some early Masonic manuscripts mention Lodges having Chaplains before 1717, but it is unclear whether all Lodges had one; much seems to have depended on local tradition.
The Office of Grand Chaplain is, however, mentioned in 1775, and the Lodge Office was confirmed by the 1784 Book of Constitutions. Today, the Chaplain offers Masonic prayers and readings.
