Conference of Grand Masters of Masons in North America

The Conference of Grand Masters of Masons in North America, commonly abbreviated COGMNA, is an annual conference bringing together the Grand Masters and other senior officers of participating Grand Lodges in the United States, Canada, and certain additional jurisdictions.

The Conference provides a forum in which Masonic leaders may exchange information, discuss common concerns, share administrative practices, and develop cooperative projects. It does not function as a supreme Grand Lodge or central governing authority for Freemasonry in North America.

Each participating Grand Lodge remains sovereign within its own jurisdiction. The Conference possesses no general legislative, executive, judicial, or ritual authority over its members or their constituent Lodges.

Purpose

The principal purpose of COGMNA is to bring together Grand Masters and other Masonic leaders for education, consultation, fellowship, and the exchange of ideas.

Subjects considered at its meetings may include membership development and retention, Masonic education, leadership and officer development, public awareness of Freemasonry, charitable and community programs, relations among Grand Lodges, Masonic recognition, and other issues affecting participating Grand Lodges.

A historical account published by the Masonic Service Association of North America described the Conference as a voluntary association intended to bring together Masonic leaders and ideas. It emphasized that the Conference was educational in purpose and did not exercise legislative, executive, or judicial authority over Freemasonry or individual Masonic organizations.

History

The origins of the Conference are associated with meetings of North American Masonic leaders held during the early twentieth century.

In 1923, Grand Masters gathered in Washington, D.C., in connection with the annual meeting of the Masonic Service Association and the laying of the cornerstone of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. During this period, the advantages of holding a regular meeting at which Grand Masters could exchange information became apparent.

In 1925, Richard C. Davenport, Grand Master of Illinois, invited the Grand Masters of the United States to meet in Chicago on November 17, immediately before the annual meeting of the Masonic Service Association. This meeting is generally treated as the beginning of the continuing Conference of Grand Masters.

A second conference was held in Chicago in 1926. In 1927, the Conference met in Washington, D.C., in connection with activities supporting the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. Washington subsequently became the customary meeting location for many years, although the Conference later began meeting in other North American cities.

The Conference has met annually since 1925, with the exception of 1945, when wartime travel restrictions prevented the meeting. The 2021 Conference was conducted virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Membership

According to the official COGMNA website, the Conference includes Grand Lodges from the states of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the provinces of Canada, the State of York in Mexico; and the American Canadian Grand Lodge in Germany.

Grand Masters and representatives from other countries may also attend as visitors or invited guests. The official website describes the annual meeting as one of the largest gatherings of Grand Masters in the world.

The Masonic Service Association has stated that North American Grand Lodges are independent legislative bodies exercising Masonic authority within their respective jurisdictions and that authoritative statements bind only the members of the Grand Lodge issuing them.

Resolutions, reports, presentations, or recommendations considered at a Conference may influence subsequent Grand Lodge policies. They do not ordinarily become binding unless adopted through the constitutional processes of an individual Grand Lodge.

Although COGMNA cannot legislate for its participants, it may exercise considerable informal influence.

The Conference allows Grand Masters to compare policies and learn how other jurisdictions address common problems. A program, policy, or interpretation discussed at the Conference may later be considered by several Grand Lodges.

Annual Conference

The Conference is ordinarily held annually in February. Its official website states that the formal annual meeting takes place on the third Saturday in February, although related meetings, presentations, and events may continue across several days.

The host city and jurisdiction may change from year to year. The published program for the 2026 Conference, for example, included separate discussions for Grand Masters, Deputy Grand Masters, and Grand Wardens, together with presentations on Masonic education, membership engagement, communications, and civic involvement.

Organization

COGMNA is organized as a nonprofit fraternal organization. Its official website identifies it as a United States tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(10) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The Conference elects or appoints officers and maintains committees responsible for its internal administration. Offices commonly include:

• Chairman;
• Vice-Chairman;
• Executive Secretary or Secretary-Treasurer; and
• members of the Board of Directors.

The precise titles and responsibilities are governed by the Conference's bylaws and may change over time.

Under Conference procedures described in published proceedings, Grand Masters or their authorized representatives participate in the governing business of the organization. Committees may address such subjects as nominations, future meeting locations, finance, Masonic renewal, civility, and recognition information.

The annual Conference frequently includes reports, presentations, meetings, or exhibits involving other North American Masonic organizations.

Commission on Information for Recognition

One of the best-known bodies associated with COGMNA is the Commission on Information for Recognition.

The Commission researches Grand Lodges and other questions relevant to Masonic recognition. It presents an annual report containing historical, organizational, and jurisdictional information that may assist Grand Lodges in making their own decisions.

The Commission may examine matters such as: the origin and formation of a Grand Lodge, the regularity of its constituent Lodges, its territorial jurisdiction, adherence to commonly cited standards of regularity, competing Grand Lodge claims, existing recognition relationships, schisms, mergers, or changes of leadership; and applications or requests for recognition.

The Commission's findings are advisory. It does not itself grant recognition on behalf of all participating Grand Lodges. Each sovereign Grand Lodge decides independently whether to recognize another Grand Lodge.

The Commission has issued annual reports since the 1950s. The 2010 proceedings described that year's report as the Commission's fifty-seventh annual report, while the 2018 proceedings identified the report presented that year as its sixty-sixth.

Standards of recognition

The Commission on Information for Recognition is historically associated with standards used to evaluate whether a Grand Lodge may be considered regular in origin and practice.

Standards commonly discussed in connection with the Commission include:

• legitimate origin from recognized Lodges or a recognized Grand Lodge;
• exclusive and independent territorial authority;
• belief in God;
• the presence of a Volume of Sacred Law in the Lodge;
• the use of the symbolism and traditions of Craft Freemasonry;
• restriction of membership according to the laws of the evaluating jurisdictions; and
• prohibition of partisan political and sectarian religious debate within the Lodge.

These principles have not been adopted identically by every North American Grand Lodge. Individual jurisdictions may use additional, fewer, or differently worded requirements.

The Commission supplies information rather than replacing the constitutional authority of the Grand Lodges receiving its report.

Relationship with Prince Hall Grand Lodges

Historically, the Grand Lodges participating in COGMNA were predominantly those descended from the Anglo-American Grand Lodge system commonly described as the State Grand Lodge or formerly mainstream system. Prince Hall Grand Lodges maintain their own Conference of Grand Masters, known as the Conference of Grand Masters Prince Hall Masons. That organization describes itself as an advisory body composed of Grand Masters within the Prince Hall Masonic family.

Relations between individual State Grand Lodges and Prince Hall Grand Lodges have changed substantially since the late twentieth century. Most have established some form of mutual recognition, although the exact terms, visitation rules, and legal relationships remain matters for the individual Grand Lodges.

Participation in separate conferences should not by itself be interpreted as a denial of recognition between particular jurisdictions.

Misconceptions

COGMNA is sometimes incorrectly described as the governing body of Freemasonry in the United States or North America. This description is inaccurate. There is no national Grand Lodge exercising general authority over the participating American Grand Lodges, nor does COGMNA exercise the powers of such a body.

Another common misconception is that the Commission on Information for Recognition can recognize a Grand Lodge on behalf of all North American Freemasonry. The Commission may offer information, findings, or recommendations, but recognition remains a bilateral or jurisdiction-specific act.

See also

• Masonic Service Association of North America
• Conference of Grand Secretaries in North America
• Conference of Grand Masters Prince Hall Masons

External links

• Official website
• Masonic Service Association of North America