Alba EmblemAlba Lodge No. 222

ABOUT ALBA

Meeting dates for 2024
28 JANUARY
24 MARCH
19 MAY
(changed by vote of the lodge)
17 AUGUST
22 SEPTEMBER
27 OCTOBER
1 DECEMBER

THE STORY

Alba Lodge No. 222 is a project that was six years in the making until its chartering in 2019. The first concept was put forth in 2013, when the idea arose to revive the charter of Alexandria-Brooke Lodge No. 2. We did not actually start working on that idea until three years later, but that is where it began.

After a good bit of deliberation, it was determined that due to the fact that Alexandria was no longer a part of the District of Columbia (as it was when the lodge was chartered), trying to revive the lodge with its original name would be confusing, if not a bit awkward. Even using just the name Brooke—which was how the lodge was commonly known in the Grand Lodge of DC—felt less like something we could call our own. We wanted to honour the memory of this lodge, but getting there would require a bit more thought.

We did, however, like the idea of asking for the number 2, so we continued our request to use the old number. However, it eventually became clear that although there is nothing sacrosanct about Masonic numbers, it was still a stumbling block for some brothers in the jurisdiction who just didn’t see how a new lodge could ask for an old number, despite the fact that similar revivals or reassignments have long been done in Masonry, even in recent years.

We had to speak more directly to where we are now. As with all good Masonic stories, symbolism came into play, and the decision was made that the desire to pay homage to the original lodge was best done by referencing time. The number 222 —pronounced as three separate twos—came instantly to mind. Exoterically, the number alludes to each century that Lodge No. 2 would have been in existence had it continued (19th, 20th, 21st). In addition, the lodge began its work 222 years after the very first incarnation of Brooke Lodge began its first full year of existence, in 1797.

The number also has an esoteric meaning to those brothers who are members of the lodge.

As for the name, Alba is the Scots Gaelic name for Scotland. In addition to being an observant lodge, the cultural tone and feel of the lodge is that of Scotland and Scottish Masonry, and we are the only lodge in the Americas to work the MacBride ritual of the Grand Lodge of Scotland. The Grand Lodge of DC is quite possibly the most progressive Grand Lodge in the world, as it allows for different forms of ritual to be worked by its lodges, provided that the ritual is a verified and sanctioned ritual of a Grand Lodge recognized by the Grand Lodge of DC. In addition to the MacBride ritual, our grand jurisdiction presently has lodges that work the "Preston-Webb" ritual in four languages, the Emulation ritual in six languages, the Modern Scottish work, and the work of the Grande Loge Nationale Française.