A memorial had been erected by the petitioner over the grave of her deceased husband pursuant to permission given by the incumbent. The incumbent refused permission for the engraving of a set square and compass – a symbol of freemasonry with which the deceased had a lifelong association. The petitioner sought a faculty from the chancellor permitting the engraving. The Parochial Church Council supported the petition but the Diocesan Advisory Committee did not recommend the proposal.

The chancellor considered the report endorsed by General Synod in 1987, Freemasonry and Christianity: are they compatible? He observed that the Roman Catholic church prohibits its members from becoming freemasons and that the Methodist Church, the Free Church of Scotland and the Baptist Union discourage their members from becoming freemasons. The chancellor found that he did not need to decide whether freemasonry and Christianity are compatible, but noted that there is clearly some debate and doubt as to whether the two are compatible and that the addition of a masonic symbol on a memorial in a Church of England churchyard is likely to be controversial. He noted that there was already an inappropriate multiplicity of engravings on the memorial. The masonic symbol was considered by some Christians to be un-Christian and General Synod had decided that there were a number of very fundamental reasons to question the compatibility of freemasonry and Christianity – a view shared by other Christian denominations. The chancellor refused the faculty. [RA]