The Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania and Masonic Jurisdiction Thereunto Belonging is the premier masonic organization in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania claims to be the oldest Grand Lodge in the United States, and the third oldest in the world after England (est. 1717) and Ireland (est. 1725), having been originally established as the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania in 1731. This claim is disputed by both the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and the Grand Lodge of Virginia.The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania is the largest Grand Lodge, in terms of membership, in the United States. In 2015 it reported a membership of 101,745 and was the only Grand Lodge in the United States to have membership above 100,000. It is only surpassed in membership by the United Grand Lodge of England on a worldwide scale.HistoryThe Provincial Grand Lodge of PennsylvaniaTwo English grand lodges erected lodges in Pennsylvania during the 18th century, the Premier Grand Lodge of England (known as the "Moderns"), established in London in 1717, and the Ancient Grand Lodge of England (known as the "Antients" or "Ancients"), established in London in 1751. The first of these, the Moderns' Grand Lodge, was first to establish lodges and provincial grand lodges in the American colonies. But by 1785, the Moderns and their lodges had ceased to exist in Pennsylvania, the last of their members having been absorbed by the lodges of the Ancients. The present day Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania descends primarily from the Ancients, with the Moderns having been grafted onto "Ancient York Masonry."
