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Seasonal Greetings ... The Virgin Mary and Infant Enthroned between St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist by Sandro Botticelli, 1484 Gemäldegalerie Art Museum, Berlin, Germany The above work was
commissioned as an altarpiece for the newly completed Church of Santo
Spirito in Florence by Giovanni d'Agnolo de' Bardi, recently returned
from England
where he had been head of the London branch of the Medici Bank for
twenty years. His chosen patron saints were the two Saints
John. St John the Baptist, the Patron of Florence, is shown on
the left as an adult, with a baptismal bowl by his feet. St John
the Evangelist on the right, is shown as an old man carrying a quill pen
and a book, standing in front of
his symbol, an eagle.
Traditionally the two Saints John are the Patrons of Freemasonry. In 1717 the first meeting and grand feast of the Grand Lodge of England was held on St John the Baptist's Day, 24 June. In many jurisdictions the Master and other officers of Freemasons' Lodges are installed into office close to St John the Evangelist's Day, 27 December, which of course follows just after Christmas Day.  Grand Lodge Administration Office has closed for Christmas and New Year - reopens 9am Monday 11th January 2010 |
| www.freemasonrysaust.org.au/greetingscard.html |