A.D. and A.L.

Many brethren may have noticed that in many Masonic records and certificates the letters AD & AL play a prominent part.

AD after the year (for example 2006 AD), is an abbreviation of the Latin words “Anno Domini “, which means in the year of our Lord.

So our current year is reflected as the 2006th year since the birth of Jesus Christ.

On most Masonic documents, cornerstones, and monuments, another date is also usually reflected with the abbreviation AL.

The letters AL after the year 6006 for example is an abbreviation of the Latin words “Anno Lucis”,
which means in the year of light.

It has been accepted by Ancient Craft Masons that the World was created in 4000 BC (Before Christ) when God said “Let there be light", as recorded in the Holy Scriptures which is the Great Light of Masonry, in the Book of Genesis, Chapter 1, verse 3.

Therefore our current AL year or Year of Light is computed by adding the 4000 BC years to the current AD year.

James Ussher, an Anglican priest born in Dublin in 1580, interpreted the time of the Creation in the Bible as being 4,004 BC. This was generally accepted by the Church as well, and was adopted in Anderson’s “Constitutions”, the basic text of modern Freemasonry. Hence, a Masonic date adds 4000 years to the currently accepted origins of the Christian era, and is called “anno Lucis,” or the year of light.

However, other Masonic bodies have different interpretations. For example, the Knight Kadosh of the Scottish Rite use “anno hebraico (a.k.a. anno mundi)”, taken from Hebrew months and a calendar based on Jewish chronology. This thinking begins in September and adds 3,760 years on the Gregorian calendar. In the Royal Arch, the date of Creation is “anno inventionis”, or 530 BC, the date when work commences on the second temple by Zerubbabel. The Royal and Select Masters degree uses the time of the dedication of K.S. Temple, or 1,000 BC and is called “anno depositionis.” The Templar's (especially in Europe) count the beginning as 1,118 AD, the founding of the Order and is called “anno ordinis.”