Name Christopher Hodapp | Role Author | |
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Books Solomon's Builders, The Templar Code for, Freemasons For Dummies, Conspiracy Theories and Secr, Deciphering the Lost Symbol | ||
Christopher L. Hodapp (born 1958) is an American author and filmmaker, noted for his writings about Freemasonry, the Knights Templar, secret societies and conspiracy theories. He was the editor in chief (and is currently the Editor Emeritus) of the Journal of The Masonic Society.
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Career
Hodapp studied film production between 1977 and 1983 at Indiana University, the University of Southern California, Los Angeles Valley College and California State University Northridge. In 1984, he became a commercial filmmaker with Dean Crow Productions in Indianapolis, Indiana. He has edited hundreds of television commercials and feature films, and his voice has appeared in numerous broadcast productions.
Hodapp became a Freemason in 1998, and is a 33rd degree Scottish Rite Mason in the Valley of Indianapolis. He is a Past Master of Lodge Vitruvian No. 767, one of the first "European Concept" lodges in the U.S. He is a member of the York Rite and a Knight Templar. He is a Past Sovereign Master of the Allied Masonic Degrees, a member of the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (Shriners), and numerous other Masonic organizations. In 2004, as part of a Masonic think-tank known collectively as the Knights of the North, he co-wrote and edited Laudable Pursuit: A 21st Century Response To The Questions Of Dwight Smith, which is widely recognized as a major influence in the so-called 'traditional observance" Masonic movement in the U.S.
In 2005, he wrote Freemasons For Dummies. In 2006 Hodapp wrote Solomon's Builders: Freemasons, Founding Fathers and the Secrets of Washington D.C., which explores the early history of the United States and the role Freemasons played in its revolution and founding. It also contains an extensive guide to Masonic landmarks in Washington D.C. In 2007, in collaboration with Alice Von Kannon, he wrote The Templar Code For Dummies, a guide to the medieval Knights Templar, the subsequent mysteries and myths that have surrounded them, and their connections with Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. In 2008, Hodapp and Von Kannon published their second collaboration, Conspiracy Theories & Secret Societies For Dummies, which was required reading in a 2010 course on conspiracy at Harvard University.
In 2009, he authored Deciphering The Lost Symbol: Freemasons, Myths and the Mysteries of Washington, D.C., a Masonic guidebook to Dan Brown's novel The Lost Symbol.
In 2010, Hodapp and Von Kannon developed episode outlines for the History Channel program, Brad Meltzer's Decoded, and contributed material on conspiracies and secret societies for TruTV.
He has written for Templar History Magazine, Masonic Magazine, The Indiana Freemason Magazine, Knight Templar Magazine, The Phylaxis Magazine, The Scottish Rite Journal and Indianapolis Monthly Magazine. Between 2005-2008, he wrote a monthly humor column for the Texas-based Living Natural First Magazine, A Pilgrim's Progress: True Tales of an Organic Greenhorn.
He has appeared on the History Channel Secrets of the Founding Fathers and the Discovery Channel Hunting The Lost Symbol.