A Conversation with a Friend
The lodge program that can only be delivered once in a regular lodge
BY WORSHIPFUL J. DAVID TAMAYO
KEMPER MACON-WARE LODGE No 64 * FALLS CHURCH, VA
Brethren, today I guarantee you a program you will only see delivered once in a lifetime by a Worshipful Master and one that you will not easily forget. First, I’ll start with a disclaimer: This presentation only represents my personal views and not those of my Brothers, friends, neighbors, or family. Also, when you leave today, there will be copies of this presentation that you can take with you for future thought. My e-mail address is also at the bottom, in case you may want to ask me questions about it.
Today, I am going to talk about history, philosophy, knowledge, reason, Freemasonry, love, loyalty to the Craft, truth, enlightenment and integrity. You may hear some citations of the undesired topics of “politics” or “religion,” but they are only mentioned in a historical context to bring forth my point. I will also present some things that initially may look disjointed, but I promise to bring them all together at the end.
First, let me start by giving you, brethren, a quick history of my journey in Freemasonry and how I’ve learned to love and respect this fraternity as well as each one of you. Over 10 years ago, I noticed that one of the people I supervised at work had a gold ring with some symbols on it. After I inquired, he explained what Masonry was all about, and I became very interested. I investigated further and found out that many well-respected historical men, including my all-time hero Benjamin Franklin, had been members of the Fraternity. In the process, I also found out that my Church, the Catholic Church, prohibited me from becoming a Freemason under the penalty of excommunication and eternal damnation. In fact, through the anonymity of the Internet, I spoke with a priest in Alexandria who explained to me that the Church was against Masonic oaths and Freemasonry’s secrecy; and that, furthermore, I was not to question the Church’s wisdom on this matter. So after a long discussion, I told the priest that I was still going to join the Craft because I couldn’t obey a Church rule without logical and clear reasons. He warned me that if he ever found out who I was, he would make sure that I would be excommunicated by Rome. I assured him that I would leave Freemasonry if I ever saw in it anything of anti-moral or anti-Catholic character. Well, in the decade I’ve been a member, I have never seen anything but good will and great friendship from every brother in this and every lodge; I’ve also had the honor and privilege to twice serve as Worshipful Master of this lodge.
To give you an idea of the seriousness of my decision to join the Masons, a decision I’ve never regretted, I quote from several encyclopedias that explain Masonic history in the 18th century: For instance, from historical writings I quote “The church maintained that divine inspiration and revelation were sufficient to lead the kind of life desired for man by God, pope, and king and thus no need for Freemasonry. One's time on earth was allotted only for preparation in dying and being reborn in a supernatural kingdom”. By the end of the 1700s, the stigma attached to Freemasonry by clerical and civil authorities had taken hold. Pope Clement XII issued his infamous papal bull, In Eminenti, banning Masonry and forbidding lodge membership for all Catholics under any king. He wrongly and unjustly declared: “For the sake of the peace and safety of civil governments, and spiritual safety of souls, and to prevent these men from plundering the House like thieves, laying waste the Vineyard like wolves, perverting the minds of the incautious and shooting down innocent people from their hiding places.... no Catholic is to be a Freemason”. Eleven other popes would condemn Freemasonry in the most vitriolic language possible. As for progress, the hierarchical arrangement of God in heaven, and kings and popes on earth as His "lawful representatives" demanded conformity, stability, and obedience, instead of development, experimentation, and, in their words, blasphemy, which were considered products of Freemasonry during the enlightenment years.
It has been said that Europe conceptualized the Enlightenment, whereas America, with the establishment of an "enlightened republic", realized it. As such, Freemasonry came to colonial America on or about 1730, and the bulk of the evidence suggests that most lodges were politically neutral "in the English tradition," although "...outstanding individuals... made a definite link between Freemasonry, the new political ideas, and the struggle for independence” all this according to our history books. In 1737, Louis XV ordered that loyal subjects could not belong to the Masonic order. The mere secrecy of the society, with its lore and awesome symbolism, was considered fertile soil for imaginative criticism.
No one represented these enlightenment ideals better than Bro. Benjamin Franklin who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence, an early opponent of slavery, an advocate of the philosophy of progress, and a founder of the American Philosophical Society. He was a deist who did not like structured religion and, in fact, in 1758 Franklin wrote in Poor Richard’s Almanac, "The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason."
Bro. George Washington became Charter Master of the Alexandria lodge, the first president of the United States, and a vociferous advocate of fundamental Enlightenment ideas, including separation of church and state.
Thomas Jefferson was not a Mason and as our 3rd president is a man I greatly admire. Amidst the hysteria that swept Europe and America concerning Freemasonry and the Order of the Illuminati, he publically defended, on several occasions, the Order and its founder, Adam Weishaupt. Jefferson was also a deist who despised organized religion. In a letter to Alexander von Humboldt in 1813, Jefferson wrote, "History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes." As you can imagine, this statement, when it came to light, did not sit well with men of the cloth of all denominations.
Patriot Thomas Paine, often thought to be a Freemason (although he wasn’t), was the pamphleteer of the American Revolution and an associate of many radical European Freemasons, including Nicholas Bonneville. Bonneville was a radical republican and head of a neo-Masonic group known as "Friends of Truth," which were very active during the French Revolution. Paine's booklet, “Common Sense,” published in January 1776, echoed the Masonic notion that "we have it in our power to begin the world over again...." through reason and truth.
So, this brings us to truth. Since the days of the Greek philosophers, much has been said and pondered about truth. Henry David Thoreau said, “Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth” and, although I strongly agree with that statement, I agree even more with Stopford Brooke when he said, “If a thousand old beliefs were ruined in our march to truth, we must still march on.” So, how important is truth to each one of us? Again, in the words of Thomas Paine, “He who dares not offend cannot be honest” and, one of my favorite notes from Eugene V. Debs’ 1918 speech, “Do not worry over the charge of treason to your masters, but be concerned about the treason that involves yourselves. Be true to yourself and you cannot be a traitor to any good cause on Earth.” So, in light of this, what would any of us be willing to risk for truth? Would you risk losing a child’s respect by telling the truth about Santa Claus’s existence? Would you tell the truth even if it meant losing your job? Isn’t it our moral duty to tell the truth to those we love and especially to one’s self? The famous physicist Dr. Stephen Hawking, who is one of my favorite living heroes, said, “The Greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge.” Illusion, in this case, is a deception and not the truth. I’ll come back to the topic of truth in a few minutes.
Throughout history, Freemasonry has been a bastion of new ideas and tolerance. This tolerance is practiced through lessons on prudence, justice, and temperance as well as brotherly love. But, a few months ago, a friend of mine who has long been interested in Masonry pointed out to me that there is great Masonic intolerance for whoever doesn’t believe in a deity. My friend said, “David, considering that the U.S. Constitution was created with the collaboration of many freemasons, and considering that it does not mention any deity anywhere – not even once, how can Freemasonry reject a good man just because he does not believe in the supernatural?” So, to answer him, I consulted the Short Talk Bulletin - Vol. X No. 4 from April 1932 titled “The Stupid Atheist.”
The bulletin says, “No atheist can be made a Mason, far less from lack of binding power of the obligation taken by such a disbeliever, than from Freemasonry’s knowledge that an atheist can never be a Mason ‘in his heart’… A disbeliever in the Fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man founded on that fatherhood, and the immortality of the soul in a life to come could by no possible chance be happy or content in our organization.” My friend strongly objected saying, “David, there is no way for a Freemason, who, by definition, cannot be an atheist, to know what an atheist would feel, think, or want in life.”
Ah, but being near a computer, I investigated further. The Ancient charges, including the words “stupid atheist,” were written into Masonry before Darwin’s time. In this day and age, in general, we certainly don’t think that atheists are stupid people – if fact, we tend to admire them when they invent a new medicine or a new space probe, but over 93% of the scientists at the National Academy of Sciences do not believe in a deity, and they are certainly not stupid.
I continued reading the Bulletin aloud to my friend: “An atheist may be an honest man, a good husband and father, a law abiding, charitable, and upstanding citizen. If so, his whole life contradicts what his lips say.” My friend replied, “Hmmm. So does this mean that since my lips contradict what I say, it’s OK for the Masons to accept me in the Fraternity because, according to the pamphlet, I am not really an atheist?” He laughed and replied to his own question, “I don’t think so.” Referring to this part of the Bulletin, my friend told me that this statement showed a lack of understanding and knowledge of what non-theist people think and believe. “As a humanist”, he said, “I don’t believe in any deities because there is no independent and verifiable evidence for any of the thousands upon thousands of gods that have been claimed throughout human history.” I then asked, “Well, so does that mean you don’t believe in anything?” To which he replied, “I believe in everything you believe in, minus the supernatural stuff. I believe in reason, science, moral excellence, art, research, discovery, justice, peace, love, liberty, order, honesty, and integrity.”
My conversation with my friend was really unexpected, and I was caught a bit off-guard. He said, “Don’t Freemasons agree with Thomas Jefferson when he said: Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, He must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear?.” Although I couldn’t personally contradict someone like Thomas Jefferson, I did respond by quoting Scottish Rite Bro. J. Howard Duncan from Kansas who wrote, “Acceptance of an atheist as a Mason is a different matter. Not different because the atheist is de facto a bad person, but because, with an atheist, there is no basis of trust. While we cannot welcome them into our ancient Fraternity, our dealings with atheists must be as honorable as with all others. We owe them no less because they cannot accept God. Honesty and fairness must be our guides both in and beyond the boundaries of our Brotherhood”. My friend then reminded me that similar sentiments of “equal but separate” were expressed in that ugly part of our national history when water fountains were labeled “white” and “colored.”
With strong feelings and, a bit flustered, I reminded my friend that Freemasonry is several hundreds years old and its tenets have served humanity at many levels for centuries. Faith in a deity gives us morals and gives us unquestionable standards. But, he replied, “You know, David, in 1623 Galileo was put on trial by the Catholic Church for saying that the earth went around the sun and not the sun around the earth. Galileo told his heresy accusers, “I do not think it is necessary to believe that the same God who has given us our senses, reason, and intelligence wished us to abandon their use, giving us, by some other means, the information that we could gain through them.”
The “bottom line”, my friend continued, “is that any organization that doesn’t change with the times is doomed to disappear.” He mentioned that “in England, where less than 30% of the people believe in a deity, many good men cannot join the fraternity and the Craft there is in real trouble because of it. Masonry needs to evolve or risk extinction.”
To say the least, my friend gave me a lot to think about, and I’ve done a great deal of reading, studying, and research. Among the things I’ve read, there was a passage from an unknown author which read, “When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken, or cease to be honest.” I found this to be very thought-provoking. Can something be true to one person and false to another and can both be right? I’ve always thought of truth as being immutable and absolute. In the 1945 book A History of Western Philosophy, Bertrand Russell says, “Science tells us what we know, but what we can know is little, and if we forget how much we cannot know, we become insensitive to many things of great importance. Theology, on the other hand, induces a dogmatic belief that we have knowledge where in fact we have ignorance, and by doing so generates a kind of impertinent insolence towards the universe. Uncertainty, in the presence of vivid hopes and fears is painful, but must be endured if we wish to live without the support of comforting fairy tales."… So, is this a truth not to be misunderstood?
I asked my friend, “Why don’t you just believe in God. That way, in case God really exists, you will be able to enjoy the afterlife, but, most important, you will be able to enjoy today the benefits and fellowship of Freemasonry?” After thinking for a few seconds, he replied, “David, can one really choose to believe or not believe in something? Really choose? If I tell you that this paper is red when you clearly see that it is white, can you force yourself to believe, really believe, that it’s red? And, if I pretend to believe, would I really be fooling the Deity? Even if I did, I would just be deceiving all the people in the lodge and that would mean that I have no integrity, and I don’t think Freemasons wants men without integrity, do they? There are many people who believe in ‘belief,’ but I am not one of them.” My friend continued, “David, let me get this straight: are you saying Freemasonry would rather have as a brother a man who believes that a cow or a macaque is a god (as many people in India do) instead of someone like Mark Twain, Thomas Edison, Warren Buffet or Bill Gates who were or are all atheists?”
I was taken aback a bit, but recuperated and, I told my friend, “Look, you can’t really prove that there is no God,” and to my surprise my friend agreed! He responded, “Listen David, we cannot prove a negative, but we define the existence of things based on evidence for their existence, not on our lack of evidence. Thus, it is reasonable to say that, until there is evidence for something, the default is no existence, and I haven’t seen good independent and reliable evidence to believe otherwise.” For instance, you cannot prove that unicorns, fairies, leprechauns and Zeus do not exist. He continued, “The best thing is to always continue to study and learn. I still search for truth and evidence concerning a Deity just as many philosophers have done from time immemorial. For example as far back as 341 BC, the Greek philosopher Epicurus asked some tough questions that even today we cannot answer.”
My dear brethren, I now would like to put some things together. Earlier, I asked how important truth is. For me, truth is more important than anything. Truth, to myself first and those I love, is important because it is a measure of integrity. But, truth and integrity are not free; truth and integrity have a very high cost, one that I am almost always willing to pay. So, considering how important truth and integrity are for me, it pains me deeply, more than you’ll ever imagine, to tell you a significant truth today knowing very well the price for this truth. Because I love you all very much, with a very heavy heart, I hereby declare, as my last order as Worshipful Master of Kemper Macon Ware Lodge #64, that the Secretary of this lodge accept this letter and speech as my official request to demit from this lodge that I love so much, and to the District Deputy Grand Master, I request that I be demitted from regular Masonry as a whole.
You see, my brethren, the truth is that the friend who I’ve been talking about all this time is me! For some months now, I’ve stopped believing in a god and in all supernatural things, but it is because I love this fraternity so much and because I respect and love each one of you so much that I cannot, that I will not, deceive any of you by pretending I believe in something that I clearly do not believe in. I hope you understand and appreciate my situation.
Most Sincerely and Fraternally,
J. David Tamayo
As of Now, Former Worshipful Master and
a Former Regular Freemason
Notes by David Tamayo
I cannot consciously choose to believe or not believe in a Deity. So if a God exists, obviously he has not chosen to give me enough evidence to believe in his existence. Some of you may be offended that I question God's existence, but men become civilized not in proportion to their willingness to believe things, but in proportion to their readiness to doubt them. It is questioning everything that moves us forward in knowledge and wisdom.
Some of you may think we cannot judge the supernatural because we cannot “see” beyond the five senses. But we can only use the tools we have, which are intellect, reason and logic. For example, for me it is not logical or reasonable to believe that a snake talked to Eve. Also, who did Adam and Eve’s children have sex with to create Adam and Eve’s grandchildren and descendents? Incest? I find that lack of logic in many similar religious beliefs to be unreasonable, and it is only believed because a book written over 2,000 years ago by unknown desert nomads says so. Yes, we can pick and choose, when convenient, what should be interpreted versus what should be literal – which for me is more “proof” of the non-existence of a deity.
I am not interested in changing anyone’s mind about belief. However, it is a requirement for regular Masonry, and I love this fraternity too much to insult it by lying about the number one requirement. Some friends have said to me, “The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.” Well, absence of evidence is not proof of existence either, and as Dr. Carl Sagan often said, “Great claims require great proofs.” Some claims can be believed because they are small and not important, but others require big proof. For example, if I say that a space alien just came to my house and gave me a 35-pound diamond, you’d want to see that diamond before you believed me. But if I tell you that 1 hour ago I ate a bag of potato chips, you probably would believe me without the need for much proof.
To be a regular Mason, one must believe in a Deity, but I am an atheist now (not by choice) although I wasn’t when I first joined Kemper Macon-Ware #64 about 10 years ago. Since the Supreme Architect of the Universe is supernatural (supernatural = not natural, not part of nature, not of this world, mind without body, etc.) and I no longer qualify to be a regular Mason, I am going to do the next best thing, which is to join an “irregular” lodge such as the Grand Orient of France (where Franklin and Voltaire were members at some point). They accept freethinkers such as myself and have been doing so for well over 100 years. Their ranks are rapidly growing, while the ranks of “regular” Freemasonry have been declining fast. Maybe this is one of the reasons…
Some friends criticize me because I will take science over dogma every time. They say “science always changes its theories, and religion does not,” but that is the beauty of it: science is self-correcting while religion is not. Most religions, even when proven wrong, will not correct their dogmas. That is why science can predict things far better than any prophecy. Would you rather fly in an airplane created by someone who has tested and retested the plane and has evidence through the scientific method that the plane flies, or in an airplane checked by someone who just has faith that it will fly? Pardon the simplistic argument, but I’d rather rely on science than blind faith for everyday living.
I guess if, in the future, I start believing in a God again, I am sure regular Masonry would be happy to have me back. We should always question things – all things – in order to progress as a society. So, in reference to the Craft, as brothers we pride ourselves on having religious tolerance, but why do you personally (not the party line) believe non-theists such as me should be rejected and discriminated against in Masonry? Do you realize that regular Freemasonry automatically excludes the majority of the scientists in the National Science Foundation? In 1998, the magazine Nature did a study in the U.S. and concluded the following "The latest survey involved 517 members of the National Academy of Sciences; half replied. When queried about belief in a personal god, only 7% responded in the affirmative, while 72.2% expressed personal disbelief, and 20.8% expressed agnosticism." You can find other surveys by Scientific American and other publications here: http://kspark.kaist.ac.kr/Jesus/Inte...20religion.htm
Something to think about: Selecting members for Masonry based on their personal and private religious (or lack of) views will exclude many good men who would otherwise add excellent value to the Craft. In fact, after doing some research, I found that this “rule” was written into Masonry long before Charles Darwin had come up with the theory of Natural Selection and Evolution. So, we should ask ourselves these questions:
1. Should Freemasonry evolve as our knowledge about the world increases over the centuries?
2. How has Freemasonry changed as society has changed over the past 100, 200, or 300 years? Not much if at all!
3. Do you believe regular Masonry should accept/keep active good members who no longer believe in a Deity instead of rejecting them outright “just because those are the rules?”
4. Should Freemasons ever be allowed to question and improve the tenets of Freemasonry? How can Freemasonry be improved if we won't allow reviews of its tenets?
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Phoenixmasonry Masonic Museum and Library
August 11, 1999, saw the birth of a new Masonic museum and without walls of brick and mortar but with a collection that nonetheless delights and fascinates visitors.
The Phoenixmasonry Masonic Museum and Library, http://www.phoenixmasonry.org, is the world’s first and largest online, virtual museum devoted to Freemasonry and fraternalism.
It was created by its President and Curator, Worshipful Brother David Lettelier along with several Master Masons who met each other on the popular Internet auction site eBay while collecting fraternal objects. The museum never closes and offers easy online access to web-surfers in the safety and comfort of their homes and businesses.
The founders shared an interest in preserving the rich cultural heritage of artifacts, books, and collectibles that were produced to commemorate many special Masonic and fraternal events. Lodge dedications, cornerstone layings, anniversaries, installations, and conventions were all marked and remembered by presentation pieces made in glass, china, porcelain, wood, and metals. They were given away or sold to friends, family, and brethren who were in attendance. These artifacts are truly symbolic of the perfection our forefathers strived to achieve in their daily lives.
Phoenixmasonry, Inc. recently celebrated its 10th Anniversary online and also become more interactive with its visitors by establishing a site on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Phoenixmasonry-Masonic-Museum-and-Library-USA/191452707278?ref=ts
Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine
The Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, commonly known as Shriners and abbreviated A.A.O.N.M.S., established in 1870 is an appendant body to Freemasonry, based in the United States. The organization is best-known for the Shriners Hospitals for Children they administer and the red fezzes that members wear. The organization is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.
In 1870, there were several thousand Masons in Manhattan, many of whom lunched at the Knickerbocker Cottage at a special table on the second floor. There, the idea of a new fraternity for Masons stressing fun and fellowship was discussed. Dr. Walter M. Fleming, M.D., and William J. Florence took the idea seriously enough to act upon it.
Florence, a world-renowned actor, while on tour in Marseilles, was invited to a party given by an Arabian diplomat. The entertainment was something in the nature of an elaborately staged musical comedy. At its conclusion, the guests became members of a secret society. Florence took copious notes and drawings at his initial viewing and on two other occasions, once in Algiers and once in Cairo. When he returned to New York in 1870, he showed his material to Fleming.[2]
Fleming took the ideas supplied by Florence and converted them into what would become the "Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (A.A.O.N.M.S.)". Fleming created the ritual, emblem and costumes. Florence and Fleming were initiated August 13, 1870, and initiated 11 other men on June 16, 1871.[3]
The group adopted a Middle Eastern theme and soon established Temples meeting in Mosques (though the term Temple has now generally been replaced by Shrine Auditorium or Shrine Center). The first Temple established was Mecca Temple (now known as Mecca Shriners), established at the New York City Masonic Hall on September 26, 1872. Fleming was the first Potentate.[4]
In 1875, there were only 43 Shriners in the organization. In an effort to spur membership, at the June 6, 1876 meeting of Mecca Temple, the Imperial Grand Council of the Ancient Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for North America was created. Fleming was elected the first Imperial Potentate. After some other reworking, by 1878 there were 425 members in 13 temples in eight states, and by 1888, there were 7,210 members in 48 temples in the United States and Canada. By the Imperial Session held in Washington, D.C. in 1900, there were 55,000 members and 82 Temples.[5]
Shriners often participate in local parades, sometimes as rather elaborate units: miniature vehicles in themes (all sports cars; all miniature 18-wheeler trucks; all fire engines, and so on), an "Oriental Band" dressed in cartoonish versions of Middle Eastern dress; pipe bands, drummers, motorcycle units, Drum and Bugle Corps, and even traditional brass bands.
Despite its theme, the Shrine is in no way connected to Islam. It is a men's fraternity rather than a religion or religious group. Its only religious requirement is indirect: all Shriners must be Masons, and petitioners to Freemasonry must profess a belief in a Supreme Being. To further minimize confusion with religion, the use of the word "Temple" to describe Shriners' buildings has been replaced by "Shrine Center," although individual local chapters are still called "Temples."
Until 2000, before being eligible for membership in the Shrine, a person had to complete either the Scottish Rite or York Rite degrees of Masonry,[6] but now any Master Mason can join.[7]
Some of the earliest Shrine Centers often chose a Moorish Revival style for their Temples. Architecturally notable Shriners Temples include the New York City Center, now used as a concert hall, The Landmark Theater (formerly The Mosque) in Richmond, Virginia, the Tripoli Shrine Temple in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the Fox Theatre (Atlanta, Georgia) which was jointly built between the Atlanta Shriners and William Fox.
Statue at Shriners Hospital in Portland, OregonMain article: Shriners Hospitals for Children The Shrine's charitable arm is the Shriners Hospitals for Children, a network of twenty-two hospitals in the United States, Mexico and Canada. It was originally formed to treat young victims of polio, but as that disease was controlled, they broadened their scope. They now deal with all pediatric cases, most especially with orthopedic injuries, disease and burns. There is never any charge for treatment at a Shriners Hospital. There is no requirement for religion, race, or relationship to a Freemason. Patients must be under the age of eighteen and treatable.[citation needed]
In 2008, Shriners Hospitals had a total budget of $826 million and in 2007 they approved 39,454 new patient applications, attended to the needs of 125,125 patients.[8]
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Arabic_Order_of_the_Nobles_of_the_Mystic_Shrine"
In 1870, there were several thousand Masons in Manhattan, many of whom lunched at the Knickerbocker Cottage at a special table on the second floor. There, the idea of a new fraternity for Masons stressing fun and fellowship was discussed. Dr. Walter M. Fleming, M.D., and William J. Florence took the idea seriously enough to act upon it.
Florence, a world-renowned actor, while on tour in Marseilles, was invited to a party given by an Arabian diplomat. The entertainment was something in the nature of an elaborately staged musical comedy. At its conclusion, the guests became members of a secret society. Florence took copious notes and drawings at his initial viewing and on two other occasions, once in Algiers and once in Cairo. When he returned to New York in 1870, he showed his material to Fleming.[2]
Fleming took the ideas supplied by Florence and converted them into what would become the "Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (A.A.O.N.M.S.)". Fleming created the ritual, emblem and costumes. Florence and Fleming were initiated August 13, 1870, and initiated 11 other men on June 16, 1871.[3]
The group adopted a Middle Eastern theme and soon established Temples meeting in Mosques (though the term Temple has now generally been replaced by Shrine Auditorium or Shrine Center). The first Temple established was Mecca Temple (now known as Mecca Shriners), established at the New York City Masonic Hall on September 26, 1872. Fleming was the first Potentate.[4]
In 1875, there were only 43 Shriners in the organization. In an effort to spur membership, at the June 6, 1876 meeting of Mecca Temple, the Imperial Grand Council of the Ancient Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for North America was created. Fleming was elected the first Imperial Potentate. After some other reworking, by 1878 there were 425 members in 13 temples in eight states, and by 1888, there were 7,210 members in 48 temples in the United States and Canada. By the Imperial Session held in Washington, D.C. in 1900, there were 55,000 members and 82 Temples.[5]
Shriners often participate in local parades, sometimes as rather elaborate units: miniature vehicles in themes (all sports cars; all miniature 18-wheeler trucks; all fire engines, and so on), an "Oriental Band" dressed in cartoonish versions of Middle Eastern dress; pipe bands, drummers, motorcycle units, Drum and Bugle Corps, and even traditional brass bands.
Despite its theme, the Shrine is in no way connected to Islam. It is a men's fraternity rather than a religion or religious group. Its only religious requirement is indirect: all Shriners must be Masons, and petitioners to Freemasonry must profess a belief in a Supreme Being. To further minimize confusion with religion, the use of the word "Temple" to describe Shriners' buildings has been replaced by "Shrine Center," although individual local chapters are still called "Temples."
Until 2000, before being eligible for membership in the Shrine, a person had to complete either the Scottish Rite or York Rite degrees of Masonry,[6] but now any Master Mason can join.[7]
Some of the earliest Shrine Centers often chose a Moorish Revival style for their Temples. Architecturally notable Shriners Temples include the New York City Center, now used as a concert hall, The Landmark Theater (formerly The Mosque) in Richmond, Virginia, the Tripoli Shrine Temple in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the Fox Theatre (Atlanta, Georgia) which was jointly built between the Atlanta Shriners and William Fox.
Statue at Shriners Hospital in Portland, OregonMain article: Shriners Hospitals for Children The Shrine's charitable arm is the Shriners Hospitals for Children, a network of twenty-two hospitals in the United States, Mexico and Canada. It was originally formed to treat young victims of polio, but as that disease was controlled, they broadened their scope. They now deal with all pediatric cases, most especially with orthopedic injuries, disease and burns. There is never any charge for treatment at a Shriners Hospital. There is no requirement for religion, race, or relationship to a Freemason. Patients must be under the age of eighteen and treatable.[citation needed]
In 2008, Shriners Hospitals had a total budget of $826 million and in 2007 they approved 39,454 new patient applications, attended to the needs of 125,125 patients.[8]
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Arabic_Order_of_the_Nobles_of_the_Mystic_Shrine"
A Brotherhood Without Boundaries
I had the distinct honor and pleasure of sitting with the brothers of Lafayette Lodge No. 89 [in Bethesda, Maryland] of the Grand Orient of France this past weekend, and meeting with many brothers and sisters from around globe. There were a number of different obediences in attendance, all wearing the respective regalia of their orders. I couldn’t help but think about Free-Masonry in much broader terms than I had in the past. In this lodge Free-Masonry existed without any boundaries; all were accepted and equal. The warm spirit of fraternal camaraderie was everywhere apparent.
The Grand Orient of France’s perspective of Free-Masonry is very different from that of the American Grand Lodges to which I was accustomed. They try to be a unifying force within the fraternity by bringing diverse groups of Masons together for the benefit of all Free-Masonry.
In the past I had always felt there was something wrong with labeling other people as “irregular” or “clandestine”, but at the time this concept was purely philosophical and theoretical to me. When you say that someone is “irregular” it is akin to claiming that they are illegitimate or a bastard. “Clandestine” implies that they are working to accomplish something nefarious in secret. There is simply no way to morally justify the use of these egregious and alienating terms when it comes to brothers and sisters of the greater Craft throughout the world. Anyone using these terms to define or describe good and honorable Masons is not themselves worthy of being called a Mason.
It is now clear to me that there is no such thing as the “mainstream” Craft. The idea that the Craft is divided is an illusion created by those who wish to separate and divide Masonry into opposing factions. These are not the actions of people who understand the meaning of tolerance or fraternity, but of those who wish to replace brotherly love with fear and misunderstanding.
There are many groups of Free-Masons throughout the world who share the same goals but have spent years struggling over the nature of the “Landmarks” of the Craft. My brothers and sisters THERE ARE NO SUCH THINGS AS ANCIENT LANDMARKS. Bro. Anderson mentions the existence of “Ancient Landmarks” in his Constitutions of 1723, but he never said what they were. Fighting among ourselves over what some believe to be Ancient Landmarks is a waste of both time and energy. We need to get past this kind of thinking and begin working together for the common good of the Craft and humanity.
I am appealing to all Masons (brothers and sisters alike), and to their respective Grand Lodges, to begin the process of thinking outside the box that we have created around ourselves, and to seek amelioration among all Masons. We must find a way for all Masons to work together while allowing them the freedom to continue with their unique obediences. There is a real need for male lodges, female lodges and mixed gender lodges. People need to have the freedom to work in the ways in which they are most comfortable and confident. One size or shape does not fit all, nor will it ever.
The present path of mutually assured destruction is not in the best interest of Free-Masonry or Free-Masons. It doesn’t have to be this way because we can choose a more positive path of mutual cooperation and assistance that will lead to a new era of Masonic leadership in our communities and the world. We need to have a vision of a brother/sisterhood without boundaries; one where all Masons work together in peace and harmony.
Jeff Peace
The Grand Orient of France’s perspective of Free-Masonry is very different from that of the American Grand Lodges to which I was accustomed. They try to be a unifying force within the fraternity by bringing diverse groups of Masons together for the benefit of all Free-Masonry.
In the past I had always felt there was something wrong with labeling other people as “irregular” or “clandestine”, but at the time this concept was purely philosophical and theoretical to me. When you say that someone is “irregular” it is akin to claiming that they are illegitimate or a bastard. “Clandestine” implies that they are working to accomplish something nefarious in secret. There is simply no way to morally justify the use of these egregious and alienating terms when it comes to brothers and sisters of the greater Craft throughout the world. Anyone using these terms to define or describe good and honorable Masons is not themselves worthy of being called a Mason.
It is now clear to me that there is no such thing as the “mainstream” Craft. The idea that the Craft is divided is an illusion created by those who wish to separate and divide Masonry into opposing factions. These are not the actions of people who understand the meaning of tolerance or fraternity, but of those who wish to replace brotherly love with fear and misunderstanding.
There are many groups of Free-Masons throughout the world who share the same goals but have spent years struggling over the nature of the “Landmarks” of the Craft. My brothers and sisters THERE ARE NO SUCH THINGS AS ANCIENT LANDMARKS. Bro. Anderson mentions the existence of “Ancient Landmarks” in his Constitutions of 1723, but he never said what they were. Fighting among ourselves over what some believe to be Ancient Landmarks is a waste of both time and energy. We need to get past this kind of thinking and begin working together for the common good of the Craft and humanity.
I am appealing to all Masons (brothers and sisters alike), and to their respective Grand Lodges, to begin the process of thinking outside the box that we have created around ourselves, and to seek amelioration among all Masons. We must find a way for all Masons to work together while allowing them the freedom to continue with their unique obediences. There is a real need for male lodges, female lodges and mixed gender lodges. People need to have the freedom to work in the ways in which they are most comfortable and confident. One size or shape does not fit all, nor will it ever.
The present path of mutually assured destruction is not in the best interest of Free-Masonry or Free-Masons. It doesn’t have to be this way because we can choose a more positive path of mutual cooperation and assistance that will lead to a new era of Masonic leadership in our communities and the world. We need to have a vision of a brother/sisterhood without boundaries; one where all Masons work together in peace and harmony.
Jeff Peace
francmasonería en el Perú
Es necesario resaltar que los escasos historiadores no masones que han demostrado interés en el estudio de la masonería coinciden en señalar que es creciente el abordaje de este tema. También han referido que la francmasonería ha perdurado más de dos siglos en América Latina y que fue vinculándose al surgimiento de las formas de sociabilidad modernas.
Las primeras noticias históricas sobre los masones en el Perú datan de 1751, cuando “una circular de la Suprema [...] solicita la lista de militares o políticos que se hubiesen presentado voluntariamente a confesarse como tales”. Sus miembros generalmente eran europeos, por ejemplo, en el caso del cirujano francés Diego Lagrange.
En la cronología que nos ofrece el historiador masón Eduardo Mendoza Silva para el caso peruano, la institución data de 1635. Sin embargo, no se conoce prueba documental que avale ese orden. Los inicios de la masonería “formal” se producen con la Logia de Lima, mencionada por Ricardo Palma en su tradición “La casa de Pilatos”. Dicha especulación se basa en el hecho de que en 1773, un supuesto miembro de la Orden que tenía por nombre Diego de la Granja, fue denunciado por la Santa Inquisión y sentenciado a muerte por Masón.
La primera logia establecida en territorio peruano, cuando aún dependía de la Corona Española, fue PAZ Y PERFECTA UNIÓN, organizada a mediados de 1817, adaptando la estructura de las logias lautarinas constituidas en Europa y Argentina a las circunstancias especiales que vivía el Perú virreinal, con el objeto inmediato de apoyar y mantener contacto permanente con la corriente libertadora del Sur. Seguramente bajo la dirección de don José de la Riva Agüero y Sánchez Boquete, la que pasó al Libertador José de San Martín desde los primeros días de su llegada a Lima en Julio de 1821. Al año siguiente se constituyó ORDEN Y LIBERTAD bajo la conducción del prócer José Faustino Sánchez Carrión, y al año siguiente VIRTUD Y UNION. Estas tres logias perviven lozanamente en la actualidad, manteniendo los números que al regularizarse o instalarse regularmente les correspondió con arreglo a su antigüedad. En los años siguientes se formaron algunas más.
Cuyos rastros se han perdido , pero hay evidencias de que en 1830 funcionaban en el Perú 12 logias simbólicas dependientes del Gran Oriente de Bogotá la mayor parte fundadas por HH:. participantes en la intervención emancipadora de Bolívar. El 2 de noviembre de dicho año quedó constituido el Supremo Consejo Grado 33 y al año siguiente las 12 logias mencionadas se independizaron del Oriente Neogranadino para constituir la primera potencia simbólica nacional, que se instaló el 11 de agosto de 1831 con la denominación de Gran Oriente del Perú bajo la jurisdicción del Supremo Consejo, siendo su primer Gran Maestre el R:.H:. Tomás M. Ripley Eldredge. La durísima represión antimasónica del poder político del momento determinó la suspensión de las actividades logiales, que se prolongó hasta el año 1845, en que cesó la persecución política, reinstalándose tanto el Consejo como el Gran Oriente. Unos diez años más tarde el Supremo Real Arco de Escocia concedió Carta Constitutiva al Capítulo "Estrella Boreal" Nº 74, que funcionó en el Callao introduciendo el Rito de York, que no fue reconocido por el Supremo Consejo y pronto abatió columnas. En los años siguientes surgieron deserciones entre las logias del Gran Oriente, algunas de las cuales constituyeron otro Oriente, Gran Logia Nacional del Perú también dependiente del Supremo Consejo, hecho que revela la existencia de dos facciones en el S:.C:. una de las cuales autorizó a la Gran Logia de Escocia para que estableciera en nuestro territorio una Gran Logia Provincial, que llegó a tener bajo su Obediencia 12 logias que adoptaron el Rito de York.
Las Diferencias Entre Los miembros del consejo Supremo, sí extendieron una Logias Simbólicas Las, malestar y desorientación Creando Entre SUS miembros. Afortunadamente, El 6 de setiembre de 1875 reunió en Lausana en sí la Convención de Supremos Consejos Regulares, UNO de Cuyos Más diligentes animadores FUE El Sob:. Gran Com:. Sup del:. En contra:. Párr la Rep.. Del Perú Con Antonio de Souza Ferreyra, Cuyo Objetivo Modificar FUE principales la Constitución de Federico II, habiéndose Acordado, en Efecto, Que en adelante El Gobierno y Soberanía Sobre Las Logias de San Juan Fuera de Competencia Exclusiva Grandes Logias de las Simbólicas, correspondiendo uno de Los Supremos Consejos del Rito Escocés Antiguo y Aceptado el Gobierno soberano Sobre los Demás Grados, un 4to Partir del.
Este agreement permitio Que en Situación Difícil tal, Logias Las Que No deseaban mantenerse Bajo la Jurisdicción del Sup:. En contra:. ni incorporarse una la de la Gran Logia Provincial de Escocia, decidieran constituír Una Nueva Potencia. Dicha decisión partio de Virtud y Unión, a la Que Se sumaron entusiastamente Orden y Libertad, Orden y Libertad N º 2, el Partenón y Masones del Perú Alianza y Firmeza, Las El instalaron Que 25 de marzo de 1882 la Gran logia de Los Antiguos, Libre Aceptados Masones y del Perú siendo Elegido Como Su primer Gran Maestre don Antonio Arenas Merino, destacado hombre Público e ilustre MIEMBRO del foro. A Pocos Días Los la Gran Logia Provincial de Escocia Acordo abatir Columnas y Dejar en Libertad A Las Logias Que La conformaban un párrafo someterse la Jurisdicción de La Nueva Potencia simbolica, si lo deseaban Así. Las Primeras en Hacerlo fueron Honor y Progreso, Kosmos, Arca de Noé y Regeneración Fraternal.
El Sup:. En contra:. No dio un Reconocimiento la Gran Logia, y Logias Varias, Entre Ellas Paz y Perfecta Unión, permanecieron Bajo Su Obediencia, manteniéndose Una velada pugna Entre embajadores Potencias, Que Hasta, despues de Pacientes Negociaciones dilatadas y, sí Treaty LLEGO A la Suscripción de la ONU de Paz y Alianza Entre Las Dos Potencias, El Firmado 29 de Enero de 1928, segun Cual EL, EN Con la Convención de Lausana Concordancia, sí dejaron establecidas Las Jurisdicciones Exclusivas de la Gran Logia del Perú Más sobre Los Tres Primeros Grados del simbolismo, Cualquiera Que fuere El Rito Que practiquen, y del consejo Supremo Grado 33 de Todos los Grados Sobre filosóficos del R:. E:. R:. y A: ..
Grandes Obediencia peruanas Que abatieron Columnas en el Tiempo
1. Gran Oriente Peruano - Fundada en 1830
2. Gran Oriente Nacional del Perú - Fundada El 12 de Julio de 1852
3. Gran Logia Nacional del Perú - Fundada el 9 de agosto de 1858
4. Gran Logia de Mantas - Fundada en 1945
Las primeras noticias históricas sobre los masones en el Perú datan de 1751, cuando “una circular de la Suprema [...] solicita la lista de militares o políticos que se hubiesen presentado voluntariamente a confesarse como tales”. Sus miembros generalmente eran europeos, por ejemplo, en el caso del cirujano francés Diego Lagrange.
En la cronología que nos ofrece el historiador masón Eduardo Mendoza Silva para el caso peruano, la institución data de 1635. Sin embargo, no se conoce prueba documental que avale ese orden. Los inicios de la masonería “formal” se producen con la Logia de Lima, mencionada por Ricardo Palma en su tradición “La casa de Pilatos”. Dicha especulación se basa en el hecho de que en 1773, un supuesto miembro de la Orden que tenía por nombre Diego de la Granja, fue denunciado por la Santa Inquisión y sentenciado a muerte por Masón.
La primera logia establecida en territorio peruano, cuando aún dependía de la Corona Española, fue PAZ Y PERFECTA UNIÓN, organizada a mediados de 1817, adaptando la estructura de las logias lautarinas constituidas en Europa y Argentina a las circunstancias especiales que vivía el Perú virreinal, con el objeto inmediato de apoyar y mantener contacto permanente con la corriente libertadora del Sur. Seguramente bajo la dirección de don José de la Riva Agüero y Sánchez Boquete, la que pasó al Libertador José de San Martín desde los primeros días de su llegada a Lima en Julio de 1821. Al año siguiente se constituyó ORDEN Y LIBERTAD bajo la conducción del prócer José Faustino Sánchez Carrión, y al año siguiente VIRTUD Y UNION. Estas tres logias perviven lozanamente en la actualidad, manteniendo los números que al regularizarse o instalarse regularmente les correspondió con arreglo a su antigüedad. En los años siguientes se formaron algunas más.
Cuyos rastros se han perdido , pero hay evidencias de que en 1830 funcionaban en el Perú 12 logias simbólicas dependientes del Gran Oriente de Bogotá la mayor parte fundadas por HH:. participantes en la intervención emancipadora de Bolívar. El 2 de noviembre de dicho año quedó constituido el Supremo Consejo Grado 33 y al año siguiente las 12 logias mencionadas se independizaron del Oriente Neogranadino para constituir la primera potencia simbólica nacional, que se instaló el 11 de agosto de 1831 con la denominación de Gran Oriente del Perú bajo la jurisdicción del Supremo Consejo, siendo su primer Gran Maestre el R:.H:. Tomás M. Ripley Eldredge. La durísima represión antimasónica del poder político del momento determinó la suspensión de las actividades logiales, que se prolongó hasta el año 1845, en que cesó la persecución política, reinstalándose tanto el Consejo como el Gran Oriente. Unos diez años más tarde el Supremo Real Arco de Escocia concedió Carta Constitutiva al Capítulo "Estrella Boreal" Nº 74, que funcionó en el Callao introduciendo el Rito de York, que no fue reconocido por el Supremo Consejo y pronto abatió columnas. En los años siguientes surgieron deserciones entre las logias del Gran Oriente, algunas de las cuales constituyeron otro Oriente, Gran Logia Nacional del Perú también dependiente del Supremo Consejo, hecho que revela la existencia de dos facciones en el S:.C:. una de las cuales autorizó a la Gran Logia de Escocia para que estableciera en nuestro territorio una Gran Logia Provincial, que llegó a tener bajo su Obediencia 12 logias que adoptaron el Rito de York.
Las Diferencias Entre Los miembros del consejo Supremo, sí extendieron una Logias Simbólicas Las, malestar y desorientación Creando Entre SUS miembros. Afortunadamente, El 6 de setiembre de 1875 reunió en Lausana en sí la Convención de Supremos Consejos Regulares, UNO de Cuyos Más diligentes animadores FUE El Sob:. Gran Com:. Sup del:. En contra:. Párr la Rep.. Del Perú Con Antonio de Souza Ferreyra, Cuyo Objetivo Modificar FUE principales la Constitución de Federico II, habiéndose Acordado, en Efecto, Que en adelante El Gobierno y Soberanía Sobre Las Logias de San Juan Fuera de Competencia Exclusiva Grandes Logias de las Simbólicas, correspondiendo uno de Los Supremos Consejos del Rito Escocés Antiguo y Aceptado el Gobierno soberano Sobre los Demás Grados, un 4to Partir del.
Este agreement permitio Que en Situación Difícil tal, Logias Las Que No deseaban mantenerse Bajo la Jurisdicción del Sup:. En contra:. ni incorporarse una la de la Gran Logia Provincial de Escocia, decidieran constituír Una Nueva Potencia. Dicha decisión partio de Virtud y Unión, a la Que Se sumaron entusiastamente Orden y Libertad, Orden y Libertad N º 2, el Partenón y Masones del Perú Alianza y Firmeza, Las El instalaron Que 25 de marzo de 1882 la Gran logia de Los Antiguos, Libre Aceptados Masones y del Perú siendo Elegido Como Su primer Gran Maestre don Antonio Arenas Merino, destacado hombre Público e ilustre MIEMBRO del foro. A Pocos Días Los la Gran Logia Provincial de Escocia Acordo abatir Columnas y Dejar en Libertad A Las Logias Que La conformaban un párrafo someterse la Jurisdicción de La Nueva Potencia simbolica, si lo deseaban Así. Las Primeras en Hacerlo fueron Honor y Progreso, Kosmos, Arca de Noé y Regeneración Fraternal.
El Sup:. En contra:. No dio un Reconocimiento la Gran Logia, y Logias Varias, Entre Ellas Paz y Perfecta Unión, permanecieron Bajo Su Obediencia, manteniéndose Una velada pugna Entre embajadores Potencias, Que Hasta, despues de Pacientes Negociaciones dilatadas y, sí Treaty LLEGO A la Suscripción de la ONU de Paz y Alianza Entre Las Dos Potencias, El Firmado 29 de Enero de 1928, segun Cual EL, EN Con la Convención de Lausana Concordancia, sí dejaron establecidas Las Jurisdicciones Exclusivas de la Gran Logia del Perú Más sobre Los Tres Primeros Grados del simbolismo, Cualquiera Que fuere El Rito Que practiquen, y del consejo Supremo Grado 33 de Todos los Grados Sobre filosóficos del R:. E:. R:. y A: ..
Grandes Obediencia peruanas Que abatieron Columnas en el Tiempo
1. Gran Oriente Peruano - Fundada en 1830
2. Gran Oriente Nacional del Perú - Fundada El 12 de Julio de 1852
3. Gran Logia Nacional del Perú - Fundada el 9 de agosto de 1858
4. Gran Logia de Mantas - Fundada en 1945
What is Esoteric Freemasonry?
Before going any further it must be pointed out and emphasised that Freemasonry is, and always has been, primarily a service and social club. The vast majority of Freemasons look to the Craft to be a vehicle for aiding and assisting less fortunate members of their community as well as engage in fellowship with like minded men from all walks of life. Through its rituals Freemasonry encourages a Mason to stand proud, be honest and virtuous and display courage and integrity in all his dealings and examine the world around him to understand the sublime mysteries of creation better.
The origins of Freemasonry are not known with any degree of certainty and Masonic scholars are divided as to its possible genesis. On the one hand there are the adherents of the dominant ‘Authentic School’ of Masonic history, who believe that all the rites, rituals and moral teachings ultimately derive from speculation into the forms and workings of operative masons by operative masons, that is Freemasonry arose from the philosophic musings of a medieval trade union. On the other hand is the minority fringe ‘Esoteric School’ who claim all sorts of antecedents for Freemasonry, claiming origin in the rites of ancient Egypt, the Knights Templars or the Rosicrucians to name but three possibilities.
The simple truth is that we do not know where Freemasonry originated. The weight of objective, historical evidence tends to support the Authentic School, but within Freemasonry is a strong thread or current of esoteric thought which can not be comfortably accounted for by the adherents of the Authentic School. Esoteric thought, in this context, is speculation into the workings of God, the Universe and Man from a philosophic perspective that flowered in the underground milieus of the European Enlightenment. In short the thread reveals a 17th century Christian ‘occult’ subtext within the rites of Freemasonry that draws on the Kabbalah, Alchemy and Astrology in particular.
Before any Christian (or Freemason) starts to leap up and down howling in rage it must be noted that in the 17th Century the disciplines of Religion, Science and the Occult were only just starting to be considered as distinct and separate features of the intellectual landscape. Many of the leading luminaries of the Enlightenment were committed Christians who examined what we would call the occult arts. One of the best examples of a man who saw no conflict between science, God and mystic thought was Sir Isaac Newton, who was not only a staunch Christian and (obviously) a great and hugely important scientist and mathematician but was also a practicing alchemist for a large portion of his life.
It must be noted, and indeed emphasized, that this 'occult subtext' is just that, a subtext. The elements within Freemasonry that can justly be called 'occult' are rare, obscure and disjointed.
The origins of Freemasonry are not known with any degree of certainty and Masonic scholars are divided as to its possible genesis. On the one hand there are the adherents of the dominant ‘Authentic School’ of Masonic history, who believe that all the rites, rituals and moral teachings ultimately derive from speculation into the forms and workings of operative masons by operative masons, that is Freemasonry arose from the philosophic musings of a medieval trade union. On the other hand is the minority fringe ‘Esoteric School’ who claim all sorts of antecedents for Freemasonry, claiming origin in the rites of ancient Egypt, the Knights Templars or the Rosicrucians to name but three possibilities.
The simple truth is that we do not know where Freemasonry originated. The weight of objective, historical evidence tends to support the Authentic School, but within Freemasonry is a strong thread or current of esoteric thought which can not be comfortably accounted for by the adherents of the Authentic School. Esoteric thought, in this context, is speculation into the workings of God, the Universe and Man from a philosophic perspective that flowered in the underground milieus of the European Enlightenment. In short the thread reveals a 17th century Christian ‘occult’ subtext within the rites of Freemasonry that draws on the Kabbalah, Alchemy and Astrology in particular.
Before any Christian (or Freemason) starts to leap up and down howling in rage it must be noted that in the 17th Century the disciplines of Religion, Science and the Occult were only just starting to be considered as distinct and separate features of the intellectual landscape. Many of the leading luminaries of the Enlightenment were committed Christians who examined what we would call the occult arts. One of the best examples of a man who saw no conflict between science, God and mystic thought was Sir Isaac Newton, who was not only a staunch Christian and (obviously) a great and hugely important scientist and mathematician but was also a practicing alchemist for a large portion of his life.
It must be noted, and indeed emphasized, that this 'occult subtext' is just that, a subtext. The elements within Freemasonry that can justly be called 'occult' are rare, obscure and disjointed.
Freemasonry in the Czech Republic
www.masonicwiki.com
by William E. Parker † and Jacques Huyghebaert
The area of Central Europe formerly known as Czechoslovakia and divided since 1993 into the Czech and Slovak Republic comprises essentially two different cultures; i.e., the Western, mainly Czech or Bohemian, and the Eastern, essentially Slovak, with Moravian influence sandwiched in the middle.
There have, of course, been other ethnic and cultural influences including those from Germans, Ukrainians, Ruthenes and Magyars. Sharing common frontiers with Germany, Poland, Russia, Hungary and Austria, this region has often been a tempting target for its neighbours.
Like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, therefore, parts have at times been added to or taken away the area moving from one sphere of influence to another. Lacking a sufficient social and cultural homogeneity, religious and ethnic differences have unfortunately played a major role in the area’s development, history sadly showing its tragic consequences when a nation is so divided.
As a result, Freemasonry has often found itself both an unwilling spectator and/or participant in these historical events.
The earliest inhabitants of what is today the Czech Republic appear to have been Celts, in time being pushed aside by various Germanic migrating populations together with increasingly more important Slav influences. The Bohemian-Czech portion has traditionally leaned culturally and spiritually toward Austria while the Eastern Slovakian portion leans culturally towards Hungary. Spiritually, the Czechs have sometimes been anti-Rome, while the Slovaks have been devoutly Catholic, the religious issue adding yet another barrier to good relations. The Moravian portion, lying somewhere in the middle, shares both languages and cultures.
The area’s ensuing history, like most of Europe, has been one of continuing military, political, ethnic and religious conflicts. In 1415, for example, the reformer Jan Hus, a Wycliffe supporter, was condemned and then burned at the stake in Prague as a “heretic” for his opposition to the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, thus beginning the Hussite Wars which ran from 1419 to 1433. It was during this period that the Bohemian Brethren merged, their principles grounded on “pure and ancient Christianity” and the doctrine of the original equality of men.
The movement was dramatically suppressed during the Thirty-Years War, their last Bishop being Jan Amos Komenský (Comenius – °l592 - †l670), a name still highly revered among the Czechs. As a consequence of their persecution, a number of the Bohemian Brethren emigrated to England, Hungary, Poland and the Netherlands during the beginning of the l7th century. The Reformation had swept through many parts of Europe and at the Peace of Libeň in 1609, Emperor Rudolph II had granted religious freedom to the Protestants.
Believing their rights were in peril from Austria’s Ferdinand II, however, the Protestants felt compelled to resist.
As a result, the Thirty-Years War began in 1618 running until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. In l620, Maximilian of Bavaria, allied with Ferdinand II, led the Army of the Catholic League and prevailed over the Protestant forces, Bohemia went under the iron rule of Ferdinand and the Jesuits and Catholicism was imposed. With the exception of the enlightened Joseph II, and briefly under Leopold II, the Austrian Government has since had a history of opposition to the Craft.
The history of Freemasonry throughout Central Europe is a complex story.
Suffice it to say that as the Craft spread from the British Isles throughout the Continent, it developed in differing ways as it moved from country to country. One particular difference was the original three degree system sometimes seemed inadequate and the Craft often became molded along philosophic, esoteric and chivalric lines with additional Orders and Degrees being instituted.
Due to political alignments, there also arose a fairly close relationship between Czechoslovak Freemasonry and its German, Austrian and Hungarian counterparts.
The date of the first Masonic Lodge in Prague has long been debated and remains a controversial and emotional subject. 1726, the often alleged date of the foundation of the first Masonic lodge in Prague, is however a Masonic myth which originated as follows. In 1888 Josef Svátek, a Czech journalist and non-mason, who had published a historical novel entitled “Hrabe Sporck”, wrote in the periodical « Zláta Praha » (Golden Prague) that Lodge « zu den drei Sternen» (Three Stars) had been founded by count Sporck on 26th June 1726 ; but no explanation was given how he had come to that conclusion. This whimsical claim was blindly repeated, without any evidence or any reference whatsoever to historical sources, in the «Geschichte der Freimaurerei in Österreich-Ungarn» a work published in 1890 by Masonic author Ludwig Aigert ‘Abafi’. Extensive historical critical research was carried out by Bros. Dr. Josef Volf, Oskar Posner and others during the 1930’s but not a single document was found seriously relating Sporck and Freemasonry.
The first documented freemason from Bohemia was Philip Count Kinsky. He spent 12 years in London as Imperial Ambassador and upon his return became the highest Chancellor of Bohemia in Prague. In November 1731, during his stay in England, Count Kinsky was initiated together with Sir Robert Walpole, at Houghton Hall, Norfolk, by Lord Lovel.
There is also archival evidence, pointing to Lodge “zu den drei gekrönten Sternen” (Three Crowned Stars) in Prague, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 1791. And, in 1742, a military lodge “La Sincérité” was founded at Litomerice (Leitmeritz) in Northern Bohemia. The German-language Strict Observance ritual used by this military lodge in the 1770’s is still available.
What is interesting here is that the documented existence of these two early Masonic lodges in the Czech Lands corresponds with the joint occupation of Prague (1741) by Saxon and French troops during the Austrian War of Succession.
Among the reputed Masons in Prague in 1741 were the well known Brother Count von Rutowsky (1702-1764), Military Governor of Prague, founder and Past Master Lodge « Aux Trois Aigles Blancs » in Dresden (1738), who had been elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Saxony in 1741.
Next there was Brother Ch. L. Aug. Fouquet de Belle-Isle (1684-1761), French Ambassador to the German Holy Roman Empire, Commanding Officer of the French troops in Prague, founder and Master of Lodge « l’Union » in Frankfurt am Main.
Another illustrious Mason present in Prague at the time was the famous French marshal Maurice de Saxe (1696-1750), who led the daring but victorious assault at night against the Vyšehrad fortress. In Freemasonry, Bro. Maurice de Saxe is especially remembered as one of the two candidates who stood for the office of Grand Master at the 1743 elections of the Grande Lodge of France.
It is therefore, no accident that the l745 membership lists of the two lodges show a significant number of French, English, Scottish, Irish, Dutch and German military officers.
The Papal Bull of 1738, and subsequently that of 1751, had not been recognized by the Habsburg Monarchy. At that period, the War of the Austrian Succession, the Pragmatic Sanction and Maria-Theresa’s succession to Charles VI undoubtedly concerned Austrian thoughts more than Vatican politics.
While the Empress Maria - Theresa, Queen of Bohemia from 1740-1780, initially tolerated Freemasonry, pressures exercised by the Roman clergy later caused her to prohibit the Craft. Interestingly, Francis I, Duke of Lorraine and later Holy Roman Emperor, who married Maria-Theresa in l736, was made a Mason at the English Embassy at the Hague by Désaguliers himself in 1731. He was raised a Master Mason either later that same year in England or during his stay in Holland, confusions existing on this point due to meager records. The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht had added Belgium to the Austrian Empire and Francis was making the rounds on a “political good-will” trip at the time of his Initiation. The significance of his entrance into the
Craft lies not in his personal Masonic activity, but rather the fact of his initiation which served as a beacon for other prominent persons all over the European continent to follow his example. Some authorities indicate it was his influence which caused the Papal Bulls not to be published in Austria, while some indicate that Maria-Theresa, being intensely jealous of her prerogatives, resented Papal influence in temporal matters. In truth, it was likely a bit of both.
The continuing political dissentions of the era were a constant factor in the Craft’s development and there arose a faction determined to seek freedom from Austria’s rule even using military action if necessary. Finally, the Army of Charles Albert, Elector of Bavaria, reinforced by French and Saxon troops, occupied Bohemia and on November 26th, 1741, Prague was taken. However, Austrian troops mounted a counterattack, and liberated Prague in December of 1742.
Freemasonry in Bohemia however had been born and it pursued its own course.
Maria-Theresa’s son Joseph II, named co-regent in 1765 and then her successor, ruled from 1780 to 1790. It can be safely said that Joseph II exerted significant power even during his tenure as co-regent thus giving him an effective span of control of about 25 years. As an “enlightened” ruler, Joseph II was an advocate of Imperial reform and, with a view of modernizing the Empire, issued decrees designed to improve the peasants’ life and to reform conditions in the civil, legal and artistic arenas.
Although not a Freemason, Joseph II was well disposed toward the Craft permitting it to function rather openly, particularly after a 1781 decree acknowledging the activities of the Austrian lodges. Lodges were founded in 1770, 1778, 1780, a Bohemian Provincial Grand Lodge came into existence in 1782 and in 1783 three more lodges were founded. Freemasonry in Bohemia had entered into a reasonably healthy period. The first Viennese lodge “Aux Trois Canons” existed only from September 17th, l742, to March 7th, l743, when it was dissolved by the police. There are indications the lodge continued to meet secretly for several years, perhaps into the 1760s, but specifics are vague. It is also indicated that Illuminati influence began to be felt in lodges, a factor the Church would not have countenanced, but a development Joseph II is said to have intended to make political use of.
Between 1750-1760, “Écossais” High Grades were gradually introduced into the Austrian empire with the Clermont System initially being used. In time, it was replaced by the Strict Observance Seven Degree System based on Templar tradition. This united Austrian and German lodges into a single ritual working and the Bohemian lodges using the Clermont System converted to the Strict Observance about 1764. The Jena Conference of 1764 resulted in the Strict Observance, with its Templar Provinces, gaining increasing popularity in Bohemia. Duke Ferdinand von Brunswick was elected Superior of the Order in 1772.
The Masonic Order reached its peak of glory in 1775 when no less than twenty-six reigning German princes, Dukes and Counts attended the Strict Observance Convent.
After the 1782 Wilhelmsbad Convent, however, the Strict Observance went into an irreversible decline although in Prague and in the Austrian Empire it continued to be the main Masonic rite until the end of the century.
In 1773, the Prague Freemasons founded and financed the Prague orphanage of St. John the Baptist, demonstrating their dedication to charitable activities. The initiative was taken by Caspar Herman Count Kunigl, Worshipful Master of lodge “zu den drei Sternen” (The Three Stars) in Prague. His father was Sebastian Count Kunigl, an active member of old Bohemian lodges like “zu den drei gekrönten Säulen”
(The Three Crowned Columns) in Prague and « Sincerity » in Litomerice. Caspar Herman, continued his father’s Masonic work, was member of the « Three crowned stars » lodge in Prague, and later founded the lodge « At the nine Stars ». Empress Maria Theresa, donated a palace to the orphanage, where the lodges also met. In addition to charitable institutions, several prominent Freemasons in Prague were the driving forces at the roots of important institutions like for example the National Museum, the Academy of Sciences and the National Gallery.
Between 1780 and 1785, there were eight lodges in Vienna, at that time a city of some 300,000 inhabitants and a Mecca for artistic achievement. In that the Papal Bulls were not then in effect and, therefore, not legally binding, Catholic subjects felt no obligation to obey them. It should be noted, too, that during this period lodges in Vienna and other European cities also counted clerics among their members as well as the leading figures in literature, science and art.
Among the famous artistic talents of the era was musical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (†1791). While considering himself a good Catholic and attending Mass regularly, Mozart had no hesitation in joining what he considered a beneficial and enlightened society and indeed Freemasonry played an important role in the remainder of his life. He was initiated in the Strict Observance “Benevolence Lodge” (Zur Wohltätigkeit) on December 14th, 1784. Later, his father also joined the Craft. Mozart was a frequent visitor to Prague and on several occasions he attended meetings of Lodge “Wahrheit und Einigkeit zu den drei gekrönten Säulen”. Most of his friends and connections in Prague were prominent aristocrats and Freemasons.
The late 18th century was the golden age of masonry in Prague : more than 600 freemasons were active, which would have been about 1% of the population at the time. Frederic II of Prussia had been Initiated in 1738 and became the Royal Patron of the lodge “Aux Trois Globes” founded in Berlin in 1741, which later on developed into the Grand Lodge “Zu den Drei Weltkügeln”. Although Frederic II died in 1786, there is speculation that Joseph II had for some time been concerned that Frederic II wanted to use Freemasonry to influence politics in the Habsburg sphere of power. There is, therefore, uncertainty on Joseph II’s real motives in his relationship to the Craft but it is definitely known that there were Masons among his Ministers and Senior Advisors.
On the other hand, while membership was increasing, candidate selection seemingly became lax, the Craft accepted men who damaged the Order’s reputation, sometimes through unwarranted political incursions, and a crisis loomed. When apprised of the situation, possibly as a means of protecting the Craft or possibly because he felt threatened by the Masonic principles of opposition to absolutism, Joseph II felt it necessary to take action.
In 1784, the Provincial Grand Lodge in Bohemia and other lodges, except those of the Austrian Netherlands, were unified under the Habsburg Empire into six Provincial Grand Lodges. These comprised Austria, Bohemia, Galicia, Austrian Lombardy, Siebenbürgen (Transylvania) , and Hungary. One of Joseph II’s objectives by having a central Grand Lodge with its headquarters in Vienna was definitely to free the Order from possible foreign control. Further, in 1785, he limited the number of lodges in
each Provincial capital to three and placed Freemasonry under government control. By the end of Joseph II’s reign, other than the Austrian Netherlands, there were only about nine lodges remaining in the Empire. Leopold II, Joseph’s successor in 1790, was somewhat tolerant of the lodges hoping to use them for political purposes. His reign, however, was a brief one lasting only from 1790 to 1792, being succeeded by his son Emperor Francis II.
While Emperor Leopold II had shown an inclination to adopt a “middle course” between Joseph’s reforms and Church demands, emperor Francis II was staunchly anti-Masonic and was persuaded that all secret societies, including Freemasonry, were working against him. Given this climate, lodges voluntarily closed in 1794 in Prague and the Craft was formally suppressed by edict in January 1795.
The ideas of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution were being propagated throughout the continent and the crowned heads of Europe were increasingly nervous. It is also interesting to note that during the same general period as Joseph II’s reign, Empress Catherine’s attitude towards the Craft in Russia was initially benevolent although she later took a more hardened position. Within the Austrian Empire, there were also reported “alliances” of Freemasons and Jacobins and the continual unease resulted in Francis II arresting several Jacobins in 1794-95 on the grounds of treason. Accused of being unduly favourable to the French Revolution, the Jacobins were said to constitute a danger to the Monarchy. Some were executed, some were imprisoned and some later granted amnesty in 1802 but Freemasonry’s image suffered a severe blow through the supposed Jacobin association.
The 1848 Revolution in the Empire caused Prince Metternich to flee and retire from politics to his countryside castle at Kynžvart (Königswart), near Mariánské Lázně (Marienbad). This is by the way the very location where our Lodge “Goethe v údolí míru” (Goethe zum Tale des Friedens) meets today.
Ferdinand I abdicated and Francis (Franz) Joseph ascended the throne, but he continued the ban against Freemasonry.
Politics always at the fore, through the Compromise of 1867 in Austria and Hungary more or less separated into two kingdoms, but with only one ruler, the Craft’s situation was different in the two nations. There being no laws in Hungary against Freemasonry, the Hungarian Symbolic Grand Lodge of St. John was established on 30th January 1870 followed by a Grand Orient of Hungary in 187l. Curiously, therefore, if the King of Hungary (Franz Joseph) permitted the Craft in that nation, because of the differing laws the Emperor of Austria (Franz Joseph) did not.
In 1870 and 1872, Prague Freemasons formed “non-political” societies composed of members of Craft lodges and in l909 a Bohemian Lodge “Hiram zu den drei Sternen” (Hiram at the Three Stars) was formed in Slovakia under the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary which had been established March 2lst, 1886, through a merger of the two Hungarian Grand Bodies.
While the authorities apparently knew of the lodge’s existence, they tolerated it due to its benevolent activities. In Prague, while another “non-political” society was formed, Bohemian Freemasons nonetheless participated in the Craft largely in Hungary or Germany. In the period immediately preceding World War I, a number of candidates from what would eventually become Czechoslovakia were initiated in the so-called “Grenzlogen” (Border Lodges). So Prague brethren, who became masons in Hungary or Germany or elsewhere, were eventually able to establish Hiram Lodge in Bratislava in 1909.
The aim of the founders was to unite brethren from all nationalities and religions in one Prague Lodge. Czech, German and Jewish masons would jointly build Hiram.
There were 42 founders, most of them initiated in Viennese lodges operating in Bratislava. Others had become masons in Saxony and Bavaria. There was also Bro. Siegmund Bohm, who was a member of Manchester Lodge No 179 in London and Bro Gustav Steiner, who was a member of Divigo Lodge No 30 in New York. The Craft being forbidden, these “Grenzlogen” had to remain located near the Border.
They counted about three-hundred Bohemian members by 1914.
Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand, the heir presumptive to Emperor Franz-Joseph was assassinated at Sarajevo on 28th June 1914, by a disgruntled Bosnian Serb and soon storm clouds and gunfire echoed over Europe. His castle and estate located at Konopiště (Konopischt) near Benešov (Beneschau), 50 km south of Prague, was transformed after the war into a museum and has become ever since a popular historical excursion destination for tourists visiting Prague.
World War I was a rather chaotic era for Czechoslovakia. In brief, it was a highly difficult period politically, culturally, and Masonic ally as well because after the war broke out, the death penalty was decreed by the Austrian military authorities on anyone discovered to be a Freemason. The sentence however remained theoretical and was never carried out.
The 1918 yearbook of the Supreme Council, AASR, of Italy (Supremo Consiglio dell’Italia e sue Colonie) headed by Sov. Gr. Com. Raoul V. Palermi 33° proves that already before the end of the 1914-1918 war hostilities a Scottish Rite Rose-Croix Masonic Body had been constituted as « Capitolo Boemia no.77 » in Prague.
Under the then applicable administrative rules of the National Grand Lodge of Italy (Gran Loggia Nationale A.L.A. Massoni d’Italia), the members in countries where Freemasonry was prohibited were not entered in the central register in Rome and lodges were identified by a number only.
The secret Italian lodge in Prague was known simply as lodge no. 40.
At the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian empire, fifteen Czech Brethren, who were members of border Lodge « Hiram zu den drei Sternen » in Bratislava (Preßburg, Poszony) decided on 26th October 1918 to create a Masonic lodge which would work in the Czech language and they choose the name “Jan Amos Komenský” (Comenius)
for the lodge in honour of the famous l7th century Czech thinker and national hero.
The Republic of Czechoslovakia was born two days later !
The armistice ending World War I was signed on 11th November 1918.
About that time as well, German language Masons living in Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) obtained a charter from the Grand Lodge «Zur Sonne» in Bayreuth on 28th October 1918 to constitute a Masonic lodge which they named « Munificentia ».
The Czech language Lodge “Národ” (Nation) was officially constituted in Prague March 28th, 1919, by Bro. Ugo Dadone, an Italian Scottish Rite Mason and admitted on the roll of the National Grand Lodge of Italy (Piazza del Gesú) on April 20th 1919.
In May 1919, Lodge “Jan Amos Komenský” (Comenius Lodge) received a letter from the Grand Orient of France in Paris informing that its application for membership had been approved. The official charter was delivered on 28th September of that year at the hands of Ill. Bro. René Henry Besnard, 33°, French Senator who had been French Minister of War from 1915 to 1917. Bro. Alphonse Mucha who had been initiated in Paris on 25th January 1898 but was still a fellowcraft twenty years later had been the Brother behind this achievement …
Simultaneously, the group of German speaking brethren, who already had operated the fraternal circle «Harmonie» since 1870 in Prague and similar Masonic groups in Zatec (Saaz) and Liberec (Reichenberg) for half a century approached and obtained successively four charters of constitution from the Grand Lodge of Saxony (Große Landesloge von Sachsen) in Dresden.
On 15th December 1919, five more Czech lodges were created under the National Grand Lodge of Italy and on 29th December the six existing Czech lodges of Italian origin proclaimed the creation of the National Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia (Národni Velká Lože Československá).
A number of Czech brethren who were under the Italian Scottish Rite Supreme Council then on 12th January 1920 proclaimed the constitution of the Supreme Council of the 33rd and last degree of the A. & A.S.R. for Czechoslovakia.
On 23rd October 1920, with eight founding lodges, the German language lodges erected their own Grand Lodge under the name ”Lessing zu den drei Ringen” (Lessing at the Three Rings).
It is in this chaotic environment that Freemasonry was born in Czechoslovakia. Several Masonic Grand Bodies, were operating simultaneously in the same territorial jurisdiction, they were working different rituals in seven different languages, and there were constant frictions between the various rival Masonic groups. This situation was compounded by the complex aggregate of the new state and the several ethnic groups which composed it. Although the Czechs were in the majority, the country contained also large elements of Germans, Slovaks, Poles, Hungarians, Ruthenes, Jews and Gypsies, all with their own cultures and own languages.
The Supreme Council of the A. & A. S. R. for Czechoslovakia led by world famous art-nouveau painter S.G.C. the Ill. Bro. Alphonse Mucha 33°, was admitted at the Lausanne Conference and it was recognised on the 8th June 1922 by all the Supreme Councils of the A. & A. S. R. present or represented in Switzerland.
Lodge « Comenius » resigned from the Grand Orient of France in 1922 in order to join the National Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia the status of which was regularised by its solemn consecration on 27th October 1923 by the “Grand Lodge of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes “Yugoslavia” » thus paving the way for worldwide recognition.
Grand Lodge « Bohemia » a small Grand Body chartered by the Grand Lodge called “Freimaurerbund zur aufgehenden Sonne” (Masonic Union of the Rising Sun) located in Nürnberg and 4 independent Slovak Lodges formerly under Hungarian jurisdiction joined Grand Lodge Lessing zu den drei Ringen.
Remarkable in the history of Freemasonry in Czechoslovakia is also the little known creation of several mixed gender lodges under the Dutch Federation of the Droit humain, among which in 1922 Lodge « Dobrovský » the only Masonic lodge in the world having ever been working in Esperanto.
Worthwhile mentioning in this respect also is the creation in 1931 of a short lived «Grand Orient of Czechoslovakia» which was absorbed in 1935 by the National Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia.
The irregular status of Czech Freemasonry in its beginnings was progressively regularised. In 1930, the “National Czechoslovak Grand Lodge” was recognised by the United Grand Lodge of England with effect going back to 1923 i.e. from the date of its consecration. From the 1930’s onwards the Grand Lodge “Lessing zu den drei Ringen” and the National Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia started to move closer and worked in mutual amity.
Between the two world wars, twenty six lodges were established by the National Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia with some 1,500 members, while the Grand Lodge «Lessing zu den 3 Ringen» eventually had 35 lodges and a similar membership.
Total Masonic membership in Czechoslovakia had reached about 3,000 in 1938.
In August 1938, under the clauses of the Munich Pact, but without any consultation whatsoever with the Czechoslovak government, France and Great Britain handed over the Czechoslovak Sudeten border region to Germany hoping that this territorial concession would appease the appetite of German Chancellor Hitler.
As a result of this tragedy and fearing the worst for its future Czechoslovak Freemasonry went voluntarily into darkness in October 1938.
President Edvard Beneš, the Czechoslovak head of state, who was a prominent Freemason, resigned his office immediately after the Munich humiliation and went into exile to London, taking along with him the National Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia, which was given a fraternal asylum by the United Grand Lodge of
England and was allowed to meet at Great Queen Street during of World War 2.
Despite the solemn promises made by Nazi Germany in Munich only six months earlier, on 15th March l939 Hitler attacked, invaded and had the remainder of the Czechoslovakia militarily occupied and governed by the German Army.
A fascist pro-nazi puppet government was installed in Slovakia, while a so-called protectorate was proclaimed by Germany over Bohemia and Moravia (Böhmen und Mähren) resulting in the de-facto integration of the Czech Lands to the third Reich.
Since the Gestapo had infiltrated our ranks and had managed to get hold of Czechoslovak Masonic membership lists, many Brethren who had remained in Czechoslovakia, were immediately arrested and imprisoned for being Freemasons.
Among those was M.W. Bro. Jiři Syllaba, professor of medicine, and son of Grand Master Ladislav Syllaba, who was held in captivity till the end of the war under unspeakable conditions at Terezín (Teresienstadt) which had been turned by the Nazis into a prison and concentration camp for Jews, Gypsies, political prisoners, and prisoners of war who had attempted in escaping from POW camps,.
Of the total number of approximately 3,000 pre-war members of both Grand Lodges 34 percent are known to have been deported to Nazi prisons and concentration camps and over 17 percent died as the direct result of their detention. The number of Czechoslovak Brethren who succeeded in escaping Nazi persecution by reaching foreign countries (France, England, USA) is estimated at approximately 200 only.
On May 16, 1941 Brethren from twelve lodges under the jurisdiction of the “National Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia” who had escaped in England, elected unanimously M.W. Bro. Professor Vladimir Klečanda as their Grand Master in Exile.
He authorised the creation of a new Czechoslovak Lodge in England to be constituted under the name “Czechoslovak Comenius in Exile Lodge”.
The leading representatives of the United Grand Lodge of England showed full understanding for the situation of the exiled Czechoslovak Masons. They therefore granted exceptional arrangements which in the history of English Masonry had never happened before. There had never been another Sovereign Grand-Lodge allowed to operate on the territory of the Grand Lodge of England.
On July 21, 1941 Great Britain formally recognised the Czechoslovak Government in exile in London headed by President Edvard Beneš. Two month later, i.e. in September 1941, the United Grand Lodge of England formally recognised the Czechoslovak Grand Lodge in Exile and its newly elected Grand Master Bro. Professor Vladimir Klečanda.
The first ritual meeting in Freemasons Hall in Great Queen Street took place on August 28, 1942. Twenty wartime meetings were held in Freemasons Hall in London. At one of the meetings of the Comenius Lodge in Exile over 70 visitors were present, many of them high ranking officers of English, Scottish, Irish and other constitutions.
Among the guests of the Comenius Lodge in Exile the Czechoslovak Brethren in London had the pleasure of meeting R.W. Bro. Sir Sydney A. White, KCVO, Grand Secretary of the United Grand Lodge of England.
Masonic lectures were regularly delivered in the Comenius Lodge in Exile, one of them at the meeting of March 12, 1943 with the title “Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk a Mason without Apron ?” Masaryk was the founder of Czechoslovakia in 1918 and was the first President of the Czechoslovak Republic. T.G. Masaryk, though not a member of our Order, had always shown much sympathy to its work and its aims. His son, Jan Masaryk, the foreign minister of the Czechoslovak Government in Exile in London, was an active Freemason.
According to both Masonic Journals, “The Freemasons Chronicle” and “The Masonic Record” in their issues in the years 1943, 1944 and 1945, the English Brethren admired the Czechoslovak ritual, especially the Opening and Closing Ceremony as well as the mystic chain during which one Brother addressed the Brethren in the chain. Another striking and peculiar feature noted by the English Brethren was when the Most Worshipful Grand Master was received in advancing to the Throne. In accordance with Czechoslovak Masonic tradition, he deliberately walked across the “tapis” or tracing board, an honour which he alone possessed. In Czech lodges, a piece of cloth upon which various Masonic emblems are depicted lies on the floor as is usually done in continental European lodges. The cloth is folded in half when the Lodge is not at labour.
Another interesting feature of the Czech ritual is that the lights of the Master and Wardens are lit with special ceremonial and the enunciation of the respective attributes Wisdom, Strength and Beauty. Many in England had the occasion to remember gratefully the inspiring example of fortitude in adversity and Masonic enthusiasm shown by the Czech exiled visitors and the valuable contribution they made in return for the hospitality offered by a number of demonstrations in English of the Czech old ritual offering stimulating interest in Masonic research and symbolism.
The mutual fraternisation and the friendship which so splendidly stood the test during the dark hours of the War yielded a rich harvest in the years after the war which has lasted until today. The exemplary Brotherly Love with which the English Brethren had come to the aid of the Czech Brethren would indeed form one of the most outstanding chapters in the annals of the English Craft” (cf. The Freemasons Chronicle, 30 Oct. 1943).
In the U.S.A. in parallel, 15 Czechoslovak Brethren in exile founded a Masonic club named “The New World” in 1941 with the approval of the Grand Lodge of New York and the permission of Grand Master Klečanda, while affiliating collectively with “Golden Rule Lodge no. 770” and “Elbe Lodge no. 393” in New York.
In addition, it is worth mentioning that the National Czechoslovak Grand Lodge in exile was recognised by the Grand Lodge of New York in 1943.
It is also necessary to underline that, after the war, in 1946, generous Masonic support came from the Grand Lodge of New York, the Grand Lodge of Louisiana and the Masonic Service Association to help the war-devastated Czechoslovakia.
Particular support in these dark days came from Ill. Bro. John H. Cowles, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A, who had traveled on several occasion to Prague before World War 2.
American Masons arranged for packages of food, clothing and money totaling 10,000 US dollars to be sent. One of the very active masons in post war Prague was Pavel Korbel, the uncle of United States Ambassador to the United Nations and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová in Prague).
A first General Meeting of Czechoslovak Freemasons took place on 11th May 1946 in liberated Prague with the purpose to draft a new constitution and in the conviction that Czechoslovak Masonry had never ceased to exist both at home and abroad, but the Grand Lodge officially resumed its activities in Prague only a year later.
The constituent re-consecration of the Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia took place on 26th October 1947 in the historical Colloredo-Mansfeld Palace in Prague, exactly on the anniversary of the day when the first Czechoslovak Lodge John Amos Comenius was founded in Prague just before the end of the first World War.
This General Meeting elected as new Grand Master the M.W. Bro. Bohumil Vančura, as well as two Deputy Grand Masters and 31 other Grand Officers. Among them were Brethren who had been imprisoned during the Nazi occupation, the Former Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia in Exile in London, the former Chairman of the Czechoslovak Masonic Club in New York, the first W.M. of the Comenius in Exile Lodge and others.
A minute of respectful silence and was then observed by the General Meeting to honour the memory of the Brethren who had passed to the Grand Lodge above, especially those who had sacrificed their lives from 1939 to 1945 in the struggle for the liberty or had fallen as victims of Nazi persecution.
The revived Grand Lodge voted to drop the “National” from its name in an effort to please the Slovakian Brethren and finally a motion was unanimously carried to transfer the « Comenius in Exile » Lodge from London to Prague.
The development of the reconstituted Grand Lodge was short lived because already in February 1948 a coup d’état secretly engineered in Moscow took place.
One of the unfortunate victims of this new tragedy was our Brother Jan Masaryk, the son of first Czechoslovak President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk who had been the Czechoslovak Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1940 till his death in 1948.
When his dead body, still dressed in his night pyjamas, was found on 10th March in the courtyard of the Foreign Ministry below his bathroom, the official 'investigation' concluded that he had committed suicide. Persistent rumours spread immediately after his death, that he had not killed himself but had instead been murdered by agents of
the Soviet Secret Police, the dreaded M.G.B. (Министерство государственной безопасности) on direct orders issued from the Lubyanka Headquarters in Moscow.
And indeed in 2004 fresh crime forensic research was conducted by police, concluding that Jan Masaryk was indeed murdered. This was further corroborated in 2006 when Russian journalist Leonid Parshin revealed that it was Russian intelligence officer Mikhail Illich Byelkin who had thrown Minister Jan Masaryk out the window.
At first Masonic lodges were allowed by the new Red rulers to continue to assemble, but progressively all activities of private citizens and associations were put under strict surveillance of the State Security Services (Státní Bezpečnost or StB).
Within months, anti-Masonic propaganda was distributed by so-called revolutionary committees sponsored by the Communist party. Freemasons were again vilified, some were arrested and jailed. Those who could, escaped to the West.
In 1949 the ordinary Grand Lodge annual communication had to be postponed due to increasing difficulties with the Communist regime.
A compromise was finally reached whereby the political commissars would remain outside the temple during the ritual opening and closing, but would be present during the remainder of the proceedings, which would take place while Grand Lodge would be at refreshment for the administrative reports, discussions and the elections.
On 20th March 1951 the Stalinist oriented politburo announced that Masonic lodges in Czechoslovakia not voluntary closed by 1st April 1951 would be suppressed by the government, under a new decree prohibiting all “bourgeois” clubs, which were to be replaced by new organisations fully at the collective service of the proletariat.
An extra-ordinary Grand Lodge communication was called and by unanimous vote the Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia was declared dormant and all lodges dissolved.
By the time of this sad event, which was only 3 years after its post WW2 revival, as the Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia was forced again into darkness, Masonic membership in Czechoslovakia had increased to about 800 members.
Czech Masons who managed to flee the country and could emigrate to the United States after 1948 created various local masonic organisations over there.
The most important of these was the Czech Masonic Club of Chicago which alone had over 300 members at one time.
Two Masonic lodges were chartered in Germany under the GL AFAM especially for Czech émigrés during this period, Lodge « Thomas G. Masaryk no. 957 » in Bonn and Lodge « zu den drei Sternen no. 969 » (U Tří Hvězd) in Munich. The two lodges worked the standard A.F.A.M. ritual but in Czech language. Lodge T.G. Masaryk is still active in Bonn, but Lodge 3 Stars has moved to Prague.
When the Communist regime collapsed forty years later in 1989, there were only 28 Czechoslovak Masons still alive in the home country, but they had clandestinely maintained contacts during the whole period not only among themselves but also with the United Grand Lodge of England, via the GL of Finland, some of whose senior members took the risk to visit Freemasons living in Prague on several occasions. In March 1989 a public appeal in favour of Freemasonry was published in the Prague newspaper “Mladá Fronta” containing a postal address at rue Cadet in Paris.
Over 2,000 letters of reply were received by the Grand Orient of France.
In September 1990, the first Masonic initiation in Prague, following the end of the communist era, took place during an occasional lodge, under the auspices of the Grand Lodge A.F.A.M of Germany, held at the Neo-Renaissance Žofín Palace, on Slovanský island, presided by W. Bro. Oldřich Stasiewicz, a Past Master of « T. G. Masaryk » Lodge in Bonn, and supported by 160 Czech Freemasons living in exile, who had traveled especially all the way from as far as Norway and Argentine.
This event was followed shortly afterwards by the re-constitution in Prague of Lodge «Comenius 17.XI.1989 » by the Grand Orient of France on 14th November 1990.
Three days later, on 17th November 1990, the Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia was officially revived in Prague, receiving recognition from the Grand Lodge of England at the end of that same year and then from other Grand Lodges around the world. Prof. Dr. Jiři Syllaba, who had been initiated in 1926, had been detained in camps by the Nazis during the whole duration of World War II and had also remained in the mother country during the whole of the communist era, was elected Grand Master of the re-awakened Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia.
On 23rd November 1991 the required number of Czech Brethren having been duly invested with the 33°, the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite for Czechoslovakia was reconstituted by the Supreme Council of the United States, Southern Jurisdiction, together with the Supreme Councils of Finland and Italy.
In 1993, serious political difficulties caused Czechoslovakia to be partitioned into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia was subsequently renamed into the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic.
Later during that same year, on 23rd October 1993, the Grand Orient of France constituted its three existing lodges in the country into a new sovereign Grand Masonic Body, the “Veliký Orient Český ” (Czech Grand Orient).
The Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic on the other hand, which had historically been exercising effective and unchallenged exclusive territorial jurisdiction over Czechia and Slovakia since the birth of Czecho-Slovakia in 1918 continued to cover Slovakia without interruption after the 1993 political partition.
Being the prelude to full Masonic sovereignty, a District Grand Lodge of Slovakia holding under the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic was constitued in March 2008.
In March 2008 as well, as the result and coronation of 5-year long discrete and patient efforts, a solemn Masonic ceremony was held in the presence of many international guests, including the Grand Masters of Germany, Austria and Poland, during which the Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia integrated the five lodges formerly holding under the Czech Grand Orient, plus one Slovak lodge which had worked till that date under the authority of the Grand Orient of France.
This long desired unification of Czech Freemasonry, resulting in the successful merger of the Czech Grand Orient into the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic received general international approval and widespread Masonic congratulations, including from the United Grand Lodge of England.
The last important event in our recent history has been the constitution of the Grand Lodge of Slovakia on 21st March 2009 conducted jointly by the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic, the Grand Lodge of Austria and the United Grand Lodges of Germany in the presence of over 20 foreign delegations and a dozen Grand Masters.
The United Grand Lodge of England had already approved the recognition of new Grand Lodge of Slovakia at its Quartely Communication on 11th March 2009, with effect on the date of its constitution.
Excluding Slovakia, which is now no longer under our jurisdiction, the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic, counts now about 450 Brethren spread over 18 lodges.
The Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic maintains currently fraternal relations with 218 regular Grand Lodges on a total of about 250 regular Grand Lodges worldwide.
A further step towards improving its international relations and promoting the ideal of universal Freemasonry was achieved during the first quarter of 2010 with the approval by the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic to establish of fraternal relations with the 36 members of the Confederación Masónica Interanericana (C.M.I.) and with 30 Prince Hall Grand Lodges in the USA, Canada and the Caribbean.
Convinced that the ideals of Freemasonry remain today as appealing as nearly three centuries ago and that many more young men in this country are worthy to receive the light of initiation and to benefit from the privileges of the Masonic Order, our main objective will now be to develop and expand Freemasonry in the Czech Republic.
Updated 28th, May 2010, this text incorporates extracts from “Czechoslovak Freemasonry in London during World War 2” by Prof. Ota Gregor †, and from “Prague-International Masonic City” by Jaap Sadilek.
by William E. Parker † and Jacques Huyghebaert
The area of Central Europe formerly known as Czechoslovakia and divided since 1993 into the Czech and Slovak Republic comprises essentially two different cultures; i.e., the Western, mainly Czech or Bohemian, and the Eastern, essentially Slovak, with Moravian influence sandwiched in the middle.
There have, of course, been other ethnic and cultural influences including those from Germans, Ukrainians, Ruthenes and Magyars. Sharing common frontiers with Germany, Poland, Russia, Hungary and Austria, this region has often been a tempting target for its neighbours.
Like pieces in a jigsaw puzzle, therefore, parts have at times been added to or taken away the area moving from one sphere of influence to another. Lacking a sufficient social and cultural homogeneity, religious and ethnic differences have unfortunately played a major role in the area’s development, history sadly showing its tragic consequences when a nation is so divided.
As a result, Freemasonry has often found itself both an unwilling spectator and/or participant in these historical events.
The earliest inhabitants of what is today the Czech Republic appear to have been Celts, in time being pushed aside by various Germanic migrating populations together with increasingly more important Slav influences. The Bohemian-Czech portion has traditionally leaned culturally and spiritually toward Austria while the Eastern Slovakian portion leans culturally towards Hungary. Spiritually, the Czechs have sometimes been anti-Rome, while the Slovaks have been devoutly Catholic, the religious issue adding yet another barrier to good relations. The Moravian portion, lying somewhere in the middle, shares both languages and cultures.
The area’s ensuing history, like most of Europe, has been one of continuing military, political, ethnic and religious conflicts. In 1415, for example, the reformer Jan Hus, a Wycliffe supporter, was condemned and then burned at the stake in Prague as a “heretic” for his opposition to the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church, thus beginning the Hussite Wars which ran from 1419 to 1433. It was during this period that the Bohemian Brethren merged, their principles grounded on “pure and ancient Christianity” and the doctrine of the original equality of men.
The movement was dramatically suppressed during the Thirty-Years War, their last Bishop being Jan Amos Komenský (Comenius – °l592 - †l670), a name still highly revered among the Czechs. As a consequence of their persecution, a number of the Bohemian Brethren emigrated to England, Hungary, Poland and the Netherlands during the beginning of the l7th century. The Reformation had swept through many parts of Europe and at the Peace of Libeň in 1609, Emperor Rudolph II had granted religious freedom to the Protestants.
Believing their rights were in peril from Austria’s Ferdinand II, however, the Protestants felt compelled to resist.
As a result, the Thirty-Years War began in 1618 running until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. In l620, Maximilian of Bavaria, allied with Ferdinand II, led the Army of the Catholic League and prevailed over the Protestant forces, Bohemia went under the iron rule of Ferdinand and the Jesuits and Catholicism was imposed. With the exception of the enlightened Joseph II, and briefly under Leopold II, the Austrian Government has since had a history of opposition to the Craft.
The history of Freemasonry throughout Central Europe is a complex story.
Suffice it to say that as the Craft spread from the British Isles throughout the Continent, it developed in differing ways as it moved from country to country. One particular difference was the original three degree system sometimes seemed inadequate and the Craft often became molded along philosophic, esoteric and chivalric lines with additional Orders and Degrees being instituted.
Due to political alignments, there also arose a fairly close relationship between Czechoslovak Freemasonry and its German, Austrian and Hungarian counterparts.
The date of the first Masonic Lodge in Prague has long been debated and remains a controversial and emotional subject. 1726, the often alleged date of the foundation of the first Masonic lodge in Prague, is however a Masonic myth which originated as follows. In 1888 Josef Svátek, a Czech journalist and non-mason, who had published a historical novel entitled “Hrabe Sporck”, wrote in the periodical « Zláta Praha » (Golden Prague) that Lodge « zu den drei Sternen» (Three Stars) had been founded by count Sporck on 26th June 1726 ; but no explanation was given how he had come to that conclusion. This whimsical claim was blindly repeated, without any evidence or any reference whatsoever to historical sources, in the «Geschichte der Freimaurerei in Österreich-Ungarn» a work published in 1890 by Masonic author Ludwig Aigert ‘Abafi’. Extensive historical critical research was carried out by Bros. Dr. Josef Volf, Oskar Posner and others during the 1930’s but not a single document was found seriously relating Sporck and Freemasonry.
The first documented freemason from Bohemia was Philip Count Kinsky. He spent 12 years in London as Imperial Ambassador and upon his return became the highest Chancellor of Bohemia in Prague. In November 1731, during his stay in England, Count Kinsky was initiated together with Sir Robert Walpole, at Houghton Hall, Norfolk, by Lord Lovel.
There is also archival evidence, pointing to Lodge “zu den drei gekrönten Sternen” (Three Crowned Stars) in Prague, celebrating its 50th anniversary in 1791. And, in 1742, a military lodge “La Sincérité” was founded at Litomerice (Leitmeritz) in Northern Bohemia. The German-language Strict Observance ritual used by this military lodge in the 1770’s is still available.
What is interesting here is that the documented existence of these two early Masonic lodges in the Czech Lands corresponds with the joint occupation of Prague (1741) by Saxon and French troops during the Austrian War of Succession.
Among the reputed Masons in Prague in 1741 were the well known Brother Count von Rutowsky (1702-1764), Military Governor of Prague, founder and Past Master Lodge « Aux Trois Aigles Blancs » in Dresden (1738), who had been elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Saxony in 1741.
Next there was Brother Ch. L. Aug. Fouquet de Belle-Isle (1684-1761), French Ambassador to the German Holy Roman Empire, Commanding Officer of the French troops in Prague, founder and Master of Lodge « l’Union » in Frankfurt am Main.
Another illustrious Mason present in Prague at the time was the famous French marshal Maurice de Saxe (1696-1750), who led the daring but victorious assault at night against the Vyšehrad fortress. In Freemasonry, Bro. Maurice de Saxe is especially remembered as one of the two candidates who stood for the office of Grand Master at the 1743 elections of the Grande Lodge of France.
It is therefore, no accident that the l745 membership lists of the two lodges show a significant number of French, English, Scottish, Irish, Dutch and German military officers.
The Papal Bull of 1738, and subsequently that of 1751, had not been recognized by the Habsburg Monarchy. At that period, the War of the Austrian Succession, the Pragmatic Sanction and Maria-Theresa’s succession to Charles VI undoubtedly concerned Austrian thoughts more than Vatican politics.
While the Empress Maria - Theresa, Queen of Bohemia from 1740-1780, initially tolerated Freemasonry, pressures exercised by the Roman clergy later caused her to prohibit the Craft. Interestingly, Francis I, Duke of Lorraine and later Holy Roman Emperor, who married Maria-Theresa in l736, was made a Mason at the English Embassy at the Hague by Désaguliers himself in 1731. He was raised a Master Mason either later that same year in England or during his stay in Holland, confusions existing on this point due to meager records. The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht had added Belgium to the Austrian Empire and Francis was making the rounds on a “political good-will” trip at the time of his Initiation. The significance of his entrance into the
Craft lies not in his personal Masonic activity, but rather the fact of his initiation which served as a beacon for other prominent persons all over the European continent to follow his example. Some authorities indicate it was his influence which caused the Papal Bulls not to be published in Austria, while some indicate that Maria-Theresa, being intensely jealous of her prerogatives, resented Papal influence in temporal matters. In truth, it was likely a bit of both.
The continuing political dissentions of the era were a constant factor in the Craft’s development and there arose a faction determined to seek freedom from Austria’s rule even using military action if necessary. Finally, the Army of Charles Albert, Elector of Bavaria, reinforced by French and Saxon troops, occupied Bohemia and on November 26th, 1741, Prague was taken. However, Austrian troops mounted a counterattack, and liberated Prague in December of 1742.
Freemasonry in Bohemia however had been born and it pursued its own course.
Maria-Theresa’s son Joseph II, named co-regent in 1765 and then her successor, ruled from 1780 to 1790. It can be safely said that Joseph II exerted significant power even during his tenure as co-regent thus giving him an effective span of control of about 25 years. As an “enlightened” ruler, Joseph II was an advocate of Imperial reform and, with a view of modernizing the Empire, issued decrees designed to improve the peasants’ life and to reform conditions in the civil, legal and artistic arenas.
Although not a Freemason, Joseph II was well disposed toward the Craft permitting it to function rather openly, particularly after a 1781 decree acknowledging the activities of the Austrian lodges. Lodges were founded in 1770, 1778, 1780, a Bohemian Provincial Grand Lodge came into existence in 1782 and in 1783 three more lodges were founded. Freemasonry in Bohemia had entered into a reasonably healthy period. The first Viennese lodge “Aux Trois Canons” existed only from September 17th, l742, to March 7th, l743, when it was dissolved by the police. There are indications the lodge continued to meet secretly for several years, perhaps into the 1760s, but specifics are vague. It is also indicated that Illuminati influence began to be felt in lodges, a factor the Church would not have countenanced, but a development Joseph II is said to have intended to make political use of.
Between 1750-1760, “Écossais” High Grades were gradually introduced into the Austrian empire with the Clermont System initially being used. In time, it was replaced by the Strict Observance Seven Degree System based on Templar tradition. This united Austrian and German lodges into a single ritual working and the Bohemian lodges using the Clermont System converted to the Strict Observance about 1764. The Jena Conference of 1764 resulted in the Strict Observance, with its Templar Provinces, gaining increasing popularity in Bohemia. Duke Ferdinand von Brunswick was elected Superior of the Order in 1772.
The Masonic Order reached its peak of glory in 1775 when no less than twenty-six reigning German princes, Dukes and Counts attended the Strict Observance Convent.
After the 1782 Wilhelmsbad Convent, however, the Strict Observance went into an irreversible decline although in Prague and in the Austrian Empire it continued to be the main Masonic rite until the end of the century.
In 1773, the Prague Freemasons founded and financed the Prague orphanage of St. John the Baptist, demonstrating their dedication to charitable activities. The initiative was taken by Caspar Herman Count Kunigl, Worshipful Master of lodge “zu den drei Sternen” (The Three Stars) in Prague. His father was Sebastian Count Kunigl, an active member of old Bohemian lodges like “zu den drei gekrönten Säulen”
(The Three Crowned Columns) in Prague and « Sincerity » in Litomerice. Caspar Herman, continued his father’s Masonic work, was member of the « Three crowned stars » lodge in Prague, and later founded the lodge « At the nine Stars ». Empress Maria Theresa, donated a palace to the orphanage, where the lodges also met. In addition to charitable institutions, several prominent Freemasons in Prague were the driving forces at the roots of important institutions like for example the National Museum, the Academy of Sciences and the National Gallery.
Between 1780 and 1785, there were eight lodges in Vienna, at that time a city of some 300,000 inhabitants and a Mecca for artistic achievement. In that the Papal Bulls were not then in effect and, therefore, not legally binding, Catholic subjects felt no obligation to obey them. It should be noted, too, that during this period lodges in Vienna and other European cities also counted clerics among their members as well as the leading figures in literature, science and art.
Among the famous artistic talents of the era was musical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (†1791). While considering himself a good Catholic and attending Mass regularly, Mozart had no hesitation in joining what he considered a beneficial and enlightened society and indeed Freemasonry played an important role in the remainder of his life. He was initiated in the Strict Observance “Benevolence Lodge” (Zur Wohltätigkeit) on December 14th, 1784. Later, his father also joined the Craft. Mozart was a frequent visitor to Prague and on several occasions he attended meetings of Lodge “Wahrheit und Einigkeit zu den drei gekrönten Säulen”. Most of his friends and connections in Prague were prominent aristocrats and Freemasons.
The late 18th century was the golden age of masonry in Prague : more than 600 freemasons were active, which would have been about 1% of the population at the time. Frederic II of Prussia had been Initiated in 1738 and became the Royal Patron of the lodge “Aux Trois Globes” founded in Berlin in 1741, which later on developed into the Grand Lodge “Zu den Drei Weltkügeln”. Although Frederic II died in 1786, there is speculation that Joseph II had for some time been concerned that Frederic II wanted to use Freemasonry to influence politics in the Habsburg sphere of power. There is, therefore, uncertainty on Joseph II’s real motives in his relationship to the Craft but it is definitely known that there were Masons among his Ministers and Senior Advisors.
On the other hand, while membership was increasing, candidate selection seemingly became lax, the Craft accepted men who damaged the Order’s reputation, sometimes through unwarranted political incursions, and a crisis loomed. When apprised of the situation, possibly as a means of protecting the Craft or possibly because he felt threatened by the Masonic principles of opposition to absolutism, Joseph II felt it necessary to take action.
In 1784, the Provincial Grand Lodge in Bohemia and other lodges, except those of the Austrian Netherlands, were unified under the Habsburg Empire into six Provincial Grand Lodges. These comprised Austria, Bohemia, Galicia, Austrian Lombardy, Siebenbürgen (Transylvania) , and Hungary. One of Joseph II’s objectives by having a central Grand Lodge with its headquarters in Vienna was definitely to free the Order from possible foreign control. Further, in 1785, he limited the number of lodges in
each Provincial capital to three and placed Freemasonry under government control. By the end of Joseph II’s reign, other than the Austrian Netherlands, there were only about nine lodges remaining in the Empire. Leopold II, Joseph’s successor in 1790, was somewhat tolerant of the lodges hoping to use them for political purposes. His reign, however, was a brief one lasting only from 1790 to 1792, being succeeded by his son Emperor Francis II.
While Emperor Leopold II had shown an inclination to adopt a “middle course” between Joseph’s reforms and Church demands, emperor Francis II was staunchly anti-Masonic and was persuaded that all secret societies, including Freemasonry, were working against him. Given this climate, lodges voluntarily closed in 1794 in Prague and the Craft was formally suppressed by edict in January 1795.
The ideas of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution were being propagated throughout the continent and the crowned heads of Europe were increasingly nervous. It is also interesting to note that during the same general period as Joseph II’s reign, Empress Catherine’s attitude towards the Craft in Russia was initially benevolent although she later took a more hardened position. Within the Austrian Empire, there were also reported “alliances” of Freemasons and Jacobins and the continual unease resulted in Francis II arresting several Jacobins in 1794-95 on the grounds of treason. Accused of being unduly favourable to the French Revolution, the Jacobins were said to constitute a danger to the Monarchy. Some were executed, some were imprisoned and some later granted amnesty in 1802 but Freemasonry’s image suffered a severe blow through the supposed Jacobin association.
The 1848 Revolution in the Empire caused Prince Metternich to flee and retire from politics to his countryside castle at Kynžvart (Königswart), near Mariánské Lázně (Marienbad). This is by the way the very location where our Lodge “Goethe v údolí míru” (Goethe zum Tale des Friedens) meets today.
Ferdinand I abdicated and Francis (Franz) Joseph ascended the throne, but he continued the ban against Freemasonry.
Politics always at the fore, through the Compromise of 1867 in Austria and Hungary more or less separated into two kingdoms, but with only one ruler, the Craft’s situation was different in the two nations. There being no laws in Hungary against Freemasonry, the Hungarian Symbolic Grand Lodge of St. John was established on 30th January 1870 followed by a Grand Orient of Hungary in 187l. Curiously, therefore, if the King of Hungary (Franz Joseph) permitted the Craft in that nation, because of the differing laws the Emperor of Austria (Franz Joseph) did not.
In 1870 and 1872, Prague Freemasons formed “non-political” societies composed of members of Craft lodges and in l909 a Bohemian Lodge “Hiram zu den drei Sternen” (Hiram at the Three Stars) was formed in Slovakia under the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary which had been established March 2lst, 1886, through a merger of the two Hungarian Grand Bodies.
While the authorities apparently knew of the lodge’s existence, they tolerated it due to its benevolent activities. In Prague, while another “non-political” society was formed, Bohemian Freemasons nonetheless participated in the Craft largely in Hungary or Germany. In the period immediately preceding World War I, a number of candidates from what would eventually become Czechoslovakia were initiated in the so-called “Grenzlogen” (Border Lodges). So Prague brethren, who became masons in Hungary or Germany or elsewhere, were eventually able to establish Hiram Lodge in Bratislava in 1909.
The aim of the founders was to unite brethren from all nationalities and religions in one Prague Lodge. Czech, German and Jewish masons would jointly build Hiram.
There were 42 founders, most of them initiated in Viennese lodges operating in Bratislava. Others had become masons in Saxony and Bavaria. There was also Bro. Siegmund Bohm, who was a member of Manchester Lodge No 179 in London and Bro Gustav Steiner, who was a member of Divigo Lodge No 30 in New York. The Craft being forbidden, these “Grenzlogen” had to remain located near the Border.
They counted about three-hundred Bohemian members by 1914.
Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand, the heir presumptive to Emperor Franz-Joseph was assassinated at Sarajevo on 28th June 1914, by a disgruntled Bosnian Serb and soon storm clouds and gunfire echoed over Europe. His castle and estate located at Konopiště (Konopischt) near Benešov (Beneschau), 50 km south of Prague, was transformed after the war into a museum and has become ever since a popular historical excursion destination for tourists visiting Prague.
World War I was a rather chaotic era for Czechoslovakia. In brief, it was a highly difficult period politically, culturally, and Masonic ally as well because after the war broke out, the death penalty was decreed by the Austrian military authorities on anyone discovered to be a Freemason. The sentence however remained theoretical and was never carried out.
The 1918 yearbook of the Supreme Council, AASR, of Italy (Supremo Consiglio dell’Italia e sue Colonie) headed by Sov. Gr. Com. Raoul V. Palermi 33° proves that already before the end of the 1914-1918 war hostilities a Scottish Rite Rose-Croix Masonic Body had been constituted as « Capitolo Boemia no.77 » in Prague.
Under the then applicable administrative rules of the National Grand Lodge of Italy (Gran Loggia Nationale A.L.A. Massoni d’Italia), the members in countries where Freemasonry was prohibited were not entered in the central register in Rome and lodges were identified by a number only.
The secret Italian lodge in Prague was known simply as lodge no. 40.
At the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian empire, fifteen Czech Brethren, who were members of border Lodge « Hiram zu den drei Sternen » in Bratislava (Preßburg, Poszony) decided on 26th October 1918 to create a Masonic lodge which would work in the Czech language and they choose the name “Jan Amos Komenský” (Comenius)
for the lodge in honour of the famous l7th century Czech thinker and national hero.
The Republic of Czechoslovakia was born two days later !
The armistice ending World War I was signed on 11th November 1918.
About that time as well, German language Masons living in Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) obtained a charter from the Grand Lodge «Zur Sonne» in Bayreuth on 28th October 1918 to constitute a Masonic lodge which they named « Munificentia ».
The Czech language Lodge “Národ” (Nation) was officially constituted in Prague March 28th, 1919, by Bro. Ugo Dadone, an Italian Scottish Rite Mason and admitted on the roll of the National Grand Lodge of Italy (Piazza del Gesú) on April 20th 1919.
In May 1919, Lodge “Jan Amos Komenský” (Comenius Lodge) received a letter from the Grand Orient of France in Paris informing that its application for membership had been approved. The official charter was delivered on 28th September of that year at the hands of Ill. Bro. René Henry Besnard, 33°, French Senator who had been French Minister of War from 1915 to 1917. Bro. Alphonse Mucha who had been initiated in Paris on 25th January 1898 but was still a fellowcraft twenty years later had been the Brother behind this achievement …
Simultaneously, the group of German speaking brethren, who already had operated the fraternal circle «Harmonie» since 1870 in Prague and similar Masonic groups in Zatec (Saaz) and Liberec (Reichenberg) for half a century approached and obtained successively four charters of constitution from the Grand Lodge of Saxony (Große Landesloge von Sachsen) in Dresden.
On 15th December 1919, five more Czech lodges were created under the National Grand Lodge of Italy and on 29th December the six existing Czech lodges of Italian origin proclaimed the creation of the National Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia (Národni Velká Lože Československá).
A number of Czech brethren who were under the Italian Scottish Rite Supreme Council then on 12th January 1920 proclaimed the constitution of the Supreme Council of the 33rd and last degree of the A. & A.S.R. for Czechoslovakia.
On 23rd October 1920, with eight founding lodges, the German language lodges erected their own Grand Lodge under the name ”Lessing zu den drei Ringen” (Lessing at the Three Rings).
It is in this chaotic environment that Freemasonry was born in Czechoslovakia. Several Masonic Grand Bodies, were operating simultaneously in the same territorial jurisdiction, they were working different rituals in seven different languages, and there were constant frictions between the various rival Masonic groups. This situation was compounded by the complex aggregate of the new state and the several ethnic groups which composed it. Although the Czechs were in the majority, the country contained also large elements of Germans, Slovaks, Poles, Hungarians, Ruthenes, Jews and Gypsies, all with their own cultures and own languages.
The Supreme Council of the A. & A. S. R. for Czechoslovakia led by world famous art-nouveau painter S.G.C. the Ill. Bro. Alphonse Mucha 33°, was admitted at the Lausanne Conference and it was recognised on the 8th June 1922 by all the Supreme Councils of the A. & A. S. R. present or represented in Switzerland.
Lodge « Comenius » resigned from the Grand Orient of France in 1922 in order to join the National Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia the status of which was regularised by its solemn consecration on 27th October 1923 by the “Grand Lodge of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes “Yugoslavia” » thus paving the way for worldwide recognition.
Grand Lodge « Bohemia » a small Grand Body chartered by the Grand Lodge called “Freimaurerbund zur aufgehenden Sonne” (Masonic Union of the Rising Sun) located in Nürnberg and 4 independent Slovak Lodges formerly under Hungarian jurisdiction joined Grand Lodge Lessing zu den drei Ringen.
Remarkable in the history of Freemasonry in Czechoslovakia is also the little known creation of several mixed gender lodges under the Dutch Federation of the Droit humain, among which in 1922 Lodge « Dobrovský » the only Masonic lodge in the world having ever been working in Esperanto.
Worthwhile mentioning in this respect also is the creation in 1931 of a short lived «Grand Orient of Czechoslovakia» which was absorbed in 1935 by the National Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia.
The irregular status of Czech Freemasonry in its beginnings was progressively regularised. In 1930, the “National Czechoslovak Grand Lodge” was recognised by the United Grand Lodge of England with effect going back to 1923 i.e. from the date of its consecration. From the 1930’s onwards the Grand Lodge “Lessing zu den drei Ringen” and the National Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia started to move closer and worked in mutual amity.
Between the two world wars, twenty six lodges were established by the National Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia with some 1,500 members, while the Grand Lodge «Lessing zu den 3 Ringen» eventually had 35 lodges and a similar membership.
Total Masonic membership in Czechoslovakia had reached about 3,000 in 1938.
In August 1938, under the clauses of the Munich Pact, but without any consultation whatsoever with the Czechoslovak government, France and Great Britain handed over the Czechoslovak Sudeten border region to Germany hoping that this territorial concession would appease the appetite of German Chancellor Hitler.
As a result of this tragedy and fearing the worst for its future Czechoslovak Freemasonry went voluntarily into darkness in October 1938.
President Edvard Beneš, the Czechoslovak head of state, who was a prominent Freemason, resigned his office immediately after the Munich humiliation and went into exile to London, taking along with him the National Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia, which was given a fraternal asylum by the United Grand Lodge of
England and was allowed to meet at Great Queen Street during of World War 2.
Despite the solemn promises made by Nazi Germany in Munich only six months earlier, on 15th March l939 Hitler attacked, invaded and had the remainder of the Czechoslovakia militarily occupied and governed by the German Army.
A fascist pro-nazi puppet government was installed in Slovakia, while a so-called protectorate was proclaimed by Germany over Bohemia and Moravia (Böhmen und Mähren) resulting in the de-facto integration of the Czech Lands to the third Reich.
Since the Gestapo had infiltrated our ranks and had managed to get hold of Czechoslovak Masonic membership lists, many Brethren who had remained in Czechoslovakia, were immediately arrested and imprisoned for being Freemasons.
Among those was M.W. Bro. Jiři Syllaba, professor of medicine, and son of Grand Master Ladislav Syllaba, who was held in captivity till the end of the war under unspeakable conditions at Terezín (Teresienstadt) which had been turned by the Nazis into a prison and concentration camp for Jews, Gypsies, political prisoners, and prisoners of war who had attempted in escaping from POW camps,.
Of the total number of approximately 3,000 pre-war members of both Grand Lodges 34 percent are known to have been deported to Nazi prisons and concentration camps and over 17 percent died as the direct result of their detention. The number of Czechoslovak Brethren who succeeded in escaping Nazi persecution by reaching foreign countries (France, England, USA) is estimated at approximately 200 only.
On May 16, 1941 Brethren from twelve lodges under the jurisdiction of the “National Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia” who had escaped in England, elected unanimously M.W. Bro. Professor Vladimir Klečanda as their Grand Master in Exile.
He authorised the creation of a new Czechoslovak Lodge in England to be constituted under the name “Czechoslovak Comenius in Exile Lodge”.
The leading representatives of the United Grand Lodge of England showed full understanding for the situation of the exiled Czechoslovak Masons. They therefore granted exceptional arrangements which in the history of English Masonry had never happened before. There had never been another Sovereign Grand-Lodge allowed to operate on the territory of the Grand Lodge of England.
On July 21, 1941 Great Britain formally recognised the Czechoslovak Government in exile in London headed by President Edvard Beneš. Two month later, i.e. in September 1941, the United Grand Lodge of England formally recognised the Czechoslovak Grand Lodge in Exile and its newly elected Grand Master Bro. Professor Vladimir Klečanda.
The first ritual meeting in Freemasons Hall in Great Queen Street took place on August 28, 1942. Twenty wartime meetings were held in Freemasons Hall in London. At one of the meetings of the Comenius Lodge in Exile over 70 visitors were present, many of them high ranking officers of English, Scottish, Irish and other constitutions.
Among the guests of the Comenius Lodge in Exile the Czechoslovak Brethren in London had the pleasure of meeting R.W. Bro. Sir Sydney A. White, KCVO, Grand Secretary of the United Grand Lodge of England.
Masonic lectures were regularly delivered in the Comenius Lodge in Exile, one of them at the meeting of March 12, 1943 with the title “Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk a Mason without Apron ?” Masaryk was the founder of Czechoslovakia in 1918 and was the first President of the Czechoslovak Republic. T.G. Masaryk, though not a member of our Order, had always shown much sympathy to its work and its aims. His son, Jan Masaryk, the foreign minister of the Czechoslovak Government in Exile in London, was an active Freemason.
According to both Masonic Journals, “The Freemasons Chronicle” and “The Masonic Record” in their issues in the years 1943, 1944 and 1945, the English Brethren admired the Czechoslovak ritual, especially the Opening and Closing Ceremony as well as the mystic chain during which one Brother addressed the Brethren in the chain. Another striking and peculiar feature noted by the English Brethren was when the Most Worshipful Grand Master was received in advancing to the Throne. In accordance with Czechoslovak Masonic tradition, he deliberately walked across the “tapis” or tracing board, an honour which he alone possessed. In Czech lodges, a piece of cloth upon which various Masonic emblems are depicted lies on the floor as is usually done in continental European lodges. The cloth is folded in half when the Lodge is not at labour.
Another interesting feature of the Czech ritual is that the lights of the Master and Wardens are lit with special ceremonial and the enunciation of the respective attributes Wisdom, Strength and Beauty. Many in England had the occasion to remember gratefully the inspiring example of fortitude in adversity and Masonic enthusiasm shown by the Czech exiled visitors and the valuable contribution they made in return for the hospitality offered by a number of demonstrations in English of the Czech old ritual offering stimulating interest in Masonic research and symbolism.
The mutual fraternisation and the friendship which so splendidly stood the test during the dark hours of the War yielded a rich harvest in the years after the war which has lasted until today. The exemplary Brotherly Love with which the English Brethren had come to the aid of the Czech Brethren would indeed form one of the most outstanding chapters in the annals of the English Craft” (cf. The Freemasons Chronicle, 30 Oct. 1943).
In the U.S.A. in parallel, 15 Czechoslovak Brethren in exile founded a Masonic club named “The New World” in 1941 with the approval of the Grand Lodge of New York and the permission of Grand Master Klečanda, while affiliating collectively with “Golden Rule Lodge no. 770” and “Elbe Lodge no. 393” in New York.
In addition, it is worth mentioning that the National Czechoslovak Grand Lodge in exile was recognised by the Grand Lodge of New York in 1943.
It is also necessary to underline that, after the war, in 1946, generous Masonic support came from the Grand Lodge of New York, the Grand Lodge of Louisiana and the Masonic Service Association to help the war-devastated Czechoslovakia.
Particular support in these dark days came from Ill. Bro. John H. Cowles, Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A, who had traveled on several occasion to Prague before World War 2.
American Masons arranged for packages of food, clothing and money totaling 10,000 US dollars to be sent. One of the very active masons in post war Prague was Pavel Korbel, the uncle of United States Ambassador to the United Nations and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová in Prague).
A first General Meeting of Czechoslovak Freemasons took place on 11th May 1946 in liberated Prague with the purpose to draft a new constitution and in the conviction that Czechoslovak Masonry had never ceased to exist both at home and abroad, but the Grand Lodge officially resumed its activities in Prague only a year later.
The constituent re-consecration of the Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia took place on 26th October 1947 in the historical Colloredo-Mansfeld Palace in Prague, exactly on the anniversary of the day when the first Czechoslovak Lodge John Amos Comenius was founded in Prague just before the end of the first World War.
This General Meeting elected as new Grand Master the M.W. Bro. Bohumil Vančura, as well as two Deputy Grand Masters and 31 other Grand Officers. Among them were Brethren who had been imprisoned during the Nazi occupation, the Former Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia in Exile in London, the former Chairman of the Czechoslovak Masonic Club in New York, the first W.M. of the Comenius in Exile Lodge and others.
A minute of respectful silence and was then observed by the General Meeting to honour the memory of the Brethren who had passed to the Grand Lodge above, especially those who had sacrificed their lives from 1939 to 1945 in the struggle for the liberty or had fallen as victims of Nazi persecution.
The revived Grand Lodge voted to drop the “National” from its name in an effort to please the Slovakian Brethren and finally a motion was unanimously carried to transfer the « Comenius in Exile » Lodge from London to Prague.
The development of the reconstituted Grand Lodge was short lived because already in February 1948 a coup d’état secretly engineered in Moscow took place.
One of the unfortunate victims of this new tragedy was our Brother Jan Masaryk, the son of first Czechoslovak President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk who had been the Czechoslovak Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1940 till his death in 1948.
When his dead body, still dressed in his night pyjamas, was found on 10th March in the courtyard of the Foreign Ministry below his bathroom, the official 'investigation' concluded that he had committed suicide. Persistent rumours spread immediately after his death, that he had not killed himself but had instead been murdered by agents of
the Soviet Secret Police, the dreaded M.G.B. (Министерство государственной безопасности) on direct orders issued from the Lubyanka Headquarters in Moscow.
And indeed in 2004 fresh crime forensic research was conducted by police, concluding that Jan Masaryk was indeed murdered. This was further corroborated in 2006 when Russian journalist Leonid Parshin revealed that it was Russian intelligence officer Mikhail Illich Byelkin who had thrown Minister Jan Masaryk out the window.
At first Masonic lodges were allowed by the new Red rulers to continue to assemble, but progressively all activities of private citizens and associations were put under strict surveillance of the State Security Services (Státní Bezpečnost or StB).
Within months, anti-Masonic propaganda was distributed by so-called revolutionary committees sponsored by the Communist party. Freemasons were again vilified, some were arrested and jailed. Those who could, escaped to the West.
In 1949 the ordinary Grand Lodge annual communication had to be postponed due to increasing difficulties with the Communist regime.
A compromise was finally reached whereby the political commissars would remain outside the temple during the ritual opening and closing, but would be present during the remainder of the proceedings, which would take place while Grand Lodge would be at refreshment for the administrative reports, discussions and the elections.
On 20th March 1951 the Stalinist oriented politburo announced that Masonic lodges in Czechoslovakia not voluntary closed by 1st April 1951 would be suppressed by the government, under a new decree prohibiting all “bourgeois” clubs, which were to be replaced by new organisations fully at the collective service of the proletariat.
An extra-ordinary Grand Lodge communication was called and by unanimous vote the Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia was declared dormant and all lodges dissolved.
By the time of this sad event, which was only 3 years after its post WW2 revival, as the Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia was forced again into darkness, Masonic membership in Czechoslovakia had increased to about 800 members.
Czech Masons who managed to flee the country and could emigrate to the United States after 1948 created various local masonic organisations over there.
The most important of these was the Czech Masonic Club of Chicago which alone had over 300 members at one time.
Two Masonic lodges were chartered in Germany under the GL AFAM especially for Czech émigrés during this period, Lodge « Thomas G. Masaryk no. 957 » in Bonn and Lodge « zu den drei Sternen no. 969 » (U Tří Hvězd) in Munich. The two lodges worked the standard A.F.A.M. ritual but in Czech language. Lodge T.G. Masaryk is still active in Bonn, but Lodge 3 Stars has moved to Prague.
When the Communist regime collapsed forty years later in 1989, there were only 28 Czechoslovak Masons still alive in the home country, but they had clandestinely maintained contacts during the whole period not only among themselves but also with the United Grand Lodge of England, via the GL of Finland, some of whose senior members took the risk to visit Freemasons living in Prague on several occasions. In March 1989 a public appeal in favour of Freemasonry was published in the Prague newspaper “Mladá Fronta” containing a postal address at rue Cadet in Paris.
Over 2,000 letters of reply were received by the Grand Orient of France.
In September 1990, the first Masonic initiation in Prague, following the end of the communist era, took place during an occasional lodge, under the auspices of the Grand Lodge A.F.A.M of Germany, held at the Neo-Renaissance Žofín Palace, on Slovanský island, presided by W. Bro. Oldřich Stasiewicz, a Past Master of « T. G. Masaryk » Lodge in Bonn, and supported by 160 Czech Freemasons living in exile, who had traveled especially all the way from as far as Norway and Argentine.
This event was followed shortly afterwards by the re-constitution in Prague of Lodge «Comenius 17.XI.1989 » by the Grand Orient of France on 14th November 1990.
Three days later, on 17th November 1990, the Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia was officially revived in Prague, receiving recognition from the Grand Lodge of England at the end of that same year and then from other Grand Lodges around the world. Prof. Dr. Jiři Syllaba, who had been initiated in 1926, had been detained in camps by the Nazis during the whole duration of World War II and had also remained in the mother country during the whole of the communist era, was elected Grand Master of the re-awakened Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia.
On 23rd November 1991 the required number of Czech Brethren having been duly invested with the 33°, the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite for Czechoslovakia was reconstituted by the Supreme Council of the United States, Southern Jurisdiction, together with the Supreme Councils of Finland and Italy.
In 1993, serious political difficulties caused Czechoslovakia to be partitioned into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia was subsequently renamed into the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic.
Later during that same year, on 23rd October 1993, the Grand Orient of France constituted its three existing lodges in the country into a new sovereign Grand Masonic Body, the “Veliký Orient Český ” (Czech Grand Orient).
The Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic on the other hand, which had historically been exercising effective and unchallenged exclusive territorial jurisdiction over Czechia and Slovakia since the birth of Czecho-Slovakia in 1918 continued to cover Slovakia without interruption after the 1993 political partition.
Being the prelude to full Masonic sovereignty, a District Grand Lodge of Slovakia holding under the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic was constitued in March 2008.
In March 2008 as well, as the result and coronation of 5-year long discrete and patient efforts, a solemn Masonic ceremony was held in the presence of many international guests, including the Grand Masters of Germany, Austria and Poland, during which the Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia integrated the five lodges formerly holding under the Czech Grand Orient, plus one Slovak lodge which had worked till that date under the authority of the Grand Orient of France.
This long desired unification of Czech Freemasonry, resulting in the successful merger of the Czech Grand Orient into the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic received general international approval and widespread Masonic congratulations, including from the United Grand Lodge of England.
The last important event in our recent history has been the constitution of the Grand Lodge of Slovakia on 21st March 2009 conducted jointly by the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic, the Grand Lodge of Austria and the United Grand Lodges of Germany in the presence of over 20 foreign delegations and a dozen Grand Masters.
The United Grand Lodge of England had already approved the recognition of new Grand Lodge of Slovakia at its Quartely Communication on 11th March 2009, with effect on the date of its constitution.
Excluding Slovakia, which is now no longer under our jurisdiction, the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic, counts now about 450 Brethren spread over 18 lodges.
The Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic maintains currently fraternal relations with 218 regular Grand Lodges on a total of about 250 regular Grand Lodges worldwide.
A further step towards improving its international relations and promoting the ideal of universal Freemasonry was achieved during the first quarter of 2010 with the approval by the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic to establish of fraternal relations with the 36 members of the Confederación Masónica Interanericana (C.M.I.) and with 30 Prince Hall Grand Lodges in the USA, Canada and the Caribbean.
Convinced that the ideals of Freemasonry remain today as appealing as nearly three centuries ago and that many more young men in this country are worthy to receive the light of initiation and to benefit from the privileges of the Masonic Order, our main objective will now be to develop and expand Freemasonry in the Czech Republic.
Updated 28th, May 2010, this text incorporates extracts from “Czechoslovak Freemasonry in London during World War 2” by Prof. Ota Gregor †, and from “Prague-International Masonic City” by Jaap Sadilek.
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