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Grand Orient de France

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Template:Freemasonry2 The Grand Orient de France (GODF) is the largest of several Masonic organizations in France and the oldest in Continental Europe, founded in 1733.[1]

History

Foundation


According to tradition, the first Masonic Lodge in France was founded in 1688 by a Royal Irish Regiment that followed the deposed King James II of England into exile. An English Lodge is also said to have been founded at Dunkirk in 1721. However, the first Lodge whose existence can be verified was organised by English merchants in Paris about 1725. By the time of the French Revolution, there were some 1250 Masonic Lodges in the country.[2] The Grand Orient de France was founded in 1733.[3]

French Revolution

The Lodge Les Neuf Sœurs was a prominent lodge attached to the Grand Orient de France that was particularly influential in organising French support for the American Revolution and later in the intellectual ferment that preceded the French Revolution. Benjamin Franklin was a member of this Lodge when he was serving as liaison in Paris.

Some notable French revolutionaries were Freemasons, including Voltaire,[4] Marquis de Condorcet,[5] Mirabeau,[6] Georges Danton,[7] the Duke of Orléans,[8] and Hébert.[9]

Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, a leader of the Liberal Aristocracy, was the Grand Master of the Grand Orient at the time of the French Revolution.[8] In some parts of France, the Jacobin Clubs were continuances of Masonic lodges from the Ancien Régime, and according to historian Alan Forrest "some early clubs, indeed, took over both the premises and much of the membership of masonic lodges, before rebadging themselves in the new idiom of the revolution."[10]

The Catholic Encyclopedia alleges that the Masonic book La Franc-Maçonnerie, écrasée in 1746 predicted the program of the French Revolution,[11] and claims to quote documents of the Grand Orient of France where Freemasonry claims credit for the French Revolution.[12] However, the New Catholic Encyclopedia of 1967 says that modern historians see Freemasonry's role in the French Revolution as exaggerated.[13]

In 1804 it merged with the rival Grand Lodge, the Rite Ecossais.[14]

Napoleon III

In France Napoleon III established a dictatorship over official French Freemasonry, appointing first Prince Lucien Murat and later Marshal Magnan to closely supervise the craft and suppress any hints of opposition to the regime.[15]

The Paris Commune

According to Ernest Belfort Bax, Freemasons were responsible for the last serious attempt at conciliation between Versailles and the Paris Commune on April 21, 1870. They were received coldly by Adolphe Thiers, who assured them that, though Paris was given over to destruction and slaughter, the law should be enforced, and he kept his word. A few days after they decided, in a public meeting, to plant their banner on the ramparts and throw in their lot with the Commune. On the 29th, accordingly, 10,000 of the brethren met (55 lodges being represented), and marched to the Hôtel de Ville, headed by the Grand Masters in full insignia and the banners of the lodges. Amongst them the new banner of Vincennes was conspicuous, bearing the inscription in red letters on a white ground, “Love one another.” A balloon was then sent up, which let fall at intervals, outside Paris, a manifesto of the Freemasons. The procession then wended its way through the boulevards and the Champs Elysées to the Arc de Triomphe, where the banners were planted at various points along the ramparts. On seeing the white flag on the Porte Maillot the Versaillese ceased firing, and the commander, himself a Freemason, received a deputation of brethren, and suggested a final appeal to Versailles, which was agreed to. The “chief of the executive,” of course, hardly listened to the envoys, and declined to further discuss the question of peace with anyone. This last formal challenge having been made and rejected, the Freemasons definitely took their stand as combatants for the Commune.[16]

Schism with the United Grand Lodge of England

In 1877, at the instigation of the Protestant priest Frédéric Desmons, it allowed those who had no belief in a Supreme being - which the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) and related Lodges regarded as a Masonic Landmark - to be admitted.[17]

It was this decision that has been the root cause of the schism between the Grand Orient (and those lodges that followed it), and the rest of Freemasonry. It is a schism in Freemasonry which continues to this day. It is argued that the definition is ambiguous, that Anderson's Landmarks are his own collection and interpretation of the historical landmarks, and that changes in both interpretation and practice have occurred before and since.

The decision was not universally approved in France. By 1894 many lodges had split off in protest and formed the Grande Loge de France (GLdF)[18] In addition, a third Grand Lodge, the Grande Loge Nationale Francaise (GLNF) was founded by the United Grand Lodge of England in 1913.[19]

Third Republic

The Grand Orient was instrumental in the founding of the left wing Republican Party.[20][21][22][23]

The Grand Orient was implicated in the Affaire Des Fiches, where it was accused of collecting[24] and holding information on the religious and political affiliation of army officers, passed on by a member of the government,[25] having been collected with the intention of blocking practicing Catholics and non-Republicans from further advancement.[26]

Separation of Church and State

The Grand Orient advanced the concept of Laïcité, a French concept of the separation of church and state and the absence of religious interference in government affairs.[27] In the 1930s the Grand Orient was still hostile to Church interests, wishing to close private schools (which were predominantly Catholic), or failing that to reintroduce an insistence that only state schools could provide civil servants.[28]

This dislike of religious participation is still an official policy of the Grand Orient de France today.[29] The Grand Orient de France is concerned about a 'silent revolution' of a return of religion in society.[30] It is openly hostile to granting the right of expression and practice to movements elsewhere recognized as religions in the European Union, which it calls "cults" (sectes). It advocates government action against (according to its own terms) an 'offensive of cults in Europe'.[31] In April 2008, when the legitimacy of the anti-cult ministerial group (MIVILUDES) was questioned, the Great Master of the Order Jean-Michel Quillardet intervened personally with the President of the French parliament in order to maintain its activity.[32]

Relationship with other jurisdictions

Main article: Continental Freemasonry

The GODF practices Continental style Freemasonry (what GODF calls "Traditional Liberal Masonry"), the defining features of which are complete freedom of religious conscience and heavy involvement in politics. This is in antithesis to the "Anglo" tradition of Freemasonry, which remains male only and requires a belief in Deity but which otherwise bans discussion of both religion and politics. This difference affects which other Grand Jurisdictions give GODF "recognition" and deem it "regular". Those Grand Lodges and Grand Orients that follow the Continental tradition tend to recognize GODF, while those that follow the Anglo Tradition do not.

Politics and religion

Unlike the Anglo-Masonic Grand Lodges (especially those affiliated to the United Grand Lodge of England), the Grand Orient of France allows the discussion of political issues and religion in lodge. However, this does not mean that its members proselytize or preach their beliefs; the discussions are performed in an academic manner that serves to inform and open dialogue on various topics. The Grand Orient itself takes political positions on certain moral issues. It sees as one of its missions protecting the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity (this also being the motto of the French Republic and the GODF).[33]

In addition, it expects its members who hold a public office to fight for its values;[34] in order to forward its stated purpose of exerting an influence on ideas, the Grand Master holds regular talks with elected representatives, including the Prime Minister (ibid).

Female membership

It was one of the first Masonic orders to allow some of its lodges to become adoptive (i.e. to admit women although it does not initiate them). In 1774, following the introduction of Rites of Adoption in several of its lodges, it issued an edict authorising them, the Duchess of Bourbon being elected first Grand Mistress of France.

For many years, the Grand Orient would not allow its lodges to initiate women, but did recognize and receive women who were made Freemasons in other jurisdictions. This changed in 2010, and currently the Grand Orient is in the process of allowing the initiation of women.[35]

Lodges chartered by GODF outside France

The GODF has currently the following lodges outside of France:

  • Atlantide Lodge, New York City-NY (1900)[36]
  • Pacifica Lodge, San Francisco-CA (1986)[37]
  • Lafayette Lodge no. 89, Washington, D.C. (1989)[38]
  • Art et Lumière Lodge, Los Angeles-CA (1990)[39]
  • Zora (Dawn) Lodge, Belgrade (Serbia) (1992)[citation needed]
  • Vernost (Fidelity) Lodge, Belgrade (Serbia) (2002)[citation needed]
  • Ujedinjenje (Unification) Lodge, Belgrade (Serbia) (2006)[citation needed]
  • Harmonija (Harmony) Lodge, Serbia (2008)[citation needed]
  • Sveti Sava (Saint Sava) Lodge, Serbia (2008)
  • Pobratim (Blood Brother) Lodge, Serbia (2008)
  • Ivanjski Venac (Ivan's Chaplet) Lodge, Serbia (2008)
  • Dositej Lodge, Serbia (2008)
  • Force et Courage Lodge, Montréal (Québec) (1999)[40]
  • Hiram Lodge, London (UK) (1899)[41]
  • Freedom of Conscience, London (UK) English speaking Lodge (2010)[42]
  • Moscow Lodge, Moscow (Russia) (1998)[43]
  • Tricolour No. 1, Killarney, Ireland
  • Voltaire No. 2, Killarney, Ireland
  • Wolfe Tone Lodge No. 3, Cork, Ireland
  • Keystone Lodge No. 4, Killarney, Ireland

See also

References

  1. ^ Achille Godefroy Jouaust, Histoire du Grand Orient de France (Rennes and Paris, 1865). Available from Google Books [1]
  2. ^ Freemasonry article, New Catholic Encyclopedia
  3. ^ website of the Grand Orient de France Accessed 2011-10-24.
  4. ^ Grand Orient de France
  5. ^ "And it is a fact that most of the authors of that epoch-making Encyclopedia — Diderot, D'Alembert, Condorcet, the famous Swiss philosopher Helvetius, etc. — were Freemasons." History of Freemasonry hosted by Arcadia Lodge#249, Ames, Iowa
  6. ^ "En France, dans les dernières années de l'Ancien Régime, Mirabeau (qui était Maçon, affilié à la loge parisienne "Les Neuf Sœurs") et l'abbé Henri Grégoire (qui était peut-être Maçon)" Transl. "In France, during the final years of the Ancien Régime, Mirabeau (who was a Mason, belonging to the Parisian lodge "The Nine Sisters") and the Abbe Henri Gregoire (who may have been a Mason)" Le Prince de Ligne Franc-Maçon by Paul Delsemme, Volume 10, Bon-A-Tirer
  7. ^ From Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons
  8. ^ a b "Louis Philippe Joseph, Duke of Orleans, better known in history by his revolutionary name of Egalite, meaning Equality, was the fifth Grand Master of the Masonic Order in France." ORLEANS, DUKE OF, Letter O, ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FREEMASONRY AND ITS KINDRED SCIENCES, by ALBERT C. MACKEY M. D.
  9. ^ Hebert, Andre Chenier, Camille Desmoulins and many other "Girondins" of the French Revolution were Freemasons. The American Mercury Newspaper, 1941, Sven Lunden
  10. ^ "Paris, the Provinces and the French Revolution, By Alan Forrest, 2004, Oxford University Press, page 108
  11. ^ "Already in 1746 in the book La Franc-Maçonnerie, écrasée, an experienced ex-Mason, who, when a Mason, had visited many lodges in France and England, and consulted high Masons in official positions, described as the true Masonic programme one which, according to Boos, the historian of Freemasonry (p. 192), in an astonishing degree coincides with the programme of the great French Revolution of 1789." From Masonry (Freemasonry) in the Catholic Encyclopedia
  12. ^ "Masonry, which prepared the Revolution of 1789, has the duty to continue its work", Circular of the Grand Orient of France,2 April 1889, Cited as Footnote 163 in the article Masonry (Freemasonry) in the Catholic Encyclopedia. The most recent edition (2002) does not contain any article on Freemasonry.
  13. ^ "Modern historians agree that the role of Masonry in the French Revolution has usually been exaggerated." New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1967 ed, Volume 6, p. 135, McGraw-Hill, New York.
  14. ^ Page 153, The Freemasons: A History of the World's Most Powerful Secret Society, by Jasper Ridley, 2002
  15. ^ "Emperor Napoleon III nominated him as grand master of the Grand Orient of France, and even though not a Mason, he was installed on February 8, 1862, serving until May 29, 1865." Entry for Bernard Pierre Magnan, Volume III, K - P 10,000 Famous Freemasons, William Denslow
  16. ^ The Paris Commune - IX. The Freemasons, the Committee of Public Safety, and Rossel, byE. Belfort Bax. Found at www.marxists.org.
  17. ^ The Grand Orient of France and the three great lights
  18. ^ Grande Loge de France website
  19. ^ 1913 Les origines de la GLNF
  20. ^ page 79, The Search for Social Peace: Reform Legislation in France, 1890-1914, Judith F. Stone, 1985, SUNY Press
  21. ^ Adhésion du Grand-Orient a La République from Revue Maçonnique, Tome XI (Lyon: 1848). Available from Google Books [2]
  22. ^ Article, "Freemasonry" by M. L. McIsaac in Patrick H. Hutton (editor), Historical Dictionary of the Third French Republic, 1870-1940, pages 401-402 (London: Aldwych Press, 1986). ISBN 0861720466. "The commitments of the Freemasons in the Third Republic are revealed in the causes they chose to support. The League of Instruction, designed to promote lay education, was one of the most important of these. They championed a number of political reforms, notably a progressive income tax, child labor laws, and social welfare legislation (particularly measures to aid the orphaned, the infirm, and the elderly), although they were not organized politically and advanced no official political creed, In practice, Freemasons tended to join the Radical party and, after the turn of the twentieth century, the Socialist party. In comparison with its revolutionary origins in the Enlightenment, the Freemasonry of the Third Republic was thoroughly domesticated, but so too was the republican ideal itself. For this reason, the Freemasons' commitment to building an economically prosperous, socially advanced, politically democratic nation reinforced the basic commitmrents of the political leaders of the Third Republic. Without being an official arm of the Republic the Freemasons contributed powerfully to its self-conception."
  23. ^ A. Hamon, H. Hamon, The Political Situation in France, pages 107-128 (The American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 11, No. 1 July, 1905)
  24. ^ "In 1904, the Affaire des Fiches broke when it became known that the ministry had gathered information on candidates' political and religious views from the Masonic Grand Orient." Page 18, France and the Great War, 1914-1918, By Leonard V. Smith, Stéphane Audoin, Translated by Helen McPhail, Published 2003, Cambridge University Press
  25. ^ Monuments, martyrdom, and the politics of religion in the French third republic
  26. ^ 1905 | Political Events, E Notes
  27. ^ "French Masonry and above all the Grand Orient of France has displayed the most systematic activity as the dominating political element in the French "Kulturkampf" since 1877." Public Domain Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Masonry (Freemasonry)". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company., it cites as footnote 158 the "Bulletin du Grand Orient de France 1890, 500 sq"
  28. ^ Page 162, Religion, Politics and Preferment in France Since 1890, Maurice Larkin, 1995, Cambridge University Press
  29. ^ "The 100 years of the 1905 law were celebrated in a dignified manner by over 12,000 demonstrators. It took the demonstrators over two hours to march between the Place de la Republique and Place Richelieu-Drouot... Led by the 50 first signatories of the Appeal to Laicité who had taken the initiative to call for the public demonstration, the procession was led by Marc Blondel, the freethinker and trade union leader. Then came 2000 Freemasons, mainly from the Grand Orient de France, all draped in their well known French colours. Associations like the Union des Athées, le Comité-Laïcité-République, le Mouvement Europe et Laïcité (CAEDEL), l'Union Rationaliste, l'Association du Chevalier de la Barre of Abbeville and of Paris, Laicité-Liberté, the Esperantist and others followed them." Report on a demonstration accompanying the Sixteenth World Humanist Congress. From Defending the 1905 French Law of Separation of Religion and State published by the International Humanist and Ethical Union.
  30. ^ [3]
  31. ^ [4]
  32. ^ http://www.godf.org/comm_p_detail.asp?num=142
  33. ^ Masons of the French "Great East" Lodge Advocating the Recognition of Armenian Genocide, Armenian Daily, 26 April 2007
  34. ^ Interview of Jean-Michel Quillardet, Great Master of the Grand Orient de France, April 2007
  35. ^ INFO Le Figaro - Le Grand Orient confirme son ouverture aux femmes 03/09/2010, Retrieved 2011-10-24.
  36. ^ New York lodge website
  37. ^ San Francisco lodge website
  38. ^ Los Angeles lodge website
  39. ^ Washington DC lodge website
  40. ^ Force et Courage web page
  41. ^ Lodge Hiram's website
  42. ^ Freedon of Conscience's website
  43. ^ http://logemoscou.org/
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