Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Grand Orient Masonry In Juxtaposition To English Masonry.
GRAND ORIENT MASONRY IN JUXTAPOSITION TO ENGLISH MASONRY .
A LECTURE under the above title was delivered by Bro . Dr . Mordaunt Sigismund , at the Regents Park Lodge of Instruction , No . 2202 , held at the Frascati , Oxford Street , W ., on the 23 rd inst . Being the Jewish Day of Atonement there was an entire absence of Brethren of the Hebrew persuasion .
Bro . Sigismund said : Although I have on a former occasion given a cursory glance at Grand Orient Masonry in France , I did not enter fully into details . Last month I had occasion to be on the continent , and spent a couple of days in Brussels . I gathered particulars concerning Masonry in that busy little kingdom which I thought would possess sufficient interest to the Craft in this country . I accordingly decided to deliver a dissertation on the subject .
The basis of Grand Orient Masonry is not a belief in God , but in philosophy . On a former occasion I expressed myself very unfavourable to it . There is , however , a marked difference between Grand Orient Masonry in France , and that in Belgium .
The b rench Lodges are electioneering bureaus , pure and simple ; not so with Lodges in Belgium ; although in that country politics are not absolutely excluded , their chief effort—on that field—is confined solely to obtain absolute liberal government , in order to free themselves from the hated clerical yoke !
Belgium has nineteen Lodges , of which three are in Brussels . They are all under the Grand Lodge of Grand Orient of Belgium , and the Supreme Council of Belgium . Grand Orient has headquarters at the Lodge of the " Vrais Amies d'Union et du Progress , " situated in the Rue du Ursulines , once the aristocratic Quartier Leopold . It is a humble looking mansion externally , and was ,
during the occupation of Brussels by Napolean I . ' and his army , the prefecture . It was there that the great Corsican took up his abode . The bedroom occupied by him , the walls adorned with bees , which form the base of the Imperial coat of arms , is still intact ; and now serves as a small Committee Room . Of course the Temples have been added in the rear of the building , and were only completed and consecrated during the past year .
The " Supreme Council , " issues its fiats from the one other Lodge in Brussels , in the Rue de Persil , almost adjoining the Place du Martyr . The "Amies Philantrope" I . and II . have their abode there . The former , tho " Vrais Amies " musters 500 members , and the latter 600 . The remaining sixteen Lodges , in the Provinces , have 2 , 400 members , thus making a total of 3 , 500 in the kingdom of seven million inhabitants . Brussels , the capital , has a
population of 600 , 000 . Of the nineteen Lodges , five work the Scottish Rite . In five Lodges under the Grand Orient , including Philantrope II .. the G . A . O . T . U . is invoked in the Obligation . In five other Lodges , under the "Supreme Council , " the name of the "Supreme Council of Belgium'' is invoked ; the rest of the Lodges invoke the Grand Orient alone . There is an Anglo-Beige Lodge in Antwerp , working under the Grand Orient , who retain both Book and G . A . O . T . U .
Italian and French Grand Orients give only the three degrees . In France there are likewise a " Grand Logo Ecossaise " which also gives but three degrees , and the " Supreme Council Ecossaise , " which gives from the 4 th to the 13 rd degrees . Further there is in France a " Rite de Mizraim , " which confers the very respectable number of ninety degrees . The body in France which styles itself
the " Grand Orient Supreme Consiel " gives only from the 4 th to the 33 rd . Both that body and the Grand Orient in France are inimical—nay , I might almost say hostile—to the Belgian system of Masonry . The reason is obvious . French Masons absolutely ignore a Supreme Being , whereas our Belgian Brethren strive to make a compromise by partly admitting the G . A . O . T . U . into the ritual .
The ritual is read in all Belgian , French , and Italian Lodges ; and unlike our German Brethren , heads are uncovered in Lodge . Swords are used by Brethren only at initiations and at receptions of high Masonic dignitaries . Unlike German Masons , the W . M . is elected annually , and may be re-elected thrice . Entrance fee is ; £ i 2 and from £ 2 to , £ 3 annual subscription—the difference lies between the metropolitan and provincial Lodges .
Lodges meet regularly every week , except during ten weeks summer vacation . Once cverv month , 1 st and 2 nd degrees are given—when there are candidates—the rest are devoted to lectures ; not necessarily connected with Masonry , but upon science , arts , moralitv , or politics—at the option of the Brother who offers his services . Brethren may differ in opinion to the speaker , and oppose his views at the ensuing meeting , but the Official Lodge , that is ,
the Officers , always remains neutral . The 3 rd degree is given but twice in the year , when the large temple is entirely draped in black , the work occupying three or four men during a couple of days . If there are more than one candidate , one only passes through the ceremony , and the rest stand by . There is but one solitary banquet every year , on installation ; and , although each Brother subscribes liberally ( for the continent ) he has to pay for his " couvert . "
Investigation into the antecedents of a proposed candidate is extremely severe . A committee is appointed for the purpose , and the time for their investigation is never less than three months , out sometimes extends to as much as three years . The dominant religion of the Belgians is that of the Roman Catholic Church .
A candidate for admission may belong to any religion or sect , find may be a strict adherer or practicant—as it is called in French 7-to his faith ; Roman Catholics alone are excepted . Let me repeat it . in order that you may understand me clearly ; a Jew , Protestant of the Anglican , Scottish , or Lutherean Church , a Mohammedan , Hindoo , Parsee , or Buddhist ; the Greek Schism , Peculiar People , or Salvationist matters absolutely nothing , he must , however , not be a Roman Catholic practicant . Unless lie absolutely abjures his religion , and ceases all connection with his church , he is excluded
Grand Orient Masonry In Juxtaposition To English Masonry.
from joining the Craft . That which must seem incongruous to you I will endeavour to explain . It is in the interest of the " Practicant" Roman Catholic candidate . By joining the Order he incurs the hatred and
malignity of priest and church , not only towards himself but his whole family . From the moment , however , when he openly declares his severance from the Roman Church , not only is the delinquent at once excommunicated , but his whole family must share his fate . His is thus rid of the whole priestly crew .
These excellent representatives of Jesus of Nazareth literally besiege the house of a Mason about to appear before his Maker ; they attempt to bribe the servants , the children , aye , even the wife—in order to reach the deathbed whereon lies the accursed apostate ; for , remember , my Brethren , they consider that the culprit has deserted his religion , the religion of his fathers , for
another . They are right in that respect ; for to the Roman Catholic , from the moment he abjures the church , Masonry becomes —in the truest sense of the word—his religion . When they succeed in reaching the renegade , they raise heaven on earth to reclaim him ; they grant him absolution , and when the man " in extremis " utters the " peccavi , " their joy has no bounds . They bury him with all the pomp of the church , and then jubilantly cry out " see
what your false ephemeral religion amounts to ! The Order therefore insists upon the most solemn assurances from such a candidate that he will never recant . A high official at Grand Lodge told me that many Belgian Masons are striving for " Free Protestantism " —which recognises God alone , and eliminates everything else , including the divinity of Jesus . There are quite a number of places of worship for " Free Protestants" already in existence .
In the Obligation , " I solemnly swear " —as with us—but , instead of God being mentioned , it is substituted either by " in the name of the Supreme Council of Grand Orient of Belgium '' or simply " Grand Orient of Belgium "—according to the authority under which the Lodge works . In the 3 rd degree the candidate is addressed by the W . M . thus ( I have taken a literal translation as well as my knowledge of the language would permit me ) :
" You will be surprised to see that men in the 20 th century should mourn after an . architect like Hiram , who left so little trace amongst the benefactors of humanity . Of course the assassination is always to be deplored , but he is not the only one ; the tortures of Prometheus , the death of Socrates , and the Passion of Christ seem to be much more shocking to justify such demonstration of
sorrow . Therefore you can guess that in the death of Hiram another fulcrum exists . In fact , the legend conceals the most ancient and deepest of all myths it is the legend of Prometheus , of Hercules , of Mithra , of Osiris and Adonis ; all those cosmical heroes that were also assassinated bv treason , to rise again to a new splendour . It is the symbolical history of the apparent
movement of the sun , in which the ancients placed the visible source not only of heat and light , but also of motion , life , and even mind on the surface of the globe . How did this allegory mix up with Hebrew-Christian traditions ? Because the last philosophers initiated into the mysteries of Isis were obliged by the persecutions of the christian church not only to disguise their conceptions under symbolical forms , but also to choose those symbols from the
Judaic-Christian traditions . This legend also symbolises the law of duty and the law of progress . After having shown us that the perfect Mason prefers to die than forget his duties and his oaths ; it teaches us also that ignorance and vice can get a temporary triumph over knowledge and right ; just as darkness over light ; but the last word always remains with Hiram , that is to say , with the personification of knowledge , justice and virtue .
Extract from the General Statutes of Grand Lodge Orient of Modern Rite in Belgium . ARTICLE I . —FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES . Freemasonry , which is both cosmopolitan and progressive , has for its object the researches of truth , and the perfecting of humanitv .
Its superstructure is based upon liberty and tolerance ; it neither formulates nor invokes any dogma . It demands of him who presents himself for initiation to be an honest man and to possess an intelligence which will permit him to understand and propagate the principles of Masonry . It ' claims
of its adepts the sincerity of conviction , and a desire for knowledge and devotion . It forms a society of men of nrobity who , bound by sentiments of liberty , equality , and Brotherhood , work individually and collectively for social progress , and who thus exercise philanthrophy in its most extended sense . "
Is this not the quintessence of our ritual , including those famous fifteen sections and all the lectures and ancient charges on the tracing boards ? So far from declining to sit in same Lodge with a Grand Orient Mason of Belgium , who is imbued with these principles , I would deem it an honour .
Passwords are given annually , and only to members of the particular Lodge to which they belong .
Let me now give you some idea of the other—the Philanthrope Lodge . Excluded from the outer world by a high wall , it has not the porch and vestibule of the other , but the Grand Temple is considerably larger . This , as well as the other Lodge , has a large
and small Temple—the former for the third degree , and the latter for the two first . The architecture is Egyptian . Five columns on each side , and two at the door . The latter have the " P > " and "J . " Also very large mural decorations , twelve in number . The columns are subdivided by twenty-eight colonets , or pilasters . I will give you just a faint idea of the tableaux which adorn the walls .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Grand Orient Masonry In Juxtaposition To English Masonry.
GRAND ORIENT MASONRY IN JUXTAPOSITION TO ENGLISH MASONRY .
A LECTURE under the above title was delivered by Bro . Dr . Mordaunt Sigismund , at the Regents Park Lodge of Instruction , No . 2202 , held at the Frascati , Oxford Street , W ., on the 23 rd inst . Being the Jewish Day of Atonement there was an entire absence of Brethren of the Hebrew persuasion .
Bro . Sigismund said : Although I have on a former occasion given a cursory glance at Grand Orient Masonry in France , I did not enter fully into details . Last month I had occasion to be on the continent , and spent a couple of days in Brussels . I gathered particulars concerning Masonry in that busy little kingdom which I thought would possess sufficient interest to the Craft in this country . I accordingly decided to deliver a dissertation on the subject .
The basis of Grand Orient Masonry is not a belief in God , but in philosophy . On a former occasion I expressed myself very unfavourable to it . There is , however , a marked difference between Grand Orient Masonry in France , and that in Belgium .
The b rench Lodges are electioneering bureaus , pure and simple ; not so with Lodges in Belgium ; although in that country politics are not absolutely excluded , their chief effort—on that field—is confined solely to obtain absolute liberal government , in order to free themselves from the hated clerical yoke !
Belgium has nineteen Lodges , of which three are in Brussels . They are all under the Grand Lodge of Grand Orient of Belgium , and the Supreme Council of Belgium . Grand Orient has headquarters at the Lodge of the " Vrais Amies d'Union et du Progress , " situated in the Rue du Ursulines , once the aristocratic Quartier Leopold . It is a humble looking mansion externally , and was ,
during the occupation of Brussels by Napolean I . ' and his army , the prefecture . It was there that the great Corsican took up his abode . The bedroom occupied by him , the walls adorned with bees , which form the base of the Imperial coat of arms , is still intact ; and now serves as a small Committee Room . Of course the Temples have been added in the rear of the building , and were only completed and consecrated during the past year .
The " Supreme Council , " issues its fiats from the one other Lodge in Brussels , in the Rue de Persil , almost adjoining the Place du Martyr . The "Amies Philantrope" I . and II . have their abode there . The former , tho " Vrais Amies " musters 500 members , and the latter 600 . The remaining sixteen Lodges , in the Provinces , have 2 , 400 members , thus making a total of 3 , 500 in the kingdom of seven million inhabitants . Brussels , the capital , has a
population of 600 , 000 . Of the nineteen Lodges , five work the Scottish Rite . In five Lodges under the Grand Orient , including Philantrope II .. the G . A . O . T . U . is invoked in the Obligation . In five other Lodges , under the "Supreme Council , " the name of the "Supreme Council of Belgium'' is invoked ; the rest of the Lodges invoke the Grand Orient alone . There is an Anglo-Beige Lodge in Antwerp , working under the Grand Orient , who retain both Book and G . A . O . T . U .
Italian and French Grand Orients give only the three degrees . In France there are likewise a " Grand Logo Ecossaise " which also gives but three degrees , and the " Supreme Council Ecossaise , " which gives from the 4 th to the 13 rd degrees . Further there is in France a " Rite de Mizraim , " which confers the very respectable number of ninety degrees . The body in France which styles itself
the " Grand Orient Supreme Consiel " gives only from the 4 th to the 33 rd . Both that body and the Grand Orient in France are inimical—nay , I might almost say hostile—to the Belgian system of Masonry . The reason is obvious . French Masons absolutely ignore a Supreme Being , whereas our Belgian Brethren strive to make a compromise by partly admitting the G . A . O . T . U . into the ritual .
The ritual is read in all Belgian , French , and Italian Lodges ; and unlike our German Brethren , heads are uncovered in Lodge . Swords are used by Brethren only at initiations and at receptions of high Masonic dignitaries . Unlike German Masons , the W . M . is elected annually , and may be re-elected thrice . Entrance fee is ; £ i 2 and from £ 2 to , £ 3 annual subscription—the difference lies between the metropolitan and provincial Lodges .
Lodges meet regularly every week , except during ten weeks summer vacation . Once cverv month , 1 st and 2 nd degrees are given—when there are candidates—the rest are devoted to lectures ; not necessarily connected with Masonry , but upon science , arts , moralitv , or politics—at the option of the Brother who offers his services . Brethren may differ in opinion to the speaker , and oppose his views at the ensuing meeting , but the Official Lodge , that is ,
the Officers , always remains neutral . The 3 rd degree is given but twice in the year , when the large temple is entirely draped in black , the work occupying three or four men during a couple of days . If there are more than one candidate , one only passes through the ceremony , and the rest stand by . There is but one solitary banquet every year , on installation ; and , although each Brother subscribes liberally ( for the continent ) he has to pay for his " couvert . "
Investigation into the antecedents of a proposed candidate is extremely severe . A committee is appointed for the purpose , and the time for their investigation is never less than three months , out sometimes extends to as much as three years . The dominant religion of the Belgians is that of the Roman Catholic Church .
A candidate for admission may belong to any religion or sect , find may be a strict adherer or practicant—as it is called in French 7-to his faith ; Roman Catholics alone are excepted . Let me repeat it . in order that you may understand me clearly ; a Jew , Protestant of the Anglican , Scottish , or Lutherean Church , a Mohammedan , Hindoo , Parsee , or Buddhist ; the Greek Schism , Peculiar People , or Salvationist matters absolutely nothing , he must , however , not be a Roman Catholic practicant . Unless lie absolutely abjures his religion , and ceases all connection with his church , he is excluded
Grand Orient Masonry In Juxtaposition To English Masonry.
from joining the Craft . That which must seem incongruous to you I will endeavour to explain . It is in the interest of the " Practicant" Roman Catholic candidate . By joining the Order he incurs the hatred and
malignity of priest and church , not only towards himself but his whole family . From the moment , however , when he openly declares his severance from the Roman Church , not only is the delinquent at once excommunicated , but his whole family must share his fate . His is thus rid of the whole priestly crew .
These excellent representatives of Jesus of Nazareth literally besiege the house of a Mason about to appear before his Maker ; they attempt to bribe the servants , the children , aye , even the wife—in order to reach the deathbed whereon lies the accursed apostate ; for , remember , my Brethren , they consider that the culprit has deserted his religion , the religion of his fathers , for
another . They are right in that respect ; for to the Roman Catholic , from the moment he abjures the church , Masonry becomes —in the truest sense of the word—his religion . When they succeed in reaching the renegade , they raise heaven on earth to reclaim him ; they grant him absolution , and when the man " in extremis " utters the " peccavi , " their joy has no bounds . They bury him with all the pomp of the church , and then jubilantly cry out " see
what your false ephemeral religion amounts to ! The Order therefore insists upon the most solemn assurances from such a candidate that he will never recant . A high official at Grand Lodge told me that many Belgian Masons are striving for " Free Protestantism " —which recognises God alone , and eliminates everything else , including the divinity of Jesus . There are quite a number of places of worship for " Free Protestants" already in existence .
In the Obligation , " I solemnly swear " —as with us—but , instead of God being mentioned , it is substituted either by " in the name of the Supreme Council of Grand Orient of Belgium '' or simply " Grand Orient of Belgium "—according to the authority under which the Lodge works . In the 3 rd degree the candidate is addressed by the W . M . thus ( I have taken a literal translation as well as my knowledge of the language would permit me ) :
" You will be surprised to see that men in the 20 th century should mourn after an . architect like Hiram , who left so little trace amongst the benefactors of humanity . Of course the assassination is always to be deplored , but he is not the only one ; the tortures of Prometheus , the death of Socrates , and the Passion of Christ seem to be much more shocking to justify such demonstration of
sorrow . Therefore you can guess that in the death of Hiram another fulcrum exists . In fact , the legend conceals the most ancient and deepest of all myths it is the legend of Prometheus , of Hercules , of Mithra , of Osiris and Adonis ; all those cosmical heroes that were also assassinated bv treason , to rise again to a new splendour . It is the symbolical history of the apparent
movement of the sun , in which the ancients placed the visible source not only of heat and light , but also of motion , life , and even mind on the surface of the globe . How did this allegory mix up with Hebrew-Christian traditions ? Because the last philosophers initiated into the mysteries of Isis were obliged by the persecutions of the christian church not only to disguise their conceptions under symbolical forms , but also to choose those symbols from the
Judaic-Christian traditions . This legend also symbolises the law of duty and the law of progress . After having shown us that the perfect Mason prefers to die than forget his duties and his oaths ; it teaches us also that ignorance and vice can get a temporary triumph over knowledge and right ; just as darkness over light ; but the last word always remains with Hiram , that is to say , with the personification of knowledge , justice and virtue .
Extract from the General Statutes of Grand Lodge Orient of Modern Rite in Belgium . ARTICLE I . —FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES . Freemasonry , which is both cosmopolitan and progressive , has for its object the researches of truth , and the perfecting of humanitv .
Its superstructure is based upon liberty and tolerance ; it neither formulates nor invokes any dogma . It demands of him who presents himself for initiation to be an honest man and to possess an intelligence which will permit him to understand and propagate the principles of Masonry . It ' claims
of its adepts the sincerity of conviction , and a desire for knowledge and devotion . It forms a society of men of nrobity who , bound by sentiments of liberty , equality , and Brotherhood , work individually and collectively for social progress , and who thus exercise philanthrophy in its most extended sense . "
Is this not the quintessence of our ritual , including those famous fifteen sections and all the lectures and ancient charges on the tracing boards ? So far from declining to sit in same Lodge with a Grand Orient Mason of Belgium , who is imbued with these principles , I would deem it an honour .
Passwords are given annually , and only to members of the particular Lodge to which they belong .
Let me now give you some idea of the other—the Philanthrope Lodge . Excluded from the outer world by a high wall , it has not the porch and vestibule of the other , but the Grand Temple is considerably larger . This , as well as the other Lodge , has a large
and small Temple—the former for the third degree , and the latter for the two first . The architecture is Egyptian . Five columns on each side , and two at the door . The latter have the " P > " and "J . " Also very large mural decorations , twelve in number . The columns are subdivided by twenty-eight colonets , or pilasters . I will give you just a faint idea of the tableaux which adorn the walls .