Grand Orient de France

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The Grand Orient de France (G.O.d.F. or G.O.F.) is the largest of several Masonic organizations in France and the oldest in Continental Europe, founded in 1733.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Foundation

 Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (November 2007)

Freemasonry in France started when English merchants started lodges, with the first lodge being started in Dunkirk.[1] The Grand Orient de France was founded in 1733.[2]

[edit] 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,[3] Condorcet,[4] Mirabeau,[5] Danton,[6] the Duke of Orléans,[7] and Hébert.[8]

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.[7] 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."[9]

The Catholic Encyclopedia alleges that the Masonic book La Franc-Maçonnerie, écrasée in 1746 predicted the program of the French Revolution,[10] and claims to quote documents of the Grand Orient of France where Freemasonry claims credit for the French Revolution.[11] However, the New Catholic Encyclopedia of 1967 says that modern historians see Freemasonry's role in the French Revolution as exaggerated.[12]

In 1804 it merged with the rival Grand Lodge, the Rite Ecossais.[13]

[edit] Napoleon III

In France Napoleon III established a dictatorship over official French freemasonry, appointing first Prince Lucien Marat and later Marshal Magnan to closely supervise the craft and suppress any hints of opposition to the regime.[14]

[edit] 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.[15]

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)[16] In addition, a third Grand Lodge, the Grande Loge Nationale Francaise (GLNF) was founded by the United Grand Lodge of England in 1913 (it is this Grand Lodge that is recognized as being "regular" by the Anglo Freemasons).[17]

[edit] Third Republic

The Grand Orient was instrumental in the founding of the left wing Republican Party.[18]

The Grand Orient was implicated in the Affaire Des Fiches, where it was accused of collecting[19] and holding information on the religious and political affiliation of army officers, passed on by a member of the government,[20] having been collected with the intention of blocking practicing Catholics and non-Republicans from further advancement.[21]

[edit] 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.[22] 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.[23]

This dislike of religious participation is still an official policy of the Grand Orient de France today.[24] The Grand Orient de France is concerned about a 'silent revolution' of a return of religion in society[25]. 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) and 'offensive of cults in Europe' [26]. 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[27].

[edit] Second World War and after

 Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (November 2007)

The Grand Orient de France remained an important part of French society after the Second World War. One of the Grand Masters was Jacques Mitterrand, brother of the later Socialist President François Mitterrand.[28] The Grand Orient of France in recent years has demanded meetings with the President of France.[29][30]

[edit] Relationship with other jurisdictions

Main article: Continental Freemasonry

The GOdF practices Traditional Liberal Masonry that is often an antithesis to the Anglo tradition of Freemasonry that is prevalent in many parts of the world, especially found in English speaking countries. The majority of Grand Lodges in these countries are not in amity with the GOdF and consider it "irregular". However, on June 27, 2008 a patent and covenant of amity were issued by the GOdF to the Grand Orient of the United States, which is entirely American and English speaking.

[edit] Atheism

The GOdF believes in freedom of conscience, which allows them to admit atheists. On the other hand, those Grand Lodges following the English tradition require their members to profess a belief in deity. The Anglo-Masonic Jurisdictions withdrew recognition from the Grand Orient over this issue, and they now deem the GOdF "irregular".

[edit] 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).[31]

In addition, it expects its members who hold a public office to fight for its values[32]; 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).

[edit] 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.

Women freemason are received in lodge but are not initiated. In 2007 the Grand Orient rejected a proposal by Grand Master Jean-Michel Quillardet to discuss the membership of the lodges to women.[33]

[edit] Lodges outside France

The GOdF has currently the following lodges in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom:

  • n° ... : Atlantide, New York City-NY (1900)[34]
  • n° ... : Pacifica, San Francisco-CA (1986)[35]
  • n° ... : Lafayette 89, Washington, D.C. (1989)[36]
  • n° ... : Art et Lumière, Los Angeles-CA (1990)[37]
  • n° ... : Force et Courage, Montréal (Québec) (1999)[38]
  • n° ... : Hiram, London (UK) (1899)[39]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Freemasonry article, New Catholic Encyclopedia
  2. ^ History, website of the Grand Orient de France
  3. ^ Grand Orient de France
  4. ^ "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
  5. ^ "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
  6. ^ From Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Hebert, Andre Chenier, Camille Desmoulins and many other "Girondins" of the French Revolution were Freemasons. The American Mercury Newspaper, 1941, Sven Lunden
  9. ^ "Paris, the Provinces and the French Revolution, By Alan Forrest, 2004, Oxford University Press, page 108
  10. ^ "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
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ "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.
  13. ^ Page 153, The Freemasons: A History of the World's Most Powerful Secret Society, by Jasper Ridley, 2002
  14. ^ "Emperor Napoleon III nominated him as grand master of the Grand Orient of France, and even though, not a Mason at that time, he was installed in that position on Feb. 8, 1862, serving until May 29, 1865." Entry for Bernard Pierre Magnan, Volume III, K - P 10,000 Famous Freemasons, William Denslow
  15. ^ The Grand Orient of France and the three great lights
  16. ^ Grande Loge de France website
  17. ^ 1913 Les origines de la GLNF
  18. ^ page 79, The Search for Social Peace: Reform Legislation in France, 1890-1914, Judith F. Stone, 1985, SUNY Press
  19. ^ "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
  20. ^ | Monuments, martyrdom, and the politics of religion in the French third republic
  21. ^ 1905 | Political Events, E Notes
  22. ^ "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." "Masonry (Freemasonry)". Catholic Encyclopedia. (1913). New York: Robert Appleton Company. , it cites as footnote 158 the "Bulletin du Grand Orient de France 1890, 500 sq"
  23. ^ Page 162, Religion, Politics and Preferment in France Since 1890, Maurice Larkin, 1995, Cambridge University Press
  24. ^ "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.
  25. ^ [1]
  26. ^ [2]
  27. ^ http://www.godf.org/comm_p_detail.asp?num=142
  28. ^ Chapter 12, An Open Letter to Confused Catholics, by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
  29. ^ Sarkozy tient à la séparation de l’Eglise et de l’Etat, CATHERINE COROLLER, 9 January 2008; cited by Christopher Hodapp, Freemasons For Dummies
  30. ^ France Urged to Skip Official Papal Honors, New York Times, April 8, 2005
  31. ^ MASONS OF FRENCH "GREAT EAST" LODGE ADVOCATING THE RECOGNITION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE, Armenian Daily, 26/04/2007
  32. ^ Interview of Jean-Michel Quillardet, Great Master of the Grand Orient de France, April 2007
  33. ^ France's Freemasons say NON! to women, Saturday, 8 September 2007, Lost in France
  34. ^ New York lodge website
  35. ^ San Francisco lodge website
  36. ^ Los Angeles lodge website
  37. ^ Washington DC lodge website
  38. ^ Force et Courage web page
  39. ^ Lodge Hiram's website

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Orient_de_France"
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