| Part of a series on |
| Freemasonry |
|---|
 |
The history of Freemasonry in Turkey stretches back to the 18th century under Ottoman imperial rule.
| Part of a series on |
| Freemasonry |
|---|
| |
The history of Freemasonry in Turkey stretches back to the 18th century under Ottoman imperial rule.
The first lodge in Turkey was probably established around 1721 in Istanbul by Levantines. [1] [2]
Although Freemasonry in Turkey can be traced into the 18th century, for much of that time it was limited to lodges under the jurisdiction of foreign grand lodges, and there was no independent Turkish Grand Lodge. This changed in 1856, when the first Turkish Grand Lodge was established. Sultan Murad V was a member of the lodge, becoming the first and only Ottoman sultan to join. This first Grand Lodge was banned in 1876 by Murad's successor Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
The Grand Lodge came back in 1909 in Istanbul under a new administration. Because the Grand Lodge was used to operate in secret, it was closed again in 1922, only to be opened in the year 1925 again. In 1935 the Grand Lodge was closed again. As a result of the repeated closures, the former Grand Lodge and its members were reluctant to support Kemal Atatürk's reformist policies.
In 1956 the Grand Lodge of Turkey was reestablished in its current form and, together with the light introduction in 1962, recognition was granted by the Grand Lodges of New York and Scotland. In 1970, the Turkish Grand Lodge was recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England and the Grand Lodge of Ireland as a regular lodge.
In 1964, after Süleyman Demirel wrote a public letter declaring that he was not a Freemason in order to win the nomination of the presidency of the Justice Party, a split occurred within the ranks of the Grand Lodge, resulting in the 1966 creation of the Grand Lodge of Liberal Freemasons of Turkey, which is a Continental-oriented body recognized by the Grand Orient de France, but not by the United Grand Lodge of England.
Talaat Pasha leader of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) joined the Salonica Freemason lodge Macedonia Risorta in 1903
The history of Freemasonry in Turkey has also included the furthering of conspiracy theories by Islamists such as Adnan Oktar [3] [4] as well as Necmettin Erbakan and his movement Millî Görüş.
There are several Grand Lodges and Grand Orients currently operating in Turkey.
The Grand Lodge of Turkey (Turkish : Hür ve Kabul Edilmiş Masonlar Büyük Locası) is the largest Masonic Grand Lodge in Turkey, labouring in the three symbolic degrees of ancient Freemasonry. It was established in 1909 and consists of over 250 Lodges in 10 cities around Turkey; including 5 English speaking, 3 French speaking, 1 German speaking and 1 Greek speaking Lodges. As of 2020, it has around 17.000 members. Being in amity with 158 Grand Lodges around the world, the body is the sole representative of regular Freemasonry in Turkey.
As a single-ritual jurisdiction, the Lodges on the roll of the Grand Lodge of Turkey uses the Turkish Ritual with stems from modern ritual of Scotland, as well as French and Schrödinger rituals. Almost all Turkish Lodges meet on a bi-weekly basis. With the exception of Lodges situated at the Aegean and Mediterranean coastal towns, two to three months summer recess is customary.
The Grand Lodge of Liberal Freemasons of Turkey (Turkish: Özgür Masonlar Büyük Locası) was established in 1966 after a split from the Grand Lodge and follows the Continental Style of Freemasonry. [5]
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. Freemasonry has been the subject of numerous conspiracy theories throughout the years. Modern Freemasonry broadly consists of two main recognition groups:
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, commonly known as simply the Scottish Rite, is one of several Rites of Freemasonry. A Rite is a progressive series of degrees conferred by various Masonic organizations or bodies, each of which operates under the control of its own central authority. In the Scottish Rite the central authority is called a Supreme Council.
A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered by a Grand Lodge, but is subject to its direction only in enforcing the published constitution of the jurisdiction. By exception the three surviving lodges that formed the world's first known grand lodge in London have the unique privilege to operate as time immemorial, i.e., without such warrant; only one other lodge operates without a warrant – the Grand Stewards' Lodge in London, although it is not also entitled to the "time immemorial" title. A Freemason is generally entitled to visit any lodge in any jurisdiction in amity with his own. In some jurisdictions this privilege is restricted to Master Masons. He is first usually required to check, and certify, the regularity of the relationship of the Lodge – and be able to satisfy that Lodge of his regularity of membership. Freemasons gather together as a Lodge to work the three basic Degrees of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason.
Murad V was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire who reigned from 30 May to 31 August 1876. The son of Abdulmejid I, he supported the conversion of the government to a constitutional monarchy. His uncle Abdulaziz had succeeded Abdulmejid to the throne and had attempted to name his own son as heir to the throne, which spurred Murad to participate in the overthrow of his uncle. However, his own frail physical and mental health caused his reign to be unstable and Murad V was deposed in favor of his half-brother Abdul Hamid II after only 93 days.
The history of Freemasonry encompasses the origins, evolution and defining events of the fraternal organisation known as Freemasonry. It covers three phases. Firstly, the emergence of organised lodges of operative masons during the Middle Ages, then the admission of lay members as "accepted" or "speculative" masons, and finally the evolution of purely speculative lodges, and the emergence of Grand Lodges to govern them. The watershed in this process is generally taken to be the formation of the first Grand Lodge in London in 1717. The two difficulties facing historians are the paucity of written material, even down to the 19th century, and the misinformation generated by masons and non-masons alike from the earliest years.
In Freemasonry, regularity is one of the factors by which individual Grand Lodges judge whether to recognise one another for the purposes of allowing formal interaction at the Grand Lodge level and visitation by members of other jurisdictions. Each individual Grand Lodge determines which other Grand Lodges it considers Regular.
The Grand Orient de France (GODF) is the largest of several Masonic organizations in France and is the oldest in Continental Europe. It is generally considered to be the mother lodge of traditional Liberal, or Continental Freemasonry.
A Grand Lodge is the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country.
Co-Freemasonry is a form of Freemasonry which admits both men and women. It began in France in the 1890s with the forming of Le Droit Humain, and is now an international movement represented by several Co-Freemasonic administrations throughout the world. Most male-only Masonic Lodges do not recognise Co-Freemasonry, holding it to be irregular, or clandestine.
This is a general survey on the historical and modern presence of Freemasonry in countries located in Asia.
Freemasonry has had a complex relationship with women, which can be readily divided into many phases with no demonstrable relationship to each other until the 20th century. A few women were involved in Freemasonry before the 18th century; however the first printed constitutions of the Premier Grand Lodge of England appeared to bar them from the Craft forever.
Freemasonry in Denmark was first established in 1743 and is today represented by a number of Grand Lodges. The oldest and biggest Masonic Grand Lodge in Denmark is the Danish Order of Freemasons, in English also known as the Grand Lodge of Denmark.
Continental Freemasonry, also known as Liberal Freemasonry, Latin Freemasonry and Adogmatic Freemasonry, includes the Masonic lodges, primarily on the continent of Europe, that recognise the Grand Orient de France (GOdF) or belong to CLIPSAS, SIMPA, TRACIA, CIMAS, COMAM, CATENA, GLUA or any of various other international organizations of Liberal, i.e. Continental Freemasonry. The larger number of Freemasons, most of whom live in the USA, where Regular Freemasonry holds a virtual monopoly, belong to lodges that recognise the United Grand Lodge of England and do not recognise Continental Freemasons, regarding them as "irregular".
Masonic ritual is the scripted words and actions that are spoken or performed during the degree work in a Masonic lodge. Masonic symbolism is that which is used to illustrate the principles which Freemasonry espouses. Masonic ritual has appeared in a number of contexts within literature including in "The Man Who Would Be King", by Rudyard Kipling, and War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy.
Continental Freemasonry in North America is relatively rare, but there are a few continental-style organizations active.
The first known Freemasons in Portugal were the Swiss John Coustos and two other Portuguese members of his lodge, who were arrested by the Portuguese Inquisition and questioned under torture in the 1740s. Coustos wrote a book detailing his sufferings under the Inquisition and pointed to 1728 as being the year of the first Lodge, although nothing is known of the first years of this Lodge and it was not then recognised by the Grand Lodge of England. Today there are several Masonic Obediences in Portugal.
The Grand Orient of Poland is a Masonic grand lodge in Poland. It is a member of the European Masonic Association (EMA/AME), in the continental or liberal branch of Freemasonry.
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to a civic movement promoting fraternity and good works. Freemasonry defines itself as “a regular system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols.” In particular masonic meetings are characterized by initiations and rituals. As such masonry has been viewed historically by churches and governments as secret societies.
Freemasonry in Spain is first recorded in 1728, in an English lodge. As various papal bulls condemned Freemasonry the Spanish Inquisition did their best to close lodges and demonise Freemasons, therefore the success of Freemasonry from year to year depended on the sympathy or antipathy of the ruling regime. Nevertheless, lodges and even Grand Lodges were formed, and even thrived during more liberal periods. When Francisco Franco consolidated power in 1939, all Freemasonry was banned. In 1979, four years after Franco's death, bans on Freemasonry were declared unconstitutional, and several Grand Lodges and Orients now flourish in Spain.
Freemasonry in Luxembourg traces its local origins to the 18th century. Though the practice of Freemasonry was suppressed by the reigning Austrian Habsburg dynasty, it enjoyed a revival under Napoleonic rule that persisted after the close of his reign. After their initial founding, Masonic lodges in Luxembourg rapidly developed strong ties with their French and Belgian counterparts. While suppressed again under Nazi rule, postwar Freemasonry forged stronger ties with the Anglo-American extension of the brotherhood, though the oldest lodges still use the French form of Masonic ritual.
