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This is a list of all verifiable organizations that claim to be a Masonic Grand Lodge in Africa.
A Masonic "Grand Lodge" (or sometimes "Grand Orient") is the governing body that supervises the individual "Lodges of Freemasons" in a particular geographical area, known as its "jurisdiction" (usually corresponding to a sovereign state or other major geopolitical unit). Some are large, with thousands of members divided into hundreds of subordinate lodges, while others are tiny, with only a few members split between a handful of local lodges. Sometimes there will only be one Grand Lodge in a given area, but the majority of the time there will be at least two. More often, there will be several competing Grand Lodges claiming the same jurisdictional area, or claiming overlapping areas. This fact leads to debates over legitimacy: Not all Grand Lodges and Grand Orients recognize each other as being legitimate. However, such recognition is not relevant to this list, yet recognition is foundational within the fraternal order. Inclusion in this list only requires the establishment of a physical (as opposed to a virtual, or online) presence, and lodges (regular, unrecognized or clandestine) which acknowledge their governance.
Membership numbers are subject to change; for current figures, check the sources which are indicated in the reference section.
Jurisdictional area | Name | Founded | Lodges | Members | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Benin | Grand Bénin de la République du Bénin [GBRB] (Great Benin of the Republic of Benin) [1] [2] | 1967 [3] | CLIPSAS | ||
Grande Loge du Bénin (Grand Lodge of Bénin) [4] [5] | 1995 [6] [7] | 17 [6] | 450 [6] [8] | ||
Burkina Faso | Grande Loge du Burkina Faso (Grand Lodge of Burkina Faso) [4] [7] [9] | 1997 | 10 | 375 [8] | |
Cameroon | Grande Loge Nationale du Cameroun (National Grand Lodge of Cameroon) [4] [7] [10] | 2001 | 4 | 222 [8] | |
Grande Loge Féminine de France [11] [12] | 1 | GLFF | |||
Grand Loge Unie du Cameroun (United Grand Lodge of Cameroon) [1] [13] | Formerly Grand Orient et Loge Unie du Cameroon, an alliance of former Grand Orient and Grande Loge de France lodges. CLIPSAS | ||||
Congo, Democratic Republic of | Grande Loge Nationale du Congo du Rite Ancien et Primitif Memphis-Misraim [14] [15] | 1986 [14] | 3 [14] | ||
Grande Loge de France, District Congo (Grand Lodge of France, Congo District) [16] [17] | 4 | REHFRAM | |||
Grand Orient du Congo (Grand Orient of the Congo) [1] [18] | 1973 [14] | 3 [14] | CLIPSAS | ||
Congo, Republic of | Grande Loge du Congo [4] [19] | ||||
Grands Orient & Loge Associés du Congo (Associated Grand Orient and Lodge of the Congo) [1] [20] | CLIPSAS | ||||
Gabon | Grande Loge du Gabon (Grand Lodge of Gabon) [4] [21] | 1983 | 14 [8] | ||
Grande Loge Symbolique du Gabon (Symbolic Grand Lodge of Gabon) [22] [23] | 1975 | 14 | |||
Grande Loge Féminine de France [11] [12] | GLFF | ||||
Ghana | District Grand Lodge of Ghana, English Constitution [24] | 1810 | 57 | ||
Grand Lodge of Ghana [25] | 2009 | 49 | |||
Guinea | Le Droit Humain – Jurisdiction de la Guinée Conackry [26] [27] | DH Fédération Ouest Africaine | |||
Ivory Coast | Grande Loge de Côte d'Ivoire (Grand Lodge of the Ivory Coast) [4] [7] [28] | 1989 | 27 | 1,000 [8] | |
Le Droit Humain – Jurisdiction de la Côte d'Ivoire [26] [27] | DH Fédération Ouest Africaine | ||||
Liberia | Grand Lodge of the Republic of Liberia [4] [29] | 1867 | |||
Madagascar | Grande Loge Traditionnelle et Symbolique de Madagascar [GLTSM] [30] | 1997 | |||
Le Droit Humain – Jurisdiction de Madagascar (Le Droit Humain, Madagascar Jurisdiction) [31] [32] | 6 [32] | DH | |||
Grande Loge Nationale de Madagascar (National Grand Lodge of Madagascar) [4] [33] | 1996 | 9 | 232 [8] | ||
Grand Rite Malgache [1] [34] | CLIPSAS | ||||
Mali | Le Droit Humain – Jurisdiction de Mali (Le Droit Humain, Mali Jurisdiction) [26] [27] [35] | 1 | DH Fédération Ouest Africaine | ||
Grande Loge Nationale Malienne (National Grand Lodge of Mali) [4] [36] | |||||
Mauritius | Grand Lodge of Mauritius [4] [37] | 2005 | 15 | 389 [8] | |
Le Droit Humain – Jurisdiction de la Ile Maurice (Le Droit Humain, Mauritius Jurisdiction) [31] [38] | 1 | DH | |||
Morocco | Grande Loge du Maroc [1] [39] | 1964 | CLIPSAS CPMAM, UMM | ||
Grande Loge unie du Maroc (United Grand Lodge of Morocco) [40] [41] | 2005 | 5 | 80 | GLUDE [40] | |
Grande Loge Féminine du Maroc (Women's Grand Lodge of Morocco) [39] [42] | 2008 | 3 | |||
Grande Loge Régulière du Royaume du Maroc [GLRRM] (Regular Grand Lodge of the Kingdom of Morocco) [4] [43] | 2000 | 7 [8] | |||
Nigeria | District Grand Lodge of Nigeria (UGLE) [44] [45] | 1806 | 35 | ||
Grand Lodge of Nigeria [4] [46] | 2012 | ||||
Senegal | Le Droit Humain – Jurisdiction de Sénégal [26] [27] | DH Fédération Ouest Africaine | |||
Grand Lodge of Senegal [4] [47] | 1993 | 12 [8] | |||
Grande Loge Féminine de France [11] [12] | GLFF | ||||
South Africa | Grand Lodge of South Africa [4] [48] | 1961 | 64 [7] [49] | 3300 [8] [50] | |
South African Federation, The International Order of Co-Freemasonry, Le Droit Humain [31] [51] | 1912 | 4 | DH | ||
Togo | Grande Loge Nationale Togolaise (National Grand Lodge of Togo) [4] [52] | 1992 | 48 | 1,500 [8] | |
Le Droit Humain – Jurisdiction de Togo (Le Droit Humain, Togo Jurisdiction) [26] [27] | DH Fédération Ouest Africaine | ||||
Jurisdictional area | Name | Founded | Lodges | Members | Notes |
The Grand Orient de France (GODF) is the oldest and largest of several Freemasonic organizations based in France and is the oldest in Continental Europe. The Grand Orient de France is generally regarded as the "mother lodge" of Continental Freemasonry.
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.
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 for centuries. A few women were involved in Freemasonry before the 18th century, despite de jure prohibitions in the Premier Grand Lodge of England.
The Rectified Scottish Rite,(RER) also known as the Rectified Rite or RSR, is a Christian Masonic rite with a long and complex history. It was founded in 1778 at the Convent of Lyon in France under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Willermoz, who served as the primary architect and driving force behind its formation. It emerged as a reform and restructuring of the earlier Templar Strict Observance system that had spread in Germany and France in the mid-18th century.
Continental Freemasonry, otherwise known as Liberal Freemasonry, Latin Freemasonry, and Adogmatic Freemasonry, includes the Masonic lodges, primarily on the European continent, that recognize 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 United States–where Regular Freemasonry holds a virtual monopoly–belong to Masonic lodges that recognize the United Grand Lodge of England and do not recognize Continental Freemasons, regarding them as "irregular".
Freemasonry in France has been influential on the worldwide Masonic movement due to its founding of Continental Freemasonry.
The Grand Lodge Alpina of Switzerland is one of the Grand Lodges of Freemasons in Switzerland.
Freemasonry in Belgium comprises several Masonic obediences, a federation and a confederation. These include Grand Orient of Belgium, the Grand Lodge of Belgium, the Regular Grand Lodge of Belgium, the Women's Grand Lodge of Belgium, the Belgian Federation of Le Droit Humain and Lithos Confederation of Lodges.
Continental Freemasonry in North America is relatively rare, but there are a few continental-style organizations active.
The history of Freemasonry in Belgium reflects the many influences on what is now Belgium from the neighbouring states.
The Women's Grand Lodge Of France is the Grand Lodge of France's women-only Masonic lodges.
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 Primitive Scottish Rite is a Masonic Rite. According to Robert Ambelain, an esotericist who "awakened" it in 1985, it was the rite used by the St. John of Scotland Lodge in Marseille, which was introduced to France in Saint-Germain-en-Laye from 1688; these claims are disputed by historians.
The Centre of Liaison and Information of Masonic Powers Signatories of Strasbourg Appeal or CLIPSAS is an international group of Masonic Grand Orients and Grand Lodges that adhere to Continental Freemasonry and signed the Strasbourg Appeal. Members include the Grand Orient de France, the Grand Orient of Belgium and the Grand Lodge of Italy, of which the first two left the group between 2000 and 2010.
Freemasonry in Germany started in several places during the second quarter of the Eighteenth century. After the extinction of the Rite of Strict Observance, which had a wide following and claimed Templar origins for its higher degrees, the several Grand Lodges in Germany defied all attempts at unification, although a largely ineffectual central organisation came into being with the unification of Germany. During the 1920s Freemasons were harassed alongside Jews by those taken in by the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and blamed for the German surrender of 1918. This culminated with the suppression of Freemasonry by the Nazis in 1935, with many Masons in Germany and occupied countries being executed or sent to concentration camps. Freemasonry returned to Germany after World War Two. A single central body now represents five "regular" Grand Lodges. Liberal, women's, and mixed lodges also exist.
Cécile Révauger is a French historian and historiographer in the fields of freemasonry and the Lumières. A freemason, she was initiated in 1982 at the Grande Loge féminine de France. She left this grand lodge to join the Grand Orient de France in 2013. She was born in Bordeaux.
The Symbolic Grand Lodge of Spain is one of the main grand obediences in Spain. It is one of group of obediences included in CLIPSAS, and can be defined as a mixed or egalitarian, liberal and non-dogmatic Grand Lodge.