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.
Europe
Jurisdictional area
Name
Founded
Lodges
Members
Notes
Albania
Lozha e Madhe Shqiptare Iliria (Albanian Grand Lodge "Illyria")[1]
Formed by Lodges working under the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons of Germany, part of the United Grand Lodges of Germany and received official support and charter from the United Grand Lodges of Germany on September 20, 1997
Bulgaria
Обединена велика ложа на България (United Grand Lodge of Bulgaria) [6][29]
Established in 2005 by Brother Nicu Filip first Grand Master of MLNdR in 1993 under the name National Grand Lodge Dacia. In 2008 joined Masonic High Council the Mother High Council of the World when changes the name into Regular Grand Lodge of Romania. Starting 2017 (6017) Grand Master Sergiu Protopopescu. 2 December 2017 established lodge Dimitrie Cantemir Eastern Moscow.
Romania
Marea Lojă Naţională din România (MLNdR) (National Grand Lodge of Romania) [6][141][142]
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.
The Grande Loge Nationale Française (GLNF) is a French Masonic Grand Lodge. It was founded in 1913, by two lodges, "Le Centre des Amis" Lodge splitting from Grand Orient de France and "L'Anglaise" lodge, an independent lodge based in Bordeaux. GLNF is based on monotheism and the 1929 precepts of regularity issued by the United Grand Lodge of England.
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 International Secretariat of the Masonic Adogmatic Powers (ISMAP) was an international organization of Masonic jurisdictions of masonic lodges. Its members merged back into CLIPSAS in the early 2010s.
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.
With 84 lodges and 3’350 members, the Grand Lodge Alpina of Switzerland (GLAS) is a Swiss Masonic obedience founded in 1844.
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 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 Liaison and Information Centre of Signatory Masonic Powers of the 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 is a fraternal organisation that arose from the loose organization of medieval masons working in the medieval building industry.
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.
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.
↑ Almanac. Self-published, by the GLAFAMofB. 2011.
↑ "Official Website". Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Mason in Bulgaria. 9 January 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
1 2 Lozanov, Volodya; Harsev, Emil; Popov, Ivan; Stoev, Vasil; Kabakchiev, Angel (2012). On to the Path Towards the Light. Self-published, by the GLAFAMofB.
↑ American Canadian Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M (ACGL) – originally organized around military lodges of American and Canadian occupation forces. Works in English and includes six lodges in the Middle East.
↑ International Masonic Order "Delphi", Historic Note of the Establishment of the Masonic Union of the Balkan Peninsula, Orient of Thessaloniki, 22 November 2014, page 48.
↑ Gould, Robert Freke (1885). The History of Freemasonry. London: Caxton.
↑ (Prof.) Kritikos, Panagiotis (1971). About the Freemasons, Freemasonry and their contribution to the National Battles. Athens: Masonic Foundation. pp.259 s.
↑ Notice of formation of "National Grand Lodge Romania 1880,"Archived 10 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine consisting of a group of expelled masons from an (itself) unrecognized 'United Grand Lodge of Romania', in a COGNMA commission report in 2011. The reference urges caution regarding this group and the similarly named MLNdR, which was actually formed in 1880.
1 2 С. П. Карпачёв «Искусство вольных каменщиков», «ИПК Парето-Принт», 2015 год, 475 стр. 2000 экз. ISBN978-5-990-54931-9
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
