United Grand Lodges of Germany

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The United Grand Lodges of Germany (VGLvD) are the umbrella organization of the five Grand Lodges of Freemasons in Germany, which are recognized as regular by the United Grand Lodge of England in accordance with its Basic Principles of Grand Lodge Recognition .

In 1958, in the on June 19, 1949 included St. Paul Church newly established United Grand Lodge of Germany (now the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Germany (AFuAMvD)) and the original 1770 resulting Great National Lodge of Freemasons of Germany (GLL FvD) together to form the United Grand Lodges of Germany, Brotherhood of Freemasons on the basis of the Magna Charta of German Freemasons . This Magna Charta was joined in 1970 by the Grand National Mother Lodge “To the Three Worlds” (GNML “3WK”), the Provincial Grand Lodge of the United Grand Lodge of Germany Province of British Freemasons (PR BRF) and the American Canadian Grand Lodge (ACPGL AF&AM).

The Freemasons of the VGLvD are committed to the traditions of their covenant that are oriented towards human dignity, freedom and self-determination. Regular German Freemasonry is organized in five grand lodges . In total, there are around 500 regional St. John's lodges among these five grand lodges . All VGLvD lodges only accept men (but there are friendly relations with the grand women's lodge in Germany ). The VGLvD is the largest Masonic grand lodge umbrella organization in Germany.

Grand master of the approximately 15,500 German Freemasons is currently Christoph Bosbach.

history

Starting position after the Second World War and the attempt to establish a grand lodge for the first time

The founding of the United Grand Lodges of Germany is closely linked to the rebuilding of Freemasonry after the end of the Second World War . The reorganization of the content of Freemasonry was difficult, the entire inventory and many ritual and textbooks fell victim to the war or the fire of the book burnings . Lodge houses and property were expropriated by the Nazis and many Freemasons had either died in the war or died in concentration camps . Of the 73,300 Freemasons who were organized in the lodges before the persecution by National Socialism, just under 10,000 members were left.

The realization that the disagreement of the eleven existing German grand lodges at the time made German Freemasonry helpless against the harassment and final ban by the National Socialists contributed significantly to the unification process of the grand lodges.

After many of the Masonic lodges, which were banned during the Nazi era, were able to resume their work - often unofficially - from autumn 1945, a first attempt was made in November 1945 to establish a grand lodge for associations under the name of the Federal Grand Lodge of Germany To the Old Obligations . The content-related differences in the doctrine and disputes between the grand lodges were now pushed aside, the need of the hour was to prevent Freemasonry from splitting up again into individual grand lodges. The establishment of a standard lodge was therefore considered, the driving force and organizer of this task was the Hamburg Freemason Fritz Lichtenberg .

Primarily one worked first towards a union of all humanitarian grand lodges. On November 8, 1945, the Grand Masters of the Great Lodge of Hamburg , the Grand Lodge Zur Sonne (Bayreuth), the Grand Mother Lodge of the Eclectic Freemasons Association in Frankfurt and the Grand Masonic Lodge at Eintracht met in Bensheim an der Bergstrasse . After a two-day conference, these four grand lodges were constituted as a federal grand lodge to the old duties , their first grand master was Fritz Lichtenberg.

The grand lodge was constituted, but could not be effective in terms of content or form, let alone promote unity among the remaining grand lodges. The federal grand lodge for the old duties ceased its work in the summer of 1946. The official dissolution took place in July 1947 when Lichtenberg's successor as Grand Master, August Hirscher, declared that the federal grand lodge no longer existed. The reason for the failure of this first unification project was, in addition to the death of the initiator Fritz Lichtenberg in March 1946, above all the fact that the Allied Control Council withdrew the approval that had initially been granted because it had become a consensus among the members not to approve any mergers of lodges, whose area of ​​responsibility went beyond the borders of their occupation zones in Germany or the newly formed two German states.

The Frankfurt working group as a breeding ground for the establishment of the United Grand Lodges of Germany

After the founding of a joint grand lodge failed on the part of the individual grand lodges, the renewed initiative this time came from individual regional lodges. Various local Masonic lodges from Hesse met under the name Frankfurter Arbeitsgemeinschaft . This local working group, however, developed into a supraregional working group, to which twenty-one members of former humanitarian and Christian grand lodges, but without representatives of the grand state lodge, came together on June 14 and 15, 1947 in Frankfurt am Main . At the head of this Frankfurt working group was Dr. August Pauls. However, Dr. Theodor Vogel , the future Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of Freemasons of Germany.

In May 1948, the grand masters of these state grand lodges met for the first time in Frankfurt am Main, made a commitment to the unification of the German Freemasons on a humanitarian and federal basis , decided to create a grand masters association and agreed to start preparations for the unification of the state grand lodges and their lodges in a union grand lodge.

In October 1948, the United Grand Lodge of the Freemasons of Germany was founded on a 2nd German Grand Masters' Day in Bad Kissingen . A future constitution of the Grand Lodge was adopted and the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Bavaria, Dr. Theodor Vogel, elected Grand Master of the VGL for a term of office that initially lasted until St. John's Day in 1949. The Basic Law and the founding of the VGL were approved by 145 participating Masonic lodges from the three western occupation zones 142. In order to make the planned joint German grand lodge a collecting tank for all German Freemasons without exception, it should also be open to the members of those large Masonic corporations that had not been recognized as regular by the existing grand lodges before 1933, such as the Freemasons Association for the Rising Sun and the Symbolic Grand Lodge from Germany.

Foundation in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt

Paulskirche in the 1950s

On June 19, 1949, members from various regional lodges of the individual grand lodges founded the United Grand Lodges of Germany in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt . The founder's lodges were:

In addition, 10 lodges were founded after 1945.

In 1952 the other lodges of the Freemasonry Association of the Rising Sun were added, in 1958 all German grand lodges were merged under one umbrella organization called Grand Lodge of the Old Free and Accepted Masons of Germany . Here, too, Theodor Vogel was elected first grandmaster.

The long road to unity

The accession of the two grand lodges, the Great State Lodge of the Freemasons of Germany and the Great National Mother Lodge “To the Three Worlds”, was only possible with tough negotiations and pressure from the United Grand Lodge of England .

This was preceded by a grand masters conference in London, which took place on June 14, 1957. The present Grand Masters of the Grand Lodge of the United Grand Lodge of Germany (today: Old Free and Accepted Masons of Germany) and the Grand National Lodge of the Freemasons of Germany were represented by representatives of the Scandinavian Grand Lodges ( Norwegian Freemasons and Danish Freemasons ) with those of the Grand State Lodge of Freemasons is closely linked by Germany in its teaching (see Swedish teaching system ). The Scandinavian grand lodges pushed the two Germans to an agreement. "(...) you must come to an agreement, for the sake of the youth, for the sake of the future, and you should all have help, but agree ".

On May 17, 1958, the Magna Charta of German Freemasonry was recognized at the general assembly of the Grand State Lodge of Freemasons of Germany . This was the penultimate step in establishing the United Grand Lodge. The United Grand Lodge of Germany renounced its historical title and for a few years took the name of the Great State Lodge of the Old Free and Accepted Masons of Germany to avoid confusion. From 1958 it was called the Grand Lodge of the Old Free and Accepted Masons of Germany . The Grand State Lodge of the Freemasons of Germany also used the addition of the Order of Freemasons (FO) in order not to be seen as the sole representative of all Freemasons in Germany.

Constitution and structure

In the course of the Berlin Convention of 1970 , the three grand lodges joined the VGLvD as their own grand lodges: Grand National Mother Lodge “To the Three Worlds”, the Provincial Grand Lodge of the Grand Lodge of British Freemasons in Germany and the American Canadian Grand Lodge .

After years of unsuccessful attempts and with the help u. a. With the founding of the VGLvD on April 27, 1958, the United Grand Lodge of England finally succeeded in creating a construction that is unique in the history of Freemasonry, in that the five contracting grand lodges only waived two of their sovereign rights, namely the representation of all German Freemasons vis-à-vis foreigners Masonic organizations and to outsiders.

There are also lodges that are directly under the jurisdiction of the United Grand Lodge of Germany:

  • The St. John's lodges with special tasks “ Jacob DeMolay zum Flammenden Stern ” (with three deputation lodges). These lodges are directly subordinate to the United Grand Lodges of Germany and thus enjoy ritual freedom in their temple work . This means that these lodges are able to work according to all rituals of the lodges belonging to VGLvD.
  • The hiking lodge " Zur Weißen Lilie ", founded as a German scout masonic lodge . The scout lodge " Zum Palmbaum " in Offenbach and the boy scout lodge " König Solomo zur Weißen Lilie " in Berlin were also subordinate to it until the 1970s . The lodge " Zur Weißen Lilie " originally works according to the ritual of the Bayreuth grand lodge " Zur Sonne " according to Johann Caspar Bluntschli , but also according to several rituals approved by the VGLvD, which are based on the rituals of the boy scouts .
  • Research lodge “ Quatuor Coronati ”. This research lodge is intended to promote Masonic research in Germany. Especially the bringing together of Freemasons who research the history, customs, social structure and social position of the Freemasons' Association. Promoting Masonic Knowledge. Organization of events and conferences at which fundamental and current issues of Freemasonry are dealt with from a scientific perspective.

Decision maker, diplomat and representative

In contrast to other grand lodges, the grand master of the VGLvD is only active as a representative. The VGLvD represent the globally recognized German Freemasonry to foreign institutions (other grand lodges) and the German public. The member grand lodges are autonomous in their internal affairs and in the type of teaching .

Decision maker

The Senate

The decision-making body is the Senate , which consists of the members of the five grand lodges. The number of delegates depends on the number of members of the individual grand lodges. It decides with a four-fifths majority . The Grand Master presides without voting rights.

The Convention

The convention is the representation of the Masonic lodges in Germany. He comments on the laws and resolutions of the Senate submitted to him. He can give suggestions for decisions, make applications and advise. Members entitled to vote are the presiding masters of the lodges with one vote each. The convention usually meets in Berlin every three years. On the proposal of the Senate, he elects the Grand Master of the United Grand Lodge of Germany and his deputy.

diplomat

In the past, the United Grand Lodges of Germany made decisive contributions to the establishment of Freemasonry in Eastern Europe. In 1997 the present United Grand Lodge of Bulgaria (VGLvBG), in 2002 the Grand Lodge AFu.AM of Lithuania and in 2003 the Grand Lodge of Latvia were established by the VGLvD. There were also - always with the participation of the member grand lodges - new foundations in Lithuania, Serbia (RGLvSRB - formerly GLvYugoslavia), Montenegro (together with the Grand Lodge of Austria (GLvÖ), the Grand Orient of Italy (GOI) and the Grand Lodge of Serbia (RGLvSRB) ) as well as in Slovakia (together with the GLvCR and the GLvÖ) and the regular national grand lodge of Monaco (together with the UGLoE and the GLNF in 2010). About 175 grand lodges in the world are recognized by the VGLvD.

public relation

Protestant church

In an article for the renowned church magazine Herder Korrespondenz , Matthias Pöhlmann from the Evangelical Central Office for Weltanschauungsfragen (EZW) praised the public relations work of the United Grand Lodges of Germany: The then Grand Master of the VGLvD, Rüdiger Templin, spoke up with regular press releases. In January 2009, for example, he called for donations for the benefit of the earthquake victims in Haiti . He had previously asked the lodges to deal intensively with climate protection or to support the organ donation initiative.

In addition, there were also critical statements about erroneous views of Freemasonry in public. In this context, Pöhlmann also cites an explanatory statement from another VGL press release:

“Meeting rooms have been shown to outsiders since 1988, but without any equipment that requires explanation. In addition, brothers should be able to continue to experience the gatherings without the annoying flashing of cameras or camera teams. Lodges should remain a refuge, a retreat to reflect on inner values, even in times of permanent observation and display of externalities "

Ceremony in Hanover for the 300th anniversary

On September 1, 2017, 260 participants and contributors met in the Sprengel Museum in Hanover for the official ceremony of German Freemasonry on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of so-called modern Freemasonry . The celebrations were moderated by the moderator Max Schautzer . Present were the Lord Mayor of Hanover Stefan Schostok and the former Lower Saxony Minister of Culture and President of the Lower Saxony State Parliament a. D., Prof. Rolf Wernstedt . The event was musically framed by the young pianist, Noah Flurin Vinzens , and the Hanoverian Freemasons' choir.

On this occasion, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier acknowledged an important social role for Freemasonry, but in his very personal greeting he also spoke of an important task: not to rest, to translate and implement social change in order to remain relevant. At the same time, he emphasizes how outstanding the role Freemasonry is through its persistence and its impact on German and European society.

Old grandmaster

  • Theodor Vogel (1958–1959)
  • Friedrich A. Pinkerneil (1959–1960 and 1962–1963)
  • Konrad Merkel (1960–1961)
  • Richard Müller-Börner (1961–1962)
  • Willi Schulz (1963–1965 and 1969–1970)
  • Werner Römer, (1965–1966 and 1968–1969)
  • Heinz Rüggeberg (1966–1968)
  • Hans Gemünd (1970–1971)
  • Hermann Kehlenbeck (1971–1972)
  • Friedrich Heller (1972–1975)
  • Walter Veit (1975–1976)
  • Hans Werner Schneider (1976)
  • Günther Gall (1976–1977)
  • Bernhard Rohland (1977–1978)
  • Jürgen Holtorf (1978–1985)
  • Ernst Walter (1985–1991)
  • Rainer J. Schicke (1991–1997)
  • Alfred F. Koska (1997-2003)
  • Klaus Horneffer (2003-2006)
  • Klaus-M. Kott (2006-2009)
  • Rüdiger Templin (2009-2015)

literature

  • Joachim Berger, Klaus-Jürgen Grün (Hrsg.): Secret Society: Weimar and German Freemasonry. Catalog for the exhibition of the Weimar Classic Foundation in the Schiller Museum Weimar June 21 to December 31, 2002. Hanser Verlag, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-446-20255-2 .
  • Klaus Jürgen Grün: Philosophy of Freemasonry. An intercultural perspective (= intercultural library. 124). Traugott Bautz Verlag, Nordhausen 2006, ISBN 3-88309-329-7 .
  • Helmut Reinalter : The Freemasons. 5th updated edition, Beck Verlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-406-44733-3 .
  • Tom Goeller: Freemason. Eliminating a myth. Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-89809-071-X .
  • Michael Kraus (Ed.): The Freemasons. Salzburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-902404-40-4 .
  • 2012 Yearbook of the United Grand Lodges of Germany - Brotherhood of Freemasons.
  • Holtorf, Jürgen: The Masons' lodges. Influence power secrecy. Nikol Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg 1991, ISBN 3-930656-58-2 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Member grand lodges of the VGLvD . In: Website of the VGLvD . Retrieved March 6, 2018. 
  2. ↑ German Freemasonry on the rise . In: Ev. News agency Idea from November 4, 2015 on Philip Militz's website: www.freimaurer-in-60-minuten.de . Retrieved November 10, 2015. 
  3. ↑ Christoph Bosbach new grandmaster of the VGLvD . In: Grand Lodge of the AF&AM of Germany . Retrieved November 8, 2015. 
  4. ^ Theodor Vogel: Materials on the history of a large lodge 1945–1975. In: Source studies. No. 13, Forschungsloge Quatuor Coronati, Bayreuth 1979, pp. 7-11.
  5. ↑ Thomas Richert: The rise of the German grand lodges after 1945. In: Quatuor Coronati yearbook. No. 37, 2000, pp. 135-151.
  6. ↑ Thomas Richert: The rise of the German grand lodges after 1945. In: Quatuor Coronati yearbook. No. 37, 2000, p. 137.
  7. ^ Hans-Hermann Höhmann: Freemasonry analyzes, considerations, perspectives. Part 2. Edition Temmen, 2011, ISBN 978-3-8378-4028-5 .
  8. ↑ a b Jürgen Holtorf: Die Logen der Freemaurer (= Edition Kultur & Wissen. ) Nikol Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hamburg 1991, ISBN 3-930656-58-2 , p. 85.
  9. ↑ Henning Kirchberg: The history of this lodge. (No longer available online.) Jacob de Molay Masonic Lodge on the Flaming Star , November 6, 2002, archived from the original on May 2, 2016 .;
  10. ↑ Hoede, Roland (Ed.): 50 Years Freemason Lodge Zur Weißen Lilie N ° 871. Festschrift for the 50th anniversary of the Lodge . Self-published, Wildbad 2010, p. 24-25 .
  11. ↑ Ritual of the White Lily. In: Lodge to the White Lily. Retrieved March 7, 2018 .
  12. ^ Diener, Jürgen (ed.): The white lily . Journal of the Lodge Zur Weißen Lilie. No. 1 . Bauhütten-Verlag, Frankfurt a. M. 1962, p. 15 .
  13. ↑ Quatuor Coronati - About Us . In: Homepage Quatuor Coronati . Retrieved March 7, 2018. 
  14. ↑ Matthias Pöhlmann: Freemasonry and Church in the mirror of new publications: Compasses, angles and the cross. In: Herder correspondence . 9/2010, 64th year 2010.
  15. ↑ Freemasons celebrate their 300th anniversary . In: Newspaper article by Simon Benne: Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung (HAZ), published on September 4th, 2017 . 
  16. ↑ 300 years of Freemasonry - humanity worldwide . In: United Grand Lodges of Germany . Retrieved March 7, 2018. 

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