UMURM: Third Anniversary of the Treaty of Barcelona

3rd ANNIVERSARY OF THE CHARTER OF THE RITE MODERN BARCELONA
(June 12, 2011)

(To read a detailed analysis of the Charter in Spanish download the PDF)

The Modern Philosophical Rite Bodies meeting on June 12, 2011 in the Valley of Barcelona agree to set up a organization for the purpose of cooperation, consultation and coordination between them which will be referred to as the

Unión Masónica Universal del Rito Moderno  (UMURM)
[Universal Masonic Union of the Modern Rite]

and which will work with full respect for the freedom and independence of the individual philosophical bodies that compose it.

It is based on the principles of absolute freedom of conscience and thought, based in Barcelona, ​​and chaired by SGIG Supreme Conselho do Rito Moderno do Brasil, José María Bonachi Batalla, this Universal Masonic Union of the Modern Rite (UMURM) act for the benefit of those who participate with the following objectives:

1 - Promote and disseminate the customs of the Modern Rite.
2 - Foster ties and harmony among its members in order to practice a truly Universal Freemasonry.
3 - Establish a plural forum for dialogue and exchange towards creating a true Union Center regardless of territorial, obediential, or ritualistic specificities.
4 - Facilitate rapprochement between the various Philosophical Bodies of the Modern Rite by mutual recognition without any discrimination.
5 - Develop a cooperative exchange on issues of joint reflection between their bodies.

The UMURM shall at all times be open to any body who practices the Philosophical Modern Rite in the Five Orders of Wisdom,  which seeks admission, once their initiatory descent has been adequately documented.

The Universal Masonic Union of the Modern Rite (UMURM) incorporates the creation of an International Academy 5th. Order Modern Rite, with two main tasks:

1 - To be a Laboratory of thought to reflect on the meaning, philosophy, values, and ethics fundamental to the Modern Rite.
2 - To be an Academy of the Rite with the capacity to investigate and disseminate materials so that it can assume the role of a true conservatory of the Modern Rite, and finally advise any Supreme Council General Grand Chapter or other Philosophical body that requests it.

This Academy will operate without territorial or obediential limits, without normative rules, respecting the absolute independence of each of its members.

This Academy will be open to any Sovereign Power or Independent Chapter, but also in a personal capacity to any holder of the 5th. Ord. of Wisdom of the Modern Rite, stating his desire to be part of it and possession of documentary proof of their titles.

The original structure of the UNIVERSAL MASONIC UNION OF THE MODERN RITE, was as follows:

President of the Union of the Modern Universal Masonic Rite: José María Bonachi Batalla, Sovereign Grand Inspector General of the Supremo Conselho do Rito Moderno
- Brazil, which proceeded to make the following appointments:
Joaquim Villalta, First Order V, Grade 9, Secretary General
Alvaro Marcos, First Order V, Grade 9, General Counsel and Rules

International Academy of V º Order of Modern Rite.

Victor Guerra, First Order V, Grade 9, General Coordinator of the Academy of V º Order of Modern Rite
Hervé Vigier, First Order V, Grade 9, Coordinator of the Department of History and Symbolism of the International Academy of V º Order of Modern Rite.
Jean van Win, First Order V, Grade 9, Coordinator Masonic Research Department of the International Academy of V º Order of Modern Rite.

The Signatory Powers of the Founders of the UMURM were:

• Supremo Conselho do Rito Moderno do Brasil
• Gran Capítulo General de España – Supremo Consejo del Rito Moderno para España
• Sublime Conseil du Rite Moderne pour la France
• Gran Capítulo General del Gran Oriente de Colombia

The as of July 2013 the member organizations within the UMURM are:

• Supremo Conselho do Rito Moderno - Brasil
• Gran Capítulo General del Gran Oriente de Colombia
• Sublime Consejo del Rito Moderno para el Ecuador
• Grand Chapter General of the Modern Rite for North America and the Caribbean.

Freemasonry and the Intellectual

A recent blog post by my friend and brother, Victor Guerra, set me thinking. His comments often do, but the vagaries of language and the cultural divides of the North Atlantic sometimes leave me wanting the correct avenue of thought to respond in a way worthy of an audience.  This most recent observation of his set me on a trajectory that I believe merits exploration.

Where is the intellectual in North American Freemasonry? The answer, at least upon first glance, is "apparently absent." We have no great thinkers. Mainstream masonry has in the last half century at least, for lack of a better description, and I do not wish to offend my brethren in the so-called 'regular' camp, fostered a "confederacy of dunces." Anti-intellectualism is as strong and as strident in North American Freemasonry as it has become of late in our society as a whole.  The great American author and thinker, Isaac Asimov remarked, "There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."

Well, as Asimov clearly intended it to be understood, it is not.

There are many changes that mainstream North American Freemasonry needs to make if it is to survive the next two decades. I have read on a dozen blogs, some of whose authors have apparently been silenced by their 'regular' obediences, a litany of things that might be done to save the fraternity. Almost none of them have addressed directly the issue of engaging and cultivating the intellectual as a natural facet of the Craft. That comes as no surprise to me. In North America, Freemasonry has replaced Franklin with "Freemasons for Dummies," and while I admire the work that Brother Hodapp does to make an understanding of Freemasonry accessible to the average reader, I am certain he would be the first to assert that he does not count himself among the ranks of the intellectual thinkers of our age. While I am a captive of my own cerebral endeavors, I do not consider myself an intellectual, nor even close to those thinkers capable of providing astute observations and commentary on our fraternity and perhaps more importantly, on our society as a whole from the unique perspectives that Freemasonry ought to offer us.

That does not mean such thinkers do not exist. They do; simply not in North American Freemasonry. North American Freemasonry has difficulty confronting its own history, preferring to hide in the pseudo-historical views of 19th century Masonic authors. It certainly has not reached beyond that to provide us with minds who can offer insight into the profound issues of society writ large.  Let me clarify, I am not speaking of scholarship, but of intellectual speculation. There is a difference. The latter implies, in my opinion, the former. It is not however, the same thing.

Radu Balanescu, a Grand Master of the Grand National Lodge of Romania, summed up what intellectuals do, why they are important, and what awaits any group that fails to generate them among its members, when he noted that "an elite intellectual, a thinker, is a person who restores to humanity its essence. This is the motive for the gigantic impact thinkers have had in the history of the world. This is the reason why collectivities deprived of great thinkers decay relatively quickly, pervert themselves and are eliminated toward the edge of human history."

North American Freemasonry is not currently producing anybody of the stature of  Jacques-Geoges Plumet, or Alain Bauer. We have no Guglielmi,  Kessel,  Jacques Miterrand, or Fred Zeller. Nor have we any Alain -Jacques Lacot,  whose work Victor Guerra most recently highlighted on his blog, http://www.victorguerra.net/.

These observations are not intended to belittle anyone, nor their obediences. Noting a flaw is the first step in empowering an individual or group to grow. Freemasonry in North America needs to begin developing didactic intellectuals if it is going to survive and grow. If that doesn't happen within "regular" freemasonry, we will have to look elsewhere for that leadership and example.

Gracias a Victor Guerra. 

The traditional Modern Rite in North America and the Caribbean

The Modern Rite has issued Patents for North America and the Caribbean

The structure of the Universal Masonic Union of the Modern Rite (UMURM), walks slowly, at its own pace and attempts to remain aloof to controversy.

It has been suggested by some that the renewal of the Traditional Modern Rite will not come from Europe,but rather would take place on another continent such as in the Americas. The Rite will continue walking until there comes a day when rejuvenated and modernized it will be well adapted to new forms and visions. What all masonry needs now are new forms and visions, as the old does not seem able to reverse the (sometimes not so slow) decline.

It should be the desire of all masons to embrace a plural and critical view, knowing that all that information is a tool for the rest, so that everyone understands and handle it properly.

THis is why the UMURM, and the Academy, and specific individuals within these structures, working with brethren in the US and the Caribbean, developing through knowledge and relationships they have done with some brothers from the USA, have been able to raise the Modern Rite in the USA.

The Modern Rite in North America and the Caribbean support the Barcelona Charter drafted in June 2011 and are part of the Union Masonic Rite of Modern World (UMURM).

The Western Hemisphere is now organized for practicing Modern Rite according to the great traditions and heritage as preserved by the Masonic Supreme Council of the Modern Rite of Brazil, whose work takes place in an unbroken chain from 1842 to today , and whose rich heritage was rooted, long before that date, in the soil of the Modern Rite. (...)

The priority is now to work at making available a body of literature concerning the Modern Rite, which in all respects, is simply nonexistent in English. Our brothers in Cuba have an embarrassment of riches, thanks to the efforts of the Spanish in recent years. We plan to produce educational materials on historical topics, as well, and this is of immediate importance, literature appropriate to the needs of researchers and related rituals, ethics and traditions of the Modern Rite. Our commitment to research, education, and courteous debate, whether in or outside the box, and our need to translate the ritual, make a goal like this one an essential objective. We will make sure to share intellectual and moral values  and perspectives of the Modern Rite, rituals and ethics. (...)


This open letter announces that on July 27, 2012 the Supreme Conselho do Modern Rite based in Brazil, under the distinguished leadership of M. '. I. '. H. '. José María Bonachi Batalla, Sovereign Grand Inspector General, working in the Valley of Rio de Janeiro, granted the Letter Patent for the Orders of Wisdom I ∞, II ∞, III ∞ and IV ∞ Order of Modern Rite to the Grand Chapter General of the Modern Rite of North America and the Caribbean.

The General Grand Chapter of the Modern Rite of North America and the Caribbean will be working with the Orders of Wisdom, Brazilian rituals, to be translated from Portuguese.

In addition, the first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the Mixed Modern Rite of North America and the Caribbean, working in the Orient of Philadelphia, it is a great honor to announce on behalf of their brothers and sisters, in the United States and Cuba (where several lodges under the lead of Logia Anáhuac are already working with more to come), this Symbolic Power has received its charter from the Grand Mixed Lodge of the Equatorial Andes,  from the hands of M. '. I. '. Hna. '. Olga Vallejo Rueda, S. '. C. '. Sublime Council of Modern Rite for Ecuador. The patent was received on July 12, 2012.

To see the full open letter follow the link below, or click on the bold text at the top of this window.:


http://unionmasonicauniversalritomoderno.blogspot.com/2012/08/lettre-ouverte-des-francs-macons.html

Gracias a Joaquim, Olga, VIctor y el muy venerable JosÈ Maria por todo sus apoyos.