Treaty of Recognition between the GLNF & GODF

From Ritofrances.net:
Who would have conceived of telling a young Grand Master of the GOdF like Alain Bauer, who had both dealt with the issues of recognition and "regularities" that the headquarters of the Grand Orient of France would one day be be flooded by what Alec Mellor called the "separated brethren" but in reverse. Well, 15 years later Alain Bauer should be impressed by the landing the French National Grand Lodge (GLNF) has made on the Rue Cadet. the headquarters of the Grand Orient of France (GOdF). Incredible!

It seems that besides conjuring the astral, because this news appears to have been "predicted" among some Masonic thinkers long ago, a book entitled: “Franc-maçonnerie : regularité et reconnaissance, Histories et postures” (Freemasonry: Regularity and Recognition, Histories and postures), written by Roger Dachez, seems to be the ideal book to turn to to help understand the new set of relationship which themselves suggest the the of the chapter "We are all regular”. Yes, the roads of Masonic diplomacy are very convoluted, as Alain Bauer with some disappointment came to understand from his alter ego in the GOdF, Philippe Gugielmi.

And it is also the debut of the “Rencontres Lafayette” opened with a meeting between the GOdF and GLNF, because from May 21, 2015 forward , one of the great leaders of the Great General Chapter of the French Rite Grand Orient of France: Philippe Guglielmi. signed in Paris, a treaty of Recognition  between the High Grades of the French Rite of the French National Grand Lodge (GLNF) "regular" and the Great General Chapter of the French Rite of GODF. (GCGRF-GOdF) "liberals".

The content of the Treaty of Recognition between the highest body of the French Rite of "French regularlity" representing the GLNF, and GCGRF-GODF, has not been revealed as yet, which in part represents something like "oil and water" but as you can imagine  it will involve the alleged restructuring of the French Rite within GLNF regarding their higher grades, because although the Grand Lodge, controls the French Rite in the blue degrees, the breakdown of the GLNF brought the removal of Philippe Thomas and his (Grand Chapitre Français) as well as the abandonment of H. Vigier and the subsequent creation of their own Conseil Sublime du Rite Français. In the interum, the autonomous high levels of RF GLNF safeguarded the protocols of recognition between the Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) and the GNLF, were in a complex stage of their evolution.

Although it is yet to be seen whether the treaty will affect the reorganization of these side bodies of the RF GLNF,  whether these Brothers can visit Chapters of the GCGRF-GODF, although their rituals bear little resemblance...Anyway in the end we must congratulate the GCGRF-GODF for this master stroke, and those approaches. Congratulations P. Glugielmi!

In any case we must not forget that incredibly the GLNF was an internal split off from the GOdF due to the issue of, among other things, the GAOTU...

And I wonder whether this situation will mean that something similar can happen soon in Spain the  between the GCGRF GODF-GLSE bodies with high degree RF side of the Grand Lodge of Spain (GLE).



Everything is in flux.
.
Victor Guerra. Vº of the Modern Rite.

http://www.ritofrances.net/2015/05/foto-de-p.html

Book Presentation & Conference on the Modern Rite

Book Presentation:

"En oro y azur" (In gold and azure) by Joaquim Villalta Mata.

"El Régulateur du Maçon 1º, 2º, 3º y Trabajos de Banquete" (The Masonic Regulator 1-3 and Banquet Lodge) by Victor Guerra and Joaquim Villalta Mata.

Lecture: 

"The History of the Modern Rite in Masonry"
Speakers: Victor Guerra and Joaquim Villalta Mata
Presentation: Ernesto Nicolás Liendo.




Organizers: 

Centre d'Estudis Històrics i Maçonològics Lux Veritatis


Location:

Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 18 hours
Biblioteca Central de Terrassa
Passeig de les Lletres, 1,
Barcelona, Catalunya

Gracias a Victor Guerra
Gràcies a Joaquim Villalta Mata

Book Review: La Masonería by Pedro González Blanco

The Gonzalez brothers are natives of Luanco (Asturias). Pedro Gonzaléz Blanco wrote a book entitled Freemasonry in 1933. It is being republished by the journal FREEMASONRY, presented by the Club del Diario La Nueva España de Gijon, on Thursday February 7, 2013.

Why this book?

Maybe the best justification for this book being reissued is that Pedro Gonzaléz Blanco, both a writer and translator, belongs to a famous family of writers born in Gijon (Asturias). After his university studies and adventures in Madrid he commenced a random existential journey through Latin America. He then settled again in Spain to begin his Masonic career (1930-1939), joining the Lodge of the Worshipful Union of the Grand Orient of Spain (GOE), located in the valley of Madrid.

Along with Brothers Serradel, Benlliure, etc ... and others he co-founded and launched other lodges within the GOE and the Spanish Grand Lodge (GLE).  He wrote this brief work FREEMASONRY , a synthesis of his thinking about Freemasonry and its historiographical developments for Latomia magazine, along with several other successful titles.

Perhaps his work is best explained in his own words :

"Más anda tan pobre la bibliografía masónica por tierras de España, que aumentarla con esta poquedad más, no me parecido del todo desconcertado.

Lean estas páginas los que conocen del arte real, advertidos de lo poco que valen. Y si los enterados sacan de ellas alguna sugestión, o siquiera alguna noticia, se dará por harto satisfecho"

(Masonic literature treats little on matters in Spain, which if that makes this small contribution of value, I will not feel entirely embarrassed.

Read these pages concerning the royal art, aware of their limited value. And if aware of this, you still receive some ideas, or even any wisdom, I will be satisfied)

It has been Victor Guerra's intention with this expanded edition of this book "Masonry" to make available the works of a renouned Asturian Mason, Pedro Gonzalez Blanco (1879-1961) from Luonco, who besides having an eventful life, has been an illustrious Masonic thinker who contributed significantly to the magazine Latomia (1932-1934) and this book.

But Pedro González Blanco is more than just a standard writer of bland matters of Masonic obligations and advice, the sort of pablum filled with down home and folksy commentary that all to often in the US at least passes for philosophy. He went far further and if you scan the covers of the Masonic magazine  Latomia,  in which he published several papers, you will note one in particular,  Historical Corrections, it is clear that his views were not appreciated in some circles, which of course make them all the more valuable. According to Pedro Gonzalez:

"No branch of history more needed to rectify its mistakes than that of the history of Freemasonry. The secrecy that the brotherhood required and the disappearance of far too many files had been fertile ground for all sorts of fantasies and invective: Diaz Perez, the so-called "Jhon Truth", Morayta, los modernos Usero, Suárez, Guillén y Díaiz did not contribute more work than copying Thory, specifically Fidel and Clavel,. Without Acta Latomorun Truht and Pérez Díaz would have written nothing and Morayta most of the time consulted nothing, attributing to Masonry features which often didn't exist. Other authors cited that revolve around these three or four 'historians.'"

Without going into greater detail, it may be some small consolation to North American freemasons to realize that they are not alone in the world in having problems in producing real history. We in North America are not the only masons to have fallen into the trap of producing fiction instead of history. Let us take a look at those works and those masons who were willing, where ever we may find them, to produce an accurate and critical examination of masonic history, as opposed to books full of wishful thinking and fantasy.

Pedro Gonzaléz Blanco, was one such masonic historian.

To find and order this book (we do not yet have it available in English) visit:

http://www.masonica.es/

All thanks due to Victor Guerra who produced a solid introduction to this new edition.

The Chamber of Reflection in the French Rite

The following is the first installment in a very lengthy piece posted by my friend and brother Victor Guerra on one of his many blogs, in Spanish. Since I tend to post shorter pieces on my blog, and since I have to juggle many items, including other work I am translating, I will be posting this work in a serial form. I hope you all enjoy. 

Please feel free to offer comments and feedback. As part of my long term goal is to provide access to Continental materials which have long been absent in the American literature, feedback will be very helpful.


The Chamber of Reflection and its Symbolic Artifacts
A view from the French or Modern Rite and its contrasts with other rites 
By Victor Guerra.

 Introduction. -
To start it is necessary to indicate something that seems obvious, not all Rites contain the Chamber of Reflection, or at least it is not interpreted in the same way, and that chain as Philippe Langlet explains, is  "from the dark room of the Emulation Rite, the RER preparation chamber, through the Cabinet "type" of the AASR, or the French Rite ".

Its essence is constituted, as the respected Freemason Oswald Wirth explained - and based upon two sets of symbols, "one representing death and the other life ", combined to create the old mythic image of the cave - which at the end of the day " comes to represent a simplified summary of the message that comes from the macabre dances and art from the Middle Ages and plays an important role as an initiation rite. "

Despite being one of the quintessentially Masonic elements to have penetrated the popular consciousness in so-called "Masonic Mysteries", we find that as a symbolic subject, it has not been addressed much, much less within the Modern Rite.

Primarily within the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, we find paradoxically, the chamber has been magnified and so loaded with inks and colors and schools of thought, that the result could said to have ended up defining the "standard model" or image of the Chamber of Reflection, although the inheritance comes from the "modern", the "old" ended up modifying it to tailor it to the needs of the times and fashions.

Do not forget that in the Emulation Rite there is no such Chamber of Reflection, and that the rituals of this rite should "not make the mistake of subjecting the candidate to it". The layman must be placed in a dark and secluded space free of symbols or inscriptions, on the other hand in the York Rite there is provided instructions to create a preparation room, but no further details.

Therefore we can state without fear of contradiction that the Chamber of Reflection found its way to France through the development of the first settlement of Masonry with the creation of the French rite and then underwent a fuller development within the REAA.

This does not mean we can expect to find much information on the Chamber of Reflection in  REAA literature or even of the Masonic initiation ceremony, or on the form in which it develops in much of the popular literature on Masonry. Indeed, there are many references, but they tend to be circular, each referring back to the other. A demonstration of this intellectual scarcity, is that hardly more than a single reference work of any quality exists, that being G. Persigout:  Simbolique du Gabinet Reflection. It is out of print and when it can be found in bookstores can reach as much as 300 euros, although Beresniak has also written a book about it.

What evidence exists on the subject takes the form of many and varied small pieces of work generally intended for Masons to read in Lodge. These generally relate to the symbolic elements. Why do we find a such a large gap in terms of thinking about the presence and development of as significant and unique an element in Masonic ritual as this and silence on the presence of such unique elements as those found in the Chamber of Reflection?

This explains why when scholars and authors like Frau Abrines touch on the issue of the Chamber of Reflection, they do a juggling act. and move on to other topics without giving a precise explanation of the phenomenon, which shows the difficulty that  these authors encounter looking for a logical thread explaining why something that was not present in the primordial English Freemasonry,  and which still does not have a place there, develops through a complex but apparently unobserved process leading to the current Chamber of Reflection, a feature so important in the continental Masonic world.

Moreover, this calls attention to its becoming a major element in the early Mason initiation, yet it is paid so little attention to in the same rituals, and in many cases we are hardly offered more than a slight description or sketch, even though its symbolic forcefulness not otherwise mentioned in the work within the lodge, remains the first contact that the layman has the Masonic endeavor.

This lack at least from a historical point of view does not make much sense, as   Rene Le Moal notes in his introduction to the work of  "Le Cabinet of reflection. simboles Des pour toute une vie" , which was published in the prestigious journal  La Chaine d ' Union,  No. 6 - July-2012.

It was this article which has led me to investigate The Chamber of Reflection in the French Rite, because despite the anger of certain pseudo French brothers by the publication of our work, it seems that the French Masonic world wishes to claim as its own the French or Modern Rite and its different parts, and yet offers little on a topic as innocuous yet as significant as the Chamber of Reflection.

This led me to check its impact on the REAA of the GODF apart to see what its presence in the ritual texts was, and also what might be found in the various publications associated with the GODF, such as the magazine cited above: La Chaine d'Union,  number 6, July 2012 where you can check the weight and substance of the published work, which is mostly related to Escossism.

For that reason through this modest blog, I intend to further investigate the role of the Chamber of Reflection in the Modern French Rite as the French Brothers who practice this ritual do not seem interested in extending their examination and as history suggests  La Chaine d'Union , and apart from other minor works in the lodge collection logiales Paris, collected within the GODF between 1979 and 1989, that seek to patent it, or who seem to see its significance within the corpus of reflections GODF French Masons of the time, and so it will wither, René Le Moal, need not to worry now essentially the question is moot. TO BE CONTINUED...

To see the original in its entirety, in Spanish, click here: http://www.ritofrances.net/2012_07_29_archive.html

A New Blog Dedicated to the Work of a Single Masonic Scholar

Today, the Spanish Masonic Scholar Victor Guerra has created a new Masonic Blog dedicated to exploring the work of his colleague and friend, the late Charles Porset.

This is unique not only because of the personal nature of the endeavor, but also because Charles Porset was a prolific if under-recognized scholar on the French Rite. I am providing a translation of the first post, followed by a link to the original.  My interest is multifaceted. To begin with, the blog is written by a scholar I am pleased to call a friend and colleague, as well as a brother. Beyond that, I believe that we in North America are woefully unaware of the depth and quality of modern scholarship that exists in languages other than English. As long as we remain benighted, we will be the poorer for our provincialism and ignorance. It is well worth the effort, and most North American masons will be amazed by the volume of his work.



FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2012

Who ... and why Charles Porset?

Picture taken in Bordeaux

Actually of some individuals related to Freemasonry, little is known, information about them is sparse and one of the most significant of these Brothers is Charles Porset, although personally I think in this case we know little of Porset's curriculum is because most likely nobody asked it of him, since it has never isolated what was Masonic from what was secular.

We know he was born in Bordeaux in 1944, and that of his family was Spanish, with origins in Granada and the Basque country, talking to him about this issue we conclude that perhaps the Porset, were part of those groups of skilled workers who went to Spain attracted by the good opportunities there for the XIX century, for technicians and skilled workers in glass, crockery, etc ... A few months ago we left him in his path to the Eternal East.

Of Charles Porset I can say that he was also founder of the Leonard de Vinci Lodge , located on Rue Cadet, headquarters of the Grand Orient of France . He was the first Venerable of the Lodge, its Honorary Venerable ... and his stature in Freemasonry Masonic was related to his reading of the book by Fred Zeller "Trois Points, c'est tout "   which was published in  Éditions Robert Laffont   in 1976, at that time Porset was 32.

At certain times of my life I have had an intense Masonic contact with him, but those relationships were a little like the Guadiana river, reappearing and disappearing rapidly.. I knew him to be a new Apprentice back in 1988 in Segovia ... and urged him to give me the keys to enter bag and baggage into the GODF, when we already had one foot out the GLSE .. then I went stumbling in various places .... when death stalked him he became very present, sending all kinds of files, jokes, music, and classical ppt, on multiple topics.

Victor Guerra

Today this new platform is opened to recover the memory of a Brother Mason, combative as he alone could be, caustic and very voltairesque, which in French Masonry was well known as it was among academics, but largely unknown in other territories such as Spain, This work seeks to publicize his work and thought, a rationalist Masonic thought, free from clichés and perks, which stripped the Masons to take her to the first moments of the birth of this modern, simple Masonic practice which is very common sensical, and therefore distant from the structures that today imprison much of the Masonic world.


This attempt to make Charles Porset familiar to the public, will surely not be liked in certain circles, where it will be viewed as a theft of his memory. That is a matter far from the intentions of the editor who simply desires to raise awareness of the work of Charles Porset. This is difficult and complex work  which attempts to compile and document the work of the General Grand Chapter of GODF and work of his widow, Jeanne Pagiusco. Work to Think!

 That is the intention in creating these pages on the work of an important thinker like Charles Porset.


Victor  Guerra


http://charlesporset.blogspot.com.es/2012/10/quien-y-porque-charles-porset.html

Yes Virginia, there is a...XXIst Century Freemasonry

Today, many are seeking new models to breathe more life into the dying edifice of North American Freemasonry. There have been a few cautious steps; models such as Traditional Observance or European Concept lodges attempt to respond to the apparent lack of engagement offered by mainstream Masonic institutions today. However much such examples may appeal to some, they have not reversed the general trend in American Freemasonry. They represent a limited attempt to provide relevance to a larger antiquated system.

In part this may be due to the way in which the larger organization relates to them. Their compromise is to work within the larger system attempting to carve out a small space in the desert where they can embrace their own vision of the craft, but always within that larger shadow of the GL system. Such efforts should be encouraged, as far as they can go.

But there is a different way. What happens when sheer energy, enthusiasm, and creativity are given the chance to be the norm? If you want to have a view into that world look to the blog Masonería Siglo XXI and take a tour through the various blogs listed on that blog as well.

NB: Skill in Spanish will help, but if you can't read the language, if you use the Chrome browser, you can translate them on the go. THe translations are not fabulous, but they will help.