The legendary history of Freemasonry. History of origin, main ideas

On the following pages:

For many centuries in many European countries, masons and carpenters, bakers and bellmakers, surgeons and other artisans lived under the protection and supervision of their guilds. In the Middle Ages and at the beginning of the modern era, professional corporations provided their members with a certain social status and standard of living, and controlled the quality of technical equipment and the final product. The craftsmen who headed the workshops often acted in concert with city and local authorities, maintaining public order, stable prices and wages, and product quality. The Middle Ages knew a great variety of craft workshops, but only the corporation of masons was able to move to new economic conditions, transforming into something completely new - into ma Connerie. In the 17th century cities in Scotland and England were ahead of the rest of Europe in terms of wages and working conditions in the construction industry. The guild system was collapsing, and the corporation of masons gradually began to admit

people outside their profession. This was prompted by the need for new cash receipts (entry fees): financing construction work required additional investments. Thus, the transformation of the craft workshop into a new type of community was driven by necessity. Not all traditional masons have found a place in this updated system.

An atmosphere of mutual goodwill reigned in the new communities, but this was not the only reason they were attractive. To businessmen and gentlemen, lodges seemed to be centers of culture. Indeed, senior master masons could read and write, and were knowledgeable in mathematics and architecture, in particular in military and civil fortification. The myths surrounding the lodges linked the masons' skills in geometry with the ancient knowledge inherited by the god of Hellenistic Egypt - Hermes Trismegistus ("thrice greatest"). However, apparently, it was not only the aura of the legendary past that attracted educated representatives of other professions to the masons: the lodges were the place where wealthy entrepreneurs could make acquaintances with useful people who knew a lot about architecture or engineering. Among the first Masons admitted to the lodge from outside in the 1650s was the Scotsman Sir Robert Morey, a scientist, military engineer, one of the founders of the Royal Society of London and an active participant in the civil wars in England. Like the Oxford antiquarian Elias Ashmole, who became a free mason around the same years, Mori hoped that Freemasonry would introduce him to the wisdom of the mathematicians and mechanics of antiquity. He signed all his letters with the Masonic sign, emphasizing loyalty to the brotherhood. In the last decades of the 17th century. his example was followed by many English gentlemen.

We may never be able to find out in detail exactly how historical process transformation of a craft workshop into a closed community of gentlemen. While some documents still remain in Scotland, the English Masonic archives from this period have disappeared. Scottish historian David Stevenson considers his homeland to be the cradle of the new Freemasonry, believing that it was in Scotland that mason guilds first turned into a kind of elite social clubs. However, the preaching of brotherhood and those organizational principles that were exported from England to continental Europe and became common to the entire Masonic movement of the Enlightenment were not based on Scottish customs or on the form of government adopted in Scotland. Rather, it should be said that Freemasonry was based on the institutions and ideals generated by the English Revolution during the struggle against royal absolutism. The archives of the Royal Society of London preserved

276
a curious document from 1659 (Register Book [c] IX), which clearly emphasizes the connection of Freemasonry with state power. It says that "this craft [...] was founded by noble kings, princes and other honorable people", and is dedicated to the seven liberal arts, in particular geometry - the science of the "father of the sages" Hermes, who "found two stone pillars where Knowledge, instructed people and passed on this Knowledge to the builders of the Tower of Babel.” The presentation of the "Words and Symbols of the Freemasons" in this manuscript is quite adequate to the historical context. It reflected the revolution and the emergence of constitutional authority based on a system of laws and rules: the document casually mentions “parliament” and calls on lodge members to “fairly follow [...] the duties established by the constitution.”

It should be noted here that according to the Oxford Dictionary in English"until the middle of the 17th century. the word "constitution" was not used to designate the body of rules or norms of any community. However, in the 1650s, after the execution of Charles I, the English parliament adopted a number of laws relating to government; and almost simultaneously, non-governmental organizations began to appear in the country with their own “constitutions”, however, sometimes very conditional. A document from 1659 stated, among other things, that the French kings came to power by election, and that in biblical times “the king [...] called a great council and parliament to find means” to help the unemployed. So, the English Freemasons initially believed ourselves inextricably linked - sometimes fatally- with the fate of states and monarchs. After democratic revolutions late XVIII centuries, Freemasons in Europe and America came to the conclusion that their interests were common. Around 1800, a false thesis about a Masonic conspiracy as the root cause of the French Revolution was born in counter-revolutionary circles. From this time on, Freemasonry became associated with secret subversive activities. Until 1789 it was associated less with political action than with social life and intellectual progress.

Masonic lodges of the Enlightenment era in their practice (election, subordination of the minority to the majority, the tradition of hearing speeches from elected leaders of the lodge, the unification of all national lodges under the auspices of the Grand Lodge, the development of constitutions) were based on the ideals of equality and on the recognition of the value of a person’s personal merits. This was due to the growth of the authority of parliament, the strengthening of the urban bourgeoisie and the small rural nobility, who believed in their own strength, as well as the influence of republican literature and journalism, which was born in the middle XVII century V

277
the writings of John Harrington and was developed by theorists such as Algernon Sidney, John Locke and John Toland. The latter is a supporter of the Whig party, who adhered to it at the beginning of the 18th century. republican views - was directly connected with London lodges. Thus, the Masonic idea of ​​moving a person up the social ladder in accordance with his personal merit - an idea that justified the egalitarian brotherhood of people free to choose their leaders - went back primarily to the English republican tradition. However, this did not prevent the lodges from being very hierarchical structures and seeking the patronage of the aristocracy everywhere. In the countries of the European continent, Freemasons especially valued the secret, secret side of their activities, which led to the establishment of new degrees, to the development of additional rituals and ceremonies, as well as to the emergence of imitations (such an imitation was the openly politicized Illuminati society, founded in Bavaria in 1776). . Other lodges, such as the American Order of Cincinnatus (to which George Washington may have belonged), were more concerned with distinction, privilege, and banqueting. As for the Illuminati, they openly provoked the authorities and were the object of government surveillance, although the number of their members never exceeded six hundred.

Around the 1720s, the number of Freemasons in London began to grow sharply. The authorities remained indifferent to this process. Moreover, many of their representatives themselves joined new workshops. And since already from the last decade of the 17th century. the lodges were replenished not so much by mason workers as by educated gentlemen, and a process of social reorientation was evident. Its symbolic milestone was the election of the famous architect Sir Christopher Wren as Grand Master in 1720. So Freemasonry became more and more fashionable. In 1723 the Grand Lodge of London published its Constitutions. This document immediately became widely known and was translated into many languages. The use of the plural instead of the singular seemed to suggest that the “Constitutions” were an amalgam of all the charters of the united lodges. The term itself was undoubtedly English, because in the French tradition of that time the word “constitution” denoted the constituent parts of an organism or the constituent parts of a government: the “constitution” of a body was the totality of its organs and members. Only very gradually during the 18th century did this term find its way into French new meaning, according to which the “constitution” was transformed into a legislative act, for example, into an act of constituting power on the basis of a social contract. Thus, France in this respect lagged significantly behind England, where already in the first decades of the 18th century. The Lodge of the Grand Orient acquired its constitution and established a completely secular and secular routine for its life.

One of the earliest documents related to the spread of Freemasonry on the European continent is the “Constitutions” of the group of French Huguenot-libertines, formed in The Hague in 1710. It included publishers, journalists, publicists, and scientists. They called each other brothers. They had their own Grand Master and their own secretary. Today the Hague Constitutions are in the archives of John Toland, kept in the British Library. Among those whose signatures are on this document are many people from the circle of the group’s secretary, Prosper Marchand, a French book publisher and journalist who has taken refuge in the Netherlands. The Marchand archives in the library of Leiden University are a valuable source on the history of European Freemasonry. Toland came into contact with Marchand's circle during his travels in Europe. The Masonic lodge (or its imitation) could seem especially attractive to people “without roots” (businessmen, cosmopolitans), since it declared the antiquity of its origin, professed democratic ethics, was governed by the most advanced principles for that time, and at the same time easily adjusted to the tastes of a wide variety of people. people, extending his care to each of the brothers. The Hague group readily used Masonic terminology, although they were mainly involved in organizing feasts. Nevertheless, among Marchand's closest friends was Jean Rousset de Missy, another exile who later became the leader of the French Freemasons in Amsterdam. At first he was a political agent of the House of Orange, then went into the service of the Austrians. A man of deep political passions, Rousset de Missy hated French absolutism, and in religious terms he considered himself a “pantheist.”

It should be noted here that, in theory, Freemasons were supposed to adhere to “the religion of their country or their nation, whatever it may be.” But the “Constitutions” of 1723 changed this rule: “It is now considered more proper to require that they [the “brothers”] profess the religion that suits each of them.” Given the deep confessional contradictions that tore apart Great Britain, Freemasonry sharply limited the range of fundamental religious issues on which the brothers had to agree. Thus, it became a field of broad religious freedom, where deism existed on an equal basis with pantheism and atheism. It is not surprising, therefore, that there were many Whigs in English lodges and just as many

279
scientists; that in Paris the philosopher and freemason Helvetius declared himself a materialist, and in Amsterdam Rousset de Missy opted for pantheism (like Toland), and that Montesquieu, who was also a freemason, was most likely a deist. Therefore, it is also not surprising that in the lists of London or Amsterdam masons there are many Jewish surnames. But there were no Jews in the lodges operating in the German lands, because the German charters proclaimed: “Only a Christian, no matter what sect he belongs to [...], can be accepted as a member of the lodge” (“Freemasonry: an image in the light of truth " - " Freymaurerey: Skizzirt im Lichte der Wahrheit", Frankfurt am Main, 1785.S. 19).

In France, some lodges accepted Catholics, Protestants, and even actors into their ranks. The documents of one Parisian lodge mentioned a “negro trumpeter” from the royal regiment. With the exception of Italy and the Catholic lands of Germany, Christian vocabulary was rarely used directly in Masonic ceremonies. Nevertheless, when in 1738 the Catholic Church condemned the entry of Catholics into lodges, it especially emphasized that Freemasonry had become a new form of religion, moreover, organized on a republican model (meaning frequent elections). Of course, many contemporaries recognized that the lodges were spreading a new type of religiosity and accustoming people to behavior that inevitably came into conflict with traditional religion and royal power. However, the condemnation of Freemasonry by the church only increased its attractiveness in the eyes of those who relied on reason and progress in everything. In the middle of the century, joining the lodge began to mean not so much an introduction to materialism and atheism, associated with the names of some philosophers, as a passion for the new ideas of the Age of Enlightenment.

The influence of the lodges extended not only to the intellectual and social life of the era. Secular elites of continental Europe for a long time It was not possible to develop forms of self-government that would lie outside parish communities and communal councils and have a national scale. Freemasonry helped wealthy people of progressive views to master the art of self-government, to which they became familiar both in the colonies (as subjects of their empires) and in their homeland, where they could influence the outcome of local and national affairs (through grand lodges) on a scale. Freemasonry spread first in the Batavian Republic and in France, and then went east - all the way to Prague and Moscow, and west - to Philadelphia and the island of Haiti. Belonging to the lodge began to mean the political maturity of a person, his independence from church authority. In Naples, workshops united reformers and progressive-minded people. And in the colonies, Freemasonry became a means of cultural unity of Europeans, reflecting (along with the church and scientific communities) the greatness of their colonial empires.

Everyone sought to join the ranks of the Freemasons: diplomats, government officials, and representatives of the liberal professions (lawyers, doctors, teachers, merchants). In Lutheran Sweden, the entire royal court, starting with the monarch himself and his ministers, joined the lodge, which held its meetings right in the royal palace. In general, in Sweden, Great Britain and the American colonies, Freemasons acted openly, which indicates a favorable perception public opinion. British diplomats played a decisive role in the spread of Freemasonry in Paris and The Hague. It is known, for example, that in the 30s the Parisian police often visited the residence of the English ambassador Lord Waldgrave, where lodge meetings were held. In Berlin, Freemasonry flourished in the middle of the century, and Frederick the Great skillfully used it to increase his influence. Under strong influence Joseph II had Viennese lodges in the 80s, on whose orders Mozart worked.

In the Catholic part of Europe, Masonic ethics was less innovative and liberal. In Germany by 1770 there were approximately 300 lodges, whose members included many court officials and representatives of the highest administration (especially in Munich, Bayreuth, Leipzig and Weimar), as well as such outstanding thinkers as Goethe, Wieland, Lessing, Moritz, Georg Forster and Friedrich Jacobi. The radical German sect of the Illuminati, founded by one of the most convinced adherents of French materialism, Weishaupt, became famous precisely because it deliberately imitated Freemasonry. An even greater role in German Freemasonry was played by the Rosicrucian movement with their so-called strict obedience. Under this system, invented by Baron von Gund, each Masonic degree or level was headed by a clergyman, and the members themselves imitated the customs and rituals of the medieval knights. The conservative structure of the German lodges was thus autocratic and deeply hierarchical. In the ceremonies and writings of German Freemasons, Christian motifs and notes of mysticism were often heard. The most indicative in this regard is the “convention” led by Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick (this movement had adherents in Italy and even in Russia). Ultimately, all the “heretical” deviations of Freemasonry - both towards innovation and towards conservatism - seemed to anticipate the political extremism that spread in Europe in the last decade of the 18th century. under the influence of the French Revolution.

281
The emergence of lodges or their likenesses everywhere testified to the relative prosperity of society, which was inevitably reflected in exquisite interiors, elegant clothes, banquets and celebrations. Despite some predilection of the Masons for collective libations, the lodges instilled in people the ideas of decency, formed their character, and taught them discipline and good manners. London workshops sometimes rented theaters for joint viewing of performances, and according to eyewitnesses, the “brothers” behaved much more dignified than inveterate theatergoers. The rule which today forces the audience to be silent in the theater or at a concert and listen to the artists, made its way rather slowly, and the considerable role of Freemasonry in establishing ideas about decency and restraint in the second half of the century must be recognized. In general, the Enlightenment was a very complex process associated with the development of ideas and new forms of social practice - public debate, communication, individual reading, the abolition of censorship. All of them demanded a wider dissemination of the rules of courtesy, the observance of a certain discipline and decorum. The lodges participated in this process.

Entry fees throughout Europe were quite high, although proportional to income. Sooner or later (depending on the social composition) each lodge acquired its own legal status (persona) and merged with the Grand Lodge of its country. The workshops differed from each other: some accepted only persons of noble birth, others - students and doctors, others opened their doors to small traders or even actors, while most lodges would never allow them into their circle. The relationship between the workshop and the “brothers” was partly contractual, based on the payment of fees, but partly they looked quite family-like and confidential. In the 1780s, whenever the French Grand Orient had to provide assistance to needy “brothers”, widowed elderly women, the Freemasons demonstrated that they were still caught between two worlds: one - the modern one - was based on contractual principles; the second was essentially feudal, and the privileges of birth and rank played a major role in it. It often happened that a Freemason made a written request for material assistance, emphasizing that in those days when he was young and rich, he paid all dues, arranged decent receptions for his “brothers” and was generally an exemplary member of his lodge. Thus, he proved that he had every right to the help of the aristocrats who stood at the head of the Great East.

282
Membership in a workshop with the right to participate (manage) could be similar to the exercise of civil rights and obligations. This very progressive feature of Freemasonry manifested itself most clearly in Austria, where, after 1750, joining a lodge meant expressing support for enlightened reforms and opposition to the traditional privileges of the clergy. Therefore, the number of Freemasons grew rapidly, especially among representatives of the liberal professions. Later, in the 1780s, the Viennese Grand Orient entered into direct cooperation with the government: having liquidated the “rebellious” lodges in the Austrian Netherlands, he retained only three workshops there, compiled a list of “reliable” masons, and in July 1786 informed Joseph II that “the general administration of Freemasonry is now fully in accordance with the imperial edicts.” Thus, the Masonic organization, which had spread its network throughout Europe, undertook its own restructuring in order to support the strategy of the monarchical state. Many lodges of Catholic Europe not only did not demonstrate opposition to absolutism, but also supported it.

Freemasonry's attraction to power pushed it toward self-identification with state institutions. An example of this is the Dutch workshops. In 1756 they formed the national Lodge of the Grand Orient, choosing for it organizational form Republican Estates General. They not only recommended this arrangement to their German "brothers" who were having some difficulty in establishing a national Grand Lodge, but also argued that the Estates General could serve as "the highest tribunal for the whole Masonic nation" (Grand Lodge Library, The Hague, Kloss MS 190 E 47). Just as the Estates General vested each province of that country with broad sovereignty, the decentralization of power in the Grand Orient guaranteed to each individual lodge a high degree of independence. At the same time, the Grand Master of The Hague, Baron Butzelaar, began to convene a “national assembly” in which all Dutch Freemasons were to systematically take part. The ritual of this meeting was strictly regulated: the “brothers” lined up in rows; the first symbolized the legislative body of the Dutch provinces - Staten van Holland; they were followed by the "brothers", chosen as representatives of the Grand Master; further - the officers of all the workshops, the rest of the “brothers” and invitees. The "brothers" were supposed to sing in chorus, symbolically asserting the unity of the lodge, and perhaps, albeit unconsciously, of the entire nation. As is known, from the second half of the 18th century. the growth of nationalist sentiment was observed throughout Western Europe.

283
Despite this, one of the most characteristic features of Freemasonry remained cosmopolitanism. The workshops regularly received guests from all over the Western world and from the colonies, and corresponded with other lodges scattered throughout the world. At the same time, according to the Freemasons, virtues were supposed to flourish and be rewarded precisely on the national field. The Enlightenment gave impetus to reform aspirations in various spheres of life, and the denunciation of excessive privileges and corruption by the enlighteners convinced the top of society of the need to update the administrative apparatus of the state. From this point of view, Masonic lodges (even lodges of “strict obedience”), more than any other forms social contacts XVIII century, served as schools of government, where everyone could test their abilities in politics on a local, and potentially national, scale. Of course, there were people who, speaking about the need for reforms, meant a return to medieval orders, but there were few of them.

The rivalry between the Freemasons and the state for the right to lead the nation was also reflected in the documents of the French lodges. In 1738, the Jacobite Chevalier Ramsay gave a speech in Paris in which he argued that Freemasonry was “attempting to create a perfect spiritual nation.” The text of this speech immediately became famous: copies of it were found in Reims, Dijon and The Hague. In the 1760s, the Brussels police confiscated from the studio of a Jewish engraver a magnificent example of French Masonic symbolism, depicting “the coat of arms of France illuminating Masonic attributes” (AG Bruxelles, MS 1105, A 124). In the 1770s, French lodges attempted to create some kind of central authority. It bore little resemblance to parliaments or commissariat structures that exercised local authority. Due to circumstances, the Freemasons had to invent special forms of organizing governance at the national level. In 1774, the new Parisian Lodge of the Grand Orient established a national assembly, within which representatives of the entire nation were to gather, endowed with the right to vote and the obligation to pay dues to the Grand Orient. A few years later, in 1779, a certain speaker in Grenoble raised an important question: “Is it possible to act in the interests of the common good through our modern institutions of government, if the form of government is such that the majority of people are forced to remain in the place assigned to them by nature?” (Grenoble, MS Q 50). The French lodge of the Grand Orient tried to take on this role of public representation in Paris: on the one hand, to be closer to the authorities; on the other hand, to dispel the suspicions that were gathering around Freemasonry. In addition to the representative assembly, the Grand Orient also established public funds to help needy “brothers” and “sisters”. Growing up in the lodges
the new generation of Masons gravitated towards political activity and believed in her ability to govern the state. This made them potentially dangerous, although most of these people were neither rebellious nor republican.

The desire to participate in government was also inherent in women's lodges, which began to spread across the continent. The first mixed workshop known to us appeared in The Hague in 1751, but the most active and most visible in Europe were the French adoptive lodges, operating in the 1770-1780s. It should be noted that the “Constitution” of 1723 categorically prohibited the admission of women to Freemasons. This ban was in effect in Great Britain and America, but continental Europe violated it. Adoptive lodges gave ladies the opportunity to communicate with like-minded women who shared educational ideals: to pray to the “Great Architect” - the god of Newtonian science, to invent rituals and make speeches. The main figure in women's Masonic ceremonies was the “Queen of the Amazons.” Surrounded by “sisters” endowed with military ranks, the “queen” performed initiation rites not only for women, but also for men. The catechisms of adoptive lodges called on women to recognize the injustice of men, throw off their yoke, subordinate family relationships to their will, and dispose of property on an equal basis with their husbands. At one of the ceremonies, the “queen” asked the “great patriarch” on what basis men consider themselves masters of women, and then demanded that the “sisters” free themselves from this slavery and treat men who do not accept their freedom as tyrants. Thus, in the 1780s, French Masonic lodges promoted progress in relations between men and women. Therefore, it is wrong to think that French women became familiar with the Enlightenment only in their own drawing rooms or in a few Parisian salons.

Freemasonry concretized such abstract ideals as reason, equality, independence, although they still remained difficult to achieve. TO mid-18th century V. the lodges numbered about 50 thousand Europeans and Americans. By 1785 there were about 1,500 women among the Freemasons. We do not have figures reflecting the situation in the colonies, but we know that lodges spread there with the same speed as the various branches of Christianity. The Masons expressed the most lofty ideals of the Enlightenment, but did not allow peasants, workers, and often women into their ranks, and tightly closed the doors of their workshops to slaves. Nevertheless, the lodges, in their desire for equality and dignity, for independence, freedom of speech and religious tolerance, looked to the future, to the realm of human rights and egalitarian ideals. This alone was enough to bring upon them the hatred of the enemies of democracy in the 18th century. We still encounter it today in the young states of Eastern Europe and in Russia.

The Bulgarian researcher is not alone in his desire to discover the origins of Freemasonry outside England. In Germany, there is a widespread hypothesis about the German origin of Freemasonry. The ancestors of modern Freemasons are said to be German medieval stonemasons, who formed supposedly autonomous brotherhoods around the city of Strasbourg. It is argued that in the 14th century, German stonemasons significantly expanded the boundaries of their building art and reached England and Scotland.

In this regard, Russia was more fortunate, which never claimed the first role. Russian researchers are unanimous in their views on the foreign origin of Freemasonry. But this is a special issue that requires separate consideration.

Initially, the association of “free masons” was a guild organization (companies of masons), built purely on professional and craft principles. According to the team of authors of the authoritative publication “Freemasonry in its Past and Present,” during the period of the formation of Freemasonry there were no so-called “masons-thinkers” (speculative Masons). A number of researchers saw in the latter either “Knights of the Temple” hiding under the guise of Freemasons after the defeat of their order by Philip the Fair, or a group of scientists and philosophers who joined the Masonic guild in order to hide their humanitarian and philanthropic goals from the government. In those distant times, Freemasonry had not yet acquired a socio-political connotation.

Free masons united mainly to assist their fellow construction workers. Let's add - and more. Even then, the Masonic guilds had statutory programs, ceremonies and rituals that were mandatory for masons. In modern terms, these workshops are somewhat reminiscent of industry trade union organizations in the Soviet period, as far from politics as the Decembrists were from the people.

Along with the common view of the origins of Freemasonry with its professional overtones, something else can be seen in works devoted to this topic. Lolly Zamoyski, an international journalist who worked for several years in Paris and Rome, authoritatively states that “... the Masonic movement was born in the depths of a dying, but still strong feudalism. Its main breeding ground was the emerging bourgeoisie, the “free masons” who surrounded it, and many representatives of the craft guilds. In an effort to establish itself, the rising class combined the struggle to break down feudal barriers with attempts to win over part of the aristocracy, the enlightened part of society." The semi-mystical forms of the Freemasonry movement with strict secrecy and strict selection of its members, of course, attracted the young class of the bourgeoisie into its ranks both with a system of beliefs and a conspiratorial type of organization. However, it should be noted that during the formation of Freemasonry there was no class orientation in its genesis. The Masonic workshops represented a homogeneous mass of people - brothers in the construction business. The general principle was in force here: “equal rights and opportunities for all members of the Masonic lodge.” Subsequently, a transformation of their movement was observed; the ranks of the Masons were no longer replenished only by free masons. On the contrary, people from a privileged class and titled people feel comfortable within Masonic lodges. Against this background, there is a gap between the leadership of the Masonic movement and ordinary members - Freemasons.

Harsh criticism of the official version of Freemasonry as a union of free masons comes from the pen of the priest Rodion, in whose opinion this version is historical myth, covering up the true essence of the phenomenon - Satanism. At the same time, the author refers to the statements of the heads of the Catholic Church from Pope Clement XII in 1738 to Pope Leo XIII in 1902, who characterized Freemasonry in 17 bulls and encyclicals as an atheistic sect, acting with the aim of undermining religion, destroying Christianity and decomposition state and public order throughout the world.

Echoes priest Rodion and V.F. Ivanov, author of the sensational publication “The Orthodox World and Freemasonry.” On page two, the named author writes: “The dark satanic force has thrown down a daring challenge to God and Christ, opened a fierce persecution against the Orthodox Faith and the Church, and declared a fight for the soul of man. The name of this dark force- Freemasonry."

According to Douglas Reed, Freemasonry is the heir to the order of the Templars (Templars), which had fallen into heresy, defeated by the French king Philip IV and Pope Clement V for Satanism, defamation of Christianity, pederasty and money-grubbing. In 1314, the grand master of this order, Jacques de Molay, was burned at the stake.

Whatever you say, the accusations brought against the Masons are quite serious. In search of the truth about the Masonic movement, we will first try to understand the statement that Freemasonry is the successor to the Order of the Knights Templar.

The hypothesis about the connection between Freemasonry and the Crusaders did not arise by chance. There are good reasons and historical facts for this. Many researchers of Freemasonry note in their works that the Masonic movement was very heterogeneous, and its members sometimes pursued diametrically opposed goals. Let us refer here to the publication “Freemasonry in its past and present”, the authors of which, while claiming to provide an objective description of the facts associated with the Masonic movement, are nevertheless forced to admit that the reason for such a hypothesis was actual events. “The Scottish system of Freemasonry, which arose in the 30s of the 18th century, was truly Jacobite Freemasonry, born from an attempt to use the Masonic banner for Jacobite purposes...”. The named authors (Ya. L. Barskov, A. A. Borovoy, A. M. Vasyutinsky, M. O. Gershenzon, M. V. Dovnar-Zapolsky, S. P. Melgunov, etc.) indicate favorable soil, which not only nurtured, but also strengthened the idea of ​​the connection between Freemasonry and the Crusaders. This is the Scottish, Irish and English nobility surrounding the court of James II in Paris, and later the court of James III in Rome. Under the slogans of restoring “legitimate royal power” in England, many members of the Jacobite emigration belonging to the Masonic movement dreamed of a new crusade and willingly turned the union of freemasons into an order of crusaders. In other words, there was such a connection between Freemasonry and the Crusaders and had different forms of interaction.

The Jacobites are a secret organization whose members, primarily with the help of France, Italy, and Spain, made desperate attempts to restore the Stuart dynasty in England. The stubborn struggle and defeat of the Jacobites and their allies are described in E. Chernyak’s book “Five Centuries of the Secret War. From the history of secret diplomacy and intelligence".

Another thing is interesting: the movement of the Crusaders cannot be reduced to the Order of the Knights of the Temple. History also includes the Knights of Malta, the Knights of John of Jerusalem, and others.

There is even a theory of Christian chivalry Freemasonry. One of its founders, the Scottish nobleman Michael Ramsay, said: “The Masonic order arose in Palestine during the era of the Crusades, when secret symbols of ancient sacred science were found under the arches of the Temple of Jerusalem; the knights of John of Jerusalem joined the Masonic lodges and gave them their name (“Lodge of St. John”) ... ". Then, from Palestine, Freemasonry, according to M. Ramsay, passed through the Crusades to Germany, Italy, Spain, France and reached Scotland, where in 1286 the first, Kilving, lodge was formed under the control of the lord ruler of Scotland, James.

In our opinion, it is hardly true that Freemasonry arose on the basis of the Order of the Knights Templar. The process of formation of the Masonic movement occurred independently, without any outside admixture. However, subsequently we discover certain forms of cooperation and interpenetration between Freemasonry and the orders of knights. This also applies to the area of ​​traditions and rituals. These forms, of course, do not lie on the surface, and crystallizing them is a rather difficult task, although not hopeless. To some extent, this is hampered by the fact that at different times many organizations have appeared that have nothing in common with the Freemasons, but use the paraphernalia and rituals of Freemasonry. However, to challenge and refute the existence of so-called “pseudo-Masons” is no less difficult. Here is what A. Klizovsky writes about this: “One of the distinctive features of Masonic organizations is that they never speak openly, never refute, never respond to either praise or attacks. And if the writer of these lines speaks out in defense not of Freemasonry, but of truth, it is only because he is not a Freemason. Belonging to a Masonic organization would deprive him of this opportunity, because it would be contrary to Masonic ethics." Let us leave these statements to the conscience of the author, especially in terms of “defense of non-Freemasonry.” There are well-known sayings of the classics about subjective images of the objective world and that it is impossible to live in society and be free from it.

As for the attributes and rituals of Freemasonry, history knows many examples of such borrowing. So, in 1920, Hitler approved the NSDAP flag - a red cloth and on it a white circle with a black swastika. The Nazis “borrowed” the red color from the workers’ parties, and the swastika from the Nazis of the Viennese circles. In turn, they took the German greeting (the right hand was thrown upward with force) from the Italian fascists, who called the same greeting “Roman”.

The situation is no better with Bolshevik symbols. In the literature, the opinion was expressed that the five-pointed star, introduced into circulation by the creator of the Red Army, L. Trotsky, belongs to the generally accepted symbols of Freemasonry and has a connection with the tradition of Kabbalah. The hammer and sickle are also magical signs. The sickle is a symbol of death, murder, inevitable death. The hammer (hammer) is a classic Masonic sign of power over a stone (a stone is a symbol of a person). For now we will only limit ourselves to this opinion, without any comment.

So, the first Grand Masonic Lodge arose in England at the beginning of the 18th century. Its creators did not pursue broad reformist and philosophical goals. The main task of the lodge is to unite several disparate London Masonic societies. In 17, King George I, after pacifying the Jacobite uprising, solemnly entered London. The leaders of the four lodges decided to rally around one Great Master (Grandmaster) as the center of unity and harmony. This historical fact is described by Mason Anderson in the New Book of Masonic Constitutions, the second edition of which was published in 1738. It was also decided that meetings of all four lodges should be held annually and meetings of the Grand Lodge every three months. The first Grand Master (Grandmaster) was the nobleman Anton Sawyer, and Captain George Eliot and carpenter Jacob Lambol were elected as great overseers16.

Members of the Royal Society drew attention to the Grand Lodge of London. By the way, one of the first (third in a row) of its leaders was a doctor of law and court preacher of the Prince of Wales, Theodovil Desagulier. After him, Dr. Stackley was elected to the position of Grand Master.

The first leaders of the Masonic lodge were untitled persons. Subsequently, persons not lower than the rank of squire (rural nobleman) are elected to this position.

Essays on Freemasonry set out the basic principles of the Masonic movement. This is Brotherhood, Loyalty, Silence. During the era of its renaissance, Freemasonry pursued a utopian goal - the unification of all humanity under its “sign”.

The duties of English Freemasonry as set out in the New Book of Constitutions are interesting. In particular, §2 of the Book says: “A Mason is a peaceful subject of civil authority, wherever he may live and work. He will not take part in any plans against the peace and good of the people.” The Book pays special attention to the religious issue. There is a statement that the Freemasons belong to a universal religion. However, this is the topic of the next meeting with the reader.

In the early 50s of the 18th century, a “great schism” occurred in the English Masonic movement. The "English Grand Lodge of the Old Rites" was formed, which laid claim to a new Masonic center. The literature has only expressed hypotheses about such a split, although it is noted that the true reasons for this split remain to this day an object of human imagination. One hypothesis is the difference between old Jacobite and new Orange Freemasonry. In reality, this difference was reflected mainly in ritual.

9. Douglas R. The Dispute about Zion. Johannesburg, 1986. P.387.

10. Gochev T. Bureau of Doctor Delius. P.28.

11. Chernyak E.B. Five centuries of secret war. From the history of secret diplomacy and intelligence. M., 1991. S. 150-163, 178-185.

12. Gochev T. Bureau of Doctor Delius. P.29-30.

13. Klizovsky A. The truth about Freemasonry. S.5.

14. Melnikov D., Chernaya L. Criminal number 1. The Nazi regime and its Fuhrer. M., 1982. P.49.

15. Priest Rodion. Russian Orthodoxy and Freemasonry. P.12-13.

16. Gochev T. Bureau of Doctor Delius. P.17.

The history of Freemasonry is lost in ancient times, and it is not possible to establish with certainty the origin of the Freemasons from one or another of the many secret society sects of antiquity. Freemasonry in its present form was preceded by originally anti-Christian sects and secret societies, the principles of which were mainly borrowed by modern Freemasons.

One of the most dangerous sects for nascent Christianity was the Gnostic sect, whose representatives were: Simon Magus and Deacon Nicholas, both of whom came from the school of the apostles, Ebion, Saturninus, etc.

The Gnostics preached ditheism and recognized Lucifer as the true god of good, and Christ as the demon of evil. For them, everything that was considered a vice in the Christian world was a virtue, and they contrasted all the dogmas of Christianity with the word “gnosis,” which meant “knowledge.”

Their meetings were secret, and calling them evil spirits, they tried to imitate the miracles of the apostles.

Basilides of Alexandria, who lived at the beginning of the 1st century after Christ, preached metempsychosis. His system still has adherents among some followers of the "Back Lodges" of the Masons. The Gnostics, as well as the ancient Jews and modern Masons, held the snake in high esteem.

Marcion modified the teachings of the Gnostics, calling it Ophitism. The Ophites adored [deified] the serpent. They took the legends for the first ranks of Freemasonry from the Ophites.

The Ophites placed Sophia or eternal wisdom above all else. The demi-god Urgos (Great Architect of the Universe) gives life to man. This god fights the evil genius Ialda-Bookh. Ialda-Bookh sends his archangel Michael to prohibit man from tasting the fruits of reason. The good god Urgos then sends Ophitus, a snake who convinces man not to listen to his god because reason gives man life. After disobedience, Yalda-Bookh (the evil god) brutally persecutes all humanity. Then Demi-Urgos (the good god) sends a part of his deity Christos to earth to appease the evil deity by giving him Christos [sic] as a sacrifice, after which the evil god promises to stop persecuting humanity for striving for reason. Judas, who betrayed Jesus, is revered by the Ophites as a saint because through him humanity received forgiveness. Cain is held in the same veneration. The Gospel was written by the Archangel Michael, which is why it is subject to curse, and everything must be done the opposite of what is written.

In their meetings, the Ophites practiced black magic and debauchery.

Similar sects were the Corinthites, Valentinians, Ebionists, Cainists, Nicolaitans, Adamites, Stratioticians, Barbeliots, etc. After Ophitism, the most important converter of Gnosticism was the Manichean sect. Man [in modern literature - Mani] was a slave born in Persia. He arrived in the Roman Empire to preach his religion, which was a mixture of the Christian religion with the cult of Zoroaster. According to his teachings, matter was divine, Satan is the god of gods, Sophia is the mother of life, this is the soul of matter. Bythos is a god consisting of two principles of good and evil, eternally fighting. He created man. The evil principle created the body, and the good one gave the soul. This society, despite the crudeness of its theory, had big success. Man divided the sectarians into two categories - listeners and perfect ones, the latter were chosen by him and were very few in number. This secret society already had three signs to recognize members: password, gesture and touch. Recognizing the body as the creation of an evil principle, and the soul as a good one, they taught to despise the body and subject it to all sorts of excesses and, like the Masonic back lodges, allowed women into their gatherings. In general, this sect greatly contributed to the decline of morals and soon covered all of Christianity from the highest to the lowest classes. By the end of the 4th century it was in full force, spreading to the East, Gaul and Spain. At the head of this entire movement was the famous Priscilien.

In 841, the Manichaeans became so powerful that Emperor Justinian began to persecute them. Most of them then fled and settled in Bulgaria. In the Middle Ages, the sect was restored by a certain Paul, who founded a shelter for all the dregs of society on Mount Agra. His religion was a mixture of the beliefs of the Manichaeans and Gnostics, but only the Gnostics owned the secrets of this sect and controlled the others. They celebrated their disgusting orgies on the night of Good Friday, just like the modern Rose-Croix Freemasons. In their sessions they called out Satan. They taught that God, having created the world, left it and remains inactive; youngest son he holds in his heaven, and the eldest - Satan, he gave the world to rule, therefore Satan is the true god of humanity, and you can please him by doing everything opposite to what is written in the Gospel. The followers of this teaching spread in large numbers to France, where they settled in Aquitaine, Orleans and Normandy. Fleeing persecution by the clergy, they wore monastic clothes, terrifying the population with secret murders and undermining Christianity, as they wore clothes assigned to the clergy. In 1017, all of Orleans was among their supporters. Scattered throughout the world, the followers of this sect - the Freemasons of the Middle Ages - bore different names: in Bulgaria they were called Bogomils, in Flanders Cathars, in other places Navarines, Basques, Leonists, Arragonese, Albigensians, etc. Of all of them, the Albigenses were the most corrupt sect.

Pope Innocent III took notice of them. The wars with the Albigenses lasted from 1210 to 1228, and the fight against them gave rise to the establishment of the Inquisition in 1229.

The Albigensians were already a persecuted element: they themselves raised the banner of rebellion against the church and government. The Albigensians adored Lucifer and prayed to his image, presenting him as a victim of injustice and tyranny of the evil god professed by Christians and they believed that the kingdom of Satan would finally come. In their rituals, they slaughtered small children in front of the idol of Lucifer, asking him to give them gold. In Italy, the worshipers of Lucifer carefully hid under the name "Brothers" ("Fraticelli"), sending numerous missionaries to Germany and mainly to Bohemia. From Bohemia, Jan Žižka, a follower of this sect, fanned the flames of rebellion, destroying monasteries and committing all kinds of atrocities. Modern Freemasons consider Jan Zizka their predecessor. This is what they write in the magazine for 1885 (Chaine d'Union).

“It was Jan Žižka and Jan Hus who laid the foundation for Freemasonry in Bohemia. Jan Žižka pursued reforms [in the sense of carrying out, pursuing goals], religious, political and sociological, and had in mind the restoration of Satan. He portrayed him as an innocent victim of despotic power. He went further and placed it above God and the Bible. Instead of greeting “may God be with you,” he said: “Let the one to whom they were so unjust greet you.”

In the chronological order of the anti-Christian movement, the Order of the Templars now follows. At the beginning of its existence, this order was devoted to the church. It was founded by Hugh de Payns and Godfrey Somer - two knights who accompanied Godfrey of Bouillon to Palestine in order to secure the path of pilgrims to the Holy Sepulcher and in defense of Christians against the Saracens. Baudois II [in modern literature - Baldwin], king of Jerusalem, gave them a palace to live in, built on the site former temple Solomon - that's why they were called Templars [fr. templier - temple - temple], which is why even now all the houses where Masonic lodges meet are called temples.

Having received the approval of the order, Hugo de Payns, having traveled around France, England, Spain and Italy, collected funds and brought to Palestine a whole army of all kinds of renegades from society and the church. Over the knightly attire they wore white clothes with a red cross on the chest. During the first time of their existence, they sacredly fulfilled the vow of poverty, modesty and obedience, but after the cessation of the Crusades they came into contact with the Muslims, and especially with the Ishmaelites, who made up a secret Muslim society that professed the cult of Satan. By making sacrifices to the idol Baphomet, the Templars for a long time kept the secret of their betrayal of Christianity in the greatest secrecy. After the death of Louis IX, the Templars lost almost all their conquests and in 1279 they only had the city of Sidon. In 1291, the Templars were expelled from Palestine by the Sultan of Cairo and settled on the island of Cyprus and France, where, thanks to their enormous wealth, they occupied a prominent position in the country. At that time in Paris they owned almost a third of the city, thoroughly fortified.

At the beginning of the 14th century they achieved supreme power. In Spain, the Templars owned seventeen large fortifications and had connections with the highest aristocracy of those times. Soon after this, discord began in the order, and some of their secrets were revealed, but everyone was misled by the cross they wore on their clothes, which saved them from suspicion of serving Satan.

So far there were only rumors in society that the order was plotting to overthrow all thrones and establish a world republic. Then more accurate revelations of their activities began, and their service to the cult of the Gnostics and Manichaeans became known to everyone.

On October 5, 1307, King Philip the Fair ordered the arrest of all Templars on French territory. Despite significant evidence, due to the intercession and protest of Pope Clement V, who did not believe in their guilt, Philip canceled all orders against the Templars in 1309 - he himself dismissed priests, bishops and inquisitors who reported on the activities of the order and freed those arrested.

Pope Clement V began the investigation himself, but to his greatest amazement, the Grand Master, the Great Priest and the knights of the order gave the same testimony, professing their cult as true. The process arose throughout France, Italy, England and Spain. The enemies of the Christian religion accused the government and the Pope of wanting to take advantage of the wealth of the order, which in reality, although it was taken from the Templars, was transferred to the order of knights on the island of Malta. (In modern Freemasonry, in the ritual of initiation into the title of "Kadosh", curses are sent to the Knights of Malta who stole the wealth of the Templars.)

In the end, some Templars paid with their lives, but more than 40,000, having escaped with spiritual repentance, fasting and arrest, survived both Philip and Pope Clement V and continued to practice their cult, finding support in connections with the highest aristocracy in all countries and persecuting their order like outrageous unjust persecution.

In 1525, a certain Lelio Socinus was born in the city of Sienna in Italy, who laid the foundation modern Freemasonry. Together with Luther and Calvin, they rebelled against the [Catholic] Church and founded a kind of academy in the city of Vicenza in 1546. The society that visited her rejected the Holy Trinity, ancestral sin, the incarnation and the Ascension. Even contemporary Protestants found that society was going too far because they preached complete atheism.

The Venetian Republic, alarmed by the new movement, began persecution. Julius Garland and Francis Ruego were executed, and the rest fled and settled in Switzerland, Germany and Turkey. Lelio Socin died in Zurich, leaving all his works in his will to his nephew Faust.

Faustus Socinus founded his religion of atheism. He says that a person should not believe in anything that exceeds his reason, and wants to organize worldwide skepticism as a common religion, while Christianity should be persecuted by endless hatred, as a religion based on slavery and superstition.

Faustus Socinus organized his society in such a way that it could operate in both Catholic and Protestant countries: Protestants were aroused in hatred of Catholics. Catholics became infected with atheism and subsequently switched to the cult of Lucifer.

In 1587, Faust Socin established himself in Krakow, where he founded his society. Knowing the human heart and its desire for love, he deceived those who listened to him with a false chimera of apparent “brotherhood”, which is why he gave his followers “Socialists” the names of the “Union of Brothers of Poland”, “Brothers of the Congregation”, “Brothers of the Masons” and “ Free Brothers Masons." Soon the crimes and secret murders of the Socianists aroused the hatred of the people towards them, and in 1598 the Krakow residents, breaking into the society’s premises, dragged F. Socin out into the street and burned all his books in front of him. Faust Socin fled to his Pole friend Abraham Blonsky, where he died in 1604.

Before his death, his dark influence extended to Poland, England, Holland, France, Italy, Hungary, Transylvania, Moravia, Silesia, Prussia and Brandenburg. In England, the Socianists called “Independents” were especially strong, where they already preached universal equality. In Germany they were known as the Free Judges, the Brothers of the Rose Cross and the Illuminists. At this time, the society of “Holy Wema” (“holy vengeance”), which was the executive body of the “Free Judges,” brought particular terror upon everyone at this time. This society persecuted its enemies with secret murders, from which even the highest-ranking officials could not be spared.

This is how a trial is conducted: in a secret meeting, the guilt of a person against society is explained. After hearing the accusation, the Chairman threw the rope into the middle of the floor and everyone stood up and spat on it, thereby expressing a death sentence, after which they cast lots to see who would carry it out. The murdered person was hung on a tree on the road, and an inscription was nailed below with a dagger indicating his guilt and the punishment imposed by the “St. Vema” society.

In 1614, the Order of the Free Judges transformed into a secret society engaged in alchemy and magic called the Brothers of the Rose and Cross (Rosicrucians), professing the doctrines of the Gnostics, Manichaeans, Templars and Socinians. All the other followers of F. Socin's ideas very quickly adhered to this society, and it even penetrated into the court spheres: the doctor of Emperor Rudolf and the secretary of Cardinal Mazarin were its members. The society hid its existence so carefully that for a century the government did not suspect its presence, while all this time their lodge was in Paris.

In 1694 in England, a society of Socianists called “Independents,” wanting to make their existence legal and at the same time conduct anti-government and anti-religious propaganda, decided to hide behind activities that were not only not dangerous, but also useful.

It founded the society of “Free [or free] Masons,” builders of various buildings, especially temples in the Gothic style. According to the charter, members of this society were supposed to travel around countries in search of work, without being involved in politics or religious issues. In every large city they had an agent, mostly an innkeeper, who provided them with shelter and food at the expense of the members of the “independents” living in that city. Freedom of movement and improvement in work soon made this partnership of “masons” famous, and the secrets of their art united them.

This is the beginning of the modern “Free Masons”, in other words “Fran-Masons”. In all countries they enjoyed patronage and privileges. Their meetings were called lodges. The nobility signed up as patrons and honorary members... But soon the society fell into decline.

In 1702, the Grand Master of the Freemasons, Christoph Vreden, seeing that the number of lodges was beginning to decrease, abandoned leadership and the society was left without a head.

A few years later, the secret English Brotherhood of the Rose Cross decided to take advantage of the legality of the situation and the reputation of the society of Freemason brothers.

In 1717 a new society was formed. Its head, John Desaguliers, expelled from France as a result of the Edict of Nantes, an ardent enemy of the Catholic Church, proclaimed the union of the Masonic brotherhood with the Rose-Croix brotherhood, calling this society “Fran-Masons”.

Seeking patronage from the government, he invited high-ranking officials to be honorary members of the new society, who covered with their name the secret activities of this society unknown to them. Soon four lodges were opened in different cities of the kingdom. These lodges formed the Grand Lodge of England under the leadership of Anthony Sayer.

In a short period of time, the activities of English Freemasons moved beyond the kingdom, and in 1721 a lodge was founded in Dunkirchen under the leadership of Karl Rad Clif [Radcliffe]. In 1737, a lodge was founded in Hamburg, in 1740 in Berlin, where Friedrich, a friend of Voltaire, was its patron, in 1741 in Hanover, in 1749 in Prague, in 1774 in Württemberg, etc. . throughout Germany and Austria.

In Russia, the first lodge was founded in Moscow in 1731.

In France, Freemasonry took root very quickly: in 1725, a lodge was founded in Paris in the English tavern Huret, under the pretext of protecting the kings of England. Its founders, Lord Darwen Wreden and Count Garneust, perhaps did not even think about what service they would subsequently render to the reigning rulers.

In 1728, another lodge was founded by Prince Charles Edward Stuart in the city of Arras, called Jacobist Scotland. This lodge was under the command of Lagneau and Robespierre, the father of the future chairman of the Convention.

Despite the Pope's refusal to receive communion, the French nobility, attracted by the mysterious and strange rituals and magnificent banquets, rushed to the boxes with criminal frivolity, not knowing that this would later cost both her and the king's lives.

The grandmaster of the lodge, the Duke of Antensky, subsequently transfers his power to the dance teacher Lakorn, who transforms the lodges from aristocratic into democratic ones and, along with the “Scottish” ritual, establishes the democratic ritual of the “Great Orient”. Mirabeau brings the secrets of the Illuminist society from Berlin and further supports democracy. Soon the number of lodges in France exceeded 700 and by the day of the revolution in 1789, the entire French court, except for King Louis XVI and the queen, were members of Masonic lodges.

The revolution was accomplished, Freemasonry took the reins of government into its own hands, and the nobility who frivolously visited the lodges were subjected to mass beatings.

By the way, the leaders of the movement, like Marat, Danton, Robespierre, Güllen, Nashe, Therouan, Prolu, Preyer, David and many others, were Jews.

Having killed 70,000 citizens in the name of “brotherhood” in the first days of the revolution and imprisoned 170,000 in the name of “freedom,” Freemasonry celebrated the first success of its activities.

But what is the secret of such success? The only thing is in preaching the principles of naturalism. “Nature”... nature in everything... human passions should dominate in everything, nothing should restrain them, neither law, nor religion, nor power. A person carries within himself divine origin, reason is his goddess, there is nothing beyond earthly life, passions are his rightful oblivion.”

“Down with religion, priests, the Pope, down with tyrant kings, down with magistracy, police and military force. In the end, they attack the government, destroying everything they can, plundering treasures and reveling in the unbridledness of their passions... Vice becomes virtue, and virtue becomes vice..."

The gloomy and cruel “Kadosh” Robespierre, having proclaimed “reason” as a deity, subsequently wanted to see the cult of “Lucifer” as a religion in France, which, however, he failed. Napoleon I, being a Freemason himself, patronized them and visited the lodges. The Masons tolerated him in their midst against their principles, but when they no longer needed his protection, they plotted against him and contributed to his downfall. Subsequently, Grand Master of Freemasonry Lafayette placed Louis Philippe on the throne, which earned him the gratitude and support of the king, thereby proving that the Freemasons allegedly patronized the liberal ruler, but all this was done only because the people were not ready for a republic, and 1848 showed that they only needed time and a weak government to better prepare a new revolution.

1848-1860 introduce Jewish dominance into Freemasonry in France. This tribe, which historically interfered with the revolutionary movements of all countries and peoples, and which had previously participated in all anti-Christian societies, finally achieved not only equality, but also dominance.

In 1860, Adolphe Cremieux, having come to the conclusion that the disintegration of Judaism into states could end in its death, addressed a powerful word to the Jews of the world, calling on them to form a World Union of Israel. His idea came true, and Paris was designated the center of the world union "Khobura-Kol-Israel-Khoberim" with the motto from the Talmud:

"All for one and one for all."

All Jews of the world were subject to the leadership of the union. The half-wild Jew of Morocco, the Russian Jew, and the emancipated Jew of France are equally subject to his high tutelage. The emblem of the union: two hands shaking one another, below them is the globe, and above them are the tablets of the covenant. The central office of the union consists of 60 members, and there is one committee in each state.

Formed in 1863, the “Society for the Spread of Education among the Jews of Russia,” according to Brafman, a famous researcher of Jewry, is a secret branch of the World Israelite Union. The World Israel Union has three goals.

1. Promote the emancipation of Jews.

2. Support those who suffer for their Jewish origin.

3. Support all literary publications that can contribute to achieving the goals outlined in 1 and 2.

In this program the spirit of the entire tribe and the activities of the union are political in the broadest sense of the word.

In 1863 there was correspondence between the alliance and the Russian ambassador in France even regarding the conversion of one Jewish woman to Orthodoxy.

Adolphe Cremieux, who created the World Israelite Union, was elected Grand Master of French Freemasonry. At the banquet of the Freemasons of the Grand Council in April 1874, Presiding Cremieux poured out his feelings for France, calling it “the wonderful home of Jewish freedom.” “I am from that race that everyone despised,” he said, “and we owe only to the generosity of the only French people in the world that we, despised Jews, were accepted into the wide open doors of society and called to civil life. This people ennobled us by giving us full rights of citizenship. I, a Jew, am now the Grand Grand Master of French Freemasonry." Of course, power did not leave the tenacious hands of Jewry, and the present sad situation of France is entirely due to this. The sect's program is strictly, inexorably carried out against the wishes of the French nation. The technique of rigging votes in parliamentary elections is so well established that it is almost impossible for a non-Mason to be a representative of the people in the Chamber of Deputies. Under the shadow of the Franco-Russian Union, Freemasonry became even stronger and began an open war against the Christian Church, against militarism and was leading the French nation to complete decline.

This situation in any country is useful only to Jews, because the disorganization of a foreign government that they hate does not concern the Jewish people, who have their own national government in the form of the World Union of Israel.

In all countries, except for the aristocracy and the people, who claim power, there is a third competitor for such power - Freemasonry. The example of France shows us that the liberalism of the higher spheres prepared the ground for revolution, but neither the aristocracy nor the people received power. Freemasonry received it. Using its centuries-old secret organization, it, with the hands of the same people, destroyed the aristocracy as the ruling class, and itself began to rule the country.

Here is a brief history of Freemasonry - this mysterious worldwide society, representing the center of the revolutionary movement in every corner of the world, which does not stop when achieving the desired results, but tirelessly continues its underground work of disintegrating the state system. In an absolute monarchy, they undermine the foundations of autocracy, but, having achieved constitutional rule, using a skillfully conducted election campaign, they penetrate the new parliament, trying to capture a majority of votes in order to be able to implement all kinds of “freedoms” in legislation, then, skillfully covering up their activities work supposedly aimed at the benefit of all humanity, conducting widespread propaganda of liberal ideas among the people, supporting all progressive parties, leading the country to a republic, where they become the head of the government, and, having a figurehead in the person of the president, are by no means responsible for mistakes in governing the country , but use them to prove the need for democratic government and universal direct, equal and secret voting. The latter, with the possibility of bribing votes and with appropriate agitation (pre-election campaign), allows people desired by Freemasonry to be elected to parliament. The immediate goal of Freemasonry is, therefore, the struggle for power. How Freemasonry uses its power will be seen from what follows.

Views on Freemasonry in society until recently were very vague. Defenders of Freemasonry say that it is a philanthropic society that helps the poor without anyone knowing, does not interfere in politics or religious matters of the country, preaches morality and calls God the “Great Architect of the Universe.” Opponents, on the contrary, say that this is a sect and a sect dangerous for the internal peace of any country, that preaching the ideas of absolute freedom of man, which nature gave him, creating him as such, they organize a revolutionary movement of the masses and, under the name of the Great Architect of the Universe, idolize Lucifer, perverting everything concepts of good and evil, virtue and vice, which are accepted in the Christian world.

All these questions have worried the minds of prominent people in Europe for many decades, and the invariably secret activities of the society, despite all the “freedoms,” made them suspicious of its activities.

The impetus for the revelations was given by the murder in America in 1826 of the journalist Williams Morgan, who published some of the secrets entrusted to him. Trial then covered the activities of the brotherhood and the public was extremely excited. Freemasonry solemnly renounced the murderers and everything gradually calmed down. As an echo of this process in other countries, revelations began of persons who for some reason were not needed by Freemasonry, whom it began to pursue with its revenge, then many of those who had reached high ranks, seeing that they were being led to goals contrary to their Christian and moral views, began to leave order and document the extreme danger of Masonic doctrines and their complete indiscriminateness in the means to achieve their goals.

Freemasonry responded and still responds to all attacks with complete silence, never enters into polemics and, in extreme cases, publicly renounces traitors and compromised persons, slandering them in the press.

Freemasons (Masons) are members of the oldest and most numerous existing modern world fraternal secular societies, which has its roots deep in the past.

Freemasonry in Russia

Like any significant socio-cultural phenomenon, the Brotherhood of Free Masons of Russia has absorbed its spirit, its centuries-old history, religion and culture. Being unconditionally and inextricably linked with the history and traditions of the world Masonic community, it was permeated with purely Russian high spirituality and sacrifice, the desire to comprehend God and merge with him in the process of spiritual search and service to humanity.

Chronology of the Order of Free Masons

926 or 936- Edwin, the legendary son of Athelstan, presided over a meeting of masons at York, and at it certain Injunctions were passed for the government of the brotherhood. Tradition.

1077- Cementarius (mason) named Robert, who worked on the construction of St. Albana, was recognized as the most skilled mason of the time.

From the history of the Grand Lodge of France

Today, for a couple of hundred dollars, you can take a sample of your saliva, send it to a lab, and within two weeks you can trace your genealogy back 5,000 years. It's a shame that we can't take a sample of our brains and intellects to find out what our ancestors thought in the past, but we can use their records to do so. To the delight of scholars of Freemasonry, there is more than enough documentation left over from the past few centuries to allow us to gain some insight into the philosophy and beliefs of our early brethren, which were largely associated with religion.

Gallery "Famous Masons"

ARENDT Nikolai Fedorovich (1786-1859) – surgeon

As a military doctor, he took part in the wars of 1805-1807. and 1812-1814, chief physician of the Russian occupation corps in France, life physician of Emperor Nicholas I. On behalf of the emperor, he operated on the mortally wounded A.S. Pushkin. In 1847 he was appointed inspector of all institutions of the Department of Empress Maria Feodorovna. Founding member of the lodge “St. George the Victorious”, 1818-1819, 3 gr.

History of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite

Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite hierarchical system Masonic organizations, which is a “superstructure” over symbolic Freemasonry. The Scottish Rite cannot be regarded as the body that governs Symbolic Freemasonry - it is not officially recognized as Degree 1-3 Freemasonry. The Grand Lodges governing degrees 1-3 are completely independent of the Scottish Rite organizations and do not recognize a higher degree than that of Master Mason (3 degrees). Rather, there is a dependence of the Scottish Rite on the Grand Lodges. You can only be a member of the Scottish Rite organization by being a master freemason and remaining an active member of the symbolic lodge. Regular Masons believe that ancient Guild Masonry consists of only three symbolic degrees. This position was officially formulated by the mother of all Freemasonry, the Grand United Lodge of England in 1813, and since then the presence of three degrees has been one of the unchanged landmarks.

List of famous Freemasons

We provide a list of the most famous Russian Freemasons without discussing their real contribution to history, culture and science. This list, of course, is far from complete. What is indisputable is that all of the free masons listed below influenced the development of our country, national culture or Russian Freemasonry. If you are interested in studying the biographies of these individuals, then our researchers will always be happy to help you and begin to exchange information with you.

The history of Freemasonry - the brotherhood of "free masons", from the very moment of its inception, was covered with a thick layer of legends.

According to the most common of them, the emergence of Freemasonry dates back to the times of King Solomon, who entrusted the coppersmith (architect) from Tire, Hiram Abiff (sometimes identified with Solomon’s chief tax collector, Adononiram), with the management and supervision of the construction of the temple in Jerusalem. This architect divided the workers into three classes, a kind of corporation; and in order that they might recognize each other, words, signs and touches were established. From here, according to the Freemasons, comes the establishment of the degrees of Freemasonry and the special symbolic language of the Freemason brothers.

"Secrets of the Masons", 2013", 16+

It is worth adding: the legend of Hiram Abiff (Adononiram), which is often used by Freemasons, is not in the Bible. It is taken from Jewish tradition and reveals one of the main sources of the mythology of the “free masons”.

Echoes the first and version that the ancestors of the Lodges of Freemasons ( initially the box is just a place to store working tools and rest) the Roman College of Craftsmen or Comatii appeared. These were groups of artisans attached to the legions of the Roman Empire, who, together with the soldiers, came to the conquered lands. Members of such associations, or guilds, built churches, cathedrals, temples and other magnificent buildings. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, comania did not disappear. They were highly valued in the Middle Ages, recognized by the Popes, who provided them with special privileges and protection until the first half of the 14th century, when Pope Benedict XII came to power. Soon the guilds of comatian craftsmen lost the protection of the papal throne and began to be persecuted as suspected of creating a secret society.

Next Legend indicates that Freemasonry comes from the Order of the Templars (Templars), which was defeated by the French king Philip IV and Pope Clement V for “Satanism, defamation of Christianity and money-grubbing.”

The Order went underground and continued its activities secretly. Jacques (Jacob) de Molay (leader of the order) and his comrades died at the stake, but before the execution, the heads of the doomed order organized and established what later began to be called occult, hidden or Scottish Freemasonry.”

In general, the truth is probably, as always, somewhere in the middle.

For a better understanding of the subject with It is worth dividing operational Freemasonry- existed until the 18th century and was a professional association - where the word “Freemason” meant a builder and was initially associated only with architectural work, then only with work on stone, brick and tiles. ( Later, designers, assistants, auxiliary workers and other people engaged in similar crafts also began to be called) And speculative Freemasonry

Speculative Masons were not masons by profession, but rather “honorary members” of various kinds of organizations accepted into operational lodges. The earliest record of a non-mason being present at an operational lodge meeting dates back to June 8, 1600, when the Edinburgh Lodge hosted John Boswell, a landowner of Auchinleck from Scotland.

Apparently it was the organizations of operational Masons, organized along professional and not national lines and possessing the freedom of movement necessary for the construction of medieval cathedrals, that were chosen by the former Templars for infiltration.

However, let's go back a little...

On March 18, 1314, the Grand Master of the dispersed Templar Order, Jacques de Molay, ended his life at the stake (). Pope Clement V and the French King Philip the Fair achieved their goal. One of the greatest military-financial empires - the Order of the Templars - has sunk into oblivion. But part of the Order’s treasures, including those of a mystical nature (the Holy Grail, etc.), may have been saved and the surviving Templars began work by creating secret societies. The goal of their life was revenge.

Less than a year had passed before the curse of Jacques de Molay began to come true - Clement V and Philip the Handsome passed into another world. But the basis that gave birth to them - the power of the Church and the King - remained

Interesting:
1. The slogan "Nekam", that is, vengeance, is heard in the highest chapters of Freemasonry very often, but it is supposedly attributed to vengeance on the murderers of Hiram, the builder of the Temple of Solomon. In the degree of kadosh, the president clearly explains what the essence of the matter is: “The degrees (of Freemasonry) which you have previously passed through, do not teach you to apply the death of Hiram to the tragic and ominous end of Jacob Mole... Is your heart not prepared for vengeance, and not "Do you feel an implacable hatred for the three traitors whom you swore to hate and on whom you must avenge the death of Jacob Mole? This, my brother, is true Freemasonry as it was handed down to us."
2. The Templar Charter served as the basis for the creation of a supernational community. Perhaps this was the first project of the United Europe.

Even if you do not believe in God, Lucifer or Satan, you must understand that there are a huge number of people who do and their faith and actions based on this faith affect everyone. Therefore, religion has always played an important role in guiding the actions of secret societies.

Gradually, many mystical societies became closely intertwined with Freemasonry. And the Rosicrucian Order played a huge role in this, claiming that they know secret ancient knowledge. This is how the legend was born that Freemasonry is the heir to the Secret Mysteries of the East and Ancient Egypt. ( According to legend, Freemasonry was brought to Egypt by the great forefather Mizriam, grandson of Noah)

The most important symbol for the Freemasons is the apron, which was initially extremely simple and devoid of any decoration. Later it was replaced by white sheepskin, and in this form it is used to this day.

FREEMASONRY, HEIRS OF THE TEMPLARS AND ILLUMINATI.

The first use of the term Freemasonry (freemasons) is in the poem “The Halliwell Manuscript,” named after James Halliwell, who discovered it in the British Museum and published it in 1840, and then in 1844. It is also known as the Regius manuscript. Experts attribute it to 1390

In the fourteenth century we meet for the first time the highest initiation.” BROTHERHOOD OF THE SNAKE” (or dragon). Under the Latin name "ILLUMINATI" These people, who dedicated their activities to preserving the “secrets of generations” and recognizing Lucifer as the one and only God, became famous throughout the world. ( The ancient biblical word for “snake,” “nehesh,” comes from the root NHSH, which means “to decipher, to open”; Latin “illuminare” means “to enlighten, to recognize, to know”).

Here is the program of one of the branches of the Illuminati - Afghan Society of Illuminati Roshaniya;

- abolition of private property
- elimination of religion
- abolition of states
- the belief that enlightenment comes from a Supreme Being who elects a class of perfect people to organize and govern the world
- faith in the transformation plan social system peace by controlling states one by one
- the belief that upon reaching the fourth degree, the initiate can contact unknown observers endowed with the knowledge of centuries.

DOESN'T REMIND ANYTHING?...

Members of Roshaniya also call themselves members of the Order. The Order is the Order of the Quest. The cult preached that there was no heaven or hell, only a spiritual state completely different from life as we know it. A spirit could continue to be strong on earth through a member of the Order, but only if the spirit was a member of the Order before death. Consequently, members of the Order strengthen their power by accepting it from the spirits of deceased members. Initiates take an oath that frees them from any obligations other than loyalty to the Order, and it goes like this: “I give myself to eternal science and unwavering loyalty and obedience to the Order... People who do not fall under our secret sign are our lawful prey.”
The secret sign is to run your hand over your forehead, palm inward;
The reverse sign is to grab the ear with your fingers, supporting the elbow with your free hand.

Researcher of the history of the “free masons” G. Vernadsky wrote that among the manuscripts of the freemason Lansky there is a piece of gray paper on which it is written: “Emperor Peter I and Lefort were accepted into the Templars in Holland.” According to another version, Peter dedicated Great master British Freemasonry Christopher Wren. This took place two decades before the date officially considered the date of the creation of English lodges. In 1717, Freemasonry was just coming to the surface.

This conclusion is indirectly confirmed by the following fact. Masonic collection "Symbols and Emblemata", compiled by the Frenchman de la Fey in late XVII century, was published in Russian in Amsterdam in 1707!

1705 Versailles. Duke Philippe d'Orléans gathers the descendants of the Templar families. The "Little Resurrection of the Templars" society is created. Created on the day of the burning of Jacques de Male. Soon lists of Grand Masters of the order appear from de Male to the Duke of Orleans. The continuity of the Templar traditions, carried in secrecy and throughout the centuries, is emphasized.

1743 Comte Saint-Germain makes his first public appearance in Lyon in front of the local Masonic lodge. The degree of Knight Kadosh is confirmed, who must avenge the Templars. At the same time, the Masonic medal was minted. It depicts a bush of lilies (a symbol of royal power) slain by a sword, and the inscription: “Revenge will yield its harvest” is engraved.

THE BEGINNING OF THE OFFICIAL ACTIVITIES OF THE MASONS.

FREE MASONS worked in absolute secrecy in England, Scotland and Ireland, paying the most serious attention to human rights and Protestantism.

On June 24, 1717, the London Grand Lodge of Freemasons began its open activities. This is precisely the date that many historical studies cite as the time of the founding of the freemasons movement. Officially, this is completely true, but their secret activities began long before, and, as already mentioned, all their secrecy would make absolutely no sense if today everyone could find out when, where and what the free masons did. Read more >>>

New system initiations had three degrees: student, journeyman and master, which constituted the so-called “BLUE” degrees (in Germany, John’s degrees).

The English Grand Lodge was established primarily to support the ruling Hanoverian dynasty. In 1737, Frederick, Prince of Wales, received both first degrees. Over the course of subsequent generations, the Hanoverian royal family also held the post of Grand Master (August Frederick, King George IV, King Edward VII and King George VI).

However, it had not yet been forgotten that in 1688 the House of Hanover overthrew the Stuart dynasty (James II) and the warlike Jacobins still dreamed of restoring his son, JAMES III, to the throne. And in 1725, Michael Ramsey founded the “SCOTTISH TEMPLE LODGE” supporting the Jacobins.
The principle of supporting both warring parties, in order not to end up at a loss, will be used more than once in the future. But who could turn out to be that unknown third interested party who was interested in confronting the LODGES OF THE FREE MASONS?

SECRET ORDER OF THE BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI.

In the 18th century, Germany became the center of the European TEMPLE MOVEMENT OF FREE MASONS (their ideology had nothing or very little in common with the original ideology of the Knights Templar). The degrees of knighthood were bound up in the Freemasons' system of "strict observation", which meant that initiates had to swear strict obedience to those whose rank was higher. The leader, who was called the "Unknown Supreme" and bore the title of "Knight of the Red Pen" was loyal to the "SCOTTISH DEGREES”, and accordingly, the Stuarts.

And in 1770
Jesuit-canon Adam Weishaupt founded in Ingolstadt the “SECRET ORDER OF BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI,” however, they should not be confused with the ILLUMINATI mentioned earlier. It is interesting that Weishaupt’s creditor was the banker Rothschild. We will remember this fact later.

The “Bavarian Illuminati” were structured as circles within circles (the onion principle). If the activities of members were to remain top secret, they were limited to working within their own circle, which allowed for high degrees of secrecy. Only those who fell into the innermost circle were aware the real goals of the “Bavarian Illuminati”. Members with lower degrees were informed that there were no higher degrees at all, and at the same time the name of the grandmaster was withheld, just like the rules of “strict observation.” The Bavarian Illuminati were divided into 13 degrees, which represented the 13 steps of the Illuminati pyramid on the “one dollar bill.”

If we talk about where Weishaupt's Illuminati ideology was actually revealed, we need to consider the document that became known as the “New Testament of Satan,” which was kept top secret by the Bavarian Illuminati. This document became available to the general public only in 1875, when the courier A Bavarian Illuminati on the way from Frankfurt to Paris was killed by lightning, and part of this information about a worldwide conspiracy became available.

The conspirators had knowledge of the already existing lodges of free masons and began to systematically penetrate them, seizing control (clause 11 of the Protocols). Lodges that were already a “passed stage” were designated by the term “LODGES OF THE GREAT EAST”.

When the American Declaration of Independence was signed on May 1, 1776, Adam Weishaupt completed his elaborate plan and the Bavarian Illuminati began its official activities. This date is today the official date of establishment of the "Bavarian Illuminati". The most important years for the order, however, were the six years preceding it. official appearance on the stage.

On July 16, 1782, an alliance was concluded in Wilhelmsbad between the FREE MASONS and the BAVARIAN ILLUMINATI. The result of the congress in Wilhelmsbad was the admission into the lodges of Jews, who at that time were almost completely powerless. (Now remember that it was the Jew, Rothschild, who financed Weishaupt. Now he could have direct influence on the secret lodges). Almost nothing that was decided at this meeting was open to the public, since everyone present was sworn to absolute secrecy.

But secrets began to leak out drop by drop and on October 11, 1785, the Bavarian Elector conducted a search in the house of Mr. von Zwack, Weishaupt's chief assistant. At the same time, many documents were discovered detailing the plans of the Bavarian Illuminati, the “NEW WORLD ORDER” (Novus Ordo Seclorum).

The Bavarian Elector immediately decided to publish these papers as “Genuine manuscripts of the order and sect of the Illuminati.” After this publication, they tried to distribute it as widely as possible - to warn the European monarchies. Weishaupt’s professorship was taken away, and he went underground.

As the belief spread freely that the Illuminati order had been destroyed, it became possible for them to continue their activities in secrecy and later adopt a new name. Thus, a few years later the public learned about the emergence of the society “GERMAN UNITY”, which was engaged in disseminating Illuminati propaganda among the emerging reading societies. It was then that the famous slogan appeared:

"Freedom equality Brotherhood".
Picked up by the French Revolution, which led to the fact that in 1793 the head of Louis XVI rolled into the Guillotine basket.

The United States of America did not stand aside either.

After the end of the Revolutionary War, the American Freemasons Lodges broke away from the English Mother Lodge and formed their own GRAND LODGE OF AMERICAN. It consisted of the “CIRCLE OF YORK”, containing ten degrees (the tenth is the Templar degree) and the “SCOTTISH CIRCLE”, divided into 33 degrees (degrees).

All European lodges of the "Grand East" were already completely controlled by the Bavarian Illuminati, however, the American Freemasons, by this time, were not yet imbued with the spirit of "Weishaupt's Illuminism", but time passed and the infiltration of the "Bavarian Illuminati" into the American lodges continued.

Here is an excerpt from the speech of the founder of the Ku Klux Klan, Sovereign Grand Master of the SENIOR AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH CIRCLE OF FREE MASONS Albert PIKE, delivered on April 7, 1889, before the 32nd degree of the Scottish Circle:

"We honor God, but this is a God who is worshiped without prejudice. The religion of the Freemasons is called upon first of all to bring to us all initiates of the highest degrees in the purity of the Luciferian teaching. If Lucifer were not a god, would Adonai (Christ) be him? which are marked by cruelty, misanthropy... and rejection of science; also by slander against him (Lucifer)?

Yes, Lucifer is a god, and, unfortunately, Adonai is also a god. As the old law says: there is no light without shadow, there is no beauty without ugliness and there is no white without black; that is why the Absolute can exist only in two gods... That is why the teaching of Satanism is a heresy. And the truly pure, truly philosophical religion is faith in Lucifer, the god of light, equal to Adonai. But Lucifer, the god of light and goodness, fights for humanity against Adonai, the god of darkness and cruelty.”

Anyone can find this quote for themselves in Pike's main papers in the Scottish Circle Library in Washington. How reminiscent it is of the Cathar ideology taken up by the Templars.

Little is written about this, but George Washington and most of his generals were Freemasons. This is precisely the reason that without the work of free masons there would be no United States today.

The American seal, the pyramid with the all-seeing eye, the State Emblem on the back of the seal, the Phoenix, and the original Star Spangled Banner with 13 stripes and 13 stars are all old and important symbols of the Freemasons, and were sketched by Adam Weishaupt, although the symbolism itself dates back back to the time of ancient Egypt.

On
On the Great Seal of the United States we can see the ancient symbol of the Brotherhood of the Serpent (Dragon), which is known to be the all-seeing eye in the pyramid representing Lucifer in the form of wisdom. Just below the pyramid you can see the words “Novus Ordo Seclorum”, which means New World Order.

On the seal: 9 tail feathers of an eagle, 13 leaves on an olive branch, 13 lines and stripes, 13 arrows, 13 letters in "E Pluribus Unum", 13 stars in a green cross above, 13 stones in a pyramid, 13 letters in "Annuit Coeptis" " Thirteen is the mystical number of Satan and all these mystical numbers have a special meaning for Freemasons. Masonic symbolism can be seen not only in the USA, it is abundantly distributed throughout the world.

To become a Freemason, a candidate for Freemasonry must apply to the Lodge at his place of residence, having previously received an invitation from a full member, who becomes his guarantor. Some jurisdictions require a candidate to apply for entry 3 times, however this is becoming less common. In some jurisdictions, accession information is much more open to potential candidate knew where to find more information. Regardless of how exactly the candidate received an invitation to the Lodge, the decision on his entry is made by closed vote. Members voting to join use white balls; those who are against are black. The number of dissenting votes required to reject a candidate's application is set by the local Grand Lodge and in some jurisdictions is 1 vote.

To become a Freemason, a candidate must:

1. Be male and wish to become a Freemason voluntarily.

2. Believe in One God the Creator.

3. Be over the minimum age (18-25 years, depending on the jurisdiction).

4. Be of sound mind and a highly moral person with an unblemished reputation.

5. Be free from birth (that is, not be a slave; today this requirement is rather an anachronism; in some jurisdictions it has been abolished).

Deviation from these requirements is usually an indication of whether the organization is actually Freemasons. However, some jurisdictions allow a variance to allow the son of a Mason to join the Lodge before the minimum age for that jurisdiction (but, in any case, the candidate cannot be under 18 years of age).

Some Grand Lodges in the USA have additional requirements: for example, the candidate must have lived in that jurisdiction for a certain period of time, usually at least 6 months.

Freemasonry appeared in Russia in the middle of the 18th century. In Masonic legends, the founders of Freemasonry in Russia are often called Peter I and his associates Franz Lefort and Patrick Gordon. This version, however, has no documentary evidence. It is more likely that the first lodges in Russia were founded by Russian General James Keith in the 1740s. The documents of the Grand Lodge of England indicate that in 1740 he was appointed Provincial Grand Master of Russia. Initially, the majority of members of Russian lodges were foreigners - officers in the Russian service and merchants, but soon the number of Russian Freemasons by birth began to grow. In the 1750s, a lodge operated in St. Petersburg under the leadership of Count R.I. Vorontsova.

In 1772, Chancellor I.P. became the provincial grand master. Elagin, who reorganized the lodges that existed at that time in Russia into a single system. In addition to I.P. himself Elagin, the Grand Provincial Lodge in St. Petersburg, which he headed, included such well-known masons at that time as Count R.I. Vorontsov (vicar-master), Major General A.L. Shcherbachev, Prince I.V. Nesvitsky and others. Under the control of the Elagin Grand Lodge in the first half of the 70s of the 18th century, 14 lodges worked: “Muses” (master I.P. Elagin), “Urania” (master V.I. Lukin), “Bellona” (I.V. Nesvitsky), “Astraea” (Ya.F. Dubyansky), “Mars” (Iasi, master P.I. Melissino), “Minerva” (Baron Gartenberg), as well as “Modesty” (St. Petersburg), “Clio” (Moscow), “Talia” (Moscow-Polotsk), “Equality” (Moscow-Petersburg), “Ekaterina” and “Three Supports” (Arkhangelsk), “Erato” (Petersburg) and the lodge under the direction of R.I. Vorontsov in Vladimir. The total number of members of the Elagin lodges was hardly approximately 400 people.

An alternative to the Elagin Masonic system was the so-called Zinnendorf system, founded by the former chamberlain of the Braunschweig court who came to Russia in 1771. P.-B. Reichel. In 1772-1776, Reichel founded several more lodges: “Apollo” (St. Petersburg), “Harpocrates” (St. Petersburg), “Apollo” (Riga), “Isis” (Revel), “Gorus” (St. Petersburg) , “Latona” (St. Petersburg), “Nemesis” (St. Petersburg) and “Osiris” (St. Petersburg - Moscow). In 1776, after negotiations, the Elagin and Reichel lodges merged into a single system. In the 1780s, the so-called “Swedish system” of Masonic lodges also spread in Russia, but its popularity waned with the outbreak of the Russian-Swedish War of 1788-1790.

On July 16, 1782, the Wilhelmsbad Convention met, chaired by Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick. The congress was attended by representatives of the Masons of France, upper and lower Germany, Austria and Italy; Russia also had representation. At the convention, Russia, “in consideration of its vast territory and the large number of lodges that zealously worked in it,” was recognized as the eighth province of the order.

A new stage in the development of Russian Freemasonry is associated with the name of N.I. Novikov, who joined the Masons in 1775 in one of the Elagin lodges. Together with Johann Schwarz, Novikov launched a wide educational activities in Moscow, where the center of activity of Russian Freemasonry shifted.

On August 1, 1822, Masonic lodges were officially closed by the highest rescript of Alexander I. This, however, did not mean the cessation of Masonic work, but rather the transition of lodges that previously worked openly to a closed order of work.

A new stage in the spread of Freemasonry in Russia dates back to the beginning of the 20th century, when the lodges of the Grand Orient of France became widespread in Russia, then transformed into the Grand Orient of the Peoples of Russia. Freemasonry at the beginning of the 20th century was political in nature. After October revolution In 1917, Masonic organizations were banned, Masons were persecuted by the Cheka-GPU-NKVD. A small number of Russian lodges worked in exile, primarily in France. Over time, the number of Russian Freemasons decreased due to the aging of emigrants. During the German occupation of France during World War II, the remaining Russian lodges were closed, along with all French lodges.

On June 24, 1995, under the auspices of the Grand National Lodge of France, the Grand Lodge of Russia was established and consecrated, under whose jurisdiction 12 workshops (symbolic lodges) were founded and are now operating, constantly accepting new members. The Grand Lodge of Russia was recognized as regular, and fraternal ties were established with it: the United Grand Lodge of England; Grand Mother Lodge of Scotland; Grand Lodge of Ireland; Grand National Lodge of France; United Grand Lodge of Germany; Grand Lodge of Austria; Grand Lodge of Turkey; Grand Lodge of New York and many other Grand Jurisdictions throughout the world.

XXth CENTURY.

At first glance, the world was at peace at the beginning of the twentieth century. But only at first glance. By the beginning of the century, the merger of Freemasonry with big capital was basically completed, primarily thanks to the efforts of the Rothschild family, the infiltration of Freemasons into power was successful and the Illuminati came to the conclusion that in order to consistently and fully implement their plans aimed at achieving " New World Order,” they need to cause a state of complete ruin that no state could overcome.

Most historians agree that the war began, in fact, with a trivial conflict between Austria and Serbia. The murder of the Austrian heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophia in Sarajevo by Serbian assassins from the occult secret society "BLACK HAND" was the beginning of the First World War. The war was very profitable for bankers. So Bernard Baruch, who rose to the post of Chairman of the US War Industries Committee, increased its initial capital from one million to 200 million US dollars.

The fact that the Treaties of Versailles were concluded in accordance with the plans of the Rothschilds, of course, went without saying:
On the American side, Woodrow Wilson, a ROTHSCHILD puppet, participated along with his ROTHSCHILD advisors and agents, COLONEL HOUSE and BERNARD BARUCH.
On the English side, more precisely, on the side of the “Crown” was Lloyd George, a member of the “300 Committee” with his adviser SIR PHILIP SASSOON, a faithful follower of Amschel ROTHSCHILD and a member of the English “Secret Council of State”.
The French delegation consisted of Prime Minister Clemenceau and GEORGE MANDELE. Mandel, born JERO-BEAM ROTHSCHILD, was often called the French Disraeli, and he played his part beautifully.

The Treaty of Versailles was described by Philip Snowden in the following terms: “This treaty could have pacified all bandits, imperialists and militarists. It was a death blow to all those who hoped that the end of the war would bring peace. It is not a peace treaty, but a declaration of the next war. This is a betrayal of democracy and all those who died in this war. The Treaty brings to the light of God the true goals of all allies. "(Empire City, p. 42).

Lloyd George said: “We have in our hands a written document guaranteeing us war in twenty years... If you offer the people (Germany) conditions that they cannot fulfill under any circumstances, then they will either certainly break the treaty or start a war "

There is a lot of reliable historical evidence about the role of Freemasonry, financially controlled by Rothschild (Zionists) in the development of the revolution in Russia. I will not dwell on them in detail, but will only quote from the book “Memoirs” by Aron Simanovich (personal secretary of G. Rasputin): “Leiba Davidovich Trotsky (formerly Bronstein) sought the collapse of the greatest power in the world - Russia - on this occasion he said: “We must turn it into a desert inhabited by white Negroes, to whom we will give such Tyranny, which the most terrible despots of the East have never dreamed of. The only difference is that this tyranny will not be on the right, but on the left, and not white, but red. In the literal sense of the word, red, for we will shed such streams of blood, before which all the human losses of capitalist wars will shudder and turn pale. The largest bankers from overseas will work in close contact with us...

If we win the revolution, crush Russia, then on its funeral ruins we will strengthen the power of Zionism and become a force before which the whole world will kneel. We will show you what real power is. Through terror and bloodbaths we will reduce the Russian intelligentsia to complete stupefaction, to idiocy, to an animal state."

The Zionist conspiracy is easy to believe, since Jews did play a prominent role in the revolution. Officers of the White armies often did not want to understand that the participation of Jews in the revolution was explained by the discrimination to which they were subjected under the tsarist regime, and that tsars had been killed before, and by purebred Russians. This prejudice can be explained simply: people were constantly told that the Jew is the source of all evil. They were taught that the Russian people love the Tsar and are devoted to the autocracy, and they got used to hiding even from themselves that this has long been no longer the case. They were looking for a simple explanation for the catastrophe that broke out and swept away their world.

Until very recent times, being a Jew meant only one thing: to profess the Jewish religion. For Jewish believers, the “Bolshevik revolution” did not mean the fulfillment of their aspirations, but a new threat. At that time, Jewish believers were subjected to the same persecution in the Soviet Union as Christians. Soviet government closed synagogues, turning them into clubs, dissolved Jewish religious, cultural and philanthropic institutions, and banned all Jewish books, regardless of their content. Bolshevik Jews did not at all feel a sense of solidarity with believing Jews. When a delegation of Jews visited Trotsky and asked him not to provoke the “white soldiers” to organize pogroms, he replied: “Go back to your Jews and tell them that I am not a Jew and I don’t give a damn about what happens to you” [See: N. Valentin, Antisemitens Spiegel. Vienna, 1937, S. 179-180]. Here we can see an insurmountable gulf, which propagandists of anti-Semitism are trying at all costs to disguise.

There was another reason why the wider Jewish masses did not support new government: They were mostly small shopkeepers and individual private artisans. Despite extreme poverty, they were not considered by the ideologists of the revolution to be allies of the Bolsheviks. And although the Jews were opposed to the tsarist regime, which discriminated against them, they became anything but communists. During the brief interval when political views could be freely expressed, Jews sided with the bourgeois party of the constitutional democrats (the Cadets). In the 1920s, more than a third of the Jewish population was disenfranchised, compared with five to six percent of the non-Jewish population.

Undoubtedly, Jews, that is, persons Jewish origin, made up a disproportionately large part in the leadership (although not of the total composition) of the Bolshevik and Menshevik parties. The reason is not difficult to understand. These were people, as a rule, who broke with the traditional Jewish community and the Jewish religion, which did not save them from discrimination and persecution under tsarism. This is precisely what explains their entry into the ranks of left-wing parties. Mostly students went into politics, and a Jew had to have truly outstanding abilities to get into university, since in those days there was an official percentage rate (5%) for Jews to enter higher education institutions. Upon joining the ranks of the party, they turned out to be much better prepared than others and therefore occupied leadership positions. This situation was repeated many times in other countries, where Jewish intellectuals successfully fought anti-Semitism without seeking support or consolation in religion.

Jewish politicians are usually idealists, inspired by the idea of ​​​​building a society where all types of discrimination will be eliminated. These are usually bad politicians, and they are usually removed immediately after a victorious revolution has taken place. In Russia there were significantly more Jews in the Menshevik than in the Bolshevik leadership. All Menshevik Jews were subsequently exiled or exterminated. The same fate befell the Jews among the Bolshevik leaders; almost all of them were shot in the 30s.

These are the facts. But faith is not based on facts, and the myth of the Jewish-Communist conspiracy turned out to be more tenacious than the myth of the Jewish-Masonic conspiracy. Civil War in Russia, intertwined with the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, for the first time demonstrated its strength and vitality.

However... After the Bolshevik revolution, Standard Oil (Rockefeller) bought 50% of the richest Caucasian oil fields from the Russians, despite the fact that they were officially carried out through the nationalization procedure. In 1927, Standard Oil built the first oil refinery in Russia , having also concluded an agreement with the Russians that oil would be sold in Europe, and thus ensured that the Bolsheviks received 75 million US dollars.

Of course, one can still speculate about Masonic symbolism in “social reality”, the pentogram, the name of the Red Army, pioneer ties and the uniform of “Budenovki” - but in my opinion all this is nonsense, upon careful examination it is clear that the coincidences are far-fetched. However, economic and political experts say unequivocally - decline Russian Empire was initiated by external capital and, perhaps, the Romanovs were another victim in the anti-monarchist policy of the Freemasons. (By the way, “Be Prepared” is also a Masonic motto.)

In the 20s and 30s we again see Freemasonry supporting two opposing forces - communism in Russia and fascism in Germany. On the role of mystical Freemasonry in the formation of German national socialism I have already written, but I would like to emphasize the huge role of Rothschild money (closely associated with the Freemasons) in the formation of the Third Reich and the outbreak of the Second World War.

War is primarily about money.

Created after the First World War to pay reparations, the Swiss “BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL MONETARY EQUALIATION” brought the ROTHSCHILDs significant profits from commissions when converting currencies, but the most pronounced financial interest was manifested in one of the pillars of the German economy, the international cartel I.G. FARBEN, controlled Rothschilds. The leadership of I. G. Farben, among others, also included MAX and PAUL WARBURG (US Federal Reserve Bank). K. E. MITCHELL, who was also on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve and National City Bank, and in addition him, G. A. METZ from the Bank of Manhattan.

In addition, subsidiaries of ITT and General Electric directly supported SS. Until 1936, more than 100 American firms took part in the restoration of the German military machine. Among them were General Motors, Ford, International Harvesters and Du Pont. The motives of these investors were, in any case, not short-term ventures, since the agreement between these corporations and the German government prohibited them from withdrawing even one pfennig from Germany.

Revenues began to flow only five years later, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and thus dragged the United States into World War II. As you can see, by that time everything was already planned in detail. No one except the initiates knew about it.

At the same time that I.G. Farben supported Hitler, his cartel partner, Standard Oil (Rockefeller), fought the Nazis. Or, for example, Ford Motor Company built military transport for the American army, but at the same time produced on German territory there are military vehicles for the Nazis. Ford and Opel (a subsidiary of General Motors, controlled by J.P. Morgan) were both the largest tank manufacturers in Hitler's Germany.

Regardless of what the war would have looked like, all of these multimillionaires had already won it in advance. In accordance with this principle, many activities were carried out during the Second World War.

Why is it impossible to read any of this in a school textbook or encyclopedia? It's simple - in 1946, the Rockefeller Foundation allocated $139,000 in order to present to the public some official version of the Second World War, which completely hid both the occult and mystical background of Nazism and the actual establishment of the Nazi regime by American bankers. Among the main organizations that provided money for this was Standard Oil Rockefeller Corporation

IT'S TIME TO MOVE TO A ONE WORLD...

In June 1991, in the German city of Sand, at a meeting of the Bilderberg Club, David Rockefeller said: “The world today is more perfect and more predisposed to the creation of a single world government... The supranational power of the intellectual elite and world bankers is preferable to the right of peoples to self-determination, which we followed for centuries...
A Brief History of Freemasonry
http://mason.net.ua/mason_history.php