Who are the Freemasons? Masons: who are they? What does mason mean

Already in modern times, the Freemasons created texts where they proved the ancient origin of their order. If you ask who the Masons are and what they do, you will notice that they are seriously different from their predecessors. The first texts, written in the late Middle Ages in England, talked about the ancient craft of masonry and the acquisition of its secret by English craftsmen. After the formation of the London Lodge, the history of the order began in biblical times. The emergence of Masons (experts in the secret of masonry) in England was attributed to the era of King Athelstan (X century).

In England in the XIII-XIV centuries, the documents recorded the appearance of the name "Freemasons" as a designation of masons. The documents also call them "Freemason", which may mean that the masons were not enslaved or serfs.

The Master Mason was supposed to receive a good education in his teens: learn Latin, serve as a page with a knight, to learn manners. Then he studied the profession of a bricklayer and geometry. In his youth, a Freemason received the status of an apprentice and had to submit a "masterpiece" (to do construction or design work) in order to obtain the status of a qualified worker.

To become a master, a bricklayer had to complete some large and significant project. Master Masons are mentioned in the documents as supervisors of works with high social status. Those who received this status passed through an initiation ceremony, the details of which were kept secret.

Already in the Middle Ages, Masonic lodges were mentioned as organizations of masons. In the 16th - 17th centuries, their members were people who had nothing to do with the craft of masons. Among them were philosophers, alchemists, as well as nobles ("noble disciples").

Gradually admitted to the fraternities, they became the keepers of the traditions of free masons' lodges. Practicing bricklayers, on the other hand, forgot them, focusing on their direct activities. The traditions and teachings of medieval masons began to be interpreted in a new way and laid the foundations of the esoteric society of Freemasons.

The beginning of speculative Freemasonry

In 1717, four London lodges, whose names derive from the taverns where their members gathered, united into the Great London Lodge. Its members began to collect materials on the history of Freemasonry. In 1723, the "Book of Statutes" was published, which included a list of the duties of the Freemasons and information on the history of the brotherhood.

Most English lodges continued to maintain their independence from London and even criticized it. In 1753, the opposition created their own "Grand Lodge". They showed respect for the old rules, and their charter was a pamphlet against the Book of Rites of Londoners. In 1813, both organizations created a Grand United Lodge and two years later a new charter.

Under the influence of the British, their own Masonic lodges appeared in Ireland and Scotland. After 1649, Freemasonry entered France with English emigrants.

In the 18th century in France, lodges of the "Scottish" type and new lodges subordinate to the Great London one operated. The number of Masonic societies in the kingdom grew throughout the 18th century - by 1771 their number exceeded 300. Only a few of them were recognized by the Grand Lodge of London. In 1738, the French aristocrat Louis de Pardalyan was elected a great master of the French kingdom. In 1773, French Freemasons founded a national lodge - the Grand East of France.

Freemasons were not persecuted and enjoyed the public interest. Members of the lodges were representatives of the most noble families, including the Counts of Provence and Artois, who would later become Kings Louis XVIII and Charles X. It was said that King Louis XV himself was a member of the lodge.

In the 1720s, Masonic lodges appeared in Spain, and in the 1730s in Italy, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Portugal and India. In 1733, the Great American Provincial Lodge began operating in Boston. In the Netherlands, their activities were soon banned.

In 1756, Freemasonry on the mainland was organized into the so-called orthodox system. The territory of the order was divided into nine provinces and covered the whole of Europe. The members of the order were divided into six degrees. In addition to these, in the 1760s and 1770s, there were the highest degrees of Initiated Freemasons and Vowed Greats. They supervised the affairs of the order, while remaining unknown to the rank and file.

In Russia, lodges appeared after the era of Peter I. In 1731, the first great master was appointed in the country. In 1792 and 1822, the activities of Freemasons in Russia were banned by imperial decrees. The revival of Freemasonry in the country began at the beginning of the 20th century.

Who are Masons and what do they do today

Freemasonry is primarily an ethical system. Membership in a Masonic lodge assumes that a person is a believer in one of the world's religions. Some legends of the Freemasons are based on the Old Testament.

Members of a Masonic organization should engage in moral self-improvement. A Freemason must improve as a member of a religious denomination. The worship of God, whom they call the Great Architect of the Universe, has been at the heart of ideology since the 18th century. Discussions on religious issues are prohibited among Masons.

Another principle of Freemasonry is loyalty to the government. Freemasons should not oppose the authorities of the country where their lodge is located.

The main task of this society is charity. Members of Masonic lodges collect money that goes to help orphanages, medical and educational institutions. Members of the fraternity found charitable organizations.

There is a medical research laboratory in the United States, which was founded by the Grand Lodges of the United States. It appeared in 1918 when the United States entered the First World War. After the war, the organization began to open its centers throughout the country and abroad.

Not so long ago, the general public became aware of the existence of an unspoken organization of Masons, which has been functioning for more than one century. What is this association? Who are the Freemasons? What are their goals? There are a lot of questions about this. Let's try to answer the most important of them.

How did Freemasonry come about?

This movement, which has a religious and ethical character, originated in England in the 18th century, and a little later spread to the USA, India and European states. This teaching united people into brotherhood through love, mutual assistance and equality. Freemasonry is considered to be an order, as it is an organized society of people.

In 1717, the “Grand Lodge”, the cradle of brotherhood, was created in England. She directs all the organizations of the Masonic society located in different countries. Six years later, James Anderson, a London preacher, creates the Book of Charters, which sets out the basic rules of conduct for the organization's members. According to it, a Mason should not be an atheist or a free-thinker, he is prohibited from taking part in political movements. He must fully and completely support the current government.

Who are the Freemasons?

This association gained wide popularity in the circles of the bourgeoisie, often prominent thinkers of that time became its participants. Over time, Freemasonry acquired an aristocratic character, this trend is especially noticeable in European countries. Who are the Freemasons? These are people striving for spiritual growth and moral self-improvement within the framework of certain principles and beliefs.

The ranks of the order included such famous personalities as the Prussian kings Frederick II and III, the Swedish monarch Gustav III, and English crowned heads. Among the Masons were some US presidents (Washington, Truman, etc.), statesmen (Churchill), famous philosophers, writers and composers (Goethe, Haydn, Voltaire, Mozart).

What goals did the order set for itself?

Their goal is to do everything possible to improve the quality of this world.

The organization contrasted itself with the active church. She strove to create a secret society, whose members, united by religious brotherly bonds, live and work in accordance with the intended goals.

The order did not seek to replace religion; it did not publish theological works. Discussions on religious topics were strictly prohibited at meetings of the society. With all this, faith in God is the basis of their principles and teachings.

Brotherhood activities

Having dealt with the question of who the Masons are, one cannot fail to mention the main direction of their activity. take an active part in charity, they are engaged in patronage, but at the same time they do not advertise themselves.

Hierarchy

The members of the organization are united on a territorial basis, forming small lodges of 40-50 people. Among themselves, they call each other brothers. All the factions of the order together form the Grand Lodge. Its head and leader is a great master or grandmaster. There is usually a Grand Lodge in every country.

The lowest rung in the hierarchical ladder of the order is the disciple. Then comes the journeyman, then the master, and finally the great master.

Russian masons

Tsar Peter and his associates are considered the founders of the order in Russia. In the 1840s, General John Keith organized several lodges, the first members of which were foreigners. However, soon the number of Russian bourgeois, representing the order of the Freemasons, increased significantly.

In 1822, by order of Alexander I, the lodges were closed. At the beginning of the 20th century, the movement of Freemasons in Russia was revived, but under a new name - "The Great East of France" and had a pronounced political character. Since 1917, lodges have been completely banned.

"And soon, soon the fighting among the slave people will cease, you will take the hammer in your hand and cry: freedom!" - wrote A.S. Pushkin, referring to one of the most famous Freemasons of Russia - General Pushchin. Who are they - Masons? This society seems overly encrypted, but it always seems curious to lift the veil of secrecy. Successful old people in long robes with large hoods who build their conspiracy theories while drinking whiskey - this is exactly the image of the Freemasons.develops in people, thanks to mass culture. What exactly do Freemasons do? Few people are able to give a confident answer to this question. Let's try to understand the system of Masonic lodges and symbols, answer the main questions about their history and activities, and make this "secret society" not so secret.

Who are the Freemasons?

Freemasons are such an organization of religious and ethical orientation, which is spread throughout the world. People belonging to this organization strive for self-improvement and knowledge of the world in accordance with certain principles. In total, there are about five million members of this society in the world. The philosophy of Freemasonry includes elements of different beliefs, but it is not an independent religion. Initially, the Freemasons gathered to decide some questions of ethics and morality. However, over time, they began to be occupied with the problems of world order and world governance. This is how the famous Masonic conspiracy theories came about.

Are Freemasons a Secret Society?

Not really. The Masons themselves call themselves not a secret society, but a "society with secrets." They can calmly talk about their belonging to the clan of the Freemasons. The only thing they should always keep silent about is the secrets of their order.

By the way, Masons have their own hierarchy: apprentice, apprentice and master. The degree of a Freemason correlates with the level of his personal development.

So, at the stage of the student, the Mason is engaged in self-knowledge and self-improvement. In the second degree, a person carefully studies the world around him, the philosophy of his perception, the human mind. A master's degree involves studying the subject of death. There is no higher grade than a master, but some lodges may award additional degrees.

What is a Masonic Lodge?

The Masonic lodge is where members of the community hold meetings (meetings in the language of Masons are called "works").

Lodges, like their members, have their own hierarchy.

The main ones - the great lodges - govern the smaller ones - the Masonic ones. As a rule, lodges are formed according to the principle of proximity to the place of residence. In some cases, they can be formed according to interests, professions. Master Masons can also create special research lodges in which members study Freemasonry itself. Masonic lodges are also, depending on the adopted charter and faith, divided into Ioannovsky, Andreevsky and Red. Moreover, depending on the rituals, for example, a separate drinking bed or a bed of sorrow is distinguished.

Who rules the Masons?

The Masons have no single leader. No member of the Masonic lodges can speak on behalf of the entire fraternity. Only the Grand Lodge has this right. Even in the landmarks (the so-called commandments of Freemasonry), the principle of equality of members of the brotherhood before each other is spelled out.

Where did they come from - Masons?

Freemasonry has its origins in the late 16th - early 17th centuries.

It is believed that the first Freemasons were masons, which is quite logical, since the literal translation of the word "freemason" from French is "free mason". The date of the beginning of the movement of the society of Masons around the world is considered to be the day of the founding of the Grand Lodge of London - June 24, 1717. It was on this day that four craft lodges: "Apple", "Crown", "Grape brush", "Goose and a baking sheet", named after the taverns where they gathered, united into one "Grand Lodge of London".

In the 18th century, Freemasonry gained popularity in Europe. Secret society lodges appear in Italy, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland. Moreover, they expanded at a tremendous pace: in Paris alone, in seven years (from 1735 to 1742), the number of Masonic organizations increased from 5 to 22.

I heard that Peter the Great brought Freemasonry to Russia. This is true?

Yes. According to historians, it was Peter the Great with his associates Franz Lefort and Patrick Gordon who founded the Russian Lodge.

According to legend, Peter the Great was a member of one of the lodges in Amsterdam. These are just assumptions.

It is only known for certain that the first Masonic lodge in Russia arose in 1731. Masons in our country have always been disliked. Catherine II, for example, believed that Western European rulers would pursue their policies through secret societies. Masonic lodges were either opened or forbidden. And if in the Russian Empire the Freemasons had the right to exist, for example, under Alexander I, then in the USSR this became impossible. Only on June 24, 1995, the Grand Lodge of Russia was re-established. Its members meet once a month. At their meetings after the official part, during dinner, they always raise toasts to Russia, to the president of our state and to the box. Women, by the way, are not allowed to join the ranks of Russian "free masons".

They say Pushkin, Suvorov, Kutuzov were Masons

Of course, singing the ideals of freedom and self-improvement, Freemasonry attracted the intellectual elite of Russia. The official website of Russian Masons says that Kutuzov, Suvorov, and Pushkin were Masons. Pushkin wrote in his diary: "On May 4 I was admitted to the Freemasons." However, according to literary scholars, he was only a freemason on a piece of paper and soon left the lodge. But it is known for certain about the involvement of Chaadaev, Trubetskoy, Zhukovsky, Bazhenov in the “society with secrets”. By the way, literary circles were actively created around the Masonic lodges. And in the works of L.N. Tolstoy, Pisemsky, Gumilyov, Masonic themes can be traced.

How do you recognize Masons?

There are no special signs, symbols, algorithms that would help to calculate the Freemasons. The lists of all members of the Freemasons are kept secret. To distinguish "friends", certain signs and gestures are used. For example, a pyramid symbol (rhombus or triangle), a triple six (666 or "okay"), the devil's horn, the sign of the hidden eye. Also, Masons have a special style of handshaking (the thumb is placed on the space between the second and third fingers of another Mason's hand).

In Freemasonry, as in any closed society, there is a certain symbolism. Among the main symbols are those associated with construction: a level is a symbol of equality of estates, a plumb bob is a striving for perfection, a hammer is a symbol of the fact that one does not need to give up life outside of brotherhood, a compass is a symbol of moderation and prudence, a protractor is justice.

One of the main symbols is acacia, which stands for purity and holiness. It is also common to use the "Radiant Delta" - a triangle with an open eye inside. This image itself is borrowed from Christianity: the triangle denotes the trinity, and the eye - "All-seeing eye". In Freemasonry "Radiant Delta" is a symbol of the Creator's all-pervasiveness, and in liberal Freemasonry (yes, there is such a thing) it is a sign of enlightenment.

However, one should not immediately classify all images of the "All-Seeing Eye" on architectural monuments as Masonic symbols. According to urbanists, everything that is passed off as Masonic symbols, in fact, is either the symbols of the guild of architects, or the symbols are originally Christian.

Freemasons and conspiracy theorists see their symbols in everything: on the American dollar, on the Ukrainian 500 hryvnia banknote and even on the emblem of the USSR (the intersection of the hammer and sickle can be interpreted as the establishment and retention of the power of the Freemasons through severe repression. Wheat ears mean a symbol of wealth, money and prosperity).

What is Liberal Freemasonry? Is it like a liberal party?

What we have in common with the liberal party is the principle of freedom. In the case of liberal Freemasonry, this is the principle of absolute freedom of conscience. This trend was born in the homeland of everything liberal - in France.

It was the Liberal Freemasons who allowed women to join their ranks.

There are two main streams of Freemasonry: regular, which is subordinate to the "United Grand Lodge of England" and liberal - under the leadership of the "Grand Orient of France".

Also, all American presidents were Freemasons.

Oddly enough, but many US presidents were indeed members of Masonic lodges. Among them: George Washington, Warren Harding, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford. The creator of the Statue of Liberty, Frederic Bartholdi, was also a Freemason, among other things.

How to become a Freemason?

Contrary to the popular stereotype, one does not need to possess any supernatural wealth. All requirements for candidates follow from the basic Masonic principles. According to them, a person must have the means to pay membership fees. However, in some countries, Freemasons abolish this property qualification (for example, in Italy).

The main thing is that a person must prove his faith in God, reach adulthood (in most great lodges - 21 years old), be "free and of good morals", that is, make an independent decision to join the brotherhood, have a good reputation and have no problems with the law ...

After the decision is made, you need to go to the local lodge and enlist several recommendations from its full members. The decision to be admitted to Freemasonry takes place by secret ballot. In some lodges, if only one person voted against, then the candidacy is already rejected.

I'm an atheist. Will I not be accepted into the box?

Perhaps. Freemasonry is always based on religious beliefs: Christianity, Judaism and others. To become a Freemason, you must believe in any higher power. In liberal Freemasonry, however, it is assumed that a potential member of society adheres to the philosophy of deism or believes in God as an abstract principle. The Grand Lodge of Russia, for example, sometimes even admits membership of atheists.

P.S. We hope that after reading this article, you will not search all over the place for secret symbols and conspiracy theories. By the way, Masons are very fond of Mozart. In their opinion, in his "Magic Flute" he revealed Masonic secrets, for which he was later poisoned. When it is played at the Vienna Opera, Masons always get up. Well, this is already so, another interesting fact.

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Freemasonry

MASONY-a; m.

1. The religious and ethical movement, which arose at the beginning of the 18th century. in England and became widespread in Europe, in the USA and other countries, which set the task of creating a secret world organization to unite mankind in a fraternal union (Masonic organizations - lodges - are built on the model of medieval guild associations of masons, from which the specifics of the rite, complex attributes are borrowed). The development of Freemasonry. Study of Russian Freemasonry.

2. Condition, position of the Freemason; his views, beliefs. His m. Was limited to participation in the meeting of the lodge.

freemasonry

(Freemasonry) (from the French franc maçon - free mason), a religious and ethical movement, arose at the beginning of the 18th century. in the UK, spread to many countries, including Russia. The name, organization (association in lodges), traditions are borrowed by Freemasonry from medieval workshops (brotherhoods) of builders-masons, partly from medieval knightly and mystical orders. The Masons strove to create a secret world organization with the utopian goal of the peaceful unification of mankind in a religious fraternal union. Honoring God as the great architect of the universe, Freemasonry allows the practice of any religion. The greatest role was played in the 18th - early 19th centuries. Freemasonry has been known in Russia since the early 1730s. In the second half of the 18th century. became widespread among the educated nobility. In the 1810-1820s. almost all members of the Decembrist movement, many prominent statesmen and public figures were members of the lodges. In 1822, Masonic lodges were banned by the decree of Emperor Alexander I and did not play a significant role in the future. Attempts to revive Freemasonry were undertaken at the beginning of the 20th century: the so-called Duma Freemasonry united prominent political figures of the liberal camp associated with the State Duma. After October 1917, all lodges were liquidated.

MASONRY

MASONY (freemasonry) (French mason, English free mason - literally "free mason"), a religious and moral movement that emerged in the early 18th century in Great Britain, associated with the satisfaction of religious needs on a non-church basis. The first lodge (Grand Lodge) was founded in London on June 24, 1717. From Great Britain it spread to other countries, including Russia, where Masons used in the 18th - first third of the 19th century. great influence. In France, Freemasons played a prominent role in the preparation of the Great French Revolution. In countries where the Catholic Church was dominant, Freemasons were often persecuted. Liberal parties were called "Masonic" in Italy, Spain and some other Catholic countries.
Masonic metaphysics, symbolism had a great influence on culture and art (opera by W.A. Mozart (cm. MOZART Wolfgang Amadeus)"The Magic Flute", St. Paul's Cathedral in London, some churches in Moscow, design of US dollars, etc.).
In Russia, practically all the Masonic systems that were in use in Western Europe became widespread. These are the English, Swedish-Berlin, Swedish, French systems and, of course, Rosicrucianism. (cm. ROSEN CRUISERS)... In addition, their own - "national" - systems arose, named after their creators. These are, for example, the systems of Saltykov, Fessler, sometimes they speak of a special Masonic degree of "spiritual knight" I. V. Lopukhin (cm. LOPUKHIN Ivan Vladimirovich), or a special system of I.P. Elagin (cm. ELAGIN Ivan Perfilievich).
Religious and philosophical views of Russian masons. Exegetics
For Russian Masons, the Bible is one of the sources of mystical inspiration. The Masonic view accepts everything that was born outside of Christianity if it, in their opinion, is consistent with their ideas about Christianity. There was almost the same attitude to the cultural heritage of antiquity (and not only it) as to the Holy Scriptures. The religious faith of Russian free masons covered the works of these authors with a halo of "holiness" and placed them on a par with the Bible. Freemasons tend to speak not "on their own behalf", but referring to "enlightened sages" and reproducing established views. A distinctive feature of the Masonic view of the history of the emergence and development of the society of free masons is the inextricable unity of sacred and civil history. When solving historiosophical questions, the main attention is paid to the Pentateuch of Moses. Antiquity with its mythological heroes, the Middle Ages and the time in which Russian Masons lived and worked were thought of as a single whole. An analysis of the texts shows that the history of the Masonic order is the central line in the development of the human race for Masons. It turns out to be a connecting link in the preservation of genuine humanity and Revelation, it acts as an environment in which union with God must take place. The Holy Spirit is present in each of the people, making them sons of God, the Freemasons believed. But He is revealed not in each of them, but only in the "prudent" ones. The history of the world in the aspect of the union of man with God, as it were, is located in concentric circles, in the center of which there is an order, and within it a group of people, enlightened and wise, is distinguished, who are already entering the union with God. The semantic spiritual unity of the historical process of human life is provided not by the Church, but by the order as the "Temple of the Living God." It is the order, the degree of its prevalence in public life, that is the spiritual guide of the harmonious structure of both society itself and a person. The integrity of the historical process is preserved thanks to participation in the "Higher knowledge", and the people, pointed out by God's Providence, preserve and transmit it, providing the spiritual basis for the development of the human race. Freemasonry, according to its goals and objectives, served to satisfy religious needs on a non-church basis.
Conceptions about the Creator
Masonic metaphysics is based on the provision on the creation of the world - the idea of ​​the creation of the world. Nature has its source in God; He appears as the Absolute, in relation to which any manifestation of being is relative. God is the source of good and the center of perfection. “God is the center of everything,” said the brothers. For Masons, the world cannot be thought outside of God. However, one cannot identify God and nature. The Creator reveals Himself through nature. Creation is a free donative act of God. The world was created by the Divine will “out of nothing”. Creation "out of nothing" is the dogma of the Freemasons' faith, which coincides with the Christian tradition. The existence of God is reflected in the created. The purpose of the created and the justification of the created consists in the reciprocal glorification of Him.
The integrity of the world is one of the enduring features of Masonic views. The world was created in a certain order and harmony out of mercy and love. The world for Masons appears as a living whole with a certain structure. The highlighted intuition opposes the idea of ​​the world as a simple sum of various things and processes. There is a universal sympathy in the world that binds the world into a single organism - an organic whole. Mutual attraction, or "magnetism," a concept often used by Masons of the 18th and 19th centuries, strengthens the bond of mutual love. Created beings in their love are gifted with the ability to become like God. This is their purpose and true life.
"Old Adam" and "New Adam"
Man is "the extract of all things" - the Masonic brothers often repeated. Man is a being that is not separate from the creature, but is connected with the rest of the world. But the world naturally still does not allow a person to become a “true man”, “a new Adam,” that is, the image of a person to whom the Russian Masons were striving. Man as a created being, besides this, also has a Divine principle. The perfection of man and his lofty destiny do not lie in the fact that he is assimilated to the totality of the created, even if he carries the best properties of the created, but precisely in what distinguishes him from nature and compares him to the Creator. He was called, as the Freemasons believed, to build the "Temple of the Living God." In the Masonic worldview, nature appears not just as a macrocosm, but as a macroanthropos, as something dependent and determined by the final paths and goals of human development. Just as the fall of man led to the "damage" of nature on a cosmic scale, so his rebirth must restore the "norm" of nature that comes from the Creator. The very concept of "peace" in Masonic philosophy is a concept that carries sinfulness. The destinies of the world and of man are inseparable, and they have only one path. For this reason, metaphysical ideas are directly related to the development of moral and religious ideas and concepts by Masons.
The source of the mystical realism of the Freemasons lies in the metaphysical realm. After the fall of Adam, nature and man have two "layers" of being. The first is empirical, associated with a deviation from the norm, from the creative principle; the second is hidden, mystical. These two levels are not equal. The surface of being is determined by its mysterious belonging to a "hidden" source. Hence, always in the Masonic worldview, the task of enlightening everything visible arose. In accordance with the Christian tradition, the Freemasons distinguished two levels in man: external and internal, carnal and spiritual man. Each of these "two beings" is endowed with certain abilities that constantly manifest themselves in the world.
Freemasonry and Society
Russian Freemasonry was the first manifestation of civil initiative. The Masonic Order was engaged in both "internal" - purely Masonic, moralizing - work, and "external" - social and philanthropic - activities; he acted as an organizational and religious-ideological formation of civil society in Russia in the 18-19th centuries. He clearly showed in his historically concrete form that civil society should have (and at that time did have) conscious goals and objectives; should be concerned about his own welfare and watch over its preservation. And the Masonic Order was such a social form of self-organization, in which a moral and religious program of behavior for the Masonic brothers was developed, the possibility of non-political ways of developing Russian society was indicated and opened (although the attitude of the Masons to state power was always emphasized respectful).
On the inner freedom of a person
The peculiarity of the moral philosophy of Russian masons was the adherence to the "patristic" tradition of the organic unity of the way of thinking and way of life, theory and practice. For the Masonic worldview, it is possible to speak of a certain experimental anthropology. Another feature - the pathos of human autonomy in resolving spiritual and moral issues - is a distinctive characteristic of Russian Freemasonry of the 18-19 centuries at all stages of historical development. No force can violate a person's sovereignty: neither the state, nor the church, nor any other social institution.
The mystical meaning of the degrees of initiation
In the Masonic lodges, a gradual transition from one level of religious and moral knowledge to another was preached. All degrees of initiation have a mystical meaning. The truths of free masons are associated with the truths of religious feeling and faith, with a certain experience of experiencing the world around them, which led the brothers to Masonic lodges. The desire for the gradual formation of the moral consciousness and moral activity of each brother expresses one of the main attitudes of the Masonic way of thinking. The life of the incarnate God, Jesus Christ, was the direct model of life for the Masons. The path of the Freemason is the path of ascent from the created man to the Divine nature. A person can achieve “deification” only through “co-working” with God. The cosmic consequences of the Fall, when all created things have undergone death and decay, can only be overcome by man. The world follows him, because he is like the nature of man. The way of saving the world is the way of uniting the original image of man with the Archetype. The "cooperation" of God and man elevates and saves nature as well.
Worldly Knowledge and Revelation
The thinking of a Russian freemason is believing thinking, and only believing thinking is able to carry out all the acts of cognition. The Christological principle permeates the worldview of the Russian brothers. Without Revelation, the free masons believed, the unity of faith and reason cannot be realized in fullness and clarity. The ideal of the integrity of the human spirit, where faith and reason, reason and heart are united in a single force, constitutes one of the creative inspirations of masons. It led to the genesis of Slavophilism.
The desire for knowledge is one of the innate human abilities, the Freemasons believed. The desire of a person to cognize nature "directly", without changing his inner state, and only in this way to acquire knowledge about the Divine laws, Masons consider limited. That worldly rational knowledge, which has become widespread among people, according to the Freemasons, is "wild wisdom" that came from the tempting serpent. He tied man to the sensible world. "Sensual" knowledge comes from the pride and selfishness of man. False sensory concepts are developed through which the Light of God cannot penetrate. The mind itself, in the state in which it is at the present time, cannot comprehend supernatural things, therefore, it cannot indicate the path to transformation and rebirth. A person with such a mind is still in a state of darkness. Quite naturally, Freemasonry did not accept the enlightenment that came from the West. Moreover, education itself for the Freemasons has a pronounced religious and philosophical meaning. Knowledge for Masons is “the inner Primordial Light; and ignorance is “the inner Primordial Darkness”.
Brotherly spirit
Without the spirit of free masonry, the spirit of brotherly unity, it is impossible to perform Masonic work, even if they are directed at each brother separately. In Freemasonry, there is a "choral principle" - this is what the brothers aspired to. Where there is no friendship, there can be no "trust" in those innermost knowledge to which they were striving. Through friendship, love, "trust" and consent, the Masonic virtues were acquired and the rebirth of man and nature was carried out. The Masonic Order acts as a single human soul. The process of self-knowledge does not fit within the framework of individual consciousness. Essentially, we are talking about self-knowledge as a specific function of the higher (conciliar) consciousness.
Russian Freemasonry in the middle of the 18th century. English system
In Russia, Freemasonry became widespread in the 18th century. and covered mainly noble and bureaucratic circles, expressing the emerging civic initiative. Depending on the time, on the events that took place in Russian society in the second half of the 18th - first quarter of the 19th century, the internal alignment of Masonic forces came to the fore, one or the other Masonic system, and at the same time there were changes in the system of values. orientations of Russian free masons and the degree of influence.
Among Russian masons there was a legend that the first lodges were opened by Peter the Great, but the first documented news of the spread of Freemasonry in the Russian Empire dates back to 1731, when, according to an English source, the Grand Master of the Great London Lodge, Lord Lovel, appointed Captain John Phillips as a provincial grand master. for the whole of Russia, that is, first of all, for foreigners living in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Then this position (from 1740) was held by the general of the Russian service Yakov Keith. As in many European states, the beginning of Freemasonry here was associated with England. In connection with the strengthening of German influence under Anna Ioannovna (cm. Anna Ivanovna) the spread of German Freemasonry among Russian brothers took place. Already at the end of the reign of Empress Elizabeth (cm. ELIZAVETA Petrovna) Masonic lodges have taken root in the country, and one can speak of Freemasonry as a new emerging form of social consciousness.
Initially, the main form of Freemasonry in Russia was the English system with three simplest degrees of initiation: student, comrade, and master. John the Baptist was considered the patron saint of these degrees. (cm. John the Baptist), and June 24 - Midsummer's Day - became a general order holiday. In honor of St. John the Baptist, the first three degrees were named John's. The distinctive color of this system was the color of azure - the color of the sky as a symbol of the loftiness of aspirations and the thirst for spiritual self-improvement (because of this, John's Freemasonry was also called blue Freemasonry). Each of them was given a constitution from the mother lodge - a founding charter, thanks to which it was considered just and perfect, and the chain of the Masonic brotherhood was not interrupted. Otherwise, even if the newly opened lodge worked according to genuine Masonic acts and rites, it was illegal in the eyes of the Masonic fraternity. The symbolism of the three moral degrees was the originality of the John Masonic doctrine.
The main role in the spread of the English system of Freemasonry in Russia belonged to I.P. Elagin (cm. ELAGIN Ivan Perfilievich), who joined the Masonic brotherhood in 1750. He established up to 20 lodges in Russia, working according to the English system.
German and Swedish systems in Russia (from the 1770s)
In parallel with the approval of the "Elagin Union" in the early 70s. 18th century the spread in Russia of the German form of Freemasonry, which was called the Swedish-Berlin, or Zinnendorf.
The German brothers, like the Russians, were always in the process of spiritual searches. They also believed that the true form of Freemasonry, or "true knowledge," must come from overseas. As a result, approximately the same situation arose as in the case of the spread of the English system in Russia.
Johann Wilhelm Ellenberger, known in the history of Freemasonry under the name of von Zinnendorff, established contacts with Swedish Freemasons and received from them the appropriate papers for opening lodges according to the Swedish model. Although later the Swedes did not recognize the correctness of Zinnendorf's lies, but the Swedish system of Freemasonry, which had already spread in Germany, surpassed the German systems in the number of higher degrees and inspired the new brothers with hope for receiving genuine Masonic wisdom. It was believed that Jesus Christ left not only the teaching that was transmitted by His disciples in the Gospels, but also some secret knowledge. It was transmitted orally and reached the clerics of the Templar (cm. TAMPLERS) orders, and from them - to the Freemasons of the Swedish system, and only representatives of Christian confessions are worthy of this true knowledge. The idea of ​​"some important sacrament" on which "the fate of the human race depends" will sound in Russia not only among the representatives of the Swedish system, but also among the Rosicrucians and Freemasons of the English system.
In Russia, the Zinnendorf system was initially established in the first three degrees of John's Freemasonry. Former chamberlain at the court of the Duke of Braunschweig, von Reichel, established in March 1771 in St. Petersburg the first lodge of the Swedish-Berlin style under the name "Apollo", consisting of 14 brothers, of which only one was Russian. The affairs of the new lodge were going badly, and Reichel was forced to close it, and in return opened the Harpocrates lodge in May 1773 under the direction of Prince. N. Trubetskoy. The majority in it were already Russian brothers. However, the new lodge did not receive support from the Berlin National Lodge, which recommended that the "Russian Zinnendorf people" turn to the provincial great master IP Elagin (cm. ELAGIN Ivan Perfilievich) or straight to the Grand Lodge in London. As a result, a paradoxical situation arose: the Russian brothers of the Swedish-Berlin system were dependent on the English grand lodge. Moreover, the great master of the English system introduced acts of the Swedish-Berlin system in the lodges loyal to him. After some time, there was an intersection of interests of the lodges of Elagin and Reichel, which ended in a short-lived union in September 1776.
Among the masters of the united lodges, N.I. Novikov can be distinguished (cm. NOVIKOV Nikolay Ivanovich)- since 1777 master of the chair of the lodge "Latona" (later transferred this lodge to Moscow), Prince. GP Gagarin - from the same year the master of the "Equality" lodge, the secretary of Catherine II Khrapovitsky, who from September 1776 worked in the "Nemesis" lodge. A. N. Radishchev visited the "Urania" lodge (cm. RADISHCHEV Alexander Nikolaevich)... But the newly formed union did not justify the hopes for the unification of Russian lodges on the basis of one system, and the further history of the development of the Elagin lodges contains only fragmentary data.
The greatest influence in Russia since the late 70s. 18th century used the Swedish system of Freemasonry, which existed until the prohibition of the activities of Masonic lodges in 1822. Its official distribution was initiated by the book. Alexander Borisovich Kurakin (1752-1818).
The main leaders of Freemasonry in St. Petersburg were dissatisfied with the disorderly nature of Masonic quests and those systems that spread among the brothers until 1775. They decided to send Prince. A. B. Kurakina (cm. KURAKIN Alexander Borisovich (1752-1818)) for negotiations with the supreme orderly authority of Sweden with a request to open access to the "true sacraments". Taking advantage of the interest of the Swedish brothers in expanding their influence in Russia, he was personally initiated into the secrets of the Swedish rite by Duke Karl of Südermanland (later King Charles XIII).
Prince Kurakin signed acts on the subordination of future Russian lodges to Sweden and on the introduction of the Swedish system in Russia. After that, he received a number of documents: a constitution for the foundation in St. Petersburg of the main governing lodge of the Swedish system - the chapter of the Phoenix, a diploma of the Prince. Gavriil Petrovich Gagarin (1745-1808) for the title of managing prefect of the chapter and other official papers and ritual items. However, the book. Not all the acts necessary for the opening of the chapter were transferred to Kurakin.
In February 1778, in accordance with the instructions, the Phoenix Chapter became a secret supreme reign and a secret supreme court for the Russian masons of the Swedish rite. The final approval of decisions remained with the Swedish Chapter. This strict dependence (or "system of strict obedience") on Swedish masons was clearly not to the liking of Russian masons.
The Swedish system quickly spread in Russia, and in 1779 the grand opening of the Grand National Lodge in St. Petersburg took place as a clear rule for all Russian lodges of the Swedish persuasion. But for those brothers who were consecrated to the highest degrees, the Phoenix Chapter remained the supreme organ. As a result, the "officials" of the Swedish system were given double titles, some for the chosen brothers, others for the Masonic crowd. The union that emerged in the Masonic movement began to be called "Gagarin lodges".
The Swedish system asserted its ancient lineage from the Order of the Knights of the Temple and contained ten degrees of initiation. John's degrees (first department): 1) student, 2) comrade, 3) master. Andreevsky, or Scottish, degrees (second department): 4) apprentice-apprentice, 5) master. Knightly degrees (third section): 6) brothers Stuart, or knights of the East and Jerusalem; 7) brothers chosen by King Solomon, or the knights of the temple, or the West, or the Key; 8) Near St. John, or brothers of the white ribbon; 9) Near St. Andrew, or brothers of the purple ribbon, often called the knights of the purple ribbon. The tenth degree - brothers of the rose cross - was divided into three classes: the first one consisted of members of the chapter who did not occupy any positions in it; 2nd — of the great officials of the chapter; 3rd - great ruling master.
The Swedish system was of a patriarchal-hierarchical nature, based on the principles of autocracy, irremovability of the authorities and strict subordination of younger lodges and brothers to their superiors.
In accordance with the instruction sent to Russia in 1780, which was in effect until the prohibition of all free-masonry works in 1822, a great provincial master was at the head of the newly formed union - for the Masonic crowd, and for the chosen brothers it was indicated that the title of a great provincial master is inseparable from the title of a great prefect Chapter of the Phoenix and the position of Chairman of the Directory.
The Directory ruled the Chapter and included the most trustworthy members of the Chapter. For the Masonic crowd, it was called the Council of the Grand National Lodge. Each member of the Directory also had a double name. She kept under strict control all the work that was carried out in the subordinate lodges, was in charge of the receipt and expenditure of funds, the admission of new members, in other words, demanded and established "strict obedience". It could only include Masons starting from the 7th degree of initiation. It was subdivided into two chambers: the lower - executive - for Masons of the 7-8th degrees of initiation, and the upper - legislative - for Masons of the 9th degree. In turn, the Directory was directly subordinate to the great provincial master of the IX province, that is, Duke Karl of Südermanland, and at the end of each year had to provide him with a general report on the work done and at any time - on any significant events. However, after Ivan Vasilyevich Beber (1746-1820) was elected Grand Secretary of the Grand National Lodge, who immediately began to put things in order in the Masonic archive, it turned out that, despite promises from the Swedish Supreme Chapter, only acts were sent to the Russian brothers up to the 7th degree of initiation inclusive.
In the Swedish system, one of the ways of organizing the noble civil society of Russia was presented. Despite the successful spread of the Swedish system among the highest circles of Russian society, the Phoenix Chapter failed to unite all the Masonic lodges of Russia under its leadership. Moreover, discord began within the order itself. Among domestic masons, a certain dissatisfaction arose with the initially adopted strict dependence on Duke Karl of Südermanland, and Russian Masons were ashamed of "the conquest of the Russian brotherhood to the Swedish brotherhood."
The first reaction of Catherine II
Catherine II was wary and suspicious of Masonic activities. She did not want the spread of the power of Sweden to the ancestral nobility of Russia, as well as the strengthening of the influence of the Freemasons on Tsarevich Paul. The Empress learned that the Swedish Masons had sent a fairly large sum of money to the Russian brothers, which aroused her indignation. In 1780, a satire on Freemasons appeared in print under the title "The Mystery of the Anti-absurd Society." Government structures in various ways constantly sought to control the Masonic movement long before the persecution of N.I. Novikov began.
"Harmony"
In Moscow at the end of 1780 organized "secret and syentificheskaya" Masonic lodge "Harmony", which included Prince. N.N. Trubetskoy, N.I. Novikov (cm. NOVIKOV Nikolay Ivanovich), M. M. Kheraskov (cm. KHERASKOV Mikhail Matveevich), I. P. Turgenev, A. M. Kutuzov (cm. KUTUZOV Alexey Mikhailovich), I. G. Schwartz (cm. SHVARTZ Ivan Grigorievich), book. A. A. Cherkassky, Prince. P. N. Engalychev. The "secret" character of the lodge was that its formation was not known not only to the uninitiated, that is, to the profane, but also to many Masons; the term "syentific" indicated the search by this lodge for the true "form of Freemasonry." Lodge "Harmony" united in its ranks representatives of various Masonic systems, striving to acquire independence in solving freemasonry issues. For this reason, it is also called "eclectic" in the research literature.
The ritual and ceremonial side of Freemasonry was not obligatory for members of the "Harmony" lodge. The organization of this lodge was a kind of prologue to subsequent educational transformations by the Moscow masons. To a certain extent, she reconciled the representatives of various "Masonic confessions". But not only. The significance of the activities of the Harmony Lodge was that the beginning of the theoretical development of the worldview of Russian Masons was laid, and at the same time Russian Freemasonry was paving its way as a national phenomenon in the social life of Russia in the 18th century.
Russia declared an independent Masonic province
One of the problems facing the "eclectic" alliance of brothers was the formal dependence on the Stockholm Supreme Chapter. Freemasons did not tolerate imposture in their midst, and it was required by an official way to overcome the current situation of the subordination of all Russian masons to Sweden. The other side of the indicated problem was that the belief in the possibility of receiving the "true Light" was not lost. As a result, in 1781 I. G. Schwartz (cm. SHVARTZ Ivan Grigorievich), a professor at Moscow University, who has already become well-known in Masonic circles, went by the collective decision of the Harmony Lodge in search of the "true form" of Freemasonry abroad.
He was given an act stating that he was the only supreme representative of the "Theoretical degree of Solomon Sciences" in Russia, initiated into the sacrament of the Rosicrucians, and only he was allowed to organize Russian Rosicrucianism. The same act appointed N.I. Novikov a lower rank - the chief overseer of the theoretical degree. At the same time, I.G.Schwartz met Baron Schroeder, who later came to Russia and became, for a short time, one of the main leaders of the Order of the Golden-Rose Cross.
In the spring of 1782, Schwartz returned to Moscow, and in the summer of the same year, the Wilhelmsbad convention was held, at which Russia was recognized by the VIIIth completely free and independent province of the Masonic world. The General Masonic Convention adopted a decree by which it dissociated itself from the Order of the Knights Templar (cm. TAMPLERS)... The seat of the IX province remained vacant: the convention hoped that the Swedish Masons would repent and join the united Masonic brotherhood.
The Moscow brothers gained independence from Swedish Freemasonry in solving freemasonry issues, and from that moment Russian Freemasonry acquired independence. The brothers of the Swedish system of Freemasonry in Russia also took advantage of the results of the convention - they joined the newly formed union. If the "eclectic" lodge of Harmony laid the foundation for the systematic development of the Masonic worldview, then the decisions of the Wilhelmsbad Convention documented the very possibility of such an activity. From that moment on, we can talk about the beginning of Russian Freemasonry as a national phenomenon.
At the end of 1782, the Moscow brothers received the resolution of the Congress, and immediately began work on organizing the provincial chapter and the Directory.
In the chapter, P.A.Tatishchev was appointed prior, I.G.Shvarts as chancellor, and N.I. Novikov as treasurer. (cm. NOVIKOV Nikolay Ivanovich)... NI Novikov became the President of the Directory. The post of the great provincial master in the chapter remained vacant. It is believed that this position was reserved for the heir to the throne, Pavel Petrovich. Four lodges - "Three Banners" by PA Tatishchev, "Osiris" book. NN Trubetskoy, "Latona" NI Novikov and organized by Prince. GP Gagarin in 1783 the "Sphinx" lodge - received the right to independently form new lodges.
The set goal - the acquisition of independence - was achieved, and the Moscow brothers are gradually moving away from the Duke of Braunschweig, maintaining ties with the Berlin Rosicrucians. In other words, Schwartz organized a secret circle of Rosicrucians, which included Prince. N. and Yu. Trubetskoy, book. A. Cherkassky, Prince. Engalychev, N. and A. Novikovs, I. Turgenev, M. Kheraskov, S. Gamaleya, I. Lopukhin and others. Work in the Masonic Doges did not stop.
The Rosicrucian activity was based on the general Masonic doctrine of the three John degrees.
Educational activity. 1780s
In 1783, on the basis of a decree on free printing houses, members of the "Friendly Society" opened two printing houses - one in the name of N.I. Novikov, the other - in I.V. exclusively for "internal use", and its editions did not go on sale.
Schwartz died in February 1784. In accordance with the instructions received from Berlin, it was decided to establish a Directory of three masters: P.A.Tatishchev, N.I. Novikov and Prince. N.N. Trubetskoy. The main overseers of the Directory were Baron Schroeder - for the German brothers, IV Lopukhin - for the Russians. Baron Schroeder, in accordance with the instructions of Welner, took the place of J.G. Schwartz in the Rosicrucian order. But the new representative of the "Theoretical Degree of Solomon Sciences" did not enjoy the authority and respect of both ordinary Freemasons and those initiated to higher degrees, which subsequently led to an aggravation of relations between Moscow Freemasons and the Baron, and he was forced to leave Russia.
In September of the same year, the Printing Company was established, of whose 14 members, 12 were Rosicrucians. The affairs of the newly formed company were managed by pr. N. and Yu. Trubetskoy, S. I. Gamaleya, N. I. Novikov, I. V. Lopukhin, A. M. Kutuzov, Baron Schroeder.
Catherine's second reaction. "Test" Novikov
With the beginning of 1785, the attention of government circles to the activities of the Moscow brothers became more intent. Count Ya. A. Bruce, appointed commander-in-chief of Moscow after the death of Count Z. G. Chernyshev, forced IV Lopukhin to resign. This was followed by a series of decrees of Catherine II on the inspection of private schools and colleges in Moscow, many of which were under the tutelage of Masons, on the test by Archbishop Platon N.I. Novikov (cm. NOVIKOV Nikolay Ivanovich) in the Law of God and the consideration of the books he printed. The immediate reason was probably the foreign contacts of the Russian masons and, most importantly, their attempts through V.I.Bazhenov (cm. BAZHENOV Vasily Ivanovich) establish contact with Pavel Petrovich. Plato, as you know, recognized Novikov as a "good Christian", but this did not stop the empress. In 1786, all private schools and hospitals were banned, and the printing of books of spiritual content in private printing houses was banned.
In 1784 the activity of the Russian Rosicrucians was suspended due to the announcement by the highest order leaders of "silanium", that is, silence (in the Masonic language). Then, at the end of 1786, an initial oral warning came through Baron Schroeder, and then an official announcement of the suspension from the beginning of 1787 of the activities of the Order's meetings in connection with the spread of "illuminati tricks". However, this did not exclude the active study by the Freemasons of those materials that had already been received from the Berlin Rosicrucians, and above all the "Theoretical Degree of Solomon Sciences".
Thus, at the time of the publication of the announcement of silanium, the following situation developed in Russian Freemasonry: firstly, the main Masonic systems, which became widespread in Russia, had three degrees in their foundation - student, comrade and master. John's Freemasonry was the "mass form" of the worldview of the Russian brothers, and it was this that formed the basis of the system of value orientations of free masons.
Secondly, there was a close relationship between ceremonies and rituals in the first degrees of Freemasonry of the “first Elagin union”, the boxes of Baron Reichel, “Gagarin's boxes” and the brothers of the Novikov circle. With all the variety of Masonic systems, the original internal unity of Freemasonry in Russia stands out.
Thirdly, the Swedish system, headed by G.P. Gagarin and the Moscow Rosicrucians of the Novikov circle, occupy a leading position in the Masonic movement in Russia, and it is the materials related to their activities that can provide the most representative and accurate information about the main line in religious and philosophical aspirations of domestic Masons.
In 1792 Novikov, MI Bagryansky, V. Ya. Kolokolnikov, and MI Nevzorov were arrested, Trubetskoy, Lopukhin, and others were exiled to their estates.
Freemasons during the reign of Paul I and at the beginning of the reign of Alexander I
With the accession to the throne of Paul I, the Masons who were in disgrace were forgiven. Novikov, leaving the Shlisselburg fortress, appointed G.M.Pokhodyashin and A.F. Labzin (cm. LABZIN Alexander Fedorovich) leaders of Moscow lodges. In 1799 Paul banned the activities of Masonic lodges. Later, in the early years of the reign of Alexander I, the new tsar confirmed this decree. But in spite of everything, free masonry is gaining strength, and the liberal policy of that time "turns a blind eye" at the newly formed lodges, and in the future seeks to put Masonic work under its control.
Acts of the Rosicrucian rite were preserved by A.F. Labzin (cm. LABZIN Alexander Fedorovich) and I. A. Pozdeev. A. F. Labzin, a student of the Novikov circle, opened the Dying Sphinx box in St. Petersburg in January 1800. During the first five years of its existence, it worked in deep secrecy, then, in 1803, in Moscow, through the efforts of the Rosicrucians, a secret lodge "Neptune" was established under the chairmanship of Senator PI Golenishchev-Kutuzov. It is named so in memory of the eponymous bed of the 18th century. in Kronstadt, which worked according to the Swedish system. The new lodge already had a different direction, although it retained the old seal and name. For her "cover" members of the "Neptune" lodge organized a legal lodge called "Harpocrates".
Chapter of the Phoenix, known to the Masonic crowd in the 18th century. under the name of the Grand National Lodge, in 1810 it began to be called the Great Directory of Vladimir to Order. Under her authority were three lodges, which originated from the Pelican Lodge established in 1773, which did not stop its work, despite various prohibiting government decrees. In 1805 it was renamed the Alexander Lodge of Charity to the Crowned Pelican, and was headed by IV Beber. Then, in 1809, a lodge was formed from her in honor of the Empress "Elizabeth to Virtue" under the chairmanship of the freemason of Catherine's time, AS Sergeev. The third lodge - "Peter to Truth" - opened in 1810, presiding master - EE Ellisen.
It should be noted that if in the 18th century. the basis of the Swedish system was primarily a high-born nobility, then already from the beginning of the 19th century it unites broader social strata of Russian society.
By 1810, the activities of domestic Masonic lodges of various directions received a wide public response, and the government, through the Minister of Police A.D. Balashov, who was a member of the United Friends lodge and dedicated to the highest degree, appealed to the Masonic leaders with an order to provide acts, statutes and rituals to familiarize yourself with their activities. There were rumors among the Masons that the reason for the check was Fessler's denunciation.
In 1811, the government returned the reviewed acts of Masonic rites to the governor of the Grand Directory of the Lodge I.V. Beber (at the same time he was the prefect of the Phoenix chapter) and did not interfere with the spread of the lodges of the Swedish system. Governmental Committee, in which M.M.Speransky took part (cm. SPERANSKY Mikhail Mikhailovich)(by this time he had already been admitted to the Masonic fraternity), obliged him to submit to the police monthly reports on the events taking place in the lodges.
It should be noted that I.V. Beber provided the police only with acts of St. John's degrees, and the highest degrees of the Swedish rite were not reviewed. A. F. Labzin (cm. LABZIN Alexander Fedorovich) acted more radically: he did not give any acts of his Lodge of the Dying Sphinx at all.
The restoration of the activities of the Phoenix chapter with a Directory called the Supreme Order Council dates back to this time. IV Beber was elected the head of the order and received the title of "Vicar of Solomon, the Wise of the Wise", which corresponded to the highest degree in the Swedish system. In Sweden, this title was originally carried only by Karl of Südermanland, and later the monarchs of Sweden took the highest degree by inheritance.
"Zion's Bulletin"
AF Labzin continues his publishing activity in the tradition of the "Novikov" decade, and in January 1806 under his editorship the first issue of the "Zion Bulletin" magazine was published, which was closed in the September issue and resumed its existence only in 1817. Significance of the "Zion Bulletin" in public life was that the first attempt was made to create a religious periodical by a secular person. In fact, it was the first religious and philosophical journal in the truest sense of the word. AF Labzin was active not only in Masonic journalism. His range of interests included the publication of literature, which enjoyed undoubted interest among the Rosicrucians not only of the "new" generation of brothers, but, above all, of the "old" Freemasonry of Catherine's time. In January 1807, another student of the “Novikov school”, MI Nevzorov, began publishing his monthly magazine, Friend of Youth. Its publication came out until 1815. The named journals had a Masonic orientation.
Religious and moral education was one of the goals of the Rosicrucians. In 1809, in Moscow and St. Petersburg, work was already actively carried out not only in the first degrees of St. John's Freemasonry, but also in the "Theoretical degree of Solomon Sciences."
In 1802, AA Zherebtsov opened the United Friends lodge in St. Petersburg, which worked according to the French system and consisted at first of the St. Petersburg nobility. The members of this lodge were the Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, c. Stanislaw Kostka Potocki (later Minister of Confessions and Education in the Kingdom of Poland), A. H. Benckendorf (cm. BENKENDORF Alexander Khristoforovich), since 1810 - Minister of Police Alexander Dmitrievich Balashov, reformer of Freemasonry Ignatius Aurelius Fessler and others.
A committee appointed by the government to review the acts and rites pointed out the freethinking spirit of the French system, which, under the right conditions, could manifest itself clearly, and delayed permission for Masonic work. In turn, A. A. Zherebtsov said that his lodge had no relations with the French masons. However, the decision of the committee could no longer be canceled, and in 1812 the St. Petersburg French lodge of the United Friends was forced to join the directory lodge of the Swedish rite "Vladimir to Order" in order to continue its work.
These three directions - Rosicrucianism, the Swedish and French systems - were the main actors in Masonic history before 1812. There were other directions, but they did not have a significant impact on the development of the Masonic movement in Russia. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the French system did not have the same stable influence on the nature of the philosophical worldview of the Freemasons, which was among the Rosicrucians and the brothers of the Swedish system. The supremacy and leadership since the 80s of Catherine's time belonged to them.
Ellisen's letter
During and after the war of 1812, national-patriotic feelings intensified in Russian society. This did not fail to affect the nature of Masonic activity, and above all on the fact that in the organizational structure of the Masonic lodges the leading and decisive role, as they said at the time, was played by the “Russian party”. Naturally, such an attitude aroused discontent among non-Russian Masons. Acquaintance with Western Europe during the war increased the attention of noble circles to the issues of democratic reforms. The ideas of liberalism and democracy began to penetrate into the Masonic lodges, undermining the patriarchal foundations of the Swedish system and Rosicrucianism.
In July 1814 the master of the lodge "Peter to Truth" Yegor Yegorovich Ellisen (as Johann George David Ellisen was called in the Russian manner) wrote a letter, famous in the history of Russian Freemasonry, to the great master of the directorial lodge "Vladimir to Order" V. I. Beber. In it, he questioned the necessity and expediency of the existence of higher degrees and emphasized that true Freemasonry is associated with the three degrees of John's Freemasonry. This letter was a formal reason to raise really urgent problems in the Masonic movement in Russia.
Ellisen entered the Phoenix Chapter immediately upon renewal in 1811, and was ordained to the highest degrees. He was one of the few middle class brothers who reached the pinnacles of the Swedish system. For most of the brothers of the Ellisen circle, due to the statutory requirements that were presented in the Swedish system, this path was closed. For immigrants not from Russia, as well as for those brothers who were unable to confirm their ancestral origin, it became impossible to reach the "higher degrees". The bulk of the Freemasons who supported EE Ellisen were foreigners. And both capitals followed with intense attention the unfolding struggle between the "foreign" and "Russian" parties.
In the already mentioned letter to V.I.Beber, EE Ellisen stated that the Phoenix Chapter was an illegal formation. Such a statement had a basis: since the acts of the higher degrees were not presented to the government commission and, naturally, were not approved by it, the chapter had no right to authorize work in the higher degrees. Moreover, the brothers of John's degrees and brothers of higher degrees, as stated in the letter, found themselves in an unequal position: if the John’s lodges had to submit regular reports to the police and indicate the full names of participants in Masonic work, then at the same time the Phoenix chapter did not present such materials. , and all Masonic documents he signed only with the order names, hiding the true names of the participants. This unjust situation caused discontent among the Masonic crowd. It is quite clear that sooner or later such questions had to be posed for the system of "strict observation", to which the Swedish system of Freemasonry in Russia belonged. And so it happened. EE Ellisen emphasized in his letter that many Freemasons are in favor of the "democratization" of Masonic works.
The ideas of freedom and self-government in the organization of Masonic activity in many respects echoed the liberal ideas of the beginning of the reign of Alexander I and the radicalism of a part of Russian society after the war of 1812.
EE Ellisen launched the propaganda of the above considerations, and they received support in the Masonic brotherhood. The point is that he emphasized the political nature of the Swedish system, capable of solving fundamental questions of power. As confirmation, they cited the fact that the lower brothers did not know their leaders, and such a strict system of subordination in Sweden made it possible for Gustav III to restore the monarchy. In practice, the Swedish system was accused of illuminatiism.
When a split was outlined in Russian Freemasonry, A. F. Labzin wrote a letter to the Minister of Public Education and Spiritual Affairs A. N. Golitsin in defense of the higher degrees. Another Rosicrucian, PI Golenishchev-Kutuzov, wrote a whole series of denunciations denouncing "false Freemasonry." Both feared that new trends and the arrival of a "foreign party" could have an irreparable impact on the fate of Russian Freemasonry.
Despite all the efforts of I. V. Beber to rally the brotherhood and stop the "Masonic heresy", the process of delimitation among the brothers of the Swedish system continued. As a result, I. V. Beber was forced to submit a note to the government on July 26, 1815, in which he spoke in favor of the higher degrees as the guardians of Christian covenants, stressing that these degrees were reviewed by the Minister of Education, Count Razumovsky. A proposal was also made here that a demarcation among the Masonic brotherhood is possible, and Beber is ready to establish in accordance with ancient acts a new Grand Governing Lodge, of course, with higher degrees, which will work under the direct control of the government, and other brothers of the Swedish system will not will have no points of contact with the newly formed union. The reciprocal move was the formation by Ellisen of a union of lodges supporting his program, and the establishment of a Grand Governing Lodge for this union called "Astrea" (in honor of the goddess personifying the golden age that the Freemasons dreamed of and aspired to). In the same year, the code of the new lodge was published. This dealt the first powerful blow to the patriarchal-hierarchical system of government of Freemasonry.
Astrea's constitution was undoubtedly popular among the Masonic fraternity. This is evidenced by the increase in the number of lodges of the formed union: if in 1818 it included 18 lodges, then in 1820-1821 there were already 25. John's Freemasonry, with its three simplest degrees, was gaining strength again and became a priority. The Astrea Union, thanks to the release of its documents, was considered in the eyes of Russian society as a "true" Masonic union.
However, the Phoenix Chapter did not give up its positions. In 1816, the "Great Directory of Vladimir to Order" was closed and replaced with a new Great Provincial Lodge. This was already the third image of the patriarchal Swedish system.
Government circles agreed to the existence in Russia of two great governing lodges: the Great Provincial and Astrea. A friendship agreement was signed between these lodges. But the desire to build a universal system of Freemasonry did not die out, and the struggle between the lodges for influence among the Freemasons continued.
Unexpectedly for all, I.V. Beber, who for a long time stood at the head of the Phoenix chapter and was respected by the brothers of the highest degrees, left the Great Provincial Lodge and joined the Astraea union. This was, of course, a strong blow to the patriarchal Swedish system of Freemasonry in Russia. A number of other senior officials in the Phoenix Chapter did the same.
Power in the chapter passed to gr. M. Yu. Vielgorskiy (cm. VIELGORSKY Matvey Yurievich)... The count was greatly influenced by the Rosicrucian mystics S.I.Gamaleya, A.F. Labzin, I.A. The spiritual closeness of the Rosicrucians and the leaders of the highest degrees of the Swedish system has already become a tradition for the Masonic movement in Russia.
The disagreements between representatives of the lodges of the Swedish system were caused not only by the resolution of the issue of the status of higher degrees, but also by questions about the origins of mystical practice and the theory of Freemasonry. For mystical teaching, the question of the continuity and preservation of mystical knowledge is essential and important. For this reason, the reform of EE Ellisen called into question, first of all, the mystical side of Masonic teaching.
Since the union of Astrea officially proclaimed religious tolerance for all Masonic systems, the "brothers of the highest degrees" took advantage of this. They proposed organizing a special ritual chapter at Astrea, which would be in charge of these higher degrees. As a result, a paradoxical situation arose again: the union, which, according to the original plan, was intended to reject the highest degrees, in reality protected them. The Phoenix Chapter has managed to remain faithful to the old traditions by such a legal and political move. In the spring of 1822, after various vicissitudes, the two Russian unions were united. The original unity has been restored. But not for long.
In the Alexander era, St. John's Freemasonry retained its importance and served as a mass form of Freemasonry, which became widespread among representatives of various Masonic systems. The disagreements concerned primarily the method of running the Masonic lodges. But the government was certainly aware even of those brothers who tried to conduct their work in a "secret" manner.
Closing boxes by Alexander I and Nicholas I
The internal policy of Alexander I was changing. This also applied to the attitude towards the Freemasons. Initially, in 1821, the lodges in Poland were closed. In December of the same year, on a denunciation of one of the employees, the work of A. F. Labzin's lodge was stopped. At the same time, a ban was imposed on the distribution of Masonic songs and other works of this kind.
August 1, 1822 was followed by the highest rescript addressed to gr. V.P. Kochubei (cm. KOCHUBEY Victor Pavlovich) on the closure of all lodges in Russia. The reason for this was the brothers' occupation with "intimate political subjects." Many of the Decembrists were members of various Masonic lodges, the organizational structure of the early Decembrist organizations of the Union of Salvation and the Order of Russian Knights partly reproduced the structure of the lodges. The future Decembrists took part in the work of lodges known to the government and unknown.
On April 21, 1826, one of the first rescripts addressed to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Nicholas I, confirmed the prohibition of the activities of Masonic lodges. However, the Masonic brothers met in secret.
It is quite obvious that the Masonic worldview turned out to be a stable form of consciousness in Russian society, if from the moment of its civil birth there are 90 years. But even after the prohibition of Masonic lodges in 1822, their ideas did not die out, finding their continuation in the subsequent decades of the 19th and 20th centuries. Nothing speaks so much of the rootedness of Freemasonry in Russian soil as following traditions and developing these traditions. This is one of the reasons for the separation of the Masonic philosophical worldview as a national phenomenon.
Freemasonry at the end of the 19th century - 1917
In the second half of the 19th century. and inventor P. N. Yablochkov in France created the "Cosmos" lodge, into which M. M. Kovalevsky were admitted (cm. KOVALEVSKY Maksim Maksimovich), N. A. Kotlyarevsky, E. V. De-Roberti and others. From the lodge "Cosmos" branches were created in Russia, but the most massive forms of the revival of the lodges took after the Manifesto of October 17, 1917. In this case, the main directions were two: followers and supporters of Kovalevsky were of the opinion that the brothers should believe in God, and supporters of EI Kedrin adhered to the principle of freedom of religion. The first sought to join the "Grand Lodge of France", and the second - to the "Great East", they were in the majority. In November 1908, the First Russian Masonic Convention was held, at which both branches of Freemasonry agreed on an alliance and the governing bodies in Russia were formed: the Supreme Council and the Council of 18 (for brothers of higher capitular degrees). Among the members of the lodges there were many representatives of the parties of the Cadets, Socialist-Revolutionaries and other parties of a liberal orientation, one way or another oriented towards the overthrow of the autocracy. After exposing Azef's provocative activities (cm. AZEF Evno Fishelevich) a number of Masons of higher degrees (including Kedrin) were accused of excessive talkativeness, in 1910 new leaders, A. M. Kolyubakin and Prince. SD Urusov, sharply limited communications in the "Great East of France". In the future, the politicized brothers by 1915-16. made up the majority among the members of the lodges. Lodge "Rose" consisted of deputies of the State Duma, the actual leadership of the Masonic lodges of Russia was carried out by the secretaries of the Supreme Council (in 1915-16 A.F. Kerensky (cm. KERENSKY Alexander Fedorovich), from June-July 1916 A. Ya. Halpern). Among the members of "Roza" - E.P. Gegechkori, M.I.Skobelev, N. S. Chkheidze (cm. CHKHEIDZE Nikolay Semenovich), I. N. Efremov, A. I. Konovalov. Meeting at meetings, these figures, formally of different political orientations, discussed and coordinated their actions in the Duma. Its lodge united journalists of liberal and leftist publications. Before the February Revolution, the Bolshevik I. I. Skvortsov-Stepanov joined the Great East lodge. A number of members of the Provisional Government continued to meet in lodges after coming to power, but such prominent politicians as Prince G. Ye. Lvov, P. N. Milyukov, and M. V. Rodzianko were anti-Masonic.
After the October Revolution, the activities of the Freemasons were discontinued. After the fall of communism, lodges began to re-form in Russia.

Recently, more and more often everyone is hearing the words: "Freemason", "Freemasonry", "world government". These concepts are very firmly rooted in the consciousness of modern man. Newspapers and magazines are full of headlines of articles about Freemasons, television broadcasts programs about the domination of the world by a certain handful of “chosen” people. Unfortunately, the vast amount of information available is often based on a shaky information base. The quality of the materials used is poor, the actual material is minimal. Consequently, not everyone can boast of a complete understanding of the essence of the issue.

This article does not claim to be unconditional scientific reliability, however, it uses only the most reliable facts, it expresses the most common assumptions. Naturally, the purpose of the article is not to fully and comprehensively cover the issue of Freemasonry. Such a presentation would require the publication of many tens of volumes. The purpose of the article is to consider aspects of Freemasonry in a nutshell, to draw conclusions.

Information about the Freemasons has always been classified as secret or top secret. To a large extent, it consisted of government correspondence, operational materials of special services, archival documents.

Freemasons are "free" masons. This name dates back to the Middle Ages. England is considered the birthplace of Freemasonry. In the XII century, the first workshops appeared on the territory of Foggy Albion. By the 15th century, the guild movement was gaining momentum, playing an important role in the life of the country and its population. Workshops are opened in accordance with the artisan orientation of production. Bricklayers' guilds were not the oldest or most influential among others. By 1481, this guild of masons received the basic rights and privileges of the most significant guild organizations in the country: it was included in the list of official institutions of the country, received its own coat of arms, and members of the guild wore special uniforms. These bricklayers were called “free” because, by the nature of their professional activities, they had to travel from one settlement to another and erect buildings throughout the country (while all taxable strata of society were forced to strictly observe the laws of settlement).

The Gothic style of architectural construction, which was very popular at that time, provided bricklayers with a lot of laborious and long-term work, therefore, such a long joint activity very strongly rallied the workers, sifting out unnecessary ones. It should be noted that in addition to craft unions, there were also closer associations - the so-called. brotherhoods of mutual aid of masons. Initially, the Masonic brotherhoods were ecclesiastical and religious in nature. Brothers' associations are becoming more and more closed forms. Joining the ranks of the Masons, the worker took the oath, received a set of passwords and secret signs by which he could recognize his Masonic brothers. The order of work and discipline in the brotherhood was monitored by the senior foreman and his assistant overseers. Masons lower in the hierarchy could not be privy to the secrets of the higher ones. The Masons of one lodge never knew the members of another. No written records and minutes of meetings and meetings were kept. When leaving or expelled from the brotherhood, the former Mason had to strictly keep the secrets of the brotherhood until his death.

However, the time and course of history make their own adjustments. From the second half of the XVI century. craft unions are going through hard times. Builders from France, Germany, Holland are striving to England. The Gothic style is leaving the forefront of the country's architectural construction. The Reformation began. Since 1547, organizations of a church, religious nature have been severely persecuted. However, the Masonic fraternities survived. Removing religious rites, they preserved the ceremonies for receiving new brothers, annual feasts and banquets, and many of their other traditions. They adopted the brotherhoods from the workshops and construction symbols (compasses and squares), and the degree of dedication of the brothers to the secrets of the lodge. Workshops and brotherhoods are now organizationally independent of each other. It became possible to be a member of the brotherhood and not have anything to do with the guilds - purely professional associations of masons. The ranks of Masonic lodges are more and more replenished with people far from construction professions. The lists of brotherhoods include pastors, businessmen, scientists, writers and other fairly intelligent citizens of the country. Increasingly, representatives of the nobility, the highest circles of society, become members of Masonic organizations. The reasons that pushed all these people into these lodges are not exactly known. Perhaps, people were drawn there because of the Reformation, because many people now could not freely express their views. Perhaps the new brothers were attracted by the well-organized organization of these associations and the secrecy from outsiders. There are a lot of assumptions, but only one thing is clear - the high patrons of the unions did not allow them to decline and disappear, in contrast to the shop organizations.

The number of lodges grew rather rapidly. There was a need to coordinate their activities. In 1717, in London, 4 lodges at once unite into one - the Grand Lodge. Judge for yourself the scope of growth and power of the unions, bearing in mind that from 1737 to 1907, 16 princes of the royal family were in the English fraternities, who later became the kings of the country.

The Masonic brotherhood is rapidly taking root throughout Europe. At the end of the first third of the 18th century, lodges appeared in countries such as Italy, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, as well as in Russia. If, for example, in Paris in 1735 there were only 5 lodges, then in 1742 (literally 7 years later) their number increased to 22 organizations.

However, it should be noted that the existence and development of Freemasonry was not a cloudless and calm process. Freemasons were persecuted by the Catholic Church, accused of threatening the authority of the church. The members of the brotherhoods were sharply criticized by the secular society, claiming that the Freemasons are in alliance with the Antichrist, and their closed meetings are nothing more than sinful orgies. Suspicions grew of plotting political intrigues at secret meetings. Bans on meetings followed (Holland-1735, Sweden-1738, Switzerland-1745) and fines for involvement in the activities of the lodges. However, the strong ideological spirit of the Masons and powerful patronage did not allow the lodges to disappear. Gradually, Freemasonry was transformed into a synthetic ethical and philosophical doctrine, a universal and cosmopolitan movement. An Indo-European, an African American, and a representative of the Mongoloid race can be Masons on absolutely equal rights. It also does not matter for the organization you are a Christian, Buddhist or Muslim.

It is very interesting that many world famous people belonged to the Masons. Composers - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Niccolo Paganini, Joseph Haydn, Franz Liszt; writers - Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Walter Scott, Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde; poets - Robert Burns, Rudyard Kipling. The ranks of the Masons included both Theodore Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. As well as businessman Henry Ford and the Rothschild family of oligarchs.

Freemasonry in Russia is a separate issue. Let's just say that the involvement of the great Russian generals of the Napoleonic era - Suvorov and Kutuzov - in the Freemasons has not been confirmed by factual material. A.S. Pushkin and A.S. Griboyedov was a member of the Masonic lodge only on paper, and even then for a very short time. But the Russian masons can be ranked: Gumilyov, Voloshin, Osorgin, Zhukovsky, Sumarokov, Bazhenov and many other figures. According to legend, Peter the Great brought Freemasonry to Russia. It was this tsar who opened the window to Europe and allegedly became a member of one of the lodges in Amsterdam in 1697. All these statements are groundless and remain only as separate opinions. However, it is certain that the first Masonic lodge in Russia appeared in 1731. It is organized by the very same Grand Lodge of England and, in fact, implies a means of Western European monarchs to implement their secret policies, as well as intrigues on the territory of the then Russian State. This network of agents aroused suspicion among the Russian Empress Catherine II. After the Pugachev uprising and revolution in France, it became clear that the ideas of individual freedom and the enlightenment of the masses are very dangerous for the government. With pamphlets, decrees and a tough policy of suppressing Freemasonry in the country, the Empress terminates the functioning of the brotherhoods. A certain thaw for the Masons has followed since the time of Paul I, and under Alexander I, the activities of the brotherhoods regained legal status and resumed. In 1822, Freemasonry was again banned. Many representatives of the lodges went into exile. Only the October 1905 manifesto again allowed the Freemasons to unite and create their own organizations. But this was no longer free functioning. The tsarist secret police, strongly wary of the events in the country, kept a keen eye on the freethinkers, especially those who were members of some secret associations. With the arrival of the October Revolution of 1917 and the establishment of a new Soviet regime, Freemasonry died out. Mass terror, ideological censorship, strict control of the Cheka - all this deprived the Masons of any chance of functioning in the newly created USSR. The 75-year lull reawakened in 1991, when the union disintegrated and new liberal movements emerged, more freedom of the press and speech than before.

Now the number of Freemasons is growing again. In the United States, there are about 2 million representatives of Masonic lodges, in Great Britain - about 500 thousand. There are many of them on the territory of other countries of the world. Clear statistics, of course, is impossible, because the societies are secret and keep their secrets under seven locks. This is what gives rise to myths, conjectures and delusions of ordinary citizens. Let us hold on to a scientific, historical point of view more firmly, and do not let ourselves be deceived by empty rumors.