French national Big room

The French national Big room (GLNF) is a maconnic Obédience French based on the belief in a universal god and the precepts known as of regularity proclaimed by the Plain Big room of England in 1929. It is the only French obedience which belongs to the group of recognition of the Plain Big room of England and of the principal regular Big rooms of North America.

History

To include/understand the history of the GLNF, it is advisable to go back to a decision taken by principal French maconnic obedience, the Grand the East of France (GOdF), in 1877.

At that time, in the context of the end of the Second Empire and the re-establishment of a republican system in France, the Roman Catholic church, fearing in the long term to lose its privileged statute of religion of state, began of all its weight in the political questions and condemned with an equal strength freemasonry and the French Republic. This conflict upset the sociological balance of the cabins: the catholics practitioners and the royalists keeping from now on away from the cabins, those rather quickly became republican and anticlericals.

It is in this impassioned climate that the general assembly of Freemasons of GOdF removed into 1877 of his constitutions the obligation of the belief as a God. The same general assembly of Freemasons also removed the obligation for his cabins to call upon the Great architect of the Universe at the time of the opening of their work. Each Cabin became thus free to do it, or not. The majority of them decided more to do it.

These decisions, as well as the support granted by the Great East of France for a republican mode, were very badly felt by the Plain Big room of England and the majority of other obediences, mainly in the British Empire. However, the following political evolutions and in particular those which were going to give rise to the Harmony with the approach of the First World War allowed for a long time the maintenance of friendly relations, expressed in particular at the time of the dedication to London under the Plain Big room of England of the cabins " France" and " the Cordiale" Agreement;.

However, various members of the Great East of France, and in particular Edouard de Ribaucourt were in disagreement with the antireligieuses positions of their obedience. In 1911, Ribaucourt thus awakes in Paris the cabin the Center of the Friends for whom it obtains a license of the GO which enables him to work with the Scottish Rite Rectified and to use the invocation with the Great architect of the Universe at the time of the behaviors. In 1913, it receives a new obligatory version of ritual where all the references to the Great architect of the universe were carefully omitted. After many negotiations which did not succeed, the rupture was decided and a new obedience was founded, under the name of ¨ Independent Big room for France and the Colonies ".

The " Center of Amis" was then joined by the Cabin " English the " of Bordeaux, which, with a margin of a few days, changes in fact to two the number of the cabins which founded new obedience. The Plain Big room of England, which did not have any more correspondence in France since 1877, granted its recognition immediately to him.

In the years 1930, obedience changes name to adopt the name of French National Big room. It remains nevertheless marginal and is not very representative by its manpower, which will remain until in the years 1960 primarily composed of english-speaking residents in France.

It been necessary to wait the year 1965 to see the final rise of the GLNF. This one benefits from an important scission into 1964 within the Big room of France during which several hundreds of freemasons left the GLDF to join the rows of the French National Big room, thus allowing him to exceed the 4000 members, to work with the Scottish Rite Old and Accepted and to found cabins made up mainly of French-speaking people.

In an opposite movement, it happened on several occasions that members or cabins of the GLNF, eager of autonomy with respect to the Plain Big room of England (GLUA) and of fraternal relations with the majority current maconnic in France leave it to found new obediences. It was the case of the traditional Big room and symbolic system Opéra in 1958, of the French National Loge in 1968, of the Grand Scottish priory reformed and rectified of Occitanie in 1995, of the Grand Priory of Gaules in 2000, of the Plain Big room of France and to finish Big room of the Frank Regular Masons and Accepted.

Current operation

The GLNF is directed by a Large Master elected for 3 years renewable; it is assisted by a Deputy G.M. and several assistants G.M. selected and named by the GM within a conclave called the Sovereign Large Comité.A less change, the only elective stations are that of the G.M and that of the Large Treasurer. The GLNF adopted a territorial cutting copied on French administrative cutting in 32 areas or provinces. Each area is directed by G.M.Provincial, named by the G.M., also assisted to him by an assistant GMP, two or more assistants GMP as well as a College of Provinciaux officers. Their mandate is also three years.

Rites

In the beginning, GLNF practiced primarily the Scottish Rite rectified (the RER), the Rite emulation and the French Rite. A few hundreds of members of the Big room of France (GLDF), in search of international recognition, joined it in 1964 and brought to him on this occasion the Scottish Rite Old and Accepted, become since a few years the majority rite in this obedience. Finally in 2000, obedience recognized the standard Rite of Scotland (RSE).

During the Creation of the French National Big room only two rites are practiced, the Rite Emulation in English and the Scottish Rite Rectified. This until 1965, date on which the rows of the GLNF are enlarged of number by the dissenting members of the Big room of France. It should not be forgotten that in this obedience the rite is the REAA and that the members constituted at once of new cabins of the GLNF which started to work with this rite like with the Émulation rite in French.

It was then necessary to wait the year 1980 to see appearing, under the impulse of Freemasons refusing to leave this historical rite to the only monopoly of the Grand the East of France, the first Cabin working with the French rite, according to the Régulateur of 1801 , with the East of Paris under the title " St Jean Chrisostome". The second and the first in Province were devoted to the Luc in Provence in June 1980 under the title of cabin " The Baillif de Suffren n°254" whose first mallet was held by TRF J.C. Foellner, current GM of the GLNF.

November 27th, 1983, after the dismantling of the base of NATO of Fontainebleau where an American cabin practiced the rite of American York, under the impulse of one of its old Worthy Master being installed for his retirement in Nice, the first Cabin working with this rite was devoted to the East of Nice under the title of " YorkTown n° 350".

Thus the GLNF works since with the 5 fundamental rites and it took care to make sure that each rite equitably is distributed and practiced in all its cabins. For example the cabins of the rite of York which caught up with of number the other rites in spite of its youth.

Development and growth

After very minority (less than 4000 members) and being composed mainly of english-speaking expatriates in France until in the years 1970, the GLNF knew since a development very significant at the point to become the second French obedience behind the Grand the East of France with a number of members about equal to that of the Big room of France.

In 2006, the GLNF states on its Web site to gather more than 36000 members gathered in addition to 1200 cabins.

This extraordinary and probably single growth in the world is not without raising a certain number of interrogations. In particular, if it is proven that it is partly the result of a particularly active policy of recruitment in some of its " provinces" , of the press articles regularly put the question of a selection process of the novel members possibly less demanding than in other obediences. The attached charges of mixing business and politics, a time, to obedience would explain, in particular in certain provinces of the south of France, of the recruitments of number high and based on other criteria why research of the initiatory way.

The question of the regularity

The GLNF insists much on the fact, essential in its eyes, which it is the only French maconnic obedience which is recognized like “regular” by the Plain Big room of England and by the group of the 196 other Big rooms of which it is the case and who numerically constitute the most important current ( " mainstream" ) of world freemasonry.

Old duties

Like all the Big rooms recognized by the Plain Big room of England (UGLE), it subscribes without reserve to the " Regulate of them 8 points" enacted by this one in 1929 under the name of " basic principles for the recognition of a Big room by the Plain Big room of Angleterre" and summarizes its own principles in the " Regulate in 12 points" that it promulgated.

Among these last points, she insists mainly on the recognition of a higher, creative Principle of the World, called métaphoriquement Great architect of the Universe, on the prohibition of all political or religious controversies within the framework of Masonry, on the existence of only one regular obedience practitioner only the first three degrees per state or nation, and on the absence of all bonds maconnic with obediences which she does not recognize.

She requires her members whom they have " faith in Dieu" , this one not being able in its eyes being a simple creative principle or any " to be suprême". Contrary to some of the other obediences recognized by the UGLE, she firmly condemns the Déisme, which she reproaches for generating " relativism, syncretism, indifferentism and the agnosticisme". This particular position is however not shared by the totality of its members and it is not impossible that the GLNF ends in the long term up softening its positions on this subject, in a comparable evolution that which occurred in years 1980 within the Plain Big room of England.

Regularity of the GLNF

It was sometimes reproached the GLNF for not having waited to have gathered three cabins like would have liked it maconnic the tradition and as the " required it thereafter; BASIC principles" English of 1929.

However, Alec Mellor in its " Dictionary of Freemasonry and the Freemasons. " give the following explanation: This rule was not yet allowed as imperatively as nowadays in 1913, date where two cabins only founded the Independent and Regular National Big room, first name of the French National Big room. Also this is a bad quarrel which irregular obediences sought to him in this respect. Moreover, it had been irregularly made up - what is not the case -, the later recognition of new obedience by the Plain Big room of England must be held like having covered the Irregularity and makes retroact the regularity of the date of the fondation.

Independence with respect to the systems of top-ranks

One of the essential points of the " régularité" is that of the independence of the Big room, which manages the first three degrees of freemasonry, with respect to all the systems of " tops-grades" complementary.

Cabins of the first three degrees, called whatever their rite " Bleues" cabins; are invariably placed under the authority of the Large Master. The higher workshops, also called Cabins of Perfection, follow a specific progression to their rite. Thus the Supreme council for the REAA, the Large Priory of Gaules for the RER, the Great Chapter of the Royal Arch for France for the rite Emulation and the Great French Chapter for the French rite, are the prolongations of the Blue Cabins and have each one their own structures and their own hierarchy which wants to be independent.

For certain authors, it would be there, in the operation of the GLNF, the source of an important dilemma:

does the Large Master of the GLNF have to see the Freemasons of all these rites once escaping his authority they undertake their higher levels?
Conversely, do the high-ranking dignitaries of the High Ranks have to share part of their authority for the benefit of the Large Master of the GLNF?

For these authors, this dilemma would at least partly explain the birth of new traditional obediences resulting since 1954 from the GLNF.

Relationships to other French obediences

The GLNF refuses to take part since 2000 in the meeting of obediences grouped under the denomination " Française" Freemasonry; who gathers 9 principal French obediences around the research center of the Institute Maçonnique de France, the Living room of the Book Maçonnique and other demonstrations and conferences. On the other hand, it sometimes happens to him to take part, on a case-by-case basis, with some other demonstrations. It was the case for example at the time of the maconnic exposure of Turns, in 1997.

In order to avoid receiving from share and others of the members excluded from other French obediences following legal affairs, the GLNF set up into 2002 of the administrative agreements with the GODF and the GLDF (without there being for as much maconnic recognition with the direction) in order to facilitate the information exchanges on the erased members.

Public integrity

- - At the end of the Années 1990 the GLNF was particularly shaken by a certain number of politico-financial Affaires (Affaire of the HLM of Paris, Affaire of the HLM of the Hauts-de-Seine, business of the DCN of Toulon, businesses of the court of Nice), which also assigned to a least degree the Grand the East of France and the Big room of France. - - Following these scandals, the GLNF affirms to have made a certain household internal and centred his activities around its spiritual concerns and of the traditional prohibition of the political debates or monk in cabin. - - In addition, the GLNF recognizes the Big room of Congo and its large-Master, Denis Sassou Nguesso, whereas this last does not respect the criteria posed by the rule in 12 points of belief as a God (Sassou Guesso being always claimed Marxism) or of good reputation (this one being the subject of a procedure of " crime against the humanité" in France because of its implication supposed in massacres in Congo Brazzaville). - - Lastly, certain authors also reproached him his recognition of Omar Bongo like Grand Master of her National Big room, like Laurent Gbagbo, Mathieu Kerekou or Gaston Flosse in Tahiti.

Appendices

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