Freemasonry in Sweden

Freemasonry in Sweden was introduced by the Swedish Order of Freemasons, founded in 1735 as the oldest still active Swedish fraternal order, working the Swedish Rite of Freemasonry. It is under royal patronage of the King of Sweden and closely associated with the Lutheran Church of Sweden. As a Regular Masonic jurisdiction for Christian men only, it is also recognised by the United Grand Lodge of England. Its total membership is about 16,500.

In addition, there is also minor presence of several other masonic systems operating in Sweden on a smaller scale.

History

Freemasonry came to Sweden in 1735, with a Grand Lodge established 1760. In 1756 Carl Friedrich Eckleff established the first St Andrew's lodge in Stockholm to work additional degrees, beyond the three initial degrees of Craft Freemasonry. A Grand Chapter was erected in 1759. Eckleff's ideas of a truly progressive system building upon the internationally recognised three degrees (of Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason) was further developed by Duke Karl of Södermalmland, who later became Charles XIII of Sweden. As Grand Master of the Swedish Order of Freemasons he developed the system, which by 1800 had fully evolved into the Swedish Rite system, which has since experienced only very minor development. The Swedish system has since spread to Finland (under Swedish control), and also to Norway, Denmark, and Iceland under independent national Grand Lodges.

Swedish Order of Freemasons

The Swedish Order of Freemasons (Swedish: Svenska Frimurare Orden) is the native Swedish manifestation of Swedish Rite Freemasonry. It is recognised by the United Grand Lodge of England, and stands in the body of regular world Freemasonry. It has 43 St John's (Craft) lodges (degrees I-III), 23 St Andrew's lodges for degrees IV-VI, and 7 Chapters for degrees VII-X. There is also a lodge of research and a stewards' lodge. Additionally 63 recognised "fraternal societies" provide masonic fellowship in rural communities considered too small to support a working lodge. Membership in Sweden is 15,200. In addition there are 1,300 members in Finland in 7 St John's lodges, 2 St Andrew's lodges, and 1 Grand Chapter. The total membership is 16,500.[1] While Finland has also a native Grand Lodge following American rite, the overlap of geographical jurisdictions has been agreed upon for decades and the two Grand Lodges are in perfect amity.[2][3]

As with all Swedish Rite constitutions, all members must be Christian men. Visitors of any religion from recognised foreign jurisdictions (including Swedish freemasons of the Swedish District Grand Lodge of the Grand Lodge of Finland) may attend lodge meetings, but visitors attending the chapter degrees (from grade VII onwards) must be recognised as Christians, or sign a statement asserting that they are Christians.[3][4][5]

There is a close relationship with the Lutheran Church of Sweden (Swedish: Svenska kyrkan), which is the established national church of Sweden. Priests and bishops of the Church of Sweden have a special role within the Swedish Rite of Freemasonry, particularly in grade VII and above.

Royal Order of Scotland

The Royal Order of Scotland has never formed part of the Swedish Rite, but in 2000 a Provincial Grand Lodge of the Order was reestablished in Stockholm, the original from 1852, with members of the Swedish Rite permitted to join it as a side degree, or appendant body. A second Provincial Grand Lodge was established in 2002 in Kristianstad. It admits only Christian men who are VII grade (or above) members of the Swedish Order of Freemasons, and strictly by invitation only.[6]

Other masonic systems

Several other masonic orders have a minority presence in Sweden.

Le Droit Humain

The International Order of Co-Masonry, or Le Droit Humain, came to Sweden in 1918, when a lodge was established in Stockholm. A second lodge in Gothenburg was short-lived, and total membership has never been large. Being a co-masonic obedience it admits both men and women. There remains only one lodge in Sweden, which is linked administratively with five others across Scandinavia.[7]

Swedish Masonic Camp

The Swedish Masonic Camp (Swedish: Svenska Frimurare Lägret) was a system established in 1951 using Craft and Royal Arch warrants that John Trollnäs had received in the 1930s from the Grand Lodge of Hamburg. He also received from the Supreme Council in Leipzig warrants to work the Scottish Rite and the Memphis Rite. Five lodges were established during the 1950s at Lund, Halmstad, Göteborg and Helsingborg in southern Sweden. Even at its 1960s highpoint membership was just 350, and during the 1970s and 1980s both membership and activity decreased. All five lodges closed, the last in 2006. A small group of former members revived the order in 2009 with lodges in Stockholm and Simrishamn. It accepts male members who believe in a Supreme Being. It works the craft degrees, the Holy Royal Arch, the Order of Mark Master Masons, the Order of Royal and Select Masters, the Order of High Priests, and the Royal Ark Mariner degree. It has a goal of reviving the Scottish Rite and the Rite of Memphis.

Gran Oriente Latinoamericano

Gran Oriente Latinoamericano is a co-masonic (mixed male and female) system introduced into Sweden in 1984. It has lodges in Stockholm, Norrköping and Södertälje. It works the French Rite (Rite Français), and does not require a belief in a Supreme Being amongst its members.

Grand Lodge of Finland

Since early 2010's, the Grand Lodge of Finland has operated a district grand lodge of Sweden with the permission of the Swedish Rite. The lodges chartered by the Grand Lodge of Finland work using a Swedish-language version of the Finnish ritual, which is a close successor of the ritual used by the Grand Lodge of State of New York. The lodges require that candidates are men who profess faith in a Supreme Being and the immortality of soul.[8][9]

The Swedish district grand lodge is in full amity with the Swedish rite, and the grand master of the Swedish Order of Freemasons has participated in inauguration of Finnish-rite lodges.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Figures quoted (in English) at the Swedish Grand Lodge website.
  2. ↑ ÖVERENSKOMMELSE MELLAN SVENSKA FRIMURARE ORDEN OCH STORLOGEN FÖR FRIA OCH ANTAGNA MURARE I FINLAND. July 1949. Retrieved 2015-12-20. (Swedish)
  3. 1 2 Ahtokari, Reijo (2015) Milstolpar på den finländska frimurarvandringen. Föreningsbandet 4/2015. Pp. 10–11. Retrieved 2015-12-20. (Swedish)
  4. ↑ Swedish Order of Freemasons
  5. ↑ Den första under Storlogen i Finland arbetande logen i Sverige invigd. Föreningsbandet 1/2014. Retrieved 2015-12-20. (Swedish)
  6. ↑ Svenska Frimurare Orden: Utländskt frimureri, ISBN 91-631-6635-6
  7. ↑ Details of the Scandinavian Federation at its official website.
  8. ↑ Ray, Jan (2014) Reflektioner kring det blåa frimureriet i Sverige. Koilliskulma 4/2014, p.36. (Swedish)
  9. ↑ Järvi, Jan (2015) Donatus 174 och Igelsta 175 invigdes i Södertälje. Koilliskulma 1/2015, p. 7–8. (Swedish)
  10. ↑ Suurmestari Juhani Vuoren puhe Donatus 174:n ja Igelsta 175:n vihkimistilaisuudessa. Koilliskulma 1/2015, p. 10.(Finnish)
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, February 24, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.