100 years from now

There is this excellent initiative of the Grand Lodge of Georgia (not the US state but the real one: the country, formerly also known as Gruzia): since the COVID restrictions started they organized a series of high quality online lectures by well known Masonic authors and speakers. Before we realized the presentations reached the number 100.

And to celebrate this milestone, the organizers – mainly David Chichinadze, the Chancellor of the Grand Lodge of Georgia (meaning Grand Secretary in charge of foreign relations) – decided to create a virtual “time capsule”. We already had the Virtual Order of Sapere Aude (VOOSA) as we jokingly nicknamed our gatherings of learning, so the virtual time capsule was a logical consequence. (Sapere Aude = dare to know, Latin).

Long story short: here is the story of that 100th lecture – https://mailchi.mp/1f4794035080/100th-edition-of-sapere-aude-laying-the-virtual-cornerstone. Watch it on YouTube…

As I had to honour to be among those that had a few minutes to describe their vision for the next 100 years of Freemasonry – here is my talk.

Almost 140 years ago in my mother jurisdiction a strange thing happened. Something unheard of before and, possibly, even after.

In the 1860s, after being banned for several decades, an Anglo type of Grand Lodge with Craft lodges was formed and, in the same time, a Grand Orient, working in the “Scottish Rite” 33 degrees… was also instituted. As it happens so often – they were rivals. Then, in 1886, they merged, forming the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary, and the Grand Lodge where I saw the light had the same name… more than a hundred years later. (true, more than half of that time it was banned again.) The Grand Lodge took care of the first 3 degrees, and the new Council of AASR of the rest.

Although it didn’t last too long, only till the end of the WWI when it got banned again– its legacy is still present.

And when I am thinking about the future, the possible future of Freemasonry for the next generations, I always recall this unique event as an example that should be considered. Not necessarily the “unification” of the different branches but a new approach to the universal brotherhood we preach so much about – quite hypocritically, to be honest… I am embarrassed when after exposing the noble ideas of fraternity, I have to admit that we, actually, exclude a quarter of the world’s Freemasons because of their tolerance and creed, and a big group because of their skin colour, not to mention half of the population because of their gender. Make no mistake: I like and want to keep my male-only lodge and organization. Just feel ashamed when male Masons display unreasonable hatred toward women or atheist Masons that happen to teach the same spiritual and moral values in their own organization…

Furthermore, let’s end the colonial English paternalism toward the rest of the world. No Grand Lodge including UGLE, should be in charge to define Masonry for others. The present worldwide structure is anachronistic, outdated and shameful!

And except the obvious financial scam type “enterprises” masquerading as Masons – all bodies should be in amical relations: the Grand Lodges, the Grand Orients, the Valleys, the Chapters and the big honchos of the future!

That’s what I envision for the future: a more inclusive mentality that does not exclude maintaining the specifics of each lodge and each Grand Lodge – but without the dogmatism of the present system. It is a medieval religious inheritance to think that everything that is not exactly as my belief – must be heretic.

Without such a paradigm shift, which could be different from my vision although the change MUST come, Freemasonry will die out. I wish the next generations to be smarter and wiser than we were… Dixi.

What is you vision of the next 100 years?