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| The French Rite |
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Its origins
The expression "French Rite" appeared towards the end of the 18th century and became widespread only after 1804 when the emergence of new rites, notably the AASR, led to thus designate what had been the only Masonic rite in France ever since the creation of the Grand Lodge of England in 1717, and the writing of the Anderson Constitutions in 1723. |
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In this respect, it is essential to emphasize the founding principles of these texts: as political and religious conflicts had torn countries apart, they took the bold utopian stance to refuse dogmatism and intolerance, and to contend that an enlightened humanism, grounded on mutual respect and freedom of thoughts would help overcome ideological differences and make speculative Masonry the "Center of Union".
Thus one of the major alterations was to give up the guilds' invocation to "God and all His Saints", to replace it with the invocation to the Grand Architect of the Universe.
By the same token, the Constitutions referred to a religion about which "all men agree" and they no longer mentioned the religion of the country. |
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Soon, that Grand Lodge was to flourish in France, where a non-dogmatic Andersonian tradition would enduringly take root.
In the meantime, in England, a Second Grand Lodge appeared, taking the name of Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, according to the old institutions. It named itself "Ancient", and labeled "Modern" the members of the first Grand Lodge... |
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The French Rite as it is now |
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As it is currently practiced, the French Rite derives directly from the tradition of the "Modern". Ever since its origin, stable features have characterized it: fidelity to fundamental philosophic values, sobriety of the ritual and of its trappings, symbolic coherence, more conceptual than figurative. |
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Whilst remaining attached to its origins and initiatory heritage, it has proved its capacity to evolve in the course of centuries. |
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In the 18th century, it integrated symbols from the Bible, the hermetic tradition, alchemy, the chivalric tradition and that of the Templars. That proliferation made it necessary for the Grand Orient to unify rituals, a task it completed in 1786. These texts printed in 1801 under the title "Le Régulateur du Maçon" ("The Mason's Regulator"), are the reference book harmonizing the previous oral and written traditions. |
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In the 19th century, it took into account the positivist evolution of society and the concern to reconcile the individual and social aspects of Masonic thought. The uncompromising promotion of the liberty of conscience led the Grand Orient of France to make the invocation to the Grand Architect of the Universe optional and to vigorously secularize the rituals on the occasion of its congress in 1887. |
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Moreover, the French Rite implies no rigid standards and can be expressed in several workings respecting common essentials, both symbolic and philosophical. |
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Thus, the French Rite is practiced in three styles by the GLFF: |
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The FR, as practiced in most Lodges of the GODF along the working devised by Arthur Groussier in 1938. It is meant as a golden means between the simplicity, nay austerity, of the ritual and its symbolic efficiency. |
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The FR "1801", a specificity of the GLFF, was introduced shortly after the RF and is very similar to it. Neither of them invokes the GAOTU. |
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The RFR, (Restored French Rite) which, true to its name, claims to be a return to the origins. The traditional French Rite derives directly from the Modern, it is the closest to the founding texts of 1786, and therefore to the Regulator of 1801. The invocation to the GAOTU is optional. |
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