luciferhorus
26-05-2009, 11:27 PM
Since there appears to be a debate going on here between the representives of 'regular masonry' represented by mostly Thelonious and Mike Martin and the Grand Secretary who represents the Grand Lodge of All England, I thought it would be good to make a new thread on this subject.
If I understand the matter correctly, the Freemasonry we read about in David Icke's works and in Martin Short's 'Inside the Brotherhood' and numerous other polemics is 'regular' Masonry whose Grand Master is the Queen's cousin, Field Master, the Duke of Kent, and a cult of some 4-5 million recognised Masons internationally whereas the Grand Lodge of All England, is a much older (as Grand Secretary claims) tradition, or as the 'regular Mason' in the polemical essay below claims, a group founded in December 2005, by 'a couple of guys in a pub.'
I post the essays below which are 'polemics' against the 'Grand Lodge of All England,' not in any way to defend the criticism of the 'Grand Lodge of All England' by regular Masonry, but rather merely in order that Grand Secretary has an opportunity to defend his true Lodge against such criticisms from the vile heretics of UGLE :-).
Generally when a group of people 'splinter' from a large cult; they usually have an axe to grind and are somewhat critical of their mother cult, and I would raise the question of what exactly such criticisms are of regular masonry and if this would concur with Icke's criticisms?
I would be personally interested in understanding why Grand Secretary resigned from the "Regular Grand Lodge of England" which as I understand it is also considered heretical by UGLE (United Grand Lodge of England) and if he was ever a member of UGLE?
Personally I quite like the idea of a 'couple of guys in a pub' taking over from the United Grand Lodge of England and pronouncing UGLE to be heretics.
There is something which smacks of Monty Python's 'Life of Brian' here and the dispute between, the People's Front of Judea, the Judean People's Front, the Judean Popular People's Front, and the Judean Popular Front.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/jacqueszammit/lifeofbrian_07.jpg
Brian: Are you the Judean People's Front?
Fuck off! Judean People's Front! We're The People's Front of Judea! Judean People's Front, God!
PFJ: Listen! If you wanted to join the PFJ, you'd have to have really hate the Romans.
Brian: I do!
Right, you're in. Listen, the only people we hate more than the Romans, are the fucking Judean People's Front.
PFJ: Splitters!
And the Judean Popular People's Front!
Yeah! Splitters!
And the People's Front of Judea!
Yeah! Splitters!
Loretta: The People's Front of Judea. Splitters!
PFJ: We are the People's Front of Judea!
Loretta: Oh. I thought we were the Popular Front.
PFJ: People's Front! God...
Whatever happened to the Popular Front,
Reg: He's over there (points to man sitting alone).
I should point out further that there are a host of Masonic groups internationally who are not recognised by UGLE, including the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) (Order of the Temple of the East) whose Grand Master at one point was Aleister Crowley, and that The Grand Lodge of All England appears to be affiliated with many of these groups (though not with the O.T.O apparently) which are apparently considered heretical by the Duke of Windsor's establishment cult.
Lux
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The essay below is taken from http://www.masonicinfo.com/allengland.htm
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"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it."
Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
The 'Grand Lodge At York - The Grand Lodge of All England' asserts that they are the legacy heir to a supposed meeting of all operative Masons called by King Athelstane in York, England in 926 A.D. - despite the fact that the 'meeting' referred to above is just a Masonic legend, proven as such over a century ago. While their website cites Mackey as their source, there are numerous other Masonic writers (particularly those AFTER the 'age of realism' arrived in Freemasonry in the late 1800s, after the death of Mackey) who stridently disagree. Even contemporaries of Mackey claimed he was wrong in his statements about the York meeting.
To be fair, when the first Grand Lodge was formed, it too claimed a pedigree reaching back to Noah and the Flood, the Building of King Solomon's Temple and more. That, though, was in 1717 when it was fashionable to use such things to prove one's legitimacy. Even the Royal Society did such things. That was 300 years ago and this is now!
Noting the absurdity of this all, the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), the 'mother' Grand Lodge of Freemasonry in the world, has issued a statement about this group: you can view it most easily on a UK Provincial Grand Lodge website here. Their comments are FAR more harsh than ours. This is not just a petty territorial dispute as the UGLE with about a half million members has little to fear from the couple of people involved with this so-called "Grand Lodge". Nevertheless, all such self-created groups want to 'play the victim', whining about persecution by the 'big, bad group'.
It comes down to this: someone 'declares' that - because of the name they've given their group or because they went to the same city in which a legend (in this case, more like a fairy tale) originated - that somehow makes them into the group that was a thousand years ago (or as recently as just 500 years ago) OR (depending on which tack they take - and they use several), it makes them the 'rightful inheritor' of that story through a 'revival'. (I wonder if the folks in Rome, New York ever.... Oh, well.)
Does this make sense? If so, no need to read any further: join them and be happy! However, in what to most folks would be the 'real world', simply announcing that you've held a meeting and filed some paperwork with the government claiming a certain name that wasn't in use by anyone else means that now you've 'reestablished' something that hasn't existed for a centuries (or, in fact, quite probably never existed at all) is awfully bizarre. According to a message we've received from this organization's 'Grand Secretary' threatening us:
"For your information, this original and independent Grand Lodge was legally reponed(1) here in York during December 2005 and legally constituted and registered as such.
It is therefore the original and ancient Grand Lodge of All England at York working under The Old York Constitution of 1705. It is our intention to jealously defend this position by whatever means are at our disposal."
So, according to them, they're original and independent and replaced a (likely) legend from centuries ago. Fine. Who are we to argue with such things and why would anyone make threats to 'prove' it?
Simply stated, in the present day for a new Masonic Grand Lodge to form and receive recognition as such requires several things must be in place including either the absence of a Grand Lodge in that geographical area (as was done a few decades ago in Alaska, USA, for example) AND for it to be formed by THREE (count 'em - 3) 'regular lodges' already operating in that physical location under the aegis of a regular and recognized Grand Lodge. A couple of guys meeting somewhere (pub, chapel, minster, whatever) and claiming that they're "reponing" something doesn't really count - in marbles or in Freemasonry!
And there's one other thing: the Grand Lodge whose lodges are already there must ASSENT to the creation of the new Grand Lodge. If you read the letter from the United Grand Lodge of England, sent to all of their Lodge Secretaries throughout England and to the world (it's not private: it's on official websites of the organization), you'll find something quite different.
Now for those who aren't familiar with the niceties of Masonic recognition, all of this may seem very tedious. However, such requirements are necessary in order to ensure that those who are seeking to join Freemasonry will, in fact, have the ability to 'travel in foreign countries' as Master Masons and enjoy fraternal friendship with the 4-5 million Masons located around the world. Otherwise, any bloke on the street corner could grab a mate and go set up their own little pub club, calling it a 'Grand Lodge' and start soliciting subscriptions. The bottom line, though, is that regardless of how many Masonic-related graphics anyone uses on their website and despite employing Masonic titles including the cozy reference to 'Brothers', joining with one of these groups is not going to cause ANYONE (except the small number of people in that so-called 'Grand Lodge') to acknowledge you as a Mason. (Be sure to see our page on Fake Masonry for more information.)
UPDATE: November, 2007 - Be careful about what you read on the web - and how it can mislead. They used to say on their website:
The Grand Lodge of All England at York has established its Legitimacy of Origin and Regularity with The Conference of Grand Masters of North America, The Commission on Information for Recognition. (Written confirmation received 27th October 2006)
Now why they needed to establish ANYTHING with North America since they're in Merry Olde England is a mystery but that notwithstanding, what they didn't mention is that they had been told otherwise in subsequent e-mails. You can, in fact, now read exactly what the Commission has to say about them:
2. An organization calling itself the Grand Lodge of All England is presenting itself as a legitimate Masonic Grand Lodge in England. It claims to trace its roots to a Lodge at York, founded in 1705, which later styled itself a Grand Lodge in 1725, first named the Old Grand Lodge at York, and later the Grand Lodge of All England at York. This Grand Lodge went dormant in 1740, was revived in 1761, and went dormant again in 1791, never to meet again. On December 23, 2005, an assembly of Masons met and “reclaimed English Freemasonry on behalf of its rightful custodians.” The Grand Lodge of All England emerged and is said to be a revival of the Grand Lodge that went dormant in 1791.
It must again be stated that the Commission does not determine the regularity of a Grand Lodge; it only evaluates the facts available to determine if the entity meets the standards for recognition, as adopted by the Conference of Grand Masters of North America, and reports those findings to the member Grand Lodges of this Conference for their use.
The Commission cannot validate the claimed legitimacy of origin of the Grand Lodge of All England, since no documentation has been presented that this Grand Lodge was reinstated or reconstituted in 2005 by a recognized Masonic authority. In addition, it cannot claim exclusive territorial jurisdiction since a pact or treaty does not exist to share the jurisdiction with the United Grand Lodge of England. It is therefore the opinion of the Commission that the Grand Lodge of All England does not meet the standards for recognition.
Full report here and here. No recognition = no admittance for its members anywhere other than it's own couple of lodges with the only ones acknowledging its members as Masons are the other members of that same group - that small coterie of believers.
UPDATE: December, 2007 - Gee whiz! They must be reading this page.... <chuckle>
December saw a flurry (perhaps 'frantic outpouring' might be a better description?) of essays, blog posts, etc. trying to justify their LACK of recognition. Gone is the claim they'd made about "establishing its Legitimacy of Origin and Regularity" with, instead, the Conference of Grand Masters of North America now demonized as irrelevant to their existence. They also moan that the statement made about them by COGMNA wasn't placed on the web until 7 months after COGMNA's annual meeting - which, we'd think, could/should have worked in their favor giving their fantasy a half-year reprieve! In reality, the back story is that the e-mail sent them wasn't really what they claimed it was and they had received a subsequent clarification that NOTHING had 'been established' by the Commission contrary to their assertions. Their current claim that the Conference is back-peddling is actually back-peddling of their own! If they want to make the claim that they WERE acknowledged somehow, then they should produce ALL of the e-mails they received from the Conference Secretary on the matter so that their assertions could be examined in the light of day!
In addition, the reponed Grand Lodge of All England has now begun to violate even more Masonic 'landmarks' (and/or traditions and/or protocols) by "invading" the territory of regular/recognized Grand Lodges, ostensibly forming so-called Grand Lodges in the United States. Their first is a lodge in Ohio which is headed by an individual who has already belonged to TWO OTHER pseudo-'Grand Lodges' which are identified here on masonicinfo.com as 'bogus'. He seems to think that the third time will be the charm apparently - or really wants a chance to wear a fancy apron! We wish him the best. The Grand Lodge of All England, like the Regular Grand Lodge of England, seems to be reaching out actively to disaffected Black men who belong to groups which are considered 'fake Masonry' by those in the United States in particular - and the siren song they're playing for them seems to be proving very attractive. We can't help be impressed by the loyalty of these new leaders: dangle a title in front of them and they're yours! What a great way to increase membership, eh? What we've found particularly comical is that their list of so-called lodges seems to grow each month and yet, ironically, not a single member (except the Grand Secretary) is ever seen anywhere online. What are the odds, eh?
Oh, and the 'next big thing' is their breathless announcement that "After many years of concentrated research, The Grand Lodge at York is pleased to announce that it has traced the final resting place of King Athelstan's brother, Prince Edwin of York." "...many years...."? This group has only been in existence for two at the time of the announcement. For an organization claiming a connection back to 900AD, you wouldn't think that two years is "many" would you? But more than that, so what? Does this somehow give legitimacy to the fact that a group (of perhaps two people, maybe even one - the information has never been made public on it) got together in York, England and declared themselves to be the legacy heirs of something that's been dead for a couple of centuries? Not bloody likely....
Don't link on me...
During August, 2008 there were two hysterically funny instances brought to our attention. The prolific 'Grand Secretary' has apparently been engaged in Internet threat campaigns against sites that link (unflatteringly) to their website. Simultaneously, they've created a completely bogus line of succession of supposed Grand Masters of their group and are now contacting Masonic historians and authors to be sure to include such material in future works.
The internet threat was the funniest and is particularly comical if you're someone who knows even the basics about internet and legal protocols. A lodge in Arizona created a web page about fake masonry that included a link to the so-called Grand Lodge of All England. Poor Mr. Clatworthy apparently had a problem with that, sending an e-mail to them saying "Whilst this Grand Lodge does not generally enter into correspondence with disreputable bodies such as yours, we on this occasion write to you requiring you to remove our name from the website. Failure to do so within 7 days will result in a requirement being sent to your internet service provider, GoDaddy.com, Inc., for your site to be closed down." HUH? Suddenly it's illegal to link to another website? WOW! In fact, they even sent a copy to the Grand Lodge of Arizona. It likely escaped Mr. Clatworthy's notice the GLAZ was just a couple of blocks away from the office that this site is normally managed from. (Do you suppose that the Webmaster might just know those folks down the street already?)
Oh, and something which probably ALSO escaped Mr. Clatworthy's keen eye was that the Webmaster happens to be an employee of an ATTORNEY!
Should we add insult to injury by noting that the Attorney happens to be Master of that Lodge?
If you aren't keeling over in laughter by now, you've just got NO sense of humor at all.
So look out, folks: if you link to these guys, why they're going to write to your internet service provider and say you can't. Forewarned is forearmed - or something like that!
Masonicinfo Note: The flag shown above is a United States Naval ensign, flown from 1775-1776. It was something we thought might be appropriate for this group which claims to go back to 900AD. It's also relevant to today's actions: since September, 2002 (LONG before this 'reponed' Grand Lodge of All England existed), it has been flying on U. S. Navy ships involved in the Global War on Terrorism.... The picture at the top of the page is of King Edward I - which somehow we thought quite appropriate as well.
Whatever you want...
All of the above notwithstanding, we have said before and will repeat it here yet again even though this group has gotten VERY angry about us writing things which might cause you to recognize that they're not 'the real deal': if you want to join something you think is going to be just right for you, GO FOR IT! PLEASE don't let anything we've written stop you from doing what your heart most desires. In this case, if you want to meet up with a couple of chaps you think are ok, you might enjoy this organization and/or others like it very much. If, however, you want to be a true part of the 300+ year old tradition that is Freemasonry and want to be able to visit those Masonic lodge buildings found both locally and around the world, you won't be able to do so. In addition, if you join an unrecognized (sometimes referred to as "clandestine") lodge such as those run by the "Grand Lodge of All England", it could be a more difficult process to become a Mason in a regular and recognized lodge later on. That's just the way things are - and we don't make the rules on this stuff!
And just so you know, their website wasn't created until January of 2006 so their claim to an ancient copyright lineage going all the way back to 2005 is specious at best. See here for the proof. What we found even more comical, though, was that an apparent member of a regular/recognized lodge in Maryland, USA owns their domain name! Oh, and before we get another e-mail from their "Grand Secretary", this time railing that we're wrong about the ownership thing, we'd encourage him to try transferring the domain admin name/address, for example. The point will be proven.
(1) \Re*pone"\ (r?-p?n"), v. t. [L. reponere; pref. re- re- + ponere to place.] To replace. --R. Baillie.
Modern Language Association (MLA): "repone." Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. MICRA, Inc. 19 Jan. 2007. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/repone>
If you'd like to read Mackey's legend, you can click here. Oh, and if you'd like to play dress-up along with this group, you might want to consider the adorable costume shown above. You can purchase it at this link.
Updated 29 August 2008
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From a statement by the United Grand Lodge of England - 16 February 2006
There has been a split in the “Regular Grand Lodge of England" (see below for statement about RGLE). Two of their members were unhappy at the direction the RGLE is taking and have “revived” the old Grand Lodge of All England, known to Masonic historians as the York Grand Lodge.
The Grand Master of this new Grand Lodge is one John Gordon Graves and the Grand Secretary is Peter J. Clatworthy.
Like all irregular bodies they are claiming an ancient pedigree. They claim to be acting by “the original Constitutions granted by Prince Edwin at the General Assembly of Masons held in York AD 975”. This is one of the oldest legends connected with Freemasonry and was shown to be a legend more than one hundred years ago!
They also claim that the York Grand Lodge was the first Grand Lodge in England and predates the premier Grand Lodge formed in London in 1717. An independent Lodge existed in York, for which records survive from 1705. It was simply a private Lodge, which in 1725, because of the success of the premier Grand Lodge, began to call itself the Grand Lodge of All England and, in the same year, adopted “Nineteen Articles” to govern the Craft.
The Grand Lodge of All England worked until 1740 when it became dormant. It was revived in 1761 and over the next thirty years constituted about thirteen daughter Lodges in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cheshire. It ceased working circa 1791, since when nothing more was heard of it until its “revival” in January 2006. The records of the York Grand Lodge exist and are in the custody of the present York Lodge No. 236 meeting in York.
The Grand Lodge of All England (which appears to have only two members at present) claims to be the “regular authority governing the Craft in England, Wales, the Channel Island and Districts Overseas”. A General Assembly, which all Master Masons are invited to attend, was to be held in York on 20 February 2006 to plan the way forward. Needless to say the new body is entirely irregular, and any member of the United Grand Lodge of England who gets involved in it will become subject to our disciplinary process.
http://surreymason.org.uk/index.php?PageID=archive_news_ugle_new_grand_lodge
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It should be pointed out the Grand Lodge of England is allegedly a splinter group of the Regular Grand Lodge of England (RGLE) which is also considered heretical by UGLE (the United Grand lodge of England)
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STOP PRESS: RGLE DECLARES ED KING
AND MASONICINFO.COM
A "MASONIC MENACE"!!! More HERE!
http://www.masonicinfo.com/rgle.htm
As we've noted elsewhere on this site, there's no prohibition against anyone going out, buying some Masonic regalia, and starting their own organization. Why grown-up adults would want to get 'uniforms' and pretend that they're a part of something they're not really seems awfully strange but it happens pretty regularly with fellows buying police badges, sports team championship rings, or military medals. Whatever fantasy they create in their minds to convince them that they're 'entitled' to such recognition must surely speak to some very deep-rooted problems.
It happens with Freemasonry too. Guys go out and buy an apron, a collar, and some white gloves and try to pretend that they're Masons. Is there anything wrong with that? We believe that there is!
Here we examine claims made by the "Regular Grand Lodge of England" and its creator Rui Gabirro who has apparently managed to attract a small handful of others to affiliate with his organization using various forms of persuasions to recruit the disgruntled who want to play 'dress up' too. Their website boasts they are:
"The leading Grand Lodge of the World."
"The Regular Grand Lodge of England
is the governing body of Freemasonry in England and Wales."
Impressed? Don't be! Self-created (against standard Masonic conventions) in January, 2005, they make claims of a huge and now international membership, yet there are only a very limited number of 'identified' members and the dates, times and specific locations of their supposed lodge meetings are - as with all of the groups we identify in this section - conspicuously absent from their website. While the website (Rui-written) brags about huge international conferences, we never see more than a picture of a couple of men (always including Rui) dressed 'to the nines' in gold-bullion regalia.
Is the RGLE "Fake Masonry"? Not, apparently, in the minds of its handful of members - although they surely must realize that the group they're a part of has no commonality with regular/recognized Freemasonry. The facts are, though, that despite their brazen claims they are neither a 'leading' nor 'governing' body for anything other than their own little group which probably numbers well under a hundred souls. The self-styled Regular Grand Lodge of England has no connection with regular and recognized Freemasonry anywhere in the world and you can read on their website the disdain they have for the United Grand Lodge of England of which Rui was once a member.
Rui, Rui, Rui....
When we first learned of this group, one name that appeared conspicuously was that of Rui Gabirro, which - perhaps conveniently - is a name from the presumed history of Martinism. That name was also found associated with the so-called "Sovereign Sanctuary", a supposedly a modern incarnation of the pseudo-Masonic Ancient & Primitive Rite of Memphis. Rui has also used more than one pseudonym including that of Robert H. Lamar who was also listed as the Secretary-General for the self-styled "RGLE". You can see this discussion group posting for the claim. (Scroll down to the post from ikhnaten near the end - and there's also a comment about threatening e-mails which we address on the 'Masonic Menace' page linked above.) The Lamar identity is ostensibly a pen name as stated in this posting. Sovereign Sanctuary's web presence seemed to have disappeared for a time without explanation but in January, 2007 it was back up and running again and with a claim that it's now in the United States as well.
In addition to the hateful messages we've received from Rui, there have also been postings to the alt.freemasonry newsgroup, including stalking-type messages, using an address associated with his supposed 'Antient & Primitive Rite' (of Memphis). These messages had addresses from Rui <gabirro@ gmail.com> and "I am whatching You" <ssanctuary@ gmail.com> (The next time a Brit wants to quibble about our Americanized spelling on this site, we'll have them go 'whatch' Rui!) and do not appear to have been forged in any way. We note that other web locations show 'Rui' as BOTH the Secretary-General AND the Grand Treasurer! Yet another 'no surprise' is that ssanctuary@gmail.com is an address formerly and presently associated with the so-called "Ancient & Primitive Rite" (of Memphis). Here is a cached page from a webpage at cabinda.net which shows the address in use.
Politics - and MORE Politics
Freemasonry eschews discussion of political matters. While individual Freemasons are welcome to espouse whatever political beliefs they wish (provided, of course, that they obey the laws of their state and nation), involvement of Freemasonry into political matters is completely forbidden. It was, therefore, concerning when we discovered Mr. Gabirro's fascinating history with the political enclave of Cabinda.
CABINDA? Mr. Gabirro owns the website at cabinda.net which is the internet presence of an entity which was (is?) according to the internet, a short-lived secessionist regime in the Cabinda enclave of Angola. In addition that website (registered by Mr. Gabirro) also hosted the websites for the Gran Logia de la Republica Dominica, the Gran Logia de los Antiguos Libres y Aceptados Masones del Ecuador and - you guessed it! - the so-called Regular Grand Lodge of England. You can see that here. The Internic registration was in the name of Rui Gabirro but he has since changed that to "none". Nevertheless, he's still the admin contact and both the web design and writing style is, we believe, uniquely his - and using his 'gabirro@ gmail.com address. For a couple of months after this page went live, you could have gone to cabinda.net and gotten a 'Page Not Found' error but as of late 2006 they're back in business.
Up until the day after this page went live, if you were you to click on the word "Wanted" hyperlink near the bottom of the left-hand margin and you'd be transported to a page at http://www.rgle.org.uk/Cabinda/WANTED.htm . BUT WAIT!!!! Does that say RGLE in that address? Oh, wow!!! So the so-called 'Regular Grand Lodge of England' (and maybe Wales) and their 'Masonic High Council' is helping out by handling wanted posters (with REWARDS!) for ostensible criminals from an faction that's fighting the government of an African country? In fact, you may want to head to this page about Cabinda and run your mouse over the many links. Guess what: they're pretty much ALL located on the RGLE website. Truly amazing - particularly in light of regular/recognized Freemasonry's long-standing detachment from political matters AND the multiple claims by Rui's RGLE that the United Grand Lodge of England (begun in 1717) is violating Freemasonry's principles!
Let's Play Dress-Up....
http://www.masonicinfo.com/images/rgleh1.jpg
Rui Gabirro, in addition to being Robert Lamar, is also - according to THIS page - actually Duke Alexander of Cabinda so perhaps we can understand why 'his' RGLE is supporting 'his' dukedom. Interestingly enough, he's ALSO Mangovo Ngoyo, the Governor of the Cabinda National Bank which will be happy to sell you all sorts of financial instruments including savings bonds, stamps and even crude oil (provided, of course, you pay him the $6,000 USD in advance!) All you need do is call Mr. Gabirro's phone number in England or send your e-mail to one of his dozens and dozens of gmail addresses and you too have 600,000 barrels of crude or a bunch of worthless coins. Planning on travel and need a passport? Rui's G-mail will get you one of those too - for a 'reasonable' price, we presume.
Why are Mr. Gabirro's political and quasi-business interests a concern? Unfortunately, his control over the many internet-created arms of these pseudo-Masonic groups deceive the general public making them believe that Freemasonry itself is involved in political and business matters.
As but one example, on May 13, 2007, the following appeared on Google's news feed:
WHAT? That "Supreme Masonic Council" is actually Rui's Grande Loge des Maçons Réguliers Francs et Acceptés whose website is a subdirectory of the "Regular Grand Lodge of England" at http://www.rgle.org.uk/MHC_France.htm
It confusing to those unfamiliar with Freemasonry and it's completely against the tenets of the Craft. THAT is why we take such strong exception to these kinds of "fake Masonry"....
Others Notice Too....
We also found a very interesting blog post by science fiction author Kathryn Cramer titled "Just when I thought the Internet couldn't get any weirder: Meet Rui Gabirro a/k/a/ Duke Alexander of Cabinda." here. This is 'must see' reading! She too observed some of the odd behavior including the Cabinda "College"....
On December 14, 2005, Rui L. Gabirro of Brethren in Amity Lodge #8650 under the United Grand Lodge of England was expelled from Freemasonry.
Sadly too the RGLE has played on the animosity between the Grand Lodge of France (GLdF) and the United Grand Lodge of England. It has encouraged and received support from GLdF's Chancellor, Michel Singer who has directly confirmed that he was giving RGLE his support in order to "stick it to" UGLE. Singer has since removed his support but those in the US are being told that the Grand Lodge of France has recognized this organization - something which is totally false to fact.
The letter below has appeared on the website of the United Grand Lodge of England (the oldest recognized Masonic Grand Lodge in the world) at http://www.ugle.org.uk
United Grand Lodge of England
Freemasons’ Hall, Great Queen Street, London wc2B 5AZ
Telephone: 0207831 9811
Fax: 020 7831 6021
Our ref: COMMS/RAHM/JMI-I/sdh/Gsecsl lOth May 2005
Dear Brother Grand Secretary
The Regular Grand Lodge of England
You may be aware that an irregular body styling itself the “Regular Grand Lodge of England” has been gaining publicity through its own website, the website of other irregular bodies and a certain amount of ill-informed gossip in Masonic “chatrooms” on the internet.
It is being claimed that the formation of the “Regular Grand Lodge of England” is a result of a major schism within the United Grand Lodge of England that has led to a significant number of Lodges and individual members withdrawing from the United Grand Lodge of England. Those claims are malicious lies, with no foundation in reality. Of the known members of this new, irregular body, only two appear to have had any connection with regular Freemasonry in England. Rather than Lodges having defected to it, there appears to be only one active Lodge, self-constituted this year. Their website links page shows links to other irregular, self-constituted Grand Lodges in India and Europe, including the Grand Lodge of France, whose Grand Chancellor, Michael Singer, has been appointed representative of the “Regular Grand Lodge of England” for France.
I would be grateful if you could warn any of your members who might be visiting England that this new body is irregular, and, that to ensure they do not inadvertendy have contact with an irregular body their Masonic contacts in England should be made only through my office.
Yours faithfully and fraternally
RA H Morrow
Grand Secretary
Distribution: Grand Secretaries of recognised Grand Lodges
Realistically the above letter may have been entirely unnecessary as the RGLE will, we predict, implode in the VERY near future. Would you want to be a part of an organization that you're trying to promote as being of the highest moral virtues while your founder/leader is writing gross obscenities and creating a web of confusion (or worse)? As with most such promoters, however, that probably won't be the end of it. We have received sporadic e-mails, for example, from ostensible 'sock puppets' that supposedly want to give us 'the (very unsavory) facts' on this group and its leader in an apparent attempt to get us to publish them so that the RGLE can be discredited. In fact, we were quite surprised that Jeff Peace, the leader of the {former?} Modern Rite of Memphis in the US and the online pitchman for the so-called United Grand Lodge of America sent us an email offering 'facts' to smear the RGLE! (At the time, the UGLA group was 'playing up to' another bogus group, the so-called Grand Lodge At York but, as with all of these internet creations, nobody wants to be subservient to anyone else so that - along with the United Grand Lodge of America - was short-lived!)
While looking up some information on Google on August 4, 2005, we were presented with a Google ad for Rui's group thus raising even more concerns. How does the average person KNOW what's real and what's not?
The RGLE also has attempted to 'hang their hat' on the good name of regular and recognized Freemasonry by claiming charitable activities that surely don't exist. On their website, the following appears in their FAQ section, for example:
Q. - What are the charitable activities of the Regular Grand Lodge of England?
A. - England is a "welfare state" where most charitable activities, as well as those pertaining to hospitals and medical care in general, are run by the government and financed by the taxes we pay. So our charitable activities are limited to Masonic Schools, Masonic orphanages, old age homes and helping the unemployed.
(Ref: http://www.rgle.org.uk/RGLE_FAQ.htm accessed on 30 August 2005)
Really? If the self-styled Regular Grand Lodge of England really felt as negatively about the United Grand Lodge of England as it seems to, one wonders why RGLE would support UGLE charities. We can't believe that the RGLE formed in 2005 already has their own schools and orphanages but if they do, we'll welcome the opportunity to let you know about it. And, as we usually find in irregular bodies of Masonry, there's always the politics (prohibited in regular/recognized Freemasonry) as evidenced by the snide remark about "welfare state"!
There are MANY unrecognized bodies throughout the world - and sadly, there's no real way for the public to be able to sort through the claims of "I'm the legitimate Masonry!" versus "No you're not. We're the REAL Masonry!" when this sort of thing occurs.
Now they have 'Grand Lodges' operating in the United States. Read more about that here.
And please note: this web page like the 350 or so others on this site reflects the personal, objective opinions of the site owner. No one person speaks for Freemasonry and we certainly make no pretensions of doing so ourselves. What we have written here is verifiable and, we believe, factual. Mr. Gabirro clearly disagrees. He has taken great umbrage at his organization being labeled 'fake' but let's be clear: his organization - whatever he whishes to believe it is - is unrecognized and irregular from a Masonic standpoint whether he admits that or not. His puerile comments about the United Grand Lodge of England which is the acknowledged 'Mother' Grand Lodge of the World are snarky at best.
Should Mr. Gabirro have complaints about our characterization of his group, we believe he should first take his concerns to the UGLE. Their letter about his organization preceded this section of our site. It is the UGLE - the oldest and most widely recognized Grand Lodge in the world - that expelled him! Neither this page or any or the others about Mr. Gabirro or his organization(s) are designed to defame but simply set forth facts as to origin and activities of the individual and the group(s) he has created.
WOW! A GRAND MASTER IDENTIFIED!!!
Although not remarked upon here, it seemed odd that the Grand Master of this grandiose group wasn't identified for the first year or more of their existence. TA-DA! Rui has apparently now found someone to lead them - and it's somehow SO appropriate: His Royal Highness, Philippe Paul Alexandre Henry, The Prince of Araucania, KES, OCS, KCA. Pretty impressive, huh? Well, you might think so until you realize that this "Royal Highness" is not part of the British Royal Family. Heir to a Peruvian kingdom that no sovereign nation has ever recognized and with no indication that he's ever been a Mason, we wonder what induced him to team up with Rui. Fame? Fortune? A chance for recognition through participation with a group that will be the laughing stock of Freemasons everywhere? Seems to be a theme here.... The Prince's minting his own coinage for his self-claimed kingdom is something also reported on the web. Maybe they'll be selling those coins at an an RGLE online store soon?
We found this interesting commentary at a website titled Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership:
1903-16 Head of the Sovereign Family Titular Queen Laure-Therese I of Araucania and Patagonia (Chile-Argentina)
She was the fourth sovereign of the Kingdom founded in 1860 by the Mapuche Indians in territory now occupied by Chile and Argentina. The family was deported from Chile to France in 1863 where it has lived since. On 6 Nov 1903, the Council of Regency met and chose Georges Sénéchal de la Grange to be the new "king," but he declined. From that date on, everything that has been written about the succession is essentially a fabrication by Philippe Paul Alexandre Henri Boiry (b. 1927), who currently claims to be Philippe I. His account runs as follows: the sole heir, and hence successor, of Antoine II was his daughter, Laure Thérèse Cros, veuve Bernard, who "was" Queen Laure-Thérèse I from 6 Nov 1903 to her death 12 Mar 1916. There is no documentation of her acting as Queen. Prince Philippe has no children. Laure Therese lived (1856-1916).
Perhaps it's not so odd that someone who wants to claim legitimacy for his ~ whatever ~ would ally himself with the self-styled Duke of Cabinda.
North Korean Agent Too?
We also thought it was hysterically funny to find a web post from rabid anti-Mason and the almost never-accurate Greg Szymanski that identifies the RGLE's Grand Secretary Rui as an agent of the dictatorship in North Korea. This page is just too funny for words - but who knows: maybe that voice in Greg's head is on to something. Strange that Rui should be mentioned though, don't you think? For those 'oldsters' in the US, you may remember this line from television long ago: "Stay tuned for As The World Turns...."
Rui, Rui, where are thou?
Mr. Gabirro seems to have ~ sorta ~ vanished from the RGLE scene on the internet although if you read through the non-English material, you'll see his name continue to appear pretty regularly. The so-called "Grand Secretary' has very much the same 'behaviorisms' as his predecessor (i.e., having NOTHING from the titular head of the organization but lots of 'direction' from what - in nearly all Grand Lodges - is an officer who rarely if ever takes a position of very high visibility). We also found it hysterically funny that - perhaps not wanting to be chastised by us for being late with their newsletters that on July 5, 2008 their September, 2008 newsletter was available on their website. Of course, since his pictures and 'instructions' appear throughout (not a single mention/picture of the Grand Master, poor fellow....), it's no wonder they'd want to go to press quickly.
Oh, and in that newsletter was this truly comical statement:
There exists in the Republic of Paraguay A Feminine Supreme Council of Masonry; solely for women. Except that this body admit women, it’s so far as can be ascertained, otherwise regular in their practice. This Grand Lodge although acknowledging its existence must emphasise that it does not encourage or allow intervisitation. There are, however, discussions from time to time with the women's Grand Lodge on matters of mutual concern. Brethren are therefore free to explain to non-Masons, if
asked, that Freemasonry is not confined to men (even though this Regular Grand Lodge does not itself admit women). Further information about these bodies may be obtained by writing to the Grand Secretary.
The Regular Grand Lodge of England is also aware that there exist other bodies not directly imitative of antient Craft Masonry, but which by implication introduce Freemasonry, such as the Order of the Eastern Star. Membership of such bodies, attendance at their meetings, or participation in their ceremonies is incompatible with membership of this Grand Lodge.
What's so funny about that? Well, it was obviously stolen - with only the name of the group involved changed - from the same statement made by the regular/recognized United Grand Lodge of England in 1999 appearing on our website since 2000.
"There exist in England and Wales at least two Grand Lodges solely for women. Except that these bodies admit women, they are, so far as can be ascertained, otherwise regular in their practice. There is also one which admits both men and women to membership. They are not recognised by this Grand Lodge and intervisitaion may not take place. There are, however, informal discussions from time to time with the women's Grand Lodges on matters of mutual concern. Brethren are therefore free to explain to non-Masons, if asked, that Freemasonry is not confined to men (even though this Grand Lodge does not itself admit women). Further information about these bodies may be obtained by writing to the Grand Secretary."
"The Board is also aware that there exist other bodies not directly imitative of pure antient Masonry, but which by implication introduce Freemasonry, such as the Order of the Eastern Star. Membership of such bodies, attendance at their meetings or participation in their ceremonies is incompatible with membership of this Grand Lodge."
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It is to laugh....
Created 22 July 2005
Updated 30 August 2005
Updated 1 November 2005
Updated 27 December 2005
Updated 3 June 2006 & 18 June 2006 and added info about the Sovereign Sanctuary back in business in February, 2007.
And because Rui always seems to provide more material for us to write about, another update on August 15 and December 1, 2006
Remember though, folks: some of these updates take less time than it takes to drink a cup of coffee. This organization is really not important to us by any stretch of the imagination nor is it important in the greater scheme of life despite the pretensions of its Secretary-General.
Updated with more Cabinda information 14 May 2007 and the bit about newsletters in July, 2008.
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If I understand the matter correctly, the Freemasonry we read about in David Icke's works and in Martin Short's 'Inside the Brotherhood' and numerous other polemics is 'regular' Masonry whose Grand Master is the Queen's cousin, Field Master, the Duke of Kent, and a cult of some 4-5 million recognised Masons internationally whereas the Grand Lodge of All England, is a much older (as Grand Secretary claims) tradition, or as the 'regular Mason' in the polemical essay below claims, a group founded in December 2005, by 'a couple of guys in a pub.'
I post the essays below which are 'polemics' against the 'Grand Lodge of All England,' not in any way to defend the criticism of the 'Grand Lodge of All England' by regular Masonry, but rather merely in order that Grand Secretary has an opportunity to defend his true Lodge against such criticisms from the vile heretics of UGLE :-).
Generally when a group of people 'splinter' from a large cult; they usually have an axe to grind and are somewhat critical of their mother cult, and I would raise the question of what exactly such criticisms are of regular masonry and if this would concur with Icke's criticisms?
I would be personally interested in understanding why Grand Secretary resigned from the "Regular Grand Lodge of England" which as I understand it is also considered heretical by UGLE (United Grand Lodge of England) and if he was ever a member of UGLE?
Personally I quite like the idea of a 'couple of guys in a pub' taking over from the United Grand Lodge of England and pronouncing UGLE to be heretics.
There is something which smacks of Monty Python's 'Life of Brian' here and the dispute between, the People's Front of Judea, the Judean People's Front, the Judean Popular People's Front, and the Judean Popular Front.
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y62/jacqueszammit/lifeofbrian_07.jpg
Brian: Are you the Judean People's Front?
Fuck off! Judean People's Front! We're The People's Front of Judea! Judean People's Front, God!
PFJ: Listen! If you wanted to join the PFJ, you'd have to have really hate the Romans.
Brian: I do!
Right, you're in. Listen, the only people we hate more than the Romans, are the fucking Judean People's Front.
PFJ: Splitters!
And the Judean Popular People's Front!
Yeah! Splitters!
And the People's Front of Judea!
Yeah! Splitters!
Loretta: The People's Front of Judea. Splitters!
PFJ: We are the People's Front of Judea!
Loretta: Oh. I thought we were the Popular Front.
PFJ: People's Front! God...
Whatever happened to the Popular Front,
Reg: He's over there (points to man sitting alone).
I should point out further that there are a host of Masonic groups internationally who are not recognised by UGLE, including the Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.) (Order of the Temple of the East) whose Grand Master at one point was Aleister Crowley, and that The Grand Lodge of All England appears to be affiliated with many of these groups (though not with the O.T.O apparently) which are apparently considered heretical by the Duke of Windsor's establishment cult.
Lux
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The essay below is taken from http://www.masonicinfo.com/allengland.htm
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"History will be kind to me for I intend to write it."
Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
The 'Grand Lodge At York - The Grand Lodge of All England' asserts that they are the legacy heir to a supposed meeting of all operative Masons called by King Athelstane in York, England in 926 A.D. - despite the fact that the 'meeting' referred to above is just a Masonic legend, proven as such over a century ago. While their website cites Mackey as their source, there are numerous other Masonic writers (particularly those AFTER the 'age of realism' arrived in Freemasonry in the late 1800s, after the death of Mackey) who stridently disagree. Even contemporaries of Mackey claimed he was wrong in his statements about the York meeting.
To be fair, when the first Grand Lodge was formed, it too claimed a pedigree reaching back to Noah and the Flood, the Building of King Solomon's Temple and more. That, though, was in 1717 when it was fashionable to use such things to prove one's legitimacy. Even the Royal Society did such things. That was 300 years ago and this is now!
Noting the absurdity of this all, the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), the 'mother' Grand Lodge of Freemasonry in the world, has issued a statement about this group: you can view it most easily on a UK Provincial Grand Lodge website here. Their comments are FAR more harsh than ours. This is not just a petty territorial dispute as the UGLE with about a half million members has little to fear from the couple of people involved with this so-called "Grand Lodge". Nevertheless, all such self-created groups want to 'play the victim', whining about persecution by the 'big, bad group'.
It comes down to this: someone 'declares' that - because of the name they've given their group or because they went to the same city in which a legend (in this case, more like a fairy tale) originated - that somehow makes them into the group that was a thousand years ago (or as recently as just 500 years ago) OR (depending on which tack they take - and they use several), it makes them the 'rightful inheritor' of that story through a 'revival'. (I wonder if the folks in Rome, New York ever.... Oh, well.)
Does this make sense? If so, no need to read any further: join them and be happy! However, in what to most folks would be the 'real world', simply announcing that you've held a meeting and filed some paperwork with the government claiming a certain name that wasn't in use by anyone else means that now you've 'reestablished' something that hasn't existed for a centuries (or, in fact, quite probably never existed at all) is awfully bizarre. According to a message we've received from this organization's 'Grand Secretary' threatening us:
"For your information, this original and independent Grand Lodge was legally reponed(1) here in York during December 2005 and legally constituted and registered as such.
It is therefore the original and ancient Grand Lodge of All England at York working under The Old York Constitution of 1705. It is our intention to jealously defend this position by whatever means are at our disposal."
So, according to them, they're original and independent and replaced a (likely) legend from centuries ago. Fine. Who are we to argue with such things and why would anyone make threats to 'prove' it?
Simply stated, in the present day for a new Masonic Grand Lodge to form and receive recognition as such requires several things must be in place including either the absence of a Grand Lodge in that geographical area (as was done a few decades ago in Alaska, USA, for example) AND for it to be formed by THREE (count 'em - 3) 'regular lodges' already operating in that physical location under the aegis of a regular and recognized Grand Lodge. A couple of guys meeting somewhere (pub, chapel, minster, whatever) and claiming that they're "reponing" something doesn't really count - in marbles or in Freemasonry!
And there's one other thing: the Grand Lodge whose lodges are already there must ASSENT to the creation of the new Grand Lodge. If you read the letter from the United Grand Lodge of England, sent to all of their Lodge Secretaries throughout England and to the world (it's not private: it's on official websites of the organization), you'll find something quite different.
Now for those who aren't familiar with the niceties of Masonic recognition, all of this may seem very tedious. However, such requirements are necessary in order to ensure that those who are seeking to join Freemasonry will, in fact, have the ability to 'travel in foreign countries' as Master Masons and enjoy fraternal friendship with the 4-5 million Masons located around the world. Otherwise, any bloke on the street corner could grab a mate and go set up their own little pub club, calling it a 'Grand Lodge' and start soliciting subscriptions. The bottom line, though, is that regardless of how many Masonic-related graphics anyone uses on their website and despite employing Masonic titles including the cozy reference to 'Brothers', joining with one of these groups is not going to cause ANYONE (except the small number of people in that so-called 'Grand Lodge') to acknowledge you as a Mason. (Be sure to see our page on Fake Masonry for more information.)
UPDATE: November, 2007 - Be careful about what you read on the web - and how it can mislead. They used to say on their website:
The Grand Lodge of All England at York has established its Legitimacy of Origin and Regularity with The Conference of Grand Masters of North America, The Commission on Information for Recognition. (Written confirmation received 27th October 2006)
Now why they needed to establish ANYTHING with North America since they're in Merry Olde England is a mystery but that notwithstanding, what they didn't mention is that they had been told otherwise in subsequent e-mails. You can, in fact, now read exactly what the Commission has to say about them:
2. An organization calling itself the Grand Lodge of All England is presenting itself as a legitimate Masonic Grand Lodge in England. It claims to trace its roots to a Lodge at York, founded in 1705, which later styled itself a Grand Lodge in 1725, first named the Old Grand Lodge at York, and later the Grand Lodge of All England at York. This Grand Lodge went dormant in 1740, was revived in 1761, and went dormant again in 1791, never to meet again. On December 23, 2005, an assembly of Masons met and “reclaimed English Freemasonry on behalf of its rightful custodians.” The Grand Lodge of All England emerged and is said to be a revival of the Grand Lodge that went dormant in 1791.
It must again be stated that the Commission does not determine the regularity of a Grand Lodge; it only evaluates the facts available to determine if the entity meets the standards for recognition, as adopted by the Conference of Grand Masters of North America, and reports those findings to the member Grand Lodges of this Conference for their use.
The Commission cannot validate the claimed legitimacy of origin of the Grand Lodge of All England, since no documentation has been presented that this Grand Lodge was reinstated or reconstituted in 2005 by a recognized Masonic authority. In addition, it cannot claim exclusive territorial jurisdiction since a pact or treaty does not exist to share the jurisdiction with the United Grand Lodge of England. It is therefore the opinion of the Commission that the Grand Lodge of All England does not meet the standards for recognition.
Full report here and here. No recognition = no admittance for its members anywhere other than it's own couple of lodges with the only ones acknowledging its members as Masons are the other members of that same group - that small coterie of believers.
UPDATE: December, 2007 - Gee whiz! They must be reading this page.... <chuckle>
December saw a flurry (perhaps 'frantic outpouring' might be a better description?) of essays, blog posts, etc. trying to justify their LACK of recognition. Gone is the claim they'd made about "establishing its Legitimacy of Origin and Regularity" with, instead, the Conference of Grand Masters of North America now demonized as irrelevant to their existence. They also moan that the statement made about them by COGMNA wasn't placed on the web until 7 months after COGMNA's annual meeting - which, we'd think, could/should have worked in their favor giving their fantasy a half-year reprieve! In reality, the back story is that the e-mail sent them wasn't really what they claimed it was and they had received a subsequent clarification that NOTHING had 'been established' by the Commission contrary to their assertions. Their current claim that the Conference is back-peddling is actually back-peddling of their own! If they want to make the claim that they WERE acknowledged somehow, then they should produce ALL of the e-mails they received from the Conference Secretary on the matter so that their assertions could be examined in the light of day!
In addition, the reponed Grand Lodge of All England has now begun to violate even more Masonic 'landmarks' (and/or traditions and/or protocols) by "invading" the territory of regular/recognized Grand Lodges, ostensibly forming so-called Grand Lodges in the United States. Their first is a lodge in Ohio which is headed by an individual who has already belonged to TWO OTHER pseudo-'Grand Lodges' which are identified here on masonicinfo.com as 'bogus'. He seems to think that the third time will be the charm apparently - or really wants a chance to wear a fancy apron! We wish him the best. The Grand Lodge of All England, like the Regular Grand Lodge of England, seems to be reaching out actively to disaffected Black men who belong to groups which are considered 'fake Masonry' by those in the United States in particular - and the siren song they're playing for them seems to be proving very attractive. We can't help be impressed by the loyalty of these new leaders: dangle a title in front of them and they're yours! What a great way to increase membership, eh? What we've found particularly comical is that their list of so-called lodges seems to grow each month and yet, ironically, not a single member (except the Grand Secretary) is ever seen anywhere online. What are the odds, eh?
Oh, and the 'next big thing' is their breathless announcement that "After many years of concentrated research, The Grand Lodge at York is pleased to announce that it has traced the final resting place of King Athelstan's brother, Prince Edwin of York." "...many years...."? This group has only been in existence for two at the time of the announcement. For an organization claiming a connection back to 900AD, you wouldn't think that two years is "many" would you? But more than that, so what? Does this somehow give legitimacy to the fact that a group (of perhaps two people, maybe even one - the information has never been made public on it) got together in York, England and declared themselves to be the legacy heirs of something that's been dead for a couple of centuries? Not bloody likely....
Don't link on me...
During August, 2008 there were two hysterically funny instances brought to our attention. The prolific 'Grand Secretary' has apparently been engaged in Internet threat campaigns against sites that link (unflatteringly) to their website. Simultaneously, they've created a completely bogus line of succession of supposed Grand Masters of their group and are now contacting Masonic historians and authors to be sure to include such material in future works.
The internet threat was the funniest and is particularly comical if you're someone who knows even the basics about internet and legal protocols. A lodge in Arizona created a web page about fake masonry that included a link to the so-called Grand Lodge of All England. Poor Mr. Clatworthy apparently had a problem with that, sending an e-mail to them saying "Whilst this Grand Lodge does not generally enter into correspondence with disreputable bodies such as yours, we on this occasion write to you requiring you to remove our name from the website. Failure to do so within 7 days will result in a requirement being sent to your internet service provider, GoDaddy.com, Inc., for your site to be closed down." HUH? Suddenly it's illegal to link to another website? WOW! In fact, they even sent a copy to the Grand Lodge of Arizona. It likely escaped Mr. Clatworthy's notice the GLAZ was just a couple of blocks away from the office that this site is normally managed from. (Do you suppose that the Webmaster might just know those folks down the street already?)
Oh, and something which probably ALSO escaped Mr. Clatworthy's keen eye was that the Webmaster happens to be an employee of an ATTORNEY!
Should we add insult to injury by noting that the Attorney happens to be Master of that Lodge?
If you aren't keeling over in laughter by now, you've just got NO sense of humor at all.
So look out, folks: if you link to these guys, why they're going to write to your internet service provider and say you can't. Forewarned is forearmed - or something like that!
Masonicinfo Note: The flag shown above is a United States Naval ensign, flown from 1775-1776. It was something we thought might be appropriate for this group which claims to go back to 900AD. It's also relevant to today's actions: since September, 2002 (LONG before this 'reponed' Grand Lodge of All England existed), it has been flying on U. S. Navy ships involved in the Global War on Terrorism.... The picture at the top of the page is of King Edward I - which somehow we thought quite appropriate as well.
Whatever you want...
All of the above notwithstanding, we have said before and will repeat it here yet again even though this group has gotten VERY angry about us writing things which might cause you to recognize that they're not 'the real deal': if you want to join something you think is going to be just right for you, GO FOR IT! PLEASE don't let anything we've written stop you from doing what your heart most desires. In this case, if you want to meet up with a couple of chaps you think are ok, you might enjoy this organization and/or others like it very much. If, however, you want to be a true part of the 300+ year old tradition that is Freemasonry and want to be able to visit those Masonic lodge buildings found both locally and around the world, you won't be able to do so. In addition, if you join an unrecognized (sometimes referred to as "clandestine") lodge such as those run by the "Grand Lodge of All England", it could be a more difficult process to become a Mason in a regular and recognized lodge later on. That's just the way things are - and we don't make the rules on this stuff!
And just so you know, their website wasn't created until January of 2006 so their claim to an ancient copyright lineage going all the way back to 2005 is specious at best. See here for the proof. What we found even more comical, though, was that an apparent member of a regular/recognized lodge in Maryland, USA owns their domain name! Oh, and before we get another e-mail from their "Grand Secretary", this time railing that we're wrong about the ownership thing, we'd encourage him to try transferring the domain admin name/address, for example. The point will be proven.
(1) \Re*pone"\ (r?-p?n"), v. t. [L. reponere; pref. re- re- + ponere to place.] To replace. --R. Baillie.
Modern Language Association (MLA): "repone." Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. MICRA, Inc. 19 Jan. 2007. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/repone>
If you'd like to read Mackey's legend, you can click here. Oh, and if you'd like to play dress-up along with this group, you might want to consider the adorable costume shown above. You can purchase it at this link.
Updated 29 August 2008
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From a statement by the United Grand Lodge of England - 16 February 2006
There has been a split in the “Regular Grand Lodge of England" (see below for statement about RGLE). Two of their members were unhappy at the direction the RGLE is taking and have “revived” the old Grand Lodge of All England, known to Masonic historians as the York Grand Lodge.
The Grand Master of this new Grand Lodge is one John Gordon Graves and the Grand Secretary is Peter J. Clatworthy.
Like all irregular bodies they are claiming an ancient pedigree. They claim to be acting by “the original Constitutions granted by Prince Edwin at the General Assembly of Masons held in York AD 975”. This is one of the oldest legends connected with Freemasonry and was shown to be a legend more than one hundred years ago!
They also claim that the York Grand Lodge was the first Grand Lodge in England and predates the premier Grand Lodge formed in London in 1717. An independent Lodge existed in York, for which records survive from 1705. It was simply a private Lodge, which in 1725, because of the success of the premier Grand Lodge, began to call itself the Grand Lodge of All England and, in the same year, adopted “Nineteen Articles” to govern the Craft.
The Grand Lodge of All England worked until 1740 when it became dormant. It was revived in 1761 and over the next thirty years constituted about thirteen daughter Lodges in Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cheshire. It ceased working circa 1791, since when nothing more was heard of it until its “revival” in January 2006. The records of the York Grand Lodge exist and are in the custody of the present York Lodge No. 236 meeting in York.
The Grand Lodge of All England (which appears to have only two members at present) claims to be the “regular authority governing the Craft in England, Wales, the Channel Island and Districts Overseas”. A General Assembly, which all Master Masons are invited to attend, was to be held in York on 20 February 2006 to plan the way forward. Needless to say the new body is entirely irregular, and any member of the United Grand Lodge of England who gets involved in it will become subject to our disciplinary process.
http://surreymason.org.uk/index.php?PageID=archive_news_ugle_new_grand_lodge
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It should be pointed out the Grand Lodge of England is allegedly a splinter group of the Regular Grand Lodge of England (RGLE) which is also considered heretical by UGLE (the United Grand lodge of England)
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STOP PRESS: RGLE DECLARES ED KING
AND MASONICINFO.COM
A "MASONIC MENACE"!!! More HERE!
http://www.masonicinfo.com/rgle.htm
As we've noted elsewhere on this site, there's no prohibition against anyone going out, buying some Masonic regalia, and starting their own organization. Why grown-up adults would want to get 'uniforms' and pretend that they're a part of something they're not really seems awfully strange but it happens pretty regularly with fellows buying police badges, sports team championship rings, or military medals. Whatever fantasy they create in their minds to convince them that they're 'entitled' to such recognition must surely speak to some very deep-rooted problems.
It happens with Freemasonry too. Guys go out and buy an apron, a collar, and some white gloves and try to pretend that they're Masons. Is there anything wrong with that? We believe that there is!
Here we examine claims made by the "Regular Grand Lodge of England" and its creator Rui Gabirro who has apparently managed to attract a small handful of others to affiliate with his organization using various forms of persuasions to recruit the disgruntled who want to play 'dress up' too. Their website boasts they are:
"The leading Grand Lodge of the World."
"The Regular Grand Lodge of England
is the governing body of Freemasonry in England and Wales."
Impressed? Don't be! Self-created (against standard Masonic conventions) in January, 2005, they make claims of a huge and now international membership, yet there are only a very limited number of 'identified' members and the dates, times and specific locations of their supposed lodge meetings are - as with all of the groups we identify in this section - conspicuously absent from their website. While the website (Rui-written) brags about huge international conferences, we never see more than a picture of a couple of men (always including Rui) dressed 'to the nines' in gold-bullion regalia.
Is the RGLE "Fake Masonry"? Not, apparently, in the minds of its handful of members - although they surely must realize that the group they're a part of has no commonality with regular/recognized Freemasonry. The facts are, though, that despite their brazen claims they are neither a 'leading' nor 'governing' body for anything other than their own little group which probably numbers well under a hundred souls. The self-styled Regular Grand Lodge of England has no connection with regular and recognized Freemasonry anywhere in the world and you can read on their website the disdain they have for the United Grand Lodge of England of which Rui was once a member.
Rui, Rui, Rui....
When we first learned of this group, one name that appeared conspicuously was that of Rui Gabirro, which - perhaps conveniently - is a name from the presumed history of Martinism. That name was also found associated with the so-called "Sovereign Sanctuary", a supposedly a modern incarnation of the pseudo-Masonic Ancient & Primitive Rite of Memphis. Rui has also used more than one pseudonym including that of Robert H. Lamar who was also listed as the Secretary-General for the self-styled "RGLE". You can see this discussion group posting for the claim. (Scroll down to the post from ikhnaten near the end - and there's also a comment about threatening e-mails which we address on the 'Masonic Menace' page linked above.) The Lamar identity is ostensibly a pen name as stated in this posting. Sovereign Sanctuary's web presence seemed to have disappeared for a time without explanation but in January, 2007 it was back up and running again and with a claim that it's now in the United States as well.
In addition to the hateful messages we've received from Rui, there have also been postings to the alt.freemasonry newsgroup, including stalking-type messages, using an address associated with his supposed 'Antient & Primitive Rite' (of Memphis). These messages had addresses from Rui <gabirro@ gmail.com> and "I am whatching You" <ssanctuary@ gmail.com> (The next time a Brit wants to quibble about our Americanized spelling on this site, we'll have them go 'whatch' Rui!) and do not appear to have been forged in any way. We note that other web locations show 'Rui' as BOTH the Secretary-General AND the Grand Treasurer! Yet another 'no surprise' is that ssanctuary@gmail.com is an address formerly and presently associated with the so-called "Ancient & Primitive Rite" (of Memphis). Here is a cached page from a webpage at cabinda.net which shows the address in use.
Politics - and MORE Politics
Freemasonry eschews discussion of political matters. While individual Freemasons are welcome to espouse whatever political beliefs they wish (provided, of course, that they obey the laws of their state and nation), involvement of Freemasonry into political matters is completely forbidden. It was, therefore, concerning when we discovered Mr. Gabirro's fascinating history with the political enclave of Cabinda.
CABINDA? Mr. Gabirro owns the website at cabinda.net which is the internet presence of an entity which was (is?) according to the internet, a short-lived secessionist regime in the Cabinda enclave of Angola. In addition that website (registered by Mr. Gabirro) also hosted the websites for the Gran Logia de la Republica Dominica, the Gran Logia de los Antiguos Libres y Aceptados Masones del Ecuador and - you guessed it! - the so-called Regular Grand Lodge of England. You can see that here. The Internic registration was in the name of Rui Gabirro but he has since changed that to "none". Nevertheless, he's still the admin contact and both the web design and writing style is, we believe, uniquely his - and using his 'gabirro@ gmail.com address. For a couple of months after this page went live, you could have gone to cabinda.net and gotten a 'Page Not Found' error but as of late 2006 they're back in business.
Up until the day after this page went live, if you were you to click on the word "Wanted" hyperlink near the bottom of the left-hand margin and you'd be transported to a page at http://www.rgle.org.uk/Cabinda/WANTED.htm . BUT WAIT!!!! Does that say RGLE in that address? Oh, wow!!! So the so-called 'Regular Grand Lodge of England' (and maybe Wales) and their 'Masonic High Council' is helping out by handling wanted posters (with REWARDS!) for ostensible criminals from an faction that's fighting the government of an African country? In fact, you may want to head to this page about Cabinda and run your mouse over the many links. Guess what: they're pretty much ALL located on the RGLE website. Truly amazing - particularly in light of regular/recognized Freemasonry's long-standing detachment from political matters AND the multiple claims by Rui's RGLE that the United Grand Lodge of England (begun in 1717) is violating Freemasonry's principles!
Let's Play Dress-Up....
http://www.masonicinfo.com/images/rgleh1.jpg
Rui Gabirro, in addition to being Robert Lamar, is also - according to THIS page - actually Duke Alexander of Cabinda so perhaps we can understand why 'his' RGLE is supporting 'his' dukedom. Interestingly enough, he's ALSO Mangovo Ngoyo, the Governor of the Cabinda National Bank which will be happy to sell you all sorts of financial instruments including savings bonds, stamps and even crude oil (provided, of course, you pay him the $6,000 USD in advance!) All you need do is call Mr. Gabirro's phone number in England or send your e-mail to one of his dozens and dozens of gmail addresses and you too have 600,000 barrels of crude or a bunch of worthless coins. Planning on travel and need a passport? Rui's G-mail will get you one of those too - for a 'reasonable' price, we presume.
Why are Mr. Gabirro's political and quasi-business interests a concern? Unfortunately, his control over the many internet-created arms of these pseudo-Masonic groups deceive the general public making them believe that Freemasonry itself is involved in political and business matters.
As but one example, on May 13, 2007, the following appeared on Google's news feed:
WHAT? That "Supreme Masonic Council" is actually Rui's Grande Loge des Maçons Réguliers Francs et Acceptés whose website is a subdirectory of the "Regular Grand Lodge of England" at http://www.rgle.org.uk/MHC_France.htm
It confusing to those unfamiliar with Freemasonry and it's completely against the tenets of the Craft. THAT is why we take such strong exception to these kinds of "fake Masonry"....
Others Notice Too....
We also found a very interesting blog post by science fiction author Kathryn Cramer titled "Just when I thought the Internet couldn't get any weirder: Meet Rui Gabirro a/k/a/ Duke Alexander of Cabinda." here. This is 'must see' reading! She too observed some of the odd behavior including the Cabinda "College"....
On December 14, 2005, Rui L. Gabirro of Brethren in Amity Lodge #8650 under the United Grand Lodge of England was expelled from Freemasonry.
Sadly too the RGLE has played on the animosity between the Grand Lodge of France (GLdF) and the United Grand Lodge of England. It has encouraged and received support from GLdF's Chancellor, Michel Singer who has directly confirmed that he was giving RGLE his support in order to "stick it to" UGLE. Singer has since removed his support but those in the US are being told that the Grand Lodge of France has recognized this organization - something which is totally false to fact.
The letter below has appeared on the website of the United Grand Lodge of England (the oldest recognized Masonic Grand Lodge in the world) at http://www.ugle.org.uk
United Grand Lodge of England
Freemasons’ Hall, Great Queen Street, London wc2B 5AZ
Telephone: 0207831 9811
Fax: 020 7831 6021
Our ref: COMMS/RAHM/JMI-I/sdh/Gsecsl lOth May 2005
Dear Brother Grand Secretary
The Regular Grand Lodge of England
You may be aware that an irregular body styling itself the “Regular Grand Lodge of England” has been gaining publicity through its own website, the website of other irregular bodies and a certain amount of ill-informed gossip in Masonic “chatrooms” on the internet.
It is being claimed that the formation of the “Regular Grand Lodge of England” is a result of a major schism within the United Grand Lodge of England that has led to a significant number of Lodges and individual members withdrawing from the United Grand Lodge of England. Those claims are malicious lies, with no foundation in reality. Of the known members of this new, irregular body, only two appear to have had any connection with regular Freemasonry in England. Rather than Lodges having defected to it, there appears to be only one active Lodge, self-constituted this year. Their website links page shows links to other irregular, self-constituted Grand Lodges in India and Europe, including the Grand Lodge of France, whose Grand Chancellor, Michael Singer, has been appointed representative of the “Regular Grand Lodge of England” for France.
I would be grateful if you could warn any of your members who might be visiting England that this new body is irregular, and, that to ensure they do not inadvertendy have contact with an irregular body their Masonic contacts in England should be made only through my office.
Yours faithfully and fraternally
RA H Morrow
Grand Secretary
Distribution: Grand Secretaries of recognised Grand Lodges
Realistically the above letter may have been entirely unnecessary as the RGLE will, we predict, implode in the VERY near future. Would you want to be a part of an organization that you're trying to promote as being of the highest moral virtues while your founder/leader is writing gross obscenities and creating a web of confusion (or worse)? As with most such promoters, however, that probably won't be the end of it. We have received sporadic e-mails, for example, from ostensible 'sock puppets' that supposedly want to give us 'the (very unsavory) facts' on this group and its leader in an apparent attempt to get us to publish them so that the RGLE can be discredited. In fact, we were quite surprised that Jeff Peace, the leader of the {former?} Modern Rite of Memphis in the US and the online pitchman for the so-called United Grand Lodge of America sent us an email offering 'facts' to smear the RGLE! (At the time, the UGLA group was 'playing up to' another bogus group, the so-called Grand Lodge At York but, as with all of these internet creations, nobody wants to be subservient to anyone else so that - along with the United Grand Lodge of America - was short-lived!)
While looking up some information on Google on August 4, 2005, we were presented with a Google ad for Rui's group thus raising even more concerns. How does the average person KNOW what's real and what's not?
The RGLE also has attempted to 'hang their hat' on the good name of regular and recognized Freemasonry by claiming charitable activities that surely don't exist. On their website, the following appears in their FAQ section, for example:
Q. - What are the charitable activities of the Regular Grand Lodge of England?
A. - England is a "welfare state" where most charitable activities, as well as those pertaining to hospitals and medical care in general, are run by the government and financed by the taxes we pay. So our charitable activities are limited to Masonic Schools, Masonic orphanages, old age homes and helping the unemployed.
(Ref: http://www.rgle.org.uk/RGLE_FAQ.htm accessed on 30 August 2005)
Really? If the self-styled Regular Grand Lodge of England really felt as negatively about the United Grand Lodge of England as it seems to, one wonders why RGLE would support UGLE charities. We can't believe that the RGLE formed in 2005 already has their own schools and orphanages but if they do, we'll welcome the opportunity to let you know about it. And, as we usually find in irregular bodies of Masonry, there's always the politics (prohibited in regular/recognized Freemasonry) as evidenced by the snide remark about "welfare state"!
There are MANY unrecognized bodies throughout the world - and sadly, there's no real way for the public to be able to sort through the claims of "I'm the legitimate Masonry!" versus "No you're not. We're the REAL Masonry!" when this sort of thing occurs.
Now they have 'Grand Lodges' operating in the United States. Read more about that here.
And please note: this web page like the 350 or so others on this site reflects the personal, objective opinions of the site owner. No one person speaks for Freemasonry and we certainly make no pretensions of doing so ourselves. What we have written here is verifiable and, we believe, factual. Mr. Gabirro clearly disagrees. He has taken great umbrage at his organization being labeled 'fake' but let's be clear: his organization - whatever he whishes to believe it is - is unrecognized and irregular from a Masonic standpoint whether he admits that or not. His puerile comments about the United Grand Lodge of England which is the acknowledged 'Mother' Grand Lodge of the World are snarky at best.
Should Mr. Gabirro have complaints about our characterization of his group, we believe he should first take his concerns to the UGLE. Their letter about his organization preceded this section of our site. It is the UGLE - the oldest and most widely recognized Grand Lodge in the world - that expelled him! Neither this page or any or the others about Mr. Gabirro or his organization(s) are designed to defame but simply set forth facts as to origin and activities of the individual and the group(s) he has created.
WOW! A GRAND MASTER IDENTIFIED!!!
Although not remarked upon here, it seemed odd that the Grand Master of this grandiose group wasn't identified for the first year or more of their existence. TA-DA! Rui has apparently now found someone to lead them - and it's somehow SO appropriate: His Royal Highness, Philippe Paul Alexandre Henry, The Prince of Araucania, KES, OCS, KCA. Pretty impressive, huh? Well, you might think so until you realize that this "Royal Highness" is not part of the British Royal Family. Heir to a Peruvian kingdom that no sovereign nation has ever recognized and with no indication that he's ever been a Mason, we wonder what induced him to team up with Rui. Fame? Fortune? A chance for recognition through participation with a group that will be the laughing stock of Freemasons everywhere? Seems to be a theme here.... The Prince's minting his own coinage for his self-claimed kingdom is something also reported on the web. Maybe they'll be selling those coins at an an RGLE online store soon?
We found this interesting commentary at a website titled Worldwide Guide to Women in Leadership:
1903-16 Head of the Sovereign Family Titular Queen Laure-Therese I of Araucania and Patagonia (Chile-Argentina)
She was the fourth sovereign of the Kingdom founded in 1860 by the Mapuche Indians in territory now occupied by Chile and Argentina. The family was deported from Chile to France in 1863 where it has lived since. On 6 Nov 1903, the Council of Regency met and chose Georges Sénéchal de la Grange to be the new "king," but he declined. From that date on, everything that has been written about the succession is essentially a fabrication by Philippe Paul Alexandre Henri Boiry (b. 1927), who currently claims to be Philippe I. His account runs as follows: the sole heir, and hence successor, of Antoine II was his daughter, Laure Thérèse Cros, veuve Bernard, who "was" Queen Laure-Thérèse I from 6 Nov 1903 to her death 12 Mar 1916. There is no documentation of her acting as Queen. Prince Philippe has no children. Laure Therese lived (1856-1916).
Perhaps it's not so odd that someone who wants to claim legitimacy for his ~ whatever ~ would ally himself with the self-styled Duke of Cabinda.
North Korean Agent Too?
We also thought it was hysterically funny to find a web post from rabid anti-Mason and the almost never-accurate Greg Szymanski that identifies the RGLE's Grand Secretary Rui as an agent of the dictatorship in North Korea. This page is just too funny for words - but who knows: maybe that voice in Greg's head is on to something. Strange that Rui should be mentioned though, don't you think? For those 'oldsters' in the US, you may remember this line from television long ago: "Stay tuned for As The World Turns...."
Rui, Rui, where are thou?
Mr. Gabirro seems to have ~ sorta ~ vanished from the RGLE scene on the internet although if you read through the non-English material, you'll see his name continue to appear pretty regularly. The so-called "Grand Secretary' has very much the same 'behaviorisms' as his predecessor (i.e., having NOTHING from the titular head of the organization but lots of 'direction' from what - in nearly all Grand Lodges - is an officer who rarely if ever takes a position of very high visibility). We also found it hysterically funny that - perhaps not wanting to be chastised by us for being late with their newsletters that on July 5, 2008 their September, 2008 newsletter was available on their website. Of course, since his pictures and 'instructions' appear throughout (not a single mention/picture of the Grand Master, poor fellow....), it's no wonder they'd want to go to press quickly.
Oh, and in that newsletter was this truly comical statement:
There exists in the Republic of Paraguay A Feminine Supreme Council of Masonry; solely for women. Except that this body admit women, it’s so far as can be ascertained, otherwise regular in their practice. This Grand Lodge although acknowledging its existence must emphasise that it does not encourage or allow intervisitation. There are, however, discussions from time to time with the women's Grand Lodge on matters of mutual concern. Brethren are therefore free to explain to non-Masons, if
asked, that Freemasonry is not confined to men (even though this Regular Grand Lodge does not itself admit women). Further information about these bodies may be obtained by writing to the Grand Secretary.
The Regular Grand Lodge of England is also aware that there exist other bodies not directly imitative of antient Craft Masonry, but which by implication introduce Freemasonry, such as the Order of the Eastern Star. Membership of such bodies, attendance at their meetings, or participation in their ceremonies is incompatible with membership of this Grand Lodge.
What's so funny about that? Well, it was obviously stolen - with only the name of the group involved changed - from the same statement made by the regular/recognized United Grand Lodge of England in 1999 appearing on our website since 2000.
"There exist in England and Wales at least two Grand Lodges solely for women. Except that these bodies admit women, they are, so far as can be ascertained, otherwise regular in their practice. There is also one which admits both men and women to membership. They are not recognised by this Grand Lodge and intervisitaion may not take place. There are, however, informal discussions from time to time with the women's Grand Lodges on matters of mutual concern. Brethren are therefore free to explain to non-Masons, if asked, that Freemasonry is not confined to men (even though this Grand Lodge does not itself admit women). Further information about these bodies may be obtained by writing to the Grand Secretary."
"The Board is also aware that there exist other bodies not directly imitative of pure antient Masonry, but which by implication introduce Freemasonry, such as the Order of the Eastern Star. Membership of such bodies, attendance at their meetings or participation in their ceremonies is incompatible with membership of this Grand Lodge."
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It is to laugh....
Created 22 July 2005
Updated 30 August 2005
Updated 1 November 2005
Updated 27 December 2005
Updated 3 June 2006 & 18 June 2006 and added info about the Sovereign Sanctuary back in business in February, 2007.
And because Rui always seems to provide more material for us to write about, another update on August 15 and December 1, 2006
Remember though, folks: some of these updates take less time than it takes to drink a cup of coffee. This organization is really not important to us by any stretch of the imagination nor is it important in the greater scheme of life despite the pretensions of its Secretary-General.
Updated with more Cabinda information 14 May 2007 and the bit about newsletters in July, 2008.
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