RESEARCH LODGES WORLDWIDE

By Dr. Jean Bénédict, PM, 33°, founder and president of the Swiss Alpina Research Group, Lausanne, Switzerland

The oldest and most prestigious research Lodge in the world is without doubt Quatuor Coronati Lodge N° 2076 in London, within the United Grand Lodge of England; it mainly does historic work.

Fashioned after this pioneering model, a whole series of other research Lodges with the same names were created in cities of Bayreuth (Germany), Rome, Vienna, Prague, etc. QC London neither encourages nor discourages such like-named groups: there are no preconditions concerning the creation of new research groups and no priviledged relationships with existing ones.

In a similar fashion, other Lodges or research bodies have been created under wider headings. In the English-speaking countries of the world, and more specifically in the USA, the role of these bodies is to insure that the officers learn their ritual by heart and practice together in harmony. Most also encourage new members to join Freemansonry. They often distribute lectures, books, tapes, etc. to prospective initiates . More than a hundred Masonic research entities exist, the best known are listed ; however we realise that the list is not complete.

The Lodges that perform serious research work are few in number. They generally publish the results of their work in yearbooks, magazines or newsletters. The material that they examine are records of all kinds, Masonic as well as non-Masonic, and are concerned with the influence of Masonry on human activity and vice-versa (music, art, literature, psychology, sociology, politics, etc.). Other research areas cover the symbolic and philosophical aspects of Freemasonry.

Those that primarily and fundamentally do scientific research work on the contrary are very few indeed. They publish the results of their work through yearbooks, magazines or newsletters. The material they examine are records of all kinds, Masonic as well as profane and refer to the influence of Masonry on the rest of the world or vice-versa (music, art, literature, psychology, sociology, politics, etc.). Others handle symbolic or philosophical issues.

Sometimes, isolated researchers obtain better results than Lodges or constituted bodies. For instance Prof. José Antonio Ferrer Benimeli – a Spanish Jesuit, non Mason, professor at the reputed University of Saragossa, has established a world-wide reputation for his research and publications on Masonry, not only historical but also on bibliographical references from the world over. The publications of our Group for example are regularly referred to.

Many authors publish the results of their own research through Masonic or non-Masonic publishers. This has become a tradition, for such writers as Albert Pike, Robert Freke Gould, Oswald Wirth, Jean-Pierre Bayard, René Guilly (pen name René Desaguliers),Daniel Béresniak, André Combes, Pierre Noël (pen name Guy Verval), Alain Bernheim (several pen names), Helmut Reinalter, and many others have become well known by the sheer weight of their personal contribution to Masonic science. Alongside these familiar Masons,we must also name the encylopaedists such as Albert Mackey, Eugen Lennhoff, Henry Wilson Coil, Daniel Ligou, etc. A recent Encyclopaedia of Masonry was published at Paris in 2000 (980 pages) published in Paris in 2000 by Pochothèque (director Bro. Eric Saunier) collects the work of fifty authors, to which one of whom, ou friend Alain Bernheim, has contributed more than 60 articles.

QC London. The pioneering historical research of QC London is based on the study of very numerous ancient manuscripts preserved at the national and city libraries, on the extensive records of the United GL of England and of countless Lodges throughout the UK, and yet has still many discoveries to make in the future. QC London has published an annual volume of Transactions since 1886 and reproductions of original documents in its Antigrapha series. In addition, it issues a large catalogue - Regalia, of Lodge decoration and personal jewels. Its active members must be historians, or researchers in Masonic history; their number is limited to 40 hence becoming an Active member is strictly limited, whereas Corresponding members (Quatuor Coronati Correspondence Circle Ltd., QCCC), either individuals or Lodges, number over 6,000. Corresponding members have to belong to a regular jurisdiction. QC has four meetings a year to which all members are invited, organized as a Lodge meeting, with opening and closing ceremonies and a Masonic dinner.

The following is a listing of the research Lodges or groups to be found in various directories: List of Lodges 2006 (Pantagraph Printing & Stationery Co., Bloomington, Illinois, E-mail: listoflodgespantagraphprinting.com), Kent Henderson & Tony Pope, Freemasonry Universal, Vol. I & II, Global Masonic Publications, 1998 & 2000, Williamstown, Victoria, Australia, the Web (www.bessel.org) and our own collection made over more than twenty years.

United States of America

R.L. HILDEGARDE DE BINGEN N° 76410 bis, av du Commandant Garbe – 06160 Juan les Pins

Yearly Subscription: CHF 50.-/ € 35.

Fax : 021 323 67 77, e-mail : info@masonica-gra.ch