Rite of Memphis-Misraim

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Among the Masonic Rites, Memphis-Misraim has occupied a particular position since its origin. It is considered[who?] to be among the Egyptian rites that drank from the source of the ancient initiatic traditions of the Mediterranean basin: Pythagoreans, Alexandrian hermetic authors, neo-Platonics, the Sabbeans of Harrân, and others. It is said[who?] that it was necessary to wait until the 18th century to find any traces in Europe, but evidence seems to show[citation needed] that this is when these rites originated, and with most rites, it therefore has a constructed history. These two[clarify] would associate and then merge under the influence of General Garibaldi in 1881.

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[edit] The Rite of Misraïm

From as early as 1738, one can find traces of this Rite filled with alchemical, occult and Egyptian references, with a structure of 90 degrees. Joseph Balsamo, called Cagliostro, a key character of his time, gave the Rite the impulse necessary for its development. Very close to the Grand Master of the Order of the Knights of Malta, Manuel Pinto de Fonseca,[citation needed] Cagliostro founded the Rite of High Egyptian Masonry in 1784. Between 1767 and 1775 he received the Arcana Arcanorum, which are three very high hermetic degrees, from Sir Knight Luigi d’Aquino, the brother of the national Grand Master of Neapolitan Masonry. In 1788, he introduced them into the Rite of Misraïm and gave a patent to this Rite.

It developed quickly in Milan, Genoa and Naples. In 1803, it was introduced by Joseph, Michel and Marc Bedaridde. During this period of time, the Rite recruited not only aristocrats but Bonapartists and Republicans, and sometimes even revolutionary Carbonari.[citation needed]

It was forbidden in 1817, following the incident of the Four Sergeants of La Rochelle and the uneasiness caused by the Carbonari. Lodges became meeting-places for opponents to the regime, which led to the decline of the Rite, and around 1890, the last Masons of the Rite regrouped in the only remaining Lodge: Arc-en-Ciel.[citation needed]

[edit] The Rite of Memphis

The Rite of Memphis was constituted by Jacques Etienne Marconis de Nègre in 1838, as a variant of the Rite of Misraïm, combining elements from Templarism and chivalry with Egyptian and alchemical mythology. It had at least two lodges (“Osiris” and “Des Philadelphes”) at Paris, two more (“La Bienveillance” and “De Heliopolis”) in Brussels, and a number of English supporters. The Rite gained a certain success among military Lodges. It took on a political dimension and in 1841 it became dormant, probably because of the repression following the armed uprising of Louis Blanqui’s Société des Saisons in 1839. With the overthrow of Louis-Philippe in 1848, the Order was revived on March 5, with its most prominent member being Louis Blanc, a socialist member of the provisional government with responsibility for the National Workshops. From April 21 the Conseil Supreme de l’Ordre Maconnique de Memphis flourished until the defeat of the revolution in October, when it was banned.[citation needed]

In 1850 Les Sectateurs de Ménès was founded in London which proved popular with refugees fleeing France for London at that time. About ten lodges were set up by French refugees, the most important being La Grand Loge des Philadelphes chartered in London on January 31, 1851, which continued to exist until the late 1870s. During this time it had about 100 members, often called Philadelphes. Between 1853 and 1856 other lodges of the Rite of Memphis were established.[1]

In 1856, Benoît Desquesnes, the exiled secretary of the Société des Ouvriers Typographes de Nord proposed that the higher degrees of the Rite of Memphis were not only superfluous, but undemocratic and inconsistent with the Masonic ideals of equality. Despite the attempts of Jean Philibert Berjeau to dissolve the Philadelphes, they implemented this proposal and elected Edouard Benoît as master. This group became renowned for their involvement in revolutionary politics. However the Gymnosophists and the L'Avenir lodges remained with Berjeau. In 1860 the number of degrees was reduced to 33, and by 1866 Berjeau dissolved them, most of the Gymnosophists joining the Philadelphes.[2]

In Egypt, the Rite developed quickly under the direction of Solutore Avventure Zola, Grand Hierophant from 1873 until the reign of King Farouk. Marconis de Nègre implanted the Rite in America around 1856. This was developed under the energetic Grand Mastery of Harry Seymour in 1861.

[edit] The Rite of Memphis-Misraïm

In 1881, General Giuseppe Garibaldi was preparing to fuse the two Rites, which would be effective as of 1889. From this moment, the Rite of Memphis-Misraïm became implanted on the many different continents of the world.

The Rite of Memphis-Misraïm is an international masonic organisation which operates in Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Spain, France, Martinique, Mauritius, New Caledonia, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Uruguay, USA and Venezuela.[3]

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Prescott, p. 15
  2. ^ Prescott, p. 15-16
  3. ^ Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm - An International Order

[edit] References

  • Boris Nicolaevsky, “Secret Societies and the First International,” in The Revolutionary Internationals, 1864-1943, ed. Milored M. Drachkovitch (Stanford, 1966), 36-56.

[edit] External links