Freemasonry in Ukraine

Eye of Providence on the Ukrainian hryvnia
Near a village of Mykulychyn, the rock inscription reads: "All will pass but God eye does not pass you."

Freemasonry in Ukraine (Ukrainian: Вільне мулярство, Вільне каменярство) has appeared sometime in the mid 18th century when the first lodges were created on its territory at that time within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Development of the freemasonry movement

On a record the first lodge of Three Brothers was created in the village of Vyshnivka in Volhynia in 1742 by Polish noblemen. In Lviv the first lodge of Three Goddesses appeared in 1758 (part of Austro-Hungary).

The first lodge in Malorossiya (Russian Empire) was established in Kiev in 1784 by Russian officers. One of the members of that lodge which was named Bessmertie was Hryhoriy Skovoroda. The lodge was created eventually after the first Partition of Poland. The next year 1784 three lodges have appeared in Kremenchuk: Mars, Dobry Pastyr, and Minerva. The last one Minerva was transferred to the Dnieper banks from the city of Podolie Nemyriv. It is known that freemasonry existed in Kharkiv, Vinnytsia, Yekaterinoslav, Berdichev, others. Later (1780-90s) couple lodges existed in each of the following cities Dubno, Kremenchuk, Zhytomyr, and Kiev (Bessmertie and Tri kolonny). (Tri kolonny was recreated in 1993.) In the 19th century the popularity of them only increased throughout Ukraine and Crimea.

In the Sloboda Ukraine existed a lodge "Palitsynska Akademia". The "Malorusian Secret Brotherhood" that was created by V.Lukashevych and sought the independence of Ukraine also was connected with freemasonry movement that continued to spread rapidly. In Kharkiv the most famous was the lodge "Umirayushchiy Sfinks" (Dying Sphinx) that was created sometime after 1764 when Kharkiv was visited by a Moscow University professor Viganda. To the lodge belong numerous rectors of the Kharkiv University such as A.Perovsky (relative of K.Rozumovsky), Peter Hulak-Artemovsky (rector in 1841 and uncle of Semen Hulak-Artemovsky), and others.

There was a lodge in Kiev "Obiedinyonnyie slovyane" (United Slavs) that was known to account for some 84 members among which was Peter Troubetzkoy (see Trubetzkoy family).

In Kiev existed a freemasonry lodge "Pravda", member of which was Mykhailo Hrushevsky. In 1912 during a Moscow's convocation of Freemasons of the Russian Empire he caused major polemics in regards of naming the convention. Instead of the "Big Congress of Russia", his proposal was the "Big Congress of peoples of Russia".

In 1822 Aleksandr I issued an order prohibiting freemasonry and it seemed that it will stop, however, the movement since then simply went underground. It is suspected that the Brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius was connected to the movement, members of which were Panteleimon Kulish and Taras Shevchenko. Another prominent Ukrainian Freemason was the leader of the Ukrainian liberation movement of 19th century Mykhailo Drahomanov.

Personalities

Among the most prominent Freemasons in Ukraine were Ivan Kotlyarevsky, Semen Kochubei, Mykhailo Hrushevsky, Symon Petlyura, brother of Mykola Vasylenko, Volodymyr Zatonsky, Vyacheslav Prokopovych, Kyrylo Rozumovsky, Semen Hamalia, Oleksandr Lozynsky, Volodymyr Lozynsky, Serhiy Yefremov, Moishe Zilberfarb, the Kyiv city builder Ginzburg, Kapnist, and many others. On territory of Ukraine existed the Order of Martynists that was connected to Pavlo Skoropadsky.

See also

References

    External links

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