 
### Freemasonry through the Funnel

### A Story of Freemasonry

The Widow's Sons of Sombor

1897-2017

Karlo Hameder

Smashwords Edition

Published by Karlo Hameder at Smashwords

Copyright 2018 Karlo Hameder

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Contents edited by László Vári

This book is dedicated to Katarina, Karlo and Viola

CONTENTS

Foreword

The intent of this publication

What is Freemasonry?

24 hours of survival

The Masonic Society from times immemorial to perfection

Secret and secret societies

Cognition, learning, spirituality and knowledge

Building construction and architecture

Pythagoras, Plato and Geometry

Further life of antique thought and Geometry

The Seven Arts

Masonic legends

The importance of Solomon's temple for Freemasonry

Possible connections

Jesus Christ

Operative (medieval) masonry

The oldest Masonic manuscript, the Halliwell or Regius manuscript

Traces of operative masonry in modern Freemasonry

Kabbalah

Brief prehistory of speculative masonry

A further contribution to the history of "modern" Freemasonry

The first 150 years of "modern" Freemasonry

Expansion of Freemasonry in the world

Freemasonry around us and with us

Franz I Stephan of Lorraine and Maria Theresa

The Vatican and Freemasonry in the time of Maria Theresa

The attitude of the Orthodox Church to Freemasonry

The attitude of Protestant churches to Freemasonry

Further fate of Freemasonry in Austria and Hungary

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor

Leopold II

Franz II (Franz I of Austria)

An overview of Freemasonry in Hungary from the 18th century to 1918

The Templar system

The two Ivans – the Drashkovic observance

The Berlin system

Grand Lodge of Austria

Freemasonic activity in the territory of the Hungarian Provincial Lodge in the time of Leopold II

The Templar system in Hungary

The Austro-Hungarian Freemasonic silence

The 1848 Revolution

A new life of Freemasonry in these territories

after 1848

Freemasonry in the region

Masonic lodges in Hungary 1850-1918

Lodges under the protection of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary

A short history of Freemasonry in the Principality (later Kingdom) of Serbia

The first steps of lodge Stella Orientalis, Orient Semlin/Pančevo

Lodge Pobratim (Bloodbrother), Orient Belgrade

The role of Lodge Arpad a Testvériséghez (Brotherhood Arpad) Orient Szeged in the expansion of Freemasonry in Vojvodina

Basic Rules of Lodge Arpad, Orient of Szeged

Basic Rules of 1872

The 1881 House Rules of Lodge Arpad

The years that preceded the birth of Freemasonry in Sombor

Guild rules of 1819 and 1828

Stories and findings

Sombor by the end of the 19th century

Events in Sombor in the period 1867-1897

The formation of Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia

The Report of 14th April 1897

List of the members of Philanthropia

Basic rules of Daughter-Lodges under the protection of Lodge Arpad

The situation in Sombor in 1899/1900

Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia, the year 1900 report

Societies and associations in Hungary 1848-1919

Freemason members of societies and associations in Sombor

Sombor at the turn of the century

Freemasons of Sombor in Baja

Freemasons of Sombor, Bács Palánka and Hódzsák in Lodge Honszheretet

Sombor in the period 1904-1909

Formation of Lodge Jövendő

Members and petitioners to Lodge Jövendő

The Rulebook of Lodge Jövendő

Freemasonic documents and the procedure of admission, the example of Dr A. Feles, the first Secretary of L. Jövendő

Events, correspondence and important moments in the life of L. Jövendő

First signs of preparation for war

Infamous conspiracy and the Great War

The Treaty of London

The Paris Peace Conference

How Vojvodina became a part of Serbia

Vojvodina in the Kingdom of SCS and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Political conditions in the Kingdom of SCS

The Croatian issue

Friends (?) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

The economy of the Kingdom

A brief history of Freemasonry in the territory of the Kingdom of SCS and Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Life in Sombor between the two world wars

Freemasonry in Sombor between WW1 and WW2

Members of Lodge Budućnost

Prominent Freemasons of Sombor (selection)

War- and postwar fate of Freemasonry in Yugoslavia and Serbia

Epilogue

Annexe

Freemasons of the Grammar School

Freemasons of the Secondary School of Economics

Freemasons of the Teacher Training School

List of Lodges that affected Austrian and Hungarian Freemasonry between the years 1750 and 1869 (after Ludwig Aigner)

Masonic Grand Lodges in this book

Masonic lodges in this book

Personal names in this book

Place names in this book

Bibliography and further reading

About the author

FOREWORD

This text is extraordinary in many ways. On the one hand, it is its contents, its readability and its wide scope and its peculiar concept on the other. Many books, articles, and discourses have been written on Freemasonry but this one is different from the rest. It is generally thought that if a sub-area is uncovered in depth and then it serves as a source of further relevant conclusions, then the big total is reflected like "the sea in a drop" on the basis of the discovered interrelations. This book works oppositely; here, a drop - the Freemasonry of Sombor - plops into the sea - the world history of Freemasonry.

The author describes the development of Freemasonry as well as its many systems - focusing mainly on its regular variant - its philosophy, symbolism, and constitutional structure i.e. all that Freemasonry is characterized by from its very beginnings to the present day.

Just as the history of Sombor Freemasonry is embedded in the world history of Freemasonry, so is the story and operation of the Sombor Freemasonry, like the story of various major Masonic organizations, embedded in the world history. The author clearly sees and presents this to his readers. Do not be surprised if the same event occurs more than once throughout the book, described from different perspectives since the periods and processes discussed cannot be made into a linear narrative.

South Slav Freemasonry is connected with many threads, very often being inextricably intertwined, to Hungarian Freemasonry. Think of the Draskovich obedience from which Croatian Freemasonry originated, or the Belgrade lodges labouring under the aegis of Hungarian Grand Lodges, or Georg Weifert, governor of the Serbian National Bank, one of the founders of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Serbia, admitted into the Scottish Rite by the Hungarian Supreme Council. The existence of the Sombor and Voivodeship lodges was largely due to the Árpád Lodge of Szeged.

The author presents the significant historical events in an exceptionally readable style avoiding "scientific loftiness = boring and incomprehensible". He mentions many interesting facts and curiosities, among which I would like to highlight the fact that there was an "operative masonry lady" among the author's ancestors; similar cases were referred to as the justification of women's Freemasonry.

I hope that the reader will find this book enjoyable, thought-provoking and educational as much as I found it.

Budapest, 12 April 2018

László Vári

THE INTENT OF THIS PUBLICATION

This book is, to a great extent, historical by its nature, although it delves into other areas as well aiming to present a world that has always been a part of all societies, in one form or other ever since the dawn of mankind.

This is a book about Freemasonry, what it actually is, about its character and its world, a theory of its origin and life, about its ubiquity and mutual interweaving with the secular world. To avoid inflating the size of this work, we selected only those materials and elements that we considered informative for those who have little or no prior knowledge of the subject. At this and many other points, we suggest further expansion of knowledge on those aspects that will penetrate deeper into this phenomenon within the human civilization called Freemasonry.

Freemasonry, in a wider sense, is a psycho-social phenomenon, embedded in all human societies, which has existed since the first steps of mankind, from the time of the birth of Man's need to provide, through functional groups of individuals, not only for his own survival and position in the biological hierarchy but also to contribute to his own spiritual growth and enrichment of the environment. Initially, an association of this type did not even have a name let alone anything that might point to Freemasonry, although it seemed unmistakably characteristic of what Freemasonry embraced as its main property.

The Masonic community is a secret society without secrets. Whoever is bent on learning the "secrets" may freely grasp them through the enormous opus of literature that has been piling up for centuries, even more so with the eruption of online materials. However, it will still be a laborious undertaking to snatch the essence.

The Freemason, in order to preserve and maintain the privacy of the community, uses a language of symbols, references, procedures, visuals, allegories, audio and imaginative incentives, words and texts and even more, which draw on the achievements of the millennium-old science and civilization in general. What makes the world of Freemasonry is actually the globality of world heritage and culture elevated to a spiritual level, which the Freemason targets to improve the world and the environment in which he lives.

The primary goal of Freemasonry is the spiritual progress of the Community. Therefore, initiation and rituals have been developed through history in order to provide a framework for the necessary teachings that are aimed at being impressed into the mental world of the followers. These Masonic rituals exist within the domain of privacy, not intended to erect a "secret wall" against the profane world but to instruct those who are dedicated to Freemasonry. Therefore, it is considered that the ignorant i.e. the one who has not committed himself to the spiritual goals of Freemasonry, may misunderstand what it is all about. That is why the majority tend to mystify it and, as it almost always happens with what is not fully grasped, they detest it and consider it as an all-out danger.

The profane world is a complex fabric of social and personal interests. The main motive that drives the activities of living beings, humans included, is their attempt to survive. To be able to come to grips with the world around us, we need to know what or who we are facing so that we could develop such qualities that will help us secure safe existence, which also includes others in both the narrow and the wider community in which we live. The profane world, in its entirety and loose organization, is not able to secure their survival. Therefore, organized societies, communities or groups are instinctively perceived by them as overly threatening, without even intending to comprehend their benefits and intentions. Undoubtedly, there have always been organized groups that have turned against all other groups as well as the secular world as a whole. We know of some criminal groups', technocratic and other stakeholders' destructive goals against the human society and the living world and their desire to dominate, but the problem lies in the fact that the profane world identifies such groups, devoid of positive spiritual guidance, with those whose members devote their qualities to what the profane world needs most i.e. to humanism, acquisition of knowledge and labour on increasing Man's chance to overcome the errors that he has been making for millennia and finally help him fly out of his mental cradle.

For the aforementioned reasons, this book is aimed at the profane world, at all those who have no knowledge or information about the world of Freemasonry, first and foremost the young, who are just entering the world of information. Stemming from our reflections, our intention is to present and demystify Freemasonry and, based on a substantial amount of factual material, offer it a position, which should be perceived without bias, neither negatively nor positively. With this book, we appeal to the awareness of the reader to draw conclusions on the issue of Freemasonry as well as other areas of human activity, culture and civilization, only after they have already become familiar with the basics. This book has no intention, and may not provide answers to most questions of Freemasonry, due primarily to the rather limited geographical scope of its main topic and size i.e. Freemasonry in Sombor, a typical Central- and South East European town with a 120-year-old Masonic tradition stretching from 1897 to 2017, although it may arouse further interest and search for information. As long as we lack sufficient knowledge (here we mean all kinds of knowledge), nothing should be labelled as good or bad. Both agreeing and disagreeing with what others wish to present to us or impose on us may be equally good because both intentions do launch the spirit and offer an opportunity for action. After careful reading of this book, the reader is left to themselves to form their attitude to Freemasonry and continue acquiring further knowledge and information on the subject. Thus, this book serves for informational purposes only with no aspiration to be scientific or expertly historical.

As source materials, we used the abundantly available literature on primeval communities, pre-Christian societies, history of human knowledge, especially in the area of the seven arts, religious publications, literature on the organization of guilds, on ancient masonry and Freemasonry, operative masonry, the beginnings of modern Freemasonry, works on recent history, as well as a large number of original documents from the National Archives of Hungary, the Archives of the City of Sombor (Serbia), the State library Széchényi of Hungary, the National Library of Serbia, Somogyi Library of Szeged (Hungary), Ady Endre Library of Baja (Hungary) as well the City Library of Sombor (Serbia).

WHAT IS FREEMASONRY?

Following the generally accepted definition, Freemasonry is a fraternal organization that has existed in various forms around the world since times immemorial. The so-called "modern" Freemasonry has existed since 1717, when four London lodges united into the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster, later called the Grand Lodge of England (GLE). Reverend James Anderson (1680-1739), a Presbyterian clergyman, better known as one of the most prominent Freemasons, the Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster, was given the task in 1721 to write the history of Freemasonry, from which the Constitution of the Free-Masons descended in 1723. Anderson's Constitution largely served as a basis for organizing the Masonic association, especially at the time of its expansion in Europe and the world although a remarkable number of authorized differences have existed until the present day. Most changes have taken place in the rituals and systems of Freemasonry.

Although Freemasonry is considered to be a secret organization, many members of the Fraternity publicly stood their affiliation, while others shuddered at the thought of disclosing their affiliation in the Society of Freemasons which, in many cases, cannot be proven due to the lack of written documents (list of lodge members). It can be said that, at certain moments of history, when the prevailing attitude of the public to Freemasonry was far from benevolent, due to various reasons, written documents did miraculously survive, but the bulk of Masonic documents and regalia have disappeared without a trace. In particular, this happened to be the case in recent times, during and after WW2 when various regimes harboured a paranoid fear of everything that they were not able to fully control. The attitude of "who is not with us is against us" has always been an impediment to the development of human civilization since it initially excluded the possibility of exploitation of new ideas beneficial to the human community as well as to everything else that the Supreme Being created. Many documents were lost due to natural processes. Namely, it happened rather frequently that lodges went dormant or were reorganized, thus lodge documents were drowned in the process or the personal names, registration numbers, geographical names were incorrectly spelt and/or transcribed, so that the data rendered incomprehensible.

Oral tradition and written statements of contemporaries, family members and descendants of Freemasons included in this book do dwell within the confines of reliability and veracity. However, due to the reasons mentioned above, there is no direct material evidence of membership and oral submissions from trusted sources can be considered acceptable since they are so numerous or originate from such authorities that they may be treated as near facts. The symbolism that Freemasonry exploits and the knowledge of it can also contribute to revealing the membership of a person in the Masonic community.

Due to the scope of this book, we cannot deal with all the forms of Freemasonry. Therefore, we will provide the most basic information only about the most widespread Masonic system the so-called Blue Lodge dedicated to Holy Saints John, after St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, whose role is symbolic. Namely, for Christians, baptism is meant to be symbolic death and rebirth into a spiritually new world of a "higher rank", and colour blue (in addition to a few other colours) in Freemasonry caries a special meaning based on ancient religions and systems - it is a symbol of perfection, truth, immortality, and deity. On the Secret Evening, St. John the Evangelist was sitting to the right of Christ as "the most beloved disciple", the symbol of learning and knowledge.

How does one become a Freemason?

In the 1960s, there were ca. 6 million Freemasons in the world, but the numbers were rapidly decreasing, especially in the 21st century to reach 2.655 million in 2010 (Hans Hermann Höhmann: Freimaurerei, Analysen, Überlengungen, Perspektiven, Temmen). A man may become a Freemason when his spiritual development has reached a point of his own dissatisfaction and craving for search for the philosophical meaning of existence, who is willing to receive the knowledge and experience of others, thus exploring himself and the world around him and showing readiness to transmit the results acquired to those who his new knowledge and feelings can be shared with to mutual satisfaction. In all times, as well as currently, Freemasons have been considered to be "free men under the tongue of good report" i.e. those who have a good reputation in their respective community, which would primarily be understood as people of status, respect and integrity, those who do not intend to accept their current status as final but try, with the help of their Brethren, and the environment to enrich their spiritual being. They are people in constant search for what light symbolically represents in order to work on perfecting their personality and the world around them. A Freemason believes that the human society can become more humane and more just if the individuals that make it are such.

As a rule, a Freemason is selected from the ranks of those people who, in the profane world, have proven their commitment to hard work and moral quality, provided he intends to continue improving his own self. Such a man, regardless of his origin, profession and position, is invited by the members of the Fraternity to submit his petition.

Who can become a Freemason?

Although the world of Freemasonry does not exclude the female sex, in the vast majority of Masonic obediences (from the Latin oboedientia = obedience, obeyance), a grand Masonic authority in a country or territory, grants access only to men.

However, there are certain explanations of the reasons why women are denied access, although these still depend on the strategy of acceptance and philosophy. For some, it is a matter of tradition and regulations. The Grand Lodge of England who, as we noted, is the "father" of modern Freemasonry, accepts the so-called "Old Charges" stipulating exclusivity of membership for men only. An equally popular explanation is that Freemasonry is descended from operating masonry, which was organized into guilds where access to women was also not possible. This explanation is questionable since, in later times, there were cases where guilds of masons were headed by women, a position inherited after the deceased husband. One such case happened in Sombor in 1842, when Anna Gfeller, maiden name Hameder, inherited her deceased husband, Franz's position as Head of the local masons' guild. All in all, the mere name Brotherhood/Fraternity leaves no space for the female sex.

It is common nowadays that the minimum age for admission is 21 years, but exceptionally it may be even lower. However, a Freemason may not be installed Master, holder of the Third Degree before the age of 24. In the past men below the age of 24 were not admitted to the Brotherhood in this part of the world. In addition to the said moral values, another condition stipulated that the candidate should be employed and have stable income which would fund his membership and participation in philanthropic activities.

Is Freemasonry a secret organization?

Since secrecy will be discussed later, the answer is negative because Masonic organizations have to be registered with the authorities. However, there have been cases in the course of history when, in certain countries, during periods of general paranoia against "secret" organizations that were not fully and thoroughly under the control of the respective government, that these organizations were banned. Thus, persecution of Freemasons was the course of action by such totalitarian regimes.

What are the goals of Freemasonry?

The Masonic alliance operates in three interwoven ways: philanthropic, philosophical and progressive as a unique operative model. It is an alliance that brings together people of different religions, nationalities, races, and political commitment and those belonging to different social strata. Basic tasks: charity, love of fellow humans and equality, unobstructed development of personality, raising awareness and ennobling the human society are achieved through ritual work and its symbolism, which a Freemason is directed by towards spirituality and moral perfection.

The roots of Freemasonry are very deep, dating back to primordial times, as it will be discussed later. The human society has been trying to regulate its existence and relations between people for thousands of years. However, this process is utterly laborious because laws have predominantly served for the objectives of the ruling class, being opposed in some areas of life, to basic and natural rights of human beings. Instead of providing equality and basic human freedom regimes in various parts of the world have often implanted intolerance, hatred, national, religious and racial exclusivity, and various degrees of inequality among people. Bearing its aforementioned threefold operative model in mind, the main task of Freemasonry is to strive for the dignity and natural rights of Man by permanent bettering his spiritual power.

How is Freemasonry organized?

Firstly, there is no world centre of Freemasonry. What unites the Fraternity are its goals and operative model. All Freemasons are guided by basic symbols and legends originating from ancient civilizations and original building practices in order to lay the foundation for personal and collective contributions to the betterment of the human society. This is accomplished by lodge work which, in ancient times, was labour in a space where the Brotherhood gathered to plan its works. Space was not permanent since builders were moving from location to location searching for works and materialization of their plans. The term lodge today means a permanent place where members of the Brotherhood are brought together as well as the assembly of Brethren dully congregated for labour. Although the number of members of a lodge is not strictly determined, it is considered that works might not be efficient enough if the number of members is too big, so it happens that there might be more lodges in one city.

The lodge, as the basic unit, is to be "under the aegis" of a Grand Lodge. Most often, Grand Lodges are organized on the territorial principle, but there are cases that on the same territory (usually the state) there are more Grand Lodges or that a lodge may request (and receive) the protection of a Grand Lodge of a geographically distant territory. Each Grand Lodge has under its protection a number of lodges. Some Grand Lodges are considered by other Grand Lodges as regular or irregular, and there are so- -called illegal Grand Lodges. Regularity is more the subject of disagreement than agreement; it is determined by a number of requirements which one Grand Lodge sets against another in order to be accepted as regular. Since certain Grand Lodges have a better reputation than others, due to tradition or their role in Freemasonic history (the United Grand Lodge of England - UGLE, for example), they are widely accepted and recognized. However, in our opinion, it is the number of foreign Grand Lodges who have granted recognition to a particular Grand Lodge which is of utmost importance, thus facilitating wider dissemination of Freemasonry in the world. Regardless of specific requirements the basis for recognition is a set of rules referring to both lodge and member qualities, being as follows, according to the abridged and paraphrased rules of the Constitution of the Antient Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons under the United Grand Lodge of England, 2016:

1. Belief in the Supreme Being or the Great Architect of the Universe who must be mentioned at the opening and closing of the lodge. Freemasonry is not a religious organization, nor a substitute for religion or church. Members are to believe in perfection and moral laws of the Creator. It does not matter which religion the Brethren belong to because all monotheistic religions are respected in accordance with the religious affiliation of the membership.

2. During lodge work, the Book of Sacred Law shall be open i.e. the Bible for Christians. Every candidate is required to be bound over to the book that in his faith offers the sanctity of an oath or promise.

3. Everyone who becomes a member of the Masonic Alliance is strictly prohibited to act against peace and order of the state and must comply with the applicable laws of each country in which he resides.

4. Although it requires full loyalty and respect of civil liability, each member is given the right to express their opinion on public events. However, no member is allowed to express and impose their religious and/or political views in the lodge or anywhere else in the capacity as a Freemason.

5. The member of a lodge under the aegis of the United Grand Lodge of England (or a regular Grand Lodge, A/N) refuses to express any opinion on the issues of domestic and international policy of his state, whether at home or abroad, and does not allow the name of his Grand Lodge to be connected with any activity, even if it is of humanitarian character, which would come into conflict with its permanent policy of distancing from all matters concerning the relations between this or that government or political parties, or questions concerning the rival theories of government.

6. United Grand Lodge of England completely refuses to have any relations with bodies, structured as Masonic, which do not comply with the above-mentioned principles.

7. United Grand Lodge of England is an independent and sovereign body that practices Freemasonry within three degrees, and only within the limits defined in its Book of Constitutions as "pure Ancient Masonry". It does not acknowledge or allow the existence of any other, higher Masonic authority, regardless of its organization.

8. United Grand Lodge of England does not participate in conferences with the so-called International associations that claim to represent Freemasonry, whose membership and affiliated organizations do not adhere strictly to the principles on which the United Grand Lodge of England is established.

9. No secrets exist about the principles of Freemasonry. United Grand Lodge of England will always consider recognition of Grand Lodges that recognize, follow and implement these principles.

10. If Freemasonry is diverted from their path by expressing opinions on theological or political questions, not only would it sow the seeds of discord among its members, but would also lose their detachment in relation to the facts that are happening in the society, which has always enabled a peaceful life in Freemasonry.

11. United Grand Lodge of England is convinced that by strict adherence to these goals and relationships, Freemasonry has survived the constant changes in the doctrines of the outside world, and is still compelled to emphasize its complete disagreement with any procedures that could allow for even a slight deviation from the basic principles of Freemasonry. It is this firm stand that may guarantee the Grand Lodge to retain the right to claim succession to the ancient charges and regulations of Freemasonry.

Who are the members and what goes on in the Lodge?

Members of the lodge are all those Brethren who had submitted a petition, their admission was approved by the other Brethren and confirmed by the Grand Lodge, and subsequently were initiated in the same or any other lodge followed by acceptance of their application for admission to the lodge. By their initiation, they gained the first degree (Entered Apprentice) in the Blue Lodge. After the time spent at Entered Apprentice degree in accordance with the requirements of a particular Lodge, the Entered Apprentice may be conferred the Second Degree (Fellowcraft) provided he exhibits a certain level of proficiency in his current degree and undergoes the Fellowcraft ritual. After the prescribed time and fulfilment of certain requirements of the Fellowcraft Degree, a Brother may advance to the highest, Third Degree (Master Mason).

A vast majority of Freemasons remain at that level. There is also a series of higher degrees, depending on the system of rituals, for example the Scottish Rite, York Ritual, Rite of Memphis-Misraim etc., and there are the degrees of Templar Freemasonry as well.

'Ritual Degree Labour' refers to the gathering of the members of a Masonic Lodge, with the possible presence of guests from other sister Lodges, the Grand Lodge and/or Obediences that have an agreement on mutual recognition with the Grand Lodge. There may also be Lodge meetings that are not ritual labour.

At ritual works, which may slightly vary but are essentially the same throughout the world, Brethren have to wear Masonic clothing prescribed by a respective Grand Lodge e.g. black suit, white shirt and black bow tie, black socks and shoes, white gloves, apron corresponding to degree, lodge officer jewel, lodge pendant and lapel pin.

Ritual work is performed in a space that is symbolically referred to as the lodge. The works are varied in content and depend on the degree of participants. This is the place where everything of importance for the Masonic activity of that particular Lodge takes place, in addition to the symbolism of the ritual that is performed, which should remind all those present to the mission of each and every i.e. admission of new members, promotion to the Second or Third Degree, reading of minutes, reports and papers, discussion and decision-making. Through the works, the Brethren - free men under the tongue of good report – are in constant quest. Every time a Freemason enters the Lodge for labour, he undertakes a journey of self-realization, self-understanding and development. Ritual work is followed by the "festive board" i.e. snack or dinner, which may take place at a different location: a restaurant, private home, cottage or in the open. At Lodge business meetings no formal clothing or regalia are worn and discussion is conducted on current issues of immediate importance for the Lodge.

Philanthropic, philosophical and progressive work

Among the principles of Freemasonry benevolence and charity are of paramount importance. Philanthropic and humanitarian work is one of the foundations of Freemasonry. It can be said that almost every Lodge is a patron of a humanitarian association or society that targets bettering of the living and social environment in which it exists. The list of areas in which Freemasons act, through the above associations, is very long. Most often, funds are collected from Freemasons themselves as well as from sponsors, to help the financially challenged, talented students, foundations dealing with environmental protection and conservation, educational institutions, humanitarian organizations that assist the socially challenged, especially children who have got into problems with crime, drugs, prostitution, gambling, etc. Families of deceased Brethren are also under special care by the Fraternity. Spiritual and professional support is also offered to all who need it.

Most Brethren are recruited from the ranks of the intellectual elite. These are mostly top experts in their secular professions, and as such, through bearing in mind the principles and objectives of Freemasonry, collaborate in newspapers and magazines, write books, do scientific work and publish electronic texts on topics that are of general and special benefit for the Masonic Community.

24 HOURS OF SURVIVAL

A measure of physical life is the day - twenty-four, one-hour periods with all the relativity of their relations. It is the framework of life with a single primordial objective: to survive! The security of survival is what the living world, thus mankind as well, with all the complexity of its structure and organization, is very much dependent on. Survival is, actually, the provision of time for a living being to complete all those activities that buy continuity.

Since the day as a benchmark lays the eternal dualism in front of Man, he uses it to fathom his position, thus enabling himself to overcome the dangers of living. The dualism of day and night, of light and darkness, provides a framework in which Man finds both his starting and ending point.

We are the children of light. Its appearance determines the break of the day; with its fading, we are taken to its mere opposite. The relativity of the perception of time in these periods during the 365/7-day cycle forms the physical and mental world of human beings, giving place to all those physical and mental processes through which Man tries to secure his continuity.

Although we prefer not to admit it, the essential driving force of survival is fear. The appearance of light, a process that grants us a certain amount of time to begin our preparations for survival, induces hope but also fear and doubt about surviving the day. Of course, in the civilized world, which is only a backdrop for the role that Man has to play, everything looks delicate and complicated, but the rawness of truth is undeniable: he should perform all his activities in such a way that will secure his survival and give him chance to acquire his well-deserved rest at the end of the conscious part of his day.

Modern life has greatly changed the ways in which we manage relations with our environment and the totality of what physically exists within us and around us as well as in the Universe. The day is a constant, as is the continual change of light and darkness. In his, perhaps arrogant, self-confidence and boundless confidence in the power of technology to solve the problems of survival, modern Man has been trying to modify the optical relationship between light and darkness converting it into the time of action and time of inaction. The former gives us the opportunity to fight for ourselves and the latter to enjoy success, summarize experience and prepare for the following start.

How does this work in everyday life? Although all that exists is in perpetual change, traditionally Man's day used to commence with the rising of the sun. It was his wealth (or poverty), which has always meant having or lacking food, which defined Man's approach to his morning ritual, i.e. his first daily meal. Food is to prepare the body for the challenges of the day ahead. From times immemorial, the first daily meal has always been a ritual meal through which Man entered the world of uncertainty. Formalities of habits have been changing for centuries at a pace that has always been in harmony with contemporary life but the need for performing the morning ritual has remained. In today's highly individualized, solitary world, the rituals of preparation for dealing with uncertainties of the day before us greatly vary, but their essence has not changed. Routine actions and movements, stereotypes of familiar situations, aim to gear us, from the well-known to the unknown.

Translated into the habits of the modern world, it would be the first meal of the day. Let us ask ourselves: what that first meal of the day, that encounter with fear, that trial of gaining the upper hand against the projected challenges comprises i.e. what variety of foods are consumed on this occasion compared to further meals? Breakfast contains, more or less, the same foodstuffs day after day. There is no experimentation, diversity, complexity - because it is a meal that prepares Man for the dangers of the day ahead, which should give him power, calm him, allow him to "prepare". This is the main ritual that introduces him to the security of his daily Lodge. Collective food consumption, especially among people belonging to the same community or those who feel at ease in a given society is the culmination of intimacy. If we are deprived of the feeding and/or drinking ritual in the morning, does that not mean that we have been stripped off further rituals that would have the same goal - to relax and prepare for the challenges? What about morning coffee, reading the newspaper, friendly and intimate conversation, listening to favourite music? They are all small routines i.e. "rituals" of preparation.

After this initial priming, we dive, some of us confidently others with a certain amount of fear, into the whirl of daily events. Depending on the mental filters that we have gained by living in a community of a certain type and our orientation, but also on our personal engagement and inherited traits, we perform various actions to meet both our immediate and future needs. No matter how we do it, the transition from the darkness of night into the light of day gives us the texture of the complex web of the day. The method itself is of little importance; it is the very fact that we have survived and thus have a chance to correct and even perfect what we were not satisfied during the following day.

When does Man feel that he has survived? In the evening, at night, midnight! We are happier than we were at the beginning of the day, when we started the adventure of daily challenges, even if the perspective was not as bright as we expected, comforting ourselves that we were granted at least one new day. We are now more inclined to accept feeding in a larger company; we are relaxed, cheerful. Somebody would say, "Yes, but there is more in Man than mere survival." Right, there is a lot more choice to survival within the human society, although increasingly less outside it.

THE MASONIC SOCIETY FROM TIMES IMMEMORIAL TO PERFECTION

Both at daybreak and sunset Man is driven by his craving for social acceptance for a whole host of reasons. At the beginning of the day, his activities are triggered by fear and the need for vigilance, believed to provide more effective resolution of conflicts, which he is exposed to in the course of his journey towards successful completion. At the end of the day, it is the pleasure of survival and the joy of belonging to a group that helped him overcome all the challenges, especially if the group is of a potent kind successfully providing for and protecting those who are not capable of this on their own.

In the world of the living, the young, the immature, the old and the sick belong to risk groups, and various creatures solve the problem of their existence in their own way, most often than not, by sacrificing them in critical or emergency situations. A human community of a higher level of spirituality seeks to consciously develop protective properties, which are then projected onto the whole of the society with great self-empowering effect.

Therefore, in describing the most fundamental mechanisms of functioning of the human species the keywords are as follows: association, group, society, community, collective and concern for others. The type of association and care about others has always been determined by time and environment. That is why members of a community have to cope with both physical and intellectual challenges and requirements set before them. In ancient times, the physical element was perhaps more crucial because of numerous challenges imposed by their material environment, but the intellectual element determined the essentials, the strategy and the sequence of procedures. Probably through a series of errors, the human society was progressing from rudimentary ad hoc organization to creation of plan-led systems; climatic and other environmental conditions demanded it.

Naturally, the most capable acquired useful knowledge and survival skills and were well aware of their self-existence as well as the world around them, of common elements that helped adopt a beneficial position in the permanent struggle for survival. Having realized this, overall coherence and believing that this must be a Supreme Being's act, Man was able to spot his own errors and use them for learning and development. Thus, associations evolved into alliances focused on objectives, rules and rituals that were securing the appropriate selection of members. Through permanent learning, the society was constantly changing and the spiritual element initially manifested in the protection of the weaker members of the community, later focused on understanding the existence (intellectual but also sensational) of a Supreme Being who had permeated the whole of the perceptible world.

From the primordial, "primitive" society to the present day, Man has been forced to enter into unions in order to achieve his primary objective – survival - but also to achieve the goals that he himself determined. Since learning, maturing, and reaching the ultimate goal does not follow a straight route but, as per the NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) view, it is a painstaking progression from unconscious incompetence, when paradisiacally naïve unconsciousness prevails, to unconscious competence, when we have already mastered the strategy and skills that will enable devotion to other intellectual tasks. The acquisition of knowledge is obviously Adam's torment and destiny.

However, knowledge itself may be both good and bad. How many times has it happened that members of our species bypassed spiritual awareness in their attempt to subjugate all around them believing naively that this would secure their survival! By such lack of understanding of the essence of one's capability to learn, they seriously hurt everybody and everything, thus themselves as well, both physically and mentally.

A real alliance is one that, in addition to achieving its proclaimed objectives, provides immense spiritual satisfaction for its members, regulates conduct for the benefit of the society in which it exists and brings spirituality into strategy-building, problem-solving and skill-building. From times immemorial, there have been associations guided by such principles.

Freemasonry is exactly such an alliance. The all-permeating, unwritten core of Freemasonry is a product of tradition and customs of fraternal association which have existed since the earliest times and confirmed by the way Brethren accept the rules of their society, which govern their daily life. Written rules are the formal confirmation of such a tradition. Defining the unwritten laws or leges non scriptae Sir William Blackstone, (10th July 1723 – 14th February 1780), a Knight Templar, a conservative politician and an influential 18th century English jurist says in his Commentaries of the Laws of England, 1765-69: "I, therefore, style these paths of our law leges non- scriptae because their original institution and authority are not set down in writing, as acts of parliament are, but they receive their binding power, and the force of laws, by long and immemorial usage and by their universal reception throughout the kingdom." Albert Mackey, one of the greatest authorities of Freemasonry, calls this "the antient usage". ("Introduction", Sect. 3).

The Masonic Alliance is the first and largest fraternal organization in the world. It is based on the belief that every real man should contribute to the collective effort to make the world a better place. By developing culture and philanthropy profound changes are made in favour of the Brethren, their families, communities and the future. This is achieved by improving the traits of personality and thus the lives of others, respecting the principles of the Freemasonic tradition. The first and most underlying principles that Freemasons are guided by are as follows: brotherly love, a manifestation of respect, courtesy, tolerance of personal differences in religion, nationality, culture, age and education and strife for universal harmony in the world. In addition to these objectives, a Freemason is committed to the welfare of his Brethren and loved ones and takes care of the community as a whole. He strives for truth, honour, for individual responsibility, achievement of personal integrity and tireless and continuous acquisition of knowledge. May the Great Architect of the Universe assist all the people of good intention in this and grant success.

SECRET AND SECRET SOCIETIES

One of the most prominent Freemasons, Benjamin Franklin said: "Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead." The real secret is neither uttered nor spread because it is ineffable and non-transferable. We believe that a secret is, in its essence, a common experience of a cluster of sensory stimuli which form a spiritual communion. Secrets are intimate moments and beliefs that create a special bond between two or more persons.

In ancient times, special bonds among the members of a group were essential for the survival of the group as well as others who were dependent on it. For the hunters of ancient communities, it was vitally important to be loyal and nurture connections with others in the group since by the affiliation itself they were destined to share the same experience and knowledge. In a given situation, they would feel the need (and know) to help the other members of the group as well as those outside it but still members of the same community, to survive. A member of a group or community is endorsed by others through his contribution to his overall achievement for the benefit of the community.

In order a group could carry out its role effectively, it is necessary that members share the learning experience and its results with each other. In the hunting community of the primaeval society, it was the knowledge of hunting technology and its adaptation to a given situation - the knowledge of the way, place and time. This sum of all knowledge and sharing it with the others in the group created the sense of belonging and provided the feeling of common adventure. It was an unspeakable secret woven of threads that bound the members of the group together. Some of these threads were jealously guarded because they were non-transferable and made sense only for the group; due to the lack of understanding, outsiders would have abused them.

A secret does exist, although a real secret may not be expressed or transferred but only felt through common experience. In fact, a real secret is no secret to those involved but a mystery to outsiders. Anyone who thinks he knows the secret knows very little. "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," are the words of the English poet and essayist Alexander Pope (1688-1744). A secret is a ubiquitous and normal binder of all groups and societies and there is no mystery about this. The mystery of secret lies solely in the minds of those who think that it is identical to knowledge or, in their case, quasi-knowledge of information that they believe to be fact. The power of cognition has been given to everyone and is available to every one of us. The Great Creator of the Universe / Supreme Being / God / Creator, whatever name you use, granted Man the power of cognition but it depends on Man how he will use it. There is no secret about it.

The so-called secret societies are groups of people of heterogeneous knowledge, experience and different technologies of filtering their own reality, who come together in order to achieve a common goal – to create and maintain a society, which is not a "secret" one because of the "confidentiality" of goals but for its organization and functioning as well as for the unwillingness to disclose their common experience and mutual spiritual connection to the profane world since they believe, this may not be understood in such a way that may be constructive for both worlds.

In conclusion, we can say that the Masonic world is a "secret society" world. "Secrecy" refers to the intimate moments, fraternal relationship, sharing of spirituality and beliefs that are achieved by connecting and strengthening the bonds of the Brotherhood through spiritual development. "Secrecy" also lies in the pledge of allegiance to friendship within the Fraternity and altruistic sharing of spiritual values as well as in the manner how all this is accomplished. No true Freemason will disclose what he vowed he never would and/or what concerns only him, which is a free man's basic right. Like a lover who is silent about his "forbidden" love or an engineer prohibited by his company to disclose business information, a member of a "secret society" remains silent about what he swore he would not do.

**COGNITION, LEARNING, SPIRITUALITY AND KNOWLEDGE**

Cognition is a revelation, a first contact with what we did not even assume to have existed or did not attract our interest, thus escaping our notice. Primary cognition is the awareness of existence, the awakening of the power that was given to us to discover the world. It is extremely difficult to find out how it is created, what it is caused by and how it is awakened. Science argues that it is the impetus to perceive the need to adapt to the world in which we endeavour to survive. It is the accompaniment to our biological and later mental awakening and perfecting of our competence. This is the undeniable truth, although such a view may be unilateral since it explains the starting point, but not the greater part that follows. Man, in order to survive must, both consciously and unconsciously, make an enormous effort and use all the sharpness of his senses to discover the world around him so that he could occupy a satisfactory position in it.

The Supreme Being, whatever they are called, endued Man with substantially more than mere physical existence. On the day when Man discovered that he possessed a greater potential than other life forms, he began to understand himself, his place in the Universe and the power he might utilize for changing not only the world in which he himself lives but also the worlds of others. The Supreme Being has enabled Man to see not only the world that surrounds him but also submerge himself introspectively in his own world and perceive both the functioning laws of the external environment as well as his own internal mechanism.

Perception of the power of domineering (not dominating!) the physical world does not mean understanding the power of managing the mental world. Man has been granted the ability to discover and understand, but left, like a helpless child, to find out how to do it. He does have the power of being aware of his responsibility for himself and his environment. However, in his excessive enthusiasm about his abilities and disregarding the rest of the living world many times has Man brought his own world to the brink of physical destruction, attempting to provide himself with more than he might "chew".

The natural flow of cognition is the buildup of experience; to facilitate sharing it with others, a process is required for "implanting" experience into the members of a group, community or society. Learning is a series of procedures by which experience, as the foundation of that group or community, is acquired. Experience is a series of filters through which a community scrutinizes events, perceptions, knowledge and traits that it considers to be the most useful for their survival.

All learning has four stages. The first one, as we have already mentioned, is a revelation, awareness of something whose existence we were not aware of. Then, at a certain moment, we reveal its potential benefit for our goals. The second stage is focused, painstaking practising and acquisition of certain qualities. The third stage is the application of these qualities and further training. The last is an active, automatic and almost unconscious, routine-like application of the acquired contents - likely to be called a "professional" degree. Learning may never be said to end because something always remains to be done. After the "last" phase of learning, it is refining, "ecologyzation", that may follow, through which the learned contents shall be fitted perfectly into the world that we intend to create without harming it but improving all that the Supreme Being has made available to us.

Therefore, if the physicality of both the known world and the one that is yet to be discovered are to be preserved, it becomes inevitable for Man to understand all his qualities and limitations as well as his great responsibility for the fate of his cradle. Spiritual development, an element of a complete, creative personality, largely neglected because of its laboriousness, is indispensable for the survival of mankind. People of unshakable moral integrity and spirituality are the keepers of light on the guardhouse of humanity. Throughout history, there have never been as many of them as this world needs, although there have been at least as many of those who, by their destructive mindset, brought survival into danger, not to mention those whose irresponsibly devastated the lives of all, even their own. Intolerance, exploitation, breakdown of the family, the basic unit of human society, wars, keeping the exploited masses in ignorance and poverty, fed mostly by insatiable desire for glory - all these are mistakes and products of deviant minds that could have been and can be avoided if the authorities and those who are trying to replace them, had been and were on the right spiritual track.

Spirituality does not stem from position or occupation but from a true commitment to altruism and philanthropy. There are many ways to promote these qualities and make them live more actively among people. The family, educational systems, associations (even the "secret" ones) and individuals who care about the beauty of the world, about knowledge, the quality of life and general prosperity of the human society are able to do an unbelievable amount of good for this world. Given its goals, Freemasonry is an attempt of a very organized influence on the spirituality of the communities in which it thrives. Since ancient times, there has been a conviction that the world would be better if every twelfth man could become a man under the tongue of good report.

Learning is power. Growing in learning is also growing in power - not the power of domineering but the power of suppression of the desire to domineer and the power of harmonizing the world in which we exist. Acquisition of knowledge is a task; each individual has been given the ability to contribute, at least by accepting the positive experience of others, which makes our living space, both the social and the natural one, suitable for a common, harmonious life.

Learning itself is neither good nor bad, but it is bad if it is static, if it is shallow or applied badly. It is good if it is shared openheartedly and not kept locked in inaccessible, dark depths for achieving egotistic goals, glory and power over those who are better.

**BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AND ARCHITECTURE**

Although building construction required craftsmanship and experience, the rough structures of early societies that served mostly as shelters may not be called pieces of architecture by many experts, which is a "disputable matter". "Primitive" structures erected thousands of years ago are still marvelled as structures of exquisite beauty, superb durability and perfect utility (the three main features a piece of architecture has to incorporate, according to Vitruvius). Building construction, the craftsmanship of building and architecture, the grandeur, functionality and durability are mirrors of cultures. Therefore, we can speak about architecture largely within the framework of the civilization that furnished it with spirit, technology and form.

After the last ice age turning into a more bearable climate and thus extending the living space of terrestrial living beings the human race experienced a boom. However, at the same time, Man was faced with new challenges in adaption to the new environment where he needed both to be aware of himself and a fairly wide scope of knowledge. It is a period of extensive settlement of new areas, intense movement and wider acquisition of knowledge about the world. This might be, in fact, the exile and doom of Adam. This might also be the great challenge that caused the emergence of civilizations due to a constant confrontation with environmental changes. Man was compelled not only to adapt to the ever-changing environment but also to labour on changing it, initially out of necessity, and later because he "so desired" since he was challenged to put all his good qualities, which he had been acquiring for millennia, into the service of creativity and the awakened awareness of his role.

While roving the new world, Man had to build new shelters, construct structures to mark his heroism, express veneration of the afterworld and seek the help of gods. He built structures that were grandiose for their time, invested great work, very patiently, and developed organization through which he converted less complex structures into more complex ones and shapes using a variety of materials, from leather, bone, wood to earth and stone. He even decorated and beautified the objects he used.

Despite the ingenuity of construction and dedicated work, there was rarely such planning, part fitting, and a more complex combination of different materials that were shaped with the affinity of an artist and worked with the knowledge of a scientist. Only when Man ceased to reflect the world around him, whose laws and solutions he successfully learned to apply, and consciously created new structures with new aesthetic values and intentions were science, art and architecture merged in a bond of Everything.

On a mystical spur of the moment, the Ancient Egyptians (and the Sumerians before them) pulled away from the rudimentary beginnings gaining and developing the knowledge applied in the earliest architectural ventures. Although little has survived from the real methods and technology of ancient builders, the testimony of their work has spread across Europe and Asia. The existing similarities do indicate common heritage from the most ancient times and point to transition from barbarism to civilized architecture. Therefore, the architecture of Sumer and ancient Egypt was probably the first custodian of civilized thought expressed in real forms i.e. it was the materialization of human thought and creativity. There, for the first time, Man managed to concentrate his creative knowledge and potential in the real world and display his awareness of his own spiritual power.

PYTHAGORAS, PLATO AND GEOMETRY

Pythagoras

Pythagoras was born around 580 BC. His birth was announced to his parents, father Mnesarchus and mother Parthenia, in Delphi. The prophet Pythia told them that they would be born a son whose wisdom and beauty would be greater than in all other men and that the child would do much good for humanity. From gratitude to Pythia, the parents called their son, born in Samos, Pythagoras.

This story is followed by another story on the sinless conception of Pythagoras' mother and his birth as a divine being and benefactor of humanity, which might have appeared after his death because he was considered to be a "divine teacher".

Very little is known about Pythagoras' youth. He studied with the Brahmins in Hindustan, where they called him jawan acharya (young, learned man), and Ionian teacher. There he met with the mysteries of Isis, Adonis, and those of the Eleusians, Chaldeans and Babylonians. It was probably there that he heard about soul transfer, which occupied a significant place in his later teachings.

However, it was Egypt where Pythagoras gained the knowledge of mathematics and geometry, sciences that his interpretation of the world will be based on. Albert G. Mackey, the author of the Free Encyclopedia of Freemasonry (1874), said that Pythagoras had called himself a seeker of knowledge, and world philosopher i.e. lover of wisdom.

In Crotona, Italy, Pythagoras opened a kind of knowledge acquisition site rather than a school, where he educated "those who are worth it" revealing and transferring his views on the world, later to be known as Pythagoreanism or the new "religion". They considered him to be more than a philosopher and called him "the leader and father of divine philosophy," a supernatural being, a divine man, a son of God. His words were noted down and remembered. Manly Hall (1901-1990), a Canadian writer and mystic, best known for his work The Secret Teachings of All Ages (1928) says for Pythagoras that:

In height he exceeded six feet; his body was as perfectly formed as that of Apollo. Pythagoras was the personification of magnificence and strength and all felt obedient and frightened in his presence. His physical strength grew with ageing, instead of diminishing. Approaching his eighties, he was in the prime of his life. The influence of his great spirit on his disciples was such that one of them committed suicide when Pythagoras got angry with him. From that mishap on, Pythagoras was never unkind to anyone or said anything bad about anyone. The case sounds like an exaggeration, but it illustrates well how wise people improve their spiritual being by learning from errors. It is a fact that cruelly negative examples may produce far more striking educational effects. (p.147)

In Pythagoras's school, discipline and hierarchy were strictly respected. Silence, secrecy and unconditional obedience were the elements of order, which in no way meant neglecting the human dimension. Friendship, warmth and sincerity were cherished, aimed at perfecting human relations. According to his teaching, "relationships among people are basically mental not physical and a stranger of similar intellect may be closer to you than your next of kin."

Therefore, the Pythagoreans grew into a brotherhood. A new student had to pass three degrees before he could contact Master Pythagoras. At the first degree (mathematics), he had to master mathematics and geometry, at the second (theoretical) application of exact sciences and the third degree (electus) "the candidate gained the right to enter the light he was able to absorb" and contact Pythagoras personally. Music, geometry and astronomy were studied at the "school", and Pythagoras' teachings could only be followed after acquiring knowledge in those areas.

"This can be considered as one of the foundations of Freemasonry," says William Hutchinson, father of Freemasonry by many, in his Spirit of Masonry. It is said that our moral norms were set by ancient Greek philosophers and perfected by Christianity. In modern times, Plato and Aristotle are studied far more extensively than other philosophers but it was the Pythagoreans who exerted the greatest influence.

Plato

Plato (427 – 347 BC) was born to an Athenian aristocratic family. He was a disciple of Socrates and a teacher of Aristotle. He was engaged in the research and philosophy of beauty, justice, equality, aesthetics, theology, cosmology, the theory of knowledge and language. He was educated just like all the boys from wealthy Athenian families of the time, on the teachings of Cratylus, Pythagoras and Parmenides, who probably influenced his study of metaphysics (nature) and epistemology (theory of knowledge).

Plato (ca. 428 - 348 BC) (photo by the author)

His formation as a philosopher was influenced by Socrates, his teacher. Plato was delighted with Socrates' method of dialogue and debate using it in his debates on virtue and formation of a noble personality, which he actually devoted his whole life to. The war between Athens and Sparta of 409-404, which he himself participated in, brought victory to Sparta, a crude, well-organized, militaristic force causing the carefully cherished spiritual values of Athenians to suffer. In those years of insanity, his teacher Socrates perished; he was forced to drink a concoction of toxic clover. This made Plato abandon his intent to pursue a career in politics, and devoted himself to learning and philosophy.

After Socrates' death, Plato travelled through the Mediterranean to study mathematics with the Pythagoreans in Italy as well as geometry, astronomy and religion in Egypt. Then he set about writing. In his first works, he tried to convey the essence of Socrates' teachings. Later, he devoted himself to writing texts on justice, courage, wisdom and moderation of both the individual and the society. Then he wrote probably his most famous work, a Socratic dialogue called The Republic in which he examined a model of a righteous state under the rule of a king-philosopher. In his later pieces, he examined the role of art, music, drama, dance, architecture and ethics. In his writings on The Theory of Form, Plato argues that the world of ideas is the only constant and that the world that we perceive through our senses is deceptive and changeable.

Around 385 BC, Plato founded his Academy, which was active until 529 AD, when Justinian I had it closed, on the recommendation of his advisers, allegedly to protect Christianity. For almost 1,000 years of the existence of the Academy, astronomy, biology, mathematics, politics and philosophy were studied. Plato hoped that the Academy would be a nursery for the leaders of ancient Greek poleis who would manage their city-states with substantial know-how, justice and spiritual strength.

Due to the hardly self-controllable desire of a vast majority of human beings to dominate others as well as their unwillingness to accept coexistence with people of different attitudes and orientation, Plato found it difficult to transfer his ideals into practice. It is well known that persuaded by his student and friend Dion, he attempted to convert Dionysus II, ruler of Syracuse in Sicily, into an ideal ruler of the king-philosopher kind. Not only did he fail, but he even diced with death when Dionysius II, probably from blind fear for his throne and lack of true understanding of Plato's science, accused Plato of conspiring against him and placed the philosopher under "house arrest".

At a hair's breadth, Plato managed to avoid the situation and get back to Athens to teach. At the time, Aristotle stood out among his disciples, who took Plato's teachings to new directions. This is yet another example of the necessity to persevere in our efforts on the spiritual improvement of the world which we live in because even a tiny seed can grow into a powerful tree if it is healthy and finds itself in rich soil, especially if the tree is taken good care of when young.

According to Plato, the "things" of our world are reflections or rather shadows of eternal forms or ideas that do not exist in space or time, but outside them. This may be demonstrated with a story, known as the "Allegory of the Cave". Namely, a group of people are chained in a cave. They live there all their lives without knowing about the outside world. They are bound so that the light of fire comes from behind preventing them from seeing things directly, but through the shadows on the walls of the cave. Over time, they learn when shadows overlap or follow each other as well as how to connect certain sounds with shadows; thus, the real world is replaced with their world of shadows. Since they sit in the dark, the world they consider realistic is limited, thus their morality is based on truths that have been inverted; and the chains firmly keep their prejudices and prevent the formation of independent ideas about reality. Plato argues if the chained were allowed to turn and see what their world, which they themselves created, consists of they would be blinded by the light of the fire making them want to return to their unhappy state. However, he believes if at least one of them were removed the chains, he would be able to see the fire, the exit from the cave and the others in their state of blindness. The allegory continues with releasing the said one into the light of the outside world realizing that the realities and morality of the world of the chained ones are only illusions of the real world.

Undoubtedly, Plato believes that return to the cave would not be possible since the liberated would realize that he had been a slave before he left the cave i.e. his awareness of his new position would take him further into the freedom of cognition.

Plato had a huge impact on Freemasonry and philosophy expressed through the symbolism of creation as well as the symmetry and aesthetics of building construction and architecture. In Timaeus, one of Plato's dialogues, he discusses the creation of the world by the demiurge, an artisan-like figure responsible for the fashioning and maintenance of the physical universe. He is the master of builders, the creator of the whole of the universe, aesthetic beauty and symmetry based on the five correct polyhedra: the symbol of the fire – the tetrahedron, consisting of four triangular surfaces, the symbol of the earth – the cube or hexahedron, composed of 6 square surfaces, the symbol of air – the octahedron with 8 triangles, the symbol of water – the dodecahedron with twelve pentagons and the symbol of the cosmos and \- the icosahedron with twenty triangles.

In Freemasonic symbolism, geometry is considered a divine gift that the human mind has discovered and applied since ancient times for the symbolic regulation of the symmetry and harmony of the creative world, as well as for directing the spiritual advancement of Man from the time when he began discovering his position in the Universe. The knowledge that geometry aspires to indicate is the knowledge of eternity, not the knowledge of anything transient and decaying.

The influence of Plato on Masonic thought is enormous. The scope of his work is great encompassing mathematics, natural sciences, morality and theory of politics. His beliefs on the importance of mathematics and education opened the road to a better understanding of the entire universe. His views on the necessity of reason in the development of a just society, in which equality of all individuals does exist, form the basis of contemporary democracy and the theoretical setting of some societies if or when these societies manage to find a way out of the fetters of human weaknesses.

Geometry

Plato believed that the world could be described by numbers. For a time, he was staying with the Pythagorean society in Italy, which was vegetarian and communal, where they nurtured both an exact and esoteric approach primarily to mathematics and geometry as well as to sciences that arose from them, although a very likely impact of the Kabbalah should not be overlooked as well. Plato attached special significance to geometry.

Will Durant (1885-1981), an American author, historian and philosopher tells the following story of the bridge (Story of Philosophy, 2006):

... There is a world of things that we find out about our senses and the world of things that we discover with the mind. This other one will then live when the material world disappears. Here is a bridge: the sense perceives concrete and iron to a hundred million tons; but the mathematicians see, with the mind's eye, the daring and delicate adjustment of this mass of material to the laws of mechanics and mathematics and engineering, those laws according to which all good bridges that are made must be made; if the mathematician also be a poet, he would see these laws upholding the bridge; if the laws were violated the bridge would collapse into the stream beneath; the laws are God that holds up the bridge in the hollow of his hand." Aristotle hints something of this when he says that what Plato meant by "ideas", Pythagoras meant by "number" when he taught that it was a world of numbers (meaning presumably that the world is ruled by mathematical constancies and regularities) ... for Plato ... mathematics is, therefore, an indispensable prelude to philosophy, and its highest form; over the door to his Academy, Plato placed these words: "Let no man ignorant of geometry enter here". (p.39)

Geometry played an enormously important role in Operative Masonry, from which modern Freemasonry formally emerged. On the other hand, the morality and philosophy of Freemasonry must have been under the influence of the teachings of Pythagoras and Plato, as well as ancient Greek philosophy, architecture and aesthetics. It is no coincidence that all Masonic temples are adorned with columns: Ionian, Doric and Corinthian, the pillars of wisdom, strength and beauty, the pillars of Athens, Sparta and Corinth.

James Anderson (1679/80 – 1739), the creator of the first Constitution of the Free-Masons in 1723, The Masonic Service Association of the United States, Washington, D.C., 1924 says:

Nor do we find the Grecians arrived at any considerable knowledge in Geometry, before the Great Thales Milesius, the philosopher, who died in the reign of Belshazzar, and the time of the Jewish captivity. But his scholar, the Greater Pythagoras, proved the author of the 47th problem of Euclid's first book, which, if duly observed, is the Foundation of all Masonry, sacred, civil and military. (p. 50)

Regardless of Anderson, it is very likely that Pythagorean teachings, directly or indirectly, influenced speculative, philosophical Freemasonry since the common explanation of the world goes through mathematics and geometry.

Even if we overlook the philosophical influence, we cannot ignore the similarity between Pythagorean schools and Masonic lodges. About this, Albert Mackey (1807-1881) (Encyclopedia of Freemasonry and Its Kindred Sciences, vol. 3) says:

The schools that Pythagoras opened in Crotona and other cities, many considered as models that later built the Masonic lodge. They undoubtedly served the Christian ascetics of the first century of our era as a form for monastic institutions, with which Freemasonry, in its operational form, was intimately bound. (p.346)

Due to the limited size of this publication and the wish to offer a much better explanation of the links to Freemasonry, I would advise the reader to look for the basic works of Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle to discover the remarkable connection of their teachings to Western civilization. The mathematics and geometry of the ancient times, which came down to us mostly through ancient Greek philosophers, played a significant role in the formation of contemporary Masonic thought.

FURTHER LIFE OF ANTIQUE THOUGHT AND GEOMETRY

The Mediterranean with the Middle East is the cradle of antique thought. Sumer, Assyria, Egypt, Israel, Chaldea, Babylonia, Greece, Rome were workshops of the human mind and creativity for the inhabitants of these countries and territories, in various historical times. What has reached us, and what we have built our Christian civilization upon is a conglomerate of various influences that, due to their quality and legitimacy in the construction of societies, have survived to this day.

The Pythagorean Theorem, mentioned by Plutarch as one of the essential ingredients of the Egyptian religion, is attributed to this remarkable ancient Greek philosopher, better known nowadays as a mathematician. The red thread of geometry, descending from unknown times, penetrates the entire Medieval Period and draws on all the way down to Masonic rituals. Plato, a great advocate of geometry said that his knowledge of geometry, as a concentrate of many sciences, had originated from Solon, who had gained the knowledge in Egypt.

The Early Christian ideologist St. Augustine was bent on bringing the knowledge of ancient Greek philosophy into Christianity attaching great importance to geometry. Through St. Augustine and Gerber D'auriac, who later became Pope Sylvester II (De Geometria), Geometry penetrated deeply into the Middle Ages. At the time, it was believed to be the knowledge of the structure of the sky and the earth expressed in numbers, measures and proportions.

Medieval thinkers, as well as their role models from the ancient world, possessed a deeper general understanding of the "background" of many sciences which, through symbolism where Geometry was of central importance, were passed from generation to generation and 18th-century Freemasonry embraced it as well.

THE SEVEN ARTS

Masonic rituals, which will be discussed later, contain a number of elements of Pythagoras' and Plato's philosophies. Their symbolism is unequivocal and based on Plato's idea of four basic virtues: moderation, wisdom, justice and courage, as well as liberal arts (artes liberales), i.e. the trivia (grammar, logic and rhetoric), renamed to studio humanitati in the era of Renaissance and Humanism, and quadrivia (arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy).

Grammar gives meaning to what we communicate and enables "fine tuning" of messages in order to achieve clarity and adapt them to the situation and the cognitive structure of the receiver. According to Masonic terminology, grammar is a tool for chipping, shaping and smoothing the rough ashlar, a "tool" for eliminating raw, barbaric expression and perfecting the clarity and efficacy of messages.

Rhetoric offers the methodology of expression, a technique that helps us leave an impression and persuade and/or entertain the listener while showing respect for their attitudes.

The most important art of the trivia is logic, which gives us the ability to make a worthwhile conclusion, a solid background for the application of the two other a/m arts of the trivia. It also helps in understanding our duties toward God and people.

The quadrivia provide exact knowledge. Albert Mackey in his Encyclopedia of Freemasonry and Its Kindred Science, The Masonic History Company, London and New York, 1914 says for arithmetic: "In the lecture, of the degrees of Grand Master Architect the application of this science to Freemasonry is made to consist in its reminding the Mason that he is continually to add to his knowledge, never to subtract anything from the character of his neighbor, to multiply his benevolence to his fellow-creatures, and divide his means with a suffering brother". (p.76)

Geometry is an integral part and the basis of Freemasonry, giving it a symbolic framework where the Fraternity works towards God, towards each other and the environment.

Music is a cousin of mathematics and a Masonic mystery, a correlation noticed by Pythagoras but most probably by others even before him.

Freemasonry has always attached great significance to astronomy as the great symmetry with which the Deity arranged the Universe; therefore, many symbols were taken from the field of astronomy.

Possession of the said qualities and knowledge acquired in seven skills was considered indispensable for a free citizen who was supposed to participate actively in a complex interaction with his environment, both natural and human so that he could improve, primarily himself, but also the environment where he and his descendants were supposed to live. In ancient Greece, this involved participation in public debates, offering logical explanations of phenomena, defence of attitudes and actions at court and doing military service, which every free man was obliged to perform, i.e. everything that separated a free man from a slave. The emphasis was on the freedom of thought and action based on high educational, moral and spiritual principles. Over the centuries, depending on the requirements of a certain age, the so-called Liberal Arts i.e. freely acquired art, have changed. For example, logic was replaced by ethics and poetry; classical languages, history and philosophy, exact sciences, psychology, etc. were added. Liberal Arts came down to modern Freemasonry through the medieval system of education, where they were believed to be necessary for the acquisition of perfect education.

In addition to the artes liberales, which were available to free men, there were also Artes illiberales, which were studied for economic reasons and provided the technological knowledge of certain professions. They were intended for operative workers who dealt with the mechanical execution of operations without the need for complex knowledge on the origin, basis, composition, structure and performance of these operations.

MASONIC LEGENDS

Legends are stories in which historical data are interwoven with fictitious and unusual events; it may also be a tradition, an event or a tale with elements of imagination.

Masonic legends are of great importance since they serve as thebasis of many rituals and parts of rituals, and aim to convey to the Freemason a message in a striking way and point to a right direction and proper action. Without legends, the system of Masonic science would lose the support of its key symbols and instructions and would cease to exist. It is said that "Freemasonry is a system of moral laws and instructions wrapped in allegory and illustrated by symbols." A neophyte, through his initiation, receives legends that have survived in the Masonic Fraternity for millennia pointing to the complex character of the Institution and operational skills that spiritual constructing expresses.

Solomon and His Temple

Solomon, (Shlomo, Suleyman) is a figure from the Bible, the son and successor to King David, who is respected in Judaism, Christianity and Islam as the supreme wise king, builder of the first temple and, according to Talmud, one of the 48 prophets and one of the chief prophets, by the Qur'an. He is thought to have been born in 848 BC. He died at the age of 52, and ruled for 40 years, considered to be the best years in Israel's history - years of peace and prosperity. He was the third and last ruler of the United Monarchy.

Solomon was 12 years old when his father David, feeling that his end was near, proclaimed him king (despite Solomon being younger than his brothers) with the following words: " I am about to go the way of all the earth, so be strong, act like a man, 3 and observe what the Lord, your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go". (Kings, I 2: 2-3). According to the Jewish tradition, these are the words that a father uses to pronounce the blessing on his son at Bar Mitzvah (the day of religious adulthood, when the child turns 13 years old).

Solomon is also known as the chacham mi'kol ha'adam (the wisest among people). The Bible says that kings from all over the world were visiting Solomon to listen to his wisdom, not just the religious kind, the Torah wisdom, but also his secular wisdom and great scientific knowledge.

The Bible says (1 Kings, 4:29-34): 29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment; the breadth of his understanding was as infinite as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon was wiser than all the men of the east and all the sages of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than any man, including Ethan the Ezrahite or Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. He was famous in all the neighbouring nations. 32 He composed 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. 33 He produced manuals on botany, describing every kind of plant, from the cedars of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows on walls. He also produced manuals on biology, describing animals, birds, insects, and fish. 34 People from all nations came to hear Solomon's display of wisdom; they came from all the kings of the earth who heard about his wisdom.

The Supreme Being, God, did not create this world to be ideal to the measure of man, but to teach man on it and make him toil for bettering it. Nothing is completely good or completely wrong. Even the worst things, phenomena and works can trigger an avalanche of good, and what seems to be the best possible place or time, may turn into its opposite in a moment. Solomon could not resist glory, compulsion and, first and foremost, the influence of his 700 women and 300 concubines, (he brought them for political reasons to strengthen ties with the surrounding nations), who pulled his people sweetly into idolatry i.e. worshipping a host of pagan gods. Due to his enormous wastefulness and growing imposts on his subjects, the people lost patience and when, after his death, his son Rehoboam succeeded him to the throne, the people rebelled, mainly because of the arrogant refusal of Rehoboam to lower taxes, so the land was divided into the kingdom of Israel in the north and the kingdom of Judah in the south. Solomon's descendants of the male line ruled only Judah.

Although the Hebrew Bible (Biblia Hebraica) attributes construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem to Solomon and portrays him as a wise, wealthy and powerful king, it considers him to be the culprit for breaking the kingdom into two parts. It was the punishment God imposed on Solomon both for the idolatry and turning his back to Jehovah.

Solomon's Temple

David, being a king-warrior who had blood on his hands, was disqualified by God from building a temple. However, God ordered David's son Solomon to erect a magnificent temple. "But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence." - said Solomon (King James Bible). By the end of the wreckage of wars and the advent of the time of building, Solomon sent a request to Hiram King of Tyre, his father David's friend, to send him timber, cedar and cypress, which he received and, according to the Bible, the construction of The Temple, the so-called First Temple on Temple Mount (Mount Zion) commenced. The exact year, even the century, is not uniquely accepted. According to some sources, the construction began as early as 967 BC and lasted for 7 years. It was allegedly destroyed by the Persian King Nebuchadnezzar II after the siege of Jerusalem in 587 BC. However, there is direct archaeological confirmation of the existence of the Temple outside Biblia Hebraica, which states only that the temple was built during the reign of Solomon. During the existence of the Kingdom of Judah, a sacred chest, the Ark of the Covenant, containing the stone tablets with the ten divine commandments, which Moses had brought from the Sinai (Gebel Musa), was kept in the Temple, according to the "Book of Exodus".

According to rabbinic sources (the whole of the religious writings), the First Temple lasted for 410 years from 832 BC until 422 BC, which was 165 later than it is claimed by secular sources.

As we noted above, the wooden material was delivered by King Hiram of Lebanon. (1 Kings 5-6) 5:13 King Solomon conscripted work crews from throughout Israel, 30,000 men in all. 5:14 He sent them to Lebanon in shifts of 10,000 men per month. They worked in Lebanon for one month and then spent two months at home. Adoniram was the supervisor of the work crews. 5:15 Solomon also had 70,000 common labourers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hills, 5:16 besides 3,300 officials who supervised the workers. 5:17 By royal order they supplied large valuable stones in order to build the Temple's foundation with chiselled stone. 5:18 Solomon's and Hiram's construction workers, along with men from Byblos, did the chiselling and prepared the wood and stones for the building of the Temple.

The chief architect was appointed by Hiram, King of Tyre. It was Hiram Abiff, the "widow's son", mentioned in the Bible as Huram 'abi and, according to allegory, held the secret of construction, which he did not want to disclose to his apprentices and that is why he was murdered by them. The story of Hiram Abiff, full of symbolism, is probably the most important allegory of Freemasonry.

Solomon's temple was being built for seven years. What did it look like when finished? Since no reliable archaeological data exist, all descriptions are actually idealized reconstructions, a good reason for Freemasonry to use the Temple for the symbolic basis of Masonic temples and the rich symbolism of spiritual instructions. The most detailed description is given in Tanaka (the Hebrew name for the Bible; the name consists of the initial letters of its contents; Ta = Torah (Torat Moshe) + Na = Nevi'im (Prophets) + Kaetuvim (Scriptures).

Although the Bible contains quite accurate data and dimensions, the structure of the Temple varies. It was not a copy of any other existing temple, although it contained characteristic architectural elements from Mesopotamia (Sumer, Babylon, and Assyria) and Egypt.

The sanctuary above the shrines, Kodesh HaKodashim or the "inner house" had a raised floor, and the entire room was plated with gold. At the west end, there were two cherubs with wings spread, cut out of olive wood. It was connected with a larger room, the "holy room" (Hekhál) with a double leaf door. In the sanctuary of the sanctuaries, there was the Ark of the Covenant. It was gold plated and clad in fine blue, purple and crimson fabrics and the room was without windows since it was the place where the "name" of God resided.

The larger room, known also as the "holy" or Hekhál was of the same height and width as the smaller room, but twice as long. The walls were covered with cedar wood which was carved, gilded and decorated with cherubs, palm trees and floral motifs. From the shrine above the sanctuary, the rooms were separated by a gold chain, and the floor was covered with gold plated fir-wood. The entrance door to the large room, as well as the one that led to a smaller room, were two-winged, made of olive wood, gilded and decorated with cherubs, palm trees and flower motifs.

The entrance (Ulam) was the same width as in the two other rooms. Seven steps led to two pillars made of copper, Boaz (on the left, if viewed from outside) and Jakin (on the right), both extremely important in Masonic rituals.

Around the main rooms, on the western, southern and northern sides, there were smaller rooms (later two more floors were added) used as storerooms.

The Temple was surrounded by courtyards; the inner courtyard or the Courtyard of the Priest, which was separated from the outer world by a wall of roughly carved stone, on top of which there were beams of cedar. In the court, there was the altar for burnt offerings and the Sea of Brass, which was used for ritual bathing. The Great Court surrounded the whole of the Temple and was the gathering place of the faithful.

The Sea of Brass was huge in size, 10 cubits long containing 90 cubic meters of water for ritual cleansing. According to the Bible, it was Hiram of Tyre who cast it; most probably Hiram Abiff, "the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, but his father was from Tyre" (1 Kings, 7: 13-14).

Hiram Abiff

Huram of Tyre, in fact, Hiram Abiff, the widow's son, born about 1000 BC, who was sent to Solomon by Hiram King of Tyre is mentioned in the Second Book of Chronicles as the best and gifted expert in the arts of building and casting in the context of building the Temple.

(2 Chronicles 2:13); 13 Now I am sending Huram-abi, a skilled man, endowed with understanding 14 the son of a Danite woman and a Tyrian father, who knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone and wood, and in purple, violet, linen and crimson fabrics, and who knows how to make all kinds of engravings and to execute any design which may be assigned to him, to work with your skilled men and with those of my lord David your father... .

As in many other cases throughout history, due to the lack of authentic written documents, many interpretations spring up, most often politically motivated. In this case as well, concerning the interpretations of work and role of Hiram Abiff, both biblically supported and allegorical, it is the reader who is to take a stance. As long as an interpretation does not sow seeds of hatred and hurt individuals, communities and the environment, it is a private matter.

So, it is a fact that Hiram was so skilled in his work that he deserved the protection of his king and was worthy of representing his country. His name Abi means "our father" as well as "master", a title that shows respect and determines distinction. Interestingly, there is enormous confusion over his name, and some authors misuse it so extensively, connecting it to paganism and Satanism, that they tend to refer to the entire Freemasonry as satanic. It is again on common sense and further information to assess the authenticity and plausibility of such approaches.

Regardless of all the manipulations with his name, Hiram or Huram did go to Jerusalem and was indeed associated with the building of Solomon's Temple. According to the First Book of Kings, casting of the pillars Boaz and Jachin, the Sea of Brass with twelve oxen, kettles, shovel pots and washbasins were attributed to his name. In the "Second Book of Chronicles", however, he is considered to be the supervisor of all works at the Temple. That would be all that is known about Hiram.

As per Masonic mythology, three apprentices, three ruffians conspired to extract the secret word from Hiram, i.e. the knowledge of the master builder. When they fail, they kill him.

According to one version, first, they hide the corpse in the Temple and later transport it by carriage to a place where it is buried and mark the tomb with a branch of acacia. When King Solomon reveals that Hiram is dead, he calls upon all who work on the building, and so he finds out who the three ruffians are. He orders all the roads and ports to be blocked and sends a chase party after the murderers. So they are captured and brought before Solomon. They confess to their crime and Solomon orders them to be tormented most brutally and killed. Then Solomon and King Hiram of Tyre go up to the master's tomb and dig his corpse up, seeking the missing syllable of the secret word. They find nothing so they take the corpse and bury it near the Temple as close to the Holy of Holies as possible.

For a full understanding of the story of Hiram, we should return in time to before the murder. Both Solomon and King Hiram acquired one syllable of the secret word; it was Hiram Abiff who was in possession of the third syllable. Upon completion of the Temple, all three of them were supposed to gather at the consecration of the Kodesh Hakodashim over the Holy of Holies where they were to utter the word.

According to a different version of the story, Solomon wanted to get hold of the word and ordered the three apprentices to extract the syllable from Hiram. Hiram had suspected Solomon because no one else except the three of them knew that a secret word existed let alone the syllables that constituted it. When the apprentices were caught, Solomon had them executed immediately to silence them. All in all, Hiram King of Tyre and Solomon were devastated by the loss of the secret word. The missing syllable was replaced by a new one, vowing to find the right word one day.

According to yet another version, a large number of masters, including Hiram, worked on the construction of Solomon's Temple. The apprentices/ruffians had been seeking the secret word ever since the commencement of the works. As the construction was approaching completion, they hoped for receiving higher wages. Here, the outcome is the same: Hiram is killed, but the corpse is found by other masters. The word is not lost, but Solomon orders the body to be buried beneath the Temple and that a secret word be printed on it, with the same substitution as in the previous version, out of respect for Hiram. The "lost" secret part is given to new master masons in the form of a part of the ritual. In this version, Hiram is often referred to as Adoniram. According to the revised Anderson Constitution of 1738, the place of the Grand Master's Deputy, on the left-hand side of the Grand Master, is called the Chair of Hiram Abiff.

THE IMPORTANCE OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE FOR FREEMASONRY

Solomon's Temple is more a myth than a legend. In certain periods in the past when speculative Masonry craved for support for new, philosophy-oriented rituals, the tale of Solomon's Temple, as the basis of a speculative and philosophical approach to the organization of the Masonic doctrine, had a constructive role. For the first time in the history of mankind Freemasonry appeared in an organized form within and around Solomon's Temple. Solomon, Hiram King of Tyre, and master builder Hiram Abiff were the Worshipful Masters of the Lodges they themselves founded; there were systems of initiation and symbolic degrees, and all this, in an uninterrupted series and unchanged form, has come down to our day. This theory may not be accepted nowadays, but it has done its job.

The structure, properties and events surrounding Solomon's Temple left an indelible mark on speculative Freemasonry so that almost the entire symbolism of the modern Royal Art rests on Solomonic foundations. Form, equipment, orientation, lodge officers, Brethren in the lodge, their behaviour and rituals are personifications of Solomonic characters and symbols of the parts of Solomon's Temple. Modern Freemasonry does not accept the myths and legends of the Temple as historical facts, but as allegories; not as actual events, but symbols. All these allegories and symbols serve as the basis for the moral code of Freemasonry.

The Biblical records of Solomon's Temple are legendary testimonies of the material aspect of the Temple, its construction, the skill and organization of the builders in order to glorify the loyalty of the entire nation to Jehovah led by all those who took part in the building. The Temple was built to be the Shekinah, the abode of God, the supreme religious habitat, from where He, by light and perfection/truth (Urim and Tumim), directed the human community to the principles of its organization, which shall rest on the pillars of the wisdom adopted, described by Plato as the necessary traits of the ruler of Goodcity (Kallipolis).

Apart from Solomon's serious faults, which led to the disintegration of his kingdom, his wisdom received from God for his loyalty was legendary. Since it seemed suitable to erect such a significant structure and consider it as a turning point in the consolidation of the idea of one and only God, Solomon prayed in a superiorly wise way and God gave him supreme wisdom.

(1 Kings, 3:9): "So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?" The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him

(1 Kings 3: 10-14):

Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honour—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.

Contemplative Freemasonry does not deal with the operative building of edifices, but it symbolically accepts the construction of the Spiritual Temple in which He, the Great Architect of the Universe is God, who is worshipped with spirit and truth where evil thoughts and undue passion recede. The parallel that exists between Solomon's Temple and the events within it are allegoric, non-material and elevated to a higher level of spiritual consciousness. Solomon's temple is a link between operative and speculative Freemasonry. Even if works of architecture disappear, spiritual connections with them remain; connection with the legends and spirit of great works.

From ancient times, temples, no matter whether built or improvised, were intended, through religious sentiments, to lead in the direction of spiritual rising. As soon as primitive societies began to move from fetishism to monasticism, they built temples. In the time of Exodus, the Jews were the first to make a tabernacle, or the tabernacle of meetings, the mobile abode of God and the place for sacred relics, a model for Solomon's Temple later to be followed by both the Christians and Muslims. The Masonic community has, among its members, followers of various religions, thus symbolically uniting its spiritual aspirations, which is ensured by the symbolic way of construction and the circumstances that governed the construction of Solomon's Temple. The Temple project provides the basis for the rich symbolism that was accepted by speculative Freemasonry.

The builders of Solomon's Temple used architectural plans that were spread on the ground like a carpet, and then they prepared the material: stone blocks that had to be chipped and smoothed depending on the positions they were to occupy within the building. Walls, arches, supporting columns were the architectural elements, which had to be firm and elegant and erected according to the same plans. The central place of the Masonic temple is occupied by the carpet that is spread before the beginning of the work, and it is removed upon its completion.

For Freemasons, Solomon's Temple is a symbolic example of divine architecture whose perfection, in a spiritual sense, should be the aspiration of every member of the Fraternity. Classical architecture (Corinthian, Ionian and Doric), represented in the elements of the Temple, originates from Pythagoras who, after the deluge, found two pillars with secret geometry inscribed. With the help of geometrician Hermes Trismegistus, he conveyed the secrets to the Greeks. Solomon had these pillars built into his Temple setting them up at the entrance. They were made of bronze, the alloy invented by the Phoenicians thus symbolically representing great knowledge and science. The pillar on the left was called Boaz, a symbol of strength, and the right-hand one Jachin, the symbol of institution and law. In modern Masonic rituals, the pillars play an important role in the initiation of candidates and advancement of Entered Apprentices to Fellow Craft degree i.e. raising them to the level of the assistant. Thus, geometry is the root of Freemasonry and the secret of art and science, settling also in the Masonic Fraternity, whose members are free people under the tongue of good report dedicated to spiritual progress.

In the 18th century, where the official roots of modern Freemasonry lie, legends related to Solomon's Temple had a crucial impact on the formation of the features of the existing Masonic mythology embedded in rituals.

POSSIBLE CONNECTIONS

The ancient world was a rich soil for a number of cults and mysteries e.g. Mithraism, druidism as well as philosophical groups, societies and associations that dealt with the mythical and cosmological aspects of life and existence constituting also the active parts of everyday life. However, they can hardly be associated with Freemasonry. However, it is different in the case of the Roman collegia, gilds or social clubs that regularly met in buildings called curia, usually outside the confines of cities. Although they were associations pursuing diverse activities, even criminal ones, most were engaged in building construction. They were founded during the reign of the second Roman king Numa Pompilius (753-673 BC), the successor to Romulus, who joined them to Roman legions for the purpose of performing engineering. That is how they emerged in distant parts of the Roman Empire as well. The most numerous among them were stone masons and stone carvers whose primary task was to build fortifications. They were well organized, they used their tools as symbols, which they carved into building blocks. When a colleague was killed or died in an accident they took care of the widow and the orphans.

Moving from place to place, from region to region, country to country, members of the collegia were, in all likelihood, exposed to different influences. They were most likely sympathizers of the Christian idea of equality and belief in one God creator. Many were killed because of their beliefs. Records say that Emperor Diocletian had masters Claudius, Castorus, Semporianus, Nicostratus and apprentice Simplicitus executed because they refused to cast a statue to the pagan demi-god of medicine Asclepius.

At the time of Jesus Christ, three religious sects existed in Palestine: the Essenes, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees. The Essenes, like modern Freemasons, observed the highest moral norms and practised secret rituals. Some believe that Jesus Christ, until the age when he began his preaching, was a member of the Essenes. Unlike the Pharisees, and the Sadducees he never uttered a word of criticism about the Essenes.

Upon the collapse of Rome, many collegia found retreat in the area around Lake Como and on Isola Comacina. It was there that "commissar builders" allegedly emerged later building cathedrals throughout Europe between the years of 500 and 1390.

JESUS CHRIST

The approach and attitude to the role of Jesus Christ in Freemasonry are likely to be the most sensitive issues intertwined with more emotional than philosophical or factual choices of both the profane and the Masonic world.

There are very many allegories and symbols in Freemasonry that exist in other philosophical constellations as well. According to the accepted definition "Freemasonry is a system of morality, wrapped in a veil of allegory and depicted by symbols." A Freemason has full freedom to interpret each symbol to suit a sole purpose - to make him, the good man, even better by believing in "the fatherhood of God, Brotherhood of men and immortality of the soul."

Jesus Christ is a very important figure in Masonic tradition, which Freemasons at higher degrees are especially aware of. Jesus's "building work" is well established in the instructions and allegories of Freemasonry.

In Early Christianity, the church was divided into the exoteric, which was open to the masses and met their spiritual needs and the esoteric, (the so-called Gnostic), which nurtured the mystical aspects of religion. Gnostics believed that the material world which the demiurge (God the Creator) created should be rejected for the sake of the spiritual world (Holy God). The Greek word for gnosis is interpreted as enlightenment, salvation, emancipation or unity with God, and this becomes the case if one practices unlimited humanity (even to the degree of total impoverishment), sexual abstinence and undertakes a committed and constant quest for wisdom. For Gnostics, the world of demiurge represents the lower, material world, the world of passion, time, i.e. the imperfect and temporary existence. The world of God is the upper world, which is identified with the soul and perfection. It is eternal, there are no touch points with the material and it is not limited. In order to reach God, a Gnostic has to come to "knowledge", which involves philosophy, metaphysics, curiosity, culture, concrete knowledge and secrets of history and space.

Those who believe that Freemasonry exists at higher levels as well believe that they follow Gnostic Christianity. They believe that encoded esoteric teachings are hidden in both Testaments of the Bible and may be discovered by gematria (attributing numerical values to words). The "Books of Creation and Revelation" are considered to be the Kabbalistic (gematric) pearls of the Bible. There are countless books and articles written about this, some of very dubious content, but some of them still have to be given some thought. Among the authorities in the research of biblical associations are mathematician Vernon Jenkins, and David Fideler (Jesus Christ Son of God), writer and university professor. Here, I leave it to the reader to form their attitude in accordance with the Masonic principles of acquiring knowledge.

The New Testament is full of allusions to Freemasonry and architecture. In the "Gospel According to Mark" 12:10-11, Jesus says: "The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the head of the corner. The Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes."

("Gospel of John" 1:42) : "You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas" (Aramaic = rock, Peter in Greek), a cornerstone of the spiritual church.

(Mark 6:4) Jesus is described as a carpenter: "... Isn't this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? ..." In the Greek original, the word tecton is used which can also signify a skilful builder, architect - hence the architect (archon - chief, boss, tecton - carpenter, builder).

(Gospel of John (2: 19-21) Jesus appears as a builder: "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." They replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?"

But the temple he had spoken of was his body. It is well known that the sacral structures were built of stone. Jesus alludes to resurrection and considers it to be a spiritual renewal of an allegorical structure. The confirmation for this, according to Freudian belief, comes from (St. John 20:16): Jesus said to her:"Mary". She turned and said to Him in Aramaic, "Rabboni", i.e. teacher!

Albert Pike, a very influential Freemason and a controversial figure in the eyes of the opponents of Freemasonry, the writer of Morals and Dogma, 1871 (the abbreviated title) says that these were actually two Hebrew words: RB BNI meaning "grand master builder" or "master builder", thus establishing a relationship with the restoration of the temple in three days.

St. John is thought to have "encrypted" his gospel, thus esoteric Freemasonry had the opportunity to confirm the significance of the word uttered by Mary Magdalene. The total gematria of the Greek words "Sir, if you have carried Him off, tell me where you have put Him, and I will get Him." is 7261, which is the exact value of the title Αρχιτεκτων or Master Builder. Therefore, Jesus Christ is considered to be the Supreme Architect of the spiritual temple, the son of the Great Architect of the Universe.

In those Masonic temples where the majority of members are Christians, the Book of the Holy Law is an indispensable part of the lodge regalia. Other sacred books and texts like Talmud, Koran, Vedas, Sutras, etc. are used by followers of other religions. Some Freemasons, headed by Albert Pike, believe that the Royal Art is not based on the "Great Light" (Isaiah 9:2), but on Kabbalah, a book of mysticism and magic, although such an attitude is not generally accepted. Nevertheless, Albert Pike, an honorary member of almost all the Masonic Supreme Councils in the world of his time, claims that Freemasonry had sprung up from Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and other Eastern religions. Another authority, Albert Gallatin Mackey thinks that Freemasonry originated from "ancient rituals and mysteries that were practised at the very beginning of pagan darkness."

Regardless of these arbitrary opinions, we can say that Freemasonry utilizes the Bible to explain its beliefs, claiming that the Bible is a symbol of divine will, law, or revelation, but that its content is not God's will, and a Freemason is not obliged to believe in the Bible, but in the most sacred book he is familiar with. For Christians it is, of course, the Bible, but not for the followers of Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, Shintoism, Taoism etc.

To become a member of a Lodge, a Freemason must believe in the Supreme Being, but he does not have to state the name of them. The Great Architect of the Universe is, in Masonic terminology, the name of the Supreme Being a Freemason believes in, having other names as well: God, Creator, Great Creator, Great Builder, Jehovah, Allah, Buddha, Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva or Great Geometer. G may refer to God but also to Geometry

Freemasons claim that the name of God had been lost, but the attributes were transferred to Jesus Christ (Philippians 2: 9-11): "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

In Masonic literature, the name of Jesus Christ is rarely mentioned since the Fraternity also has among its members, followers of other religions. Some ideologists of Freemasonry even believe that the Messiah will not be an individual but the "perfection of the human race"; that is one of the reasons why the divine essence of Jesus is not being discussed. No one in Freemasonry cares for the name of the deity an individual member mentions in his prayers: no matter whether it is Muhammad or Jesus, Allah, or Buddha, God or Yahweh, they are all one and the same - the Great Architect of the Universe. Freemasonry does not believe that Jesus Christ is God, but rather that, through his Father, he possesses divine qualities and has achieved the perfect degree of consciousness, which may be called different names: cosmic consciousness, regeneration of the spirit, philosophical initiation, spiritual enlightenment or the consciousness of Christ \- Lynn F. Perkins: The Meaning of Masonry, 1971).

In Freemasonry, sin does not exist. It is considered to be a "shortcoming" that must be overcome by greater enlightenment; the regulator of "non-sinning" should not be fear, but awareness of the needlessness of it if one seeks humanity. In the ritual of the third degree, sin and pollution by sin are dying and awareness is born of earlier wrong-doing and actions that harmed people and the environment.

Concerning some of the most important elements of Christianity - salvation and afterlife - Freemasons believe that salvation is actually a transition from material to spiritual i.e. when a man in his consciousness reveals his ability of spiritual ascension. Higher degrees of Freemasonry are intended for older members, their reflections on useful life and contemplation on the hope of immortality. This should not be understood in the material sense, but in terms of the labour that a man has completed. If we have succeeded in working with our knowledge on our environment and human society as a whole in such a way that it fully or partially accepts our "good intent", our human qualities, personal example and zealousness, we have provided immortality for ourselves since our ideas, positive human characteristics and creations of our inner self will be transferred from generation to generation even if the origin may stay unknown. At the "lower" degrees of Freemasonry, the member is revealed many secrets of immortality, but nothing is more beautiful or better than devoted philanthropic work within the boundaries of the individual's power which will definitely bring about "salvation". Love, not blind faith should be pursued; the essence is not in finding but seeking the light.

There is ample evidence of the secrets of the Craft on edifices throughout Europe, known only to insiders. In the 16th century, in Spain, a certain father Benimeli discovered stone marks on 122 church buildings, and there were many such in Florence, Brescia, Milan, Parma, Venice, Lucca and many other Italian cities. Marks were carved into stone elements as well as engraved into beams, columns and decorations with the likely aim of marking the position of a certain element within the overall structure and designate the master and his team who were to execute the work.

There are attempts to link the labels to the esoteric, but this is quite unlikely; builders worked on order, and the contracting authority defined and/or accepted, according to their requirements and views, the final shape, appearance and symbolism of the building. Operating free masons were only those who did the work. This, of course, does not exclude inventiveness and special artistic aspects of the builder's work.

OPERATIVE (MEDIEVAL) MASONRY

Operative masonry is craft masonry, which preceded speculative, modern masonry. The connection between one and the other was achieved by "acceptance". Namely, "outsiders", those who did not have a direct connection with operational masonry were accepted into the guilds - a practice whose beginnings are hard to determine.

Fragment of the facade of Orsanmichele church, Florence (photo by the author)

Operative masonry is actually stone masonry (mason = one that builds with stone; stonemason = a person who cuts, prepares, and builds with stone.). Since building is a complex process, teamwork of various professions, from architects and planners to carvers of stone blocks, pillars and fine elements to the building contractor, it also brings together a host of work operations, all of which have the same goal - to impress with their result, with a building that is functional, grandiose, aesthetically attractive and durable.

From the Neolithic, when Man began to raise structures, builders have always been in high demand, so they moved from site to site. Due to the need to provide them security, it was necessary for builders to keep their knowledge secret since employers very often had the creators of exceptional works of architecture executed so that they would not construct the same or greater and better works to others. Thus, builders had to be exceptionally secretive, but this also resulted in their higher status and gave them freedom of movement. They were in great demand throughout Europe and finding a building job was not difficult.

In order to keep the Craft secret, unions of certain types have always existed even in ancient times. The collegium fabrorum, a workers' association, which existed in Early Christianity and the Middle Ages as well, is considered by some as the beginning of operative masonry. Unfortunately, there are not enough material documents that survived, which could shed more light on the functioning and methodology of the association.

From the 7th and 8th centuries, building construction experienced a boom. Texts from that period refer to the comacine masters (magistri comacini), stonemason masters recognized as free people (by the "Edict" of the Lombardian King Rothari of 643). However, there is no confirmation that they were assembled in some sort of trade association or guild. In northern Italy, they were building in the Romanesque style with certain elements of 7th-9th-century Byzantine art. They are attributed the so-called Comacine knot (also known as Solomon's knot)

 _Solomon's Knot Credit:_

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The medieval builder had to be an architect, a stonemason, a sculptor, a draftsman, a designer, and an engineer. With the help of simple tools: compasses, square, gauge, plumb rule, level, chisel, mallet and skirret, he erected such grandiose Gothic cathedrals that the builders were believed to possess some magical secret, although it was only the knowledge of basic proportions and geometry, the knowledge that had been taken from place to place and passed on from generation to generation for thousands of years. Master builders shared the secrets of the Craft among themselves. Despite receiving training for many years, a number of students and assistants were barred from certain secrets of the trade before they learned the science and skill of handling the materials and tools perfectly.

There are also attempts to seek the roots of operative masonry, through the Romans, all the way to St. Boniface (8th century) as well as St. Augustine and his successors. Employing English masons, who learned from the craftsmanship of the Romans and practised the art of construction on Friesian, Saxon and Bavarian churches, the true roots of masonry lie in associations that, from their beginnings in the 11th century, were organized around the construction of large monasteries. The real beginning, in fact, may be dated to the 13th century when independent masonry became dependent on priesthood and ongoing urbanization in the world. Capitols (city legislature) were those who took over the former all-determining role of monasteries. It was then that craft associations, where laics played the main role, started spreading over the entire territory of Western Europe all the way to Prague and Budapest. It was in these associations in England and Scotland that speculative Freemasonry emerged.

Several events from that period indicated certain traits and possible connections with modern Freemasonry. With the help of Honorable Brother Gordon Rowe of the Grand Lodge of Texas, who dealt with this matter in detail, we will only mention a few:

926 - Prince Edwin, the son of King Athelstan, convened and presided over an assembly of stonemasons gathering in York.

1088 - There was an organized association of stonemasons and stone builders in Germany called Steinmetzen. Some authors claim they were the forerunners of today's Freemasonry.

1271 - In France, there were so-called Comrades who, at that time, seemed to have already been active for hundreds of years before and arrogated to themselves the beginnings of Freemasonry.

1278 - The word "lodge" is mentioned for the first time at Vale Royal Abbey, a medieval English abbey.

The names of the aforementioned associations of builders range from "fraternity" of mostly religious character (11th century), through "corporation" (13th century) to "companionship". While this latter emphasizes technical progress and protection of workers, something like today's trade unions, the corporation is organized on the basis of the division of roles into apprentices, fellows and masters (the degrees of the Blue Lodge today).

1350 - The Statute for Workers was published, which determined the wages of workers and prevented escalation of wages in the event of a shortage of professional workforce. The word "mason" is mentioned, and there is a "house for plans" in Windsor Palace (which will later grow into a lodge where, during lodge work, a plan was spread on the ground, the forerunner of today's "trestle board" with symbols.

1356 - The London Masonic Ordinance was published. It contained the earliest notes on apprentices and fellows.

1370 - The Decree on the Construction of the York Minster (the magnificent cathedral in York) mentioned the word "mason" or "masoun" (in Middle English).

1376 - For the first time, the word "freemason" was mentioned in the Calendar of Letter-Books of the City of London: H, 1375-1399 of August 9, that year. The word was later crossed out and replaced with the word "mason".

Operative free masonry refers to the free movement of architectural experts who possess certain secrets of the Craft which, through gathering in certain places, share between themselves and give instructions, in a certain way, without symbolism and esotericism, to the lower ranks of workers aiming at these workers' acceptance into the company after years of professional development.

THE OLDEST MASONIC MANUSCRIPT – THE HALLIWELL OR REGIUS MANUSCRIPT

James Halliwell Phillipps is the translator of the first known Masonic manuscript from Middle English to modern English. The manuscript is known as the Regius Poem. Its 794 lines of verse contain the moral norms contemporary stonemasons had to observe in their life and work. Regius Poem begins with the Euclidean principles and the art of geometry, followed by fifteen points that the master must observe in order to harmonize his behaviour with the existing moral norms: "do not provide shelter to thieves, do not receive bribes, attend regularly to God's service," etc. The Poem also penetrates the domain of building construction, operative work on the construction site advising the following: "Do not work at night on the construction site, train apprentices and fellows in the best way, do not fall for work you cannot do," etc.

Experts agree that the document was written at the end of the 14th or the beginning of the 15th century, 1390 being the most probable year. It had been passing from hand to hand before it reached London's Royal Library; in 1757 King George II donated it to the British Museum, being described at the time as a "poem about moral duties", something like guild rules that will be discussed later. Then, its significance for Freemasonry still remained undiscovered.

It was only when Regius Poem was really understood, first by James Halliwell in 1840. He wrote an article where he openly stated that the text was completely Masonic and as such it was the first to prove that Masonry came to England during the reign of King Athelstan, who ruled from 914 to 939.

**TRACES OF OPERATIVE MASONRY IN MODERN FREEMASONRY**

In England and Scotland, and relatively late in both Germany and occasionally in France, Masonry began taking a distinctly different course towards "acceptance" into stonemason guilds of those who did not have anything to do with the operative masonry; this was what so-called Speculative Freemasonry later emerged from.

In the 13th century, operative Masons merged into larger groups that had their own statutes. Apart from occasional "poor" evidence, it is extremely difficult to determine their mutual influence as well as the procedure of forming the basis for the appearance of speculative Freemasonry (England and Scotland excepted) as we know it today.

Academy del Disenno (Academia del Disegno) in Florence (1563) was the home where both professional construction workers and "amateurs" gathered. The oldest German "Fraternity" dates back to 1211 and in 1275 five "big lodges of the stonemasons' Fraternity" were known to exist (Haupthütten) in Strasbourg, Cologne, Vienna, Zurich and Magdeburg and all of them had their written statutes. There are also data on assemblies held between 1275 and 1564 in Strasbourg, Regensburg, Speyer, Cologne and Basel.

Daniel Ligou in Rečnik slobodnog zidarstva / Dictionary of Freemasonry, (Paidea, Beograd, 2001) says:

The Regensburg Statute has been published many times: it is easy to find in it a number of elements that have been retained in modern Freemasonry, such as, say, three degrees, the exclusion of outsiders (cowans), fraternal equality, philanthropy, special jurisdiction, "signs and marks", initiation ceremony, opening and closing of assemblies. Finally, the text, in a rather indefinite way, mentions "pious people" who would like to attend the divine service, but who have no right to vote, which can be interpreted as the beginning of acceptance. ... In Western European countries statutes of different levels of strictness and exclusivity were in use. For example, in Provence, France the profession was free, although rather heavily regulated, but not obliged by oath.

Thanks to the London Quatuor Coronati Research Lodge, a large documentation known as "Old Charges" (old duties), had been collected. The "corporation-fraternity" system came to England from France after the Norman Conquest in 1066 although authentic documents about this did not exist before the 14th century. It is known, however, that Masonic workshops called "lodges" existed as early as 1292. A corporation of Masons existed in Chester, 1327 and York, 1350. The term "Freemason" occurred in 1376 and referred to the Masons of the London Brotherhood. The first known statutory texts appeared in 1349 (The Statute of Workers), through the Decree of the Masonry of York (1332, 1370), The London Provisions (1356) and the Regulations of the Guild of Carpenters from Norwich (1375). Between the years 1370-1400, the famous manuscript Regius was created, followed by Cooke Manuscript in 1430-1440. (p. 882)

Ligou goes on to say:

If we put aside the legendary history of the Order, we see that the total of these documents provides us with an almost coherent picture of English Masonry at the end of the Middle Ages. The corporation is also a fraternity placed under the protection of God or the Holy Trinity, loyal to the church and accepting to observe and celebrate traditional Christian holidays. The apprentice is obliged to take an oath (probably over The Bible), and thus be bound to keep the secret; there are degrees, members sometimes wear special clothing and call each other Brother (or Sister) ... the chief officer is a "master", and there are supervisors." (p.883)

In Scotland, there is greater traditionalism since the Shaw Statute of 1598 mentions even earlier rules.

KABBALAH

Kabbalah is an esoteric treasure trove and toolbox, a system of formation of human thinking, a discipline whose roots are in Judaism. Its methodology and postulates are deeply present in esoteric doctrines of numerous secret societies, especially Rosicrucianism. The touching point between Rosicrucianism and esoteric speculative Freemasonry of the 17th century may also be found in Kabbalah. Its doctrine occasionally had an impact on Freemasonry. Advocates of kabbalistic approach believe that God himself instructed his angels in the secrets of Kabbalah, who handed it over to Man with the intention of returning him, after his fall, to a state of well-being and alliance with God. The doctrine was conveyed by Adam all the way down to Noah, who passed it on to Abraham and Abraham to Moses, who instructed 70 elderly wise men in the secrets, who were then transmitting them to David, Solomon, and his successors until the destruction of Jerusalem. It is believed that Kabbalah was compiled by Jews from Greek, Egyptian and Eastern sources. Church fathers occasionally accepted it believing that it was originally a homogeneous, not a pagan religion.

Kabbalah is divided into three parts: the so-called theoretical part deals with the deity and its relation to Man; the so-called enigmatic part deals with the arrangement of words and letters thus extracting the esoteric meaning of the Bible; the third part is "practical" also dealing with the basic relations of letters and words and pointing to disturbances of the body and soul and possible treatments of these. Even now, the authors of Masonic works e.g. Gilles C H Nullens, are trying to resolve certain issues of Freemasonry through the enigmatic teachings of Kabbalah.

The connection between Kabbalah and Freemasonry was, in fact, made by Albert Pike, the most important representative of the Scottish Order of Freemasonry, a great authority, but also a controversial personality in the eyes of many, especially certain clerical circles. Above the bust of Albert Pike in the House of the Scottish Temple in Washington DC, there are the following words: "What we did for ourselves dies with us: what we did for others and for the world is immortal." We believe that the reader is the one who should have the final word.

Anyway, Pike's are the following words (Morals and Dogma):

Freemasonry is a search for light. This quest leads us directly to Kabbalah ... All Masonic associations owe their secrets and symbols to Kabbalah ... man is overwhelmed with admiration when he penetrates the shrine of Kabbalah, seeing a doctrine so logical, so simple, and at the same time so comprehensive ... Zohar ... the key to sacred books opens all the depths and light, resolves all the confusion of antique mythologies and sciences ... All religions have come from Kabbalah and return to it. (p. 744)

On the "true" origin of religion Pike says:

St. Paul learned religion under the feet of Rabbi Gamaliel... There lies the origin of the Trinity of the Father, the Mother and the Holy Spirit and the Son...Christ himself acknowledged the truth that all Scriptures of the Bible have their own inner and outer meaning.

On the mystical meaning of the rose, Pike says:

"The mystical meaning of the rose as a symbol should be sought in Kabbalistic comments." For the mystery of Revelation, he says: "The primary tradition of the only revelation has been preserved under the name of Kabbalah." On the origins of Pythagoras's wisdom: "Pythagoras ... visited all the sanctuaries in the world. He was in Judea, where he was circumcised in order to access the secrets of Kabbalah, which were told by the prophets, Ezekiel and Daniel."

The goal of the Knights Templar, according to Pike, was the acquisition of wealth and power to establish the teachings of Kabbalah in the world.

As we said, Kabbalah also has a philosophical-esoteric-human dimension that represents the Kabbalistic tree of life with 10 so-called Spirits i.e. 10 attributes or emanations through which the Infinite reveals itself continuously creating both the physical and the higher, metaphysical world.

The Tree of Life and knowledge is at the centre of Kabbalistic symbolism. It may be considered a formula of existence, a stream of genesis from divine to earthly and backward. It consists of 10 Sephiroths and a 22-way emanation that connects them. The universality of the tree of life is a magical framework of mystical ideas of creation and survival. The left side (commonly called the left pillar) is the Pillar of Strictness, the female aspect of creation, with three of its spheres: Binah (understanding), Geburah (strength) and Hod (splendour). The right pillar is called the Pillar of Grace, the male aspect of creation, with three Sephiroths: Chokmah (wisdom), Chesed (mercy) and Netzach (victory). The middle pillar is called the Pillar of Equilibrium, and with its four Sephiroths: Keter (crown), Tipharet (beauty), Yesod (foundation) and Malkuth (kingdom), it holds the male and female pillar in balance. The Tree of Life is a heavenly tree, which was guarded by the snake in Paradise. A river flowed through The Paradise branching into four streams. In Orthodoxy, the cross of Christ also represents the Tree of Life, the symbol of life and the union of heaven and earth, soul and matter, a centre in which divine enters the human heart, and the limbs point in four different directions.

BRIEF PREHISTORY OF SPECULATIVE MASONRY

Here we continue with Honourable Bro. Gordon Rowe's listing of dates prominent for the history of Freemasonry:

1600 - It was the year of admittance of the first non-operative mason, John Boswell 9th Laird of Auchinleck in Scotland.

Manuscript York no. 1, known as the York Scroll (now owned by York Lodge No. 236) contains the words "free mason".

1617 - The year Elias Ashmole was born in Litchfield, England.

1621 - The Worshipful Company of Masons of London stated that there were "accepted" and "operative" members.

1634 - Three members of the nobility were admitted into the Lodge of Edinburgh: Lord Alexander, Sir Anthony Alexander and Lord Alexander Strachan.

1641 - The first documented initiation took place. Sir Robert Moray was initiated into the Scottish regiment in Newcastle on May 20th.

1642 - It is the year of the first lodge report made at Mother Kilwinning Scottish Lodge. The Lodge allegedly dates back to the 12th century.

1646 - Speculative Masonry continued to attract those people who had no connection – rare exceptions only - with building construction. We saw earlier that such people, due primarily to political and financial reasons, as it seems to me, sought entrance and were admitted into the rather exclusive societies of operative masons not for symbolism, but for an opportunity for their wider education, which included the Royal Art as well, and acquisition of knowledge indispensable for their goals, which they might have found there. The number of speculative free masons was growing so rapidly that it was in Warrington, after 1646, that most of them were speculative masons. The first known non-mason in the Lodge was Elias Ashmole, a politician, antiquarian, collector, officer, astrologer and alchemist, who was initiated on 16 October 1646, as he noted in his diary.

Due to a number of original documents preserved, there is extensive knowledge about the history of operative masonry. As we have pointed out above, there is little symbolism in operative masonry, apart from the rules and organization that may overlap with Blue-Lodge symbolism. Old Charges are documents that have reached as far as our time; they were written with the intention of being read at the Blue Lodge, thus their intentions have hardly anything to do with operative masonry. The connection between Old Charges and the rituals of the first three degrees is not so obvious unless it is assumed that there was a quasi-religious fraternity within the Masonic craft that survived the Reformation of Henry VIII.

Let us continue with Br. Gordon Rowe's Chronicle:

1655 - The Company of Masons of London changes its name into the Company of Freemasons.

1656 - John Aubrey wrote Natural History of Wiltshire stating that "the Fraternity of Freemasons is distinguished by certain signs and passwords, as well as "significant words", and in his History, printed in 1647, he mentioned them as "accepted masons".

1660 - The Royal Society was established; a large number of members were Speculative Masons.

1668 - A building for the needs of Speculative Masons was erected in London.

1670 - The Aberdeen Lodge kept records (reports), stating that some Freemasons had been speculative and the others operative.

1680 - Dr. James Anderson was born in Aberdeen.

1686 - Dr. Robert Plot wrote the Natural History of Staffordshire in which he ridiculed the Freemasons' Society, which served as proof that a symbolic lodge existed at the time.

1688 - A Lodge of accepted masons was meeting at Trinity College, Dublin. That year, in a satirical speech, a Freemasons' Society was said to exist at Dublin University.

1696 - An Edinburgh manuscript stated that Masons had "word", "grip", "signs" and "five points" (of fellowship).

1698 - An anti-Masonic brochure appeared, being a very popular form of writing in the England of that time, in which sober-minded, religious citizens were warned of "Freemasons".

1709 - Sir Richard Steele published an article in the Tatler (Observer) in which he mentions some people who "use certain signs and symbols like Freemasons."

In the 18th century, a Masonic Fraternity existed, different from the operative one, although documents do not provide confirmation of the membership of Freemasons in them unless they themselves earned their living from building construction. It is known that Henry VIII, breaking up with the Vatican, abolished all religiously tinted guilds and fraternities, being different from pure craft guilds. In that time of religious insecurity and turmoil, as well as widespread excessive credulity to which people of all classes and levels of knowledge fell victim to, it was possible that some secret esoteric groups accepted only selected members. Because of their safety, they had to maintain the highest level of secrecy, thus depriving the succeeding generations of reliable documents on their work. Thanks to spies, they were known to the Crown, although It did not always find it suitable to extinguish their flames due to the fact that they also had influential people in their ranks, one of these being Francis Bacon, philosopher, lawyer and statesman and a Rosicrucian and Freemason.

1710 - Honourable Elizabeth St. Leger, known as "the Lady Freemason", suspected of eavesdropping on a Masonic initiation, received two degrees. Later she married Richard Aldsworth, thus she was also known under that surname.

1716 - A meeting was held at Apple-Tree Tavern in Charles Street in Covent Garden, where quarterly communications and annual assemblies were discussed.

1717 - On 24thJune on the day of St. John the Baptist, in London, four lodges formed the Grand Lodge of England at a meeting in Westminster. It was the beginning of modern Freemasonry.

1723 - Dr James Anderson published the first Constitution of the Free-Masons.

1730 - Samuel Prichard's Masonry Dissected disclosed the secrets of the Masonic ritual in print. It was a valuable contribution to the study of Masonic ritual from its first days.

Martin Clarke published The Defense of Masonry in response to Pritchard's book.

The Great Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Ireland, John Pennell, announced his version of the Constitution.

1732. The Grand Lodge of Ireland formed the first travelling lodge.

1733 - Freemasons were prosecuted in Florence.

1738 - The second edition of the Constitution of the Free-Masons by Dr James Anderson was published.

FURTHER CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF "MODERN" FREEMASONRY

In order to better understand the turmoil and the many influences on the formation of the "modern" form of Freemasonry, we will deal with some other possible effects. No doubt, the first Speculative Masons were Englishmen; that is why modern Masonry was born in their homeland in 1717. During the 18th century, the French and the Germans had a strong influence on the formation of Grand Lodges throughout Europe and America. However, the story of Scottish Freemasonry is quite different due to the fact that members of the existing operative masons' organizations of contemporary Scotland used a special way to recognize each other, in addition to the "Masonic word". This was accepted by English non-operative masonry, and it is even believed by some that English Freemasonry largely originates from the Scottish system, although it is difficult to believe that Scotland had had a symbolic system that would have been accepted at the beginning of the 18th century.

Regardless of the rather exhaustive chronology of Bro. Gordon Rowe, modern speculative Freemasonry is thought to have begun with the initiation of Elias Ashmole at Worrington in 1646, the only one known to be a Freemason before 1665. In his case, the term "speculative freemason" was mentioned for the first time. Ashmole became a member of the Royal Society and he was the founder of the famous Ashmolean Museum of Antiquities in Oxford in 1677.

About fifty years later, in London, 4 lodges formed the Grand Lodge, so it is logical that in the 17th century as well there were speculative Masonic Lodges although there is no documentary evidence to prove this. We can but speculate on the esoteric content of certain rituals: do they come from the 16th century after the Reformation, did Ashmole and the others develop some kind of ceremonial ritual, borrowing from ancient mysteries and Rosicrucianism, whatever suited their goals? So, direct sources of the rituals do not seem to be known.

Some researchers into Freemasonry are prone to believe that the basis of speculative Freemasonry is not in its operative variant, but that the roots fall into Rosicrucianism, which has not been confirmed. The founder of the Rosicrucian Movement (the Rosy Cross) is a German, Christian Rosenkreuz, who gained his esoteric wisdom during his trips to the Middle East, probably from Sufi and Zoroastrian masters. Upon his return to his homeland, in the first half of the 16th century, he founded the Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross and declared himself Supreme Commander. The most eminent work of the Rosicrucians is Fama Fraternitatis Crucis published in 1614, which contains eastern esoteric wisdom.

What does Rosicrucianism have to do with Freemasonry? Conditions in Germany at the beginning of the 17th century, like in much of Europe, were terrible. Therefore, the intelligentsia had a great desire to reform the prevailing mindset that was responsible for such a situation. Among other things, the pamphlet by an anonymous author titled A Universal Reformation of the Whole Wide World (Die Reformation der Ganzen Weiten Welt) was published in which Apollo calls to Delphi seven ancient Greek wise men, the Seven Sages - Thales of Miletus ("Know yourself", "Better to be envied than pitied"), Solon of Athens ("Do not overdo it," "He who has learned how to obey will know how to command"), Chilon of Sparta ("Obey the laws", "The dead consider me happy"), Cleobulus of Lindos ("It's best to keep up with me"; "Be fond of hearing rather than of talking"), Periander of Corinth ("The love of all", "Pleasures are transient, honors are immortal"), Pittacus of Mytilene ("Know the right moment.", "Even the Gods cannot strive against necessity."), Bias of Priene ("The majority is wicked"; "The beginning reveals the man"), together with Catullus and Seneca, to find the best way for resolving human misery. They could not agree even after long discussions but in the end, Seneca's proposal prevailed: 'a committee should be drawn up from all areas of society, which would aim at achieving general well-being of humanity, which would be accomplished in secrecy'.

In another book titled The Glorious Brotherhood of the Meritorious Order of the Rosy Cross, aimed at students and rulers of Europe, the intention was to correct the evils of time as suggested by Seneca. The author hoped to attract educated and wise people with a vision of the future who would be willing to cooperate on raising the level of morality of the entire mankind. The book mentions Christian Rosenkreuz, his travels across Arabia and Chaldea and the wisdom that he had brought with him, about 200 years before the book was written, building the House of the Holy Ghost, which was located at a site secret for all but the insiders.

Christian Rosenkreuz allegedly lived to be 106. His grave was found a long time after his death, seven floors below the ground, in the so-called Well of Initiation (well = uterus).

There are also Masonic historians who date the beginnings of Freemasonry in the 17th century being a result of the Renaissance spirit that dominated contemporary Europe, but this has not been proven. Under the influence of Rosicrucianism, many scientists of that time, mostly astrologers and alchemists, were searching extensively for a universal solvent (alkahest), cosmic substance (panacea), and the transmutation of simple metals into gold. In this story, Elias Ashmole figures as an allegorical personality who combines Rosicrucianism with Speculative Masonry. Again, we wish to point out that this connection has not been proven. There is no historical evidence, and it is unlikely that Ashmole, alone or with others, may have been the creator of the Masonic ritual because there are no written traces about this. However, he wrote quite a lot about alchemy and astrology, with a lot of superstition.

Perhaps it is more comfortable to believe that Rosicrucianism and speculative Freemasonry are some kind of bondage, where Freemasonry has accepted the moral dogmas, semi-Christian ideas and something of the mysticism of Rosicrucianism. What about fraternal love, search for truth and philanthropy? Moreover, Rosicrucians did not deal with symbolism until much later, after it came to life in modern Freemasonry after the year 1717.

THE FIRST 150 YEARS OF "MODERN" FREEMASONRY

Constitution of the first Grand Lodge, the Premier Grand Lodge of England, on 24th June 1717

Based on the General History of Freemasonry by Emmanuel Rebold, the emissary of the Grand Orient of France, J. Fletcher Brennan, president of the Academy of Sciences and a member of many philosophical and scientific societies and editor of The American Freemason, mentions the turmoil and spread of Masonic thought in the 17th and early 18th centuries. As we have pointed out earlier, non-masons were accepted into Masonic associations because of their power and influence in securing and financing construction enterprises. Most of them belonged to the nobility, being even of royal blood. The British King Charles II (1630-1685) became a Freemason during his exile in France, probably in the 1650s. The other name of Freemasonry, Royal Art, was given by him due to the great benefits that he had gained from his membership.

Due probably to unstable times and various crises, primarily of economic nature, which hit the leading countries of Western Europe, as well as the crisis of morality, Freemasonry was almost eradicated by 1703. Only 4 London lodges survived, apart from a small number of Freemasons in other cities of England, who were completely unknown. The other reason was the completion of St. Paul's Cathedral in London in 1703, although it was not finalized until 1711. All in all, the year 1703 was considered to be the year of ending the reconstruction of London, after the Great Fire in 1666, when 13,200 houses and 87 churches fell victim to flames. 1703 was the year when the majority of the builders left the city. In such a climate, speculative Freemasons were no longer concerned about maintaining a connection with the operative masons, so this may have been the seed of separation.

Speculative members who gathered in the operative Lodge of St. Paul decided to take a different course and become protectors of religion and tradition and preserve human qualities through beautiful allegories, legends and symbols; to this end, they made the following resolution

(Charles Harper: Freemasonry in Black and White, 2013): "The privileges of Masonry should no longer be restricted to operative masons, but extend to men of various professions, provided that they were regularly approved and initiated into the order." (p. 69).

By that resolution, Freemasonry was changed forever becoming what it still is today, thus breaking with the ineffective and pointless dining gatherings of high society members who, with their stupid indifference, degraded this "covenant of exalted goals" into low-level chat rooms with a sole aim to pass the time. Unfortunately, the great master and architect Christopher Wren, the designer of St. Paul's Cathedral who, until his death in 1716, strongly contributed to the situation with his vehement opposition to all changes. To break that humdrum, the four existing Lodges, which existed more by name than by action, gathered their members and decided to unite on new principles.

The first Grand Lodge of London and Westminster, as it was then called, was formed on John the Baptist Day on 24th June 1717, when four existing Lodges assembled at the Goose and Gridiron ale-house, a parody name for the Swan and Lyre constellations. Namely, the pub was also the meeting place of the music company called "Swan and Lyre". The five-storey ale-house with a dining area of about 4.5 x 6.5 m on the second floor was located in the part of London which was known as the Cemetery of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Anthony Sayer (c. 1672-1741)

It was not their first meeting, because the representatives of the Four Lodges had already met at the Apple Tree Tavern in 1716 where they finally agreed to unite and elect a Grand Master, but they did not have a rulebook or constitution at the time. The oldest master, Anthony Sayer, was elected Grand Master, about whom we do not know much. He is known to have been highly respected by the others and it was George Payne who followed him as Grand Master; Sayer later served as Senior Grand Warden. One of the four Lodges that formed the first Grand Lodge met regularly at the aforementioned Goose and Gridiron; therefore, they bore the same name as the ale-house. Other Lodges that made up the Grand Lodge had also been named after the ale-houses and taverns where they were meeting: At the Crown, At the Apple-Tree and At the Rummer and Grapes. Regarding 24th June, John the Baptist Day, when the first Lodge came into existence, it was decided to celebrate it every year, as well as three other days: St. Cyriacus Day (8th August), St. John the Evangelist Day (27th December) and Annunciation (25th March).

The Grand Lodge, upon Antony Sayer's election , published a booklet of the Constitution and duties of Freemasons, which represented an introduction to The Constitutions of the Free-Masons; containing the History, Charges, Regulations, &c. of that Most Ancient and Right Worshipful Fraternity, for the Use of the Lodges, London, in the year of Masonry 5723, Anno Domini 1723. In 1738, the Constitution, with some changes, saw another edition.

**EXPANSION OF FREEMASONRY IN THE WORLD**

It is a mistake to think that after the formation of the first Grand Lodge in 1717, the development of Freemasonry went on smoothly and progressively. A well-known human trait, sometimes positive, but mostly negative and backward, resting on disagreement with what is not part of one's existing world, where one's role is minor and where it is difficult to be noticed, gives birth to overemphasized individualism. We strive, by all means, to leave some sort of trace of ourselves and thus win ourselves a greater chance of survival (it is what we think!) and achieve this much desired "immortality". Since Freemasons, like all other people, are subjected to everyday challenges, circumstances in Masonic organizations may not be significantly different if compared with other profane associations. It is true that Freemasons are free people under the tongue of good report, that they vowed to the endeavor of getting better, being more tolerant and more God-honouring, this process is extremely demanding and too thorny; very few may be so resolute and have as much will and energy as to accomplish this task in their lifetime. Most importantly, A Freemason should, pure in heart, take the course towards the light, so everything that is believed to be good will be accomplished in this or another life (in case he believes in reincarnation), or in the lives of other beings.

Self-indulgence and narcissistic madness, thriving in the profane world, consequently leading to a lack of desire to cooperate for the benefit of all, has ruled all through history, and what seemed normal and useful to all, has been ruined so many times out of an incomprehensible desire for personal "splendour". Almost every human association in history has been burdened by small, but "insurmountable" differences between those who were supposed to be the models of agreement and understanding.

Unfortunately, this has been the case with the formation and association of Masonic Lodges from the very beginning in 1717 to the present day. Some of the existing Lodges did not intend to join a Grand Lodge, and the expansion of Freemasonry in Europe has created various problems, mainly those of protection (patronage). Belonging to one or the other obedience, dealing with personal problems i.e. problems of insatiable craving for fame and collecting membership fees are eaters of peace and understanding in Masonic communities.

Bypassing a detailed psychological analysis of the said misunderstandings and problems, we are to mention briefly the expansion of Freemasonry through the "medium" of Grand Lodges limiting our list to the 18th century only.

After the Grand Lodge of England, formed on 24th June 1717, other Grand Lodges followed:

1725 - Grand Lodge of Ireland.

1726 - Prague

1733 - Freemasonry emerges in Italy.

1734 - Grand Lodge of Scotland.

1737 - Grand Lodge of Sweden. The first meeting was held in Germany on 6th September.

1741 - Grand Lodge of Germany.

1742 - Zum Drei Kanonen (Three Canons) Lodge in Vienna.

1743 - A Lodge is formed in Denmark, but the first Grand Lodge started work in 1745 upon receiving the patent from the Grand Lodge of England.

1749. The first Lodge in the Kingdom of Hungary constituted in Brassó (Brasov, now Romania).

1751 - The Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons.

1775 - Grand Lodge "Latomia Libertatis sub corona Hungariae in Provinciam redactae", Count Ivan Draskovich was the Grand Master.

1757/1759? - First Lodge in Croatia in Glina, followed by Lodge Vigilantia (Alertness) in Osijek in 1773.

1767 - Grand Lodge of China.

1769 - Lodge Az Erényes utazóhoz (Virtuous Traveller) was founded in Eperjes in 1769 by Polish emigrants.

1770 - Lodge Zum Grossmuth (Magnanimity) in Budapest. Count Ivan Draskovich was the Grand Master.

1784 - Grand Lodge of Austria.

1788 - Royal Masonic Institution for Girls in England.

FREEMASONRY AROUND US AND WITH US

This book mainly deals with Freemasonry until the first years of World War II, when it went dormant in Yugoslavia and Serbia, by the decision of the Grand Lodge. In the years after WW2, individual Freemasons, rather than Yugoslav and Serbian lodges, continued to meet in deep secrecy, risking their own life and the lives of their family members, but fraternal love and solidarity were at such a level that the idea of Freemasonry was preserved in its entirety, so that it was renewed in the year 1990, both in our country and other quasi-communist states around, actually oligarchies of the second half of the 20th century.

The most important part of this book will be dedicated to the beginnings and restoration of Freemasonry in this part of Europe with special focus on my hometown Zombor (now Sombor), the seat of the Bacs-Bodrog County, one of the largest counties in Hungary that was turned into a small, rather neglected Yugoslav city after WW1. We will also examine the events that preceded the formation as well as those that happened during the work of the local Masonic Lodge. Further to this, we will try to connect the events chronologically and consequently, in order to establish, as authentically as possible, the organization and operation of the local Freemasons. We will give a complete list of members of the local Masonic Lodge as well, from its beginnings to the year 1940, including both regular members and petitioners who had already filed their applications but their admittance was pending due to the outbreak of WW2 and dormancy of the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia, and mention the last three years of its existence under new circumstances.

Serbian Freemasonry operated within the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1929) between 9th June 1919, when the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia was formed and 22nd June 1940, when the Grand Lodge was forced to go dormant to prevent persecution by the occupying Nazi authorities, a bitter enemy of Freemasonry.

Before the Treaty of Versailles of 28th June 1919, the areas that were attached to Yugoslavia had been under Austro-Hungary, Turkey and Italy. Serbia, without Vojvodina, was the only independent state that entered Yugoslavia. Therefore, Freemasonry in the pre-Yugoslav countries was under the influence and protection of the aforementioned great powers. Even some of the Belgrade Lodges, especially between 1890 and 1908, were under the aegis of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary. All Lodges in Vojvodina were also under Hungarian protection until 1919.

Let us follow the natural order of things. Freemasonry was brought to our region by officers who were taking part in wars throughout Europe and, thus came into contact with Freemasonry. The formation of the first Lodge is attributed to Croatian officers who, being Austrian military men, fell into Prussian captivity during the so-called Seven Years' War (1754-1763), the first major world conflict, engulfing a large number of European countries, as well as North and Central America, West Africa, India and the Philippines. England and Prussia were on one side, Austria and France on the other, both sides with numerous allies.

Upon returning from captivity, Croatian officers formed a Lodge in 1759 called L'Amité de Guerre á Glina (War Friendship in Glina). From there, Freemasonry spread to other parts of Croatia and Slavonia. Count Drašković's family played the major role in the expansion of Masonry in Croatia. A member of this family, Kazimir, was one of the founding members of Lodge Zum Drei Kanonen (Three Canons) in 1742, and in 1773 Ivan Drašković formed Lodge Prudentia (Prudence), where the great mind, Bishop Maximillian Vrhovec was a member. A currently active Serbian lodge bears his name now. The two aforementioned lodges also operated a lodge called L'unité parfaite (Perfect Unity), later Libertas, in Varaždin. All the Lodges worked in the French language, which many members did not understand, given the fact that Croatia belonged to the German-speaking world.

In 1775, adherents to the German language formed a new lodge called Zu den Drei Drachen (Three Dragons), receiving the patent from the Berlin Grand Lodge Zu den Drei Weltkugeln (Three Globes), which changed its name into Zur Freundschaft (Friendship). In Osijek, Drašković's friend Stefan Niczky formed Lodge Vigilantia which, with very significant interruptions, still exists.

Lodge Vigilantia of the 18th century was a lodge where Serbs and Croats worked closely together since some of the members of the Lodge were of Serbian nationality: Metropolitan Stefan Stratimirović, Bishop Josif Jovanović Šakabenda, publisher Stefan Novaković.

Count Ivan Drašković, being the most influential Freemason in Croatia (then a part of Hungary), was working with great enthusiasm on establishing a Grand Lodge and introducing a strict system of duty for all Brethren in order to enlighten and benefit all. His goal was altruistic: "to raise humanity to a higher level". The entire activity was known as the Drašković Observance. In 1775, the Grand Lodge was formed and Count Ivan Drašković was elected Grand Master. The Lodge advocated the abolition of serfdom and equal treatment of all people. In 1781 the Grand Lodge established cooperative relations with Vienna. After Drašković's death in 1787, the Grand Lodge broke up. On 29th November 1780, Empress Maria Theresa died and strange and difficult times for the Austrian Freemasonry followed.

FRANZ I STEPHAN OF LORRAINE AND MARIA THERESA

Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina Habsburg was born on 13th May 1717, the year of the formation of modern Freemasonry. She was the only woman ruler in the long line of Habsburg rulers, Empress of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria (area in today's Ukraine, northeast of Galicia) and Galicia, Austrian Netherlands (the so-called Belgium Austriacum which Austria received by the Treaty of Rastatt in 1714) and Parma.

Maria Theresa and Franz I (photos by the author)

Maria Theresa came to the Austrian throne in 1740 after her father Charles VI died, probably of mushroom poisoning. Since he was very thrifty and ignored the advice of the wise, Eugene of Savoy among others, to invest more in the army and pay more attention to the filling of the state treasury, he left the country in a state of despair and almost completely impoverished.

Maria Theresa ruled for 40 years until her death in 1780. During that time she managed to turn Austria into a superpower. After 10 years of rather aimless policy-making and bad instructions she had been receiving from "left-over" counsellors with very modest capabilities, inherited from her father, she decided to take matter in her own hands and, by learning from mistakes, develop the power that provided both her and the Austrian state survival and a solid future. Significant support was received from the Hungarians who, initially despising the fact that a woman was to rule the military hotheads, finally recognized her erudition and resolving power in state issues; they appreciated her theatrically heroic "performances". One such was when, before the Hungarian Parliament in Pressburg (today's Bratislava, then the capital of Hungary), she raised her son above her head showing both her own heroic motherhood as well as him as heir to the throne. Of course, the enthusiastic parliamentary crowd was thus deprived of the will to turn down Maria Theresa's appeal for a wide-scale military conscription and recognition of her husband Franz as co-ruler.

Maria Theresa was to marry Leopold Clement, Hereditary Prince of Lorraine (1707-1723) who died suddenly of smallpox, so it was his younger brother, Franz Stephan, who came to the Austrian court as a 15-year-old. As was customary in royal families, marriage was a means which dynasties used either to preserve their privileges or to extend them. The good side of such a trade was to maintain a certain balance on the European continent. Of course, this did not prevent wars and other conflicts, which often resulted primarily from inheritance issues or personal insult and other trivialities, bringing many innocent people to death, unlike duelling, also stupid confrontations, where only one was killed, who was as brainless as his killer.

Due to the difference in the religious affiliations of possible candidates, as was the case of Prince Frederick of Prussia, who was Calvinist, as well as other political reasons, Franz remained the only candidate, and also the person closest to Maria Theresa's heart. They married on 12th February 1736. They had 16 children between 1737 and 1756, 5 sons and 11 daughters. The second son, Carl Joseph, died of smallpox at the age of 16. The first son Joseph II inherited the Austrian throne, and the third son, Leopold II accessed to the throne after his brother. The fourth son, Ferdinand, became Duke of Breisgau by marriage, and the youngest Maximilian Franz received the title of Archbishop of Cologne.

Maria Theresa and Franz I of Lorraine (1708-1765) were the founders of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, one of the longest living royal houses in Europe. Franz was the only surviving son of Duke of Lorraine and Elizabeth Charlotte of Orleans. Emperor Carl VI of Austria, the father of Maria Theresa, greatly appreciated the family both because of their loyalty to the throne and family ties and he intended to give her in marriage to a member of that family, first to Leopold, who had died, and then Franz. Maria Theresa had a great love for Franz, and she set him up as a co-ruler in 1745 although she retained the right to make final decisions. It is said that, when a conflict of opinion arose between them, she simply sent him away.

Franz I of Lorraine was a Freemason, initiated in 1731 by the Grand Lodge of England. For that particular occasion, a "provisional lodge" was summoned in The Hague in the house of Phillip Stanhope, the 4th Earl of Chesterfield. During his stay in England, he was also conferred the Master Mason degree, at a "temporary, improvised lodge" at Hotpoint Hall (Houghton Hall) in Norfolk, on the property of Robert Walpole, "the first Prime Minister of Britain," as he used to call himself.

About the institution of provisional lodge Albert Mackey says the following:

This is a technical term, which can be defined as a special way of initiation, raising to the 2nd degree and raising the candidate to Master Mason degree by the Grand Master, in the Lodge of Emergency, or as it is called in the Constitution "Temporary Lodge", which he convenes in particular occasions, and is made up of such Masonic Masters who can only be convened for this occasion; the lodge ceases to exist after initiating or raising to the second or third degree, and the Brethren are dismissed by the Grand Master. (A Textbook of Masonic Jurisprudence, Landmark 8).

THE VATICAN AND FREEMASONRY IN

**THE TIME OF MARIA THERESA**

The Vatican has always considered Freemasonry to be their archenemy originating, most likely, from animosity toward a large part of ancient and Jewish culture, with the exception of a bright example of tolerance dating back to 1233 when Pope Gregory IX issued a Papal bull named "Etsi Judaeorum" ("Even if the Jews") in which he advocates treating Jews in Christian countries with the same humanity that Christians would expect to receive in non-Christian countries – a good lesson for the modern world as well. We did not suggest this should draw a parallel between Jewish culture and Freemasonry, but we have already mentioned the legends and symbolism of Freemasonry that have touch points with Biblia Hebraica and Kabbalah (see above).

St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican (photo by the author)

The Papal bull issued by Pope Clement XII on 28th April 1738 and confirmed by Benedict XIV in 1751, explicitly forbids Catholics from being Freemasons. Pope Clement XII was extremely disturbed by the fact that Masonic Lodges "are spreading in all directions and their strength is growing day by day." He explained his antagonism as follows:

Thus these aforesaid Societies or Conventicles have caused in the minds of the faithful the greatest suspicion, and all prudent and upright men have passed the same judgment on them as being depraved and perverted for if they were not doing evil they would not have so great a hatred of the light ("In Eminenti", Papal Bull, 1738).

The Bull goes on to say that, due to this, several governments, from fear for their security, decided to "wisely eliminate" this threat. The "danger" referred to the rules that linked the members. Followers of different religions could be admitted into the same Lodge and be completely equal.

The Bull says that the Fraternity "does not hold any civil or canonical sanctions ... As a result, all Catholic participation in Masonry is prohibited, and bishops are to proceed against it as well as inquisitors for heresy...calling upon the aid of the secular arm."

The Bull considers Freemasonry a heresy, because of "its already notorious secrecy." Namely, the Papal Bulls of Clement XII and Benedict XIV from the 18th century, were supported and diligently refreshed in the past: 1821 (Pius VII), 1825 (Leo XII), 1829 and 1830 (Pius VIII), 1832 (Gregory XVI), 1846, 1849, 1864, 1865, 1869 and 1873 (Pius IX), 1881, 1882, 1884, 1887, 1890, 1892 (2x), 1894, and 1902 (Leo XIII), and in 1964 and 1965 (Paul VI). For the time being, the latest Vatican anti-Masonic document dates back to 1983. It was written by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the penultimate and still living Pope, the only one who voluntarily renounced his position. He says in the Declaration of Masonic Associations on 26th November 1983:

Therefore, the Church's negative judgment in regard to Masonic associations remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and, therefore, membership in them remains prohibited for all Catholics. The faithful, who enrol in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion. It is not within the competence of local ecclesiastical authorities to give a judgment on the nature of Masonic associations which would imply the derogation from what has been decided above, and this is in line with the declaration of this sacred congregation issued 17th February 1981.

The "Declaration" was signed by Prefect, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and approved by Pope John Paul II, which gives it a pretty universal dimension.

**ATTITUDE OF THE ORTHODOX CHURCH TO FREEMASONRY**

In the first years of modern Freemasonry i.e. the first half of the 18th century, the Orthodox Church of Serbia had to fight for its survival like it had had to do under Turkish rule in the previous centuries. Many churches and monasteries were demolished or damaged, the local population was impoverished and decimated by constant wars and emigration. Conditions began to improve slightly when the Turkish power began to lose ground under their feet in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. At that time, some of the churches and monasteries were rebuilt or renovated. For example, monastery Ravanica was restored only after it had been brought under Habsburg rule in 1718.

Stefan Daskal, the last surviving monk from the monastic Fraternity, who escaped to Hungary in 1690, says about this (https://ravanica.rs/o-manastiru/istorijat):

The peace treaty was not yet signed when I went there and found the monastery completely empty, ruined and covered in vegetation ... in the spring we called the masters and with God's help began to restore the church. ... We rebuilt what we could with the help of God and gracious Christians. In the year when we began to renovate the monastery, there was such famine that it was not possible to find cereals in our region, except for some maize and even that was scarce.

In 1739 Patriarch Arsenius IV, Archbishop of Peć and Serbian Patriarch between 1725 and 1737 and Head of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Habsburg Monarchy from 1737 to his death in 1748 fled to the Habsburg Monarchy. In 1766, the Patriarchate of Peć was abolished.

In such a climate - arrival in a new homeland, territorial split and new struggle for survival - adopting a common attitude towards secret societies, which were hardly known of, was not of primary importance to the Orthodox Church. It was the time of the birth of exact science, the revitalization of classical architecture and taking the first steps of Enlightenment, which was more than necessary for the new Orthodox intelligentsia. Having encountered the ideas of Enlightenment and the philanthropy of Freemasonry, some members of the Orthodox clergy embraced them for greater attachment and care for the fate of their congregation. They were driven by the desire to make their people literate and introduce them to contemporary European civilization, after long-term exposure to a completely different, eastern culture. The nephew of Arsenius IV Jovanović Šakabenda was a Freemason as it was Metropolitan Stefan Stratimirović and many other church dignitaries in the second half of the 18th and the first half of the 19th century. For these reasons, it is suggested that the Orthodox Church in the 18th century did not have a clear, common attitude towards Freemasonry.

The Metropolitanate of Karlovci, the Orthodox organization of the Serbs in Hungary i.e. the Habsburg Monarchy, due to many privileges, was the most important representative of the Serbian people. Many churches were built in baroque style in the 4 dioceses (Versecz – Vršac, Temesvár (Timisoara), Buda and Bácska). Despite individual and occasional condemnations, Freemasonry was tolerated, and it was much better known than in territories occupied by Turkey.

One of the fiercest Orthodox opponents of Freemasonry in the 18th century was Petar I Petrović Njegoš (St. Peter of Cetinje). His designation "ungodly, Jacobinic Freemasonry" may come from the fact that the French occupied Boka at that time. Anyway, his son, Petar II Petrović Njegoš, was a prominent Freemason, which is well reflected in his religious poem "The Ray of the Microcosm".

In the cities of Vojvodina and Croatia, there were numerous Freemasonic Lodges, and among the members were Orthodox patriarchs and bishops. In general, in Serbian Orthodoxy Freemasonry did not seem to be an issue; there was less concern than in Catholicism, especially in the first 150 years of the modern Royal Art. On the other hand, the Russian Orthodox Church cursed Freemasonry, and the Greek-priesthood considered it incompatible with Christianity because of the mystery of the rite.

In his book Masons in Serbia, (2010), Marko Lopušina quotes the statement of Chrisostom, the Archbishop of Athens:

Freemasonry cannot be in any way consistent with Christianity as long as it is a secret organization and as long as it teaches magic, secrets, and ungodly rationalism. Freemasonry accepts not only Christians but also Jews and Muslims for its members. Accordingly, priests cannot be allowed to participate in this Alliance. I consider it necessary to deprive all the priests who went into Freemasonry without enough thought of their priesthood and cease every connection with them because the only Christianity is the religion that teaches absolute truth and meets all the religious and moral needs of man ... (p. 15)

Further, he says: "Nevertheless, Masons have always been identified among the Serbs as conspirators against the people." (p.16)

Old man Tadej (1914-2003), a monk in a monastery in Eastern Serbia (Vitovnica near Petrovac on the Mlava), honoured as "the most enlightened monk in Serbia" considered Freemasons to be the culprits of all the greatest evil in the world (Masons in Serbia, 2010):

Masons are present in all Christian churches, especially in the Catholic Church, but also in the Orthodox, mostly in the Greek Church, and to a lesser extent in our church. They always occupy key positions and prepare for the arrival of an Antichrist, who is about to show up soon; since 1992, he has been ruling through his helpers. (p. 16)

Professor Novak Jauković, a Freemason from Podgorica, has his vision (Masons in Serbia, 2010):

It is always easiest to declare that the culprit is a Mason. The alleged conspiracies that the Masons plot may be explained with the claim that Freemasonry is a secret and mystical organization. However, it was a secret alliance until 1717, and since then its existence has been well-known to the public. However, it is true that Freemasonry is a silent Fraternity that does not respond to many attacks and provocations. Silentness is appreciated as a sublime male virtue. The notion of "secret" in Freemasonry relates to the experience gained in the rituals as well as many spiritual bonds adopted by lodge members, which are indescribable so they remain secret.

Freemasonry is not a sect. A member of the Fraternity must be a believer, he must believe in God as the Supreme Being. The secrets of Freemasonry refer to traditional ways of recognition and acceptance. Constitutions and rules of Freemasonry are available to the public and neither its goals nor its principles are secret. Mutual recognition of lodges is very important, for example, because Masonic contacts between members of different lodges are prohibited in case their Lodges are not mutually recognized. Freemasons meet in temples. These meetings differ from each other, and according to the degree a Mason has attained he may be an Entered Apprentice, a Fellow Craft or a Master Mason. Masonry organized in a stepwise manner is called the Lodge of St. John the Baptist since the first Grand Lodge was formed in London on St. John Day in 1717. This form of organization of the Freemasonic alliance is the most prevalent in the world today. (p. 16)

Nowadays, in some Orthodox countries, Freemasonry is becoming almost a fashion among the clergy.

ATTITUDE OF PROTESTANT CHURCHES TO FREEMASONRY

The main Protestant churches do not bar or deter their members from Freemasonry. They consider that it the right of every individual to become a member of any Freemasonic Lodge and they have not issued any edicts against Freemasonry.

Lesser Protestant churches, mainly those who have been separated from mainstream Protestant churches, due to various minor reasons, express their disagreement with Freemasonry for its theological liberalism and diversity. However, due to the growing conservatism (currently a very explicit, sharp, moral turn), which is evident in all modern religions, the Protestants' view of Freemasonry is changing towards lower tolerance.

It seems that the struggle for believers, as well as for members of societies, associations and alliances, has rekindled.

FURTHER FATE OF FREEMASONRY IN AUSTRIA AND HUNGARY

The a/m Papal bulls of Clement XII and Benedict XIV, were most likely created under strong pressure by the Catholic clergy desiring to contend with the growing religious tolerance and enlightening ideas of Freemasonry - never seen in Austria - thanks to the influence of Franz I and his harmonious ties with his wife, Empress Maria Theresa, (who tolerated his frequent trips from the marital nest). It is incredible that the Lodges in Austria, as well as in the countries under the Austrian crown, worked in relative peace, only occasionally disturbed, in front of the nose of the Empress herself, who was very pious and under the influence of the clergy - and she wholeheartedly hated Freemasonry. Franz I himself preferred to be engaged in alchemy, like the Rosicrucians and the Illuminati, although he actively supported and encouraged the organization of Freemasonry in Austria. Probably to his order, the first Vienna Lodge Zum Drei Kanonen (Three Canons) was formed, composed mainly of high ranking officers coming from all parts of the Austrian Empire.

In 1743, Maria Theresa, persuaded by the Jesuits, ordered the arrest of most of the members of Lodge Zum Drei Kanonen. Luckily, they were all released in a short time. However, the event prompted all members, and those in other lodges, which were formed in the meantime, to carry out their works in the greatest secrecy.

Franz I died suddenly at the wedding of his second son, Leopold, in Innsbruck on 18th August 1765. Maria Theresa found it extremely difficult to overcome the grief from her beloved husband's death. She withdrew from public life, stopped wearing jewellery, and had the walls in her apartments painted black. In 1767 she contracted smallpox, which was devastating the European population (and not only the European) of that time. She recovered miraculously, perceiving that as God's gift and his desire that she should rule until her death.

Her eldest son Joseph became co-ruler after the death of his father but he was constantly getting into conflict with his mother. Although he was intellectually superior, he did not possess his mother's strong will and personality. He made a lot of mistakes; therefore, he found it more than convenient that Maria Theresa, as the ruler, took full responsibility.

Maria Theresa had survived smallpox, but she never recovered completely; she died on 24th November 1780. In addition to a series of reforms that had introduced significant changes in the course of her rule, her time was the beginning of radical changes in the regions that we now call ours, which will be felt especially throughout the 19th century. Many cities in Vojvodina and other, later Yugoslav, regions bought their freedom with gold, but it was also the time when they started to tread the path of progress, enlightenment and awakening of the awareness of themselves and their abilities. Expressed in Freemasonic words, it was initiation and consecration of a new lodge - a lodge of equality, national revival, culture and opportunity to connect with other regions and peoples.

JOSEPH II, HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR

The eldest son of Maria Theresa and Franz I of Lorraine, brother of Marie Antoinette, lived from 1741 until 1790. He shared the crown with his mother (nominally) from 1764, becoming the sovereign ruler of the Habsburg-Lorraine House in 1780 after his mother's death. He died suddenly, without a successor.

Joseph Hickel (1736-1807): Joseph II, (photo by the author)

He ruled in the style of enlightened absolutism called Josephinism and considered himself one of the three greatest European rulers of the Age of Enlightenment, next to Frederick II of Prussia and Russian Empress Catherine II.

He made many reforms in almost all areas of life which, according to French historian Jean Bérenger (https://en.wikipedia.org/.../Joseph_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor): "represented a decisive phase in the modernization of the Austrian Monarchy ... but he wanted to do too much, too soon."

Joseph II trimmed the privileges and feudal freedom of the nobility; he was bent on eliminating prejudice, both by and against them, and struck on everything that he considered obsolete and incompatible with the trend of enlightenment. Thus he acquired countless enemies who were waiting patiently for his end. It came quickly, due to his very disturbed health, at the age of 49 and on the 10th anniversary of his independent rule. The epitaph on his tomb says: "Here lies Joseph II who has not succeeded in anything that he did."

It is unlikely that Joseph II could have been a Freemason but he was wise enough to use the proclaimed goals of Freemasonry as his own: social, class and religious tolerance, development of personality traits, humanity – all this gave him the support of contemporary Freemasonry. However, relations deteriorated when, probably under a strong influence of the opponents of Freemasonry, he issued two decrees against the Austrian Masons. The first decree, of 1781, banned Austrian Lodges from accepting the protection of foreign Lodges, thus aiming to distance Austrian Freemasons from the Grand Lodge of England enabling thus the formation of the Grand Lodge of Austria. In another decree in 1785, he centralized Freemasonry in the Grand Lodge, to make it easier to control it and restrict the autonomy of the constituent Lodges. The number of legal lodges was also reduced (only 3 remained in Vienna) and so was the total number of lodge members to 180. All lodges had to send regular reports about their meetings and attendance to the police. This was carried out under the influence, and most likely by blackmail, of those who were afraid of losing their privileges acquired by birth only and not merit, especially in contemporary Hungary, where out of 5 million inhabitants, 40,000 belonged to the non-working, willful, poorly educated nobility whose privileges had exhausted the already wretched population and induced dissatisfaction, rebellions and revolution. Upon the restriction of the number of lodges after 1785, Freemasons were dissatisfied, especially in Hungary and parts of the Empire outside Vienna, because Lodges were allowed to exist only in Pest, Buda, Zagreb, Karlovac and Petrovaradin. Local authorities in the said cities were instructed in no way to interfere with the works of the Lodges.

Although he was forced to abolish some reforms during his life, especially in Hungary, due to constant threats by the nobility, some changes introduced by Joseph II should be mentioned since they originated directly from the goals of Freemasonry.

During his rule (1780-1790) Joseph II issued over 6206 decrees and 11000 new laws intending to reform almost everything for the joy and happiness of all the citizens, but in the way that he himself considered best, and he demanded, idealistically, his compatriots to act with the same enthusiasm. People were selected to functions by knowledge and ability regardless of class and nationality. He introduced the German language as the official language of the Empire, which angered the Hungarians so much that their Assembly did not meet at all. In the legal system, he abolished brutal corporal punishment and death penalty for most of the offences and introduced full equality in the face of justice. Censorship of the press and theatre was also abolished, and in 1781-82 he expanded the rights of the peasants and assessed tax as per income. This latest reform did not fully come to life in Hungary and Transylvania (Erdély) due to the resistance of the landowners. However, after the suppression of the riot of farmers in Erdély 1784-85, serfdom was abolished, although ownership of the land remained with the nobility as well as the levies the farmer had to pay to the landowner. Feudalism in Austria and Hungary will not end before 1848.

Of the positive reforms, we must mention the introduction of compulsory primary education for both sexes. The state provided a scholarship for poor, talented students. Jewish and other national minorities were allowed to run their own schools. In 1784, the Latin language was excluded from schools, and the German language was introduced as the language of instruction, which caused great resistance among the peoples under the Imperial Crown.

Many epidemics were raging through the 18th century. Cities did not have means to establish local hospitals. Joseph II tried to centralize health care by building a large hospital in Vienna called the Allgemeines Krankenhaus (General Hospital) in 1784. Centralization exacerbated hygiene conditions and mortality in the hospital rose to 20%. However, this must be seen as an introduction to more heroic times of Austrian health care in the following century.

Religious freedom in the land of Joseph II was the most substantial in the whole of Europe, which many looked askance at. Although he called himself "the guardian of Catholicism," Joseph II strongly deplored the Papal influence in the country. Due to liberal and basically anti-clerical innovations, Pope Pius VI came to his feet to Vienna in 1782 in order to show how seriously the Vatican had received those reforms. In the beginning, Joseph II did let himself be dissuaded from his reformist intentions, but in 1789 he issued a charter in which a large community of Galician Jews, who spoke Yiddish, were stripped of their autonomy and forced into strict Germanisation, forbidding them even to wear traditional Yiddish attire.

From the aforementioned, it becomes obvious that, due probably to the influence of his father and the general climate of enlightenment, Freemasonry found favorable ground in Austria during the reign of Joseph II, perhaps not because of his sincere devotion to the cause but because of the progressive ideas he could experiment with; in the event of failure, he would have been free to indicate their origin and thus transfer responsibility to the Freemasons. Not all turned out as he had planned, because of his impatience and overwhelming desire to reform everything in the ten short years that were available for the purpose before his death. Wise men say, "Take heed of haste because it leads to remorse."

LEOPOLD II

The son of Franz I and Maria Theresa, born in 1747 as the third son of 16 children, brother of Marie Antoinette, succeeded to the throne of the Austrian Empire after the death of his brother Joseph II, who had no offspring. He ruled briefly, from 1790 to 1792, when he was succeeded by his eldest son Franz II. With Maria Ludovika of Spain, he had 16 children, the same number as his parents.

Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (photo by the author)

He ruled, like his brother Joseph II, in the style of enlightened absolutism. Before he was crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, he had been the Grand Duke of Tuscany where he introduced significant reforms in the spirit of enlightened absolutism: vaccination against smallpox, a more humane treatment of the mentally ill. By legislation, he prohibited shackling and binding of the sick (educational reading for cadres in the current institutions of some "modern" countries). In 1786, he passed a law abolishing the death penalty and eliminating all the instruments for the execution of the most severe punishment. Leopold's plans for the creation of a liberal constitution of Tuscany had not been fulfilled since he took over the throne of the Holy Roman Empire in 1790.

As soon as he occupied the throne, Leopold, for totally incomprehensible reasons, in view of his very progressive rule in Tuscany, abolished many reforms previously introduced by his brother Joseph II. We can only speculate, but it seems that the main reason for such behavior was the extremely strong pressure exerted by Belgium, Hungary and Bohemia.

Leopold II was a Freemason, like his father Franz I, and a Rosicrucian as well. Apart from the aforementioned parts of the Habsburg Empire, most of the population, especially the Freemasons, expected further reforms towards free ideology. Having abolished some of his brother's reforms, he did not replace them with more progressive ones. Furthermore, he inaugurated reactionism and firm-hand rule. Freemasons rightly expected the improvement of their alliance. However, when Leopold came to the throne a year after the outbreak of the French bourgeois revolution, he got terrified of the possibility for the revolution to spread to Austria, and organized a secret spy network, supporting some reactionary writers such as the paranoid opponent of Freemasonry, L.A. Hoffmann. Hoffmann, with the help of the secret police, started prosecuting Freemasons and Leopold II, to the great surprise of the Masonic community, did nothing.

Emperor Leopold II died unexpectedly in 1792; this suggesting he was poisoned because he had not suffered from any ailment before unFranclike his brother Joseph II. He has been recorded as a ruler with progressive ideas, which he put into practice while he was the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Unfortunately, his reign as the Holy Roman Emperor was just a pale image of his Tuscan days.

FRANZ II (FRANZ I OF AUSTRIA)

Leopold II was succeeded by his son, Franz II, born in 1768, who was wearing the crown of the Holy Roman Empire between 1792 and 1806, as well as the crown of the First King of Austria and Czechia and Hungary, from 1806 until his death in 1835. The already mentioned writer, rather a journalist of dubious literary quality and of even more dubious morale, an unscrupulous figure, an informer and opponent of the freedom of speech and furious enemy of Freemasonry, Hoffmann, managed to preserve, and even strengthen his influence at the court so much that both Leopold II and his son Franz II were afraid of him. Hoffman kept the press in his hands and had a huge impact on the secret police.

Friedrich von Amerling: Franz II (1832), (photo by the author)

In the beginning of his reign, the young Emperor Franz II favoured Freemasonry but, under Hoffmann's influence, this turned into real hatred, and his reign became reactionary, largely due to the unsuccessful outcome of the of wars with France.

Freemasonry in the Holy Roman Empire in this period was experiencing its dark days. Persuaded by Hoffmann, Franz II, under the pretext that the Emperor was under threat by Freemasons who had been importing revolutionary ideas from France, a few free-minded people were arrested, including Freemasons. They were accused of conspiring against the monarchy. Three of them were executed, while the others were convicted to long prison sentences (10, 20 or 30 years). In 1794, the number of Masonic publications was limited and in 1795 Freemasonry was made completely illegal by law.

In such a climate, free and public actions and work for the benefit of humanity, regardless of nationality and religious and political affiliation, demanded great courage. Brave people have always existed; we came across a note saying that a certain Major Danijel Miloradović was initiated into the Viennese Lodge St. Joseph, whose Worshipful Master at the time was Miklós Eszterházy.

Paranoid fear of secret societies was so big that Franz II did not even believe in the effectiveness of his secret police. In 1794 he sent a letter to the Reichstag of Regensburg suggesting they outlaw all secret societies (Freemasons, Illuminati, and Rosicrucians) throughout the whole of Austria. The proposal was not accepted at the time, but Freemasons were even more closely supervised and persecuted. In 1801, members of public services were barred from membership in secret organizations, being threatened with a charge for high treason.

Between 1805 and 1809 silence prevailed since Vienna was under French occupation and only French military Lodges were working. In 1812, persecutions continued despite attempts to revive Freemasonry during the Vienna Congress.

The Vienna Congress was of great importance, both for the further fate of Europe and for the Freemasons within Austria. The Vienna Congress was a "tailor's salon" where some of the most muscular countries, which publicly but mostly secretly, tailored the fate of smaller nations. Among them, there may have been Freemasons, but not in such numbers that would give them the opportunity to play a major role in the splitting, scissoring and sewing of Europe. There were certainly no Austrian Freemasons among them. The host and leader of the gathering was the Klemens Wenzel Lothar von Metternich, the infamous Austrian Chancellor. He was such a colossal enemy of Freemasonry that he worked diligently on driving it out of the country. He managed to do this, with the exception of the Revolutionary 1848, when it was briefly revived. Freemasonry was practically expelled from Austria until the end of WW1.

Metternich (1773-1859), the Austrian foreign minister from 1809 to 1848, the holder of the title of Prince, which he received in 1813, the organizer of numerous congresses with the purpose of dividing Europe between great powers, was very influential in spite of the falls and disadvantages that he had encountered. He was the adviser to Ferdinand I, the feeble son of Franz II (Franz I of Austria after 1806), who was the heir to the throne and later to Ferdinand's nephew, Franz Joseph, who was another angry enemy of Freemasonry.

From the aforementioned facts, it can be seen that Freemasonry in Austria was not only prohibited but being a member of a Masonic lodge meant risking your life. Public appearances, philanthropy, publication of Masonic literature could not be even imagined. Most of the Austrian lodges went dormant and the members transferred to foreign lodges located in the surrounding countries, especially in the territories of today's Germany, Switzerland, and especially Hungary. Pozsony (Bratislava), the capital of the Hungarian state until 1784 and the seat of the Hungarian Parliament until 1848, was experiencing a boom in the first half of the 19th century due to the ban of Freemasonry in Austria. Every other week, some 500 Freemasons swarmed into the city for the works of their lodges occupying all the hotels and spending big money.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY IN HUNGARY FROM THE XVIII CENTURY TO 1918

So far, we have presented historical data that we deem necessary for the proper understanding of Freemasonry in a certain geographical area. Here, we think that it would be of great importance to deal with the socio-political, cultural and historical background of Freemasonry in the currently existing countries and regions compared to Freemasonry in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Knowledge of the Austrian and Habsburg background, history, culture and Freemasonry is inseparable from the knowledge of the Hungarian Masonic tradition.

The first contacts of the Hungarians with Freemasonry go back to Vienna, to the Vienna of the second half of the 18th century. Members of the Hungarian high nobility (Counts Eszterházy, Aponyi and Bánffy) were members of Vienna Lodges. In the regions of Hungary geographically closer to the regions where Masonic Lodges had already existed, the impact on the beginning of Freemasonry in the country was great. For example, the Poles influenced the establishment of the lodges in Kassa (Košice) and Miskolc. The German majority in the cities of Transylvania (Kronstadt, Hermanstadt) established the first Lodges in the Hungarian state, which worked in German or Latin. The Croatian Lodges, mostly military, even before Croatia's union with Hungary, had a significant influence on Freemasonry in the country, especially in the time of the tireless Masonic activist, Count Ivan Drašković. At his initiative, several Hungarian Lodges, 12 of them in 1781, were affiliated into The Grand Lodge of Vienna to form the Grand Provincial Lodge of Hungary, whose Grand Master was Prince Károly Pálffy (1735-1816), Chancellor of Hungary and Transylvania and Governor of Pozsony (Bratislava).

The first Masonic Lodge in contemporary Hungary was founded in Brassó (Brasov) in 1749 by Senator and Tax Officer Martin Seuler, humanist and educator, who was acquainted with Freemasonry during his studies in Jena and Berlin, where he became a member of L. De l'Union et des trois globes (Union and Three Globes), and deputy Worshipful Master of the same Lodge. The Lodge followed the Scottish Rite. Upon his return to his hometown, he established a symbolic Lodge called Zur Drei Säulen (Three Pillars) on 30th July 1749, as well as the Scottish Lodge Zu Vier Monden (Four Moons) in the same year. Both Lodges worked in silence although it is not known for how many years exactly; they were mentioned again in 1777.

It is the same story of the Senator and Tax Collector of Nagyszeben (Sibiu) who, after becoming a Freemason in Dresden in 1764, founded Lodge St. Andrew in 1765 upon his return to his hometown. The members were mainly those who stayed or studied in the German cities of Jena, Erlangen and Tübingen. Most often, they were doctors, printers and evangelical priests. All Transylvanian lodges of that period worked in German.

The first Masonic lodge in the Territory of Hungary is considered to have been Lodge Az erényes utazóhoz (Virtuous Traveller), founded in Eperjes (Prešov, in present-day Slovakia) in 1769 by Polish emigrants, noblemen who, fleeing from reprisal after the Polish-Russian War, which the Poles had lost, found themselves in Hungary. In the 18th century, the two countries were closely linked via the Polish kings of Hungarian descent (Lajos I, Vladislaus I and II and Lajos II). Nothing is known about the members of the Lodge, apart from just a few people, nor about the activity of the Lodge.

Pozsony (Bratislava) played a special role in the emergence of secret societies, especially in the time of 17th-century Rosicrucianism due to the fact that it was the capital of Hungary from as early as 1541 and to its geographical proximity to Austria and strong influence of the German culture. At the end of the 16th and the 17th centuries, Pozsony was a place where many alchemical works were published. Alchemists survived in the city until the mid-18th century. As early as 1761, Rosicrucians developed a lively activity in Prague, and 10 years later in Vienna. Among the members, there were a lot of Hungarians and other nationalities from the territory of contemporary Hungary.

Since the Masonic Lodges did not really enjoy high security in Vienna, many of their activities and meeting places were moved to Pozsony where, since 1767, they enjoyed the protection of Prince Albert, vice-regent of Pozsony and a prominent art collector whose artistic and historical collection later served as the basis for the famous Albertina Museum in Vienna, most likely a member of Lodge Schweigsamkeit (Silence). One of the first lodges established at that time was Lodge Ad Taciturnitates (Taciturnity). The year of formation or the type of ritual used is not known (it may have been the Mixed Rite of the Drašković Observance), but in 1774 it was mentioned as a well-established and prominent Masonic Lodge.

In 1768, a military lodge was working in Pest, whose member was, among others, Ivan Niczky who was, together with Ivan Drašković, one of the most powerful Freemasons, setting up lodges in Slavonia, which also had citizens of Vojvodina among their members.

In the 1770s, under the reign of Maria Theresa, new lodges were established in Austria and Hungary under the patents of Dresden and Prague, which was then recognized as one of Europe's most advanced cities, due primarily to mineralogist Ignatius Born, the founder of a scientific society that later grew into the Czech Academy of Sciences. Here we should mention the Vienna Lodge Drei Adler (Three Eagles) (1770), La Concordia (Harmony) in Trieste (1774), Drei Flaggen (Three Flags) in Lemberg, (present-day Lvov in Ukraine) (1777). Under the patent of Regensburg, Lodge Hoffnung (Hope) of Vienna was founded (later to change its name to Zur gekrönte Hoffnung i.e. Crowned Hope) and St. Joseph (1771), which came under the protection of Berlin in 1775.

In 1760, a mining academy was founded in Selmecbánya (Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia) attracting not only experts in the field of mining but also experts in chemistry and some of the Rosicrucians. Therefore, a lodge called Erényes emberbarátokhoz (Virtuous Philanthropists) was formed in this mining town, under the protection of Lodge Az erényes utazóhoz (Virtuous Traveller) of Eperjes. Among the members were a number of mining engineers, doctors, educators, traders, representatives of the local government and evangelical priests as well as teachers of evangelical schools, making it one of the first civilian Lodges (unlike noble and military Lodges).

We have already mentioned Lodge L'amitié de guerre, Zur Kriegsfreundschaft (War Camaraderie) of Glina, which was founded after the return of Croatian officers from Magdeburg slavery, as well as Drašković's role in the establishment of Lodge Prudentia (Prudence) in Zagreb and L'unité parfaite (Perfect Unity) in Varaždin.

Seeking something absolutely special, Russian captain Bresci, upon his arrival in Varaždin from Paris, established in 1772, together with Ivan Niczky and solicitor Kugler, Lodge Carpentiers gratuits (Free Carpenters) with simpler rituals and so-called forest degrees (Grades forestières), whose rituals were elaborated on the basis of the characteristics of forests. Thus, the Order of Free Carpenters, which began its life in Varaždin, was established, but it was short-lived since he managed to assemble only five members who later turned into Freemasons.

Count Drašković was the one who gathered these members, turned them into Freemasons and admitted them into his Zagreb Lodge. The same was done by Count Niczky in the Varaždin Lodge Perfect Unity, which changed its name to Lodge Libertas (Freedom) in 1774. The Lodge nurtured the three symbolic degrees, while the Drašković Lodges followed the higher degrees. Since most of the members did not find the latter suitable, Niczky founded new lodges in Križevci (name unknown) and Osijek (Vigilantia) in 1773, which became more closely connected with Drašković's Lodges in Glina and Zagreb. A new Grand Lodge was constituted, based on a mixed system stemming from the rites followed by Drašković and Niczky Lodges. In 1774, a new Lodge was formed in Varaždin. Lodge Zu Drei Drachen (Three Dragons), constituted of members dissatisfied with the work of the previous Varaždin Lodge, which came under the aegis of the Vienna Lodge Crowned Hope.

The period between 1776 and 1780 (the end of the Maria Theresa Era) was of great importance for Austria and Hungary since the appearance of a large number of systems actually tested their efficiency and methods of selection. First of all, we should mention the Templar system, which put down roots, to a certain extent, in Prague in 1775, but failed to attract unreserved reception in other areas, primarily in Hungary. Although Knights Templars are often associated with Freemasonry in literature, this relationship is more arbitrary than real because there are no reliable documents that would undeniably confirm this. In his Constitution, Anderson does not mention them while other authors, such as Andrew Michael Ramsey (1686-1743), one of the most prolific Masonry authors, well-known but also criticized by Freemasons, in his Orations (1736-37) and the Travels of Cyrus gives only faint allusions to the Masonic -Templar connection. All in all, Freemasonry is different in its actions and goals, although some Freemasons find Knights Templar attractive for their ceremonial, knightly titles and the antiquity of ethical norms which, in all times, have been indispensable for pointing to sublime moral norms that should be followed by all those who can.

In that time, Drašković was reassigned to Transylvania, where he continued his engagement in lodge formation, although in that new situation his former Lodges were stagnating. However, the French-Polish Lodge in Eperjes was so much in alchemy and Rosicrucianism that Freemasonry was considered to be of secondary importance.

THE TEMPLAR SYSTEM

Prague took on a significant role in the Templar system constituting more Lodges, as well as the Scottish Rite Grand Lodge named Casimir, Sieben Sterne (Casimir, Seven Stars) by whose devotion the famous Prague Orphanage was opened, which still exists today and enjoys the support of significant figures of the modern world.

Lodge. Zum Drei Flaggen (Three Flags) of Lvov was established, in 1776 under the protection of the Prefecture of Prague where it united with the already existing Lodge Three Eagles forming a new Scottish Lodge in 1778. Lodges in Cologne, Trieste and Luxembourg were also under the aegis of Prague as was the Vienna Lodge Drei Adler (Three Eagles) as well, whose members established Lodge Palme (Palm Tree) in St. Pölten.

By moving the seat of the province to Sibiu and nominating the Freemason Baron Samuel Bruckenthal governor, the Transylvanian Saxon population got an incentive to establish a new Lodge in Sibiu called A szentelt buzgalomhoz (Dedicated Devotion) which, of course, worked in German, as well as the well-known Sibiu Lodge St. Andreas (St. Andrew, 1777.) This Lodge had gathered a considerable number of members from the previously dormant Lodges as well as a large number of new members from the ranks of "ordinary" intelligentsia: educational workers, interpreters, traders, hotel and factory owners, clerks, solicitors, assessors of damage, financial experts, archivists, notaries, as well as a number of lower-ranking and senior officers (one of them was lieutenant Jovan Devčić). Many members, especially officers, were initiated in German and Austrian lodges.

The Lodge performed significant work on providing material and medical assistance to the poor and disenfranchised. Shortly after its constitution Lodge St. Andrew, in view of the territorial distance from Vienna and its activity, asked Lodge Three Eagles to recognize them for a templar system lodge, to confirm the already conferred degrees of their members and allow the Lodge to operate from the 1st to the 4th degrees. Sensing their reluctance to act accordingly, the Viennese Brethren were cheered up with 24 ducats so they signed an agreement with Lodge St. Andrew in 1777, granting them what they had requested. However, many did not find this fully satisfactory since they craved for higher degrees, the title of knight and corresponding sonorous names.

In the village of Grossau (now Cristian), about a dozen members of the Lodge gathered, not informing the others, and initiated a few into knighthood giving them titles like: Equis ab Equo rubro (knight of the bay horse) Equis a Corva Coronato (knight of the gilded raven) or Armiger and Tribus candelis (holder of three candles), etc. Naturally, the "newly promoted" were not recognized back in Vienna. However, Lodge St. Andrew members did not give up but sought protection from the Grand Master, Prince Ferdinand of Braunschweig, who mildly rejected them but left the door open for a positive response that did follow and the Sibiu lot was soon recognized their knighthood. It gave Lodge St. Andrew wings increasing their ranks with experts from various fields of life.

However, as it usually happens after significant events (in this case it was the death of Maria Theresa in 1780), disagreement, quarrel and breakdown of the existing system follows, mainly because of the overwhelming desire for change but opting for megalomaniacal directions. Namely, Lodge St. Andrew was like the queen of a swarm of bees that was bringing new workers to the world for the rest of her life - it was establishing Lodges everywhere, although it failed to take care of them afterwards. That is why information about them is scarce or non-existing.

Masonic activity in this period was quite lively, especially in Transylvania, but the Lodges were of a different type and short-lived. Formerly constituted but dormant Lodges at the time, especially in Brassó (Brasov) i.e. Zur Drei Säulen (Three Pillars), Zur Vier Monden (Four Moons), were becoming operational again. As we said, it was the time of turmoil and searching for directions. However, what makes the most outstanding feature of it is the fact that, apart from the nobility and the military personnel, the number of members from local government, education, science, medicine and law was growing.

THE TWO IVANS - THE DRAŠKOVIĆ OBSERVANCE

A special alliance of lodges of the last quarter of the 18th century was constituted from the already mentioned Lodges of Glina, Zagreb, Križevci and Varaždin. In this latter city, through Lodge Freiheit, Sloboda (Freedom), a separate system was created through the said Lodge under the leadership of its founders and Worshipful Masters, Counts Ivan Drašković and Ivan Niczky.

During his short but prolific life, Niczky had been a member of several lodges and probably elevated to a certain number of French degrees. He was, as the Grand Master of the Alliance, the representative of Freemasonry in front of the civilian authorities, while Drašković was in front of the military authorities.

Except for their commitment to the idea of Freemasonry and their vigorous dedication, the merit of these two is that they had correctly concluded that every isolated lodge which does not maintain close contacts with other similar lodges, is condemned to stagnation and extinguishing of its lights; results of such lodges achieved in their philanthropic and progressive activities are minor and quite short-lived. They considered territorial proximity significant as well which will prove, during the following two centuries, particularly necessary. If a certain territory is well covered by a network of lodges, diffusion of the ideas of Freemasonry is considerably easier. Since there is little that can be called ideal, Niczky's and Drašković's Lodges somewhat differed in the treatment of Masonic degrees. While Drašković's supporters advocated the introduction of higher degrees, Nicky's supporters considered these "pomp without essence".

On 22nd October 1775, an assembly of 4 lodges was held in Brezovica, where the formerly prepared 9-article Constitution was revised. Drašković was elected Grand Master, and Niczky his deputy. Thus, Hungarian Freemasonry was constituted (Latomia Libertatis sub corona Hungariae in Provinciam redactae). After Niczky's death, the system continued to live as the Drašković system or the Systema constitutionis Latomiae Libertatis sub corona Hungariae in Provinciam redactae, which strictly adhered to the "ancient institution". Drašković was reassigned to Buda where he founded a new Lodge. On 24th February 1777, a new Assembly was held, with the participation of representatives of lodges from Lika and Buda. It was emphasized that the Masonic Association was completely independent of foreign lodges and all the associated lodges had a full independence of action. Assemblies were held every year; each lodge was obliged to send two representatives. The Grand Master, the Provincial Grand Master and the Worshipful Masters of all the Lodges were elected there. In December that same year, the Statute containing the general provisions and goals of the Association was accepted. By the 1778-Assembly, the Alliance had grown to 7 Lodges. Nothing can ever be absolutely nice and harmonious, so a group of Brethren who thought the system was isolated were bent on establishing closer links with foreign Lodges, saying that they did not feel "the benefits of central leadership".

Drašković was too noble a soul to contradict such requests, so he convened the Assembly on his estate in 1779, where he intended to leave to the delegates to decide between joining the Lodges from Braunschweig or the Berlin Lodges. It seems that either no decision was reached before the Assembly or the Assembly was not even held. Drašković was reassigned to Transylvania, where he managed to acquire one of the Sibiu Lodges for his Observance, and he also founded a new lodge in the town of Csíkszereda (Mierkureia Ciuk), but no further assemblies were held there.

After a long, serious illness Drašković died on 21st February 1787, at the age of 47. The following Lodges belonged to the system of the Drašković Observance: Mother Lodge Libertas (Varaždin), Prudentia (Zagreb), War Camaraderie (Glina), a lodge of unknown name from Lika, Invictus (Invincible) (Aussig i.e. Usti nad Labom, Czechia), Vigilantia (Osijek), a lodge of unknown name from Križevci, Taciturnity (Pozsony i.e. Bratislava), Ad Magnamitatem (Generosity) (Pest-Buda), a Buda lodge of unknown name and Drei weiße Lilien (Three White Lillies) (Timisoara).

THE BERLIN SYSTEM

The Templar system was still spreading throughout the Monarchy, and the Drašković's system had hardly touched all the regions of Hungary when a new system was in the making in Berlin, which was attracting followers from the territory of contemporary Hungary as well. The father of the Berlin system was Willhelm Kellner von Zinnendorf, a Prussian military doctor and the founder of the Grand Lodge of Germany in 1770.

Having been acquainted with all the systems, and due to his organizational skills, which helped him receive the patent from the Grand Lodge of England for his German GL, he managed to gain the patent for the highly appreciated Swedish system as well, through his Masonic Brother Baumann. Based on these, Zinnendorf constituted his new 8-degree system, a Lodge in Potsdam and six other Lodges in Berlin and other cities, which he united into a Grand Lodge in 1773 under the special patronage of the Prussian King Friedrich II.

The newly founded Grand Lodge was already gaining popularity in Austria and Hungary in 1775; two Vienna lodges and two Hungarian lodges under their protection were seeking a constitution and rituals from Berlin. Frank Südhauzen, a friend of Zinnendorf, arrived in Vienna and consecrated Lodge Crowned Hope and Lodge St. Joseph, pointing out that the Austrian Provincial Lodge should be constituted from the two Viennese lodges and a lodge under their protection, which would be realized soon.

Cooperation between Berlin and the Austrian and Hungarian lodges was at its peak, but a problem arose in connection with the payment of membership fees. The following Lodges were involved: Crowned Hope (Vienna), St. Joseph (Vienna), Zu Drei Berge (Three Mountains) (Innsbruck), St. Paolo Celecta (Cremona), Zur Goldener Hirsch (Golden Deer) and Zur Goldenes Rad (Golden Wheel) (Monyorókerék, now Eberau in Austria) and Three Dragons (Varaždin). In this last Lodge, the relations among the Brethren were extremely democratic. Almost all nationalities of the region were equally represented: Germans, Hungarians Croats, Serbs, Slovenians, Jews, through a wide range of occupations. There were noblemen: Pejačević, Bedeković, Marić and Janković, who did not mind calling those of "lower descent" their Brethren and recognizing them for their superiors within the Freemasonic hierarchy.

In the late 70s of the 18th century, as we have already mentioned, Masonic life in Pozsony was extremely active under the patronage of Prince Albert; besides aristocrats and senior civil servants, there were Brethren from "lower social circles" as well. However, at the same time, a group of "ordinary" citizens turned up in Masonic societies - mostly those who, in some way, were serving in the noble circles: musicians, chamberlains, barn managers, builders, secretaries and other servants who themselves had the desire to enter the world of Freemasonry; however, they felt that their presence among the higher class, as well as the higher stock among them, would only be tolerated, but not fraternally accepted. Therefore, conductor Joseph Zistler, decided to establish a Lodge - most likely, having been helped by his brother Anton, the Secretary of L. Golden Eagle of Eberau. Soon, however, the opinion that they could not receive wider recognition without someone at a high position who would be willing to occupy the position of Worshipful Master prevailed. The role of the Worshipful Master was accepted by State Councillor, Baron Janos Silszon and the new Lodge was constituted under the name Zur Sicherheit (Safety) in 1777, seeking protection from the Vienna Lodge St. Joseph.

However, new moments arose in the Austrian and Hungarian Freemasonry.

THE GRAND LODGE OF AUSTRIA

In the last years of the reign of Maria Theresa, there was a crisis in the relations between the Swedish and Berlin lodges, which allowed Austrian and some Hungarian lodges, members of the Austrian Provincial Lodge, to view more clearly the jurisdiction of Berlin, through contacts with England and Sweden. It turned out, that the Grand Lodge of Berlin "acquired" its status arbitrarily. This prompted the Austrian and Hungarian lodges to start thinking about the establishment of an independent Grand Lodge that would have the same authority as any other Grand Lodge, including the Berlin Grand Lodge.

By Joseph II's rise to power, the number of lodges as well as membership in them was limited, although this measure did not stop diffusion of Freemasonry. This meant that Berlin received a lot of money through membership fees and other benefits; when there were only a few lodges, it was not a problem. In such a situation, the Austrian Provincial Lodge was looking for a way to get rid of the Berlin shackles. There was a regulation that prohibited sending money abroad, but it referred only to priestly ranks; Freemasons were exempt from it. Therefore, they requested Joseph II to be included in the ban and the Emperor approved their request on 26th March 1784. Thus, they succeeded in persuading Berlin to grant them, although reluctantly, the right to constitute their own Grand Lodge, which had been rejected several times earlier.

The Provincial Lodge immediately started gathering subordinate lodges. As soon as in 1781, she received positive signals from the Vienna and Prague Templar Lodges and managed to win over the Lodges of the Drašković system. Berlin was tone deaf to such an idea at that time, so it officially dissolved the Provincial Lodge; the Lodge simply did not take note of that and continued working as if nothing had happened. All the lodges were notified, in February 1783, about the decision and the possibilities of working independently, which was discussed in Wilhelmsbaden between 16th July and 29th August 1782. A committee was formed, composed of the representatives of all the interested lodges, whose task was to prepare the unification.

It took place on 24th April 1784. At that time, the Grand Lodge of Austria was established, which included the following provincial lodges:

1. The Austrian Provincial Lodge (Upper and Lower Austria, Gorizia, Trieste and Tyrol),

2. The Czech Provincial Lodge (Czechia, Moravia and Silesia),

3. The Hungarian Provincial Lodge (Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and Dalmatia),

4. The Transylvanian Provincial Lodge (Erdély and Bukovina), and

5. The Provincial Lodges of Galizia, Lombardy and the Netherlands (modern-day Benelux).

The Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Austria was Count Johan K. Dietrichstein, Royal Barn Manager, the Grand Master of the Provincial Lodge of Hungary was Count Károly Pálffyi, Vice-Chancellor of Hungary, and the Grand Master of the Transylvanian Lodge was György Bánffy, Vice-chancellor of Transylvania. The Freemasons of our region, officers of the Austro-Hungarian army and intelligentsia north of the Sava and Danube were scattered all over the Provincial Lodges.

Joseph II, dissatisfied with the support of the Freemasons for his reforms, closed down some lodges, but he actually did good service to the Provincial Lodges because he mostly closed illegal lodges. Thus, some have gained a greater space for action, such as Lodge Generosity of Pest, which had a large membership and was fighting against Joseph II's Germanization as well as lodges at a greater geographical distance from the administrative centres, with members from our parts (Petrovaradin, Osijek, Timisoara, Bátaszék ...). Lodges that belonged to the above mentioned (3rd and 4th) Provincial Lodges, had never really developed an excessive activity, but in those times they still managed to survive.

Ludwig Aigner, better known as Lajos Abafi, was a descendant of Captain Franz Adam Aigner who, through many years, collected a large amount of material on 18th-century Freemasonry, which Count György Festetics bought from him and stored in his Dég palace in Hungary.

Ludwig Aigner became a Freemason in the Budapest Lodge Corvin Mátyás in 1870, where he was a librarian for the following two years. Being a man of letters he was editing the Masonic magazine Hajnal (Dawn). In the course of the years, he occupied all the officers' positions in his Lodge; he was the Worshipful Master between 1883 and 1885. In 1882, quite by chance, he came across a huge Freemasonic archival material consisting of c. 10,000 sheets, which was kept in Dég. He made copies and notes of important documents and published them in Masonic magazines in the following 10 years. Between 1890 and 1900 he published five volumes in the German language under the title Geschichte der Freimaurerei in Oesterreich-Ungarn. The one-volume edition in the Hungarian language was published in 1900. The whole of the original material from the palace in Dég disappeared during the Second World War. It is believed to have been destroyed or taken to Moscow.

According to Lajos Abafi, the most prominent lodges in the 3rd Provincial Lodge in the time of Joseph II were as follows: Első ártatlansághoz (First Innocence), Buda, Halgatagsághoz (Taciturnity), Buda, Ad Magnamitatem (Generosity), Pest-Buda, St. Barbara (Pest), Sapientia (Wisdom), Zagreb, Potentia (Power) and Magnamitas (Chivalry), both of Karlovac, A szép csillaghoz (The Beautiful Star), Bátaszék, a Pécs Lodge of unknown name, Égő bokor (The Burning Bush) (Košice), Az alvó oroszlányhoz (The Sleeping Lion) (Eperjes), Vigilantia (Osijek), Drei weiße Lilien (The Three White Lillies) (Timisoara), Zur Freundschaft, Libertas (Companionship, Freedom and Jó tanácshoz (The Good Counsel) (all three of Varaždin). A complete list of Lodges of relevance to the history of Freemasonry in the region, according to Abafi, will be given later.

FREEMASONIC ACTIVITY IN THE TERRITORY OF THE HUNGARIAN PROVINCIAL LODGE IN THE TIME OF LEOPOLD II

As we have stated before, after the restrictions of Joseph II, Freemasons hoped that the free-minded and intelligent Leopold would bring them a boost, but they overlooked the fear from the aftermath of the French bourgeois revolution and the formation of an extremely strong secret police headed by Hoffmann, the persecutor of Freemasons, who Franz II (Franz I Austria) "inherited". Hoffman presented the "French dangers" to Leopold so vividly that, consequently, the liberties of organized groups and many non-German nations were seriously trimmed.

The lodges that operated during the reign of Joseph II continued to labour during Leopold II, but not for long. After Leopold's death in 1792, Lodges in the territory of the Hungarian Provincial Lodge were going dormant and lodge officers resigning steadily, probably in fear of Hoffmann's reprisals. However, until 1792, there had been intensive cultural and philosophical activity. There was no shortage of educated people, who gave quality lectures, wrote prominent literary works, often with futuristic views on civil liberties, brotherly love and fraternity among people. Debates on politics and religion in the Lodge is strictly forbidden, but general attitudes of individuals to religion and politics are accepted as a free, democratic expression of opinion, which may even be accepted by the majority.

For example, educator János Nagyváthy, an influential initiator of cultural and economic institutions, author of various papers, ranging from agriculture to religion, spread the idea of religious tolerance and the perspective of the development of human society until the end of the 19th century. His idea of general equality that will form a just human society came to the attention of Marx and Engels well into the 19th century. Being a step ahead of the Age of Enlightenment, in which he lived, he sketched a future cooperative countering the exploitative relationship between landowners and peasants and the Catholic clerical community who, prompted by other religions, renounces celibacy and leads a healthy and normal family life. He suggests reforming the tax system so that everyone contributes, according to their financial standing, to the common well-being of the society; primary education is in the hands of the state; humanitarian institutions, social homes and hospitals are opened for those living in difficult conditions.

Due to the progress of science and the diffusion of the idea of Enlightenment as well as the economic changes that led to the Industrial Revolution in mid 18th-century Hungary started recognizing the need for establishing and embracing a learned, educated society. To that end, on 3rd October 1790, a meeting was held with the participation of members of the progressive nobility and all the Freemasons, in the house of Count Ferenc Széchényi, a member of Lodge Generosity of Pest. As early as the following year, the Parliament of Pozsony brought about the Decision on Founding the Learned Society, which was transformed into the Academy of Sciences in 1825.

Ferenc Széchenyi (1754-1820) brought together the leading minds of Hungary and, through his Masonic connections, managed to "instate" progressive ideas both for his people and the other nations who lived within the borders of the contemporary Hungarian state. In 1802 in fact, he donated tens of thousands of books, documents and manuscripts for the establishment of the Library Hungaricum, state library, which bears his name now. Of great importance is the production of a complete catalogue of editions and creations in most of the languages spoken in Hungary.

In this regard, he conducted correspondence, in Latin, with Metropolitan Stefan Stratimirović, member of Lodge Vigilance of Osijek who, in one of his letters, sent Széchényi a newly created 40-letter Cyrillic alphabet of the Slavonic-Serbian language. Széchényi visited the Fruška Gora monasteries of Hopovo, Krušedol and Beočin where he conducted talks with Stratimirović. On return to Budapest, he included works of Stefan Stratimirović and Mojsije Putnik into the Library Opus but complained about the Metropolitan's reluctance to help Library Hungaricum with further contributions and advice on which Slavonic-Serbian works to include into the catalogue. Apart from the Library, Széchényi founded the National Museum of Hungary, and his son István (1791-1860), a politician, writer and historian, who was not a Freemason, was considered to have been the founder of modern Hungary.

THE TEMPLAR SYSTEM IN HUNGARY

By the end of the 18th century, the Templar system expanded from Transylvania (Brasov) to other parts of Hungary; first to Pozsony, the capital of the country, and then Pest and Buda, in the early 80's.

As a rule, changes are generally initiated by a single person, who finds the meaning and motivation to start and lead a particular change. In this case, someone was needed as well to guarantee the success of the enterprise with his qualities. It was Franz Adam Aigner, who, in the rank of lieutenant, was assigned to the cartographic unit in Timisoara with the task of conducting a geodetic survey of Southern Hungary.

In Timisoara, he was initiated into a Freemason, and raised to the degree of Master Mason soon because he acquired substantial knowledge of the Fraternity through extensive reading about it from as early as his youth; he had a profound knowledge of the Alliance and was a dedicated Freemason. Shortly thereafter, he became a Rosicrucian as well. At that time, he was reassigned to Osijek, and then to Petrovaradin, where he finally stopped being active in Rosicrucianism. In 1791, due to a serious illness, he found himself in the Prague military hospital.

There, in Prague, with the assistance of Counts Kinigl and Sweerts, he became familiar with the Templar System, got initiated and promoted to the rank of Eques a Pannonia. He was so thrilled about the Templar System that he decided to establish it in Hungary. This was carried out with the help of Count Kinigl, a high ranking solicitor in Prague. Due to his curious nature, Aigner travelled to different archives and became a real authority for the Templar System. This brought him further recognition; he was rewarded by being raised to the highest degree, Eques professus. Invited by his friend Strohmeier, who was working in Pest on behalf of Leopold II's secret police, which he found out 2 years later, Aigner arrived in the "City on the Danube" and developed activities on the establishment of the Templar System. Leopold II approved of his activities since we had been told that the lodges would be working in German.

After a splendid period, Lodge Generosity found itself in an unenviable position because many members became dissatisfied with the relationship that existed among the members. Aigner and the said members created a new Pest Lodge called Seven Stars, which included university professors, doctors, traders and many learned people. Among them were Djordje Milivojin, the Orthodox Archpriest of Pest, Pavle Davidović, baron and Austrian general, and Stefan Vujanovski, educator, translator and writer of the Serbian-Romanian-German Spelling Book. The Lodge managed, after the usual difficulties, peripety and misunderstandings about the selection of the system to be adopted, installation of the Officers and the Worshipful Master, recognition of the Lodge insignia and membership fee issues and, above all, the problems with Antal Kreil, a university professor, member of the Illuminati who was trying to win the Lodge over to the Illuminati or a similar order, to take a normal course of events. A few days after the consecration of the Lodge, Aigner also established a temporary Scottish lodge in Buda called Ferencz, az őrködő oroszlányhoz (Franz the Guarding Lion). He urged the Brethren to keep it in full confidentiality until the official opening because, in the meantime, a sufficient number of Scottish Masters had to be gathered i.e. 21 of them, who the power and guidance of the Blue Lodge would depend on. Therefore, those who did not acquire their degree in a regular manner were also granted admittance. The task of the Scottish Lodge was, as usual, to direct and control its Blue Lodge, to which it was superior, as well as to suggest topics for discussion. The Scottish Lodge was consecrated in 1793 but it failed to develop any significant work of any other kind apart from the said guidance in the discussion.

Leopold II died suddenly on 1st March 1792 and Aigner utilized quickly the arrival of Franz II (later Franz I of Austria) to power and the period of his consolidation of power, as well as Franz's presence at the Hungarian National Assembly on 12th June to publicly state his views on Freemasonry before the new ruler, encouraged by the Emperor's recognition of Lodge Zur Sieben Sterne (Seven Stars) on March 19th. In well-selected words, wrapped in extremely complex sentences, he diplomatically criticized the aggressive abuse of Freemasonic symbols by the Illuminati in their unrestrained desire to drive L. Seven Stars under the umbrella of their order.

In his book, already mentioned above, Lajos Abafi quotes his ancestor Aigner, who also presented his views on Freemasonry to the Emperor in writing (A szabadkőművesség története Magyarországon, 2012):

... 1. Our order seeks to diffuse in all possible ways; 2. We strive to achieve respect by the state by working for the general benefit of all; 3. We try to gain the affection of the poor and unfortunate and, above all, of our members, by the purest morale and widespread philanthropy. If we continue our construction on these grounds, adhering to the republican motto Concordia parvae res crescunt (Small things flourish by concord), and thus search for the right secret, we will quickly rise again to those ethical heights that are currently their own shadow only. I do not object to the fact that some members deal with the so-called secret teachings, but only to the extent that it does not contradict the basics of religion and the tried experiences of the enlightened mind; as soon as they try to cross those boundaries, they take a wrong path and, together with their followers, they are to find themselves in danger or cause the greatest misfortune ... (p.376)

Aigner continues to say:

... Our goal is philanthropy in the broadest sense of the word. Why then to seek membership in associations since that would otherwise be the task of all? ... An individual can do a little, but who denies the effectiveness of a community of all ranks and orders united by brotherly love and working side by side each other? (p. 377)

Aigner finishes his letter with the following words:

... The basic rules of Masonic Lodges are void of any action against the state, religion and good morals. Although this is clearly emphasized, it is sometimes misinterpreted. Namely, non-acting against the state, religion and good morals does not mean that this may be completely void of any positive activity and effects; otherwise, it is the obligation of all citizens to act for the benefit of a better society and environment. The obligation of Freemasons is, in fact, doubled because they are obliged to direct themselves to good causes. Therefore, even under utmost secrecy, a Freemason may, at any time, work more efficiently, like the authorities do it in an open way. (p. 378)

Aigner handed the letter to the Emperor in person on 18th June 1792; on 25 th June, he received an answer saying that "Freemasonry can only be useful and able to do well in that way and only thus may we put up with it." (p. 379)

On 15th March 1793, after long negotiations, Lodge Generosity and Lodge Seven Stars united, and that year, as well as the following year, further members were admitted into the ranks, including a few at clerical positions, both Catholic and Orthodox, as well as members of other faiths. In 1794, Aigner established a new lodge in Buda, made up of members of the older Buda lodges, called Union. Among the members was Jovan Margalits, from Sombor by origin and ancestor to Ede Margalits, writer, translator, director of the Sombor Grammar School and professor of Pest University.

In the same year, almost simultaneously with the Scottish Lodge, Aigner founded the Capitol of High Degrees. His main goal was to unite all the high degrees: knights and those Freemasons who nurtured the Templar System. A structure had been created, which favoured the role of the leader of the order, who was supposed to be elected on the basis of his expertise on internal organization and tradition, and not on the basis of reputation that he would enjoy in the profane world. However, these ideas were not endorsed unanimously by influential figures, believing that the time of the Templar Order had long since passed.

On 6th May 1794, a new Lodge was established by unifying the former Lodge Seven Stars and the Lodge Union, under the name of the latter. Apart from the usual activities (rituals, discussion of minor violations and misunderstandings among members), little was happening in the Lodge until 2nd September of the same year when several so-called Jacobins were arrested in Vienna, and the same fate befell a certain number of members of the new Lodge in Budapest, as well as other Freemasons led by Ignácz Martinovics, who was publicly executed in Budapest on 20th May 1795.

Ignácz Martinovics was born in Pest in 1755. His father was Captain Mátyás Martinovics, a descendant of a family who had lived in Albania in the 17th century and fled with Arsenije Čarnojević to Pest. Ignácz moved to Baja after completing his education in Pest, where he became a Franciscan monk, but his restless spirit took him back to Pest to study philosophy.

Later, as a professor of physics and chemistry and a polyglot he worked in Lemberg (Lvov) and other cities in Europe. He was initiated in Lodge Generosity in Budapest. Although Hungarians considered him to be a hero, who was brave enough to embrace the ideas of the French Enlightenment, advocating for Hungary's independence from Vienna and paying for it with his life, research in the archives of the Austrian capital revealed that he had been an informant of Leopold II, spying on the Illuminati, Jesuits and Freemasons, thus a controversial personality whose complete role is still a mystery.

In such a climate of "high treason", which affected many Freemasons, the attitude of Emperor Franz II to Freemasonry changed radically, and on 11th June 1795, he banned all Masonic activities in the country. However, on 22nd July of the same year, Aigner sent a letter to the Emperor, justifying, occasionally in a harsh tone, the existence and activities of the Fraternity (A szabadkőművesség története Magyarországon, 2012):

... Those who reproach Freemasons for their secrecy are nothing but enemies. They are those who do not know or do not want to know that this Alliance, led by experienced and honest men, with the membership of all nationalities and states and representatives of all Christian churches, penetrating all layers of society, with its basic regulations and oath-taking, as well as its nature, is capable of providing each individual state, due to its secrecy and mystery, the most substantial, and sometimes the only, guarantee, even in relation to offences against positive laws ... (p. 409)

The response, which arrived six days later, on 28th July, expressed the Emperor's unshakable attitude against Freemasonry, but the Lodge was allowed to work until it arranged its finances and the status of its property. Further to this, the Lodge was obliged to hand over all its documents and records to the state police. Shortly thereafter, a letter from Emperor to Aigner followed in which the Emperor's harsh opposition to Freemasonry was missing, but the ban had been imposed as an example to other organizations. Franz II (Franz I of Austria) maintained his essentially benevolent attitude to Freemasonry as long as he lived. This may also be understood from the fact that the teachers and educators of his son Ferdinand were exclusively Freemasons.

On the other hand, Aigner and the other members of the Lodge publicly owned up the merit of reporting Martinovics and his followers' plot to the authorities, in compliance with contemporary regulations, which said that all Freemasons were obliged to report every secret alliance against the Government and the Emperor.

However, both Aigner and the other members, vehemently rejected all accusations of being spies in the service of the Monarchy, which is explained by the fact that they were men under the tongue of good report, fair and incorruptible; many of them, including Aigner, lived in modest conditions on very small funds, and neither him nor the others, for all their years of service, had not managed to gain higher military ranks or promotions in their activities.

Aigner himself had done a great service both to Freemasonry and history collecting a huge material about the Fraternity and all related issues, thus contributing to the social relations, science and other areas of life.

All documents and indicators point at Franz I of Austria and his son and successor to the throne, Ferdinand, to have been tolerant of Freemasonry, although they were compelled to accord that benevolence with "the interests of the state," although those "interests" were designed by capable, ultraconservative and extremely aggressive and intolerant counselors and secret police chiefs – all culminating in Klemens von Metternich.

He was the true and unscrupulous manipulator of the Austrian conditions; he believed that the multitude of peoples in Austria had to be governed by letting them vegetate in the darkness of ignorance away from spiritual freedom, which had to be destroyed at the very moment it appeared. If we ignore the short-lived flare against Metternich's doctrine, which had been going on for some 50-70 years within the 19th and 20th centuries, we must conclude with grief that the battle on Metternich's chessboard is still going on, although sharp blades have been replaced with a silk thread. The proliferation of ignorance and half-baked knowledge of the average human regimen has since been an effective method of all systems in most countries. Methods have changed, though, but the walls that separate people have become higher and stronger. However, there is a voice behind the veil that persuades you gently that the gilded gift-box is part of your VIP treatment. Although it contains the same ignorance, it is still better (so does the voice say) than the offer of crude "martyrdom". Real acquisition of knowledge has never been a freeware and is very likely to remain so unless free-thinking, free speech, free creation and Freemasonry are granted the right of free existence.

THE AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN FREEMASONIC SILENCE

(ca. 1795-1848)

After 6th June 1795, a Freemasonic silence was ruling in the Monarchy. Repressions were frequent and cruel, prisons were full of Jacobites, Lodges were dissolved, and many nations lived in fear and insecurity.

However, the philanthropy of the Freemasons was still living. They continued to help anyone who they could, from their Brethren to talented students and people in trouble. Although Lodges were closed, the members met as friends, in former Lodge rooms, now turned into reading rooms, hoping for the materialization of the silver linings of clouds. A few Brethren were even initiated in Budapest, but the memory of the Martinovics execution was still alive, and many members moved to where the Metternich police could not reach them. In other parts of the Empire, some quiet activity was going on - even new lodges came to existence around 1809, under the aegis of the French Grand Lodge in Rijeka, Dubrovnik, Udine, Milan, Cremona, Zagreb, Ljubljana, and Prague. This period of silence was used to deepen the well of knowledge and improve the philosophy of Freemasonry. There was a lot of work to do in the archives, so some of the documents, written in a secret alphabet, saw the light of day. All in all, the little work that was going on became even more secretive and philosophically more substantial; a good preparation for better times.

In 1835 Ferdinand I accessed to the throne. Concerning Freemasonry, little had changed although Brethren were able to meet more freely – still illegally, in underground caves, hidden and secret places. However, since membership was not renewed, it crumbled steadily and meetings were increasingly less visited. Rituals and lodge organization began to be forgotten, with bright exceptions of attempts to refresh them on the basis of old, newly found documents; even new lodges were formed, one of these being at Banska Štijavnica, Slovakia (1838-1840), which was immediately reported to the Vienna police and dissolved.

THE 1848 REVOLUTION

The absolutism of the first half of 19th century could not last forever. The disenfranchised nations not only raised their voice against Metternich's reign of terror, but they took up arms against injustice under the slogan: Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood!

Different nations conceived their oppressors in different ways. While for the Hungarians the oppressors were the Austrians, the Serbs, Croats and Romanians viewed the Hungarians as such. Defeudalization i.e. liberation of peasants and struggle for basic human rights was the real goal, but all was going on different tracks. First, riots broke out in Vienna, Prague, Buda and Pest. In the very beginning, the authorities in Vienna met the demands of the revolutionaries by abolishing censorship and drafting a new Constitution, but Emperor Ferdinand and Metternich left the country, and the army suppressed the insurrection.

In Hungary, under the auspices of the nobility, a new Constitution was passed, which guaranteed independence to the Hungarians. The Croats were not satisfied, and under Ban Jelačić they rebelled against Hungary but were defeated. Dissatisfaction also erupted in other parts of Hungary; here the Serbs and Romanians, incited by Austria, and backed by Russia and volunteers from the Principality of Serbia, suppressed the rise of the Hungarians led Lajos Kossuth, who became a Freemason in the USA later in 1852.

In this Spring of Nations, as the revolution of 1848 was called, Russia and the Serbs of Vojvodina, supported by volunteers from the Principality of Serbia defeated the Hungarian army at the Battle of Világos on 13th August 1849. The leaders fled (Kossuth to Turkey, then to America) and the other 13 generals were executed in Arad, one of them, József Schweidel, being the native of Sombor - a monument to his memory was erected at the access to the Prefecture Building in Sombor at the end of the 19th century.

The Spring of Nations created a ground for the founding of the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar, its capital being Timisoara. Soon, the patriotic expectations of the Serbs were abandoned because they constituted a minority and both the public administration and the army were in the hands of the Germans. Vojvodina was abolished in 1860, and the only lasting result was the re-establishment of the title of the Serbian Patriarch.

In the upper territory, Serbian-Croatian (Illyrian) and German were in official use. With the exception of certain functions carried by the Serbs, the real holders of power were the Germans. Later, in 1919, the former Upper Territory was divided between Serbia, Romania and Hungary.

NEW LIFE OF FREEMASONRY IN THESE TERRITORIES AFTER 1848

After several unsuccessful attempts between the years 1845 and 1848, the latter brought the first results. Namely, a Pest book dealer, August Michael Thoma, sent a petition to the Frankfurt Grand Lodge and managed to receive their patent on 24th August 1848 to establish a Lodge in Pest called Kossuth Lajos, a dicső fény hajnalához (Lajos Kossuth, the Dawn of Glorious Light). The Lodge originally had great plans for expansion. After they had succeeded in establishing three lodges, they also planned to form their Grand Lodge, counting on Ali Koç, a Belgrade-based Turkish Lodge, having had close working relations with them for a year. There are indications of a very likely participation of Ismail Beg, the Worshipful Master of Lodge Ali Koç, at the consecration ceremony of the Pest Lodge; documents have recorded his promise to support the occasion. Ali Koç Lodge was even prepared to admit Lajos Kossuth, who found refuge in Istanbul after the 1848 Hungarian revolution had failed. Unfortunately, due to unfavourable events in 1849, the Lodge went dormant.

During Bach's Absolutism, there was no Freemasonic activity until 1861 when the establishment of Lodge St. Stephen in the Orient of Pest was planned; they intended to admit members from the ranks of the most famous Hungarian nobility of the time. The plans had failed because some of the members were in favour of the Hamburg patent while the others dismissed the idea of working in the German language since the national language was the only option. Establishment of a new Pest Lodge, two years later, failed as well since they applied to Vienna for permission, where the police furiously refused them.

Having no other solution the Hungarian Brethren set up a Lodge in Geneva in 1863, under the name of Ister (the Danube), which went dormant in 1866 because the relations between Hungary and Austria finally moved from a dead point and the well-known settlement between the two countries was already sketched. Therefore, the German language Lodge called Egyesség a hazában (Unity in the Homeland) was established by Ludwig Lewis in Budapest on 27th October 1868. Museum director Ferenc Pulszky soon became its Worshipful Master. This made Freemasons from the region return to Budapest and on 23rd May 1869, they established the first Lodge in the Hungarian language called Corvin Mátyás az igazsághoz (Mátyás Korvin, the Truth). Those two Lodges sowed the seeds of Freemasonry in Hungary, and also in many parts of our present state. Both of these Lodges had among their members a large number of men from Vojvodina and Belgrade and exerted a decisive influence on the expansion of Freemasonry in our region. From the very beginning of its establishment until the end of WW1, those two, as well as many other Lodges that were created after them, enjoyed the protection of both the State and its laws, so that they could freely spread the truth, the light and love for fellow human beings.

FREEMASONRY IN THE REGION

As we have said above, even during the Revolution of 1848 but especially after it, the social climate became more open in Pest. Thus, after a decades-long ban on Freemasonry, Lodge Lajos Kossuth, the Dawn of Glorious Light was founded. Unfortunately, the light of the Lodge was extinguished when the Austrian forces entered Pest in 1849.

It was not until 1868, after the Compromise between Austria and Hungary, that the Ministry of the Interior gave the green light to the formation of Masonic lodges, but only in Hungary; In Austria, the ban remained until the end of WW1. In 1869, L. Unity in Homeland received recognition from the Grand Lodge of England, which triggered lodge formation in the country and their number started rising rapidly, practising both the English and French Rites. In 1870, the Grand Lodge of St. John was founded after receiving the patent from England. The first Grand Master installed was Ferenc Pulszky, Worshipful Master of the first, newly recognized St. John Lodge Unity in Homeland. The second Lodge under this system, Three White Lillies, was based in Timisoara, inhabited by the majority Serbian population at the time; subsequently, 23 more Lodges were created; the majority (12) worked in German while the rest (11) in Hungarian.

Almost simultaneously, Lodges which followed the Scottish Rite were being constituted, emulating the reputed French system. In, 1869 in Budapest, Lodge Máttyás Korvin, the Truth was constituted, then Humboldt in Pest, Progress in Košice, Hunyadi in Timisoara, Fraternitas in Arad, Egalitas (Equality) in Vršac, Cosmos in Oravica, Concordia in the Slovak town of Nove Zamki, Zur Arbeit in Budapest. Two years later, on 12th June 1871, Scottish Rite lodges were united into the Grand Orient of Hungary.

The seal of the Grand Orient of Hungary

The characteristic of this ritual is that after the first three basic degrees the, 18th, 30th and 33rd (the highest) degrees are also used. The Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Hungary became György Joannovics (1821-1909), scholar, linguist and member of the Academy of Sciences, a 33rd-degree holder and politician convicted in Austria in1854 to 12 years in prison and amnestied after he had spent 3 years in jail. In 1865, Joanovics became the State Secretary for Education of Hungary.

After several failed attempts, the two Grand Lodges managed to unite in 1886 into the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary. The first Grand Master was Ferenc Pulszky, and George Joannovics was the Honourable Grand Master.

Seal of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary

All Lodges of Vojvodina and some Belgrade lodges worked under the protection of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary until 1908. Most of them were so-called St. John- or Blue Lodges with three degrees only. Although Freemasonry in central Serbia and Belgrade existed even before the second half of the 19th century, those were Turkish lodges, which we will mention briefly later; there will be more details on the constitution of lodges in Vojvodina and some Belgrade ones that were created mainly in the last decade of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century.

We will focus on Freemasonry in Sombor, particularly Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia, sponsored by Lodge Árpád, the Brotherhood of Szeged and Lodge Jövendő (Future) renamed to Lodge Budućnost after WW1.

The only Lodges in Vojvodina, as far as we know, that emulated the Scottish Rite and were under the protection of the Grand Orient of Hungary were Lodges Thales of Nagy Becskerek, _Libertas_ of Újvidék and Fels der Wahrheit of Fehértemplom.

MASONIC LODGES IN HUNGARY 1870 - 1918

The idea of forming the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary, under whose protection all the Lodges in Vojvodina worked until 1918, as well as some Belgrade Lodges until 1908, began in 1870, after the constitution of the Grand Lodge of St. John. The idea of unification was launched by Lodge Progress of Košice, which followed the Scottish Rite. Its Worshipful Master was Tivadar Csáky at the time. On 21st June 1871, a meeting was held in Pest with the participation of the representatives of the following Lodges: Széchényi (Arad), Petőfi (New Arad), Árpád (Szeged), Honszeretet (Patriotism), Baja and Glück (Luck) Oravica. It was agreed that the two rituals would be mutually recognized and the Lodges would unite into the Grand Orient, that the Grand Masters would alternate yearly, that changes to the Constitution could be made by 2/3 majority of votes, and the Constitution would guarantee autonomy to all the Lodges.

However, unification did not occur due to the so-called "Versecz affair". Namely, the Scottish Lodges formed an executive committee headed by György Joannovics, later to be installed Grand Master. In the summer of 1871, he briefly informed the commission, which was working on the common Constitution that the Versecz Freemasons (Versecz was a border town at the time) were harassed by the military authorities but the problem was resolved thanks to his personal advocacy.

However, in an 11-page letter written by Alexander Kuktay, Worshipful Master of Lodge Egalitas, to Joannovics, which is now in the State Archives in Budapest, differences in the two rituals were also discussed, which Joannovics, being a skilful politician and wanting to avoid possible disagreements, failed to mention. However, there are indications in the letter that there was a connection between the persecution of Freemasons in Versecz and the practising of the rituals. Given the fact that the government allowed the formation of the mother Lodge Mátyás Korvin, the Versecz Brethren formed Lodge Egalitas but, due to their extreme zealousness, they affiliated a few Brethren from the border town of Bela Crkva (Banat Military Frontier). It turned out that in that Serbian-Romanian-Hungarian-German multinational environment, the admitted Bela Crkva Brethren were supporters of the Hungarian side during the 1848 Revolution i.e. it all had a strong political note – aimed at strengthening the influence of the Hungarian State. The other problem was that the St. John Lodge Luck of Oravica wanted to lure the same Bela Crkva Brethren into their own ritual but the Versecz Lodge came out a winner.

Captain Leopold Kreinz, the mayor of Bela Crkva and military judge, could not agree with this. He summoned five members of Lodge Egalitas demanding that they publicly declare whether they belonged to the Freemasonic Alliance. Three of them admitted their membership. Reading out the corresponding provisions of the Conversation Lexicon (German edition) followed, (which said that Freemasonry was nothing but propagation of the idea of social democracy), as well as the provision of the Austrian Code of Law, which prescribed 3-5 years of imprisonment for similar crimes. Thus, Joannovics was informed about every detail and asked to intervene in Budapest, so that Lodge Egalitas could work smoothly, and that Bela Crkva could have its own Lodge soon.

Although the Banat Military Frontier was abolished at the time and the whole area came to Hungary, where Masonic activity was guaranteed by law, officers, mostly Austrians, did not take this fact seriously, so it might have been the case that persecution of Freemasons did take place in Bela Crkva.

The a/m problems may indicate the situation of Freemasonry in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy of the 1870s and that is why the unification of the two big Grand Lodges took place much later i.e. in the second half of the 1880s.

LODGES UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE SYMBOLIC GRAND LODGE OF HUNGARY

Between 1870 and 1918, the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary was the patron of 123 subordinate lodges and 24 daughter-lodges, some of which grew into one of the aforementioned 123 lodges. Here we will only list those lodges and daughter-lodges whose existence is backed by archival documents and who worked on the territory that became Yugoslavia after WW1.

Name of Lodge, Orient, Period of operation

Nächstenliebe (Charity), Sisak, 1881-1886

Stella Orientalis, Zemun, Pančevo, 1890-1914

Pobratim (Blood Brother, Beograd, 1890-1908

Nächstenliebe(Charity, Zagreb, 1892-1919

Sirius, Rijeka, 1901-1919

Honszeretet (Patriotism, Baja, 1903-1919

Auror, Vršac, 1903-1917

Jövendő (Future, Sombor, 1908-1918

Alkotás (Creation, Subotica, 1910-1918

Vigilantia (Alertness), Osijek, 1912-1919

Maximillian Vrhovec, Zagreb, 1914-1919

Thales (Scottish Rite), Zrenjanin, 1875-1878

Egalitas (Scottish Rite), Vršac, 1870-1879

Zum Fels der Wahrheit (Rock of Truth, Scottish Rite), Bela Crkva, 1873-1879

Libertas (Scottish Rite), Novi Sad, 1876-1883

Daughter-Lodges active between 1892 and 1908:

Name of Daughter Lodge, Place, Period of operation

Élet (Life), Bela Crkva, 1912-?

Philanthropia, Sombor, 1897-1908

Rendületlenül (Steadfastly), Novi Sad, 1914-?

Világ (World), Zrenjanin, ?-1914

Őrtűz (Watchfire), B. Palanka, 1913-?

Kossuth Lajos, Subotica, 1899-?

A SHORT HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY IN THE PRINCIPALITY (LATER KINGDOM) OF SERBIA

Data on early Freemasonry in Serbia were taken from the Serbian edition of the Dictionary of Freemasonry by Daniel Ligou, Paideia, Belgrade, 2001, pp. 488-493) and from the documents of the State Archives of Hungary.

The first Masonic lodge in Serbia dates back to the time when the country was still under Turkish occupation; it was a lodge of an unknown name, founded in 1790. We do not know much about it. In all likelihood, it worked in Belgrade, in the Turkish language, and the members were Turks but also Serbs. The Worshipful Master was Hadji Mustafa Pasha, well-known among the people as the "Serbian mother". According to the writings of the contemporaries, the members of the Lodge were Metropolitan Metodije, Janko Katić, insurrection leader, merchant Petar Ičko and the Greek patriot and poet Rigas Feraios.

After Mustafa Pasha had been assassinated by bandits in 1801, Petar Ičko began, through his Masonic connections, to seek help from Metropolitan Stratimirović in order to resolve the Christian issue in the Pashalic of Belgrade by starting an uprising. He also got in touch with his Masonic Brethren Janko Katić and Aleksa Nenadović, as well as Djordje Petrović, a respected merchant who was not a Freemason at the time. Having discovered the plans for the uprising, the Turks responded fiercely, killing many, including the brother of Aleksa Nenadović, which only accelerated the uprising in 1804 where Petar Ičko played a significant diplomatic role. The insurrection leader Karadjordje (Black George) appointed him the first mayor of free Belgrade.

Dositej Obradović, also a Freemason initiated in Trieste and member of several European Lodges became the Minister of Education. Although he did not agree with Metropolitan Stratimirović on the reformed script of the Serbian language, Dositej was invited by his Masonic Brother to Karlovci, who received him with all honour as one of the most educated Serbs of the time.

After the failure of the First Serbian Uprising and the reprisals by the Turks, a number of Serbs fled to the surrounding countries which rendered Freemasonry dead in those parts until about 1848. At that time, a number of Serbs became members of Hungarian lodges, especially in Buda, Pest and Timisoara, as well as of German and Swiss lodges, although little reliable information exists about this.

Ali Koç Turkish Lodge was active in Belgrade Around 1848. It must have been constituted at least a few years earlier since we came across a note (Abafi Lajos: A szabadkőművesség története Magyarországon, 2012, pp. 424-425) claiming that the Worshipful Master of the Lodge, Ismail Bey, might have travelled to Budapest, the same year, for the consecration ceremony of Lodge Lajos Kossuth the Dawn of Glorious Light.

It is claimed that Serbian Prince Mihailo Obrenović (1823-1868) might have been a Freemason, but it is not known which lodge he could have belonged to. It is a well-known fact, though, that he maintained close ties with Garibaldi and the Freemason and Illuminatus Mazzini. Probably under their influence, in 1876, the Luce dei Balkani, Svetlost Balkana (Light of the Balkans) Lodge was established under the protection of the Grand Orient of Italy, the first Serbian Lodge with members of the Serbian intellectual elite, traders and men of reputation who acquired their education in European cities.

At the Berlin Congress of 1878, Serbia gained full independence, which encouraged the diffusion of Freemasonry in the country. In 1881, Lodge Srbska zadruga (Serbian Cooperative) began to work. It went dormant in 1883, but Lodge Sloga, rad i postojanstvo (Accord, work and perseverance), was founded in the same year, under the patronage of the Grand Orient of Italy as well. Members of the Lodge, among others, were: Svetomir Nikolajević (politician), Sreta Stojković (author and educator) and Đorđe Milovanović (painter).

Real enthusiasm for Freemasonry began in 1889-90 when Lodge Stella Orientalis in the Orient of Semlin (Zemun), supported by Lodge Árpád of Szeged, and the Belgrade Lodge Pobratim (Blood Brother) were established and were working under the protection of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary.

FIRST STEPS OF LODGE STELLA ORIENTALIS,

**ORIENT SEMLIN/ PANČEVO**

Thanks to the documents that we managed to come across at the State Archives of Hungary and Somogyi Library of Szeged, we will present information on the process of establishing the Semlin Lodge, whose member and its first Orator, Julius Stielly, moved to Zagreb later and played the key role in the constitution of the Zagreb Lodge Hrvatska vila (Croatian Fairy) in 1892, being the first lodge that worked in the Croatian language. From the translation of authentic documents and letters the process of establishing a Masonic Lodge may clearly be seen. It was the beginning of a period of rapid expansion of Freemasonry in the regions north of the Sava and the Danube as well as Belgrade. Although L. Stella Orientalis worked under the protection of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary, the working language was German, due probably to the fact that the majority of the members were civil servants under the Austrian crown; that may be the reason why they were maintaining the prevailingly arrogant attitude of the Austrian crown regarding relations with the Balkan peoples.

Seal of Lodge Stella Orientalis

Dear Worshipful Master,

Dear Brethren,

As you may already know, in the past year, I was trying to help establish a lodge. My efforts were unsuccessful since most of the people interested, due to reasons unknown, changed their mind at the last moment.

However, a few candidates came from the ranks of Hungarian subjects of the Crown who live in Belgrade.

I am pleased that this time, I can send petitions of eight candidates from Belgrade and three from Semlin. I wish to point out that next time I will bring 6 to 8 more petitions before the Lodge.

If in any case a lodge could be established in Semlin – as a "La vraie Union" - I believe that it would prosper because the number of members will grow once we have our own lodge.

I am sending my greetings to the respected Masonic Lodge and I wish her a lot of luck.

Semlin, 20th November 1888

Your obedient servant

Kálmán Kőszegváry

On 14th December tireless Brother Kőszegváry sent the petitions of three more candidates from Semlin as well as three from Belgrade on 4th January 1889, then one petition from Semlin and two from Belgrade and again two from Semlin and two from Belgrade on 8th October.

In order to show that L. Árpád Lodge exercised the greatest caution in the choice of members, two of its Masters were sent to Belgrade and Semlin to collect information about the petitioners. On February 15, on the basis of the Brethren's reports received, two petitioners were turned down, but twelve of them were recommended for admission, via clean balloting. On 1st March, three other petitioners were accepted.

After that, the initiation of the Semlin and Belgrade petitioners began. Of the fifteen petitioners whose admission had been accepted, only eight of them appeared, and were "brought to light" by Lodge Árpád in the following order:

Ferencz Staud: 29th March 1889 1st and 2nd degrees; 30th March, 3rd degree.

Vladislav Allin, 21st April 1889.

Joseph Fuchs, 21st April 1889.

Dezső Goldner, 21st April 1889.

Alexander Engel, 21st April, 16th June 1889, 2nd degree.

Andra Janković, 10th June 1889, 1st and 2nd degrees,

Mosin Beck, 28th July and 20th November 1889, 2nd and 3rd degrees,

Vasa Radulovic, 1st September 1889.

Lodge Árpád dealt with the request by the Belgrade and Semlin Brethren at the labour held on 24th May to provide help to those who lived there for establishing a lodge in the Orient Semlin.

The Brethren decided to consecrate the new Lodge in Semlin, to exempt them from wage increase fees in favour of the Sister-Lodge and to put the Orator, Bro. Dr Sándor Polgár, in charge of drafting an agreement with the Belgrade and Semlin Brethren on further jobs.

On 10th June, the Orator reported that the Belgrade and Semlin Brethren were ready to accept all the solutions drafted by L. Árpád. However, due to the past political events in Belgrade, the consecration of the Lodge would hardly be possible. In order to avoid all the efforts to turn out to be futile, L. Árpád was pleased to accept the task of initiating new candidates in Belgrade, "under the open sky" i.e. in an other lodge.

Thanks to their commitment, the Belgrade and Semlin Brethren, overcame all the obstacles and, the following report 30th November 1889 tells about the establishment of the new Lodge:

Orient Belgrade, 30th November 1889

To the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Hungary

Orient Budapest

Guided by the desire to diffuse the Royal Art further to the east and bearing in mind the importance of the mission by which our noble relations with countries in semi-cultivated provinces are maintained, the signatories who live in Semlin and Belgrade have decided to put their Lodge under the protection of the Most Worshipful Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary.

With this aim in mind, we have convened at this Conference to make definitive conclusions, which have been entered into this report in front of us.

Firstly, it has been concluded that the Lodge will be working under the name of Stella Orientalis in the Orient of Semlin, in the German language and should be consecrated as soon as possible.

The Officers of the Lodge are as follows:

Worshipful Master of L. Stella Orientalis: Alphonse Brunn, Member of Lodge Árpád;

Deputy WM: Kálmán Kőszegváry, member of Lodge Árpád;

Senior Warden: Samuel Ludassy, member of Lodge Hiram

Junior Warden: Alexander Engel *, member of Lodge Árpád

Orator: Julius Stielly, member of Lodge Galilei

Secretary: Vasa Radulović, member of Lodge Árpád

Treasurer: Andra Janković *, member of Lodge Árpád

Deacon: Joseph Wolfner, member of Lodge Könyves Kálmán

Librarian: Vladislav Allin *, member of Lodge Árpád

Master of Ceremony: Mosin Beck, member of Lodge Árpád

Tyler: Dezső Goldner, member of Lodge Árpád.

The Brethren marked with an asterisk accepted their task solely for the consecration work.

It may be seen, from the appendix to this report that Lodge. Arpad agreed to confer the third degree on Brethren Engel, Radulović, Janković, Allin and Goldner so that the Lodge could be established.

Those Brethren whose profane jobs prevent them from appearing in the Orient of Szeged in the very near future asked the Worshipful Lodge to nominate one of the Brethren Representative of the Mother Lodge, who would, in the name of the Lodge and for the aforementioned task, undertake to raise the a/m Brethren "under the open sky" and remain there until the constitution of the Lodge.

After the establishment of the Lodge, due to various reasons, above all to considerable inconvenience of travelling to Szeged, which has existed for quite a while, we are asking the Worshipful Lodge for understanding when they make decisions as well as to inform us whether it is necessary to indicate the origin of the Brethren who have been affiliated with us and who were delegated by the Worshipful Lodge, or not.

We are asking you, too to verify the documents that we send to you so that they become valid, in order for them to serve as evidence for the establishment of the Lodge. By delegate, we will send you funds for the above assistance, as well as for the fees we owe.

Given that our financial resources are limited and that we have to keep in mind the fate of the Lodge, which has begun its life with a significant debt that can only be paid through great effort and courage of our Brethren, we have decided to save on everything and everyone until we strengthen our finances and are able to allocate funds for the higher goals of the Royal Art.

The funds thus obtained would be intended primarily for the Masonic Hall, and we think that - when it becomes possible \- we shall undertake acquisition of such a structure, considering simultaneously the purchase of equipment of one of 20-22 dormant lodges, about which we have no knowledge, where it is located, who the owner is or who should be contacted. Therefore, we are asking the Honourable Lodge to support us in our matter and contact in this matter the official Procurement Mediation Authority through the Office of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge.

Considering that many of our Brethren are still members of Lodge Arpad in the Orient of Szeged, and several other well-known lodges, and that in order to establish our Lodge their membership with us has been approved, we are thanking the Grand Lodge for their support, in word and deed.

Finally, we invite the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge again to meet our request, with the most urgent execution and send further information to our profane address: Alfons Brunn, head of the Serbian Railway Bureau, Belgrade, Hotel Grand.

Yours faithfully

Present: Bros. Engel, Stielly, Vasa Radulović, Brunn, Beck, Goldner, Wolfner

Absent: Bros. Allin, Janković and Kőszegváry

Representing and leading: Bro. Brunn

Lodge Árpád fulfilled, with the greatest affability, all the wishes of the founding Brethren of Stella Orientalis: it raised the wages, announced the required refund of fees, mediated in the procurement of the equipment of Lodge Zur Grossmuth and regulated the demits of the Brethren. Since Bro. Mosin Beck arrived in Szeged with an invitation to the founding ceremony, which the Semlin and Belgrade Brethren were sending to Árpád Mother Lodge, the Lodge decided to nominate a three-member delegation, but also inviting all the Brethren to join the delegation for the consecration ceremony.

On behalf of the Semlin and Belgrade Brethren, Bro. Alexander Engel sent a letter to Lodge Árpád in which, with the kindest words, he officially invited the Brethren to the founding work and said that the date of the ceremony would be determined and corresponding information sent by telegram as soon as he has received a notice on the arrival of the Grand Lodge delegates.

However, the Brethren of Lodge Árpád were astounded when they received a letter that contained a request for an urgent solution to the petition of Ferenc Kajd and only incidentally mentioned that, Lodge Stella Orientalis had already held their foundation ceremony on 19th January 1890 – bypassing Mother-Lodge completely.

The report of Stella Orientalis of 10th March, signed by the five lights of the Lodge, tried to explain the a/m "misunderstanding" by the fact that the founding work was not ceremonial and, with words full of praise for the Mother Lodge the Brethren and the Worshipful Master were asked to select a date on which they would be willing to come and then Stella Orientalis would hold the Ceremonial Labour in honour of Lodge Árpád.

Lodge Árpád received the heartfelt invitation with joy. In order to contribute to strengthening fraternal relations, Lodge Árpád sent a seven-member delegation to the Ceremonial Work of Stella Orientalis on 27th April.

On that occasion, Dr László Szivessy greeted Kálmán Kőszegváry, who was to be elected an honorary member of Lodge Árpád on 14th March for the merit of establishing Lodge Stella Orientalis.

The delegation, which included two sisters as well, proceeded from Semlin to Belgrade to visit the Brethren there. In both places, the Szeged delegation was received enthusiastically. They returned from that pleasant and educational trip with exceptionally positive impressions.

Also on 14th March Stella Orientalis elected Pál Nyilassy, Worshipful Master of Lodge Árpád, an honorary member, who sent the following letter of thanks:

Dear Brethren!

With gratitude, I received your report of 14th March 1890, in which you say that you have affiliated me an honorary member of L. Stella Orientalis.

I would never attribute this undeserved affiliation to myself since I have had no opportunity so far to do anything for the Semlin Brethren. However, I know that this recognition, through me, is actually a recognition to the Mother Lodge.

Therefore, on my own behalf and on behalf of Lodge Arpad, I assure you, dear Brethren, that our fraternal relations will continue to develop. I wish that the GAOTU grant L. Stella Orientalis time and luck to spread enlightenment and true humanism from their watchtower and let the young flame of their star glow so brightly and high that the Mother Lodge may see it from her home.

Best regards to the Semlin Lodge and with love to all the members with the hope that the feelings of mutual brotherly relationship will last for a long time and that our contacts will be more frequent in the future.

Nyilassy,

Worshipful Master

In the moment of their transfer to Pančevo, Lodge Stella Orientalis had 37 members (4 engineers, 6 civil servants, 10 traders, 1 mill owner, 1 veterinarian, 1 physician (Dr. József Thüm from Apatin), 1 contractor, 1 hotel owner, 1 customs officer, 2 craftsmen, 1 teacher, 2 bankers, 2 shipmasters, 1 evangelical pastor, 2 printers, 1 solicitor). In 1914, when it went dormant, the Lodge had 42 members. According to the total number of petitions filed, 125 men passed through L. Stella Orientalis.

**LODGE POBRATIM (BLOOD BROTHER), ORIENT BELGRADE**

Freemasonry in Hungary, due to its ban in Austria, was in considerable expansion, and in 1890 a group of Serbian intellectuals and businessmen, led by industrialist Georg Weifert, Andra Đorđević, professor of the Great School, Stevan Mokranjac, composer and Tihomir Marković, lawyer, as well as Brethren Nikolajević, Stojković and Milovanović, members of Lodge Accord, Work and Perseverance, concluded that it would be desirable for Serbian Freemasons to connect with Hungary due to the geographical proximity and the closely interrelated history of the two nations. The dissatisfaction of Belgrade Freemasons contributed to that decision. They complained about the lack of attention the Grand Orient of Italy paid to the events in the Balkans; through Budapest, it would also be easier to connect with lodges from Central and Western Europe and oppose the expansion of Austria in the Balkans. In the morning of 5th October 1890, four of the seven a/m gentlemen were initiated in the Pest Lodge Demokratia and raised to the second, and the third degrees on the same day.

Seal of Lodge Pobratim

The consecration ceremony of Lodge Pobratim took place on 2nd February 1891 in the presence of the Grand Secretary of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary, Mór Gelléri, the Grand Treasurer Eduard Horn, János Bossányi, as well as the Worshipful Master of Lodge Accord, Work and Perseverance Mihailo Valtrović and Lodge Stella Orientalis's Worshipful Master Julius Stielly, as well as delegates from Scottish Lodges _C_ orvin Mátyás, Humboldt and Könyves Kálmán.

For the first nine years, Lodge Pobratim's Worshipful Master was Georg Weifert, perhaps the most prominent Serbian Freemason so far. We will give some more details about him and his work as a Freemason.

Georg Weifert - a short biography

The Masonic year 6012 was the 75-year commemoration of the sad 5937 when Brother Djura, as he was called among the Brethren, i.e. Georg Weifert, left the Masonic scene and passed into the Eternal East. Non omnis moriar said Horatius in his Carmina, which is true for Bro. Georg Weifert, after 47 years of his Freemasonic work.

He was born in Pančevo, on 15th June 1850, to father Ignatius and mother Ana, and died in Belgrade on 12th January 1937. His ancestors had moved to Vojvodina from Northern Austria in the early 18th century in search of better life. His father was a trader and brewery owner, and Georg himself became one of the greatest Serbian industrialists of his time. He was also the Governor of the National Bank of the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of SCS (Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes) and the most prominent name of Serbian Freemasonry. At the time of his birth, Pančevo was a small border town at the confluence of the Tamiš and the Danube, inhabited mainly by Serbs, Germans and Hungarians, but on the other side of the Danube, there was Belgrade, a commercial centre and the capital of the re-established Kingdom of Serbia.

In Pančevo, Georg attended a German elementary school and a Hungarian secondary school and graduated from the Academy of Commerce in Budapest. He did his further training at the World Brewing Academy in Munich, and in 1872 he came to Belgrade to help his father build a brewery at Topčidersko Brdo, Belgrade.

In 1873 he married Maria Gisner, who was a faithful companion to his extensive charity work – first by reconstructing the Catholic cemetery of Pančevo, where the remains of the Weifert family still are, and then the construction of St. Ana Church in Pančevo.

In 1876, at the time when the Principality of Serbia was waging a war against the Ottoman Empire, Georg Weifert donated funds for the purchase of cannons for the Serbian army; he even participated in the operations of the Serbian cavalry as a volunteer. He also received the Medal for Courage, the only decoration that went to the grave with him, in addition to 16 others he received in his lifetime.

In his time, Georg Weifert was one of the most prominent and wealthiest businessmen in Serbia. In addition to the brewery "Weifert", which he built and developed together with his father, he became the owner of Kostolac coal mine, copper mine Bor, bituminous coal mine Podvis and gold mine Sveta Ana, and is considered to be the father of modern mining in Serbia. He was the Governor of the National Bank of the Kingdom of Serbia and SCS in a total of 26 years, 1890-1902 and then 1912-1926. He turned the National Bank into the currency issuer replacing the crown and introducing the dinar as the currency of the country. He is featured on the current Serbian RSD1000 banknote. The characters on all the other (but one?) current Serbian banknotes were Freemasons (even the only woman featured on the RSD200 banknote, artist Nadežda Petrović, had at least a connection to Freemasonry since her younger brother, Rastko Petrović was a Freemason).

Georg Weifert (1850-1937)

In addition to the reconstruction of the Pančevo church and cemetery, and work in charity organizations, Mr Weifert initiated the Stefan Dečanski Children's Fund, becoming not only the founder but also the permanent financier of the institution and his honorary president. He was also the sponsor of the Disability Fund of St. George, together with benefactor Nikola Spasić. In 1912, during the Balkan war, he donated 60,000 loaves of bread to the poorest families of Belgrade. During the Great War, between 1915 and 1918 he was staying in Marseille, from where he supported the people and the army in Serbia. In 1929, he founded the Women's Hospital in Tiršova Street in Belgrade and donated the Belgrade Women's Society a plot where he had a building erected for the needs of the Society. In Pančevo he had two buildings constructed, and in 1923 he bequeathed to Belgrade University his 14.000-piece numismatic collection which he, his father and brother had been collecting for 40 years. In token of their gratitude for his great help, he was elected Honorary President of the Banat Firefighting Association as well as the Bank of Pančevo.

Since he had no offspring, his property was inherited by his nephew, although after WW2, it was "nationalized" (a suitable name for looting). Its current value is estimated at $ 12 billion.

Masonic Work

Georg Weifert became a Freemason at the age of 40, on 5th October 1890 "receiving light" in Lodge Demokratia in Budapest since the previous three Masonic Lodges in Serbia: Lodge Light of the Balkans, Lodge Serbian Co-operative (existed for a very short time) and Accord, Work and Perseverance, which were under the protection of the Grand Lodge of Italy, did not really take great care of the events in the Balkans. There was a need for a new lodge that would be more active and attract more members. Svetomir Nikolajević, professor of the Grand School and voevoda Đorđe Milovanović, the commander of the City of Belgrade, who had already been raised to the degree of Master Mason at Lodge Demokratia in Pest, convened a meeting in the premises of the St. Sava Society; Georg Weifert and Stevan Mokranjac were invited as well solicitor Tihomir Marković and professor of the Grand School Andra Đorđević. In the morning of 4th October 1890, the four of them were initiated at Lodge Demokratia. The same day at noon, they were raised to Fellow Craft degree and to the Master Mason degree late in the afternoon. After that, they had a "white table" gathering at the Archduke Stephan Hotel, a classicist building in Budapest, which does not exist today, near the current Academy of Sciences.

Shortly after the said event, on 14th February 1891, a new Lodge was established, named Pobratim, as a symbol of the unification of the Hungarian and Serbian Freemasonry; and Georg Weifert became the Worshipful Master of the Lodge remaining at the position until 1899. During his leadership, close relations between Serbian and Croatian Masonry were also established, despite the prohibition of Freemasonry in Austria where Croatia belonged to at the time. The first such contacts were made in 1892. It was in that period that personal friendship developed between George Weifert and Adolf Mihelić, the Worshipful Master of Lodge Croatian Fairy. In addition to this, Pobratim acted as Mother Lodge to Lodge Nemanja in the Orient of Niš.

Between 1899 and 1902, the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary, under whose protection Serbian Masonry was, decided to take more active part in the country's politics by establishing three political parties. Unfortunately, politicking in the Lodges, although strictly forbidden, was also going on in contemporary Serbia, like it did elsewhere in Central Europe. Moreover, after the return of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary to normal Masonic work, this was not possible in Serbian lodges, resulting in their suspension between 1903 and 1905.

Since Hungarian Masonry did not unanimously condemn the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria in 1908, Serbian Lodges broke up relations with the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary. That move raised the question of legalization of Freemasonry in Serbia, which Georg Weifert resolved by establishing relations with the Grand Lodge of Hamburg, as well as many other prominent lodges, including the Supreme Council of Greece. In the following year, in Belgrade, the first Masonic temple was built at Vračar (a municipality of Belgrade); Georg Weifert provided the largest part of the plot and construction assets. The Temple was completed in less than three years; it was consecrated in 1912. On 9th May 1912, the Supreme Council of Greece conferred on Georg Weifert, along with several meritorious Freemasons of Serbia, the 33rd degree and, on the same day, he became the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Order of Serbia.

In January 1914, the Supreme Council of Serbia started Neimar (Builder), a Masonic magazine, edited by Jovan Aleksijević. The first epistle of the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of Serbia on Freemasonry and the Mission of Freemasons, in issues 1-3 (January – March), was written by Georg Weifert. The magazine was run in 1914 and between 1922 and 1926.

Until 1915, G. Weifert remained in Belgrade, However, that year he left Serbia, together with the king and the army; before that, he organized a national kitchen, which was active all through the war. After the end of the war, a vibrant diplomatic activity was created with the aim of unifying the Slavic peoples of the Balkans in which Freemasons also participated, as per the nature of their profane functions. Unfortunately, it happens very often that behind-the-scene activities with hidden, malicious intentions spoil the beauty of good deeds. He was accused of covertly redirecting charitable funds. Masonic wisdom says that such absurd gossip should be disregarded and left without response; Georg Weifert did exactly that, considering them to be inappropriate to principles of Freemasonry, so he did not want to participate in them.

When the unification of the Slavic countries of the Balkans became reality, the Grand Lodge of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was constituted in Zagreb, and Georg became the Grand Master. In 1929 the Grand Lodge was renamed to Grand Lodge Yugoslavia.

During his 47 years as Freemason, Georg Weifert actively advocated for pure intentions and basic postulates of Freemasonry. He did much more for the Serbian Fraternity than anyone before and after him. He respected and nurtured the basic principles of Freemasonry, advocating against changes in the ritual, even in the most difficult years of the war and attempts of dividing the Serbian Masonic community in 1927. He wholeheartedly emphasized the need for brotherly love and respect for national, religious and political affiliations.

THE ROLE OF LODGE ÁRPÁD A TESTVÉRISÉGHEZ (BROTHERHOOD ARPAD), ORIENT SZEGED IN THE EXPANSION OF FREEMASONRY IN VOJVODINA

Lodge Árpád (Árpád a Testvériséghez - Brotherhood Árpád) began to work on 29th May 1870 with 14 members who worked in the German language.

Seal of Lodge Árpád a testvériséghez

Namely, the initiator of Freemasonry in Szeged, and founder of Lodge _Árpád_ was an actor and the intendant of Würzburg Theater, a Freemason, a Knight's Cross holder, Edward Reimann (1833-1898) who became Honorary Worshipful Master of Lodge Three White Lillies while staying with his troupe in Timisoara. During his appearance in Szeged, "the city on the Tisza", boasting of mixed national composition with considerable educational and business tradition, he started gathering people "under the tongue of good report" who were willing to practise the Royal Art. It turned out to be quite easy for him to do the job, and in 1870, Szeged had already had a three-degree, St. John Masonic Lodge, whose first Worshipful Master was Iván Csermelényi, Official Prosecutor of the City, later to become the Consultant and Manager of Trade Bank.

In 1871, membership increased so much that the Lodge formed five committees: for internal administration, education for life in the collective, for rituals as well as literary and philanthropic committees.

Until 1898, the Lodge had worked in rented premises before a Masonic Hall was built, partially from their own funds, but mostly with support by the rich Austrian lady Marie Thielen, probably a sister.

Lodge _Árpád_ , still active today after 147 years, was known for its literary activity and fruitful publishing at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Among the members of the Lodge, there were many excellent men of letters like the Secretary Frigyes Arató and the Orator Dr Lajos Kőhegyi, who wrote a large number of booklets on the topic of Freemasonry, from history to basic principles of the Royal Art as well as the Lodge Rulebook and House Rules.

Lodge Árpád, as the most prominent regional Lodge and geographically the closest to present-day Vojvodina, had a huge impact on the formation and diffusion of Freemasonry in the region. In addition to Croatian Lodges in the Orients of Sisak, Osijek and Zagreb, Lodge Árpád was responsible for the constitution of the majority, I would say, all the Lodges and Daughter- Lodges of Vojvodina, first of all in Sombor, from where Freemasonry spread to the north-east and south, then Zemun (Semlin), Pančevo, Subotica and Zrenjanin (Nagybecskerek).

From its very beginning, the Lodge was working intensively on philanthropic tasks, especially after the great flood of 1879 that devastated the city. They collected funds, from international sources, for the reconstruction of the city; with their contributions they helped the foundation of the Somogyi Library, one of the largest libraries in the region, collected funds, clothing and shoes for poor children, opened a national library and educational center, established funds for helping the families of detainees, opened amusement parks, clubs for deaf people, volunteer fire brigades, financially assisted theaters and cultural institutions and founded the Szeged Animal Protection Society. Perhaps the most important institution they launched, and which still exists under the name the Children's Hospital, was the Home for Abandoned Children.

At the end of the 19th century, L. Arpad had 188 members: over 80 from other cities, 40 of them from Sombor.

BASIC RULES OF LODGE ÁRPÁD, ORIENT SZEGED

This is a translation of the complete Basic Rules of Lodge Arpad in the Orient of Szeged aiming to serve as a model Masonic Rule Book from the end of the 19th century. All the Daughter-Lodges that worked under the protection of L. Arpad, as well as the other Vojvodina lodges under the aegis of L. Arpad, were guided by the principles embodied in the Szeged Basic Rules.

L. Arpad made its first Rule Book in 1870, the year of its establishment titled Brotherhood Arpad, a Masonic Lodge in the Orient of Szeged – Basic Rules 1870". It consisted of two parts: "Objectives" and "Obligations", with a total of 17 Articles, and the "Statute" that formed a separate whole and bore the title Statute of St. John Lodge Brotherhood Árpád in the Orient of Szeged, 1870, Szeged, in the Orient of Szeged. It was divided into two parts, which contained subordinate parts. PART ONE contained articles on admittance, recommendation of candidates, pre-admitting and dismissal and demit procedures (a total of 26 Articles) and the articles of the SECOND PART were related to the Lodge, Lodge Officers and their election, the Worshipful Master, other Officers, and rules of lodge work (a total of 53 Articles).

Two years later, there was a need for some Articles to be slightly modified and a certain number to be deleted due to the repetition of certain standpoints. These Basic Rules were considered "final". Lodges in Vojvodina worked as per the same principles outlined in the Basic Rules until the formation of the Grand Lodge Yugoslavia; some of the Belgrade Lodges followed these Rules until 1908, when they broke up with the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary in protest of the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Austria-Hungary.

BASIC RULES OF 1872

GENERAL RULES

Article 1

The objective of the Masonic Alliance is the development and fostering of humanism in the form of love which, permeating all living conditions, finds in it its most significant expression.

Article 2

As a means of achieving this objective, it serves - in addition to practising rituals with prevailingly Masonic symbolism - for mutual education of the most important and the most sacred achievements of the human society, as well as for enticing membership, through the living word and symbols, into self-knowledge, spiritual training, practising charity and philanthropic enjoyment in the benefits of social life.

Article 3

Masonic work shall be focused on ensuring that all citizens be exemplary and loving parents and neighbours who will spread knowledge about life's obligations. The Freemason shall be gentle with his family and ready to help his neighbours. He needs to control his passions and try, through appropriate guidance, to correct the mistakes of others as well.

Article 4

The Freemason shall strive and advocate for the well-being of all the nations and nationalities of his homeland and support their unification, and nurture and sustain the love of his homeland.

Article 5

The Freemason is loyal to the king and his homeland, he is a quiet citizen who does not support and encourage anarchy, conspiracy, rebellion. He respects the laws of his country and does not forget the fidelity and duty he owes to his homeland.

Article 6

Love and kindness dwell in the chest of the Freemason. Freemasons are sensitive to the suffering of others. They are those who consider the love of their neighbours to be their task, they are those who have glorified Freemasonry throughout the world at all times.

Article 7

The Freemason gives his contribution to the training and education of young people in order to awaken love for God and homeland in the young hearts since these are the pillars of the state and preconditions for happiness in the family.

Article 8

The one who wants to be admitted into the ranks of Freemasons must always bear in mind his obligations towards God, his neighbour and himself, as follows:

a) To God as the absolute kindness and wisdom, who he refers to for help and protection in the fulfilment of the righteous goals and gracious deeds;

b) To his neighbour, who he considers to be equal in the right to the benefit from attention and care, and carries out all those duties which, under similar circumstances, he expects for himself;

c) To himself, as long as he does not abuse the care of others and maintains his spiritual talent, his career and his social status.

Article 9

If a petitioner is recommended for admittance, the proposer shall guarantee that the candidate is known as a man under the tongue of good report, who is ready to respect and follow the abovementioned Masonic duties.

Article 10

In front of the authorities and third parties, the Lodge based in Szeged is represented by the Worshipful Master elected by the members of the Lodge. Therefore every member of the Lodge is obliged to treat him with respect.

Article 11

Only honest and perfect members may attend the meetings of the Lodge.

Article 12

Conclusions and decisions of religious and political nature must not be made in the Lodge. The Freemason who imposes adoption of such decisions shall be warned by the Worshipful Master in a friendly way; if the warning has no effect, the person concerned may be disconnected.

Article 13

The Freemason's conduct in the Lodge shall be exemplary so as to avoid disturbing the climate of understanding.

Article 14

Only those petitioners are allowed to join the Association who support the a/m ideas and their suitability is confirmed after rigorous examination. The Worshipful Master addresses the petitioner with the following words: "Sir! If you, as an honest and conscientious man, think that such things are happening among us, which is contrary to God and faith, to the king and homeland, to the principles of sincere and virtuous people or to good morals, I assure you, giving my own and the other Lodge members' word of honour, they do not stand."

"Sincere loyalty to the Supreme Being, respect for the authorities and law, love for fellow human beings, loyalty and diligence in the occupation we do, prudence and charity, patience and perseverance in suffering as well, modesty in happiness - these are the spiritual qualities that all Freemasons are expected to practise. Therefore we ask the Freemason to have enough strength to bear the burden and effort that awaits him, to be ready to light-heartedly renounce his comfort and blessings, if this serves for the benefit of his human Brethren. "

Article 15

The Lodge celebrates the following days:

St. John Day;

Foundation Day;

December 31st, the Lodge of Sorrow for the deceased Brothers;

Day of the patron saint of the state;

Sovereign's birthday.

Article 16

Each year, at the request of the authorities, the Lodge submits a complete list of names of Lodge members and the name of the Worshipful Master.

PART ONE

General provisions on admission

Article 1

Without admission, nobody may be a member of the Lodge.

Admission is regular, i.e. formal and special.

All regular members of the Lodge are admitted in a regular way; all honorary members are admitted in a special way.

Regular admission is carried out according to the established ritual - without speciality - in the regular composition of the Lodge.

Article 2

To become a member of the Lodge, a candidate shall be:

a) of age or accepted age;

b) of impeccable reputation, morally stable and of manly character;

c) sufficiently educated to understand the ideas and requirements of Freemasonry.

Article 3

The petitioner may be proposed solely by a Master Mason, who acts as his guarantor as well.

Article 4

If an Entered Apprentice or a Fellow Craft intends to propose a candidate, he has the right to receive the petitioner's petition but he has to submit it to one of the Master Masons, who then submits it to the Secretary of the Lodge.

The guarantee shall also be received by the Worshipful Master.

Article 5

The petition shall be duly signed by both the petitioner and the guarantor. The proposer shall, at the request of the Worshipful Master, present the petitioner personally.

Special requirements for acceptance

Article 6

At the request of the Worshipful Master, the candidate's petition is read out by the Secretary before the members of the Lodge. Subsequently, balloting is performed in order to see if the name of the applicant will be written on the "black board". In case the candidate receives 3 black balls, the petition is deemed rejected. Otherwise, the name of the candidate is written on the black board to inform the members of the Lodge, and the Worshipful Master appoints three Brethren to investigate on the candidate.

Article 7

After 14 days, the Brethren who received the said task submit a report to the Worshipful Master, and a second secret balloting is performed. Each member is obliged to attend the vote.

Article 8

If there are three black ones among the balls, admission is rejected and the petitioner is not informed about it.

Article 9

In case one or two black ones are found among the balls, the Worshipful Master asks, tête-à-tête, those who have inserted them to explain their decision within three days.

After that, he invites the Brother proposer to confute the explanations of the "black balloters", and, with the help of four Master Brethren, he examines all the explanations, not mentioning the names of those who balloted with black balls.

If the WM and the four Master Brethren consider the refusal of the acceptance to be justified, the candidate is rejected and the WM informs the Lodge about it.

Article 10

However, if the WM and the four Master Brethren find, on the basis of a verbal statement, that the reasoning is inadequate for making a final decision, the WM puts the case before the Lodge for re-balloting. If the petitioner receives three black balls then, he is deemed rejected, but if he receives one or two black balls, admission is permitted.

Article 11

If those Brethren who balloted with black balls do not provide an explanation to the WM within three days, their votes will be considered null and void.

Article 12

If the petitioner is deemed accepted, the Secretary shall notify him of his admission and about the "obligatory fee", which is to be paid at least one day prior to his initiation; the receipt of payment, signed and certified by the Treasurer, shall be submitted by the petitioner, who shall appear, accompanied by his Brother Proposer, on a previously determined date.

Article 13

It is customary not to initiate the petitioner before the expiration of 24 days from the date of submission of his petition nor on the day of the second balloting.

Article 14

The procedure for admitting honorary members is the only one that differs from the abovementioned procedure. For honorary members, only those Masters who are especially responsible for the promotion of Freemasonry can be proposed. Each member has the right to propose an honorary member, although never at official Lodge Works, in writing submitted to the Worshipful Master, who then forwards it to the Masters' Council. If the Council accepts the proposal, then the Lodge is notified about the next first-degree ritual work. Otherwise, the proposal cannot be placed before the Lodge.

Provisions on resignation and exclusion from the Lodge

Article 15

The one who, after compulsory completion of one year in the Lodge, wishes to resign, is obliged to submit a written declaration and explanation of his decision.

Article 16

The Worshipful Master nominates three Brethren with the task of trying to dissuade the Brother from resignation. If the dissuasion is unsuccessful and the Brother remains firm in his decision, the three Brethren inform the WM, who then places the case before the Lodge.

Article 17

The resigning Brother is still under the oath of secrecy and is also obliged to settle all his debts for the year in which he is leaving the Fraternity.

Article 18

Reasons for exclusion from the Lodge may be as follows:

a) Any dishonourable deed and any such action that may counter the behaviour of an integrated individual;

b) Violation of the oath of secrecy;

c) Any deliberate violation of Freemasonic laws and obligations.

Article 19

If a Brother intends to accuse another Brother of any misconduct stated in Article 18, he shall justify, explain and provide evidence in writing.

Article 20

The Worshipful Master invites the accused Brother and communicates the charge, without mentioning the name of the plaintiff, convenes the Masters' Council and presents the case with a view to a final resolution of the case.

The respondent Brother has the right to defend himself before the Masters' Council on his own or select a representative from among the Masters of the Lodge, but he must be personally present by all means.

Article 21

If the Worshipful Master is informed of a Brother's offence, he is obliged to make an immediate decision on the proceedings and instruct the Orator to commence it without delay. A decision on exclusion can be made only by a two-thirds majority of all the Masters of the Lodge.

Article 22

The one who is excluded from the Fraternity is obliged to surrender his jewel to the Worshipful Master.

Article 23

All decisions of the Masters' Councils must be communicated to the Entered Apprentice Lodge.

Article 24

The Grand Lodge is informed of the name of the excluded member and the news is published in the Masonic Magazine.

PART TWO

About the Lodges

Article 25

There are three Lodges: the Entered Apprentice Lodge, the Fellow Craft Lodge and Master Mason Lodge.

Article 26

Entered Apprentice Lodge Works include:

a) Acceptance and initiation of petitioners;

b) Election of Lodge Officers;

c) Decisions on the management of the property of the Lodge;

d) Education on laws and customs of Freemasonry (Lodge of education);

e) Deciding on cases set forth by the Masters' Council and Lodge Committees;

f) Deciding on all matters beyond the scope of the Fellow Craft or Master Masons' Lodge.

Article 27

The Fellow Craft Lodge serves the purpose of conferring the Fellow Craft degree on Entered Apprentices and educational work at Fellow Craft level.

Article 28

Master Mason Lodge is tasked with raising Fellow Crafts to Master's degree and educational work at Master Mason's level.

Article 29

As a rule, the Entered Apprentice Lodge is held once a week, on a predetermined day; those who do not live in the place of the Lodge Hall are informed by letter.

Article 30

The Worshipful Master has the right to convene, at his own discretion or at the request of at least five Brethren, a meeting of the Lodge on any day outside the set schedule.

Resident Brethren are notified about special meetings of the Lodge by info slip, non-residents by letter of invitation. Upon reception, all Brethren shall promise to attend meetings regularly. However, if, on the basis of the Book of Presence and Absence, kept by the Warden, it can be seen that a particular Brother neglects his duty in this regard, a written warning shall be sent to him. As the next step, if the Brother is an Entered Apprentice or a Fellow Craft his time for being raised to the following degree is extended; if he is a Master, he is penalized, the penalty entered into the records and a copy sent to him. In more serious cases, the Masters' Council may consider exclusion.

Article 31

Each Brother is obliged to spend at least six months at the Entered Apprentice or Fellow Craft level, but for well-defined and described deeds beneficial for the Lodge, humanity, public good or of special interest and/or benefit for the Lodge, the Brother may be raised to a higher degree even before.

Upon the expiration of the said six-month period, each Entered Apprentice or Fellow Craft may apply for an upgrade. The acceptance of his request is decided by the Masters' Council by simple majority vote.

Lodge Committees

Article 32

In order to distribute the working tasks as evenly as possible and to facilitate better resolution of certain problems, the Entered Apprentice Lodge is, from time to time, divided into Committees. Every |Brother is obliged, without exception, to participate in the work of at least one Committee.

Any initiative that appears in or out of the Lodge, not being such as to belong solely to the domain of the Fellow Craft or Master Mason Lodge, nor is it considered urgent, is first discussed within a Lodge Committee.

In four weeks the latest, the opinion of the Committee is communicated to the Entered Apprentice Lodge. Each expert Committee chooses itself a president and secretary, compiles their rules, sets dates for meetings, and submits a report to the Entered Apprentice Lodge every six months.

Masters' Council

Article 33

The Masters' Council decides on all promotions, all financial reliefs or exemptions from them. All complaints and lawsuits against the Brethren are resolved here, mediated by the Worshipful Master, but all final decisions are communicated to the Entered Apprentice Lodge.

Article 34

The domain of work of the Masters' Council includes discussions of all letters from the Grand Lodge, all questions that require prior discussion, as well as proposals for admission of honorary members.

As per this last Article, decisions of the Masters' Council become valid only when approved by the following Entered Apprentice Lodge.

Officers of the Lodge – Installation of Officers

Article 35

Officials of the Lodge are as follows:

a) Worshipful Master;

b) Deputy Worshipful Master;

c) Senior Warden;

d) Junior Warden;

e) Orator;

f) Secretary;

g) Treasurer;

h) Master of Ceremony;

i) Bookkeeper and auditor;

I) Archivist and librarian;

J) Tyler

The Lodge has the right to elect deputies to all the positions.

Article 36

Lodge Officers are elected at the Entered Apprentice Lodge by secret ballot and absolute majority vote.

Article 37

In case that, for a given position, two Brethren receive the same number of votes, the voting is repeated in order to reach a simple majority or most of the votes. If this does not produce any result, the decision is made by drawing lots.

Article 38

Officers must be Master Masons.

Article 39

Officers are elected for a period of one year, and the election shall take place on St. John Day.

Article 40

The election shall be conducted as per Article 35.

Article 41

If one of the Lodge Officers is prevented from performing his duties, he is replaced by one of the Master Mason Brethren nominated by the Worshipful Master.

Article 42

If one of the positions becomes vacant, the post is filled via election.

Worshipful Master

Article 43

The Worshipful Master represents the Lodge before the authorities and third parties.

Article 44

The WM is responsible for the supreme control of the Brethren of the Lodge and takes care of the implementation of Masonic laws and regulations of the Lodge, and that Officers perform their duties in the best way. Further to this, the WM may reprimand or initiate a lawsuit against each Brother in case he violated any of the prescribed rules and regulations.

Article 45

The WM has the right to inspect the situation of the treasury and the ledger at any time. The Treasurer is obliged to make payment on the basis of an order issued by the WM, having to make out a corresponding receipt. Extraordinary expenditure of up to 10 forints is executed by order of the Worshipful Master.

For all other expenses, a Decision of the Lodge is required.

Article 46

The Worshipful Master presides over the meetings, puts issues to the vote and announces decisions.

Article 47

In order to keep to the agenda, the WM may take the floor at any time during a discussion.

Article 48

In case of an unresolved voting result, the Worshipful Master's vote decides.

Article 49

The WM keeps an eye on the order in the Lodge, and the Brethren have to obey, without opposition, the blow of his hammer. If a Brother still disobeys, the WM may call him to order, and if this does not help, he can take legal action against the Brother.

Article 50

The WM receives all communication, requests and letters that arrive at the Lodge, and takes care of further proceedings in relation to them.

Other Officers

Article 51

The Secretary is responsible for external correspondence, under the supervision of the Worshipful Master, keeps the minutes at lodge meetings and reads the texts submitted by the WM.

Article 52

At the beginning of a lodge meeting, the report of the previous Lodge meeting is read out.

If, due to exceptional circumstances, this is not the case, reading and verifying of the minutes is carried out at the meeting that follows immediately afterwards; this cannot be further delayed.

Each Brother has the right to comment on the content and form of the minutes, but it is the Lodge that decides on possible changes.

Article 53

The Treasurer is personally liable and guarantees for all monetary calculations - he takes care of regular payments of membership and other fees and ensures that the provisions of the Regulations are strictly respected. He manages the cash register and carries out all payments as per the order of the Worshipful Master.

Without a properly issued Treasurer's receipt, neither admission of novices nor raising to a higher degree may be actuated.

An exception to this rule comes only if the Lodge completely exempts a Brother from payment of his obligations or consents to instalment payment. In this latter case, the Treasurer issues a corresponding receipt and ensures that the instalments are paid regularly.

The Treasurer is obliged, at the first monthly meeting of the Lodge, to inform the Lodge about the situation of the treasury and the existing funds.

Article 54

The Brother who does not pay his obligations even after the Treasurer's warning has to be reported to the WM, who will also warn him. If he fails to settle his obligations even after the WM's warning and does not ask the Lodge for a reduction in his obligations or payment in instalments, he will be put in a lawsuit. In case of an Entered Apprentice or a Fellow Craft, he will not be raised to a higher degree. If this does not help, or if the Brother is a Master Mason, a warning may be given to him before exclusion.

If a Brother who is excluded in this way settles his obligations later, the Lodge may make a decision on his re-admission, but the Grand Lodge must also be informed about the exclusion and re-admission.

Article 55

The duty of the Bookkeeper and the Auditor is to keep the books properly, on the basis of the Treasurer's and other Officers' monthly statements; he shall also be prepared to submit a report on the property of the lodge at any time.

At the end of the year, he is obliged to prepare an annual report, which will be checked by a three-member commission.

Article 56

The duties of other Lodge Officers are more closely defined by Freemasonic Rules and Regulations.

Rules and procedures of lodge management

Article 57

Upon verification of the minutes of the previous meeting, the Worshipful Master orders all letters received in connection with the Entered Apprentice Lodge to be read and the contents immediately processed. The Secretary then reads the proposals and other items submitted by the Masters' Council and Expert Committees; discussion follows on the matters mentioned in the proposals.

After that, Brethrens' initiatives, oral or written, follow, addressed to the Masters' Council and/or Lodge Committees, unless most of the Brethren present consider the resolution of the given initiatives to be of an urgent nature and should be resolved immediately.

Article 58

At the very beginning of the discussion, the initiator speaks first. The other Brethren are free to speak as per the order of registration with the Junior Warden.

Article 59

In the course of the discussion, each Brother may be allowed to speak on the same subject of discussion only once, with the exception of the initiator and the opponents of the initiative who, upon completion of the discussion, have the right to make a closing statement.

Article 60

The word may be given, at any time to:

a) The initiator of the agenda;

b) A Brother who wishes to present a personal issue;

c) A Brother who wishes to refer to compliance or non-compliance with the rules or regulations of the Lodge.

Article 61

The Orator shall not be interrupted in his lecture. The Worshipful Master is the only one who can call the lecturer to order, moreover, if the call is disregarded, the WM may bar the Orator from speaking.

Article 62

After the closing statement of the initiator or the opponent of the initiative, the Worshipful Master closes the debate, thus no one has the right to any further discussion.

Article 63

Upon completion of the discussion, the WM puts the subject to the vote so that the Brethren may declare their standpoint with "yes" or "no". If the subject of discussion consists of several elements, each element is voted on separately.

Article 64

Before voting, a debate on how to set up a voting question is possible, and a corresponding decision is made by majority vote.

Article 65

Voting is normally performed by standing up, but at the request of at least three Brethren, voting can be carried out by balloting, where white balls denote the answer "yes", and the black balls the answer "no".

Article 66

During voting, there shall be silence, and a vote is not explained.

Article 67

It is voted in the following order: first on the initiative, then on the closest changes, on the counter-initiative and finally on changes to the counter-initiative.

Article 68

The Lodge can validly decide if at least seven Brethren are present, at least three Master Masons, in addition to the Worshipful Master.

Article 69

No objection or complaint may be lodged against the decision of the Lodge.

Article 70

If one of the Brethren intends to hold an educational or scientific lecture, he is obliged to present it to the Worshipful Master in writing beforehand.

Article 71

These rules may only be changed at a meeting convened for that purpose and at the consent of at least two-thirds of the Brethren present.

Article 72

This Rulebook shall be accepted by all the Brethren, who shall deem it obligatory.

Article 73

This Rulebook shall enter into force on the date of its announcement in the Lodge.

THE 1881 HOUSE RULES OF LODGE ARPAD

PART ONE

Members of the Lodge

Article 1

Lodge members may be: a) Regular and b) Honorary.

Article 2

Regular members are those Freemasons who have been initiated and affiliated by this Lodge.

Article 3

Honorary members are those Freemasons who have been initiated and affiliated in other lodges and gained exceptional merit in Freemasonry in general.

PART TWO

Rights and obligations of regular members

Article 4

All regular members of the Lodge may exercise general Freemasonic rights, in particular: the right to attend works, initiate issues, participate in discussions, vote and attend the installation of Officers and representatives of the Lodge to a level corresponding to the degree of each individual.

Every regular member has the right to wear his jewel, both in this Lodge and in other lodges. He has the right to seek to be informed about the management of financial assets of the Lodge, as well as on the current financial situation.

Article 5

Every regular member is obliged to know the Masonic Constitution and the Rules of this Lodge and to align his behavior with them; he is obliged to pay, in due time, the fees for initiation, raising to a degree and his monthly membership fee, as well as other fees. He is also obliged to accept all the duties to which he is elected or ordered by the Worshipful Master of the Lodge.

Article 6

Every regular member is obliged to attend works corresponding to his degree. In case of illness or some other important reason, he shall justify his absence.

Article 7

For every unjustified absence, a regular member has to contribute 30 crowns into the almoner's purse (at that time, a worker's monthly salary was about 130 crowns, a teacher was paid about 200, and a delegate in the Parliament 1000-2000; translator's note). Those who are absent at the consent of the Lodge are exempt from this obligation, as well as those who are sick or live far from the seat of the Lodge or miss the works for very important reasons.

Article 8

Admitted and affiliated Luftons, i.e. sons of Freemasons who have not yet completed the age limit for regular admission are considered to be regular members. However, they have neither active nor passive voting rights and are free of all financial obligations.

PART THREE

Fees

Article 9

Regular members of the Lodge pay a fee for initiation, raising to a higher degree and a monthly membership fee. For admission, the fee is 25 forints (50 crowns), for advancing to the second level 15 forints, and to the third level 15 forints as well. The membership fee is determined annually.

Article 10

All fees are paid in advance. Every year, a certain proportion of the membership fee is allocated to the asset of the Lodge.

Article 11

With special permission of the Lodge, the fees for initiation and ascending to a higher degree may also be paid in predetermined monthly instalments. Upon a special decision of the Masters' Council, the fees for initiation and promotion may, in some cases, be partially or completely ignored.

PART FOUR

Lodge Committees

Article 12

In order to comprehensively and thoroughly discuss all the matters of relevance to the Lodge, three standing Committees are to be established:

a) Lodge Finance Committee, dealing with financial issues and control of the property of the Lodge;

b) Lodge Charity Committee, whose domain of responsibility, directly or indirectly, is the total of the philanthropic activity of the Lodge;

c) Literary Committee, whose task is to direct and take care of activities related to the spiritual development of the members.

Article 13

Each Committee has 7 members, who are subject to annual re-election. The rules of operation and election of their own administration are determined by each Committee independently. Committees are obliged to meet at least once a month and produce regular quarterly reports.

Article 14

A member who is unjustifiably absent from three meetings loses his mandate and a new member is elected.

Article 15

At the beginning of the year, prior to the commencement of regular works, the Committee chairman determines the calendar of meetings for the year.

PART FIVE

Wage Increase

Article 16

The Entered Apprentice has the right to be raised to the Second Degree after 30 attendances, and the Fellow Craft to the third degree after 20 attendances, but only if he has regularly paid all the contributions and membership fee.

Article 17

Upon recommendation, a Brother may receive an extraordinary increase in wages, but only by unanimous decision, for the following reasons:

a) Exceptional results achieved in the Lodge or Freemasonry in general;

b) Recognition of valuable literary activities in the interest of Freemasonry;

c) Significant humanitarian activities.

Article 18

Luftons do not have the right to wage increase before they have gained steady employment.

PART SIX

House Rules

Article 19

These House Rules come into force at the very moment of their confirmation by the Grand Lodge. All modifications and changes must be submitted in writing to the Worshipful Master prior to St. John Day, after which, at the meeting of the Lodge following immediately after it, they become the subject of discussion.

Explanation

These House Rules are the result of the work of the Commission established by the Lodge, as per the order of the Grand Lodge, with the aim of revising the existing documentation. Taking into account the Constitution as well as previous experience, every St. John Lodge is obliged to devise such regulations that will respect both local characteristics and the general principles of Freemasonry.

In this regard, the Commission particularly emphasized the following two principles:

1. Uniformity and

2. Freedom of movement.

For the sake of uniformity, the Commission considered it desirable to exclude from the existing rules everything that is not contained in the Constitution, and pay attention only to what the Constitution itself refers to in relation to House Rules. However, the House Rules of other lodges, especially L. St. Stephan and Lodge. Galilei, were also used, deviating from them only in what the local circumstances made necessary; this was the case with initiation and advancement fees since the corresponding amounts were, in different ways, problematic for our Lodge, rejecting many good and promising members who did not join us for that sole reason.

Regarding the freedom of movement, the Commission considered it unnecessary to include such provisions which, in the light of the changed circumstances, would act only as a limiting factor. This refers to the dates and number of various works, and to the monthly membership fee, which depend not only on the number of members but also on the planned activities of the Lodge; therefore, they are determined for each year separately. This issue also includes the financial asset of the Lodge, whose formation and improvement the Lodge wishes to keep within the domain of its own decision-making.

After all this, it will be understandable why we have reduced our House Rules to 19 points only, and we hope that, despite such a small number of Articles our Lodge will carry out our Freemasonic duties with the same zealousness and discipline, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be.

Made in the Orient Szeged, 25th May 5880 A.L. (Anno Lucis)

THE YEARS THAT PRECEDED THE BIRTH OF FREEMASONRY IN SOMBOR

In the mid-16th century, during the reign of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, Sombor, as the seat of a nachiye, was a true oriental city with predominantly Turkish population and quite a few Slavic families. Even 100 years later, in 1665, Turkish travel writer Evliya Çelebi described Sombor as a typical Turkish city with 2000 houses covered with Roman roof tiles and 14 mosques. However, quite soon, after 1687, when the Austrian army was approaching, the whole of the Turkish population left the city.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Sombor was a town with about 3,000 inhabitants, but after receiving the Charter of Free and Royal city on 17th February 1749, the city gained importance both in economic and cultural terms, and in 1785 it already had 13,360 inhabitants, mostly of Slavic origin: Serbs, Croats and Bunjevci. The first Hungarian family settled in 1725, and from Austria and Germany, a large number of Germans, as well as Hungarians and Slovaks, settled in and around the city throughout the 18th century. By the end of the century, the first Jewish permanent resident of Sombor was Jacob Stein, who bought a house there in 1789. Until then, the city did not allow Jews to settle. They lived in the nearby villages, were allowed to pursue their businesses through the day and had to leave the city before dark. By the end of the 1790s, there were 8 more Jewish families in Sombor. Documents say that Menachem Schlesinger was born in Sombor in 1794 to father Joseph, becoming later a composer and Kapellmeister at the court of Prince Miloš of Serbia.

Emperor Joseph II visited Sombor in 1786 and set it up for the administrative seat of the County of Bacs. Bacs and Bodrog Counties were united in 1802 in Bacs-Bodrog County. The Bodrog County was founded in the 12th century, and it was named after Bodrog, an old fortified town near present-day Sombor. It was destroyed by the Tatars in 1224. After the departure of the Turks, the seat of the Bodrog County was in Baja, although Novi Sad was also one of the candidates. In 1850, at the time of the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Timisoara, Sombor became the seat of the Supreme Prefect of the Counties of Bacs-Bodrog, Torontal and Versecz.

As early as in the 18th century prominent educational institutions were founded in Sombor thus creating the basis of the educational and pedagogical fame of the city: the Serbian trivial elementary school (1717), the Catholic elementary school (1722), the Latin grammar school (1759, i.e. the City Grammar School from 1763), The Serbian elementary school "Norma" with a teacher training department (1778). In the same year, Sombor became the headquarters of the Supreme Directorate of all Serbian schools in Bacska, Baranya and Tolna Counties. In the 19th century, new schools were opened. In the town of Szentendre, the "Preparandija" (the Serbian Teacher Training School) was opened in 1812; 4 years later, in 1816, it moved to Sombor. In 1853 The Lower German Real Gymnasium was opened, and in 1869, the Lower Real Gymnasium in the Serbian and Hungarian languages. In 1872 the Higher Hungarian Grammar School, the predecessor of the current Grammar School "Veljko Petrović" was founded. In 1875, the Serbian Higher Girls' School started working as well as the Trade School (current School of Economics) in 1888.

The Prefecture Building in Sombor (photo by the author)

Sombor was the seat of Bacs-Bodrog County, one of the largest Counties in Hungary, incorporating the cities of Novi Sad, Subotica, Baja and Senta. Magnificent buildings and churches were erected in the 18th and 19th centuries: the Prefecture Building in 1808, the Town Hall, which housed the Magistrate in 1842, the building of the Sombor Savings Bank (currently the City Library) in 1877, the National Theater in 1882, the Serbian Reading Room in 1882, the "Preparandija", endowment of Georgije Branković in 1895, the St. Stephen Church (Carmelite Twin-Towered Church). Since the 18th century, the city has been adorned with Orthodox churches of St. George (1761) and St. John the Forerunner (1790), as well as the Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity (1762) , Grassalkovics Palace (1763), which initially served as a quarantine building for the German immigrant population, Pasha's Tower (1541) and Krusper House - the City Archives (1771).

THE GUILD RULES OF 1819 AND 1828

Freemasonry, although fundamentally different from operational masonry, both in its goals and operational model, has countless touch points with it. The philosophy of Freemasonry is embodied in rich symbolism originating from the science of construction and devotion to practising manual skills. In order for the operative craftsman, especially the stonemason, to work in a team with extremely resistant and durable material to create edifices that will defy the destructive power of time, it has become necessary to unite and regulate work with strict rules.

Seal of the City's _Urbarium_

The stonemasons, builders and architects of the magnificent buildings we admire and boast of were those who, by nature of their work and the rules of their guild, brought and passed both the knowledge and the philosophy of not only the material but also the spirit of building construction, offering a spiritual home to those who were not builders themselves but became enthused over the symbolism of construction. Therefore, we considered it necessary to say a few words about the organization of the first guilds in Sombor because, in the absence of solid material evidence, relying on tradition and family memories faded through generations, the essential knowledge about Freemasonry in Sombor may be connected to the craftsmen and their guild rules, as well as officers who returned home from the many European battlegrounds.

We are more focused on craftsmen and journeymen because, on returning to their hometown from practising their trade in faraway lands, they stayed, founded families, and spread knowledge and ideas acquired in foreign countries. They themselves, primarily due to the social class they belonged to, were rarely received into contemplative lodges at that time, but the morals and spiritual side of guild rules had indeed had an impact, even a direct one, on the moral standards of Freemasons. In the 19th century, especially by its end, a considerable number of Freemasons grew up in the families of craftsmen.

The planned, intensive resettlement of Germans and Austrians during the reign of Charles VI Holy Roman Emperor, his daughter Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II, 3500 families, mostly of craftsmen, were resettled from Baden-Württemberg to the counties of Bacs and Bodrog. During the reign of Joseph II, 63 craftsmen settled in Sombor, who worked in 34 different crafts. Although there existed various guilds, one of these gathered builders, carpenters and coopers under the same roof. Guild rules were written in German, with the introductory and concluding provisions in Latin. The Guild Rules that were in use in Bacs-Bodrog County were approved by Franz I of Austria on 27th September 1819, and a subsequent, "new" one, comprising 49 Articles (all in German) came into force on 27th March 1828.

Due to the purpose of this book to inform but avoid analyses, we shall not do a detailed comparison between guild rules and Freemasonic regulations, but point out a few similarities and let the reader decide on their relationship.

Articles 1-9 of the Guild Rules refer to the choice of apprentice, who can be of any legally recognized religion. However, if he wishes to learn a craft, he shall be of an immaculate character, someone has to guarantee for him and a written proof must be submitted. He must comply with strict rules and his conduct must be exemplary to represent the profession which he has chosen to enter. He is not allowed to do anything without the consent of his master. For all offences, a penalty is imposed, which is pronounced in money and has to be paid for the benefit of the guild treasury. In the absence of money, he is deducted a corresponding amount from his pay or his learning period (2 years for carpenters, and 3 years for masons and coopers) is extended for a corresponding number of days or weeks. The master craftsman may also be subject to penalty if he treats his apprentice in a way that counters the normal behaviour of a faithful person of good reputation i.e. "under the tongue of good report".

Articles 10-20 regulate the details of the professional and personal life of the journeyman. Anyone at this level is obliged to spend at least three full years on a journey around the world to study the craftsmanship and acquire "different types of knowledge and skills during the time". He must carry with him a written evidence of his human and professional qualities, and he must not leave his master before the expiration of 6 months, which means that he must learn from a total of 7 masters before he himself becomes a master. If a journeyman deserves it, via his devoted work and behaviour, the master as well as his guild, are obliged to issue to the journeyman, without charge, a Letter of Release describing all his virtues. Apart from his service with the masters of the craft he is practising, the journeyman may, upon presenting documents and references from his former master craftsmen, seek service with a noble person. How focused on work the life of the journeyman had to be and how socially acceptable his conduct was expected to be may be seen from the following sentence from Article 16:

"The journeyman is not permitted to stay outside his address at night after the hour that the city concerned has determined or is considered commonly acceptable."

Journeymen are prohibited any gathering, association and collection of funds that they may jointly dispose of, but they are obliged to pay a certain amount to the common, guild treasury, held by masters and which, among other things, must also be used to help journeymen in distress and meet other needs of theirs. It is strictly forbidden to distinguish between domestic and foreign journeymen, in any way other than on the basis of their behaviour and qualities set out in their Letter of Release.

Articles 21-28 are general provisions on master craftsmen. In order for a journeyman to become a master craftsman, he is required to make his so-called "masterpiece". The place is not designated, i.e. he is not obliged to perform work in the place where he learned the craft; his master craftsman diploma is also recognized in other places. The supervision and evaluation of the work are performed by the guild that the journeyman reported his masterpiece to; the guild is also obliged, if the journeyman lacks his own resources, to provide him with all the material and conditions for the creation of his masterpiece. The new master craftsman has to pay a certain amount for the benefit of the guild treasury immediately upon gaining his title, although he is forbidden to give lunch or dinner for the members of the guild. Sons of craftsmen have no privileges in relation to other apprentices and have to pass the same path as others to gain the title of master craftsman.

Articles 29-35 relate to the obligations of the master craftsman. The most important quality is devoutness, and the most important obligations come from faith. The Master is obliged, by his example and contributions to the religious institution that he belongs to, to be a role model of his community and contribute to the realization of high moral standards of the society in which he lives. The master craftsman is also obliged to take care of his family and apprentices and journeymen who learn and work with him. It is forbidden for him to lure journeymen from other masters, for personal gain. Both the master and the journeyman are forbidden to underestimate the work of other masters. All masters are the same as human beings and as members of the guild, and no one has the right to limit them in performing all the bits of their profession. Both domestic and foreign master craftsmen have the same rights and are equal in performing their profession and the sales of their products. In case of illness, the master craftsman's guild maintains his craft in such a way that all the other masters of his craft lease, for 8 days each, one of their apprentices until the sick master recovers.

Articles 36-49 regulate special cases. In case of death of the master craftsman, all the members of the guild are obliged to attend the funeral and help the family of the deceased. After the death of her husband, the wife inherits all the guild rights. In 1833, the head of the Builders' Guild in Sombor was Franz Gfeller (cives selectus - a prominent citizen), the builder of the Town Hall of Sombor, who was accepted as a citizen of Sombor in 1807. In the said year of 1833, on 19th March, he died; following his death his widow Ana Gfeller neé Hameder inherited his position as the head of the Guild.

Masters were obliged to meet quarterly when they discussed pre-determined issues. Masters who did not reside in Sombor were given the option to attend only one meeting a year when they settled their annual obligations towards the Guild; those who lived further away than one hour of travel were not obliged to appear personally. The head of the guild and his deputy were always elected on the same date for a period of one year, and a financial report was submitted at the same meeting. Correspondence with other guilds, which concerned all the members, was conducted in such a way that the content was familiar to all the members.

Almost every Article ends with sanctions, or mentions them, in case of non-fulfilment of obligations.

STORIES AND FINDINGS

The unofficial beginnings of Freemasonry in Sombor, as well as in Vojvodina and Belgrade, date back to the distant years of the 18th and 19th centuries. Although there are no reliable data, it is known from descendants' stories, scarce indications in archival documents and material remains of Freemasonic symbolism, that Somborians, especially the builders of the great edifices for which Sombor is so recognizable (Franz and Karl Gfeller, Bauer et al.) as well as men of letters and science, were members of European Masonic lodges. There is very little information about them, especially if they lived and worked in the period after the mysterious death of the Holy Roman Emperor and Freemason Leopold II, son of Maria Theresa, in 1792, and the Revolution of 1848 when, supported by papal edicts, Freemasonry in Austria and Hungary, a country with a separate parliament, but a joint crowned head, was banned. Those who happened to spend their mature and Freemasonic years in the first half of the 19th century had to keep their affiliation secret. They left the trail of their commitment discreetly, on buildings that they erected and on tombstones. Knowledge about them was passed on strictly within the family, from generation to generation. In the Austrian part, the ban lasted until 1918, but Freemasonry experienced a boom in the Hungarian part of the Empire after 1867, and the light was brought into many Lodges throughout Vojvodina under the aegis of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary.

Decorative element of the house of Ullrich Wenzel in Sombor (photo by the author)

Maria Theresa's Charter of Free and Royal City that Sombor received in 1749, the unification of the two counties into Bacs-Bodrog County and the nomination of Sombor for the seat in 1802, as well as the rich educational tradition, made Sombor into a bustling city and a cultural leader in the region, thus attracting more residents of various profiles during the 19th century, especially in the middle of the century. In 1851 Sombor was a city of 22.886 inhabitants exceeding the number of inhabitants of such cities as Belgrade, Zagreb, Ljubljana, Novi Sad or Osijek. Subotica was the only city with significantly more inhabitants at the time, but it lacked the cultural power of Sombor.

From as early as 1766, the first pharmacy was opened, more than 900 acres of urban land in the vicinity of Sombor was afforested, mainly with oak trees, in 1789 the first postal service started, the Great Bacska Canal was excavated (1793-1802), thus creating a new waterway and solving the issue of ground waters. Libraries were established in 1817 and 1859, as well as reading rooms in 1844 and 1845; street lighting arrived in 1828 (oil, gas, and electric in 1905), the first steam-driven textile workshop in Vojvodina started in 1840, the first printing press in 1850; newspapers in the Hungarian and Serbian languages were printed: Ipar (economy) Školski list (school leaflet), Prijatelji srpske omladine (friends of Serbian youth), Bácska, Golub (pigeon), Zdravlje (health), Zombor és vidéke (Sombor and its surroundings). In 1868, the first bank, the Sombor Savings Bank, started working, and in 1869 a railway track was laid to connect the Pannonian Plain with the Adriatic Sea passing through Sombor. In 1883, the Historical Society of Bacs-Bodrog County was founded, and in 1891 turning of Sombor into a leafy city began with planting thousands of hackberry trees; today the city is also known under the name Zelengrad (green city). In 1899, the Free Lyceum Society was founded by the Freemasons of Sombor, who also took a significant part in its work. It should be mentioned that in 1908, the first cinema began showing films.

Freemasonry arrived in Sombor from Szeged. In order to better understand how this happened, we will mention, in a few words, the events of 1848-49, which began in Vienna on 13th March 1848, by raising barricades by the people dissatisfied with the absolutist rule. Soon the dissatisfaction of the people spilt over to Budapest. The news of the Viennese and Pest barricades travelled to Sombor for 7 days and arrived in the middle of the session of the Magistrate. The people there were living in peace and understanding and did not receive the news with too much concern, and so it was in the weeks that followed.

"Our city has always distinguished itself from others and it was characterized by peace and good citizenship. Everything that has ever been done here is characteristic for our hometown and everything important that has ever happened was achieved in a peaceful way" - these were the words of the mayor, Petar Konjović on 22nd May 1848 (Meetings of the Magistrate, City Archives of Sombor).

During the Revolution, only three cannonballs were fired at Sombor (still embedded into the facade of the house at No. 6 Staparski put). Otherwise, the city did not suffer any damage.

After the abolition of the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temesvar in 1860 and the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, Freemasonry gained new momentum. A certain number of Somborians became members of the Lodges under the protection of the _St. John Grand Lodge (Jánosrendi Nagypáholy)_ , later Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary (upon its foundation) and the Grand Orient of Hungary due to the fact that they studied and worked in big European cities, mainly in Szeged, Budapest, Vienna or Zurich. Most of them were engineers, doctors, teachers or professors who did their service outside Sombor. They were scattered throughout the cities of Hungary, and until the beginning of the 1890s, there was no mention of Freemasonry in Sombor.

SOMBOR BY THE END OF THE 19th CENTURY

The opening of new, higher degree schools, the expansion of cultural institutions and societies, the improvement of infrastructure and the connection of the city, via railway and waterways, with the other parts of the region and the world, the arrival of intellectuals from other regions, revived not only the daily life and culture of the city, but also facilitated faster integration of Sombor into the overall development of the economy and the capitalist mode of production, thus changing the way of life and thinking. Sombor was transforming from an agrarian-urban environment into a cultural-urban one, especially in the last two decades of the 19th century.

The Szeged-Sombor reach of the Alföld-Adria railway line, built in 1869-70, was of special importance for the emergence of Freemasonry in Sombor. Sombor, as a seat of Bacs-Bodrog County, was now connected with Budapest and other urban centres in the north. Unfortunately, different nationalities in Sombor had a different view of that economic expansion and connection with the capital city. As per the minutes of the meetings of the Magistrate, the official language in Sombor was Serbian until 1876. Now, the Hungarian minority became the ruling nation. The majority Serbs could not accept the change, thus they rarely enrolled their children in the newly established Grammar School (1872) and the Higher School of Commerce (1888), which did not bring much good. What had always been a prominent feature of Sombor was its good national and religious tolerance. Somborians had always been wiser and cooler heads than the great rulers of the region where the city is located. Apart from initial grudging, common sense always prevailed over serious misunderstandings. Due to relatively short delays in accepting a new status, there have never been national or religious conflicts.

Although Orthodox Serbs were the majority population, Catholics were more numerous since, besides the Catholic Slavic population (Bunjevci, Croats and Slovaks) there were Hungarians, as well as a considerable number of Germans who had settled in the 18th century. Surprisingly, Hungarians constituted a minority in their own country (41.6%) even before the First World War which, in addition to neglecting the needs of other nations, backfired after WW1 at the Trianon Treaty signed on 4th June 1920, in which decisions were made by the "great powers", like it has been happening ever since. Hungary was then deprived of two-thirds of its territory, including those parts where they did constitute the majority – they were stripped off even of Pozsony, their former capital city and seat of the National Assembly as well as their ancient European homeland.

Coat of Arms of the City of Sombor (photo by the author)

EVENTS IN SOMBOR IN THE PERIOD 1867-1906

Most of the events in Sombor were compiled and recorded by journalist and publicist Milenko Beljanski - Pipac (1923-1996). He published them in five volumes of his Letopis of Sombor (Yearbook of Sombor), covering a vast period between 1360 and 1914. The work is impressive but he, like many others who tried to present historical events, succumbed to the political climate of his time, so some data were arbitrarily interpreted, probably due to the lack of adequate documents. In all likelihood, it was the case with us as well, in some parts of this book, sincerely trying to meet the objective of this work – to offer basic information on Freemasonry through focusing on the existence of this cultural and social phenomenon in a relatively small community. We have chosen events that, we believe, had both direct and indirect connection with the appearance and further course of Freemasonry in Sombor. In addition to the aforementioned Sombor Yearbooks, we also used other sources in Hungarian, English and German.

1867-1877

1867 \- The situation in the County was desperate. The economy was practically non-existent due to a total neglect of infrastructure. In the rainy season, the dirt roads were so muddy that the settlements were practically cut off from each other. Dykes, both along the Danube and the canals, were in a poor state. The county treasury was empty since nearly all that came from inland revenues went to the imperial treasury. Even a fund dedicated to orphanages was taken over by Vienna. It took almost four decades for the financial situation in the County to be completely settled.

1868 \- The Magistrate made a few important decisions in order to start settling the situation, primarily to improve financial practices and bookkeeping procedures. Among other things, it was decided and realized, in the same year, to regulate the flow of the Mostonga River in order to prevent flooding of large areas, which had taken place every spring. That year road construction began. However, as it often happens, the worst variant of problem-solving emerged – a dilemma - i.e. determining the priority between only two existing options - whether to build the Novi Sad-Szeged or the Apatin-Szeged road first. Finally, the first option won, but months of precious time were wasted in arguments. Education was also in an unenviable position due to the lack of funds.

1869-70 \- Bacs-Bodrog County was hit by a flood. Cities along the Tisa (Stari Bečej, Mol and Petrovo Selo) suffered most, but the damage had to be repaired with funds from the County treasury, which was heavily indebted on two occasions.

1871 – After two years, the County had a Grand Mayor again; Károly Martonffy was nominated for the position. The County authority was established, composed of Serbs, Hungarians and Bunjevci.

1872 – In spring, the Danube flooded 200,000 acres of land. That is why 4 committees for the resolution of the problem of flooding were constituted. Seeing the Sisyphean work that the County was doing in that regard, the government finally decided to send additional funds - the following year.

1873 – The region of Šajkaš was re-joined to the territory of Bacs-Bodrog County. Petar Stojković held a festive speech in the Serbian language. At the end of the year, cholera devastated the population of the County. The population was "fleeing" from one place to another to escape the disease. The medical service was disorganized, which worsened the situation and helped spread the disease.

1874 \- A rapid development of education began. In the existing schools, the number of teachers had grown from 132 to 156, and 18% of the population was affected by compulsory education (for reasons of comparison, it was 16% in the most developed Pest-Pilis-Solt County, in the same period).

1876 \- The Danube spilt its banks once again breaching the dykes at Bogojevo. All men, without exception, from the deputy prefect, through engineers to workers and peasants, were ordered to defend the city. The County managed to repair the damage in that same and the following year.

1877-1881

The general characteristic of the last thirty-three years of the 19th century in Sombor was the development of craftsmanship and "productive forces" and, with reference to this, a gradual transition to the capitalist mode of production and regulation of social relations, as well as the emergence of the working class. The town was urbanized (the streets were cobbled, raising of pigs was banned in the central area of the city), school- and educational life improved substantially as well as publishing (books, magazines, textbooks) in Serbian and Hungarian, craftsmen and traders' associations were created, beautiful public and private buildings were erected.

On the other hand, the oak forest of Bukovac was gradually deforested due to communal works. The national issue was constantly on the agenda due to the unequal treatment of Hungarian and non-Hungarian peoples in the country (nearly a million Serbs at the time). However, the bourgeoisie always found ways to establish very good cooperation. The Jewish community played a significant role in the economy, culture and education. In the 1870s, the city prospered thanks to high taxes paid by livestock exporters. They drove sheep and horned cattle to Vienna and sold them at great profit and, upon return, invested the money into the development of the city.

1877 \- Engineer and designer Milan Grgurov submitted to the Serbian Orthodox Church a new school plan because the old school was accommodated in Mrs Amalia Birvalski's house for a yearly rent of 450 forints. The plot for the new school was acquired for 500 forints in the part of the city called "Selenča". The Serbian Girls' School was added the third grade. A park was being planted near the railway station. The newly formed company "Heim és Roheim" soon became the leader in grain trading. The municipality put an advertisement in the local paper – twice – seeking two men to remove mud from the cobbled streets and collect garbage, but no one called for the job. Finally, building contractor Wenzel Ullrich (? - 1885) agreed to do the job. He later designed and built his own house featuring Masonic symbols. Was he a Freemason?

1878 – Bosnia and Herzegovina fell under the Austro-Hungarian rule but officially it still remained part of the Ottoman Empire. Austro-Hungary was initially reluctant to run the Bosnian affairs since they received thus 1.5 million more Slavs. However, they were compelled to abide by the decision of the Congress of Berlin in order to bar Serbia from expanding after the Serbian-Turkish wars of 1876-78. On that occasion there was fierce dissatisfaction in Sombor because many citizens were recruited to the Austro-Hungarian Army, the people had to pay a higher tax, and 2000 carriages with 4000 horses were taken from the County. However, in such difficult circumstances and under the resistance of large landowners, the first Economic Society of the County started working thanks, first of all, to the Grand Mayor Dezső Gromon (who was later falsely accused of cheating) and to Béla Sándor, Deputy Mayor and later Mayor of Sombor. The Society, founded 15 years earlier, had not worked; after waking it up, it introduced major changes in agriculture abandoning extensive farming and boosting food production, which grew steadily year after year. By economic activity (mostly small, craft industry), Sombor was only in the fourth place in the County, behind Baja, Novi Sad and Apatin. In 1879 the Serbian Trade Cooperative was founded, which somewhat sped up the slow Sombor economy in subsequent years. It could have been far more prosperous if the Budapest-Semlin railway line had touched Sombor. The lobbying of Subotica and, especially, of Novi Sad on this issue brought far-reaching benefits to them, especially after WW1 when Sombor gave in and Novi Sad became the administrative centre of the region.

Those few years were the hallmark of philanthropic and cultural-educational activities in which Sombor predominated in relation to other cities of the County. In 1879-80 funds were procured to finance the construction of orphanages and help the poorest citizens in the County. Unfortunately, it seems that humanitarian funds were "at hand" for embezzlement. In Kula, a deficit of over 51,000 forints in the fund for abandoned children was discovered, to be compensated from the joint funds of the entire County.

At the same time, the township of Sombor paid special attention to compulsory primary education and culture. Two publishers were active in the city: the Bittermann family, owners of a printing house and Milivoj Karakašević, bookshop owner and publisher, who published the works of leading Serbian writers of the time, as well as the works of Freemasons Dositej Obradović and Petar II Petrović Njegoš. The design of the Sombor Savings Bank building, which was to be erected in the main street, was being prepared. Mayor Julius Szemző, upon the approval of the Magistrate, built a park surrounded by stone wall and wrought iron installations; there are 3 single-storey houses in place of the park today. The area of the municipality of Sombor was resurveyed; thus, the city collected a substantial amount of money since the owners of the land had to pay 30-fillér surtax per acre. The Craft Cooperative employed a few dozen master craftsmen of different nationalities. The issue of erecting a theatre building as a common achievement of all the nationalities was raised and a joint stock company for the construction was established in 1879. Stevan Konjović wrote the Hungarian ABC Book and Reader and Nikola Vukičević was the author of the First Spatial Catechism used in teaching at the Higher Serbian Girls' School. Teacher Nika Grujić and eight others were arrested for recruiting people for the Serbian army in the Serbian-Ottoman war, but they were not brought to justice due to a wide support by the public; even Emperor Franz Joseph intervened to stop the proceedings.

1879/80 \- Vilmos Donoslovity, a Bunjevac and native of Nemes Militics (Svetozar Miletić) finished the Grammar School, later to become a doctor; in addition to medicine, he studied journalism and went in for politics as well. As a member of Hungary's Independent Party, he advocated for the cooperation of Sombor Hungarians, Bunjevci and Serbs. In 1907 he started the Serbian weekly Naše kolo (our circle), and for some time he was the editor of the social, economic and literary magazine Zombor és vidéke (Sombor and its surroundings). At a large assembly of the opposition, attended by 8000 people, which was jointly organized by the Hungarian Independent Party and the Serbian People's Radical Party in Sombor in 1910, Dr Donoslovity was the first speaker. Among other things, the assembly demanded the introduction of secret balloting into state elections. Nika Maksimović (referred to as a Freemason) was elected deputy in the Parliament on behalf of the Serbian Liberal People's Party. The Parliament passed a law according to which all children had to study in the Hungarian language as well.

The Choir of the Hungarian Kaszino held a concert to benefit the victims of the great flood of Szeged and the Municipality Gardening Company sent 4,500 seedlings to the troubled city. Members of the Serbian Reading Room organized an entertainment evening collecting around 150 forints and donating the amount to the hospital for the purchase of hospital furniture. Ede Margalits, a Freemason, became one of the teachers of the Grammar School and later a professor of the University of Pest and supervisor of Serbian schools in the southern regions of Hungary. He launched an action for the construction of buildings for the Sombor and Novi Sad grammar schools. He was one of the founders of the Historical Society and editor of the Yearbook of the same society. In his vast oeuvre of scientific papers, important place belongs to the works on the cultural heritage of the South Slavs. As a professor, he taught Hungarian, Greek and Latin. Learners from Sombor used to be polyglots speaking Hungarian, Serbian and German; many Orthodox priests also spoke Russian. Orthodox churches in Sombor, Subotica, Baja, Ridjica, Stanišić, Pačir, Bajša, Sivac, Kula, Lalić, Deronje, Parage, Ratkovo, Bodjani, Srpski Miletić and Bački Brestovac were under the jurisdiction of the Sombor proto-Presbytery. In 1879, there were 10,482 Serbs in Sombor and 17 schools with 868 students.

Architect Gyula Pártos, a native of Apatin living in Budapest submitted a design for upgrading the Prefecture Building (two side towers and the rear of the building); in this regard, 7% surtax was imposed upon the citizens. The plan was accepted and the building was entrusted to the submitter of the design. The Sombor Savings Bank issued shares totalling 5000 forints to help erect the theatre building.

Silkworms were reared in 1879 and sericulture was quite developed in Sombor. The Trade Training School started working. Due to a catastrophic flood in Szeged, Sombor received a large number of children who were accommodated with Sombor families and attended local schools.

1881 \- The Vienna newspaper Weltadresenbuch wrote the following about Sombor (source Milenko Beljanski: Letopis Sombora 1870-1906):

"Sombor is the seat and centre of Bacs-Bodrog County, the District and the court. It has a post office, a railway station, and telegraph service; it has 28,000 inhabitants (4,122 more than there actually were that year); it is also the centre of tax administration, tax inspectorate, financial management, management of crown assets and holdings, administration of the Franz Joseph Canal; there is the National Grammar School (Gymnasium), the Serbian Teacher Training School, the Higher Serbian Girls' School, the municipal library, the County and town archives, the County jail, a Turkish mosque, a brewery, a steam mill, vinegar, brandy and liqueur production, ropes production, hemp and jute processing, brick making, basket making, the Citizen's Kaszino, the Hungarian and Serbian reading rooms, workers' relief associations and hospital associations, a funeral society, the Jewish Women's Society and the Catholic Women's Society. Different trades are pursued in the city; there are: 33 solicitors, 8 doctors, 4 agencies, 1 decorator and painter, two chemists, two public baths, 5 bakers, 3 members of the Builders', Carpenters', Coopers' and Stonecutters' Guild, three producers of brandy and liqueurs, two sellers of beer, 5 brandy shops, 120 representatives of various crafts (bookbinding, brush manufacturing, glove making, goldsmith and jeweler, hatter, furrier, coffee roasting, coppersmith, house painter, skinner, licitar and candle maker, photographer, belt maker, saddler, umbrella maker, locksmith, tailor, shoemaker, soap boiler, rope maker, buckle maker, sieve maker, sock maker, upholsterer, carpenter, watchmaker, platter, weaver, gunsmith, brick maker, printer and lithographer, bookseller and seller of musical instruments, miller, turner, hardware store keeper, manufacturer of vinegar, seller of paint, butcher and sausage maker, hairdresser, tanner, tavernier, moulder and founder, grain trader, glass and glass vessel trader).

The following banks exist in the city: the Savings Bank, the Trade Bank of Sombor and the Sombor Crafts Bank. The Hunting Horn Hotel hosts travellers and business people alike. There are clothes and fashion shops: ready-made suits, dresses, women's and men's accessories, fur shops, leather goods, as well as canvas-, mixed goods-, wine- and brandy shops; there is also live cattle and wool trading.

14 families were mentioned in the 1881 Vienna article whose members or descendants were or later became Freemasons. In the same year, 12,107 Catholics, 43 Greek Catholics, 10,896 Orthodox Christians, 147 Evangelicals, 81 Reformists and 604 Israelites lived in Sombor. Of the total number of 1,619,692 students in the state, 849,504 were Catholics, 173,098 Orthodox and 68,362 Israelites.

The Prefecture Building and the theatre building were completed. Pan Slavic spirited students were not allowed to enrol in universities and were expelled from all schools. A new one-storey building of the Gymnasium was erected in place of the former Latin Grammar School, built in the 18th century.

1882-1887

In April 1882, the German population held demonstrations in Apatin, Odžaci, Crvenka, Novi Vrbas, Stanišić, Futog and Kovilj against the untrue articles of the Berlin newspaper "Deutscher Schukverein", stating that the German minority in Hungary lived almost like slaves. With these demonstrations, the Germans gained significant points with both the central and county authorities.

1882-83 \- Tuberculosis and venereal diseases were very common in Sombor, and there still were occasional outbreaks of cholera. In order to protect the population against sexually transmitted diseases, the state passed a law on prostitution and brothels; allegedly, there were four of them Sombor. They could only be run by women older than 30, who are allowed to employ only women over the age of 17 and in possession of a medical certificate. A day's wage for a man was one forint if he received food (one forint-twenty if he did not get a meal); for a woman, it was sixty kreutzers and thirty kreuzers for a child. The price of 100 kg of wheat was 10 forints and 20 kreutzers, the same amount of potatoes 4 forints, beans 8.5 forints. One hectolitre of excellent wine was 16 forints, a ton of sub bituminous coal 1.2 forints, 1 kg of beef or pork cost 54 kreuzers, mutton was 60 kreuzers, one kilo of onion 10 kreuzers, salt 12 kreuzers and sugar 58 kreuzers.

The Magistrate brought forward several regulations among which: precautionary rules for avoiding bodily injuries at work on agricultural machinery, on banning peddling, on keeping private advertisements.

In order to boost the birth rate, the foundation of Demeter Papházy donated dowries to young Serbian bachelorettes.

Construction of the Catholic primary school, known as "Central", was completed. On 17th June 1883, the renovated tower of the Holy Trinity Church was consecrated. They placed a letter with the names of all the former holders of public functions and notable citizens into the sphere on which the church tower cross rested. In March of the same year, the government settled 1,000 families from Bukovina. In the majority of places in Banat they were gladly received, but there was no enthusiasm in the reactions with the county authorities. On 13th October, Emperor Franz Joseph came to visit the city of Szeged, restored after the catastrophic flood of 1878. On that occasion, the Emperor also received a delegation from the County.

1884 \- A conceptual layout plan was prepared for building a new defence complex with a large gendarmerie barracks, a hospital, a warehouse and a powder mill. Thus, a greater military contingent could be stationed in Sombor. The following year, preparations were made for building another barracks and a military hospital.

That same year, Somborians worked diligently together with Torontal County, who they had close economic ties with, on the establishment of the joint Chamber of Commerce headquartered in Nagybecskerek (Zrenjanin) but, by the decision of higher instances, Bacs-Bodrog County was driven under the Szeged Chamber of Commerce.

In the Hungarian Kaszino, a party evening was held, attended by over 30% of Serbs, and turning it into a traditional annual gathering. The President of the Kaszino was Mihály Jakobcsics. On 12th March, Sombor was hit by an earthquake. Several houses collapsed.

1885 \- Imre Frey was born, a member of a Budapest lodge, a respected numismatist and archaeologist, who maintained links with the world's largest museums. He endowed the native museum of his hometown his numismatic collection comprising 12,000 pieces and an archaeological collection of 1124 objects. In the same year, the first issue of the journal "Bács-Bodrog vármegye történelmi társulat évkönyve" (Yearbook of the Historical Society of Bacs-Brodrog County), was published. It was regularly contributed by Sombor Freemasons: Ede Margalits, Károly Trencsény, Soma Rácz, Sándor Bitterman and others.

On 27th June 1885, a congress of the Serbian religious community was held in Sombor, where it was confirmed that reconciliation between the Serbian and Hungarian peoples did take place, although Serbs were demanding greater autonomy within Hungary. Electrification plans were mentioned in that same year.

1886 – Education was laden with numerous problems. Serbian teachers had to take an exam in Hungarian. In a lot of schools and kindergartens, the number of children and students was getting bigger and the amount of money available was dwindling. Kindergarten entertainer Olga Pavlović (kindergarten teachers were called "entertainers" at the time) complained about failing to receive even a kreuzer her work for nine consecutive months. At the Teacher Training School, 17 students were staging a strike due to "unmet requirements". Despite the opposition by the Minister of the Interior, Somborians accepted the newly completed theatre building as a city property. Under the patronage of the Subotica parish, the evangelical community was established.

In 1886, Simon Guttmann, rabbi, translator and publicist, was born, one of the most educated people of his time in the region, a Freemason, polyglot and a Grammar School teacher.

1887 \- Drilling of the first artesian well began on the Central Square in front of the City Hall. It was drilled to a depth of 334 meters, and the works lasted for two and a half years. The well provided 18,000 litres of water per day, at a temperature of 24oC. A new city slaughterhouse was being built. That same year, Aladár György, a Hungarian writer, journalist, publicist, cultural historian and Marxist - later a supporter of civil radicalism - wrote his five-volume Peoples of the World, where the population of Bács-Bodrog County was also analyzed. He described the citizens as hard-working and economical but accused the civic population of extravagance and drunkenness attributing the lagging of cities in economic and cultural terms to the "blue-blooded" and the ruling bureaucracy. Such assessment was simply not true, having been based on a few blue-blooded landowners from pre-revolutionary times since Bacs-Bodrog County had really passed through significant changes after 1867.

1888-1895

1890 \- On 21st April, Georgije Branković, the Sombor archpriest, Director of the Teacher Training School, was elected Archbishop of Karlovac, like Metropolitan Stefan Stratimirović a native of Kulpin 100 years before him. Georgije Branković served the famous painter Paja Jovanović as a model for the character of Arsenije III Čarnojević in his "Migration of the Serbs".

A population census was made that year. The birthrate in Bacs-Bodog County was 12‰ while the national average was 11‰. However, the number of people dropped since excessive natality led to fragmentation of property and families with many sons were not able to provide survival for all, so some of them moved to other parts of the country as well as to distant lands. Another reason was the transition to intensive agriculture and application of agricultural machinery, which eliminated the need for a large number of manual workers. The third reason was the more than twice cheaper land in Slavonia, thus a large number of peasants moved there. Grand Mayor Béla Sándor received knighthood of the Order of Leopold II as well as the St. Andrew Cross and the Order of St. Gregory the Great.

1891 \- Dimitrije Mita Petrović, allegedly a Freemason, died in Budapest. He was a longtime professor at the Teacher Training School in Sombor, scientist and author, member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences. He published, among other things, a manual on sericulture (silk) and a study on the importance of artesian wells for the health of the population (The Artesian Well in Sombor).

1892 \- The population of Sombor was threatened by cholera once again. The History of the Hungarian Kaszino was written by solicitor and Freemason Dr Viktor Kollár.

1893 \- The first city telephone network was established. Among the first beneficiaries were the Weidinger, Spitzer and Mór families. Diphtheria erupted in the city.

1895 \- Djordje Antić, pharmacist, museologist, one of the most notable citizens of Sombor was born. Electric street lighting was introduced on January 12th and the first electric mill started working.

In the years that followed, until 1896, the city was working intensely on boosting its economic and cultural development, in view of the big date for the state, the 1000th anniversary of the Hungarian Conquest, which the majority nation was exercising with such zealousness that they completely forgot about the other nationalities in the country. Fortunately, the economic and cultural development benefitted all since life was more bearable and promising for everyone after the big celebration. Unfortunately, dissatisfaction was constantly smouldering, sometimes flaring into sharp verbal conflicts thus creating a fertile ground for the development of different political ideas on national and social grounds.

1896-1897

1896 – That was the year of celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the arrival of Hungarians in the Pannonian Plain. The 28m2 painting "The Battle of Zenta" by Ferencz Eisenhut, depicting the forces of Eugen of Savoy defeating Murat II in the battle of Zenta in 1697, was hung in the Ceremonial Hall of the city's Prefecture Building. Hundreds of citizens of Sombor of different nationalities participated in the battle. A Monograph of the Bacs-Bodrog County was published; Freemason Dr József Thüm, a member of Lodge Stella Orientalis, was one of the authors.

1897 – Of the 34 solicitors in Sombor, László Kozma, Dr Samu Grüner, Dr Lajos Strasser and Dr Armin Bruk were Freemasons.

Harvest time strikes were raging in many places in Bacs-Bodrog County. The strikers demanded: 12-hour working day and the equal pay rate for everyone. The police closely monitored the movement of those citizens who could have been the bearers of social-democratic ideas. Freemasonic advocacy for social and economic equality made the police put them under surveillance. Dr Adolf Feles (Flesch) became the President of the Medical Association. He was a Freemason, a member of L. Arpad of Szeged, Daughter Lodge Philanthropia, and later the first secretary of the first Sombor Lodge called Jövendő. Elek Gozsdu, a member of the Budapest Lodge Könyves Kálmán, a writer, lawyer, public worker and erudite, arrived in Sombor to become the President of the Court. With his arrival and connections, he revived the cultural life in Sombor and strengthened cultural ties among the people of various nationalities and religions. Local publishing (by Bitterman, Karakašević and Oblat printing houses) was flourishing.

Thousands of European nettle trees (Celtis australis) were planted in the city, becoming the symbol of Sombor in later times, first in the newly constructed park around the Prefecture Building and then throughout the city. In the following thirty years production and trading in Sombor-cheese, an exquisite cheese brand, was in full swing, the product being sent to all corners of the state.

Many workers' charities and trade unions were merging into state-level alliances and social democrats were gathering at the one-storey building at 8 Florian Street (today's Batinska street), which later housed the Court of Justice. It was replaced by a modern residential block in 2016, a new offspring of the local architectural wonder-planning.

THE FORMATION OF PHILANTHROPIA DAUGHTER-LODGE IN 1897

"Official" Freemasonry in Sombor began with the foundation of Philanthropia Daughter-Lodge by L. Arpad on 14th April 1897. As a Daughter Lodge, Philanthropia worked until 22nd November 1908, when it converted to L. Jövendő. After WW1 the same Lodge was renamed to L. Budućnost since the territory of Vojvodina was assigned to The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes by the Trianon Treaty on 04th June 1920. In the years that preceded the formation of Philanthropia, a number of Somborians were initiated in L. Arpad, in the Orient of Szeged, the largest lodge in Hungary at the time.

Medal of Daughter-Lodge _Philanthropia_ (photo supplied by Josip Šosberger)

Data on the establishment of Philanthropia, the first Masonic organization in Sombor and the "official" beginning of Freemasonry in Sombor, originate from the documentation of the Szeged Mother-Lodge and the State Archives of Hungary. At the institutions that deal with archiving and preserving documents of the past in Sombor, the City Archives, the City Museum and the City Library, there is next to nothing on Freemasonry, primarily due to excessive, paranoiac fear by the authorities of the former political system of anything that had any connection with Freemasonry. It was considered absolutely perilous for the system.

The language in which the documents were written was the language of the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Although they are reports, invitations, conclusions and minutes, their language is a mixture of formal, poetic and official, very elegant and descriptive, with a lot of attributes and idioms, seemingly complex but understandable to educated members of Masonic lodges, who the texts were intended to – compared to the deliberately complicated and hard-to-understand language of modern non-fiction in the country.

Lodge Árpád's Report for the year 1897 was written by Frigyes Arató, director of the Higher State Women's School in Szeged and Secretary of the Lodge as well as the author of a large number of papers on Freemasonry and all the annual reports of L. Arpad from 1891 to the end of the century. At the very beginning of the part of the Report that refers to the formation of Daughter- Lodge Philanthropia, he says:

In the 27th year of existence and work of L. Árpád in the Orient of Szeged, we celebrate the constitution of a Masonic Daughter Lodge in Sombor. This job is not the result of coincidence, a momentary enthusiasm that flashes up in a storm like straw, but of our focused will and calm consideration; therefore, it promises a long life to this youngest sprout of Hungarian Freemasonry.

The Mother-Lodge itself, with all her power, encouraged the germ of the harmonious Masonic spirit in Philanthropia, demonstrating unselfish maternal love and guarding and protecting her offspring, who has strengthened so much that it may relieve her from her maternal duties. (p. 1)

As early as its foundation in 1870 Lodge Árpád had already seen the need to spread Freemasonry to the southern parts of Hungary by starting new lodges, but many adverse events, for example, the catastrophic flood of 12th March 1879 in which the greatest part of Szeged was destroyed and 60,000 people were left homeless, prevented that and so did their constant struggle for survival. The Report emphasizes proudly that the Lodge survived in those difficult times although it had to bear, without external financial support and adequate spiritual leadership, such anarchy in Freemasonic relations that a lot of lodges in those parts had to go dormant, e.g. in the Orients of Arad, Baja, Újvidék (Novi Sad), Timisoara, Versecz, Greater Becskerek (Zrenjanin) as well as Oravica, Lipovica and Karansebes in present-day Romania.

Whenever difficult days came Lodge Árpád always had the strength to find its feet and build new temples on the ruins of the previous ones. The first results in this sense came with the foundation Lodge Stella Orientalis in the Orient of Semlin on 30th November 1889. The Mother-Lodge was still insufficiently strong at that time and the "deranged relationships" that were ruling during the formation of the Daughter-Lodge were exhausting.

Having succeeded in overcoming the financial difficulties of that period and strengthening in the spiritual sense, Lodge Árpád was able to attract the interest of those interested in bringing Freemasonry into the cities of Vojvodina. The number of active members grew significantly in the Lodge itself, and this reflected beneficially on Freemasonry, both in the Szeged region and in the southern part of Hungary. In fact, membership tripled and, naturally, new Masonic lodge centres emerged, since a vast majority of new members came from other places.

The issue of expansion of Freemasonry in Vojvodina became an unavoidable topic at conference meetings in the last decade of the 19th century. However, the formation of new Daughter-Lodges and constituent lodges did not go at the same speed that might have been expected in the atmosphere of enormous enthusiasm about Freemasonry. The reason lies in the exceptionally strict requirements that Lodge Árpád imposed on prospective lodge applications in terms of careful choice of membership and unconditional readiness to follow the Masonic way in philosophical and philanthropic activities. All those members who planned to form a Daughter-Lodge or a constituent lodge in their places of living knew that very well, so steps in this direction were undertaken with a lot of caution, careful consideration and without excessive haste.

In 1892, a Daughter-Lodge in the Orient of Kikinda was about to be constituted when, the situation suddenly changed for the worse, due to adverse circumstances. Although we do not have information or idea what was meant by "adverse circumstances", the fact is that Kikinda had to wait for a few years for their Daughter-Lodge and during that time the Daughter-Lodge in Sombor was able to begin its life.

The report said that Lodge Árpád had already been attracted to the seat of the neighbouring Bacs-Bodrog County at the end of the 1880s, considering its size, wealth and intelligentsia. As early as then, the first plans for founding a Lodge in Sombor had already existed, although, at that time, no one from the city or the surrounding area was a member of Lodge Árpád. The existing Freemasons from Sombor were members of other lodges: Lodge Stella Orientalis of Semlin, like Bro. Dr Jozsef Thüm or the Budapest Lodge Könyves Kálmán, like Bro. D. A. H., and it was believed in Szeged that some other lodges would initiate petitioners from Sombor, so they did not take any steps in that regard.

However, on 9th November 1895, at a tyled meeting, Lodge Arpad raised the issue of the constitution of a lodge in Sombor again. Namely, the two Brethren mentioned above were present at Lodge Árpád's anniversary and filed an application for Lodge Árpád's patronage. The Lodge, accepted the request, of course, but it took Bro. Dr Joseph Thüm (or Thiem) almost a year to show "signs of life" again, sending the following letter to Lodge Arpad on 24th September 1896:

Dear Brethren,

This autumn, we started a Freemasonic movement in Sombor.

After a year of careful consideration, we will send you shortly a list of those whose support the undersigned Brethren Dr S. G. and Dr A. H. managed to win for our noble cause.

During our stay in Szeged at your jubilary work, we had your promise that your Lodge was ready to support the Freemasonic movement in Sombor. On this basis, together with the two signatories of this letter, we decided to ask that the supporters of our cause be initiated in L. Árpád, since it is the closest to us.

In the beginning, our goal is to create only a Daughter-Lodge that could initiate a few novices from Baja and Novi Sad as well, of course under the aegis of L. Árpád.

I am asking you kindly for a reply.

With brotherly love

Dr J.T.

Lodge Árpád replied promptly saying that they were glad and ready to provide moral and material support for establishing or preparing for the establishment of a lodge in Sombor.

As early as 30th September, Bro. Dr A.H. submitted his application for admission to the Szeged Lodge and asked them, at the same time, to half the membership fee for the Somborians so that they could cover the costs of the formation of their Daughter-Lodge with the other half. He and Bro. Dr J. T. would go to Szeged to reach an agreement on details. The Secretary of Lodge Árpád said that halving the amount of the membership fee was contrary to the principles of the Lodge, but the matter became irrelevant due to the fact that, after receipt, all the money would be transferred back to Sombor as help for the constitution of the Daughter- Lodge. However, a face-to-face meeting would certainly speed up the cause.

On 10th October Brethren J. T. and A. H really appeared in Szeged at a 1st degree tyled meeting. After the work, a meeting with the Lodge Officers was held where the two Brethren from Sombor exposed their guidelines and plans. The Officers of the Lodge showed vigorous interest in the first Masonic steps in Sombor and confirmed their support, promising that they would initiate a number of petitioners in the ritual work on 24th October, and provide conditions for the commencement of work of the Sombor Daughter-Lodge.

On 30th November 1896, a letter by Bro. J. T. followed, with the following content:

Dear Brother Secretary!

Slowly, but surely, we are progressing. Although I am writing on my own behalf, do consider that you are referred to by other Brethren as well. After our today's meeting, I am sending you three new matricules, and soon two more are coming. I spoke with Bro. B., so the Brethren from Becse (Bečej) will nominate two candidates as well. This would make the first step, and it is always the most difficult. We are extremely careful not to cause problems at the very beginning.

We could have 20-30 brothers in Sombor in a year, and with those from the surrounding area, the number would go up to 50-60, and then, we could have our lodge under the aegis of L. Arpad.

I am using this opportunity to thank you for the invitation.

Yours sincerely, Bro. J. T.

On 2nd December 1896, the matriculas of petitioners I. S. (Imre Steingasser), M. K. Mór Kelő and Gy. K. (Győző Kollár) entered the regular procedure. Balloting was held on 9th January 1897. All three received white balls only and became novices, and matriculas of two new petitioners, S. R. (Soma Rácz) and F. K. (Ferenc Kende), were also read out. Although the Szeged Lodge was ready to initiate the first three petitioners, the Daughter-Lodge in Sombor asked to wait for the result of the balloting for the two new petitioners so that all five could be initiated on the same day. On 24th January S.R. and F. K. were balloted and a 1st-degree ritual work was scheduled for 30th January when all five petitioners from Sombor were initiated. It was a very ceremonial occasion in presence of 50 Brethren from Szeged as well as Bro. М.Т. from the Budapest Lodge Haladás (Progress), Bro. J. T. from Lodge Stella Orientalis and Bro. P. NY., from Lodge László Király, Orient Nagyvárad (Oradea). The ceremonial tone of the work with such a large number of participants was enhanced by the oath-taking of the Worshipful Master Bro, V. P. and his deputy Bro. J. R. After the oath-taking, the Officers of L.Arpad commenced the initiation of the Sombor Brethren I. S., M. K., V. K., S. R. and F. K. conferring the first degree on them.

Although the Sombor Brethren were burning with desire to form their Daughter-Lodge as soon as possible, the Mother-Lodge instructed them to wait patiently for the book of Basic Rules to be drafted, because they knew what responsibility they were taking in terms of unobstructed functioning of not only their own Daughter-Lodge but also other such lodges that were about to be constituted. Therefore, the Book of Regulations had to be drafted carefully stating concisely the most basic obligations; it also had to be universal i.e. provide for equal solutions for specific situations that could arise in any given lodge in the future. The task of the drafting of the Regulations, on behalf of the Lodge, was assigned to the Secretary. We will subsequently state the resulting Rules in full.

On 6th and 13th February, Lodge Árpád discussed the draft of the Rulebook and sent it to the Sombor Brethren for further discussion. On March 6th, Bro. Soma Rácz, on behalf of others, informed Lodge Árpád that the Somborians had accepted the Rulebook, both as a whole and as per the articles, and thanked for the generous help that the Lodge was constantly providing and begged the Szeged Brethren to do everything towards the formation of the Daughter-Lodge soon. Lodge Árpád was pleased that the Rulebook had been adopted, and sent it to the Symbolic Grand Lodge attached to a report, requesting confirmation. The Lodge also sent representatives to the Grand Council meeting to facilitate the Grand Lodge's approval. The Most Worshipful Grand Master declared that the sending of the Regulations was considered only a formality since the Grand Lodge had already taken a principled stance and supported the document; subsequently, a written consent would be sent to facilitate foundation of the Daughter-Lodge as soon as possible.

On the basis of the aforementioned, the Somborians decided, to mark the beginning of the labour of the Daughter-Lodge on Big Wednesday, and on 1st April 1897 asked Lodge Árpád, the Mother-Lodge, for further instructions so that their Daughter-Lodge could be consecrated on the said day, i.e. 14th April 1897. They also informed L. Arpad that the ceremony and the subsequent dinner would be held in a private home since circumstances in Sombor were such that a public place would not be suitable for the purpose. The Lodge decided to delegate, under the leadership of the Worshipful Master, Bro. J. R., the following Brethren: Deputy W.M., Bro. GY. N., Senior Warden, Bro. A. B., the Secretary, Bro. F. A., the Orator, Bro. Dr M. S., the Treasurer, Bro. VM and Brethren E. S., V. S. and M. L.

Seal of Daughter-Lodge _Philanthropia_

As all the preparatory works had been completed in the best order, the Daughter-Lodge of Sombor was consecrated in Bro. Győző Kollár's home, as planned, at 6 pm on 14th April 1897, to the joy of all those present, as well as the Brethren in Szeged and the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary. Most likely, "plastering" was held in the house of Bro. Soma Rácz, where toasting was going on deep into the night _._

THE REPORT OF 14th APRIL 1897

The following Brethren were present at the consecration of Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia on 14th April 1897: Worshipful Master of Lodge Árpád, Bro. J. R., Deputy-Worshipful Master of the Lodge Gy. N., Junior Warden A. B., Secretary F. A., Orator Dr. M. S., Treasurer V.M., Brethren E. S., Dr V. S., Dr A. H., M. K., F. K., Dr GY. K, (Győző Kollár), S. R. (Soma Rácz), I. S. and E. G. (Elek Gozsdu) of Lodge Könyves Kálmán, Dr S. M., of Lodge Demokratia and M. I. of Lodge Reform, as guests.

Item 1 \- Bro. J. R., the Worshipful Master of Lodge Árpád, opened the ceremonial work speaking about the significance of 14th April for mankind and the Hungarian people. (On that date, Hungary declared independence from Austria in 1849 and Abraham Lincoln was killed on that same date in 1865). (Later events related to the famous 14th April, or around, for which our Masonic ancestors could not know, among other things were: the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, the misfortune of Apollo 13 and other events, but also numerous positive events selected at the discretion of those who, for various reasons, try to "prove" the working of the mysticism of numbers). In the light of the noble achievements of the past Bro. J. R. welcomed the establishment of the Daughter-Lodge of Sombor and wished the G.A.O.T.U would bless their works, and he also invited the Brethren present to confirm the list of founding members of the Daughter-Lodge: E. G. (Elek Gozsdu) of Lodge Demokratia or Könyves Kálmán), S. G. (L. Demokratia) as well as A. H., M. K., F. K., GY. K., S. M. and S. J.

Item 2 \- Lodge Arpad's Secretary presented the Rulebook that he prepared on behalf of his Lodge for the needs of the Daughter-Lodge, which the Sombor Brethren had already accepted both in its entirety and in terms of its articles.

Item 3 \- The Treasurer, Bro. V.M. submitted a report in which he said that Lodge Árpád would generously refund all the membership money that the Sombor Brethren, members of the Daughter-Lodge, had paid to the Szeged Lodge, except the part that normally belonged to the Lodge, with the aim of helping the Daughter-Lodge since they were to have considerable expenses for starting and proper management of their administrative affairs. In this sense, Treasurer, Bro. V.M. contributed 50 forints, for which the Sombor Brethren were very thankful.

Item 4 \- The Worshipful Master of Lodge Árpád, Bro. J. R. invited the Somborians, in accordance with the Rulebook, to elect and install the Officers of the Daughter-Lodge. The result of the election was as follows: Worshipful Master Bro. E.G. (Elek Gozsdu), Orator Bro. S. R. (Soma Rácz), Secretary Bro. F. K. (Ferenc Kende), Treasurer Bro. Dr V.K. (Győző Kollár) - all of them had been elected unanimously.

Item 5 \- The Worshipful Master of Lodge Árpád, Bro. J. R., called the Officers of the Daughter-Lodge to take the oath, and declared the Daughter-Lodge officially established.

Item 6 \- The deputy Worshipful Master, Gy. N. welcomed the Brethren of the Daughter-Lodge and presented briefly the tasks of Freemasonry. With words of enthusiasm, he encouraged the Sombor Brethren to do their best in Masonic works, and wished them a lot of happiness in further work, and that their successes serve them as a reward for their zealousness.

Item 7 \- The Worshipful Master of the Daughter-Lodge, Bro. Elek Gozsdu responded to the words of the W.M. of Lodge Árpád:

Do not expect lofty words from me because words do not represent the essence of Masonic thought. The ideas of Freemasonry are realized via deeds, not deeds of global significance, but those realized through common activities in our everyday life within the environment we live in. This is where the ideas of Freemasonry are realized. If all our steps are guided by humanity, only then can we be called Freemasons. I do not look for such qualities within the Masonic Fraternity only, but I am so pleased to see them outside it as well, among those who do their work and live according to the ideas of noble humanism. Therefore, only then will we be able to call ourselves Freemasons, when pure humanity, in its tiniest details, materializes in our lives and work - because life is essentially composed of small things.

Item 8 \- Bro. S. R., Orator of the Daughter-Lodge:

Dear Worshipful Master, dear Brethren!

We were filled with burning desire and now our wishes have come true. With joy, we can announce that our Daughter-Lodge has been established. Royal Art is victorious once again and it has found another home. In the Orient of Sombor, we have spread the banner of idealism and under it, like warriors in the heat of battle do we realize the ideas of Freemasonry. You are those who will represent this solemn guard whose task is to preserve the purity of the banner, strengthen its light and provide it with honour! When this sacred sign is demanded from you in the future, and you have succeeded in preserving its purity, thus you will honour yourself since this task ennobles you by its very essence and existence.

We leave you a chosen guard, believing in the Worshipful Master, the Officers and the virility and courage of every eye of the chain. In your struggle, let noble consciousness steel you for the accomplishment of elevated deeds. If the leader, officers, and soldiers combine their wisdom and strength, they must be victorious. What about a reward? Do not expect it from outside your world. It will be there in you; it will be there as sweet awareness that you, as a true man, have fulfilled your task.

Gather up the supporters of this idea with love and enlightened education, and do not be afraid of idealism and the loudmouths, who are unreceptive to spiritual values. You are the bearers of thoughts whose success is secured - like gold from the dust of the earth, like the sun's rays behind the clouds which are still dark, so will this noble thought appear in all its light, like pure, glittering gold, like the bright sun and prevail over the darkness of ignorance. However, if you wish to achieve the right results, take the lead, provide others with great examples and do not waste big words in vain – labour is worth a thousand words!

Thus, the Royal Art will have its magnificent temple soon, through your still feeble Daughter-Lodge where the wisdom and steady power of your W.M. and Officers will take you.

We welcome you. Forward to victory at work! "

Letter from Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary, Marczel Neuschloss, and Most Worshipful Secretary Dr Bakonyi in 1897:

On 24th April of the current year, via report no. 98, we were informed that a Masonic Daughter-Lodge had been established in Sombor on 14th April, which the Grand Council had approved at their meeting on the 3rd day of the current month.

Hereby we are sending you our recognition for your zealousness in the expansion of membership.

Please send us two copies of the minutes on the establishment of the Daughter-Lodge in Sombor and the accepted Basic Rules.

We are also asking you kindly to inform us about the name of the Daughter-Lodge, both its Masonic and profane one.

LIST OF THE MEMBERS OF PHILANTHROPIA

The Daughter-Lodge was established on 6th February 1897 in Szeged. It started working in Sombor on 14th April of the same year upon consecration at the home of solicitor Győző (Victor) Kollár. After the consecration ceremony, the participants moved to the home of Grammar School Teacher Soma Rácz (both addresses unknown), where a dinner was held.

Surname and name, Profession/city, Lodge

Bajkai, Antal, Engineer

Bárány, Zsigmond, Lodge Árpád

Bárczi, Iván, Engineer, Lodge Árpád

Beczásy, Gyula, Lodge Árpád

Bérczi, Dr Albert, Lodge Árpád

Berecz, Károly, Gombos (Bogojevo), Lodge Árpád

Duchon, Dr János, Physician, Lodge Árpád

Fehér, Jenő, Asstistant Prosecutor, Lodge Árpád

Feles, Dr Adolf, Physician, Lodge Árpád

Gozsdu Dr Elek, President of Court, Lodge Árpád, Lodge Könyves Kálmán

Grüner, Dr Fülöp, Physician, Lodge Árpád

Grüner, Sámuel, Lodge Árpád

Hetényi, Pál, Lodge Árpád

Jablonszky, Miklós, Asstistant Notary Public, Lodge Árpád

Kabos, Dr Márton, Physician, Lodge Árpád

Kelő, Mór, Mitrovica, Lodge Árpád

Kende, Ignácz, Engineer, Lodge Árpád

Kollár, dr. Győző, Solicitor, Lodge Árpád

Kozma, László, Museum Director, Lodge Árpád

Krump, Vilmos, Police Officer, Lodge Árpád

Latinovics, Szaniszló, Land Owner, Lodge Árpád

Lemberger, Rezső, Arpad, Lodge Árpád

Lévay, Nándor, Assistant School Inspector, Lodge Árpád

Linczinger, Gyula, Engineer, Lodge Árpád

Lőwy, Vilmos, Trader, Lodge Árpád

Pallai, Dr Zoltán, Physicia Lodge Árpád

Poór, Dr Béla, Prosecutor, Lodge Árpád

Rácz, Soma, Grammar School Teacher Lodge Árpád

Radvány, Ferenc, Teacher, Lodge Árpád

Raisz, Dr Lajos, Physician, Lodge Árpád

Reich, Dr Aladár, Lodge Árpád

Reich, Vilmos Sen., Lodge Árpád

Repcsényi, Rezső, Lodge Árpád

Reviczky, István, Lodge Árpád

Sabranszky, János, Chief accountant, Lodge Árpád

Sági, Dr Samu, Physician, Lodge Árpád

Sas, Ede, Lodge Árpád

Schlieszer, Sándor, Financial Secretary, Lodge Árpád

Schneider, Károly, Kula, Lodge Árpád

Schön, Géza, Engineer, Lodge Árpád

Scodnik, Rezső, Lodge Árpád

Sculthéty, Dr Jenő, Lodge Árpád

Steingasser, Imre, Lodge Árpád

Strasser, Dr Lajos, Solicitor, Lodge Árpád

Szabó, László, Lodge Árpád

Széky, István, Teacher, Lodge Árpád

Szilágyi, Boldizsár, Lodge Árpád

Szmik, Antal, Lodge Árpád

Szobotka, Rezső, Engineer, Lodge Árpád

Trencsény, Károly, Lodge Árpád

Weidinger, Dezső, Trader, Lodge Árpád

Wissinger,Dr Richárd, Veterinarian, Odžaci, Lodge Árpád

Wollheimer Dr József, Physician Lodge Árpád,

Zsigmond, János, Teacher, Lodge Árpád

Zsulyevics, Ernő, School director, Lodge Árpád

BASIC RULES OF DAUGHTER-LODGES UNDER THE PROTECTION OF LODGE ÁRPÁD

Article 1 - Formation

If Lodge Árpád, which operates in the Orient of Szeged, considers it to be in the interest of Freemasonry, it assembles in a daughter-lodge those members who do not live in Szeged.

Article 2 - Members

Members of a daughter-lodge of Lodge Árpád may be:

\- Those active Freemasons, members of L. Arpad, whose residence is on the territory of the daughter-lodge of Lodge Árpád;

\- Members of Lodge Árpád who live in the area of the daughter-lodge and have been granted permission from the Lodge, based on their written request, to become affiliated into the daughter-lodge;

\- Those active members of Lodges under the protection of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary (SGLH) whose affiliation is considered by all members of the daughter-lodge, without exception, to be desirable and confirmed this by their signature on the petition which the petitioner submits.

Article 3 Objectives

The goal of a daughter-lodge founded by L. Árpád, as long as there is an opportunity, by increasing the number of members, to form a lodge under the protection of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary.

a) To create, with its members and work, a sense of belonging to the Masonic community;

b) To offer guidelines to the Lodge in connection with admission of new members, thus contributing to the planned diffusion of Freemasonry;

c) To prepare the establishment of a new lodge.

Article 4 Work

In order to achieve the planned goals, the daughter-lodge holds regular conference works, without any ritual works where they:

a) Determine the method of work, place and time of meetings, and inform the Lodge thereof;

b) Prepare the budget - possibly at the last conference work of the year - strictly taking into account that, apart from the means of assistance proposed by the Lodge, the daughter-lodge is not burdened by other expenses;

c) Elect and install Officers at the beginning of each year;

d) Conduct discussions on official letters from the Lodge;

e) Initiate debates on Masonic topics;

f) Give their members opportunity to read texts written in the spirit of Freemasonry;

g) Decide, by secret balloting, to propose petitioners who have filed their petition at the seat of the daughter-lodge;

h) Establish an almoner's fund;

i) Form a three-member commission at the end of each year, which examines the management of the property and business and, on the basis of the report submitted by the commission, decide on the release of the Treasurer from liability;

j) Determine, together with Lodge Árpád, the amount of the fund that the Lodge will use to support the Daughter-Lodge;

k) Determine the amount of the remuneration that members of other lodges pay annually and take care of its timely collection;

l) Send the annual report of the Secretary of the daughter-lodge, with all accompanying documents, to the Lodge to be filed;

M) Refer to the Lodge in connection with all important issues.

Article 5 Management

A daughter-lodge is run by Officers elected by members of the daughter-lodge.

A daughter-lodge has four officials: the Worshipful Master, the Orator, the Secretary and the Treasurer.

All the members of the Daughter-Lodge have the right to elect and be elected.

Article 6 Worshipful Master

The Worshipful Master:

a) represents the daughter-lodge and is responsible for its work;

b) takes care of convening members to conference works;

c) takes good care of attendance by only those Freemasons who are entitled to participation;

d) directs the work, and in the case of unresolved voting, his vote shall decide;

e) authenticates the minutes and signs the entire correspondence;

f) issues orders for all payments approved by the daughter-lodge;

g) In an emergency, approves payments up to a maximum of 5 forints.

Article 7 Orator

The Orator of the daughter-lodge:

a) replaces the Worshipful Master;

b) ensures that the Constitution and the Statute are not violated;

c) ensures that the decisions are correctly implemented;

d) controls the counting of voices and contents of the almoner's purse;

e) notifies the Lodge in advance of any Masonic violation.

Article 8 Secretary

The Secretary of a daughter-lodge:

a) notifies the members of the daughter-lodge about the timing and agenda of the works;

b) keeps the minutes;

c) controls the counting of voices and contents of the almoner's purse;

d) under the control of the Worshipful Master, conducts correspondence;

e) takes care that all attendees sign themselves in the works book;

f) keeps records on the attendance of Entered Apprentices and Fellow Crafts at the works of the daughter-lodge;

g) manages the documentation and the library of the daughter-lodge;

h) in January, submits a report on work in the previous year.

Article 9 Treasurer

The treasurer of the Daughter-Lodge:

\- is personally responsible for and manages the property of the daughter-lodge and prepares financial statements;

\- makes payments by order of the Worshipful Master,

\- takes into account the capitalization and good use of the almoner's fund, after deduction of 10% in favour of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary, which he is required to remit to the Grand Lodge;

\- submits a proposal for the budget for the following year at the last conference work in the calendar year;

\- in relation to all payments, he submits a proposal to the Worshipful Master for approval.

Article 10 Going dormant or dissolution

In case a Daughter-Lodge formed by Lodge Árpád is not able to meet the planned objectives, the Lodge may, at a first-degree tyled meeting, make a decision to dissolve the daughter-lodge.

Made at Szeged, on the day of 6th March 1897

Lajos Főkövi, János Reisner

Senior Warden, Worshipful Master

Adolf Bokor, Dr Mihály Székely

Junior Warden, Orator

Frigyes Arató

Secretary

Approved by Decision no. 930/897

At the meeting of the Grand Council on 5th April 1897

Dr Sándor Fraenkel, Grand Secretary

Marczel Neuschloss, Grand Master

THE SITUATION IN SOMBOR IN 1899/1900

The year 1899

On 28th February, about 10 thousand Serbs from Sombor and its surroundings, forming a column of about 1,000 coaches, covered the distance between Sombor and Hercegszántó to attend the ceremony at which the Sombor proto Ljubomir Kupusarević translated 1,177 individuals of Šokac ethnicity from Catholic to Orthodox faith. The reason for this was the ban by the parish priest János Bátory (born in Csonoplya under the name of Ivan Burnać) that masses be held in the Šokac language.

Further to the proposal by Dr János Duchon, a Freemason and later the first Worshipful Master of Lodge Jövendő, which was consecrated on 22nd November 1908 in the Orient of Sombor, the Free Lyceum was founded, a cultural institution that organized lectures in all fields of science, culture and social life. The lectures were held in the Grand Hall of the City Hall in late autumn and winter and were open to all citizens. The tone of the Free Lyceum was set by the Sombor Freemasons until the year 1914 when the institution was closed due to the outbreak of WW1.

Trader Vitomir Bikar opened a store of men's and women's fashion apparel. The youth was trained in growing and maintenance of decorative plants and fruit. In the Jewish elementary school, there were 50 girls out of 102 students, and 8 students were not Jewish (5 Catholics, 1 Orthodox and two reformists).

The year 1900

The total area of the city and its surrounding was 53,577 cadastral acres. The city, with its surrounding villages, had 29,609 inhabitants, 14,582 males and 15,027 females. 16,338 citizens were Catholic, 11,666 Orthodox, 882 Israelites, 204 Evangelists, 469 Reformists, and 50 were of other religions. 14,663 persons spoke the official language, Hungarian, and 14,351 persons were literate. Of the total of 4179 houses, only 422 houses were made of brick, and most of them were of earth and adobe. 2855 houses were covered with reed or straw, and 1290 with tiles. In the previous 30 years, the number of inhabitants had increased by 5300. 41% of the inhabitants of Sombor were engaged in agriculture, about 25% in crafts and trade, and the rest were employed in public and transport services, the army or they were day labourers or freelance. 44 landowners owned more than 100 cadastral acres of land each.

The Medical Society brought out a Rulebook on procedures to be applied in the event of infectious diseases as well as for disinfection.

In the last 10 years of the 19th century, 40,000 people left the city, many more than in other urban areas of Bacs-Bodrog County. Of this number, 70% moved to America and 30% to Germany.

DAUGHTER-LODGE PHILANTHROPIA

YEAR 1900 REPORT

This text is a translation from the Hungarian original:

At the very beginning, the poetic style that records the death of one of the Brethren catches the eye; in the second paragraph, the author (Bro. Soma Rácz), very diplomatically, looked into the problem that had existed between Lodge Árpád and Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia. The intensity of initiation of new petitioners can also be seen as well as the activity of the Daughter-Lodge on spiritual improvement of the Brethren as well as of the profane environment - the latter through the Free Lyceum, an educational institution that came to life in Sombor, thanks to the Brethren, nearly four years after its appearance on the educational scene, modelled after Oxford University Extension i.e. a kind of open university.

The basic targets of Freemasonry are philosophy, humanity and progressivity. The latter was understood by Lodge King László of Nagyvárad (Oradea) as a possibility to deal with political and religious issues, as a chance to propose "modernization" of the existing ritual. They sent out a circular letter to all the lodges and daughter-lodges under the protection of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary (85 of them at the time) causing radicalization of the situation in Freemasonry, which nearly led to a split in the region. The extremely tangled diplomatic language of the sixth paragraph in which Philanthropia expressed its attitude, is also quite interesting.

I. Events of importance in the life of the Daughter-Lodge

We need to begin this annual report with pain in the heart because of the loss of our honest and active worker, Bro. Antal Bajkai last year. We lost him completely; even his body could not be recovered from the furious Danube which, while he was performing his duties (he was a hydrology engineer, TN), took him away, as if, by feeding with his heart, it wanted to calm down its rage.

The life of our Daughter-Lodge was so intense in the past year that we had never seen anything like that before. It was bubbling gently without hastiness and imprudent easygoingness in relations between the Brethren and the profane world, which is a sign of healthy struggle and belief in the realistic outcome of the efforts made. It should be kept in mind that the prospect of success exists only in case we abandon all aggressive outbursts and nurture mutual relations, practising such Royal Art that always seeks a complete man who should, due to these natural reasons, get rid of all senselessness in his actions from the very beginning.

We believe that the results of the spiritual life and work of Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia, as we put them before our Brethren in the circle of the Masters of the Royal Art, meet the approval of those present. Without the desire to praise ourselves, we only list the details of our activity, in order for our Masters to see how much attention, in certain periods, we dedicated to labour on humanity and spiritual improvement.

The Daughter-Lodge admitted five new members: Zsigmond Bárány, Károly Berecz, Pál Hetényi, Boldizsár Szilágyi and Rezső Scodnik, three of them from Sombor, and two from other places, and at the end of 1900, the Daughter-Lodge could boast of having 29 members. How much attention we paid to the expansion of our membership is shown by the fact that, just like a year earlier, on 22nd April we gathered at a meeting only for one goal \- to indicate those individuals from Sombor and its surroundings who would be worthy of admission. Although it has yet to be carefully evaluated, increase in membership led us to conclude that, either from our own funds or assistance and contributions from the Grand Lodge, as well as by transferring the dormant Lodge Honszeretet (Patriotism) of Baja to Sombor we may build a temple of the Royal Art.

Regarding the work on spiritual growth, we must say that lectures were held by the following Brethren: Bro. Lajos Strasser: "On Masonic Generosity", in which he expressed an opinion that generosity stems from the trinity of tolerance, forgiveness and altruism; Bro. Iván Bárczi: "Masonic Attitude to Modern Investments", stating that there is no morality in the taxing system and that public morality will be exposed to decay as long as revenues are determined on the basis of the personal declaration of income and statement on civil and moral responsibility. The Daughter-Lodge held this issue so important that it considered it necessary to launch an action in order to solve the problem of the existing tax morality, considering it to be a medieval way of categorization of work, without any connection with the spirit of the current time; however, the beginning of the action was postponed until better times. Bro. János Duchon informed us about the problem of foster families in the city of Sombor, which attracted great attention of the Brethren, especially when he informed us that "angel making" ( _gradual poisoning of love children_ , TN) in the city was flourishing, without any control. He presented a sad statistics on the death of extra-marital children, according to which 52.4% of newborn children were born out of wedlock; of this, 63% died at birth and 76% before their second year of age, which caused stupefaction among the Brethren. Dr Duchon suggested that domiciling be done only into perfect foster families, that the approvals for fostering children should be issued on the basis of the material standing of the foster family, and that a home for abandoned children should be built in Sombor. We will put the case on for further discussion, and take further necessary steps with the local authorities, respecting the decisions of the competent ministry. Bro. Győző Kollár informed us about the essence of humanitarian work. According to the indicators, humanism is a notion that includes the concepts of freedom, equality and fraternity, i.e. all those rights which belong to the human community from the very moment of birth. Bro. Károly Berecz presented to the Brethren the problem of public libraries in Bacs-Bodrog County. His work in this field received recognition from the Brethren. Through Bro. Rezső Szobotka's article in the press the general public was informed of this as well. Unfortunately, there have been no results so far, but we hope that a solution will soon be found.

After the introductory presentation of Bro. Győző Kollár, Bro. Iván Bárczi gave a lecture on the social program of Lodge King László of Oradea that was presented to our Daughter-Lodge.

TN: Masonic Lodge King László of Nagyvárad (Oradea) was founded in 1876. The Lodge launched a leftist radicalization of Freemasonry in Hungary. All of its proposals to the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary for changes in this respect had been rejected on a regular basis and in the following two years, there were serious "grubbing", even breaks of relations among the Lodges. One of the main demands of Lodge King Ladislav was the possibility of discussing political and religious issues in the Masonic Hall. The main demands were of a social nature: the introduction of general voting rights, state education without the influence of religious communities, the abolition of benefits for priests.

Iván Bárczi showed that, although he disagreed with the extremely radical views of that Lodge, he still supported the strong progressivity and freedom of expression at the national level. The Daughter-Lodge took a stance on this issue at the level of expressing opinion; on the basis of this; we are of the opinion that principled conclusions could be drawn and that religious and political issues could be debated, since they are not discussed on the basis of religious and political affiliation but in general and on the basis of the moral standing of the individual member. Thus, the propagation of the conclusions of modern science and scientific methods on the organization of a future society may have its place, without neglecting the achievements of Freemasonry.

The upbringing of the female population was also the subject of an exchange of views, as well as the drawing of the problem of protection of newborns and young children out of the context of religious affiliation - a problem that required an urgent solution.

We have created a permanent, reliable and productive program that we intend to accomplish by assigning individual Brethren tasks on processing the previously identified issues so that we could include them in future agendas. These are the following issues: child protection, tax morality, prevention of alcoholism, nationalization of schools, the problem of county libraries, educational work.

Within the profane world, the Brethren always endeavoured to meet the demands of Freemasonry and the most illustrious example of this is the Free Lyceum which, after last year's success, gave wings to the Brethren. In this year's work of the Free Lyceum our Brethren took part as well holding the following lectures: Bro. Elek Gozsdu about egotism and altruism; Bro. László Kozma about the world of the Kurutz (Hungarian anti-Habsburg rebels between 1671 and 1711), Bro. Soma Rácz on the age of Leopold II, Franz I and Ferdinand V; Bro. Károly Trencsény on Hungarian lyric poetry; Bro. János Duchon on bacteria; Bro. Mór Kelő on Shubert's music; Bro. Soma Rácz on ancient drama; Bro. Miklós Hegedűs on the waters of Hungary; Bro. István Revizky on ice; Bro. János Duchon on Raskinism, and Bro. Rezső Szobotka on art in architecture. In addition to this, the Daughter-Lodge has launched an action within which, thanks to the full engagement of Bro. Rezső Szobotka, the scientific-theatre Urania is to give several performances in Sombor in the following period.

TN: The name Urania comes from ancient Greek mythology. She was the muse of astronomy, the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosine, a personification of memory, and her grandfather was Uranus, the personification of the sky. Urania Hungarian Scientific Theater / Association and Stock Company, founded in 1897 in Budapest with the aim to ... "be the place where the scientist will educate, the artist show beauty, and the writer refresh, and all three create a sense of unity". The same company was founded in Vienna in the same year. The Society printed its own leaflet and propagated spiritual and scientific development. It exists in the two cities mentioned even today, sponsored by various scientific and literary institutions.

All the said activities had a most favourable impact on the profane world, and propagation of Masonic ideas was not circumvented even in debating groups.

The daughter-lodge has allocated 90 crowns for philanthropic goals. In addition to this, we have ordered 1000 copies of the National Calendar, edited by writer, journalist, museologist and freelancer Ferenc Móra and distributed it among the people at the purchase price. The debate group of the Society of Technicians, which has a certain number of Brethren among its members, has purchased and distributed the Heroic Legend of the Struggle of Hungarians for Freedom for 30 crowns. In addition to this, the same company, but within another debate group, provided clothing for 29 poor children last year. We have to mention as well, "in a narrower frame", that we celebrated, on 8th April 1900, the anniversary of the formation of our Daughter-Lodge, with the presence of the Worshipful Master, his Deputy, the Orator and several members of Lodge Árpád as well as members of Subotica's Kossuth Daughter-Lodge. We can but mention our desire that all our members, like it happened this year and hopefully will happen next year as well, be imbued with the same enthusiasm, so that we could then boast of even better results and present ourselves as a new Masonic community relying on our own forces.

II. The number of the meetings:

The number of the meetings: 14

Lodge of sorrow meeting: 1

BI. Information about the library of the Daughter-Lodge:

It contained 90 different pieces - 11 books, and 79 volumes.

Made at Sombor on the day of 19th January 1901

Guarantors of the accuracy of data:

Deputy Worshipful Master Lajos Raisz, Orator Soma Rácz, Secretary Dr. Győző Kollár

SOCIETIES AND ASSOCIATIONS IN HUNGARY

BETWEEN 1848 AND 1919

Throughout the abovementioned period, the work of most associations was strongly coloured with national sentiment and a multitude of social and national issues gave them special importance. With the change of the economic situation, the civil society was becoming increasingly more vital and stronger especially in urban areas. In urban areas, we find a wide range of humanitarian, economic and cultural societies and associations, different from those in rural areas, where more attention was paid to the formation of craft and firefighting societies, as well as savings banks and farmers' clubs. The societies, associations and circles in the city, owned small libraries that were subscribed to a number of journals of national importance and operated their drama, music, art and literary clubs. In this period, libraries, scientific and art collections, and theatres had a special significance for the expansion of general culture.

Sports associations, which promoted a healthy life and supported physical development of the youth, should also be mentioned. Most popular sports were: shooting, skating, cycling, bowling, athletics and football. Schools started working more on the educational and physical-cultural development of the youth, so music (especially choral), scouts, chess, various sports and stenographic clubs became an integral part of extracurricular activities in all the secondary and some elementary schools. There were also religious associations that covered all the religions represented in the state and played a significant role in the formation of moral awareness among the population, so there were Sunday religious schools, humanitarian societies, youth and women's societies and associations. Firefighting companies also played a significant part in preserving security and protecting the public and private property. Occasionally, civil and field guards were established. Such societies and associations were founded by different social classes and their objectives and actions often transcended local frameworks and fell under state jurisdiction.

In 1872, guilds were abolished prompting the establishment of professional associations, which were followed by mutual assistance companies, whose task was to create benefits for their members in insurance and health services, as well as in transport. In 1891, social-health funds were created from contributions by both employers and employees, as well as from interest and donations. They incorporated various chambers (lawyers', doctors', engineer's. ... etc.), as well as scientific and cultural societies (historical, legal, artistic ... etc.).

Considering the fact that societies and associations, possessing the legitimacy of a legal person, had a chance to carry out certain activities jointly, not only did they "stick out like a sore thumb" in the eyes of absolutist and non-democratic governments but were subject to prohibition and persecution. Therefore, the authorities treated them differently in different historical periods. Most often, we do not talk about laws but regulations and decrees, and the term "freedom of association" appeared relatively late in the legislation of such regions. After the Settlement of 1867, the Hungarian legal practices did grant the freedom of association. However, the issue of approvals of work was within the scope of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and a corresponding certificate of operation was issued only after insight was made into the Statute of the company or association. The difference, compared to the period before the Revolution of 1848, was that then the final approval or ban came from Vienna and now from Budapest.

The "Decree of the Ministry of the Interior no. 1873/1834" stated that the freedom of association had existed even earlier, "with regard to the awakening and development of public life"; however, the "Decree" pointed out that the control of societies and associations by the authorities was necessary "in order to preserve the interests of the state and to prevent abuse". Keeping records of societies and association, it said, offered a chance to resolve possible problems related to public complaints about the work of these organizations.

The procedures for applying and approving the operation of societies and associations were elaborated by "Decree no. 5008/1875". It was emphasized there that associations and societies with significantly different goals could not have the same Statute, that national associations and societies could act only as literary and general education societies, and that political and labour societies and associations were not allowed to form branches.

As late as 1912, the first law (XLIII) was passed, according to which the Ministry of Internal Affairs not only approved and controlled the work of associations and societies but also had the right to suspend or ban the existing ones. Decree no. 5479 of 27th July 1914 prohibited the establishment of societies and associations as well as their branches in areas near military operations. By "Decree no. 5735" of 1st August, the ban was extended to the entire territory of the state. This was somewhat mitigated by "Decree no. 1442" dated 26th April 1916, by which societies and associations could be formed if their objectives were closely related to military operations or war charity.

FREEMASON MEMBERS OF SOCIETIES AND ASSOCIATIONS

IN SOMBOR AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY

At the time of establishment of Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia, and later L. Jövendő, there were over 50 cultural, humanitarian and educational associations and societies; the majority of them active. Despite considerable national divisions, members belonged to different religions and nationalities. In the available literature on the matter, the role of the Jewish community, who had always devoted considerable attention to humanistic education and linguistic culture, was unjustly neglected. Exceptional personalities such as Rabbi Dr Mihály Fischer, and Rabbi Dr Simon Guttmann, Dr Martin Kabos, Mór Kelő, Áron Wámoscher, Dr Adolf Feles and many others, being widely educated people who spoke several languages, played an important role in linking the Orthodox and Catholic intelligentsia. They were Freemasons, active participants in the work of societies and, most often, initiators of actions.

It is difficult to understand the "policy" of neglecting Sombor and its surroundings in spite of its excellent location, good development perspectives, its permanently present intelligentsia, its excellent educational institutions and human resources. Unfortunately, such treatment of the city had its roots in the olden times, so the period we are referring to is no exception in this regard. At the time, a lot more was being invested in Szeged and Baja and to some extent in Subotica as the largest city in the region since Sombor, despite being the seat of Bacs-Bodrog County, one of the largest counties in the southern part of Hungary, was treated like a border city, a military town not worth investing in.

However, the citizens of Sombor, in order to provide their city as well as themselves with a more glorious position on the cultural map of this part of the world, sought, especially in the 19th century, to launch new cultural projects, but also to preserve the best of the old. The Teacher Training School, the Grammar School and the School of Economics carried this culture banner being nurseries of extraordinary personalities and progressive ideas. As money is not always crucial for providing quality life, the period at the turn of the centuries showed this clearly when, to a large extent, the work of many associations and societies rested on private initiative, good organization and cooperation. Freemasons played a great role, probably even a crucial one, in the work of societies and associations since the early 1890s.

We will give a brief overview of all the societies and associations in which Freemasons, members of Lodge Árpád, Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia and Lodge Jövendő, after WW1 renamed to Lodge Budućnost, as well as members of other lodges played important roles. Those society and association members who became Freemasons later i.e. between WW1 and WW2 are also listed. In the work of several associations and societies, spouses of Sombor Freemasons took an active part as well. Through the list below, we let the reader evaluate the part, activities and goals of Sombor Freemasons. More information on societies and citizens' associations in Sombor may be found in various documents in the City Archives.

Literary Society of Bacs-Bodrog County

It was founded in 1906. It worked in the Hungarian language with the aim of spreading the Hungarian language without political means because it was thought by the authorities that the Hungarians have to take part and establish their "watchtowers" in the struggle for the language. Members read their works, contributed articles to local newspapers and magazines and financed the printing of their own works.

Members: Soma Rácz (vice president in Sombor), Dr Armin Lemberger, member of Lodge Honszeretet (Patriotism) of Baja (vice president in Baja) Dr Márton Kabos and Szaniszló Latinovics, (members of the Managing Board), Dr Ferenc Radvány, Dr Rezső Gál (members of the Board of Directors), Dr József Thüm, Zsigmond Bárány, Isidor Novaković (members of the Audit Committee), Dr Mihály Fischer.

Committee for the installation of the monument to Ferenc Rákóczi and József Schweidel

Members: Soma Rácz (president), Károly Trencsény and Vilmos Krump (secretaries), Dr Márton Kabos, Ernő Zsulyevics, Szaniszló Latinovics and Ivan Bárczi (members).

Serbian Orthodox Choral Society founded in 1871.

Members: Dr Nikola Maksimović, Isidor Novaković.

Choral Society and Citizens' Association Kaszinó founded in 1869 with the aim of improving the social circumstances, initiating and implementing humanitarian actions and actions of general social significance; pretty inactive in the first years of the 20th century.

Members: Aladár Tomcsányi (secretary), Dr János Duchon and Soma Rácz (members of the Managing Board).

South-Hungarian Society for Public Education founded in 1906.

Members: Ernő Zsulyevics (Co-Chair), Dr Kálmán Ribiczey (Secretary), Dr Rezső Gál, Dr Béla Poór (Honorary Legal Counsel), Dr Béla Késmárky (notary), Lajos Raisz (Control Committee), Isidor Novaković, Dr Ferenc Radvány, Soma Rácz, Dr József Thüm (Lodge Stella Orientalis) et al. József Wollheimer, László Kozma, Károly Trencsény, (members of the Managing Board).

Daily home

The home was founded in 1903 with the aim of providing daily care for poor school children. Children from families without funds for compulsory schooling, who did not live in the city, were provided food and care in the hours out of school. Initially, 45 children were taken care of, but this number rose to 100 by 1906.

Members: Elek Gozsdu, the first Worshipful Master of Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia, (honorary member), Dr Béla Poór (treasurer).

City Library founded in 1859.

Members: Lajos Raisz (treasurer), Ivan Bárczi (financial advisor).

Bar Association

It was founded in 1885.

Members: Dr Lajos Strasser (Chairman), Dr Rezső Gál, Lajos Czeisel (members of the Board of Directors).

Independence Circle

The circle was closely linked to the Sombor Independence Party since the founder was the aforementioned party in 1903. The aim of the circle was to maintain connections between the members of the Independence Party and to diffuse the idea of independence.

Members: Ivan Bárczi, Sándor Schlieser.

Permanent Committee for the Celebration of March 15th founded in 1895 by Ivan Bárczi

Other members: Soma Rácz and Ernő Zsulyevics (Vice-Presidents), Dr Kálmán Ribiczey (notary), Vilmos Krump, Károly Trencsényi and Szaniszló Latinovics (members).

Historical Society of Bacs-Bodrog County

The Society was founded in 1883 with the aim of studying antiquities, geographical and the historical past and present, as well as the ethnography of the County.

Active members: Elek Gozsdu, László Kozma (president), Károly Trencsényi (secretary), Soma Rácz and Dr József Thüm (members); Sponsors: Ivan Bárczi, Dr János Duchon, Dr Adolf Feles, Vilim Löwy, Dr Sima Pavlović, Lajos Raisz, Áron Vámoser, Lajos Weidinger and Richard Wisinger. All of them took an active part in the work of the Historical Society, many of them holding lectures and writing contributions. Dr József Thüm was the author of the following articles: "The Fall of the City of Sombor"; "Štrbac, the Lost Municipality" (1886); "Attempt to Establish the Serbian Vojvodina" (1888); "A Lost Municipality in Bacska" (1891). Károly Trencsényi wrote the following articles: "Mihály Vörösmarty as the Representative of Bácsalmás in Parliament" (1900); "Ferenc Cirfus" (based on biographical data) (1901); "Pál Bánk from the County of Bacs" (1903); "Our County and the Coronation", and "The Compromise of 1867" (1903); "Yearbook contributions to the history of our county" (1903); "Ferenc Deák and Bacs-Bodrog County" (1907).

Soma Rácz, teacher of Latin and Greek at the Sombor Grammar School from 1898, wrote a 14-page contribution titled "The Certificates of Royal Grants to the Family of János Török-Mustafa" (in the first half of the 16th century, an ancestor of the family fell into captivity, received Christianity for his faithful service and was granted a title of nobility), as well as a 16-page article titled "First Presentation of Our County from 1790".

Medical Society, founded in 1896 with the aim of representing the interests of Sombor doctors.

Members: Dr Márton Kabos (First Secretary), Dr József Wollheimer (second secretary) and Dr Samu Sági (second chair).

Tulip

Based on the reputation of the society for the protection of Hungarian culture bearing the same name and based in Budapest, this company was founded in 1907 with the aim of uniting all elements of a patriotic society and defending and developing domestic versus foreign industrial and agricultural production and promoting and fostering the sense of belonging to the nation, especially targeting the family and education of children.

Members: Soma Rácz and Sándor Spitzer (Vice-Presidents), Rezső Gál (Secretary), Lajos Raisz and Dezső Czettl (Control Committee), Ernő Zsulyevics (Member).

Sports society, - founded in 1884, organizer of many athletic competitions. Participants were from the cities of Baja, Szeged and Subotica.

Member: János Duchon, physician

Business Association of Bacs-Bodrog County

It was founded in 1871. The objectives of the association included the improvement of agricultural production through lectures and organizing exhibitions and financial assistance to members. The association had 5,000 members.

Members: Richárd Wissinger, a veterinarian from Odžaci, Mór Lányi, Károly Schneider from, Dr Béla Poór (Administrator), Áron Wámoscher, (Member of the Control Committee).

Serbian Reading Room

It was founded in 1845. Almost all of the cultural life of the Serbs was taking place in and around the Reading Room.

Members: Dr. Emilijan Grigorijević, Isidor Novaković

School of Economics

The founders were the citizens of the city of Sombor in 1888, and the state helped the school with an annual amount of 10,000 crowns.

School staff: Ernő Zsulyevics (Director), Vilmos Krump, Isidor Novaković and Károly Trencsényi (teachers).

Chamber of Trade

It was founded in 1902 with the aim of protecting the rights of traders and improving the economy and trade.

Members: Sándor Spitzer, (Director), Dr Rezső Gál (Secretary), Zsigmond Bárány, Sándor Kerényi, Isidor Novaković, Vilmos Löwy and Sándor Schlieszer (members of the management)

Trade Workers' Association

It was founded in 1906. The aim of the association was to provide trade workers with professional development, self-education and entertainment.

Member: Dr Rezső Gál (Legal Adviser)

General Association of Craftsmen

It was founded in 1887.

Members: József Ehrlich Jn. (Member of the Board of Directors), Wenzel Ullrich (Treasurer).

Bacs-Bodrog Journalists' Association

It was founded in 1907 with the aim of raising the quality of the local press to a higher level.

Members: Dr Lehel Knézy (Administrator), Aladár Tomcsányi (Treasurer).

Bacs-Bodrog Sober Society

It was founded by Dr Sándor Patai, editor of Truth magazine in 1907.

Members: Sándor Spitzer (Secretary), Dr Lehel Knézy, Soma Rácz, Dr Samu Sági, Dr József Wollheimer (members) and Dr József Thüm (Vice President)

Amateur photographers' society

It was founded by Károly Fernbach in 1905. Freemason Vilmos Krump organized public projections of photos once a month and photo-tours to attractive locations: Fruška Gora, Ilok, Erdut, Šarengrad etc. In 1909 the Association had 30 members.

SOMBOR AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY

1900 - Sombor with its 29,607 inhabitants was the third largest city in Bacs-Bodrog County, after Subotica with 82,940 and Novi Sad with 31,411 inhabitants. Only 14% of the Serbs spoke Hungarian, which was the official language of the country.

The Philharmonic Association was established, and the city allocated 6,000 crowns for the organization of concerts. 30 talented students received a total of 4000 crowns, allocated by the city. The crown became the new Austro-Hungarian currency; 2 crowns were worth 1 forint. After the introduction of electric street lighting, citizens were invited to have electricity installed in their homes. The Trade School introduced a 30-crown entrance fee for students who were not from Sombor.

The very beginning of the 20th century was characterized by national and political turmoil, and the Free Lyceum and Debate Clubs played an important role in general education and formation of attitudes within the profane environment.

1901 \- The Orthodox Church was buying uncultivated land around Dalj and employing wage-labourers from Sombor who were settling there. The city's Social Democrats considered that as a problem because of "diminished efficacy of the class struggle".

1902 \- Travel books, history and literary works were published by the Sombor printing houses. In the Grammar School, the Serbian language became a "non-compulsory subject", causing enormous dissatisfaction both among the Serbian people and the local non-Serb intelligentsia.

1903 \- Education seemed to be disorganized and uncontrolled, e.g. teacher Miroslav Atanacković informed the authorities that he would be going on holiday to Abbazia (present-day Opatija) and he would be replaced by student Branko Jagerović. At the same time, another student, Jelena Tomić, went on holiday at the same time, allegedly to Rijeka, which is not far from Abazzia. That same year, the General Labour Union was formed with a membership of several hundred workers and craftsmen, many of whom were Jews. The legal representative of the union was Dr Rezső Gál, a Freemason.

1904 \- Pavle Radosavljević, a distinguished teacher and psychologist at the Teacher Training School, founded the association named Spas (salvation), which was struggling against alcoholism, smoking, cursing, gambling and physical and spiritual vices young people were exposed to. Pavle-Paja Radosavljević studied in Belgrade, Zurich and Jena, where he became a Freemason. He left Sombor for the US in 1905, where he became a professor at the College of Pedagogy in New York and a close friend of Nikola Tesla. He died there in 1958. Dr Velimir Abramović, the greatest modern expert on Tesla and his work, mentioned Paja Radosavljevic, in a radio interview, as a Russian!? Mason and a great friend of Tesla.

In the first years of the 20th century, exceptional literary and printing activity was in progress in the city; in spite of the said disorganization in education, Sombor schools still enjoyed great reputation; the city had electric street lighting, but the first signs of stagnation could be observed and the city started falling into drowsy self-satisfaction, some kind of "small-routine" life which, grew into deep disappointment. All that "ditchwater" culminated immediately after the end of WW1, when counties were abolished i.e. converted into banovinas (the subdivision of first Yugoslavia) and Sombor became a part of the Danube Banovina, with its seat in Novi Sad.

If we accept the fact that the development and positive energy of a city, region, or even a state, depends on the enthusiasm and erudition of those who have accepted the ungrateful task to be at the helm, it is not difficult to determine what happened in Sombor. Stagnation occurred because the city began to lose significant human resources, those flywheels and generators that maintained its life, who left because the city had turned into a small lethargic environment that lost the game against more active and increasingly larger environments and stopped providing spiritual food for their cultural and educational needs.

However, the reasons may be attributed to unstable political circumstances as well. There was a growing tension due to social differences that were growing at a geometric rate. Although the city had excellent schools, although the number of intellectuals grew, although literacy was higher than in other regions, an army of the poor and disenfranchised did not have access to the benefits of good education, due to the incomprehensible exclusiveness of the priesthood of almost all the main confessions, and because of the increasingly aggressive performance of the state that wanted to flex its muscles. This gave rise to antagonism towards anything "alien" and stunned the organization of resistance to such behaviour on social rather than national basis. Dissatisfaction emerged, strikes were more frequent, but there was no real solution. Such a psychological atmosphere was used extensively when Germany, with its ally Austro-Hungary, decided to wage an expansionist war. Although there was both a quiet and public resistance to conscription, many individuals felt (quite wrongly) that they could compensate their confusion and disenchantment on the battlefield, where they felt "more equal" than in their peacetime life. Unfortunately, this "mind-modelling" is the companion of all wars – those stupid, completely unnecessary events of idiotic pride and destruction.

In the first years of the 20th century, there were increasingly more articles in the local newspapers and more and more discussions were being held in debating clubs about the "disastrous behavior" of young people who, at church masses "were sitting and pelting corn seeds at the elderly and did not give up their seats to them" (Milenko Beljanski: Letopis Sombora (Yearbook of Sombor 1907-1914).

In 1901, the Evangelical church began to be built. The building was completed in 1904, and the same year a new Catholic church with two towers was consecrated becoming one of the landmarks of Sombor, whose construction had lasted for 40 years.

The Free Lyceum was very active organizing a number of lectures. The topic "Realism in France in the 19th Century" was the subject of a whole series of lectures, which were so well-visited that it was difficult to find a seat. An exhibition of the Historical Society's collection was located in the Prefecture Building. Newspapers Sloga (Accord) and Smotra (Muster) were started. Dr Ede Margalits, a Freemason and professor of Budapest University, arrived in Sombor on behalf of the Ministry of Education to inspect the Higher Serbian Girls' School. He wrote a report full of praise for the quality of teaching. Composer Petar Konjović, born in Čurug, finished the Teacher Training School. In 1921, he was the Music Inspector at the Ministry of Education and became a Freemason in a Belgrade Lodge. At the time of the dissolution i.e. dormancy of Grand Lodge Yugoslavia, in 1940, he was a professor and rector of the Academy of Music in Belgrade, a member of the Czech Academy of Sciences and a regular member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences.

In Bitterman's printing press, the newspaper Igazság (Truth) was printed; Elek Gozsdu and other important figures of the Hungarian cultural life were frequent contributors. Sombor writers were gathering at the "Elephant" café. French works were being translated, and Dr Gyula Dudás and Soma Rácz researched the County archives.

FREEMASONS OF SOMBOR IN BAJA

Although it had been six years since the Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia was formed in Sombor under the protection of Mother-Lodge Árpád in the Orient of Szeged, the members still had not managed to settle their situation. At the turn of the century, they tried to build their lodge hall. Although there was a high degree of compactness and cooperation among the members, Sombor was still not a place where Freemasonry would be accepted, or at least tolerated.

The reason for this was, like before and after, the isolation and secrecy of Freemasonry, which caused suspicion and antagonism in the minds and hearts. The desire for knowledge drove Man out of the Garden of Eden and cursed him for good, thus little or no knowledge does shape his destiny. We all, more or less, bear the burden of prejudice towards what is not ours or what we do not understand believing naively that distancing ourselves from the others or from anything different and alien will protect us from "devastating external influences" and give us a larger space for survival. Of course, the truth is completely opposite. Most often, we separate ourselves from what would take us at least a step closer to the Garden of Eden out of which we were expelled.

Considering the membership of Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia, made of the noblest intellectuals, the problem of being misunderstood by the environment, which Freemasonry in Sombor was faced with at all times, would be resolvable, due to the significant contribution to the profane culture of the city and County through the work of the Free Lyceum and Educational Institutions, but there were also difficulties of a financial nature. As early as 1901, Sombor would have had a Lodge if Mother-lodge Árpád had shown a little more understanding for the needs and suggestions of the Sombor Brethren, who planned to buy a house for their Lodge Hall. The Brethren collected 9400 crowns partially from their own contributions and 3000 crowns was provided by the Brethren from Baja, whose Lodge Honszeretet had gone dormant fifteen years earlier. In the letter of 29th October 1901, the Orator of Philanthropia begged Lodge Árpád to grant the Daughter-Lodge an interest-free loan to the highest possible amount with the shortest repayment period in accordance with the financial potential of the Brethren so that they could procure a lodge hall in Sombor. The proposal was not accepted and Sombor had to wait for another 7 years before 17,000 crowns were collected and a house at no. 9 Pasha Street (today's Dositejeva Str.) was bought in 1908.

Consequently, Sombor Freemasons did not have their own lodge hall. They had to work "under the open sky" all those years, moving from one place to another, fearing that the turbulent times laden with strikes and protests would throw them at the feet of the authorities and these would cram them into the same basket with "dangerous elements" that were shaking the pillars of society in the hope of procuring a few morsels to feed the hungry mouths of their children. All in all, Freemasonry in Sombor fell into deep stagnation between 1901 and 1903, largely due to the turmoil on the Hungarian political scene, which projected itself to Freemasonry as well.

At the beginning of 1903, Sombor Freemasons tied their aprons and headed north, to a new beginning, to the neighbourly and friendly Baja not only to solve their problems, but also to help the local Freemasons re-establish Lodge Honszeretet which, in the previous two centuries was building its temple without sufficient devotion and proper basis, without realizing that the beauty of the temple does not depend on its gilded appearance but on the firmness of the building blocks that are deep in the ground, invisible to the eye. Three years earlier, they intended to re-establish L. Honszeretet in Sombor, and thus get the necessary funds for their own Masonic Hall, but the Brethren from Baja preferred to wait and reopen their Lodge in their hometown in 1903. For the Sombor Brethren, Baja was a refuge in those years of stagnation and uncertainty, probably even more than that since a very solid foundation for future fraternal relations was built between the two cities.

On 29th March 1903, Lodge Honszeretet in the Orient of Baja was constituted, supported by Lodge Árpád in the Orient of Szeged and under the protection of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary. The Lodge was consecrated on 4th May 1903. Sombor Brethren were not only members there, but Bro. Rezső Szobotka of Philanthropia was elected Worshipful Master and moved over to Baja to help with his experience, just as Elek Gozsdu had done when he accepted to be the W.M. of Philanthropia.

In March 1903, Lodge Honszeretet, with a total of 14 members, had only one from Sombor, the Worshipful Master. The following year of 1904, on 18th April, a large number of Brethren from Sombor transferred to the city of Baja.

Until 19th October 1908, i.e. establishment of the Sombor Lodge Jövendő, Brethren from Sombor were initiated and conferred degrees in Baja.

Rezső Szobotka, Worshipful Master of the Baja Lodge, using the Masonic experience he had gained in Szeged, and as the Secretary of Philanthropia took on a great job of procuring lodge regalia and meeting all formal requirements set forth by the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary.

On 16th April 1903, he asked the Grand Lodge for logistic support and necessary approvals. The Grand Lodge promised to help, and on 4th May of the same year, it officially put Lodge Honszeretet under its protection. It was planned to "bring light into the Lodge" on 27th June. Things rarely go smoothly and that was the case then as well. Namely, the Chief Notary of Baja, being the editor of the local Official Gazette and a bitter opponent to the ongoing lodge formation, published, anonymously, a text saying that the Baja Lodge put itself under the protection of the Commander of the Supreme Council György Joannovics, who was also the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary at the time. It took some time for the matter to be smoothed between Lodge Honszeretet and the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary.

On 22th June, Lodge Honszeretet conferred the Second Degree on three Brethren, but ultimately "light entered the Lodge" in a newly built Masonic Hall in Baja, at no. 11 Berényi Dániel Str. on 17th October 1903.

It can well be seen in the 9-point printed programme that Sombor Brethren played a significant role in the consecration ceremony. After the consecration of the Masonic Hall carried out by the Grand Master, the members of Philanthropia performed the national anthem with a sword. The following item in the programme, no. 5, was Károly Trencsényi's recital of a solemn poem that he had written for the occasion; and finally the last item, no. 9, in the chain of fraternity, the Sombor Brethren sang a solemn song again.

Between 1904 and 1908, a certain number of petitioners from Sombor were initiated at the Baja Lodge.

Seal of Lodge Honszeretet (Patriotism)

On 20th May 1904, the following Brethren received honourable discharge from Lodge Árpád to be admitted to Lodge Honszeretet: Soma Rácz (3o), Dr. János Duchon (3o) Lajos Raisz, Iván Bárczi, Ignác Kende and Vilmos Krump (all 1o; the 2o was conferred on the first two upon their transfer to Baja, the other two were raised to 2o two months after them).

In the following year of 1905, apart from raising Ignácz Kende and Vilmos Krump to the Fellow Craft degree on 5th January, Dezső Weidinger, a member of Philanthropia, became the Junior Warden, while Rezső Szobotka was re-elected Worshipful Master of the Lodge; both Officers of the Lodge played an important role in the work of the Economic Committee of the Lodge.

On 29th January 1905, Worshipful Master, Rezső Szobotka, sent a letter to the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary asking for clarification of the situation in Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia in Sombor, which he was also a member of. Namely, Bro. Novak of Timisoara was transferred to Sombor. He started persuading petitioners from Sombor to file their petitions to Budapest lodges instead of Baja, thus disregarding the territorial principle, which was about to be regulated by a new Constitution. That meant that the region of Sombor "would be deprived of considerable financial and intellectual power ..." Worshipful Master Szobotka mentioned the case from the previous year when three petitioners from Bacs Palanka, who would normally hand over their petitions to Baja, did so in Budapest. In the same year, however, Lodge Honszeretet elected György Joanovics Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Hungary honorary member of Lodge Honszeretet. In 1905 Lodge Honszeretet had 36 members of which 11 were from Sombor.

It seems that the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary responded in favour of Sombor and Baja, and as soon as 18th February of the same year, Béla Tripolszky of Bács handed over his petition to the Baja Lodge. That year, Lodge Honszeretet received the petitions of Dr Béla Poór, lawyer, Gyula Linczinger, Royal Asst. Notary and János Zsigmond, County Asst. Notary as well as Áron Wámoscher landowner, whose reception was regarded too early by Philanthropia in a short letter sent to Lodge Honszeret. In the middle of the year, there was some correspondence about a misunderstanding that had occurred in connection with the approval of consecration of the Masonic Hall in Baja. Namely, the Brethren in Baja considered the approval of work that they received on 4th May 1903 to be identical to consecration of their Hall, disregarding the fact that for everything, literally all the moves related to the place and status of the Lodge within the geographical and working jurisdiction of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary, a formal approval should be sought.

From Szobotka's letter to the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary of December 14th 1905, we learn that Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia had a long-standing misunderstanding with L. Arpad and the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary about the payment of membership fees and other charges. Namely, after the founding of Philanthropia, Lodge Árpád demanded that Somborians continue to send their payment to the Szeged Lodge, which they refused, especially in 1903 and after, when many of them became members of Lodge Honszeretet. In terms of the final decision, the Brethren who remained members of Philantropia did not have to pay membership fee either to L. Honszeretet or L. Árpád but directly to the Grand Lodge. Regardless of the seemingly well-regulated financial relations, payment problems on the route Sombor-Baja-Szeged-Budapest were probably never resolved to the satisfaction of all.

By the end of 1905 and in 1906, the following Brethren were raised to the 2o level at Lodge Honszeretet: Nándor Lévay and Miklós Jablonszky, chief of police. The others: Jenő Fehér, engineer, Dr Ferenc Radvány, school inspector, Sándor Schlisser, trader, Dr Lehel Knézy, a solicitor from Hódzsák (Odžaci), and Vilmos Löwy, wholesaler had been initiated. Rezső Szobotka was transferred to Székelyudvarhely in Transylvania (now Odorheiu Secuiesc in Romania), and the new Worshipful Master of Lodge Honszeretet became Béla Drescher from Baja. The Lodge had 42 members out of whom 14 were from Sombor.

In 1907, János Sabranszky (born in Pozsony (Bratislava) was initiated in the Orient of Baja and employed as a water management engineer in Sombor. Aladár Rajk was elected new Worshipful Master, and Dr János Duchon became Deputy W.M. Rezső Szobotka was unanimously elected honorary and permanent member. The Lodge had 48 members out of whom 17 were from Sombor.

On 19th October 1908, 15 members from Sombor received an honourable discharge from Lodge Honszeretet in order to constitute their own Lodge Jövendő in Sombor on 22nd November 1908, after they had succeeded in buying their own Masonic Hall.

It can be concluded that the Sombor Brethren were divided into Szeged and Baja "guest workers" and those whose work in the "city of hackberry trees" was covered with thick fog since there is no data on whether anything Freemasonic was happening there in that period.

FREEMASONS OF SOMBOR, BÁCS PALANKA AND HODZSÁK

**AT LODGE HONSZERETET**

Surname & name, Profession, Admitted, Name of the previous lodge

Bárczi, Iván, Engineer, 1908, Árpád, Philanthropia

Duchon, Dr János, Physician, 1905, Árpád, Philanthropia

Fehér, Jenő, Engineer, 1905, Árpád, Philanthropia

Gozsdu, Elek, President of Court, 1905, Demokratia, Philanthropia

Jablonszky, Miklós, Notary public, 1905, Árpád, Philanthropia

Kende, Ignácz, Engineer, 1906 Árpád, Philanthropia

Knézy, Dr Jenő, Solicitor, 1906, Árpád, Philanthropia

Krump, Vilmos, Police Captain, 1906, Árpád, Philanthropia

Lévay, Nándor, Assistant School Inspector, 1906, Árpád, Philanthropia

Linczinger, Gyula, Engineer, 1905, Árpád, Philanthropia

Lőwy, Vilmos, Wholesaler, 1906, Árpád, Philanthropia

Poór, Dr Béla, Prosecutor, 1905, Árpád, Philanthropia

Rácz, Soma, Teacher and Director of Gymnasium,1904, Árpád, Philanthropia

Radvány, Ferenc, School Inspector, 1906 Árpád, Philanthropia

Raisz, Dr Lajos, Physician, 1904, Árpád, Philanthropia

Sabranszky, János, Chief accountant, 1904, Árpád, Philanthropia

Schlieszer, Sándor, Trader, 1906, Árpád, Philanthropia

Szobotka, Resző, Engineer, 1904, Árpád, Philanthropia

Tripolszky, Béla, 1905 Árpád, Philanthropia

Zsigmond, János, Professor at the School of Economics, 1905, Árpád, Philanthropia

SOMBOR IN THE PERIOD 1904-1909

1904 \- The local paper Bácsország (Bacs Country) wrote: "There are not as many political parties in the whole of the country as in Sombor (9 registered), which are constantly in some disputes." In that period Sombor was being shaken by strikes of building-, butchery-, pottery-, brick making-, printing- railway-, farm-, wheat mill- and chimney-sweep workers. They were demanding higher wages, the right to celebrate May Day as the workers' holiday and employers to respect employment contracts. The police banned all demonstrations organized by the socialists. Despite the ban, building workers established a trade union branch and organized First of May celebration and other events, which were held in the form of a national gathering under the supervision of the police. Most of the workers were members of the Social Democratic Party. In Zonta (Sonta), riots broke out; 1700 landless labourers took to the streets; the police arrested twenty-two of them and the leaders were sentenced to prison terms between 6 months and 2 and a half years. That same year, the Zontans connected with the organized workers in Sombor, led by Miksa Weil, József Tigler and István Morber. Members of the Social Democratic Party took them under protection. At the end of the year, a decision was made to build council apartments in today's Prizrenska and Matija Gubec streets, and sell them under very favourable conditions, but this idea was only partially realized in 1913.

1905 – Girl students of the Teacher Training School, by way of example of their male colleagues, took part in the work of Nada (Hope) Society, under the leadership of Dr Paja Radosavljević. They were against adornment, wearing a corset, quarrelling, consumption of alcohol and other flaws of the young female population but all work was overshadowed by the departure of Paja Radosavljević to America. The fiftieth anniversary of the priestly duty of Georgije Branković was marked by a series of masses. In Milivoj Karakašević's printing press, significant religious and educational works were published. The boarding school of the Teacher Training School was opened. The newspaper Sloga (Accord) very often published articles on national issues, especially on the position of Serbs in the Hungarian state.

A monument was erected to József Schweidel (b. Zombor 1796 – d. Arad 1849), a honvéd general in the Hungarian Army during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, executed in Arad in 1849. The commemorative monument committee included Freemasons Soma Rácz, Károly Trencsény, Vilmos Krump and Ernő Zsulyevics. The monument was located between the Prefecture Building and the Main Street, at the entrance to the City Park. That same year a book by Károly Trencsény on József Schweidel and the unveiling of his statue was printed by Bitterman Press. Professor Soma Rácz became president of the Free Lyceum, which was allocated 600 crowns by the city.

An electric power plant was built on the right-hand side of Apatin Road, next to the Franz canal (today's Big Bacska Canal). It supplied the city with electricity for seven hours every day. That year, tenders were called for constructing the water supply network.

The Agrarian Savings Bank was founded, and among the founders were Freemasons from Sombor and Szeged: Pál Latinovics, Mór Lányi, Dezső Tarcai and Lajos Strasser, who was also the bank's solicitor. The bank owned 500,000 crowns equity capital and had a turnover of 13 million crowns.

The first photo exhibition was held. The Sombor synagogue and the Jewish elementary school were rearranged, (electric lighting was installed), for which 40,000 crowns were allocated. The Jewish municipality had 200 taxpayers.

The cadastral area of greater Sombor comprised about 50,000 acres. One-tenth of this area was owned by landowners. The largest landowners in Bacska were the archbishopric of Kalocsa with 25,000 acres and the Serbian Patriarchate of Sremski Karlovci with almost 16,000 acres. The largest part was leased to the Szemző, Lalošević and Wamoscher families, who paid the rent by felling the forests of the Patriarchate. Therefore, the Patriarchate was very often criticized for betraying Serbian interests since the renters were Catholics and Jews.

In the Free Lyceum, lectures were held on feminism and the situation and problems of the female population of Sombor and its surroundings.

Wheat mill and printing workers went on strike again. After a two-month strike, wheat mill workers got a salary increase. There was a new wave of emigration to America. Sloga was protesting against the abolishment of the Serbian language in the Grammar School. Teachers demanded higher salaries. The secretary of the jurists was Béla Kézsmárky, a member of Lodge Árpád. The Craftsmen's Association bought a new home, the Serbian gymnastics society Hrabrost (Courage) was established, but their rules were not approved because they were considered to be a sports and political association. The Serbian Independent Radical Party was founded, headed by banker Ljubomir Bikar. A flag of the Hungarian Independent Party was consecrated before the József Schweidel monument, and the Social Democrats celebrated the First of May.

The educational theatre ensemble "Urania" from Budapest arrived in Sombor and gave a series of performances. Trader Joca Jerasović presented the Serbian High School with 200 books and a set of journals issued by "Matica srpska", the oldest Serbian literary and cultural institution.

The streets of Sombor were extremely dirty. People were complaining about high prices. A "consumers' association" was formed to combat "unjustified expensiveness" of the most basic items.

A Girls' Trade School was opened, and Isidor Novaković, a Freemason, was appointed Director. There were more and more typewriters in the city that were sold by the company "Glogovsky and Company", and were used by traders, solicitors, dioceses and other professionals. Gendarmerie stations were established in the settlements of Žarkovac, Šaponje, Nenadić, Bilić and Obzir because the police in Sombor were too busy.

At the invitation of Bulgarian journalists, many of whom were Freemasons, Stevan Ilkić, then a teacher and associate of the newspaper "Sloga", later a Freemason, member of Lodge Budućnost, travelled to Bulgaria.

Intensive emigration to America continued, not only from Sombor but from the entire territory of Bácska. Over a period of two weeks, more than 2,000 people, mostly strong, young people, left. There were a number of games of chance, and lottery tickets were also sold. The city's administration was making difference in monetary aid to schools in favour of Roman Catholics, which caused dissatisfaction among the Orthodox and Jewish people. Strictly religious, the Orthodox organization "Ratarska litija" (Farmers' Prayer) collected contributions.

Elek Gozsdu, a Freemason, president of the court, author and promoter of cultural life in the city at the beginning of the 20th century, left the city. Emilijan Grigorijević, later a member of Lodge Budućnost, became the City Physician.

1906 \- Vasa Stajić, a former teacher in Pljevlja and Pakrac, and the ideologue of the unity of Yugoslav youth, came to Sombor to become a teacher at the Teacher Training School. On 20th February 1910, he petitioned at Lodge Jövendő, but his petition was turned down, after having received 3 black balls due to the report of one of the members of the Investigation Committee who found him to be "of restless nature, having irreconcilable attitudes toward his superiors and prone to extremes." He was later admitted to Lodge Stratimirović in the Orient of Novi Sad.

Vasa Stajić launched the newspaper Novi Srbin (The New Serb) in Sombor and another one in Pančevo called Srpska prosveta (Serbian Education). In both papers, he advocated for more cooperation between Serbs and Hungarians and fought against the expansion of Germanic imperialism. He was a member of the delegation that was preparing the Paris Peace Conference in 1919-20. He was also elected honorary president of Matica srpska.

The wave of strikes was temporarily dying down. The socialist-oriented Labourers' Savings Bank was founded. Of the 413 deputies in the Parliament, 26 were representatives of non-Hungarian peoples. In Sombor, there were 1,386 master craftsmen and 1,103 apprentices working in 93 different crafts. 648 persons were day labourers and 1,245 worked as domestic servants.

1907 \- At the Serbian National-Church Council, a group of several tens of priests and citizens accused patriarch Georgije Branković of dishonesty and malevolence. About 5000 Orthodox believers placed themselves under the protection of the Patriarch and signed the so-called Charter of Confidence.

A boarding school had been established for Grammar School and Trade School students, and monetary contributions were collected for students from Bosnia, Lika and Dalmatia who were studying in Sombor. The Archbishop of Kalocsa arrived in Sombor to baptize Catholic children and gave Sombor 1,000 crowns to help poor children and veterans of the Revolution of 1848. The Writers' Society was planning to have a Home of Culture built. Two Serbian and the same number of Hungarian choral groups and the United Gypsy Music held three concerts, and the income was donated to families of those who had been summoned to military exercise.

The Social Democratic Party established 25 new subsidiaries and became a significant political force in the region. Relations with like-minded people, Serbs and Hungarians, had been established in about 200 different places.

Those young people from Sombor who were studying in Budapest, Prague and Vienna brought water polo to their home city, and the swimming section of the Sports Association, formed in 1887, included the new sport as well. "Elektrobijoskop" (electrical cinema) was working in the Theater and the projector operator was Ernest Bošnjak, enthusiast of the seventh art, who was dreaming of creating a new Hollywood in Sombor. Later, projections were also held at the "Korzo" pub. Bitterman Printing Press published travel books of Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro, Dalmatia, Italy and Copenhagen, Berlin and other cities and countries attracting a vivid interest of the readers. A coursebook of the Latin script was printed for Serbian schools in Bosnia, Herzegovina and Montenegro.

There were numerous strikes and demonstrations. Workers of various profiles were going on strike for better working conditions and higher salaries, and Social Democrats were demonstrating for the introduction of universal suffrage. The police banned shooting from service rifles on religious holidays. The District Social Insurance Office for Workers and Clerks and "self-help" was established, where workers were entitled, after 4 years of membership, to receive help for repairing, renovating or building houses, as well as assistance to the unemployed. In 1907 a large military barracks was built. The Craftsmen's Bank went bankrupt due to poor management as well as competition with the newly established Agrarian Savings Bank. On 1st July 1907, a political problem was about to start because of the newly formed Commercial Savings Bank, which was supposed to include the word "Serbian" into its name. The authorities were against this, thus the word was omitted. Apart from rich people from Sombor the shareholders of the savings banks were also citizens of Novi Sad and Szenttamás and among them were members of the Dundjerski family as well. The manager of the Commercial Savings Bank was Isidor Novaković, a Freemason. The Savings Bank worked until the beginning of WW1 but resumed its operations after the end of the Great War.

The Serbian National Library organized a series of lectures, and Dr Emilijan Grigorijević was one of the lecturers. The Serbian Mercantile Circle was formed, and Isidor Novaković became the president. The following year, he became a member of L. Jövendő. Isidor Novaković was also the Director of the Serbian Girls' Trading School and he also worked at the Serbian youth circle "Napredak" (progress) headed by teacher Stevan Ilkić, later a member of Lodge Budućnost. Dr Nikola Maksimović, the Chief County Notary, a deputy at the Hungarian Parliament and a Freemason, died that year. The Maksimović family had large estates that were confiscated after WW2 and all the existing structures were demolished, which was the fate of many other estates in the region. That was a rather widespread "procedure" after WW2; all that was "old" and reminiscent of the "olden times" was torn down and broken to pieces. However, some pieces of value (art especially) found a new life in government offices or the homes of the new "elite". The area between Sombor and Csonoplya was exemplary in this respect. In Sremski Karlovci, patriarch Georgije Branković, the former Sombor archpriest, died, leaving Sombor somewhat distant from Sremski Karlovci. The funeral was attended by the prominent Somborians: Laza Kostić, archpriest Ljubomir Kupusarević, the Grand Church Notary Dr David Konjović, but also by priest Julius Fejér, who advocated with the state authorities for the election of Georgije Branković patriarch at the time. Future members of Lodge Jövendő organized an exhibition of paintings by the most famous Hungarian painters: Munkácsy, Lotz, Benczúr, Margitay, Palik, Színyei Merse and others.

1908 \- The Social Democratic Party was extremely active. It was holding gatherings and demonstrations demanding universal suffrage and resolution of problems in the economy. State authorities invited citizens to provide information about the workers' movement.

Miloš Crnjanski published his first story "Dve jele" (The Two Fir Trees) and the first poem "Svadba" (The Wedding) in Golub (Pigeon), a magazine for children published in Sombor. Freemason Károly Trencsény was the custodian of the collection of the Historical Society.

Teacher Stevan Ilkić, later a member of Lodge Budućnost, left education and became a monk at the monastery of St. George in the Timisoara Eparchy. The members of the Good Templars anti-alcohol society, led by Soma Rácz, the Orator of Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia and Lodge Honszeretet held a party in the Theater. The Serbian language was cancelled as the language of instruction in the Grammar School, although the Gymnasium was attended by 42 Serbian students. However, the Ministry of Education instructed the Teacher Training Schools in Baja and Szabadka to use the Serbian language as the language of instruction for four years since those were mixed nationality environments. The state ran a dubious, inconsistent national policy, causing misunderstandings and disturbances among nationalities. In 193 secondary schools in Hungary, over 54,000 students (together with over 15,000 Jewish children) were Hungarian nationals and around 13,500 were members of other nationalities. Only about 1,100 children came from Serbian families.

In the city and its surroundings, a large number of people suffered from tuberculosis, but diphtheria was finally in retreat.

FORMATION OF LODGE JÖVENDŐ

Although the Freemasonry of Sombor was under a veil of secrecy, a few articles appeared in the local press by the end of 1908 saying that Freemasons did exist in the city; the following names were mentioned: Simon Abelsberg Jn., grain trader, Dr János Duchon, physician, Dr József Lajos Czeisel, solicitor, Dezső Cettl, clerk, József Ehrilch Jn., tinsmith, dr. Isidor Gábor, solicitor, Dr Rezső Gál, solicitor, Béla Goldfahn, painter, Lajos Gulyás, factory worker and lodger, Jenő Fehér, Márton Kabos, physician, Ignácz Kende, chief engineer, Gyula Komáromy, financial advisor, Vilmos Löwy, trader, Dr Nikola Maksimović, land owner and politician, Martin Matić, law student, Isidor Novaković, Trading School teacher and bank manager, Dr Béla Póor, solicitor, Alajos Riedler, director of the mill in Sivac, János Sabranszky, engineer, Sándor Spitzer, trader, Aladár Tomcsányi, Vilmos Vágó, bank manager, Miklós Jablonszky, chief of police, Dezső Weidinger, wholesaler, János Zsigmond, notary public, Vilmos Krump and Soma Rácz, teachers, Ernő Zsulyevity, director of the School of Economics and others.

Medal of Daughter-Lodge _Philanthropia_ (photo supplied by Josip Šosberger)

Indeed, the above-mentioned people set up a Lodge called Jövendő, which was consecrated on 22nd November 1908. Sombor Freemasons, members of Lodge. Árpád and Lodge Honszeretet, returned to the Sombor Lodge and joined those members of Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia who had not left Sombor in those years of crisis.

The new Lodge in the Orient Sombor was placed under the protection of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary, from which it sought help in furnishing the Masonic Hall. The Freemasons of Sombor had been waiting for that for 11 years, having to deal with a variety of problems, from misunderstandings with Lodge Árpád and the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary about membership fees to the inability to provide a masonic hall for their meetings and rituals. Finally, in 1908 a house was purchased for 17,000 crowns at no. 9 Pasha Str., which proved to be suitable for the purpose, serving as such until the year 1930 when a new house at today's no. 16 Nikola Vukičević Street was bought.

The Grammar School (Gymnasium)

It can be said that the core of the first Sombor Lodge originated from the educational institutions of the time, primarily from the Grammar School and the School of Economics. The first Freemasons of Sombor were teachers and directors of these schools: Soma Rácz, Dr. Adolf Feles and Dr. János Duchon (Gymnasium) and Vilmos Krump, Ernő Zsulyevity, Isidor Novaković, István Széki, and Károly Trencsényi (School of Economics), and after WW1: Aleksandar Dragin, Dr. Milenko Petrović (School of Economics), and Dr. Emilijan Grigorijević, Nikola Legetić, Dr. Dušan Jovičić, Dr. Milan Jovanović (Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia), Dr. Simon Guttmann, rabbi. Many Freemasons were former students of those schools: Adolf Feles 1884, János Duchon 1886, Milenko Petrović 1902, Stojan Grgurov 1911, Kosta Grgurov 1913, János Sabranszky 1916, Fedor Konjović 1919, János Zsigmond Vég, 1919, Imre Guttmann 1926, Vladimir Crevar 1930 (Gymnasium) and Dezső Cettl 1896, Márton Vámosi 1908, Aleksandar Kovjanić 1918, Imre Kerényi 1920 and Ivan Matarić 1928 (School of Economics).

Seal of Lodge _Jövendő_

MEMBERS AND PETITIONERS TO LODGE JÖVENDŐ

Surname and name, Profession, City, Date of Initiation, Degree, Notes

ABELSBERG, Simon, Jn., Grain Trader, Palánka, 1909, 2o,b. 1859

BÁRÁNY, Zsigmond, GrainTtrader, Sombor, 1900, 3o, 4 functions 1909-12.

BÁRCZI, Iván , Financial Manager, 1898, 3o, Orator

BERECZ, Károly, Notary Public, Bogojevo, 1900, 3o

BITTERMANN, Sándor, Printing Press Owner, Sombor, 1906, 3o, Junior Warden

CSAPÓ, Kálmán, Assistant School Inspector, Sombor, 1910, petition rejected

CZEISEL, dr. Lajos József, Solicitor, Sombor 1910, 2o, Deputy Orator

CZETTL, Dezső, Clerk, Sombor, 1911, 1o

DEMBRITZ, Dr Sándor, 1910, 1o

DUCHON, Dr János, Physician, Sombor, 1898, 3o, Worshipful Master 1908-1912

EHRLICH, József, Jn., Tinsmith, Turner, Sombor, 1909, 3o, Tyler, died in Auswitz

EÖTVÖS, Mihály, School Director, Palánka, 1909, petition rejected

FEHÉR JENŐ, Royal Engineer, Sombor, 1906, 3o, Deputy Senior Warden, Orator

FELES, Dr Adolf, Physician, Sombor, 1902, 3o, Secretary

FREUND, József, Land Owner, Stari Bečej, 1918, 1o

GÁBOR, Dr Izidor, Solicitor, Sombor, 1911, 3o, Deputy Junior

GÁL, Dr Lajos, District Judge, Subotica, 1910, 1o

GÁL, Dr Rezső, Solicitor, Sombor, 1909, 3o, Secretary, Orator Deputy W.M.

GOLDFAHN, Béla Painter Zombor 1911 3rd b. 1868, Tyler

GRÜNER, Dr Fülöp, District Judge, Sombor, 1892, 3o, Senior Warden, Almoner

GULYÁS, Lajos, Factory Worker, Sombor, 1909, 3o, Lodger

GYÖNGYÖSI, Dezső , Director of Insurance Company, Sombor, 3o, Secretary

HEGEL, Károly, Bank Manager, Novi Vrbas, 1910, 1o

HONDL, Imre , Pharmacist, Palánka, 1910, 1o

HOROVITZ, L. Dávid, Factory Manager, Palánka, 1910, 1o

JABLONSZKY, Miklós, Solicitor, Sombor, 1906, 3o, Literary Committee

JACOBI, Fülöp, Secretary of Insurance Company, Pécs, 1910, 3o

KABOS, Márton, Physician, Sombor, 1901, 3o, Orator, Deputy W.M.

KELŐ, Mór, Engineer, Mitrovica, 1897, 3o

KEMÉNY, Dr Lajos, Physician, Čonoplja, 1918

KENDE, Ignácz, Royal Chief Engineer, Sombor, 1902, 3o, Sen. Warden, Jn. Warden

KERÉNYI, Sándor, Sombor, 3o, Almoner 1918

KIRSCHNER, Emil, Tax Officer, Palánka, 1909, 3o

KNEZY, Dr Lehel, Solicitor, Odžaci, 1907, 3o

KOLLÁR, Dr Győző, Rozal Notary, Solicitor, St. Lőrinc, 1897, 3o

KOMÁROMY, Gyula, Financial Counsellor, Sombor, 1910, 3o, Librarian

KRUMP, Vilmos, Teacher, Sombor, 1902, 3o, Deputy Orator

LÖWY, Vilmos, Trader, Sombor, 1907, 3o, Senior Warden, Almoner

MAKAI, Emil, Bank Manager, Sombor, 1918, 1918, 1o

MAKSIMOVIĆ Dr. Nikola, Land Owner, Politician, Sombor

MATICS, Dr Márton, Solicitor, Sombor, 1909, 3o, Deputy Secretary

MESNER, Nándor, Wholesaler, Backi Brestovac, 1918, 1o

MOHÁCSI, Béla, Petition rejected in 1910

NOVAKOVIĆ, Isidor, Teacher, Bank Manager, Sombor, 1910, 3o

OROVA, Arnold, Grain Trader, Palanka, 1910, 2o

PALLAI, Dr Zoltán, Royal District Judge, Gödöllő, 1902, 1o

PECHÁN, József, Painter, Novi Vrbas, 1910, 1o

POLGÁR, Károly, Theatre Manager, Bratislava, 1910, 3o

POÓR, Dr Béla, Solicitor, Sombor, 1905, 1o

RÁCZ, Soma, Teacher, Sombor, 1897, 3o, Orator Deputy W.M., W.M.

RADVÁNY, Dr Ferenc, School Inspector, Pancevo, 1906, 3o, Hon. Discharge in 1910

RAISZ, Lajos, Chief Accountant, Sombor, 1897, 3o, Treasurer, Deputy W.M.

RIBICZEY, Dr Kálmán, Police Administrator, Novi Sad, 1911, 1o

RINDLER, Alajos, Wheat Mill Manager, Sombor, 1918, 1o

SABRÁNSZKY, János, Royal Engineer, Sombor, 1907, 3o, Junior Warden

SÁGI, Dr Samuel, Physician, Sombor, 1905, 3o, Sen. Warden, Prep., Master

SAUER, Sándor, Sombor, 3o, Preparation Master

SCHLIESZER, Sándor, Trader, Sombor, 1907, 3o, Tyler

SCHNEIDER, Dr Károly, Solicitor, Kúla, 1899, 1o

SCODNIK, Rezső, Chief Engineer, Zrenjanin, 1900, 3o, W.M. of Lodge Honszeretet

SEIDL, Róbert, Trader, Novi Vrbas, 1910, 1o

SPITZER, Dr István, Physician, Sombor, 3o, Deputy Junior Warden

SPITZER, Sándor, Trader, Sombor, 1909, 3o Treasurer, Secretary

STAJIĆ, Vasa, Teacher, Sombor, 1910, petition rejected

SZABÓ, Lajos, Chief Secretary, Sombor, 1910, 2o

SZŐKE, Dr József, Solicitor, Editor, Palanka, 1909, 3o

TOLNAY, János, Teacher, 1910, 1o

TOMCSÁNYI, Aladár, City Clerk, Sombor, 1909, 3o, Literary Committee

TRATTNER, Kálmán, Veterinary, Palanka, 1910, 1o

VÁGÓ, Vilmos, Bank Manager, Sombor, 3o, Preparation Master

VENETIANER, Adolf, Sales Manager, Subotica, 1900, 3o, Tyler, Hon. Discharge

VERMES, Dr Jenő, Solicitor, Palanka, 1910, 1o

WAMOSCHER, Áron, Land Owner, Sombor, 1909, 3o, Librarian

WEIDINGER, Lajos, Wholesaler, Sombor, 1908

WISSINGER, Dr Richárd, Veterinary, Bogojevo, 1902, 3o

WOLLHEIMER, Dr. József, Physician, Sombor, 1902, 3o, Master of Ceremony

ZSIGMOND, János, Notary Public, Palanka, 1905, 3o

ZSOLDOS, Benő, Judge, Writer, Sombor, 1909, 1o

RULEBOOK OF LODGE JÖVENDŐ

Note: The corrections and additions were made by the Grand Lodge.

PART ONE

General Provisions

Article 1

Lodge Jövendő nurtures and works on all those ideas and objectives proclaimed by the world- and especially the Hungarian community of Freemasons.

In the Orient of Sombor, with regard to local circumstances, the objectives also include the arrangement of local social and cultural relations in the spirit of Freemasonry, especially in relation to the cultivation of fraternal but patriotic cooperation among nations and diffusing the spirit of the Hungarian state and love and devotion to the Hungarian homeland.

Article 2

The official language of the lodge is Hungarian.

The Lodge can keep correspondence with other lodges in the region in other languages as well if this does not cause difficulties (added: "if, in addition to the official language, another language is regularly used").

Those members of the Lodge that do not speak the Hungarian language may, with permission from the Lodge, speak in their mother tongue or another language.

Article 3

The Lodge has the right to impose a roster and sacrifices (the word "sacrifice" crossed out) on each member, in accordance with his capabilities.

Article 4

Lodge Jövendő elects their "confidants/representatives of the Lodge" in other lodges under the protection of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary, who will represent and interpret the communications and suggestions of Lodge Jövendő in front of their own Lodge.

This trust is realized at the proposal of the respective Lodge and is valid for three years.

Article 5

At the meetings of the Grand Lodge, the Worshipful Master of the Lodge and his representative as well as the Counselor of the Alliance (the word "alliance" is crossed out and replaced with the word "lodge"), qua representatives of the Lodge, they are paid 40 crowns (instead of "are paid" the following is added: "at the meetings of the Grand Lodge or the Council they have the right to be paid the maximum of ...").

Article 6

Decisions of crucial importance relating to the internal life of the Lodge are considered to be rules of the Lodge and have to be submitted to the Grand Council for consideration.

Decisions confirmed in this manner should be attached to the Rulebook in the form of an annexe. (Article 6 is crossed out to this point)

The Rulebook and special decisions are binding on all members.

PART TWO

Members of the Lodge

Article 7

The members of the Lodge are:

a / regular members,

b / honorary members.

Article 8

The regular members of the Lodge are: (added: "unless a situation described in paragraphs 2-4 of Article 10 of the Constitution has occurred")

a / members who participated in the formation of this Lodge;

b / former members of Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia, who the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary has released, by communication no. 159/1909, from new affiliation, after they received an honourable discharge from their Lodge and we affiliated them into this Lodge;

c / members who have been regularly affiliated and enrolled by the Lodge, in accordance with Articles 1-24 of the Constitution;

d / Members who have been accepted by the Lodge, in accordance with Articles 26-32 of the Constitution.

Article 9

Honorary members of the Lodge are those Brethren, members of this or other Lodges, who were declared recognition for their work in the interest of local or general Freemasonry.

The honorary member is issued a diploma of the election, signed by the five lights of the Lodge.

An honorary member has the right to attend every tyled meeting, conference or committee meeting and has the right to vote.

PART THREE

Constitution of the Lodge

Article 10

The Lodge is made up of the following:

a / officers of the Lodge,

b / meetings of Lodge officers,

c / meetings and works of masters,

d / works of the second degree,

e/ the following committees:

1. Committee for Economy and Finance;

2. Literary Committee and Committee for Public Affairs;

3. Sisterhood Committee,

f / works of the first degree.

(added: g / non-tyled meetings).

Article 11

A/ Officers of the Lodge

Officers, in terms of paragraphs I and II of Part VIII of the Constitution, shall be elected at the first subsequent 1st\- degree tyled-meeting that follows after the last tyled meeting in December.

Before the new officers are installed, works are conducted by the old officers.

When selecting new officers, it is important to take into account the rotation of functions.

The positions of the five lights of the Lodge, the treasurer and the preparation master, must be filled.

Positions prescribed by the Constitution, but unfilled, are assigned by the Worshipful Master on a case-by-case basis. (this item and the previous one crossed out).

If the job description and scope of a function is not specified, the provisions of the Constitution apply.

Article 12

B/ Meetings of Lodge officers

At the meetings of Lodge officers, administrative issues of the Lodge are resolved and cases are referred to corresponding committees; final decisions are made at Lodge works.

The timing of these meetings is determined by the Worshipful Master of the Lodge, on a case-by-case basis, at the proposal of the Secretary.

The Secretary informs the Lodge on proposals from the meetings of the Lodge officer.

Article 13

C/ Only Masters can participate in Masters' works. Meetings and works are convened and their agenda determined by the Worshipful Master of the Lodge.

At the works where the 3rd degree is conferred (this part crossed out), discussions on the issues of special importance for Freemasonry are carried out at Masters' meetings

Article 14

D/ Works of the second degree

Works of the 2nd degree are held exclusively with the aim of raising Entered Apprentices to Fellow Craft degree. (After the word "exclusively", the following was added: "as per the Constitution, Part VII, Article 61").

Article 15

E/ Committees of the Lodge

All the members, regardless of degree, can be elected to Committees.

Article 16

The term of office of the committee members is one year; they are elected at the same time as the officers.

Article 17

The Worshipful Master, the Secretary and the Treasurer shall be informed about committee meetings and may take part in them.

Article 18

The President of a committee is elected by the members of the committee.

Article 19

The task of the President of a committee is to convene meetings and, from time to time, appoint a member who will present the proposal of the committee at a Lodge work.

Article 20

The Committee shall, unless it receives different instructions, prepare for the following 1st\- degree work the cases submitted to them for consideration.

Article 21

1. Committee for Economy and Finance

The Treasurer and the Lodger are ex officio members of the committee. In addition to them, the committee has three more members.

The Committee's responsibilities are to:

\- discuss and prepare the economic and financial affairs of the Lodge and offer proposals on them to the Lodge;

\- determine, every December, including and receiving the consent of the Brethren interested, the amount of the membership fee (added: "and submit a proposal to the Lodge on it");

\- establish an additional fee, on a case-by-case basis, proposed by the proposer-Brother, on the basis of an agreement with the applicant. (Added: "and submits a proposal to the Lodge on it");

\- make a decision (crossed out and replaced by: "proposes to the Lodge") privileges or partial exemption from certain expenses,

Article 22

2. Literary and Public Affairs Committee

The committee has 9 members.

The tasks of the Committee are: preparation of spiritual matters and giving suggestions, and control of written works in the Lodge.

Article 23

3. Sisterhood Committee

The Sisterhood Committee has three members.

The tasks of the committee are:

Nurturing and improving sisterly feelings and involving sisters in Freemasonic actions.

The Committee submits reports on its plans, proposals and action-plans to the Lodge.

PART FOUR

Admission

Article 24

The Lodge retains the old, principled view of Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia according to which new members should be sought among prominent figures in the city and the surrounding areas who will probably be suitable for members of the Masonic Association and discreetly win them over or try to win them, over.

Article 25

The guarantor shall explain to the petitioner the essence of Freemasonry.

Let him constantly warn that a Freemason cannot achieve individual financial gains, so those who would become members out of curiosity or career gains will be deeply disappointed.

It shall be made clear to the petitioner that, in Freemasonry, everyone is worth only as much as his heart and mind are worth. Within this altruistic institution, as a counter service to the financial and spiritual sacrifices, one can achieve only that sort of happiness that fills the heart, knowing that something beautiful and good has been done for oneself and for the idea of Freemasonry. Unselfish and persevering service to the noble idea of Freemasonry draws hearts closer to each other creating sincere, close friendship among Brethren, such that, if necessary, it will find its way.

The one who is not satisfied with this degree of joy, let him not seek admission to the alliance, and the one who is satisfied with the spiritual joys stays with his intent.

After that, let his guarantor give him texts that come from Freemasons and are aimed at the profane world, from which he may be closely informed about the world of Freemasonry.

If after reading the materials the petitioner still remains with his decision to enter the ranks of Freemasons, let the guarantor report him to the Worshipful Master and inform him about the conditions and essence of his conversations with the petitioner, and explain the reasons why he has taken the role of guarantor.

PART FIVE

Fees

1. Fees for initiation and raising

Article 26

The fee for initiation is 70 crowns. In addition to this amount, each petitioner pays an additional fee "for the Lodge".

Article 27

In relation to the additional fee paid by the petitioner, the Economy and Finance Committee, in accordance with item 3 of Article 21, gives the Lodge a proposal for the utilization of those funds, and the guarantor informs the applicant thereof.

Article 28

The initiation and additional fees are paid to the Treasurer before initiation. No initiation may be effected without the said payment.

Article 29

In justified cases, the Worshipful Master may, at the proposal of the guarantor, send a proposal to the Economy and Finance Committee (added: "such a proposal to the Lodge that") to fully release the petitioner from payment or allow him to pay in instalments.

Article 30

Proposed fees for initiation and raising to a higher degree are as follows:

Entered apprentice: 20 crowns

Fellow Craft: 30 crowns

Master: 40 crowns

The Economy and Finance Committee (added: "may propose to the Lodge to") in justified cases, may exempt the petitioner from full payment of his dues or allow him to make the payment in instalments.

2. Membership fees

Article 31

In the month of December, the Committee for Economy and Finance, as per item 2 of Article 21, (added: "gives a proposal to the Lodge") determines the amount of membership fee for the following year, which cannot be less than 4 crowns a month.

Article 32

The membership fee is paid by those regular and honorary members who fall under the jurisdiction of the Lodge. Honorary members from other lodges are not obliged to pay the membership fee.

Article 33

Membership fee must be paid in advance for each month.

Membership fee paid by Brethren who live in the city are collected by the Bro. Lodger, who issues a payment receipt signed by the Treasurer.

Those Brethren who live in other places and do not send their membership fee by mail every month, or have not agreed with the Treasurer on the method of payment, have to pay their membership fee quarterly, in the middle of February, May, August and November, by postal order and shall bear the cost of sending.

3. Fees for raising

Article 34

After one year, based on regular presence at the Lodge works and proper fulfilment of Masonic duties, the Entered Apprentice may be raised to the 2nd degree, and after another 6 months to the 3rd degree.

Those Brethren who have not paid all their fees must do so before raising.

Article 35

The fee for raising to the 2nd or 3rd degree is 50 crowns and shall be paid in advance.

In justified cases, the Economy and Finance Committee may propose to the Lodge full or partial exemption from payment or payment in instalments within one year.

4. Almoner's purse

Article 36

All Brethren absent are obliged to pay 60 fillers to the almoner's purse for each absence unless they have requested an exemption, which will be credited to the monthly or quarterly membership fee and a corresponding payment receipt will be issued.

PART SIX

Obligations of Lodge members

Article 37

The duties of all the members of the Lodge are:

a/ to attend Lodge meetings regularly and participate actively in the work of the committee which they are members of;

b/ if a member is prevented from attending a meeting or work, he is obliged to justify his absence via another Brother or a letter sent to the Secretary, but he always has to bear in mind his obligation to the almoner's purse, which also applies to Brethren who do not live in the city;

c/ to settle their obligations towards the treasury regularly and heartily;

d/ to participate, to the best of their knowledge and ability, in realizing both the general and local aims of Freemasonry;

e/ to educate and expand the knowledge of fellow Brethren either through their own lectures or the works of others;

f/ to diffuse the ideas of Freemasonry in profane circles and increase the number of supporters of these ideas;

g/ to win over, discreetly, suitable and talented individuals for the ideas of Freemasonry;

h / to accept, without objections, the Worshipful Master's gavel strike or all the tasks set by the Worshipful Master or the Lodge;

i/ to strictly preserve the secrets of the Lodge;

k/ to seriously strive for perfection through study, self-awareness and self-control;

l/ to take a Masonic stance in all circumstances of profane life and the world as well as at work, so that the profane world may see in all individual member the embodiment of a right man;

m/ to live in brotherly love and understanding with all Brethren, primarily with the Brethren from this Lodge, and to support them in all areas of life, to avoid disagreements, envy and jealousy, to demonstrate understanding for the mistakes of others and to open-heartedly acknowledge and support their virtues and strong sides and settle misunderstandings in a Masonic, fraternal way and to support others in their Masonic work;

n/ to defend the Masonic Alliance from profane attacks.

PART SEVEN

The territory of the Lodge

Article 38

The geographical area of the Lodge is always determined in agreement with the areas of the neighbouring lodges and the opinion of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary.

Article 39

It is desirable that a Brother who intends to move to another Orient will join one of the lodges there for the purpose of his more intensive Masonic work.

PART EIGHT

About the functions in the Lodge

1. Worshipful Master

Article 40

The Worshipful Master is the head of the Lodge. He represents the Lodge in the capacity of President and manages it in accordance with Part VIII Articles 13 through 16 of the Constitution.

Article 41

The task, and duty, of the Worshipful Master is to remind the members of the Lodge of their obligations and to fraternally reprimand them, if necessary.

He has the right to entrust any Masonic job to any member of the Lodge and ask for the obedient execution of it.

At a justified request of a member, he is entitled to grant up to three months absence.

In an emergency, he is entitled to grant assistance of the maximum of 30 crowns, but he is obliged to explain this at the next 1st-degree work.

He approves payments as per the decision of the Lodge.

He is obliged to control the work of Lodge officer.

He is obliged to gain recognition of his work both in the Lodge and in the profane world.

Article 42

If, at a meeting, passions unleash so much that even the WM's hammer strike may not settle them, the Worshipful Master has the right to strike again and, bypassing the usual closing ritual, abort and close the work. The work that is thus closed cannot be reopened on the same day.

Article 43

In case the Worshipful Master is absent, his deputy or the officer who is entitled as per the Constitution has the right to take over all the rights and duties of the Worshipful Master.

2. Other functions in the Lodge

Article 44

Special tasks of the Treasurer:

a/ to keep the treasures and metals of the Lodge;

b/ to invest the property of the Lodge, as per the decision of the Lodge and at the proposals of the Economy and Finance Committee;

c/ to keep books on property, income and expenses of the Lodge;

d / to take care of collecting membership and other fees;

e/ to report to the Worshipful Master, every six months, those Brethren whose dues balance is outstanding;

f / to make payments in accordance with the budget, and at the proposal of the Worshipful Master;

g / to prepare the annual statement, statements of account, and reports on the property of the Lodge;

h/ to manage and keep the almoner's fund, and keep records of the fund's income and expenditure;

i/ to compile an inventory of the movable and immovable property of the Lodge, in case the Lodger's post is not filled (crossed out completely).

Article 45

The work and competence of other Lodge officers are regulated by the respective articles of the Constitution.

PART NINE

About the works of the Lodge

Article 46

The date and time of 1st-degree works shall be determined at the last work in December for the following year.

For no important reason, the date cannot be changed.

Article 47

Works at the 2nd and 3rd degrees are set by the Worshipful Master at the proposal of the Secretary.

Article 48

At (added: "written") the request of seven Brethren, the date of works at a given degree may be determined within eight days.

Article 49

The dates of Lodge officers' meetings shall be determined by the Worshipful Master at the proposal of the Secretary of the Lodge.

Article 50

Depending on the material submitted to them, the Committees meet at least once a month, and the agenda is determined by the chairman of the respective committee.

Article 51

The agenda of Lodge meetings is determined by the Worshipful Master at the proposal of the Secretary of the Lodge.

Article 52

At the works of the Lodge, the bearer of the gavel is the Worshipful Master or his deputy, and he is the only one who may speak to the Brethren; the Worshipful Master has absolute right to speak.

Article 53

Every brother has the right to speak about a topic contained in the agenda only once. To take the floor again, a prospective speaker shall ask the Lodge for permission.

Those who sit in the east receive the word directly, and those who sit under the pillars ask their Warden for permission to speak.

The one who gives the proposal or the counter-proposal is entitled to a closing statement.

Article 54

Anyone who a/ commences the closing of a debate on a subject, such that there is no further debate and voting, and b/ who wants to correct and explain what the others misunderstood may take the floor at any time.

Article 55

When a debate is concluded, no one has the right to say anything more on the matter.

Article 56

Regarding the decisions to be taken, the question is asked by the Worshipful Master and any member may make a short statement on the issue, but no further discussion can be held on it.

Article 57

The Orator is the only one who has the right to object to a decision, in accordance with the Constitution, Part VIII, Article 20.

Article 58

The Orator must not be interrupted. His opinions and explanations shall be listened to carefully and patiently.

The Orator may be interrupted by the Worshipful Master. Moreover, the Worshipful Master has the right to bar the Orator from speaking. On the other hand, the Orator may interrupt the Worshipful Master in case he is defending legality.

Article 59

Discussion on a matter shall be calm, serious and dignified. Works in the Lodge shall always be imbued with festive feelings.

(This item is crossed out) If a Brother is compelled to leave the temple during work, he should do so in silence, and he should inform the Warden about it and leave with him the amount he intended for the almoner's purse, and then go out around the pillars.

At a ritual works, approval, expression of grief and voting should be done according to ancient Freemasonic customs.

Article 60

When secret voting or balloting is required, a request by even a single Brother must be met.

PART TEN

Property of the Lodge

Article 61

The property of the Lodge consists of:

a / immovable property;

b / mobile inventory of the Lodge;

c / money, securities, metals and

d / almoner's fund.

Article 62

Property under a/ and b/ is kept and maintained by the Lodger, and the property under c/ and d/ by the Treasurer.

If the post of Lodger is not filled, the property is inventoried and managed by the Treasurer, and maintained by the Worshipful Master and the Secretary. (This item is crossed out)

The Lodger and Treasurer are personally responsible for the property entrusted to them.

Article 63

The almoner's fund shall be used, above all, for humanitarian purposes; extra amounts may be used only for general Freemasonic purposes.

The contents of the almoner's purse shall be kept separately, recording all the income and expenses.

PART ELEVEN

Annual report, property auditing and budget

Article 64

At the first 1st-degree work in December, the Lodge forms a committee (added: "for the review of the Treasury") of three members who (added: "in accordance with Part VII, Articles 30-32 of the Constitution") carry out auditing of the Treasurer's annual report, the inventory of the movable and immovable property, which was compiled by the Lodger, as well as the Treasurer's budget proposal.

The committee reports to the Lodge on its findings at the following 1st-degree work. Based on the report, the Lodge makes a decision on releasing the officers in charge of further responsibility for the property of the Lodge.

PART TWELVE

Demit, suspension and expulsion

Article 65

Demit may be requested only for serious and acceptable reasons.

Article 66

An application for demit is scrutinized by a three-member committee, composed on ad hoc basis.

The task of the committee is to contact the applicant. If the applicant's reasons are not justified, the committee shall try, in a Masonic way and based on fraternal love, to do their best to dissuade him, reminding him of the written oath that he furnished with his signature at the initiation.

If the applicant remains with his decision, and the intermediary committee concludes that he will no longer be a useful and active Freemason, he may be issued a demit in accordance with the Constitution.

(The following section of this article is crossed out). If the applicant fails, even after numerous warnings, to meet the requirements of Part X, Article 54 of the Constitution, no demit shall be issued to him, but he will be removed from the membership.

Article 67

If a member is unjustifiably absent from Lodge works for a considerable period of time, despite numerous warnings, (added: as per Part VII, Article 59 of the Constitution), a process for his removal from the membership shall be initiated.

PART THIRTEEN

Freemasonic mourning and guardianship

Article 68

When a Brother passes into "the Eternal East", the Lodge expresses respect as per the Freemasonic tradition.

If a member of the Lodge, as well as a prominent domestic or foreign Freemason, has deceased the Lodge expresses respect by a special Lodge of Sorrow work.

Article 69

The Lodge takes the deceased Brother's family under protection. It takes care and offers financial assistance, if required, and according to the financial standing of the Lodge, to his orphan(s) who is/are not able to earn a living and provides a regular contribution to their upbringing and education, until the deceased Brother's children are capable of earning on their own.

Article 70

The Lodge should ask the family of the deceased Brother whether there is a need to appoint a guardian from among the members of the Lodge. If the family considers that a guardian is necessary, the Lodge talks to the family about a possible guardian and assigns a Brother who the family accepts.

Article 71

The task of the guardian is to constantly inquire about the status of the deceased Brother's family, to keep an eye on the realization of their interests and, from time to time, submit reports to the Lodge. He is a guardian ad litem and representative on behalf of the Lodge.

PART FOURTEEN

Dissolution and Dormancy

Article 72

In case of dissolution or dormancy, the entire movable and immovable property of the Lodge (crossed out: "together with obligations"), in accordance with Part VII, Articles 88-93 (added: "and Article 96"), passes to the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary i.e. to its power, which it will be subordinated to when the Lodge becomes dormant. (The next part is crossed out) In case the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary is not ready to bear the unpaid liabilities of the Lodge, a committee shall be formed to wind up the property in a profane manner. Nonetheless, Masonic movable property shall be transferred to the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary.

Discussed and accepted on 26th June 1909, at the first-degree work of the Lodge called Jövendő

Signed by the following Freemasons:

Dr János Duchon, Worshipful Master; Dr Adolf Feles, Secretary; Soma Rácz, Orator; Dr Füllöp Grüner, Senior Warden; Dr Sági Sámuel, Junior Warden.

Certified by the round seal of the Lodge:

Freemasonic Lodge Jövendő, Orient Sombor, 22nd November 1908

At the end of 1909, the Sombor Lodge had 37 members, of whom 26 were from Sombor, 2 from Palanka and Gombos (Bogojevo) respectively and 1 from Bezdán, Kúla, Hódzsák (Odžaci), Pancsova (Pančevo), Gödöllö, Mitrovica and St. Lörinc respectively. The officers of the Lodge on the day of 22nd November 1908 were the following Brethren:

Worshipful Master: Dr János Duchon

Deputy WM: Zsigmond Bárány

Senior Warden: Dr Sámuel Sági

Junior Warden: Dr Füllöp Grüner

Secretary: Dr Adolf Feles

Orator: Soma Rácz, deputy Iván Bárczi (after the decision of 2nd January 1909)

Treasurer: Lajos Raisz

Master of Ceremony & Prep Master: Dr Joseph Wolheimer

Tyler: Adolf Venetianer

The amendments were made on 2nd January 1909 according to report no. 3 furnished with the same date:

FREEMASONIC DOCUMENTS AND THE PROCEDURE OF ADMISSION – EXAMPLE OF DR. ADOLF FELES, THE FIRST SECRETARY OF LODGE JÖVENDŐ

Biographical data

On 6th February 1897, members of Lodge Árpád (full name Árpád a Testvériséghez), founded in 1870 and working in the Orient of Szeged under the auspices of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary, established their own Daughter-Lodge in Sombor composed of members born in Sombor and the neighbouring area and those who lived and worked in Sombor.

On 22nd November 1908, the Sombor Daughter-Lodge grew into a Saint John constituent lodge under the protection of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary. There were 9 members, and the temporary Worshipful Master was Dr János Duchon, physician and Catholic. The temporary secretary of the lodge was Adolf Feles, a Jew, physician, born in Bodrog – Monostorszeg near Sombor on 22nd September 1865, son of Ignácz Feles and Netty Blau. (Source: Milenko Beljanski, Jews Married in Sombor 1886-1942, p. 10, item 36.) He attended the Sombor Grammar School (Gymnasium) completing it in 1884. One of his teachers, and later his Brother and colleague was Soma Rácz, the most prominent Sombor Freemason to date. In the same Gymnasium, he taught the subject called Health Education in all the eight forms with two classes a week.

In addition to working at a school and his regular medical practice, which he abandoned, he founded the Institute for the Preparation of smallpox vaccine. The said disease killed a number people at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. On 1st March 1897, Dr Adolf Feles started and edited the journal Orvosügy (Medical Matters), published in Sombor in the Hungarian language, which was more of a national than local publication. The journal was extremely progressive, dealing with: the issues of formation of social institutions, providing retirement benefits for doctors (which did not exist at the time), and creation of a fund for helping deceased doctors' families as well as easing the difficult conditions doctors were working in. The magazine launched the idea of founding a Medical Association and was consistently striving against superstitions and quackery, and also dealt with the history of medicine and medical services in the country. Advertisements for new drugs, bitter water, spas, as well as the Institute for the Preparation of Small Pox Vaccine were also published. One of the prominent contributors to the magazine was D. János Duchon, the Worshipful Master of Lodge Jövendő. At the beginning of the 20th century, almost all Sombor Freemasons, including Dr Feles, held lectures for local citizens at the Free Lyceum, the Society for the Advancement of Science and General Knowledge.

Dr Adolf Feles became a Freemason in 1902 having been initiated at Lodge Árpád of Szeged. In 1911, after 20 years of work in the Sombor Gymnasium and 9 years of his active Masonic role in the city, Dr Adolf Feles moved to Budapest. There is no information about his further role in Sombor Freemasonry. He passed to the Eternal East in Budapest on 26th April 1918, where he was buried.

The text that follows is the translation of Dr Adolf Feles's petition for admission to Lodge Árpád (from the Hungarian National Archives, Section P). From this document, as well as other documents attached, one can see the spectrum of documents in the former admission process as well as the language and contents of the attached short C.V., and the procedure for forming a final opinion on a petitioner.

Petition

Freemasonic Lodge Brotherhood Árpád Szeged

By supporting wholeheartedly the sublime goals of Freemasonry, i.e. aspiration to the values of humanity education, freedom and equality, and my willingness to contribute, I am asking the respectful Lodge to be as kind as to admit me into their ranks.

I give my word of honour that, on the basis of the decision I have made, of my own free will, I will not, without permission of the Lodge, give up this request.

Made at Sombor, 15th April 1902

With respect

Dr Adolf Feles

Date of birth: 22nd September 1865

Place of birth: Bodrog - Monostorszeg

Place of residence: Sombor

Occupation: medical doctor

A) By giving your word of honour, do you declare that you have never committed any discreditable deed? I declare so giving my word of honour.

B) Have you ever been tried, if so where and with what outcome? I have never been tried.

C) Have you already petitioned to another lodge and what was the outcome of your petition? I have not petitioned.

For the above statements, I take full responsibility: Made at Sombor, 16th April 1902. Honourable Brother Dr János Duchon,

NOTE: a short biography and a photo of the petitioner are attached to this sheet. (no photo attached, TN)

Initiation fee: 70 crowns and 60 fillers (24 crowns = 1 pound sterling at the time, TN)

Monthly membership fee: 0 crown

Short C.V. of Bro. Adolf Feles

I attended the Sombor Gymnasium completing it on 13th June 1884. I studied medicine at the Budapest Faculty of Science, Department of Medicine, where I was awarded the medical doctor's degree on 19th April 1890.

On 1st January 1891, I settled in Sombor as a medical intern, and since then I have been permanently employed as a medical doctor.

I served my military term for a year, 1887-88, as a volunteer in the Military Sanitary Service. After gaining a university degree, I became a reserve medical assistant in the joint army. In 1894, after armed training, I was appointed military doctor of the Hungarian Royal Army; since 1898 I have been a member of the reserve corps.

On 6th August 1893, I got married to Ella Schliesser, daughter of late Emanuel Schliesser and his wife, Bertha Kauffmann. During the marriage, we got two male children.

I took an active part in the work of the Medical Society of Sombor, founded in 1896. From its foundation until last year I was the Secretary of the Society.

I founded the Institute for the Preparation of Small Pox Vaccine, approved by the Hungarian Royal Ministry of the Interior in 1895. Due to my absorption in the work at the Institute, I abandoned my G.P. practice. Now, I am dealing exclusively with the vaccination against smallpox as well as dentistry. In 1890, I wrote a paper titled "Small Pox Mortality in Hungary after the Introduction of the Law on Inoculation against Small Pox in 1887 Compared to Small Pox Mortality in other, Developed Countries", which I sent to a number of professional journals.

(The holograph is probably incomplete because the following page is incomplete TN).

Investigation of the candidate (printed form)

No. 324/902

16th October 1902, Orient of Szeged

After the petition had been received, the Worshipful Master of Lodge Árpád appointed an Investigative Committee whose members were Soma Rácz, Mór Kelő and János Duchon. The Committee was assigned the duty to find out whether Adolf Feles was well-qualified and worthy of becoming a member of Lodge Árpád. Their reports were written on a standard form:

In accordance with Article 175 of the Constitution, I am asking you to carry out a necessary investigation into the petitioner, Dr Adolf Feles, and to inform me, within three weeks, whether his material status, reputation and character make him suitable for admission into the community of Freemasons. His biodata and other information are available at the Secretariat.

With Brotherly greetings

Worshipful Master

Report by Bro. Soma Rácz

Dear Worshipful Master, dear Brethren,

I have respected D. Adolf Feles among my contemporaries for a long time as a teacher of medical education and a school doctor and, for a very long time, as my personal good friend. For all that time, I do not remember anything that would, concerning his attitudes, cast a shadow on his good reputation or indicate any shortcoming in his personality. However, there were instances when his unrestrained desire to step into the ranks of Freemasons caused him to make wrong estimates. Since then, I have been trying to get even deeper into his soul, and I am delighted to bring my experience to the Freemasonic public. I think that this uncontrolled desire with my friend feeds on his view of the world and that his long wait has grown into impatience. Moreover, I consider that this huge desire to belong to our Fraternity is a guarantee that his enormous energy, embodied in his desire for membership, will grow into enthusiasm about Freemasonry. So far, he has supported us in our cultural activities and, as a school doctor, not only opened up great opportunities for humanitarian work, but he did such work as well. Since he lives in a well-settled financial situation, I consider him to be suitable and worthy of admission into the ranks of Freemasons, and I recommend him as such.

With brotherly greetings

Bro. Soma Rácz

Report by Bro. Mór Kelő

I have known Dr Adolf Feles for a long time and I can tell you that his material status, reputation, and character make him suitable and worthy to be initiated into our community and I hereby recommend him.

Report by Bro. János Duchon

Dear Worshipful Master, dear Brethren,

The petitioner, Dr Adolf Feles, is not only my contemporary, but he is my dear friend as well. Our friendship reaches well into the past. During that time, I have had ample opportunity to get to know his character and way of thinking. We all have bigger or smaller weaknesses, and so does the petitioner Feles. However, these weaknesses are so neglibible in comparison with his good traits, among which I have to mention his good heart, humanistic attitude, very sincere collegiality, that his admission is well supported. I do not only know his extraordinary Freemasonic qualities on the basis of belonging to his circle of friends, but also on the basis of his excellent reputation. His financial situation is stable, like everything else you have asked me about, and my answer is that I warmly recommend him for admission.

With brotherly greetings

János Duchon

Sombor, 23rd October 1902

From the above documents, the reader may not only see the process of preparation for admission of a candidate but the human dimension of the relationship that can come from the profane world and be transferred to the world of Freemasonry, where it is subjected to further processing for the benefit of the Brotherhood.

On the basis of these and other documents that I have not mentioned here, it is clear that the actors of this short Masonic story had known each other even before they became what they were, and they deepened their relations in the best way. Adolf Feles was a member of the eighth generation of graduates of the Sombor Grammar School 1884, János Duchon was two years younger than him, having passed the "Matura" in 1886, and Soma Rácz was a teacher at the same school for 34 years, between 1886 and 1920, and her director on two occasions (1912-1913 and 1918). D. Feles and Dr Duchon were school doctors and teachers in the same Gymnasium, Dr Feles from 1891 to 1911, and Dr János Duchon for two months in 1911. 6 years after his initiation, Dr Adolf Feles became the Secretary and later the Worshipful Master of Lodge Jövendő.

Based on facts and documents we may conclude that Prof. Soma Rácz, must have been a very respectable member of Lodge Árpád, and later of Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia, since he contributed a number of investigative reports on the suitability of petitioners for admission covering a larger part of Vojvodina. He was a conscientious, honest and experienced Freemason who, despite certain shortcomings in the personality of the subjects of his investigations, had an eye for the right candidate who would very likely make a significant contribution to the Lodge they were admitted to.

Indisputably, investigative reports are crucial for a petitioner's admission but are also a weight of the world on the investigator's shoulders. An example I encountered in the old documents from the late 19th and early 20th centuries is an excellent example of a cardinal error in reporting on the moral and human qualities of a petitioner. Namely, the petition to Lodge Honszeretet of candidate Jakob Fischer was turned down due to his "aggressiveness". On closer investigation of his case, it was found that he was declared aggressive just because he pursued boxing as a sport.

EVENTS, CORRESPONDENCE AND IMPORTANT MOMENTS IN THE LIFE OF LODGE JÖVENDŐ

The year 1909

Events in the life of the Lodge for this year will be given with exact dates of the documents we possess.

2nd January – As per the provisions of the Constitution on the annual reshuffling of functions in the Lodge, new Lodge Officers were elected. The Worshipful Master and the Secretary were re-elected. The 3rd degree was conferred on Iván Bárczi, Ignác Kende, Lajos Raisz and József Wollheimer.

9th January \- Vilmos Löwy, János Sabranszky and Sándor Schlieszer were raised to the 2nd degree. The Lodge sent a letter to the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary thanking them for the temporary work permit.

18th January \- Sándor Bittermann, József Ehrilich Jn., a tinsmith and turner born in Salzburg, Sándor Spitzer and Áron Wamoscher were initiated. They had lodged their petitions to Lodge Honszeretet in the Orient of Baja between 2nd December 1907 and 7th May 1908. On the same day, the Secretary of the Lodge sent a letter to the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary requesting the Grand Lodge to send an approval of the constitution of L. Jövendő. The first letter with the same content was sent to the GL on 18th November 1908. The Lodge submitted the report for 1908 to the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary i.e. for the last two months of the same year, from the establishment of the Lodge on 22nd November. It was pointed out that Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia had been able to raise funds for the purchase of their Masonic Hall, as well as the fact that Freemasonry was diffusing to new, southwestern parts of the country. The report was written in a lavish style, with profuse compliments. In the original document, a greater part of the text was crossed out by the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary. The income-related portion (2400 crowns) and the expenditure of the Lodge (e.g. 2000 crowns to assist poor children, as well as 400 crowns for the celebration of the children's day, which was planned to grow into a traditional children's event from the following year) was not crossed out. The sentence relating to the successful work of the Free Lyceum was not crossed out either. At the end of the report, there was a note saying that a house in Pasa Str. 9 was purchased for 17,000 crowns for the Masonic Hall, It is today's Dositejeva Street, but the house was demolished in 2007 to give place to a modern eyesore housing a bank and a few flats. At the time, out of 37 twenty-nine members came from Philanthropia and the following works would focus on problems of furnishing the temple. The Lodge library contained 183 volumes.

The house at no. 9 Pasa Str. - demolished in 2007 (photo by the author)

30th January \- The Secretary, Adolf Feles, sent a letter to Otto Trautmann in the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary asking him to send the magazine Kelet (east) to the home addresses of subscribers in the future, and not to company addresses, where the subscribers worked since they met various inconveniences.

2nd February – A Lodge of Sorrow was held to commemorate the deceased Grand Master of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary, György Joannovics, who had died on 10th January 1909.

5th February \- The Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary was requested to send 25 pcs. of blank Master Mason Certificates.

8th February \- The Secretary, Dr Adolf Feles sent the same request as of 30th January again. He also asked the Grand Lodge to confirm the election of the Lodge Officers.

18th February – The Secretary asked the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary to confirm the receipt of the 1908 report he had sent earlier in January.

25th February - The _Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary_ did not respond to the request, but asked the Sombor Lodge to cover a debt of 179 crowns as well as the outstanding debt of 68 crowns of Daughter-Lodge _Philanthropia_.

9th March \- The Grand Lodge asked for payment of the debt again, but this time they said it was the debt for the medals that the Grand Lodge had paid for.

15th March \- The Secretary of the Lodge asked the Grand Lodge to write off a debt of 413 crowns, which the Grand Lodge was asking for, for the purchase of equipment for the Lodge, referring to the fact that some of the lodges under the protection of the Grand Lodge were written off their debt. In the Note on the back of the letter it says: "Due to the difficult financial situation, the Grand Lodge has turned the request down." In the attachment to a separate letter, the Secretary of the Lodge sent the signed Solemn Oaths of the newly-initiated Brethren and requested the Grand Lodge to send 25 pcs. of blank forms of the Solemn Oath. In another letter, furnished with the same date, four Master Mason Certificates were asked for, for the four new Master Masons.

The following is an example of the agenda, of the tyled meeting held on Saturday, 8th May 1909 at 6 pm :

1. A ritual opening of the Lodge,

2. Minutes,

3. Circular letters

4. Secretary's report,

5. Information on the Lodge Rulebook and discussion,

6. Report on the meetings of the Grand Lodge on 27th and 28th March,

7. Discussing proposals for Officers,

8. Proposals,

9. Survey,

10. Almoner's purse

11. Closing the Lodge

12. Dinner

8th May – Bro. Wollheimer read a paper.

29th May \- A 1st-degree joint work was held with the Budapest Lodge Eötvös. Dinner was organized in the temple of the Lodge.

12th June – 1st-degree work. Initiation was held of petitioner Dr Rezső Gál from Sombor, as well as Emil Kirschner and Dr József Szőke from Palanka. Dr. Lehel Knézy held a lecture on secularization.

24th June \- The Lodge sent the initiation documents of Dr Rezső Gál to the Grand Lodge. The Grand Lodge did not respond until 24th November saying they had no knowledge of the aforementioned Brother ever being registered as a petitioner. The Lodge said, on 3rd December that Dr Rezső Gál had submitted his petition to L. Honszeretet in the Orient of Baja, on 12th June 1908.

26th June – A 3rd-degree ritual work was held at 6 pm and a 2nd-degree work at 5 pm. Bro. Iván Bárczi held a lecture on the initiative of Lodge Union. The 3rd-degree was conferred on Károly Berecz, Vilmos Krump, Vilmos Löwy, Sándor Schlieser, Lajos Gulyás, Jenő Fehér, Dr Lehel Knézy and Richárd Wissinger.

23rd September \- The Lodge informed the Grand Lodge that works were held every first and third Saturday in the month in the new Masonic Hall at no 9 Pasha Street at 19.00. On that same day, the Lodge sent a letter to the Grand Lodge saying that the consecration of the Lodge was planned for one of the weeks of November. In that sense, the Lodge would try to inform the local papers about the event and articles on Freemasonry would appear on cover pages. Lectures were also planned in the Free Lyceum, which traditionally opened its door in November, and lectures were held weekly until Easter. The Grand Lodge was asked to send a Brother from a Budapest lodge to hold a lecture on the objectives of Freemasonry since it would attract the attention of the profane world.

2nd October – A 1st-degree ritual work was held where Bro. Rezső Gál read his paper on "Socialism and Social Movement".

16th October – A 1st-degree tyled meeting was held. Iván Bárczi lectured on the correspondence in connection with the decisions of Lodge Union.

20th October \- The letter from the Grand Secretary Bakonyi was discussed regarding the consecration of Lodge Jövendő, which was planned for 28th November. The Lodge asked the Grand Lodge again and explained the importance of lecturing at the Free Lyceum about the objectives of Freemasonry by one of the Brethren who would be well-known to the general public. A tyled meeting would be held in the Masonic Hall of the Lodge, dinner as well; in case of a large number of guests the dinner would be held at one of the restaurants and the guests would be accommodated at the "Vadászkürt" (Hunter's Horn) Hotel.

1st November – A letter was sent to the Grand Master reiterating that the lecturer at the Free Lyceum had to be a person of exceptional integrity and publicly well-known. It would also be good if the newspapers in the capital would report about the official consecration of the Lodge.

3rd November \- A letter from the Grand Lodge arrived asking the Sombor lodge to refrain from a public propagation of Freemasonry and conduct the "opening" of the Lodge in the traditional way, since "... times are not suitable for such public propaganda. We believe that there may be more damage than benefit, and it would, anyway, be difficult to find such a lecturer who would fully meet your requirements. If the Brethren pay due attention to my fears about going public and carry out the planned work only in the Masonic circle, about which I expect your urgent response, we will then inform all the lodges that work under our protection about the event. If my health permits, I will attend the ceremony. Grand Master"

6th November – A 1st-degree tyled meeting was held where Dr Rezső Gál presented his paper "The Issues of Socialism".

7th November \- Three copies of the Rulebook were sent to the Grand Lodge for approval.

9th November – Lodge Jövendő informed the Grand Lodge about acceptance of the suggestions of the Grand Master and the final date for the consecration of the Lodge. In a letter of the same date, the Grand Lodge informed the Lodge that it was happy to hear that consecration would be conducted within the Freemasonic circle.

13th November \- The Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary sent a printed invitation to all lodges under their protection for the 1st-degree tyled meeting held for the consecration of Lodge Jövendő in the Orient of Sombor on Sunday 28th November starting at 6 p.m. A similar invitation, with the agenda, was also sent by Lodge Jövendő. Under item 6, the Secretary of the Lodge, Adolf Feles, was to expose the history of the Lodge, and the Orator, Soma Rácz, would introduce the participants with the works and the program of the Lodge, under item 7.

20th November \- The Lodge sent a letter of explanation asking the Grand Lodge to accept the Rulebook in its entirety. A 1st-degree tyled meeting was held. Papers were read by Iván Bárczi ("About the program of the Lodge") and Dr. Rezső Gál ("About Socialism").

21st November – The Secretary, Dr. Feles, sent a telegram to Dr. Jenő Csukási, asking him "to intercede for us at the Grand Council to accept the Lodge Rulebook, which was sent to Budapest earlier".

28th November \- Ceremonial consecration of Lodge Jövendő and initiation of petitioners Simon Abelsberg from Palanka, and Dr. Martin Matić and Aladár Tomcsányi from Sombor were held. Dr. Adolf Feles informed the Brethren about the history of Freemasonry in Sombor. Soma Rácz gave a lecture on the achievements and program of Lodge Jövendő. Dr. Márton Kabos made a speech on the "Chain of Fraternity". Ceremonial dinner followed.

4th December – Lodge Jövendő informed the Grand Lodge on their support to the initiative of Lodge Eötvös from Budapest to launch a daily Masonic newspaper. 5.000 subscribers were required for the purpose. The campaign that the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary and its lodges launched had collected 2400 subscribers who were willing to pay the pre-subscription fee for 1 year. In case the newspaper was not started before 31st December 1910 the subscription amount paid was to be refunded with interest.

14th December – The Grand Lodge informed all the lodges under its protection, by letter, that on that day it had issued an approval for the work of Lodge Jövendő. In a letter furnished with the same date, the Lodge informed the Grand Lodge about sending 229 crowns (180 as membership fee, 24 for master certificates and 25 for the admission of 5 Brethren); at the same time the Lodge asked the Grand Lodge to write off the debt of 301 crowns and 30 filers, since she did not receive any financial help from the Grand Lodge for the equipment and regalia of the Masonic Hall.

16th December - The Lodge collected books from members and donated them to the hospital library.

18th December \- The Secretary of the Lodge asked the Grand Lodge to send the German edition of the magazine Orient to the address of Simon Abelsberg Jn., since there was another person with the identical name in Palanka.

The year 1910

For this year, we have highlighted only those events that we thought were of relevance to the aims and purpose of this book.

2nd January \- New Officers of the Lodge were elected. The Worshipful Master and the Secretary were re-elected. Committees were also formed: for Economy, Issues of General Importance and Cooperation with Sister Lodges.

\- A complaint was sent to the Grand Lodge because the Secretary, Dr Adolf Feles, was not receiving invitations to the meetings of the Grand Council, although he had been elected representative of Lodge Jövendő. The Grand Lodge was also asked to send copies of the Constitution in Hungarian, not in the German language.

\- That year, the conflict between Lodge Jövendő and Lodge Berzsenyi of Kaposvár raged around the admission of petitioner Fülöp Jakobi of Pécs. Namely, Jakobi sought admission to Lodge Jövendő since he lived in Sombor, as the representative of the insurance company Foncier. The Kaposvár Lodge was vehemently against this, arguing that such an admission was illegal because the closest lodge to Pécs is in Kaposvár and not in Sombor thus such a procedure was contrary to the Constitution. There was an intensive correspondence on the route Sombor - Budapest - Kaposvár. The matter came before the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary's Disciplinary Committee, which decided diplomatically in favour of Lodge Jövendő with the remark that the petitioner's guarantors would be from Pécs. Thus, Fülöp Jakobi was initiated in Sombor on 8th March 1910.

8th March – The petition of Kálmán Csapó (8 black balls out of 16) was rejected stating that the petitioner was "arrogant, careerist, vain, liked gossiping and sought admission for the possibility of establishing ties only," and so was Vasa Stajić, teacher at the Teacher Training School, because "the petitioner was a restless spirit, disregarding the authority of his superiors and had extreme attitudes" (2 black balls - corrected to 3 in the report). Béla Mohácsi's petition was treated in the same way, with the following reasoning: "although the investigators of his personality and financial status unanimously recommended him for admission, he was not to the liking of a greater number of younger members".

\- At the suggestion of the Brethren from Palanka, Mihály Ötvös, the Director and teacher of the civic school had also applied for admission, but the same Brethren found out later that he was not suitable for membership and they denied support. It also turned out that the petitioner Kristóf Nagy was susceptible to drunkenness and Dr Lajos Gál from Szabadka was prone to quarrel, in spite of his excellent moral characteristics. Therefore, both K.N. and L. G. were persuaded to withdraw their petitions.

\- The following petitioners were initiated in 1910: Lajos Szabó, Chief Secretary of the Savings Bank, on 16th January, Lajos József Ceisel, lawyer on 28th February, Fülöp Jakobi on 8th March, Gyula Komáromy, financial advisor on 27th March, Károly Polgár, theater director on 10th April, and Isidor Novaković, bank manager, later the Director and teacher at the School of Economics, one of the most important Sombor Freemasons, on 11th June.

\- The 2nd degree was conferred on the following Brethren: Aladár Tomcsányi, Dr Martin Matić, János Zsigmond, Emil Kirschner, Simon Abelsberg Jn., Áron Wámoscher, Dr József Szőke, Arnold Orova, Alexander Dembritz and David Horovitz. The following Brethren were raised to the 3rd degree: Dr Rezső Gál, János Sabranszky, Dr Lehel Knézy, Sandor Spitzer, József Ehrlich Jn., Richard Wissinger, Jenő Fehér and Sándor Bittermann.

\- Ferenc Radvány, a school inspector, from Nagy Becskerek, received an honourable discharge because he left for Budapest, where he became a member of Lodge Eötvös.

2nd April – József Szőke invited all the Brethren to socialize in Palanka.

12th May \- Adolf Venetianer from Szabadka (Subotica) requested honourable discharge due to the formation of a lodge there.

\- In June, a total of 150 forms were requested from the Grand Lodge (50 forms each for honourable discharge, matriculation and raising).

The following papers were presented in the Lodge:

Iván Bárczi: "Tradition and Customs in Freemasonry"; Dr Rezső Gál: "Extending Election Rights" and Jenő Fehér: "Rituals in the Lodge".

The year 1911

1st January - The Grand Lodge informed Lodge _Jövendő_ that, at 31st December 1910, all the debt of the Lodge was settled. However, the Treasurer Lajos Raisz lodged a complaint to the Grand Treasurer, Rau Gottlob, on the mode of presenting costs. Although the sum was right, the purpose of expenditure was not in accordance with the financial report that had been sent to the Grand Lodge.

\- The Report for the year 1910 was sent to the Grand Lodge. New Officers of the Lodge were elected (the same person remained the Worshipful Master, Dr Rezső Gál was elected Secretary). At the end of 1910, the Lodge had 54 members (31 Masters, 6 Fellow Crafts and 17 Entered Apprentices).

31st January – Fülöp Jakobi and Károly Polgár were raised to the 2nd degree and Aladár Tomcsányi, Emil Kirschner, Dr József Szőke and János Zsigmond to the 3rd degree.

11th February \- Robert Seidl, trader, József Pehán, painter and Károly Hegel, Director of the Agrarian Bank (all from Verbász - Vrbas) and Dr Jenő Vermes, lawyer, Kálmán Trattner, veterinarian, János Tolnai, civic school teacher and Imre Hondl, pharmacist (all from Palanka) were initiated.

\- Apart from Sombor, members of Lodge Jövendő also came from the following places: Apatin, Palanka, Nagy Becskerek (Zrenjanin), Pozsony (Bratislava), Pécs, Gödöllő, Verbász, Szivác, Kúla, Szilbás, Bezdán, Szabadka (Subotica), Pancsova (Pančevo), Újvidék (Novi Sad), Gombos (Bogojevo), Hódzsák (Odžaci) and Mitrovica.

A request was sent to the Grand Lodge asking to forward all future correspondence to the profane address of Bro. Rezső Gál.

16th February - 18th November: Dezső Gyöngyösi, director of the Treasury of the Workers' Insurance Company and Dr Kálmán Ribiczey, Secretary of the Deputy Mayor of Novi Sad were initiated. Dr Izidor Gábor, lawyer from Kúla and Dezső Cettl, Sombor Savings Bank employee were initiated on 6th October. Béla Goldfahn, a painter from Sombor was initiated on 18th November.

18th March \- a letter was sent to inform the Grand Lodge that the interests of Lodge Jövendő, at the session of the Grand Assembly would be represented by Bros. Soma Rácz, Dr Rezső Gál and Dr Martin Matić.

15th May – The newly-appointed Secretary of the Lodge, Rezső Gál, sent to the Grand Lodge a Memorandum of the Sombor Gymnasium entitled "The Memorandum of Acatholic Teachers on the Activities of the Marian Congregation of the Institution" (Marian Congregation is such a Catholic soul movement based on Ignatius Loyola's teachings that propagates the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, TN). The six-page memorandum was written by Professor Soma Rácz on behalf of all non-Catholic teachers of the Grammar School, and Dr Rezső Gál sent it to the Grand Lodge "for its possible use in works".

Professor Soma Rácz began with the words:

We learned that a certain number of our students were attracted to the Marian Congregation. Although we do not wish to prevent anyone from practising their religion, we consider the actions of this association to be offensive, referring to the freedom of conscience, and he continues:

... This is a state institution in which everyone exercises the right to religious cognition in accordance with the teachings conveyed by the priests of his confession through the subject of Religious Education ... In this multinational environment where the Hungarian people are making great efforts to maintain their national identity, the activity of the congregation only deepens the gap in the souls of young people and forever breaks relations by raising walls. In our country, belonging to different religions is not only a matter of conscience, but also of racial and national unity, and we who are trying to educate young people to be active, ready to overcome differences, to be patient and tolerant, who will treat all people and their loved ones equally, it was revealed, with pain in the heart, that one part of our youth is strictly and secretly separated from the others, so that our joint work is thus disabled... .

With pain in the heart he continued:

... the association acts secretly, demanding from the members to take an oath. We wonder if a developing child (the age of eleven at the time) can be demanded to take a serious and profound moral oath..., and ... how can a child be demanded religious exclusiveness and intolerance? ... that is why we, teachers, are against ... the other reasons are pedagogical ... By its very name, the Marian Society is undoubtedly an association, so it has nothing to do with free religious practices ... in their religious practice children have to take part in meetings scheduled at certain times and they have to be present ... According to the Statute of the school, only those societies and associations where membership is open to all, regardless of religion and nationality, are allowed to function within the school ...

It is strange, however, that in some other state institutions par excellence Catholic societies do exist ... this is the impoverishment of the spiritual world of young people ... our goal is to create open, sincere personalities that will freely express what is good and noble ... This is contrary to the State Decree no. 751 of 1887, in which it is clearly stated that ... such associations can act only for the purpose of self-education, self-help, and as societies for physical and educational entertainment.

... It is also contrary to Article 26, according to which the activities of an association can only be carried out at the premises of the institution, and not at the premises of the Carmelite Church ... The priests of each religion will educate their youth so that they could gain high moral values and become pious patriots, and not fighters for the interests of one religion only, without tolerance towards other religions, because this prevents our work on developing mutual love and cooperation.

21st December – Lodge Jövendő held joint works with Lodge Alkotás in the Orient of Szabadka (Subotica). The Worshipful Master exposed the issue of launching a Masonic daily newspaper and Brethren Dr Rezső Gál and Zsigmond Váradi of Lodge Alkotás, held a joint lecture on the issues of the Electoral Law.

The year 1912

The following Brethren read their papers:

Fülöp Jakobi "The Current Tasks of Freemasonry"; Soma Rácz "The Marian Congregation in Public Schools"; Jenő Fehér "Oszkár Jászy, the new Grand Master"; Zoltán Rónai "Links between Freemasonry and Politics"; Jenő Fehér "The Book of Pál Szende entitled Creation and Destruction Works in Freemasonry"; Dezső Gyöngyösi "The Book by Gyula Virág entitled The Hungarian Law on Religion and Its Deviation"; Dr János Duchon "The Annual Plan of the Grand Lodge"; Pál Szende "News in Hungarian Freemasonry" and Dr Rezső Gál (together with Zsigmond Váradi of Szabadka) "On the Issues of the Electoral Law".

Year 1913

\- At the beginning of the year, new Officers of the Lodge were elected. Dr János Duchon was still the Worshipful Master. Given the larger number of Masters, all the positions were covered by two Brethren at least. The deputies to the Worshipful Master were Soma Rácz and Lajos Raisz, the two Secretaries: Dezső Gyöngyösi and Dr Martin Matić, the Orators were Dr Rezső Gál and Jenő Fehér, the Senior Wardens Dr Samu Sági and Dr Fülöp Grüner, the Junior Wardens: Márton Kabos and Gyula Komáromy. The number of members rose to 59 in the previous year. 31 members were from Sombor, 10 from Palanka, 3 from Verbász, 2 from Budapest, 2 from Hódzsák, and 1 from Nagyenyed (Aiud in Romania), Gombos (Bogojevo), Nagy Becskerek (Zrenjanin), Pécs and Gödöllő (Hungary), Kula, St. Lőrinc, Mitrovica, Szilbás, Novi Sad and Pozsony (Bratislava). Dr Adolf Feles, left Sombor and lived in Budapest, but remained a member of the Lodge.

\- The Lodge decided that all the members shall be subscribed to the new daily Világ (World).

9th September \- The Association of the Right to General, Equal and Secret Voting sent a letter to the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary thanking Lodge Jövendő for their support and a contribution of 50 crowns.

\- Dezső Gyöngyösi presented the Annual Report of Lodge Hunyadi; Dr József Wollheimer the Annual Report of Lodge Haladás (Progress), and Dr Márton Kabos the report of Lodge Haladás on General Voting Rights and Freemasonry.

15th October \- Dr Rezső Gál sent an invitation to the Grand Master for a lecture to be held by István Apáthy, the Worshipful Master of Lodge Union of Cluj, at the premises of Lodge Jövendő on the topics Why Are We Freemasons, as well as Development and Revolution to be held at the Free Lyceum.

The year 1914

\- Dr. Samu Sági and Dr Rezső Gál represented the Lodge at the Grand Assembly.

\- Lodge Jövendő asked the Grand Lodge to take into account, when determining the debt of the Lodge against membership fee, that the Lodge had not been in contact with the following members for a long time (2-2.5 years): Iván Bárczi, Dr Viktor Kollár, Dr Zoltán Pallai and Rezső Skodnik, and the honourable discharge of Bro. Fülöp Jakobi was ongoing after he had applied for affiliation with a Budapest lodge.

The Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary had asked for a list of active members who were educational workers and the Lodge delivered the following list: Soma Rácz, Gymnasium teacher, Vilmos Krump and Alexander Sauer, teachers of the School of Economics, János Tolnai and Lajos Furman, teachers of the civic school.

Year 1915

23rd May - Professor Soma Rácz held read his paper titled "The Reform of Secondary Schools".

\- A circular letter from the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary was received instructing all the Lodges to determine the most important topic to deal with. The Lodge chose the issue of the middle class.

There are no further data on the work of the Lodge, neither in that year nor in the years of the Great War. We have no information on the Lodge in the said period; we do not even know whether the Lodge was working regularly or not, nor do we know anything about the fate of the members. We possess a document dated 20th May 1916, the consent of Dr Samu Sági to represent the Lodge at the Grand Assembly and the same document for 1917. After the war, the Lodge showed a sign of life again. Based on the documents available we know that the Lodge had been working for some time, and many members reappeared in the new Lodge named Lodge Budućnost (the future), which worked under the protection of Grand Lodge Yugoslavia.

Year 1918

20th February – New Lodge Officers were elected. There were 20 attendees and the following Brethren were elected:

Worshipful Master: Soma Rácz; Deputies: Dr Rezső Gál, Dr József Wohlheimer and Dr Márton Kabos; Senior Wardens: Lajos Raisz, Dr Izidor Gábor; Junior Wardens: János Sabranszky and Sándor Spitzer; Orators: Isidor Novaković and Dr Lajos Ceisel, Secretary: Sándor Spitzer, Prep. Masters: Alexander Szauer and Vilmos Vágó, Treasurer: Dezső Cettl, Almoner: Sándor Kerényi, Caretaker: Aladár Tomcsányi, Tylers: Sándor Scliesser and Béla Goldfahn, Librarian: Dr Izidor Gábor, Auditing Committee: Sándor Spitzer, Ignác Kende and Vilmos Vágó.

\- In the course of 1918, between 2nd February and 27th April the following petitioners were initiated: Dr. Lajos Kemény, district physician born in Csonoplya, József Freund, landowner and saw manufacturer from Ó-Becse (Bečaj), Emil Makay, manager of the Agrarian Savings Bank of Sombor, Nándor Meszner from Brestovác, hemp trader, and Alajos Riedler, Manager of the Sombor mill.

FIRST SIGNS OF PREPARATION FOR WAR

From "day-to-day" activities of the authorities of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and other states of the strong capitalist constitution, it was possible to observe, well before the outbreak of the First World War, that the "guardians of the state system" felt quite uncomfortable in their work. In the last decades of the 19th century, industrialization expanded on an unprecedented scale. The capitalist model of production, after wild exploitation of the utterly impoverished and ignorant workforce in factories and mines all through the 19th century, thus initiating ideological communism, should have been somewhat curtailed or, at least whitewashed in the 20th century. The flourishing of industrialization enabled the wider, exploited layers of society to improve their situation to a smaller extent. However, the gap between those who possessed the means of production and those who shouldered the hardships was growing fast threatening to change the world in a social storm. Communism and its milder social-democratic counterpart had reached such popularity that urgent counter-action had to be taken.

The multiplication and strengthening of societies and associations of various types tended to bind the energy of both the intelligentsia and the economically, politically, religiously and nationally disadvantaged class of the most exploited. At the same time, however, the authorities had been brought into danger from the same class due to their greater awareness, knowledge and faith in education. After the liberalist attitude of the government toward association of citizens that had ruled almost to the end of the 19th century in the areas of Austria-Hungary that we are focused on in this book, the beginning of the 20th century brought about growing rigour in the legislation. In the atmosphere of social, and all other tensions, wisdom demanded that hasty steps should not be taken. Therefore the laws were gradually becoming stricter, although nationalism was strengthening simultaneously.

In our layman's opinion, the people were to be "given" a war in order to grant legitimacy to the imposed patriotism and draw the masses under the state banner creating also a chance to get rid of "unwanted elements" and thus relax the ruling social tension and solve domestic political problems. This may even come second to capitalist and geo-strategic interests, which were brewing in the over-confident military minds of the time.

However, planners of the slaughter of 16 million human beings (9 million soldiers and 6.5 million civilians – (450 + 650 thousand in Serbia), blinded by their "omnipotence", did not count on the consequences, - or they did not? The Great War, like all the other wars in the "modern" age, was an opportunity, as we said above, for physical but also mental elimination, of unwanted and "dangerous" elements of the population and most suitable for testing new offsprings of military science and industry.

Where were the Freemasons in that environment? Undoubtedly, some of them found themselves indirectly among the planners due to their position and affiliation (scientists whose inventions were abused, members of royal families or owners of means of production) , but they would be in the same company, anyway, regardless of their Masonic inclination meaning that it was not a war waged by Freemasons but those who were supposed to benefit from it.

The great majority of Freemasons shared the fate of the rest of the population. We saw who the Freemasons were in Bacs-Bodrog County and what their activities were. Those who survived and remained sane appeared in post-war lodges and continued, under new circumstances, their philanthropic, philosophical and progressive work. What were the new circumstances?

INFAMOUS CONSPIRACY AND THE GREAT WAR

Before we attempt to reply to the question, let us try to unroll one more conspiracy, out of those hundreds that influential profanes and cowans fabricated and blamed on Freemasonry in order to provide legitimacy for their own covert operations tainted with jealousy and unsuccessful elbowing towards the exclusive club of people "under the tongue of good report". The leading Christian church, renowned for their Mason-hating attitude, did not want to miss the chance to show their traditional animosity as well.

Although planners of that unprecedented slaughter-house must have been aware that history does not forgive, they again made the same mistake as many conquerors before them: being blinded by their projected success they missed to adjust their plans to reality. This time, they denigrated the power of misery – or, did they? Desperation had been growing to the bursting point, new times had arrived and hungry mouths were crying for justice. Muscles of the industrial elite were shaking the gates of eroded royal favouritism demanding an absolute freedom to gulp the world. Consequently, the Great War brought about a conflict of social classes, which was just that, bringing more bad than good to all of them in the years after.

The planners, belonging to the industrial powerhouse, like a huge raven, stretched both their wings: the hungry, disempowered and ruthlessly exploited but an awakening army of workers and the politically and financially weakened remnants of royalty and nobility. Their aims were clear, their strategy worked out. What they needed was a "cleaning agent" that would remove the dirt from their borrowed, quaint uniforms. The Masons came handy and so did the old-timer Austrian royal house, whose member, Franz Fedinand, was a black sheep of the family behaving rather aggressively and rudely and marrying the ineligible Countess Sophie Chotek. Even Sophie would have been tolerated if Ferdinand had not shown considerable liberalism for the Empire's South Slavic peoples. This was enough to sacrifice him in Sarajevo on 28th June 1914.

Serbia, as the longest independent South Slavic country was to be held responsible for the assassination since Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijević, an officer of the Serbian Army and a member of the so-called Black Hand, provided the murder weapon to the Sarajevo assassin Gavrilo Princip. However, Dragutin Dimitrijević and Black Hand had taken part in the assassination of the Serbian royal couple Alexander I Obrenović and his wife Draga in 1903 and also attempted the assassination of Crown Prince Alexander I Karadjordjević in 1916, who had already been a Freemason at the time. He was assassinated later in Marseille, in 1934 - you may wonder who was officially accused of the murder. Although the real background of all the said events may never be known to the public, we may wonder who was accused

Freemasonry has always been, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries, about progressivity and equality of all classes. Those who were bent on keeping their social position and the benefits it brought were trying to discredit Freemasonry whenever an opportunity arose. It is also about personal spiritual improvement. Freemasons do not enter into disputes and conflicts and do not respond to accusations and criticism. They believe that deeds speak better than words. Due to the silence that emanates from Masonic lodges, it has become, throughout the centuries, convenient to accuse them of all the problems of this world. However, have all those great minds of humanity under the Freemasonic sky been just murderous plot-makers and opponents of the 6th Commandment? – Thou shalt not kill! Then we should but conclude that all those bad guys who hindered the development of this planet were Freemasons. Insane reasoning!

THE TREATY OF LONDON

The London Treaty was a secret pact made on 26th April 1915 between the Triple Entente countries (Russia, France and the United Kingdom) on one side and Italy on the other, with the intention of drawing Italy into the Triple Entente, after it had left the Triple Alliance and turned against Germany and Austro-Hungary. To this end, Italy was promised large territorial gains, but it was annulled by the Treaty of Versailles, which gave rise to the events in Italy between the two world wars.

The Treaty of London talks were led, lo and behold, without the representatives of Serbia, and there were no Serbian signatories to the Pact. However, until then, Serbia had been bearing the burden of Austro-Hungarian warfare. In order to continue its sacrifice on behalf of far-off countries, both Serbia and Montenegro were promised the following territories:

1. The Dalmatian coast between Krka and Ston, including Pelješac, Split and Brač. Montenegro would get the Adriatic coast from Ston to Budva, including Dubrovnik and the Bay of Kotor and part of the Albanian coast to the port of St. John the Medua (alb. Shëngjin).

2. Serbia would get Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bacska, Srem and Slavonia (although Italy showed resistance in case of Slavonia).

The London Treaty also stated that Rijeka (Fiume) and some islands in the area (Krk, Goli, Rab, Prvić and Sv. Grgur) should belong to "Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro". This meant that the Italian part (northern Dalmatia) would separate the Croatian from the Montenegrin coast, which made it obvious that the Entente countries planned to create a separate Croatian state, while Serbia and Montenegro would expand.

THE PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE

The Paris Peace Conference lasted from 18th January 1919 to 28th June 1919, when the Treaty of Versailles was signed. The London pact was cancelled. Feeling deceived the Italians refused to participate in the negotiations for several months. The agreement comprised 14 points. Of particular importance for the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, to be formed later, were the following points:

9. Italy was to gain only those territories that were inhabited by Italians only.

10. Regardless of losing the war Austria and Hungary would be allowed to develop.

11. The Balkan states were to be guaranteed independence.

12. Self-determination would be provided for the peoples of the Ottoman Empire.

13. The League of Nations would be created, which should guarantee independence to all countries, regardless of size.

Due not only to the fact that the Treaty was dictated by the Americans who, like in the Second World War, intervened in the European conflict when everything was clear and the "old continent" had already bled out profusely, but also to the violation by the forces of the Entente (who were in a position to object to them?!), the Versailles Agreement practically brought Europe into the preparation for a new conflict that would bring to the surface such characters as Mussolini, Franco and Hitler.

HOW VOJVODINA BECAME A PART OF SERBIA

The territory that we call Vojvodina today has been governed by many countries so far, and inhabited by countless nations that came, stayed, but also left this weathered refuge of peoples. The first recorded inhabitants of Vojvodina, far into the Roman times, were the Celts and Illyrians. Later, the Slavs, the Huns, the Avars and many others came, but the first states that had authority over this area were the Roman Empire, the State of the Goths, the Hunnic "Empire", the Kingdom of the Gepids, the Ostrogoths and the Langobards until it came under the Byzantine Empire. The Hungarians conquered this area in the 10th century. After the Battle of Mohács in 1526, it fell under the Turks, and after the Peace Accord of Karlovac in 1699 and the Treaty of Passarowitz (Požarevac) in 1718, it became part of the Habsburg Monarchy.

The name of Vojvodina, however, was first used in 1848 when the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar was formed, which existed between 1848 and 1860 as a reward by Vienna for the Serb engagement in suppressing the revolution of 1848. Seven years later, in 1867, the famous Austro-Hungarian Compromise brought the region back to Hungary.

The period between 1867 and 1918 was the time of the rise and fall between members of the ruling and the other nations, and it is perhaps natural that after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire on 28th October 1918, the Great National Assembly of Serbs, Bunjevci and other Slavs of Bacska, Banat and Baranja, in Novi Sad on 26th November of the same year, voted to join the Kingdom of Serbia, which was legalized on 28th June 1921 by the first Vidovdan Constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Considering the national composition of the Grand National Assembly (out of 757 delegates 578 were Serbs, 84 Bunjevci, 62 Slovaks, 21 Ruthenians, 6 Germans, 3 Shokci, 2 Croats and only 1 was Hungarian). In the opinion of the Croats, much more power was granted to the Serbian king. Among other reasons, this served as the basis for their separation from joint organizations and a tendency towards secessionism. The first president of the provincial government (national administration) was a native of Sombor, Joca Lalošević, a non-Mason but very likely a Knight Templar.

VOJVODINA IN THE KINGDOM OF SERBS, CROATS AND SLOVENES AND THE KINGDOM OF YUGOSLAVIA

The state called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes existed from 1st December 1918 until 3rd October 1929, when it changed its name to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In 1921, the population of the country was 11,984,911. That number increased by about two million as per the 1931 census. In 1921, Vojvodina had a population of 1,528,238 (34.9% Serbs, 23.8% Hungarians, 22% Germans, 8.5% Croats, Bunjevci and Shokci, 4.4% Romanians, 3.9% Slovaks, 0.9% Ruthenians and Ukrainians and 1.6% others). According to religious composition, it was as follows: 47.2% Catholics, 39.8% Orthodox Christians, and 10.4% Protestants, and 1.3% Judaists.

Until 1922, the state was divided into provinces and counties; between 1922 and 1929 it was divided into 33 administrative units (areas) after which 9 major administrative units (banovinas) were formed. Before 1922, the province of Vojvodina comprised Banat, Bacska and Baranja. Later, the territory of Vojvodina covered four areas: Bacska, Belgrade, Podunavlje and Srem. From 1929 to 1941, Vojvodina was part of the Danube Banovina, headquartered in Novi Sad, and besides its today's territory, it involved Baranja, much of Srem, Šumadija, Požarevac, Morava and Stig.

POLITICAL CONDITIONS IN THE KINGDOM OF SCS

Immediately after the Declaration of the Kingdom of SCS, negotiations on the constitution of the government were conducted, resulting in the election of Nikola Pašić Prime Minister, which the regent, Aleksandar Karadjordjević a 33rd-degree holder, refused. The crisis that was created later was solved by the election of Stojan Protić, member of Pašić's People's Radical Party, to the position of the Chairman of the Provisional Representative Office. The government was constituted on 20th December 1918. The Provisional Representative Office and the government were managed by the new Democratic Party founded by Svetozar Pribićević, Minister of the Interior and bearer of a high Masonic degree, who represented the idea of Yugoslavism. On 16th August 1919, Stojan Protić resigned from the position of Prime Minister. His place was taken by Ljubomir Davidović, Minister of Education and Freemason, who was then the head of the Democratic Party. Due to his centralist politics, he soon came into a serious conflict with the opposition. In order to solve the problem, he asked the king to call snap elections for the Constituent Assembly. The king refused, and Davidović resigned.

Aleksandar I Karadjordjević (1888-1934) (photo by the author)

Stojan Protić returned as Prime Minister and targeted the centralization of the previous government. Supporters of Stojan Protić had a small majority now, but insufficient to enforce laws, so they ruled by decree. In 1920, the country was shaken by workers' strikes, triggered by difficult living conditions, but also by the events in Russia and Hungary, which the world proletariat saw as an opportunity to come to power by revolutionary means. Since class differences determined everyday life as well as reactions to events, the biggest parties overcame their differences, fearing that the power they possessed would slip out of hand, so a coalition government was formed with the Social Democrats who had the majority. Protić resigned, and a new president was elected, the "neutral" Milenko Vesnić, Minister of Justice, later the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Since the coalition was on a slippery ground it survived only for a short time and so did all subsequent agreements as well as countless alliances and agreements between the parties. Sounds familiar?

It seems that this has always been a matter of mentality in this part of the world where the illusive sense of instant power manages one's behaviour most emotionally, thus moving this world further away from the one that has gained primacy by well-planned, disciplined, dedicated, collective work, overcoming differences so that it could focus its energy on achievements and intended results. The domestic mindset has always been more focused on self-interest, medals and decorations, glory in general, uncritical self-assessment of own "work" and declarative, not real, benefits for neighbours and the environment. The unwise, quarrelling, uncompromising way of dealing with problems determined the position of this region in the world and diminished the respect that would be, if only slightly different, greatly deserved. Freemasonry, among other things, has been designed to treat such personality traits. Has it succeeded here? This is one of the questions this book aims to answer via presentation of circumstances and situations.

All in all, on the political scene of the Kingdom of SCS, after elections for the Constituent Assembly on 28th November 1920, the main players were the Yugoslav Democratic Party (Ljubomir Davidović), the National Radical Party (Nikola Pašić), the Republican Peasant Party (Stjepan Radić) and the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (with 12.4% of the votes and 58 MPs in the Assembly). By 1929, the Communist Party strengthened so much that on 29th/30th December 1920 the Interior Minister Milorad Drašković issued a Decree (Obznana) banning the Communist Party - communist engagement was permitted only within the framework of the Constituent Assembly.

THE CROATIAN ISSUE

Relations in the State of SCS / Kingdom of Yugoslavia were far from acceptable due to essential, historical differences especially between the aspirations of both Serbs and Croats. As early as 1915, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Sazonov and the Russian ambassador in Serbia, Grigory Trubecki, indicated the situation. Trubecki asked the supreme leader of the Party of Rights, Frano Supilo, a supporter of the "softened Yugoslav unitarism" at the tea break of the Yugoslav Congress in Niš on 6th May 1915 about the Croatian nation's state unity with Serbia and received the following answer: "A great majority of the new generation is against it ..." The text of the Niš Declaration was formulated by Milorad Drašković, lawyer, the creator of the first modern dairy in Serbia and the Minister of the Interior of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, who was later killed in Delnice Croatia in 1921.

Historian and academician Milorad Ekmečić (War Aims of Serbia 1914-1918, Belgrade 1992) states somewhat disappointedly:

"In Europe, there has been no example that Catholics and Orthodox Christians lived together in a harmonious democratic state. Wherever they happened to live together, it was due to the trouble of the autocratic regime over them, as it was the case in Russia and Turkey."

Since the Croats had not accepted the king from the very beginning, since they thought this tied them harder to Serbia and diminished the possibility of secession and formation of a separate state when the opportunity arose, the CPP (Croatian Peasant Party) refused to swear loyalty to the king and thereby forced the Democrats and radicals to enter into a coalition with the Yugoslav Muslim Organization, granting certain concessions to Muslim landowners, so that the Constitution could be adopted.

By the Vidovdan (St. Vitus) Constitution of 1921, the state became a unitary monarchy that made the Communists so angry that they organized the assassination (unsuccessful) of Aleksandar I Karadjordjević.

The Croats openly expressed their dissatisfaction with the existing state. Stjepan Radić declared that Croatia was already ready for secession.

At a gathering in Prague he declared the following:

"The Croatian people do not recognize the so-called Kingdom of the SCS under the Karadjordjević dynasty, because this Kingdom was not accepted by the Croatian Parliament, thus having no mandate of the Croatian people." (Alex N. Dragnich (1983). First Yugoslavia: Search for a Viable Political System, p. 18)

This provoked the government and Radić was arrested and sentenced to 11 months in prison. In 1923, without the government mandate, he visited England, Austria and the Soviet Union (staying for 5 and 2 months respectively) with the intention of internationalizing the Croatian issue in the Kingdom. Upon returning to the country, he was arrested again; on 20th June 1928, Radić was assassinated in the Parliament by Puniša Račić, a member of the People's Radical Party from Montenegro.

It is widely believed that the assassination was provoked by earlier events and that it finally gave "legitimacy" to Croats to deny the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in all possible ways, which was later enabled by the occupation of the country and formation of the ISC (Independent State of Croatia) in 1941. The political crisis that arose after the events in the Parliament was solved by the 6th January Dictatorship by which the king temporarily abolished the Constitution, dissolved the Parliament and introduced dictatorship. With the new Constitution adopted, the king took over the executive power.

The conflict with the Croats was deepening. The new leader of the CPP, Vlatko Maček, was also arrested in 1934. The King was trying to settle the "Croatian issue" by agreement, but the Croats were unrelenting. When visiting Marseille on 9th October 1934, King Aleksandar I Karadjordjević was assassinated by the Macedonian terrorist organization VMRO (Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization) in co-operation with the Croatian Ustasha Movement.

King Aleksandar was succeeded by his minor son Peter II Karadjordjević. Regency was appointed, being dominated by Regent-Prince Pavle, Alexander's brother. Internal tensions were greater than ever before. The country started to come apart at the seams, but everyone was looking for a revision. Serbs were for the union of Serbia proper with Vojvodina, Montenegro and Macedonia; Croats sought Dalmatia and part of Vojvodina. The disagreement culminated with Bosnia and Herzegovina, which both nations (their "representatives") claimed right on. The dissatisfaction of the non-Serb peoples also grew because the key positions in the government (prime minister, ministers of defence, interior, foreign affairs, justice) were held by Serbs, from 1918 until 1941, although they were represented by around 40% in the total national count. Therefore, we can say that the policy conducted lacked wisdom and futurism, since the government, possibly enjoying its complacency, did not find it appropriate to seriously address the issues of secession, social justice and economic development of the country. In such an irredentist climate, it was not a miracle that Yugoslavia gave in to aggression in 1941.

FRIENDS (?) OF THE KINGDOM OF YUGOSLAVIA

The Kingdom nurtured good relations with allies from WW1: France and Great Britain (the official alliance signed in 1927), but at the same time it entered an alliance with Romania and Czechoslovakia (Little Entente 1920-21) as the defense wall in case Hungary wanted to regain its former territories that now belonged to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and the other two countries. In fact, Hungary is the greatest loser of WW1 since, dictated by the Treaty of Trianon, on 4th June 1920, the country was reduced to only about 30% of its former territory (even its ally Austria got a part), which prompted the desire for revisionism and establishment of the Horthy government.

The second "protective" alliance which the Kingdom of SCS entered after WW1 was the so-called Balkan bloc, with Greece, Turkey and Romania (1924), which officially turned into the Balkan Entente 10 years later, but the alliance broke up after the assassination of King Alexander.

After parliamentary elections in 1935, a serious split took place on the political scene of the state. In order to calm down the situation, Prince Pavle Karadjordjević named Freemason Milan Stojadinović Prime Minister, which meant that the country was directed to the UK because the new government's Prime Minister was the director of two UK corporate groups in Yugoslavia (Yarrows and Marconi). It was the time of the overture to WW2.

Mussolini's Italy and Hitler's Germany were flexing their muscles and preparing for revisionism and a new division of Europe. The young Soviet state, burdened with all sorts of problems, the aging colonial caretakers, France and the UK, aware that their profitable colonial business was nearing its end, the indecisive "lost generation" that was drowning themselves in wine in Parisian taverns, and yet insufficiently mature politicians of poorly consolidated new states did not represent a serious rival to the brutal fascist power that was growing uncorked to its full extent.

There are various opinions about what Milan Stojadinović could and should have done in such a constellation. The fact is that, perhaps out of a desire to provide his economically backward state with a more peaceful development, he concluded agreements with whoever wished so, praying to God not to have to use his weak and disorganized army in the name of "friendship" and the obligations accepted. The non-aggression pacts signed with Germany and Italy, as well as an attempt to sign the so-called Concordat with the Vatican strongly opposed by the Serbian Orthodox Church and the majority of the public, which among other things, demanded that Yugoslavia shall dissolve all the Masonic lodges, greatly reduced the rating of Stojadinović's government. However, on 11th December 1938, he won the spin elections, although with a slight majority only making the end to Stojadinović as Prime Minister. He was succeeded by Dragiša Cvetković, who managed to involve the Croats into the government through an agreement with Vlatko Maček and creation of the Banovina of Croatia.

The Second World War was already in full swing. Those who had their eyes open could see clearly to what end fascist anti-Semitism and anti-communism would lead the world. The government of Dragiša Cvetković was aware, like the previous Yugoslav government as well, of the weakness of the country and its inability to resist brutal force. Therefore, like other governments before his, wishing to preserve peace in the country, he approached fascist Germany, and in 1940 he even signed two anti-Semitic decrees that were published in the official newspapers in Belgrade and Zagreb on 5th October and 9th October respectively sacrificing the Jewish minority for "higher" goals. In 1940, France, the "mental ally" was also occupied.

In such a climate, in order to protect both themselves and others, Yugoslav Freemasonry decided to go dormant on 22nd June 1940, hoping to resume their activities once that madness was over. Unfortunately, they had to wait for 50 years, much longer than they had expected, due to the paranoiac fear and distrust in Freemasonry by the authorities, who must have been aware of all the injustice they inflicted on free-thinking, educated individuals.

THE ECONOMY OF THE KINGDOM

The existing productive forces in Serbia and Montenegro were destroyed in the war, but economically more developed areas became parts of the Kingdom now, having previously been constituent parts of other countries and, so the Kingdom of SCS was a mosaic of economically diverse areas and systems. The population was also a mix of industrial-urban and deeply traditional rural.

In order to overcome the gap, the government introduced high import duties on industrial goods and export duties on agricultural products whereby income flowed from agriculture to industry. Thus, in the first years after WW1, industrial areas in the northwestern part of the country profited. The South remained agricultural and industrially underdeveloped. The food processing and timber industries, as well as mining, were the strongest. Most of the raw materials were exported, but that sector was in the hands of foreign capitalists. With the exception of Belgrade, Pančevo and Zemun, the main industrial centres were located in Slovenia and Croatia. Between the two world wars, 2193 factories were built - 390 of them in Vojvodina.

Financially, the state was very weak, and inflation was huge in the first years after the war. Milan Stojadinović and the Governor of the National Bank Georg Weifert replaced the Austro-Hungarian crown with the dinar and introduced measures that calmed inflation. Between 1923 and 1931, the dinar became a very stable currency. Croatian banks and savings banks dominated the country.

Economy is inseparable from politics. As the economy of all countries of the European continent began to be interdependent in the 20th century, the strongest states determined the roles of the economies of other countries through diplomacy, pressure and "secret acts". Following the failed conference on disarmament in 1934, Germany began to arm itself intensively, presenting to the others that it had the healthiest and most productive economy in Europe, but what they lacked were raw materials. They were owned by the Southeast Europeans, especially the Balkan countries, which were underdeveloped. Given that they would be a good ally of Germany in a war, co-operation between Yugoslavia and Germany was intensifying. Yugoslavia was granted preferences for many products of the primary sector because the Germans were most interested in food, raw materials for explosives and hemp, serving as a basic material for military clothing and equipment. Hemp was at the top of the list of the most sought-after items at the time. There was also flex, a raw material for lubricating oil. In areas with significant German population in Vojvodina, hemp processing plants were mushrooming. The country was rich in copper, aluminium, zinc, molybdenum, lead and other rare metals that were of importance for the war industry. Therefore, Yugoslavia was to serve as a raw material base in conflicts that were becoming imminent by the end of the 1930s.

Foreign, mostly German, the capital was flowing into the country. The lead smelter in Zvečan, the aluminium factory in Šibenik, the rolling mill and the foundry in Zenica, built by Krupp, benefited from countertrade agreements with Germany. However, the goods received by compensation were difficult to sell because the market was small and poor.

Trade ties with Great Britain and France were weak because, Yugoslavia had nothing to offer, apart from raw materials, but they both had colonies on all continents where their raw materials originated from. When the League of Nations imposed sanctions on Italy because of the occupation of Ethiopia in 1935, Yugoslavia reluctantly joined the majority. After Austria and Germany, Italy was the third most important trading partner of Yugoslavia. Now, the Italian market was lost and the country became economically more dependent on Germany, so Hitler's developing war machine was the most natural ally until 1941.

BRIEF HISTORY OF FREEMASONRY IN THE TERRITORY OF THE KINGDOM OF SCS AND KINGDOM OF YUGOSLAVIA

We saw that the territory of the Kingdom of SCS, established on 1st December 1918, involved Serbia, within its current borders, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia (excluding Istria, a few Kvarner islands, Lastovo and Rijeka) and Slovenia (without parts of Istria and Western Slovenia).

The first Freemasonic lodges in the above-mentioned territory were operating in Croatia and Slavonia from as early as 1759 when Lodge Amitié de Guerre was founded in Glina. The greatest merit for the development of Freemasonry in Croatia belonged to Colonel Ivan Drašković and his family (6 Draškovićes were in different Masonic lodges). The working language of the first lodges was French, and later German. Ivan Drašković founded several lodges, among others Lodge Prudentia (Wisdom) in 1777, whose member was the enlightened bishop of Zagreb Maximillian Vrhovec. The Lodge followed the principle of "Drašković's Observance", which advocated the abolition of serfdom since "all people were born equal". Among the Croatian lodges of the 18th century, we have to mention Lodge L'Unité parfaite in the Orient of Varaždin, later to change its name to Lodge Libertas. Lodge Libertas members formed Lodge Zu den Drei Drachen (Three Dragons). Another famous Freemason of that time, Count Stefan Nicky founded Lodge Vigilantia in the Orient of Osijek, whose membership included Serbs: Stefan Stratimirović, Josif Jovanović Šakabenda and Stevan Novaković. Croatian lodges, led by Ivan Drašković, united to form their Grand Lodge "in the province of freedom. After Drašković's death in 1787, all lodges in Croatia were closed by imperial decree.

Under the Napoleonic rule from 1809 to 1813, several lodges (in the Orients of Dubrovnik, Split, Zadar, Kotor, Ljubljana, and Karlovac) were formed under the protection of the Grand Orient of France. Lodge Les Amis de Victoire (Friends of Victory) in the Orient of Kotor had both Orthodox and Catholic members. There were no signs of Freemasonry after the French left in 1814.

In the 18th century there was a Turkish lodge of an unknown name in Belgrade, which also had Serbs among its members, but nothing specific about it was known because the information came from our contemporaries and cannot be verified. It is well known that both Haji-Mustafa Pasha and Metropolitan Metodije were members, as well as Janko Katić (Serbian insurrection leader), Petar Ičko (trader) and Greek poet Rigas Feraios.

Of the prominent Serbs who lived at the beginning of the 19th century, Dositej Obradović was a member of several European lodges as were Vuk Karadžić and Petar Petrović Njegoš. Around 1848, L. Ali Koç worked in Belgrade in the Turkish language (the poet Sima Milutinović Sarajlija was a member). Prince Mihailo Obrenović might have been a member as well, although this cannot be verified. He was maintaining contacts during his exile with Mazzini (a Freemason and Illuminatus) and Garibaldi.

Around 1870, Freemasonry in Europe was flourishing, and so it was in Serbia. In Croatia, which was then under Austrian rule, Freemasonry was quiet due to the ban that lasted until 1818, although some newly formed lodges e.g. Lodge Nächstenliebe (Philanthropy) in the Orient of Sisak 1888-1893 were placed under the protection of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary bypassing Austria.

Under the protection of the Grand Orient of Hungary, Lodge Thales was formed in the Orient of Nagy Becskerek (Zrenjanin) in 1875 and Lodge Light of the Balkans in Belgrade under the protection of the Grand Orient of Italy in 1876. After gaining independence in 1878, Lodge Serbian Cooperative (1881), Lodge Accord, Work and Perseverance (1883) and Lodge Blood Brother (1891) in Belgrade as well as Lodge Stella Orientalis in the Orient of Semlin/Pancsova (1890) and Lodge Nemanja in the Orient of Niš (1892) were formed.

From the end of the 19th century, until WW1, lodges were formed in Vojvodina, Belgrade, Zagreb and Slavonia under the protection of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary: Lodge Nächstenliebe (Philanthropyy), Sisak, 1888-1893); Lodge Stella Orientalis, Semlin/Pancsova (1890-1914); Lodge Ljubav prema bližnjem (Philanthropyy), Zagreb (1892-1919), Lodge Jövendő (Future), Zombor (1908-1918); Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia, Zombor (1897-1908); Lodge Sirius (Fiume/Rijeka, 1901-1919); Lodge Aurora (Versecz/Vršac, 1903-1917); Lodge Alkotás (Creation), Szabadka/Subotica (1910-1918); Lodge Vigilantia, Osijek (1912-1919); Lodge Maximillian Vrhovec, Zagreb (1914-1919); Daughter Lodges: Élet (Life) Fehér Templom/Bela Crkva (189?-1908); Rendületlenül (Unwaveringly), Novi Sad (1914); Világ (World) (Zrenjanin, -1914); Őrtűz (Watchtower), Palanka (1913)

After the end of WW1, some lodges ceased to exist or had to be renamed. The vast majority of Freemasons who survived the war and stayed in the country continued to work in their home lodges or became members of newly formed lodges.

In October 1918, Croatian lodges left the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary, but they still sent their 1918 reports to the GL in January 1919. On 10th January, in Zagreb, they elected Lodge Charity their Mother Lodge. It was renamed to Lodge Grof Ivan Drašković (Count I.D.).

Masonic unifications followed the trends in the Kingdom. After the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was formed, Freemasons, having received honourable discharges from their obedience (the Grand Council of Serbia and the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary), united in Zagreb on 9th June 1919 into the Grand Lodge of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes called Grand Lodge Yugoslavia. The first Grand Master of the new Grand Lodge was Georg Weifert, industrialist, governor of the National Bank, philanthropist and perhaps the most prominent Freemason in this area from 1890 until this day. His deputies were Adolf Mihalić, lawyer and editor of the Masonic journal Šestar (compasses) and Sreten Stojković, professor and director of several Belgrade gymnasiums. All three were exceptional personalities of unattainably high morals and wisdom. Jovan Aleksijević, then the Worshipful Master of Lodge Blood Brother, holder of the 33rd degree, in the preface of Sreten Stojković's book Slobodno zidarstvo, njegov cilj i principi, njegova sadašnjost i prošlost / Freemasonry, Its Objective and Principles, Its Present and Past, 1926, says:

"My brother Sreten Stojković has been my Great Teacher in Masonry for 35 years. I listened to him and learned from his exemplary life: what a man should be and what he should do to become a better person, worthy of admission among the members of the Freemasonic Alliance." (p.2)

Immediately after the war, the total number of members of the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia is estimated to be around 300. The "accession" of Vojvodina did not deter the lodges under the protection of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary from joining the new Grand Lodge. Of the 31 members of pre-war Lodge Jövendő, more than 20 continued working in Lodge Budućnost (some moved to the Eternal East in the period 1918-1920, and are not mentioned in the files (documents were preserved until 1921 only).

In the 1920s, Freemasonry was flourishing in Serbia. The number of lodges increased to 24; membership more than doubled by recruiting like-minded people from the ranks of the intelligentsia who, seeing the benefits of industrial and community development in foreign environments where most of them had studied, wished to implant the same boons in their war-ravaged and devastated country with very modest industrial capabilities. There were many Freemasons in the government as well, like in other state institutions. Even those who were not Freemasons, e.g. the great politician Nikola Pašić, were under the influence of Freemasonic ideas. In a number of countries, modern Serbia included, Freemasons have been considered, by the general public, to be perpetrators of all misfortunes, both economic and social. It was slightly different in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia although the country was burdened with all sorts of problems, stemming mostly from the previously mentioned antagonism between the constituent nations and secessionist aspirations of the Croats. That notoriously problematic situation did affect "old Yugoslav" Freemasonry though far less than it would be expected.

On 12th September 1926, Grand Lodge Yugoslavia managed to host a Masonic International Congress, under the auspices of the International Masonic Association, with 56 representatives from 20 obediences (15 European and 2 non-European) organized under the motto "In the Name of Peace", chaired by Georg Weifert. The Congress passed a Resolution expressing faith in freedom and democracy as the only possible way to social justice; world powers were urged to work on full and unconditional disarmament throughout the globe. The Resolution also suggested establishing Freemasonic committees in each participant state to mediate in resolving emerging conflicts between countries and development of economic programs.

After the 6th January Dictatorship in 1929, when the Kingdom of SCS was renamed to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the following lodges were active: Blood Brother; Šumadija; Accord, Work and Perseverance; Istina (Truth); Preporod (Renewal); Dositej Obradović; Maksim Kovalevski and Čovečanstvo (Humanity), all from Belgrade; Aurora, Vršac; Vojvodina, Petrovaradin; Banat (Pančevo); Mitropolit Stratimirović, Novi Sad; Future, Sombor; Creation and Stella Polaris, Subotica; Maksimilijan Vrhovec, Grof Ivan Drašković, Pravednost (Justice), Perun, Neptun, Rudjer Bošković and Bratstvo (Brotherhood), all from Zagreb; Vigilantia, Osijek; Ivanjski krijes (St. John's Eve), Karlovac, Sloboda (Freedom), Dubrovnik; Pravda (Justice), Split; Sima Milutinović Sarajlija, Sarajevo; Zora (Dawn), Kotor; Valentin Vodnik, Ljubljana and Kosovo, Skopje. Membership was made up of the most prominent individuals belonging to different social classes. Apart from traditionally represented professions: doctors, professors, traders, pharmacists, printers, and businessmen, there were a lot of Freemasons among the members of the government of the Kingdom, as well as from foreign countries. In 1934, another Congress of Freemasonry was held in Belgrade, hosting 60 delegates from 39 countries. In 6 of these countries, the presidents were Freemasons. In the participant countries, there were 24 ministers of education, 22 justice ministers, 27 trade and industry ministers, 16 ministers of the interior and 20 finance ministers who were Freemasons.

In General Živković's government, 12 ministers were Freemasons (S. Švrljuga, D. Kojić, Ž. Mažuranić, M. Srškić, V. Marinković, J. Demetrović, K. Kumanudi, O. Frangeš, M. Drinković, M. Kostrenčić, U. Krulj, A. Kramer and B. Maksimovic). Freemasons were also present in all political parties, especially in the Democratic Party and the Independent Democratic Party (source: Zoran Nenezić: Masoni u Jugoslaviji 1764-1980, Zodne, 1988).

Yugoslav Freemasonry paid special attention to philanthropic work, given the difficult situation in which the population of the Kingdom lived. We will only mention the Home and Education Center for Orphans "Saint Sava" in Belgrade, the Institution for Deaf Children "Stefan Dečanski" and the "St. George" Children Support Fund. In all the places where Freemasonic lodges existed, assistance was provided for poor and talented children, libraries, for a struggle against alcoholism, prostitution, centres for the blind, youth education centres were opened, and special attention was dedicated to fighting against tuberculosis.

Freemasons in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia were not as united as it could be assumed. Regardless of the fact that the lodges do not deal with politics, religion and issues referring to national identity, some Freemasons between the two wars did not remain immune to the ongoing nationalistic frictions between Serbia and the northwest of the country. Since the Croats were constantly keeping secession from Yugoslavia in mind, it reflected in some lodges. In Zagreb there was a secret Grand Lodge called Libertas, which had operated 24 workshops and two circles.

In regular lodges in the rest of the country, activity was exceptional. Great attention was paid to philosophical work, but much was done in the study of history and socio-economic problems as well.

As we mentioned above, in the second half of the 1930s, economic relations with Germany became closer. Germany and Austria were the most important economic partners of the country buying large quantities of raw materials. However, the dependence of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on German politics was growing as well. Hitler, a fierce adversary of Freemasonry, was exerting constant pressure on Yugoslavia. Before the outbreak of the war in the Balkans, this pressure was so powerful that the Grand Council of Grand Lodge Yugoslavia decided on 22nd June, 1940 to go dormant. A circular letter on the Decision was sent to all member lodges on 2nd August 1940. Freemasonry in the region stayed dormant until 1990.

**LIFE IN SOMBOR BETWEEN THE TWO WORLD WARS**

After the capitulation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire on 3rd November 1918, the troops of the Serbian Army entered Sombor on 13th November 1918. The city became a part of the Kingdom of Serbia within Vojvodina on 25th November of the same year by the Decision of the Grand National Assembly in Novi Sad. The handover of the city between the Austro-Hungarian representatives and the Serbian royal authorities was carried out in the Ceremonial Hall of the Prefecture Building. 5 days later, Sombor officially became a part of the newly founded Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

For more than a century, since 1786, Sombor had been the capital of Bacs-Bodrog County, which occupied an area of 10,362 km2 and included the free royal cities of Baja, Novi Sad and Subotica. In 1910, the County had a population of 812,400.

Following the proclamation of the new state on 1st December the National Assembly, meeting in Novi Sad, selected that city, instead of Sombor, for the capital city of Banat, Bačka and Baranja. With the abolition of the former administrative units and the introduction of banovinas, Sombor lost its prominence and turned into a provincial town. Although Novi Sad and the nearby Sremski Karlovci were the cultural and political centres of the Serbs, Sombor had been being built, for almost a century, to be an administrative and educational centre, and even before the war Slavic population constituted the majority, which was not the case with Novi Sad, not even after the census of 1921. Such a loss of primacy in Vojvodina was due to the slowness and inability of the local authorities to turn the emerging chances to their own benefit even several decades before. Namely, when deciding on railway lines, road construction and infrastructure in general, local decision-makers were deeply dormant. That was the time when Sombor started being drowsy and neglected. Those who were in a position, during the following decades, to correct the mistakes neither had had interest nor the much-needed far-sightedness, courage or knowledge to meet the needs of their fellow citizens.

In spite of the failures of the authorities, improvement in the quality of life in Sombor lasted until about WW1. In addition to occasional improvements in the infrastructure of the city, due mainly to private initiative, such as early electrification of the city, which could have been much better utilized for the development of modern production capacities, the economy of Sombor between the two wars stagnated in relation to some other parts and provinces as well as the state as a whole.

However, a positive example was the establishment of the agricultural product exchange in 1925, which had lower turnover and was less significant than the Novi Sad exchange, but it still provided Sombor with sufficient inflow of investment funds. Substantial amounts were invested in culture and education, where Sombor achieved significant results, but this did not provide a sound material basis for further development and investment. That is why culture was suffering considerably in later times.

The impoverishment of the city's resources was also due to the settlement of war volunteers in the farming areas surrounding the city. They were donated 2000 acres of farming land from the City Land Fund, in addition to many more acres confiscated unscrupulously from landowners (this became practice, to a much greater extent after WW2 as well – an easy way to provide support by prospective "defenders" of the ruling political system). Thus, the city remained without significant revenues, and agriculture, not industry, remained the main economic branch that could not provide the necessary funds for infrastructure. Due to their poor knowledge and farming skills, the newly settled population could hardly be involved in a more intensive agricultural production, yields were reduced, and settlement of the city's obligations against the state was extremely difficult. Roads were in desperate condition, funds were insufficient for the maintenance of health facilities, schools, melioration works and construction of sewage network. All this made it impossible to maintain a high level of culture and education, after which Sombor gained its fame.

Although the population of the Kingdom was growing by about 2 million every 10 years, which was the case in Sombor as well, this population growth of about 1.45% per year was less than it could have been if the economy had provided resources for a better life. Namely, the long-standing problem of the city and the region, and of the whole country (the same even today), was emigration. It was particularly intense in the period 1919-1926 when c. 86,000 people left the Kingdom for good. Generally, emigration was not only a problem of numerical nature; it was also a problem of quality. The émigrés were those desperately dissatisfied with their position and the overall situation, those disappointed in the role of the state, which was supposed to take responsibility, by its very existence, to provide equal protection, welfare and social justice for all. Emigrants were also citizens of the Kingdom who felt that their abilities, motivation, knowledge and agility offered them a chance to change their material and spiritual position, i.e. those who would have, most certainly, contributed to the improvement of their environment if they had been given an opportunity to do so. All these émigrés could have stayed if the authorities had been able to do away with the wrong moves and the deeply rooted, nepotistic criteria in managing the citizens' future.

Due to countless problems that the Kingdom of Yugoslavia created by its very formation, the majority of the population was dissatisfied for such numerous reasons that they are difficult even to list. The essence lay in the impossibility or unwillingness to resolve, or at least begin to resolve the burning economic, national, political and cultural issues. The Kingdom of SCS/Yugoslavia was an unprepared experiment that brought more evil to all nations than good, and the biggest "peace-time defeat" was suffered by all the peoples, who sacrificed a lot from their economic and cultural development. This was expressed by the famous WW1 hero, General Živojin Mišić, in a conversation with Regent Alexander (Source: Srbin.info, 2015):

"Yugoslavism is not a nationality, it is an ideology. Yugoslavism cannot serve as the basis for the construction of a real state entity, but it is a fictitious idea for which the ground, as well as the generations, must be prepared, but they are still far from even comprehending the entirety. "

FREEMASONRY IN SOMBOR BETWEEN

WW1 AND WW2

Man is what circumstances make of him. To rise above the inexorable truth of this sentence means he has to make the essential effort of self-educating and perfecting his spiritual strength so that it could both maintain and enrich the environment in which he lives and works. We saw at the very beginning of this book what Freemasonry is, advancing through the millennia, finally reaching Sombor, turning up silently. By examining the first steps of Freemasonry in Sombor we saw what it was like, who the Sombor Freemasons were, what goals they had and what they accomplished. They were intellectuals, members of the elite of this city, but they were also ordinary people like us, who were not bent on "ruling the world", although the Brotherhood had been labelled as such by the bitter opponents of Freemasonry. They were interested in enlightening their own lives and the lives of their loved ones, through education, culture, philosophy, awakening the sense of helping those who needed it as well as through struggle for equality and tolerance. They hoped that their good deeds and sincere craving for a better environment followed by others within the Masonic as well as the profane world.

In this section, we will not deal with what we have already pointed out. Freemasonry in the Orient of Sombor, after WW1, was largely the same as it had been before. The Lodge of the Hungarian name Jövendő, which had worked in the Hungarian language, was translated into Lodge Budućnost and a vast majority of Freemasons who had worked there before the war, remained in the same Lodge, working now in the Serbian language. What had changed was the far and away democratic selection of membership in relation to their national and religious composition. While the pre-war Freemasons were mainly Catholic Hungarians and Germans as well as reformists and Jews and only a few Orthodox Serbs, among the post-war Masons, most of whom were Orthodox Serbs, there were a number of Catholic Hungarians and Germans and the number of Jews and reformists remained roughly the same. Since nationality and religion do not determine, and must not determine membership of a lodge, the above data belong to the domain of curiosity, being far less important than the rest of Freemasonic endeavours.

MEMBERS OF LODGE BUDUĆNOST

(source: Zoran D. Nenezić: Masoni u Jugoslaviji 1764-1980)

Amended by the Jewish Community of Sombor and the author

Surname and name, Occupation (if applicable), City, Year of Admission

ALBERT, Szilard, Engineer, Sombor, 1930

ANGELUS, Vatroslav, Removed in 1939

ANTIĆ, Đorđe, Pharmacist, Sombor, 1938

BALOG, Julije, Engineer, Sombor, 1933

BÁRÁNY, András, Sombor, 1932

BEGOVIĆ, Milan, 1936, Honourable discharge 1938

BITTERMANN, Sándor, Printing Press Owner, Sombor, 1906

BOJKIĆ, Bogdan, 1926

BOŠNJAK, Stevan, Sombor, 1932, Honourable discharge in 1939

CETTL, Dezső, Economist, Sombor, 1911

CREVAR, Dr Vladimir, Primarius, Sombor, petitioned in 1940

ČUDIĆ, Branko, Engineer, Sombor, 1939

DRAGIN, Aleksandar, Teacher, Sombor, 1932

DRAŠKOVIĆ, Milan, Sombor, 1939

ĐURIĆ, David, Sombor

FISCHER, Alexander, Sombor, 1934

GÁL, Dr. Rudolf, Solicitor, Sombor, 1909, Honourable discharge, died in Auswitz

GERGELY, Dr Eugenio, Sombor, 1932

GRADIĆ, Vitomir, Sombor, 1926

GRGA, Branislav, Sombor, 1938

GRGUROV, Dr Kosta, Dentist, Sombor, 1931

GRGUROV, Dr Stojan, Physician, Sombor, 1937

GRIGORIJEVIĆ, Dr Emilijan, Chief City Physician, Sombor, 1928

GROCSICS, Jenő, Solicitor, Notary public, Sombor, 1940

GRÜNER, Dr Fülöp, Judge, Sombor, 1892, Removed in 1934

GUTTMANN, Mirko, Solicitor, Sombor, 1932

GUTTMANN, Simon, Rabbi, Teacher, Sombor, 1932

HABERFELD, Josip, Cereal Trader, Sombor, 1930, died in Auswitz

HOCH, Dr Arnold, Physician, Palanka, 1931

HORDÓSI, Lajos, Trader, Removed in 1935

ILLÉS, Sándor, Journalist, 1939

ILKIĆ, Stevan, Archimandrite, Sombor, 1940

ISKRULJEV, Jovan, Teacher, Sombor

JOČIĆ, Aleksandar, Sombor, 1935

JOVANOVIĆ, Dr Milan, Teacher, Sombor, 1938

JOVIĆ, Dr Dušan, Physician, Sombor, 1928

JOVIČIĆ, Dr Dušan, Teacher, Sombor, Deputy Grand Orator, Honourable discharge

KABOS, Dr Márton, Physician, Sombor, 1901

KENDE, Ignácz,, Teacher, Sombor, 1902

KERÉNYI, Ernő, Chemical Engineer, Sombor, 1933, died in Auswitz

KERÉNYI, Sándor, Sombor, died in Auswitz

KISELIČKI, Bora, Bank Manager, Sombor, 1938

KNIHAL, Tomas, Director of Wheat Mill, Sivac, 1938

KÖLCSEY, László, Director of Eksport Joint-Stock Company, Sombor, 1930

KONČEK, Dr Franja, Physician, 1930

KONJOVIĆ, Dr Fedor, Solicitor, Sombor, 1937

KOVAČEVIC, Bora, Notary Public, Kula, 1940

KOVJANIĆ, Aleksandar, Economist, Sombor,1937

KUPUSAREVIĆ, Stevan, Sombor, 1938

LEGETIĆ, Nikola, Teacher, Sombor, 1940

LEPEDAT, Miloš, Bank Manager, Sombor, 1939

LÖWY, Vilmos, Trader, Sombor, 1907

MAJSTOROVIĆ, Nikola, Sombor, 1938

MATARIĆ, Ivan, Economist, Sombor

MATIĆ, Dr Martin, Solicitor, Sombor, 1909, last Worshipful Master (1940)

MILETIĆ, Dr Bratislav, Sombor, 1936, Removed in 1940

MIŠIĆ, Petar, 1933

NOVAKOVIĆ, Isidor, Director of Trade Academy, Teacher, Sombor, 1910

PAVLOVIĆ, Milorad, Teacher, Sombor, 1939

PETROVIĆ, Dr Milenko, Manager of District Hospital, Novi Sad

POPADIĆ, Dr Ilija, Physician, Sombor, 1940

PROTIĆ, Đorđe, Biologist, Sombor, 1926

PROTIĆ, Kajica, Trader, Sombor, 1937

PROTIC, Dr Pavle, Physician, Sombor, 1926, Deputy Worshipful Master in 1940

RAISZ, Lajos, Chief Accountant, Sombor, 1897

RIPP, Dr Nikola, Physician, Sombor, 1933

SABRANSZKY, János, Engineer, Sombor, 1907

SAMARDŽIJA, Dr Milivoj, Sombor, 1938

SÁNTAI, Béla, Engineer, 1930

ŠARČEVIĆ, Dr Mato, Solicitor, 1934

SAVIĆ, Vukašin, 1931

SCHLIESZER, Sándor, Trader, Sombor, 1907

SINGER, Stevan, Sombor, 1936, died in Auswitz

SLAVKOVIĆ, Jovan, Teacher, Sombor, 1931

STANKOVIĆ, Dr Kornel, Solicitor, Sombor

TEREK, Anto, Sombor, 1931

UDICKI, Sredoje, 1931, Removed in 1934

VÁMOSI, Jenő, Economist, Sombor, 1929, died in Auswitz

VÁMOSI, Márton, Sombor, 1937

VEGH, Dr János, Physician, Čonoplja, 1932, died in Auswitz

VITMAN, Dr Jovan, Physician, Sombor, 1939

VRVIĆ, Milenko, 1936

VUJIĆ, Samko, Pharmacist, Sombor, 1937

WEIDINGER, Lajos, Wholesaler, Sombor, 1910, Honourable discharge in 1937

WOLHEIMER, Dr József, Sombor, 1898

PROMINENT FREEMASONS OF SOMBOR (Selection)

Elek Gozsdu, the first Worshipful Master of Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia

He was born in 1849 or 1853 in Ercsi, Hungary, in a Romanian-Hungarian-Serbian-Macedonian family, but spent most of his childhood in Timisoara. It was where he earned his primary education; he later finished the Miskolc Gymnasium and studied law in Budapest. After completing his studies, he was devoted to writing, first as a contributor to the magazine Independence and later became a noted narrator. In 1880, his first novel The Golden-Haired Woman was published, and two years later another novel, The Fog, which attracted not only broad readership, but also received an excellent reception with critics.

After passing both the Bar Exam and the Solicitor's Qualifying Examination in 1885, thus gaining the title of Doctor, as per the Hungarian regulations, he returned to his original calling. However, he never used his title in front of his name, allegedly because he had taken the exam together with a colleague of somewhat "limited power of understanding reality," and he said that if the colleague would ever pass the exam, he would never use his title. As it has always happened, a strong wind rose to prop the colleague's vessel and he managed to pass the doctoral exam smoothly - Elek, being an honest man, kept his word until 26th May 1919, the day he passed from Timisoara into the Eternal East.

In 1885, he was "transferred" to Fehértemplom (Bela Crkva), where he became Deputy Prosecutor and met with Freemasonry. He returned to Budapest where he was initiated, allegedly in Lodge Demokratia, (or more probably in Lodge Könyves Kálmán) the same one where Georg Weifert, Andra Djordjević, Stevan Mokranjac and Belgrade lawyer, Tihomir Marković were initiated in 1890.

Károly Kerstok: Elek Gozsdu, 1905 (Public domain via Wikimedia Commons)

In 1889, as a royal prosecutor, he went to Transylvania's Karansebes, and in 1892 he performed the same duties in Timisoara. That year, a collection of 9 tales, Tantalus, was printed. In 1908, Elek Gozsdu wrote his first drama, The Demigod, which was premiered at the Sombor National Theater. The play was significantly ahead of his time, so he did not encounter such an enthusiastic reception as his novels and stories. His second drama, Career, was written in the form of a book and has never been performed on the stage.

At the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries, there was a "secret connection" between Timisoara and Sombor, especially in the field of law and literature. Timisoara papers often wrote about Sombor, and many representatives of the legislative authorities from Timisoara were transferred to Sombor. Thus, Gozsdu came to Ravangrad, as Sombor is also called, to be the Royal Prosecutor and President of Court in 1897. He also had some roots here. In the Monograph of the city of Debrecen we learn that his great-grandfather Anton Gozsdu, a wine trader from Miskolc, moved to Sombor in 1725. The data came down from the Greek company "Miskolc".

Elek's father, György, was the manager of the estates of Counts Szinva and Wipfen. In an unknown way, he allegedly lost all his property to two natural disasters and, as a poor man, he moved to Ercsi where he married the beauty, Anastasia Margo, a girl with a solid dowry but thrifty, coming from a wealthy trading family. They had son Elek and three daughters.

The arrival of Gozsdu in Sombor brought a lot of vividness into the cultural life of the city and promoted relations between the members of various nationalities and religions. Thanks to his connections, he brought famous actors and performers to the Sombor Theater and organized exhibitions of outstanding artworks from the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, an exhibition of works of Serbian painters, as well as a presentation of the iconostasis of the Timisoara Cathedral made by Konstantin Danil. He was a friend of Laza Kostić, Veljko Petrović, Dr Radivoje Simonović, Gyula Reviczky and County Chief Engineer Djuro Stanković, a member of the Historical Society of Bacs-Bodrog County, which counted more than a thousand regular and honorary members in 1897, with Dr János Duchon, the first Worshipful Master of L. Jövendő and he also co-founded the Free Lyceum and held numerous lectures in art and literature there.

During his nine-year stay in Sombor, the city began to wake up from the lethargy that it had fallen into in the last decade of the 19th century. How much Gozsdu had invested in reviving the Sombor cultural scene, leaving him no time to write, was testified by the fact that during the whole of his stay in Sombor he wrote only four short stories.

Elek Gozsdu was the first Worshipful Master of Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia, and later the deputy Worshipful Master of Lodge Honszeretet in the Orient of Baja, where many Freemasons from Sombor "moved" in 1903. Upon leaving Sombor, he contributed articles to Kelet (East), the magazine of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary.

As a person, he was quiet, lonely, walking firmly but absentmindedly, absorbed in his thoughts, wondering, deeply in himself, why that vast crowd was constantly rushing into fatal superficiality. He was such a cool heart, so reserved in that time of complacent verbal and heroic praises that all who intended to blame him on any ground, felt disarmed and without ammunition. He wanted to become a writer, and he became more than that - a Promethean flame of a promising environment that lacked self-confidence. He was a man of truth and facts, of sober views of himself, the environment and the future. Although in his late years, his poems exposed his hidden, unfulfilled love for Ana Weiss, he made it elegant, without any sugary sentimentalism, just like a most sincere and integrated personality would do it.

Soma Rácz, "Mother" of Freemasonry in Sombor

It would be a shame to complete this chapter on Sombor Freemasonry and fail to mention professor Soma Rácz, an outstanding personality and the flywheel of Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia as well as Lodges Jövendő and Honszeretet (the latter for 5 years only).

Elek Gozsdu was the father of Sombor Freemasonry being the Worshipful Master of Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia, the first Freemasonic organization in Sombor. Soma Rácz was certainly the "Mother", from as early as the establishment of Philanthropia to the last days of Lodge Jövendő, whose path led through Szeged and Baja. Although Elek Gozsdu, for the 9 years of his stay in Sombor, transferred his Masonic experience and his great knowledge and skills into the culture and lifestream of this drowsy city, Soma Rácz was the one who was nurturing and watching over humanity for 30 years, not only of the Freemasons of Sombor, but also of the profane society, sharing selflessly what he himself cultivated.

He was born in the village of Parasznya in Northern Hungary in 1861. He finished high school in Losonc (Lučenec in Slovakia) and studied at the Faculty of Pedagogy in Budapest. He graduated in 1885 and the Ministry of Education sent him to the Sombor Grammar School/Gymnasium, where he taught Latin and Greek, which were represented in the curriculum with a total of 6 and 4 hours per week respectively. In addition to the two languages, he also taught German and history, when needed. He also wrote poems, speeches, articles for historical and Masonic journals. He was also the author of coursebooks of Latin and Greek for grammar schools. In addition to the Sombor Grammar School, Professor Rácz also taught German and stenography at the Sombor School of Economics founded in 1888. On two occasions (1912/13 and 1918) he was also the Director of the Gymnasium.

On 30th January 1897, Soma Rácz became a Freemason at L. Árpád in the Orient of Szeged, where he was engaged in writing Masonic articles, lectures, papers and booklets from the first days of his membership. In the same year, he was the first Orator of Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia, and in 1901 he became a Master Mason, one of the seven Masters of Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia. As a Freemason and an eloquent, highly educated and widely respected and beloved educator and colleague, Professor Rácz enjoyed a great reputation, both at the schools where he taught and in the profane world. His students and school-leavers of the Grammar School/Gymnasium, inspired by his personality, became Freemasons in their later life. This is a list of his Freemason-students with the years of completion of the Gymnasium and the School of Economics respectively:: Adolf Feles (1884), János Duchon (1886), Milenko Petrović (1902), Stojan Grgurov (1911), Kosta Grgurov (1913), János Sabranszky (1916), Fedor Konjović and János Zsigmond Vég (1919) - Gymnasium; Dezső Cettl (1896), Márton Vámosi (1908), Aleksandar Kovjanić (1818) and Imre Kerényi (1919) - School of Economics.

Undoubtedly, he had an influence on the commitments and orientation of his colleagues: Ernő Zsulyevics, Vilmos Krump, Isidor Novaković, Károly Trencsényi and reformist teacher of Religious Education, István Széki.

Professor Soma Rácz actively participated in the founding and work of many Sombor societies and associations. He was a co-founder of the Free Lyceum, which officially came to life in Sombor on 18th February 1901, although it had started working two years before. After the departure of the first president, Elek Gozsdu, Soma Rácz took over. He was the one who maintained and developed the Free Lyceum for another fifteen years. During that time, the association gave Sombor the much needed spiritual ambrosia through lectures covering almost all areas: history and art, water management and agriculture, medicine and social politics. In the beginning, the audience came from the middle class, but the circle expanded, thus the Lyceum became so popular that there was hardly any place to stand in the City Hall's Ceremonial Hall, where the lectures were held. In addition to Soma Rácz and Elek Gozsdu, frequent lecturers were Iván Bárczi, Joca Lalošević, an eminent professor of the Gymnasium, Dezső Kolman, Isidor Novakovicć, János Duchon and others.

During the presidency of Soma Rácz, in addition to lectures, the Free Lyceum organized professional courses in accounting and mathematical economics aiming to offer further education to craftsmen and traders. The courses were free because the city authorities did show proper understanding for the future by approving the necessary funds to cover the Lyceum's overheads. The outbreak of WW1 put a stop to work, as well as to the very existence of the Free Lyceum. As the name itself says, the Lyceum dealt with all areas, from scientific to human interest issues. Occasionally, nationalistic and conservative tones were heard also heard, but the basic task, the spread of general culture, was preserved in most cases. The educational impact of the Free Lyceum was unquestionable: a lot was achieved in raising awareness on the need for an active approach to burning issues such as the protection of children and women, fight against alcoholism, promotion of social justice, cultivation of humanity and relief of inter-religious and interethnic tensions.

For thirty years, until he passed into the Eternal East in 1920, Soma Rácz was an unavoidable, perfect ashlar that was embedded in all that was good and progressive in the city of Sombor. Of particular value was his care for the youth, who he educated for humanity, tolerance and respect, protecting, as a mother may protect, from the challenges and dangers of dark forces. His "Memorandum of the acatholic teachers against the devastating action of the Marian Congregation" was a cry for official educational bodies to preserve the cleanliness, humanity and nobility of the education of young people - one of many of his Masonic contributions to a better world. Even after several generations, his name is still uttered with love and respect – unfortunately, among the members of a few Sombor families only.

Dr József Thüm Jn.

He was born in Sombor to a family of teachers in 1864. After graduating from the Sombor Gymnasium, he studied medicine in Vienna, Berlin and Graz where he received his PhD degree. He worked as a doctor in Graz and Titel for some time, and in 1983 he returned to Sombor, where he worked as a medical doctor.

He was attracted to history and, after returning to Sombor, he devoted himself to the research and writing of articles on Bacs-Bodrog County, although he did not neglect medicine. He wrote a number of papers on urology and infectious diseases, as well as numerous articles on general health care issues. For the International Medical Congress in Vienna in 1895, he wrote two papers: The Medical Law in Serbia and The Occurrence of Malaria in the Area between the Danube and the Tisa. He wrote in three languages: German, Hungarian and Serbian and his works were often published in magazines in the country and abroad. Of his writings on history let us mention the South-Hungarian Defense War of 1848-1849; History of the Serbs from the earliest times to 1848; and The Attitude of the Obrenovićes to the Revolution of 1848-49.

He was a member of the Hungarian Historical Society, the National Archaeological Society, the Hungarian Society for Heraldry and Genealogy and the Historical Society of Bacs-Bodrog County. Through his works and activities, he was trying to bring the Serbian and Hungarian peoples closer together. He received the Order of St. Sava from Aleksandar Obrenović.

Dr József Thüm became a Freemason probably at Lodge. Stella Orientalis in the Orient of Semlin (later Pancsova). According to the 1895 Lodge Report, he was at Fellow Craft degree; as per the Report for the following year, he was a Master Mason (No. 27 in the list, Matricule No. 43, raised on 25th May 1896). There is a note that Dr József Thüm read his 1895 paper, entitled "Freemasons and Culture in the German language" (Freimaurei und Kultur) in front of the members of Lodge Stella Orientalis, as well as representatives of the lodges from Budapest, Belgrade, Hale, Frankfurt, Galati, Zagreb and Novi Sad.

Ernő Zsulyevity

Born in Ó-Becse (Bečej) in 1857, he became a "Somborian" in 1880. After he had graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy in Budapest, he was employed in Sombor as a city accountant, rapidly progressing from the position of Cash Control Auditor to Financial Inspector.

Ernő Zsulyevity (1857-1947)

Being a man of exceptional moral and integrity, encountering problems of moral nature in his daily work that could hardly be solved without the help of the authorities, he thought that the root of moral and spiritual problems had to be dealt with as early as the individual's childhood and teenage years. So he filed an application and was appointed teacher at the Sombor Grammar School in 1884.

He remained in education for 34 years, until 1918. In 1888, he was appointed Director of the newly established Secondary School of Economics, which changed its name several times, while extending the curriculum. At the same time, he was the Manager of the Craft and Trade School working also as a teacher of mathematics, physics and accounting.

In addition to his educational work, Ernő Zsulyevity was a prominent economist and participant in many cultural and economic activities in Sombor. In 1889, he was the President of the Organizing Committee of the General Crafts Exhibition in Sombor, the president of the Craft Cooperative Society for Mutual Assistance, a member of the Szeged District Trades and Crafts Chamber, a member of the National Teachers' Association.

Ernő Zsulyevity was initiated at Lodge Árpád in the Orient of Szeged on 30th January 1897. In spite of being a member of Daughter-Lodge Philanthropia (1897) and Lodges Jövendő (1908) and Budućnost (1919), he remained a member of Lodge Árpád in the Orient Szeged until his death in 1947.

Isidor Novaković

Isidor Novaković was born on 27th December 1874 in Bezdan. After he had finished the Hungarian Gymnasium and the Secondary School of Economics in Sombor, he studied in Budapest where he graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy. When he was only 22 years old, he was appointed teacher at the Secondary School of Economics in Sombor, where he worked until the end of WW1. Immediately after the war, he was appointed Director of the same school. In the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, he also became Inspector of Trade Schools for the Province of Banat, Bačka and Baranja.

Isidor Novaković (1974-1932)

Even before WW1, he actively participated in the economic and cultural life of the city, being responsible for organizing the Commercial Youth of Sombor. For this work, he received the Order of St. Sava, grades IV and III. A Congress of Associations of Serbian Commercial Youth, organized by him, was held in Sombor. He was also the Director of the National Credit Bank in Sombor and the State Commissioner of the banks of Vojvodina as well as the President of the Crafts Cooperative after the war.

In the 1920s, he was also involved in politics as a deputy at the Assembly of the Kingdom on behalf of the Democratic Party in 1926, although he worked as a professor at the Secondary School of Economics, at the same time. It was probably politics that cost him his life. Namely, in 1932, his political opponents mounted a court case in which he was charged with having an affair with a student, although he was terminally ill at the time. So emotionally did he receive the attack on his morale, which had always been exceptionally high, that he passed into the Eternal East only a few weeks after his release from the charge.

Isidor Novaković was initiated in Lodge Jövendő on 4th June 1910 raised to the 2nd degree on 20 May 1911 and the 3rd degree in 1912. In 1918, he was the Orator of the Lodge. Isidor Novaković was a prominent member of Lodge Budućnost, the successor of Lodge Jövendő, until his death in 1932.

Dr Djordje Protić

He was born in Sombor in 1864. After completing the Grammar School, he enrolled in the final year of the Teacher Training School which he completed in 1883. For the following 9 years, he worked at the Secondary Girls' School, taking a gap of two years, 1889-1891, to study natural sciences in Munich and Vienna, where he also defended his graduate thesis and received his PhD degree. Although he passed the exam for a secondary school teacher in 1894, he could not find employment in his hometown of Novi Sad, so he went to Sarajevo, where he was admitted as a teacher of the real school; he later became the Principal of the local real school in Banja Luka.

Since he was pursuing scientific work, studying the flora of Bosnia and Herzegovina, he left educational work and devoted himself to science. He accepted a job at the Sarajevo National Museum where he had both time and opportunity to write scientific papers. His doctoral dissertation was published by the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 1891. In addition to scientific papers, he wrote a textbook on plants, which was approved for use in the Sombor Girls' School, although he could not find a publisher here.

Although the gate of Sombor, for reasons we can only guess, was always closed for him, he had never given up on his hometown. He returned to become a member of Lodge Budućnost. However, Dr Djordje Protić died in Vienna, where he was buried.

Dr Emilijan Grigorijević

He was not a native of Sombor, but the city-bound him with its charm, like many others who came to stay just for a short while. He was born in Begeč in 1875. After he had completed his medical studies, he came to work in Sombor, where he soon gained recognition by citizens as a top expert.

He was active in the cultural, especially the musical life of the city since he was an active member of the Sombor Choral Society for many years, as well as the Secretary of the Serbian Women's Charity Cooperative and a member of the Board of the Serbian Reading Room. After WW1, he was engaged in local politics as a member of the Local People's Council of Serbs and Bunjevci. With his political work, he contributed to the reconciliation between Serbs and Croats in the city.

After WW2, the new government treated all those who had been, in any way, engaged in politics or associations in "Old Yugoslavia" as public enemies. It was the sort of mistake that is still made by many regimes: by excluding "the unsuitable" the community deprives itself of expertise, experience and knowledge of those people who are guided in their activities only by decent, honest and moral living and devotion to their profession. Such a person was Dr Emilijan Grigorijevic as well. He passed into the Eternal East in 1947, the same year when utterly impoverished, he turned to the National Committee for help to be returned at least some of his expropriated possessions so that he could feed himself since he was not able to perform his medical practice at the age of 72 due to serious illness. His request was turned down.

Dr Emilijan Grigorijević was a member of Lodge _Budućnost_ since 1928.

Dr Simon Guttmann

Dr Simon Guttmann (1886-1939) was a rabbi, publicist, translator, professor of Religious Education at the local Grammar School, a man of high culture and excellent education, as well as a Freemason, member of Lodge Budućnost.

He was appointed rabbi in 1925 and remained at that position until his death. He was a prominent cultural worker, who made a significant contribution to the Jewish community of Sombor.

He spoke Hebrew, Serbian, Hungarian, German, and Russian. He wrote a number of religious articles and discussions in German, Hungarian and Serbian. On the 100th anniversary of Chevra Kadisha (1928), he wrote, in the Hungarian language, The History of the Bačka Jews, as well as The 100th Anniversary of the Jewish Church Commune of Sombor and Its Institutions, The Association of Bikur Cholim (visiting the sick). He translated from Russian the History of Jews by S.M. Dubnov. The Serbian edition was printed on 148 pages in the Municipal Gazette of the city of Sombor. Many of his articles were published in the Serbian newspaper Politika.

In 1927, he was also a member of the Managing Board of the Sombor Savings Bank. Dr Simon Guttmann was buried at the Jewish cemetery in Sombor.

Dr Jovan Iskruljev

He was a very interesting person. He was born in Jasenovo (Banat) in 1886. In 1901, he enrolled in the Teacher Training School in Sombor, which he completed in 1906. Subsequently, he returned to his native Banat to teach in Čoka and Vranje. In 1908, he returned to Sombor, after he had been elected teacher of the Practice Room, where he worked until 1920.

Working as a teacher, he enrolled in the Novi Sad Gymnasium in 1912, so that he could study at the Faculty of Philosophy in Budapest where he eventually graduated. The war stalled him in his studies, so he finished them as late as in 1919 in Zagreb, where he later defended his graduate thesis and received his PhD degree in philosophy and pedagogical science. With PhD title in hand, he resumed his work at the Practice Room of the Teacher Training School in Sombor as perhaps the only one with a doctor's degree at the time.

In 1920, he moved to Novi Sad, where he became a school inspector, and from there to Belgrade, where he was the Minister of Education and assistant professor at the Post-Secondary School of Pedagogy. From Belgrade, he went to Vršac, where he became the Director of the District Labor Inspectorate. Subsequently, he returned to Novi Sad.

Jovan Iskruljev was a prolific writer of professional papers and articles in the field of pedagogical science, especially adult education and co-education. Co-education in the Light of Experimental Pedagogy was the subject of his doctoral dissertation. His textbook Prime Mathematics in Pictures for the first Grade of the Primary School was also noticed abroad. He also wrote the biography of Paja Radosavljević, mentioned above, who he had kept contact with before Paja left for America. Jovan Iskruljev passed into the Eternal East in Novi Sad at the age of 86.

Although he was acquainted with Freemasonry in Sombor during his service in the city, mainly through contacts with teachers of Sombor schools who were members of Lodge Budućnost, he applied for admission 1930. The fact that he filed his petition in Sombor, and not in Novi Sad, testifies to his commitment to the city and the people who made Lodge Budućnost.

Djordje Antić

Born in Sombor in 1895 in a trading family, Djordje Antić was one of the most respected citizens of Sombor.

Although studying for a pharmacist, he was much better known as a local polyhistor, historian, collector and researcher of all that affected the life and history of the city. In the 1930s, he organized and arranged collections of ethnographic items, wrote and translated archival materials from Hungarian and German, especially the documents of the Magistrates' Fund. He donated to the city museum about 350 items of great ethnographic value and importance - most of them disappeared "in the whirlwind of the war" - and the years that followed.

In 1938, he bought the Kronić Palace, and in 1939 he was initiated into Lodge Budućnost. The Palace, like other magnificent privately-owned buildings, was confiscated in 1946, and Djordje Antić, writing his "autobiography" at the command of the authorities, on 21st November 1947, had to "justify" the war years that he spent in Sombor, although the whole time of the war he was under surveillance by more than one entity.

Jovan Slavković

We have included him in this chapter as a typical Freemason of his time. He was a teacher, beloved by both his pupils and colleagues and a staunch follower of both his profession and Freemasonry.

Jovan Slavković was born in Sombor on 5th June 1880, to father Nikola and mother Evica in a family of teachers with twelve children. There was no dilemma about Jovan's choice of occupation. He enrolled in the Teacher Training School in Sombor, which he completed in 1899. He spent the first year as a teacher at Beli Manastir, Croatia where everyone respected him for his humanism and his unselfish help to poor pupils, despite his small teacher's salary. His exceptional philanthropy affected many of his pupils who later became prominent artists, authors, journalists, scientists and academics.

After Beli Manastir, Jovan Slavković was teaching in Ivanda near Timisoara, though he returned to his hometown after a short time where, as a great altruist, he continued searching for talents who needed help. Jovan Slavković became the head of the Central Girls' School in Sombor. He retired in the 1930s, but was re-enacted since, in that time, teachers were "in short supply".

In 1931, he was initiated into Lodge Budućnost. Although Freemasonry in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia went dormant in 1940, his Masonic Brethren helped him, his family and other Somborians to survive those evil times since there were no vacancies for Serb teachers. From the stories of contemporaries we learn that Horthy's fascists planned to commit the same pogrom that they committed against Jews and Serbs in Novi Sad in January 1942, but this, due to influential individuals from the ranks of the local population and Freemasons, was disrupted.

Jovan Slavković passed into the Eternal East on 5th October 1962. His disciples did not forget him even after his death; literary historian, critic, publicist, Sorbonne student and man of letters, Dr Milan Kašanin, his former pupil, who Mr Slavković helped and backed on the road of his primary and secondary education, wrote an exceptionally emotional letter of condolence to the family pointing out Jovan Slavković's unforgettable humanism.

WAR- AND POSTWAR FATE OF FREEMASONRY IN YUGOSLAVIA AND SERBIA

The situation before and after dormancy

In the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (from 1st December 1918), renamed to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on 3rd October 1929, Freemasonry was active for almost 21 years, from 9th July1919, the date the assembly of all (?) Masonic lodges in the new country, when the Grand Lodge of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes i.e. Grand Lodge Yugoslavia was established. On 24th June 1940, the Grand Lodge decided to go dormant (effective from 2nd August 1940) in order to prevent adverse effects of WW2 on Freemasonry since it was imminent the war would engulf this part of the world as well.

On the aforementioned date, there were 25 lodges under the aegis of the Supreme Council of Grand Lodge Yugoslavia. Some of these worked at higher degrees as well:

Name, Orient, Year of formation

Sloga, rad i postojanstvo (Accord, Work and Perseverance), Belgrade, 1883

Pobratim (Blood Brother), Belgrade, 1891

Aurora, Vršac, 1905

Budućnost (Future), successor to Lodge Jövendő, Sombor, 1908

Šumadija, Belgrade, 1910

Kosovo, Skoplje, 1910

Alkotás/Stvaranje (Creation), Subotica, 1910

Budnost (Vigilantia, Alertness), Osijek, 1912

Maksimilijan Vrhovec, Zagreb, 1913

Grof Ivan Drašković, Zagreb, 1919

Istina (Truth), Belgrade, 1920

Pravednost (Righteousness), Zagreb, 1920

Ivanjski krijes (St. John's Eve), Karlovac, 1922

Sloboda (Freedom), Dubrovnik, 1924

Mitropolit Stratimirović, Novi Sad, 1924

Preporod (Renewal), Belgrade, 1925

Dositej Obradović, Belgrade, 1925

Sima Milutinović-Sarajlija, Sarajevo, 1925

Maksim Kovalevski, Belgrade, 1926

Zora (Dawn), Kotor, 1926

Pravda (Justice), Split, 1926

Stella Polaris, Subotica, 1928

Perun, Zagreb, 1929

Valentin Vodnik, Ljubljana, 1931

Vojvodina, Petrovgrad/Zrenjanin, 1931

In addition to the aforementioned lodges, the Symbolic Grand Lodge Libertas (Zagreb), with its three lodges, was also operating, constituted by the revival of Lodge. Philanthropy and its separation from Grand Lodge Yugoslavia:

Ljubav bližnjega (Charity), Zagreb, 1872

Prometej (Prometheus), Zagreb, 1926

Amicitia (Friendship), Zagreb, 1927

At the moment of going dormant, there were about 1,200 members in the aforementioned 28 lodges.

The fate of Freemasonry in pre-war Yugoslavia was finally sealed by the Invasion of the country. Namely, most of the Freemasons in the Kingdom supported the coup of 27th April 1941, which will later intensify not only the antagonism towards everything that is Masonic, which was displayed at anti Masonic exhibitions in Belgrade and Osijek later that year, but also provoke the anger of the occupying authorities and place all Freemasons under the watchful eye of the secret police during the war as well as in post-war decades under the communist regime.

The War Years

A few pre-war Freemasons, aware of the danger that the fascist occupation would bring, left the country, mainly for the USA, Australia, Canada and, to a lesser extent, Switzerland. Those who stayed were exposed to the persecution of the occupying and quisling authorities. Intrusions (mostly nightly), arrests, police trials happened regularly with the aim to intimidate and break up all possible Masonic activity, fueled by the paranoid fear of the "power" of Freemasonry.

During 1941 and 1942, mainly after the Invasion of 6th April, a large number of files were created on Freemasons and Freemasonry with notes on close monitoring of the members of the aforementioned Yugoslav Masonic lodges. This was happening, although to a lesser extent, in the 1920s and 1930s as well when some Freemasonic activity was also under the watchful eye of the state security. Ministers of the Interior in Milan Nedić's government, Milan Aćimović (until November 1942) as well as Tanasije Tasa Dinić (until November 1943) diligently carried out the plans of the German occupying forces. Based on paragraph 6 of the Decree on Removing National Unreliable Public Service Elements, Tanasije Dinić signed an Order containing 33 questions, which was submitted to all the members of Masonic lodges, demanding personal presence or written response within three days. Based on that, dossiers were compiled also containing additional documents, which the Special Serbian Police (1941-1944) procured.

In addition to "informative interviews", a number of Freemasons were also sent to the Banjica camp (Belgrade), established in July 1941, through which 23,697 people passed, out of whom 3849 disappeared. Prior to their arrival at the camp, most of the detainees were taken to the Gestapo and Special police prison where they were beaten up and tortured and many even died there.

The suffering of Freemason-Jews

There were a considerable number of Jews in the Masonic lodges of Yugoslavia, as well as in Freemasonry throughout the world. In Freemasonry, national and religious affiliation is not of any importance and, as we stated at the beginning of the book, all conversations about national and religious matters are forbidden in the lodge. However, for thousands of years, the profane world has been unable to shake off the assessment of individuals and groups as well as their personality on the basis of their national and religious affiliation.

Jews have always been subjected to persecution all over the world and at all times, all through the ancient to the "modern" world. The paranoia of "right faith" and "right morals" that they were exposed to, culminated occasionally into genocidal madness, non-inherent in other living beings. We recall the Easter Massacre in Lisbon in 1506, for example. The Holocaust, which Hitler and his ideologues carried out against this nation, will remain an indelible admonition to humanity. Yugoslavian Jews, like Jews in other European countries, especially Freemason-Jews, were subjected to persecution and physical elimination.

In the pre-war time, in addition to membership in the aforementioned lodges, Jews also worked in the Jewish political-humanitarian organization called B'nai B'rit \- the Children of the Covenant - whose work was similar to Masonic: it was carried out in lodges, there were Lodge of Officers, the Marshal, the Tyler, there were committees for education and culture, social and charitable activity, visiting the sick, examination of candidates, the conciliation court and court of honour as well as the board of guardians. The order of B'nai B'rit was founded in 1843 in America spreading rapidly around the world. There were about 1200 lodges before the WW2, of which 6 lodges worked in Yugoslavia:

Srbija, Belgrade, 1911

Zagreb, Zagreb, 1927

Sarajevo, Sarajevo, 1933

Salomon Alkalaj, Novi Sad, 1934

Mahnat Jad, Subotica, 1934

Menorah, Osijek, 1934

The members of these lodges were particularly targeted by the occupation and quisling authorities. It is well-known with what zeal and organization did Hitler carry out the Holocaust against the Jews; that was also very much present in occupied Yugoslavia. In Belgrade, at the Sajmište, which fell within the territory of the NDH (the Independent State of Croatia) there was a concentration camp under the administration of the Germans in which Freemason-Jews were taken between October 1941 and July 1944. Although the existing data are not precise enough, it is considered that c. 40,000 people, among them members of Masonic lodges, predominantly the Orients of Belgrade and Pančevo, were executed.

The exact number of Yugoslavian Freemasons perished in WW2 has not been established, but separate data on the total number of missing persons from certain areas and territories do exist. For example, Pavle Šosberger in his book Jews in Vojvodina (Prometej, Novi Sad, 1998) lists 1895 names of Vojvodina Jews who died in death camps, but the total number of those people missing in the whirlwind of WW2 may even be bigger. Among the victims, there were a certain number of Freemasons. The following Freemasons of Sombor had not returned from Auswitz: József Ehrlich Jn., Dr Rezső Gál, József Haberfeldt, Ernő Kerényi, Sándor Kerényi, István Singer and Dr János Végh.

Freemasonry in the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia (1945-1963) and later, with special emphasis on the activities of Dušan Tomić

Since Freemasonry went dormant in 1940, membership was decimated, due to the Holocaust and emigration to other parts of the world. The remaining Freemasons were monitored and interrogated by the authorities, who expressed similar mistrust and fear of "secret" organizations as the Catholic Church, thus disabling the work of Yugoslav Freemasonry. The secret police were keeping records, with great zeal, of most of the Freemasons, on all their activities and even on members of their families. Available data originating from the Secretariat of Internal Affairs, the Department of People's Protection (OZNA) as well as the Government of the USSR, reveal the ongoing monitoring of 630 Freemasons. The said documents, available at the Archives of Yugoslavia, indicate that the Yugoslav Freemasons were meeting and even performing ritual works after WW2 as well.

Although with a great deal of distrust, the authorities of the so-called new Yugoslavia used the connections with the rest of the world that the pre-war Freemasons had established and maintained. For example, there was an extensive correspondence between Freemason Dušan Tomić, who worked at the Yugoslav Mission in Paris before the war being the delegate of Yugoslavia at the International Institute for Intellectual Cooperation. Two days after the Bombing of Belgrade on 6th April 1941, he left Paris for the Yugoslav capital. During the occupation he spent a short time in a Belgrade prison, later to be interned to Germany, like many Yugoslavs after the Invasion in 1941, although he was again in Belgrade in the time of the liberation of the capital in October 1944.

Dušan Tomić was a representative of Grand Lodge Yugoslavia in France and the main link between Yugoslav Freemasonry and French Freemasonry as well as Masonic organizations in other countries of Western Europe and the United States. ... "He used those connections ... through the persons he refers to, to obtain a reconstruction of the Masonic organization in Yugoslavia." He led correspondence with Moša Pijade, his long-time friend, stating that: "...firstly, by rebuilding the Grand Lodge and the Supreme Council many sources of enemy propaganda against Yugoslavia will be disabled. At the same time, it would be impossible for the Yugoslav emigration to try to do so ... and secondly, with the renewal of the Masonic organization, foreign circles, especially those in the United States, would considerably (and not only materially) assist the new Yugoslavia"(The Library of Information Resources of the Archives of Yugoslavia - Inventories of Funds and Collections). (pp. XV-XVI) Therefore, Tomić was in constant correspondence with "influential Freemasons" from Washington, especially John Cowles.

After realizing that his letters did not produce the desired effect, he ultimately insisted only on granting the status of persone civile to Grand Lodge Yugoslavia, but that also remained unattainable, and in 1949 Tomić expressed his willingness to use his Masonic relations not only in the fight against Stepinac and Catholic propaganda but also "the communist propaganda in the world against our country. (p. XVI)

During 1951 and 1952, interrogations were held of Freemasons as well as non-masons on Masonic issues, especially of the members of Belgrade, Zagreb and Novi Sad lodges and the members of the Jewish B'nai B'rit. The information that the authorities were seeking fell within the area where the Masons were thought to have played the key role, the political work Freemasons were involved in during the existence of pre-war Yugoslavia and during the war, and ideological ties with Paris and London, through the Grand Orient of France and the United Grand Lodge of England. The authorities intended to discover the real managerial structure and designate the persons who actually were responsible for the policy of Yugoslav Masonry.

In relation to Freemasonry, the post-war years were characterized by discomfort and even fear by the authorities of Masons and Masonry in general, which seems to have originated more from the ignorance of the essence of Masonic activities, as well as antagonism towards the "class enemy", i.e. the intelligence to which the vast majority of Masons belonged to, than from the hatred it might have been cultivating, like the Catholic Church. In addition to this, but not to be neglected, was the so-called "requisition", "Robin Hood-like" appropriation of the material property of those who had and sharing it among those who did not have, with various ridiculous but tragic justifications – thus proving the omnipotence of the ruling authorities and the social system. An excellent example of this is the "Decision by the State Secretariat of the Interior of 3rd September 1958", by which the property of the Supreme Council at 8 Svetozar Marković Str. Belgrade, whose work was inaugurated in Rome in 1947, was declared national property and surrendered to the National Committee of the Municipality of Savski Venac (Belgrade) because the association "did not request the renewal of its work within the legal deadline". Thus, Freemasonry had to be disabled because "as a secret society, it could have acted against the existing power of the people." The Supreme Council ceased to exist in 1967.

This did not mean that Freemasonry had died down in the days of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Lodges, even newly formed ones (the Yugoslavian lodge, for example) survived during the 1950's and 1960's and worked informally, mostly in Belgrade and in larger centres in the country. Relations were maintained with the Grand Commander of the Scottish Order Bro. Shearer, as well as the Grand Commander of the Scottish Order of Southern Jurisdiction, Bro. Luther Smith. Masonic activities also took place at the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, where a Daughter-Lodge was active, as well as another one at Belgrade University.

During the 1960s and 1970s, many candidates were initiated in lodges in the United States, Germany, England, and France, and particularly in the Swiss Grand Lodge Alpina, where the largest number of Serbian petitioners was initiated.

In the post-war period in Sombor, there was no formal Masonic lodge. The house where the Masonic Hall was located in the 1920s and 1930s was sold to a private person in 1941 and fell to "requisition" "in the name of the people" in 1945. However, between 1958 and the first years of the 1970s, the pre-war Freemasons, members of pre-war lodges organized, at irregular intervals, fraternal gatherings discussing Masonic topics and issues in the houses of Brethren and elsewhere. Unfortunately, there is no written evidence for this claim only first-hand oral information.

The awakening of Freemasonry in Serbia

Such a situation persisted until March 1989, when the Lodges Pobratim; Accord, Work and Perseverance and Maksimilijan Vrhovec were re-registered. After contacts in Budapest and Wuppertal, Grand Lodge Yugoslavia was revived. The light was brought in by Bro. Ernst Walter on behalf of the United Grand Lodge of Germany on 23rd June 1990. Writer and journalist Zoran Nenezić was elected Grand Master. This was the year when the first multi-party elections were held in Yugoslavia. Unfortunately, extreme national organizations and criminal groups, backed by the government, played an important role in the country. Those who ran the affairs failed to grasp the new international circumstances and lead a wise, realistic policy. Instead, they involved Serbia in civil wars in neighbouring Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina with long-lasting, disastrous consequences. Freemasonry was supposed to play one of the key roles in such a constellation through fighting for civil liberties, tolerance and positive inter-ethnic relations, but the newly formed organization was not strong and experienced enough and its sponsor, the United Grand Lodge of Germany, was under the influence of the awkward American "editing of the world", so there was nothing that could change the relations in the country. In order to avoid short-livedness of Freemasonry in Yugoslavia, and Serbia, a Grand Assembly was held in Rimini on 13 and 14 March 1993. Dragorad Tanasić was elected Grand Master, and the name of the Grand Lodge was changed to Regular Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia, renamed to Regular Grand Lodge of Serbia in 2007.

Despite difficult conditions, Freemasonry in Serbia was developing, but mainly in Belgrade; in other cities, where it had existed before, dormancy was still in full swing – and not just the Masonic type. However, it is true that a few of the existing 200 Freemasons gave some contribution to the replacement of the authoritarian regime and introduction of a certain degree of democracy in 2000.

Disaccord, overwhelming desire for power and gilded glory has always corroded relations among nations, groups and individuals in this region like acid. It is hard to find a place or a period where and when this did not happen here. No agent has been found yet to turn such acidic environment into a basic one. It seems to be a congenital defect that awaits some future immunization or genetic engineering. Of course, Freemasonry has succumbed to such a state. In 1997, a large number of members left Grand Lodge Yugoslavia and founded the Grand National Lodge of Yugoslavia, Grand Nationa Lodge of Serbia and Montenegro and finally Grand National Lodge of Serbia. In 2003, hundreds of members left the GNLS for the Regular Grand Lodge of Serbia. In 2006, instead of the announced great unification of Freemasonry in Serbia, there was a further break-up. Details are not worth mentioning because they fall under the definition of the cause given at the beginning of this paragraph. The breakthrough product was a new Grand Lodge i.e. the United Grand Lodge of Serbia, which broke up further into UGLS and Association of United Grand Lodges of Serbia (in 2015).

In 2007, the Grand Masonic Lodge of Serbia appeared on the Masonic scene. In the same year, a women's Masonic lodge called Vera Fides was brought to light under the protection of the Grand Women's Lodge of France (GLFdF). The Regular Grand Lodge of Serbia, Belgrade followed. In 2008, the Regular Grand Lodge of the Supreme Masonic Council of Serbia was established (which no longer exists), and several lodges left the Grand National Lodge of Serbia and placed themselves under the protection of the Grand Orient of France. Since June 2009, it is Lodge Misir, practising the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis Misraim, as well as the co-Masonic lodge Singidunum East 1899 under the protection of Le Droit Humain (human rights) that appeared on the Serbian Masonic scene. This is not the end yet because, in 2011, the Grand Country Lodge of Serbia (GCLS) was established in Belgrade, as well as the Traditional Grand Masonic Lodge of Serbia (TGMLS) in 2012. In 2014, another women's lodge called Danica (Morning Star) was created, as well as Grand Lodge of Serbia in 2015.

In addition to these grand-, women's- and co-Masonic lodges, there are, allegedly, c. 20 more grand lodges in Serbia. We will also mention both the third women's lodge called Venčić (Corolla) and the co-Masonic lodge Mitropolit Stratimirović in Belgrade (attracting about 200 members). The total number of members of Serbian lodges can hardly be determined, due to the permanent (so it seems) process of establishing new constituent lodges and grand lodges, the old ones going dormant, changes of lodge names, members moving from one lodge to the other and double and/or multiple memberships. The fact is that there are many more Freemasons than it would be expected which, based on the basic principles of Freemasonry: philanthropy, philosophy and progressivity, should contribute to faster and more humane development of the Serbian society - provided that the Freemasons themselves were wholeheartedly dedicated to the labour and the society accepted it or at least tolerated their existence.

The awakening of Freemasonry in Sombor

A certain number of Somborians had become were initiated in Belgrade and Novi Sad Lodges that belonged to the Obedience of the Regular Grand Lodge of Serbia, the only Serbian Grand Lodge recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England so far, although they have not established a Lodge in Sombor yet.

On the other hand, this job fell to Brethren who were members of a different Obedience. This is how it happened. On 16th March 2010, the first Brother from Sombor was brought to light at Lodge Panonija in the Orient of Novi Sad, which worked under the protection of the United Grand Lodge of Serbia (UGLS). A year later, on 14th February 2011, four more petitioners from Sombor were initiated at the same Lodge, then two more in 2012. Due to a sudden increase in membership, Lodge Panonija "gave birth" to a new lodge called Dunav. Both lodges worked in the same Masonic Hall. In the course of 2012 and 2013, five more petitioners from Sombor were brought to light at Lodge Dunav.

The first six Sombor Freemasons were conferred the Third Degree on 17th December 2013. One year earlier, plans for the establishment of a lodge in Sombor were discussed in Masonic lobbies. That was mentioned (confirmed?) in the June 2013 issue of Neimar (Builder), the quarterly journal of the United Grand Lodge of Serbia. At the time, the Sombor Brethren were expressing their dissatisfaction with the situation in Lodge Panonija and Lodge Dunav; that is why they asked the Grand Lodge for chartering a lodge in Sombor, which was approved in the spring of 2014. After all the preparations had been completed, Lodge Budućnost was consecrated on 27th September 2014 thus reviving the old Lodge Budućnost.

Great expectations about Lodge Budućnost have not been fulfilled yet due, most probably, to poor understanding of the essence of Freemasonry. Masonic labour was reduced to the minimum, as was work on further spiritual development and interest in Masonic literature was almost nonexistent. Everything that was troubling the profane world sneaked into the Lodge as well, from a frenetic desire for power and "gilded glory" to a wide range of human weaknesses, resulting in the decline in membership. Seven members left, some of them without even applying for demit.

The Lodge did grow, though, reaching 22 members in the meantime, but the ailments have remained. Intention to finally solve all the problems that are blocking the road to progressivity, philanthropy and spiritual improvement do exist, but the burden of sectarianism and careerism as well as an overly pronounced wish for "gilded glory" is too big. It is a substantial job, which requires hard work and devotion. Taking shortcuts and considering them the "only option" to success is just a bad dream bringing more confusion and killing the essence of Freemasonry.

EPILOGUE

Perhaps no century has ever begun with such a profound grasp into the roots of the ordinary Mn's system of living, depriving him even of that precious time he needed to become aware that he has ped into a new age and the old one had already become too remote for some deeper contemplation and comparison. The tree of relative stability that was serenely spreading its branches for hundreds of years suddenly started swaying and getting into the fear of losing its connection with the ground. In such uncertainty, Man set off to find consolation, since it seemed that grabbing the branches of the tree would provide him with the sense of salvation.

In earlier times, in similar situations which, by their speed and strength, cannot be compared with today's changes, various forms of calming the confused mental life were offered, from traditional religion to belief in the absolute power of "omnipotent" science.

What was, and still is, common to all these over-the-counter medications against such discomforting civilizations is the expectation of a mystical force – whatever it is – to help find a way out.

Indulging in the waves of fate, Man deprives himself of those basics that the Creator bestowed upon him - the eternal, conscious search for knowledge and belief in the perfection of the Creator's work and the success of his quest. In order to solve a problem, especially if the result is intended to be implanted into the understanding of the world around him, Man should encourage himself to take that road. However, in order to arrive at his destination, the destination must exist, no matter what distance has to be covered and how long the travelling will take. "If you do not know where you are going, you will never get there" is old wisdom.

Freemasonry is a system where, with the help of like-minded people, members diligently labour on their constant spiritual improvement so that they could handle the challenges of their environment. Freemasonry is not the only system that gives an opportunity to an individual to develop spiritually, but there is no antagonism and exclusivity among them. A free man has been given to choose how he will reach the goal and a result that is beneficial both for him and his environment. If we know what this goal is and how to travel towards it, that this is a matter of personal choice, we have already made the first step on the ladder of understanding, tolerance and love for our fellow humans.

We sincerely hope that we managed to present the environment in which Freemasonry has been growing in this part of the world and signpost the careful reader's route through a myriad of paths to the intended destination – understanding Freemasonry as a thin but strong thread within the earthly fabric of day-to-day life.

There are two rather synonymous names that we have used throughout this book: "Masonry" and "Freemasonry". Although they may bear even profound differences in meaning and usage, we have mostly used them alternately to indicate the same cultural phenomenon throughout history and avoid repetition. However, it must be said that in the everyday profane usage of the word "Masonic" and "Masonry" may carry a more negative connotation compared to "Freemasonry" and "Freemasonic". Namely, Masonry/Masonic/Mason(s), was very often used when talking or writing about conspiracy, especially in the last three centuries. Today, the negative connotation of the word has reached enormous proportions, despite much greater transparency of all activities in the world, especially in those parts, and by those who do not know or do not want to know the essence of the aforementioned civilizational phenomenon. This refers also to the Illuminati, Rosicrucians, Alchemists and members of other secret or semi-secret societies.

"Masons", and to a lesser extent "Freemasons", are accused of making conspiracies to forge the future by committing murders and taking over power from ruling structures. They are accused of shaking the otherwise "normal" and "peaceful" world, instigating intrigues, embezzlement, havoc and doing a lot of malicious work. Although next to nothing has ever been documented, the accusation itself was enough to implant the idea of "evil intention" of all Masonry into the mind of a large part of the profane world, especially in some parts of the world. The Masons themselves also contributed to this. They have always followed the doctrine of no-commenting and no-objection to accusations believing that their actions only, in which they are guided by the purest principles of humanism and spirituality, should prove the benevolence of Masonry. Masonry did not only received criticism but was exposed to persecutions, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries. The church, primarily the Catholic Church, used its position in the society and among the people to outlaw Masonry, especially in those times when it had fallen into crisis and was subjected to re-examination by the social elite like it was in the time of the Enlightenment.

In the twentieth century, the Masons were accused of assassinations of eminent personalities and even for the initiation of the first world conflict. Just before and during the Second World War, the hatred of Masons was a welcome tool for the Nazis to consolidate their position and as one of the "justifications" for the persecution of Jews.

In this book, we did not deal with conspiracies in which the Masons allegedly participated, because we thought that, without proof, it would fall into the domain of phantasmagoria. However, it would, be interesting to examine the multitude of anti-Masonic theories in order to penetrate deeper into the methodology of the preservation of power and manipulation that many non-Masonic social structures provide in order to secure a place in the minds of their followers and attract new "subjects" from the ranks of the young, inexperienced and easily influenced.

As we started at the beginning of our epilogue, the human society at the beginning of the 21st century is in technological and moral turmoil. The coming decades, or years perhaps, will show what direction the society will take: will Eve and Adam finally use that little "bite" of knowledge that they brought from God's Garden and transform it into a little wisdom or allow the forces of darkness and insanity to get rid of this planet and proceed to the demise of the Great Architect of the Universe.

Our job, which we have set ourselves without any help or suggestion, is over. It is for the reader to continue it, searching wisely and objectively for the essence of Masonry or Freemasonry - as you wish.

ANNEXE

FREEMASONS OF THE GRAMMAR SCHOOL (GYMNASIUM)

**Teachers (years of employment) and students who became Freemasons later (year of completion)**

Banica, Svetislav, Teacher, Principal, 1935

Bárány, András, Student 1914

Ceisel Lajos József, Student, 1887

Crevar, Vladimir, Student 1930

Dragin, Aleksandar, Teacher, 1920/1921-1925

Duchon, János, Student, 1886

Duchon, Dr János, School Doctor and Teacher, 1911 (2 months)

Feles, Adolf, Student, 1884

Feles, Dr Adolf, School Doctor and Teacher,

Gál, Rezső, Student, 1898

Grgurov, Dr Stojan, Teacher, 1929-1930

Grgurov, Kosta, Student, 1913

Grgurov, Stojan, Student, 1911

Grigorijević Dr Emilijan, Teacher, 1923/1924

Grocsics, Jenő, Student, 1916

Guttmann, Imre, Student 1926

Guttmann, Dr Simon, Teacher, 1929-1939

Jovanović Dr Milan, Teacher, 1934-1935

Jovičić, Dr Dušan, Teacher, 1932-1940

Knézy, Lehel, Student, 1896

Komáromi, Gyula, Student, 1917

Konjović, Fedor, Student 1919

Kovačević, Borislav, Student, 1932

Kupusarević, Stevan, Teacher, 1910-1912

Lalošević, Joca, Student, 1887

Legetić, Nikola, Teacher, 1929-1934

Leskovac, Mladen, Student, 1923

Leskovac, Mladen, Teacher, 1929-1933

Litvai, Béla, Student, 1897

Margalits, Ede, Teacher, 1879-86; 1891

Petrović, Milenko, Student, 1902

Protić, Đorđe, Student, 1882

Rácz, Soma, Teacher, 1886-1920

Rácz, Soma, Principal, 1912/13, 1918

Ribiczey, Károly, Student, 1898

Sabranszky, János, Student, 1916

Singer, Stevan, Student, 1918

Spitzer, Sándor, Student, 1897

Stanković, Kornel, Student, 1911

Szöke, Mihály, Student, 1916

Thüm, József, Student, 1882

Végh, János Zsigmond, Student, 1919

Zsulyevity, Ernő, Teacher, 1884-1888

FREEMASONS OF THE SECONDARY SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS

**Teachers (years of employment) and students who became Freemasons later (year of completion)**

Cettl, Dezső, Student, 1896

Dragin, Aleksandar, Teacher, 1931-1937

Kende, Ferencz, Contract Teacher, 1893-1897

Kerényi, Imre, Student, 1920

Kovjanić, Aleksandar, Student, 1918

Krump, Vilmos, Teacher, 1898-1918; 1918-1920

Lepedat, Miloš, Student, 1901

Matarić, Ivan, Student, 1928

Novaković, Isidor, Director, Teacher 1919-1922; 1930-1932

Novaković, Isidor, Student, 1891

Novaković, Isidor, Teacher, 1895-1918; 1918-1919

Petrović Milenko, Student, 1927-1936

Rácz, Soma, Contract Teacher, 1889-1920

Szauer, Aleksandar, Teacher, 1904-1908; 1918-1920

Széky, István, Teacher, 1894-1896

Tomcsányi, Aladár, Contract Teacher, 1900-1904

Trencsény, Károly, Teacher, 1892-1918; 1918-1920

Vámosi, Márton Student, 1908

Weidinger Lajos, Student, 1894

Zsulyevity, Ernő, Director, Teacher 1888-1918

FREEMASONS OF THE TEACHER TRAINING SCHOOL

**Teachers (years of employment) and students who became Freemasons later (year of completion)**

Bošnjak, Stevan, School leaver, 1899/1900

Dučić, Jovan, Student, 1892/93

Ilkić, Stefan, Practice Room Teacher

Ilkić, Stefan, Student, 1892/93

Iskruljev Dr Jovan, Practice Room Teacher

Jovičić Dr Dušan Teacher

Legetić, Nikola, Teacher

Pavlović Ž. Milorad, Teacher

Petrović Dr Milenko, Teacher,

Protić, Đorđe, Student, 1882/83

Radosavljević Dr Pavle, Teacher

Slavković, Jovan, Student, Teacher 1901/1902

Stajić, Vasa, Teacher

LIST OF LODGES THAT AFFECTED AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN FREEMASONRY BETWEEN THE YEARS 1750 AND 1869

After Abafi Lajos (Ludwig Aigner), (A Szabadkőművesség története Magyarországon)

Name of Lodge translated into English, Place

Ad Magnamitatem (Generosity), Pest-Buda (H)

Ad Taciturnitatem (Taciturnity), Bratislava (SL)

Állandósághoz, Ständigkeit (Stability), Vienna (A)

Általános összhang és egyetértéshez (General Harmony and Understanding), Trieste

Alvó oroszlány (Sleeping Lion), Eperjes (SL)

Amali, Weimar (D)

Barátsághoz (Companionship), Varaždin (HR)

Casimir, Zu Neun Sternen (Casimir, nine stars), Braunschweig (D)

Die aufgehende Sonne (Rising Sun), Brno (CZ)

Drei Adler (Three Eagles), Vienna (A)

Drei Adler (Three Eagles), Lvov (U)

Drei Anker (Three Anchors), Sibiu (RO)

Drei Berge (Three Mountains), Innsbruck (A)

Drei Drachen, (Three Dragons), Varaždin (HR)

Drei Feuer (Three Fires), Vienna (A)

Drei gekrönte Sternen (Three Crowned Stars), Prague (CZ)

Drei Herzen (Three Hearts), Vienna (A)

Drei Kanonen (Three Cannons), Vienna (A)

Drei Kanonen (Three Cannons), Plovdiv (BG)

Drei lodernde Herzen (Three Blazing Hearts), Copenhagen (DK)

Drei Säulen (Three Pillars), Prague (CZ)

Drei Schlüssel (Three Keys), Regensburg (D)

Drei Sterne (Three Stars), Prague (CZ)

Drei umkranzte Sternen (Three Wreathed Stars), Prague (CZ)

Drei umkranzte Sternen und Enrlichheit (Three Crowned Stars and Honesty) Prague

Drei weiße Lilien (Three White Lillies), Timisoara (RO)

Drei weiße Rosen (Three White Roses), Lvov (U)

Drei Weltkugeln (Three Globes), Berlin (D)

Drei Zypressen (Three Cypresses), Erlangen (D)

Égő bokorhoz (Burning Bush), Košice (SL)

Egyesség a hazában (Unity in the Homeland), Pest (H)

Egyesült barátok napjához (United Companions' Day), Brno (CZ)

Egyesült barátokhoz (United companions), Brno (CZ)

Egyetértéshez (Understanding), Prague (CZ)

Első ártatlansághoz (First Innocence), Bratislava _/_ Buda (H)

Erényes emberbarátokhoz (Virtuous Philanthropists), Štjavnica (SL)

Erényes kozmolitához (Virtuous Cosmopolitan), Balassagyarmat (H)

Erényes Sarmatához (Virtuous Sarmatian), Warsaw (PL)

Erényes utazóhoz (Virtuous Traveller), Eperjes (SL)

Erényes világpolgárhoz (Virtuous World Citizen, Miskolc (H)

Erényes világpolgárokhoz (Virtuous World Citizens), Plovdiv (BG)

Erényes zarándokokhoz (Virtuous Pilgrims), Balasagyarmat (H)

Erlichkeit (Sincerity), Klattau (A)

Erlichkeit (Sincerity), Götz (D)

Ferencz, az őrködő oroszlánhoz (Franz, the Guarding Lion), Buda (H)

Freiheit, Sloboda (Freedom), Varaždin (HR)

Gerechtigkeit und Kameraderie (Justice and Companionship), Fürth (D)

Gerechtigkeit, Redlichkeit, drei gekrönte Säulen (Justice, Probity, 3 Crowned Pillars) Prague (CZ)

Goldener Hirsch (Golden Deer), Eberau (A)

Goldenes Rad (Golden Wheel), Eberau (A)

Halgatagsághoz (Taciturnity), Buda (H)

Három egyesült vízhez (Confluence of Three Waters), Passau (D)

Három ezüst horgonyhoz l. Szt. Sándor (Three Silver Anchors /St. Alexander) Pest (H)

Három piros szalaghoz (Three Red Bands), Tarnow (PL)

Három tengeri levélhez (Three Soles/St. Andrew Lodge), Sibiu (RO)

Hét csillaghoz (Seven Stars), Pest (H)

Hét csillaghoz és egyesüléshez (Seven Stars and Unity), Buda (H)

Hoffnung (Hope ), Vienna (A)

Intrepida virtus (Unshakable Rectitude), Košice (SL)

Ister (the Danube), Geneva (CH)

Jó tanácshoz, (Good Counsel), Varaždin (HR)

Justicia (Justice), Prague (CZ)

Kossuth Lajos, a dicső fény hajnalához (Lajos Kossuth, Dawn of Glorious Light), Pest

L'invincible aux bras armes (Invincible), Usti nad Labem (CZ)

La Concordia (Harmony), Milan (I)

La Concordia (Harmony), Trieste (I)

La parfaite union (Perfect Union), Magdeburg (D)

Loge der Freigebiegen (Generosity), Vienna (A)

Macht, Snaga (Power), Karlovac (HR)

Magnamitas (Chivalry), Karlovac (HR)

Marianne, die Wohltätige (Marianna Charitable), Klagenfurt (A)

Mátyás Corvin az igazsághoz (Corvin Mátyás the Truth), Pest-Buda (H)

Minerva, Sadagora (U)

Nächstenliebe (Charity), Vienna (A)

Nemes kilátáshoz (Noble Prospects), Freiburg (D)

Őszinte barátsághoz (Sincere Companionship), Lvov (U)

Palme (Palmtree), Vienna (A)

Pelican, Altona (D)

Pelican, Hamburg (D)

Phoenix, a gömbölyű tábához (Fenix, the Round Board), Lvov (U)

Probitate (Honesty), Álmosd (H)

Probitate (Honesty), Oradea(RO)

Sincerité (Sincerity), Litomerice (CZ)

Socrates, Frankfurt am Main (D)

St. Andrew, the Three Soles, Sibiu (RO)

St. Barbara, Pest (H)

St. István (St. Stephen), Pest (H)

St. Joseph, Vienna (A)

St. Panteleimon, Crema (I)

St. Paul Celecta, Cremona (I)

Symbolikus cylinderhez (Symbolic cylinder, Innsbruck (A)

Szentelt buzgalomhoz (Confirmed Zealousness), Sibiu (RO)

Szép csillaghoz (Beautiful Star) Bátaszék (H)

Szeretet s igazsághoz (Love and Justice), Vienna (A)

St Sándor, a 3 ezüst horgonyhoz (St. Alexander, the Three Silver Anchors, Pest (H)

Újonnan koronázott reményhez (Newly crowned Hope), Vienna (A)

Union, Prague (CZ)

Union parfaite (Perfect Union), Varaždin (HR)

Unitas (Unity), Buda (H)

Unitas (Unity), Bratislava (SL)

Vereinte Herzen (United Hearts), Graz (A)

Vigilantia (Alertness), Osijek (HR)

Wahres Verständnis (True Understanding), Vienna (A)

Wahres Verständnis (True Understanding), Miercurea Ciuc (RO)

Zu den drei Säulen (Three Pillars) Brasov (RO)

Zu den Drei Weltkugeln (Three Terrestial Globes),Berlin (D)

Zu den vier Monden (Four Moon) Brasov (RO)

Zu der gekrönten Hoffnung (Crowned Hope), Vienna (A)

Zu der gekrönten Hoffnung zu Neosohl (Crowned Hope), Banska Bistrica (SL)

Zu Drei Flaggen (Three Flags), Lvov (U)

Zu neun Sterne (Nine Stars), Prague (CZ)

Zu sieben Himmel (Seven Heavens), Luxembourg (L)

Zu sieben Weisen (Seven Sages), Linz (A)

Zur Klugheit, Ptrudentia (Wisdom), Zagreb (HR)

Zur Kriegsfreundschaft (War Companionship), Glina (HR)

Zur Mayenblume, Hamburg (D)

Zur Sicherheit (Safety), Bratislava (SL)

**MASONIC GRAND LODGES IN THIS BOOK**

Ancient Grand Lodge of England

Association of United Grand Lodges of Serbia

Austrian Provincial Lodge

Berlin Grand Lodge Zu den Drei Weltkugeln (Three Globes)

Czech Provincial Lodge

Grand Country Lodge of Serbia

Grand Lodge Alpina (CH)

Grand Lodge of Austria

Grand Lodge of Berlin

Grand Lodge of China

Grand Lodge of Denmark

Grand Lodge of England

Grand Lodge of Hamburg

Grand Lodge of Ireland

Grand Lodge of London and Westminster

Grand Lodge of Scotland

Grand Lodge of Serbia

Grand Lodge of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes

Grand Lodge of Sweden

Grand Lodge of Vienna

Grand Lodge Yugoslavia

Grand Masonic Lodge of Serbia

Grand National Lodge of Serbia

Grand National Lodge of Serbia and Montenegro

Grand National Lodge of Yugoslavia

Grand Orient of France

Grand Orient of Hungary

Grand Orient of Italy

Grand Provincial Lodge of Hungary

Grand Women's Lodge of France

Le Droit Humain (F)

Provincial Lodge of Galizia, Lombardy and the Netherlands

Regular Grand Lodge of Serbia,

Regular Grand Lodge of the High Masonic Council of Serbia

Regular Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia

Supreme Council of Greece

Supreme Council of Serbia

Symbolic Grand Lodge Libertas (Zagreb)

Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary

Traditional Grand Masonic Lodge of Serbia

Transylvanian Provincial Lodge

United Grand Lodge of England

United Grand Lodge of Germany

United Grand Lodge of Serbia

MASONIC LODGES IN THIS BOOK

Ad Magnamitatem (Generosity) – Pest-Buda

_Ali Koç –_ Belgrade

Alkotás (Creation) – Subotica

Alvó oroszlány (Sleeping Lion) – Prešov

Amis de victoire (Friends of Victory) – Kotor

Apple-Tree – London

Arbeit (Work) – Budapest

Árpád a Testvériséghez (Brotherhood Arpad) – Szeged

Aurora – Vršac

Banat – Pančevo

Bratstvo (Fraternity) – Zagreb

Budućnost (Future) – Sombor

Carpentiers gratuits (Free Carpenters) – Varaždin

Casimir, sieben Sterne (Casimir, Seven Stars) – Braunschweig

Concordia (Harmony) \- Trieste

Concordia – Nove Zamki

Cosmos – Oravica

Crown – London

Danica (Morning Star) – Belgrade

Demokratia – Budapest

Drei Adler (Three Eagles) – Vienna

Drei Berge (Three Mountains) – Innsbruck

Drei Drachen (Three Dragons) – Varaždin, officially Freundschaft (Friendship) – Varaždin

Dositej Obradović – Belgrade

Drei Flaggen (Three Flags) – Lvov

Drei Kanonen (Three Canons) – Vienna

Drei Säulen (Three Pillars) – Varaždin

Drei weiße Lilien (Three White Lillies) – Timisoara

Dunav – Novi Sad

Egalitas – Vršac

Egyesség a hazában (Unity in the Homeland) – Pest

Élet (Life) – Bela Crkva

Első ártatlanság (First Innocence) – Bratislava, Buda

Eötvös – Budapest

Erényes emberbarátokhoz (Virtuous Philanthropists) – Bánska Štjavnica

Erényes utazóhoz (Virtuous Traveller) – Prešov

Fraternitas – Arad

Galileo – Budapest

Gekrönte Hoffnung (Crowned Hope) – Vienna

Glück – Oravica

Goldener Hirsch (Golden Deer) – Eberau

Goldenes Adler (Golden Eagle) – Bratislava?

Goldenes Rad (Golden Wheel) – Eberau

Goose and Gridiron – London

Grossmuth (Magnanimity) – Budapest

Haladás (Progress) – Košice

Hét csillaghoz (Seven Stars) – Pest

Hiram – Budapest

Hoffnung (Hope) – Vienna

Honszeretet (Patriotism) –Baja

Hrvatska vila (Croatian Fairy) – Zagreb

Humboldt – Pest

Hunyadi \- Timisoara

Invictus (Invincible) – Usti nad Labem

Ister – Geneva

Ivanjski krijes (St. John's Eve) – Karlovac

Jó tanácshoz (Good Counsel) – Varaždin

Jövendő (Future) – Sombor

Justicia (Justice) – Split

Justicia (Justice) – Zagreb

Kosovo – Skoplje

Kossuth Daughter Lodge – Subotica

Kossuth Lajos, a dicső fény hajnalához (Lajos Kossuth, the Dawn of Glorious Light), Pest

Könyves Kálmán – Budapest

Istina (Truth) – Belgrade

Ivan Drašković – Zagreb

L'amité de Guerre á Glina (War Camaraderie) – Glina

László Király – Oradea

L'union et des trios globes (Union and Three Globes) – Berlin

Libertas (Freedom) – Varaždin

Libertas (Freedom) – Zagreb

Magnamitas (Chivalry) – Karlovac

Maksimilijan Vrhovec – Zagreb

Maksim Kovalevski – Belgrade

Misir – Belgrade, Vršac

Mitropolit Stratimirović (Metropolitan Stratimirović) – Novi Sad

Nächstenliebe (Charity) – Sisak

Nächstenliebe, ljubav prema bližnjemu (Charity)–Zagreb

Nemanja – Niš

Neptun – Zagreb

Őrtűz (Watchtower) – Bela Crkva

Palme (Palm Tree) – St. Pölten

Panonija – Novi Sad

Petőfi – Arad

Perun – Zagreb

Philanthropia Daughter-Lodge – Sombor

Pobratim (Blood Brother) – Belgrade

Potentia (Power) – Karlovac

Preporod (Renewal) – Belgrade3

Prudentia (Prudence) – Zagreb

Reform – Budapest

Rudjer Bošković – Zagreb

Rummer and Grapes – London

Sapientia Zur Klugheit (Wisdom) – Zagreb

Schwegsamkeit (Silence) – Bratislava

Sicherheit (Safety) – Bratislava

Sima Milutinović Sarajlija – Sarajevo

Singidunum East – Belgrade

Sirius – Rijeka

Sloboda (Freedom), Dubrovnik

Sloga, rad i postojanstvo (Accord, Work and Perseverance) – Belgrade

Srbska zadruga (Serbian Cooperative) – Belgrade

St. Andreas (St. Andrew)

Stella Orientalis – Zemun, Pančevo

Stella Polaris – Subotica3

St. Barbara – Pest

St. Joseph – Vienna

St. Stephen – Pest

Svetlost Balkana, Luce dei Balkani (Light of the Balkans) – Belgrade

Széchényi – Arad

Szentelt buzgalomhoz (Dedicated Devotion) – Sibiu

Szép csillaghoz (Beautiful Star) – Bátaszék

Šumadija – Belgrade

Taciturnitates (Taciturnity) – Bratislava

Thales – Zrenjanin

Union – Budapest

Unité parfait/Libertas – Varaždin

Valentin Vodnik – Ljubljana

Venčić (Corolla) – Belgrade

Vera fides (True Faith) – Belgrade

Vier Monden (Four Moons) – Brasov

Vigilantia (Alertness) – Osijek

Világ (World) – Zrenjanin

Vojvodina – Petrovaradin

Zora (Dawn) – Kotor

Zur Arbeit (Work) – Budapest

PERSONAL NAMES IN THIS BOOK

(Except for the names already included in aforementioned members' lists)

Abraham, founding father of the Covenant

Aigner (Abafi) Ludwig (Lajos), author of The History of Freemasonry in Hungary

Aigner, Franz Adam captain, collector of Masonic literature and documents

Aladár, György, writer, journalist, translator, educational historian

Albert, Prince, Albert Casimir Duke of Teschen, founder of Albertina Museum in Vienna, married into the Hansburg family

Aldsworth, Richard, husband of Elisabeth St. Leger (Lady Freemason)

Aleksijević, Jovan, prominent Serbian Freemason

Alexander, Sir Anthony, joint Master of Works to the King (c. 1590-1637)

Allah, the name of God in Islam (Aramaic origin)

Anderson, James, author of the first Constitution of the Freemasons (1723)

Apollo, son of Zeus and Leto, god of music, truth, prophecy, healing, sun and light

Aponyi, prominent Hungarian noble family

Arató, Frigyes, (1859-1937), Bauer until 1891, Secretary of Lodge Árpád

Aristotle, (384-322 BC) ancient Greek philosopher

Asclepius, son of Apollo, god of medicine

Ashmole, Elias, (1617-1692) antiquary, politician, the first recorded Freemason

Athelstan, King, (894-939), King of the Anglo-Saxons

Aubrey, John, (1626-1697), English writer, natural philosopher, Freemason

Bacon, Francis, (1561-1626) English politician, writer, alchemist, Freemason

Bakonyi, Dr Kálmán, (1859-1942), solicitor, judge, Grand Master of the SGLH

Bánffy, György, the first Hungarian in Lodge St. Andreas, governor of Transylvania

Bátory, János, member of the prominent Hungarian noble family

Bedeković, Croatian noble family

Belshazzar, the last king of the Neo Babylonian Empire, died in 539 BC

Beljanski, Milenko-Pipac, (1923-1996) journalist, writer, chronicler of Sombor

Bérenger, Jean, (1934-), French historian

Bias of Priene, (600-530 BC), Greek sage

Bikar, Ljubomir, banker, member of the Radical Party in the Kingdom of SCS

Bikar, Vitomir, a trader in Sombor

Blackston, Sir William, (1723-1780), English jurist

Born, Ignatius (1742-1791), mineralogist, metallurgist, prominent Freemason

Bossányi, János, member of a prominent Hungarian noble family

Boswell, John, Laird of Auchinleck (1532?-1609), probably the first recorded non-operative Freemason

Bošnjak, Ernest, (1876-1963), a photography and film enthusiast from Sombor

_Brahma,_ a creator god in Hinduism

_Branković, Georgije,_ (1830-1907), the Patriarch of Karlovci

_Brennan, J. Fletcher,_ prominent Freemasonic author, translator

_Bresci, a Russian captain,_ established the so-called "forest degrees"

_Bruckenthal, Samuel_ , baron, (1721-1803), Habsburg governor of Transylvania

_Buddha, Gautama Buddha_ (c. 563/480- 483/400 BC), an ascetic and sage

_Calcol_ , son of Mahol, (1 Chronicles 2:6

_Carl Joseph_ , son of Maria Theresa, Archduke (1745-1761), son of Maria Theresa

_Catherine II of Russia_ , (1729-1796), Empress of Russia 1762-1796

_Catullus_ , (84-54 BC), a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic

_Charles II_ , (1630-1685), King of England, Scotland and Ireland

_Charles VI_ , Holy (1685-1740), Roman Emperor, father of Maria Theresa

_Chilon of Sparta_ , (620-720 BC), one of the seven sages of Greece

_Christos_ , Archbishop of Athens

_Clarke, Martin_ , 18th century English Freemason

_Claudius_ , (10BC-54AD), Roman Emperor

_Cleobulus of Lindos_ , (died in 530 BC), one of the seven sages

_Crnjanski, Miloš_ , (1893-1977), Serbian poet and writer

_Csáky, Tivadar_ , (1834-1894), politician, member of Lodge _St. István (St. Stephen)_

_Csermelényi, Iván_ , the first Worshipful Master of Lodge Árpád

_Csukási, Dr Jenő_ , prominent Hungarian Freemason

_Cvetković, Dragiša_ , (1893-1969), 13th Serbian Prime Minister (1939-1941)

_Čarnojević, Arsenije III_ , (1633-1706), Serbian Patriarch, led the migration of the Serbs from Ottoman Serbia into the Habsburg Monarchy in 1690

_Dabić, Vojin PhD_ , Professor of history at Belgrade University

_Daniel_ , Biblical character

_Daskal_ , Stefan, Serbian 18th-century monk

_David, King David_ , existed around 1000 BC, the second king of Israel and Judah

_Davidović, Ljubomir_ , (1863-1940), Serbian Prime Minister 1919/20 and 1924

_Deák, Ferenc_ , (1803-1876), Hungarian statesman, "father of the nation"

_Demetrović, Juraj_ , (1885-1945), Croatian politician

_Devčić, Jovan_ , lieutenant, Freemason

_Diocletian_ , (244-312 AD), Roman Emperor

_Dion of Syracuse_ (408-354 BC), ancient Greek politician

_Draskovich, Iván_ , (1740-1787), Grand Master of the first Grand Lodge of Croatia

_Draskovich, Kazimir_ (1716-1765), general, Freemason

_Dudás, Gyula_ , journalist, writer

_Dunđerski_ , a wealthy family in Vojvodina in the 19th 20th centuries

_Durant, Will_ , (1885-1981), historian, writer and philosopher

_Dyonisus II_ , (397-343 BC), ruler of Syracuse

_Đorđević, Andra_ , (1854-1914), Serbian Minister of Education, prominent Freemason

_Edwin, Prince_ , (died in 933), son of Edward the Elder

_Eisenhut Ferenc_ , (1857-1903), painter of the monumental "Battle of Zenta" (28 m2)

_Ekmečić, Milorad_ , (1928-2015), Serbian historian

_Elizabeth Charlotte of Orleans_ , (1676-1744), mother of Franz I

_Engels, Friedrich_ , (1820-1895), philosopher, social scientist, journalist

_Eszterházy, Miklós_ , (1714-1790), Hungarian prince, prominent Freemason

_Ethan_ , character in the Hebrew Bible

_Euclid_ , (died in 285 BC), father of Geometry

_Eugen of Savoy_ , (1663-1736), general of the Imperial Army

_Ezekiel_ , (born 622 BC), Hebrew prophet

_Ferdinand I_ , (1793-1875) Emperor of Austria, son of Franz I of Austria

_Ferdinand of Braunschweig_ , (1721-1792), Prince and prominent Freemason

_Festetics, György_ , (1755-1819), Hungarian nobleman, collector of Masonic materials

_Fideler, David_ , American college professor, educator, prominent Masonic author

_Főkövi, Lajos_ (1852-1900), music pedagogist, journalist, Freemason

_Fraenkel, Dr. Sándor_ , (1873-1933), psychiatrist, prominent Hungarian Freemason

_Franklin, Benjamin_ (1706-1790), American statesman, polymath

_Franz I Stephan of Lorraine_ , (1708-1765), husband of Maria Theresa, Freemason

_Franz II (Franz I of Austria),_ (1768-1835), Holy Roman Emperor, son of Leopold II

_Franz Joseph_ , (1830-1916), Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary

_Frederick, Prince of Prussia_ (1794-1863), general of the cavalry, Freemason

_Garibaldi, Giuseppe_ , (1807-1882), politician, general, Honorary Grand Master of the _Grand Orient of Italy_

Gisner, Maria, wife of Georg Weifert

_Hadji Mustafa Pasha_ , (1733-1801), politician, commander of Smederevo, Freemason

_Hall, Manly_ (1901-1990), Canadian author, mystic, lecturer, astrologer

_Halliwell, James Phillipps_ , (1820-1889), scholar, translator of _Regius Poem_

_Henry VIII_ , (1491-1547), King of England

_Hiram Abiff_ , legendary builder of Solomon's Temple

_Hiram, King of Tyre_ , together with Hiram Abiff and Solomon the main protagonist of the Solomon's Temple legend

_Hoffmann, L.A_., journalist, head of secret police during Leopold II and Franz II

House, Phillip Stanhope, (1694-1773), the 4th Earl of Chesterfield

Hutschinson, William, (1586-1641), judge, Freemason on the island of Acquidneck

Ičko, Petar, (1755-1808), Serbian merchant and diplomat, member of a Turkish Lodge

_Ismail Beg_ , Worshipful Master of Lodge _Ali Koç_ , Belgrade

_Jauković, Novak_ , prominent Freemason from Montenegro

_Jelačić, Josip_ , (1801-1859), Austrian general, helped suppress the Hungarian Revolution 1848, viewed diametrally differently in Croatia and Hungary

_Jenkins, Vernon_ , author, theistic mathematician

_Jesus Christ_ , (c. 4 BC-30/33 AD), central figure in Christianity

_Joannovics, György_ (1821-1909), politician, linguist, Grand W.M. of the Grand Orient of Hungary 1871-1886 and (after the unification of the two Grand Lodges) W.M. of the Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary 1897-1909

_Jókai, Mór_ , (1825-1904), Hungarian writer

_Joseph II_ , (1741-1790), Holy Roman Emperor, son of Maria Theresa

_Jovanović, Josif Šakabenda_ , (1743-1805), Episcope of the Serbian Orthodox Church

_Jovanović, Paja_ , (1859-1957), famous Serbian painter

_Karadžić, Vuk_ , (1787-1864), Serbian philologist, transformed the Serbian alphabet

_Karađorđević, Aleksandar I_ (1888-1934), King of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes

_Karađorđević, Pavle_ , (1893-1976), regent of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia 1934-1945

_Karakašević, Milivoje_ , printing press owner in Sombor, beginning of the 20th century

_Katić, Janko_ , (died in 1806), one of the organizers of the 1st Serbian Uprising in 1804

_King George II_ , (1683-1760), King of Great Britain and Ireland

_Konjović, Petar_ , (1883-1970), Serbian composer

_Kossuth, Lajos_ , (1802-1894), Hungarian statesman, President of Hungary during the Revolution 1848-49

_Kostić, Laza_ , (1941-1910), Serbian poet, prose writer, philosopher, lived in Sombor

_Kreil, Antal_ , (?-1833), Hungarian writer, prominent Freemason

_Kinigl, Caspar_ , Count, prominent German Freemason

_Lajos (Louis) I_ , (1326-1383), King of Hungary, Croatia and Poland

_Lajos (Louis) II_ , (1506-1526), King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia

_Lalošević, Joca_ , (1870-1935), Serbian politician

Lányi, Mór, prominent Freemason, member of Lodge _Árpád_

_Leopold II_ , (1747-1792), Holy Roman Emperor, son of Maria Theresa

_Ligou, Daniel_ , (1921-2013), French historian

_Lopušina, Marko_ , (1951-), Serbian journalist and publicist

_Mackey, Albert_ (1807-1881), American medical doctor and Masonic author

_Maček, Vlatko_ , (1879-1964), politician president of the Croatian Peasant Party

_Margalits, Dr. Ede_ (1849-1940), professor of Budapest University, native of Sombor

_Maria Antoinette_ , (1755ü1793), daughter of Maria Theresa

_Maria Ludovica of Spain_ (1745-1792), wife of Leopold II

_Maria Theresa_ (1717-1780), Empress, the last of the Habsburgs

_Martinovics, Ignácz_ (1755-1795), political adventurer, philosopher

_Martinovics, Mátyás_ , capt., father of Ignacz Martinovics

_Marx, Karl_ , (1818-1883), philosopher, historian, economist, revolutionary socialist

_Mary Magdalene_ , Jewish woman, follower of Jesus

_Maximillian Franz_ , (1756-1801), son of Maria Theresa

_Mazzini, Giuseppe_ , (1805-1972), Italian politician, journalist, Illuminatus

Metodije, Metropolitan, Metropolitan of Belgrade

Metternich, Klemens Wenzel Lothar, !773-1859), Austrian diplomat, statesman

_Mihelić, Adolf_ , Croatian Freemason

_Milivojin, Đorđe_ , Orthodox archpriest of Buda

_Milovanović, Đoka_ , (1850-191), Serbian academician

_Milutinović, Sima-Sarajlija_ (1791-1847), Bosnian Serb, poet, historian, diplomat

_Mišić, Živojin_ , (1855-1921) Serbian general in WW1

_Mitrović, Branko_ , (1961-), professor of architecture in New Zealand

_Mnesarchus_ , (lived c. 100 BC), father of Pythagoras

_Mokranjac, Stevan_ , (1856-1914), Serbian composer and music educator

_Móra, Ferenc_ , (1879-1934), Hungarian novelist, journalist and museologist

_Moray, Sir Robert_ , (1609-1673), Scottish statesman, diplomat, spy, judge Freemason

_Moses_ (died 1407 BC), prophet (Hebrew Bible)

_Nebuchadnezzar II_ , (c. 605 - 562 BC), ruler of Babylon, allegedly destructed the first Temple during the siege of Jerusalem in 587 BC.

_Nagyváthy, János_ (1755-1819), Hungarian progressive philosopher, agronomist

_Nenadović, Aleksa_ (1749-1804), ober knyaz of Tamnava region

_Nenezić, Zoran_ , (1952 -), journalist, Masonic writer, Grand Master of reconstituted _Grand Lodge Yugoslavia_ , 1990

Neuschloss, Marczel, Hungarian Deputy Grand Master

_Niczky, Ivan_ , prominent 18th-century Croatian Freemason

_Nikolajević, Svetomir_ , (1844-1922), Serbian scholar, writer, politician

_Nullens, Gilles C.H.,_ Masonic author

_Numa Pompilius_ , (715-673), second king of Rome

_Nyilassy, Pál_ , (died 1905), member of Lodge Árpád

_Njegoš, Petar I Petrović_ (1748-1830), Metropolitan of Cetinje, anti-Mason

_Njegoš, Petar II Petrović_ , 1813-1851), Price-Bishop of Montenegro, poet, philosopher

_Obradović, Dositej_ , (1783-1845), Serbian writer, educator, prominent Freemason

_Obrenović, Mihailo_ , (1823-1868), Prince of Serbia

_Parmenides_ (501-470 BC), ancient Greek philosopher

_Pártos, Gyula_ , (1845-1916), Hungarian-German architect,

_Pašić, Nikola_ , (1845-1926), PM of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

_Pejačević_ , Croatian noble family

_Pennell, John_ , 18th-century Masonic author

_Periander of Corinth_ , (died 585 BC), ruler of Corinth

_Perkins, Lynn F_., (born 1887), author

_Petrović, Dimitrije-Mita_ (1848-1891), teacher, Teacher Training School in Sombor

_Petrović, Nadežda_ , (1873-1915), Serbian painter

_Petrović, Rastko_ , 1898 -1949), writer, literary critic

_Pike, Albert_ (1809-1891), American writer, attorney and Freemason

_Pittacus of Mytilene_ , (604-568 BC), one of the seven sages

_Plato_ , (428/27-348/47 BC), Greek philosopher

_Plot, Dr Robert_ , (1640-1696), English naturalist, professor of chemistry at Oxford

_Plutarch_ , (46-120 AD), biographer and essayist

_Pope, Alexander VI,_ (1431-1503)

Pope Benedict XIV, (1675-1758)

_Pope Clement XII_ , (1652-1740)

Pope Gregory IX, (1145-1241)

_Pope Gregory XVI_ , (1765-1846)

_Pope John Paul II_ , (1920-2005

_Pope Leo XII_ , (1760-1829)

_Pope Paul VI_ , (1897-1978)

_Pope Pius VI_ , 1757-1799)

_Pope Pius VIII_ , 1761-1830)

_Pribićević, Svetozar_ , (1875-1936), Serbian politician and publicist

Pulszky, Ferenc, (1814-1897), museologist, writer, The first Grand Master of the _Symbolic Grand Lodge of Hungary_ in 1875

_Pythagoras_ , (c. 570-c. 495 BC), Greek philosopher and mathematician

_Pythia_ , High Priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi

_Rabbi Gamaliel_ , (died 52 AD), the Pharisee doctor of Jewish law

_Račić, Puniša_ , (1886-1944) killed Croat Stjepan Radic in Parliament on 20 June 1928

_Radić, Stjepan_ , (1871-1928), founder of Croatian Peasant Party, killed in Parliament

_Ramsey, Michael Andrew_ , (1686-1743), Scottish writer, lived in France

_Ratzinger, Joseph_ , (1927-) cardinal and Pope (the first Pope to abdicate)

_Rebold, Emanuel_ , 19th-century Masonic Writer

_Rehoboam,_ (972-915), son and successor to Solomon

_Rigas Feraios_ , (1757-1798), Greek poet, member of a Turkish Lodge in Belgrade

_Romulus_ , legendary first king and founder of Rome

_Rosenkreuz, Christian_ , (1378-1484), the legendary founder of the Rosicrucian Order

_Rothari, Lombardian King_ (c. 606-652), king of the Lombards

_Rowe, Gordon_ , Masonic writer

_Sayer, Anthony_ , (1672-1741), _Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster_

_Seneca, Lucius Annaeus_ (4 BC-65 AD), Roman Stoic philosopher, dramatist

_Shiva_ , destroyer of evil and transformer in Hinduism

_Socrates_ , (died 399 BC), Greek philosopher

_Solomon_ , (died 931 BC), very wealthy and wise king of Jerusalem, son of David

_Solon of Athens_ , (640-558 BC), Athenian lawmaker, statesman and poet

_Stanhope, Phillip_ , (1694-1773), the 4th Earl of Chesterfield, witty diplomat

_St. Augustine_ , (354-430), Christian theologian

_St. Boniface_ , (672-754), Christian missioner

_St. John the Baptist_ , (died 31/32 AD), Jewish itinerant preacher and prophet

_St. John the Evangelist,_ (15-98 AD), author of the Gospel of John

_St. Leger, Elizabeth_ , (1693-1773), The Lady Freemason

_St. Paul_ , (c. 5-c. 67 AD), Paul the Apostle

_Steele, Sir Richard_ , (1672-1729), Irish writer, co-founder of the magazine _Tatler_

_Stojadinović, Milan_ , (1888-1961), economist, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of SCS

_Stojković, Sreta_ , Director of a few Belgrade Grammar Schools, Masonic writer

_Strachan, Alexander_ , one of the first three recorded Freemasons on 3rd July 1634

_Stratimirović, Stefan_ , (1757-1836), Metropolitan of Karlovci

_Sweerts, Count_ , German nobleman

_Sylvester II_ , Pope, (946-1003)

_Szécsényi, Ferenc_ , count, (1754-1820), founder of the Hungarian National Library and the Hungarian National Museum Szemző, Julius

_Szivessy, László_ , (1852-1906), member of Lodge _Árpád_

_Šupljikac, Stevan,_ (1786-1848), the first Voivode of the Serbian Vojvodina in 1848

Tanasić, Dragorad, Grand Master of the _Regular Grand Lodge of Serbia_

_Tesla, Nikola_ , (1856-1943), Serbian-American inventor, one of the brightest minds in history, a Freemason

_Thales of Miletus_ , (c. 624-c. 546), Greek philosopher and mathematician

_Thielen, Marie_ , a donator and probable member of Lodge _Árpád_ ,

_Trubeckoi, Grigori_ , (1873-1930), Russian diplomat, politician and author

_Valtrović, Mihailo_ , (1839-1915), a Serbian arcitect

_Vesnić, Milenko_ , (1863-1921), Serbian, diplomat, politician, Prime Minister

_Vishnu_ , the preserver god in Hinduism

_Vitruvius, Marcus Pollio_ , (died 15 BC), civil- and military engineer

_Vladislaus I_ , (1065-1125), Duke of Bohemia

_Vladislaus II of Hungary_ , (1456-1516)

_Vörösmarty, Mihály_ , (1800-1855), Hungarian poet

_Vrhovec, Maximillian_ , (1752-1827), Bishop of Zagreb, Freemason

_Walpole, Robert_ , (1676-1745), the first _de facto_ Prime Minister of Great Britain

_Walter, Ernst_ , Grand Master of the _United Grand Lodge of Germany_

_Washington, George,_ (1732-1799), the first President of the United States

_Weifert, Georg_ , (1851-1937), businessman, Grand Master of _Grand Lodge Yugoslavia_

_Wenzel, Ullrich_ , a 19th-century building contractor from Sombor,

_Wren, Sir Christopher_ , (1632-1723), English, architect, astrologer, geometer

_Zinnendorf, Willhelm Kellner_ (1731-1782), a prominent German Freemason (Berlin)

_Živković, Petar,_ general, (1879-1947), Yugoslav Prime Minister

PLACE NAMES IN THIS BOOK

Aberdeen (GB)

Aiud (Nagyenyed) (RO)

Apatin (RS)

Arad (RO)

Aussig (Usti nad Labem) (CZ)

Babylon (IQ)

Bački Monoštor (Bodrog-Monostorszeg) (RS)

Baja (H)

Banska Štiavnjica (Selmecbánya) (SL)

Bátaszék (H)

Bela Crkva (Fehértemplom) (RS)

Belgrade (RS)

Berlin (G)

Bezdan (RS)

Bogojevo (Gombos) (RS)

Brasov (Brassó) (RO)

Bratislava (Pozsony) (SL)

Braunschweig (G)

Brescia (I)

Buda (H)

Budapest (H)

Byblos (LB)

Chester (GB)

Cluj (Kolozsvár) (RO)

Cologne (G)

Como, Lake (I)

Čonoplja (Csonoplya) (RS)

Corinth (GR)

Cremona (I)

Delphi (GR)

Dresden (G)

Dublin (IE)

Dubrovnik (HR)

Eberau (A)

Edinburgh (GB)

Erlangen (G)

Florence (I)

Frankfurt (G)

Glina (HR)

Gödöllő (H)

Grossau (Cristian) (RO)

Hague, the (NL)

Hamburg (G)

Hermanstadt

Innsbruck (A)

Jena (G)

Jerusalem (IL)

Kalocsa (H)

Kaposvár (H)

Karansebes (RO)

Karlovac (HR)

Kikinda (RS)

Košice (Kassa) (SL)

Kotor (MN)

Križevci (HR)

Kronstadt (RU)

Kula (RS)

Latchfield (GB)

Ljubljana (SLO)

London (GB)

Lucca (I)

Luxembourgh (LU)

Lvov (Lemberg) (U)

Mantua (I)

Miercurea Chiuc (Csíkszereda) (RO)

Milan (I)

Miskolc (H)

Mitrovica (RS)

Norfolk (GB)

Nove Zamki (SL)

Novi Sad (Újvidék) (RS)

Odžaci (Hódzsák (RS)

Oradea (Nagyvárad) (RO)

Oravica (RO)

Osijek (HR)

Palanka (RS)

Pančevo (Pancsova) (RS)

Pécs (H)

Pest (H)

Petrovaradin (Pétervárad) (RS)

Prague (CZ)

Prešov (Eperjes) (SL)

Pressburg (H)

Rastatt (G)

Regensburg (G)

Rijeka (HR)

Rome (I)

Salzburg (A)

Sibiu (Nagyszeben) (RO)

Silbaš (Szilbás) (RS)

Sisak (HR)

Sombor (Zombor) (RS)

Sonta (RS)

Sparta (GR)

Split (HR)

Sremski Karlovci (RS)

St. Lőrinc (H)

St. Petersburg (RU)

Strasbourg (F)

Subotica (Szabadka) (RS)

Syracuse (I)

Szeged (H)

Székelyudvarhely (Odorheiu Secuiesc) (RO)

Timisoara (RO)

Trieste (I)

Tübingen (G)

Udine (I)

Varaždin (HR)

Venice (I)

Vienna (A)

Vrbas (Verbász) (RS)

Vršac (Versecz) (RS)

Wilhelmsbaden (G)

York (GB)

Zadar (HR)

Zagreb (HR)

Zemun (Semlin) (RS)

Zrenjanin (Nagybecskerek, Petrovgrad) (RS)

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND FURTHER READING

***:Dve stotine godina obrazovanja učitelja u Somboru, 1778-1978, Sombor, 1978.

***: Sto godina Gimnazije u Somboru, 1872-1972., Gimnazija "Veljko Petrović", Sombor, 1972.

***: Sto godina srednje ekonomske škole 25. maj Sombor, Informativni centar, Sombor, 1988.

***: Comparison of the Lives of Horus and Jesus Coincidence? Online

***: A szabadkőmíves templom

***: Without Hierarchy, there can be no organization – online discussion

Abafi, Lajos: A szabadkőművesség története Magyarországon, Tarandus, Győr, 2012.

Anderson, James: The Constitution of the Freemasons (1734) – online electronic edition, University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

Arató, Frigyes: Az Árpád páholy története 1870-1895, Árpád páholy könyvtára, Szeged, 1895

Arató, Frigyes: A Szabadkőművesség a művelt közönség számára, Márkus Samu Könyvnyomdája, Budapest 1902.

Arató, Frigyes: Földmíves szocializmus, Árpád páholy könyvtára, Szeged, 1899.

Arató, Frigyes: Hol az igazság?, Árpád páholy könyvtára, Szeged, 1899.

State Archives of Hungary: Digital copies of documents

City Archives of Sombor: Digital copies of documents

Archives of Yugoslavia: Digital copies of documents

Bailey, Douglass W: Balkan Prehistory, Routledge, London and New York, 2000.

Balassa, Dr. József: A szabadkőművesség története, Berta Irodalmi Részvénytársaság, Budapest,

Baráth, Tibor: Az egyetemes szabadkőművesség 1871 és 1929 között, Belvedere Meridionale, (9) 1-2. pp. 8-15 (1997).

Barns, Dr. Keti: Masonski i okultni simboli, Metaphysica, Beograd, 2005.

Békefi Eszter: Diszkrét páholyok – szabadkőműves építészet Magyarországon, Artmagazin 2005/6. pp. 26-31

Beljanski, Milenko: Letopis Sombora 1360 - 1800, Prosveta, Sombor, 1974.

Beljanski, Milenko: Letopis Sombora 1861 - 1876, Prosveta, Sombor, 1982.

Beljanski, Milenko: Letopis Sombora 1876 - 1907, Prosveta, Sombor, 1983.

Beljanski, Milenko: Letopis Sombora 1907 - 1914, Prosveta, Sombor, 1983.

Benedek, Szabolcs: A szabadkőművesség eredete, a hermetikus hagyományoktól az első nagypáholyig, Pont Kiadó, Budapest 2006.

Somogyi Library, Szeged: Digital copies of documents

Carr, Thomas: The Ritual of the Operative Freemasons, The Tyler Publishing Company, 1911.

Cheetam, S.: A History of the Christian Church, MacMillan and Co., London and New York, 1894

Churton, Tobias: Elias Ashmole & the Origins of Speculative Freemasonry – Issue I, Freemasonry Today issue 1, summer 1997.

Churton, Tobias: Elias Ashmole & the Origins of Speculative Freemasonry – Issue II, Freemasonry Today issue 1, summer 1997.

Csóor, Gáspár: Bácska társadalmi élete, A József kir. Herceg szanatórium egyesület, Budapest

Cullen, Joseph Ayer Jn: A Source Book for Ancient Church History, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1939

DuQuette, Lon Milo: The Key to Solomon's Key, Consortium of Collective Consciousness, 2006.

Durville, Henri: Masoni, Beograd, 1990.

Emmanuel Rebold, ed.: A General History of Freemasonry in Europe, American Masonic Publishing Association, Cincinnati, 1869.

Fekete, Ignácz: A szabadkőművesség rövid története, Neumayer Ede, Budapest 1891.

Gašić, Ranka: Srpski masoni između dva svetska rata kao društvena grupa, Godišnjak za društvenu istoriju br. 1-3, str. 85-100, 1998.

Glojnarić, Mirko: Masonerija u Hrvatskoj, Murano. D.o.o. Zagreb, pretisak iz 1940. godine

City Library"Karlo Bijelicki" Sombor: Newspapers and Magazines

City Library, Baja: Digital copies of documents

Heršak, Emil: Uvod u prapovijesno društvo, blog

Higgins, Frank: The Beginnings of Freemasonry, New York, 1916.

Hoványi, Márton: Egy beavatási ritus szimbolikájáról – A Magyar Symbolikus Nagypáholy Szertartáskönyvének szemiotikája, Vallástudományi szemle, 6. évf. 3. sz./2010. pp. 29-39.

Káich, Katalin: Zombor művelődéstörténelméből, Monogragraph of Sombor pp. 64-77, 1975.

Keresztessy Csaba: A Magyarországi Symbolikus Nagypáholy páholyháza, Műemlékvédelmi szemle, 5. 1995. 1-2. pp. 5-52,

Kramer, S.N: History Begins at Sumer, Doubleday Anchor, New York, 1959

Levi, Elifas: Masonske legende

Levi, Eliphas: Misterija Kabale, Atanor, 1920.

Ligou, Daniel: Rečnik slobodnog zidarstva, Paideia, 2001

Lomas, Robert: Turning of the Hiram Key – Rituals of Freemasonry Revealed, Fair Winds Press, 2005

Lopušina, Marko: Masoni u Srbiji 1910-2010

Mackey, Albert: Symbolism of Freemasonry, The Masonic History Co., 1921.

Mackey, Albert Gallatin: A Lexicon of Freemasonry,Richard Griffin and Co., 1860. London and Glasgow

Mackey, Albert Gallatin: An Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, The Masonic History Co., New York and London, 1914.

Mala socijalna knjižnica: Masonerija u Hrvata, svezak 16, Zagreb 1934.

Marić, Miloš – Kosić, Vasilije: Masonske lože u Jugoslaviji 1919-1940 (1872-1958), Biblioteka informativnih sredstava, Beograd

Marks, Morris: Hiram Abif, from British Masonic Miscellany.

Marx, Karl: Secret Diplomatic History of the Eighteenth Century, Swan Sonneschein & Co, Ltd., London, 1899

Maspero, Gaston: Dawn of Civilization – Egypt and Chaldea, Society for Promotion of Christian Knowledge, London, 1910

Medvedev, Aleksandar: Tajne Biblije, RM, 2009.

Melanson, Terry: 10 Notable Members of the Bavarian Illuminati

Mentor: A szabadkőmívesség, Budapest, 1910.

Minijaturna biblioteka Issue 53-56: Slobodno zidarstvo, Novi Sad, 1936.

Mužić, Ivan: Masonstvo u Hrvata, Laus, Split, 2000

Mužić, Ivan: Smisao masonstva, Bošković, Split, 2003.

Neimar , Glasnik UVLS, Beograd 2009>

Neimar, časopis: Godine 1914, 1922-1926, digitalizovane kopije Narodne biblioteke

Nenezić, Zoran: Masoni u Jugoslaviji 1764-1980, Zodne, Beograd, 1988.

Nikolić, Stevan: Georg Weifert – Pillar of Serbian Freeemasonry, Ars Quator Coronatorum, 2004

Nikolić, Zoran-Vidoje D. Golubović: Beograd ispod Beograda, Službeni glasnik.

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Ouspensky, P. D.: The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution, Vintage Books Edition, 1974

Péter, László: A szabadkőművesség Szegeden 1870-1950, A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve 1980/81-1. pp.266-267

Petranović, Branko: Istorija Jugoslavije Prva knjiga – Kraljevina Jugoslavija 1914-1941, Nolit, Beograd

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Pike, Albert: The Book of the Word – electronic reprint

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Waller, Bruce, ed.: Themes in Modern European History 1830-90, London and New York, 2002

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www.rgls.org : Istorijat slobodnog zidarstva u Srbiji

www.vls.rs : Kratka hronologija razvoja Slobodnog Zidarstva u Srbiji (1785-2015)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Karlo Hameder was born in Sombor in 1951. He completed the Grammar School in Sombor and graduated from the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad – at the Department of English language and literature.

He worked as an English teacher at Nikola Tesla Gymnasium in Apatin, the Apatin Secondary Technical School, and the Sombor Veljko Petrovic Grammar School as well as at the Secondary Translators' School in Sombor, where he taught English, Business Correspondence and Translation. For some time, he worked as a translator at an agricultural and construction project in Iraq, and in 1993 he opened his private English Language School and Technical Translation Service.

Since 2011, he has been working as an insider in two Masonic systems focusing on the history of the Masonic Lodges of Sombor as well as other lodges in the region.

This is an expanded and somewhat revised edition of his book published in Serbian under the title _Somborski sinovi udovice – kratak istorijat masonstva (The Widow's Sons of Sombor – a Brief History of Freemasonry_ ), published in February 2014 (ISBN 978-86-917533-0-6). The Serbian book has also been published at Smashwords.com ( _Somborski sinovi udovice - Storija o masonstvu - Slobodno zidarstvo u Somboru u periodu 1897-2017)_

