FOUNDING TREATY OF THE MASONIC CONFEDERATION OF FRANCE

As the slow gears of French Freemasonry move, the Masonic Confederation of France has now agreed for intervisitation between their combined 1700 lodges, and boasts a membership of over 51,000 members, which now makes it unofficially the largest Masonic body, regular or irregular operating in France.  This includes the Grand Orient of France and the disparaged GNLF.

Below is detailing this step towards the Masonic Confederation of France to move forward with requesting recognition through out Europe, and eventually to the UGLE.  It is my hope that we finally have some sense of regularity and recognition in France again.

FOUNDING TREATY OF THE MASONIC CONFEDERATION OF FRANCE

Preamble

Responding to the appeal of the Basel Declaration of June 10, 2012 the undersigned French Masonic Grand Lodges decided to gather under a Confederation called the

Masonic Confederation of France

Signatories of this Treaty, the founders are:

- The Grand Lodge of France

- The Traditional and Symbolic Grand Lodge Opera

- The Grand Lodge of the French Masonic Alliance 

- The Independent Grand Lodge of France

Meant as a Masonic covenant, the treaty expresses their friendship and mutual recognition among the signatories. It will be supplemented by a protocol for the use of their members concerning visitations and Masonic exchanges.

Each Grand Lodge is sovereign and independent in its identity and in its operation.

In accordance with the basic principles which they undertake to respect, the founding Grand Lodges pool and share operating procedures.

Civil statutes previously adopted in their Grand Lodge communications by the signatory Grand Lodges, then completed by Internal Bylaws specifying its mode of organization, guarantee the legal existence of the Confederation. Each Grand Lodge undertakes to respect, and to ensure respect of, the principles and rules by its members.

The Confederation shall be able to admit additional Grand Lodges, provided that they meet the criteria of Traditional Regularity as recalled in Article 1 of this Treaty. Their adhesion shall only be approved by an unanimous decision of the Confederation founders.

The Confederation will have statutory powers allowing it to decide an exclusion in case of non-compliance with the commitments defined in this Treaty.

Article 1

The Grand Lodges of the Masonic Confederation of France meet in full the principles shared by the Universal Masonic fraternity, which ensure its unity and are:

- Invocation of the Great Architect of the Universe,

- Presence in Lodge of the three Great Lights of Freemasonry: the Volume of the Sacred Law, in full view and open, the Square and the Compasses,

- Exclusive sovereignty over the symbolic degrees,

- Independence from any Masonic structure of Higher Degrees,

- No female presence during ritual workings,

- Prohibition of political or religious discussions,

- The progressive and spiritual character of the Masonic approach.

Article 2

The Freemasons of the undersigned Grand Lodges recognize each other by the obser­vance of the Royal Art that unites regular Freemasons worldwide.

Article 3

Each undersigned Grand Lodge establishes the procedures necessary to ensure compliance with the rules founding the recognition of the Confederation.

Article 4

Each Grand Lodge recognizes and respects the practices and customs of the other Grand Lodges of the Confederation, including the moral and spiritual values as well as the initiation rituals that are theirs and which it declares to perfectly know.

Article 5

The Confederation commits itself not to take any action likely to undermine the independence and functioning of each signatory Grand Lodge. However, in case of non-compliance with the fundamental principles shared by the Universal Masonic fraternity and stated in Article 1, or with the application of the rules of recognition mentioned in Article 3, and before an implementation of the statutory provisions for exclusion, the Confederation has the duty to notify the Grand Lodge concerned.

Article 6

The Confederation guarantees, especially regarding relations with foreign Masonic Grand Lodges, the regularity of the Grand Lodges which constitute it.

The Confederation elects or appoints, in terms defined in its statutes and Internal Bylaws and for a specified time, its representation in foreign Masonic Grand Lodges.

Article 7

Any communication on behalf of the Confederation will be defined beforehand by the representatives of each signatory Grand Lodge.

Paris, June 15, 2013:

- The Grand Lodge of France

- The Traditional and Symbolic Grand Lodge Opera

- The Grand Lodge of the Masonic French Alliance 

- The Independent Grand Lodge of France