(19970920-20010314) Признание от Най-високо уважаемата Велика ложа на стари, свободни и приети зидари на щата Илинойс, САЩ

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14 март 2001, , ,
(19970920-20010314) Признание от Най-високо уважаемата Велика ложа на стари, свободни и приети зидари на щата Илинойс, САЩ
КОМУНИКАЦИЯ във връзка с намирането на оригиналния документ за това признание.
 
from: John Meek pastmasterjohn@gmail.com
to: GLAFAM in Bulgaria – Int Secretary <international@grandlodgebulgaria.org>
cc: John Loayza <jcloayza1@gmail.com>,
John Loayza <glccforj@ilmason.org>,
gc@ilmason.org,
L011 Plamen Mateev MS <p.mateev@progress.bg>
date: Apr 7, 2020, 1:57 PM
subject: Re: Recognition / Amity with Illinois?
   
   
 
 
 
Dear Mr. Mandradjiev,
 
Thank you for the information. We have gone over everything that you provided, and we still stand with the United Grand Lodge of Bulgaria (UGLB) as being the only Masonic Jurisdiction in Bulgaria with a legitimate claim to the Territorial Jurisdiction of Bulgaria.
 
Unfortunately, you have not provided us with any direct proof of current recognition of Illlinois toward any other Grand Lodge, including the National United Grand Lodge of Bulgaria (NUGLB), consisting of the Grand Lodge of Bulgaria, the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons of Bulgaria, and the Grand Lodge of Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Bulgaria.
 
We have maintained a very open and well-publicized relationship with the UGLB, which, to my knowledge, no one has ever contested or even questioned by anyone from any Jurisdiction. This Relationship between the Grand Lodge of Illinois and UGLB will continue. And I am aware that most of the Masonic world shares our opinion in this.
 
And owing to the principle of “Exclusive Territorial Jurisdiction, except by mutual consent and/or treaty,” we cannot be in Amity with NUGLB or any other Masonic Grand Lodge in Bulgaria, except UGLB. And I am also aware that most of the Masonic world shares our opinion in this.
 
Furthermore, at Conferences of the Grand Masters of North America, the situation of multiple Grand Lodges in Bulgaria was addressed, and since no agreement occurred to resolve the issues between the other Bulgarian Grand Lodges and the recognized United Grand Lodge of Bulgaria, the Commission on Information & Recognition recommended all parties to put aside their differences; and either to sign treaties with the United Grand Lodge of Bulgaria to mutually share the jurisdiction or to merge into the United Grand Lodge of Bulgaria.
 
So, I respectfully request you to please remove us from the list of Jurisdictions with whom you are in Amity and /or Mutual Recognition.
 
By the way, you mentioned OSMTH. This is a wonderful group. I was very active in this group in Chicago (the American branch of OSMTH is called SMOTJ); I even visited the OSMTH Commandery in Sofia last year. The Chevaliers and Dames here in Bulgaria are great men and women. However, OSMTH is not a Masonic Order; and while OSMTH holds a special place in my heart, it is not pertinent here.
 
If you have any questions, please let me know.
 
Please be safe and well during this pandemic.
 
Have a good day,
 
 
RW Bro John Meek
Grand Representative to Bulgaria & Russia
Grand Lodge of Illinois, AF&AM
 
 
 
On Thu, Apr 2, 2020, 14:11 GLAFAM in Bulgaria – Int Secretary <international@grandlodgebulgaria.org> wrote:
TO: RW Bro John Meek, Grand Representative to Bulgaria & Russia, Grand Lodge of Illinois, AF&AM
 
COPY OT: RW Bro John Loayza, Grand Chancellor of the Grand Lodge of Illinois, AF&AM 
 
 
 
Dear RW Bro. John Meek,
 
Thank you very much for the information you have provided. As per your request, I am providing you with documents from the archive of Grand Lodge of Illinois, AF&AM (copies of which we have) and Grand Lodge of Bulgaria, AF&AM (do have in mind that our archive was stolen years ago and some information is still to be uploaded online soon) in chronological order with links. Also, please find attached a pdf document that is a table named “GRAND LODGES RECOGNIZED BY THE GRAND LODGES OF THE UNITED STATES” provided in 2010 by the Masonic Service Association.
 
Year:
 
1997 – the GL AF&AM in Bulgaria was consecrated and THE LIGHT was brought by the UGLs of Germany (more precisely the GL AF&AM of Germany with the support of American-Canadian GL in Germany and GL of British Freemasons in Germany (http://www.grandlodgebulgaria.org/bg/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Screenshot_2020-03-14-English-2.png) – this is for a start point since when the GL AF&AM in Bulgaria is founded and how it was consecrated.
 
2001 – the first mention that we have a recognition from the GL of Illinois is in a document of ours that we lately uncovered. This is the Application for Recognition sent to The UGL of England on March 14, 2001 (we have that document and a copy of it is uploaded on our website). You can find the document here: http://www.grandlodgebulgaria.org/bg/?p=5670&lang=en
 
2003 – Proceedings of the 164th Annual Meeting of the MW GL of AF&AM of the State of Illinois, Springfield, October 10-11, 2003, page 26 (document view) OR page 32 (PDF view) and page 240 (document view) OR page 246 (PDF view) and page 273 (document view) OR page 279 (PDF view). The cited document is available on and old website of GL of Illinois, AF&AM and here is a direct link to it: http://www.afam-il.org/mori/_Additional_Files/Annual%20Proceedings%20Books/Proceedings%20Book2003.pdf
 
2004 – Proceedings of the 165th Annual Meeting of the MW GL of AF&AM of the State of Illinois, Springfield, October 8-9, 2004, page 359 (document view) OR page 362 (PDF view), Grand Lodges Recognized by Illinois: Bulgaria ………………………………………………………………………10-12 Bogatitsa Str., Spas Panchev BG-1421 Sofia, Bulgaria – this was the address of the Chancery of our GL during the term of PGM (at that time GM) MW Bro. Roumen Raltchev. Just to let you know: this address is still the address of the offices of the companies that MW PGM Bro. Roumen Raltchev owns. MW PGM Bro Roumen is now the Grand Prior of the OSMTH – GP Bulgaria (more about MW Bro Roumen during his term as GM of our GL here: http://www.grandlodgebulgaria.org/bg/?page_id=5905&lang=en). The name of RW Bro SPAS PANCHEV in your document is the name of the Brother who was the Grand Secretary at that time of our GL. The cited document is available on and old website of GL of Illinois, AF&AM and here is a direct link to it: http://www.afam-il.org/mori/_Additional_Files/Annual%20Proceedings%20Books/Proceedings%20Book2004.pdf
 
2005 – Proceedings of the 166th Annual Meeting of the MW GL of AF&AM of the State of Illinois, Springfield, October 7-8, 2005, page 205 (document view) OR page 215 (PDF view) and page 278 (document view) OR page 288 (PDF view) and page 305 (document view) OR page 315 (PDF view) and page 369 (document view) OR page 379 (PDF view) and page 385 (document view) OR page 395 (PDF view). On page 369 / 379 you have: Bulgaria …………………………………………………………………………15 B Vrabcha Str., Angel Tyankov 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria – this was the address of the Chancery of our GL during the term of PGM (at that time GM) MW Bro. Nikola Alexandrov (more about MW Bro Nikola during his term as GM of our GL here: http://www.grandlodgebulgaria.org/bg/?page_id=5878&lang=en). The name of RW Bro ANGEL TYANKOV in your document is the name of the Brother who was the Grand Secretary at that time of our GL (You can find a photo of them together at the CoGMMNA posted on our website too). The cited document is available on and old website of GL of Illinois, AF&AM and here is a direct link to it: http://www.afam-il.org/mori/_Additional_Files/Annual%20Proceedings%20Books/Proceedings%20Book2005.pdf
 
2006 – Proceedings of the 167th Annual Meeting of the MW GL of AF&AM of the State of Illinois, Springfield, October 6-7, 2006, page 242 (document view) OR page 248 (PDF view) and page 263 (document view) OR page 269 (PDF view) and page 295 (document view) OR page 301 (PDF view) (same situation with address of GL and name of GS as in 2005 Annual Proceedings). The cited document is available on and old website of GL of Illinois, AF&AM and here is a direct link to it: http://www.afam-il.org/mori/_Additional_Files/Annual%20Proceedings%20Books/Proceedings%20Book2006.pdf
 
2007 – Proceedings of the 168th Annual Meeting of the MW GL of AF&AM of the State of Illinois, Springfield, October 5-6, 2007, page 128 (document view) OR page 138 (PDF view) and page 247 (document view) OR page 257 (PDF view) and page 279 (document view) OR page 289 (PDF view) (same situation with address of GL as in 2005 Annual Proceedings but here for some reason the name of the GS is mistaken – the GS was ANGEL TYANKOV and not the mentioned in your document). The cited document is available on and old website of GL of Illinois, AF&AM and here is a direct link to it: http://www.afam-il.org/mori/_Additional_Files/Annual%20Proceedings%20Books/Proceedings%20Book2007.pdf
 
2008 – Proceedings of the 169th Annual Meeting of the MW GL of AF&AM of the State of Illinois, Springfield, October 10-11, 2008, page 123 (document view) OR page 127 (PDF view) and page 223 (document view) OR page 227 (PDF view). The cited document is available on and old website of GL of Illinois, AF&AM and here is a direct link to it: http://www.afam-il.org/mori/_Additional_Files/Annual%20Proceedings%20Books/Proceedings%20Book2008.pdf
 
 
2009 – Proceedings of the 170th Annual Meeting of the MW GL of AF&AM of the State of Illinois, Springfield, October 9-10, 2009, page 120 (document view) OR page 128 (PDF view) and page 193 (document view) OR page 201 (PDF view). On page 227 (document view) OR page 235 (PDF view) there is a mistake of the address and the name of the GS. Neither the address is correct, nor this person mentioned has ever been GS of the GL AF&AM in Bulgaria. The cited document is available on and old website of GL of Illinois, AF&AM and here is a direct link to it: http://www.afam-il.org/mori/_Additional_Files/Annual%20Proceedings%20Books/Proceedings%20Book2009.pdf
 
2010 – Proceedings of the 171st Annual Meeting of the MW GL of AF&AM of the State of Illinois, Springfield, October 8-9, 2010, page 141 (document and PDF view) and page 199 (document and PDF view) (we have never had the stated P.O. Box in Sofia Central Post Office rented by the GL AF&AM in Bulgaria. The person Alexey Lazarov has never been a member of the GL AF&AM in Bulgaria). The cited document is available on and old website of GL of Illinois, AF&AM and here is a direct link to it: http://www.afam-il.org/mori/_Additional_Files/Annual%20Proceedings%20Books/Proceedings%20Book2010.pdf
 
2010 – please find attached a pdf document that is a table named “GRAND LODGES RECOGNIZED BY THE GRAND LODGES OF THE UNITED STATES” provided in 2010 by the Masonic Service Association.
 
2011 – Proceedings of the 172nd Annual Meeting of the MW GL of AF&AM of the State of Illinois, Springfield, October 9-10, 2011, page 322 (document and PDF view)  (same situation as in Proceedings from 2010).The cited document is available on and old website of GL of Illinois, AF&AM and here is a direct link to it: http://www.afam-il.org/mori/_Additional_Files/Annual%20Proceedings%20Books/Proceedings%20Book2011.pdf
 
2012 – Proceedings of the 173rd Annual Meeting of the MW GL of AF&AM of the State of Illinois, Springfield, October 5-6, 2012, page 210 (document and PDF view)  (same situation as in Proceedings from 2010).The cited document is available on and old website of GL of Illinois, AF&AM and here is a direct link to it: http://www.afam-il.org/mori/_Additional_Files/Annual%20Proceedings%20Books/Proceedings%20Book2012.pdf
 
2013 – Proceedings of the 174th Annual Meeting of the MW GL of AF&AM of the State of Illinois, Springfield, October 4-5, 2013, page 200 (document and PDF view) and page 229 (document and PDF view) (same situation as in Proceedings from 2010).The cited document is available on and old website of GL of Illinois, AF&AM and here is a direct link to it: http://www.afam-il.org/mori/_Additional_Files/Annual%20Proceedings%20Books/Proceedings%20Book2013.pdf
 
 
For the years 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 we do not have the Proceedings of the GL of Illinois in order to find the exact date on which you have voted to recognize our GL. But I am sure that the GL of Illinois has this in its archive so you RW Bro. Meek or RW Bro. John Loayza can look this up. I will be very happy if you can send us those proceedings, since we have got all others since 2003 until 2013 as mentioned in this mail.
 
On behalf of the GL AF&AM in Bulgaria, we hope that you are safe during this crisis in which we all are. 
 
Awaiting your response.
 
On Thu, Apr 2, 2020 at 10:16 AM John Meek <pastmasterjohn@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Mr.  Mandradjiev,
 
I am the Grand Representative to Bulgaria & Russia for the Grand Lodge of Illinois, AF&AM.
 
It has just come to my attention that you are claiming that your Grand Lodge and the Grand Lodge of Illinois, AF&AM are in Amity, and that we granted you recognition some time “between 1997 and 2001.”
 
I discussed this with our Grand Chancellor, and he reaffirmed to me that the ONLY Masonic Jurisdiction in Bulgaria that the Grand Lodge of Illinois, AF&AM recognizes and is in amity with the United Grand Lodge of Bulgaria (UGLB).
 
The Grand Lodge of Illinois, AF&AM does NOT recognize and is NOT in Amity with any other Grand Lodge in Bulgaria, including yours, the National United Grand Lodge of Bulgaria (NUGLB), consisting of the Grand Lodge of Bulgaria, the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons of Bulgaria, and the Grand Lodge of Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Bulgaria.
 
If you still believe our Grand Lodges are in Amity, please provide me with a pdf copy of the Letter of Recognition so that this matter can be looked into.
 
I am copying RW Bro John Loayza, Grand Chancellor of the Grand Lodge of Illinois, AF&AM into this email.
 
Thank you & have a good day,
 
RW Bro John Meek
Grand Representative to Bulgaria & Russia
Grand Lodge of Illinois, AF&AM

 

 

—

 
I∴T∴N∴O∴T∴G∴A∴O∴T∴U∴
 
With warm fraternal regards,
Bro. Dimiter Mandradjiev
Plenipotentiary Assistant Secretary for International Activities
Plenipotentiary Assistant Secretary for Public Relations
Chancery of The Grand Lodge of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons in Bulgaria led by the M∴W∴ G∴M∴ Bro∴ Krasimir Martinov
Registered in 1997 as a union of masonic lodges, successor of the Grand Lodge of Bulgaria with light brought by the United Grand Lodges of Germany.
 
Please like our Facebook page in English language: https://www.facebook.com/glafaminbulgaria
 
If you would like to subscribe for our e-mail group for non-Bulgarian speaking brethren from other Grand Lodges, please reply to this e-mail with your request.

Новини свързани с работата между ВЛ ССиПЗ в България и ВЛ ССиПЗ на Илинойс, САЩ: