(20150516) STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE “THE FUTURE OF THE GRAND LODGE OF ANCIENT FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS IN BULGARIA

326 A∴ L∴ 6015 [16.05.2015] O∴ Sofia

STATEMENT

ON BEHALF OF THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE

“THE FUTURE OF THE GRAND LODGE OF ANCIENT FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS IN BULGARIA”

We, the Brethren Master Freemasons,

Representatives of 20 regular and full right lodges part of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons in Bulgaria (G∴L∴A∴F∴A∴M∴BG∴) – the original and authentic Grand Lodge of Bulgarian Masons – gathered on this day 326 of 6015 Year of Light (May 16, 2015) in the first historical Masonic Temple in democratic Bulgaria on Sredorek str. in Gorna Banya district, O∴ Sofia, at the National Conference “The Future of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons in Bulgaria”,

as we confirm

• our readiness to continue the Construction of the original Grand Lodge of the A∴F∴A∴M∴ in Bulgaria, installed by the Grand Lodge of the A∴F∴A∴M∴ of Germany on day 88 A∴L∴ 5997 (September 20, 1997), direct successor of the Grand Symbolic Lodge of Bulgaria, installed on day 156 A∴L∴ 5918 (November 27, 1914) whose Wandering members carried the light in their hearts during the long years of totalitarianism regime in Bulgaria and took a personal and active participation in the Reactivation of the Movement of the A∴F∴A∴M∴ in Bulgaria after A∴L∴ 5991 (1991) under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Yugoslavia and on day 164 of A∴L∴ 5992 (December 5, 1992) established the Grand Lodge of Bulgaria;
• our Masonic Oaths, given in the name of the original Grand Lodge of the Bulgarian Freemasons: to construct the temple of Humanity, by complying to the Ancient Landmarks of the Craft, the Ancient Duties, principles, rules and customs of the Freemasons and the Founding Law (Grand Lodge By-Laws) of the Movement of the A∴F∴A∴M∴ in Bulgaria;
• our determination to continue the Construction in the Workshops of G∴L∴A∴F∴A∴M∴BG∴ and to keep alive the Light in its Masonic Temples;

because we ascertain

• that the acting Grand Master of G∴L∴A∴F∴A∴M∴BG∴, group of Grand Officers, Lodges and brethren, who follow him, have stated their will to relinquish from our Grand Lodge, for to join the so called United Grand Lodge of Bulgaria split off from the original G∴L∴A∴F∴A∴M∴ in Bulgaria, by which they have broken their own Masonic Oaths and by betraying the Brethren’s trust, for they have deserted from the Construction of the Grand Lodge and of the Masonic offices they had taken and for which they had been elected – for this the regular Grand General Meeting is vitiated, and the elections held have been challenged, for they are not operational and cannot become operational due to the expiration of the deadline for the Grand Brethren Court to adopt a resolution, and thus such has not been adopted;
• that in collision with the rules and procedures of the Founding Law (Grand Lodge By-Laws), the Brothers abandoning the Grand Lodge are trying not only to shut it down, but to erase all that has been Constructed by the Brethren and its Workshops;
• that the discreditable, unMasonic and unacceptable intervention continues by foreign Masonic authorities, mainly the United Grand Lodges of Germany (U∴G∴Ls∴G∴) in the work of the Bulgarian Guild and upon its sovereign grand Masonic authorities, which our Grand Lodge expressly and consequently renounces from the day of its installment to date; the conduct of U∴G∴Ls∴G∴ is not only contradictory but is in flagrant collision with the Declaration from A∴L∴ 6007 (2007), signed by U∴G∴L∴BG∴ and G∴L∴A∴F∴A∴M∴BG∴ with the mediation of U∴G∴Ls∴G∴;
• that the procedure and requirements enforced on the Brethren for them to join the U∴G∴L∴BG∴ humiliates their Masonic dignity and human personality, as it draws them in a foisted organizational act, which has no correlation with the ancient Masonic customs for uniting the Brotherhood, which are “founded on the great principles of courtesy and fraternal kindness, which are at the very foundation of our institution” (Landmark Sixteenth), and which violates Landmark Twenty-second (“THE EQUALITY OF ALL MASONS is another Landmark of the Order…”);
• that the joining of U∴G∴L∴BG∴ of Brethren and Lodges, who have been until now members of the original G∴L∴A∴F∴A∴M∴ in Bulgaria, is neither discussed, neither adopted, nor willed for by Brethren in both organizations, and in our Grand Lodge it is imposed with force and brutality, with unacceptable among the Brethren intrigues, slanders, lies, threats, there are also precedents of physical abuse – and for this we do not accept the prepared act for the wished by all, Unity of the Bulgarian Brotherhood, thus we measure it as the next schism, decomposition and ruin of the Grand Construction,

we have decided and we call upon

• all Union Lodges to erase from their membership lists all Brethren who have issued a statement – written, oral, act or by any other means that they are willing to leave them in order to join U∴G∴L∴BG∴;
• all who are preserving the G∴L∴A∴F∴A∴M∴BG∴ and continue its Construction, to differentiate from the Grand Master who has broken his Masonic Oath and has abandoned his office, as well as from all who have grouped around him and have disgraced the Freemasonry in the social society;
• all Union Lodges who continue the Construction of the G∴L∴A∴F∴A∴M∴ in Bulgaria, to gather for a Extraordinary Grand General Meeting on day 340 A∴L∴ 6015 (May 30, 2015) from 11:00 in Rota Center, floor 5, O∴ Plovdiv, which to elect Grand Master, Grand Officers, Chairmen, Vice-chairmen and members of the Grand Brethren Court and Commissions in the Grand Lodge;
• independently from the decision in contradiction with the Founding Law (Grand Lodge By-Laws) and without the needed credentials and for this a primordially void Decision of the Grand Master for the cease of the agreement between the two approved Brethren Masonic organizations, for the continuation and development of the Brethren affairs between the Grand Lodge and the Supreme Council, 33° of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in Bulgaria – an important achievement and value of the Movement of the A∴F∴A∴M∴ in Bulgaria.

This statement is adopted unanimously by the participants Brethren Master Freemasons in the National Conference.

I∴T∴N∴O∴T∴G∴A∴O∴T∴U∴

Chairmanship of the National Conference

“THE FUTURE OF THE GRAND LODGE OF ANCIENT FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS IN BULGARIA”

Bro∴ Roumen Raltchev

Bro∴ Nikola Alexandrov

Bro∴ Volodya Lozanov

Most Worshipful Past Grand Masters of the Grand Lodge

of the Ancient Free and Accepted Freemasons in Bulgaria

 

Sofia, May 16, 2015

(Translated from Bulgarian language to English language by Bro∴ Dimiter Mandradjiev)

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