The Grand Orient of Poland (Polish: Wielki Wschód Polski) is a Masonicgrand lodge in Poland. It is a member of the European Masonic Association (EMA/AME), in the continental or liberal branch of Freemasonry.
Grand Orient of Poland was established on February 26, 1784 on the basis of a patent granted by the Grand Orient of France.[1] In its first phase of his functioning, it was active until the beginning of the 19th century, when Freemasonry in the Polish lands occupied by Russia (under Russian partition) at that time was forbidden by the Russian Tsar.[2]
At the beginning of the twentieth century, there were attempts to revive it by two progressive lodges of the Grand Orient of France operating in eastern Poland, but Grand Orient of France actually did it only in 1990 when its Lodge Victor Schoelcher set up the Polish Lodge "Liberty Restored" (La Liberté Recouvrée), which then, in 1997 became the main lodge of the restored Grand Orient of Poland. At that time the Grand Orient of France gave it a renewed founding patent and new patents for the French Rite, the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and the Scottish Rectified Rite. The Grand Orient of Poland is registered as an association in the provincial court in Warsaw on November 14, 1997 (KRS no. 0000120900, reference number WA.XII NS-REJ.KRS / 87318/16/404).[3]
The first grandmaster of the reconstructed Grand Orient of Poland was the internationally known Polish philosopher and writer Andrzej Nowicki.[4]
It is different from the Polish National Grand Lodge (Wielka Loża Narodowa Polski). The Grand Orient of Poland should also not be confused with so-called "Grand Orient of the Republic of Poland" - an unofficial association established in unclear circumstances on 25 February 2017.[5]
Based on mutual agreements of friendship and cooperation, the Grand Orient of Poland cooperates internationally with following organisations and Orders:
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