International Order of Co-Freemasonry MINUTES of THE
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
International Order of Co-Freemasonry LE DROIT HUMAIN MINUTES OF THE 13th INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION Zenith of Paris 1 7 t h to 20 t h M a y 2 0 0 7 ( C ∴ E ∴ ) Thursday 17 th May 2007 (C ∴∴∴E∴∴∴) CEREMONIAL OPENING of the LODGE The thirteenth International Convention of the International Order of Co-Freemasonry "Le Droit Humain" was opened on Thursday 17th May 2007 (C ∴E∴) at 2 p.m., in the "Maison de l’Aveyron", 17, rue de l’Aubrac in Paris (12th district), with the Grand Master of the Order, the V∴Ills ∴Bro ∴ Njördur P. NJARDVÍK, as master in the chair. Once the delegations of the various Federations, Jurisdictions and Pioneer Lodges had taken their seats, the members of the Supreme Council, headed by the Grand Master of the Order, were led into the huge assembly of SS ∴ and Bros ∴ delegates and visitors. More than 600 members adorned the Columns and the East. Simultaneous interpreting was provided in the three official languages: French, English and Spanish. The Office of Director of Music was held by the R∴W∴Bro ∴ Bernard MAIGROT, who, assisted by S ∴ Annick LEROUX, also operated the sound system. S∴ Frédérique WOLF-MICHAUX sang the anthem of "Le Droit Humain" and a number of songs from different cultures. COMPOSITION OF THE DELEGATIONS Those with the right to vote were: 1) members of the Supreme Council, 2) delegates of the Federations present or represented, 3) delegates of the Jurisdictions present or represented. 1 - MEMBERS OF THE SUPREME COUNCIL : total 41 VV ∴∴∴Ills ∴∴∴SS ∴∴∴ and Bros ∴∴∴ FEDERATIONS Mary-Jo KOKOCHACK American Sandra Margaret HOWARD-SMITH Australian Marianne BARGIL Austrian Nadine BAESENS Belgian Francine BESSO Belgian Andrée DE GROOTE Belgian Jean DEHARENG Belgian Jean-Marie de RUBINAT Belgian Robert KNUDSEN Belgian Andrée WILLEMS Belgian Sara SOARES DE AZEVEDO Brazilian Brian R. ROBERTS British Minutes of the International Convention 2007 (C ∴E∴) Page 2 of 82 VV ∴∴∴Ills ∴∴∴SS ∴∴∴ and Bros ∴∴∴ FEDERATIONS Venko ALEXANDROV Bulgarian Antonio CERUELO Spanish Klaus FRÖSÉN Finnish André AUGUSTE French Martine BERLINER French Gabriel GALICE French Camille GUIDICELLI French Danielle JUETTE French Renée LAURON French Eliane MUSEUX French Hélène NATAF French Jacqueline NEYRAT French Jeannine PINAULT French Michel QUETTIER French Yvette RAMON French Marie-Thérèse RESPAUT French Hélène SIMON French Claude VOILEAU French Michael BESSIOS Hellenic Anastasios MAROUSIS Hellenic Una ÁSGEIRSDÓTTIR Icelandic Njördur P. NJARDVÍK Icelandic Giovanni MORETTI Italian Dorothy Ann OSWALD Dutch Claude GBEDEY West African Alice DWORAK Polish Annelise Schütt JUST Scandinavian Elisabeth BRONNER South African Adeline MARTI Swiss The V ∴Ills ∴Bro ∴ Marc GROSJEAN, Honorary Grand Master, was excused. 2 - DELEGATES OF THE 19 FEDERATIONS : total 91 American 2 Hellenic 5 Australian 2 Icelandic 3 Austrian 3 Italian 2 Belgian 16 Dutch 3 Brazilian 3 West African 3 British 2 Polish 2 Bulgarian 2 Scandinavian 2 Spanish 2 South African 2 Finnish 2 Swiss 2 French 33 Minutes of the International Convention 2007 (C ∴E∴) Page 3 of 82 3 - DELEGATES OF THE 9 JURISDICTIONS : total 8 German 1 Argentinian Absent Cameroonian 1 Canadian 1 Chilean 1 Colombian 1 Madagascan 1 Mauritian 1 Portuguese 1 4 - THE PIONEER LODGES N° 1045 "Alborada" in the East of Poza Rica, Mexico N° 1206 "Eleusys" in the East of Montevideo, Uruguay N° 1241 "Rimac" in the East of Lima, Peru N° 1327 "L’Arbre et le Cristal" in the East of Luxemburg N° 1502 "Lumière et Espoir" in the East of N’Djamena, Chad N° 1550 "Tolérance et Fraternité" in the East of Budapest, Hungary N° 1569 "Chaîne d’Union" in the East of Prague, Czech Republic N° 1584 "Libertate" in the East of Bucharest, Romania N° 1656 "Lumière du Sahel" in the East of Bamako, Mali N° 1761 "Arca de Noe" in the East of Caracas, Venezuela N° 1767 "Etoile du Faso" in the East of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso N° 1769 "Estrella del Sur" in the East of Asunción, Paraguay N° 1770 "Enossis" in the East of Nicosia, Cyprus N° 1779 "Regeneración" in the East of Puebla, Mexico N° 1787 "Humanisme et Liberté" in the East of Pointe Noire, Congo N° 1798 "Dosvitni Vogni" in the East of Lvov, Ukraine N° 1806 "Unity Lodge" in the East of Lagos, Nigeria N° 1835 "Nejma" in the East of Rabat, Morocco N° 1842 "Lux Meridiana" in the East of Craiova, Romania were also represented. The W ∴L∴ N° 1809 "La Perfection" in the East of Beirut, Lebanon was excused. The M ∴∴∴P∴∴∴S∴∴∴G∴∴∴C∴∴∴, G ∴∴∴M∴∴∴ of the Order, the V ∴∴∴Ills ∴∴∴Bro ∴∴∴ Njördur P. NJARDVÍK, assisted by Officers of the Supreme Council, opened the Lodge in the Degree of Master Mason according to the established customs. The agenda then called for the election and installation of the Officers of the International Convention. In keeping with the ancient usages, the M ∴P∴S∴G∴C∴, G ∴M∴ of the Order, chaired the meeting. Minutes of the International Convention 2007 (C ∴E∴) Page 4 of 82 After a vote by show of hands, the Board of Officers was composed as follows: Senior Warden Bro ∴ Panayotis ZOURDOS (Hellenic Federation) Junior Warden Bro ∴ José Luis CORRAL (Spanish Federation) Orator Bro ∴ Jean EISENBEIS (French Federation) Secretary S∴ Karina DEKEYZER (Belgian Federation) Assistant Secretary Bro ∴ Jean-Marie DIOMAR (British Federation) Treasurer Bro ∴ Darci ROSA RIDIERO (Brazilian Federation) Senior Deacon Bro ∴ Jean-Paul MAVAL (French Federation) Almoner S∴ Gabrielle PFLEGER (Austrian Federation) Assistant Almoner S∴ Anna CAMPIGLIO (Italian Federation) Director of Ceremonies Bro ∴ Didier TORRELLA (West African Federation) Assistant Director of Ceremonies S∴ Annie SATORI (French Federation) Inner Guard Bro ∴ Nicola IKONOMOV (Bulgarian Federation) Next on the agenda was the election of the scrutineers: SS ∴ Françoise CARETTE-d’HAUTCOURT and Josée PIEETE-SCHMETS (Belgian Federation) and Bros ∴ Joël LEVY (French Federation) and Erke DUIT (Austrian Federation) were appointed. The Grand Master of the Order, the V ∴∴∴Ills ∴∴∴Bro ∴∴∴ Njördur P. NJARDVÍK gave his inaugural address to all members of the Convention: INAUGURAL ADDRESS BY THE GRAND MASTER OF THE ORDER Dear Sisters and Brothers in your degrees and qualities: Firstly, I would like to welcome you all to the 13th International Convention. This Convention is the parliament of our Order, where elected delegates will take important decisions for the future of our beloved Order, the International Order of Co-Freemasonry "Le Droit Humain". I urge all delegates to consider very carefully how they will vote, especially on amendments to the International Constitution, and to bear in mind at all times the welfare of our Order as a whole, beyond the bounds of national interest or pride. In our Order we cannot be nationalists, as we have no nation. We are a microcosm of humanity, which we serve unconditionally through our timeless ideals, which must be adapted to an ever-changing world. Glorification of a single nation or a single culture breeds feelings of superiority contrary to our Masonic principles. In an international Masonic Order like ours there can be no place for glorification, except glorification of work, glorification of service to humanity. At the same time the International Convention is a unique meeting place, providing a unique opportunity to meet Sisters and Brothers from all over the world and to experience together how our ideals transcend cultural, philosophical and religious barriers, and unite us in the conviction that humanity is but one family, with the same essential needs, the same aspirations, the same dreams of peace and prosperity for one and all, the same desire to achieve the highest possible degree of moral, intellectual and spiritual development for all people. Minutes of the International Convention 2007 (C ∴E∴) Page 5 of 82 I hope you will all seize this opportunity of becoming better acquainted with your Sisters and Brothers in an atmosphere of mutual respect, and sense the fraternal bond between us. Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains for ever, Ecclesiastes tells us, and so it is with us in the service of our Order. There is a time to come and a time to go. After 10 years in the office of Grand Master it is now time for me to leave. It was my proposal that the Grand Master’s term of office be limited to a maximum of two consecutive periods and that of members of the Supreme Council to three. No one should hold the same office too long. We must realize that each generation can only do so much, and we should be happy to make way for the next generation, which will adapt our ideals to new conditions in a new era, a new century. It was the former Most Puissant Grand Commander of the French Federation, the Very Illustrious Sister Elise ROUET, who asked me to stand as a candidate for the office of Grand Master. Her idea was to underline the need to strengthen the international character of our Order. That is precisely what I have endeavoured to do, though it is hard, especially for me, to see what has actually been achieved. More generally, it is no easy matter to judge how successful any of our work may have been. It is like trying to evaluate a school: its results are invisible and cannot be measured. One possible way would be to try and look at the situation our Order was in 10 years ago and compare it to that of the present day, though even that is very difficult to do with any certainty. I am proud to be able to say that not only am I the first Grand Master to visit Africa, I am the first Grand Master to have visited all the Federations, all but one Jurisdiction, and several Pioneer Lodges.