FreeMasons and Orthodoxy

[John the Russian]

One cannot be both orthodox and a mason. They are opposition to each other. Father Elia is right about the masonic conspiracy. It has been well documented, one needs only to do a littl e reasearch. Bartholomew= Mason=Ecumenist

[Joseph D]

One thing I have always noticed about Masons I have met is that they are quick with a joke. When I first began courting Theodora I told her about my extreme aversion to Freemasonry. She mentioned that someone at her place of work had recently taken his thirty-second degree but that she had no idea what that meant. "Was he telling jokes?" I asked. "Oh he was full of them! More than usual. Every other comment was a joke," she said. "A regular joke with a punchline?" I asked. "Yes..." And with that she proceded to tell me a few. Some were trivial, while others were quite funny. My Great-Grandfather was a Mason and he was a regular comedian too. He was known to meet each new person with a new joke and to start and end each conversation with a joke. I once worked with a Mason who was a real crackup as well.

And now I end with a joke:

How many Freemasons does it take to make a crank call?

It's an ancient and closely guarded secret!

Sincerely,
Joseph

[Deacon Tikhon]

Tikhon, since you are a ROCOR Deacon, I publish the words of a ROCOR priest who used to be a parish priest in Texas a few years ago, Father George Lardas. This is a rather gentle FAQ on the Masons, but they are not the harmless good group you have been lead to believe, I am sorry to report.

On Freemasons and Secret Societies

Q: Are we allowed to join the Freemasons? I think it would open so many opportunities for me, and I just got an invitation.

A: No, you may not join the Masons and remain an Orthodox Christian in good standing.

Q: Why not? What is wrong with being a Freemason?

A: We as Orthodox Christians are not allowed to join the Freemasons because they are a religious organization.

Q: But how can that be? They themselves claim not to be a religion, they call themselves a fraternal organization.

A: Although they may deny it, their organization is religious in character. They claim universal brotherhood of mankind under the leadership of the Masonic Lodge, and they hold doctrines and teachings contrary to the Orthodox Faith.

Q: In what way? How is this contrary to Orthodoxy?

A: First of all, they call on the name of God. But the God of Freemasonry is not our God, but rather a generic Deity, not Personal, not a Trinity. They claim an esoteric, that is to say, secret teaching handed down from King Solomon, and from St John the Baptist, and other Biblical figures. They have an altar before which they perform their rituals, and these rituals are of a religious character. They claim a knowledge imparted by these rituals that is outside the received Christian Faith, and they bind their members to secrecy by hideous and blasphemous oaths. They claim a brotherhood that transcends all religions, and thus put the Christian faith on the same standing as Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and others. In fact, in non-Christian countries, they do not have the Holy Bible on their altars, but scripture held sacred by the prevailing religion, such as the Koran, or some other.

Q: But isn't it harmless? After all, they are only ceremonies. And in this country they use the Holy Bible.

A: It is not harmless. By participating in these ceremonies the member confesses that this esoteric wisdom is superior to the Apostolic Faith, and that the brotherhood of the Lodge is superior to the Brotherhood of the Faith. It is a divided loyalty, and a hypocritical comprimise for those who do not really believe in the very ceremony that they are participating in. Our Christian ancestors suffered martyrdom and death rather than offer a hypocritial pinch of incense to the Roman gods. Their own tormentors urged them to do so without having to believe in it, and then go about believing whatever they wanted, but just offer that incense. The Martyrs refused such a thing and now have a heavenly crown.

Q: But it offers so many opportunities for advancement in society. It is a shame to pass it up.

A: What is more important? Our material benefit, or our eternal soul? Let us look at how the Apostles handled a similar situation. In the 15th Chapter of the Book of Acts the Apostles considered in Council what obligations should be placed on gentile converts to the Faith. Should they follow the Law of Moses or not? The Council decreed, That we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood (Acts 15:19-20). What did this mean? In fact this was not a vestige of the Law of Moses, but a demand to be separate from Roman society, for at that time almost all social organizations, fraternities, clubs, guilds and societies were connected with a shrine to a god. The mentioned practices were part of pagan worship, and to separate from these, and from the premises in which these were done, cost the converts most of their social connections. If the first Christians could make such a sacrifice, how much more should we, who are not called to make as great a sacrifice. Furthermore, in a free and open society such as ours, it is easier to advance ourselves by our own merits and diligence, and help from such an organization is not needed to succeed in life.

Q: But don't they do good works? They endow hospitals and clinics. Surely that counts for something?

A: While they in fact do all these good works, that is not the main purpose of their organization. All religions endow charitable organizations, and charity is part of our basic human nature put there by God when He created man. False religion does not destroy that instinct. On the other hand, just because the Catholics, Protestants, Moslems and Jews also have hospitals, relief organizations, and other charities, does not mean that we need to join their faiths. So likewise, it is good that the Freemasons do these things, but that does not mean that we agree with their doctrines.

Q: What about church N which is Orthodox that my cousin goes to Their Parish Council members are Freemasons.

A: Just because something is tolerated in another parish does not make it right. In fact Freemasonry was banned by the Holy Synods of the various Orthodox Churches, including Russia and Greece, and these bans have never been lifted. If other jurisdictions choose to ignore their own bans, that is their responsibility. It is not good pastorship, and they will have to give account of it before our Lord. Let it suffice that the Russian Church Abroad will not permit her members to be participants in the Lodge.

Q: That same church has a society called X for Orthodox Christians, but it is secret. Is this all right?

A: No, not at all. Years ago, before I was ordained, I had a conversation with a member of this organization. I asked whether this organization binds its members by oath; he said yes. I asked further, seeing that these were all Orthodox Christians, whether this oath was expected to be observed even in Confession; and he said yes. In other words, their organization, of, for and by Orthodox Christians, was supposed to be superior to the Sacraments of the Church. Can anything be more foolish than that?

Q: Are we forbidden to have membership in all social organizations? Or are there organizations that we are allowed to join?

A: This must be decided on a case by case basis. In general, we are forbidden to join religious organizations outside the Orthodox Faith. If, however, the organization is educational, social, professional or political, and is not contrary to good morals, if the organization does not bind to secrecy by oaths, and does not teach doctrines contrary to the Orthodox Christian Faith, then membership in such organizations is permitted. If you have any doubts about any particular organization consult your priest or spiritual father.

I know Fr. George Lardas VERY well. He is a good friend. I am not in any way a Mason, but I have family members who are. I have seen the oath that they take. It is from the middle ages, and not considered anything more than showy words. I would not join, but I am just not convinced Masonry is evil. Ecumenical in a sense. but not evil. Nevertheless, I accept the decision of Holy Mother Church, and would never join.

[away]

Conspiracies are only succesful if the people doing the legwork or providing the cover, are unaware of any conspiracy. Then they put the regular peoples fears to rest since they clearly have no part in a conspiracy, they are just part of a wierd middle ages fraternity, or work in the media or whatever.

I have a freind who is a freemason and he really seems to think that one day he will be initiated into the real core of elite masons who covertly guide the human race towards the enlightened future or some rubbish like that. Unfortunately, he didnt get into conspiracy theories at an early enough age and has developed very thick mental defenses against any suggestion that things are not as they seem.

I am very open minded when it comes to conspiracy theories, I think its healthy. Of course, open-mindedness is an essential part of being into conspiracy theories, otherwise you start to believe they are an accurate picture of reality. What they do is, they smash the illusions the Devil creates through the media and other more secret groups, for the people who are all caught up in the world. Not that we should be caught up in it and need to read conspiracy theories, but I remember Saitn Theophan of Poltava saying that we must pay attention to the events that occur in the world so that we can see what is coming next and how things are progressing. The television and newspapers are definately not going to help you with this.

9/11 conspiracies are a good start, especially for Americans. Get ready.

[Joseph D]

One cannot be both orthodox and a mason. They are opposition to each other. Father Elia is right about the masonic conspiracy. It has been well documented, one needs only to do a littl e reasearch. Bartholomew= Mason=Ecumenist

First of all, your syllogism is flawed. I can show you numerous examples of ecumenism by non-Masons (though I suspect you can think of a few of your own).

Research? You will need a lot more than hyperbole and some insane rantings by a few misanthropic rabble-rousers to prove to me that the Patriarch of Constantinople is a Freemason. The only comedy His All-Holiness knows is that the WCC is a joke, merely a ploy to promote a simple New Testament enthusiasm in an increasingly atheistic west, even as the disgusting and damnable Mohammedan superstition continues to grow, spread, and even gain sympathy in the west and in former Soviet states.

Sincerely,
Joseph

[尼古拉前执事]

Tessa & Tikhon, please visit http://www.freemasonrywatch.org which is a huge site about freemasonry, written and compiled by highly placed ex-masons. I think this site will impress you tremendously as these are people in the know, not just conspiracy theorists.

[Joseph D]

Tessa & Tikhon, please visit http://www.freemasonrywatch.org which is a huge site about freemasonry, written and compiled by highly placed ex-masons. I think this site will impress you tremendously as these are people in the know, not just conspiracy theorists.

I suppose I am quickly becoming a spoiler around here, but that site gives basically no information at all. It is so laughable a "source" that it was probably created by Masons. But of course you indicated that already. The Eliphas Levi quote comes from a compendium on witchcraft and Madame Blavatsky was the center of a cult herself and not a Masonic figure.

Look, the Masons have been blamed by Church authorities in both the east and the west for developing and encouraging anarchistic trends for the destruction of classical Christian order. Maybe so. Masonry is basically a dining club of sorts in which men go to mock the Church and each other. The "global conspiracy" is nothing but a shaggy dog joke, and if you believe it is real, you're the shaggy dog. The REAL conspiracies have to do with power and influence, -- greed, my friends, greed. The malicious manipulation of religion and morality in the world is being perpetrated by the rich and powerful, without any concern for what the Lodge or any other authority may think. Scientology is a much greater threat than Masonry, at this time, yet Islam is still by far the most obvious enemy. And what about our Holy Land? Who controls that? It ain't the Freemasons.

Conspiracies exist, I grant, but I need to see proof. I can see proof of a conspiracy to pollute the earth, the air, the waters, even outer space with the waste of human greed and vain ambition. This is even one of those conspiracies in which most of its agents do not realize they are involved or cannot prevent their involvement. The electricity powering your computer right now comes in large measure from megalithic pollution complexes, for example. Of course, this is a conspiracy that Patriarch Bartholomew discerns for himself and has discoursed and lobbied against.

Of course, my post shall elicit no reply.

Sincerely,
Joseph