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The Grand Landlodge of the Freemasons of Germany (''Große Landesloge der Freimaurer von Deutschland'', GLL FvD or GLL), also: Order of Freemasons (''Freimaurerorden'', FO) is a Masonic Grand Lodge in Germany. It is one of the founding members of the United Grand Lodges of Germany and as such it is one of the five German Grand Lodges recognized as "regular" Grand Lodges by the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE).〔(UGLE recognized Grand Lodges in Europe )〕 The Grand Lodge was established in 1770 by Johann Wilhelm Kellner von Zinnendorf, a Prussian army physician. It is one of three so called Old Prussian Grand Lodges. The Grand Landlodge of the Freemasons of Germany works according to a slightly modified version of the Swedish Rite. It therefore differs from other German Grand Lodges both in its content and organizational structure. However, as a masonic Grand Lodge it is not a religious community and affiliation a particular Christian denomination is not required. Neither is it necessary for a member of the Order to be expressly Christian, however the ''Rules of the Order'' demand that every member "recognize the teachings of Jesus Christ as they are written down in the Holy Scripture".〔Rules of the Order/ ''Ordensregel der GLLFvD''〕 The Order of Freemasons demands that its members keep working continuously at the development of their own personality. Rationality and conscience, inner freedom and self-knowledge as well as being conscious of one's responsibilities are regarded as the necessary means by which one can approach the finding of the origin, character and destiny of mankind and the whole of existence. == Organizational Structure == The Grand Landlodge of the Freemasons of Germany is divided into three branches: * ''St. John's Lodge'' (i.e. ''Blue Lodge'', or ''Craft Lodge'') working the regular three masonic degrees, * ''St. Andrew's Lodge'' working the IVth to VIth degree * The ''Chapter'' working the VIIth to Xth degree - apart from this, there is also a High Chapter for the holders of the XIth degree of Knight Commander with some 70 members.〔GLLFvD Handbook/Handbuch der GLLFvD 2007〕 The conjunction of these branches forms a cohesive masonic body that closely follows that of the Swedish Rite, which is predominantly found in Scandinavian countries. Institutions of the Order of Freemasons include: * the Research Lodge Frederik based in Flensburg/Husum and founded in 1982, * the Freemasonry Museum in St. Michaelisdonn, * the Zinnendorf Foundation in Hamburg-Eppendorf, founded in 1991, * the ''Zirkelkorrespondenz'', the Order's member's journal, founded in 1872, * the organization St. John's Fraternal Help for Self Help (''St. Johannis Bruderhilfe zur Selbsthilfe''), founded in 1998 and organizes social relief projects in Eastern Europe. The new headquarters of the Order are situated in Berlin-Dahlem, the former headquarters having been destroyed in World War II. The Order is headed by a dual leadership consisting of the Master of the Order(''Ordensmeister'') and the Grand Master of the Land(''Landesgroßmeister''). The Grand Master of the Land is the administrative head of the Great Landlodge. He is elected by the main assembly and is comparable to the Grand Masters of other Grand Lodges. He heads the St. John's and St. Andrew's Lodges. The Master of the Order is the elected head of the Order in its entirety. He heads the Chapter and safeguards the teachings and traditions of the Grand Landlodge. The Grand Master of the Land is aided by a council of Grand Officers, the Master of the Order is aided by the Council of the Order. The most prominent Master of the Order was the future (1888) German Emperor Frederick III. At present, there are ten Provincial Lodges that administrate the activities of the St. John's and St. Andrew's Lodges of a certain district. The GLLFvD's St. John's lodges are comparable to the blue lodges of other Grand Lodges and work the same degrees. The St. Andrew's Lodges and Chapter's are comparable to Appendant Bodies. At present, the Grand Landlodge claims to have 3,500 members. In the year 1934 the number was said to have been near to 20,000 members in 178 lodges, predominantly in Prussia. In the area of the former German Democratic Republic 18 St. John's and 2 St. Andrew's lodges have been reactivated. In 2007 the Grand Landlodge included 109 St. John's lodges, 26 St. Andrew's lodges, 10 Provincial lodges and 11 Chapters.〔 The Grand Landlodge is strongest in the German States of Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Berlin. In the course of the last years individual lodges have been established in Lome/Togo, Riga/Latvia and Monaco, of which only the first one in Lome is still a member of the Grand Landlodge. The Provincial Lodges are intermediaries between the St. John's and St. Andrew's lodges and the Grand Master of the Land. They administer the Lodges of their particular area, to simplify the work of the Grand Master. With the exception of the Provincial Lodge of Lower Saxony, all Provincial Lodges in existence today, have been founded in the course of the 20th century. The border's of today's Provincial Lodges are approximately equal to today's state borders. The 10 modern day Grand Lodges: * Provincial Lodge of Lower Saxony in Hamburg, founded in 1777 * Provincial Lodge Mecklenburg in Rostock, founded in 1995 * Provincial Lodge Bavaria in Munich, founded in 1925 * Provincial Lodge Hesse in Frankfurt, founded in 1948 * Provincial Lodge Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel, founded in 1951 * Provincial Lodge Northrhine-Westphalia in Hagen, founded in 1952 * Provincial Lodge Baden-Württemberg in Stuttgart, founded in 1955 * Provincial Lodge Bremen-Oldenburg in Bremen, founded in 1989 * Provincial Lodge Saxony-Thuringia in Leipzig, founded in 2004 * Provincial Lodge Berlin-Brandenburg in Berlin, founded in 2005 Apart from the still existing first Provincial Lodge of Lower Saxony, the historic Provincial Lodges included the Provincial Lodge of Silesia (1779–1935), Pommerania (1777–1812) and Austria (1776–1783). Following these was the establishment of a Provincial Lodge of Russia in St. Petersburg (1777–1785) and a Provincial Lodge of Westphalia in 1808. These Provincial Lodges are no longer in existence. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Grand Landlodge of the Freemasons of Germany」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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