Zinnendorf Charter

In the 18th century, more than 70% of German freemasons used the so-called “Strict [Templar] observance” system for their work. However, by the middle of the century, dissatisfaction with this system, poor in content, but with exceptionally grandiose rituals, grew more and more. Among the dissatisfied was Karl Wilhelm Kellner von Zinnendorf, who went to London and requested a patent for work. However, due to the fact that several great lodges already existed in Berlin , von Zinnendorf was denied a patent. In 1763, he tried to obtain a patent in Stockholm from Karl Friedrich Ekleff ^[1] , but not personally, but through acquaintances, and he did not succeed. However, in 1766, Brother Baumann succeeds in persuading Ekleff ^[1] and on September 14 he gives him a patent and ritual acts, as well as permission to open lodges, instructions for the master of the order, instructions for the chapter and a personal letter to von Zinnendof. Immediately after this, a conflict occurs between the great master of Strict compliance von Hund and von Zinnendorf ^[3] , the latter leaves the Statute of strict compliance on December 16, 1766 and is completely immersed in the foundation of the new box ^{[4] [5]} .

By December 27, 1770, 7 John’s boxes and 1 St. Andrew’s box found the Great Land Box of German Freemasons (VZLVKG). Immediately, von Zinnendorf begins an attempt to establish contacts with London and on November 30, 1773, the Great Box of England recognizes the WZLVKG ^[6] as the only great box of the German Empire . Already on July 16, 1774, VZLVKG received a protection letter from Kaiser Frederick the Great , thus gaining royal protection ^[7] .

In the early 1770s , the so-called “ Swedish” (or “Zinnendorf system”), founded by P.-B. Reichel , the former Hoffmeister of the Braunschweig Court, who arrived in Russia from Berlin in 1771 , became an alternative to the Elagin Masonic lodge system. In 1772 - 1776, Reichel founded several lodges:

1. Apollo Lodge (St. Petersburg),
2. Harpocrates Lodge (St. Petersburg),
3. Apollo Lodge ( Riga ),
4. The Isis Lodge ( Revel ),
5. Lodge "Horus" (St. Petersburg),
6. Lodge "Latony" (St. Petersburg),
7. The Nemesis Lodge (St. Petersburg)
8. Lodge "Osiris" (St. Petersburg - Moscow ).

Yelagin and members of his lodges reacted negatively to the new system and, as can be seen from the protocols of the Urania lodge , they did not allow people who did not renounce Reichel to themselves. However, Yelagin failed to maintain the purity of his original system: in the end, he began to work, in addition to the previous three degrees of "John Freemasonry", in the four higher knightly degrees. In 1775, into the Astrea box of the Yelagin system, he was immediately admitted to the third, master's degree, the famous Nikolai Ivanovich Novikov. At this time, Masonic meetings were already taking place in public, without raising suspicion. We know about the nature of Freemasonry from Novikov’s reviews. He says that the lodges studied ethics and strove for self-knowledge, consistent with each degree; but this did not satisfy him, although he held the highest degree. Novikov and some other Masons were looking for another system, deeper, which led to the union, against the will of Elagin, most of the Elagin lodges with Reichel. This happened in 1776 , after negotiations between members of the Elagin and Reichel Masonic systems. Lodges united into a single system ^[8] , and began to call themselves “United”. On September 3, 1776, they recognized themselves as subordinates to the Great Land Lodge of German freemasons in Berlin.

In addition to the former Yelagin system, and the “United” system, the Rosenberg-Chaadayev bed, which did not want to connect with the Yelagin people, also existed according to the Reichel system. The main role in the then Freemasonry in Russia was played by Reichel, who sought to keep the Russian Freemasons from Templarism or, as it was also called the "Strict Compliance" system. The union of Elagin with Reichel for a while revived the St. Petersburg freemasons and more closely connected them with Moscow. However, Louis Claude de Saint-Martin's book On Misconceptions and Truth, published in 1775 , which had a tremendous influence on the minds of Russian freemasons of the time, provoked a new movement among Freemasons and a desire to establish closer relations with foreign lodges. This caused a split in Russian Freemasonry. On the advice of Reichel, many lodges joined, through the means of Prince Kurakin and Prince Gagarin, to Sweden . Reichel himself, as well as the St. Petersburg box, where Novikov was the local master, and the Moscow box of Prince Η. Η. Trubetskoy remained faithful to Elagin. Thus, two systems began to exist in Russia: Reichelev-Elagin and Swedish (Zinnendorfova) . In 1777, the Swedish king came to Petersburg , standing with his brother at the head of the Swedish Masons; he attended the meetings of the freemasons and consecrated Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich into Freemasonry ^[9] .

In 1778, the Moscow box of Prince Η. Η. Trubetskoy joined the Swedish system ; Nikolay Ivanovich Novikov also joined her, and his bed was closed in 1779 , and he himself moved to Moscow. This ended the dominance of the Elagin system.

Attempts to revive the Zinnendorf Charter have been made in Russia in recent years. So in 2005, in VLR , a decision was made to revive this charter. A box was established in Voronezh - the “Holy Grail” No. 28 ^[10] , which began to practice the Charter of Zinnendorf in 2006. Work on the Zinnendorf Charter in the Holy Grail box lasted four years, and ceased due to the inability to work in higher degrees. Since 2010, the Holy Grail box has passed to the French Charter ^[11] .

The Zinnendorf charter was slightly reformed in 1819 by Christian Friedrich Wilhelm Karl von Nittelbladt (1779-1843), after which the charter acquired its current form and accepted classification system. This seven-degree system is as follows:

John's Lodge

• 1 degree: Apprentice
• 2 degrees: Apprentice
• 3 degrees: Master

St. Andrew's Lodge

• 4 degrees: Apprentice of St. Andrew
• 5 degrees: Journeyman St. Andrew
• 6 degrees: Master of the Andrew's box

In the Andreev box, degrees 4 and 5 are combined and are designated as degree 4/5.

High Chapter

• 7 degrees: Knight of the East
• 8 degrees: Knight of the West
• 9 degrees: Trusted brother of John's box
• 10 degrees: Trusted brother of St. Andrew's Lodge

Honorary degree

• Serene Red Cross brother, master of the temple, knight commander

• Masonic charters
• Organization of additional degrees
• The Great Land Lodge of German Freemasons

• Die ersten Gesetze und Statuten des Ordens der Freymaurer: (Zinnendorf'sches System aus dem Jahre 1780) / [Friedrich Ludwig Schröder]. Große Landesloge von Deutschland. Hrsg., Gegliedert und mit einem genauen Inh.-Verz., Einer ausführlichen, historischen Berichterstattung und Textkommentaren vers. von Klaus CF Feddersen Jarplund, Flensburg: Freimaurerische Vereinigung zur Erforschung der Ordenslehre zu Flensburg, 2001
• Bücherverzeichnis der Großen Landesloge der Freimaurer von Deutschland: Im Verbande d. vereinigten Großlogen von Deutschland Bruderschaft d. dt. Freimaurer, Berlin, 1972
• Zur Geschichte der Großen Landesloge der Freimaurer von Deutschland zu Berlin: 1920-1970; aus den Beiträgen der Ordensgliederungen und Logen / [Hrsg .: Große Landesloge der Freimaurer von Deutschland, Berlin]. Zsgest. und überarb. von Ernst Glaser-Gerhard, Uetersen in Holstein, 1970
• Callaey, Eduardo R., El mito de la Revolución masónica , Madrid, Lectorum, 2008. ISBN 978-970-732-258-5
• Gesetzbuch für die Ordenskapitel der Großen Landesloge der Freimaurer in Deutschland, Berlin: Große Landesloge der Freimaurer von Deutschland, 2000
• League, Daniel , Dictionnaire de la Franc-maçonnerie , Paris, PUF, 1987. ISBN 2-13-048639-8
• Die deutschen und österreichischen Freimaurerbestände im Deutschen Sonderarchiv in Moskau (heute Aufbewahrungszentrum der historisch-dokumentarischen Kollektionen) Reinalter, Helmut. - Frankfurt am Main [ua]: Lang, 2002
• Verschwiegene Männer: Freimaurer in Deutschland Pöhlmann, Matthias. - Berlin: Evang. Zentralstelle für Weltanschauungsfragen, 2005
• Die ersten Gesetze und Statuten des Ordens der Freymaurer: (Zinnendorf'sches System aus dem Jahre 1780) Schröder, Friedrich Ludwig. - [Nachdr. der Ausg. 1805]. - Jarplund, Flensburg: Freimaurerische Vereinigung zur Erforschung der Ordenslehre zu Flensburg, 2001
• Winkelmaß und Hakenkreuz: die Freimaurer und das Dritte Reich Neuberger, Helmut. - München: Herbig, 2001
• Gesetzbuch für die Ordenskapitel der Großen Landesloge der Freimaurer in Deutschland Grosse Landesloge der Freimaurer von Deutschland. - Ausg. 31. März 2000. - Berlin: Große Landesloge der Freimaurer von Deutschland, 2000
• Rituale des hohen Ordens vom heiligen Tempel zu Jerusalem, auch Strikte Observanz genannt, weltlicher Zweig nebst Ordensregeln und vielen Abbildungen aus dem Jahre 1764, I. bis VII. Grad: Schriften der freimaurerischen Forschungsvereinigung Frederik der großen Landesloge der Freimaurer von Deutschland Feddersen, Klaus C. .. - Flensburg: Selbstverl. d. Freimaurerischen Vereinigung zur Erforschung der Ordenslehre zu Flensburg, 1999

• The Great Land Lodge of German Freemasons