List of dignitaries of mystical organisations
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Here is a list of chiefs and dignitaries of mystical, occult, magical and similar organisations.
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Rosicrucian Organisations
Rosicrucianism is a major subject of Esotericism and there are many groups and orders everywhere in the world that use this designation.
Rosicrucian Order, AMORC
Rosicrucian Order, AMORC is a major Rosicrucian order with lodges all over the world.
Imperators:
The highest chief of AMORC is called Imperator. Here is a list of all of its imperators with the dates of their service:
- Harvey Spencer Lewis: Founder and first Imperator (1915 - 1939).
- Ralph Maxwell Lewis: Son of H. Spencer Lewis who became Imperator after his death (1939 - 1987)
- Gary L. Stewart: Became Imperator after Ralph M. Lewis, but he soon founded his own Rosicrucian movement (Confraternity of the Rose Cross). (1987 - 1990)
- Christian Bernard: Became Imperator after Gary L. Stewart cut his ties with AMORC. (1990 - present, as of 2004)
Grand Masters:
- Julie Scott, S.R.C.: Grand Master of the English Grand Lodge for the Americas of AMORC (as of 2004).
- Peter Bindon, F.R.C., Grand Master of the English Language Jurisdiction for Australia, Asia, and New Zealand.
- Serge Toussaint, F.R.C., Grand Master of the Jurisdiction of the French-speaking Countries of AMORC.
Confraternity of the Rose Cross
Confraternity of the Rose Cross (CR+C) was founded by former AMORC Imperator Gary L. Stewart.
Imperators:
As with other Rosicrucian and mystical organisations, the highest chief of CR+C is the Imperator.
- Gary L. Stewart: Founder and first Imperator (1996 - present, as of 2004)
Fraternitas Rosae Crucis
For information on this organisation see Fraternitas Rosae Crucis.
Supreme Grand Masters:
List of Supreme Grand Masters of Fraternitas Rosae Crucis:
- Paschal Beverly Randolph (1858 - 1875)
- Freeman B. Dowd (1875 - 1907)
- Edward H. Brown (1907 - 1922)
- R. Swinburne Clymer (1922 - 1966)
- Emerson Myron Clymer (1966 - 1983)
- Gerald E. Poesnecker (1983 - present)
Freemasonry
Even people who have little or zero exposure to Esoteric literature have heard about Freemasonry. Today there are hundreds, if not thousands, of groups who use this designation in most countries of the world. The three basic degrees are under Grand Lodges of various geographic areas, while the different rites of higher degrees have their own jurisdictions.
Grand Lodge of Greece A.F. & A.M.
Grand Lodge of Greece A.F. & A.M. has its headquarters in Athens, Greece. Check their website grandlodge.gr (http://www.grandlodge.gr/) for more information.
Grand Masters:
- Savas P. Vafiadis: P. Grand Master (1995 - 2001)
- Dionysios Papadatos: Grand Master (December 21, 2001 - ?). Photo of Grand Master Papadatos from the official web site (http://www.grandlodge.gr/images/papadatos.gif)
This Grand Lodge is not to be confused with the National Grand Lodge of Greece, a competing Masonic jurisdiction whose web domain is http://www.nglgreece.org and of course has had different Grand Masters. Greece is not the only country with competing national Grand Lodges.
United Grand Lodge of England
Formed by an 1813 merger of two groups descending from the original Grand Lodge of England formed in 1717. See their website at ugle.org.uk (http://www.ugle.org.uk/)
Grand Masters:
- Prince Augustus, Duke of Sussex (1813 - 1843)
- Thomas, 2nd Earl of Zetland (1844 - 1870)
- 1st Marquess of Ripon (as Earl de Grey) (1870 - 1874)
- Edward VII of the United Kingdom (as Prince of Wales) (1874 - 1901)
- Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught (1901 - 1939)
- Prince George, Duke of Kent (1939 - 1942)
- Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood (1942 - 1947)
- Edward William Spencer Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire (1947 - 1950)
- Lawrence Roger Lumley, 11th Earl of Scarbrough (1951 - 1967)
- Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (1967 - present as of 2004)
Supreme Council, 33rd Degree So. J. USA
The Supreme Council 33rd Degree of the Ancient & Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction, USA is the oldest of the world's governing bodies of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, originally covering the whole of the United States and now all but the Northeast.
For more information visit their website at srmason-sj.org (http://www.srmason-sj.org/web/).
Sovereign Grand Commanders:
- John Mitchell (1801 - 1816)
- Frederick Dalcho (1816 - 1822)
- Isaac Auld (1822 - 1826)
- Moses Holbrook (1826 - 1844)
- Jacob da la Motta (1844 - 1845)
- Alexander McDonald (1845 - 1846)
- John H. Honour (1846 - 1858)
- Charles M. Furman (1858 - 1859)
- Albert Pike (1859 - 1891)
- James C. Batchelor (1891 - 1893)
- Philip C. Tucker (1893 - 1895)
- Thomas H. Caswell (1895 - 1900)
- James D. Richardson (1900 - 1914)
- George F. Moore (1914 - 1921)
- John Henry Cowles (1921 - 1952)
- Thomas J. Harkins (1952 - 1955)
- Luther A. Smith (1955 - 1969)
- Henry C. Clausen (1969 - 1985)
- C. Fred Kleinknecht (1985 - 2003)
- Ronald A. Seale (2003-present)
Supreme Council, 33rd Degree No. J. USA
The Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite for the Northern Jurisdiction of the USA has a website at supremecouncil.org (http://www.supremecouncil.org/) and its current Sovereign Grand Commander is Walter E. Webber.
Antient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraim
This comparatively obscure system of Masonic High Degrees has a website at www.iss-ic-memphis-misraim.org.International Grand Masters have been:
- Joseph Garibaldi (1881)
- Giambattista Pessina (1882-1883)
- Francesco Degli Oddi (1900)
- John Yarker (1902)
- Theodor Reuss (1913)
- Jean Bricaud (1924)
- Constant Chevillon (1934-1944)
- Henri Charles Dupont (1945)
- Robert Ambelain (1960)
- Gerard Kloppel (1985)
- Georges Claude Vielledent (1998)
- Claude Tripet (2003)
Federations
Some groups have formed as an attempt to federate groups of different categories. This does not mean they all link to each other.
FUDOSI
FUDOSI was founded in 1934 and dissolved in 1951 after disagreements between its members. It was an attempt to create a federation of all true mystical orders and protect themselves and the people from frauds.
Imperators:
FUDOSI was headed by a group of three Imperators. Its first Imperators were:
- Emile Dantinne (Sar Hieronymus), Imperator of Europe
- Harvey Spencer Lewis (Sar Alden), Imperator of the American Continent
- Victor Blanchard (Sar Yesir), Imperator of Eastern Europe
In 1946 a member of FUDOSI named Andre Cordonnier became one of its Imperators.
After H.S. Lewis's death in 1939, his son Ralph Maxwell Lewis became one of the three Imperators of FUDOSI and his nomen mysticum was Sar Valdivar.
FUDOFSI
FUDOFSI was a movement hostile to FUDOSI. It was headed by Constant Chevillon until his death during the Second World War. Subsequent heads of Fraternitas Rosae Crucis have claimed succession.
Hermetic movements
List of Hermetic movements:
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn is a famous mystical movement which included many well-known figures, apart from the listed Grand Masters including Dion Fortune, William Butler Yeats, and Pamela Colman Smith.
- Samuel Liddell McGregor Mathers, founder
- Arthur Edward Waite, who left in 1914 and then started the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross
- Aleister Crowley, who also founded a faction of the Ordo Templi Orientis
Other movements
Some movements for various reasons are not included yet in some category.
Servants of the Light
Servants of the Light (SOL), founded in 1965, claims to be a fully contacted mystery school. Their website is at www.servantsofthelight.org.
Directors of Studies:
The main chief of SOL is titled Director of Studies. These have been:
- W. E. (Ernie) Butler: Founded SOL in 1965. Died 1978.
- Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki: The successor of W.E. Butler. She is still (as of 2004) the present Director of Studies of SOL.
Companions of the Glyph
Founded in 1997 amidst a period of social unrest, The Companions of the Glyph formed with the intention of implementing a large scale, community-oriented magickal project described by them as "a huge magickal machine on the Astral Plane, counterminuous with the city in which we dwell, with which we hope to bring about prosperity and harmony for all within its sphere of influence." Their website is at www.geocities.com/athens/oracle/8465/.
Directors :
Direction of the organization is shared by various of its members in turn, holding various offices in accordance with the bylaws of the organization. Principal players have been:
- Fr. Magnus Po
- Fr. Adsum Iterum, author of The Book of the Glyph, PRAXIS: The Second Book of the Glyph and Biting Through--Trials of a 20th Century Magician.
- Sr. Mnemon
- Sr. Dauphin Sidhe
- Fr. DR Glass
See also
We need entries for any groups led by Eliphas Levi, etc.
This article continues to be very much a work in progress.