The Beginnings of the Grand Orient of Poland
To the Glory of the Great Builder of the Universe […]
On 26 February 1784, a meeting was held by representatives of all Masonic lodges operating within the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. They decided to establish a unified national Masonic organisation. The name adopted was the Grand Orient of Poland (as inscribed on the seal: Grand Orient of Poland and Lithuania). Andrzej Mokronowski was elected as the Grand Master.
The Grand Orient of France (later a key proponent of liberal and adogmatic Freemasonry) recognised the establishment of this new obedience and its progressive and patriotic constitution, forging friendly relations with the Grand Orient of Poland. In contrast, the Grand Lodge of England (later the United Grand Lodge of England, the “Mother” of conservative Freemasonry) did not recognise the new obedience.
In the following years, the Grand Orient of Poland underwent numerous transformations (changing its name and organisational form), operating as the Grand Orient of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1784–1793), and later as the National Grand Orient of Poland (1812–1821).
Freemasonry in the Era of the 3rd May Constitution
During the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski, Polish Freemasonry experienced significant growth, supported by the king himself, who was also a Freemason. The lodges attracted individuals who played a pivotal role in shaping the nation’s destiny and later became actively involved in implementing the programme of reforms.
Notably, around 30% of the deputies to the Four-Year Sejm were members of Masonic lodges. Among the four principal authors and editors of the Constitution of 3 May, three were Freemasons: King Stanisław August Poniatowski, Scipione Piattoli, and Ignacy Potocki.
Polish Freemasonry Under the Partitionn
After the loss of independence, Masonic activity came to a halt, but it found new life in the symbolism of the Polish Legions in Italy and experienced significant growth during the era of the Duchy of Warsaw. At that time, it was almost unthinkable to play a prominent role in the state or the military without being affiliated with a lodge. The majority of the Polish general staff were Freemasons, including Prince Józef Poniatowski and General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski.
After Napoleon’s fall, Masonic lodges continued to operate, albeit differently in each partitioned territory. They thrived most fully in the Kingdom of Poland, especially under the leadership of Stanisław Kostka Potocki. Russian authorities had limited oversight of the lodges, but it quickly became evident that they had become a breeding ground for independence-oriented ideas. Under the guise of Freemasonry, National Freemasonry emerged, explicitly aiming for the restoration of independence. Freemasonry, always opposed to tyranny and despotism, was also active in Russia. Consequently, on 21 September 1821, Tsar Alexander I banned Freemasonry in the Kingdom of Poland, and the following year extended the ban to the entire empire. This marked a prolonged hiatus in Polish Masonic activity.
It was not until November 1906 that the Cooperative Society was founded in Warsaw. This organisation had a dual nature: a public, overt aspect, promoting various cooperative initiatives such as food, rural, credit, and later housing cooperatives, and a covert side, serving as the embryo of a re-emerging Polish Freemasonry after decades of dormancy. This later formalised into the lodge Wyzwolenie (Liberation), operating under the auspices of the Grand Orient of France.
The intellectual and moral climate of the time was highly conducive to a fascination with Freemasonry, which attracted prominent figures of the era. Among these was Rafał Radziwiłłowicz, brother-in-law to Żeromski. A renowned psychiatrist, Radziwiłłowicz gained fame for saving Piłsudski from the Citadel. For many years, he led Polish Freemasonry, first as the Grand Master of the Chapter of the Grand Orient (French Rite) and later as one of the leaders of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.
Among the 96 founding members of the Cooperative Society, many were Freemasons. The board included well-known figures who soon became influential within Masonic lodges: Antoni Natanson, a physician; Paweł Leon Jankowski, also a physician; Alojzy Wierzchleyski, an economist; Zygmunt Chmielewski, a theorist and practitioner of cooperative movements; and Tadeusz Gałecki (pen name Andrzej Strug), not only a distinguished writer but later the Grand Master of the Grand National Lodge (which replaced the “dormant” Grand Orient after World War I) and the Sovereign Grand Commander of its Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree.
The Letter of Andrzej Mokronowski – the First Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Poland to the Grand Master of the Grand Orient of France.
The Letter of Andrzej Mokronowski – the First Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Poland to the Grand Master of the Grand Orient of France.
The emblem and name of the Lodge of St. John, titled BROTHERS OF UNITED POLES in the Orient of Warsaw (late 18th century).
Polish Freemasonry on the Eve of Regaining Independence
“On 10 June 1910, they gathered in Warsaw and established a Masonic lodge. They gave it a symbolic and multi-layered name, highly fashionable in contemporary Polish literature: Wyzwolenie (Liberation),” wrote Ludwik Hass. “At the same time, they elected Radziwiłłowicz as the leader of this establishment and approached the Grand Orient of France with a request to issue founding documents for the new lodge and accept it under its jurisdiction.”
After more than a year of waiting and negotiations, the Ceremony of Bringing the Light took place in July 1911. Little is known about the second Warsaw lodge, Odrodzenie (Rebirth), which was established to prevent overly large gatherings (as the number of Freemasons was growing) from attracting the attention of secret agents from the Okhrana. Even the approximate date of its foundation is uncertain—it could have been in 1911 or 1912. The identity of the Worshipful Master who wielded the gavel or the members of this lodge remains unknown. However, it is known that the Chapter—the authority overseeing the lodges—typically met at Patk’s house, still standing today at Aleja Szucha 5, now the site of the Lithuanian Embassy.
Among the first generation of Freemasons, the eldest was Stanisław Pyrowicz, a journalist aged 63, while the youngest was Witold Gielżyński, also a journalist, who was not yet 30.
The most detailed accounts concern the provincial lodge in Lublin, Wolni Oracze (Free Ploughmen). Its inception occurred in Paris, initiated by Stefan Żeromski, who inspired Jan Hempel, a well-traveled figure, and Witold Gielżyński, then a student, with Masonic ideas. Much about this intricate endeavour can be gleaned from the extensive writings of Wanda Papiewska, an indefatigable social activist who, with special permission from higher Masonic authorities, joined the lodge Wolni Oracze. Later, the lodge also admitted Zofia Marcinowska, immersed in mystical practices but also a leader of the Women’s Emergency League, which collaborated with the Legions. The lodge was unconventional in its acceptance of women and its close ties to the editorial board of the Kurier Lubelski newspaper, whose chief editors were all members.
In early September 1914, the Chapter faced the critical task of arranging a meeting between its representative and Piłsudski. The front line lay between Warsaw and Kraków. This mission was entrusted to Stanisław Patek as part of a more significant effort to establish direct contact with the Western Allies, particularly France, including the Les Renovateurs lodge of the Grand Orient of France, which “sponsored” Polish lodges. Patek was to meet with the Commander in Kielce en route and hold discussions with prominent Galician politicians in Kraków. The headquarters of the Grand Orient of France was one of the few places in France where the Polish situation was not only understood but treated with sympathy.
The year 1914 undoubtedly marked the peak of the political activity of the Grand Orient and its governing Chapter. Regular Masonic activities weakened, perhaps ceased entirely, in the first year of the war. Reflecting on this period half a century later, Stanisław Osiecki remarked:
[…] Other matters, such as the struggle for independence, occupied minds, and Freemasonry was on the verge of dissolution.
But it was precisely during this time that the political role of Polish Freemasonry was greater than at any other point in the 20th century. A group of about a dozen of the most prominent Freemasons, centred around the somewhat informal yet ambitious Chapter, became a significant political lobby. The fervour of politics dominated everyone’s thoughts, including those of Freemasons; participation in political actions was the imperative of the moment.
Just before the outbreak of the war, Freemasonry as an organisation had exhausted its function as a substitute political centre for the independence movement because Piłsudski had created his own, dedicated political base. The Chapter played a key role in assisting him in this endeavour, rendering itself unnecessary afterward.
Freemasonry was also weakened by external circumstances. Among Warsaw’s lodges, only the Wyzwolenie lodge seems to have maintained some residual activity during the war. Its master, Antoni Natanson, spent most of his time in Switzerland, maintaining constant contact with Western nations. Meanwhile, Maksymilian Malinowski and a significant group of Zaraniarze were arrested on 12 May 1915 and imprisoned in Moscow; it is known that the Chapter, through Lednicki, looked after the welfare of Malinowski’s deported family and supported him upon his release. Patek was also temporarily interned in Grzmiąca by the Germans. Provincial lodges barely survived: in Kalisz, possibly Sosnowiec, perhaps Łódź, and notably Lublin, despite the departure of Hempel, Zagrobski, and their associates from the Lublin Consumer Society, which transitioned from a Masonic agenda to become a base for the radical left.
Although the structure of Freemasonry was fragmenting, interpersonal ties and a sense of mission continued to bind its members. A poignant testament to the preservation of Masonic unity was an important political act: the issuance of the “Declaration of the Hundred” on 22 February 1916.
The initiative to issue the declaration, as noted by Jan Molenda (Piłsudczycy a narodowa demokracja 1908–1918), originated from Piłsudski’s circles, represented in the preparatory work by Medard Downarowicz and Tytus Filipowicz (acting under the banner of the Union of Patriots—both Freemasons). The declaration stated, among other things:
“The aim of the Polish nation is the restoration of an independent state, secured by its own armed forces.”
For the first time, such a manifesto expressing the nation’s will was openly proclaimed, signed not only by seven political parties and coalitions (parties aligned with Piłsudski, the LPP, and two smaller groups from the nationalist camp) but also—individually—by a hundred prominent activists. Among them were 34 Freemasons (though in a few cases, it remains uncertain whether they were formally sworn in) and a dozen or so of their close allies.
The signatories included all members of the Chapter and the entire Masonic elite: Rafał Radziwiłowicz, Stanisław Patek, Antoni Natanson, Zygmunt Chmielewski, Wacław Łypacewicz, Stanisław Osiecki, Eugeniusz Śmiarowski, Leon Supiński, Wacław Makowski, and Witold Giełżyński. Including those members of the order who held leadership positions in the parties endorsing the declaration, it can be said that this moment represented a triumph for Freemasonry, despite its dispersion. Perhaps it would be more accurate to describe it as a powerful final chord.
Tytus Filipowicz noted that the Declaration was “an exceptional document of civic courage under our conditions of occupation.” Its signatories “risked losing their freedom, and with it, their livelihoods and the means to support their families.”
The final collapse of the Chapter—and of the entire Freemasonry of the Grand Orient—occurred in January 1918, following a sharp conflict over the future political fate of Poland.
Freemasonry and Freemasons in Free Poland
A significant number of active Freemasons, after a brief hiatus, contributed to the establishment of the Grand National Lodge of Poland. The structures of the Grand Orient did not operate during the interwar period.
By a decree of the President of Poland in 1938, the state authorities decided, for the second time in history, to dissolve Freemasonry in Poland. The activities of small Masonic circles persisted in Warsaw until the Warsaw Uprising, and in Kraków until the arrival of the Red Army.
Freemasonry and the Polish People's Republic (PRL)
In the early post-war years, despite suggestions from Bolesław Bierut or his close associates to rebuild a Masonic lodge, this initiative did not materialise in Poland. This was primarily because the most senior pre-war Freemasons, Stanisław Stempowski and Marian Ponikiewski, firmly rejected these proposals, fearing that Freemasonry might become a tool in the hands of the Communist Party. Reflecting on Bierut’s offer, Janusz Maciejewski even suspected that it might have been influenced by Bierut’s six-month membership in Freemasonry during the spring of 1922, suggesting that Bierut may have been speaking as a dormant Brother. A 1947 attempt by Ludwik Rajchman to gain Bierut’s approval for the resumption of lodge activities failed due to the opposition of Jakub Berman, who was present at the meeting.
The political thaw of October 1956 did not lead to the revival of the Masonic movement in Poland. The only attempts at restoring a lodge came from external sources. In February 1957, Paul Blanc, the Grand Secretary for Foreign Relations of the Grand Orient of France, approached the Polish People’s Republic ambassador in Paris with a proposal to resume Freemasonry in Poland. He emphasised the progressive nature of the Masonic movement and requested the opportunity to deliver a lecture for Brothers in Poland. This initiative seems to have gone unnoticed. Another attempt was made in 1962 by the Grand Master of the Grand Orient of France, Jacques Mitterand, during his visit to Warsaw. He reportedly sought a meeting with Władysław Gomułka on the matter. This initiative, too, was unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, a clandestine Masonic lodge had been active in Poland since 12 February 1961, when eight initiates conducted the ritual “awakening” of the pre-war lodge Copernicus. Professor Janusz Maciejewski strongly emphasised that:
From the perspective of Masonic regularity, Freemasonry existed in Poland between 1961 and 1989, and it was also part of the global Masonic network. There was, after all, an agreement with the Parisian lodge Copernicus that its members would serve as Poland’s representatives and, in a sense, substitutes in relation to the global Freemasonic community.
A week later, the first initiations took place, during which, among others, Jan Józef Lipski, the president of the Club of the Crooked Circle and later Grand Master, was admitted.
The Rebirth of Poland, the Rebirth of Freemasonry
The turning point of 1989 brought a renaissance of Freemasonry in Poland. Regular Freemasonry was revived through the establishment of the Grand National Lodge of Poland, while the International Co-Masonic Order Le Droit Humain took its first steps towards re-establishment.
The Grand Orient of France began its efforts in the first half of 1990. In May of that year, Didier Sniadach, a Polish-speaking representative of the Grand Orient of France residing in Lille, arrived in Warsaw. He made no secret of his intentions, which he outlined in an interview with Życie Warszawy. To gauge the sentiments of individuals who could potentially become candidates for initiation, he held several meetings in Warsaw and Łódź.
Shortly thereafter, in July 1990, Allain Marville, a member of the Council of the Order of the Grand Orient of France, visited Poland with several Brothers. They published an announcement in Gazeta Wyborcza stating:
French Freemasons invite all those interested in the global Masonic movement to an informational meeting on Thursday, 9 August, at 7:00 PM at the Physician’s Club, Aleje Ujazdowskie 24.
These efforts bore fruit. The initiations for the future lodge took place on 1 December 1990 in a small palace in Łazienki Park, with the assistance of Brothers from the Parisian lodge Victor Schoelcher (Grand Orient of France). The first liberal Masonic workshop, Restored Freedom, began its activities on 26 April 1991. The name highlighted Poland’s historic moment. Before the war, between 1920 and 1938, a lodge of the same name existed under the auspices of the Grand National Lodge of Poland, primarily attracting intellectuals and writers. Its members included Gabriel Narutowicz, Prof. Jan Mazurkiewicz, Prof. Mieczysław Michałowicz, and Prof. Janusz Groszkowski (later president of the Polish Academy of Sciences).
Separately, with the support of the l’Esperance lodge in Lille, the Hope lodge was established in Poland in 1991 in the Orient of Warsaw. Over the following years, the Hope lodge gave rise to the Unity lodge in the Orient of Katowice and the Tolerance lodge in the Orient of Mikołów. These three lodges operated in the Rectified Scottish Rite.
Meanwhile, the Restored Freedom lodge gave rise to the Three Brothers lodge (21 May 1993) and the Europe lodge (11 March 1994), both in the Orient of Warsaw. The lodges stemming from Restored Freedom practised the French Rite.
In February 1997, the Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Orient of France for Foreign Affairs, Eric Vanlerberghe, along with the Deputy Grand Master for Administrative Affairs, Alain Dupret, and the Guarantor of Friendship for Polish liberal lodges at the Grand Orient of France, Michel Klich, visited Poland. During a press conference, the French representatives announced plans to establish an independent liberal and adogmatic Masonic obedience in Poland. Eric Vanlerberghe stated:
“We can now withdraw from Poland. We leave behind our ritual and organisation and declare our support for the Polish Brothers in their independent activities.”
The first Grand Master of the revived Grand Orient of Poland was the philosopher and scholar of religion, Andrzej Rusław Nowicki.
The ceremony for the relighting of the lights of the Grand Orient of Poland took place on 12 July 1997. From that point, the independent obedience of the Grand Orient of Poland (WWP) encompassed six lodges previously subordinate to the Grand Orient of France: four in Warsaw, one in Katowice, and one in Mikołów. WWP was officially registered as an association at the Warsaw Provincial Court on 14 November 1997. The Narutowicz Lodge in Kraków remained outside the national structures of the Grand Orient of Poland, continuing as a provincial lodge under the jurisdiction of the Grand Orient of France. Over the following years, the organisation focused on expanding its structure, establishing a system of higher degrees (in both the French Rite and the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite), and fostering international connections.
At the 2008 convention, it was voted to admit women into the Order. Shortly thereafter, with the support of the Restored Freedom (pol. Wolność Przywrócona) lodge, new lodges were established: Galileo in the Orient of Bydgoszcz and Cezary Leżeński in the Orient of Warsaw, both working in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, as well as Culture (pol. Kultura) in the Orient of Warsaw, which operates in the French Rite. The lights were also lit for the Moria Lodge in the Orient of Riga, intended to serve as the foundation for the Grand Orient of Latvia. Another initiative was the establishment of the Witelon Lodge, dedicated to members living far from cities where existing WWP workshops operate. This lodge typically meets once every few months, often holding two sessions in a single weekend.
Further developments included the establishment of the Atanor Lodge in 2013 in the Orient of Warsaw, working in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite; the Abraxas under the Light of Sirius Lodge, working in the Memphis-Misraim Rite (2019); the Kraków-based Astrolabium Lodge; and two English-speaking lodges, Universe (2019) in Warsaw and Synergy (2019), a traveling lodge meeting in various European cities. In early 2020, a new workshop, Under the Falcon and the Owl (pol. Pod Sokołem i Sową), was established in the Orient of Poznań.
In 2024, the Grand Orient of Poland welcomed three new lodges: Free Ploughmen (pol. Wolni Oracze) in the Orient of Lublin, Three Circles (pol. Trzy Cyrkle) in the Orient of Szczecin, and Phosphoros (pol. Fosforos) in the Orient of Wrocław. All three operate in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.