- STORE MASONIC -
Master Chaue Checker
GOB history
Although Brazilian Freemasonry began in 1797 with the Cavaleiros da Luz Lodge, created in the village of Barra, in Salvador, Bahia, and also with the União Lodge, in 1800, succeeded by the Reunion Lodge in 1802, in Rio de Janeiro. , it was only in 1822, when the campaign for the independence of Brazil became more intense, that its first Obedience would be created, with national jurisdiction, precisely with the task of carrying out the process of political emancipation of the country.
Created on June 17, 1822, by three stores in Rio de Janeiro – Commercio e Artes na Age de Ouro and União e Tranquilidade and Esperança de Niterói, resulting from the division of the first one – O Grande Oriente Brasileiro had, as its first representatives José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva, Minister of the Kingdom and Foreign Affairs and Joaquim Gonçalves Ledo, First Guard. On 4 October of the same year, after the declaration of independence on 7 September, José Bonifácio was replaced by the then Prince Regent and, soon after, Emperor D. Pedro I (Brother Guatimozim). This, given the instability of the first days of an independent nation and considering the political rivalry between the groups of José Bonifácio and Gonçalves Ledo - who stood out, alongside José Clemente Pereira and Canon Januário da Cunha Barbosa, as the main leader of the Freemasons – ordered the suspension of the work of the Grand Orient, on October 25, 1822.
It was only in November 1831, after the abdication of D. Pedro I - which took place on April 7 of that year - that the Masonic works regained strength and vigor, with the reinstallation of Obedience, under the title of Grande Oriente do Brasil, which never but suspended its activities.
Installed in the Masonic Palace of Lavradio, in Rio de Janeiro, from 1842, and with lodges in practically all the provinces, the Grande Oriente do Brasil soon became an active participant in all the great social conquests of the Brazilian people, making its History is confused with the History of Independent Brazil.
Through men of high public spirit, placed in important arks of human activity, mainly in opinion-forming segments, such as the Liberal Classes, Journalism and the Armed Forces - the Army, more specifically - The Grande Oriente do Brasil would have, from the mid-19th century onwards, he had a remarkable performance in various social and civic campaigns in the nation.
Thus, he distinguished himself in the campaign for the extinction of black slavery in the country, obtaining laws that gradually reduced slavery; among them, the “Euzébio de Queiroz Law”, which extinguished the slave trade, in 1850, and the “Visconde do Rio Branco Law”, of 1871, which declared children born to slaves free from then on. Euzébio de Queiroz was a graduate Freemason and member of the 33rd Degree Supreme Council; the Viscount of Rio Branco, as head of the Ministerial Cabinet, was Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Brazil. Masonic work only stopped with the abolition of slavery on May 13, 1888.
The Republican Campaign, which intended to avoid a third reign in Brazil and place the country in the same situation as the other Central and South American nations, also involved intense Masonic work to disseminate the ideals of the Republic, in the Lodges and in the Republican Clubs, spread all over the world. the country.
In the final hour of the campaign, when the republic was established, there was a Freemason leading the Army troops with his prestige: Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca who would become Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Brazil.
During the first forty years of the Republic – a period called “Old Republic” – the participation of the Grande Oriente do Brasil in the national political evolution was notorious, through several Freemason presidents, in addition to Deodoro: Marechal Floriano Peixoto Moraes, Manoel Ferraz de Campos Salles, Marshal Hermes da Fonseca, Nilo Peçanha, Wenceslau Brás and Washington Luís Pereira de Souza.
During the 1st World War (1914 – 1918), the Grand Orient of Brazil, from 1916, through its Grand Master, Admiral Veríssimo José da Costa, supported Brazil's entry into the conflict, alongside friendly nations. And, even before this entry, which took place in 1917, the Grand Orient was already sending financial contributions to French Freemasonry, destined to the relief of the victims of the war, as indicated by the correspondence, which, from France, was sent to the Grand Orient of Brazil, in season.
Even with a split, which emerged in 1927, originated the Brazilian State Grand Lodges, momentarily weakening the Grand Orient of Brazil, it continued as a spearhead of Freemasonry, in several national issues, such as: amnesty for political prisoners , during periods of exception, with a state of siege, in some governments of the Republic; the struggle for the redemocratization of the country, which had been subjected, since 1937, to a dictatorship, which would only end in 1945; participation, through the European Masonic Obedience, in the dissemination of the democratic doctrine of the allied countries, in the 2nd World War (1939 – 1945); participation in the movement that interrupted the rise of the extreme left in the country, in 1964; combating the subsequent distortion of this movement, which generated the authoritarian regime too long; fight for general amnesty for those affected by this movement; I work for the return of direct elections, after a long period of rulers imposed on the country.
And, in 1983, he invested in youth, creating his greatest social work; the Youth Paramaçônica Action, of national scope, destined to the physical and intellectual improvement of young people – of both sexes, children or not children of Freemasons. Present in Brasília - the country's capital, since 1960 - where it was installed in 1978, Grande Oriente do Brasil has, today, a considerable heritage, and in several states, in addition to Rio de Janeiro, and in the Federal Capital, where its headquarters are located. a building with 7,800 square meters of constructed area.
With approximately 2,000 Lodges, around 61,500 active workers (31.12.1999), recognized by more than 100 regular Obedience in the world, the Grande Oriente do Brasil is, today, the largest Masonic Obedience in the Latin world and recognized as regular and legitimate by the Great United Lodge of England, in accordance with the terms of the Treaty of 1935.