Grand Orient of the Netherlands

The Grand Orient of the Netherlands or Grand East of the Netherlands (Dutch: Orde van Vrijmetselaren onder het Grootoosten der Nederlanden) is a Masonic Grand Lodge in the Netherlands. It falls within the mainstream Anglo-American tradition of Freemasonry, being recognized by The United Grand Lodge of England[1] and the 51 Grand Lodges in the United States. In addition to its jurisdiction over nine districts[2] in the Netherlands, it also administers three Lodges in Suriname through the Provincial Grand Lodge of Suriname,[3] three lodges in Curaçao, one in South Africa, one in Thailand,[4] and through the Provincial Grand Lodge of the Caribbean, three lodges in Aruba and one in St. Maarten.[3] In the Netherlands it claims to have 145 lodges with 5,792 members.[5]

It also runs the Prince Frederick Museum and has an online catalogue available for its library.

It was founded in either 1756[5] or 1757.[6]

Historic Grand Lodges under the Grand Orient

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The Grand Orient of the Netherlands used to have provincial Grand Lodges under its jurisdiction, including the Grand Lodge of South Africa and the Grand Lodge of the Transvaal.[7] One of the Lodges that was subservient to the Grand Lodge hosted the early legislative assemblies of the Cape Colony.[8]

Active freemasonry existed throughout the Dutch East Indies (now: Indonesia). In 1922 a Dutch Provincial Grand Lodge, under the Grand Orient of the Netherlands, at Weltevreden (Batavia) controlled twenty Lodges in the colony: fourteen in Java, three in Sumatra and others in Makassar and Salatiga.[9]

Administers the Provincial Grand Lodge of Zimbabwe which has 5 lodges under its jurisdiction, 3 in Harare and one each in Marondera and Bulawayo. The Grand Lodge was formed in 1963 and the first lodge, Zambesia in Bulawayo in 1896.

Grand Masters

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References

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  1. ^ Foreign Grand Lodges Recognised by The United Grand Lodge of England - Europe Archived 2004-02-21 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 10 August 2008
  2. ^ "Regio's". Archived from the original on 2012-02-12. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  3. ^ a b "Provinciale grootloges". Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  4. ^ "Buiten Nederland". Archived from the original on 2008-10-25. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  5. ^ a b Orde van Vrijmetselaren onder het Grootoosten der Nederlanden, English language version
  6. ^ The Builder magazine, 1924
  7. ^ Africa, page 37, Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, Part 1 By Albert G. Mackey
  8. ^ The Houses of Parliament, Cape Town, Andrew Cusack
  9. ^ Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry
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