Sovereign Sanctuary of the Initiatic Traditions of Old Egypt – UK
Ark of Tradition
One of the specificities of Egyptian Rite Freemasonry is the preservation of the lineages regularly received by those who bear the title of Grand Patriarchs and Guardians, within what is called a Sovereign Sanctuary, and which symbolically bears the name of Ark of Tradition.
They are the ones who grant the Patents for the Lodges and the various Workshops of the Philosophical Temple. In this role of Guardians, they have the function of studying the Rituals in order to rectify any possible deviations from the originals, for which they seek authentic documents, and to propose an adaptation of the structures.
They are also responsible for enriching the Library of Traditions, the Tabut, which today contains the 53 so-called Hermetic degrees belonging to the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm. and to develop specific workshops dedicated to particular initiatory paths, such as, among others, Alchemy.
The SOVEREIGN SANCTUARY of the INITIATIC TRADITIONS of OLD EGYPT, regular repository of various Rites:
Ancient and Primitive Rite of Misraïm
(Regime of Naples - Venice 1788)
Henri Dubois
René-Jacques Martin
Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm
Robert Ambelain
René Chambellant
Grand Empire of the Masonic Order of Memphis
(Montauben 1815)
Jean-Henri PROBST-BIRABEN
René-Jacques Martin
Feminine Rite of Constant Chevillion
– Marseille –Lyon 1938 –
The Grand Conservator Patriarchs, awakening the Sovereign Sanctuary, then added their own regular lineages:
Restored Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm
Robert Ambelain
Diderot Sandy 1996
Oriental Rite of Misraïm
Jules Osselin
Robert Ambelain
Robert Mingam
Ancient & Primitive Oriental Rite of Memphis-Mizraïm
Superium of Venice
Jean Provost
Michel Kieffer
Then, as a culmination of long and fruitful work, the Grand Conservators enriched this corpus by:
Noetic Rite of Mizraïm and Memphis
Magna Mater Noetic Rite (Feminine Rite)
Bringing together the Grand Patriarchs of these Rites, who, setting themselves apart from their usual organisational structures, have decided henceforth to act solely as a Conservatory of the Traditions which have been transmitted to them. In this capacity, they grant Patents to independent Lodges that request them. The relationship between the conservatory and these Lodges is limited to the obligation to work the Rituals validated by the Conservatory and to work upon what have been called the Three Noble Questions, questions to which humanity has, throughout the ages, sought answers, and which contemporary science likewise endeavours to address through different means that cannot be ignored.
The Three Noble Questions seek, through the exclusive study of the Rituals, to find answers to three fundamental mysteries: the origin of the Universe in which we live, the role that human beings may play within it, and the mystery of death.
The particularity of our Rites, as understood by the Grand Conservative Patriarchs, lies beyond the first three degrees of symbolic Freemasonry. While these first degrees constitute the universal foundation of Masonic initiation, our Rites extend beyond them through an original initiatic path, structured according to the principles of the Noetic Rite of Mizraïm and Memphis.
The symbolic representation of the spiritual architecture of our Rites is best illustrated by the ziggurat, the ancient Mesopotamian temple, which took the form of a multi-story tower, surmounted by a sanctuary.
The reference to Mesopotamia is therefore far from incidental. Babylon, its great spiritual and cultural centre, forms an integral part of our initiatory corpus. It was regarded as one of the great matrices of the civilisations that shaped the history of the Middle East and Europe, alongside ancient Egypt. Mesopotamia also occupies a foundational place in the history of human civilisation, traditionally being associated with the emergence of writing and the earliest recorded forms of organised human knowledge.
Our ziggurat is composed of four levels each corresponding to a distinct stage of the initiatory journey:
1. The Base
The base is formed by the three symbolic Degrees of Universal Freemasonry. It provides the foundation upon which the entire structure rests and offers the possibility of working according to the different Rites of which the Sovereign Sanctuary of the Initiatic Traditions of Old Egypt is the regular custodian.
2. The First Level – Philosophic College
The first level is reached after passing through the Door of the East, a distinctive element of our Rites. Beyond this threshold, and within the single Noetic Rite of Mizraim and Memphis, the initiate progresses through three distinct yet complementary spaces, moving progressively from the study of the self towards the study of the Universe.
3. The Second Level – Spiritual Chivalry
The second level is entered by crossing into another dimension: that of a spiritual and philosophical Chivalry. Through its three successive spaces, the initiate is led towards the threshold of the traditional Sciences and their corresponding fields of knowledge and contemplation.
4. The Summit – The Ark of Rites
At the summit of the ziggurat stand the Grand Patriarchs, custodians of the Sacred Ark of the Rites. Here is also preserved the Tabut, an ever-incomplete library gathering the various Traditions and Cosmogonies through which humanity has sought to understand the Universe.
The Tabut thus provides the Grand Patriarch's with the means to continue their search for an answer to the first of the Three Noble Questions, that of the Universe.
Ziggurat
Our Organisation
Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm,
Orient of Evreux,
DENDERAH
Apprentice – Companion – Master
Oriental Rite of Misraïm,
East of New York (USA)
SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF AMEN RA
Apprentice – Companion – Master
East of Atlanta (USA)
MYSTIC SPHINX
Apprentice – Companion – Master
Symbolic Lodges of
the Noetic Rite of Mizraim and Memphis,
in the Orient of London,
ATOUM
Apprentice – Companion – Master
the Noetic Rite of Mizraim and Memphis,
in the Orient of Paris,
HORAKHTI
Apprentice – Companion – Master
Ancient and Primitive Oriental Rite of Memphis and Mizraim,
Orient of Belgrade (Serbia)
HYPATHIA
Apprentice – Companion – Master
Travelling Lodge THE SPIRITUAL VAGABONDS
Ancient & Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm
In the Orient of the World
Lodge of Installed Masters,
Oriental Rite of Misraïm,
Orient of Paris
BALKIS
Master
Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm,
Orient of Fort-de-France,
AMSET
Master
PHILOSOPHICAL COLLEGES
Noetic Rite of Mizraim and Memphis
Perfect Master – Secret Master – Grand Master Architect – Royal Elect of the Secret Vault
In the Valley of London
HELIOPOLIS
In the Valley of Perpignan
HATHOR
In the Paris Valley
AHURA-MAZDA
In Belgrade Valley
SVAROG
In the Hague Valley (Netherlands)
KOIOS
CHAPTERS
Noetic Rite of Mizraim and Memphis
Knight of the Black Eagle, Sublime Philosopher
In the Valley of London
TOLEDO
In the Valley of Montpellier
GILGAMESH
In the Valley of Paris
MEN TZ'IKIN
AREOPAGUS
Noetic Rite of Mizraim and Memphis,
Grand Scottish Knight of Saint Andrew of Scotland – Knight Kadosh,
At the CAMP of LONDON,
EPHESUS
At the CAMP of MONTPELLIER,
THOR
At the CAMP OF PARIS
TJUKURPA
SANCTUARY
Noetic Rite of Mizraïm and Memphis,
Knight of the Sun and of the Philosophical Temple,
Sage of the Order
at the Magisterium of London,
KAILASH
at the Magisterium of Paris,
HUANG DI
DO YOU WISH TO BECOME A FREEMASON?
The first question we need to ask is why ?
Freemasonry is an Initiatory School whose purpose is to enable women and men to work upon themselves, to become better versions of themselves, and ultimately to bring the fruits of this inner work into the world around them. But its purpose extends beyond personal development. Above all, it seeks to engage with the fundamental questions that thinking human beings have asked themselves throughout the ages, drawing upon the study of our Initiatory Corpus, understood as an echo of the Primordial Tradition, the Sophia Perennis.
Such a path necessarily requires personal commitment. It demands self-work, discipline, respect for certain rules, which, however, must never be in opposition to the fundamental principle of freedom of though, as well as a genuine investment of time and the acceptance of modest financial obligations.
Based on these initial points, every candidate must ask themselves questions, and it is according to their answers that they can then apply to join our Lodge.
These are therefore among the first questions that every candidate should ask of themselves: Why do I wish to undertake this path? What am I prepared to commit to it? And what am I seeking through initiation?
It is through honest reflection upon these questions, and the answers they reveal, that a candidate may determine whether they are ready to apply to join one of our Lodges.