Athens Manifesto 2000.
I remember the value of one of the documents that we signed in the 2000 , under the shadow of the Parthenon, in that city of Athens, full of symbolism for so many reasons. In that ATHENS manifesto we point out the great value that a meeting space like CLIPSAS provides, which allows us to recognize ourselves as Freemasons despite the philosophical and stylistic differences that are evident between the various Freemasonries that exist in the world. However, beyond these differences there are a series of common elements that allow us to recognize each other and we are proclaimed in the Strasbourg Call.
The preamble of the Manifesto says:
«The Strasbourg Call is so contrary to any dogmatic definition of Freemasonry, that it allows each Obedience within its own heart to interpret and practice
Royal Art according to its own style, whether spiritualist or rationalist, without trying to impose any new orthodoxy on the already established ones. The only thing that the Strasbourg call requires is the mutual respect and consideration as Freemasons of all those who accept the basic terms of said call.
The importance and functionality of CLIPSAS as a meeting forum for Freemasonry arises precisely from the fact that it does not have the vocation of a monopoly, and is not incompatible with other international Masonic associations, of a regional type or of a more defined doctrinal nature; In any case, CLIPSAS aims to remain as a Forum of encounter and communication as "ecumenical" as possible within the framework of a world Freemasonry that is very plural depending on the continents, regional and national cultures, and the different religious and political traditions, but that they are all animated by the same ideal of human freedom, respect for human equality and dignity, and the promotion of an increasingly just and fraternal humanity.
Athens Manifesto 2000
Gathered in Athens, the Masonic Obediences grouped in CLIPSAS, we have made an effort to analyze and reflect on the value of the Strasbourg Call of 1961, on its present and future validity, and we have arrived to the following
Conclusions
1st Modern speculative Freemasonry was born in 1723 around Anderson's Constitutions, with the purpose of being a true "Center of Union" between people
that if it were not for Freemasonry, they would never have met.
Anderson's Constitutions of 1723 invited many human beings to a new form of sociability, people who were divided because of their different religious and philosophical conceptions, but who nevertheless shared, without knowing it, a constructive ideal of human life, and from that ideal,
He managed to develop a method to build a new form of brotherhood.
2nd.- The Strasbourg Call of 1962 is a document of the same rank as Anderson's Constitutions, and seeks to apply the same principle to Freemasonry, as the Constitutions of 1723 applied to the society of their time: create a center of union between Freemasonries and between Freemasons who, if it were not for the Call, would never have
come to know each other & to unite what is dispersed.
3rd.- The Strasbourg Call is based on the principle of Absolute Freedom of Conscience. That principle applied to Freemasonry means that each Mason, each lodge and each Obedience has complete freedom to interpret individually and collectively the Masonic tradition and method, whether in accordance with a spiritualist principle, whether
according to a rationalist principle, whether as a male, female or mixed initiatory society (.).
The Freedom of conscience advocated by the Strasbourg Call is based on respect for the freedom of each Obedience to work the Masonic ritual according to its own lights, based on certain common elements that cannot be waived.
4ª- The Strasbourg Call establishes a comprehensive definition of the just and perfect Lodge, which allows a common reference for all those Obediences
signatories, and that guarantees the identity of what is common to the different traditions that come together in speculative Freemasonry.
5th.- The Strasbourg Call, and the Strasbourg Union gave birth to CLIPSAS, as a liaison structure whose sole purpose is to serve as an instrument of information and communication between the Masonic Obediences.
New communication technologies predict much greater effectiveness for CLIPSAS than it has had in the past.
6th.- CLIPSAS is compatible and complementary with the establishment of all kinds of bilateral relations between the Obediences, as well as with other Masonic forums with which it is willing to collaborate.
7th.- On the threshold of the new 21st century we recognize the value of CLIPSAS as an instrument at the service of Freemasonry and the Strasbourg Call, as a renewal of the moral and spiritual tradition that animated Anderson's Constitutions."
And we signed this in Athens, the city of Socrates and Pericles, at the end of the 20th century, on the threshold of the 21st century.
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