Squire Bentley
Premium Member
Across the Atlantic Masonic History In The Making : FmI – Masonic Traveler
Frederic L. Milliken
MWPHGLTX
Frederic L. Milliken
MWPHGLTX
According to a letter from the GM of the GL of the Ivory Coast (GLCI), sent out to multiple grand lodges in February 2012, this was an invasion of the territorial jurisdiction of the GLCI.
There will be an obstacle only if a person wants to create one. A mention was made about the doctrine of territorial but according to this article on the subject http://bessel.org/exclartl.htm that argument is not valid and also at the moment there are four Grand Lodges there that can make that claim (Grande Loge Nationale de Côte d'Ivoire, Grand Lodge of the Ivory Coast, Grand Loge Unie de Côte d'Ivoire, Le droit Humain - Juridiction de la Côte d'Ivoire). The doctrine means they have exclusive jurisdiction over their constituent lodges not that the first one to establish a lodge in a state or country owns that state or country.
There will be an obstacle only if a person wants to create one. A mention was made about the doctrine of territorial but according to this article on the subject http://bessel.org/exclartl.htm that argument is not valid and also at the moment there are four Grand Lodges there that can make that claim (Grande Loge Nationale de Côte d'Ivoire, Grand Lodge of the Ivory Coast, Grand Loge Unie de Côte d'Ivoire, Le droit Humain - Juridiction de la Côte d'Ivoire). The doctrine means they have exclusive jurisdiction over their constituent lodges not that the first one to establish a lodge in a state or country owns that state or country.
...I was there when the lodge from the Ivory coast performed the lodge opening ritual in French and when they were awarded their charter. It was amazing. Maybe you should be asking why they thought it necessary to petition to the Prince Hall Grand Lodge for a charter. It was probably something that they did not like about the Grand Lodge of the Ivory Coast and something that they did like about Prince Hall Masonry that influenced their decision. We did not go to them, they came to us.
If twenty masons in Oklahoma decided they didn't like their grand lodge, and asked the MWPHGLoT for a charter, how would that fare?
...and if the men were members of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge?