May 29, 2023 • 27 mins
Since the late 18th century, Freemasonry in Finland has faced challenges and suppression. RW Lauri Helaniemi is our special guest this week as we travel through time to discuss the unique bond Finnish Freemasons share with the Brethren of the Grand Lodge of New York and the upcoming Centenary events.
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(00:15):
Welcome to the Craftsman Online podcast,the only five star rated Masonic podcasts endorsed
by the Grand Lodge of New York. Any opinions, thoughts, or viewpoints
shared during this program are that ofthe individual and do not reflect the official
position of any Grand Lodge appendant orconcordinate body from which that member may Hail.
I'm your host, brother, MichaelArsay, co founder of Craftsman Online
dot com. You've joined us forour episode on the history of Finnish Freemasonry,
(00:39):
where since the late eighteenth century,Freemasonry in Finland has faced challenges and
suppression. We're lucky to have RightWorshipful Lottery Hilarmie as our special guests this
week as we traveled through time todiscuss the unique bond that Finnish Freemasons share
with our brethren at the Grand Lodgeof New York, and of course their
upcoming events. Let me just makesure this right, because I'm sure you're
(01:00):
going to be able to pronounce itbetter than me. Brother. How do
how do we say your name correctlyin Finnish? Well, Hello Michael,
and hello brother and all. Yeah, Finnish is an easy language. You
just say every letter they only haveone sound, so my name is said
Laurie, Hello, Niemi, butyou can just call me Larry. Brother
(01:22):
Larry. I love that very good. We're also honored to have you on
it with your title as the RightWorshipful pass Assistant Grandmaster. Can you tell
us a little bit about your Masonicstory and what led you to knock on
the door of a lodge? Well, sure, I'd be happy to Michael.
Well, first of all, thankthank you for pointing me out as
the furthest the way brother brother sofar on the podcast. I certainly hope
(01:46):
that will change in time. Butcoming from Santa claus Land, Father Christmas
comes from Finland. As you wellknow, it doesn't do. Distance doesn't
matter at all because he travels everywhere, all the time, at at the
time, at the speed of light, so it's not a big deal for
us Fins to shovel Masonically, I'ma Lewis, meaning a second generation Mason
(02:13):
after my father, and thus Ibecame a Mason rather young, having just
turned thirty. Now I enjoy alreadyhaving been a Mason for over thirty five
years. I've had the privilege ofbeing a member of the founding Lodge Sway
Lodge number one, and while wedo take care of our history legacy seriously,
(02:36):
we are also the biggest lodge inFinland. So it was quite natural
for me to knock on the door. Let's talk about this history, because
I am always blown away with howintegral the Grand Lodge of New York is
when it comes to establishing Grand Lodgeor just spreading the light and freemasonry around
the world. We know the originsof freemasonry date back to seventeen fifty six
(03:00):
in the lands of Finland. Theywere part of the Kingdom of Sweden,
and the Grand Lodge of Sweden hada few Swedish lodges in their eastern territories.
I think one of the early earliestchallenges, honestly to the craft probably
came from the Zara Alexander the First, who issued a cree against all secret
organizations within the Russian Empire. Whathas been the historical perception of freemasonry in
(03:23):
Finland and has that changed over theyears. Well, you've done your history
study as well, Michael. That'sabsolutely correct, So you can basically divide
the freemasonry in the region of Finlandinto two eras. One is the time
before the Russian time, and oneis then the time after. So during
(03:45):
the time we were part of SwedishKingdom, so there was no Finland at
that time. Yet there was freemasonryin Sweden in all the parts of the
country, but of course we werea poor peasant country, were the farmers
in the east, and so thekingdoms, the royalties, Masonic hobbies didn't
(04:06):
really affect that much the Finnish normalperson. And then again the Russian time,
which was a good time for Finnishindependence, thinking and development per se,
the char himself was a bit afraid, like many of that time,
(04:26):
his rulers, a bit afraid ofthe effects of freemasonry in his realm,
so freemasonry was totally forbidden. Soactually, during all of the time that
we were part of Russia for ahundred years, there was no freemasonry in
Finland. So Finland he was ablank spot basically beginning of the nineteen hundreds,
when then it started to evolve.What led to that change over time?
(04:49):
Was it just the lack of Russianinvolvement, changes like I guess,
in the political climate, or didthe people start seeking it. No,
it actually started direct from the USin the sense that since the oppression was
quite hard in the beginning of thenineteen hundreds, the economy was horrible in
(05:10):
Europe, there were wars ongoing,and the tar was of course implementing a
draft of the young men. Sothree hundred thousand Finns moved out of Finland
at that time all over the world, and many ended up in the US,
in the Freeland as it was calledthen, and being in the States,
(05:31):
they of course were affected by Freemasonicthinking and became Masons. So when
we then became independent in nineteen seventeenand they returned as repatriots back to Finland
and started to rebuild the country,of course they were many of them Masons,
and they thought that, well,we have to have freemasonry in Finland
(05:54):
as well, and that's how itstarted to be built. I always think
of Finland as an older country,but relatively speaking, it's kind of quote
unquote new. It's really only beenaround for just over one hundred years as
its own nation, so to speak. That's correct. Yeah, However,
as a population we've been there forever. You do have that going for you,
(06:18):
and that's kind of where the connection, I guess begins with the Grand
Lodge of Finland and the Grand Lodgeof New York. Where you said nineteen
seventeen is when the country of Finlandwas established. But in nineteen twenty one,
Most Worshipful Arthur Tompkins of the GrandLodge of New York accepted the petition
of Finnish Masons to establish the firstLodge in now what we were referred to
(06:43):
as the newly formed Republic of Finland. Why is it so significant that Finnish
Freemasons chose to be independent of otherEuropean countries and adopt the practice of Freemasonry
from America, especially the Grand Lodgeof New York versus England or France,
which would have been closer and justprobably more prominent at that time. Yeah,
and not to not to speak aboutSweden, of course, which was
(07:06):
a kingdom right ext nove and hada strong Masonic heraldry already. Um.
But I think it all goes backto the seeking of independence the eighteen starting
from the eighteen fifties all the wayon to the early nineteen hundreds when when
(07:26):
independence thinking was growing in Finland witha lot of innovations coming up. I
would imagine that this same population whothen finally gradually got their independence after fifty
years, did not feel comfortable withgetting the free thought thinking of Freemasons from
(07:50):
from either a kingdom led where theMasonic world would be led by a king,
or any other older called us,but rather would want to do it
their own way, as we Finnsalways do. And then bringing the fresh
thinking and fresh thoughts of Washington andJefferson across the pond from the culture they'd
(08:13):
been accustomed to for the twenty yearsthey were expats in the States. It
feels very logical now that you thinkabout it, it would have been not
a wise choice to take it fromsomewhere where it had other types of roots.
Right. And here's the part whereI feel embarrassed admitting this that I
did not know of this unique bond, this historical connection between our two jurisdictions
(08:41):
until recently when the Deputy Grand Master, the publisher of Craftsman Online, right
Worshipful Stephen Adam Rubin, pointed thisout and I was like, Wow,
this is just another I think fora lot of brothers in New York,
a Masonic gem that we can goand be proud of having that connection.
How well is it known in Finlandthe New York Finished connection. I have
(09:01):
to say, it's as we sayin Finish, it's in our mother's milk.
So we we do know our historyvery well, and we are very
very proud of being one of thefew Masonic bodies doing the Web ritual,
for instance, in the on theEuropean side, So we are we are
(09:24):
very conscious of it and very proudof it. And we've been visiting our
mother Grand Lodge meaning Grand Lodge ofNew York regularly every now and then,
and you have also remembered us onour birthdays every now and then. But
I have now noticed, having traveledto your great Grand Lodge a few times,
(09:45):
that there is not a lot ofknowledge of this. And we are
actually your only fully accepted daughter inthe world, and actually the first one
of and you have now also agranddaughter, since the Grand Lodge of Finland
has given birth to the Grand Lodgeof Estonia and they are also doing the
(10:11):
Web Ritual in Estonia, so youhave a big family already, which started
in nineteen twenty two with the wisethinking of most Worshipful Tonkins. It's always
a highlight for me being able totravel in the jurisdictions here in the US
and visiting our other states and seeinghow the ritual is practiced. How different
is the New York ritual that youknow that I would know as both tied
(10:35):
to the Grand Lodge of New York, compared to if you went to Sweden
or or European countries. Masonry isquite a diverse way of thinking and educating
young men, and actually there arequite a lot of different rituals being used.
(10:58):
So I would like to point out, for instance, the special situation
we have in Finland where the neighboringcountries on our western side are all Nordic
countries and they speak the Swedish languageand they have the Swedish right, So
that is a ten degree system totallydifferent to the Web ritual you and I
(11:20):
know by heart. So there isonly the theory is the same. The
actual ritual is totally different. Nowthat is of course both a richness but
also a sort of a mishap.So it depends on which way you look
at the coin. Is it halffull or half empty? But since we
have the Swedish right also being executedin interferous Finnish region, so we have
(11:45):
the richness of being able to visitalso these different types of rituals. To
me, it just brings such asmile to my face that you have such
pride to be practicing the Web ritual. And it's one of the things that
I find so special is because thereis that immediate at New York connection with
him and the influence that he hadnot only in Blue Lodge but also in
the York Right. Is that alsosomething that is practiced in Finland? Oh?
(12:09):
Yes, we have quite a quitean amount of those appending bodies also
present in Finland as well, soyes, but also the Scottish Right is
very largely appreciated in Finland. We'reonly a population of five and a half
million people all in all, butwe're lucky to have quite a full bodied
(12:31):
Masonic brotherhood. So we have seventhousand, three hundred members and nearly two
hundred lodges in forty different cities aroundthe country, so quite widely spread.
But they are all mostly the Webritual. And we do do it in
four languages, which is quite extraordinaryas well, Finnish, Swedish, English
and German. Okay, so there'sa chance that if I was able to
(12:54):
travel out there, which would beamazing. I might be able to keep
up with what's going on, beingsomewhat familiar with it here in New York.
I promise you will. Last summer, a delegation, as you mentioned,
from the Grand Lodge in New York, traveled to Helsinki to attend many
(13:16):
events that celebrated the one hundredth anniversaryof your lodge, which was the first
lodge in Finland. Can you tellme some of the history, some of
the unique history of your lodge andwhat makes it so special besides just being
the first lodge in Finland. Yeah, well, there's a lot to carry
(13:37):
already there for sure. But ofcourse it was a special occasion in nineteen
twenty two, I mean most portableTompkins. I mean, it was not
an easy decision for him to sayand lay hey, say and say say,
and go across the Atlantic on theother side and put up a new
(13:58):
lodge somewhere. As we all know, I mean, you need three lodges
in minimum to be able to putup a Grand Lodge. So we had
to come back also the next yearand put up two more lodges, so
Thumber two on Phoenix three were alsoput up Before he could then come in
twenty four and put up the GrandLodge. So in fact, I'm very
(14:18):
proud that my lodge mother or isa descendant of a grand Lodge directly instead
of another lodge, which is thecase normally. So Grand Lodge of New
York is my mother grand log,my mother lodge. It's interesting too,
because we share that here in NewYork. We refer to our colonial lodges,
(14:39):
which would be the single digit lodgeswhere you step back and say,
oh, well, I was amember of a lodge that was warranted or
chartered in seventeen seventy four, andAmericans would be like, wow, that
was before we were even a country. They were practicing freemasonry here. And
that's a really unique thing that Iwould say in the Northeast where we have
some of the states there from theearly settlers and down on the East coast.
(15:05):
But it's neat to see that.In Finland you have that affinity for
the lower numbered lodges as well,and also respect the legacy of them.
That's right. Yes, In theGrand Lodge of England, which is then
the grandmother lodge of all of ourlodges, they call them the immemorial lodges,
and they have the same system ofthe first four lodges that are still
(15:26):
there, having been there before theGrand Lodge was there right, Well,
what is of course special of mylodges the number one lodges that we then
got to pick the plock first.And of course many of our members in
the beginning were quite big dignitaries inall fields of Finnish life, both political
(15:50):
and cultural as well. So forinstance, the world famous composer Jean Sibelius
is a member of my my lodge. And the neat thing is is that
being one hundred years old, youonly really are about five generations. So
there is that lineage to where mencould point, like yourself as Lewis's and
(16:11):
say, well, my family hashad four generations or if they're lucky,
five generations of men who have beenmembers of this lodge. Do you are
you one of the oldest that cantrace back through the generations or are there
others that have a little bit deeper? Well, a lot of families,
like you said, do have thisalready. I only have two generations,
(16:33):
so my mother for my father andmyself, but I do know of four
generations in Finland as well. Butthey are not very common. Of course,
they are quite special. That's superspecial, that's amazing. So let's
talk about the event that had happenedin twenty twenty two last summer. It
was a huge week. What weresome of the highlights that you can share
(16:53):
with us and our listeners, especiallyas the I hope I'm saying this correctly,
the sententary gram director and as afinished mason. Yes, it was,
of course for me personally a bigdeal because this started off the centenary
jubilee and we are having this forthree years. And that is of course
back to what we were just talkingthat you need the three lodges. So
(17:15):
in fact we started with the centenaryof the Lodge number one last year,
and now we're having the centenary ofthe second and third Lodge this year and
then the centenary of the Grand Lodge, which these three lodges then gave birth
to in twenty four Well, lastyear was a memorable year as it was
(17:36):
both of course the big jubilee ofmy lodge. I was proud to be
part of that feasting. However,I luckily was there only as a guest,
but at the same time then itwas the beginning of the whole jubilee
sequence of events, and we hada we had rented the music all of
(18:00):
Helsinki and we had a Masonic concertwith music only composed by Masons around the
world throughout the hundreds of years.And we were over a thousand people just
listening to Masonic music and that wasabsolutely marvelous. Remember, brother Steve was
telling us about the dinner that youhad mentioned that he attended, and he
(18:22):
got a chance to get up andsay some words. And I love when
he talks is he really does speakfrom the heart. But one of the
things that he was impressed about wasthe concert that you mentioned, but also
just being outside with the air andthe finished people, and you know,
it's just one of those things that'sunfortunate that in America we don't think of
that part of the world and unlessit's Christmas time. But he was really
(18:45):
taken back by like the beautiful architectureand just the cleanliness and the beauty that
exists in your country. That's right. We are so blessed by being up
in the north where where the climateis absolutely marvelous. It's one of the
cleanest countries in the world. Ofcourse, we have a hundred thousand lakes
where we then can spend our time. The fun thing is that you can
(19:07):
hop off your sailing boat and swimmingsweetwater and take coffee water from it and
drink coffee as well, So it'sit's all in one package. But you're
right. The jubilee and week hada lot of events, so some of
the brethren were sailing. There wereabout one hundred and twenty brethren there with
their spouses sailing around having lunch onboard ships. There were some doing,
(19:33):
of course, Masonic educational work.There were some concerts as well during the
day, so it was a bigfamily day and big event with thousands of
people working, walking around and gettingto know the Mason's. All I'm thinking
is I have not yet gotten tosit in the East. You were very
close in the Grand East as theassistant past or the past assistant Grand Master.
(19:59):
What was it like planning or pullingtogether this event? This has to
be like the big one, thatone hundredth anniversary. It certainly is.
Yes, I'm very blessed. I'vebeen a Grand officer for thirteen years.
I was a Grand Chancellor for firstfor nine years, and then Grand Secretary
for four years, and now I'vebeen known, I know the system so
(20:23):
well that it's it's a it's ait's a wonderful challenge and opportunity for me
to put this centenary together. Butit does make it does need an effort,
and I'm lucky that all the brethrenwho I've contacted and asked them to
join the team have very gladly doneso, so we are own were a
hundred volunteers at the moment already justin the planning planning phase, and once
(20:47):
we get into the execution phase willbe a hundred more. So. So,
yes, it's a big project,and and it's all done, of
course voluntarily, and I'm so happythat all the Brethren are standing up now.
By the time this podcast airs,our brothers who were listening if they
were at the twenty twenty three GrandLodge of New York session in May,
(21:07):
heard that next year a delegation ofNew York Masons will again travel to Finland
to commemorate, as you mentioned,the one hundred year anniversary of the Grand
Lodge of Finland. Can you sharewith our listener how important and how special
that event is going to be whenit comes to our two jurisdictions coming together
well. That is of course thenthe absolute highlight of the whole centenary three
(21:33):
year jubilee time. Centenary Week willbe the first week of September, that
is the actual week also when theGrand Lodge was then concentrated one hundred years
ago, and it will have anumerous numerous different events ongoing, and we
will of course be hosting guests fromall over Europe, but we are focusing
(21:57):
a lot on our brother and fromNew York because you are our real cousins
if you can call it that,or even even brethren, of course,
but I mean a bit more thanjust a normal brethren. So we are
looking at a wholesome one week's program, but you can pick what you want
(22:18):
and do what you feel like.So the main event, of course is
the centenary communication, so we willbe having, for instance, a reenactment
of Tompkins doing the consecration of theGrand Ladge one hundred years ago, not
of course, not the ritual,but the thinking behind. So we've done
(22:40):
an extensive history study with the Universityof Helsinki stepping in as well, and
we will be publishing a history bookof masonry in Finland, and that will
be then widely presented also to theopen public. So we are hoping to
engage also the open public to joinin our activities and to learn about Freemasonry
(23:02):
and also to maybe get new membersthrough that. Will there be another concert,
well, there will be actually alot of music. Yes, we
will be having the world premiere ofthe Widow's Son's Masonic Opera that will be
presented in a church, So thatwill be an absolute highlight. And as
I already pointed out earlier, composerMaster Jean Sibelius composed ritual music for the
(23:27):
WAB Ritual and that is it composedinto the ritual itself, so is an
integral, integral part of the ritual, and that will be presented to the
audience in different ways with both singingand organ playing and a bit of history
telling as well, So there willbe an option to listen to that music
(23:49):
as well, and not to saythe actual annual communication and the glad Gena
after that with a lot of jazzand so on, So a lot of
music for sure. It sounds likea good time. I wish I could
be there, and I know thatthat is not going to be a possibility
for me. Next summer will therebe opportunities for some of this to be
virtual for Mason's to attend, orwill there be recordings available, especially the
(24:14):
musical performance. I think that operasounds fantastic. How much of this will
be online during the events and howmuch will be afterwards that has not yet
been decided. There's a bit ofa difference of technology, and I think
we will rather do it afterwards,but I'm hoping that we will have a
lot of it online as well toget the highlights out there as well.
(24:38):
Do you remember where Finland is?I mean a lot of people talk very
fluently of Finland and then when youask, well where is it and then
they say, well, somewhere inEurope And that's correct, of course,
And of course it's up in thenorth. And I'm not going to do
a test on you where it ismore than that, but it is between
(25:00):
Sweden and Finland, and we havea waterway between us. So the Grand
Lodges of Sweden and Estonia will besupporting us also in the sense that there
will be a possibility for those visitingus to also do a quick stopover in
Estonia and go and look at theFreemasons Hall in Estonia or then to Sweden
(25:22):
an overnight cruise to Stockholm and getto look at that. So actually,
when I've heard your countrymen traveling herein Europe, you do this tick in
the box stop of traveling and youwill now get three ticks on the price
of one. So you'll also getto see Estonia and Stockholm and Sweden as
well. It's a big deal forus because the idea at least we're we
(25:44):
are here and I know you've visitedover here, but traveling even on our
continent and visiting the other our neighborhoodcountries, that that takes some time.
And it's one of the new thingsin Europe where it would be like traveling
over to another state for us,but it's not. It's a whole other
nation or republic of people. Ijust I'm hoping for the best for this
(26:04):
event next year. I think it'sgoing to be fantastic. I know you're
you and your team are going towork and put together a successful event.
So best of luck and enjoy itand please, you know, pictures,
videos, whatever you can share withthe rest of us. We'd like to
join in the celebration. Thank youvery much. Michael and This was a
privilege for me to tell about it, and I hope that those of you
listeners who actually got a bit enthusiasticabout it please contact your Grand secretary.
(26:30):
He has all the information, andI will be doing a writing in your
next Masonic magazine as well, soyou'll catch some information from there. We're
hoping to get pre registrations already inthis year, so I'm looking forward to
seeing as many of New York Masonsin ing in visiting in Finland and taking
(26:53):
part in your daughter's birthday before welet you go. At the end of
the podcast, I always in withthe phrase let peace and harmony prevail.
What I'd like to do is I'llclose this episode out if you could say
that line in finish, that wouldbe fantastic. Sound good? That sounds
(27:14):
good. This has been the CraftmanOnline podcast. Again. We want to
thank our guests for joining us thisweek. It was so nice when he
just said brother Larry, but I'mgonna try brother Lowery. Helena Murra right,
it's good. Thank you very much. If you've enjoyed this episode and
you want to hear more, youcan tell Siri or Alexa to play the
Craftsman online podcast. We are availableon all streaming platforms with new episodes every
(27:36):
Monday morning. Until next time,let peace and harmony prevail. Thank you all,
Welcome to the Craftsman Online podcast,the only five star rated Masonic podcasts endorsed
by the Grand Lodge of New York. Any opinions, thoughts, or viewpoints
shared during this program are that ofthe individual and do not reflect the official
position of any Grand Lodge appendant orconcordinate body from which that member may Hail.
I'm your host, brother, MichaelArsay, co founder of Craftsman Online
dot com. You've joined us forour episode on the history of Finnish Freemasonry,
(00:39):
where since the late eighteenth century,Freemasonry in Finland has faced challenges and
suppression. We're lucky to have RightWorshipful Lottery Hilarmie as our special guests this
week as we traveled through time todiscuss the unique bond that Finnish Freemasons share
with our brethren at the Grand Lodgeof New York, and of course their
upcoming events. Let me just makesure this right, because I'm sure you're
(01:00):
going to be able to pronounce itbetter than me. Brother. How do
how do we say your name correctlyin Finnish? Well, Hello Michael,
and hello brother and all. Yeah, Finnish is an easy language. You
just say every letter they only haveone sound, so my name is said
Laurie, Hello, Niemi, butyou can just call me Larry. Brother
(01:22):
Larry. I love that very good. We're also honored to have you on
it with your title as the RightWorshipful pass Assistant Grandmaster. Can you tell
us a little bit about your Masonicstory and what led you to knock on
the door of a lodge? Well, sure, I'd be happy to Michael.
Well, first of all, thankthank you for pointing me out as
the furthest the way brother brother sofar on the podcast. I certainly hope
(01:46):
that will change in time. Butcoming from Santa claus Land, Father Christmas
comes from Finland. As you wellknow, it doesn't do. Distance doesn't
matter at all because he travels everywhere, all the time, at at the
time, at the speed of light, so it's not a big deal for
us Fins to shovel Masonically, I'ma Lewis, meaning a second generation Mason
(02:13):
after my father, and thus Ibecame a Mason rather young, having just
turned thirty. Now I enjoy alreadyhaving been a Mason for over thirty five
years. I've had the privilege ofbeing a member of the founding Lodge Sway
Lodge number one, and while wedo take care of our history legacy seriously,
(02:36):
we are also the biggest lodge inFinland. So it was quite natural
for me to knock on the door. Let's talk about this history, because
I am always blown away with howintegral the Grand Lodge of New York is
when it comes to establishing Grand Lodgeor just spreading the light and freemasonry around
the world. We know the originsof freemasonry date back to seventeen fifty six
(03:00):
in the lands of Finland. Theywere part of the Kingdom of Sweden,
and the Grand Lodge of Sweden hada few Swedish lodges in their eastern territories.
I think one of the early earliestchallenges, honestly to the craft probably
came from the Zara Alexander the First, who issued a cree against all secret
organizations within the Russian Empire. Whathas been the historical perception of freemasonry in
(03:23):
Finland and has that changed over theyears. Well, you've done your history
study as well, Michael. That'sabsolutely correct, So you can basically divide
the freemasonry in the region of Finlandinto two eras. One is the time
before the Russian time, and oneis then the time after. So during
(03:45):
the time we were part of SwedishKingdom, so there was no Finland at
that time. Yet there was freemasonryin Sweden in all the parts of the
country, but of course we werea poor peasant country, were the farmers
in the east, and so thekingdoms, the royalties, Masonic hobbies didn't
(04:06):
really affect that much the Finnish normalperson. And then again the Russian time,
which was a good time for Finnishindependence, thinking and development per se,
the char himself was a bit afraid, like many of that time,
(04:26):
his rulers, a bit afraid ofthe effects of freemasonry in his realm,
so freemasonry was totally forbidden. Soactually, during all of the time that
we were part of Russia for ahundred years, there was no freemasonry in
Finland. So Finland he was ablank spot basically beginning of the nineteen hundreds,
when then it started to evolve.What led to that change over time?
(04:49):
Was it just the lack of Russianinvolvement, changes like I guess,
in the political climate, or didthe people start seeking it. No,
it actually started direct from the USin the sense that since the oppression was
quite hard in the beginning of thenineteen hundreds, the economy was horrible in
(05:10):
Europe, there were wars ongoing,and the tar was of course implementing a
draft of the young men. Sothree hundred thousand Finns moved out of Finland
at that time all over the world, and many ended up in the US,
in the Freeland as it was calledthen, and being in the States,
(05:31):
they of course were affected by Freemasonicthinking and became Masons. So when
we then became independent in nineteen seventeenand they returned as repatriots back to Finland
and started to rebuild the country,of course they were many of them Masons,
and they thought that, well,we have to have freemasonry in Finland
(05:54):
as well, and that's how itstarted to be built. I always think
of Finland as an older country,but relatively speaking, it's kind of quote
unquote new. It's really only beenaround for just over one hundred years as
its own nation, so to speak. That's correct. Yeah, However,
as a population we've been there forever. You do have that going for you,
(06:18):
and that's kind of where the connection, I guess begins with the Grand
Lodge of Finland and the Grand Lodgeof New York. Where you said nineteen
seventeen is when the country of Finlandwas established. But in nineteen twenty one,
Most Worshipful Arthur Tompkins of the GrandLodge of New York accepted the petition
of Finnish Masons to establish the firstLodge in now what we were referred to
(06:43):
as the newly formed Republic of Finland. Why is it so significant that Finnish
Freemasons chose to be independent of otherEuropean countries and adopt the practice of Freemasonry
from America, especially the Grand Lodgeof New York versus England or France,
which would have been closer and justprobably more prominent at that time. Yeah,
and not to not to speak aboutSweden, of course, which was
(07:06):
a kingdom right ext nove and hada strong Masonic heraldry already. Um.
But I think it all goes backto the seeking of independence the eighteen starting
from the eighteen fifties all the wayon to the early nineteen hundreds when when
(07:26):
independence thinking was growing in Finland witha lot of innovations coming up. I
would imagine that this same population whothen finally gradually got their independence after fifty
years, did not feel comfortable withgetting the free thought thinking of Freemasons from
(07:50):
from either a kingdom led where theMasonic world would be led by a king,
or any other older called us,but rather would want to do it
their own way, as we Finnsalways do. And then bringing the fresh
thinking and fresh thoughts of Washington andJefferson across the pond from the culture they'd
(08:13):
been accustomed to for the twenty yearsthey were expats in the States. It
feels very logical now that you thinkabout it, it would have been not
a wise choice to take it fromsomewhere where it had other types of roots.
Right. And here's the part whereI feel embarrassed admitting this that I
did not know of this unique bond, this historical connection between our two jurisdictions
(08:41):
until recently when the Deputy Grand Master, the publisher of Craftsman Online, right
Worshipful Stephen Adam Rubin, pointed thisout and I was like, Wow,
this is just another I think fora lot of brothers in New York,
a Masonic gem that we can goand be proud of having that connection.
How well is it known in Finlandthe New York Finished connection. I have
(09:01):
to say, it's as we sayin Finish, it's in our mother's milk.
So we we do know our historyvery well, and we are very
very proud of being one of thefew Masonic bodies doing the Web ritual,
for instance, in the on theEuropean side, So we are we are
(09:24):
very conscious of it and very proudof it. And we've been visiting our
mother Grand Lodge meaning Grand Lodge ofNew York regularly every now and then,
and you have also remembered us onour birthdays every now and then. But
I have now noticed, having traveledto your great Grand Lodge a few times,
(09:45):
that there is not a lot ofknowledge of this. And we are
actually your only fully accepted daughter inthe world, and actually the first one
of and you have now also agranddaughter, since the Grand Lodge of Finland
has given birth to the Grand Lodgeof Estonia and they are also doing the
(10:11):
Web Ritual in Estonia, so youhave a big family already, which started
in nineteen twenty two with the wisethinking of most Worshipful Tonkins. It's always
a highlight for me being able totravel in the jurisdictions here in the US
and visiting our other states and seeinghow the ritual is practiced. How different
is the New York ritual that youknow that I would know as both tied
(10:35):
to the Grand Lodge of New York, compared to if you went to Sweden
or or European countries. Masonry isquite a diverse way of thinking and educating
young men, and actually there arequite a lot of different rituals being used.
(10:58):
So I would like to point out, for instance, the special situation
we have in Finland where the neighboringcountries on our western side are all Nordic
countries and they speak the Swedish languageand they have the Swedish right, So
that is a ten degree system totallydifferent to the Web ritual you and I
(11:20):
know by heart. So there isonly the theory is the same. The
actual ritual is totally different. Nowthat is of course both a richness but
also a sort of a mishap.So it depends on which way you look
at the coin. Is it halffull or half empty? But since we
have the Swedish right also being executedin interferous Finnish region, so we have
(11:45):
the richness of being able to visitalso these different types of rituals. To
me, it just brings such asmile to my face that you have such
pride to be practicing the Web ritual. And it's one of the things that
I find so special is because thereis that immediate at New York connection with
him and the influence that he hadnot only in Blue Lodge but also in
the York Right. Is that alsosomething that is practiced in Finland? Oh?
(12:09):
Yes, we have quite a quitean amount of those appending bodies also
present in Finland as well, soyes, but also the Scottish Right is
very largely appreciated in Finland. We'reonly a population of five and a half
million people all in all, butwe're lucky to have quite a full bodied
(12:31):
Masonic brotherhood. So we have seventhousand, three hundred members and nearly two
hundred lodges in forty different cities aroundthe country, so quite widely spread.
But they are all mostly the Webritual. And we do do it in
four languages, which is quite extraordinaryas well, Finnish, Swedish, English
and German. Okay, so there'sa chance that if I was able to
(12:54):
travel out there, which would beamazing. I might be able to keep
up with what's going on, beingsomewhat familiar with it here in New York.
I promise you will. Last summer, a delegation, as you mentioned,
from the Grand Lodge in New York, traveled to Helsinki to attend many
(13:16):
events that celebrated the one hundredth anniversaryof your lodge, which was the first
lodge in Finland. Can you tellme some of the history, some of
the unique history of your lodge andwhat makes it so special besides just being
the first lodge in Finland. Yeah, well, there's a lot to carry
(13:37):
already there for sure. But ofcourse it was a special occasion in nineteen
twenty two, I mean most portableTompkins. I mean, it was not
an easy decision for him to sayand lay hey, say and say say,
and go across the Atlantic on theother side and put up a new
(13:58):
lodge somewhere. As we all know, I mean, you need three lodges
in minimum to be able to putup a Grand Lodge. So we had
to come back also the next yearand put up two more lodges, so
Thumber two on Phoenix three were alsoput up Before he could then come in
twenty four and put up the GrandLodge. So in fact, I'm very
(14:18):
proud that my lodge mother or isa descendant of a grand Lodge directly instead
of another lodge, which is thecase normally. So Grand Lodge of New
York is my mother grand log,my mother lodge. It's interesting too,
because we share that here in NewYork. We refer to our colonial lodges,
(14:39):
which would be the single digit lodgeswhere you step back and say,
oh, well, I was amember of a lodge that was warranted or
chartered in seventeen seventy four, andAmericans would be like, wow, that
was before we were even a country. They were practicing freemasonry here. And
that's a really unique thing that Iwould say in the Northeast where we have
some of the states there from theearly settlers and down on the East coast.
(15:05):
But it's neat to see that.In Finland you have that affinity for
the lower numbered lodges as well,and also respect the legacy of them.
That's right. Yes, In theGrand Lodge of England, which is then
the grandmother lodge of all of ourlodges, they call them the immemorial lodges,
and they have the same system ofthe first four lodges that are still
(15:26):
there, having been there before theGrand Lodge was there right, Well,
what is of course special of mylodges the number one lodges that we then
got to pick the plock first.And of course many of our members in
the beginning were quite big dignitaries inall fields of Finnish life, both political
(15:50):
and cultural as well. So forinstance, the world famous composer Jean Sibelius
is a member of my my lodge. And the neat thing is is that
being one hundred years old, youonly really are about five generations. So
there is that lineage to where mencould point, like yourself as Lewis's and
(16:11):
say, well, my family hashad four generations or if they're lucky,
five generations of men who have beenmembers of this lodge. Do you are
you one of the oldest that cantrace back through the generations or are there
others that have a little bit deeper? Well, a lot of families,
like you said, do have thisalready. I only have two generations,
(16:33):
so my mother for my father andmyself, but I do know of four
generations in Finland as well. Butthey are not very common. Of course,
they are quite special. That's superspecial, that's amazing. So let's
talk about the event that had happenedin twenty twenty two last summer. It
was a huge week. What weresome of the highlights that you can share
(16:53):
with us and our listeners, especiallyas the I hope I'm saying this correctly,
the sententary gram director and as afinished mason. Yes, it was,
of course for me personally a bigdeal because this started off the centenary
jubilee and we are having this forthree years. And that is of course
back to what we were just talkingthat you need the three lodges. So
(17:15):
in fact we started with the centenaryof the Lodge number one last year,
and now we're having the centenary ofthe second and third Lodge this year and
then the centenary of the Grand Lodge, which these three lodges then gave birth
to in twenty four Well, lastyear was a memorable year as it was
(17:36):
both of course the big jubilee ofmy lodge. I was proud to be
part of that feasting. However,I luckily was there only as a guest,
but at the same time then itwas the beginning of the whole jubilee
sequence of events, and we hada we had rented the music all of
(18:00):
Helsinki and we had a Masonic concertwith music only composed by Masons around the
world throughout the hundreds of years.And we were over a thousand people just
listening to Masonic music and that wasabsolutely marvelous. Remember, brother Steve was
telling us about the dinner that youhad mentioned that he attended, and he
(18:22):
got a chance to get up andsay some words. And I love when
he talks is he really does speakfrom the heart. But one of the
things that he was impressed about wasthe concert that you mentioned, but also
just being outside with the air andthe finished people, and you know,
it's just one of those things that'sunfortunate that in America we don't think of
that part of the world and unlessit's Christmas time. But he was really
(18:45):
taken back by like the beautiful architectureand just the cleanliness and the beauty that
exists in your country. That's right. We are so blessed by being up
in the north where where the climateis absolutely marvelous. It's one of the
cleanest countries in the world. Ofcourse, we have a hundred thousand lakes
where we then can spend our time. The fun thing is that you can
(19:07):
hop off your sailing boat and swimmingsweetwater and take coffee water from it and
drink coffee as well, So it'sit's all in one package. But you're
right. The jubilee and week hada lot of events, so some of
the brethren were sailing. There wereabout one hundred and twenty brethren there with
their spouses sailing around having lunch onboard ships. There were some doing,
(19:33):
of course, Masonic educational work.There were some concerts as well during the
day, so it was a bigfamily day and big event with thousands of
people working, walking around and gettingto know the Mason's. All I'm thinking
is I have not yet gotten tosit in the East. You were very
close in the Grand East as theassistant past or the past assistant Grand Master.
(19:59):
What was it like planning or pullingtogether this event? This has to
be like the big one, thatone hundredth anniversary. It certainly is.
Yes, I'm very blessed. I'vebeen a Grand officer for thirteen years.
I was a Grand Chancellor for firstfor nine years, and then Grand Secretary
for four years, and now I'vebeen known, I know the system so
(20:23):
well that it's it's a it's ait's a wonderful challenge and opportunity for me
to put this centenary together. Butit does make it does need an effort,
and I'm lucky that all the brethrenwho I've contacted and asked them to
join the team have very gladly doneso, so we are own were a
hundred volunteers at the moment already justin the planning planning phase, and once
(20:47):
we get into the execution phase willbe a hundred more. So. So,
yes, it's a big project,and and it's all done, of
course voluntarily, and I'm so happythat all the Brethren are standing up now.
By the time this podcast airs,our brothers who were listening if they
were at the twenty twenty three GrandLodge of New York session in May,
(21:07):
heard that next year a delegation ofNew York Masons will again travel to Finland
to commemorate, as you mentioned,the one hundred year anniversary of the Grand
Lodge of Finland. Can you sharewith our listener how important and how special
that event is going to be whenit comes to our two jurisdictions coming together
well. That is of course thenthe absolute highlight of the whole centenary three
(21:33):
year jubilee time. Centenary Week willbe the first week of September, that
is the actual week also when theGrand Lodge was then concentrated one hundred years
ago, and it will have anumerous numerous different events ongoing, and we
will of course be hosting guests fromall over Europe, but we are focusing
(21:57):
a lot on our brother and fromNew York because you are our real cousins
if you can call it that,or even even brethren, of course,
but I mean a bit more thanjust a normal brethren. So we are
looking at a wholesome one week's program, but you can pick what you want
(22:18):
and do what you feel like.So the main event, of course is
the centenary communication, so we willbe having, for instance, a reenactment
of Tompkins doing the consecration of theGrand Ladge one hundred years ago, not
of course, not the ritual,but the thinking behind. So we've done
(22:40):
an extensive history study with the Universityof Helsinki stepping in as well, and
we will be publishing a history bookof masonry in Finland, and that will
be then widely presented also to theopen public. So we are hoping to
engage also the open public to joinin our activities and to learn about Freemasonry
(23:02):
and also to maybe get new membersthrough that. Will there be another concert,
well, there will be actually alot of music. Yes, we
will be having the world premiere ofthe Widow's Son's Masonic Opera that will be
presented in a church, So thatwill be an absolute highlight. And as
I already pointed out earlier, composerMaster Jean Sibelius composed ritual music for the
(23:27):
WAB Ritual and that is it composedinto the ritual itself, so is an
integral, integral part of the ritual, and that will be presented to the
audience in different ways with both singingand organ playing and a bit of history
telling as well, So there willbe an option to listen to that music
(23:49):
as well, and not to saythe actual annual communication and the glad Gena
after that with a lot of jazzand so on, So a lot of
music for sure. It sounds likea good time. I wish I could
be there, and I know thatthat is not going to be a possibility
for me. Next summer will therebe opportunities for some of this to be
virtual for Mason's to attend, orwill there be recordings available, especially the
(24:14):
musical performance. I think that operasounds fantastic. How much of this will
be online during the events and howmuch will be afterwards that has not yet
been decided. There's a bit ofa difference of technology, and I think
we will rather do it afterwards,but I'm hoping that we will have a
lot of it online as well toget the highlights out there as well.
(24:38):
Do you remember where Finland is?I mean a lot of people talk very
fluently of Finland and then when youask, well where is it and then
they say, well, somewhere inEurope And that's correct, of course,
And of course it's up in thenorth. And I'm not going to do
a test on you where it ismore than that, but it is between
(25:00):
Sweden and Finland, and we havea waterway between us. So the Grand
Lodges of Sweden and Estonia will besupporting us also in the sense that there
will be a possibility for those visitingus to also do a quick stopover in
Estonia and go and look at theFreemasons Hall in Estonia or then to Sweden
(25:22):
an overnight cruise to Stockholm and getto look at that. So actually,
when I've heard your countrymen traveling herein Europe, you do this tick in
the box stop of traveling and youwill now get three ticks on the price
of one. So you'll also getto see Estonia and Stockholm and Sweden as
well. It's a big deal forus because the idea at least we're we
(25:44):
are here and I know you've visitedover here, but traveling even on our
continent and visiting the other our neighborhoodcountries, that that takes some time.
And it's one of the new thingsin Europe where it would be like traveling
over to another state for us,but it's not. It's a whole other
nation or republic of people. Ijust I'm hoping for the best for this
(26:04):
event next year. I think it'sgoing to be fantastic. I know you're
you and your team are going towork and put together a successful event.
So best of luck and enjoy itand please, you know, pictures,
videos, whatever you can share withthe rest of us. We'd like to
join in the celebration. Thank youvery much. Michael and This was a
privilege for me to tell about it, and I hope that those of you
listeners who actually got a bit enthusiasticabout it please contact your Grand secretary.
(26:30):
He has all the information, andI will be doing a writing in your
next Masonic magazine as well, soyou'll catch some information from there. We're
hoping to get pre registrations already inthis year, so I'm looking forward to
seeing as many of New York Masonsin ing in visiting in Finland and taking
(26:53):
part in your daughter's birthday before welet you go. At the end of
the podcast, I always in withthe phrase let peace and harmony prevail.
What I'd like to do is I'llclose this episode out if you could say
that line in finish, that wouldbe fantastic. Sound good? That sounds
(27:14):
good. This has been the CraftmanOnline podcast. Again. We want to
thank our guests for joining us thisweek. It was so nice when he
just said brother Larry, but I'mgonna try brother Lowery. Helena Murra right,
it's good. Thank you very much. If you've enjoyed this episode and
you want to hear more, youcan tell Siri or Alexa to play the
Craftsman online podcast. We are availableon all streaming platforms with new episodes every
(27:36):
Monday morning. Until next time,let peace and harmony prevail. Thank you all,
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