Freemasonry in Sweden

The Royal Order of Scotland has never formed part of the Swedish Rite, but in 2000 a Provincial Grand Lodge of the Order was reestablished in Stockholm, the original from 1852, with members of the Swedish Rite permitted to join it as a side degree, or appendant body. A second Provincial Grand Lodge was established in 2002 in Kristianstad and a third in 2016 in Linköping. It admits only Christian men who are VII grade (or above) members of the Swedish Order of Freemasons, and strictly by invitation only.[6]

Women Freemasons seem to have been introduced early in Sweden, though the information in scarce: according to documents of the Swedish Freemasons, Hedvig Charlotta Nordenflycht was in 1747 the Grand Mistress of in a certain Ordre de la resemblance, which can thus be interpreted as a Women's Lodge of Adoption.[7] However, a confirmed Women's Lodge does not appear until the 1770s.

On 2 May 1776, the Grand Master of the Swedish Freemasonic Order, Duke Charles, had his spouse, Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp, inaugurated as the Grand Mistress of a female lodge of adoption to his own lodge at the Royal Palace, Stockholm, named Le véritable et constante amitié.[7] This new woman's lodge of adoption was confirmed by seal from Grand Master of the French Freemasonic Order, Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, and the Grand Mistress of the French Woman's Lodge of Adoption, Bathilde d'Orléans, on 8 May 1776.[7] The Woman's Lodge of Adoption was organized by rules set by Duchess Charlotte in three grades with a ritual in five grades after a French role model, and had their meetings in the same rooms in the apartments of Duke Charles in the Royal Palace where the male lodge also had their meetings.[7] Except Duchess Charlotte herself, Sophie von Fersen and Hedvig Eleonora von Fersen, both introduced in 1776, are confirmed as members of the Lodge of Adoption, and Charlotte Stierneld are likely to have been member of the same lodge, as she was named as "already a Freemason" when she was introduced in the Yellow Rose Lodge.[7] It is unknown how long the Lodge of Adoption was active, but it is likely that is functioned at least until 1789, when duchess Charlotte mention how duke Charles allowed her to participate in "secret gatherings" to explore the occult, and perhaps as long as until the foundation of the short lived Co-Masonic Lodge Yellow Rose Lodge in 1802, but was surely abolished in 1803, when all secret societies at court was banned.[7]

The International Order of Co-Masonry, or Le Droit Humain, came to Sweden in 1918, when a lodge was established in Stockholm. A second lodge in Gothenburg was short-lived. Being a co-masonic obedience it admits both men and women. Today, there are four Le Droit Humain lodges in Sweden (two in Stockholm, one in Vänersborg and one in Malmö), which are linked administratively with others across Scandinavia.[8] Lodges use either the "Lauderdale" or "George Martin" versions of the three craft degrees, as well as various high degrees (especially of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, which is the main ritual system for the entirety of Le Droit Humain).[9]

The Swedish Masonic Camp (Swedish: Svenska Frimurare Lägret) was a system established in 1951 using Craft and Royal Arch warrants that John Trollnäs had received in the 1930s from the Grand Lodge of Hamburg. He also received from the Supreme Council in Leipzig warrants to work the Scottish Rite and the Memphis Rite. Five lodges were established during the 1950s at Lund, Halmstad, Gothenburg and Helsingborg in southern Sweden. Even at its 1960s highpoint membership was just 350, and during the 1970s and 1980s both membership and activity decreased. All five lodges closed, the last in 2006. A small group of former members revived the order in 2009 with lodges in Stockholm and Simrishamn. It accepts male members who believe in a Supreme Being. It works the craft degrees, the Holy Royal Arch, the Order of Mark Master Masons, the Order of Royal and Select Masters, the Order of High Priests, and the Royal Ark Mariner degree. It has a goal of reviving in Sweden the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite and the Rite of Memphis.

Gran Oriente Latinoamericano is a co-masonic (mixed male and female) system introduced into Sweden in 1984. It has lodges in Stockholm, Norrköping and Södertälje. It works the French Rite (Rite Français), and does not require a belief in a Supreme Being amongst its members.

Since early 2010s, the Grand Lodge of Finland has operated a district grand lodge of Sweden with the permission of the Swedish Rite. The lodges chartered by the Grand Lodge of Finland work using a Swedish-language version of the Finnish ritual, which is a close successor of the ritual used by the Grand Lodge of State of New York. The lodges require that candidates are men who profess faith in a Supreme Being and the immortality of soul.[10][11]

The Swedish district grand lodge is in full amity with the Swedish rite, and the grand master of the Swedish Order of Freemasons has participated in inauguration of Finnish-rite lodges.[12]