The message of the Sovereign Grand Commander Stelian Nistor, 33 °
on the occasion of the 140th anniversary of the RSAA in Romania
"For evil to triumph, it's enough for good people to do nothing! ”
Brother Edmund Burke (1729-1797)
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, our Rite, celebrates 140 years of existence in Romania. Long live us!
In our country, in 140 years, the Scottish Rite has gone through two world wars and a few dictatorships: royal, fascist, communist. He will also go through a pandemic… Even if they sometimes tried to ban him outright, they only slowed him down. The rite did not stop and does not stop. The past, but also the present, have shown that dictatorships pass, the Scottish Rite remains.
Each of us contributes as and as much as he can, with his social and Masonic prestige, to the increase of the social and Masonic prestige of the Rite. Aim? When one of us fails only with his powers in resolving a situation, may the greater prestige of the Rite come to his aid. Prestige, not strength. Assuming you belong to something bigger than you is a unique feeling, isn't it?
No one was born a Freemason, but we are trying to become one. The Scottish Rite is in fact a school which, as our forefathers said, has the "key and the lock" of an old-fashioned Masonic refinement. Even the elite. It is a Masonic path with firm rules and harsh customs. It is not an easy path. It's not for everyone, not everyone can resist. It is only for true Masonic masters. It is, in fact, a school for leaders, which is formed and evolves in a freely agreed discipline, of chivalric and military tradition. Freemasonry is lived, not mimicked.
"I swear allegiance to my country, Romania. I swear to defend them and protect them, even at the cost of my life, the Name, the People and the Tricolor Flag! ” Our brothers made a dungeon and even sacrificed their lives for our country to remain ours. If today we are part of a strong Rite, recognized and respected by all the Supreme Councils in the world, it is first of all the late fruit of these masons of character who could have been tortured, killed, but not allowed to be bought. That is why we will erect at the end of November an oak cross, a simple cross, in their memory. We will write on it only that "1881-2021". Only we will know what a complex meaning this seemingly simple inscription has!
Next to the crucifix, we will plant 140 acacias. An acacia 3.5 meters high for each year of life of the Scottish Rite in Romania. Only we will know the significance of the 140 acacias. Acacias of the Rite. Only we, and when we choose to tell them, will know our children. They will choose to tell our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Only we and the Masons who will follow us will know, to whom we become the forerunners they can be proud of.
The 140 acacias will become a landmark in the biography of the Scottish Rite, not just in our country. Every Lodge, every Kadoș Chapter or Council, every Inspectorate or even every Brother in good standing at the Rite, will be able to adopt one of these acacias, with which his name will last over time. This will be recorded in a time capsule, buried in the foundation of the crucifix. "See, Brother, that acacia, the 77th in a row, or the 3rd, or the 140th… was put by your grandfather or put by our Lodge in 2021."
We, the members of the Rite of its 140th year, try to do our part of our duty to the History of Freemasonry in Romania. If you do not choose to write your own page for those who will be in the Rite in another 140 years, History will not wait for you. But for everything you've done so far for Rite, thank you! But you, my dear Brother, know that you will retain from my thanks only as much as you know you deserve.
The Scottish rite will not stop. Long live us!
The Grand National Lodge of Romania will not stop. Long live us! Freemasonry in Romania will not stop. Long live us!
Do you remember, my dear Brother, the wish I made at the end of 2019?
I repeat it here: “Let our enemies live. To see us happy! ” We are moving forward! Fixed forward!
Stelian Nistor, 33 °
