Mediafax, Bucharest, 19.04.2021:
- "Romanian Freemasonry eliminates impostors", announces the Grand National Lodge of Romania.
- The Masons of the Grand National Lodge of Romania, gathered on Saturday in an extraordinary Convent, elected, "statutorily" their new leadership, "eliminating the impostors".
- The new Grand Master is "Most Respectable Brother George Ivaşcu", former Minister of Culture and National Identity, well-known actor and theater manager.
- The secretariat of the organization warns that “President Prof. Univ. Dr. Dr. ” Bălănescu Radu Ninel, whom he calls an impostor, is no longer the Regular and Recognized Masonic Organization of the Grand National Lodge of Romania.
- Message from Thomas W. Jackson, Founding Honorary President of the World Conference of Regular Grand Lodges: "I am glad, however, that this separation did not result in the creation of another Grand Lodge."
One year after the start of an unprecedented crisis in the organization, the Masons of the Grand National Lodge of Romania met on Saturday in an extraordinary convent and elected the new Grand Master, "Most Respectable Brother George Ivaşcu", former minister of Culture and National Identity, well-known actor and theater manager.
On Saturday, April 17, 2021, the Grand National Lodge of Romania (MLNR) met in an extraordinary Convention, which due to health restrictions, took place online. According to the communiqué sent by the Secretariat of the organization, 4354 (four thousand three hundred and fifty-four) Masonic Masters were represented by statute from 237 (two hundred and thirty-seven) Lodges from all over Romania by “414 (four hundred and fourteen) delegates and 20 (twenty) members of the Grand Council, in the presence in 1676 (one thousand six hundred and seventy-six) of Masonic Masters ”.
The organization's secretariat reports that the Romanian Masons have statutorily elected their new leadership, leaving behind the "working" group coagulated around the former leader.
Although it is an internal event, MLNR is "regular and recognized", ie it operates according to the old laws of Freemasonry, being accepted as such worldwide, the Secretariat of the organization reports. In his message to the “Brothers Attending the Extraordinary National Convention of April 17, 2021,” Thomas W. Jackson, Founding Honorary President of the World Conference of Grand Regular Lodges, expressed the attitude of Universal Freemasonry toward the legitimacy of the event (see the two attachments, original and translation): “I am very saddened by this schism that happened in Freemasonry in Romania. I look at it almost as a personal failure. I am glad, however, that this separation did not result in the creation of another Grand Lodge. "
A prominent member of the organization translates this message into "profane terms": "The message is very clear. Mr. „President Prof. Univ. Dr. Dr. ” Bălănescu Radu Ninel is no longer the Regular and Recognized Masonic organization of the Grand National Lodge of Romania. He has been dismissed by statute from the Masonic organization Grand National Lodge of Romania since October 17, 2020 (see the document here).
According to the organization, "as if nothing had happened", Bălănescu Radu Ninel continues to issue sentences. "In pathology, how would that be defined? In Regular Universal Freemasonry, the title “President Prof. Univ. Dr. Dr. ” does not exist. The use of this title is a defiance of the slightest decency for any mason. It is generated by an exacerbated self-respect, for a bloated self-image. Let it be meant to influence both those who may be deceived, and especially the State authorities and the criminal and civil Courts, before whom Mr. “President Prof. Univ. Dr. Dr. ” is he being called more and more often? ” , the organization reports, in the communiqué entitled "Freemasonry in Romania eliminates impostors".
…
In recent months, the organization has had a temporary leadership. One of the members of the “pro tempore” Grand Council confesses: “Today we have successfully completed our mission. The Grand Lodge again has a regularly elected leadership and our Constitution has been enriched with amendments, voted by a majority well over the required two-thirds. They work like a vaccine: they allow us to prevent the recurrence of abuses like those of the former leadership. The confusion of names reminds me of when someone used the CEC logo in a scam. "Will it be all right, Doctor?" Personally, although I am satisfied, I still wonder: what did a man with the will of a local baron look for in our organization? We call ourselves "brothers" because we are primarily dedicated to equality between people. "
The full article is on the Mediafax website: Romanian Freemasonry has a new Grand Master