APOH 1807™

Grand Orient of the United States of America

Tap to enter the Mother Constitution of the Craft under the Ancient Primitive Order of Hérédom 1807™, descending from the French-American Antilles into New York.

The Craft Line of the Rite

1801 – In the French-American Antilles, lodges working under the currents of the Grand Orient de France keep the Ancient French Craft alive amid revolution and exile.

1802 – A French Mason, bearing the Patents and usages of these lodges, labors under Mathieu Dupotet at Port-Républicain, entrusted with both Craft and haut-grades.

1806 – With regular authority, this line passes through Cuba and then across the sea to New York, carrying the Constitutions of Apprentice, Fellow-Craft, and Master Mason in the Cerneau current.

1807 – In the City of New York, the Ancient Primitive Order of Hérédom takes root. Its Craft lodges, born of the French-Antillean tradition, stand as the symbolic foundation of the Rite.

From this heritage arises the Grand Orient of the United States of America of the Ancient Primitive Order of Hérédom 1807™, Mother Constitution of the World for the Craft Degrees of the Cerneau line.

Cerneau Line · French-American Antilles · New York 1807
Grand Orient of the United States of America
Of the Ancient Primitive Order of Hérédom 1807™ · Mother Constitution of the World

Declaration of Continuity:

The Ancient Primitive Order of Hérédom 1807™ derives from the Scottish High-Degree system transmitted from the Grand Orient of France through Joseph Cerneau, established in New York in 1807. This lineage was preserved through the Cerneau Supreme Council under Edmund B. Hays, and subsequently transmitted by Harry J. Seymour, Sovereign Grand Inspector General.

Following the Cerneau disruptions of the 1860s, Seymour continued the Rite with the approval of the Grand Orient de France, and transmitted the authority of the Rite to John Yarker, who perpetuated the tradition in Europe.

The documentation of this Cerneau-derived Scottish Rite working is preserved in the Fonds Maçonnique FM4-979 manuscript at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, which records the continuation of the Rite under the authority of Cerneau in New York in 1807.

Through the Yarker transmission the Rite continued through the Scandinavian line and into the present Sovereign Grand Council.

Thus the Ancient Primitive Order of Hérédom 1807™ stands as a continuation of the Cerneau Scottish Rite tradition descending from the Grand Orient of France and preserved through the Seymour–Yarker lineage.

The Grand Orient of the United States of America is the Craft jurisdiction of the Ancient Primitive Order of Hérédom 1807™, heir to the French-Antillean lodges that crossed from Saint-Domingue and Cuba into New York at the dawn of the nineteenth century.

Under the Cerneau line, the Grand Orient guards the traditional French form of the three symbolic degrees — Apprentice, Fellow-Craft, and Master Mason — as they were transmitted through Morin, Long, de Grasse-Tilly, Dupotet, and T. Ill. Joseph Cerneau. Its lodges work in harmony with the Sovereign Grand Council of the 33rd and Last Degree, yet remain sovereign, free from dependence upon any modern amalgamated Supreme Council or civil incorporation.

UNIVERSI TERRARUM ARCHITECTONIS MAGNI AD GLORIAM INGENII
Grand Orient of the United States of America Seal
SIT LUX ET LUX FUIT

Craft Degrees of the Rite

The Grand Orient works only the traditional Craft degrees of the Ancient French system: Apprentice, Fellow-Craft, and Master Mason. These are not re-invented or altered to match later American usages, but preserved in the spirit of the French-Antillean rituals carried to New York in 1806–1807.

Within its lodges, the Grand Orient teaches the ethical, philosophical, and symbolic foundations that prepare a Brother to approach the higher work of the Ancient Primitive Rite of Hérédom 1807™. No higher degree is regarded as valid that does not rest upon this Craft foundation.

Obedience & Independence

The Grand Orient is a Mother Constitution of the World for the Craft of the Cerneau line. It recognizes the Sovereign Grand Council of the Thirty-Third Degree, Ne Plus Ultra as the high-grade authority of the Rite, yet it does not submit to any external Supreme Council, federation, or American amalgamation created after 1802.

Its authority is founded upon historic Patents, international recognition, and the uninterrupted transmission of the Cerneau heritage. Obedience is owed to the Grand Orient only through regular initiation, oath, and affiliation — never through the claims of outside jurisdictions.

Admission & Continuity

Men of lawful age, sound mind, and good report who seek initiation within the Cerneau line may petition a lodge working under the Grand Orient. The Craft degrees are conferred in a solemn and traditional manner, mindful of their French-Antillean origin and of the obligations that bind each Brother to the Rite and to his fellows.

The Grand Orient maintains records, charters, and archives that trace its lineage from the French-American Antilles through Joseph Cerneau in New York, and forward through the recognized custodians who preserved the Rite in Europe before its return to the United States. In this way, the living stream of the Ancient Primitive Order of Hérédom 1807™ remains visible, verifiable, and intact.