Augustus, Duke of Sussex

Grand Master of Greece

182343
Andreas C. Rizopoulos

ithin Greece it has long been accepted that the Duke of

Sussex had agreed to become Grand Master of the first Grand Lodge,
or to be more correct Grand Orient, which was established in Corfu in 1816. There was
only a little divergence as to the details. For a very long period the general belief was that
this had happened in 1811. There were others who embellished the story, claiming that
there was a close relationship between the Duke and Count Dionyssios de Roma, the
leading Masonic figure in Corfu and Zante, thus trying to explain the involvement of
both Masonry and Britain in the Revolution of 1821.
Since Greek Masonic historians started studying the Masonic archives at the Fonds
Maonnique, several documents surfaced which concern the decision made in April 1816
by the Greek lodges working in the Ionian Islands to form themselves into a Grand Orient and to request the Duke of Sussex to become the Grand Master of the new body.
Everyone who has written about the formation of the Grand Orient have stressed
three aspects. First, the actual acceptance by the Duke of the position, second, that the
acceptance was enthusiastic and immediate, and finally that a Concordat was signed

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Andreas Rizopoulos
between the Duke and the Grand Orient confirming the acceptance and providing for
the total independence and powers of the Grand Orient within Greece.
All three aspects were confirmed by secondary evidence only, because no one was
able to produce the famous, but elusive, Concordat.
I have been searching diligently for this important document for almost thirty years.
First, I exhausted all the Greek sources, then the French archives, and finally I searched
the Library and Museum of Freemasonry in Great Queen Street, London, without success. I practically lost any hope that I would able to find this important document so
I wrote a paper on the Duke describing the situation,1 also referring back to an earlier
paper I had written about the political background to Masonic activities in nineteenthcentury Greece.2

Serendipitous development
Though I had given up any hope that I might be able to locate the elusive document, I
was prompted to make a last effort. I sent a final inquiry to the Director of the Library
and Museum of Freemasonry asking about the document. Ten days later I was delighted
to receive a message that . . . You will be pleased to know that I have located the documents relating to the agreement between the United Grand Lodge of England and the
Grand Orient of Greece. In our Historical Correspondence box 26 there is a folder C
relating to Greece.
The document we have been calling Concordat for so many years is just a one-page
document of 121 words and despite all previous available information there is only one
item of an agreement in it. Here is the text of the document:
Kensington Palace, London
9th December A.L. 5823
A.D. 1823
The R. W. Brother Demetrius Zervo by the annexed letter under date of the 3rd
instant having communicated to His Royal Highness the Duke of Sussex, Grand
Master of England, that the Grand Lodge of Greece established in the Island of
Corfu, has by certain resolutions authorised him the R. W. Brother Zervo to solicit
that His Royal Highness will accept the Grand Mastership of the said Grand Lodge
of Greece. His Royal Highness in agreeing to accede to such request requires that it
shall be distinctly understood and stipulated that the Grand Lodge of Greece shall

1
Andreas Rizopoulos, Duke of Sussex: Grand Master in Two Countries, Heredom 16 (2008), 85100. See especially
906.
2
Andreas Rizopoulos, Masonic Activities with Political Background in Nineteenth Century Greece, Heredom 14
(2006), 24970.

2

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Augustus Duke of Sussex, Grand Master of Greece 182343

not establish any Lodge in the Island of Malta or in any other British Colony or settlement whatever.
Executed in duplicate the above date
Demetrius Zervo G ME& GDof the GOof Greece His
RHthe Duke of Sussex G Mof the of England.
Witness
William H. White G. S.

The annexed letter referred to in the first line of this document is a letter from Demetrius
Zervo, well known from the French archives in a French translation. This is printed in
its original English text at the end of this paper as Appendix 1.
Demetrius Zervo, a special representative of the Grand Orient of Greece, wrote this
letter, dated 3 December 1823, pleading with the Duke to meet and be provided with
the desired acceptance of the Grand Mastership of the Grand Orient of Greece. Zervo
describes how he had been unsuccessful over the past years in obtaining a meeting with
the Duke. Zervo was a senior official of the postal services in Corfu and thus a frequent
traveller to London.
Zervos letter was the latest of many efforts to obtain the acquiescence of the Grand
Mastership by the Duke. We know that there had been many approaches to offer the
Duke the position from the time of the original decision to do so in April 1816 and
Zervos letter written in December 1823. Fortunately, among the documents unearthed
there are two letters from Angelo Calichiopulo who was the Deputy Grand Master of
the Grand Orient of Greece between 1816 and and his death in 1843.
On 3 April 1820 Calichiopulo sent yet another plea to the Duke through the good
offices of da Costa, editor of the magazine Gazette Portugaise in London, Provincial
Grand Master for Rutland and the Dukes private secretary.3 The covering letter to da
Costa expresses the desperation of not receiving an acceptance for such a long time.
Calichiopulo writes to da Costa: [. . . ] for the good of the Royal Art which we profess.
I beg you to favour us to submit to HRHthe request of the Serene Grand Orient
and inform us regardless of the result, whatever it is, so that we will no longer doubt and
hope so we can take further action.4

da Costa (Hippolyto Jos da Costa Pereira Furtado da Mendona) held the unique rank as Provincial Grand Master
for Rutland to which he was appointed in 1813, a complete sinecure, for at that date and for nearly a century after that
county did not contain a single Masonic lodge. He was one of two Companions who examined the Duke of Sussex at
a Grand Chapter of the Supreme Grand and Royal Chapter of England held on 10 May 1810 immediately prior to his
installation as First Principal. As the Dukes private secretary, he was undoubtedly the right person for the transmission
of petitions to His Royal Highness.
4
See Appendix 2 for the full French text of the letter from Calichiopulo from which this extract has been translated.

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Andreas Rizopoulos
The second letter, which Calichiopulo sent to da Costa for transmission also on 3
April 1820, was signed by the two Grand Wardens and the Grand Secretary General of
the Grand Orient of Greece. The third paragraph carries the following plea:
But if until now Greek Masons were supported by persuasion to receive the formal
acceptance of your Royal Highness on his nomination with the rank of Grand Master
of their Order, they could flatter themselves to see their hopes realized; if while waiting for this happy day, they did not cease working on its behalf, it is quite right that
they take the trouble of their proclamations openly and without misplacing, their last
and irrevocable intentions on this proposal.5

Despite these pleas, as we now know, another three years and eight months elapsed
before the acceptance of the Duke materialized.
As seen, the Concordat contains a subtle or indirect acceptance by the Duke of the
offer of the position of Grand Master and stipulates only one restriction concerning
Malta. Since the documents mentioned an agreement concerning the Royal Arch and
the establishment of British Lodges in the Ionians to cater solely for British nationals,
there might have been some further exchanges, which have not yet been located.

Acceptance of the position and reasons for the delay

Some well-meaning Greek historians have enthused in the past, massaging reality a bit,
by hailing the immediate acceptance by the Duke and the signing of a Concordat, claiming that this was due to excellent relations between the Duke and Denis de Roma, the
leading Masonic personality in the Ionians.
The document now confirms the actual date when the Duke accepted the position,
the text of the acceptance, and the one limitation about Malta. It is witnessed by the
then Grand Secretary of the United Grand Lodge of England, W. H. White.
United Grand Lodge of England respected this Concordat at least until 1835. But
all this happened more than seven years after the resolutions made by the Greeks. Most
probably the Duke was waiting for the dust to settle in Greece before taking a decision,
which might otherwise appear to be politically tainted. But after all, even with the delay,
a Concordat was obtained long before the official policy of Great Britain supported the
Greek cause.
As a sideline, it seems that the Duke of Sussex, probably due to his political beliefs,
was always in favour of independent Grand Lodges being established in other European
countries. In one of the biographies of the Duke there is the following paragraph:
[. . .] the Duke of Sussex however advised them rather than do that to form lodges of
themselves and send a representative to the Grand Lodge of England to be acknowl5

4

See Appendix 3 for the full French text of the letter from Calichiopulo from which this extract has been translated.

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Augustus Duke of Sussex, Grand Master of Greece 182343

edged by that body [. . .] in which case the political independence of the country
could not be biased by the Masonic connection of the Portuguese lodges with the
Grand Lodge of France.6

The reason for the 1843 letters

Trying to present the secondary evidence confirming the existence of a concordat, I
quoted from some letters from the Grand Orient of Greece. The letters mentioned
above were sent in November 1843 to a number of Grand Lodges including the Grand
Orient of France and the United Grand Lodge of England. Copies of these letters emanated from the Fonds Maonnique and another copy has now surfaced from the documents in the Library. But what made these letters necessary? The answer is simple: indirectly the Duke of Sussex, or rather the memory of the Duke.
When the Duke of Sussex died on 21 April 1843 there were on the island of Corfu
Masons belonging to the Grand Orient of Greece and English Masons belonging to the
English lodge, Pythagoras No. 654, plus a number of British Masons belonging to several military lodges, which were stationed in Corfu at that time, as part of the British
Protectorate.
Greek and English Masons decided to organize a memorial service for the late Duke.
In the course of the arrangements a Greek member of the Grand Orient, Anthony Dandolo, demanded to be placed in a prominent place in view of his 33o from France.
Dandolo was at that time causing problems for the Grand Orient by creating clandestine Masons on the basis of his high degree, so the Council of the Grand Orient
refused to accord him special honours. Despite being politically anti-British and active
in a national independence movement, Dandalo was offended and so applied for a warrant for a new lodge from the Grand Orient of France.
So the Grand Orient of Greece sent the letters in late 1843. Pythagoras Lodge No.
654, formed in October 1837, complained to the United Grand Lodge of England,
though its pleas were to no avail. The Grand Orient of France provided Dandolo with a
warrant and Phoenix Lodge, which he joined, is still working. However, for many years
relations between the older Pythagoras Lodge and Phoenix Lodge were very tense until
some date between 1855 and 1859 when the Grand Orient of Greece became dormant,
followed by the dormancy of the former lodge.
The Duke of Sussex directly and indirectly helped the Grand Orient of Greece in the
Ionian Islands to be established and he was indirectly responsible for its demise.

L. Glck Rosenthal, A Biographical Memoir . . . of the Duke of Sussex (Brighton: 1846), 55.

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Andreas Rizopoulos

However, the story has another aspect

Augustus Frederick, Duke of Sussex, was connected to Greece in a political way. From
this snippet I am unable to tell whether the Duke was aware of the negotiations, which
concerned him for a brief period of time.
The Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire was launched early
in 1821. The war went on for a number of years with ups and downs and it was not until
1828 that most European countries recognized the independence of the country.
European countries were concerned about the ability of the Greeks to govern themselves, at least according to the specifications of the major European countries. So
among other considerations it became essential to find some royal personage to govern
the country following its independence.
A number of names for a prospective King of Greece were put on the table. One of
them was that of the Duke of Sussex. Douglas Dakin7 describes the negotiations taking
place after 1824 and how the countries notably France and United Kingdom though
not having the upper hand, were trying to prevent the others arriving at an unpalatable decision. Dakin wrote: Canning would seem to accept the view that the French
favoured to some extent the Orleanist plan for Greece if only to scotch what they supposed to be the English plan of setting up Leopold of Saxe-Coburg or the Duke of Sussex as King of Greece.8
Then he wrote: [. . .] the Greek Deputies were certainly opposed to any exclusive
leaning towards France. They later suggested to Koundouriottes that the Duke of Sussex
would make an admirable King of Greece.9
Dakin elaborates further in another book: Guilfords plan entailed the calling of
a new national assembly and the organization of a party to clamour for Leopold of
Saxe-Coburg or the Duke of Sussex as King of Greece.10 And further: The object they
imagined was, according to Cannings reckoning, an English plan to send Leopold of
Saxe-Coburg or the Duke of Sussex to Greece and they therefore, again according to
Canning, tried to scotch it by getting the Greeks to shout for the Duke of Nemours.11
As events turned out, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld became King of the
Belgians in 1831 and Greece in 1829 initially opted for a President of the republic and
elected Ioannis Capodistria [Kapodistrias], a Freemason, but he was assassinated two
years later. In 1832 it was decided that a King of Greece needed to be chosen, and Otto
of Wittelsbach, who reigned as Otho I until he abdicated in 1862, was selected dur7
Douglas Dakin, British Intelligence of Events in Greece 18241827: A Documentary Collection in Bulletin de la
Societ Historique et Ethnique de la Grce Vol. XIII (1959).
8
Dakin, op. cit., 38.
9
Dakin, op. cit., 67.
10
Douglas Dakin, The Greek Struggle for Independence 18211833 (London: Batsford, 1973), 159.
11
Dakin, The Greek Struggle, 1745

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Augustus Duke of Sussex, Grand Master of Greece 182343

ing a meeting between Bavaria and the three major powers France, Great Britain and
Russia.
A final note concerns the 2nd Earl of Zetland, the Dukes successor. From the Minutes dated 23 November 1844 of the Lodge Fenice Risorta of Zante, we learn that the
Earl was elected Grand Master of the Grand Orient of Greece.
So far I have not located any other details about this. However, in the Library there
is a copy of a letter dated 14 October 1844 to the Grand Secretary (?) stating:
I have retained the address from the Grand Lodge of Greece. I suppose I cannot do
otherwise than accept this distinction they have honored me with.
When you have found the memorandum you speak of, relative to the terms and
conditions on which His late Royal Highness accepted the Grand Mastership, I shall
be obliged to you to write a proper answer to the Grand Lodge of Greece and sent
[sic] it to me for my signature.
Would you want me to send you back the address in order to frame the answer to
it?

Acknowledgement
I must express my thanks and appreciation to Diane Clements, Director of the Library
and Museum of Freemasonry, Martin Cherry, Librarian, and Louise Pichel, Assistant
Archivist, for their very helpful and speedy handling of my requests and the kind permission to use copyrighted material.
Appendix 1

London the 3rd day of the XII month

AL5823 ad 1823
To His Royal Highness
The Duke of Sussex
Most Worshipful Grand Master of theof England

Most Worshipful Grand Master

Since the political destiny of the Ionian Islands was in the year 1814 happily decided,
and placed them as an independent State under the perpetual Protection of His Majesty the King of Great Britain, the Freemasons of those Countries who were formerly
working under the Dependence of the Grand Orient of Paris found it necessary to
establish themselves in a National Grand Orient under the appellation of Grand Orient of Greece, and by unanimous wish and voice they have declared Your Royal Highness as Grand Master.
As it was necessary, until your Royal Highnesss pleasure be made known to us,
that we should make some arrangement for going on with the work, we accordingly
have appointed two joint Grand Masters, one in the person of the Brother Mr. Angelo
Calichiopulo the most valuable supporter of our Order in Greece and the other in

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Andreas Rizopoulos
the person of Brother William Meyer, an English Gentleman who at that time was in
the Ionian Islands and we have also formed some Rules & Regulations for carrying on
our Works until we could ascertain, by placing ourselves in communication with the
of England, how far we could conform our Work to that of the aforesaid
Several respectful applications have consequently been made by our Grand Orient to your Royal Highness since our first installation, but to our great sorrow and
unhappily for us no answer was received up to the moment I left Corfu in July last.
The Grand Orient of Greece, most anxious to acquaint Your Royal Highness of
our ardent wishes and of what was hitherto done on the subject, has entrusted me
with the charge of their Grand Deputy, furnishing me with all the necessary letters,
documents and powers to be the fortunate interpreter of their sincere respectful and
ardent vows & prayer towards Your Royal Highness.
Threatened by serious difficulties at Milan by the Police of that Town I have been
under the painful necessity for my safety to destroy all the documents alluded to.
As however all the documents in question stand on record and as I am so happy
& honored as to approach Your Royal Highnesss person, I would fail on the paramount & sacred duty towards my Brethren and the Order if I would not endeavour
even under the circumstances already stated to forward the subject with which I was
charged.
In consequence therefore of the abovementioned Powers & Instructions issued to
me by the Grand Orient of Greece I most earnestly & respectfully entreat your Royal
Highness in the name of the said Grand Orient not to disappoint us in our expectations by graciously accepting the Charges of Grand Master of the Grand Orient
of Greece: Convinced as we are from the knowledge we possess that under your
Royal Highnesss enlightened & happy auspices we shall thrive and be happy as our
fellow Brethren of this Great Empire who [?] the honor and are the most valued support of the Most Ancient Order of Masonry.
With the most profound respect and fraternal regard I beg leave to subscribe my
self.
Most Worshipful Grand Master
Your Royal Highness,
Most dutiful and obedient
Servant and Brother
Demetrius Zervo
GMSand Grand Deputy
of the GrOrGreece at HRH
The Duke of Sussex MWGM
of the of England.

Appendix 2.
Orde Corfou le 3me Jour du 2me Mois de lan
de LVL5820
TRet TCFrre,

8

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Augustus Duke of Sussex, Grand Master of Greece 182343

Au retour dans ces Iles du RFWilliam Meyer le SGOrde la Grce a reu la
certitude que son Altesse Royale Le Duc De Sussex stait plu daccepter tacitement
sa nomination de GMatre de cet Or, en promettant de lui adresser par un exprs
son acceptation formelle. Voila plus de six mois que cette agrable nouvelle lui est
parvenue, et rien encore na ralise son attente. Tous ses membres ne sachant quoi
attribuer ce retard, dautant plus quil y a prs de quatre ans que leurs travsont dirigs
au nom de SAltR, ont [?] Adresses en Assemble Gnrale, leurs observations
ce sujet in ne priant de profiter du dpart pour Londres du RFCarteraithe, et de
renouveler leurs vaux auprs l Auguste Prince, afin den obtenir une rponse dcisive.
En ne rpondant aux dsirs de mes FF je suis dans la ncessit de vous importuner, mon TCet TRF; Mais comme le RFMeyer ma assur que je
devais madresser directement vous, pour tout ce qui concernait le SGOrde
la Grce, je me craintes pas que vous puissiez maccder dindiscrtion dans une
dmarche dicte par le pur amour Ma, et me reposant entirement sur votre indulgence et votre zle pour le bien de lart Royal que nous professons. Je vous prie de
nous faire la faveur de vous charger de prsenter SAlRla demande de ce de
ce SGOret de nous informer le plutt du rsultat, quel quil soit, afin que, ne
doutant plus sur ce que nous devons esprer, nous puissions prendre les ultrieures
mesures.
Joie aussi vous prier de me faire la faveur particulire doffrir SAltRoyale,
mes trs respectueux hommages, et lassurance du dvouement sincre que je professe
pour son August Personne.
Agrez, mon TCet TRFmes excuses pour tous les embarras que je vous
prpare, et daignez croire lattachement inviolable et Frat que je vous exprime
PLNMCDSVM
Le GMAdjoint du SG
Orde la Grce.
A. Calichiopulo
GIICdO

Appendix 3.
Orde Corfou le 3me Jour du 2me Mois de lan de LVL5820
ALGDGAdl U
Le SGOrient de la Grce
Professant le Rit Grec, rgulirement constitu SLP
GCDSVMet sigeant lorde Corfou,
A son Altesse Royale le Duc De Sussex
GMde la Fratrunie des M.MX. X. X
A l Orde Londres
Altesse Royale,
Depuis plus de trois ans que le SGOrde la Grce sest rig sur les bases
de lancienne GM Provinciale de ces tats, cest pour la troisime fois quil

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Andreas Rizopoulos
se permet dadresser votre Altesse Royale, les tabdarchitrelatives au choix
quil crut devoir faire de votre Auguste Personne pour protger et illustrer son foyer
Geomen lui accordant la faveur distingue de travailler sous ses glorieux auspices.
Le Ret TCFFranklin Pousset fut en 5817 porteur dune premire
adresse, de laquelle le SGOrna reu aucune rponse directe; en 5818 le Ret
TCFWilliam Meyer eut le faveur de prsenter de vive voix votre Altesse Royale les vaux ardens que tous les vrais lus Ioniens forment pour la voir la tte de
leurs travCe RFen linformant des particularits concernant cette intressante
famille (contenues dans les Tabdarchitque par prudence, il fut oblig de dtruire
au Lazareth de Barlette) lui a fait connatre la ncessit dune reforme dans le personnel et dans le Rit mme, afin dextirper les vices et les abus que les dernires rvolutions politiques avaient introduits dans son sein . . . Cette reforme gnrale a eu lieu
au retour du RFMeyer, lequel, en apportant au SGOrde la Grce la consolante nouvelle de lapprobation tacite de votre Altesse Royale a, en sa qualit de
GMAdjoint, contribu a la rgnration de lOrdre Madans les tats Unis
des Iles Ioniennes!
Mais si jusque prsent les MaGrecs soutenus par la persuasion de recevoir
lacceptation formelle de votre Altesse Royal sur sa nomination au grde GMatre
de leur Ordre, ont pu se flatter de voir ralises leur esprances; si en attendant cet
heureux jour, ils nont cess de travailler en son nom, il est bien juste quelle prenne la
peine de leur manifestes ouvertement et sans nul gare, ses dernires et irrvocables
intentions sur cette proposition.
Si votre Altesse Royale et digne condescendre aux vaux sincres de tous les Membres de se SGOrils assent la supplier de rpondre directement la prsente
adresse, et se font un devoir de la prvenue que dans le cas contraire, ils seront dans la
pnible ncessit dinterprter son silence comme un refus formel. Ils la prviennent
en mme tems que la compilation des Constitutions et les Rglemens Gnraux et
Particuliers du SGOrde la Grce, ainsi que le Tableau des dpendantes, et
des FFqui les composent, nattendent que sa rponse affirmative pour tre soumis
ses lumires Ma
En offrant a votre Altesse Royale lhommage respectueux de leur vnration, ils
rclament linapprciable faveur de pouvoir de dire, sous les rapports Maet Prof
De Votre Altesse Royale,
Les trs humbles et trs dvous serviteurs.
Le SGMAdjoint
A. Calichiopulo
GIICdO
Le 2meGSurv
Le 1er GSurv
De la Gdadm et dappel
VnbleEn Exerde la GSymb
VDondi

10

Par Mandement
Le GSecGnral
VPrucha

Gianata

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