Origins and continuity of the Rite
The Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraïm did not arise spontaneously. It is the culmination of a long European endeavour since the 18th century to bring together and structure a fully formed initiatory path rooted in the so-called ‘Egyptian’ traditions.
From the 1720s to the 1780s, several Masonic and para-Masonic experiments explored the same symbolic horizon : the Primitive Rite (Paris, 1721, high degrees), the Primitive Rite known as Narbonne (1759, ‘Philadelphes’), speculations attributed to Swedenborg, the Order of the African Architects or ‘Crata Repoa’ (established in 1767 in Prussia), as well as the circle of Philalèthes (1773, ‘Les Amis Réunis’ lodge in Paris), eager to gather traces of the ‘secret sciences’ in order to put them to use.
Naples occupies a unique place in this same European movement. From 1745 onwards, intense activity developed around a tradition of esoteric Freemasonry, culminating in the establishment, around 1750, of a ‘Grand Lodge of Freemasonry’ under the leadership of Raimondo di Sangro, Prince of San Severo (1710 – 1771). An inventor, academician and passionate experimenter in alchemy, the Prince played a major role in the early structuring of this Neapolitan movement, which would later inspire several lineages claiming to be of ‘Egyptian’ origin.
At the same time, Joseph Balsamo, known as Cagliostro, attempted in the 1770s and 1780s to establish an Egyptian form of Freemasonry, the ‘High Masonry of Egypt’, which, despite the appeal of its ceremonial and practices, would leave only a tenuous legacy as an organised Masonic system : it failed to become a structured and lasting lineage. However, the term ‘Egyptian Masonry’ is largely due to Cagliostro.
The turning point of 1798
The Egyptian campaign of 1798 marked a decisive turning point. The immense scholarly undertaking that followed, culminating in the Description de l’Égypte, spread images, knowledge and symbols throughout Europe that reawakened the imagination of Antiquity. The expression ‘Egyptian Freemasonry’ then became less about any claim to reconstruct an ancient temple and more a sign of a desire to embrace a form of Freemasonry that explicitly draws on with esotericism, symbolism and hermeticism in the service of sustained inner work. Beyond the realm of the imagination, this work established methods, surveys, cartography and language studies that lent credibility to the use of the label ‘Egyptian’ in the 19th century without any claim to restore an ancient cult.
Two sister branches, Misraim and Memphis (1810 – 1815)
At the turn of the years 1810 – 1815, two branches clearly took shape and responded to each other : the Rite of Misraïm, developed in France by the Bédarride brothers, and the Rite of Memphis, organised by Jacques-Étienne Marconis de Nègre after his break from Misraïm. Both had the same ambition : to offer an initiatory progression that gave meaning to the language of symbols, hermeticism and personal discipline. Their institutional trajectories differed and their rituals became more clearly defined, but the same underlying principles shaped these experiences. In the 19th century, Misraïm experienced periods of interruption and resumption. Memphis, for its part, attempted to integrate into the Grand Orient de France (GODF) as early as 1826.
Convergence and common scale, Garibaldi 1881
Throughout the 19th century, differences diminished, common ground emerged, and a shared scale stabilised. In 1881, Giuseppe Garibaldi, one of the fathers of the Italian nation, who was then Grand Master of the two separate branches, Memphis and Misraïm, decided to unite them. He was proclaimed Grand Hierophant and became the emblem of this reunification : the Rite acquired a lasting form, clear authority structure and recognised system of progression. The stabilisation of a common degree scale clarified the internal progression and authority of the Rite ; it was also supported by the international networks in which Garibaldi was active, particularly in Italy and South America.
Late 19th century, the transition period
At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, a chain of charters circulated from the United States to John Yarker, then returned to France via the intermediary of a French doctor and occultist, Gérard Encausse, known as Papus ; he helped to maintain continuity, even on the fringes of the major Grand Lodges.
The end of the 19th century saw the Rite circulating among esoteric and hermetic circles. These networks helped to preserve the corpus, rearticulate lineages and keep alive the operative dimension of the symbol.
In France, the dominant ritual practice at the time remained very traditional, notably the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of that era (Leadbeater, Blavatsky, Besant, etc.). In this context, ‘Egyptian Freemasonry’ evolved towards an occult, Gnostic and esoteric aspect, standing at the intersection of a symbolic Masonic culture and theurgical practice.
Regarding the demands of this path, Jean Bricaud (1881 – 1934), one of the former patriarchs of the Rite, summed up the spirit that animates Memphis-Misraïm at the beginning of the 20th century. This statement does not close the door ; it simply reminds us of the nature of the work expected :
It is easy to understand that the Memphis-Misraïm Rite is only suitable for a very small number of individuals. They are generally recruited from among students of Occultism and Hermeticism… eager to trace the real origins of our institutions and study the occult and transcendent aspects of Freemasonry.
Jean Bricaud had a profound influence on the first half of the 20th century in the Rite. Heir to the occult circles of Lyon, patriarch of the Gnostic Church and close to esotericists such as Papus, he reoriented Memphis-Misraïm towards a more doctrinal interpretation, centred on Hermeticism and the Gnostic dimension of the tradition. He stabilised lineages, formalised structures, and gave the Rite an intellectual framework that ensured its survival at a time when these currents could have dissipated. His influence paved the way for the subsequent reorganisation that would be led, a few years later, by Robert Ambelain.
XXᵉ, Robert Ambelain : restructuring and recovery
The 20th century almost caused this Rite to disappear. Wars, the Vichy regime, occupation, prohibitions and disputes between structures could have been enough to extinguish it. However, it survives, often in a fragile state, in circles where occultism, Hermeticism, Gnostic tradition and inner work with an operative purpose intersect. Then came the decisive revival led by a key figure, Robert Ambelain (1907 – 1997), who brought together, clarified and restored overall coherence to the ritual corpus.
A man of great culture, with an in-depth knowledge of the main currents of Western esotericism, he reworked the rituals of Memphis-Misraïm, drawing on from the Rectified Scottish Rite, Martinism (Martinezist branch), Rosicrucian traditions, Gnosticism and ceremonial magic, not to create a syncretism, but to restore clarity, coherence and consistency to the practice. Through his personality, charisma and activism, he was the first to recreate a form of Egyptian Freemasonry that would endure over time across France.
This work prevented its disappearance after the Second World War and enabled its continuity in France as a fully formed initiatory Rite. After consolidating the structural and ritual foundations of the masculine path, Robert Ambelain reopened a women’s line of work in the 1960s. Until the mid-1990s, the Rite was practised in this way along two distinct lines of work, for men and for women.
20th and 21st centuries, mixity and current form
Under the leadership of Gérard Kloppel, Robert Ambelain’s successor, the Rite underwent a major change in 1996 : the decision to open up the Rite to mixed membership, not as a one-off tolerance, but as a fully-fledged, structured and recognised way of practising the Rite. A mixed Grand Lodge was then established. This orientation was organised and consolidated after a mixed national council in Nîmes in 2000 with the creation of a mixed Sovereign Sanctuary. It is from this first implementation of mixed membership that the current form of our Grand Lodge, the United Grand Lodge of Memphis-Misraïm derives.
In other words, we stand in a continuum that has spanned several centuries of ruptures, recompositions and human loyalties : from so-called ‘Egyptian’ Freemasonry in the 19th century to its mixed and structured practice in the 21st century.
The above account does not claim to cover the entire history of the Rite. It merely offers a very brief overview, intended to provide a general idea of how Memphis-Misraïm developed in France and has been passed down to the present day. We are not professional historians, and this text does not have the status of academic research : it is based on available works and on the memory of the lineage we have received and continue to practise.
Those who wish to explore the subject further will find a wealth of additional information in specialist studies devoted on so-called ‘Egyptian’ Freemasonry, to figures such as Raimondo di Sangro, Jean Bricaud and Robert Ambelain, as well as in summary articles available online (e.g. encyclopaedia entries and works by historians of Freemasonry). What we present here is not a conclusion, but a reference point : a minimal framework for understanding the history of the Rite we practise today.