Bro. Friedrich Moßdorf's Expulsion from Freemasonry


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Friedrich Moßdorf, an eminent German Freemason, Reformer and Encyclopedist, was born March 2, 1757, at Eckartsberge, and died about 1830. Since he was appointed by the Saxon government in Dresden in 1784 as Secretary of the Court and Justice Chancellery, he had to move to Dresden, where he was admitted [initiated] into Masonry in the lodge "To the three Swords and true Friends" and affiliated also with the Lodge "To the golden apple" also in Dresden, and was made an honorary member of Lodge Archimedes zu den drey Reißbretern" of Altenburg at the time Krause was also a member, and took an active part in the affairs of Freemasonry. He was a warm supporter of Fessler's Masonic reforms, and made several contributions to the Freyberg Freimaurenischen Taschenbuche [Freyberg pocketbook for Freemasons] in defense of Fessler's system. He became intimately connected with the learned Krause, the author of The Three Most Ancient Records of the Masonic Fraternity, and wrote and published in 1809 a critical review of the work.

Moßdorf and Krause had in Feßler, Schneider, Nicolai and Schröder reforming predecessors. But the effort to liberate the Masonic lodges from the stale air dominating in those days met with little favor on the part of the Berlin and Hamburg Grand Lodge, which were then stuck in old ways of thinking. This Grand Lodge put pressure on the Dresdner Lodges, which gave in and expelled Moßdorf and Krause. Despite the violent breakup, Moßdorf and Krause continued their Masonic researches.

Moßdorf's Masonic Encyclopedia published in the years 1822-1828 provides the most beautiful proof of his dedication to the Fraternity. He is also the author of several other works of great value.

Source: Information found in the document: "The expulsion of Bros. Moßdorf and Krause from the lodge to the 3 swords and true friends in Dresden in 1810."


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