The Masonic chain of the Grand National Lodge of Serbia has been enriched by another Lodge. On Sunday, October 8, 6023 G.I.S., at the Orient of Valjevo, the Powerful and Worshipful Grand Master of the Grand National Lodge of Serbia, Brother Bratislav Uraković, along with the Grand Officers and in the presence of a large number of Brothers, brought the Light into the Respected Lodge of Prota Mateja Nenadović at the Orient of Valjevo. During the Ritual work following the introduction of the Light, the Temple was dedicated and named after Bishop Nikolai Velimirović. Before the Ritual work itself, the Brothers visited the Lelić Monastery, where the relics of Bishop Nikolai are located.Brother B.K. gave a fitting lecture on the history of the life and work of Bishop Nikolai Velimirović. At the end of the work, the Grand Orator delivered a fitting oration.
ADDRESS OF THE WORSHIPFUL MASTER ON THE INSTALLATION OF LIGHT IN THE LODGE PROTA MATIJA NENADOVIĆ ORIENT OF VALJEVO
Mighty and Worshipful Grand Master, Honorable Senior Warden, Esteemed Brethren at the East, Dear Brethren in the columns, in your places and duties,First, I would like to congratulate the newly initiated Brothers, members of the PL “Prota Mateja Nenadović,” on the consecration of the Lodge and their reception under the powerful protection of the Grand National Lodge of Serbia, and to once again confirm to them that they are welcome in our ranks. The dedication ceremony is over, and now it is up to you whether you will have the desire, the will, and the power to delve as deeply as possible into the essence of the Royal Art. I trust that you will make the effort and continue to learn this, our fraternal, Masonic school of life, that you will work on yourselves and your surroundings, and that you will continue to develop and grow stronger. Without effort and learning, dear brothers, you cannot succeed in any endeavor, not even in Freemasonry. You have named your Lodge after “Prota Mateja Nenadović,” who was a duke from the First Serbian Uprising, a politician, a protonotary, and a diplomat. Little is known that he was probably also a Freemason and that, together with his father, Aleksa Nenadović, and Voivode Janko Katić, he was a member of a Masonic lodge that operated in the Belgrade Fortress from 1796 to 1801. Although there is no authentic archival material and other primary historical sources about the beginnings of Freemasons’ activities in Serbia, it is nevertheless known for certain that in the late 18th century, a Masonic Lodge existed in Belgrade whose Temple was in the Belgrade Fortress and which worked in the Turkish language. Among its members were the pasha of the then-Beograd Pashaluk, Hacı Mustafa Pasha Şinikoglu, the Metropolitan of Belgrade, Methodius, the diplomat Petar Ičko, the Greek poet and patriot Konstantinos Rigas – Riga of Feres, as well as the Serbian revolutionary leader Janko Katić and his two close friends, Prota Mateja Nenadović, his father Aleksa Nenadović, and many others. Important roles in the work of this workshop were also played by the priest’s associates and friends: Dr. Božidar Grujović, a lawyer, an officer of the Freikorps border units, and later the first secretary of the Provisional Government Council and a diplomat of Karađorđe; and Petar Novaković – Čardaklija. Information about the work of this Lodge can be found in many writings by authors from the 19th and early 20th centuries. In that sense, your choice of the Lodge’s name was truly a good decision. It is now up to you to move forward, to strengthen your ranks, to work on yourselves and your surroundings, and to enrich your humanity and spirituality. Through your effort, will, and diligence, and through your love and devotion to the Masonic ideal, strive to reach the “polished stone,” that is, self-realization, as soon as possible. May the Great Architect of All Worlds, in whom we Freemasons of the entire world believe, grant you the wisdom to manage yourself, your work, your home, and your family, soberly and wisely, may He give you the strength to fight for justice and truth with great will and self-sacrifice, and may He adorn you with beauty, so that you may spend your entire life in harmony, joy, and brotherly understanding, and always walk the path of the plumb line, the path of justice, freedom, equality, and brotherhood. And your symbolic dedication, that is, the dedication of your Working Tools, through which you have passed today, may it reveal to you the breadth and greatness of the spirit in the new Masonic world that opens to you from this day forward. And I therefore greet you fraternally and most warmly. So mote it be.
