PRESENTATION

At the time of its constitution, the Regime had taken over, subject to adaptations decided at the Convent of the Gauls, and thereafter at the Convent of Wilhelmsbad, the administrative division that the Strict Observance had re-constituted on the basis of that of the ancient Order of the Temple. According to that division , the French territory was broken down into three Provinces: the IInd Province, of Auvergne, with its headquarters in Lyon; the IIIrd Province, of Occitania, with Bordeaux as headquarters;the Vth Province, Burgundy, headquartered in Strasburg.

When it was constituted in 1935, the Great Priory of the Gauls considered itself , as has been said above, as successor to the Province of Auvergne of which it took up its coat of arms and motto. It was also the holder of the rights of the Province of Occitania. As to the rights of the Province of Burgundy, the Great Independant Priory of Helvetia - which was erected upon a portion of the original territory - affirms that these rights were remitted to it in the course of the last century, although this has not been proven historically with some certainty.

In the XVIIIth century, there co-existed a double hierarchy, directed by the same dignitaries but under different appellations, in order to avoid confusion between the symbolic class or Masonic Order and the Knightly Order. Fundementally, this distinction still subsists today.

Up until 1958, the Great Priory of the Gauls directed the Inner Order, while a Grand Rectified Scottish Lodge, working under the aegis of the Rectified Scottish Regime, conferred the four masonic grades in the Lodges of Saint John and Saint Andrew.

By a convention dated 7th July 1958, the Great Priory of the Gauls decided upon the dissolution of the Grand Rectified
Lodge and remitted the management of the three first grades to the Grand National French Lodge, under whose authority it placed the Lodges of Saint John, subject to the affirmation by the signatories of the agreement that the practice of these grades would be carried out in conformity with the Masonic Code of 1778 of the Re-united and Rectified Lodges, whose validity was thus officialized (Article 1 of the convention)

This operation was certainly facilitated by the fact that the restoration of regular masonry in France had been the work of a rectified Lodge, the " Centre des Amis No.1", which was at the origin of the foundation in 1913 of the Grand National Independant and Regular Lodge of France and the French Colonies. which became , in 1948, the Grand National French Lodge.

As to the Lodges of Saint Andrew, separated from the Lodges of Saint John to which they had been intimately united beforehand, (which situation undoubtedly reduced the internal coherence of the masonic class) they were placed under the authority of a Scottish Directorate [Directoire] (Article 4 of the same convention).
This is the organization which subsists today.

The Great Priory of the Gauls is placed under the supreme government of a Grand National Master assisted by a National Council composed of 9 Knights, and by the Grand Chapter, composed of a maximum of 27 Grand Capitular Knights constituting the deliberative organ and which meets at least once per year under his presidence. The Grand National Master is moreover assisted in his task by a Deputy Great Master, who can replace him in case of necessity and by Visitors- General

The Inner Order is directed by the Great Prior . A King of Arms supervises the armorial of the Grand Priory , assisted by Heralds and Poursuivants of Arms. The administrative and financial affairs are settled , under the authority of the Grand Master, by a Grand Chancellor assisted by two deputy Grand Chancellors.

The direction of the Masonic Order (reduced as has been said to encompass solely the Lodges of Saint Andrew) is incumbent, upon the Deputy Master-General, who presides in the same conditions over the National Directoire of the Re-United and Rectified Scottish Lodges , which is its deliberative organ , and which meets at least once per year.

The national territory is divided , in respect of the Inner Order, into Prefectures and Commanderies, and, in regard of the masonic Order, into Regences , whose respective areas coincide.

The Prefecture is directed by a Prefect and by a prefectoral Chapter made up of the K.B.H.C and the Squires-Novice of its area; it regroups several Commanderies which themselves in turn are made up of their K.B.H.C and their Squires Novice

The Regence, directed by a Deputy Master of Regence, watches over the good workings of the Scottish Lodges of their district according to the directives of the National Directoire.

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