On Wednesday, December 11, at the Masonic Hall of Athens, in the presence of more than 150 brethren from Lodges of Athens, Piraeus, Kifissia and Elefsina, presided over by the Grand Master and the members of the Council of the Grand Lodge of Greece, the installation of the principles of the special purpose Lodge with the distinctive name Ancient Olympia – Olympic Lodge no’ no. 145 whose physical headquarters will be in the East of Ancient Olympia.
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The first hammer was taken by the Dean of MTE, Rev. M. F., an old and proven member of the Olympic movement, member of the Hellenic Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Academy. The positions of the officers were filled by former champions, Olympic medallists, sports officials and professors at the Department of Physical Education and Sports Science of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
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After the installation, the Venerable said, among other things:
“.… The values of Olympism are universality, respect and friendship. In Masonic terms we would say freedom, equality and brotherhood. These values are central to the philosophy of Olympism and are essential to the promotion of fair play. Applying them in a plasmatic tectonic way poses challenges that remain relevant in an era dominated by the diminution of human value and the abandonment of collectivity in favour of a monocentric egoistic model. We are therefore living in an era in which the sporting ideal tends to be lost. Like our “reason”. But we know how to seek it. That’s why Freemasonry is needed. Its example has been unmistakable for 300 years. Its application to the Olympic spirit, the sporting ideal and the values of Olympism are called upon to shape the world of sport and the essence (philosophy) of the Olympic spirit in the whirlwind of changing times… “
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Then, in suspension of the work, the Venerable Father offered to the Grand Master, His Most Glorious Brother Michael Matte, a statuette of the 1940s representing two runners carrying a torch with a flame. It should be noted that this one is of unique aesthetics and one of only five ever made.
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The session ended with the recital of the Olympic anthem, composed by the Corfiot brother Spyros Filiskos Samaras, after a commission -in the year 1889- from Timoleon Philemon, Grand Master of the then Grand Orient (Lodge) of Greece.
