The Brother Who Banned Freemasonry — Twice

 

A man of many titles, Aleksándr Pávlovich, better known as Alexander I, served as Emperor of Russia beginning in 1801. During his term, he also became Grand Duke of Finland, King of Poland, and Grand Duke of Lithuania, positions which he held concurrently until his death. He was a busy guy. Although details of his initiation are sketchy, he was said to be a member of Canongate Kilwinning Lodge of Edinburgh, Scotland. There is no doubt, however, he was a member of the Craft in Poland. Alexander was a generous donor to Grand Orient of Poland and, in 1815, he attended a banquet which Polish Masons gave in his honor.

Born in Saint Petersburg, he was the grandson of Catherine the Great, who had reigned as Empress for 34 years until her death in 1796. Alexander's father, Paul I, succeeded her. Paul's attempts to reel in the aristocracy and, at the same time, establish reforms, and grant rights to the peasant class, alienated many of his trusted advisors. Members of the nobility became increasingly wary of Paul's attempts to govern and developed a plot to overthrow him. On March 11, 1801, a group of soldiers whom Paul had dismissed cornered him in his bedroom at St. Michael's Castle and attempted to force him to abdicate. When Paul refused, they brutally murdered him. 

Twenty-three year old Alexander was in the Castle at the time and as the assassins left, instead of murdering him as well, confronted the new Emperor with the warning, "It's time for you to grow up."

Paul I had distrusted Freemasonry and within a few years of becoming Emperor, he banned the fraternity and all other secret societies. With Paul's death, the Craft flourished under Alexander's reign.

Alexander pulled back on his father's reforms, but at the same time began to take measures to monitor the activities of the upper-class, which had killed his father. Eventually, like his father, his distrust of the Masons grew and he also banned Freemasonry. A Brother named Johann Boeber, who later became Grand Master of Russia, spoke up for the Craft and convinced Alexander to reverse the ban.

For years after that Freemasonry grew in Russia with Brother Alexander as an enthusiastic participant.

Once the crisis that brought him into office subsided, Alexander became more liberal in his views, again raising concerns among aristocrats. A series of events over the years, including an attempt at kidnapping him, the murder of one of his agents and rumblings of a revolutionary conspiracy, rekindled his concern. At the same time, his mental health began to deteriorate. He was reported to have become withdrawn and passive, showing signs of paranoia. With all those factors in play, on August 1, 1822, he again banned Freemasonry.

While on a sea voyage, Alexander died of typhus on December 1, 1825. There are other reports of Brothers in positions of power who have banned Freemasonry, but Brother Alexander Pávlovich may hold the distinction of being the only Freemason who banned the fraternity twice.