Orders of Wisdom

The Orders of Wisdom (French: Ordres de Sagesse) is the contemporary designation for the high Masonic degrees of the French Rite. Originally designated as Ordres supérieurs, they were published in 1801 in a compendium entitled Le Régulateur des Chevaliers maçons (The Regulator of Knight Masons) or Les Quatre ordres supérieurs (Four Superior Orders), according to the regimen of the Grand Orient. The Orders of Wisdom were codified by the Chamber of Grades and the Grand Chapter General of France between 1783 and 1785 under the impetus of Alexandre Roëttiers de Montaleau, and subsequently integrated into the Grand Orient de France (GODF) on February 17, 1786. The rituals of the Orders of Wisdom continue the degree of "master", extending and deepening a symbolic and initiatory journey that commenced in the "blue lodge." The Orders of Wisdom were originally divided into four initiatory and philosophical orders and a fifth administrative and conservatory order.

In January 1782, the GODF established a "Chamber of Grades", which initially codified the first three symbolic degrees to standardize the practices of Masonic lodges. This was followed by the creation of the "Grand Chapter General of France" on February 2, 1784. This grand chapter promptly established "General Statutes and Regulations" and "Specific Regulations and Disciplines." Implementing the orders’ codification involved the selection, merging, or elimination of the numerous high-degree rituals practiced in the 18th century. This resulted in the establishment of the four orders of the French Rite between 1784 and 1785. Additionally, the organization of the centralization of high-degree chapters in France was also a consequence of this process. Despite various oppositions, the Grand Chapter General was integrated into the Grand Orient de France on February 17, 1786, thereby establishing a symbolic, philosophical, and initiatory "regime" in seven degrees and a central obedience that encompassed the entirety of the Masonic tradition of the 17th and 18th centuries.

The dissemination of the orders was interrupted by the French Revolution; they reached their peak during the First Empire and underwent a gradual transformation during the 19th century, merging with the practice of the high degrees of the Ancient and the accepted Scottish Rite. This slow transformation led to the suspension of the first three orders in their original forms. After over 100 years of being forgotten, the orders were reactivated in France, starting in 1963. In the second half of the 20th century, the orders were renamed the "Orders of Wisdom."