Constant Chevillon
Constant Chevillon (1880–1944) was a French writer and leader of Memphis-Misraïm. He succeeded Jean Bricaud in 1934 and was murdered in the Lyon area during the German occupation of France. The Bibliothèque nationale de France describes him as a writer, moralist and philosopher as well as a Grand Master of the rite.[1][2]
Life and work
Chevillon came from Annoire in the Jura. After seminary studies and an interest in an academic career, he worked in banking in Lyon. The account published by the Grande Loge Symbolique de France draws on his correspondence and recollections by Eugénie Bricaud. It describes a working life alongside his writing and Masonic responsibilities.[2]
His books included Orient ou Occident, Réflexions sur le temple social, Le vrai visage de la Franc-Maçonnerie and Du néant à l’être. Their subjects range from social philosophy to metaphysics and the meaning of Masonic membership.[2]
Leadership and death
Chevillon continued Bricaud’s historical notes through 1938, recording the French body’s European contacts.[3]
He was arrested at Eugénie Bricaud’s home in March 1944; his body was subsequently found near Saint-Fons. Later accounts commemorate him as a victim of the persecution of Freemasons under the occupation.[2]
His place in the rite’s history is consequently twofold: an interwar leader and author, and a figure remembered in its accounts of wartime repression. The history of the Grande Loge Symbolique de France places Charles-Henri Dupont after him in its succession, followed by Robert Ambelain in 1960.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ Bibliothèque nationale de France, authority record for Constant Chevillon (1880–1944).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Grande Loge Symbolique de France, “Constant Chevillon”, historical account drawing on Eugénie Bricaud’s recollections.
- ↑ Jean Bricaud, historical notes on Memphis-Misraïm (1933), updated by Constant Chevillon (1938), reproduced by L’Initiation as “Historique de Memphis-Misraïm”; an account written by leaders of the rite.
- ↑ Grande Loge Symbolique de France, “Les figures du Rite”, account of the wartime and post-war French organisation.
Memphis-Misraïm: Overview · Misraïm · Memphis · History · Degrees and organisation · Egyptian symbolism · Organisations and recognition · Regalia and imagery · Sources and further reading
People: Bédarride brothers · Marconis de Nègre · John Yarker · Giuseppe Garibaldi · Papus · Jean Bricaud · Constant Chevillon · Robert Ambelain
Background: Hermeticism · Martinism · Masonic glossary · Comparison with related traditions