Freemasonry in Kamianets-Podilskyi: ideas, people, symbols

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to examine the problem of the penetration of Masonic ideas into Kamianets-Podilskyi at the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th centuries, based on the analysis of sources and historical literature, to fi nd out the identity of the creators of the Masonic lodges, their composition, and symbolism. Th e methodology of the research is based on two fundamental principles – historicism and objectivity. Th e principle of historicism involves the realization of the desire to consider phenomena that have a beginning and an end, perceived as a certain process of formation in specifi c conditions or circumstances. Th e principle of objectivity requires the reproduction of the past impartially, without conjunctival distortions, and without “corrections” of past events to prove one’s subjective scientifi c positions. Th e scien- tifi c novelty lies in the formation of a comprehensive vision of the transformational processes that took place on the city’s territory within the studied period. At the same time, the spread of Masonic ideas in Kamianets-Podilskyi relates to deep changes of a social, ethical, and moral nature caused by the search for new ways of development of society and the state, as well as the presence in the city of signifi cant intellectual potential, people who tried to look into the future, changing it for the better. Conclusions. Masonic ideas penetrated Kamianets-Podilskyi during the period of systemic transformations, which led to profound changes in administrative, social, ethical, and moral character and became an echo of cultural ties between the East and the West. Freemasonry everywhere considered its main task to create a worldwide, supranational bro- therhood, neglected the specifi cs of the national development of those countries where it found its refuge, and openly sought universalism. Th e path of European Freemasonry to Kamianets laid through Istanbul and later became closely connected with Warsaw and St. Petersburg. Th e bearers of Masonic ideas in the city were Józef Mikoša and Stanislav Pilštyn, who, for several decades, had determined the ways of development of the organization, its ideas, and symbols.