Mackey – Encyclopedia Of Freemasonry Vol. 1

THE RELAXED OBSERVANCE436. Organisation of Relaxed Observance .-In 1767, therearose at Vienna a schism of the Strict Observance ; the dis-'sentients, who called themselves " Clerks of the RelaxedObservance "-the nickname of Relaxed Observance hadoriginally been applied by the members of the Strict Observance,as a term of contempt to all other rites-declaringthat they alone possessed the secrets of the association, andknew the place where were deposited the splendid treasuresof the Templars . They also claimed precedence, not onlyover the rite of Strict Observance, but also over all Masonry .Their promises and instructions' revolved around the philosopher'sstone, the government of spirits, and the millennium .To be initiated it was necessary to be a Roman Catholic, andto have passed through all the degrees of the Strict Observance. The members knew only their immediate heads , butDoctor Stark, of Konigsberg, a famous preacher, and BaronRaven, of Mecklenburg, were well-known chiefs of theassociation . ~-437. Disputes in German Lodges.--(Before the establishmentof the Strict Observance, various German lodges had alreadyintroduced the Templar system) hence disputes of ' all kindsarose, and a convention was held at Brunswi on 22nd Mayi275- to arrange the differences . Dr . Lark presented him .self ; he was a disciple of Schrop er an of Gugumos, whocalled himself high-priest, knight, prince, possessor of thephilosop'her's stone, of the secret to evoke the spirits of thedead, &c. Stark declared to the members of the conventionthat he was called Archimedes ab aquila fulva, that he waschancellor of the Grand Chapter of Scotland, and had been invitedby the brethren of that supreme body to instruct them inthe true principles of the Order . But when he was asked toproduce his credentials, he refused . The Brunswickers, however,thinking that the brethren of Aberdeen might possesssome secrets, sent a deputation thither ; but the good folks of59