The Order of African Architects

An 18th-Century Egyptian Fantasy

Among the many esoteric and initiatic systems that emerged during the fervent intellectual climate of the 18th century, few are as enigmatic or as emblematic of their time as the African Architect Rite. Known organizationally as the Order of African Architects (Afrikanische Bauherren), the system is most identified by the name of its foundational text: the Crata Repoa. Founded in Prussia in 1767, this "mysterious and short-lived Masonic order" was built upon a singular, radical premise: that it held the authentic, unbroken secrets of the ancient Egyptian priesthood and that it, not the Temple of Solomon or the Knights Templar, represented the true origins of Free-Masonry, traced back to the land of the Nile.

The Rite's emergence must be understood within two powerful 18th-century currents. The first was "Egyptomania," a widespread cultural fascination with ancient Egypt. This was not a fascination based on archaeological fact—the Rosetta Stone would not be discovered for decades, and hieroglyphs remained indecipherable until 1822. Rather, it was a "romanticised notion" of Egypt as the fount of all mystical wisdom, constructed from the descriptions of classical Greek and Latin authors and the Hermetic philosophies revived during the Renaissance. This "blank slate" of a pre-decipherment Egypt created an intellectual vacuum that the Crata Repoa was perfectly designed to fill.

The second context was the rapid proliferation of high-degree Masonic systems, especially in Germany and France. The African Architect Rite was one of many "attempts to infuse Masonry with a more esoteric and transformative purpose", competing for legitimacy in a crowded marketplace alongside systems like the Templar-based Rite of Strict Observance, the alchemical Rosicrucians, the Asiatic Brethren, and the Illuminati.

Let us discover the African Architect Rite, distinguishing its potent mythos from its documented 18th-century history. We will demonstrate that the Crata Repoa text is not an ancient document but a "ritual monitor & guide" brilliantly "concocted" by its scholarly founders from classical sources. Ultimately, this analysis will show how this 18th-century "fantasy", while a failure as an organization, became the essential conceptual blueprint for the "Egyptian Masonry" that flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries.

History and Context of the Order of African Architects

Köppen, Hymmen, and the Esoteric Milieu

The Order of African Architects (Bund der „Afrikanischen Bauherren”) was established in Prussia around 1765-1767. Its founders were not occult recluses but high-ranking members of the Prussian state: Karl Friedrich von Köppen (1734-1797), a military advisor, and Johann Wilhelm Bernhard von Hymmen (1731-1787), a Councillor of Justice. The Rite enjoyed the significant "patronage of Frederick II (Frederick the Great)", whose protection of Free-Masonry was well known.

The founders were deeply embedded within the German esoteric networks of the day. Köppen had been initiated at the age of 15 in the prominent Berlin Lodge "Zu den drei Erdkugeln" ("To the Three Globes"). Critically, he was also a "devoted member" of Baron von Hund's Rite of Strict Observance, the dominant Masonic system in Germany, which based its legitimacy on a supposed lineage from the Knights Templar. Furthermore, both Köppen and Hymmen were identified as Rosicrucians, and Hymmen was an adherent of another celebrated mystic, Baron von Gugomas.

This background is crucial because it demonstrates that the African Architects was not created in isolation. It was an intellectual and strategic alternative to the prevailing esoteric narratives. By proposing a pre-Christian, pre-medieval, Egyptian philosophical origin for Masonry, Köppen and Hymmen were creating a "third way" that rejected both the Templarism of the Strict Observance and the purely Christian mysticism of other Rosicrucian groups. This new, "ancient" lineage appealed directly to Enlightenment thinkers who were skeptical of chivalric legends and drawn to the classical-pagan world.

The scholarly nature of this endeavor is underscored by the Order's physical establishment. Endorsed by Frederick II, the African Architects erected a building that was not merely a lodge hall but a research institute, containing a "large library, a museum of natural history, and a chemical laboratory". This demonstrates a clear fusion of Enlightenment ideals of scientific and historical research with the pursuit of esoteric wisdom.

A Lineage from Ham to Menes

To legitimize their new system, Köppen and Hymmen authored and published the Rite's foundational text, the Crata Repoa. This text presented a new, "alternative history of Free-Masonry" designed to pre-date and thus supersede all others.

According to this mythos, the "first Grand Master" of Masonry was the biblical Ham, son of Noah. Ham, who in the biblical Table of Nations is the progenitor of the peoples of Africa, was said to have immigrated to Egypt. There, he became the nation's first king, known to history as Menes. In Egypt, Ham/Menes allegedly "verfasste die Konstitution 'Crata Repoa'" (wrote the constitution Crata Repoa), a seven-degree system of secret knowledge. This sacred wisdom was then supposedly passed down in secret by generations of Egyptian priests.

This syncretic origin story was a masterstroke. By linking "Ham" (a figure from the Bible) to "Menes" (the first king of Egypt, known from Herodotus), the founders created a single narrative that was simultaneously Biblical, classical, and—critically—African. This gave it a veneer of profound, ancient authority that the purely medieval Templar legend of the Strict Observance lacked.

This mythos also provides a literal explanation for the Order's name. They were the Afrikanische Bauherren ("African Architects") because their claimed lineage descended directly from Ham, the first "architect" of wisdom in Africa (Egypt). This was a radical re-contextualization, framing the Hamitic line as a positive, wisdom-bearing one.

The Crata Repoa Text the 18th-Century Ritual Monitor

The text at the heart of the Rite was Crata Repoa, oder Einweyhungen in der alten geheimen Gesellschaft der Egyptischen Priester (Crata Repoa, or Initiations in the Ancient Secret Society of the Egyptian Priests). It was published anonymously in German in 1770, though it may have circulated in manuscript form prior to that date.

Scholarly analysis confirms that this text "was likely not a true constitutional text" as its mythos claimed. Instead, it was a "ritual monitor & guide for the system". It was a short booklet, only about 30 pages long, which included tracing boards (symbolic diagrams) for each of its seven degrees.

Masonic historians of the 19th century, such as Ragon and Kloss, quickly identified the text as a "concoction" or, more generously, a "Romance of the Order". It was definitively an 18th-century invention, not an ancient Egyptian document.

The genius of the Crata Repoa, however, lies in its sources. It was a meticulous synthesis of fragmented descriptions of the ancient mysteries found in classical and Hellenistic authors. The text's 19th-century pamphlet edition even cites its sources, which include: Herodotus, Plutarch, Iamblichus, Apuleius (author of The Golden Ass, which describes an initiation into the Mysteries of Isis), Porphyry, Cicero, Diodorus Siculus, Eusebius, Arnobius, Tertullian, and others.

The anonymous 18th-century compiler—almost certainly Köppen and Hymmen—"carefully organized, placed in sequential order, and connected" these disparate "hints and illusions" to "restore" a single, coherent initiation. Therefore, the Crata Repoa is best understood as a form of 18th-century academic thesis. It is a humanistic reconstruction, using the only primary sources available to Enlightenment scholars, presented as a living, ancient tradition. It is less a mystical revelation and more a ritual expression of classical scholarship.

The Initiatory System of the Crata Repoa

The Crata Repoa system was divided into "Lesser Mysteries," which were said to teach humanity, and "Greater Mysteries," which taught love or agape. The Rite existed in two primary forms: the original 7-degree Prussian system and an expanded 11-degree French system.

The Prussian Rite and The Seven Degrees of the Priesthood

This is the original 7-degree system as outlined in the 1770 Crata Repoa text.

• First Degree: Pastophoris (Apprentice)
  • Ritual: The candidate was brought to the "Door of the Profane". After being questioned by a guard (a Pastophoris) and the Hierophant (the Master of the Lodge), the initiation began with rigorous tests of courage based on the elements. The candidate was led through the temple amidst "winds, lightnings and water", or, as another source describes, "artificial lightning, claps of thunder, hail, rain, and tempest".
  • Symbolism: A trial of resolve and purification. The word of the degree was "Amoun".
• Second Degree: Néocoris (Fellow Craft)
  • Ritual & Symbolism: While ritual details are scarce, the thematic focus of this degree was "Therapeutics". This aligns with the Order's scholarly, semi-scientific nature, linking the ancient priesthood with the knowledge of healing.
• Third Degree: Melanophoris (Master)
  • Ritual: This was a pivotal dramatic degree. The candidate entered the "Gate of Death". They were brought into a "vast subterranean chamber" filled with mummies. There, they were confronted with the central mystery: they were "placed in presence of the coffin which contained the mutilated body of Osiris covered with blood".
  • Symbolism: A direct confrontation with mortality, based on the Osirian myth. This degree was a deliberate structural departure from the standard Master Mason degree (which Köppen, as a Strict Observance member, knew well). In the Craft ritual, the candidate is both "killed" and "raised" in the same ceremony. The Crata Repoa intentionally broke this pattern. In the 3rd degree, the candidate was not "raised" or resurrected. This created a multi-degree "passion play," forcing the initiate to experience the despair of death (Osiris) without the immediate catharsis of resurrection, which was purposefully delayed.



• Fourth Degree: Chistophoris (or Kistophoros) (Provost and Judge)
  • Ritual: The delayed resurrection occurred. The candidate was "raised" and symbolically received the "Shield of Isis". Having conquered the trials of death, they were conducted to the "Hall of Spirits" to be judged.
  • Teachings: The candidate was instructed in "Ancient Egyptian Law" and "Correct Judgement". They were given moral precepts: "never to either desire or seek revenge; to be always ready to help a brother in danger... to honour his parents... protect those weaker than himself; and finally, to ever bear in mind the hour of death, and that of resurrection".
  • Secrets: The "mystery-name of IAŌ" was communicated to the new initiate. This "secret" exposes the Rite's syncretic, non-Egyptian sources. Kistophoros is a Greek term ("basket-bearer") from the Eleusinian and Dionysian mysteries. IAŌ is a prominent divine name in Hellenistic magical papyri and Gnostic texts, representing a Greek-language form of the Hebrew God. This "Egyptian" degree is, in fact, a Hellenistic-Gnostic synthesis, drawn directly from the classical sources the authors used.
• Fifth Degree: Balahate (Knight and Priest Philosopher)
  • Ritual: The Osirian drama continued. The candidate, now representing Horus, ritually "avenges his father by slaying Typhon" (the murderer of Osiris).
  • Teachings: The initiate was instructed by "Horus" in alchemy. The "word" of the degree was given as chemi. This is another "smoking gun." Chemi is the Coptic root for "black" (referring to the black soil of the Nile), which is the etymological origin of "Khem" (the native name for Egypt), "alchemy," and "chemistry." As Köppen and Hymmen were Rosicrucians, an order focused on alchemy, this degree explicitly connects their personal alchemical interests to their "Egyptian" Masonic system, framing alchemy as the highest practical wisdom of the priesthood.
• Sixth Degree: Astronomer of the Gate of Gods (Astronomos)
  • Ritual: The candidate was taught the "priestly dance in the circle".
  • Teachings: This dance was a symbolic lesson in cosmology, as it "represented the course of the planets". This degree, with its astronomical focus and title "Gate of the Gods", strongly echoes descriptions of the Mithraic mysteries found in classical authors like Porphyry—one of the Crata Repoa's cited sources. It demonstrates how "Egyptian" was used as an 18th-century umbrella term for all pre-Christian classical mystery traditions.
• Seventh Degree: Prophet or Saphenath Pancah (Propheta)
  • Ritual & Teachings: This was the final and highest initiation. The candidate was initiated into the "final Mysteries". They received a complete "explanation of the Mysteries" and were granted "permission to read sacred texts".
  • Symbolism: The title "Saphenath Pancah" is the Egyptian name given by Pharaoh to the biblical Joseph, meaning "Revealer of Secrets". This final step brilliantly "squares the circle." The system begins with a biblical-classical founder (Ham/Menes), proceeds through a purely pagan drama (Osiris, Isis, Horus), incorporates Greek, Gnostic, and alchemical elements, and concludes by bestowing a biblical title. This syncretic capstone tied the entire pagan, philosophical system back to the Old Testament, making it resonant and acceptable to its 18th-century European, Judeo-Christian audience.

The 11-Degree System

When the Rite spread to France in the 1770s, its structure was "expanded to eleven degrees". This adaptation was necessary to make it compatible with the existing Masonic landscape in France.

The 19th-century Masonic historian Ragon documented this 11-degree structure, which was divided into "Temples":

First Temple:

• Apprentice
• Fellow Craft
• Master Mason

Second Temple:

• 4. Architect or Apprentice of the Egyptian Secrets
• 5. Initiate of the Egyptian Secrets
• 6. Cosmopolitan Brother
• 7. Christian Philosopher
• 8. Master of the Egyptian Secrets

Higher Degrees:

• 9. Armiger
• 10. Miles
• 11. Eques

This French system reveals several critical modifications. First, it became an appendant or "high-degree" system by "grafting" the standard three Craft degrees onto its beginning. This meant any Master Mason could join to receive "further light," rather than the Rite competing as a rival to regular Free-Masonry.

Second, the French system reveals fundamental ideological contradictions. The original Prussian Rite was defined by its pagan, pre-Christian philosophy. The French version, however, includes a degree explicitly named "Christian Philosopher". This demonstrates a clear effort to re-Christianize the Rite, likely to make it more palatable to a French audience.

Finally, the highest degrees (Armiger, Miles, Eques) are chivalric/knightly terms. Research indicates that the African Architects, before publishing the Crata Repoa, had used these same degree names, which were common in the Strict Observance. This suggests the French system was a triple-hybrid: a fusion of (A) standard Craft Masonry, (B) the Egyptian Crata Repoa rituals, and (C) the original Chivalric framework that Köppen brought with him from the Strict Observance.

Comparative Degree Structure of the African Architect Rite

Legacy and Enduring Influence

A Short-Lived Order, A Long-Lived Idea

As a formal organization, the Order of African Architects was a failure. It was "very short-lived, lasting only about 20 years" and was formally dissolved around 1786-1787. It was a small, elite group; one surviving membership list shows only approximately 90 members across 6 lodges.

One primary reason for its organizational failure, especially when compared to its contemporaries, was "the lack of Charisma of its leaders". The 18th-century esoteric world was driven by dynamic, theatrical, and self-promoting figures like Baron von Hund and Count Cagliostro. Köppen and Hymmen, by contrast, were high-ranking bureaucrats—a military advisor and a justice councillor. They created a system that was intellectually and academically compelling but lacked the popular, "magickal" salesmanship needed to compete and survive.

While the Order died, the text survived. The Crata Repoa outlived its parent organization, became "well-known", and began a new life as a foundational document for other esotericists.

The Progenitor of "Egyptian Masonry"

The true legacy of the Crata Repoa is that it "foreshadowed the 'Egyptian Rites' of the 19th century". It was the "missing link" that codified the vague cultural "Egyptomania" into a workable, seven-degree initiatory system that others could adopt and expand.

• Influence on Cagliostro: The structure and themes of the African Architect Rite are so similar to Count Cagliostro's famous "Egyptian Rite" that one "would be excused for mistaking" them. The Crata Repoa provided a direct precedent and likely a source for Cagliostro's own theatrical system.
• Influence on the Rites of Misraim and Memphis: The Crata Repoa is the direct conceptual ancestor of 19th-century "Egyptian Free-Masonry". The Rite of Misraïm (established in Venice in the late 18th century and brought to France in 1814) and the Rite of Memphis (founded in 1838 by Jacques-Étienne Marconis de Nègre) both built upon the "Egyptian" foundation that Crata Repoa had been the first to publish. This "system-in-a-box" was picked up, expanded to 90 or more degrees, and popularized by figures like the Bédarride brothers (Misraim) and Marconis de Nègre (Memphis). Modern organizations practicing these rites, which eventually merged into the Rite of Memphis-Misraim, often explicitly list the Crata Repoa as part of their historical lineage and spiritual heritage.

From Occultism to Historical Debate

The Crata Repoa is not practiced in "mainstream" Free-Masonry. However, its influence is still debated. Some Masonic researchers note the "remarkable resemblance" between the Crata Repoa's first three degrees and the modern Craft degrees, suggesting the former may be a previously unrecognized foundation for the latter.

The system truly "caught up in the 20th century, not in the masonic milieu... but in various magickal orders and societies". Esoteric authors like Manly P. Hall brought the text to new audiences by publishing his own version, Freemasonry of the Ancient Egyptians and the Crata Repoa. Today, there is evidence of modern, niche esoteric groups (such as the "Fellowship of the Grail") that actively perform the Crata Repoa rituals, including the 1st Degree "Pastophoris".

The modern reception of the text perfectly mirrors its historical ambiguity. One side, the esoteric, claims it is a valid compilation of ancient Greek and Egyptian rituals. The other side, the academic, correctly dismisses it as an "18th-century... fabrication" and "creative fiction".

This conflict, however, is not over the facts, but over the definition of authenticity. The academics are factually correct: it is an 18th-century fabrication. The esotericists are also correct: it is "a collection of texts from Ancient Greek authors compiled into one text". The Crata Repoa forces a question: If one meticulously "restores" an ancient ritual from the actual words of ancient initiates like Plutarch and Apuleius, is the resulting reconstruction "fake," or is it the "most authentic" revival possible? The enduring legacy of the Crata Repoa is this unresolved, and perhaps unresolvable, tension.

The Enduring Mystery of the Crata Repoa

There is a dual nature of the African Architect Rite. As a formal organization, the Order of African Architects was a "short-lived" and obscure 18th-century Prussian society. It was an elite, scholarly venture that failed to compete in an esoteric marketplace dominated by charisma, ultimately dissolving in less than two decades.

As a text, the Crata Repoa was a profound and enduring success. It was a "romance" and a "fantasy" born from a pre-scientific "Egyptomania". Yet, it was this very "concoction" that provided the essential blueprint, the first complete ritual system, for all subsequent "Egyptian" esoteric systems, including the Rites of Cagliostro, Misraim, and Memphis. The Rite's power was never in its historical accuracy, of which it had none. Its power, then and now, lies in its ritual plausibility—its masterful synthesis of the fragmented, mystical memories of the classical world into a single, compelling initiatory journey that continues to fascinate practitioners of Western esotericism over 250 years later.

Article By Antony R.B. Augay P∴M∴