The Messengers

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Before he’ll tell you about California Freemasonry’s newest lodge-in-waiting, Cicero Research Lodge U.D., Narbeh Bagdasarian wants you to know what a grand orator does. Because to understand the group, he says, you have to grasp the role’s significance.

“It comes with a tremendous amount of responsibility,” Bagdasarian explains. The grand orator, a position appointed by the grand master, often gives remarks at public events like a cornerstone laying, a funeral, or the installation of officers. And yet, “Nobody tells you what to say,” he says. “The grand master has trusted you with a lot of responsibility. It’s a heavy weight.”

That’s especially relevant to Cicero Research Lodge, which received its dispensation in April, because the group is made up entirely of past grand orators. Bagdasarian, as the most recently serving grand orator, is its charter secretary. The rest of the officers’ line is based on the order in which its members held that role: Glenn Woody, who was grand orator of California in 1979–80 and has been a Mason for 65 years, is its first master. R. Stephen Doan (1984–85) is senior warden, and Ron Koretz (1996–97) is junior warden. So far, 20 of the 27 living past grand orators have joined up; among them are seven past grand masters.

Befitting its moniker—the lodge is named for the Roman statesman, politician, philosopher, and writer renowned for his oratory—Cicero Research Lodge was literally spoken into existence. Bagdasarian, who in 2023 helped launch La France № 885 as California’s second French-speaking lodge, is well versed in lodge building. He suggested the idea for the group to Assistant Grand Secretary Jordan Yelinek. Not only did Yelinek love the idea, but he came up with the name.

But why grand orators? Bagdasarian’s explanation is simple: To help with speaking, of course.

As a research lodge, Cicero will only meet four times a year (twice in Northern California and twice in Southern California) and won’t confer degrees. Instead, Bagdasarian explains, it has two goals: first, to form a Masonic speakers’ bureau, which lodges up and down the state can tap into to find knowledgeable lecturers for lodge meetings; and second, to work closely with the Masonic youth orders to develop their public speaking skills. “Education is an important element required for the growth of every Mason,” Bagdasarian says. He points to Masonic history, esoteric symbolism, and the stories behind Masonic traditions as rich veins to mine for such talks. For now, the lodge is under dispensation; it anticipates receiving a formal charter this fall. By then, Bagdasarian— who spoke at 11 cornerstone-laying ceremonies last year—and his fellow members will have established an oratorical foundation worthy of their namesake.