Atrium / Sharing

Atrium: sharing between lodges

Atrium lets you connect lodges so they can easily share documents, events, and contacts. No more manual back-and-forth: once lodges are linked, sharing is smooth and secure.

Whether you want to connect two lodges, join a thematic community, or work with your obedience, Atrium adapts with three types of groups: point-to-point, communities, and obediences / federations. In all three cases, Atrium is at the heart of the exchange and is represented in the same way.

Atrium is built on a professional cryptographic layer: only authorised instances can access the exchanged data, and the confidentiality of personal data is preserved end to end.

Point-to-point: two lodges connecting

“I’d like to automatically share my events with our sister Lodge!”
“I’d like our members to be automatically recognised by this other Lodge in our region”

When two lodges want to link to share documents, events, or contacts without a broader community, they can create a point-to-point link. The two lodges are then connected via Atrium, which routes and secures the exchange.

This is the simplest setup: no intermediate structure, just the two lodges and Atrium between them.

Communities: sharing within a lodge network

“I want to share my contacts with the 8 lodges in my region”
“I’d like to share all our papers on the elements with the symbolic lodges I know”

A community is a group of lodges that have chosen to share content automatically. When a lodge joins a community, it can:

• Share documents with other lodges in the group (invitations, minutes, reports…)
• Publish events (meetings, banquets, conferences) so other lodges can see and register
• Exchange contacts (members, visitors) in line with privacy and inter-lodge agreements

Everything happens automatically once links are active: you choose what to share, and other lodges receive the information without extra steps.

The diagram below shows all lodges linked to Atrium: each lodge is represented by a small temple, and Atrium appears as the central network connecting them.

• Centre: Atrium (the network that connects the lodges).
• Around it: member lodges, each represented by a temple.
• The lines represent the flow: documents, events, and contacts are exchanged in an organised, secure way between lodges via Atrium.

You stay in control: you decide which lodges are in the community and what you share with them.

Obediences and federations: lodges and a central instance

“I need to share my contacts with the lodges of my obedience”
“When a Bro:. or Sis:. changes degree, I want the obedience to be automatically informed”

Obediences (or federations) are a special type of community. They include both lodges and an obedience instance (headquarters, central administration). The structure is: the obedience instance at the top, Atrium in the middle (linked to the obedience), and the lodges at the bottom, all linked to Atrium.

Exchange can happen in three ways:

1. Between lodges: as in a standard community, lodges can share documents, events, and contacts with each other.
2. Between lodges and the obedience: lodges send the obedience useful information (reports, lists, events) and receive in return circulars, official documents, federal calendars, etc.
3. Between the obedience and the lodges: the obedience distributes to all lodges (or a subset) the documents and events it wants to share.

This gives an obedience an overview while each lodge continues to run its day-to-day with Janus. Lodges remain autonomous while staying connected to their structure.

In short

• Atrium = the link that lets lodges (and optionally an obedience) share without the hassle. It is at the centre of every diagram, in the same way.
• Point-to-point = two lodges connected directly via Atrium.
• Communities = groups of lodges that automatically share documents, events, and contacts via Atrium.
• Obediences / federations = an obedience instance, Atrium, and the lodges; exchange in every direction.

Everything is designed to be easy to use and clear even if you are not technical: once links are created and accepted, sharing becomes part of everyday use.