The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

Chapter 5 - Technical Terminology 275
brought a demit from his old lodge and has been elected to membership in a new
lodge, is referred to as an affiliated Mason. The contrary would be a "nonaffiliate,"
that is a brother who has taken his demit (a type of which is called
"certificate of withdrawal") from his lodge. 785 Demit and affiliation result from
the General Regulations of 1723, that provide the rule that every Mason has to
belong to some lodge, and to be subject to its by-laws and general regulations. 786
A compound of "affiliate" is "free affiliate," which is defined in the EOF as a
peculiarity of the French Masonic language, designating those members of a
lodge who are exempted from paying lodge dues, neither holding office nor
voting. Such brethren are called "honorary members" among the Englishspeaking
Masons. 787
2. Alarm
According to the IFL, an alarm is mainly typical of American lodges and
means that somebody wants to enter a lodge. This can be any person, not only a
stranger. 788 As MD states, "[a]n alarm is a warning given by the Tiler, or other
appropriate officer, by which he seeks to communicate with the interior of the
Lodge or Chapter. In this sense the expression so often used, "an alarm at the
door," simply signifies that the officer outside has given notice of his desire to
communicate with the Lodge." 789
3. Arrest of charter
If a lodge has transgressed Masonic rules, the Grand Lodge can arrest its
charter: "To arrest the charter of a Lodge is a technical phrase by which is meant
to suspend the work of a Lodge, to prevent it from holding its usual
communications, and to forbid it to transact any business or to do any work." 790
4. Ballot
Balloting is the Masonic form of an election. A ballot box is passed around,
in which the members either lay a white ball which elects, or a black ball which
785 CME, p. 15.
786 Cf. EOF, p. 34, and CME, p. 15.
787 Cf. EOF, p. 33.
788 Cf. IFL, p. 38.
789 MD, p. 95.
790 EOF, p. 80.