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

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Chapter 5 - Technical Terminology
distinguished from work, which refers to the conferring of degrees, also
called labor, especially, in the ritual. 801
The same interpretation is valid in French Masonry, where "travaux"
describes the business and not the spiritual work: "Travaux: Lato sensu
l'expression de 'travaux' désigne l'ensemble des activités d'un atelier maςonnique,
mais dans un sens plus restreint l'usage franςais distingue les 'travaux' des
activités purement cérémonielles. Le terme s'applique, par exemple, ainsi
entendu, à un cycle de conférences." 802
9. Calling off vs. Calling on
The "calling off" is a procedure employed for a short break when the lodge is
not ritualistically closed but is going to continue with its work soon:
A technical term in Masonry, which signifies the temporary suspension
of labor in a Lodge without passing through the formal ceremony of
closing. The full form of the expression is to call from labor to
refreshment, and it took its rise from the former custom of dividing the
time spent in the Lodge between the work of Masonry and the moderate
enjoyment of the banquet. [...] Thus, if the business of the Lodge at its
regular meeting has so accumulated that it cannot be transacted in one
evening, it has become the custom to call off until a subsequent evening,
when the Lodge, instead of being opened with the usual ceremony, is
simply "called on" [...]. 803
10. Mystic Chain
The "mystic chain" corresponds to the "chaine d'union" or "Bruderkette" and
is a symbol of universality: "Ce rite symbolise la fraternité universelle des
maςons. [...] Employée au sens figuré, l'expression 'la chaîne d'union' signifie
couramment le lien mondial que constitue la Franc-Maςonnerie." 804 However,
this chain is not made uniformly in all Masonic streams or rites, and it is not
always executed at the same point in the ritual. For example, the mystic chain
can be employed in the initiation ceremony or in the closing: "Au Rite Ecossais
Ancien et Accepté, la chaîne d'union fait partie intégrante de la cérémonie
d'initiation elle-même, tout en étant un rite de clôture. Son symbolisme est
801 CME, p. 114.
802 DFM, p. 215.
803 MD, p. 143. See also IFL, p. 252.
804 DFM, p. 91.