What to Expect in an Emulation Lodge, and Why

Jason Schaff, PM Fiat Lux Lodge No. 1717

Igreet you well, my Brother!” Does that sound a little peculiar to you? It is a common, although certainly not universal, greeting among Masons who practice the Emulation Working as promulgated by the United Grand Lodge of England.

There might be many things which might strike a good and worthy Brother as strange or peculiar when visiting an Emulation Lodge for the first time. My Masonic career began in an Emulation Lodge (our own Fiat Lux Lodge No. 1717) almost a dozen years ago, and I was certainly confused by a few things on my first couple visits to other D.C. Lodges after being Raised. As Fiat Lux is one of only two Lodges in the United States performing the Emulation Work in the English Language, a visit to one of our Communications will likely be the first time a D.C. Brother has encountered this particular ritual system, and I hope that this article can help make that experience more comfortable for visitors and help you understand the “why” (either symbolic or practical) behind some of what we do. Please understand that what I am describing below are the specific practices within Fiat Lux; if visiting our D.C. Brethren who perform the Emulation Work in another language, you may see some differences, as the Emulation Lodge of Improvement recognizes a degree of freedom among private Lodges to modify the published Ritual for the individual character of a Lodge.

One of the first things you will notice is that one’s entrance and exit in an Emulation Lodge is very different from that in other D.C. Lodges. We Tyle in the North-West and there is an officer, the Inner Guard, whose primary duty is to exercise physical control over the door to the Lodge. This is largely a practical matter, as the Junior Deacon has several duties that would not typically be assigned to him in other systems. To expect him to control the door in addition to those duties would not be practical.

Another important point is that, once the Lodge begins the process of opening and until it closes, the door is opened only for the purpose of admitting Brothers and Candidates or allowing Brothers to depart. How, then, does the Tyler know what is going on inside and therefore, how to govern himself accordingly? The Inner Guard and Tyler communicate that information through a series of coded knocks by which the Inner Guard informs the Tyler in what Degree the Lodge is working and the Tyler acknowledges receipt of the information. To me, this carries an important symbolic message about the importance of protecting our Masonic Secrets. In the Emulation Lodge we are so cautious as to ensure that even if an eavesdropper has somehow been able to escape the watchful eye of the

WB Jason Schaff in his Emulation regalia.

Tyler, the cowan will be unable to discern anything about what we are doing unless he has obtained knowledge of this system of knocks.

Another important point about the door in an Emulation Lodge is that it is at all times under the absolute physical control of the Inner Guard. It is at the will and pleasure of the Master as to when Brothers enter and depart once the Lodge has opened, but the actual act of controlling the door rests solely with the Inner Guard. In a strictly observant Emulation Lodge, the Inner Guard actually locks the door once the Lodge is open, and it is physically impossible for anyone to enter or leave without him unlocking it. Fire codes obviously prevent us from doing that here, but in Fiat Lux we still try to observe the spirit of this principle. For a visiting Brother the important points to remember are that it is by permission of the Master that you enter or leave, and it is by the act of the Inner Guard that you do so. The process can be slightly more complicated in some cases, but the full details are not appropriate for open publication. If you enter after the Lodge has opened, go to the west of the pavement, face the East, and salute the Master appropriately, thereby acknowledging that it is by his permission that you entered the Lodge. If departing, after receiving permission of the Master, go to the Inner Guard’s station and let him lead you to the door so that you may exit.

Within the Lodge room, there are two differences in arrangement that will probably stand out to you. The most obvious is that the altar is located in the East, immediately in front of the Master. A full explanation of this is definitely not suitable for open publication. However, one practical consequence is that there is no prohibition on “crossing the East” in an Emulation Lodge, since doing so does not obstruct the line between the Master and the Great Lights.

The other difference in arrangement is that the center of the pavement is occupied by the tracing boards, with that of the current Degree displayed. For me, this is an important and meaningful characteristic of the Emulation Work. The tracing boards provide a visual reference to the Degree in which the Lodge is working and ensure that a symbolic representation of the lessons of the Degree is always in view. Brothers are thereby encouraged to moralize upon those lessons, even when the Lodge is dealing with administrative necessities, awaiting the preparation of a candidate, or otherwise not engaged in ritual or explicitly educational business.

Also, within the Lodge your attention will likely be drawn to some differences in seating of officers. The presence of the Inner Guard within the door has already been mentioned, but there are two officers seated in the East. In an Emulation Lodge, the East must always be occupied by an Installed Master, and the Immediate Past Master is seated next to him to take the gavel immediately when he is called from his chair for ritual duties. In addition, you will observe that the stations normally occupied by Stewards in most Lodges are vacant. An Emulation Lodge does have Stewards, but their duties are entirely practical. They assist the Junior Warden in his oversight of refreshment, help set up the Lodge room, and perform other similar tasks. Some of the ritual roles that would be assigned to the Stewards in other Lodges are instead assigned to the Junior Deacon, again explaining the practical need for an Inner Guard. And now I come to what I think is one of the most fundamentally important and meaningful “peculiarities” of the Emulation Work; the manner in which a Lodge is opened and closed. In an Emulation Lodge it is forbidden to open directly on, or close directly from, a higher Degree. To open a higher Degree, the Lodge must first fully open all lower Degrees. Once the labors are complete, every Degree that has been opened must be individually closed.

I firmly believe that, as Masons, we must always strive to avoid the error of forgetting from whence we came. Our Masonic “birth” is not into our final Degree, but into the First, and we have passed through many intervening trials on the way. Each Degree carries its own unique and important moral lessons, and we must strive to apply all those lessons if we are to build a structure worthy of the Craft. Every time an Emulation Lodge opens on a higher Degree, the Brethren are actively reminded of their journeys through the Masonic Degrees and given an opportunity to reflect upon the lessons of each step in that journey. I also find it meaningful that most administrative business in an Emulation Lodge is done on the First Degree. By this practice, the Lodge demonstrates that all Masons, regardless of Degree, are Brothers, equally worthy to observe the general business of the Lodge.

An Emulation Lodge setting with the altar in the East.