Affiliation
REG. 75-1
RIGHT TO APPLY FOR AFFILIATION.
The right of every Master
Mason in good standing to apply for membership in any regular lodge of his
choice, wherever it may be located, shall be absolute. An application for
affiliation may be received by a lodge regardless of the period or place
of residence, whether in or outside of
1. The right
shall not apply to one who is insane.
2. The right
shall not apply to one who is barred by any provision of THE CODE from
obtaining a demit.
3. The right
shall not apply to one who is under charges for unmasonic conduct.
4. The right
shall not apply to one whose application for affiliation has been rejected
within six months by any lodge. [39-2.5; 39-3; 39-9].
5. The right
shall not apply to a person who presents a demit from a lodge under the
jurisdiction of a grand lodge which this Grand Lodge does not recognize. Such a
person must renounce his membership in his former lodge, Official Form 40, and
then petition for the degrees only as a profane. [66-6; 87-1; 87-3].
The applicant shall comply
with Chapter 51 as to avouchment. Should the lodge elect to membership one
who presented an application for affiliation accompanied by any form of
certificate under seal of a lodge, and thereafter on attending lodge he fails
to pass a satisfactory examination, such lodge was negligent in electing him to
membership before he was proven to be a Mason. He is not entitled to a sit in
the lodge until he has been vouched for. [75-8].
REG. 75-3
METHODS OF AFFILIATION.
The following shall be the
methods of affiliation:
1. By signing a
petition for the formation of a new lodge, [Chapter
39]
2. By absolute
demit, [Chapter 76]
3. By transfer of
membership, maintaining continuous membership, and
4. By
establishing plural membership in a
REG. 75-4
MANNER OF APPLICATION.
An application for
affiliation shall be
1. Made in writing on the form designated Official Form 18, which is hereby made a part of this regulation and shall not be substantively amended except in the same manner as any other part of THE CODE, [Official Form 18]
2. Be addressed to the lodge in which the
applicant desires membership, and
3. Signed by the petitioner with his full
name in his own handwriting.
REG. 75-5 Obsolete (This regulation amended, effective 1/1/2005)
REG. 75-6
NONAFFILIATED MASTER MASON.
The application for
affiliation of a nonaffiliated Master Mason shall be accompanied by one of the
following;
1. A demit or
properly certified evidence of his demission from the lodge of which he was
last a member, or
2. If the lodge
of which he was last a member is defunct and his demit is lost, a certified
record from the Grand Lodge having custody of the records of the lodge granting
the demit. [49-4.5; 49-6; 76-8].
3. Where written
evidence is not obtainable, other evidence may be accepted, but such other
evidence shall not be deemed satisfactory until it shall have been submitted to
the Grand Master and approved by him.
4. If the demit
is from another grand jurisdiction, it must contain the certificate of the
Grand Secretary of such jurisdiction under the seal of the Grand Lodge to the
effect that the lodge granting it is, or was at the time, a regularly
constituted lodge. [87-1].
REG. 75-7
BALLOT AND RECOMMENDERS.
The
application of a Mason for affiliation shall be recommended and signed by at
least two North Carolina members with at least one of whom is a member of the
lodge to which the same is presented, and it shall require a unanimously
favorable secret ballot to elect to membership. [74-2; Chapter
68]. (This regulation amended, effective 9/25/2004)
REG. 75-8
RECEIPT OF AN APPLICATION.
No application for affiliation
shall be received except at a stated communication, and not then unless the
applicant shall have satisfied the Master that he is a Master Mason by the
methods required for visitation. [42-12; 45-3.4.C; 75-2; 75-9; 76-3.6; Chapter
51].
1. The Master
without any action by the lodge shall refer it to a Committee of Investigation
for investigation and report.
2. If an
applicant for affiliation shall die or become insane before he is elected, no
further action shall be taken except to note the fact in the minutes of the
lodge, which action will end the proceedings. [59-2.12; 67-3.1; 68-2; 75-8; 75-11.1; 75-11.2; 75-11.3; 75-11.4; 75-11.5].
3. An applicant
for affiliation shall have the same moral qualifications as a petitioner for
the degrees. [66-1.1; 66-1.4; 66-1.11; 66-1.12].
REG. 75-9
COMMITTEE OF INVESTIGATION.
A Committee of
Investigation on an application for affiliation shall ascertain if the
applicant is a Master Mason and is in good standing, or a Master Mason with a
proper demit, before recommending favorable action on the applicant. [75-8].
1. Chapter 67, as far as it may apply, shall
govern the appointment, duties, and report of the committee, and the procedure
thereon except as to the physical qualifications and the territorial
jurisdiction of the applicant.
2. The committee shall consider not only the
moral qualifications of the applicant and the fact that he is a Master Mason
but also the authenticity of his demit.
REG.
75-10 APPLICATION - GRAND SECRETARY.
When an application for
affiliation is received by a lodge the Secretary shall, within five days after
presenting to and reading same in open lodge, forward the original application
and all documents supporting the same to the Grand Secretary who shall attach
thereto such record and
When the report of the
Committee of Investigation is filed, either favorable or unfavorable, the
application shall be submitted to a secret ballot in all respects as provided
in Chapter 68, as far as it can be made applicable to applications for
affiliation. [68-3.15; 75-1.4].
1. No lodge shall
ballot on any application for affiliation,
A. Until
the report of the Grand Secretary and of the Committee of Investigation thereon
has been received by it, and
B. Within
twenty-eight days from the date it is received by the lodge.
2. A ballot taken
in violation of Regulation 75-11.1 is illegal and void, and another
ballot should be spread at a subsequent stated communication, but not until
authorized by the Grand Master.
3. A new
application is not required.
4. No ballot
shall be taken on any applicant for affiliation within six months after he has
been rejected in a regular lodge and then only on a new application.
5. The penalty
for violation of this regulation shall be such as the Grand Master or the Grand
Lodge may inflict. [59-4.1; 68-1; 74-1.3; 75-11.2; 75-11.3; 75-11.4; 75-11.5].
REG.
75-12 WITHDRAWAL OF APPLICATION.
By unanimous consent of the
lodge, which does not require a secret ballot, an application for affiliation
may be withdrawn by the applicant at any time before the report of the
Committee of Investigation, but not after the ballot. [75-16.3; 75-14.1].
REG.
75-13 FEE FOR AFFILIATION.
A fee may be charged in any
subordinate lodge for affiliation, but only if it is stated in its by-laws. [39-11;
44-7 (Art.11:1)].
REG.
75-14 ACTION ON ELECTION.
When any applicant is
elected to membership, his demit shall be canceled, filed, and the lodge or
Grand Lodge granting it shall be notified of the affiliation. [75-14.1].
1. If an
application for affiliation is withdrawn or denied, the evidence of affiliation
or nonaffiliation shall be returned.
2. If an
application for affiliation is granted, the evidence shall be canceled and
filed with the application. [75-3.2; 75-3.3; 75-14; 75-12; 75-16.1.D; 75-16.1.G].
REG. 75-15 Obsolete (This regulation amended, effective 1/1/2006)
REG.
75-16 MEMBER OF ANOTHER GRAND JURISDICTION.
A Master Mason belonging to
a lodge located outside of North Carolina who wishes to affiliate with a
North Carolina lodge and maintain continuously affiliation, shall proceed by
one of the following methods.
1. He may file
his Application for Affiliation accompanied by a written request or application
to his lodge for a demit.
A. He shall attach to his application a dues
card, or a certificate of good standing under seal of the lodge of which he is
a member showing that he is under no charges and that his dues are paid for not
less than four months in advance of the date of his application for affiliation
together with his request or application for a demit.
B. He must be elected to membership in the
lodge to which he has made application within ninety days after the date of his
application for affiliation.
C. The Secretary of that lodge shall
immediately certify the election of the applicant on the proper form. [Official
Form 12].
D. The Grand Secretary will make his record
and then send the request or application for the demit to the lodge from which
the brother wishes to withdraw through the Grand Secretary of the proper
jurisdiction, requesting that the demit be issued to consummate the membership,
and that it be returned through his office.
E. When the demit is received by the Grand
Secretary, he will complete his record and forward the demit to the lodge
electing the applicant to membership.
F. The brother shall become a member of that
lodge as of even date with the date of the demit, and the certificate of demit
shall be canceled and filed with the application for affiliation. [75-14.1;
Official Form 13].
G. If the applicant is rejected, or if he is
not elected within the ninety days set forth in Subdivision 75-16.1.B
above, his application shall be void and the receipt or certificate of good
standing and the request or application for demit shall be returned to him. [75-14.1].
2. He may file
his Application for Affiliation accompanied by a provisional demit, a conditional
demit, or a certificate of good standing issued by or under the authority of,
and under the seal of a regular lodge under another recognized Grand
lodge.
A. The
conditional demit or certificate of good standing, shall provide on its face,
that it is valid not less than four months from the date of the application for
affiliation.
B. The
conditional demit or certificate of good standing, shall provide on its face,
that it becomes an absolute demit immediately and automatically upon the
election of the applicant to membership prior to the date of expiration shown
in said demit or in said certificate.
C. If
the applicant is elected before the date the conditional demit or certificate
expires, the applicant shall become a member of the lodge electing him as of
the date of his election.
(1) On his election the demit
or certificate shall be canceled and filed.
(2) A report thereof shall be
made to our Grand Secretary within five days on Official Form No. 65.
(3) The Grand Secretary shall
promptly report the election to the grand lodge under whose authority the said
conditional demit or certificate was issued. [75-14.1; 87-18; Official Form 66].
D. If
the applicant is rejected, the demit or certificate shall be returned to him
promptly by the Secretary.
3. After a
brother has applied to a lodge for affiliation under this Regulation and has
been elected prior to demission, he may not withdraw his application for
affiliation, even though his demit has not yet been granted. [75-12].
REG.
75-17 Obsolete (This
regulation amended, effective July 31, 2000)
REG.
75-18 UNFINISHED MATERIAL.
The lodges of many grand
jurisdictions issue demits to Entered Apprentices and Fellow Crafts. When any
petitioner for advancement shall present with his petition a demit, issued by a
lodge of a grand jurisdiction with which this Grand Lodge is in fraternal
relation and properly certified by the Grand Secretary of that grand lodge,
upon due proof of the identity of petitioner, the lodges of this Grand
Jurisdiction shall recognize said demit and may entertain his petition for the
remaining degree or degrees in said lodge.
1. The lodge shall remit no part of the fees
fixed in its by-laws for the three degrees and shall pay to the Grand Lodge the
fee required on initiates and for charity as provided in Regulation 20-1.
2. Any such petition shall take the same
course prescribed by law for petitions for degrees, except that Regulation 71-7
will apply as to his physical qualifications. [49-10.1; 76-2.1; Chapters 68; 73; 74].
REG.
75-19 IMPROPER AFFILIATION.
A lodge improperly
receiving an affiliate without demit, or proper lawful evidence of
nonaffiliation, except as in Regulations 75-16 and 75-15, shall be liable for his dues and
also subject to such punishment as the Grand Master or the Grand Lodge may
determine.