Opening and closing the work
With the he opens the lodge, asks the Wardens whether it is properly guarded and in order, and closes the work at the end. His knocks mark the passage from the everyday world into the ritual space, and back again.
Office of the lodge · Dutch Freemasonry
Achtbare Meester
He sits in the East, where the light rises, and his first duty is to pass that light on.
- Place in the lodge
- In the East, raised above the floor of the lodge
- Jewel of the office
- The square
- In particular care of
- The whole lodge
The Achtbare Meester presides over the lodge. He opens and closes its work, leads the rituals, confers the degrees and answers for the harmony of the whole. In English-speaking lodges he is called the . "Achtbaar" is old Dutch for "worthy of respect", just as "worshipful" is old English for "honourable": the title honours the office, not the man.
Yet this is less a position of power than a position of service. The Master in the East is a symbol of the rising sun. As the sun opens the day and gives light to everyone who works, the Master opens the lodge and gives light, instruction and direction to the brothers. Whoever sits in the East is there for the others.
Origins
History of the office
In the operative lodges of the medieval cathedral builders the was the most experienced craftsman on the site. He drew the plans, set out the work and answered for the quality of every stone. When the speculative lodges of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries took over the forms of the old craft, the master of the lodge became the presiding officer, chosen by the brothers from among themselves.
Freemasonry reached the Netherlands early. A lodge met in The Hague in 1734, and in 1756 the Dutch lodges united under a of their own: today the Order of Freemasons under the Grand East of the Netherlands (Orde van Vrijmetselaren onder het Grootoosten der Nederlanden), one of the oldest on the European continent. From the beginning every Dutch lodge has been led by its own Achtbare Meester.
Dutch Freemasonry grew its own character, shaped by both English and French practice. That is why the Dutch Master leads a lodge in which both Wardens sit in the West, an Orator guards the law and a Preparer accompanies the candidate: offices that an English lodge does not know in this form.
Achtbare Meester
What the office involves
Leading the rituals
He leads the initiation, passing and raising of candidates and speaks the central texts of the ritual. Many Masters see this as the heart of the office: to give a candidate an experience he will carry for the rest of his life.
Chairing the lodge
He chairs the meetings of the lodge and its board, and sees that the constitution of the Order and the by-laws of the lodge (the huishoudelijk reglement) are respected.
Setting the course
He sets the tone of his years in the East: the themes of the work, the choice of subjects, and above all a climate in which brothers can speak freely and listen to one another.
Caring for the brothers
He notices who is absent, who is ill and who is struggling. Together with the Almoner he sees to it that no brother is left on his own.
Representing the lodge
He represents the lodge to other lodges and to the Grand East, and takes part in the regional and national gatherings of the Order.
In practice
How it works in a Dutch lodge
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Election
The Achtbare Meester is elected by the of the lodge for a term laid down in the by-laws. In most lodges he can be re-elected once or more.
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Installation
He is installed in a solemn ceremony in which he promises to lead the lodge faithfully and to uphold the principles of the Order. From that moment he wears the as the jewel of his office.
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In the East
During the work he sits in the East, a few steps above the floor of the lodge and in many temples beneath a canopy. Brothers who speak address the chair as "Achtbare Meester".
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After his term
When his term ends he becomes a Past Master (Oud-Achtbare Meester). Many continue to serve the lodge with advice, ritual experience and a listening ear.
What the office asks
- Wisdom more than knowledge
- The art of listening
- Calm authority
- Mastery of the ritual
- Patience with every stone in its own state
The lesson for every brotherEvery brother who takes up the discovers that leading is above all serving. The light in the East is not his own: he received it from those who sat there before him, and his task is to pass it on undimmed to those who will follow.
To reflect on
- Where in your own life are you asked to lead, and do you lead by serving?
- Which light did you receive from others that you can now pass on?
- Do you test your own conduct by the square before you test that of others?
Whether or not you hold this office, each office mirrors a task that every Freemason carries within himself.