
from Newsletter of EUREKA LODGE NO. 84, Tenants Harbor, ME

            Condensed by Wor. Wallace M. Gage, PGStd

                   NETHERLANDS FREEMASONRY

The following has been extracted from an article appearing in the 
quarterly publication of United Masters Lodge No. 167 (Research), 
of Aukland, New Zealand, regarding the requirements and 
preparation of a candidate for the First Degree in the 
Netherlands.

"The Netherlands has a population of over 14 million people.  
According to the figures in the 1986 "List of Lodges", there are 
135 lodges with a total membership of 6800.  Additional lodges 
working under Netherlands charters are located in the Netherlands 
Antilles (5), Surinam (3), Zimbabwe (7) and Johannesburg, South
Africa (1).  Craft lodges in Holland meet once a week, with an 
eight week recess during the Summer.

The lodge room which is called the temple is only used for ritual 
work, normally once a month.  The majority of meetings are 
devoted to lectures which are discussed the same evening.  These 
lectures are not only on Masonic subjects, but also deal with 
social, philosophical, historical and cultural topics.  These 
cover such matters as, for example Care of the Aged, Human 
Rights, The History of the Grand Lodge of Austria, etc.  These 
lectures are always given in the "Forecourt" which we call the 
dining room or banquet hall.

Before a lodge meeting, all visitors are officially received in 
the forecourt, and after being welcomed by the Master, enter the 
temple together with members of the lodge.

The opening and closing ceremonies for the three degrees are the 
same, except for the pass words and signs applicable to the 
degree in which the lodge is working.  After being initiated, it 
normally takes two years before the candidate has attained his 
Master Mason degree.

Before advancing to the next degree, a ballot is taken to decide 
if the candidate is worthy to receive the next degree, depending 
on whether his attendance has been regular and whether he has 
done some Masonic research.  He is also expected to give a short 
lecture on a Masonic subject.

The principal parts of the ritual are laid down, except for some 
of the Charges and Lectures which are free and may be given in 
the lecturer's own words.

All officers are elected for three years, but can be elected for 
further terms.  There is no automatic promotion of officers, and 
the Master can call on any officer he thinks fit to work a 
degree.  The rank of Past Master does not exist, and when the 
Master has vacated his chair, he becomes again an ordinary 
member.

The brethren pay annual dues amounting to about $60 US dollars, 
pay for their own refreshments and a charity collection is taken 
at each meeting.

In applying for the degrees, the prospective candidate must 
submit references from people who have been closely associated 
with him, and a written summary of his life to the Board of 
Inquiry.  This is followed by an interview during which he is 
tested on his moral and religious conceptions.  At the end of the 
interview, the candidate signs a declaration that he is fully 
acquainted with the principal tenets of Freemasonry.  When these 
formalities are completed, and the ballot at the next regular 
meeting is favorable, he is advised of the date of his 
initiation.

On the evening of his initiation, his proposer takes him to the 
lodge and turns him over to the Preparer, who takes him to the 
Reception room.  Contact with any other of the members of the 
lodge before the ceremony is not permitted.  The Preparer 
explains to him in general terms the solemnity and the meaning of 
the ceremony in which he will be engaged, and impresses upon him 
the importance of the step he is about to take.

After the candidate has signed a declaration of secrecy, he is 
divested of all metals, which teaches him that in Freemasonry a 
man is not esteemed for his worldly possessions.

He is then taken into the Dark Room, or Room of Contemplation, a 
small room adjoining the lodge, barely furnished with a table and 
chair where no noise or light can penetrate.  The candidate is 
left there to contemplate in order to enable him to prepare for 
the ceremony of initiation.  The only illumination is a single 
candle.  Realizing the darkness in his own heart, he should have 
a real desire to search for the light.

In the Dark Room the candidate finds the Volume of Sacred Law 
(the Holy Bible), emblems of mortality, an hour glass and the 
words KNOW THYSELF.  The Volume of Sacred Law is opened to the 
first Chapter of St. John, which teaches the creation of all 
things.  The emblems of mortality remind him of his inevitable 
destiny and that every rebirth is preceded by death.  The hour 
glass reminds him of his short earthly existence and that time is 
an everlasting sequence of the past, the present, and the future.  
His turning the hour glass signifies that he is starting a new 
period in his life.

Before the candidate is led out of the Dark Room, he extinguishes 
the candle, and hoodwinks himself.  He is now prepared to seek 
the new light.  The Preparer leads him before the Temple door, 
and the moment of his Initiation has arrived. 


