The Volume of the Sacred Law

Vocabulary · 7

Volume of the Sacred Law

The book of sacred writ recognized as binding upon the candidate's conscience. It rests open upon the altar whenever the Lodge is at labor, and no Masonic obligation can be taken without it.

Furniture of a Lodge

The three indispensable articles of every regular Lodge: the Volume of the Sacred Law, the Square, and the Compasses. Without all three, a Lodge cannot lawfully be opened.

Universality of belief

The published Masonic principle that the Volume of the Sacred Law is whatever book the candidate holds sacred (Bible, Torah, Quran, Vedas, or other), so a Lodge can include men of any faith that professes a Supreme Being.

Open upon the altar

The Volume is opened, not closed, when the Lodge is at labor. In Anglo-American practice it is opened to passages associated with the degree being worked, set out in the published monitor.

Rule and guide of faith

The published phrase used in the lecture: the Volume is the rule and guide of the Mason's faith and practice. The expression dates to the earliest monitorial works.

Plural altars

A Lodge may have more than one Volume on the altar when its membership includes brothers of differing faiths. Each member's obligation is bound by the Volume he himself recognizes.

The dedication

Modern speculative Lodges are dedicated to the Holy Saints John (the Baptist and the Evangelist). The Volume's open pages are sometimes referenced to the Gospels associated with each saint in some published forms.

Practice questions · 5

1. Which of these is a published name for the Volume that rests upon a Masonic altar?

   • a. The Book of Lodge Bylaws
   • b. The Volume of the Sacred Law ✓
   • c. The Anderson Constitutions
   • d. The Book of Ancient Charges

2. What three articles together comprise the Furniture of a Lodge?

   • a. The altar, the candles, and the gavel
   • b. The Volume of the Sacred Law, the Square, and the Compasses ✓
   • c. Wisdom, Strength, and Beauty
   • d. The apron, the working tools, and the jewels

3. Which Volume is placed upon the altar in a regular Lodge?

   • a. The Bible only, regardless of the candidate's faith
   • b. Whatever book the candidate himself holds sacred ✓
   • c. A book chosen each year by the Grand Lodge
   • d. A book published by the host jurisdiction

4. How does the Volume sit on the altar when the Lodge is at labor?

   • a. Closed and unmarked
   • b. Closed but with the title visible
   • c. Open, often to passages associated with the degree being worked ✓
   • d. Wrapped in linen and unbound

5. How is the Volume described in the published first-degree lecture?

   • a. The history of the Craft
   • b. The rule and guide of the Mason's faith and practice ✓
   • c. The record of his Lodge's labors
   • d. A scholarly reference to be consulted occasionally