Basic Principles for Grand Lodge Recognition

  1. Regularity of origin: i.e., each Grand Lodge shall have been established lawfully by a duly recognized Grand Lodge or by three or more regularly constituted lodges.
  2. That a belief in the Great Architect Of The Universe and His revealed will shall be an essential qualification for membership.
  3. That all Initiates shall take their Obligation on the open Volume of Sacred Law, by which is meant the revelation from above which is binding on the conscience of the particular individual who is being initiated.
  4. That the membership of the Grand Lodge and individual Lodges shall be composed exclusively of men; and that each Grand Lodge shall have no Masonic intercourse of any kind with mixed Lodges or bodies which admit women to membership.
  5. That the Grand Lodge shall have sovereign jurisdiction over the Lodges under its control, i.e., that it shall be a responsible, independent, self-governing organization with sole and undisputed authority over the Craft or Symbolic Degrees (Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason) within its jurisdiction; and shall not in any way be subject to, or divide such authority with, a Supreme Council or other Power claiming any control or supervision over those degrees.
  6. That the three Great Lights of Freemasonry (namely, the Volume of Sacred Law, the Square, and the Compasses) shall always be exhibited when the Grand Lodge or its constituent Lodges are at work.
  7. That the discussion of religion and politics within the Lodge shall be strictly prohibited.
  8. That the principles of the Ancient Charges, Customs, and Usages of the Craft shall be strictly observed.