What is the minimum number of officers required to open a Lodge?

This is an area in which the Masonic Law and the Masonic Ritual are in conflict, and when that happens the Law prevails. There is a Judge Advocate opinion saying that a Lodge can open a communication with as few as three officers, so that is the law of the land. However, six officers opening as a Master Mason Lodge is the least number that can perform the opening ceremonies within the spirit of the Ritual.  These would consist of the three principal officers together with a Chaplain, a Junior Deacon and a Tiler, with one of the officers inside the Lodge room recording minutes and the Junior Deacon attending at the Altar. Whether it would be a good idea for a Lodge to open with only six Masons present—never mind as few as three—is a separate and important question.  It’s hard to imagine a circumstance in which it would be necessary and advisable to open a Lodge with an insufficient number of Masons to perform the opening ceremonies as written.  Note also that as few as eight can open a communication on the Second and Third Degrees in full form with the Secretary at his desk, and only one more is needed to open on the First Degree.  I should hasten to add that the minimum numbers specified in the opening ceremonies for the various Degrees are meant to be symbolic, not literal.

Does the Tiler need to be a Master Mason, even when the Lodge is opening on the First or Second Degree?

Yes. All elected and appointed Lodge officers must be Master Masons. In the absence of such officers, the Master may appoint Entered Apprentices and Fellowcrafts officers pro tem to any station or place, so long as they are qualified for the Work, except for the Tiler. Why not the Tiler? Because the Ritual specifies that the Tiler is a “Master Mason without.”

Is the duty of three, mandatory for opening a Master Mason Lodge? Didn’t it use to be five?

In the opening ceremonies, a Lodge is described as consisting of at least three, five, or seven Masons, depending on the Degree, after which the Master inquires as to who they are and what their duties are. In doing this, the Master may inquire as to a greater number than that specified for the Degree, but never a lesser number.

In the New York system that existed from the mid-nineteenth century until 2019, all meetings opened as Master Mason Lodges. Prior to that time, however, New York Lodges could open on any of the three Degrees, as they can today, and most often worked as Entered Apprentice Lodges. The best guess as to why the incongruous duty of five was required under the then-new “third Degree only” system is that it was meant to appease Masons who were used to hearing the duty of seven at most meetings and may have resisted the change. The present system reverts to the traditional number of duties required to be given for each Degree, although the Master can always call for the number of duties specified for a lower Degree. The history and politics of how and why we implemented the previous system is beyond the scope of this column, but if you’re interested in learning more you can invite me to give a talk in your Lodge!

When should the Letter G be turned on?

Most purpose-built Lodge rooms have an illuminated Letter G on permanent display in the East that is turned on and off with an electric switch. It is worth noting, however, that the only time the Letter G is required to be displayed is at the conclusion of the Middle Chamber Lecture, and there is no requirement that it ever be illuminated. Indeed, the only time illumination of the Letter G is mentioned in the Ritual book is to specify when it must be turned off. This makes it the Lodge’s choice when and whether the Letter G is illuminated. A good choice would be to turn it on and off together with the general purpose lighting of the room—e.g., before the meeting commences and after it concludes—and as the Ritual specifies.