SECTION V.

THE DEACONS.
In every Masonic Lodge there are two officers who are called Deacons ; the one who sits in the east, on the right of the Master, is called the Senior Deacon, and the other, who sits in the west, on the right of the Senior Warden, is called the Junior Deacon. They are not elected to their respective offices, but are appointed — the Senior by the Master, and the Junior by the Senior Warden.
The title is one of great antiquity, and is derived from the Greek language,* where it signifies an attendant or servant, and was used in this sense in the primitive church, where the Deacons waited, upon the men, and stood at the men's door, and. the Deaconesses at the women's door, to see that none came in or went out during the time of the oblation.
In the Lodges of France and Germany, except in those which work in the Scotch and York rites, the office of the Deaconf is not known ; but their func- tions are discharged by other officers. In France they have an " expert" and a " Master of Ceremo- nies," and in Germany a " Master of Ceremonies" and a " preparer."t
* AiciKOvog-, an attendant or waiter, from the verb Sta/covca, to attend or serve. In the Latin the word is diaconus.
f The German Lodges in this country make use of Deacons, and give them the title of" vorsteher," which signifies a director. See Des Freimaurer's Ilandbuch von J. D. Finkelmeiee, which is an excellent translation of
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While the two Deacons have one duty in common, that, namely, of waiting upon the Master and Wardens, and serving as their proxies in the active duties of the Lodge,* the Senior Deacon being the especial minister of the Master, and the Junior of the Senior Warden, they have peculiar and separate duties distinctly appropriated to each.
The Senior Deacon. — The Senior Deacon, as I have already remarked, is the especial attendant of the Master. Seated at his right hand, he is ready at all times to carry messages and to convey orders from him to the Senior Warden, and elsewhere about the Lodge.
He is also the proper officer to propose to every candidate, in an adjoining apartment, and in the presence of the Stewards, those questions which are to elicit his declaration of the purity of the motives which have induced him to apply for initiation. t For this purpose he leaves the Lodge room, previous to the preparation of the candidate, and having pro- posed the questions and received the appropriate replies, he returns and reports the fact to the Master.
He also takes an important part in the subsequent
Macoy's Manual, for the use of German Lodges. But the word " vorsteher" is not to be found in Lenning's German Encyclopedia of Freemasonry.
* " It is your province to attend on the Master and Wardens, and to act as their proxies in the active duties of the Lodge."— Webb, Installation Service, p. 104.
f Webb says that the declaration must " be assented to by a candidate in an adjoining apartment previous to initiation," and he adds, " the Stewards of the Lodge are usually present." — Monitor, p. 30.
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ceremonies of initiation. He receives the candi- date at the door," and conducts him throughout all the requisitions of the ritual. He is, from the reason of his intimate connection with the candi- date, the proper guardian of the inner door of the Lodge.
It is his duty also to welcome all visiting brethren, to furnish them with seats, and if they are entitled to the honors of the Lodge, to supply them with the collars and jewels of their rank, and conduct them to their appropriate stations in the east.f
After the Lodge is opened, the altar and its sur- rounding lights are placed under the especial care of the Senior Deacon.
He also takes charge of the ballot box in all bal- lots, places it on the altar in the customary form, and after all the members have voted, exhibits it for inspection to the Junior and Senior Wardens and Master, in rotation.
In the inspection of members and visitors, before the Lodge is opened, for the purpose of preventing the intrusion of impostors among the brethren, the north side of the Lodge is intrusted to the care of the Senior Deacon.
The Junior Deacon. — This officer is the especia . attendant of the Senior Warden ; and being seated at his right hand, is prepared to carry messages
* According to the Prestonian work, it is the duty of the Inner Guard (an officer not recognized in this counter) " to receive candidates in due form." — See Preston, p. 80.
f Many Lodges keep a supply of Past Masters' collars and jewels for this purpose.
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from him to the Junior Warden, and elsewhere about the Lodge.
He takes very little part in the ceremonies of conferring the degrees, but as he is placed near the outer door, he attends to all alarms of the Tiler, re- ports them to the Master, and at his command, in- quires into the cause. The outer door being thus under his charge, he should never permit it to be opened by the Tiler, except in the usual form, and when preceded by the usual notice. He should allow no one to enter or depart without having first obtained the consent of the presiding officer.
An important duty of the Junior Deacon is to see that the Lodge is duly tiled. Upon this the security and secrecy of the institution depends ; and there- fore the Junior Deacon has been delegated as an especial officer to place the Tiler at his post, and to give him the necessary instructions.
In the inspection of the brethren, which takes place at the opening of the Lodge, the south side of the room is intrusted to the care of the Junior Deacon.
In the absence of the Senior Deacon, the Junior does not succeed to his place ; but a temporary ap- pointment of a Senior Deacon is made by the Master.
If the Junior Deacon is absent, it is the usage for the Master, and not the Senior Warden, to make a temporary appointment. The right of nominating the Junior Deacon is vested in the Senior Warden only on the night of his installation. After that, on
388 DEACONS.
the occurrence of a temporary vacancy, this right is lost, and the Master makes the appointment by the constitutional right of appointment which vests in him.
It has been supposed by some writers that, as the Deacons are not elected, but appointed by the Mas- ter and Senior Warden, they are removable at the pleasure of these officers. This, however, is not in accordance with the principles which govern the tenure of all Masonic offices. Although they are indebted for their positions to a preliminary ap- pointment, they are subsequently installed like the other officers, take a similar obligation, and are bound to the performance of their duties for a simi- lar period. Neither Preston nor Webb say any- thing, in the installation charge, of a power of removal by those who appointed them. In fact it is the installation, and not the appointment, that makes them Deacons ; and deriving, therefore, their right to office from this ceremony, they are to be governed by the same rules which affect other in- stalled officers. In England, the Wardens are ap- pointed by the Master, but he cannot remove them from office, the power of doing which is vested solely in the Lodge.* In this country, the only
* " The Wardens or officers of a Lodge cannot be removed, unless for a cause which appears to the Lodge to be sufficient ; but the Master, if he be dissatisfied with the conduct of any of his officers, may lay the cause of com- plaint before the Lodge ; and if it shall appear to the majority of the brethren present that the complaint be well founded, he shall have power tc displace such officer, and to nominate another." — Constitutions of England, ed. 18,17, p. 80.
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mode known to the law of removing an officer is by his expulsion, and this can only be done by the Lodge, as in England, after trial. I hold, then, that the analogy of the English law is to be ex- tended to the appointed, as well as to the elected officers — to the Deacons who are appointed here, as well as to the Wardens who are appointed there ; and that therefore a Deacon, having been once in- stalled, derives his tenure of office from that instal- lation, and cannot be removed by the Master or Senior Warden. The office can only be vacated by death or expulsion.*