====== Affiliated Freemason ======

An **Affiliated Freemason** is a Freemason who holds membership in some Lodge. The term **affiliation** in Freemasonry is akin to the French *affilier*, which Richelet's *Dictionnaire de la langue Française* defines as "to communicate to any one a participation in the spiritual benefits of a religious order," with such communication referred to as an affiliation. The term, as a technical term, is not found in any of the old Masonic writers, who always use *admission* instead of *affiliation*.

There is no precept more explicitly expressed in the Ancient Constitutions than that every Freemason should belong to a Lodge. This duty is foundational and can be traced back to the Regius Manuscript, the oldest Masonic document now extant, which requires that the Freemason work diligently to deserve his hire. The obligation for Freemasons to labor is implied in all subsequent Constitutions, which refer to Freemasons as working members of the Fraternity. The Charges approved in 1722 explicitly state that "every Brother ought to belong to a Lodge, and to be subject to its By-Laws and the General Regulations." Therefore, the opportunity to resign one's membership should involve a duty to affiliate.