This ceremony of consecration has been handed down from the remotest antiquity.  A consecrating—­a separating from profane things, and making holy or devoting to sacred purposes—­was practiced by both the Jews and the Pagans in relation to their temples, their altars, and all their sacred utensils.  The tabernacle, as soon as it was completed, was consecrated to God by the unction of oil.  Among the Pagan nations, the consecration of their temples was often performed with the most sumptuous offerings and ceremonies; but oil was, on all occasions, made use of as an element of the consecration.  The lodge is, therefore, consecrated to denote that henceforth it is to be set apart as an asylum sacred to the cultivation of the great masonic principles of Friendship, Morality, and Brotherly Love.  Thenceforth it becomes to the conscientious Mason a place worthy of his reverence; and he is tempted, as he passes over its threshold, to repeat the command given to Moses:  “Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”

The corn, wine, and oil are appropriately adopted as the Masonic elements of consecration, because of the symbolic signification which they present to the mind of the Mason.  They are enumerated by David as among the greatest blessings which we receive from the bounty of Divine Providence.  They were annually offered by the ancients as the first fruits, in a thank-offering for the gifts of the earth; and as representatives of “the corn of nourishment, the wine of refreshment, and the oil of joy,” they symbolically instruct the Mason that to the Grand Master of the Universe he is indebted for the “health, peace, and plenty” that he enjoys.

After the consecration of the lodge, follows its dedication.  This is a simple ceremony, and principally consists in the pronunciation of a formula of words by which the lodge is declared to be dedicated to the holy Saints John, followed by an invocation that “every Brother may revere their character and imitate their virtues.”

Masonic tradition tells us that our ancient Brethren dedicated their lodges to King Solomon, because he was their first Most Excellent Grand Master; but that modern Masons dedicate theirs to St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist, because they were two eminent patrons of Masonry.  A more appropriate selection of patrons to whom to dedicate the lodge, could not easily have been made; since St. John the Baptist, by announcing the approach of Christ, and by the mystical ablution to which he subjected his proselytes, and which was afterwards adopted in the ceremony of initiation into Christianity, might well be considered as the Grand Hierophant of the Church; while the mysterious and emblematic nature of the Apocalypse assimilated the mode of teaching adopted by St. John the Evangelist to that practiced by the fraternity.  Our Jewish Brethren usually dedicate their lodges to King Solomon, thus retaining their