Allegiance

Allegiance. This term is used in Freemasonry chiefly to describe the relation between a subordinate or constituent body, as a lodge, and its governing body, as a Grand Lodge. In English-speaking countries, those relations are so well established and recognized that the allegiance of lodges seldom becomes a subject of discussion. It is different in some countries, for examples, France and Egypt, where there are two or more different Masonic authorities sharing the same territory. There, it is frequently necessary to refer to a lodge as owing allegiance to the Grand Orient of France, or the Grand Lodge of France, or the Grand Lodge of England, etc. See OBEDIENCE.