Holy Royal Arch
The Royal Arch is a degree of Freemasonry. The Royal Arch is present in all main masonic systems, though in some it is worked as part of Craft Freemasonry, and in others in an appendant order. Royal Arch Masons meet as a Chapter; in the Supreme Order of the Royal Arch as practised in the British Isles, much of Europe and the Commonwealth, Chapters confer the single degree of Royal Arch Mason.
Membership
In the British Isles, most of continental Europe, and most nations of the Commonwealth, the teachings of Royal Arch Masonry are contained in the "Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch" – a stand-alone degree of Freemasonry which is open to those who have completed the three Craft degrees. Until 1823, only freemasons who had previously passed through the chair of a Craft lodge were allowed to join. Today, candidates for an English Royal Arch Chapter are required to have been a Master Mason for four weeks or more.In Freemasonry in Scotland, the candidate for the Royal Arch must also be a Mark Master Mason, a degree which is part of the Royal Arch series. It can be worked in the Chapter, or more often has been worked in a Scottish Lodge. After the Mark degree, a candidate must receive the Excellent Master degree, before being exalted to the Royal Arch degree. In Ireland a candidate must be a Master Mason for one year before being admitted as a member of a Royal Arch Chapter. The Degree of Mark Master Mason is taken separately first and only then can the Royal Arch Degree be taken.
In the United States, Canada, Brazil, Israel, Mexico, Paraguay and the Philippines, the Royal Arch is not worked as a stand-alone degree as described above, but forms part of the York Rite system of additional Masonic degrees. Royal Arch Masons in the York Rite also meet as a Chapter, but the Royal Arch Chapter of the York Rite confers four different degrees: 'Mark Master Mason', 'Virtual Past Master', 'Most Excellent Master', and 'Royal Arch Mason'. While the York Rite degree of 'Royal Arch Mason' is roughly comparable to the Supreme Order of the Royal Arch as practised in England and Wales, the other degrees may have equivalents in other appendant orders.
The Royal Arch is also the subject of the 13th and 14th degrees of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.
Purpose and teaching
Similarly to Craft Freemasonry, the Royal Arch conveys moral and ethical lessons. In the three degrees of the Craft, the candidate is presented with a series of practical principles of service to his fellow man and begins journey of self discovery. The Royal Arch completes this journey by developing this latter aspect. In the Chapter, the teachings of the Royal Arch are conveyed using a ritualised allegory based on the Old Testament telling of the return to Jerusalem from the Babylonian captivity to rebuild the City and Temple. In clearing the ground of Solomon's Temple for the foundations of a new temple, the candidate makes important discoveries. By adding a further explanation to the practical lessons of Craft Freemasonry, the Royal Arch is seen as an extension of the preceding degrees and the philosophical lessons conveyed are appropriate to that stage in a candidate's Masonic development. The symbol or Grand Emblem of Royal Arch Masonry is the Triple Tau.History
Origins
The exact origins of Royal Arch Masonry in general, and of the Royal Arch in particular, are unknown except that it dates back to the mid 18th century.Although glimpses of Royal Arch vocabulary appear in Masonic literature from the 1720s, the first verifiable appearance of Royal Arch Masonry is in Ireland in the 1740s during a Dublin procession. According to Lodge No. 21's records, the “Royal Arch” was carried in a procession by “two excellent Masons” through Youghal, Ireland, on 27 December 1743.
The degree is also mentioned disapprovingly in Dassigny's "A serious and impartial enquiry into the cause of the present decay of Free-masonry in the Kingdom of Ireland" published in Dublin in 1744. Separate notes in this work indicate that the rite was practised in Dublin, London and York, and described it as an "organis'd body of men who have passed the chair".
In 1749, the Grand Lodge of Ireland issued warrants to Lodges 190 and 198 to establish "Royal Arch Lodges".
England and Wales
"Antients" vs. "Moderns"
In 18th century England, the role and purpose of Royal Arch Masonry was the subject of a long debate between the two rival umbrella organisations of Freemasonry. In 1717, four Craft lodges had formed the original Premier Grand Lodge of England to govern Freemasonry as practiced in England. From 1751, this claim was contested by another group of Craft lodges which formed the Antient Grand Lodge of England. In the ensuing debate, the newer grand lodge became known for short as the "Antients", while the older grand lodge was referred to as the "Moderns".In 1746, Laurence Dermott, who would later become Grand Secretary of the "Antients", had been accepted into a Royal Arch Chapter in Dublin, which at that time was open only to those who had previously served as master of a Craft lodge. He regarded the Royal Arch as the fourth degree of Craft Masonry. Under his influence, the "Antients" championed the Royal Arch degree in England, while it was met with hostility in the Premier Grand Lodge of England.
In 1764, a lodge of Scottish masons attached to the "Antients" switched sides and became the Caledonian Lodge attached to the "Moderns". The next year, they assisted in setting up a Royal Arch Chapter admitting masons from other Craft lodges which were attached to the "Moderns". In 1766, with the exaltation of Lord Blayney, the Grand Master of the "Moderns", this organisation became known as the "Excellent Grand and Royal Arch Chapter", taking on administrative responsibilities and thus becoming the first Grand Chapter in England. At the same time, James Heseltine, the Grand Secretary of the "Moderns", stated about Royal Arch Masonry that "It is part of Masonry but has no connection with Grand Lodge" in a letter to a senior German mason. He was also one of the signatories on the charter establishing the first Grand Chapter. The minutes of the first meeting of Grand Chapter show that it met in the Turks Head, in the London district of Soho, the same tavern that had shortly before hosted the birth of the Antient Grand Lodge of England. On this occasion, Thomas Dunckerley was elected to hold the office of Z in the absence of the Grand Master and Deputy Grand Master. He was later appointed Grand Superintendent and promoted Royal Arch Masonry in the provincial lodges of the "Moderns" with considerable energy and success.
In 1774, the "Antients" formed their own Royal Arch Grand Chapter upon Laurence Dermott's instigation. Its members were Grand Lodge officers who happened to hold the Royal Arch degree, its meetings were ordained by Grand Lodge, and its proceedings approved by that same body.
By the end of the 18th century, both Craft grand lodges thus had developed a different organisational approach to the Royal Arch. While the Grand Chapter of the "Moderns" was independent from their Craft Grand Lodge out of necessity, the Grand Chapter of the "Antients" was closely tied to the corresponding Craft Grand Lodge. For the masons organised in the "Antients", the Royal Arch became recognised as the fourth degree, open to those who had served as a master of a Craft Lodge. For the "Antients", Grand Chapter was little more than a cipher, registering names and processing admission fees. Effective governance of the Royal Arch degree rested with the Grand Lodge and the individual Craft lodges that also worked this fourth degree.
Uniting the two grand lodges
At the beginning of the 19th century, when the "Antients" and the "Moderns" moved from rivalry towards union, the role and purpose of the Royal Arch became a sticking point. The "Antients" viewed the Royal Arch as a fourth degree of Craft Freemasonry and worked it as part of the Craft ceremonies, while the "Moderns" almost totally ignored it. The latter held the opinion that Craft Freemasonry consisted of three degrees only and that the Royal Arch was at the most an extension of the third degree which was to be administered separately. In addition, the "Moderns" embedded certain teachings in their third degree ritual that the "Antients" only revealed to those joining the Royal Arch.In 1813, the "Antients" and "Moderns" agreed on an Act of Union and formed the United Grand Lodge of England. This was possible only after reaching a compromise on the role and purpose of Royal Arch Masonry. The compromise was that after the union, the Royal Arch degree would be fully recognised by the United Grand Lodge, but become a separate order while all Craft Lodges would be given sanction to work the ceremony. At the same time, no compromise could be reached on the role and purpose of the Mark degree. It was effectively proscribed from the Union until the 1850s, until it became organised in an independent Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of England and Wales. In most countries outside England and Wales, however, Mark Masonry became attached to Royal Arch chapters. In its Book of Constitutions, the United Grand Lodge of England therefore declared that "...pure Antient Masonry consists of three degrees and no more, viz. those of the Entered Apprentice, the Fellow Craft, and the Master Mason including the Supreme Order of the Royal Arch.".
In 1817, four years after the "Antients" and "Moderns" had united their Craft grand lodges, the new United Grand Lodge oversaw the formation of a "Supreme Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of England" to govern the Royal Arch in England and Wales. By that time, the Grand Chapter of the "Antients" had effectively ceased to exist, so their remaining members were simply absorbed into what had previously been the Grand Chapter of the "Moderns".
Another significant constitutional development in English Royal Arch Masonry occurred in 1823, when Master Masons were allowed to join Royal Arch Chapters without having previously passed through the chair of a Craft lodge. In 1835, the ritual was reformed, when part of the ceremony known as "Passing the Veils" was dropped. It was re-adopted by Bristol Chapters at the turn of the 20th century.