ROYAL ARCH MASONRY INFORMATION FOR MASTER MASONS SPECIAL INVITATION TO MASTER MASONS 6 MONTHS AFTER THE DATE OF YOUR 3RD DEGREE YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO JOIN THE HOLY ROYAL ARCH TO CONTINUE YOUR MASONIC JOURNEY BY Discovering the Genuine Secrets and Gaining the KEY to join many Orders open only to Royal Arch Masons. If you would like more information or wish to become a Royal Arch Mason contact Rt. Em. Companion George Watson phone 9551 9287 email: will_fred@bigpond.com or a member of the Holy Royal Arch in your Craft or Mark Lodge.
The Royal Arch Degree This beautiful degree was considered so important in our earlier history that none but actual Masters of Craft Lodges were permitted to take it. As time went on this prerequisite came to be considered a hardship, as it prevented worthy men from participating in Royal Arch Freemasonry. This restriction is not at present effective in the Victorian Constitution. All Master Masons are eligible for membership in a Holy Royal Arch Chapter. Chronologically, the setting for this degree is some 470 years after the completion of the First Temple. The First Temple had been destroyed and now preparations were under way for the building of the Second Temple. In the preparatory work for the building of the Second Temple many valuable relics belonging to the craft were discovered, a knowledge of which was essential in providing explanatory answers to various items which up to this time had been hidden from the vision of the Master Mason. The central idea of the entire system of Freemasonry being the LOSS and RECOVERY of the WORD. The WORD is the pivotal point about which the entire system of Masonic Symbolism revolves. "Its possession is the consummation of all Masonic knowledge." Wherever there is a loss" there should be a "recovery." The Royal Arch Degree is not a "Higher Degree' but a volume of the series in a sublime story revealed through symbolism. It should satisfy the anticipation of the Candidate that the earnest searcher after Truth is rewarded; that darkness gives place, not to a feeble ray of light, but to the full radiance which comes with the knowledge of the attributes and the eternal presence of God. To be a Master Mason is to have the highest and most honourable degree that any man can attain in Ancient Craft Masonry. It entitles him to all the rights and privileges of the Craft, for it should ever be remembered that all the accumulated so-called Higher Degrees do not add anything to his Masonic stature. Because the Holy Royal Arch Degree is definitely an extension of the Master Mason's Degree there can be no impropriety in inviting a Master Mason to add to his Masonic knowledge by becoming a Royal Arch Mason. To gain this knowledge is a privilege open to every Master Mason, and in that light the opportunity may well be presented to him.
SUPREME GRAND ROYAL ARCH CHAPTER OF VICTORIA The Relationship between the Craft and the Royal Arch Early in our Masonic Careers, we were taught that Masonry is a peculiar system of Morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols, and in those early years, it was easy to be overwhelmed by the magnitude of those moral teachings; those numerous allegories, and the symbols specific to the various Degrees. We were also taught that we should make a daily advancement in our Masonic knowledge. Sadly, however not all Lodges organize Education Programs. Candidates are frequently left to their own devices to seek out and search for that knowledge, and even more sadly still, few of us have the time to initiate the research for that information for ourselves. How frequently do we hear the expression, we have no work before our Lodge, or Our Lodge is in a no-work situation, meaning of course that there is no Candidate to progress to another degree. Surely Brethren and Companions, assisting a Brother to advance in his knowledge of the Craft, or informing him there is still something more to Freemasonry than just the Craft, is the responsibility of every Master of every Lodge and also every Brother who proposes another into the Craft! It is for this reason that I bring the following matters to your attention. Firstly, let us not forget that we are all Master Masons. We all have that common bond of having been initiated into a Craft Lodge, passed to the Second Degree and raised to the Sublime Degree of a Master Mason. All of us are active in our Craft Lodges. We are all Brothers. However, while this is very true, haven t you sometimes felt that in the teachings of the Craft, there is something missing? That there are so many unanswered questions and unexplained statements? You were probably well trained in the basics of Degree work, and for this, you should be forever grateful. But, Brethren and Companions, have you ever been told about the aims, the philosophy or the History of Freemasonry, or have you ever been told that there is more to Freemasonry than just the Three Degrees of the Craft? I am sure you were impressed by the ideals expressed, the inherent philosophy and of course the Ceremonial particularly that of the Third Degree, but have you ever felt that there is still something missing? For instance, I m sure you ve noted that in the opening of the Third Degree, the Junior Warden, on being questioned by the Worshipful Master, states that he comes from the East, that he is going towards the West, and that he was encouraged to do so in the hope of finding the Genuine Secrets of a Master Mason. Don t you want to know where in the East he had come from and just where in the West he was going? Weren t you further baffled when you realized, that in the closing of the Third Degree, the Junior Warden tells you that he is coming from the West, whither he had been in search of the Genuine Secrets of a Master Mason, but he refrained from saying exactly where he had come from, where he had searched, or who had been with him? Still later, the Worshipful Master declares that Substituted Secrets would designate us and all Master Masons through-out the world until time or circumstances should restore the genuine ones. Don t you wonder if they could ever be restored, and if so, how, when, where and by whom. You know Hiram Abif was slain, but King Solomon knew the Secrets. Why couldn t he pass them on to Hiram Abif s successor? Brethren, by joining a Royal Arch Chapter, you will actually re-enact that journey from the East to the West, to which the Junior Warden referred. You ll find the answers to these questions and you ll find the Genuine Secrets of a Master Mason.
Let me add to some of these queries, by quoting from an article published in the August 1940 edition of The Victorian Mason entitled, The position of the Royal Arch in the Masonic System. What it states, has been expressed by a hundred different authors in a hundred different ways, all of whom say essentially, that being a Member of the Craft isn t an end unto itself. It is merely a preparation, an initiation into the whole family of Freemasonry, a family of which many of us are totally ignorant. Had you read this article, you would have found there really was something after the Craft. Let me quote the part of the Article that is relevant. The ceremony of the Entered Apprentice Degree, beside being a portrayal of our entrance into physical and spiritual life, is considered by Wilmshurst to be a degree of preparation, of self discipline and purification. The special subjects of the Second Degree are contemplation and enlightenment. They typify, in reality, a long course of personal development requiring the most profound knowledge of the mental and physical side of our nature. Wilmshurst, then goes on to claim that the Third Degree alone constitutes a Masonic Initiation; that the First and Second Degrees are strictly preparatory stages leading up to an initiation. They prescribe the purification of the body and mental nature necessary to qualify the candidate for the end that crowns the whole work. In other words, the third step, the Third Degree, is not the end of our system. It is the beginning. [W L Wilmshurst was an eminent English Freemason of the early 20th century.] Brethren, there is a fourth Regular Step in Masonry. That step, once taken, will lead you not only to the Genuine Secrets of a Master Mason, But also to what many of us believe is the culmination and climax of all the many experiences that Freemasonry will bring into our lives. It s a step which Lawrence Dermott, the second Grand Secretary of the Ancients Grand Lodge of England, claimed, in 1752, would lead to the discovery of the root, the heart and the marrow of Freemasonry. Where then does the next step lead? Some here present, and thousands of others throughout the world know, that it leads to exaltation into the Supreme Degree of the Holy Royal Arch, the only Degree in which the answers to many of the questions raised in the Craft, can be found. There is something to supplement what you have learnt in the craft and there is an undeniable connection between the Third Degree and the Holy Royal Arch. Let us see, if in the space of a few lines, I can substantiate this all important link between the two Orders, without breaking my Obligation and without spoiling the Royal Arch Degree for those among us who haven t yet taken that Degree. To do this, I need to take you back in time. Let us look into some of our history. Let us look at where the Royal Arch came from. A search in any good library will turn up evidence that the First Grand Lodge was formed in England in 1717. The brethren owing allegiance to that Grand Lodge were designated Moderns because they were alleged to have introduced changes and innovations into Masonry. In about 1738 another Grand Lodge was formed by Lodges south of the River Trent, with a view to preserving the Ancient Landmarks of the Order. The Brethren associated with the body were designated the Ancients because they claimed to practice an unpolluted form of the ancient ritual of the Craft. This latter Grand Lodge gained the support of the Grand Lodge of Ireland and in 1753 became known as the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the old Constitution, under the Grand Mastership of two successive Dukes of Athol. Hence, they are sometimes referred to as the Athol Lodges. Eventually, in 1813 those two Grand Bodies, which had grown from The Ancients and The Moderns amalgamated into what is now known as The United Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of England and in the second Article of the Union, it was provided as follows, and I quote; It is declared and pronounced that pure Masonry consists of three degrees and no more, viz., those of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason including the Supreme Order of the Holy Arch. It is only natural then, that at their amalgamation, the Royal Arch Degree was recognized as part of Ancient Masonry. To this day, the affinity between Craft Lodges and Royal Arch Chapters in England is still very close, so close indeed, that in some cases a Lodge has an associated Chapter, bearing the same name and quite frequently the same office bearers. In fact, the newly raised Brother is urged to join that Chapter as his very next step in Freemasonry.
This, I believe, reinforces the fact that the United Grand Lodge of England recognized then, and still recognizes that the Holy Royal Arch Degree is linked to and is supplementary to the Third Degree of the Craft. The Ancients had actually been conferring that Degree in their Craft Lodges, under the sanction of their Craft Warrant since their inception. To them it was the right and proper thing to do. The Moderns on the other hand, though not working the Degree within the Lodge itself, convened a special meeting of Royal Arch Masons for that purpose and in order to distinguish that meeting from their normal meeting, they referred to it as a Chapter meeting. The Constitution of The United Grand Lodge of Victoria states in Rule 2 The Grand Lodge hereby declares that Freemasonry consists of the following degrees, viz: The Entered Apprentice, the Fellow Craft, the Master Mason, the Mark Master Mason, and the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch. Those integral parts i.e. Other Orders have often been likened to a multi-faceted precious stone, each facet of which represents an Order or Degree in Freemasonry; each having its own separate entity and beauty, yet at the same time being inter-related or joined to other Orders or Degrees. These together, present a scintillating and tantalizing whole, which can only exist because of the support or foundation of its solid core i.e. Pure and Ancient Masonry which have already been substantiated as the three Craft Degrees and the Holy Royal Arch. Wilmshurst states that no Brother can claim to be a complete Freemason within the order, until he has sought and obtained exaltation into the Order of the Holy Royal Arch, and that when he has attained that eminence, and only then, should he seek admission to other degrees, in which he will find amplification of those degrees, through which he has already passed. But just how does the Royal Arch achieve this? We left off in the Craft at the building of the Temple and the death of Hiram Abif. In the Royal Arch, we see the completion and dedication of the Temple. We witness its subsequent destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon and the Jews being carried into captivity for seventy years in Babylon. We re-enact the return of the Jews to Jerusalem, under the Decree of Cyrus. [The journey from East to West, referred to by the Wardens] The second Temple is rebuilt by Zerubbabel, and the Genuine Secrets of a Master Mason are providentially recovered. These episodes, which are all substantiated in the Volume of the Sacred Law, from the skeleton around which the philosophical substance of the Degree are woven and which compliment the teaching of the Craft. Let me conclude with an allegory. Royal Arch Freemasonry can be likened to a stained glass window. When looked at from the outside, no matter how intricate the pattern, or how large the frame, it appears to an observer to be an imponderable conglomeration of bits of coloured glass of differing shapes and sizes, all joined together by uninspiring lines of grayish-black material. It has no meaning. It lacks interest and it is easily dismissed as inconsequential. But once inside the room, and looking from the inside out, one experiences, not only the superficial beauty of that same multi-coloured glass, with sun streaming through to accentuate the nuances of light and shade, but there for all who care to look, experience and search, is the light of knowledge and understanding of what the story, inherent in that window is intended to convey. There is no doubt that some will see more than others. Some will gain more enjoyment than others, and sadly, the enjoyment gained whilst looking from the inside out cannot be shared with those who gaze only from without. And so it is with Royal Arch Freemasonry. Brethren, I would therefore urge you to take that next step. The door is open. Go into the room and experience the enjoyment and fulfillment that so many of your Brethren have experienced. Don t be inhibited. Ask the questions that you have previously been afraid to ask. Seek the advice of those around you. Take the fourth regular step in Freemasonry and enjoy the fulfillment you so richly deserve. References The Victorian Craftsman. August 1, 1940 An Address to Barron Barnett Lodge 15 March 2000 Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, XXX The Minutes of Grand Convocation SGRACQ April 2000 The History of Freemasonry by Albert Mackey Why the Royal Arch by K.G.Littlejohn. GZ Qld
Dear Brother Congratulations upon being raised to the honourable degree of a Master Mason. This completes the three degrees which comprise those controlled and conferred by United Grand Lodge of Victoria, known as the Craft. This is the beginning of your Masonic journey and you will soon be able to expand your knowledge by considering joining other degrees and orders. I must warn you however, against any hasty decision. Many offers and even coercions will come your way from well meaning friends and Brethren. The Royal Arch order stipulates a period of 6 months should elapse before you decide to progress to Royal Arch Freemasonry. This is designed to allow you time to absorb and have some understanding of the teachings of the craft. The Holy Royal Arch and Mark Master Masons are the only Orders recognised by the United Grand Lodge of Victoria, as recorded in Rule 2 of the Book of Constitution given to you on your Initiation. I urge you therefore to give serious consideration to joining a Holy Royal Arch Chapter as the next step in your advancement in Masonic knowledge. It is one of the most beautiful degrees in Freemasonry, and certainly an important step. It is the key to many avenues of Masonic endeavour and deserves its most prominent and important place in Freemasonry. We have included in this folder some relevant, and we trust, interesting information which should enable you to make the correct decision when you are ready. Please take the time to read and absorb this information. I am sure that you will enjoy your Freemasonry as many before you and I wish you every success in your Masonic Career. HRAC Supporting Chapter Supporting Freemasonry