How
the Royal Arch Completes the Story
By
Thomas Hendrickson P.G.M.
In the 1700’s
the Royal Arch was regarded as the Root, Heart and Marrow of Freemasonry.
For those of us
in Freemasonry, symbolism is part of our way of life. It causes us to take an extra moment or two
to reflect upon something to find the greater meaning which is far more
personal and meaningful than having it spoon fed to us in a 20 second sound
bite.
We all
interpret things differently so for me this is how I interpret these symbols.
The Root is a
symbolic representation of our origins and in unseen ways the tree is supported
and finds nourishment.
The Heart is
used to symbolize the flow of life itself.
In ages past the heart was believed to be where the soul resided
.
The Marrow refers
to the essence of life. Bone Marrow is a spongy tissue found inside the
bones. It produces the red and white
blood cells along with platelets and adult stem cells which are essential for
humans to live. When I would visit the
blood center to donate blood, I heard it referred to as the very essence of
life.
So after
reflecting on the descriptive words of Root, Heart and Marrow I believe the
Brothers of our ancient craft believed strongly that the Royal Arch was
important, essential and indispensable to the craft degrees.
My question is,
how did the Royal Arch become so important?
What was the purpose of the Royal Arch?
We know that in
England during the 1600’s, there were two degrees. The Entered Apprentice and The Fellow
Craft. Up until 1717 some lodges were
working one comprehensive degree, while others were working two degrees. The Master Mason degree started appearing
around 1730 (we know that the legend or Hiram was known around 1700).
It was
determined by many that the Master Mason degree was incomplete. The candidate
was left with an unfinished temple and a substitute word. The candidate is left with more questions
than answers. I know that when I left
the lodge room I said to my Masonic mentor, “How did they lose the word”?
It is easy to
see that some speculative degree writers may have seen an opportunity to
carefully weave the completion of the story from the same Hiramic legend used
in the craft lodges to provide the completion of the story. Thus the Royal Arch was born.
In England
there were two major factions of Freemasons, the Ancients and the Moderns. The Ancients considered the Royal Arch
essential to Freemasonry. The Moderns officially disavowed the Royal Arch and
in their official announcements they were very straight forward and blunt of
their dislike for the Royal Arch.
were belonged
to Royal Arch Chapters. They were in amazement when they learned that many of their
prominent members were Royal Arch Masons
.
Both sides come
to understand the situation needed a solution and they stopped the infighting
and developed a workable idea. In
October 1809 the Ancients and the Moderns agreed to create a Special Lodge called
“The Lodge of Promulgation”. The purpose
of this lodge was to find a common ground and negotiate their differences. In November 1813 they agreed to merge and
signed the “Articles of Union”.
The actual
union took place on St. Johns Day on December 28, 1813 at Freemasons Hall,
creating the “United Grand Lodge of Ancient Freemasons of England, the very
same Grand Lodge that we know today.
Both the
Ancients and the Moderns felt that the Royal Arch was such an integral part of
pure ancient masonry that it was written in their constitution.
By the solemn
Act of Union between the two Grand Lodges of Freemasons of England in December,
1813, it was “declared and pronounced that the pure Ancient Masonry consists of
three degrees and no more, viz those of the Entered apprentice, the Fellow
Craft, and Master Mason including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch”.
The union
clearly defined what pure ancient masonry was and created the Royal Arch as an
Order to ensure the proper regulation of the Capstone of the Craft degrees.
So the Royal
Arch stands on authority to bring the Master Mason into the full Masonic light,
by the completion of pure ancient masonic degrees.
So if you
completed the first three degrees and desire to be a Master Mason with the
complete and intended purpose of the ancient craft you should seriously talk to
your local Royal Arch and consider joining.
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