Learning Royal Arch Chapter Ritual - The SImple, Systematic and Successful Way to Master the Work

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I like the companionship, making new friends for life, the confidence it has given me to be able to stand up and recite ritual and, after dining, speaking at the Festive Board, which I could never do before joining Freemasonry. I also enjoy the language we use, especially in the Royal Arch, and learning the ritual JON WEST, CAMBRIDGESHIRE Karg, Barb, and John C. Young. 101 Things You Didn't Know About The Freemasons: Rites, Rituals, and the Ripper-All You Need to Know About This Secret Society!. Adams Media, 2007. ISBN 978-1-59869-319-5 p. 91. 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. Fifield Dassigny’s “A serious and impartial inquiry into the cause of the present decay of Free-masonry in the Kingdom of Ireland,” published in Dublin in 1744, it is recorded that: " …a certain propagator of a false system some few years ago in this city [Dublin] who imposed upon several very worthy men under a pretense of being Master of the Royal Arch, which he asserted he had brought with him from the city of York; and that the beauties of the Craft did principally consist in the knowledge of this valuable piece of Masonry. However he carried on this scheme for several months and many of the learned and wise were his followers, till at length his fallacious art was discovered by a Brother of probity and wisdom, who had some small space before attained that excellent part of Masonry in London and plainly proved that his doctrine was false. Our People We employ more than 100 people at the United Grand Lodge of England who share the vision and values at the very heart of what we do

The award takes the form of a presentation copy of the Aldersgate Ritual, bearing the recipient's name in gold lettering on the cover. According to ancient custom, apart from the three Principals, the other officers are the two Scribes, Ezra (Scribe E, equivalent to a lodge secretary) and Nehemiah, (Scribe N, who acts in a joint capacity like a Warden and Inner Guard), a Treasurer, a Principal Sojourner and two Assistant Sojourners, (Sojourner means a journeyman mason who arrives as a stranger intending to move on in due course.) Denslow, Ray and Everett C. Turnbull. History of Royal Arch Masonry Part One. Kessinger. ISBN 1-4179-5004-8. p. 125. Denslow and Turnbull also quote earlier Masonic historian Robert Freke Gould's assertion from documentation that the Royal Arch existed in Youghal (in County Cork, Ireland), some time prior to 1743. [1] Dr. Fifield D'Assigny also wrote of it in Ireland in 1744(Denslow, Ray and Everett C. Turnbull. History of Royal Arch Masonry Part One. Kessinger. ISBN 1-4179-5004-8. p. 127-129.) You may ask why such a large Province as ours has not followed suit which would relieve the workload of a very busy Provincial Grand Master, but the decision to hold both offices is entirely his.

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The First Principal, Zerubbabel, Prince of Jerusalem, is referred to in Chapter as Most Excellent and wears a scarlet robe and carries a sceptre bearing a crown.

These notes have been compiled for the average Companion and he can delve more deeply into other works if the mood takes him. In addition to the three Principals, who rule conjointly, a Royal Arch Chapter has elected and appointed officers with individual responsibilities within the Chapter. Similar offices exist at the Supreme Grand Chapter (national) level, and also at the intermediate level (Metropolitan, Provincial, or District), with appropriate prefixes to the titles. Aldersgate Chapter of Improvement is like a Lodge of Instruction open to all Companions of the Holy Royal Arch. It has two essential differences however.The first part was set in Jerusalem about 520 BC at the time when the descendants of the children of Israel, led by Zerubbabel are returning from their captivity by the Babylonians only to find that the Temple erected by King Solomon had been completely destroyed and the city in ruins. He is known as the Most Excellent Grand Superintendent and E.Comp. James Anthony Harrison is pictured here. The Royal Arch is also the subject of the 13th and 14th degrees of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (called "Ancient and Accepted Rite" in England and Wales). It is also true that we do not know just how the ceremonial part of Royal Arch came into being. Many theories have been advanced but none can be substantiated or proven to be factual. Early days of the Royal Arch Denslow, Ray and Everett C. Turnbull. History of Royal Arch Masonry Part One. Kessinger. ISBN 1-4179-5004-8. p. 116.

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 (only a few meetings are recorded for the time after 1813), so their remaining members were simply absorbed into what had previously been the Grand Chapter of the "Moderns". According to Ray Denslow Until the end of the 18th century, Masonic Lodges in North America performed Royal Arch ceremonies, as well as some others that are now more familiarly part of Knights Templar and the Red Cross of Constantine. [23]Denslow, Ray and Everett C. Turnbull. History of Royal Arch Masonry Part One. Kessinger. ISBN 1-4179-5004-8. p. 124. Fifield 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, it is recorded that: " …a certain propagator of a false system some few years ago in this city [Dublin] who imposed upon several very worthy men under a pretense of being Master of the Royal Arch, which he asserted he had brought with him from the city of York; and that the beauties of the Craft did principally consist in the knowledge of this valuable piece of Masonry. However he carried on this scheme for several months and many of the learned and wise were his followers, till at length his fallacious art was discovered by a Brother of probity and wisdom, who had some small space before attained that excellent part of Masonry in London and plainly proved that his doctrine was false. At our meetings the Preceptors will correct mistakes so that the ceremony should be a demonstration of a word or letter perfect ceremony. 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. I enjoy the history and traditions of Freemasonry. The formality and dignity of ceremonies and the Festive Board of any Lodge or Chapter meeting are balanced by friendships, new and old, as well as the feeling of working as a team. My Lodge was consecrated in 1754, so I am very aware that I am following in the footsteps of so many other members. I particularly enjoy the ritual – I have always enjoyed the words and use of language, the intricate phrasing and the rhythm of a well-delivered ceremony. There is a lot to learn from the stories told in our ceremonies, especially the Installation, which encourages us to improve ourselves and to think about others. Freemasonry has taught me about teamwork, presentation skills, time management and tolerance. I am fortunate to have made so many new friends and companions and I try to maintain the standards I have been taught by them. ROBERT J STEER, CAMBRIDGESHIRE