Royal Arch Chapter Room
This evening I have the pleasure to attempt to
explain the Holy Royal Arch, The reason for its being and the
arrangement of the Chapter Room. I will try to do this to the best of my
ability.
First, let me explain that the Supreme Degree of
the Holy Royal Arch is the completion of the M.M°. In the M.M°., they
inform us that something is lost. Surely then, to the thinking man he
must wonder, what is that which is lost. In the Royal Arch that which is
lost is found. When the candidate has taken the obligation, a brief
history of the R.A., degree, follows which sets the stage for the
remainder of the ceremony. Briefly the history is as follows: 400 years
after the completion of the Temple by King Solomon, King Hiram of Tyre
and Hiram Abiff; the Army of the King of Babylon destroyed this
Temple. They took the Jews, except the menial class, into captivity to
Babylon. There they were to remain for 70 years.
At the end of this period, a Prince of the House
of Judah, by the name of Zerrubable, convinced Cyrus, then King of
Persia to release the captives. Let them return to Jerusalem, there to
rebuild the Temple. King Cyrus, with the Lords help, agrees. The
candidates represent men who arrive late, seeking a chance to help
rebuild the Temple. They tested them, obligated them and then allowed
them to enter the Chapter Room. Here they meet four obstacles. Four
veils represent these obstacles, which are coloured, blue, purple,
scarlet and white. Each veil has its own Scripture Lesson. The
candidates having proven themselves worthy are admitted, and make known
their request to help rebuild the Temple.
They tell them that due to their lateness, the
only job available is clearing away the rubble, for the foundations.
They agree and in carrying out their task, they find a cave in
which they make an important discovery. This discovery is found later in
the ceremony to be that which is lost in the M.M°.
The form of the Chapter Room is as you see it here
this evening. The Three Principals sit in the EAST. They represent the
Copestone of an Arch, i.e., that stone that holds the whole building
together. It is to them that the Companions look for light and
instruction. You will note six lights, the larger lights placed as an
equilateral triangle, the three smaller bisecting the lines of the
larger. Thus forming four smaller, but equal, equilateral triangles.
These triangles represent the four divisions of Masonry, viz. E.A.,
F.C., M.M., and Holy Royal Arch.
The Twelve banners seen in the Chapter Room,
represent the bearings of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, each with their
own lessons. The four large banners in the East represent the four
divisions of the army of Israel. They consist of a Man, a Lion, and Ox
and an Eagle. Christianity adopted these four to represent the four
evangelists: The Man shows the humanity of St. Matthew’s Gospel; The
Lion the strength and power of St. Mark; the Ox represents the docility
and the gentleness of St. Luke; while St. John, whose gospel reaches to
greater heights than the others, is aptly represented by the highest
flyer of all birds, the Eagle.
The V.O.T.S.L., square and compass remind the
Companions of their Craft lodge affiliation and the Truth and Justice of
God. The sword and trowel remind us of the trials and tribulations
suffered by those who rebuilt the Temple. Their enemies were everywhere
and they must be prepared to defend themselves always. These tools also
remind us to pay due obedience to lawful authority and to resist lawless
violence.
The sojourners used the pick, shovel and crowbar
to clear away the rubble to make a place for the foundations of
the Temple. This means to us to clear away the accumulation of ignorance
and vice in our own selves. That we may build our own bodily Temple of
Morality and Truth. Our ancient brethren considered the triangle on the
V.S.L., as a most sacred emblem, it is also the emblem of the Deity.
The whole purpose of the Holy Royal Arch is to
make its members wiser, happier, and to encourage them to practice the
virtues of, Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. Based on the principals
brought to us in the V.O.T.S.L..
If they ask the question, “Why did the Royal Arch
Appear?”, the answer is that a further ceremony, or a separate “Fourth
Grade,” was inevitable, and our knowledge of the evolution can best
explain this of the three Craft Degrees. If we go back as far as we dare
in English Masonic History, to the point where they were evolving the
separate grades or degrees. It is almost certain, that the first Masonic
ceremony was designed for the Fellow or Fellow-craft, i.e., the fully
trained Craftsman.
The system of apprenticeship in England makes its
first appearance in the 1200s and it is safe to assume that the next
degree evolved an admission ceremony for Apprentices. At
this stage, and up to the late 1600s, it is certain that the Craft had
no more than two admission ceremonies. One Degree for the Apprentice, or
Entered Apprentice and the other for the “Fellow Craft, or Master.”
Eventually it was inevitable that there would be a demand for a separate
ceremony to distinguish the Master from the Fellow Craft. Both were
equal in their technical capacity. Nevertheless, the Fellow craft was an
employee, and those who were fortunate enough to set up as Masters,
would quite naturally have wanted a separate degree to themselves.
At this stage all three working grades had
separate ceremonies, only one grade remained unrepresented. However,
there was still no ceremony for the men who had presided in the lodge.
That is for the Masters of the lodges; this ceremony appeared around
1740. This is, of course, an over simplification of the whole story and
it represents my own opinions. It is based on historical foundations and
the dates mentioned are supported by documentary evidence1.
The origins of the R.A. ceremony.
If we exclude the minor details, the main body of
the Royal Arch Ceremony is based upon two separate stories.
1.
The true Biblical story describing the return from
Babylon and the building of the Second Temple.
2.
The ancient legend describing the discovery of a
Vault, the Altar and the Sacred Word.
Place of Origin
It is impossible to say, with certainty, that the
R.A. took its rise in any particular country. It seems possible that the
ceremony came to England from Ireland. Several of the earliest
references to the R.A. are undoubtedly Irish. When they constituted the
first Grand and Royal Chapter of the Royal Arch of Jerusalem (‘Moderns’)
in July 1767, The ‘Antients’, who had always counted the ceremony as the
‘root, heart and marrow of Masonry’, had not realized the need for a
separate controlling body. Their Grand Chapter minutes begin in 1782,
after a series of resolutions in their Grand Lodge in December 1771.
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