Royal Arch Degree

Companion _________, I congratulate you on being exalted to the Most Sublime Degree of Royal Arch Masons, the summit of Ancient Craft Masonry. I trust that you and I now have a better understanding of what Masonry is all about and that we can enjoy a closer, more intimate relation, based on both Brotherhood and Friendship. 11/11/2018

My Companion, let us review what we have seen and learned in our search for light and truth in Masonry. We were in darkness to the secrets of Freemasonry when we first knocked at its door. 11/11/2018

When we were initiated an Entered Apprentice we received light but partially. However, we had laid the first stone of our Masonic Edifice on which to build. 11/11/2018

We were passed to the degree of Fellowcraft and received further light We were passed to the degree of Fellowcraft and received further light. There we were instructed in the arts and sciences as applied to the Craft. 11/11/2018

We were then raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason as we sought more light. We learned several things of grave importance and were given a substitute. We were admonished that further search or future generations, would discover that for which we sought. 11/11/2018

Time passed and we wished to become more informed Masons and thus sought more light. When we advanced to the Degree of Mark Master we were presented a white stone, and in that stone a new name written, which no man knoweth save him that receiveth it. 11/11/2018

We were then inducted into the Oriental Chair where we were taught the duties of a Master and how they apply to our lives. 11/11/2018

We were received and acknowledged Most Excellent Masters We were received and acknowledged Most Excellent Masters. There we witnessed the culmination of the dream of the Jews. The Temple was finished, furnished, and dedicated to the Most High God. 11/11/2018

               Tonight you were exalted to the Most Sublime Degree of Royal Arch Mason. No man worthy of the name can pass through these degrees without trying to be a better man. We strive to conquer our faults and take upon ourselves the qualities which make a perfect man. As a Royal Arch Mason you have symbolically discovered the means of communicating the name of the Great I Am. 11/11/2018

You have seen the Signet of Zerubbabel, the Signet of Truth, upon which is emblazoned the equilateral triangle enclosing the YOD, which is the Hebrew character representing the sacred name of Deity. Your search for the Long Lost Secret of a Master Mason is now ended, but our search for knowledge and light has not. 11/11/2018

If you should want to search this degree further, start by reading the Holy Writings, II Thessalonians 3:6-16; Isaiah 42:16; Exodus 3:1-6, 10, 13 and 14; II Chronicles 36:11-20; Ezra 1:2 and 3; Jeremiah 29: 10; Psalms 141, 142, and 143:1-4, 7, 8, 10-12, and 137:5; Exodus 4:1-4, 6-9; Haggai 2:1-9, 23; Zechariah 4:6-10; Amos 9:11; Genesis 1:1-3; Deuteronomy 31: 24-26; Exodus 25:21 and 16:32-34; Numbers 17:10 and Exodus 6:2 and 3. These passages, read in this order, will guide you through the Royal Arch Degree and give you more light. 11/11/2018

“There are no strangers here, only friends we have not met yet.” We have a saying in Royal Arch Masons, there are no strangers here, only friends we have not met yet. This is your Chapter. Come back and witness these degrees again. Maybe there is a walking part or a small speaking part you would like to learn. Maybe one of the lectures or charges has inspired you. Someday you may wish to be an officer in your Chapter. Whatever your desires, fail not to spread the light of Masonry by your thoughts, words, and actions. 11/11/2018

If you still desire more light in Masonry, and I sincerely hope you do, The Cryptic Degrees of Council will further illustrate the Master Mason and Royal Arch Degrees. 11/11/2018

Royal Master Degree Select Master Degree Super Excellent Degree The Royal Master Degree, the Select Master Degree, and the Super Excellent Master Degree give us more depth in Masonry and answer many questions left unanswered in the preceding degrees. 11/11/2018

The Golden Thread then leads to Commandery, where it is not broken in the Order of Red Cross, Order of Malta, and finally the Christian Order of Knighthood, the Order of the Temple. 11/11/2018

Royal Arch Degree I again congratulate you and will now explain the D-G and Sn of a Royal Arch mason. If you have any questions about any of these degrees, or future degrees, I will answer them for you.