Royal Arch Masonry

By

E.Comp. Bharat V. Epur

M.E. Grand Superintendent,

Regional Grand Chapter of Eastern India

Presented at the Regular Assembly of Acacia - The Madras Masonic Study Circle

Freemasons’ Hall, Chennai

Friday, 31st October 2014

Introduction

When I was "exalted" in Chapter Discovery No.2, SGCI on 2nd March 1999 by M.E.Comp. Capt. Dr. B. Biswakumar, PIGP, PG Supdt., it felt like an epiphany!

Since that day, I have attended countless Royal Arch convocations, occupied the First Principal’s Chair six times, and helped exalt numerous candidates. The charm of this Order has only increased over time because of its profound mysticism and philosophy.

The Hidden Mysteries of the Holy Royal Arch

In this paper, I will attempt to expound on some of the hidden mysteries beautifully interwoven into the Holy Royal Arch. This is not a definitive treatise but merely my humble attempt to understand, appreciate, and explain some of its inherent truths.

W.Bro. WL Wilmshurst, in his book "The Meaning of Masonry", said:

Four Distinct Features of the Holy Royal Arch

1. Only a Master Mason can be exalted.

No one can be received into the Holy Royal Arch without first being a Master Mason. As Wilmshurst eloquently puts it:

2. The descent of the letter 'G'.

In the Second Degree, the letter "G" symbolized the Great Architect of the Universe. By the Third Degree, it had descended to guide the candidate toward the light of a Master Mason. In the Royal Arch, it rests at the chequer-work floor, bearing the Sacred Name TTALGMH.

3. The Assembly of Nine Officers.

The Assembly is now composed of nine officers, grouped in triads, reflecting the tripartite aspects of the Companion.

4. The Re-designation from Lodge to Chapter.

The word "Chapter" derives from Caput or "head," symbolizing the candidate's sublimation of their lower nature to achieve union with the Universal Spirit.

The Symbolism of the Triangle

The triangle is a recurring symbol in the Royal Arch. From the jewels and aprons to the layout of the lights and the altar, it represents the candidate’s spiritual, psychical, and physical parts, all equalized around their common Life-Principle. The three triadic aspects are ceremonially personified by the nine officers of the Chapter.

The Hailing Sign and the Chakras

Now let us take a brief look at the main sign used in this Order - the reverential or hailing sign! The penal signs of the preceding three degrees of the Craft - representing the guttural, pectoral and abdominal - may be correlated to three of the chakras in the human body, namely ‘Visuddha’ (the thyroid gland), ‘Anahata’ (the thymus gland) and ‘Manipura’ (the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas and the adrenal glands), respectively. The reverential or hailing sign in the Royal Arch can, in a similar manner, be correlated to the ‘Sahasra’ chakra, the pituitary gland. Thus, even the sign of the Degree refers to that part of the human body that may be considered the control point for ‘exaltation’ of mere mortal in to a more developed soul.

Opening of the Chapter and at the layout of the Temple.

At the opening of the Chapter, the Three Principals form, with their left hands, a basal triangle, with its apex pointing to the East. Then the Scribe Nehemiah places the Volume of Sacred Laws above it. The Three Principals then cover it with their right hands, again in the form of a triangle - this time the spiritual triangle, with its apex pointing to the West. This may be interpreted as the Three Principals transcending from the basal plane onto the spiritual plane with the assistance of the Volume of Sacred Laws. In other words, with the assistance of Faith, as represented by the Volume of Sacred Laws, they are ‘exalted’. This is, in many ways, similar to the symbolical representation in the Tracing Board of the First Degree, wherein the Mason’s symbolic ascent to the celestial canopy of heaven is by means of the Jacob’s ladder, which rests on the Volume of Sacred Laws, with the first rung representing Faith.

Thus, when the triangle of the spiritual plane is superimposed on that of the physical, we get the six-pointed star - the hexagonal star. This is well-known to us as one of the most potent of all Masonic symbols - the Shield of David or the Seal of Solomon. It can also be considered a compound representation of the four elements - water, earth, air and fire - culminating in the fifth element compromising all these four. This study of this symbol is yet another area that can be the subject of its own Paper. I shall confine myself to bringing to your attention that this formation is made at the closing of the Chapter by Three Principals, and, again in the Conclave of Installed First Principals. It is an unfortunate truth that almost 99% of the Installation ceremonies that I have witnessed, this important aspect is totally missed, inevitably because of ignorance of the correct way of communicating the sign in question to the First Principal Designate/ Elect by the Installing First Principal. As some of Companions present here this evening are not Installed First Principals, I shall not amplify this anymore. I am, however, willing to discuss this later at any individual level with duly qualified Companions.

The Sacred and Mysterious Name

Once the Three Principals complete their respective opening ceremonial working in the West, they proceed to the East by taking the symbolic seven steps, halting and bowing at the third, fifth and seventh step, approaching nearer to the Sacred and Mysterious Name of TTALGMH. Later in the Ceremony of Exaltation, the candidate is coached to proceed from the West to the East in the same manner, albeit without giving the sign. These steps may serve as reminders to the Companions of the steps taken in the preceding Craft Degrees.

Once the Three Principals reach the East, they form a series of triangles - four in number - to exchange the Sacred and Mysterious Name of TTALGMH, thus referring to one of the oft-recurring numerical themes in the Royal Arch - namely, three, four, five, seven, nine (3 x 3) and twelve (3 x 4).

Principal banners

Principal banners of a lion, an ox, a man and an eagle. They derive from a very ancient glyph, declaring, among other things, the story of soul’s evolution and its progress from the passional wild beast stage to one which, while still sensuous and animal, is docile and disciplined for service, and thence to the stage of human rationality, which at length culminates in upward-soaring spirituality. I now draw your attention to that most historic and unique of all monuments of Ancient Egypt - the Sphinx, which is nothing but a perfect amalgam of all four of these manifestations - the body of a lion, the hooves and feet of an ox, the face of a man and the wings of an eagle!

The Platonic Bodies

The Platonic Bodies, representing the five elements (fire, air, earth, water, and an astral element), are central symbols within the Chapter. Each shape—tetrahedron, octahedron, cube, icosahedron, and dodecahedron—holds profound significance, reflecting the elements' interaction with the divine.

Implements of labour, Sword and Trowel

I would like to bring to your notice that the positioning of the sword and the trowel are more often than not incorrect in most Royal Arch Chapter settings. The correct way is for the sword to be placed on the left hand side and the trowel on the right. This is reflective of the fact that the original re-builders of King Solomon’s Temple, who had returned from captivity in Babylon, were engaged in the building of the Temple with the trowel in their right hands. They also carried swords in the left hands, ever-ready to defend themselves and their work from the attacks of their enemies from among the surrounding tribes. It is for this reason that the sash of the Royal Arch Mason is worn over the left shoulder and under the right arm, thereby enabling the sheathing of one’s sword on the right side of the body allowing easy access with the left hand.

While on the subject of the left hand and the right hand, allow me to digress further. You will recall that when the Sojourners were sent to prepare the ground for the Second Temple on the site where the First formerly stood, they came across a compact piece of masonry wrought in the form of a dome. On descending into the vault below, one of them picked up something like a scroll of vellum or parchment. His right hand was thus engaged leaving only the left hand free to shield his eyes from the brightness of the divine presence that he, after unveiling the altar, beheld on a dazzling plate of gold and humbly conceived to be the sacred and mysterious name of TTALGMH. It is in continuation of this themes that the penal sign in this Degree is given with the left hand. So also, the Royal Arch Companion is expected to use his left hand while signifying his assent in all votes and resolutions in the Chapter.

The Number Nine

The triad of Officers in the East is comprised of the Three Principals, signifying the spiritual pole; the triad in the West consists of the three Sojourners, signifying the psychic and materialized pole.

The Spirit in man in its triple aspects is typified by the Three Principals representing the three highest attributes of the Spirit – Holiness, Royal Supremacy, and Functional Power – referred to in the title of the Order; Holy – Royal – Arch. The middle is the neutral term – anthropomorphized as Zerubbabel – and occupies centre-stage between a passive (Haggai), or a negative, and, an active (Joshua), or a positive aspect; all three acting conjointly and as one, as is, in fact, the case with the Three Principals. Zerubbabel literally means “a spouting forth from Babel, or from among the people”. Zerubbabel represents the loftier element differentiated from others. He is a ‘Prince’ of his ‘people’. He reminds us of the omnipotence of the Father of All. This is the reason for the reference to ‘Royal’ in the title. Haggai the Prophet represents the passive aspect and signifies at once the blissful and self-contemplative nature of the Spirit. It is called ‘the Prophet’ because of the power of insight and omniscience characterizing that which transcends the sense of time. From the same word is derived the Greek word ‘hagios’, or Holy. Joshua, the son of Josedech, the High Priest personifies the active executive aspect of Spirit. Literally Joshua means the ‘divine saviour’, and Josedech ‘divine righteousness’, whilst the High Priest connotes a mediatorial factor between man and Deity. Thus, the title in its entirety intimates that the human spirit or divine Principle in man functions omnipotent but intermedially between the Deity and man’s lower nature to promote the latter’s salvation and perfection.

The triad of Sojourners in the West represent the unitary human Ego or personality, again in its threefold aspect. They are the physical aspects of the baser elements of man. Hence they are designated as Sojourners, in reference to their transitory nature as wayfarers upon a plane if impermanence. Once again, each of these three represents an aspect of the triune. The Principal Sojourner represents the Ego with its central and directive power of will. The two Assistant Sojourner represent sub-consciousness, with its passive intuitive capacity, and, practical intelligence, with its active and connecting powers of thought and understanding.

The nexus or interconnecting medium between man’s spiritual and bodily poles is represented by the Scribes and the Janitor. The more important of the two Scribes, namely Ezra is attached to the East pole and acts as its emissary to the West; the other, namely Nehemiah is associated with the West and his activities are directed to the East; whilst the Janitor is the point of contact with the world without. In the Ancient Egyptian mystery schools, the archetype of Hiram Abiff was Osiris. In Hebrew this name got transformed into Azarias, and, then got further corrupted to Esdras and Ezra. Ezra and Nehemiah personify two distinct stages of the mystical progress made by the candidate.

The Journey of the Candidate

The Royal Arch is the natural conclusion and fulfilment of the Third Degree. The Master Mason Degree may be said to exemplify the Christian theological doctrine “He suffered and was buried and rose again”, whilst the equivalent of the Exaltation ceremony is “He ascended into Heaven”.

The Password leading to this Supreme Degree that the candidate has to be in possession of before his Ceremony of Exaltation can commence, I daresay you recollect is “A..R…”, which is interpreted as “My people having found mercy”. What does this mean in the context of this paper? As Wilmshurst explains: “It signifies that all the parts and faculties (‘people’) of the candidate’s organism have at last, and as a result of his previous discipline and ordeals, become sublimated and integrated in a new quality and higher order of life than that previously enjoyed in virtue of his temporal nature”.

After the candidate conveys the Password, he is brought into the Chapter – once again in a state of darkness. But the reason for this darkness differs entirely from that which existed in the Entered Apprentice Degree. In the latter, he was but an ignorant beginner on a quest. Now he has long passed beyond that stage; he is now fully equipped with all the qualifications of a Master Mason. At his Initiation he discovered it, only to lose it in the Third Degree, during which he learned to draw strength from weakness by using the Vital and Immortal Principle within him, in whose presence the darkness and the light were alike. The darkness in the Royal Arch is the darkness of the Third Degree carried over. This darkness typified only a momentary failure on his part to adjust his perception of the new life he is about to embark upon. For a while, but only for a brief while, the candidate feels himself in darkness; but he is really blinded rather by the excess of light than by the lack of it. He now walks worthily in the Light that shines around.

In this condition he opens out a certain place which he proceeds to enter and explore, keeping in touch meanwhile with his Companions by a cord or a life-line. This act is pregnant with symbolism. The obstruction once removed by him, the psychical organism becomes detached from the physical and the mind becomes free to introvert and explore within. It is in this state that the introverted mind, groping for its own foundation and centre, reaches the bedrock of its being. This is symbolized by the discovery of the Lost Word, the divine root of its being, from which it has hitherto been so long disassociated.

Thus, this work of the introverted mind and the discovery it makes are shown taking place Amid subterranean gloom in a dark place. It only remains to extrovert this knowledge so that what the Spirit and the Soul already know interiorly, the outer mind may also know exteriorly. This extroversion is symbolically achieved by the return of the candidate from the subterranean depths to the surface and there re-joining his former Companion-Sojourners. It is then that the Mystery is consummated. The Vital and Immortal Principle comes to self-consciousness in him. The condition may be considered equivalent to ‘Samadhi’ or beatific vision.

He has passed through the ark of redemption and entered into the mansions of everlasting bliss and glory, into the presence of Him who is the great I AM, the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last; who WAS and IS, and IS TO COME.

Conclusion

The Royal Arch, as the natural culmination of the Master Mason Degree, exemplifies the transition from "He suffered and was buried and rose again" to "He ascended into Heaven." The discovery of the Lost Word, representing the divine root of the candidate's being, marks the conclusion of the Ceremony of Exaltation.

The candidate, having passed through the ark of redemption, reaches the presence of the Great I AM, the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last.

Amen! Amen! Amen!

References:

• Wilmshurst WL: The Meaning of Masonry

• Supreme Grand Chapter of India: Ritual Book on the Royal Arch Chapter

• Various Internet Sources

• Originally Posted [http://www.vijayawadamasons.com/htmls/freemasonry-article-074.html]