Royal Arch Masonry

The Royal Arch Degree was considered most important in the early years of Freemasonry and so dogmatic was the Mother Grand Lodge from which all Speculative Masonry derives that in 1813, when the two grand lodges in England united, a firm and solemn landmark was adopted and placed in the Articles of Union to guide Masons throughout the world forever on this matter.

Many historians have traced the earliest origins of the Royal Arch Degree to Ireland, late in the 17th century and in England in 1738. In 1752, ambulatory or military warrants for lodges were introduced. This was instrumental in placing the Royal Arch Degree on a par with the Master Mason Degree.

Overview

What are the requirements to
join the Royal Arch



Improve

You should be serious and enthusiastic
about Freemasonry and wish to
improve your Masonic knowledge.

Complete

You should be interested in completing your
Degrees in Pure and Ancient Freemasonry and
wish to find that which was lost.

No short cuts

You should realize that there is no
short cut to Masonic knowledge.
You must be a Master Mason.

The journey through
the three degrees

In your journey through the three degrees of symbolic Masonry and as you have learned the proficiency lecture for each degree, no doubt many questions have arisen concerning the meaning of the ritualistic ceremonies, the historical implications and the "why" of the legends of Freemasonry. In every country of the earth; on every continent and on many isles of the sea, will be found Royal Arch Chapters, eager and willing to receive their companions from other parts of the world into that full fellowship that characterizes Royal Arch Masonry.

Many believe the Sublime Degree of Master Mason to be the ultimate degree of Freemasonry and all others to be added and explanatory. Students of Freemasonry agree that the story of the Craft as presented in the three degrees is incomplete and that the degrees of the Royal Arch complete the story and answer many of the questions in the mind of the newly made Master Mason.The Royal Arch Degree was considered most important in the early years of Freemasonry and so dogmatic was the Mother Grand Lodge from which all Speculative Masonry derives that in 1813, when the two grand lodges in England united, a firm and solemn landmark was adopted and placed in the Articles of Union to guide Masons throughout the world forever on this matter:

The Triple Tau

The compound character known as the triple tau is one of the Royal Arch’s emblems. A triple tau is literally “three Tau’s,” the tau being the nineteenth letter in the Greek Alphabet. The triple tau of Royal Arch Masonry consists of 3 Ts linked in the centre joined at their base.

This mystical character can be signified in a few different ways. First, the names Hiram of Tyre and Hiram Abif appear in the Phoenican language with the same letters “H” and “T” as they do in English. Therefore, the Triple Tau takes on the interpretation of the initial letters in Hiram Abif’s name.

Second, it signifies also T. H., Templum Hierosolym, the Temple of Jerusalem, and when used as the Royal Arch symbol, some jurisdictions teach that the wearer acknowledges himself a servant of God.

Thirdly, Christians in Greek or Roman influence anciently used a tau cross. The basis of a triple tau in early church history would mean the trinity of father, son, and holy spirit. A belief in the triune nature of godhead is common to many faiths and religions.

A triangle is a simple shape in geometry that has taken on great spiritual significance and symbolism. The equilateral triangle was revered by ancient nations as containing the greatest and most abstruse mysteries, and as a symbol of God, denoting a triad of intelligence, a triad of deity, a triune God. The equilateral triangle shows equality with its three angles of the same degrees. In one way, it best represents deity by its equality or perfection in design and proportion. The triangle is a symbol of divine union, and an emblem of the mysterious triune, equally representing the attributes of deity, and his triune essence: omnipotence (all powerful), omnipresence (eternal) and omniscience (all knowing).

Overview

The Chapter of Royal Arch Masonry

Consists of these three degrees: Mark Master, Most Excellent Master and Royal Arch Mason.

Evidence indicates that there was a form of the Mark Degree in existence as early as 1599. Its present form has evolved over the years from 1769, through the union in 1813, and the Concordant in 1860 to the present day. The Mark Degree chronologically follows the Fellow Craft Degree and is one of the oldest degrees of Freemasonry. The Degree appears to have grown out of an ancient ceremony in which each Craftsmen selected a private mark with which to designate his work and this mark was fully registered with the constituted authority. The legend of the Mark Degree is singularly instructive and is well founded on statements of Holy Writ relating to a period in the building of the Temple before the death of Hiram Abif. It teaches the lesson that education is the reward for labour and it contains a dramatic message that fraud can never succeed.

The symbol of the degree is the Penny.

This degree deals with the completion of the first Temple, it celebrates the completion and dedication of the whole structure and the placing of the Ark of the Covenant in the Most Holy Place. The title of Most Excellent Master was bestowed upon those workmen who had proven themselves to be proficient and outstanding masters of their profession. The degree is based upon Biblical and historical facts and is presented in a manner designed to carry nearer to completion that character building, the foundation of which was laid in the preceding degrees.

The symbol of the degree is the Keystone.

Dating from 1752 the Royal Arch was for a long time an appendage to the Third Degree, being regarded by the Ancients as a Fourth Degree conferred in their Lodges. Over its long history from the earliest days of Masonry it has become the most talked of, and written about Degree in Freemasonry. For many Masons, it is still regarded as the ultimate of the Craft system, having on numerous occasions, been described as “the most sacred part of Masonry” and “the root, heart and marrow of Masonry”.

The Royal Arch Degree deals with a lengthly period following the ending of Solomon’s reign. The Temple at Jerusalem has been destroyed, the Kingdom of Judea divided, and the tribes taken into captivity. Babylon eventually fell to Cyrus the Great and became part of the Persian Empire. Cyrus set free the Jewish captives and invited them to return to Jerusalem to commence rebuilding the temple. The legend sets out to restore the genuine secrets of a Master Mason and this is accomplished by workmen who make a momentous discovery during their labours and an interesting and illuminating explanation of the nature of God is conveyed.

The symbol of this degree is the Triple Tau.

The First 10 First Principals of Port Credit Chapter No. 230

Overview
1921 M. Ex. Comp. Dr. Walter G. Price
1922 Ex. Comp. Johnson J. Foy
1923 Ex. Comp. Rev. George P. Duncan
1924 Ex. Comp. Dr. William H. McNaim
1925 Ex. Comp. Rev. William Fingland
1926 R. Ex. Comp. Gordon B. Jackson
1927 V. Ex. Comp. Wellington E. Millar
1928 V. Ex. Comp. Charles H. Burgess
1929 V. Ex. Comp. Reginald H. Jamieson
1930 Ex. Comp. Harry White
1931 Ex. Comp. Stephan H. Bradley
1932 Ex. Comp. Fred A. Mass
1933 V. Ex. Comp. William A. Maxwell
1934 Ex. Comp. Ray F. Dudman
1935 Ex. Comp. Lionel G. Brayley
1936 Ex. Comp. James Herbert Pinchin
1937 V. Ex. Comp. David J. McKee
1938 R. Ex. Comp. William H. McEachern
1939 Ex. Comp. Edward S. McNeice
1940 Ex. Comp. C. Alfred Cooper
1941 Ex. Comp. S. C. Tucker
1942 Ex. Comp. William H. Shaver
1943 Ex. Comp. Ivan N. Tomkins
1944 V. Ex. Comp. William A. Maxwell
1945 Ex. Comp. Douglas E. Dyer
1946 Ex. Comp. J. A. Edwards
1947 Ex. Comp. William M. Ross
1948 R. Ex. Comp. William M. Leonard
1949 Ex. Comp. Arthur L. Whittaker
1950 Ex. Comp. James McConnell
1951 Ex. Comp. Charles Falardeau
1952 Ex. Comp. Leslie Potter
1953 Ex. Comp. Eugene Parkinson
1954 Ex. Comp. Charles T. Dobson
1955 Ex. Comp. Cliff H. Lobban
1956 V. Ex. Comp. Allan R. Jamieson
1957 V. Ex. Comp. Roy A. Young
1958 R. Ex. Comp. Jack W. Arnold
1959 V. Ex. Comp. Kenneth Denison
1960 V. Ex. Comp. John I. Parks
1961 Ex. Comp. Joseph H. Wilton
1962 Ex. Comp. W. F. Patterson
1963 Ex. Comp. James Waldo MacDonald
1964 Ex. Comp. Thomas McFarlane
1965 Ex. Comp. John Walsch
1966 Ex. Comp. William Garrod
1967 Ex. Comp. William Garrod
1968 V. Ex. Comp. G. Albert Lennox
1969 Ex. Comp. Thomas Henry
1970 Ex. Comp. John A. Hickox
1971 R. Ex. Comp. Chrys Lewis
1972 Ex. Comp. Neil Matheson
1973 Ex. Comp. Ernest F. Maltby
1974 Ex. Comp. Peter H. Ross
1975 V. Ex. Comp. G. Albert Lennox
1976 Ex. Comp. Henry de Bruyne
1977 Ex, Comp. John Insley
1978 V. Ex. Comp. Louis G. Primeau
1979 Ex. Comp. Donald A. Burbidge
1980 Ex. Comp. William D. Dinsmore
1981 R. Ex. Comp. Harold G. Hubbell
1982 R. Ex. Comp. Frank L Wilson
1983 Ex. Comp. Frank Layzell
1984 Ex. Comp. William E. Hendry
1985 Ex. Comp. Roger L. Chantler
1986 Ex. Comp. Alan C. Williams
1987 Ex Comp. Calvin Waters
1988 V. Ex. Comp. H. Burton Holland
1989 V. Ex. Comp. Edwin R. Carr
1990 Ex. Comp. Kenneth A. Cooper
1991 R. Ex. Comp. Jack W. Arnold
1992 R. Ex. Comp. Gordon J. Carr
1993 Ex. Comp. Hans T. Sanders
1994 Ex. Comp. Wayne R. Douglas
1995 Ex. Comp. Wayne R. Douglas
1996 Ex. Comp. Donald F. Craig
1997 Ex. Comp. David Romaniuk
1998 Ex. Comp. David H. Grightmire
1999 Ex. Comp. Raivo Tahiste
2000 Ex. Comp. Vladimir Smetanjuk
2001 Ex. Comp. Wolfgang Schneiders
2002 Ex. Comp. Wolfgang Schneiders
2003 Ex. Comp. Robert L. Bond
2004 R. Ex. Comp. Ratko Ardalic
2005 Ex. Comp. Robert L. Bond
2006 R. Ex. Comp. Andres R. Penaflor
2007 Ex. Comp. Raivo Tahiste
2008 Ex. Comp. Robert L. Bond
2009 Ex. Comp. Milorad Krstic
2010 V. Ex. Comp. William P. Giroux
2011 Ex. Comp. William W. Holden
2012 Ex. Comp. Richard C. Slee
2013 Ex. Comp. Mark Watson
2014 R. Ex. Comp. Elito S. Lim
2015 V. Ex. Comp. Philip Hebert
2016 Ex. Comp. William Bath
2017 Ex. Comp. Scott Sprague
2018 V. Ex. Comp. Philip Hebert
2019 Ex. Comp. Steve Toner
2020 Ex. Comp. Hansel Penaflor-Marcek
2021
2022

Port Credit Chapter

Port Credit Chapter meets on the forth Tuesday of each month excluding the months of June, July and August. Our meetings begin at 7:30pm with a light repast to follow when chapter closes. Vistors are always welcomed and we ask that you arrive around 7:15pm for a meet and greet.

Mississauga Masonic Temple
45 Port St. West. Mississauga, ON L5H 1E1
Tel: 416.879.0803

Overview


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Pure Ancient Freemasonry consists of but three degrees, viz., that of Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason, including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch." This Landmark has never been changed and to this day no other degree has been officially recognized by the Mother Grand Lodge and every rite, system or additional degree of Freemasonry cannot confer its degree on a Master Mason until he has received the Royal Arch Degree. Naturally, this is as it should be, because a man is not a Master Mason until he receives the Master's Word and he can only receive it in the Royal Arch! Contact Port Credit Chapter to further your masonic journey.

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