A Welcome Message from the Most Excellent Grand Superintendent – Excellent Companion David Pascoe

Freemasonry is a journey of self discovery and teaches important moral lessons. It is open to individuals of good standing, who express a belief in a Supreme Being and allows men of all religions and faiths to come together in a spirit of mutual respect and tolerance. The Royal Arch is an integral part of Pure Ancient Freemasonry.

The three degrees of Craft Masonry deal with material matters. They allegorically trace man’s intellectual development from his birth in the first degree, through the intricate winding pathways of his mortal existence to his symbolical death in the third. The Royal Arch is the climax of that progression and contemplates the whole in the context of eternity. It contains the true essence of the moral philosophy underscoring Freemasonry. The ceremony of exaltation emphasises the Glory of the Most High and the Power of His Holy Name. It teaches each Companion the duty he owes to his Creator and stresses his total dependence on the Almighty, the Beginning and the End of all things.

Hence the Royal Arch is the essential and natural progression after the three Craft degrees and should be made by Master Masons as …. ‘The integral final step on Pure Ancient Freemasonry.’

I would urge members to do this as soon as they feel at ease with the teachings and symbolism of the Craft. Ideally, all brethren who intend to progress through the Master’s Chair, should have been exalted into the Royal Arch before they have progressed to the office of, say, Deacon in their Craft Lodge.

E.Comp. David Pascoe Grand Superintendent