The Holy Royal Arch is closely connected with Craft Freemasonry in the Lodges—indeed, membership in it is regarded as the completion and highest point in a Mason’s development. If you had been present in one of the “Ancients” Lodges in the mid-eighteenth century, it would have been very likely that at the same meeting, or shortly thereafter, you would “continue” into the Royal Arch in order to complete your admission into Freemasonry. Today, the Royal Arch is a separate Order, as a result of events that took place in the history of English Freemasonry during the eighteenth century, when the “Craft” and the “Royal Arch” were the subject of considerable dispute.
In the earliest days of Freemasonry, there was only one Grand Lodge in England. It was founded in 1717 by four Lodges which met for that purpose at the Goose and Gridiron tavern, near St Paul’s Cathedral. This Grand Lodge became known as the Premier Grand Lodge. Over time, one of the things it did was to revise parts of the ritual. However, not everyone was satisfied with these changes, and some began to believe that the long-established customs of the Craft had not been preserved. In 1751, at a meeting held at the Turk’s Head tavern in Soho, this group formed a rival Grand Lodge, popularly known today as the “Ancients.” They maintained that they continued to practice Freemasonry as it had been worked for many, many years.
In 1752, the Grand Secretary of the Ancients, Laurence Dermott, produced their Constitutions and described the Royal Arch as “the root, heart, and marrow of Freemasonry.” He is also credited with giving the Premier Grand Lodge the derisive name “Moderns,” despite it being the older organisation, in order to emphasize that they had “modernized” the ritual, while the Ancients continued to practice it without alteration.
The Ancients worked the Royal Arch degree as a fourth degree in Freemasonry, and each of their Lodges had the authority to declare itself a Chapter and to confer the Royal Arch degree. The Moderns, however, did not permit the Chapter degree to be worked within their Lodges, as they did not consider it to be part of Craft Freemasonry. Nevertheless, in 1766 they established their own Grand Chapter. By the end of the eighteenth century, attempts were made to unite the two Grand Lodges, but the differing views regarding the Royal Arch and its place within Freemasonry proved to be one of the greatest obstacles to reconciliation.
No real progress was achieved until HRH the Duke of Sussex became Grand Master of the Moderns, and his brother, HRH the Duke of Kent, became Grand Master of the Ancients. Their relationship enabled the final union to take place on 27 December 1813, with HRH the Duke of Sussex being elected Grand Master. Through the solemn Act of Union between the two Grand Lodges of Freemasons of England in December 1813, it was formally declared that “pure Antient Masonry consists of three degrees and no more, namely those of the Entered Apprentice, the Fellow Craft, and the Master Mason, including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch.”
Within the Royal Arch, important lessons of sharing and cooperation are conveyed through various allegories—just as the three original Grand Masters worked together to build King Solomon’s Temple, so everything in the Royal Arch is undertaken as part of a team. This further emphasizes the friendship and companionship found within the Order, as well as the importance of working together in harmony with others.
Yet, although the world has changed considerably since the eighteenth century, when these allegories were first conceived, the principles they embody remain just as relevant today as they have ever been.