Talk One: The Ancient Origins of Royal Arch Freemasonry

Hello to all companions and friends worldwide within the Scottish Constitution of Royal Arch
Freemasonry.

I have decided to do a series of talks on the ancient origins’ history and development of the Royal
Arch Degree. Today's talk will be on the ancient origins of Royal Arch Freemasonry and their basis
within the Old Testament, but first of all before I get into the topic, let me say that I hope you notice
that I'm wearing the bi-centenary tie of Royal Arch Chapter, No. 36 in Dunfermline which was
founded in 1815 so I convey my fraternal and warm greetings to all who are listening to this short
talk. I hope that this new initiative, which will be under the auspices of the publications known as
‘Through the Arch’, will help people to understand what Royal Arch Freemasonry is about and for
me as Head of the Order as the First Grand Principle, to be able to celebrate the great richness that
Royal Arch Freemasonry brings through our traditions through our History and also to be able to
share that with others. At our time in history we are here in April 2020 and we are gripped by a
pandemic that is very unusual for us and a very different position to find ourselves in. It may be said
that we are at a crossroads within our own history today; what do we do? What do we do about it?
How do we move forward? Well for me, unless we have a real knowledge of our history and where
we come from, we can never move forward and actually understand what we are doing in our
present day.

The flowering and Enlightenment of Masonic Laureate knowledge requires us to move into the past
and to sojourn into the history of those Companions that we now follow; those giants upon whom
shoulders we now build. We are all aware of the moral and ethical lessons of our Order. We
participate in them and we have them reinforced, every time we attend the Ceremony of Degrees.
We can remember passing through the veils of the different Degrees of Royal Arch Freemasonry and
how we grew; grew in understanding of increased light of Freemasonry.

We have all trodden the understanding of Royal Arch Freemasonry and built upon the wonders we
were taught within the Craft Degrees. Above all, we were taught about the origins of these Degrees
and about our duty to God and our duty to others. When we enter the Royal Arch Degrees, we
strengthen our understanding of our relationship with God and we contemplate our spiritual nature
– as well as continuing to flourish in the service of others and the development of Companionship.

In the Royal Arch Degrees, we use ritual and allegory based on the Old Testament to tell the story of
the exiled Jews and their return to Jerusalem from their captivity in Babylon. Many songs have been
written about this, the Psalmist’s themselves, even modern pop music has expressed the wonders of
this return from exile from Babylon to Jerusalem by the Jews and we found our Degrees on that
story. These events are firmly based in history although do not follow that origin rigorously but
based in the history of the sixth century BC and it is still part of the celebration of the Jewish faith
today. After the Fall of Cyrus the Great, the Great King, in 539 BC the Jews were permitted to leave
Babylon and to return to Judah. The Royal Arch Degrees are based on these events and in this return
and in the settlement in Jerusalem. If you like, you can read much more about it in the Old
Testament and the book of Ezra where it tells and elaborates on the story of that return and
celebration from captivity in Babylon to Jerusalem.

Now, on return to Jerusalem, they built the Second Temple in Jerusalem beginning in 537 BC. The
allegory of the Royal Arch goes on to teach us, that when they were clearing the ground and
preparing to build the second temple in the same spot where the first Temple of King Solomon had
been destroyed, there they found something in this first temple, which had been destroyed by King
Nebuchadnezzar ii, after the siege of Jerusalem in 587 BC, as they cleared the foundations for a new
temple. These discoveries became the origins of the allegories of Royal Arch Freemasonry and the
Royal Arch can very much claim to be the Masonic Order of Discoveries. These discoveries add to the
knowledge of the crafts degrees, they extend the knowledge of Masonic light and understanding.
These discoveries are the discoveries that make good men better through continued Masonic light
and knowledge, this order which we call the Royal Arch Freemasons could be renamed the Order of
Discoveries. The degrees of Mark Master Mason, Excellent Master and Royal Arch Mason open up a
completion of the third degree of the craft masonry and for me it is this understanding, the progress
from craft masonry to the Royal Arch masonry, where the genuine secrets of the masonic journey
are revealed. This then is a brief introduction to the understanding of the origins of our order of
discovery.

It is now up to you to go and find out for yourselves, not only through the practice of the Royal Arch
degrees but through your study and if you're not already a Royal Arch Mason, through joining the
wonderful Order of companionship and discovery, you will seek to make yourselves better free
masons based on the increase of masonic light. If you engage in this, the friendliest of Orders, there
will be new secrets that will be revealed to you that will allow you to offer yourself as a developing
Freemason in this century. This, our order of discovery, offers not secrets because they are not the
essence of what we are about, but it offers the wealth of companionship and Masonic discovery,
built on our relationship with God. As we have taught in the craft degrees and our obligations to one
another, go away, seek out and discover for yourself the wonders of companionship and discovery. I
hope that with me, you enjoy the exploration of the light of Royal Arch Freemasonry which reaches
all parts of the world whether we be in Western Australia, Malaysia, Lebanon, Kenya or here in my
hometown of Dundee.

The companionship and discovery of our order is absolutely a wonderful thing to celebrate. I hope
you have enjoyed the first of these talks which are really by way of introduction and I hope in my
next talk to explore with you how the light of Royal Arch Freemasonry reached Scotland.

Thank you for listening.

M.E. Companion Joseph J Morrow

First Grand Principal