Every Degree conferred in a Chapter of Royal Arch Masons has a familiar connection to and greatly expands your understanding of the lessons which were introduced to you in the Blue Lodge.
Chapter of Royal Arch Masons
York Rite Masonry greatly expands and clarifies the teachings of Craft Masonry. The events commemorated in the York Rite Degrees, like those of the Symbolic Lodge, pertain to the building, completion, and dedication of King Solomon’s Temple. In the York Rite, we discover what happened after the Temple tragedy, and thus, the legacy of Hiram is taken to a very meaningful conclusion.
The Degrees are conferred in a Blue Lodge setting, and are directly tied to the teachings of the Blue Lodge. The ceremonies of the York Rite are similar to what you have already experienced in your Lodge. The lessons are conveyed as ritual dramas, very much like the Master Mason Degree. Every Degree conferred in a Chapter of Royal Arch Masons has a familiar connection to and greatly expands your understanding of the lessons which were introduced to you in the Blue Lodge.
The True Word of a Master Mason is discovered and explained. The Degrees of the Chapter revolve around one great central archetype — the True Word. In the Lodge, that Word was lost. It is rediscovered in the York Rite, and a powerful explanation is finally given as to its importance, meaning, and significance to Masonry.
Mark Master Degree
The real wages paid by the Senior Warden are revealed.
The duties of the Senior Warden are explained at the opening of every Lodge. Among other things, it is he who pays wages on behalf of the Master. In the Mark Master Degree, we learn what these wages actually are in the eyes of the Grand Architect of the Universe, and how they are dispensed.
Past Master’s Degree
A Degree that emphasizes the lesson of harmony. This Degree is conferred because ancient custom required that a Mason must be a Past Master in order to be exalted to the Royal Arch. In some Grand Jurisdictions this Degree is conferred upon all sitting Masters of the Blue Lodge. The Degree confers no actual rank upon the recipient, but is exemplified to maintain the ancient custom.
Most Excellent Master Degree
A Degree that emphasizes the lesson of reverence. This Degree is centered on the dedication of the Temple after its completion, particularly the consecration of the Sanctum Sanctorum and the descent of the Host into the Temple. It is complimentary to the Mark Master Degree and completes the symbolic lessons introduced in that Degree.
The building of King Solomon’s Temple is completed and a profound mystery is unveiled. In the Most Excellent Master Degree, we learn that every monument of beauty, each human achievement, regardless of how superbly planned, erected, and perfected, is not truly complete until a great secret is unveiled in the soul of its builder.
The Royal Arch Degree
The completion of the Master Mason Degree and the summit of the original Degrees of the Blue Lodge as practiced in the Lodges of England before 1820. The Degree explains the origins of the Substitute Word found in the Master Mason Degree, the recovery of the Ineffable Word, and its concealment within the Royal Arch Word. This Degree, together with the Master Mason Degree, may have once been exemplified as one large or “super” Degree, with the Master Mason Degree explaining the loss of the Master’s Word and the Royal Arch explaining the recovery of the Master’s Word.
Our current officers for 2024
- High Priest Johnny Davis
- Excellent King Jeremiah Baumann
- Excellent Scribe Zak Wyatt
- Treasurer Paul Guillory
- Recorder Jeremy Hogan
- Captain of the Host James Clark
- Principle Sojourner J.W. Jolly III
- Royal Arch Captain Dustin Delano
- Chaplain Jeff Goolsby
- 3rd Veil Jason Singleton
- 2nd Veil Shawn Wilson
- 1st Veil Alan Dorsett