The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

Chapter 7 - Rituals 433
7.1.3 Royal Arch Ritual: on the Quest for
the Lost Word 1330
In General
We three -
do meet and agree in love and unity -
the sacred word to keep -
and never to divulge the same -
unless when three -
such as we -
do meet and agree. 1331
Perusing the Royal Arch ritual firstly reminds the profane reader of
Shakespeare's "when shall we three meet again." The ritual frequently employs
the symbolic number three, e.g. 3 Principals, 3 Sojourners, 3 Greater Lights, 3
Lesser Lights, 3 syllables of the word, the "three times three" battery, saying, and
constellation (see above), the triple tau; some of those alluding to the Holy
Trinity. The symbol of the triple tau proves that the Royal Arch Degree is
rounding off what the candidate has learned in the first three degrees of Masonry,
where this symbol has always appeared in a separated form, whereas it is united
in the Holy Royal Arch: "The Triple Tau in the H. R. A. is the completion of a
candidate's spiritual journey in Masonry, his 3 regular steps in the Craft, each in
the form of a Tau, and each separated even when on a Master's apron, having
brought him to the union of those Taus in the R. A. and thus led him to the
Deity." 1332
Royal Arch Masonry, which is called "holy," strongly leans on the Old
Testament, for which reason it was classified by Masonic authorities and
researchers as typically Jewish or Christian: "Before the Union, at the beginning
of the last century 1333 , Freemasonry was essentially Christian, both in character
and in ritual, the R. A. especially so, for the R. A. is wholly spiritual, and very
1330
If not otherwise noted, quotations for this section are taken from the Ritual of the Grand Chapter
of Royal Arch Masons of the State of California, 1993 edition. Illustrations: Cf. Duncan's Ritual
and Monitor.
1331
Lewis, The Ritual of the Royal Arch as Taught in the Aldersgate Chapter of Improvement No.
1657, p. 20.
1332
Lewis, p. 123. There are different explanation as to how the triple tau has originated. Some held it
to be a union of three taus. But since it has the form of a "T" over an "H," at the end of the 18 th
century it was said to mean "Templum Hierosolyema," i.e. King Solomon's temple. Other Masons
declared that this sign referred to Thomas Harper, the maker of the Royal Arch jewel. Cf. Lewis, p.
123/124.
1333 th
Meant is the 19 century.