The degrees included within the framework of Royal Arch Masonry are:
- The Mark Master Mason degree is sometimes said to be an expansion of the Fellowcraft degree.
- The Past Master degree is bestowed because of the old requirement that only Past Masters of a Symbolic Lodge may join the Royal Arch. (This is a virtual degree was created to conform with tradition, and it confers no rights as a Past Master in a Blue Lodge.)
- In the Most Excellent Master degree, the candidate experiences the completion of King Solomon’s Temple.
The Royal Arch Mason degree is said by many to be the most beautiful degree in all of Freemasonry. This is where the candidate learns the True Word.
By joining the York Rite, a Master Mason may proceed to supplement and expand upon the degrees of the Blue Lodge.
The symbolism of the Royal Arch picks up where the Symbolic Lodge leaves off. The symbolism of the Blue Lodge degrees emphasizes the building of King Solomon’s Temple. Royal Arch Masonry (known as Capitular Masonry) continues in this vein by emphasizing symbols and allegories of the Second Temple, the Ark of the Covenant, further symbolism of Solomon’s temple completed, and the Lost Word (also called the Master’s Word) — which is given to the Royal Arch Mason.
Within York Rite Masonry, the Royal Arch Degree is described as the completion of the Master Mason Degree . This is due to the fact that up until 1767, the Master Mason Degree of the Blue Lodge contained the secrets of the Royal Arch. Nowadays, these same secrets form a part of the teachings of the Royal Arch.
In England, the Royal Arch Mason degree is automatically included in the Master Mason degree. In 1813, the United Grand Lodge of England stated it in no uncertain terms: “Ancient Craft Masonry consists of three degrees and no more, namely, those of the Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason including the Holy Royal Arch.” It is a natural progression of the Freemasonry’s primary theme.
No other degree has been officially recognized by the United Grand Lodge — this landmark remains to this day. No additional Rites and Degrees can be bestowed upon a Master Mason until he has received the Royal Arch Degree. This is perfectly logical, because a man is not a Master Mason until he receives the Master’s Word. This is something a Mason can only receive in the Royal Arch. Within Capitular Masonry are contained the essentials of symbolism, allegory, and philosophy that a Master Mason requires in order to understand those teachings which have only been partially given to him in the Blue Lodge.
In architectural symbolism, the capstone is the crowing stone of an entire structure or wall. It is for this reason that Royal Arch Masonry is called “the Capstone of Ancient Craft Masonry” or the Capitular Rite.