In each Craft Lodge, the Royal Arch Representative is a key member – and it is the Metropolitan Grand Master’s wish that every London Lodge should nominate a suitably qualified person to this position.

The Representative’s role is to engage proactively with Lodge members providing information about, and raising awareness of, the Royal Arch – so that each Lodge member can be assisted to complete his journey through “pure Antient Masonry”.

That journey begins with Initiation, leading through the Second and Third Degrees, and is completed with Exaltation in the Royal Arch. This relationship is given pride of place at the very front of the Book of Constitutions, where the Preliminary Declaration states that:

“pure Antient Masonry consists of three degrees and no more, viz., those of the Entered Apprentice, the Fellow Craft, and the Master Mason, including the Supreme Order of the Holy Royal Arch”.

The appointment is significant so the name of the Royal Arch Representative should appear on the Lodge summons below that of the Lodge Officers, preferably with a space or printed line to act as a separator. Where a Representative has not already been appointed, Lodges are asked to appoint one urgently.

A Key Role

Within each Lodge, the Royal Arch Representative’s role is not only to assist Brethren who are considering the suitability and timing of taking the final step in “pure Antient Masonry”, but also to provide information for existing members of the Royal Arch whose active participation in the Order may have stalled, for whatever reason(s).

Bearing in mind that all Masonry requires a free and voluntary inclination, the Representative should not apply pressure – but view his role as providing encouragement, information and answers to questions.

Positioned at the very heart of the Royal Arch’s growth and vitality in London, the Royal Arch Representative, typically a PZ, should be well-equipped to assist each Master Mason and Past Master to arrive at his own decision about whether and when to join (or re-engage with) the Royal Arch.

I wholeheartedly recommend the Royal Arch Representatives initiative for your active consideration and I would like to wish all those who take up the challenge – and become Royal Arch Representatives – every success in the important work that they undertake. I cannot emphasise too strongly that they are at the very heart of the Royal Arch’s growth and vitality in London.

Timothy L’Estrange
Deputy Metropolitan Grand Superintendent