Royal Arch Masonry
Holy Royal Arch
The United Grand Lodge of England administers Craft Freemasonry (consisting of three degrees).
The Holy Royal Arch is administered through a "sister" organisation entitled Supreme Grand Chapter.
Structure
The ceremony of the Royal Arch is undertaken in Chapters, which are separate from the Craft Lodges. It was originally part of the working of the Antient Craft Lodges before the Union of the two Grand Lodges in 1813.
There are seven Chapters under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Grand Chapter of Jersey.
The Provincial Organisation mirrors that of the Craft and in Jersey the Grand Superintendent of the Provincial Grand Chapter is the same person who holds the office of Provincial Grand Master in the Provincial Grand Lodge. This situation is possible in a small Province whilst in the larger Provinces in the United Kingdom, this certainly would not be the case.
The impressive ceremony of the Holy Royal Arch covers the period after the destruction of King
Solomon's Temple and the building of the subsequent Temple.
It is based on the return to Jerusalem from Babylonish captivity and the need to rebuild the city and
temple. In clearing the ground of the original temple for the foundations of the second temple, the
candidate makes a number of discoveries which emphasise the centrality of God to man's life and
existence, and leads him to a consideration of the nature of God and his personal relationship with
Him, irrespective of his own religion.