The Capitular Body or the Royal Arch Masons Order

None of the Masonic rites is so widespread in the world as the Royal Arch Masonry, with its Mark Master, Past Master, Excellent Master and Royal Arch Mason.  

1) Mark Master

           The symbolism of the ritual comes to strengthen the moral values of a master mason through:

           The courage to assume responsibility ;

           A thing (idea, action and so on) apparently worthless, mustn’t be wrongly judged and thrown away ;

          The courage to recognize a mistake and to fix it ;

          Brotherly aid of any person in hardship.

2) Past Master

          Veritable lesson for any Master Mason:

          A leader must know and respect the legacy, landmarks and essence of the Masonic teachings ;

          A leader must love and respect his brothers before leading them ;

          The moral profile of a leader shall determine the quality of the leadership .

3) Most Excellent Master

          This is the only Masonic degree in which a work is completed:

          In life, there comes a moment when a project must end and another begin ;

          Life and circumstances change but the constant element is God ;

          The final prayer of King Solomon is a warning against dangers to come in case of failure to comply with the laws of God .

4) Royal Arch Mason     

         The ritualistic evocation of the sinuous journey of the Jewish people symbolises life, which is not a linear path, on the contrary, it is full of hardships, returns, ups and downs :

            Correlations in life are not easy, but they must be made if we want to fulfil our mission on Earth ;

            The searches in the ruins of the Temple and the rediscovery of the old values express the lessons we must extract from the old happenings and mistakes ;

             Throughout our lives we are not alone, because God in his eternal love sends us the guides we need .

5) The Holy Order of Anointed High Priests

            This is a capitular body reserved to former and in office High Priests.

The Cryptic Body or the Cryptic Masons Order

Considered by several researchers as one of the most beautiful and impressive moments of Masonic experiencing, the cryptic degrees complete the Masonic fundamental lesson with new details on the construction of the Temple and especially on the mystery of the “Lost Word”, of keeping and transmission thereof .

1) Royal Master

        Symbolises a companion in search of more light ;

        The perseverance in the search of knowledge, work and honesty is rewarded at the right time, by learning certain secrets that are not at everybody’s reach ;

       The Divine Truth shall be revealed only to those with an advanced spirituality, who have learned the lessons of life, by assuming responsibilities and by going beyond hardships, sufferings and temptations.

Death is a natural step, by which the spirit released itself from the flash, and bears the true values acquired throughout life as a certainty of resurrection to eternal happiness .

2) Select Master

        Completes the education of companions, exemplifying the hiding of ancient mysteries of the Masonry of those who do not deserve to find them out ;

        The respect towards duties, the fidelity towards commitments and the belief in God are at the end rewarded by progress and success;

3) Super Excellent Master-operational degree

       The ritual based on the destruction of the Temple draws attention on the consequences of non-observance of divine laws and alienation from God :

- betrayal, lying, falsity are severally punished ;

 4) Silver Trowel Order

       This is a cryptic body reserved to past and in office Illustrious Masters .

       On his dying bed, King David instructs the new anointed king to rule with justice, to appreciate wisdom and to serve God with all his power .

The Chivalry Bodies, Religious and Military  

Motto: “The best way to predict future is to create it”

                The Grand Encampment, the Grand Commandery and the Commanderies of Knights Templar, as well as the Grand Imperial Conclave of the Order of the Red Cross of Constantine are the main Masonic structures of a religious-military type exclusively addressed to Christian masons.

 I. Knights Templar Order

Motto: “Each Christian mason should become a knight templar”

The Templar Commanderies initiate and invest knights in the following three orders :

- The Illustrious Order of the Red Cross;

- The Order of Malta;

1. The Illustrious Order  of the Red Cross

            The ritual is a link between symbolic masonry and chivalry masonry, between the Old Testament and the New Testament and emphasized the value of truth, justice, liberty and faith in God.

2. The Order of Malta

          The ritual is purely Christian and the Order of Malta has its origins in the Order of Hospitable Knights of Saint John, after their journey through Palestine, Rhodos and Malta.

          The order initially confers an intermediary title of Knight of Saint Paul ;

3. The Order of the Temple

  It originates from the famous order set up by Hugo de Payenes in 1118, active until 1314, when Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar was burned at the stake and the order abolished though a papal bull issued by Pope Clement the 5th.

  All throughout this period, besides the participation to numerous crusades, the order had a strong impact on the medieval civilisation of Europe in different areas such as: philosophy, science, architecture, economy and so on .

  The ritual is based on the spiritual and moral lessons of the medieval Christian chivalrousness, especially that of knights templar .

  The aspirant follows the path of Jesus up to the empty Sepulchre, learning to show pity for enemies and to have the courage to do all sacrifice for truth, justice and love .

4. Order of Holy Royal Arch Knight Templar Priests

5. Order of Knight York Cross of Honour

      This Order, which is also invitational, is opened to Sir Knights who made a special contribution to the activity of the Order of Knights Templar.

II. Order of the Red Cross of Constantine and the Appendant Orders

      The District is a structure of the Grand Imperial Conclave of the Order of the Red Cross of Constantine.

      It invest Sir Knights to:

- The Order of the Red Cross of Constantine;

1)  Order of the Red Cross of Constantine

        The ritual follows the legend of Emperor Constantine the Great and the establishment of the oldest chivalry order, after the battle of Saxa-Rubra in the year 325 B.C., the candidate presenting himself as a pagan knight who wants to be Christianized.

2) The Order of the Holy Sepulchre and the Order of St John the Evangelist

       Although rituals are different from those of the Knights of Malta, in essence they express the same moral and spiritual values of Christian chivalry;

       Life in the material body is a necessary step to spiritual improvement in order to attain eternal life.

The  Paramasonic Body – Order of the Rose

The care of the York Rite for those who according to custom and constitutional provisions cannot be Masons, is manifested by the establishment of this body for carrying out activities under the guidance of Masonic organizations.

         Without having access to Masonic rituals, that order, which includes wives, sisters, daughters and mothers of York Rite companions, promotes through various charitable, ethical and spiritual actions the Masonic principles.

Allied Masonic Degrees Order

         This order has 10 initiatic degrees and addresses only the Knights Templar of the York Rite and members of the 33rd degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite who are also Royal Arch Masons.

        The Allied Masonic Degrees Council is a structure of the Supreme Grand Council of the Allied Masonic Degrees of the United States.

Organisation of the York Rite and of the other Orders

The main unit in the Royal Arch Masonry is the Chapter, headed by a High Priest. At national level, the Chapters' activity is supervised by a Supreme Grand Chapter headed by the Grand High Priest.

      The international activity is coordinated by the General Grand Chapter International of Royal Arch Masons, which within the Triennial Convents organise elections for the office of the General Grand High Priest International and the General Grand Officers International.

     In Cryptic Masonry, the basic formation is the Council, headed by an Illustrious Master. At national level, the Councils’ activity is supervised by a Supreme Grand Council of Cryptic Masons, headed by an Illustrious Grand Master.

      At international level, the activity of the Supreme Grand Councils is coordinated by the General Grand Council International, which within the Triennial Convents organise elections for the office of the General Grand Master International and the General Grand Officers International .

Knights Templar are organised in Commanderies headed by an Eminent Commander. Several commanderies of the same country constitute a Grand Commandery headed by a Right Eminent Grand Commander, and the Grand Commanderies of a large geographical area, form a Division.

        All Commanderies, Grand Commanderies and Divisions of Knights Templar form the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar.

        At international level, the activity is coordinated by the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the U.S. headed by a Most Eminent Grand Master. The same, together with the other Right Eminent High Officers, is elected at each Triennial Conclave.

        The Order of Holy Royal Arch Knight Templar Priests is headed by a Preceptor, at country level, and the basic formation is the Tabernacle.

      The Order of the Knight York Cross of Honour is headed by a Prior at country level, and the basic unit is the Priory.

 At international Level, the activity is coordinated by the Grand Priory of the Knight York Cross of Honour of the U.S., which is headed by a Grand Prior.

The activity of the Order of the Red Cross of Constantine and the Appendant Orders is carried out in Conclaves headed by a Puissant Sovereign. Several Conclaves constitute a District. They are all under the obedience of the Grand Imperial Conclave of Order of the Red Cross of Constantine and the Appendant Orders .

        The Order of the Rose has a single unit, at country level, without limitations in terms of members, number, and it is headed by a president.      

       The Order of the Allied Masonic Degrees carries out its activity in a Council which may have maximum 27 members and which is headed by a Sovereign Master.

       At country level, the activity is coordinated by a Grand Council of the Allied Degrees, headed by a Grand Master.       

At international level, the activity is coordinated by the Supreme Grand Council of Allied Masonic Degrees of the U.S., which is headed by a Most Puissant Grand Master.