Demonstration by the East Kent Provincial Grand Stewards’ Chapter

Earlier this year Supreme Grand Chapter gave authority for Provinces to hold a demonstration of the Ceremony of the Veils. In East Kent the privilege of mounting the demonstration was afforded to the East Kent Provincial Grand Stewards’ Chapter and took place on Tuesday 20th September 2011 at the Franklin Rooms, Gillingham.

The following explanation of the history behind the ceremony preceded the demonstration.

"The basis of the current Royal Arch ceremonies worked in England was established and agreed by Supreme Grand Chapter in 1834. There is some evidence that before the 1834 changes the ceremony of Passing the Veils was practised as a preliminary to the Exaltation ceremony, This was particularly true in Lodges under the former Antients Grand Lodge which worked the Royal Arch within the Lodge, but there is little evidence of it being worked in Chapters under the original Excellent Grand and Royal Chapter.

Today, within the area of Supreme Grand Chapter, the ceremony is authorised for use in Chapters in Bristol only, although it is still very much part of the Royal Arch system in Ireland, the United States of America and Scotland, where it is known as the Excellent Master Degree. For those wishing to see the Bristol ceremony, the Province and its Chapters are always delighted to receive visitors.

The demonstration is not the ceremony as practised in Bristol, Ireland, Scotland or the USA but necessarily includes material which appears in the ceremonies worked in those countries. It has been compiled from manuscripts in the Library and Museum of Freemasonry and published sources such as Carlile and Claret. As many of the sources are simple descriptions of the ceremony it has been necessary to guess the questions put to the candidate as he enters and approaches each Veil

Originally there appear to have been only three veils: Blue, Purple and Scarlet. But most of the surviving evidence calls for the addition of a fourth, White, veil which prevents the candidate's sight of the Principals, the pedestal and the other furniture of the Chapter. The early descriptions state that the ceremony took place in a room adjacent to the Chapter Room and on its completion the candidate would then be led to the Chapter Room to seek admission. As in many places only one room would be available it would appear probable that the fourth veil was adopted to shield the candidate from the Chapter as before he entered he would be hoodwinked as candidates are today.

The Chapter would have been set up as demonstrated except that the pedestal and all that surrounds it, including the banners, would have been close to the Principals to enable them to be hidden from the candidate’s sight by the white veil The rest of the room would be divided into three by the Scarlet, Purple and Blue Veils, leaving a space between the latter and the door to the Chapter Room. In the demonstration four coloured veils were used, but they were translucent to enable the Companions to witness the various stages of the ceremony."

The Officers who participated in the Demonstration were:

MEZ as presiding officer
Joshua who read the extracts from the Old Testament
Scribe N as Conductor of the candidate
PS as Guardian of the Scarlet Veil
1st A Soj as Guardian of the Purple Veil
2nd A Soj as Guardian of the Blue Veil
Janitor in his usual place

At the time that the Veils’ ceremony was being worked in England (c. 1770 - 1834) the opening of the Chapter was restricted to Principals and Past Principals. They would enter the Chapter and open it in the same way as we do today. The remaining Companions would then enter the Chapter in two columns, led by the Scribes Ezra and Nehemiah, and as many as possible would form into threes to prove themselves RA Masons. There is evidence that in some Chapters, once this was done, the MEZ would ask each of the Officers of the Chapter, in ascending order, for their stations and duties within the Chapter,

The minutes of the last meeting would then be read and confirmed and, if necessary, a ballot would take place for the candidate(s) for exaltation at that meeting. Once the ballot had taken place the veils would be drawn across the room and the Janitor informed that all was ready,

The Janitor would then give four knocks on the outer door and the Scribe N would open it; it was at this stage that the demonstration began. It was pointed out that as this was a demonstration the full ritual would not be carried out and that a Companion would play the part of the Candidate.

Clearly a lot of time and preparation had been required to produce the special equipment used and to achieve the standard of ritual delivered, which held the packed assembly in thrall as the ceremony unfolded. It provided answers to some queries and for others areas where further research was indicated. Listening to the general discussions of the Companions after the demonstration, it was quite clear that it had been an unmitigated success. It has been suggested that the demonstration might be repeated another year at a different location in the Province, but some logistical queries will need to be addressed before that is possible.

25 November 2011

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