What is the Royal Ark Mariner degree?

The Royal Ark Mariner degree is an additional degree in Freemasonry centered on the Old Testament narrative of Noah, the Great Flood, and the Ark 12. Late eighteenth-century records describe its early members calling themselves Noachidae, or Sons of Noah, assembling in a body designated a Royal Ark Vessel under a presiding officer styled Grand Noah 1. Lomas notes that the degree originated among eighteenth-century operative Masons as a fraternity of mutual support intended to distinguish working Masons from non-operative speculative members 3.

Governing structure varies by jurisdiction, though in England the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons states that the Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of Royal Ark Mariner has been under its jurisdiction since 1871, managed by the Grand Master's Royal Ark Council. The Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons took full possession of the rights to the degree in 1884. Lodges of Royal Ark Mariners are attached, or moored, to Mark Master Mason lodges and adopt their roll numbers 3, while in Scotland the degree operates under the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter 1.

To enter the degree, the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons requires candidates to be Mark Master Masons, though the degree remains entirely distinct from the Mark degree. The ceremony of admission is termed an Elevation, conducted in a lodge room arranged to represent the Ark of Safety. The lodge is presided over by a Worshipful Commander, while the three principal officers represent Noah and his sons Shem and Japheth.

Symbolically, Waite highlights the degree's characteristic rainbow colouring 2, which appears on the apron ribbon along with embellishments depicting the Ark and the dove 1. The Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons records that the regalia features a rainbow motif on the apron and a jewel depicting a dove carrying an olive branch beneath a rainbow.

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Administrative governance and structural attachment link the Royal Ark Mariner degree to Mark Masonry, rather than any shared ritual history or internal narrative 2. As recorded in research by Mark Masons, the degree possesses no historical or ritual connection to the Mark Master Mason degree itself, despite their administrative convergence. Arthur Edward Waite observed that the degree is attached to the Mark for almost unsearchable symbolic reasons 2, while Robert Lomas compares this structural link to the way a Royal Arch Chapter is attached to a Craft Lodge 3.

Historically, this alignment developed through organizational consolidation in the late nineteenth century. The Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons records that the Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of Royal Ark Mariner has fallen under its jurisdiction since 1871, governed by the Grand Master's Royal Ark Council. To solidify this structure, the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons purchased the rights to the Grand Lodge of Royal Ark Mariners in 1884 for £25.

Under these governing arrangements, entry into the degree is open to all Mark Master Masons. Royal Ark Mariner Lodges do not exist as entirely independent units; instead, they are attached or moored to individual Mark Lodges, adopting the host Mark Lodge's name and roll number. Furthermore, the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons serves ipso facto as the Grand Master of the Royal Ark Mariners.

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The ark signifies an "Ark of Safety" constructed by the Patriarch Noah to preserve mankind from the deluge, as recorded in the Royal Ark Mariner degree by the Mark Master Masons of Lincolnshire. In this context, the vessel is also symbolised in terms similar to an "ark of salvation", as noted by the Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons.

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Today, the Royal Ark Mariner degree is worked across several distinct jurisdictions and administrative structures worldwide.

In England and Wales, alongside its overseas provinces and districts, the degree is worked in Royal Ark Mariner Lodges attached, or "moored," to Mark Master Mason Lodges 3. The Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons governs these bodies through the Grand Master's Royal Ark Council.

In the United States, the Grand Council of the Allied Masonic Degrees of the United States of America exercises authority over the degree, conferring it within its constituent Councils.

In Scotland, the Supreme Grand Royal Arch Chapter of Scotland maintains control of the degree, where it is worked in Lodges attached directly to Royal Arch Chapters.

In Australia, within jurisdictions such as Victoria, Royal Ark Mariner Lodges operate under the governance of the Grand Master of Mark Master Masons of Victoria, who presides over the Royal Ark Council.

Across these systems, the structural relationship established in Mark Masonry continues, where the degree operates as a specialized lodge attached to a host body 3.

The websites I drew on here are not among those a Masonic researcher would ordinarily rely upon. Please weigh what they say accordingly.