What is the significance of the Royal Arch degree?

The Royal Arch degree is regarded as the completion and cope-stone of the Masonic system, finishing the symbolic narrative and spiritual work begun in the Craft degrees 121. W. J. Chetwode Crawley describes it not as a separate entity, but as the completing part of a masonic legend without which the metaphorical building remains incomplete 2. Under the English Constitution, the constitution formally declares that Masonry consists of the three Craft degrees and the Holy Royal Arch, establishing it as the climax outlining the process of human regeneration 1.

W. L. Wilmshurst interprets the Royal Arch as a representation of the psychological and spiritual rationale of final regeneration 1. In his reading, the ceremonial officers typify internal, spiritual principles: the three Principals represent three attributes of monadic Spirit—Holiness, Royal Supremacy, and Functional Power—personified by Haggai, Joshua, and Zerubbabel 1. He views the three Sojourners as representing the threefold human personality or unitary Ego, acting as wayfarers aligned with those higher spiritual attributes 1.

Historically, the Royal Arch developed as an expansion and completion of the Third Degree, from which it was later detached 1. Eligibility to receive the degree also evolved over time; whereas access was once restricted to Past Masters, regulations eventually opened the degree to Master Masons of four weeks' standing 2.