Our ritual states that the Supreme Degree of the H R A is the summum bonum, the ne plus ultra, the
completion and perfection of all preceding Freemasonry, whilst the English Ritual expressly disclaims any pretence as a further Degree, and is in agreement with the dictum of a well-known American Masonic writer, Mackay, who says the Royal Arch is the copestone of the Masonic edifice, being absolutely necessary to complete the Degree of a Master Mason, in as much as the latter cannot be properly understood without the development of the former.
