Credit: https://beyondthecraft.net.au/what-is-ark-mariner-masonry/

The “The Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of Royal Ark Mariners” is also referred to simply as, The Ark Mariners. The acronym “RAM” is also used.

The story of this degree contains events before, during, and after the Biblical Flood. The apron and emblems of this degree are easily recognizable by the ark and rainbow motif, although the degree itself claims the original apron to have been made of unfinished lambskin.

The historic prerequisite to be made a Royal Ark Mariner Mason is to be a Mark Master Mason, however, the Degree has no connection symbolically or ritually to the Mark Degree.

The Royal Ark Mariner degree is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, rite in Masonry. As its name suggests, it is based on the legend of Noah and the Great deluge, an event of such importance as to have impressed itself on the religious dogmas and rites of all the nations which have succeeded it. We find allusions to it in the annals of every people and some memorials of it in their religious observances. These have served to maintain a veneration for the second parent of the human race, and a great reverence for his historical vessel.

The Ceremony of Elevation into the Antient and Honourable Fraternity of Royal Ark Mariners is a truly initiatory rite. As in the Craft, it is based on the triumvirate of wisdom, strength, and beauty, but in this instance, refers particularly to the wisdom of Noah in constructing the Ark, his strength of character, and the beauty of his workmanship. But there are other significant messages, and even for the experienced Mason, a powerful reminder of our reliance on spiritual as well as material enlightenment.

The presiding officer in a Royal Ark Mariner Lodge is the Commander and the Ceremony of his Installation, or Enthronement, is widely considered to be one of the most impressive in all Masonry.

The Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of Royal Ark Mariners exists worldwide, while being administered by four very different bodies of Masonry, those of Supreme Grand Chapters, Allied Masonic Degrees, Royal and Select Masters as well as Grand Mark jurisdictions.

In Victoria, RAM Lodges are moored to Lodges of Mark Master Masons and take both the name and number of the Mark Lodge. The Principal Officers of a Lodge of Royal Ark Mariners represent Noah, and two of his sons: Japheth and Shem, and the Lodge room is made to represent the Ark of Safety.

Indeed, our Brethren of the nineteenth century considered Noah to be one of the Grand Masters of Masonry. He is a celebrated Builder and a man of integrity in the face of great opposition.

The early brethren of our Craft did not hesitate to trace the line of Masonry even back to Adam in the Garden of Eden, who was the first to build an Altar (of unhewn stone, the Rough Ashlar), and the first man to don an apron (though it was made of fig leaves.) While it is nonsensical to consider that Modern Freemasonry was known to Adam or Noah, there is something inherently true in the idea that Masonry is heir to the fruits of the greatest and noblest accomplishment of a more primitive generation of man.

The Royal Ark Mariner Degree is special because it embodies this speculative reference to far antiquity, which if taken literally, implies that all of humanity was saved from the great flood by a Grand Master Mason and whose linage repopulated the Earth after this cataclysmic event. Having been “Elevated” to the Degree, you will find that the Royal Ark Mariner is a beautiful Order.

Most Candidates find the Ceremony of Elevation a symbolic and moving experience, but as one’s exposure to and study of the ritual increases so does one’s appreciation of the significance of the messages contained in it.

A warm welcome awaits any Mark Master Mason who wishes to join this wonderful Degree.

The Regalia of Royal Ark Mariner Masonry consists of Apron, Sash, and Jewel as follows:

The Apron is white bordered with rainbow ribbon and has two rosettes, it has a curved flap also bordered with ribbon and with a rosette in the center. The Apron on a Commander is similar but with a wider rainbow ribbon and silver triangles instead of rosettes. When a Commander is a present or past Grand Mark Officer, the triangles are of gold or gilt color.

The Sash is of rainbow ribbon with silver fringe, worn over the left shoulder and passing obliquely to the right side.

The Jewel is a segmented plate representing a rainbow, suspended from which is a Dove with an Olive Branch in its mouth, hanging from a rainbow ribbon with silver metal work. A Past Commander may also wear the letter N inside a triangle, a pendant from a similar ribbon. When the Commander is a current or Past Grand Mark Officer the metalwork should be gold or gilt in color.

An Enthroned Commander wears in place of the Sash, a collar of rainbow ribbon with silver button and cord, and a jewel of silver or white metal in the form of an Ark within a triangle. When a Past Commander is a Current or Past Grand Mark Officer, the button, cord and jewel should be gold or gilt in color.

The Lodge provides collars for every officer which are of rainbow ribbon with silver buttons and cords and also Jewels of silver or White metal within a triangle. The Commander wears a Crimson Robe with a Yellow border. The Immediate Past Commander wears a Yellow Robe with a Black border. Japeth wears a Green Robe with a Red Border and Shem whereas a Blue Robe with a White Border. The Chaplain wears a Black Robe with Green Stole in place of the usual Officer’s Collar. Deacons and Guardian wear White Robes bordered with rainbow ribbons.

You must be a Master Mason and a subscribing member in good standing of a Craft Lodge in Freemasonry Victoria or of a Craft Lodge under a jurisdiction recognized by Freemasonry Victoria.
You must be a Mark Master Mason and a subscribing member in good standing of a Mark Lodge under the United Grand Lodge of Mark Master Masons of Victoria (UGLMMMV) or of a Mark Lodge under a jurisdiction recognized by the UGLMMMV. You must agree to conform to the Regulations of the Fraternity.