ARK AND DOVE

An illustrative Degree, preparatory to the Royal Arch, and usually conferred, when conferred at all, immediately before the solemn ceremony of exaltation.

The name of Noachite, sometimes given to it, is incorrect, as this belongs to a Degree in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. It is very probable that the Degree, which now, however, has lost much of its significance, was derived from a much older one called the Royal Ark Mariners, to which the reader is referred.

The legend and symbolism of the ark and dove formed an important part of the spurious Freemasonry of the ancients.