A date for your diary, at the First Principals’ Chapter on Thursday 3rd September 2015, we will welcome the demonstration team from the Province of Bristol who will perform the Ancient and Original Passing of the Veils. This is not a ceremony that you see very often because it is rarely performed outside of the Province of Bristol.
This meeting will be open to all Companions and is certain to be very popular. This poster has further details and booking forms from the Provincial Grand Chapter office will follow very shortly.
Our Grand Superintendent, E Comp Wayne Williams, commented:
We are privileged to be hosting the Bristol Demonstration team at our FIrst Principals' Chapter in September. Space will be limited but ALL Companions are invited to attend.It will be a unique occasion for us and a unique demonstration, rarely seen outside the Province of Bristol and who are the only ones allowed to perform it. Check out the history of the Veils ceremony; there was early reference to the "veils" from the 1750s onwards as practiced in the Province of Bristol as a preliminary to the Exaltation ceremony. Since then, the Royal Arch ceremony generally has seen many changes and with a revision of the English ritual in 1835, the "Passing of the Veils" ceremony was removed. Bristol however managed to escape most of the changes so that, today, the Province is the proud possessor of some very old Royal Arch ritual which it will demonstrate and perform for us on Thursday 3rd September at Sheaf Close. Try and be there!