Have you ever thought why Companions not Brothers?
The word Companion originally came from a military background and referred to soldiers who shared bread together as messmates. It derives from the Latin words cum and panis, meaning ‘with bread’.
Your Companions were the men with whom you ate in the barracks and with whom you fought in the field. They were the men whom you defended in battle and who defended you; the men on whom your life might depend, and vice versa. Your relationship is closer than friendship, closer than that of a Brother.
Relationships made in battle are hard to forget. In the Royal Arch, our relationship is closer to the Almighty than that of the Craft, and therefore our relationship to each other is a closer one.
The term Brother is not enough in the Royal Arch, we needed something more, and we have it in the relationship of a Companion. We should be proud of this bond, and this relationship, especially to call each other Companion.
