The Yorkia loggia , Rite Yorkino, or rite of York, is a branch of the Masonry, that has its more remote origins towards its foundation in century XVI in the city of York, England.
Masonry has a mythical origin that leads from Adam to King Solomon. It is said that the so-called"architects"were the founders of the movement, and the architects of the construction of monumental works such as the Egyptian pyramids, the Roman Collegia Fabrorum, the Templar Order, the Rosicrucians or Humanists of the Renaissance.
Old engraving representing a Masonic meeting.
It is the oldest known masonic document that deals with the administrative aspects and customs of the movement.
It is said to have been rewritten from memory and written in 1248, but originally had been brought to the corporations of England in the year 926, by Prince Edwin of Northumberland.
There are divergences between the way of interpreting the statutes of lodges. This has brought as a consequence divisions or branches, each carrying the truth, and which are unknown to each other. They are mainly divided between liberals and conservatives.
In Mexico the masonry had its origins towards 1820 brought by Spanish masons. The rivalry between the two factions had a marked influence on governments and revolutions, since the Yorkina lodge, influenced by the United States and liberal, sought to achieve a federal Mexican state with regional independence to favor trade.
On the other hand, the Scottish rite, of a conservative nature, wanted the centralization of power and even favor the return of the Spanish monarchy or, in its absence, a local monarchy.
Brief History of Yorkine Lodge
The Yorkina Lodge is one of the oldest. Its expansion comes from emigrant Masons who arrived in the American colonies in pre-independence times.
At first they were grouped together in what was called the Westminster Union, a political party that was captivating important figures of the moment, such as the case of Benjamin Franklin .
After gaining the independence of the United States, the members of the Yorkine Lodge had as objective to put into practice a democracy of republican court, reason that it was worth to them to extend the rite by the whole country.
Freemasonry
With the end of the crusades, in 1314 occurred in Scotland the entrance of knights templarios to the masonic orders.
This came to be consolidated by 1737 when William Sinclair of Rosslyn, descendant of the Knights Templar, was chosen as the first Grand Master of the new lodge of Scotland, of an entirely speculative character.
Throughout the years have been structured the rites, maintaining the orientation towards the esoteric and philosophy.
By 1726 English Masonry was established in France. In 1877 it was decided to withdraw from its statutes the principle of belief in a supreme being, admitting atheists.
This creates two aspects of Freemasonry: those who have as a requirement the belief in the great architect and those who give free conscience to its members and focus on social issues.
In 1823 in England the great united lodge constitutes a compilation of rites called emulation, which is also known as York rite, which has unified the rites that were transmitted orally.
Orders
- Knights Templar: It is the last order that has joined the yorkino rite. Unlike other orders in which the only requirement is belief in a superior being, for the Knights Templar requires the defense of the Christian faith.
- Knights of the Red Cross
- Order of the Knights of Malta
- Order of the Temple
- Crossed Knights of the Cross
Degrees
The masonic rite of the United States is grouped in separated rites: the rite capitular or of the real arc, the secret rite or secret Masonry and the orders chivalric or knights Templar.
The degrees of masonry vary according to the lodge. In general they are three degrees, but varying from the lodge, each one can in turn subdivide into others more, reaching up to 33 degrees depending on the rite.
Its symbology is closely related to King Solomon's Hiramica legend, which recounts how this king required the services of a master builder with many skills in the use of various materials for the construction of the work.
The degrees are:
- Apprentice
- Companion
- Teacher
The Great Architect
It is an indispensable concept within Freemasonry to believe in a higher creator of the universe.
This figure is not limiting and each person can adapt it as best it seems to their religion or personal belief. However it is necessary to have some kind of belief to be accepted.
Influence of the Yorkina Lodge on Mexican politics
The two great strands of the masonry made presence in Mexico for the year 1820, brought by masons of Spanish origin.
The yorkina lodge, widespread in the United States and of a liberal character, was interested in a grasp of economic freedoms, for which it professed the autonomy of the regions.
This is how it supported the independence of Mexico and the disintegration of power to achieve free trade.
After the fall of the emperor Iturbide , The government of Guadalupe Victoria was afraid of the influence of the Scottish lodge that even pretended to return the power to the Spanish monarchy, for which it promoted the yorkia lodge in order to counteract the monarchite influence.
Already by 1826 had been the expansion of yorkie lodges in Mexico. These promoted a series of values such as federalism, independence, freedom, American system and were attributed as carriers of the truth and the feelings of the Mexican people.
This influence generated several electoral victories, however the candidate for the presidency, Vicente Guerrero, did not win, winning Gómez Pedraza.
Antonio López de Santa Anna led a military coup by overthrowing Pedraza and placing Guerrero in the presidency.
This government was of short duration and was deposed few years later. The new government was concerned to disarticulate the Yorkinos to reduce their influence. Even though it was not successful, the contribution of the lodges in Mexican politics was remarkable.
References
- Scots and. Yorkinos. Recovered from history mexicana.blogspot.com.
- York rite masonry. Recovered from yorkriteusa.org.
- Allied masonic degrees. Retrieved from alliedmasonicdegrees.org.
- Rite of York in Mexico. Retrieved from ritoyork.org.mx.
- Vázquez, M. (2009). Masonic obediences of the York rite as centers of political action, Mexico, 1825-1830. Limina. Social and Humanistic Studies.