WHAT IS THE YORKINE LODGE? - HISTORY - 2025

The Yorkine lodge, York Rite, or York Rite, is a branch of Freemasonry, which has its most remote origins towards its foundation in the 16th century in the city of York, England. Freemasonry has a mythical origin that takes it 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 pyramids of Egypt, the Roman Collegia Fabrorum, the order of the Templars, the Rosicrucians or the humanists of the era of the Renaissance.

Old engraving representing a Masonic meeting.

It is the oldest known Masonic document dealing with the administrative aspects and customs of the movement. It is said to have been rewritten from memory and redacted in 1248, but had originally been brought to the corporations of England in 926, by Prince Edwin of Northumberland.

There are divergences between the way of interpreting the statutes of the lodges. This has resulted in divisions or branches, each one bearing the truth, and which are unknown to each other. They are mainly divided between liberals and conservatives.

In Mexico Freemasonry had its origins around 1820 brought by Spanish Freemasons. The rivalry between the two factions notably influenced governments and revolutions, since the Yorkina lodge, influenced by the United States and liberal in character, 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, failing that, a local monarchy.

Brief History of the Yorkin Lodge

The Yorkin Lodge is one of the oldest. Its expansion comes from some Masonic emigrants who arrived in the American colonies in pre-independence times.

At first they were grouped into 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 having achieved independence from the United States, the members of the Yorkine lodge had the objective of putting into practice a republican-style democracy, which was why they were able to spread the rite throughout the country.

Freemasonry

With the completion of the crusades, the entry of Knights Templar to the Masonic orders occurred in 1314 in Scotland.

This came to be consolidated by 1737 when William Sinclair of Rosslyn, a descendant of the Knights Templar, was chosen as the first Grand Master of the New Lodge of Scotland, entirely speculative in nature.

Throughout the years the rites have been structured, maintaining the orientation towards the esoteric and philosophy.

By 1726 English Freemasonry 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 strands of Freemasonry: those that require belief in the great architect and those that give free conscience to its members and focus on social issues.

In 1823 in England the united grand lodge constituted a compilation of rites called emulation, which is also known as the York rite, which has unified the rites that were transmitted orally.

Orders

• Knights Templar: It is the last order that has joined the York rite. Unlike other orders in which the only requirement is the belief in a superior being, for the Knights Templar the defense of the Christian faith is required.
• Illustrious Knights of the Red Cross
• Order of the Knights of Malta
• Order of the Temple
• Knights Crusaders of the Cross

Degrees

The Masonic rite of the United States is grouped into separate rites: the capitular or royal arch rite, the secret rite or secret masonry, and the knightly orders or Knights Templar.

The degrees of Freemasonry vary according to the lodge. In general there are three degrees, but varying from the lodge, each one can in turn be subdivided into others, reaching up to 33 degrees depending on the rite.

Its symbolism is closely related to the Hiramic legend of King Solomon, which tells 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
• Partner
• Teacher

The Great Architect

The belief in a superior being creator of the universe is an indispensable concept within Freemasonry.

This figure is not limiting and each person can adapt it as they see fit to their religion or personal belief. However, it is necessary to have some kind of belief in order to be accepted.

Influence of the Yorkin Lodge in Mexican politics

The two great aspects of Freemasonry were present in Mexico in the year 1820, brought by freemasons of Spanish origin.

The Yorkine lodge, very widespread in the United States and liberal in character, was interested in a tightening of economic freedoms, for which it professed the autonomy of the regions.

This is how he supported the independence of Mexico and the disintegration of power to achieve freedom of trade.

After the fall of Emperor Iturbide, the government of Guadalupe Victoria was fearful of the influence of the Scottish lodge that even tried to return to power to the Spanish monarchy, for which it promoted the Yorkine lodge in order to counteract the influence of the monarchy.

By 1826 the expansion of York lodges in Mexico had been achieved. These promoted a series of values ​​such as federalism, independence, freedom, the American system and were attributed as carriers of the truth and feelings of the Mexican people.

This influence generated several electoral triumphs, however the presidential candidate, Vicente Guerrero, was not the winner, winning Gómez Pedraza.

Antonio López de Santa Anna led a military coup overthrowing Pedraza and placing Guerrero in the presidency.

This government was short-lived and was deposed a few years later. The new government took care to dismantle the Yorkinos to reduce their influence. Even when it was not successful, the contribution of the lodges in Mexican politics was notable.

References

1. Scots vs. Yorkinos. Recovered from historiamejicana.blogspot.com.
2. York rite masonry. Recovered from yorkriteusa.org.
3. Allied masonic degrees. Recovered from alliedmasonicdegrees.org.
4. York Rite in Mexico. Recovered from ritoyork.org.mx.
5. Vázquez, M. (2009). The Masonic obediences of the York Rite as centers of political action, Mexico, 1825-1830. LiminaR. Social and Humanistic Studies.