Theos-Talk Archives (November 2006 Message tt00278)

Tillet wrote: Few of the (numerous) mystical or quasi-Masonic orders 
headed and/or controlled by Yarker seem to have actually operated in 
the traditional Masonic manner - i.e. with meetings, ritual 
initiations and such."

This "few" "quasi-Masonic orders" which was headed by Yarker and 
was "operated in the traditional Masonic manner" was:

Cerneau Rite (33 degree) in the UK
Ancient and Primitive Rite (Rite of Memphis)
Swedenborg Rite
Ordre Martiniste for England
Rite of Mizraim
The United Memphis-Mizraim Rite
Sat Bhai
Red Branch of Eri
Rite of Ishmael
Knight Templar Priests
("Le Droite Humain" in the British Empire)

All of the above Masonic Orders/Rites was totally or partly 
controlled byYarker, al of them was very much active and operating. 
All, except Sat Bhai, is still active today. Several of them were 
and are international organizations.
Some links with further information on Yarker:
http://www.geocities.com/athens/acropolis/1896/apr.html
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/1896/crowmascon.html
http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/esoterica/yarker_j/yarker_j.html
http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/kneph/kneph.html
http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/kneph/aprm.html
http://www.sovereignsanctuary.org.uk/sshistory14.htm
http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/book/lookupname?
key=Yarker%2C%20John
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Yarker

"In the year 1872, several Illustrious Brethren who had priviously 
received the 33-95°, obtained a Charter for the establishment of a 
Sovereign Sanctuary in and for Great Britain and Ireland, with 
Illustrious Brother John Yarker as Grand Master General, 33-96°, and 
in the same year received many Brethren, members of the Royal Grand 
Council of Antient Rites, time immemorial, which had adopted the 
Rite of Perfection last century, and had met under H.R.H. Duke of 
Sussex, Grand Master; and in 1874 the Jerusalem Chapter of 
Antiquety, H.R.M.?K.D.S.H., formally amalgamated with the Palatine 
Chapter, No. 2, and Senate No. 2, of the Antient and Primitive Rite 
of Masonry, thus giving the Rite the prestige of a time immemorial 
association in the United Kingdom."

>From The Kneph. Official Journal of the Antient and Primitive Rite 
of Masonry. John Yarker, ed. Vol. VIII, No. 1, September, 1888

For more information on A.P.R.M. see:
J. M. Hamill, "John Yarker: Masonic Charletan?" published in Ars 
Quatuor Coronatorum,Volume 109 for the year 1996, Transactions of 
Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076

/Carl

John Yarker, April 17, 1833 - March 20, 1913  

The following short biography is published by the Association 
Memphis-Mizraim in London:
"The Very Illustrious Brother John Yarker was born on the 17th of 
April 1833, at the little village of Swindale, in the parish of 
Shap, Westoreland. When he was seven years old his parents moved to 
Lancashire, and afterwards when he was 16 years of age, they settled 
in Manchester. He belonged to the good old family, the Yarkers of 
Leyburn Hall, and was thirteenth in descent from Reinhold Yarker de 
Laybourne who was living in 1460. The Leyburn family was first 
mentioned by the name of Yarker, however, in the reign of Henry IV., 
1399.
The Yarkers had been an Arms bearing family for five centuries. The 
ARMS are, "Gules, on a chevron sable. "Between three unicorns, 
passant, or, as many human hearts of the field." The various 
descents are shewn in a shield of eight quartering. The Crest is.-
 "A stork rising argent, collared, beaked, and legged gules, 
reposing the dexter claw on a like human heart as in the arms, and 
holding in the beak an oak branch fructed proper. The motto is, La 
fin couronne les oeuvres". (The end crowns the work).
It was in Manchester that Brother John Yarker entered on his Masonic 
career and took up those studies, which were to make him famous 
throughout the world in his after life.
He was initiated at the age of 21 in the Lodge of Integrity, No. 
189, Manchester, on the 25th day of October, 1854, and after an 
interval of three months was Passed and Raised to a Master Mason. 
The year after, saw him occupying the Senior Warden's Chair of the 
Lodge of Fidelity, No. 633, and in 1857 he was elected Master of 
this Lodge. He still retained his membership of his Mother Lodge and 
served as Secretary in 1856, other offices were offered, but he 
resigned in 1862. He entered Mark Masonry at Mottram in 1855, and 
took also the Ark and Link degrees, and became the first Worshipful 
Master of the Fidelity Lodge of Mark Masters, No.31. In 1856 he was 
exalted to the degree of a Royal Arch Mason in the Industry Chapter, 
No. 466, and became P.Z. of the Chapter of Fidelity in 1858 and 
occupied the same office in the Industry Chapter for two years, 
1861, 1862. When he was 23 years of age he was Installed a Knight 
Templar in the Jerusalem Conclave on the 11th of July, 1856.
In the midst of his busy Masonic Life he found time to marry, on 
January 4th, 1857, Miss Eliza Jane Lund, a native of York. In 1876 
he removed, with his wife and family, to Withington and continued to 
reside in the same house until his death. This area was later called 
West Didsbury and all Yarker's documents are signed West Didsbury. 
He had six children.
In 1861 he was elected the Commander of the Love and Friendship 
Preceptory, Stockport, and in 1863, succeeding Br. William Romaine 
Callender, he became the Commander of the Jerusalem Conclave. 
Further honours fell to his share, and he was elected Grand Vice 
Chancellor of the Province under Brother William Courtenay 
Cruttenden, P. G. C., and in 1864 was appointed Grand Constable of 
England. In the same year he was called abroad on commercial 
business and travelled extensively in America, in the West Indies 
and Cuba.
Before he left England he revived the old York degrees of Heredom-
Kadosh, formerly worked under the Duke of Sussex, being helped in 
this important work by old members who had been admitted in 1823 and 
1833. In 1869 he was admitted into L'Ordre du Temple, the 
continuation of the Knights Templars in Paris.
It was a time of much activity, a Masonic renaissance, in which the 
Very Illustrious Brother John Yarker played an important role, and 
many other old Rites were rescued from the oblivion into which they 
had fallen - such were the Rite of Mizraim, the degree of Ark 
Mariners, the Red Cross of Constantine, Babylon, Palestine, 
Philippi, etc., and most notable of all, the Ancient and Primitive 
Rite, which was established by him, in Manchester, in 1871.
Very properly, therefore, we find that in 1870 the Royal Grand 
Council of Ancient Rites appointed him Royal Grand Superintendent of 
Lancashire, of these and other old Orders. For his Masonic 
scholarship and literary work, he was elected a member of the 
Masonic Archaeological Institute at its establishment in 1862. The 
same year he was created a Sovereign Prince Rose Croix of the 
Palatine Chapter of the A. and A. Rite, by Bro. Cruttenden, Most 
Wise, but as their claims conflicted with the old Templar grades, he 
ceased attending. It would be impossible to enumerate all the 
offices he held and all the honors that were bestowed upon him; 
here, however, is a short list of the more important.
1. Royal Grand Commander of the R+C and Kadosh, 1868 to 1874.
2. Scottish Rite of 33 degree, (and received certificate dating from 
1811), January 27th, 1871.
3. Admitted 33 degree of Cerneau Rite and Honorary member in New 
York.
4. Installed Grand Master 96 degree in Ancient and Primitive Rite at 
Freemasons Hall, London, October 8th, 1872.
5. Absolute Sovereign Grand Master, Rite of Mizraim, 90 degree, from 
1871 until his death 1913.
6. Received over 12 Patents of 33 degree, of the Supreme Council in 
various parts of the world.
7. Past Senior Grand Warden of Greece by Patent, July 1st, 1874.
8. Received the "Crown of Kether", admitting to the 5th degree of 
the Grand Lamaistique Order of Light. Ninth degree of H.B.L., third 
degree, third series and of the secret grades of T... M...., higher 
levels of Kalachackra.
9. In 1882-3, he acted as General Guiseppe Garibaldi's Grand 
Chancellor of the Confederated Rites, which he arranged throughout 
the world.
10. Honorary Grand Master of the Sovereign Grand Council of Iberico, 
October 5th 1889.
11. Appointed Supreme Grand Master in 1876, of the Swedenborg Rite.
12. Elected Imperial Grand Hierophant, 97 degree, in the Ancient and 
Primitive Rite November 11th, 1902.
13. Grand Representative of the Grand Lodge of Germany, 1902-6.
14. Honorary Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Cuba (by Patent), 
January 5th, 1907.
15. Honorory Grand Master ad vitam of the United Supreme Grand 
Council of Italy at Firenze, and of the Society Alchemica, 1910-12.
16. Appointed President of the Sat Bhai of Prag, 1871 to 1912.
17. Head of the Rite of Ishmael in England in succession to Dr. 
Mackenzie and Major F.G. Irwin.
18. Chief of the Red Branch of Eri in succession to Irwin.
19. High Priest of the 7th degree of Knight Templar Priests, 
Manchester revived from 1868 to 1875.
20. Head of the Ordre Martiniste for England. (Charter from Papus).
In addition he received many civil decorations from foreign 
countries as a testimony of appreciation for his notable work.
Constantinian Order of St. George, granted 1874 by H. H. Demetrius 
Rhodocanakis, Hereditary Grand Master and Prince of Rhodes, 
descendant of the Emperors Constantine and the Paelologi, actual 
heir of the Byzantine Empire.
Star of Merit from the Rajah of Calcutta.
Honorory Fellow of The Society of Science, Letters and Arts, 1882. 
Gold medal granted 1887.
Doctor of the Hermetic Sciences, Conferred by Papus, October 10th, 
1899.
Order of Glory, founded in one Class by Sultan Mahmoud II, in 1831. 
Granted by Sultan Abdul Hamid, June 13th, 1905.
Honorory Fellow of the Theosophical Society 1879, presented with a 
complimentary Jewel of the Society.
He was a prolific writer on many subjects, other than Masonic. In 
1869 he compiled Notes on the Temple and Hospital, and the Jerusalem 
Encampment Manchester. Notes on the Scientific and Religious 
Mysteries of Antiquity; the Gnosis and the Secret Schools of the 
Middle Ages, Modern Rosicrucianism; and the various Rites and 
degrees of Free and Accepted Masonry.
A paper on the Egyptian Ritual of the Dead, one on Old Rosicrucian 
Doctrines and another on Astrology.
He contributed articles to the Free Mason's Magazine, Freemason, 
Free Mason's Chronicle, Kneph (which he edited from 1885), the 
Transactions of Quatuor Coronati Research Lodge. He remained a 
member of this Research Lodge until his death.
In 1909 an epoch making book "Arcane Schools", was produced. It took 
ten years of research and it is the flower of his devotion to the 
Craft, and the crown of all his labours, so, in accord with his 
family Motto, "The end crowns the work". In it he traces the sources 
of the teachings of the philosophy and rites of the Craft, right 
back into the night of timebefore the Aryan civilizations. The 
mystery tradition was divided into three streams, military, 
sacerdotal, and artisan- this last was the sole survivor in the 
West, and in the Operative Guilds a genuine Mystery Tradition was 
preserved and handed down to modern times.
In 1910 "The Ancient Constitutional Charges of the Guild 
Freemasons", was edited by this distinguished scholar; it was a very 
valuable reprint. The introduction gives an excellent summary and 
classification of the old MSS. and Constitutions. The Proam contains 
much interesting matter and a careful comparison of the Guild Ritual 
and the York Rite; this parallel is not merely the concern of 
scholars and antiquarians, but is of vital importance to all who 
seek to understand the origin and evolution of Masonic ritual.
The result of profound study and much thought convinced this 
Illustrious Brother that the Ancient York Rite forms the basis of 
modern Freemasonry, and that the Operative origin of the ritual is 
beyond dispute.
On Thursday, March 20th, 1913, in the 80th year of his age, he 
returned to his home in the Eternal Orient. His wife and three 
daughters survived him."


--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, gregory@... wrote:
>
> The excitement generated by the "revelation" that HPB was the 
recipient of
> charters or diplomas or memberships from John Yarker seems to 
arise out of
> ignorance of Yarker's activities. Few of the (numerous) mystical or
> quasi-Masonic orders headed and/or controlled by Yarker seem to 
have
> actually operated in the traditional Masonic manner - i.e. with 
meetings,
> ritual initiations and such. Yarker seems to have commonly 
despatched
> documents conferring membership, status and other rights by mail - 
in the
> Masonic sense he was conferring degrees "on sight", a right usually
> accepted as that of Grand Masters and other such luminaries. I 
have seen
> nothing to suggest that HPB did more than receive documents for, 
e.g., Sat
> B'hai. I have seen numbers of equivalent documents issued by 
Yarker to
> people who had never physically met him, let alone undergone any 
form of
> ritual with him. Indeed, some of the impressive documents were
> unsolicited.
> 
> In the strange world of "fringe Masonry", conferring numerous 
degrees by
> equally numerous rituals in lodges with real members present would 
seem to
> be relatively uncommon.
> 
> It is almost certain that when Yarker conferred the vast array of 
degrees
> of the Rites of Memphis and Misraim, etc., on James Wedgwood he 
did not
> put Wedgwood through a couple of hundred rituals!
> 
> Dr Gregory Tillett
>