Get to know us

Almerian Freemasonry. Lodge "Constancia" in Cantoria

In the field of History, there is a wide range of thematic horizons that help us to compose the past of our land, Andalusia.

Thanks to the biographical studies of the cities and the events that took place in them, it allows us to reconstruct their lives and understand the mentality of their people. So it is not surprising that centuries ago, institutions of all kinds were created, such as Freemasonry.

Masonic ideals spread throughout the province of Almeria between 1880 and 1890. At that time, there were about 700 Freemasons grouped into about 17 lodges. These ideals were favoured by the coming to power of the Liberals, under the presidency of Mateo Sagasta in 1881.

Several questions arise when talking about this ideological current, such as: what social groups did its members come from?, what economic strength did they have?, what were their rites?, in short, what did it mean to be a Freemason?

Organization

Freemasonry is an organization, partly secret, whose members profess principles of fraternity, recognize each other by signs and emblems and are divided into groups called "lodges". The origins of Freemasonry are lost in time, Freemasons come from all occupations and professions, but being men of different origins, they can speak and be in harmony because they call each other "brothers".

For a lodge to be erected, seven Masons are enough. Each formally constituted lodge is led by 18 officers. The lodge is structured in grades and at least three are required: Apprentice, Fellow, and Master. Positions are renewed by election every four years. Each lodge has its own "temple" or place to hold meetings or "tenidas", usually located on the ground floors of the buildings. They are rectangular in shape.

The Masonic language is inaccessible to those who do not know the sect, as well as the symbology, the clothing, the ceremonies....etc.

The dress in the lodges is rich and varied according to the rites and degrees. Among the most significant pieces is the apron or apron, which alludes to work, the necklaces with different finishes depending on the position held. The colors gold, blue, red and white prevail.

Other attributes of Freemasons are the compass, the square, the level and the rule. We can say that most of the Freemasons of Almeria belonged to the primary and tertiary sectors. To enter Freemasonry, it depended on the economic position of the interested party, in order to be able to meet the expenses involved in staying in this institution. Merchants, military and university students occupied the highest positions (venerable teacher, secretary, orator......) The internal life of these lodges was subject to regulations.

As for philanthropic work, beneficence stands out, which was translated into works or institutions such as asylums, orphanages or aid to "profane", as evidenced by the floods of the Almanzora River in September 1888. Where torrential rains devastated crops of vegetables, potatoes and corn, leaving the Almanzora valley and its people in ruins.

The lodge "Almanzora" and "Essence, life and love" asked for help from other Spanish lodges and from the public authorities through letters, as recorded in the secret Masonic archive of Salamanca. The geographical distribution of the lodges was not homogeneous, in the capital there were three Masonic cells. The rest of them were distributed among the most densely populated centers, or where communications did not offer serious obstacles.

Main Masonic settlements in Almeria

These lodges of Almeria were divided into two large groups, with different obediences or orients. Each one had its own governing bodies and constitution, these were:

• The Gran Oriente Nacional de España.

• The Great Spanish Orient.

The sources of documentation of Freemasonry are found in the Archive of Documentary Services of Salamanca. In it we find minutes of meetings, stamps, speeches, list of activities, letters, tables of stats of its members where their names, professions, address appear... etc. There were classes of Freemasonry:

• Regular Freemasonry.- It is regulated by rules and principles, which leads them to help their own and profane.

• Irregular Freemasonry.- Inclined towards an anti-religious and anti-Catholic political activity.

• Occult Freemasonry.- Promotes spiritualist and occult sects.

There is a lot of documentation about the lodges of Adra, Almería, Garrucha, Níjar, Serón, Tíjola and Cuevas, but very little of those of Huércal-Overa and Cantoria.

In Cantoria, the lodge "Constancia", which was called with the number 77, erected columns at the end of 1888 (nineteenth century), had 22 brothers with a large majority of owners and liberal professionals. It depended on the Grand National Orient of Spain (G.O.N.E.), a solid and unique Masonic body, which arose by the project of Miguel Morayta, Alfredo Vega and López Parra.

The venerable Master of this lodge was: Vicente Giménez Martínez, 9th degree. The Freemasons were in the Andalusian caciquismo, their economic strength was scarce, since the Andalusian bourgeoisie was very stingy when it came to contributing to help others. On the other hand, there is abundant documentation of requests for help from other brothers and from the public authorities. It was one thing to meet with great ceremony and quite another to pay, even if the amounts demanded were not large.

They demanded of their members, among other things, impeccable moral conduct The Freemasons were part of the political chieftain of the province of Almeria, which, as in all places, led the masses in the electoral processes.

It is obligatory to allude to two issues: the relationship between the Church and Freemasonry and the presence of women.

The Clergy-Freemasonry Conflict

Within the Masonic initiation ritual, each member adopts a symbolic name, whatever it may be, except for the names of Saints.

The rejection of everything that meant clericism was evident since the Masonic society considered it disturbing and adverse to progress.

Another curious fact of this enmity we have in a real case that happened in Almeria: The doctor D. José Litran, died in 1889, he belonged to the Almeria lodge Amor y Ciencia, in view of this fact, the clergy denied him burial in the only cemetery that was then in Almeria and his companions in order not to bury the body in the open field, exposed to the predatory of animals, asked for help from the English Protestant Colony of Almeria, that he had no objection to burying him in his cemetery. Thus giving a lesson in hospitality and Christian charity to the clergy.

This fact is reflected in his time in the magazine Giordano Bruno, in an article entitled In what country and in what century do we live?

The number of official condemnations by the Catholic Church of Freemasonry has risen to 200. Pope Leo XIII classified it as a "sect" in his encyclical "HUMANUM GENUS". Today the negative judgment of the church on Freemasonry has not changed, because its principles have always been considered incompatible with the prohibition of being part of it under pain of being excommunicated.

From the Christian perspective, Freemasonry is a sect and as such they have wrong forms of beliefs in the strict sense of the term "RELIGION".

Curious note. In 1889 D. Santos Zarate y Martínez, bishop of the diocese of Almeria at that time, visited five of the seven archbishoprics of the province and highlighted the religious indifference of its people, as a result of "impious liberalism" and Masonic propaganda that dispensed with evangelical morality. As for the female presence, women were relegated only to the sphere of the home, it was a typically macho association, until in France a lodge was created in 1774 composed only of women.

Anti-Masonic repression in Spain

With the triumph of the right in 1933, led by Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde (the dictator's first name, what a name his parents gave to the "little angel"!) the first step of the anti-Masonic crusade was set in motion.

During the war and the post-war period, 5,000 Freemasons were killed and another 80,000 were prosecuted. Although if they were important people, they renounced those ideals and were militants on their side, things changed. Curiosities. Ramón Franco Bahamonde, (Franco's brother) was an airplane pilot, Freemason, Anti-monarchist and Republican who fought for these political thoughts and was in jail and exile for it. But he changed his jacket and political ideals when his brother offered him a command post in his army

That's the way things are! If you don't want your enemy to eliminate you, join him.

As soon as the Civil War ended, the new government began an intense campaign against Freemasonry that would culminate in the Law of March 1, 1940, on the repression of Freemasonry and Communism and for this a special court was created.

This is the beginning of a long period of harsh persecution that ends with the arrival of Democracy. Today Freemasonry is not a doctrine, but a "method" that allows free thought and free discussion of any problem as long as the opinion of the majority is respected. Everything is debatable except the method itself.

Freemasonry promotes the so-called "free civil morality". She is a promoter of secularism, ecology, nudism, the fight against drugs, divorce, the legalization of abortion and euthanasia, birth control, and the protection of plants and animals in the ecosystem. And on the contrary, he opposes the death penalty, boxing....etc. They are obliged to keep the Masonic secret and despite the incompatibility with Catholics, they dialogue about human-social behavior, defending human rights, tolerance and collaborate in great tasks of humanity such as peace, hunger, literacy... etc.

In Spain there are three main lodges and they are based in Barcelona.

Currently there are lodges in Roquetas de Mar and Mojácar, made up of foreigners (mostly English) residing in our province.

Dan Brown's book and film "The Da Vinci Code", how successful it has been, shows us the Masonic plot that calls into question the true history of Catholicism (accumulation of wealth, sale of indulgences, crusades, inquisition, opus dei....etc.) making the Catholic Church lose prestige in most of the planet.

According to the detractors of Freemasonry, they worship Satan. The truth is that this name is not found in their Scottish rite, which is the most used worldwide, however, one of the sacred words of the 77th degree is "Abaddon", the angel of the bottomless pit, mentioned in Revelation 9:11. Freemasons worship "God", whom they call the Great Architect of the Universe or GADU and the symbol they chose to represent him is "The All-Seeing Eye", and which the Egyptians already used to represent their pagan god Osiris.

Although everything around them is secret, who can assure us that they are not worshippers of the Black Angel? Since there is data that in America, in Memphis (cradle of the ku-klus klan) there is a rite of the 29th degree where people trample and spit on a crucifix or simply on an empty cross. They say that they do not do it out of hatred, nor out of contempt for Jesus Christ, but as a repudiation of a symbol associated with death. According to them, Christ's death on the cross would not have been the sign of the greatest possible love, but a ferocity of God the Father with his Son.

But if you want to delve deeper into the secrecy of this Masonic world, there are several books on the market related to the subject such as: The True History of the Freemasons, by Jorge Blaschke and Santiago Río (Editorial Planeta).

Famous Freemasons

Isaac Newton, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, Rudyard Kipling, Alexander Fleming, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Goethe, Benjamin Franklin, Walter Scott, Winston Churchill, S. Bolivar, Hugo Chávez, 15 presidents of the United States including: Washington, Monroe, Roosevelt and Truman. In Spain we have 3 presidents of the republic: Figueras, Salmerón and Castellar. Other lustrous characters such as... Azaña, Ramón y Cajal, Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, José Espronceda, Leandro Fernández de Moratín, Juan Gris, Antonio Machado... etc.

THE FREEMASONS IN THE ALMANZORA"

MANZORA PORTAL:

1.- RioNews June 2.004

2.-Langdon April 2.005

DEFINITION

Freemasonry is a secret society with an international scope and hierarchical structure based on fraternity among its members, who are grouped into lodges and make use of emblematic rites and signs. It probably arose between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries in the masons' guild. It is also called Freemasonry.
Due to its secret nature, it is difficult to access verified and official information.
Within Freemasonry there are two currents:
• "Regular Freemasonry" which is based on the following beliefs: there is only one God or Supreme Being, it does not admit the inclusion of women, oaths have to be carried out on a Bible or sacred book, and discussions that revolve around religion and politics are prohibited.

• "Liberal or dogmatic" Freemasonry is based on the fact that it recognizes and accepts the role and presence of women in its lodges, there is the principle of absolute freedom of conscience of each of its members, and social participation and debate of all kinds of issues, including politics and religion, is totally allowed.

• Freemasons are divided into three different degrees: "apprentices" which is the elementary degree formed by those who are initiated. "Companions" which is a second degree in depth of learning and "masters" which implies greater participation in all dimensions of Freemasonry.

In recent years, thanks to the world of Literature and Cinema, a great interest in the world of Freemasons has been awakened. Dan Brown's two books "The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons" have contributed a lot to his knowledge and have also been made into a film with enormous success around the world.

Famous Freemasons have been Napoleon Bonaparte, Winston Churchill, Simon Bolivar and Abraham Lincoln.
The Lodge "Cuatro Fleurs-de-Lis" implanted Freemasonry in Spain in 1728, but it was in the reign of Joseph Bonaparte when the foundations were laid for it to begin firmly. With it appears the "National Grand Lodge" considered to be the first Spanish lodge of Obedience. This current that flooded the most ideologically advanced society arrived in Almeria favored by the revolution of 1868 that approved the right of assembly for lawful purposes. It will also be favored later (1881) with the coming to power of the liberals of Sagasta. The "golden age" of Almerian Freemasonry, when it reached its greatest expansion, was at the end of the 1880s. At that time there were more than 700 Freemasons grouped into 17 lodges and the occasional triangle.
Between 1880 and 1890 Masonic ideals spread throughout the province of Almeria. The lodges founded in Serón, Tíjola and Cantoria complete the provincial panorama. In Serón, the "Almanzora Lodge" No. 290 belonging to the Grand Orient of Spain erected columns. Little information is preserved about their activity, but there is evidence of the active aid campaign they carried out on the occasion of the floods of 1888 caused by the overflow of the Almanzora River. At the end of 1894 he shot down columns.
In Tíjola in 1885 the Lodge "Essence, Life and Love" No. 343 began to work, which although it had few members (fourteen) participated in the campaign of aid and solidarity to the victims of the floods of 1888.
The Lodge "Constancia" erected columns in the East of Cantoria at the end of the eighties. It had twenty-two brothers with a wide range of owners and liberal professionals. Also in Gérgal and in 1888 the "Lodge Luz de los Filabres" took its charter, which in its logical framework had twenty-one brothers with a great predominance of owners.
The first years of the 20th century run parallel with the winds of crisis that overwhelmed Spanish Freemasonry and ended up dying with the triumph of the right in 1933 when they promulgated an "anti-Masonic crusade" that died definitively with the cruel repression of Francoism according to the Law of March 1, 1940, in addition to creating a Special Court characterized by its harsh and cruel repression.
The lawyer Nicolás Salmerón Alonso, who became President of the Republic, was a client of the Masonic lodge "Luz de Overa". This influential politician, a follower of Krausist theories and of the Free Institution of Teaching of Giner de los Ríos, who convinced a small group of Huercalenses to create a Masonic lodge. "Luz de Overa" was the only one that was created in the nineteenth century in Huercal, being made up of members all from the town.
According to the Secret Masonic Archive of Salamanca, in the only letter that is preserved from the lodge "Luz de Overa" (file 586a, number 363, addressed to the Viscount of Ros on April 1, 1888) it is said that five of its members chose Teodosio Navarro Izquierdo as its representative to attend the Masonic convention of that month. The signatories of the act are the venerable, Antonio Alcolea alias Plutarco, the orator, Antonio González alias Moisés; the first guard, Juan Resalt Migueli alias Guttemberg; the second guard, Enrique Ortega (Cicero) and the secretary, Diego Blesa.
We have verified through his descendants that in the house of this familyOn Melchor Ballesta Street there was an extensive and interesting library on topics related to Freemasonry, as well as utensils used in ceremonies but which have disappeared over the years and with inheritances.
The profile of the Almeria Freemason corresponded to that of a man -excluded women-, owner, merchant or professional (lawyer, doctor) and of liberal or openly republican ideas. Their philanthropic work was reflected in initiatives such as the asylum tents that played a fundamental role in the supply and improvement of the diet of the working classes during the nineteenth century and, in particular, in periods of famine.
In 1885 Freemasonry made its influence felt in the political and social life of Tíjola. According to writings, facts of this lodge can be known throughout the region such as the floods of 1888. Its influence on the construction of the Baza-Huercal-Overa road and the construction of the railway line is also confirmed.
In Cantoria the lodge "Constancia", which was called with the number 77, erected columns at the end of 1888 of the nineteenth century. It had twenty-two siblings with a large majority of owners and liberal professions. It depended on the Grand National Orient of Spain (G.O.N.E.), a solid and unique Masonic body, which arose by the project of Miguel Morayta, Alfredo Vega and López Parra.
The venerable Master of this lodge was Vicente Giménez Martínez, degree 9. The Freemasons were in the Andalusian caciquismo, their economic strength was scarce, since the Andalusian bourgeoisie was very stingy when it came to contributing to help others. On the other hand, there is abundant documentation of requests for help from other brothers and from the public authorities. It was one thing to meet with great ceremony and quite another to pay, even if the amounts were not large.
They demanded of their members impeccable moral conduct. The Freemasons were part of the political chieftain of the province of Almeria, which, as in all places, led the masses in the electoral processes.
Within the Masonic initiation ritual, each member adopted a symbolic name, whatever it may be, except for the names of Saints.
The rejection of everything that meant clericism was evident since the Masonic society considered it disturbing and adverse to progress.

From the Christian perspective, Freemasonry is a sect and as such has wrong forms of beliefs in the strict sense of the term "Religion".
During the war and the post-war period, 5,000 Freemasons were killed and 80,000 were filed.
The harsh Masonic persecution ended with the arrival of Democracy. Today Freemasonry is not a doctrine, but a "method" that allows free thought and free discussion of any problem as long as the opinion of the majority is respected.
Freemasonry promotes the so-called "free civil morality". It promotes secularism, ecology, nudism, the fight against drugs, divorce, the legalization of abortion and euthanasia, birth control, and the protection of plants and animals in the ecosystem. He opposes the death penalty, boxing... etc. They are obliged to keep the Masonic secret and despite the incompatibility with Catholics, they dialogue about human-social behavior, defending human rights, tolerance and collaborate in great tasks of humanity such as peace, hunger, literacy,...
Today there are three lodges in Spain, all in Barcelona. Roquetas and Mojácar currently have lodges made up mostly of foreigners residing in the province. The English predominate.
Detractors of Freemasons claim that they worship Satan. One of the words of the 77th degree is "Abaddon," the angel of the bottomless pit, mentioned in Revelation 9:11. Freemasons worship "God", whom they call the Great Architect of the Universe or GADU and the symbol they chose to represent him is "The all-seeing eye", and which the Egyptians already used to represent their pagan god Osiris.
Everything around them is secret. Are they worshippers of the Black Angel? There is evidence that in Memphis (the birthplace of the ku-klus klan) there is a 29th degree rite where people trample and spit on a crucifix. They say that they do not do it out of hatred, nor out of contempt for Jesus Christ, but as a repudiation of a symbol associated with death. According to them, Christ's death on the cross would not have been the sign of the greatest possible love, but a ferocity of God the Father with his Son.
In Spain, the three presidents of the Republic have been famous Freemasons: Figueras, Salmerón and Castellar, as well as Azaña, Ramón y Cajal, Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, José Espronceda, Leandro Fernández de Moratín, Juan Gris, Antonio Machado... etc.

ORGANIZATION

Freemasonry is a secret organization whose members process principles of fraternity. They recognize each other by signs and emblems. They are divided into groups called "lodges". Its origins are lost in time. They come from all occupations and professions. Being men of different backgrounds, they can speak and be in harmony because they call each other "brothers".
To form a "lodge" seven Masons are enough. The lodge is structured into grades and at least three are required: Apprentice, Fellow, and Master. Positions are renewed by election every four years. Each lodge has its own "temple" or venue for holding meetings or "tenidas", usually located on the ground floors of the buildings. They are rectangular in shape.
The Masonic language is inaccessible to those who do not know the sect, as well as the symbology, the clothing, the ceremonies... etc.
The dress of the lodges is rich and varied according to the rites and degrees. Among the most significant pieces is the apron or apron, which alludes to work, the necklaces with different finishes depending on the position held. The colors gold, blue, red and white prevail.
Other attributes of Freemasons are the compass, the square, the level and the rule. We can say that most of the Freemasons of Almeria belonged to the primary and tertiary sectors. To enter Freemasonry, it depended on the economic position of the interested party, in order to be able to meet the expenses involved in staying in this institution. Merchants, military and university students occupied the highest positions (venerable, secretary, orator...) The internal life of these lodges was subject to regulations.
As for philanthropic work, charity stood out, which was translated into works or institutions such as asylums, orphanages or aid to "profane", as recorded in the floods of the Almanzora River in September 1888. The rains devastated crops of vegetables, potatoes and corn, leaving the Almanzora Valley and its people in ruins.

EXPOSITION

In October 2009, the Provincial Council of Almeria exhibited a large photographic exhibition on Freemasonry at the XII International Symposium of Spanish Freemasonry, where the Institute of Almerian Studies contributed to this cultural event by making an exhibition of Masonic photography with images requisitioned during the dictatorship of General Franco, which is preserved in the Documentary Center of the Historical Memory of Salamanca.
The perception that continues to be held in Spain of Freemasonry is, to a large extent, somewhat obscure and even gloomy, compared to the conception of the cultured, philanthropic and respectable society that they have in many European and American countries.