The Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre were a
Catholic religious order
In the Catholic Church, a religious order is a community of consecrated life with members that profess solemn vows. They are classed as a type of religious institute.
Subcategories of religious orders are:
* canons regular (canons and canon ...
of
canons regular
Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...
of the
Rule of Saint Augustine, said to have been founded in the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...
in
Jerusalem, then the capital of the
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establish ...
, and recognised in 1113 by a
Papal bull of
Pope Paschal II. Other accounts have it that they were founded earlier, during the rule of
Godfrey of Bouillon (1099–1100).
After the
fall of Jerusalem to
Saladin, the Canons fled the
Holy Land along with other
Latin Christians
, native_name_lang = la
, image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran
, caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...
. They first settled briefly on
Cyprus, where they established
Bellapais Abbey
Bellapais Abbey (also spelled Bellapaïs) is the ruin of a monastery built by Canons Regular in the 13th century on the northern side of the small village of Bellapais, now in Turkish- controlled Northern Cyprus, about five kilometres from the t ...
, before proceeding to settle in various countries of
Europe.
The Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre was suppressed in 1489 by
Pope Innocent VIII (1484–1492). On March 28, 1489, the pope, at the instigation of the
Order of Malta, issued a bull by which the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre was to be dissolved and transferred to the Order of Malta. However, the independence of the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre was maintained at the request of
Emperor Maximilian and
Duke Eberhard of Württemberg and confirmed in 1499 with a bull of
Pope Alexander VI (1492–1503).
Because of this, the male branch of the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre existed in Europe until the 19th century, with many branches in Spain, Germany, and Poland. Tomasz de Nowina Novinski, last General of the Order and
Auxiliary Bishop of
Kraków (1816–1830) died on 4 January 1830 in
Miechów (Poland).
The
Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre
The Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre (CRSS), or ''Sepulchrine Canonesses'', are a Catholic female religious order first documented in 1300. They were originally the female branch of the ancient religious order of that name, the Canons Reg ...
, founded in the 14th century as a female branch of the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre,
still exist in
convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...
s in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Spain, and England.
History
Foundation
It is the opinion of
Helyot and others that no canons of the Holy Sepulchre existed before 1114,
when some
canons regular
Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...
who had adopted the
Rule of St. Augustine were brought from the West and introduced into Jerusalem by
Godfrey of Bouillon. On the other hand, Suarez and others recognise the tradition of the order, which maintains that
StJames, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, established clerics living in common there, where also after the
Crusades flourished the "Congregation of the Holy Sepulchre".
[
]
Kingdom of Jerusalem
Between 1119 and 1125, Prior Gerard of the Holy Sepulchre, along with Warmund, Patriarch of Jerusalem
Warmund, also Garmond, Gormond, Germond, Guarmond or Waremond (bef. 1069–1128), was the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1118 until his death at Sidon in 1128.
Warmund of Picquigny was a son of another Warmund (Guermond) of Picquigny and his w ...
, wrote a letter to Diego Gelmírez
Diego Gelmírez or Xelmírez ( la, Didacus Gelmirici; c. 1069 – c. 1140) was the second bishop (from 1100) and first archbishop (from 1120) of the Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, modern Spain. He is a prominent figu ...
, Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, reporting crop failures and threats from their enemies. They requested food, money, and military aid in order to maintain the Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establish ...
. William of Malines William of Malines (or William of Messines) (died 1145/6) was a Flemish priest who was the Prior of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre from 1127 to 1130 and was then Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1130 until his death. He is sometimes called Willia ...
, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem 11301145, may have preceded Gerard as prior of the order.
By a papal bull dated 10 January 1143 and found in the '' Bullarium Lateranense'', Pope Celestine II
Pope Celestine II ( la, Caelestinus II; died 8 March 1144), born Guido di Castello,Thomas, pg. 91 was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 26 September 1143 to his death in 1144.
Early life
Guido di Castello, possibly ...
confirmed the church and the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre in all the possessions they had received from Godfrey of Bouillon, King BaldwinI, and other benefactors. Mention is also made in the bull of several churches in the Holy Land and in Italy belonging to the canons. Cardinal de Vitry, a canon regular of Oignies and cardinal patriarch of Jerusalem, relates that among other churches the canons served the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...
as well as those on Mounts Zion and Olivet. The patriarch was also abbot of the Holy Sepulchre, elected by the canons regular.[
The organisation relied on donations, such as when ]Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem
Melisende (1105 – 11 September 1161) was Queen of Jerusalem from 1131 to 1153, and regent for her son between 1153 and 1161, while he was on campaign. She was the eldest daughter of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, and the Armenian princess ...
in 1160 gave her assent to a grant made by her son Amalric to the Holy Sepulchre, perhaps on the occasion of the birth of her granddaughter Sibylla to Agnes and Amalric. In the mid-12th century, the village of Bayt 'Itab
Bayt ʿIṭāb ( ar, بيت عطاب) was a Palestinian Arab village located in the Jerusalem Subdistrict. The village is believed to have been inhabited since biblical times. An ancient tunnel which led to the village spring is associated with s ...
was a fief of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...
. It was sold to them by the wife of Johannes Gothman, a Frankish
Frankish may refer to:
* Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture
** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages
* Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany
* East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...
crusader knight who was captured by Muslim forces in 1161 and subsequently ransomed. A fortified mansion () in the modern village is thought to have served as Gothman's residence prior to its sale to the Church.[ The building had two stories, both ]vaulted
In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...
. The ground floor entrance was protected by a slit-machicolation
A machicolation (french: mâchicoulis) is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones or other material, such as boiling water, hot sand, quicklime or boiling cooking oil, could be dropped on attackers at ...
and had stairs leading to the basement and upper floor. The only priory the order held outside of Jerusalem, however, was that on the Mount of the Temptation, bestowed to it by the patriarch William of Malines William of Malines (or William of Messines) (died 1145/6) was a Flemish priest who was the Prior of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre from 1127 to 1130 and was then Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1130 until his death. He is sometimes called Willia ...
in 1130, probably initially in order to rein in autonomous hermits in the area. When it received the tithe
A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...
s from nearby Jericho two years later, however, it became the source of 5,000 bezant
In the Middle Ages, the term bezant ( Old French ''besant'', from Latin ''bizantius aureus'') was used in Western Europe to describe several gold coins of the east, all derived ultimately from the Roman ''solidus''. The word itself comes from t ...
s a year in income. The priory and pilgrim visitors to the Mount and nearby River Jordan were protected by the Templar
, colors = White mantle with a red cross
, colors_label = Attire
, march =
, mascot = Two knights riding a single horse
, equipment ...
fortress of Dok at the mountain's summit.
After the Third Crusade, Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre Joscius (also Josce or Josias) (died 1202) was Archbishop of Tyre in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the late 12th century.
Background
He was a canon and subdeacon of the church of Acre, and became Bishop of Acre on November 23, 1172. He wa ...
, became chancellor of Jerusalem
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
for Henry II of Champagne, who had married Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem after Conrad's murder, but had not taken the title of King. Henry was involved in a dispute with the Canons of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre over the election of a new Latin Patriarch, and had them arrested until Joscius intervened. Joscius was also present at the foundation of the Teutonic Knights in 1198, and probably died in 1202.
Europe
In Europe, the Canons established themselves and had monasteries in Italy, France, Spain, Poland, England, Croatia and the Low Countries.
Cyprus
After the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin, the canons fled the Holy Land along with other Latin Christians
, native_name_lang = la
, image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran
, caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...
. They first settled briefly on Cyprus, where they established Bellapais Abbey
Bellapais Abbey (also spelled Bellapaïs) is the ruin of a monastery built by Canons Regular in the 13th century on the northern side of the small village of Bellapais, now in Turkish- controlled Northern Cyprus, about five kilometres from the t ...
, before proceeding to Western Europe
Spain
In Spain, the village of Torralba de Ribota belonged to the mother church at Calatayud
Calatayud (; 2014 pop. 20,658) is a municipality in the Province of Zaragoza, within Aragón, Spain, lying on the river Jalón, in the midst of the Sistema Ibérico mountain range. It is the second-largest town in the province after the capital ...
of the Canons of the Holy Sepulchre, under the protection of Pedro Manrique de Lara, ''Dei gratia comes'', "by the grace of God count".[Barton, 282 and 283 n34.] Also, possibly, the convent of Santa Anna in Barcelona, today a church, was originally a house of the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, or the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, under the guidance of the Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Poland
In Poland, they were notably active in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Miechów
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre ( pl, Bazylika Grobu Bożego) in Miechów, Poland, is a 14th-century Gothic basilica, with a nave and two aisles, incorporating some 13th-century Romanesque stonework. It received many privileges from Casimir of ...
, which received many privileges from Casimir of Bytom
Casimir of Bytom ( pl, Kazimierz; 1253/57 – 10 March 1312) was a Duke of Opole during 1282–1284 (with his brother as co-ruler) and Duke of Bytom from 1284 until his death.
He was the second son of Władysław, Duke of Opole–Racibórz, b ...
, and Casimir II the Just
Casimir II the Just ( pl, Kazimierz II Sprawiedliwy; 28 October 1138 – 5 May 1194) was a Lesser Polish Duke of Wiślica from 1166–1173, and of Sandomierz after 1173. He became ruler over the Polish Seniorate Province at Kraków and thereby Hi ...
after many Canons came to settle there after their expulsion from the Holy Land. After the ultimate fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establish ...
to the Muslims in 1291, the Superior of the convent at Miechów took the title of General of the order, later claiming the style of Grand Prior, and Miechów became the headquarters of the organisation for centuries. Here, the order initiated the custom of setting up, decorating, and visiting ''Christ's grave''s on the last days of the Passion Week
Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, ...
. It was in Miechów that the oldest replica of the Holy Sepulchre in Europe, the goal of numerous pilgrims, has been preserved. In Poland, they also receives privileges from Przemysł II.
England
In England, they were also active. According to William Dugdale
Sir William Dugdale (12 September 1605 – 10 February 1686) was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject.
Life
Dugdale was born at Shustoke, near Coles ...
's '' Monasticon Anglicanum'', (1655) the Canons had two houses in England, one at Holy Sepulchre Priory, Thetford and the other at Warwick.[ Further indications propose Caldwell Priory and the Nottingham Holy Sepulchre Priory.
]
Croatia
King Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II ( hu, II. András, hr, Andrija II., sk, Ondrej II., uk, Андрій II; 117721 September 1235), also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1205 and 1235. He ruled the Principality of Halych from 1188 ...
used the funds that he inherited from his father to recruit supporters among the Hungarian lords. He also formed an alliance with Leopold VI, Duke of Austria
Leopold VI (15 October 1176 – 28 July 1230), known as Leopold the Glorious, was Duke of Styria from 1194 and Duke of Austria from 1198 to his death in 1230. He was a member of the House of Babenberg.
Biography
Leopold VI was the younger son o ...
, and they plotted against Emeric. Their united troops routed the royal army at Mački, Slavonia, in December 1197. Under duress, King Emeric gave Croatia and Dalmatia to Andrew as an appanage. In practice, Andrew administered Croatia and Dalmatia as an independent monarch. He minted coins, granted land and confirmed privileges. He cooperated with the Frankopans
The House of Frankopan ( hr, Frankopani, Frankapani, it, Frangipani, hu, Frangepán, la, Frangepanus, Francopanus), was a Croatian noble family, whose members were among the great landowner magnates and high officers of the Kingdom of Croat ...
, Babonići, and other local lords. The Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre settled in the province during his rule.
Decline
In Italy, they seem to have been suppressed in 1489 by Pope Innocent VIII, he wanted to transfer all their property to the Knights of Malta
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...
. The independence of the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre was maintained at the request of Emperor Maximilian I and the Duke of Eberhard of Württemberg, and in 1499 with a bull of the Pope Alexander VIbr>
confirmed. In other countries than Italy, however, they appear to have continued. In France, they are assumed to have existed until about the time of the French Revolution in 1789, and in Poland after the monastery of Neisse was dissolved in the year 1810, the main monastery in Miechów was also dissolved in the year 1819. As regards men, the male congregation of Canons Regular is now regarded as extinct.
Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre
Notwithstanding, the Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre
The Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre (CRSS), or ''Sepulchrine Canonesses'', are a Catholic female religious order first documented in 1300. They were originally the female branch of the ancient religious order of that name, the Canons Reg ...
, founded in the 14th century as a female branch of the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, still exists in convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican C ...
s in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Spain and England.
References
Bibliography
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{{Authority control
Christian religious orders established in the 12th century
1113 establishments in Asia