The Crosiers or Brethren of the Cross or crutched friars is a general name for several loosely related Catholic orders, mostly

canons regular The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into Religious order (Catholic), religious orders, differing from both Secular clergy, ...

. Their names derive from their devotion to the Holy Cross. They were founded in the 12th and 13th centuries, during the era of the

crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

in the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

. These orders tended to maintain hospitals and care for the sick. Currently, the term "crosiers" most frequently refers to the

Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross The Crosiers, formally known as the Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross (), abbreviated OSC, is a Catholic religious order of canons regular of Pontifical Right for men.

originating from Belgium, but it could also refer to at least five other orders from Jerusalem, Portugal, Italy, Bohemia, Poland–Lithuania, and a group of friars in England and Ireland.

Related orders

The

Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre The Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre were a Catholic religious order of canons regular of the Rule of Saint Augustine, said to have been founded in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, then the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, a ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

were sometimes referred to as crosiers with the double red cross. The order was founded in 1114 to care for the

Church of the Holy Sepulchre The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also known as the Church of the Resurrection, is a fourth-century church in the Christian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, Old City of Jerusalem. The church is the seat of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchat ...

built where Jesus was crucified. The male order was suppressed by

Pope Innocent VIII Pope Innocent VIII (; ; 1432 – 25 July 1492), born Giovanni Battista Cybo (or Cibo), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death, in July 1492. Son of the viceroy of Naples, Cybo spent his ea ...

in 1489 though the female order continues to exist. The Portuguese Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra (Ordo Canonicorum Regularium Sanctae Crucis, ORC) was founded by Saint Theotonius in

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...

in 1132. The order was closed during the brief reign of Pedro IV in 1834, but restored in 1979. The order's mother house is the Monastery of Santa Cruz in Coimbra. It maintains presence in Europe (Germany, Austria, Holland, Italy, Portugal and Switzerland), in the Americas (Brazil, United States and Mexico), and in Asia (Philippines and India). The Italian Order of the Crociferi (Ordo Cruciferorum; Fratres Cruciferi) was established between 1160 and 1170 by

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a Papal election, ...

. It became popular in Italy and had 208 monasteries divided into five provinces. They wore a blue habit and carried a silver cross. The order was abolished by

Pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII (; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death, in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, and he held various d ...

in 1656. The Belgian or Flemish

(Ordo Sanctae Crucis, OSC) is traditionally said to be founded by canon Theodore of Celles in

Huy Huy ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. Huy lies along the river Meuse, at the mouth of the small river Hoyoux. It is in the '' sillon industriel'', the former industrial backbone of Wall ...

in 1210. The order was confirmed by

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV (; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universities of Parma and Bolo ...

in 1248. Many monasteries were closed during the French Revolution and the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, but the order was revived. Its superior general is based at

San Giorgio in Velabro San Giorgio in Velabro is a Catholic church dedicated to St. George on Via del Velabro in the historic center of Rome in the Velabrum and the Ripa district. The church—the result of the 9th century expansion of a previous diaconal building ...

in Rome. As well as surviving in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, it today maintains a presence in Germany, Austria, United States, Brazil, the Congo, and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. The Bohemian

Knights of the Cross with the Red Star The Knights of the Cross with the Red Star (, , , postnominal initials: O.Cr., O.Crucig.), also known as the Military Order of the Crusaders of the Red Star is a Catholic religious order present in the Czech Republic and Austria. It is the only re ...

(Ordo Militaris Crucigerorum cum Rubea Stella, OMCRS) was founded in 1233 by Agnes of Bohemia. Unlike the other orders, this is a military order dedicated to the protection and care of the sick, and was made an independent hospitaller order by

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; 1145 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decretales'' and instituting the Pa ...

in 1237. They spread into

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It is believed they had three houses in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The order is currently active in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

(

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

). The origin of the Polish–Lithuanian

Canons Regular of the Penitence of the Blessed Martyrs The Canons Regular of the Penitence of the Blessed Martyrs () was a small Roman Catholic religious order. It was a penitent order which followed the Rule of St. Augustine and emphasized piousness, asceticism, and devotion to the Holy Cross. Estab ...

(Ordo Canonicorum Regularium Mendicantium S. Mariae de Metro de Poenitentia Sanctorum Martyrum) is unknown. When it was first mentioned in 1256, it already had three monasteries. Originating from Rome, it was most popular in the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

and the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

. It was suppressed by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

in 1832 and the last monastery closed in 1845. The Bohemian Order of the Holy Cross with the Red Heart (Canonicus Ordo Crucigerorum cum Rubeo Corde) separated from the Canons Regular of Penance of the Blessed Martyrs and became an independent order in 1628. This order was closed in 1783 due to

Josephinism Josephinism is a name given collectively to the domestic policies of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (1765–1790). During the ten years in which Joseph was the sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy (1780–1790), he attempted to legislate a series o ...

reforms introduced by

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I, ...

. The first Friars of the Cross or the

Crutched Friars The Crutched Friars (also Crossed or Crouched Friars, cross-bearing brethren) were a Roman Catholic religious order in England and Ireland. Their name is derived from a staff they carried with them surmounted by a crucifix. There were several orde ...

(also crossed or crouched friars) arrived to England sometime between 1230 and 1244. At least five of the Orders of the Holy Cross established some presence in England creating a great confusion as to which order they properly belonged. The Crutched Friars are sometimes further confused with the

Trinitarians The Trinitarians, formally known as the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives (; abbreviated OSsT), is a mendicant order of the Catholic Church for men founded in Cerfroid, outside Paris, in the late 12th century. From the very o ...

or the

Hospitallers The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

. The presence of the orders of Jerusalem, Bohemia, and Poland–Lithuania was brief and episodic. Earlier literature attributed the Crutched Friars to the Italian Crosiers, but later it was proven that they were a branch of the Belgian order. The Crutched Friars were also present in Ireland where they established 17 priory hospitals by the early 13th century. The Crutched Friars were suppressed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538.

Legendary origins

Several of the orders claimed the same legendary origins. The Italian order was founded by a certain Cletus who might have been a crusader. A later tradition identified this Cletus as the 1st-century

Pope Anacletus Pope Anacletus (born – died ), also known as Cletus, was the bishop of Rome, following Peter and Linus. Anacletus served between and his death, . Cletus was a Roman who, during his tenure as pope, ordained a number of priests and is trad ...

. A 130-line Latin poem ''Ad colendam mente pura'' (To cultivate a pure mind) is the earliest record of the legend about the order's foundations. The poem states that when

Empress Helena Flavia Julia Helena (; , ''Helénē''; – 330), also known as Helena of Constantinople and in Christianity as Saint Helena, was an ''List of Augustae, Augusta'' of the Roman Empire and mother of Emperor Constantine the Great. She was b ...

discovered the

True Cross According to Christian tradition, the True Cross is the real instrument of Jesus' crucifixion, cross on which Jesus of Nazareth was Crucifixion of Jesus, crucified. It is related by numerous historical accounts and Christian mythology, legends ...

, she selected twelve men to protect it. These men wore a cross on their clothes and became members of the Brethren of the Cross. However, they all were killed and the order was liquidated. Five canons from Germany were inspired to restore the order and received approval from Pope Innocent who told them to follow the Rule of St. Augustine. Later accounts embellished the story. For example, one of the twelve men was identified as

Judas Cyriacus Judas Cyriacus (Cyriacus of Ancona, Cyriacus of Jerusalem, Quiriacus, Quiricus, Kyriakos); , ), d. ca. AD 360, is the patron saint of Ancona, Italy. His feast day is celebrated in the Catholic Church on 4 May. Judas Cyriacus, Bishop of Ancona Juda ...

who later became Bishop of Jerusalem, or that the five men participated in the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt led by King Philip II of France, King Richard I of England and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187. F ...

. The stories of Cletus and Helena were merged by claiming that Helena only restored the order first established by Pope Anacletus. Later stories also added details significant and specific to the individual order.

Emblems

File:Orde van het Heilig Graf Basis.png,

File:OCR-coimbra.jpg, Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra File:Chanoines ste croix armes.gif,

File:Kreuzherren mit Stern.jpg,

File:Cyriakowie.svg,

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite CE1913 , last=Allaria , first=Anthony , wstitle=Canons and Canonesses Regular , volume=3 {{cite journal , last=Beck , first=Egerton , title=The Order of the Holy Cross (Crutched Friars) in England , journal= Transactions of the Royal Historical Society , volume=7 , year=1913, issn=1474-0648 , pages=191, 194–195, 198 , doi=10.1017/S0080440100014511 , jstor=3678421 , s2cid=176857897 {{cite book , first=Piet van den , last=Bosch , editor-first=Michael , editor-last=Cotone , title=The Crosiers: They Shared with Everyone , location=Collegeville, MN , publisher=The Liturgical Press , year=1992 , url=http://www.canonsregular.org/osc/files/Bosch-Crosiers.pdf , isbn=0-8146-5836-9 , pages=14–19, 23 {{cite journal , first=H. F. , last=Chettle , title=The Friars of the Holy Cross in England , url=http://www.canonsregular.org/osc/files/chettle_england.pdf , date=October 1949 , journal=History , volume=34 , issue=132 , pages=204–209 , doi=10.1111/j.1468-229X.1949.tb00935.x , issn=1468-229X {{cite encyclopedia , first=Colmán N. , last=Ó Clabaigh , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WkQrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA406 , page=406 , title=Religious orders , publisher=Routledge , encyclopedia=Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia , editor-first=Sean , editor-last=Duffy , year=2016 , orig-year=2005 , isbn=978-1-315-16172-3 {{cite web, url=https://www.crosier.org/index.php/en/about/history , title=History Part 3 , publisher=Conventual Priory of the Holy Cross , access-date=29 January 2020 {{cite web , url=http://www.cruzios.org/espanol/Historia.html , title=Historia de la Orden de la Santa Cruz , publisher=Orden de los Canónigos Regulares de la Santa Cruz , lang=pt , access-date=29 January 2020 {{cite journal , first1=Kaspar , last1=Elm , first2=Antonino , last2=Franchi , first3=Romualdo , last3=Gustaw , translator=James Hentges , title=The Penitents of the Holy Martyrs , journal=Crosier Heritage , date=May 1986 , volume=19 , oclc=9663588 , url=http://www.canonsregular.org/osc/osc/heritage_files/Crosier%20Heritage%20vol%2019.pdf , page=13 which is an English translation of {{cite encyclopedia , first1=Kaspar , last1=Elm , first2=Antonino , last2=Franchi , first3=Romualdo , last3=Gustaw , editor-first1=Guerrino , editor-last1=Pelliccia , editor-first2=Giancarlo , editor-last2=Rocca , title=Frati della Penitenza dei Beati Martiri , encyclopedia=Dizionario degli Istituti di Perfezione , publisher=Edizioni Paoline , location=Rome , year=1980 , volume=VI , language=it , oclc=2194708 , pages=1392–1398 {{cite journal , first1=Kaspar , last1=Elm , translator=Raymond Steffes, Walter Nichipor , title=An Hitherto Unknown 17th Century Correspondence Between Bohemian and Belgian Crosiers (1673–1674) , journal=Crosier Heritage , date=May 1986 , volume=19 , oclc=9663588 , url=http://www.canonsregular.org/osc/osc/heritage_files/Crosier%20Heritage%20vol%2019.pdf , pages=3–5 {{cite journal , first=Michael , last=Hayden , title=The Crutched Friars , journal=Clairlieu , volume=47 , year=1989 , url=http://www.canonsregular.org/osc/osc/clairlieu_files/Clairlieu47_hayden.pdf , issn=0774-7241 , page=147 {{cite journal , last=Hayden , first=J. Michael , title=Religious Reform and Religious Orders in England, 1490-1540: The Case of the Crutched Friars , journal=The Catholic Historical Review , issue=86 , volume=3 , year=2000 , pages=422–423, jstor=25025765 {{cite encyclopedia , first=Leonardas , last=Jagminas , date=1 August 2018 , orig-year=2002 , url=https://www.vle.lt/Straipsnis/atgailos-kanauninkai-66335 , title=atgailos kanauninkai , encyclopedia=

Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija The ''Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija'' or VLE () is a 25-volume universal Lithuanian-language encyclopedia published by the Science and Encyclopaedia Publishing Institute from 2001 to 2014. VLE is the first published universal encyclopedia i ...

, publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidybos centras , lang=lt {{cite thesis, first=Martin , last=Jiřinec , title=Kanonie Cyriaků (křižovníků s červeným srdcem) na Starém Městě pražském v letech 1628-1729 , trans-title=The knights of the cross with the red heart (Cyriaci) and their convent in the Old Town of Prague between 1628-1729 , url=https://is.cuni.cz/webapps/zzp/download/120052632/?lang=en , type=Diploma thesis , lang=cs , pages=5, 30 , year=2007 , publisher=Charles University in Prague {{cite web, url=http://krizovnici.eu/o-radu/mista-pusobeni-radu-2/ , title=Místa působení řádu , publisher=Rytířský řád Křižovníků s červenou hvězdou , language=cs , access-date=29 January 2020 {{cite encyclopedia , first=Joseph , last=Morsel , encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages , title=Crosiers , editor-first=André , editor-last=Vauchez , url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780227679319.001.0001/acref-9780227679319-e-745 , isbn=9780195188172 , publisher=James Clarke & Co , volume=1 , year=2000 {{cite web , url=http://www.muzeumkarlovamostu.cz/en/saint-agnes-of-bohemia/order-of-the-cross-with-the-red-star , title=Order of the Cross with the Red Star , publisher=The Charles Bridge Museum , access-date=29 January 2020 {{cite encyclopedia , first=Joseph F. , last=O'Callaghan , url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/brethren-cross , page=609 , volume=2 , title=Brethren of the Cross , encyclopedia=New Catholic Encyclopedia , edition=2nd , year=2003 , publisher=Gale , isbn=0-7876-4006-9 {{cite encyclopedia , editor-first1=Frank Leslie , editor-last1=Cross , editor-first2= Elizabeth A. , editor-last2=Livingstone , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fUqcAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA440 , encyclopedia=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church , page=440 , title=crutched friars , publisher=Oxford University Press , edition=3rd revised , year=2005 , isbn=978-0-19-280290-3 {{cite book , first=Nickiphoros I. , last=Tsougarakis , title=The Latin Religious Orders in Medieval Greece, 1204-1500 , series=Medieval Church Studies , volume=18 , location=Turnhout , publisher= Brepols Publishers , year=2012 , chapter=The (Italian) Crociferi , page=213 , doi=10.1484/M.MCS-EB.4.000076 , isbn=978-2-503-57222-2 Canons regular Christian religious orders established in the 12th century