Crosier

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(Or PASTORAL STAFF).

The crosier is anecclesiastical ornament which is conferred onbishops at theirconsecration and on mitredabbots at their investiture, and which is used by theseprelates in performing certain solemn functions. It is sometimes stated thatarchbishops do not use the crosier. This is not so, thetruth being that in addition to the pastoral staff they have also theright to have thearchiepiscopal cross borne before them within the territory of theirjurisdiction. According to present-day usage theRoman pontiff does not use the crosier. That this practice is now a departure from primitive discipline is now thoroughly established, for in the early representations of thepopes found on tablets,coins, and other monuments, the crosier is to be seen (Kraus, Geschichte der christlichen Kunst, II, 500). But in the eleventh century this must have disappeared, sinceInnocent III (d. 1216) intimates that it no longer prevailed (Epistola ad Patr. Const.). As a reason why thepope does not use crosier symbolists allege the giving by St. Peter of his staff to one of his disciples in order to raise a dead companion to life. The pastoral staff will here be treated under: (1) the symbolism of the crosier; (2) its origin and antiquity; (3) early forms and subsequent artistic development.

Symbolism

The crosier is symbol of authority andjurisdiction. Thisidea is clearly expressed in the words of the Roman Pontifical with which the staff is presented to thebishop elect: "Accipe baculum pastoralis officii; et sis in corrigendis vitiis pie saeviens, judicium sine irâ tenens, in fovendis virtutibus auditorum animos mulcens, in tranquillitate severitatis censuram non deserens" (Pont. Rom. 77). It is then, as Durandus (Rationale Divin. Off., III, xv) says, borne byprelates to signify their authority to correct vices, stimulatepiety, administer punishment, and thus rule and govern with a gentleness that is tempered with severity. The same author goes on to say that, as the rod of Moses was the seal and emblem of his Divine commission as well as the instrument of themiracles he wrought, so is the episcopal staff the symbol of thatdoctrinal and disciplinary power ofbishops in virtue of which they may sustain the weak and faltering, confirm the wavering infaith, and lead back theerring ones into thetrue fold.Barbosa (Pastoralis Sollicitudinis, etc., Tit. I, ch. v) alluding to the prevalent form of the staff, says that the end is sharp and pointed wherewith to prick and goad theslothful, the middle is straight to signify righteous rule, while the head is bent or crooked in order to draw in and attractsouls to the ways ofGod.Bona (Rerum liturgic., I, xxiv) says the crosier is tobishops what the sceptre is to kings. In deference to this symbolismbishops always carry the crosier with the crook turned outwards, while inferiorprelates hold it with the head reversed. Moreover, the crosiers ofabbots are not so large as episcopal crosiers, and are covered with a veil when thebishop is present.

Origin

The origin of the pastoral staff is at times associated with the shepherd's crook. Whether the usage was borrowed from this source isdoubtful. Some writers trace an affinity with thelituus, or rod used by the Roman augurs in their divinations, while others again trace in the crosier an adaptation of the ordinary walking-sticks which were used for support on journeys and in churches before the introduction of seats (Catalani, Pont. Rom., Proleg., xx). At all events, it came at a very earlydate to be one of the principal insignia of the episcopal office. Just how soon is not easily determined, since in the early passages of the Fathers in which the word occurs it cannot be ascertained whether it is to be taken literally or metaphorically (see1 Corinthians 4:21) or whether it designates anecclesiastical ornament at all. Inliturgical usage it probably goes back to the fifth century (Kirchenlex., s.v. Hirtenstab). Mention of it is made in a letter ofPope Celestine I (d. 432) to the Bishops of Vienne and Narbonne. Staffs have indeed been found in thecatacombs that date from the fourth century but their ceremonial character has not been established. The first unequivocal reference to the crosier as aliturgical instrument occurs in the twenty-seventh canon of the Council of Toledo (633). At present it is employed bybishops whenever they perform solemn pontifical functions, by right in their owndioceses and by privilege outside, and by inferiorprelates whenever they are privileged to exercise pontifical functions.

Form and development

The evolution of the staff is of interest. Ecclesiologists distinguish three early forms. The first was a rod of wood bent or crooked at the top and pointed at the lower end. This is the oldest form and was known as thepedum. The second had, instead of the crook, a knob which was often surmounted by a cross, and was called theferula orcambuta. It was sometimes borne bypopes. In the third form the top consisted of acrux decussata, or Greek T, the arms of the cross being often so twisted as to represent two serpents opposed. This, known as thecrocia, was borne byabbots andbishops of the Eastern Rite. The original material was generally cypress-wood, often cased or inlaid with gold or silver. Later on the staffs were made of solidivory, gold, silver, and enamelled metal. From the many specimens preserved in churches as well as from the representations in oldsculptures,paintings, and miniatures, someidea may be formed of the artistic development of the staff and of the perfection it attained. In thecathedral ofBruges is preserved the crosier of St. Malo, abishop of the sixth century. The staff consists of several pieces ofivory jointed together by twelve copper strips; but the volute is modern (Reusens, Elém. d'arch. chr t., I, 504). The eleventh and twelfth centuries witness an elaborate display of most exquisite ornamentation bestowed on the head of the staff. The volute often terminated in a dragon impaled by a cross, or in some other allegorical figure whilst a wealth of floral decoration filled up the curve. In the thirteenth century the spaces between the spirals of the crocketed volute were filled religious subjects,statues ofsaints, and scenes from the animal and vegetable kingdoms, while in those of the Gothic form the knob was set in precious stones and embellished with a wreath of allegorical ornamentation. Quite a number of these rich and valuable efforts of artistic skill have come down to us, and one or more may be seen in almost every oldcathedral ofEngland and the Continent. Oxford possesses three very old and interesting patterns, that preserved at New College having belonged toWilliam of Wykeham. St. Peter's staff is said to be preserved in thecathedral ofTrier. The legend may be seen inBarbosa (Pastoralis Sollicitudinis, etc., Tit. I, ch. v). As crosier of anabbess see articleABBESS.

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