Ordo Canonicorum Regularium Custodum Sacrosant Sepulchri Domini Hierosolymitani | |
 Coat of arms of the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre | |
| Formation | 1113 (1113) (1099) |
|---|---|
| Founded at | Church of the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem,Kingdom of Jerusalem |
| Dissolved | 1830; 195 years ago (1830) |
| Type | Canons Regular |
| Purpose | Protection of theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre |
| Location | |
| Methods | Rule of Saint Augustine |
Parent organization | Catholic Church |
| Secessions | Canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre (c. 1300) |
TheCanons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre were aCatholic religious order ofcanons regular of theRule of Saint Augustine, said to have been founded in theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre inJerusalem, then the capital of theKingdom of Jerusalem, and recognised in 1113 by aPapal bull ofPope Paschal II. Other accounts have it that they were founded earlier, during the rule ofGodfrey of Bouillon (1099–1100).
After thefall of Jerusalem toSaladin, the Canons fled theHoly Land along with otherLatin Christians. They first settled briefly onCyprus, where they establishedBellapais Abbey, before proceeding to settle in various countries ofEurope.
The Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre was suppressed in 1489 byPope Innocent VIII (1484–1492). On March 28, 1489, the pope, at the instigation of theOrder of Malta, issued a bull[1] 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 ofEmperor Maximilian andDuke Eberhard of Württemberg and confirmed in 1499 with a bull ofPope Alexander VI (1492–1503).[2]
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[3] andAuxiliary Bishop ofKraków (1816–1830)[4] died on 4 January 1830 inMiechów (Poland).
TheCanonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, founded in the 14th century as a female branch of the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre,[5] still exist inconvents in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Spain, and England.
It is the opinion ofHelyot and others that no canons of the Holy Sepulchre existed before 1114,[6] when somecanons regular who had adopted theRule of St. Augustine were brought from the West and introduced into Jerusalem byGodfrey of Bouillon. On the other hand, Suarez and others recognise the tradition of the order, which maintains thatSt James, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, established clerics living in common there, where also after theCrusades flourished the "Congregation of the Holy Sepulchre".[6]
Betweenc.1119 andc.1125, Prior Gerard of the Holy Sepulchre, along withWarmund, Patriarch of Jerusalem, wrote a letter toDiego Gelmírez,Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela, reporting crop failures and threats from their enemies. They requested food, money, and military aid in order to maintain theKingdom of Jerusalem.[7]William of Malines,Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem 1130–1145, may have preceded Gerard as prior of the order.[8]
By apapal bull dated 10 January 1143 and found in theBullarium Lateranense,Pope Celestine II confirmed the church and the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre in all the possessions they had received fromGodfrey of Bouillon,King Baldwin I, 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 theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre as well as those onMounts Zion andOlivet. The patriarch was also abbot of the Holy Sepulchre, elected by the canons regular.[6]
The organisation relied on donations, such as whenMelisende, Queen of Jerusalem 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 granddaughterSibylla to Agnes and Amalric. In the mid-12th century, the village ofBayt 'Itab was afief of theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre.[9] It was sold to them by the wife ofJohannes Gothman, aFrankishcrusader knight who was captured byMuslim forces in 1161 and subsequently ransomed.[10][11][12][13][14] A fortified mansion (maison forte) in the modern village is thought to have served as Gothman's residence prior to its sale to the Church.[12] The building had two stories, bothvaulted. The ground floor entrance was protected by a slit-machicolation and had stairs leading to the basement and upper floor.[15] The only priory the order held outside of Jerusalem, however, was that on theMount of the Temptation, bestowed to it by thepatriarchWilliam of Malines in 1130, probably initially in order to rein in autonomous hermits in the area.[16] When it received thetithes from nearbyJericho two years later, however, it became the source of 5,000bezants a year in income. The priory and pilgrim visitors to the Mount and nearbyRiver Jordan were protected by theTemplar fortress ofDok at the mountain's summit.
After theThird Crusade,Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre, becamechancellor of Jerusalem forHenry II of Champagne, who had married QueenIsabella 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 newLatin Patriarch, and had them arrested until Joscius intervened. Joscius was also present at the foundation of theTeutonic Knights in 1198, and probably died in 1202.
In Europe, the Canons established themselves and had monasteries inItaly,France,Spain,Poland,England,Croatia and theLow Countries.
After the fall of Jerusalem toSaladin, the canons fled the Holy Land along with otherLatin Christians. They first settled briefly onCyprus, where they establishedBellapais Abbey, before proceeding toWestern Europe
In Spain, the village ofTorralba de Ribota belonged to the mother church atCalatayud of the Canons of the Holy Sepulchre, under the protection ofPedro Manrique de Lara,Dei gratia comes, "by the grace of God count".[17] Also, possibly, theconvent of Santa Anna inBarcelona, today a church, was originally a house of the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, or theOrder of the Holy Sepulchre, under the guidance of thePatriarch of Jerusalem.
In Poland, they were notably active in theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre, Miechów, which received many privileges fromCasimir of Bytom, andCasimir II the Just after many Canons came to settle there after their expulsion from the Holy Land. After the ultimate fall of theKingdom of Jerusalem to theMuslims in 1291, the Superior of the convent at Miechów took the title ofGeneral of the order, later claiming the style ofGrand Prior, and Miechów became the headquarters of the organisation for centuries. Here, the order initiated the custom of setting up, decorating, and visitingChrist's graves on the last days of thePassion Week. It was in Miechów that the oldest replica of the Holy Sepulchre inEurope, the goal of numerouspilgrims, has been preserved. In Poland, they also receives privileges fromPrzemysł II.
InEngland, they were also active. According toWilliam Dugdale'sMonasticon Anglicanum, (1655) the Canons had two houses in England, one atHoly Sepulchre Priory, Thetford and the other atWarwick.[6] Further indications proposeCaldwell Priory and theNottingham Holy Sepulchre Priory.
KingAndrew II of Hungary used the funds that he inherited from his father to recruit supporters among the Hungarian lords.[18] He also formed an alliance withLeopold VI, Duke of Austria, and theyplotted againstEmeric.[18] Their united troops routed the royal army atMački, Slavonia, in December 1197.[19] Under duress, King Emeric gaveCroatia andDalmatia to Andrew as an appanage.[20] In practice, Andrew administered Croatia and Dalmatia as an independent monarch. He minted coins, granted land and confirmed privileges.[20][21][19] He cooperated with theFrankopans,Babonići, and other local lords.[20] The Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre settled in the province during his rule.[22]
In Italy, they seem to have been suppressed in 1489 byPope Innocent VIII, he wanted to transfer all their property to theKnights of Malta. The independence of the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre was maintained at the request of EmperorMaximilian I and theDuke of Eberhard of Württemberg, and in 1499 with a bull of the PopeAlexander VI[1] 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 theFrench Revolution in 1789, and inPoland 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 malecongregation of Canons Regular is now regarded as extinct.
Notwithstanding, theCanonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, founded in the 14th century as a female branch of the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre,[5] still exists inconvents inBelgium, theNetherlands,France,Spain andEngland.
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