CROSIERS
516
CROSIERS
(2) Origin. — The origin of the pastoral staff is at
times associated with the shepherd's crook. Wiether
the usage was borrowed from this source is doubtful.
Some writers trace an affinity with the lituus, or rod
used by the Roman augurs in their divinations, while
others again see in the crosier an afiaptation of the
ordinary walking-sticks which were used for support
on journeys and in churches before the introduction of
seats (Catalan!, Pont. Rom., Proleg., xx). At all
events, it came at a very early date to be one of the
principal insignia of the episcopal office. Just how
soon is not easily determined, since in the early pas-
sages of the Fathers in which the word occurs it can-
not be ascertained whether it is to be taken literally or
metaphorically (see I Cor., iv, 21), or whether it desig-
nates an ecclesiastical ornament at all. In liturgical
usage it probably goes back to the fifth century
(Kirchenlex., s. v. Hirtenstab). Mention of it is made
in a letter of Pope
Celestine I (d. 4.32)
to the Bishops of
Vienne and Nar-
bonne. Staffs have
indeed been found
in the catacombs
that date from the
fourth century but
their ceremonial
character has not
been established.
The first unequiv-
ocal reference to the
crosier as a liturgical instrument
occurs in the twenty-seventh canon
of the Council of Toledo (633).
At present it is employed by bish-
ops whenever they perform solemn
pontifical functions, by right in
their own dioceses and by privilege
outside, and by inferior prelates
whenever they are privileged to ex-
ercise pontifical functions.
(3) 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 the pedum. The second had, instead of the crook, a knob which was often surmounted by a cross, and was called the ferula or cambuta. It was some- times bome by popes. In the third form the top consisted of a crux decus-^ata, or Greek T, the arms of the cross being often so twisted as to represent two ser- pents opposed. This, known as the crocia, was bome by abbots and bishops 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 solid ivory, gold, silver, and enamelled metal. From the many specimens preserved in churches as well as from the representa- tions in old sculptures, paintings, and miniatures, some idea may be formed of the artistic development of the staff and of the perfection it attained. In the cathedral of Bruges is preserved the crosier of St. Malo, a bishop of the sixth century. The staff con- sists of several pieces of ivory jointed together by twelve copper strips; but the volute is modern (Reuscns, KUm. d' arch. chriH., I, 504). The eleventh and twelfth centuries witness an elaborate display of most exquisite ornamentation bestowed on the head
Crosier of an Ab-
bot — Cellini
(Abbey of Monte
Cassino, Italy)
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 with reli-
gious subjects, statues of saints, 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 ornamenta-
tion. 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 old cathedral of
England and the Continent. Oxford possesses three
very old and interesting patterns, that preserved at
New College having belonged to William of Wykehara.
St. Peter's staff is said to be preserved in the cathedral
of Trier. The legend may be seen in Barbosa (Pas-
toralis Sollicitudinis, etc.. Tit. I, ch. v). As to the
crosier of an abbess see article Abbess.
Bona, Rerum liturgicarum libri duo (Turin, 1745), I, xxi\'; Gatalani, Pontifi^le Romanu-m (Rome, 1850), I, Prolefjomciia, xx; Martene, De aniiauis ecclesia: ritibtis (Antwerp, 1784). I, viii; Reubens, Elfmmh d'arch. chrit. (Dublin. 1885), I, 502; II, 453; Leroset, U^tiv./ 1-iurgique (Paris, 1890), I. 258; Macauster, Ecch ■ ■ ' I ■>.,,, i(.s- (London. 1896), 56. 124; PuGiN, Glossary .' / . ' .J Ornamni! (London, 1868);
Krads, Gesch. d, r , i ,\ „; i I'leilmrK im Br., 1897), I, 522,
II, 500; DE Fleiih, L„ .U,.~,m (Paris, 1S89), VIII, 75-110; Bock, Gesch. der lilurg. Gewdnder (Bonn. 1856-62), II, 218 sq.; Cahier, Melanges d'archeol. (Paris, 1856), IV, 139.
Patrick Morrisroe.
Crosiers (or Canons Regular of the Holy Cro.ss), The, a religious order, founded by Theodore de Celles, who, after following the Emperor F"rederick Barbarossa on the Crusade, obtained a canonry in the Cathedral of St. Lambert at Liege. On the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (14 Sept., 1211), Theodore with four of his fellow-canons pronounced his religious vows before the Bishop of Liege. Hav- ing received from him the church of St. Theobald at Oair-Lieu, near Huy. de CeUes founded there the first convent of the order. Pope Innocent III verbally approved the new order in 1215, and Pope Honorius III gaA'e his written approbation, which was confirmed by Innocent IV on the feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross (3 May, 1248). The new institution soon extended to France, the Netherlands, Germany, and also to England. The Canons of the Holy Cross jireached to the Albigenses with St. Dominic. Albert , Bishop of Prague, took several Crosiers and other monks with him to Livonia, where a great many of them gained the glory of martyrdom (1246). Some other Fathers accompanied St. Louis on his journey to the Holy Land in 1248. After returning, he en- abled them to build the main convent of the order in Paris. The Canons of the Holy Cross practise both interior and exterior self-denial, in order to imitate the Saviour crucified. Contemplating Christ's Pas- sion they try to sanctify themselves, and, preaching the mysteries of the Cross, they endeavour to save Ji others, inducing them to follow in the footsteps of the Man of Sorrows.
The order formerly possessed about ninety con- vents, nineteen of which were in England. These latter were destroyed during the troublesome times of the sixteenth century. The Dutch houses were de- spoiled at the time of the Reformation. Only two of them were spared. Finally, the French Revolution expelled the Crosiers from France and Belgium. The two remaining convents in Holland (at St. Agatha and Uden in North Brabant) were Ukewise doomed to extinction by King ^^'ill^am, who ordered them not to admit novices. His successor, however, retracted this interdict (14 Sept., 1840), and, from that tiii! the order commenced to flourish again. From the convents three large branches were founded in Bel- giuni, at Dit'sl (1S45); at Maesevck (1S54); at Hannut (1904); while the convent of I '(ien has been totally re- newed (I'.IO.j), and the mother-house at St. Agath;
Sf.
