Foundation It is the opinion of
Helyot and others that no canons of the Holy Sepulchre existed before 1114, when some
canons regular 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".
William of Malines,
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 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 as well as those on
Mounts Zion and
Olivet. The patriarch was also abbot of the Holy Sepulchre, elected by the canons regular. It was sold to them by the wife of
Johannes Gothman, a
Frankish 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 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 in 1130, probably initially in order to rein in autonomous hermits in the area. When it received the
tithes from nearby
Jericho two years later, however, it became the source of 5,000
bezants a year in income. The priory and pilgrim visitors to the Mount and nearby
River Jordan were protected by the
Templar fortress of
Dok at the mountain's summit. After the
Third Crusade,
Joscius, Archbishop of Tyre, became
chancellor of Jerusalem 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 in
Cyprus (early 20th century). After the fall of Jerusalem to
Saladin, the canons fled the Holy Land along with other
Latin Christians. They first settled briefly on
Cyprus, where they established
Bellapais Abbey, before proceeding to
Western Europe Spain In Spain, the village of
Torralba de Ribota belonged to the mother church at
Calatayud of the Canons of the Holy Sepulchre, under the protection of
Pedro Manrique de Lara,
Dei gratia comes, "by the grace of God count". 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 ,
Poland. before the
papal nuncio in 1349. In Poland, they were notably active in the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Miechów, which received many privileges from
Casimir of Bytom, and
Casimir II the Just after many Canons came to settle there after their expulsion from the Holy Land. After the ultimate fall of the
Kingdom of Jerusalem 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. 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'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 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, 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,
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 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 VI 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, founded in the 14th century as a female branch of the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre, still exists in
convents in
Belgium, the
Netherlands,
France,
Spain and
England. ==References==