Crosier

Crosier of Archbishop Heinrich of Finstingen, 1260-1286

A crosier (crozier, pastoral staff) is the stylized staff of office carried by high-ranking Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and some Lutheran prelates. The other typical insignia of most of these prelates, but not all, is the mitre.

Symbol of office

The crosier is the symbol of the governing office of the Bishop.

A Roman Catholic bishop bears it as "shepherd of the flock of God", i.e., particularly the community under his canonical jurisdiction, but any bishop also uses a crosier when conferring sacraments and presiding at liturgies. The crosier is conferred upon the Bishop during the liturgy of ordination to the episcopacy. It is also presented to an Abbot at his blessing, an ancient custom symbolizing his shepherding of the monastic community. Although there is no provision in the liturgy of the blessing of an abbess for the presentation of a crosier, by long-standing custom an abbess may bear one when leading her community of nuns.

The crosier is used in ecclesiastical heraldry to represent pastoral authority in the arms of cardinals, bishops, abbots and abbesses. It was suppressed in most personal arms in the Catholic Church in 1969, and is since found on arms of abbots and abbesses, diocesan coats of arms and other corporate arms.

In Eastern Christianity the symbolism is similar. The crosier is presented by the chief celebrant following the dismissal at the Divine Liturgy where the new bishop is consecrated. A bishop bears the crosier whenever he is present for church services outside the altar, whether in his own diocese or not, even if he is not serving. Auxiliary bishops also bear it. It is not used inside the altar. A different type of staff is used outside church services.

An Eastern Orthodox or Eastern Rite Catholic archimandrite (high-rankin g abbot) or abbess who leads a monastic community also bears a crosier. It is conferred at the same point in the Divine Liturgy as with a bishop at the service where the candidate is elevated.

Description

Crosiers used by Roman Catholic and Anglican bishops have curved or hooked tops, similar in appearance to staves traditionally used by shepherds, hence they are also known as crook. In some languages there is only one term, referring to this form, such as German Krummstab, Dutch kromstaf. The crosiers of (some) abbots are carried with the curve toward the back (rather than toward the front as with bishops), symbolising the introvert nature of his jurisdiction: over the monastery only.

The traditional explanation for the form, beyond the obvious reference to the bishop as shepherd, is this: the pointed ferule at the base symbolizes the obligation of the prelate to goad the spiritually lazy; the crook at the top, his obligation to draw back those who stray from the faith; and the staff itself his obligation to stand as a firm support for the faithful.

The Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholic crosier, in the Slavic tradition known as the "pateritsa", is found in two common forms. One is tau-shaped, with drooping arms, surmounted with a small cross. The other has a top comprising a pair of scupltured serpents or dragons curled back to face each other, with a small cross between them. The symbolism in the latter case is of the bronze serpents made by Moses in .

Papal usage

A crosier was also carried on some occasions by the Pope beginning in the early days of the church. This practice was gradually phased out and had disappeared by the time of Innocent III's papacy in the eleventh century. Paul VI introduced the pastoral staff, which the popes have used in the same manner as the crosier, except that it is not a crook but a crucifix on a staff. John Paul II adopted a slightly redesigned version. To this day popes do not bear a crosier as their jurisidiction is universal.

Eastern Orthodox crosier

References

*Catholic Encyclopedia, 1908 ^[1]*Merriam-Webster's online dictionary ^[2]*

Other uses of the word

*The coiled ends of some plants (such as unopened fern fronds) which resemble the traditional crosier staff are also termed "crosiers" (though these are more commonly called "fiddleheads").
*Crosier is also a somewhat archaic synonym for the constellation Crux (the Southern Cross).
*various nouns proper; see also Crozier.
*Crosier, and especially the plural Crosiers, also refers to member(s) of an order of Roman Catholic priests and brothers, the "Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross."
*Crosier is also a last name (also spelled Crozier or Croshere). Famous 'Crosiers': Erik Crosier, Austin Croshere.