Canons Regular of the Penitence of the Blessed Martyrs

Established in the 13th century, the order was initially based in Rome and had a few monasteries in Bohemia, Germany, England, perhaps Spain and France.

[8] The order was particularly devoted to the crucifixion of Jesus and the Holy Cross as well as the early Christian martyrs (including a pseudo-martyr Demetrius).

[8][9] However, the information about the order's activities is very fragmentary as its rules prohibited publicizing one's work,[10] and many libraries and archives were lost when the monasteries were closed.

[1] The origin of the order is unknown though it shares with other Crosiers the legends about its founding in the 1st century by Pope Anacletus and restoration by Empress Helena and Judas Cyriacus.

In 1256, the order was invited by King Ottokar II of Bohemia[5] to Prague where the monks built the Church of the Holy Cross (completed in 1356).

[8] The monasteries in Spain were reportedly located in Sarria and Arzúa, both founded by pilgrims visiting the Camino de Santiago in the Kingdom of Galicia, and were incorporated into the Order of Hermits of Saint Augustine in 1567.

[6][8] Initially based in Rome at the Church of the Sancta Mariae de Metro,[3] the superior general later relocated to Prague in 1340.

[2] In 1628, after the Battle of White Mountain, the Canons Regular of Penitence returned to Prague but they were not satisfied with their Polish superior general.

In 1715, they established an annual celebration in honor of Saint John of Nepomuk (killed in 1393) who, according to Bohuslav Balbín (1621–1688), was first buried in the Church of the Holy Cross of the order and only later transferred to St. Vitus Cathedral.

[13] After the failed anti-Tsarist Uprising of 1831, the Russian Empire implemented various Russification policies and closed all monasteries of the order except for one in Užupis which was attached to the Church of St. Bartholomew.