The former French Catholic diocese of Die existed from the fourth to the thirteenth century, and then again from 1678 to the French Revolution. It was suppressed by the Concordat of 1801, its territory being assigned to the diocese of Grenoble. [1] Its see was the Cathedral of the Assumption in Die.
Situated on the River Drôme, Die was one of the nineteen principal towns of the tribe of the Vocontii. It was made a Roman colony by the Emperor Augustus in the 20s B.C. [2]
The Cathedral of Die was dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The Cathedral Chapter had two dignities, the Dean and the Sacristan, and ten other Canons. [3] In the thirteenth century the diocese was divided for administrative purposes into four Archpresbyteries: the Archpriest of Die, the Archpriest of Trivilis (Trièves), the Archpriest of Deserto, the Archpriest of Crista. [4] There was a Collegiate Church at Crest (Crista) dedicated to Saint-Sauveur, which had a Provost, a Cantor, and six Canons. [5]
After the eleventh century the Diocese of Die, long disputed between the metropolitans of Vienne and Arles, became suffragan of the archbishopric of Vienne. [6] On 28 March 1165 Pope Alexander III confirmed by papal bull the grant to the Church of Die on the part of Arnaud de Crest [7] and Guillaume of Poitiers [8] of the abbeys of S. Marcel de Die, [9] Saint-Medard, Saint-Croix, Saint Julien-de-Guiniaise, Leoncel, and Saou. The bull also confirms the possession of the entire city of Die and nine castle-towns including Crista. [10] By Papal Bull of 25 September 1275, [11] in order to strengthen the Church of Valence in its struggle with the House of Poitiers, Gregory X united the Diocese of Die with that of Valence. [6] Five days later, on 30 September, Pope Gregory wrote to Abbot Amadeus of Roussillon, informing him that he had been named Bishop of Valence in succession to Bishop Guy, who had died in 1272. [12] It was no accident that Amadeus of Roussillon was the nephew of Amadeus of Geneva, Bishop of Die. Amadeus of Roussillon was present at the bedside of his uncle when he made his Testament on 21 January 1276. [13] Bishop Amadeus of Die died on 22 October 1276, and his nephew Amadeus of Roussillon became Bishop of Valence and Die.
This union, which lasted four centuries, was unfortunate for the Church in Die. [6] The Huguenot sect, derived from the Calvinism of Geneva, had taken firm hold in the Dauphiné, and in particular in the Alpine valleys. In order to combat Protestantism, therefore, King Louis XIV, published the Edict of Fontainebleau on 22 October 1685, revoking the special rights granted to Protestants in France in the Edict of Nantes. King Louis revived the diocese of Die and appointed a Bishop of Die in 1687. From the point of view of the Roman Catholic Church, however, the union of the two dioceses was dissolved canonically in the Consistory of 7 July 1692 by Pope Innocent XII. [14] On 10 September 1692, the Bishop of Die, Armand de Montmorin Saint-Hérem, had an interview with James II of England and Louis XIV. Asked for a report on the state of the Dauphiné, inter alia the Bishop reported that Die was entirely in the hands of the Huguenots. [15]
In 1790 the Civil Constitution of the Clergy reduced the number of dioceses in France from 135 to 83, and ordered that they be coterminous with the new départements of the civil organization. Each département was authorized and ordered to elect its own bishop; the electors did not have to be Catholic, and that fact alone created a schism between the Constitutional Church and Constitutional Bishops and the Roman Catholic Church. Bishop Gaspard-Alexis Plan des Augiers protested, and then fled his diocese; he died in exile in Rome in 1794. On 21 February 1791, the Constitutional diocese of Drôme elected François Marbos, curé of the parish of Bourg-lez-Valence as their 'bishop'. He was consecrated in Paris on 3 April 1791, by Jean Baptiste Gobel of Paris, assisted by Bishops Mirodot and Gouttes. After the Concordat of 1801 he retracted his errors, and died in communion with Rome in 1825. [16]
The Carthusian Polycarpe de la Rivière gives a St. Martinus (220) as first Bishop of Die; his assertion has been doubted. [17] The oldest historically known bishop is Nicasius of Dijon, who attended the First Council of Nicaea in 325.
The Archdiocese of Tours is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archdiocese has roots that go back to the 3rd century, while the formal erection of the diocese dates from the 5th century.
The Archdiocese of Reims or Rheims is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by Sixtus of Reims, the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese around 750. The archbishop received the title "primate of Gallia Belgica" in 1089.
The Bishop of Lausanne was the principal ecclesiastical authority of the diocese of Lausanne, Switzerland.
The Archdiocese of Rouen is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the Archbishop of Rouen's ecclesiastical province comprises the greater part of Normandy. The Archbishop of Rouen is currently Dominique Lebrun.
The Diocese of Meaux is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the entire department of Seine-et-Marne. It was suffragan of the Archdiocese of Sens until 1622, and subsequently of Archdiocese of Paris.
The Diocese of Gap and Embrun is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southern France.
The Diocese of Digne is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected in the 4th century as the Diocese of Digne, the diocese has been known as the Diocese of Digne–Riez–Sisteron since 1922. The diocese comprises the entire department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in the Region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. The diocese was a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Aix-en-Provence and Arles until 2002 and is now a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Marseille. The Bishop of Digne's cathedra is found in Digne Cathedral at the episcopal see of Digne-les-Bains.
The Diocese of Nice is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the Department of Alpes-Maritimes. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Marseille.
The Diocese of Bayeux and Lisieux is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is coextensive with the Department of Calvados and is a suffragan to the Archdiocese of Rouen, also in Normandy.
The Diocese of Cahors is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the whole of the department of Lot.
The Diocese of Valence (–Die–Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux) (Latin: Dioecesis Valentinensis ; French: Diocèse de Valence is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in southern France. The contemporary diocese is co-extensive with the department of Drôme.
The former French Catholic diocese of Riez existed at least from fifth century Gaul to the French Revolution. Its see was at Riez, in the modern department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
The former French Catholic diocese of Couserans existed perhaps from the fifth century to the French Revolution in the late eighteenth century. It covered the former province of Couserans, in south-west France. Its episcopal seat was in Saint-Lizier, a small town to the west of Foix. It was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Auch.
The Archdiocese of Albi(Latin: Archidioecesis Albiensis–Castrensis–Vauriensis); is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Toulouse, and it comprises the department of Tarn.
The Diocese of Nevers is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the department of Nièvre, in the Region of Bourgogne.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Embrun was a Catholic jurisdiction located in southeastern France, in the mountains of the Maritime Alps, on a route that led from Gap by way of Briançon to Turin. It had as suffragans the Diocese of Digne, Diocese of Antibes and Grasse, Diocese of Vence, Diocese of Glandèves, Diocese of Senez and Diocese of Nice. Its see was the Cathedral of Nôtre Dame in Embrun.
The former French Catholic diocese of Apt, in southeast France, existed from the fourth century until the French Revolution. By the Concordat of 1801, it was suppressed, and its territory was divided between the diocese of Digne and the diocese of Avignon. Its seat was at Apt Cathedral, in Vaucluse.
The ancient residential diocese of Orange in the Comtat Venaissin in Provence, a fief belonging to the papacy, was suppressed by the French government during the French Revolution. It was revived in 2009 as a titular see of the Catholic Church.
The former French Catholic diocese of Chalon-sur-Saône existed until the French Revolution. After the Concordat of 1801, it was suppressed, and its territory went to the diocese of Autun. Its see was Chalon Cathedral.
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One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Goyau, Pierre-Louis-Théophile-Georges (1912). "Diocese of Valence". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia . Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
