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Primate of Normandy (French : Primat de Normandie) is a Catholic title borne by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Rouen.
The title stems from the late Roman Empire: in the time of Constantine, the Romans across the Empire were evangelized. [1] The evangelization happened chiefly in major provincial cities. During that crucial period in history, when Christianity spread throughout Europe, Rouen (la: Rothomagus) was the capital of the Secunda Provincia Lugdunensis. The city was evangelized in the early 2nd century AD. According to tradition, the first Bishops were appointed in Rouen later in the 3rd century. The first Bishop of Rouen about whom some details are known was Saint Mellonius (fr: Saint Mellon) in the early 3rd century. [2] The Bishopric of Rouen became an Archbishopric in the 7th century. The Primates were often established in former Roman provincial capitals. This rule applied to the Metropolitan Archbishop of Rouen. [2]
Pope Callixtus III, by bulls dating from 22 May 1457 and 11 July 1458, reaffirmed the Archbishop of Rouen as Primate of Normandy. The jurisdiction extends over a land roughly corresponding to the borders of the former Secunda Provincia Lugdunensis to this day. [3] [4]
Normandy is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some important archbishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or (usually) ceremonial precedence.
Rouen is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population of the metropolitan area is 702,945 (2018). People from Rouen are known as Rouennais.
Gallia Lugdunensis was a province of the Roman Empire in what is now the modern country of France, part of the Celtic territory of Gaul formerly known as Celtica. It is named after its capital Lugdunum, possibly Roman Europe's major city west of Italy, and a major imperial mint. Outside Lugdunum was the Sanctuary of the Three Gauls, where representatives met to celebrate the cult of Rome and Augustus.
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis.
An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian churches, including those of both Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity, that have traditional hierarchical structures. An ecclesiastical province consists of several dioceses, one of them being the archdiocese, headed by a metropolitan bishop or archbishop who has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over all other bishops of the province.
Praeses is a Latin word meaning "placed before" or "at the head". In antiquity, notably under the Roman Dominate, it was used to refer to Roman governors; it continues to see some use for various modern positions.
Yvetot is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. It is the capital of the Caux region.
Merey is a commune in the Eure department of the Normandy region in northern France.
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 Archdiocese of Lyon, formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archbishops of Lyon are also called primates of Gaul. An archbishop is usually elevated by the pope to the rank of cardinal.
The Archbishopric of Vienne, named after its episcopal seat in Vienne in the Isère département of southern France, was a metropolitan Roman Catholic archdiocese. It is now part of the Archdiocese of Lyon.
The Archdiocese of Sens and Auxerre is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archdiocese comprises the department of Yonne, which is in the region of Burgundy. Traditionally established in sub-apostolic times, the diocese as metropolis of Quarta Lugdunensis subsequently achieved metropolitical status. For a time, the archbishop of Sens held the title "primate of the Gauls and Germania". Until 1622, the metropolitan archdiocese numbered seven suffragan (subordinate) dioceses: the dioceses of Chartres, Auxerre, Meaux, Paris, Orléans, Nevers and Troyes, which inspired the acronym CAMPONT. The Diocese of Bethléem at Clamecy was also dependent on the metropolitan see of Sens. On December 8, 2002, as part of a general reorganization of the dioceses of France undertaken, at least in part, to respond to demographic changes, the Archdiocese of Sens-Auxerre ceased to have metropolitan rank and became a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Dijon, which became the centre of a new ecclesiastical province for the Burgundy administrative region.
Saint Mellonius (229-314) was an early 4th-century Bishop of Rotomagus in the Roman province of Secunda Provincia Lugdunensis. He is known only from a 17th-century 'Life' of little historical value, meaning the historicity of his existence is uncertain.
The Primate of Africa is an honorific title in the Catholic Church, but in early Christianity was granted to the leading bishop (primas) in Africa. There were at times primates in Numidia and Byzacena, and Donatist claimants, but generally the role of the Bishop of Carthage was seen as preeminent.
The Archbishop of Armagh is an archiepiscopal title which takes its name from the city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Roman Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Ireland. The archbishop of each denomination also holds the title of Primate of All Ireland.
The Archdiocese of Carthage, also known as the Church of Carthage, was a Latin Catholic diocese established in Carthage, Roman Empire, in the 2nd century. Agrippin was the first named bishop, around 230 AD. The temporal importance of the city of Carthage in the Roman Empire had previously been restored by Julius Caesar and Augustus. When Christianity became firmly established around the Roman province of Africa Proconsulare, Carthage became its natural ecclesiastical seat. Carthage subsequently exercised informal primacy as an archdiocese, being the most important center of Christianity in the whole of Roman Africa, corresponding to most of today's Mediterranean coast and inland of Northern Africa. As such, it enjoyed honorary title of patriarch as well as primate of Africa: Pope Leo I confirmed the primacy of the bishop of Carthage in 446: "Indeed, after the Roman Bishop, the leading Bishop and metropolitan for all Africa is the Bishop of Carthage."
Saint Nicasius of Rouen, often known as the Apostle of the Vexin, was a 3rd-century saint and martyr in Gaul. He is sometimes considered the first Bishop of Rouen.
Primate of the Gauls is a title given since 1079 to the archbishop of Lyon, former capital of the Three Gauls then land of the Roman Empire, and has described the authority he has exercised in the past over the other bishops of France. The primacy of a title conferred on archbishop guarantees a theoretical jurisdiction over several ecclesiastical provinces. In France, only the title of Primate of the Gauls and Primate of Normandy, respectively assigned to the archbishops of Lyon and Rouen, are still used.
The Notitia Galliarum is a Roman register of cities dating to the 4th–6th centuries AD. The Latin register is divided into two headings. Ten provinces are listed under the diocese of Gaul and seven under the diocese of the Seven Provinces. For each province the capital city is given and then its other cities (civitates). They are given their ethnic names, i.e., "city of [people]". A total of 115 cities are listed along with six or seven castra (forts) and one portus (harbour).