The diocese of Auxerre () is a former French Roman Catholic diocese. Its historical episcopal see was in the city of

Auxerre Auxerre ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

, now part of eastern France. Currently the non-metropolitan Archbishop of Sens, ordinary of the diocese of Sens and Auxerre, resides in Auxerre.

Ecclesiastical history

The ''Gesta pontificum Autissiodorensium'', written about 875 by the canons Rainogala and Alagus, and later continued up to 1278, gives a list of bishops of Auxerre.

Louis Duchesne Louis Marie Olivier Duchesne (; 13 September 1843 – 21 April 1922) was a French priest, philology, philologist, teacher and a critical historian of Christianity and Roman Catholic liturgy and institutions. Life Descended from a family of Bri ...

regards the list as mostly accurate, but very arbitrary in its dates prior to the 7th century. Auxerre is remarkable among French churches for the number of its bishops who have come to be regarded as saints.

Bishops of the original ''Gesta''

Peregrine of Auxerre (Pélérin 'pilgrim') was the founder of the See of Auxerre; according to the legend, he was sent by Pope

Sixtus II Pope Sixtus II (), also written as Pope Xystus II, was bishop of Rome from 31 August 257 until his death on 6 August 258. He was killed along with seven deacons, including Lawrence of Rome, during the persecution of Christians by the Emperor V ...

and was martyred under Emperor

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

in 303 or 304. After Peregrine, the original 870s ''Gesta'' list: * Marcellianus * Valerianus * Helladius (d. 387) * Amator (d. 418), who had been ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

and

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

d by Helladius and who thus affords the earliest example of ecclesiastical tonsure mentioned in the religious history of France * Germanus (418–448), to whom the abbey in Auxerre is dedicated * Allodius * Fratemus * Censurius, to whom about 475 the priest Constantius sent the Life of St. Germain * Ursus * Theodosius, who assisted in 511 at the

First Council of Orléans The First Council of Orléans was a synod convoked by Clovis I, King of the Franks, in 511. Clovis called for this synod four years after his victory over the Visigoths under Alaric II at the Battle of Vouillé in 507. The council was attended by ...

* Gregorius * Optatus * Droctoaldus * Eleutherius, who assisted at four Councils of Orléans between 533 and 549 * Romanus (†ca. 564) * Actherius * Aunacharius (Aunaire; 573–603), uncle of Lupus, Archbishop of Sens who held the Council of Auxerre which illustrated the customs among both the newly converted Teutonic tribes and their

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

neighbours * Desiderius (Didier) * Palladius, who assisted at several councils in 627, 650 and 654 * Vigilius, who was assassinated about 684 * Tetricius (692–707) * Savaric (710–715) * Aidulf (perhaps 751–766) * Maurin (perhaps 766–794) *

Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...

(perhaps 794–807) * Angelelmus (807–828) * Heribaldus (829–857), first chaplain of

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

, and several times given ambassadorial charges * Abbo (857–869) *

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

(860–871)

Later bishops

* Wala (872–879) * Wibaldus (879–887) * (887–909) *St Géran (909–914) *St Betto (933–961) *Guy (933–961) *Heribert I (971-996) *John (996–999) * Hugh of Chalon (999–1030) *Heribert II (1039-1052) *Geoffrey of Champallemand (1052-1076) *Robert of Nevers (1076-1092) * Humbaud (1095–1114), drowned on the way to Jerusalem *St Hugues de Montaigu (1116–1136), a friend of St. Bernard * Hugues de Mâcon (1137–1151), Abbot of Pontigny, often charged by Pope Eugenius III with adjusting differences and re-establishing order in monasteries * Alanus (1152–1167), author of a life of St. Bernard * Guillaume de Toucy (1167–1181), the first French bishop who went to Rome to acknowledge the authority of

Pope Alexander III Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181. A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a Papal election, ...

. * Hugues de Noyers (1183–1206), known as the "hammer of heretics" for the vigour with which he sought out in his diocese the sects of the Albigenses and the "Caputiés" (mainly in Sens) * Guillaume de Seignelay (1207–1220), who took part in the war against the Albigenses and in 1230 became the

bishop of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been create ...

* Henry of Villeneuve (1220–1235) * Bernard de Sully (1235–1244) * Guy de Mello (1247–1270), who was

Apostolic delegate An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

in the crusade of Charles of Anjou against Manfred * Gerard de Lessines (1271-1278), Cardinal-bishop of Palestrina * Guillaume III de Grez (1278-1295) * Pierre de Mornay (1296–1306), who negotiated between

Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII (; born Benedetto Caetani; – 11 October 1303) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 until his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of baronial origin with connections t ...

and king Philip IV and in 1304 became chancellor of France * Pierre de Cros (1349–1351), cardinal in 1350 * (1361–1362) * Pierre de Longueil (1449–1474) * Enguerrand Signart (1474–1477) * John III Baillet (1477–1513) * François de Dinteville (1513–1530) * François de Dinteville II (1530–1554) * Robert de Lenoncourt (1554–1560), cardinal in 1538 * Philippe de Lenoncourt (1560–1562), cardinal in 1586 * Philibert Babou de la Bourdaisière (1562–1570), cardinal in 1561 * Jacques Amyot the scholar (1571–1593), translator of the works of

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

and

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

tutor Tutoring is private academic help, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects. A tutor, formally also called an academic tutor, is a person who provides assis ...

of Charles IX, grand almoner of kings Charles IX and Henry III * François de Donadieu (1599–1625) * Gilles de Souvré (1625–1631) * Dominique Séguier (1631–1637) * Pierre de Broc (1640–1671) * Nicolas Colbert (1672–1676) * André Colbert (1676–1704) * Charles de Caylus (1704–1754), who made his diocese a centre of Jansenism and whose published works in four volumes were condemned by Rome in 1754. On November 29, 1801, the diocese of Auxerre was suppressed. On October 7, 1817, it was restored, but in 1821 it was suppressed again. On June 3, 1823, it was united once more to the diocese of Sens. The newly united diocese soon became an archdiocese, but after many years, in 2006, which in turn lost its Metropolitan status in 2006 and became a suffragan see of the Ecclesiastical Province of the

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

. The Cathedral of Auxerre, completed in 1178, contains numerous sculptures in the Byzantine style.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * pp. 72–73. (in Latin) * pp. 80–81. * pp. 95–96. * p. 70. * p. 70. * p. 67.

External links

GigaCatholic- Sens

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ancient Diocese of Auxerre

Aux

Yonne History of Burgundy 4th-century establishments in Roman Gaul