The Archbishopric of Vienne, named after its episcopal seat in
Vienne in the
Isère
Isère ( , ; ; , ) is a landlocked Departments of France, department in the southeastern French Regions of France, region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Named after the river Isère (river), Isère, it had a population of 1,271,166 in 2019. département of southern France, was a metropolitan
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
archdiocese. It is now part of the
Archdiocese of Lyon.
History
The legend according to which Crescens, the first Bishop of Vienne, is identical with the
Crescens
Crescens ( Greek: Κρίσκης) was an individual who appears in the New Testament. He is traditionally considered one of the 72 disciples sent out by Jesus in Luke 10. He was a missionary in Galatia and became a companion of Paul. The na ...
of
Saint Paul
Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...
's
Second Letter to Timothy, iv, 20 certainly postdates the letter of
Pope Zosimus
Pope Zosimus was the bishop of Rome from 18 March 417 to his death on 26 December 418. He was born in Mesoraca, Calabria. Zosimus took a decided part in the protracted dispute in Gaul as to the jurisdiction of the See of Arles over that of Vienne ...
to the Church of Arles (417) and the letter of the bishops of Gaul in 451; because, although both these documents allude to the claims to glory which Arles owes to
St. Trophimus, neither of them mentions Crescens. Archbishop
Ado of Vienne Ado (died 16 December 874) was a Frankish churchman and writer. He served as the archbishop of Vienne from 850 until his death and is venerated as a saint. His writings include hagiography and historiography.
Life
Ado belonged to a prominent nobl ...
(860–875) set afoot this legend of the Apostolic origin of the See of Vienne and put down
St. Zachary,
St. Martin and
St. Verus, later successors of Crescens, as belonging to the Apostolic period. This legend was confirmed by the ''Recueil des privilèges de l'Eglise de Viene'', which, however, was not compiled under the supervision of the future
Pope Callistus II, as
M. Gundlach maintained, but a little earlier, about 1060, as
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 ...
proved. This collection contains the pretended letters of a series of popes, from
Pius I to
Paschal II
Pope Paschal II (; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Raniero Raineri di Bleda, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was creat ...
, and sustains the claims of the Church of Vienne. ''Le Livre épiscopal de l'archevêque Léger'' (1030–1070) included both the inventions of Ado and the forged letters of the ''Recueil''.
It is historically certain that Verus, present at the
Council of Arles (314), was the fourth Bishop of Vienne. In the beginning the twelve cities of the two Roman Vienne provinces were under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Vienne, but when Arles was made an archbishopric, at the end of the fourth century, the see of Vienne grew less important. The disputes that later arose between it and the
metropolitan of Arles concerning their respective antiquity are well known in ecclesiastical history.
[
In 450 ]Pope Leo I
Pope Leo I () ( 391 – 10 November 461), also known as Leo the Great (; ), was Bishop of Rome from 29 September 440 until his death on 10 November 461. He is the first of the three Popes listed in the ''Annuario Pontificio'' with the title "the ...
gave the Archbishop of Vienne the right to ordain the Bishops of Tarantaise, Valence, Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
and Grenoble
Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...
. Many vicissitudes followed, and the territorial limit of the powers of Metropolitan of Vienne followed the wavering frontier of the Kingdom of Burgundy
Kingdom of Burgundy was a name given to various successive Monarchy, kingdoms centered in the historical region of Burgundy during the Middle Ages. The heartland of historical Burgundy correlates with the border area between France and Switze ...
and in 779, was considerably restricted by the organization of a new ecclesiastical province
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 consist ...
comprising Tarantaise, Aosta
Aosta ( , , ; ; , or ; or ) is the principal city of the Aosta Valley, a bilingual Regions of Italy, region in the Italy, Italian Alps, north-northwest of Turin. It is situated near the Italian entrance of the Mont Blanc Tunnel and the G ...
(in Italy) and Sitten (or Sion in French; in Switzerland).[
In 1120 Calixtus II, who had been Bishop of Vienne, decided that the Archbishop of Vienne should have for suffragans the Bishop of Grenoble, Bishop of Valence, Bishop of Die, Bishop of Viviers, Bishop of Geneva, and Bishop of Maurienne; that the Archbishop of Tarantaise should obey him, notwithstanding the fact that this archbishop himself had suffragans, that he should exercise the primacy over the province of Bourges, province of Narbonne, province of Bordeaux, province of Aix, province of Auch and province of Embrun, and that, as the metropolitans of both provinces already bore the title of primate, the Archbishop of Vienne should be known as the " Primate of Primates".][
In 1023 the Archbishops of Vienne became secular lords paramount. They had the title of Count, making them prince-archbishops, and when in 1033 the ]Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles
The Kingdom of Burgundy, known from the 12th century as the Kingdom of Arles, was a realm established in 933 by the merger of the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Burgundy under King Rudolf II. It was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in 1033 ...
was reunited to the Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
, they retained their independence. They obtained from the empire the title of Archchancellor
An archchancellor (, ) or chief chancellor was a title given to the highest dignitary of the Holy Roman Empire, and also used occasionally during the Middle Ages to denote an official who supervised the work of chancellors or notaries.
The Car ...
s of the Kingdom of Arles (1157).[
Besides the four Bishops of Vienne heretofore mentioned, others are honoured as saints. According to the chronology created by M. Duchesne, they are: St. Justus, St. Dionysius, St. Paracodes, St. Florentius (about 374), St. Lupicinus, St. Simplicius (about 400), St. Paschasius, St. Nectarius, St. Nicetas (about 449), St. Mamertus (died 475 or 476), who instituted the ]rogation days
Rogation days are days of prayer and fasting in Western Christianity. They are observed with processions and the Litany of the Saints. The so-called ''major'' rogation is held on 25 April; the ''minor'' rogations are held on Monday to Wednesday ...
, whose brother Claudianus Mamertus was known as a theologian and poet, and during whose episcopate St. Leonianus held for forty years the post of grand penitentiary at Vienne; St. Avitus (494 – 5 February, 518), St. Julianus (about 520–533), Pantagathus (about 538), Namatius (died 559), St. Evantius (died 584–586), St. Verus (586), St. Desiderius (Didier) 596–611, St. Domnolus (about 614), St. Ætherius, St. Hecdicus, St. Chaoaldus (about 654–664), St. Bobolinus, St. Georgius, St. Deodatus, St. Blidrannus (about 680), St. Eoldus, St. Eobolinus, St. Barnardus (810–841), noted for his conspiracies in favour of the sons 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 ...
, St. Ado (860–875), author of a universal history Universal history may refer to:
* Universal history (genre), a literary genre
**''Jami' al-tawarikh'', 14th-century work of literature and history, produced by the Mongol Ilkhanate in Persia
** Universal History (Sale et al), ''Universal History'' ...
and two martyrologies, St. Thibaud (end of the tenth century).
Among its later bishops were Guy of Burgundy (1084–1119), who became Pope Callixtus II; Christophe de Beaumont
Christophe de Beaumont du Repaire (26 July 1703 – 12 December 1781) was a Kingdom of France, French cleric who belonged to a cadet branch of the Les Adrets and Saint-Quentin branches of the illustrious Dauphin family of Beaumont. He became Bish ...
, who occupied the see of Vienne for seven months of the year 1745 and afterwards became Archbishop of Paris; Jean Georges Le Franc de Pompignan (1774–1790), brother of the poet and a great enemy of the "philosophers", and also d'Aviau (1790–1801), illustrious because of his strong opposition to the civil constitution of the clergy and the first of the émigré bishops to re-enter France (May, 1797), returning under an assumed name and at the peril of his life.[
Michael Servetus was living in Vienne, whither he had been attracted by Archbishop Pierre Palmier, when Calvin denounced him to the ]Inquisition
The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...
for his books. During the proceedings ordered by ecclesiastical authority of Vienne, Servetus fled to Switzerland (1553).[
In 1605 the Jesuits founded a college at Vienne, and here Massillon taught at the close of the 17th century. The churches of Saint-Pierre and Saint-André le Haut are ancient Benedictine foundations. The famous council of Vienne was held at Vienne in 1311 (see also Templars).][
After the Napoleonic Concordat of 1801, the archiepiscopal title of Vienne passed to the see of Lyon, whose Metropolitan was henceforth called " Archbishop of Lyons and Vienne", although Vienne belongs to the ]Diocese of Grenoble
The Diocese of Grenoble–Vienne-les-Allobroges (; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in south-eastern France. The diocese, erected in the 4th century as the Diocese of Grenoble, comprises the Departments of France, department of ...
.[
]
Ordinaries
Bishops
* (Casturus or Castulus - legendary bishop celebrated with a feast day on October 14 since the 13th century S CP 601
* Zacharias (died 106)
*Crescens or Crescentius (c. 160) (this bishop is often identified with Crescens
Crescens ( Greek: Κρίσκης) was an individual who appears in the New Testament. He is traditionally considered one of the 72 disciples sent out by Jesus in Luke 10. He was a missionary in Galatia and became a companion of Paul. The na ...
, the supposed disciple of Saint Paul, but without evidence)
*Martin Martin may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Europe
* Martin, Croatia, a village
* Martin, Slovakia, a city
* Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain
* M ...
* Verus
* Justus
*Denis (Dionysius)
*Paracodes (c. 235)
* Paschasius (died 310/12)
* Verus I (c. 314)
* Nectarius (c. 356)
* Florentius I (c. 372)
*Lupicinus
* Simplicius (c. 400–420)
*Jerome
Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome.
He is best known ...
(Hieronymus) (c. 421)
*Claudius
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...
(c. 440)
*Nicetius (c. 449)
*Florentius II
* Mamertus (died 475/76)
* Hesychius I (c. 475–490)
*Avitus
Eparchius Avitus (died 456/7) was Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire, Western Empire from July 455 to October 456. He was a Roman Senate, senator of Roman Gaul, Gallic extraction and a high-ranking officer both in the civil and military ...
(494–518)
* Julian (c. 520–530)
* Domninus (died 536)
*Pantagathus (c. 538)
* Hesychius II (c. 545–565)
* Namatius (died 559)
*Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...
(c. 567–580)
* Evantius (c. 580–586)
* Verus II (586–c.590)
*Desiderius
Desiderius, also known as Daufer or Dauferius (born – died ), was king of the Lombards in northern Italy, ruling from 756 to 774. The Frankish king of renown, Charlemagne, married Desiderius's daughter and subsequently conquered his realm. De ...
(c. 590–607)
* Domnolus (c. 614–620)
* Etherius
* Clarentius fl. 624
*Sindulf ( Syndulph)
* Landalenus (c. 625–650)
* Edictus
*Caldeoldus (654 — 664)
*Bobolinus I (Dodolin)
*Deodatus[not the same as Deodatus of Nevers]
*Blidramnus (c. 675–680)
*Agratus (Agroecius) (fl. 691)
* George (c. 699)
* Eoaldus or Edaldus (c. 700–715)
*Bobolinus II (fl. 718)
* Austrebert (719–742)
Archbishops
* Wilichar (742–752)
*Proculus
* Bertericus (767–790)
* Ursio (c. 790–796)
*Wulfar
Wulfar or Wulfaire (died 816) was the archbishop of Reims from 812 until his death. He was an important administrator in the Carolingian Empire, both before and during his episcopate, under the emperors Charlemagne and Louis the Pious.
In 802 Wul ...
(797–810)
*Bernard
Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname.
The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''be ...
(810–842)
* Agilmar (841–859)
* Ado (859–875)
*Otramnus (878–885)
*Bernoinus (886–899)
* Raginfred (899–907)
*Alexander I (908–926)
*Sobon (927–c. 950)
*Theobald Theobald is a Germanic dithematic name, composed from the elements '' theod-'' "people" and ''bald'' "bold". The name arrived in England with the Normans.
The name occurs in many spelling variations, including Theudebald, Diepold, Theobalt, Ty ...
(957–1001)
*Blessed Burchard (c. 1010–c. 1030)
*Léger (1030–1070)
*Armand (1070–1076)
* Warmund (1077–1081)
*Gontard (1082–1084)
* Guido of Burgundy (1088–1119)
*Peter I (1121–1125)
*Stephen I (c. 1125–c. 1145)
* Humbert I (1146–1147)
* Hugo (c. 1148–1153)
* Stephen II (c. 1155–1163)
* Guillaume de Clermont (1163–1166?)
* Robert de La Tour du Pin (c. 1170–1195)
* Aynard de Moirans (1195–c. 1205)
* Humbert II (1206–1215)
* Bournon (1216–1218)
* Jean de Bernin (1218–1266)
* Guy d'Auvergne de Clermont (c. 1268–1278) (House of Auvergne
This is a list of the various rulers of Auvergne.
History
In the 7th century Auvergne was disputed between the Franks and Aquitanians. It was later conquered by the Carolingians, and was integrated for a time into the kingdom of Aquitaine. The c ...
)
* Guillaume de Livron (or de Valence) (1283–c. 1305)
*Briand de Lavieu (Lagnieu) (1306–1317)
* Simon d'Archiac (1319–1320), Cardinal
* Guillaume de Laudun (1321–1327) (then Archbishop of Toulouse
The Archdiocese of Toulouse (–Saint Bertrand de Comminges–Rieux) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the Department of Haute-Garonne and its seat is Toulouse Cathedral. Archb ...
)
* Bertrand de La Chapelle (1327–1352)
* Pierre Bertrand (1352–1362)
* Pierre de Gratia (1362–1363) (also Archbishop of Naples
The Archdiocese of Naples () is a Latin Catholic archdiocese in southern Italy, the see being in Naples. A Christian community was founded there in the 1st century AD and the diocese of Naples was raised to the level of an Archdiocese in the 10 ...
)
* Louis de Villars (1363–1377)
*Humbert de Montchal (1377–1395)
*Thibaud de Rougemont 1395–1405 (also Archbishop of Besançon)
*Jean de Nant 1405–1423 (also 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 ...
)
* Jean de Norry 1423–1438 (also Archbishop of Besançon)
* Geoffroy Vassal 1440–1444 (then Archbishop of Lyon
The Archdiocese of Lyon (; ), formerly the Archdiocese of Lyon–Vienne–Embrun, is a Latin Church metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The archbishops of Lyon are also called Primate o ...
)
* Jean Gérard de Poitiers 1448–c. 1452 (also Bishop of Valence)
* Jean du Chastel 1452–1453 (also Bishop of Nîmes)
* Antoine de Poisieu (Poisieux) 1453–1473, died 1495
* Guy de Poisieu (Poisieux) 1473–1480
* Astorge Aimery 1480–1482
* Ângelo Catho de Supino 1482–1495
*Antoine de Clermont 1496–1506, died 1509
* Federico di Sanseverino 1506–1515, Cardinal
* Alessandro di Sanseverino 1515–1527
* Scaramuccia Trivulzio March to August 1527
*Pierre Palmier (Paumier) 1528–1554
* Charles de Marillac 1557–1560 (also Bishop of Vannes)
*Jean de La Brosse 1561–1567 oder 1569
* Vespasien Gribaldi 1569–1575
*Pierre de Villars I 1576–1587
*Pierre de Villars II 1587–1598
*Jérôme de Villars 1598–1626
*Pierre de Villars III 1626–1662
* Henri de Villars 1662–1693
*Armand de Montmorin de Saint-Hérem 1694–1713
*François de Bertons de Crillon 1714–1720
* Henri Oswald de La Tour D'Auvergne 1721–1745
*Christophe de Beaumont
Christophe de Beaumont du Repaire (26 July 1703 – 12 December 1781) was a Kingdom of France, French cleric who belonged to a cadet branch of the Les Adrets and Saint-Quentin branches of the illustrious Dauphin family of Beaumont. He became Bish ...
du Repaire 1745–1746 (also Archbishop of Paris)
*Jean d'Yse de Saléon 1747–1751 (also Bishop of Rodez)
*Guillaume d'Hugues 1751–1774
*Jacques de Condorcet ? 1754–
* Jean Georges Lefranc de Pompignan 1774–1789
* Charles François d'Aviau du Bois-de-Sanzay 1790–1801
See also
*Catholic Church in France
The Catholic Church in France, Gallican Church, or French Catholic Church, is part of the worldwide Catholic Church in communion with the Pope in Rome. Established in the 2nd century in unbroken communion with the bishop of Rome, it was sometim ...
* Council of Vienne
* List of Catholic dioceses in France
* Philippe du Contant de la Molette
* Severus of Vienne
References
Bibliography
Reference Sources
* pp. 548–549. (Use with caution; obsolete)
* p. 301. (in Latin)
* p. 175.
*
* p. 219.
*
Studies
*
*
* p. 527. (in Latin)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vienne, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of
Vienne
1801 disestablishments in France