The Diocese of Vaison () was a

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 ...

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

in France, suppressed in 1801, with its territory transferred to the Diocese of Avignon. It had been one of nine dioceses in the

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 ...

presided over by the

archbishop of Arles The former French Catholic Archbishopric of Arles had its episcopal seat in the city of Arles, in southern France. At the apex of the delta (Camargue) of the Rhone River, some 40 miles from the sea, Arles grew under Liburnian, Celtic, and Punic in ...

, but a later reorganization placed ''Vasio'', i.e. today's

Vaison-la-Romaine Vaison-la-Romaine (; ) is a town in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in southeastern France. Vaison-la-Romaine is famous for its rich Roman ruins and mediaeval town and ca ...

, under the archbishop of Avignon. Jurisdiction inside the diocese was shared between the bishop and the '' Comte de Provence'' (Count of Provence), higher justice and the castle belonging to the Comte, and civil justice and all other rights belonging to the bishop. The cathedral was served by a chapter which had four dignities: the provost ''(praepositus)'', the

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

, the

sacristan A sacristan is an officer charged with care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents. In ancient times, many duties of the sacrist were performed by the doorkeepers ( ostiarii), and later by the treasurers and mansionarii. The Decretal ...

, and the

precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

. There were also six canons, each of whom had a

prebend A prebendary is a member of the Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the choir ...

attached to his office.

History

The oldest known bishop of the See is Daphnus, who assisted at the

Council of Arles (314) Arles (ancient Arelate) in the south of Roman Gaul (modern France) hosted several councils or synods referred to as ''Concilium Arelatense'' in the history of the early Christian church. Council of Arles in 314 The first council of Arles"Arles, S ...

. Others were St. Quinidius (Quenin, 556–579), who resisted the claims of the patrician Mummolus, conqueror of the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

; Joseph-Marie de Suares (1633–1666), who died in Rome in 1677 while filling the office of ''Custode'' of the Vatican Library and Vicar of the Basilica of St. Peter, and who left numerous works. St. Rusticala (551–628) was abbess of the monastery of St. Caesarius at

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

. William Chisholme (II), former bishop of Dunblane, became bishop of Vaison-la-Romaine in 1566 or 1569. Two councils which dealt with ecclesiastical discipline were held at Vaison in 442 and 529, the latter a provincial council under the presidency of

Caesarius of Arles Caesarius of Arles (; 468/470 27 August 542 AD), sometimes called "of Chalon" (''Cabillonensis'' or ''Cabellinensis'') from his birthplace Chalon-sur-Saône, was the foremost ecclesiastic of his generation in Christianity in Merovingian Gaul, Mer ...

. The bishopric was suppressed as part of the Napoleonic Concordat of 1801, between Consul Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, and the territory of Vaison was incorporated into the diocese of Avignon and the diocese of Valence. In 2009 the title of Vasio was revived as a titular See.

Bishops

To 1000

*Dafnus (Daphnus, Dammas) 314–347 *Emilien 347–367 *Concordius 367–419 *Julian 419–439 *Auspicius 439–450 *Fonteïus 450–483 *Donidius 483–506 *Papolus 506–511 *Etilius 511–517 *Gemellus 517–524 *Eripius 524 *Alethius 524–541 *Theodosius 541–556 * Saint Quenin 556–575 *Saint Barse 575–581 *Artemius 581–644? *Pétronius Aredius 644 *''Vacant'' for 169 years *Jean I 813–853 *Simplicius 853–855 *Elias (Hélie) 855–911 *Umbert I 911–933 *Ripert I 933–982 *Amalric I 982–983 *Umbert II 983–996 *Benedictus (Benoît I) 996–1003 or 1000

1000 to 1300

*Imbert 1000?–1003? *Almerade 1003–1005 *Umbert III 1005–1007 *Pierre I 1007–1009 *Pierre de Mirabel 1009–1059 *Benoît II 1059–1060 *Pierre III 1060–1103 *Raimbaud I 1103–1107 *Rostang 1107–1142 *Bérenger de Mornas 1142–1178 *Bertrand de Lambesc 1178–1185 *Bérenger de Reilhane 1185–1190 *Guillaume de Laudun 1190–1193 *Raimbaud de Flotte 1193–1212 *Ripert de Flotte 1212–1241 *Guy I 1241–1250 *Faraud 1250–1271 *Giraud de Libra 1271–1279 *Bertrand II 1279–1280 *Giraud II 1280–1296 *Raimond de Beaumont 1296–1332

1300 to 1500

*Jean II 1332–1333 *Bertrand III 1333–1335 *Gocio (Gozzio, Gothius) de Bataille 1335–1336, cardinal *Ratier 1336–1341 *Pierre de Casa Patriarche 1341–1348 *Pierre de Beret 1348–1356 *Guy de Perpignan *Laurent d'Albiac 1356–1362 *Jean Maurel 1362–1370 * Pierre Boyer 1370–1376 *Eblon de Meder 1376–1380 *Raimond de Bonne (Dominican) 1380–1395 *Radulph 1395–1406 *Guillaume de Pesserat 1406–1412 *Hugues de Theissiac 1409–1445 *Pons de Sade 1445–1473 *Jean de Montmirail 1473–1479 *Amauric II 1479–1482 *Odon Alziassi 1482–1483 *Roland 1483–1485 *Benoit de Paganottis, O.P. 1485–1523

From 1500

*Jérôme Sclede 1523–1533 *Thomas Cortés 1533–1544 *Jacques Cortès Patriarche 1544–1566 * William Chisholm (II) 1566–1585 * William Chisholm (III) 1585–1629 (nephew of the preceding) *Michel d'Almeras 1629–1633 *Joseph Marie de Suarès 1633–1666 *Charles Joseph de Suarès 1666–1671 *Louis Alphonse de Suarès 1671–1685 * François Genet 1685–1703 *Joseph François Gualtéri 1703–1725 *Joseph Louis de Cohorne de la Palun 1725–1748 *Paul de Sallières de Fausseran 1748–1758 *Charles François de Pélissier de St Ferréol 1758–1786 *Etienne André Fallot de Beaumont 1786–1790He was deprived of his diocese after he protested the annexation of the Comtat Venaissin by France. He fled to Rome. He resigned the See of Vaison on 18 November 1801: Pius VII appointed him Bishop of Ghent.

References

Bibliography

Reference works

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Studies

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaison, Roman Catholic Diocese of Vaison 1801 disestablishments in France