Roman Catholic Diocese of Angoulême explained

Jurisdiction:Diocese
Angoulême
Latin:Dioecesis Engolismensis
Local:Diocèse d'Angoulême
Country:France
Province:Poitiers
Metropolitan:Archdiocese of Poitiers
Coordinates:45.65°N 0.15°W
Area Km2:5,972
Population:367,500 (est.)
Population As Of:2015
Catholics:276,000 (est.)
Catholics Percent:75.1
Parishes:47
Denomination:Roman Catholic
Rite:Roman Rite
Established:3rd Century
Cathedral:Cathedral of St. Peter in Angoulême
Patron:Saint Ausonius of Angoulême
Saint Cybard
Priests:61 (diocesan)
14 (Religious Orders)
Bishop:Hervé Gosselin
Metro Archbishop:Pascal Wintzer
Suffragan:for one -->
Archdeacon:for one-->
Emeritus Bishops:Claude Dagens
Website:Website of the Diocese

The Diocese of Angoulême (Latin: Dioecesis Engolismensis; French: Diocèse d'Angoulême) is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church in France. Originally erected in the 3rd century, the episcopal see is the Angoulême Cathedral. Comprising the département of the Charente, the diocese had traditionally been suffragan to the Archbishopric of Bordeaux, under the old régime as well as under the Concordat, but since 2002 is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Poitiers.

In 2015, in the Diocese of Angoulême there was one priest for every 3,680 Catholics.

History

Its first bishop was Ausonius, a disciple, it is said, of Saint Martial. According to Gregory of Tours Martial preached the gospel in Limoges about the year 250; the Limousin traditions, as set down by the chronicler Adhémar de Chabannes, maintain that Martial was the immediate disciple of Saint Peter. According to the latter opinion St. Ausonius was a bishop of the first century; according to the former, of the third century. At least one modern historian believes it likely that Ausonius lived even later, in the 4th century.[1] His cult, however, does not appear until the end of the tenth century.[2]

The Gallia Christiana lists St. Salvius, honoured as a martyr at Valenciennes, as a Bishop of Angoulême. The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia, however, considers him to have been only a missionary bishop of the eighth century. In the list of the Bishops of Angoulême is found the name of the poet Octavien de St. Gelais (1494–1502).

The religious monuments of the province of Angoumois are remarkable for their admirable Romano-Byzantine façades. The most beautiful of them is St. Peter's Cathedral at Angoulême. The original cathedral was dedicated to Saint Saturninus, but it was destroyed by the Arian Visigoths. After the defeat of Alaric II in 507, King Clovis had his chaplain Aptonius made bishop and had the cathedral rebuilt and named in honor of Saint Peter.[3] It was consecrated around 570, according to tradition by Saint Germain, Bishop of Paris. The cathedral was ravaged again, this time by the Normans, in the middle of the ninth century. It was rebuilt by Bishop Grimoard and dedicated in 1017. The present edifice is the work of Bishop Gérard II de Blaye, the Papal Legate, ca. 1109–1120.[4] The cathedral was administered by a Chapter, composed of a Dean, the Archdeacon, the Treasurer, and twenty-one Canons. There were also a Cantor and Scholasticus, but they did not have a vote in Chapter unless they were also Canons.[5] The memory of a wealthy and famous Augustinian abbey, founded in 1122, is kept alive by its ruins at Couronne, near Angoulême.

In 1236, the Jewish community of Angouleme, along with those in Anjou, Poitou, and Bordeaux, was attacked by crusaders. 500 Jews from these communities chose conversion and over 3000 were massacred. Pope Gregory IX, who originally had called the crusade, was outraged about this brutality and criticized the clergy of the diocese of Angoulême for not preventing it.[6]

Bishops of Angoulême

to 1000

1000 to 1300

1300 to 1500

1500 to 1800

since 1802

See also

Sources

External links

Acknowledgment

Notes and References

  1. Favreau, 9.
  2. Book: Louis Duchesne. Fastes épiscopaux de l'ancienne Gaule: II. L'Aquitaine et les Lyonnaises. 1910. Fontemoing. Paris. 135–137.
  3. Gallia christiana II, pp. 977-978. This story, retailed by the chronographer Adhemar, is rejected by Duchesne, p. 68, note 4.
  4. Book: Jean Hippolyte Michon. Statistique monumentale de la Charente. 1844. Derache. Paris. fr. 277–292. Gallia christiana II, p. 998. Antoine-Charles Cousseau, Discours sur la dédicace et sur l'histoire de l'église cathedrale d'Angoulême (Angouleme: J. Girard 1869).
  5. Gallia christiana II, pp. 975-976. Cf. Ritzler, VI, p. 209 note 1, states that there were five dignities and twenty-one Canons in 1753.
  6. http://ecc.pima.edu/~jmills/Austria/7-9_Grade_Review_Activity_Medieval_Austria_1236-1328.pdf
  7. Favreau, 10.
  8. Lupicinus was present at the Council of Orléans of 511, the Council of Orleans of 533, and was represented at the Council of Orleans of 541. C. De Clercq, Concilia Galliae, A. 511 – A. 695 (Turnhout: Brepols 1963), pp. 13, 102, 145. Favreau, p. 10
  9. Apt(h)onius took part in the Council of Orléans of 549. De Clercq, p. 159. Duchesne, pp. 68-69 no. 4. Favreau, 10–11.
  10. In his seventh year he was poisoned. Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum IV. 26. Favreau, 11.
  11. Favreau, 11–12.
  12. Favreau, 12.
  13. Favreau, 12–13.
  14. Favreau, 13.
  15. Favreau, 14.
  16. Favreau, 14–15.
  17. Some lists note a Landebertus and Saint Salvius as bishops in the 8th century. Landebertus is only found as having attended a council at Narbonne in 788, but this is apocryphal. Traditionally named a bishop of Angoulême, Saint Sauve is found on some later lists, but his vita was written soon after his death and makes no mention of Angoulême. Favreau, 14.
  18. Favreau, 14–15, also notes a Bishop Autbertus in 844, but he only appears in the Chronicle of Saint-Maixent, which is probably derived from a spurious charter. His existence is therefore doubtful.
  19. Favreau, 16.
  20. A bishop Girbaldus is noted in the Annales Engolismenses (MGH SS, 4:5 and 16:486) as dying in 864, but he is not attested to in any other document and Helias attended a church council in 862 (the Concilium Pistense). J.-D. Mansi (ed.) Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio editio novissima XV (Venice: A. Zatta 1770), p. 633. Gallia christiana II, p. 984. Favreau, 16–17.
  21. Favreau, 17. However, Oliba may have been bishop as early as 869, as Helias is last seen at the council of Vermery in 869. Debord, 93.
  22. Favreau, 17.
  23. A bishop Godalbert, who would have been bishop between Anatolius and Gombaud, is found on a twelfth-century episcopal list which does not include his date of death (while it does for surrounding bishops). Puybaudet, "Une liste épiscopale d’Angoulême," 282. Not attested to in any other document, Favreau rejects his existence, noting that his name might have been confused with Gumbaldus (Gombaud's name in Latin), especially since Gombaud was called "Gundaberto" in the Chronicle of Saint-Maixent Favreau, 18.
  24. Favreau, 18.
  25. Favreau, 19.
  26. Favreau, 19–20.
  27. Favreau, 21–22. Book: Anna Trumbore Jones. Noble Lord, Good Shepherd: Episcopal Power and Piety in Aquitaine, 877-1050. 2009. Brill. Boston-Leiden. 90-04-17786-8. 2–7.
  28. Roho may have become bishop as early as 1018, but is only attested to in 1020. Favreau, 22–23.
  29. Favreau, 24.
  30. Favreau, 24–26.
  31. Favreau, 26–28.
  32. Favreau, 28–33. Ursula Vones-Liebenstein, "From Aquitaine to Provence: The Struggle for Influence during the Schism of 1130," in: Book: John Doran. Damian J. Smith. Pope Innocent II (1130-43): The World Vs the City. 2016. Routledge. New York. 978-1-317-07831-9. 152–171, at 159–165. Book: Henri Guillaume Maratu. Girard, évêque d'Angoulême, légat du Saint-Siège (vers 1060-1136). 1866. Goumard. Angouleme. fr.
  33. Favreau, 33–35.
  34. Favreau, 35–37.
  35. Elected in 1159, consecrated in 1160. Favreau, 37–39.
  36. Elected in 1181, consecrated in 1182. Favreau, 39–40.
  37. Piveteau, 122.
  38. Piveteau, 122–23.
  39. Piveteau, 125–28.
  40. Piveteau, 123–24.
  41. Elected in 1252, consecrated in 1253. Piveteau, 128. Robert of Montbron was still alive on 17 July 1268: Gallia christiana II, p. 1009.
  42. Piveteau, 124–25. Pope Clement IV died on 29 November 1268, and there was no new pope until January 1272.
  43. Elected on October 12, 1273 and consecrated January 15 of the following year. Piveteau, 130–33.
  44. Piveteau, 133–34.
  45. Piveteau, 134.
  46. Piveteau, 135.
  47. Piveteau, 136.
  48. Piveteau, 135–39.
  49. Piveteau, 137.
  50. Jean was appointed by Clement VII. He had been Bishop of Cesena in central Italy from 1376, but preferred the Obedience of Clement VII to that of Urban VI. Eubel, I, pp. 154 and 240.
  51. Galhardus had been Dean of Angoulême. He was appointed bishop by Clement VII. Eubel, I, p. 240.
  52. Guillaume had been abbot of the monastery of Burgidolensis (or Dolensis) in the diocese of Bourges. He was appointed bishop by Clement VII. Eubel, I, p. 240.
  53. Joannes was appointed by Pope John XXIII. He had been abbot of the monastery of Barbello. He was transferred to Luçon on 13 July 1431 by Pope Eugene IV. Eubel, I, p. 240; II, p. 151 and 181.
  54. It is said that he was bishop for more than thirty years. Gallia christiana II, p. 1016. Gams, p. 491. Eubel, II, p. 151.
  55. Godefridus had been Provost of the Church of Lyon before being named Bishop of Angoulême. He was transferred to Périgueux on 6 July 1470. Eubel, II, pp. 151 and 215.
  56. Radulfus had been Bishop of Périgueux. He was transferred to Evreux on 22 November 1479. Eubel, II, pp. 148 and 151.
  57. Eubel, II, p. 151.
  58. Eubel, II, p. 151. Henri Joseph Molinier, Essai biographique et littéraire sur Octovien de Saint-Gelays, éveque d'Angoulême, (1468-1502) (Rodez 1910).
  59. In 1513 he was given the Deanship of the Cathedral of Lyon. Eubel, III, p. 192, with note 3.
  60. De La Barre had been Canon of the Cathedral of Angoulême. He was transferred to the diocese of Tours on 16 March 1528. Eubel, III, p. 192, with note 4; p. 321.
  61. Jacques Babou had been Dean of the Chapter of S. Martin of Tours. Eubel, III, p. 193.
  62. Philibert Babou, the brother of Bishop Jacques Babou, became a cardinal on 26 February 1561. At the time he was Ambassador of King Charles IX of France to the Holy See. Eubel, III, pp. 38 and 193.
  63. Eubel, III, p. 193 with note 8.
  64. Gams, p. 491. Gauchat, IV, p. 183.
  65. Du Perron resigned Angoulême on 24 August 1646. He was appointed Bishop of Evreux on 24 August 1646 (1648?). Gauchat, IV, pp. 180 and 183, with note 3.
  66. François was the son of Charles, Baron of Botereaux, and nephew of François, Bishop of Evreux. He was nominated by King Louis XIV in August 1646, and approved (preconized) by Pope Innocent X on 18 February 1647. He was consecrated in Paris by the Archbishop of Corinth, Jean François de Gondi. He made his formal entry into Angoulême on 26 November 1649. Gallia christiana II, p. 1022. Gauchat, IV, p. 183.
  67. Ritzler, V, p. 195 with note 3.
  68. Ritzler, VI, p. 209 with note 2.
  69. Ritzler, VI, p. 209 with note 3.
  70. Ritzler, VI, p. 209 with note 4.
  71. Book: Paul Pisani. Répertoire biographique de l'épiscopat constitutionnel (1791-1802).. 1907. A. Picard et fils. Paris. fr. 414–416.
  72. Dominique Lacombe: Book: Société bibliographique (France). L'épiscopat français depuis le Concordat jusqu'à la Séparation (1802-1905). 1907. Librairie des Saints-Pères. Paris. 57–58.
  73. Guigou: Société bibliographique (France) L'épiscopat français pp. 58-59. Book: J.-H. Michon. Vie de Jean Joseph Pierre Guigou, evêque d'Angoulême, préceédée de la chronique des évêques d'Angoulême. 1844. chez F. Soulié. Angoulême. fr.
  74. Régnier: Société bibliographique (France) L'épiscopat français pp. 59-60.
  75. Cousseau: Société bibliographique (France) L'épiscopat français pp. 60-61. Book: Henri Guillaume Maratu. Monseigneur Antoine-Charles Cousseau, ancien évêque, d'Angoulême, 7 août 1805-13 octobre 1875. 1878. G. Chasseignac et cie. Angoulême. fr.
  76. Sebaux: Société bibliographique (France) L'épiscopat français p. 62.
  77. Société bibliographique (France) L'épiscopat français pp. 62-63.
  78. Mado: Société bibliographique (France) L'épiscopat français pp. 63-64.