Contumeliosus of Riez was a sixth century

Bishop of Riez The former French Catholic diocese of Riez existed at least from fifth century Gaul to the French Revolution. Its see was at Riez, in the modern department of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. History According to an unsupported tradition, the establishm ...

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

Pope John II Pope John II ( la, Ioannes II; died 8 May 535), born Mercurius, was the bishop of Rome from 2 January 533 to his death. As a priest at St. Clement's Basilica, he endowed that church with gifts and commissioned stone carvings for it. Mercurius ...

deposed Contumeliosus in 534 for

adulterous Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

behaviour and authorized

Caesarius of Arles Caesarius of Arles ( la, Caesarius Arelatensis; 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 Merovingian ...

to appoint a temporary bishop to the diocese. Contumeliosus' deposition is notable for being the first act of jurisdiction of this kind recorded of a

bishop of Rome A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Life and fall

Contumeliosus was the bishop of

Riez Riez (; Provençal: ''Riés'') is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. Geography The densely built village sits where two small rivers join—the Auvestre and the Colostre—in a glacially widen ...

in Gaul, and a sufficiently learned man that Bishop

Avitus of Vienne Alcimus Ecdicius Avitus (c. 450 – February 5, 517/518 or 519) was a Latin poet and bishop of Vienne in Gaul. His fame rests in part on his poetry, but also on the role he played as secretary for the Burgundian kings. Avitus was born of a promi ...

forwarded to him some of his works for editing. Contumeliosus was accused of adultery and alienation of church property. At a Council of Marseilles, convened in 533 by Caesarius, Metropolitan Archbishop of Arles, Contumeliosus admitted to the charges and was deposed. Archbishop Caesarius then wrote

regarding the disposition of the case. In 534 Pope John, wrote to Caesarius, to the bishops of

, and to the clergy of

, directing the guilty bishop be confined to a monastery where he might perform an appropriate penance.De Jong, Mayke. "Transformations of Penance", ''Rituals of Power'', (Frans Theuws and Janet Laughland Nelson, eds.) BRILL, 2000
No time period was apparently specified. John's successor

Pope Agapetus I Pope Agapetus I (489/490 – 22 April 536) was the bishop of Rome from 13 May 535 to his death. His father, Gordianus, was a priest in Rome and he may have been related to two previous popes, Felix III and Gregory I. In 536, Agapetus traveled ...

accepted an appeal from Contumeliosus, and he ordered Caesarius of Arles to grant the accused a new trial before papal delegates.Brusher, Joseph S., ''Popes Through the Ages''
1980, San Rafael, California, Neff-Kane, Agapetus charged Caesarius with cruelty and injustice in his proceedings against Contumeliosus, although he had acted in accord with Gallican usage and had defended the discipline of the Church. Of two surviving letters of John to Caesarius, both dated 18 July 535, one is about the dispute over Contumeliosus (Mansi, viii. p. 856).

References

Sources

*Schaff-Herzog
Henry Wace, ''A Dictionary of Christian Biography'':
"Agapetus" *Klingshirn, William E. 1994. ''Caesarius of Arles: Life, Testament, Letters''. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. {{authority control 6th-century bishops in Gaul Bishops of Riez