The Diocese of Sion ( la, Dioecesis Sedunensis, french: Diocèse de Sion, german: Bistum Sitten) is a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
ecclesiastical territory in the canton of
Valais
Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. It is the oldest bishopric in the country and one of the oldest north of the Alps. The history of the Bishops of Sion, of the
Abbey of St. Maurice of Valais as a whole are inextricably intertwined.
History
Early history
The see was established at Octodurum, now called
Martigny
Martigny (; german: Martinach, ; la, Octodurum) is the capital city of the district of Martigny, canton of Valais, Switzerland. It lies at an elevation of , and its population is approximately 15000 inhabitants (''Martignerains'' or "Octodurie ...
, the capital of the Roman province of
Alpes Poeninae
The Alpes Graiae et Poeninae, later known as Alpes Atrectianae et Poeninae (officially Alpes Atrectianae et Vallis Poenina), were a small Alpine province of the Roman Empire created after the merging of the ''Alpes Poeninae'' (or ''Vallis Poenina' ...
.
The first authentically historical bishop was Saint Theodore/Theodolus (died in 391), who was present at the
Council of Aquileia in 381. He founded the
Abbey of Saint-Maurice
The Abbey of Saint Maurice, Agaunum (french: Abbaye de Saint-Maurice d'Agaune or ''Saint-Maurice-en-Valais'') is a Swiss monastery of canons regular in Saint-Maurice, Canton of Valais, which dates from the 6th century. It is situated against a ...
, with a small church in honor of
Saint Maurice
Saint Maurice (also Moritz, Morris, or Mauritius; ) was an Egyptians, Egyptian military leader who headed the legendary Theban Legion of Roman Empire, Rome in the 3rd century, and is one of the favorite and most widely venerated saints of that Ma ...
, martyred there c. 300, when he united the local hermits in a common life, thus beginning the Abbey of Saint-Maurice, the oldest north of the Alps. Theodore rebuilt the church at Sion, which had been destroyed by Emperor
Maximinus at the beginning of the 4th century. At first the new diocese was a suffragan of the
archdiocese of Vienne
The Archbishopric of Vienne, named after its episcopal seat in Vienne in the Isère département of southern France, was a metropolitan Roman Catholic archdiocese. It is now part of the Archdiocese of Lyon.
History
The legend according to wh ...
; later it became suffragan of Tarentaise.
In 589 the bishop, St. Heliodorus, transferred the see to Sion, leaving the low-lying, flood-prone site of Octodurum, where the
Drance
The Drance (french: La Drance/Dranse, ) is a river in Valais, Switzerland with a length of to the confluence with the Rhône, a maximum length of . It has a drainage basin of . The river is formed from the confluence of the ''Dranse d'Entremon ...
joins the
Rhone. Though frequently the early bishops were also abbots of Saint-Maurice, the monastic community was jealously watchful that the bishops should not extend their jurisdiction over the abbey. Several of the bishops united both offices:
Wilcharius (764-780), previously
Archbishop of Vienne
The Archbishopric of Vienne, named after its episcopal seat in Vienne in the Isère département of southern France, was a metropolitan Roman Catholic archdiocese. It is now part of the Archdiocese of Lyon.
History
The legend according to whi ...
, whence he had been driven by the
Moors
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinct or ...
; St. Alteus, who received from the pope a bull of exemption in favor of the monastery (780); Aimo II, son of Count
Humbert I of Savoy
Humbert I ( it, Umberto I; 950 – 1042 or 1047 1048), better known as Humbert the White-Handed (french: Humbert aux blanches-mains) or ( it, Umberto Biancamano), was the founder of the House of Savoy. Of obscure origins, his service ...
, who entertained
Leo IX
Pope Leo IX (21 June 1002 – 19 April 1054), born Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 February 1049 to his death in 1054. Leo IX is considered to be one of the most historically ...
at Saint-Maurice in 1049.
The prince-bishops
![041122Cathedrale](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/041122Cathedrale.jpg)
About 999, the last king of
Upper Burgundy
The Kingdom of Upper Burgundy was a Frankish dominion established in 888 by the Welf king Rudolph I of Burgundy on the territory of former Middle Francia. It grew out of the Carolingian margraviate of Transjurane Burgundy (''Transjurania'', ...
,
Rudolph III, granted the
Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
ship of Valais to Bishop Hugo (998-1017); this union of the spiritual and secular powers made the
prince-bishop the most powerful ruler in the valley of the Upper Rhone, the region called the Valais. Taking this donation as a basis, the bishops of Sion extended their secular power, and the religious metropolis of the valley became also the political centre. However, the union of the two powers was the cause of violent disputes in the following centuries. For, while the spiritual jurisdiction of the bishop, as Bishop of Sion, extended over the whole valley of the Rhone above
Lake Geneva
, image = Lake Geneva by Sentinel-2.jpg
, caption = Satellite image
, image_bathymetry =
, caption_bathymetry =
, location = Switzerland, France
, coords =
, lake_type = Glacial lak ...
, the Countship of Valais included only the upper part of the valley, reaching to the confluence of the Trient and the Rhone. The attempts of the bishops of Sion to carry their secular power farther down the Rhone were bitterly and successfully opposed by the abbots of Saint-Maurice, who had obtained large possessions in Lower Valais.
The medieval bishops of Sion were generally appointed from the younger sons of noble families of Savoy and Valais and often drew the resources of the see into the feuds of these families. Moreover, the bishops were vigorously opposed, as a matter of principle, by the petty feudal nobles of Valais, each in their fortified castle on rocky heights, seeking to evade the supremacy of the bishop who was at the same time count and prefect of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
. Especially in the 14th and 15th centuries, the benefactors in these traditional struggles were often the rich peasant communities of Upper Valais, which were called later the ''
Sieben Zehnden'' (the "seven tithings"), who exacted increasing political rights as the price of support, beginning with the success of the
rebellion of 1415–1420.
Bishop William IV of Raron (1437-1457) was obliged to relinquish civil and criminal jurisdiction over the ''sieben Zehnten'' by the
Treaty of Naters in 1446, while a revolt of his subjects compelled Bishop Jost of Silinen (1482-1496) to flee from the diocese. In 1428-1447, the
Valais witch trials
The Valais witch trials consisted of a witch-hunt and a series of witch trials which took place in the Valais (the House of Savoy and the prince-bishopric of Sion), today part of Switzerland, beginning in 1428. The Valais witch-hunt is the firs ...
raged through the area.
The bishops of Sion minted their own money from earliest times, possibly from as early as the
Carolingian era
The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lo ...
, and certainly from the 11th century. In the early 17th century, the Seven Tithings began to mint their own coin, which was vigorously opposed by the bishops until they finally had to cede temporal power to the Republic in 1634.
[ Gottlieb Emanuel von Haller, ''Beschreibung der eydgenößischen Schau- und Denkmünzen nach den Kantonen und zugewandten Orten'' vol. 2, Berne (1795)]
357ff.
/ref>
Sion and the district of the Valais were constantly drawn into wider struggles. Walter II of Supersaxo (1457-1482) had taken part in the battles of the Swiss against Charles the Bold
Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477.
...
of Burgundy and his ally, the Duke of Savoy
The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a Duchy of Sav ...
, and in 1475 they drove the House of Savoy from Lower Valais.
Linked to the Old Swiss Confederacy
The Old Swiss Confederacy or Swiss Confederacy (German language, Modern German: ; historically , after the Swiss Reformation, Reformation also , "Confederation of the Swiss") was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ...
since the 15th century, the Valais region was for long divided between the French party (typified by Georg of Supersaxo) and the Burgundian-Milanese alliance, to which a powerful personage, Cardinal Matthaeus Schiner (1465-1522), bishop of Sion, had thrown his support.
Schiner feared French supremacy enough to place the military force of the diocese at the disposal of the pope and in 1510 brought about an alliance for five years between the Swiss Confederacy and the Roman Church, only to end up as one of the biggest losers in the Swiss defeat at Marignano
The Battle of Marignano was the last major engagement of the War of the League of Cambrai and took place on 13–14 September 1515, near the town now called Melegnano, 16 km southeast of Milan. It pitted the French army, composed of the b ...
in 1515, in which the bishop fought himself. In return for his support, Julius II
Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the ...
made Schiner a cardinal and in 1513 accepted direct control of the see, which gave the Bishops of Sion much of the authority of an archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
. The defeat at Marignano and the arbitrary rule of his brothers led to a revolt of Schiner's subjects; in 1518 he was obliged to flee the diocese.
The Reformation
The new doctrines of the Reformation found little acceptance in Valais, although preachers were sent into the canton from Bern
german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese
, neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen
, website ...
, Zurich, and Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
. In 1529 Bishop Adrian I of Riedmatten (1529-1548), the cathedral chapter, and the ''sieben Zehnten'' formed an alliance with the Catholic cantons of the Confederation, to maintain and protect the Catholic faith against the efforts of the Reformed cantons. On account of this alliance Valais aided in gaining the victory of the Catholics over the followers of Zwingli
Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system. He attended the Unive ...
at Kappel am Albis in 1531; this victory saved the remaining possessions of the Catholic Church in Switzerland. The abbots of Saint-Maurice opposed all religious innovations as energetically as did Bishops Adrian I of Riedmatten, Hildebrand of Riedmatten (1565-1604), and Adrian II of Riedmatten (1604-1613), so that the whole of Valais remained ostensibly Catholic. Both Adrian II and his successor Hildebrand Jost (1613-1638) were again involved in disputes with the ''sieben Zehnten'' in regard to the exercise of the rights of secular supremacy, which were finally settled in 1630, when the Bishops relinquished their territorial rule.
The impact of the French Revolution
The secular power of the bishops was brought to an end by the French Revolution. In 1798 Valais, after a struggle against the supremacy of France, was incorporated into the Helvetic Republic
The Helvetic Republic (, , ) was a sister republic of France that existed between 1798 and 1803, during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was created following the French invasion and the consequent dissolution of the Old Swiss Confederacy, ma ...
, and Prince-bishop Joseph Anton Blatter (1745-1807) went into exile in Novara
Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...
. During the sway of Napoleon the Valais was separated from Switzerland in 1802 as the Rhodanic Republic, and in 1810 was annexed by France.
The diocese in the 19th century
In 1814 Valais threw off French supremacy, when the Allies entered the territory; in 1815 it joined Switzerland as one of the cantons. As partial compensation for the loss of his secular power, the bishop received a post of honour in the Diet of the canton and the right to four votes. Disputes often arose as the Constitution of 1815 of the canton gave Upper Valais political predominance in the cantonal government, notwithstanding the fact that its population was smaller than that of Lower Valais. This led in 1840 to a civil war with Lower Valais, where the "Young Swiss" party, hostile to the Church, were in control. The party friendly to the Church conquered, it is true, and the influence of the Church over teaching was, at first, preserved, but on account of the defeat of the Sonderbund
The Sonderbund War (german: Sonderbundskrieg, fr , Guerre du Sonderbund, it , Guerra del Sonderbund) of November 1847 was a civil war in Switzerland, then still a relatively loose confederacy of cantons. It ensued after seven Catholic canton ...
, with which Valais had united, a radical Government gained control in 1847. The new administration at once showed itself unfriendly to the Church, secularized many church landed properties, and wrung large sums of money from the bishop and monasteries. When in 1856 the moderate party gained the cantonal election, negotiations were begun with Bishop Peter Joseph von Preux (1843-1875), and friendly relations were restored between the diocese and the canton. In 1880 the two powers came to an agreement as to the lands taken from the Church in 1848; these, so far as they had not been sold, were given back for their original uses.
Recent history
In modern times the bishop and the government have been on friendly terms, under the Constitution of 1907 that, while it declared the Catholic religion to be the religion of the canton, forbade any union of spiritual and secular functions.
The library of the cathedral chapter
The library of Sion is known above all for its 120 medieval codices
The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...
, dating from the mid-9th century to the late 15th century, some richly illuminated, published by Josef Leisibach and Albert Jörger. The library was in the care of 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 Decretals ...
of the cathedral chapter of canons. He also was responsible for the security of the treasury. From the 12th century, the chapter was responsible for the Bishop's chancelry and kept the archives; doubtless there was a modest scriptorium
Scriptorium (), literally "a place for writing", is commonly used to refer to a room in medieval European monasteries devoted to the writing, copying and illuminating of manuscripts commonly handled by monastic scribes.
However, lay scribes and ...
. The library was enriched by donations from canons and in the 15th century from bishops: Guillaume VI de Rarogne (1437-1451), Jost de Silenen (1482-1496) and above all Walter Supersaxo (1457-1482) who possessed a rich library of canon la
See also
* List of Bishops of Sion
*Prince-Bishopric of Basel
The Prince-Bishopric of Basel (german: Hochstift Basel, Fürstbistum Basel, Bistum Basel) was an ecclesiastical principality within the Holy Roman Empire, ruled from 1032 by prince-bishops with their seat at Basel, and from 1528 until 1792 at Po ...
*Prince-Bishopric of Chur
The Prince-Bishopric of Chur (german: Hochstift Chur, Fürstbistum Chur, Bistum Chur) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire, and had Imperial immediacy. The Prince-Bishopric of Chur controlled contiguous land from the city o ...
*Prince-Bishopric of Lausanne
The Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg ( la, Dioecesis Lausannensis, Genevensis et Friburgensis) is a Latin Catholic diocese in Switzerland, which is (as all sees in the Alpine country) exempt (i.e. immediately subject to the Holy See, not p ...
*Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienne
The Archbishopric of Vienne, named after its episcopal seat in Vienne in the Isère département of southern France, was a metropolitan Roman Catholic archdiocese. It is now part of the Archdiocese of Lyon.
History
The legend according to wh ...
*Duchy of Savoy
The Duchy of Savoy ( it, Ducato di Savoia; french: Duché de Savoie) was a country in Western Europe that existed from 1416.
It was created when Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, raised the County of Savoy into a duchy for Amadeus VIII. The duc ...
*History of the Valais
Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the 26 cantons forming the Sw ...
References
External links
Sion
in the ''Catholic Encyclopaedia
The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
''
''The Beggar and the Professor''
by Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie — excerpt evocatively describes Thomas Platter
Thomas Platter the Elder (; ; 10 February 1499, in Grächen, Valais – 26 January 1582, in Basel) was a Swiss humanist scholar and writer.
Biography
Thomas Platter (the Elder) was a master of several languages, knowing Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, ...
's tour to Sion in 1563
Cathédrale de Sion
(link dead, July 24, 2007)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sion, Diocese (Roman Catholic)
Valais
Former republics
Dioceses established in the 4th century
1628 disestablishments
Roman Catholic dioceses in Switzerland