Uzès Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Théodorit d'Uzès) is a former

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

located in

Uzès Uzès (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. In 2017, it had a population of 8,454. Uzès lies about north-northeast of Nîmes, west of Avignon and south-east of Alès. History Originally ''Ucetia ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

is dedicated to Saint Theodoritus, and is now a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. The church was formerly the seat of the

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

, until the

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, pro ...

was abolished under the

Concordat of 1801 The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace-Lorraine, where it remains in force. It sought national reconciliation b ...

and its territory passed to the

Diocese of Avignon The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Avignon (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Avenionensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse d'Avignon'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese exercises jurisdiction over the terr ...

. In 1877 the territory of the former diocese of Uzès was removed from that of Avignon and added to the

Diocese of Nîmes In 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 provinces were administratively associat ...

, now the Diocese of Nîmes, Uzès and Alès. The present building, which was gutted during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, and after repair and with the addition of a 19th-century Neo-classical façade is now used as a parish church, dates from the 17th century, and was a rebuild of the previous cathedral, which was destroyed during the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estim ...

. That cathedral in its turn had been built to replace a still earlier one which had been destroyed in the 12th century during the

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...

. The

campanile A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

, the well-known ''Tour Fenestrelle'', is the only part to survive from the medieval structure, although it was previously taller by two storeys.

Interior

File:Uzès,cathédrale21,maître-autel4.jpg, Candlesticks File:Uzès,cathédrale02,choeur3.jpg, Altar File:Cathedral of Uzes 02.jpg, ''La Résurrection de Lazare'' File:Cathedral of Uzes 01.jpg, ''La Résurrection du Christ'' File:Uzès,cathédrale48,toile2.jpg, Interior art File:Uzès,cathédrale36,galeries inférieures.jpg, Interior

Sources and external links

* Photographs
Exteriorinterior
St. Theodoritus
link not working, check later-->

Former cathedrals in France Churches in Gard {{France-RC-church-stub