The Church of Saint-Étienne-le-Vieux ("Old

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

's") is a former

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 ...

church, today partly ruined, located in the old city of

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Norm ...

, France. It is not to be confused with the nearby Church of Saint-Étienne, the former church of the

Abbaye aux Hommes An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

. This church has been classified as a ''

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

'' since August 22, 1903.

History

The church was probably founded during the 10th century when the city of Caen began its first significant growth. It is mentioned for the first time in the charters granted by

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

to the two abbeys of Caen under the name of ''sanctus Stephanus Vetus'' in around 1067. The qualifier "old" distinguishes it from the church of the

Abbey of Saint-Étienne, Caen The Abbey of Saint-Étienne, also known as Abbaye aux Hommes ("Men's Abbey") by contrast with the Abbaye aux Dames ("Ladies' Abbey"), is a former Benedictine monastery in the French city of Caen, Normandy, dedicated to Saint Stephen. It was found ...

(the ''Abbaye aux Hommes''), under construction from the 11th century. Because of its exposed position along the ramparts of the city, the church was badly damaged during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

, particularly during the Siege of Caen in 1417. It was reconstructed during and after the English occupation. The octagonal

lantern tower In architecture, the lantern tower is a tall construction above the junction of the four arms of a cruciform (cross-shaped) church, with openings through which light from outside can shine down to the crossing (so it also called a crossing lante ...

dates from this time. The parish was part of the deanery of Caen in the former

diocese of Bayeux The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bayeux and Lisieux (Latin: ''Dioecesis Baiocensis et Lexoviensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Bayeux et Lisieux'') is a diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is coextensive with the Department of Calvados and is ...

. The church was decommissioned in 1793, and not reinstated for worship in 1802, when the former abbey church took over the role of parish church. Poorly maintained, the church soon began to fall into ruin. It was registered in 1840 as a ''

'', but closed to the public in 1844 because of its state of decay. Threatened with demolition, it was saved at the very last minute thanks to the action of

Arcisse de Caumont Arcisse de Caumont (20 August 1801, Bayeux – 16 April 1873) was a French historian and archaeologist. Biography Arcisse Caumont was born at Bayeux to François de Caumont and Marie-Louise de Mathan Hue. One of his mentors was Charles de Gervi ...

and Antoine Charma. The Society of Antiquaries of Normandy envisaged using the church for the installation of its collections, but the Museum of the Antiquaries of Normandy (''Musée des antiquaires de Normandie'') was finally housed in the former Collège du Mont located nearby. The city authorities used the church to store architectural fragments until their transfer to the museum in 1926. In 1944, it was hit by a shell aimed at a column of German tanks which was parked in the vicinity.''La visite interdite de Saint-Etienne-le-Vieux'', Ouest-France.fr 2012
/ref> The nave was largely destroyed. Since that time the church has not been the object of restoration work and in its state of disrepair is not open to the public. File:Caen saintetiennelevieux henriheuze sudouest.jpg, General view File:Caen saintetiennelevieux lefevrepontalis portail.jpg, Main portal File:Caen saintetiennelevieux lefevrepontalis chevet.jpg, The chevet on the Rue Arcisse-de-Caumont File:Eglise_Saint_Etienne_le_vieux_-_XIX.jpg, 19th-century photograph of the church

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Church Of Saint Etienne Le Vieux Caen Saint Etienne 15th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France Gothic architecture in France Saint Etienne