Olympe-Philippe Gerbet (5 February 1798 – 7 August 1864) was a French Catholic bishop and writer.

Biography

Gerbet was born at Poligny, Jura. He studied at the Académie and the Grand-Séminaire of

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...

, also at St-Sulpice and the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. Ordained priest in 1822, he joined Lamennais at "La Chesnaie" (1825) after a few years spent with at the

Lycée Henri IV In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

. An admirer of Lamennais, he nevertheless accepted the papal

encyclical An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Roman Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop. The word comes from the Late Latin (originally from ...

Mirari vos (Latin: "To wonder at you"; subtitled "On Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism"), sometimes referred to as , is the first encyclical of Pope Gregory XVI and was issued in August 1832. Addressed "To All Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and ...

'' of 15 August 1832, and the ''

Singulari nos ''Singulari Nos'' (subtitled ''On The Errors Of Lammenais'') was an encyclical issued on June 25, 1834, by Pope Gregory XVI. Essentially a follow-up to the better-known ''Mirari Vos'' of 1832, ''Singulari Nos'' focused strongly on the views of Fr ...

'' of 13 July 1834, which condemned the

tradition A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

alism of Lamennais. After fruitless efforts to convert the master, he withdrew to the

Collège de Juilly In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

(1836). The years 1839-49 he spent in Rome, gathering data for his ''Esquisse de Rome Chrétienne''. Recalled by Monseigneur Sibour, he became successively professor of sacred eloquence at the Sorbonne, Vicar-General of

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

, and bishop of Perpignan (1854). His episcopate was marked by the holding of a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

(1865), the reorganization of clerical studies, various religious foundations, and by the pastoral instruction of 1860 ''sur diverses erreurs du temps présent'', which served as a model for the ''Syllabus'' of

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

. He died at

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

Pyrénées Orientales The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

, aged 66.

Works

Besides many articles in ', ', ', and some philosophical writings (''Des doctrines philosophiques sur la certitude'', Paris, 1826; ''Summaire des connaissances humaines'', Paris, 1829; ''Coup d'oeil sur la controverse chrétienne'', Paris, 1831; ''Précis d'histoire de la philosophie'', Paris, 1834; under the names of Salinis and Scorbiac), all more or less tinctured with the thought of Lamennais, he wrote the following: ''Considérations sur le dogme générateur de la piété chrétienne'' (Paris, 1829); ''Vues sur la Pénitence'' (Paris, 1836) — these two works are often published together; ''Esquisse de Rome Chrétienne'' (Paris, 1843), previously mentioned. In the two former books Gerbet views the dogmas of the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

and

Penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of Repentance (theology), repentance for Christian views on sin, sins committed, as well as an alternate name for the Catholic Church, Catholic, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox s ...

as admirably fitted to develop the affections — ''nourrir le coeur de sentiments'' — just as he uses the ''réalités visibles'' of Rome as symbols of her ''essence spirituelle''. Sainte-Beuve (''Causeries de lundi'', VI, 316) says that certain passages of Gerbet's writings "are among the most beautiful and suave pages that ever honoured religious literature". Gerbet's ''Mandements et instructions pastorales'' were published at Paris in 1876.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerbet, Olympe-Philippe 1798 births 1864 deaths 19th-century French writers Bishops of Perpignan French religious writers People from Jura (department) University of Paris alumni Lycée Henri-IV alumni French male non-fiction writers 19th-century French male writers Liberal Catholicism

Biography

Works

References

Further reading

External links