The

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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, prov ...

Béziers Béziers (; ) is a city in southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. Every August Béziers ho ...

was situated in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is no longer an independent diocese, and is part of the Diocese of Montpellier. Traditionally, the first Bishop of Béziers is considered to be the Egyptian saint, Aphrodisius, said to have sheltered the

Holy Family The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. The subject became popular in art from the 1490s on,Ainsworth, 122 but veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de La ...

Hermopolis Hermopolis (or ''Hermopolis Magna'') was a major city in antiquity, located near the boundary between Lower and Upper Egypt. Its Egyptian name ''Khemenu'' derives from the eight deities (the Ogdoad) said to reside in the city. A provincial capi ...

and to have become a disciple of Christ, also to have accompanied

Sergius Paulus Lucius Sergius Paulus or Paullus was a Proconsul of Cyprus under Claudius (1st century AD). He appears in Acts 13:6-12, where in Paphos, Paul, accompanied by Barnabas and John Mark, overcame the attempts of Bar-Jesus ( Elymas) "to turn the proco ...

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

when the latter went thither to found the Church of

Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...

, and to have died a martyr at Béziers. Local traditions made St. Aphrodisius arrive at Béziers mounted on a

camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

. Hence the custom of leading a camel in the procession at Béziers on the feast of the saint; this lasted until the French Revolution but was revived in the late 20th century. The first historically known bishop is Paulinus mentioned in 418; St. Guiraud was Bishop of Béziers from 1121 to 1123; St. Dominic refused the See of Béziers to devote himself to the crusade against the Albigenses. Among the fifteen synods held at Béziers was that of 356 held by Saturninus of Arles, an Arian archbishop, which condemned

Hilary of Poitiers Hilary of Poitiers (; ) was Bishop of Poitiers and a Doctor of the Church. He was sometimes referred to as the "Hammer of the Arians" () and the " Athanasius of the West". His name comes from the Latin word for happy or cheerful. In addition t ...

. Later synods of 1233, 1246 and 1255 condemned the

Cathars Catharism ( ; from the , "the pure ones") was a Christian quasi- dualist and pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. Denounced as a he ...

. A

Papal Brief A papal brief or breve (from the Latin "''breve'', meaning "short") is a formal document emanating from the pope. History The introduction of briefs, which occurred at the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Eugene IV (3 March 1431 – 23 Februa ...

of 16 June 1877, authorized the bishops of

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

to call themselves bishops of Montpellier, Béziers,

Agde Agde (; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Hérault. It is the Mediterranean port of the Canal du Midi. It is situated on an ancient basalt volcano, hence the name "Black Pearl of the Mediterranée". Location Agde is locate ...

Lodève Lodève (; , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, department of Hérault, in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefe ...

and Saint-Pons, in memory of the different dioceses united in the present Diocese of Montpellier.

Bishops

To 1000

* Saint Aphrodisius (Aphrodise) 250 ? * Paulin I 408 * Dyname 451 *

Hermès Hermès International S.A. ( , ) is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house established in 1837. It specializes in leather goods, silk goods, lifestyle accessories, home furnishings, perfumery, jewelry, watches and ready-to-wear. Since the ...

461 * Sedatus (Saint Sédat) 589 *Pierre I 639 * Crescitaire 683 * Pacotase 688 * Ervige 693 * Wulfégaire 791 * Etienne I 833 * Alaric 875–878 *

Agilbert Agilbert ( 650–680) was the second bishop of the West Saxon kingdom and later Bishop of Paris. He is venerated as a saint within the Catholic Church, with his feast day falling on 11 October. The date and place of Agilbert's birth are unknown ...

887–897 * Fructuarius 897–898 * Matfred I 898 *Reginald (Raynald) I de Béziers 906–933 or 930 *Rodoaldus (Raoul) 930 or 936–957 *Bernard I Géraud 957–978 or 980 *Matfred II 990–1010 or 1011

1000 to 1300

*Urbain 1016 *Etienne II 1017–1036 or 1037 *Bernard II 1035 or 1037–1046 *Bèrenger I 1050–1053 *Bernard III Arnaud 1053–c. 1060 *Bèrenger II 1061–c. 1066 *Matfred III 1077–1096 or c. 1070–c. 1093 * Arnaud de Lévézon 1096–1121 * Saint Guiraud (Geraldus, Geraud) 1121–1123 *Guillaume I de Serviez (Servian, Cerviez) 1127 *Bermond de Lévezon 1128–1152 *Guillaume II 1152–1154 or 1157 *Raymond I 1159 *Guillaume III 1159–1167 *Bernard IV de Gaucelin 1167–1184 *Geofroy (Gausfred) de Marseille 1185–1199 * Guillaume de Rocozels ( Rocozels) 1199–1205 *Ermengaud 1205–1208 *Reginald( Renaud) II de Montpeyroux 1208–1211 *Pierre II d'Aigrefeuille 1211–1212 *Bertrand de Saint Gervais 1212–1215 *Raymond II Lenoir January–20 April 1215 *Bernard V de Cuxac 1215–1242 *R. 1243 *P. 1244 *Raymond III de Salles (Salle) 1245–1247 *Raymond IV de Vaihauquez (Valhauquès) 1247–1261 *Pons de Saint Just 1261–1293 *Raymond V de Colombiers 1293–1294 * Berengar Fredol the Elder, 1294–1305,

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

1300 to 1500

* Richard Neveu 1305–1309 * Berengar Fredol the Younger, 1309–1312, cardinal *Guilhaume V Frédol 1313–1349 * Guilhaume VI de Landorre (Laudun) 1349–1350 or 1349–1349 * Hugues I de la Jugie 1353 ou 1349–1371, later bishop of Carcassonne (1371) * Sicard d'Ambres de Lautrec 1371–1383 * Gui de Malsec 1383, promoted to Poitiers * Simon de Cramaud 1383–1385, promoted bishop of Poitiers (1385) * Barthelemy de Montcalve 1384–1402 * Bertrand II de Maumont 1408–1422, later bishop of Tulle (1422) * Hugues II de Combarel 1422–1424, promoted bishop of Poitiers (1424) * Guilhaume VII de Montjoie 1424–1451 * Louis de Harcourt 13 October 1451 – 10 December 1451, promoted archbishop of Narbonne(1451) * Pierre III Bureau 1451–1456 or 1457 * Jean I Bureau 1457–1490 * Pierre IV Javailhac 1490–1503

From 1500

*Antoine Dubois 1504–1537 *Jean II de Lettes 1537–1543, resigned (1543) *Jean III de Narbonne 1543–1545 *François Gouffier 1546–1547 or 12 February–5 December 1547 *

Lorenzo Strozzi Lorenzo Strozzi (3 December 1523 – 14 December 1571) was an Italian abbot and cardinal. He was the son of Filippo Strozzi, a member of the powerful Strozzi family of Florence, and Clarice de' Medici. Early life Lorenzo Strozzi was born in F ...

1547–1561, later bishop of Albi (1561) * Julien de Medicis 1561–1571 or 1574, later

archbishop of Aix The Archdiocese of Aix-en-Provence and Arles (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Aquensis in Gallia et Arelatensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse d'Aix-en-Provence et Arles''; Occitan Provençal: ''Archidiocèsi de Ais de Provença e Arle'' or ''Archidioucès ...

(1574) *André Etienne 1572 *Thomas I de Bonsi 1573–1596, resigned 1596, died 1603 * Jean de Bonsi 1596–1611, cardinal in 1611, died 1621 * Dominique de Bonzi (Bonsi) 1615–1621 *Thomas II de Bonsi 1622 or 1621–1628 *Clément de Bonsi 1628–1659 * Pierre de Bonzi 1659–1669, later

bishop of Toulouse The Archdiocese of Toulouse (–Saint Bertrand de Comminges–Rieux) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the Department of Haute-Garonne and its seat is Toulouse Cathedral. Archbi ...

(1669) *Armand Jean de Rotondy de Biscaras 1671–1702 *Louis-Charles des Alris de Rousset 1702–1744 *Léon-Louis-Ange de Ghistelle de Saint-Floris 1744–1745 *Joseph-Bruno de Bausset de Roquefort 1745–1771 *Aymar Claude de Nicolaï 1771–1790, last bishop of Béziers. The diocese was suppressed in 1790. *Dominique Pouderous, ( constitutional bishop of l'Hérault, installed at Béziers) 1791–1799 (died at Béziers 10 April 1799) *Alexandre Victor Rouanet, (constitutional bishop of l'Hérault, installed at Béziers) 1799–1801 (dismissed) From 1802, the constitutional bishops of l'Hérault resided at

. *Jean-Paul-Gaston de Pins 1817–1822David M. Cheney, ''Catholic-Hierarchy:''
''Archbishop Jean-Paul-Gaston de Pins''
Retrieved: 2016-07-17

References

Bibliography

Reference works

* (Use with caution; obsolete) * (in Latin) * (in Latin) * * * *

Studies

*Bellaud Dessalles, Mathilde (1901)
''Les évèques italiens de l'ancien diocèse de Béziers, 1547-1669''
Paris: A. Picard. * * * second edition (in French) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beziers, Diocese of Apostolic sees Former Roman Catholic dioceses in France