The Ancient

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 ...

of Uzès (''Lat.'': Uceticensis) is a former

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

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 ...

. From the arrival of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

in the 5th century until the French Revolution the southern French city of

Uzès Uzès (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Uzès lies about north-northeast of Nîmes, west of Avignon, and southeast of Alès. History Originally ''Ucetia'' or ''Eutica'' in Latin, Uzès wa ...

, in the department of

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy 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 and administration of di ...

, a competitor to the local lords.

History

The first reliably documented Bishop of Uzès was

Constantius Constantius may refer to: __NOTOC__ Roman people * Constantius I "Chlorus" (–306), Western Roman emperor from 305 to 306 * Julius Constantius (died 337), consul in 335, son of Constantius I * Constantius Gallus (325–354), ''caesar'' from 351 to ...

, who was present at the

Council of Vaison The Council of Vaison refers to two separate synods consisting of officials and theologians of the Catholic Church which were held in or near to the Avignon commune of Vaison, France. The first was held in 442 and the second in 529. First meetin ...

in 442. Other notable bishops were the fourth, Saint Firminus (541-53), who is locally venerated as ''Saint Firmin'' and whose remains are kept in

Uzès Cathedral Uzès Cathedral () is a former Roman Catholic church located in Uzès, France. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Theodoritus, and is now a parish church. The church was formerly the seat of the Bishops of Uzès, until the diocese was abolishe ...

. The cathedral is dedicated to Saint Theodoritus (''Saint Théodorit'') priest of Antioch, martyr, and patron saint of the town, and who was invoked against plague. Also honored is Saint Ferreol (553-81). In the eighth century, Saracen occupation of the town resulted in the destruction of all the Christian structures. Under Charlemagne, who liberated Uzès, the territory was organized into a county. The count of Uzès freed the bishop from his military obligations. The counts, however, were dependent upon the counts of Toulouse, who in 1065 managed to place one of their nephews in Uzès; eventually Uzès lost the title of count and became a seignory of Toulouse. On 15 October 879, Bishop Walefridus of Uzès participated in the election of

Boso of Provence Boso of Provence (; 841 – 11 January 887) was the first non-Carolingian dynasty, Carolingian pretender to the royal throne of West Francia in 879, who failed to achieve wider recognition, being accepted only in Lower Burgundy and Provence, ...

, the son of Bivin of Gorze, count of Lotharingia, and Richildis, the daughter of Boso the Elder, as King of Provence. In 1177, the Albigensians, who entirely rejected the idea of a church hierarchy, entered Uzès, destroyed the cathedral, the church of Ss. Peter and Paul, the church of S. Jean, and the church of the monastery of Saint-Ferreol. As the power of territorial magnates dispersed, the bishops obtained the right to strike coinage. The date of the beginning of coinage by the bishops is unknown, but the privilege was confirmed by Louis the Younger in 1156, and again by Philip II in 1211. In the 13th century, at the height of the see's power, the bishop was able to purchase a part of the signory of Uzès. Prior Guillaume de Grimoard held office as vicar-general of the bishop of Uzès, from 1357 to 1362, before becoming

Pope Urban V Pope Urban V (; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard, was head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death, in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the only Avignon pope ...

Huguenots

Like many cloth-manufacturing centers (Uzès manufactures

serge Serge may refer to: *Serge (fabric), a type of twill fabric *Serge (llama) (born 2005), a llama in the Cirque Franco-Italien and internet meme *Serge (name), a masculine given name (includes a list of people with this name) *Serge (post), a hitchi ...

), the city and the surrounding countryside were strongly Protestant during the

Wars of Religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war (), is a war and conflict which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion and beliefs. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent ...

in the 16th century, which wreaked havoc in the Languedoc regions, and Bishop Jean de Saint Gelais (1531–60) became a

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

. Many of the city's churches were burned by

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

and only two remained. The Capuchins first established a house in Uzès in 1605, and by 1635, with help from the duke of Uzès, they built a church and a convent. The missionary

Jacques Bridaine Jacques Bridaine (21 March 1701, in Chusclan – 22 December 1767, in Roquemaure, Gard, Roquemaure) was a French Roman Catholic preacher. Biography Having completed his studies at the Jesuit college of Avignon, Bridaine entered the Sulpician Semina ...

(1701–67) was a native of the village of Chusclan in the diocese of Uzès. Even before he was ordained a priest, he was commissioned by Bishop Michel Poncet de la Rivière of Uzès to preach in Vers, then in Saint-Quentin. His mission was to bring back Catholicism to an area which had been Huguenot for a century.

French Revolution

The diocese of Uzès was a suffragan of the archdiocese of Narbonne. The diocese had two religious houses, one for men, the Cluniac Pont-Saint Esprit; the other for women, the Cistercian Valsauve-de-Bagnols. Both were closed during the French revolution, their members releaste from their vows by governmental order and pensioned off, the properties appropriated by the government. The Chapter of the cathedral was also dissolved. For seventy days, from February to April 1813, the city of Uzès was the enforced residence of Cardinal

Bartolomeo Pacca Bartolomeo Pacca (27 December 1756, Benevento – 19 April 1844, Rome) was an Italian cardinal, scholar, and statesman as Cardinal Secretary of State. Pacca served as apostolic nuncio to Cologne, and later to Lisbon. Biography Bartolomeo Pacca ...

, the pro-Secretary of State of Pope Pius VII. He had been deported from Rome along with

Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII (; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823) was head of the Catholic Church from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. He ruled the Papal States from June 1800 to 17 May 1809 and again ...

when Napoleon annexed the Papal States to France. After his confinement at

Fenestrelle Fenestrelle (, ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about west of Turin. It is the location of the Fenestrelle Fort, an alpine fortification which guarded the route between t ...

(1812–1813), he was permitted to visit Pius at Fontainebleau, before being sent under guard to Uzès. The

bishopric 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 associated ...

was re-established as a separate diocese in 1821. 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 27 April 1877, granted to its bishop the right to add the titles Alais and Uzès to Nîmes, with the territory of the two suppressed dioceses combined with that of Nîmes.

Bishops of Uzès

To 1150

* 419?–462 Constantius * 506 : Probatius : oricius* 538–553 : Firminus * 553–581 : Ferreolus * 581 : Albinus : 81 : ''

Jovinus Jovinus was a Gallo-Roman senator and claimed to be Roman Emperor (411–413 AD). Following the defeat of the usurper known as Constantine III, Jovinus was proclaimed emperor at Mainz in 411, a puppet supported by Gundahar, king of the Burgu ...

usurper'' * 581 : Marcellus :... * 659 : Aurelien (Aurele) * 661 : Mummolus :... * 773 : Sigibert (Sigepert, Sigisbert) * 791 : Arimundus (Arimond) * 823–835 : Amelius I. * 841 : Éliphas * 858–879 : Walafrid * 885 : Asaël * 886–915 : Amelius (II). :... * 945 : Rostagnus :... * 994–1030 : Heribaldus :... * 1030–after 1066 : Hugues (Hugo) :... * 1096–1138 : Raymond (I.) * 1139–1150 : Ébrard (I.) (Éverard)

From 1150 to 1400

* 1150–1188 : Raymond de Posquières * 1188–1190 : Bertrand (I.) * 1190–1204 : Guillaume de Vénéjan * 1203–1207 : Ébrard (II.) * 1208–1212 : Raymond * 1212–1227 : Raymond (IV) * 1228–1239 : Berlio * 1240–1249 : Pons de Becmil * 1249–1285 : Bertrand Armand * 1285–1308 : Guillaume des Gardies ::''Sede vacante'' (1308–1314) * 1314–1318 : André de Frédol, O.S.A. * 1318–1344 : Guillaume de Mandagout * 1344–1346 : Élias (

Hélias de Saint-Yrieix Hélias de Saint-Yrieix (died 1367) was a French Benedictine abbot, papal judiciary official, bishop and Cardinal. Life Hélias was born at Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche, south of Limoges (Poitou). He had a nephew, John of S. Aredio (Yrieix). He was als ...

) * 1357–1365 : Pierre d'Aigrefeuille * 1365–1366 : Pierre (II.) (Gérard de la Rovère) * 1366–1371 : Bonuspar (Bompar) * 1371–1374 : Bernard de Saint-Étienne * 1374–1398 : Martial

From 1400 to 1801

* 1400–1405 : Pierre de Beaublé (Belbladi) * 1405–1426 : Géraud de Breuil (Guiraud de Broglio) : 426 : Pierre Soybert* 1427–1441 : Bertrand de Cadoène * 1441–1442 : Guillaume de Champeaux * 1442–1445 :

Alain de Coëtivy Alain (II) de Coëtivy (8 November 1407 – 4 May 1474) was a prelate from a Breton noble family. He was bishop of Avignon, Nîmes and of Dol, cardinal of the titular church of Santa Prassede, then cardinal-bishop of Palestrina and cardinal-b ...

''Administrator'' * 1445–1446 : Guillaume Soybert * 1446–1448 : Olivier du Châtel * 1448–1463 : Gabriel du Châtel * 1463–1483 : Jean de Mareuil * 1483–1503 : Nicolas Malgras (Maugras, Malgrassi) * 1503–1531 : Jacques de Saint-Gelais * 1531–1570 : Jean de Saint-Gelais * 1570–1591 : Robert de Girard * 1591–1601 : François Rousset * 1601–1624 : Louis de Vigne * 1621–1633 : Paul-Antoine de Fay de Peraut * 1633–1660 : Nicolas de Grillié (de Grillet) * 1660–1674 : Jacques Adhémar de Monteil de Grignan * 1674–1677 : Michel Phélypeaux de la Vrillière * 1677–1728 : Michel Poncet de la Rivière * 1728–1736 : François de Lastic de Saint-Jal * 1737–1779 : Bonaventure Baüyn * 1779–1801 : Henri Benoît Jules de Béthizy de Mézières

References

Bibliography

Sources: Episcopal lists

* pp. 548-549. (Use with caution; obsolete) * * * * * *

Studies

*Congregation of St. Maur, O.S.B. (edd.) (1739
''Gallia Christiana, In Provincias Ecclesiasticas Distributa.''
. Tomus Sextus, Volume 6. Paris: Typographia regia, 1739. p. 609-663; "Instrumenta", pp. 293-312 *Albiousse, Lionel d' (1903)
''Histoire de la ville d'Uzès.''
. Uzès: H. Malige, 1903. *Charvet, Gratien (1870).
La première maison d'Uzès, étude historique et généalogique
de la première maison d'Uzès suivi du catalogue analytique des évêques d'Uzès''. . Alais: J. Martin 1870. *Devic, Claude; Vaissete, J. (1872)
''Histoire générale de Languedoc: avec des notes et les pièces justificatives''
. Volume 4. Toulouse: E. Privat, 1872. hronological annotated list, pp. 298-304; 864-870 * * *

External links

Image of cathedral

Uzès CathedralSt. Theodoritus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uzes, Ancient Diocese of Uzes