St. Stephen's Cathedral () was a

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 ...

church located in Besançon on the site of the current

Citadel of Besançon The Citadel of Besançon (, ) is a 17th-century fortress in Franche-Comté, France. It is one of the finest masterpieces of military architecture designed by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban. The Citadel occupies on Mount Saint-Etienne, one of the ...

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou dialect, Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and Provinces of France, historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of France, departments of Doub ...

, eastern France. The cathedral was thought to be constructed between 326 AD and the fifth century. Between the 12th and 13th centuries there was continuing friction between St. Stephen's Cathedral and St. John's Cathedral (, the present

Besançon Cathedral Besançon Cathedral () is a Roman Catholic church architecture, church dedicated to John the Apostle, Saint John located in the city of Besançon, France. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Besançon. The cathedral consists of a large nave betwe ...

),which was believed to be a more recent foundation. Hugues de Salins, who redesigned St. John's, also led the reconstruction plans for St. Stephen's between 1033 and 1050. The two were intended to coexist, despite St. John's having more power in the elections of archbishops. In 1092 St. Stephen's complained that it had been stripped of its precedence, despite the

archdiocese 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 ...

believing that it was the principal one of Besançon. In 1238 it was

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the con ...

due to its attacks against St. John's. Between 1253 and 1254, Archbishop Guillaume de la Tour unified the two chapters, a decision which was ratified by

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV (; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universities of Parma and Bolo ...

on 1 August 1254. After the

Battle of Besançon The Battle of Besançon (21 June 1575) was a sectarian conflict between the Protestants and Catholics in the French city of Besançon in the region of Franche-Comté. Prior to the battle, the Huguenots, accused of heresy, had been expelled from t ...

in 1575, masses were held at both cathedrals to celebrate the Catholic victory against the Protestants. From 1668 to 1675, St. Stephen's Cathedral was abandoned and it was later decided that it should be destroyed, along with some surrounding houses, to allow for the construction of the Citadel of Besançon, after Franche-Comté was given to

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

in the

Treaties of Nijmegen The Treaties or Peace of Nijmegen (; ; ) were a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Nijmegen between August 1678 and October 1679. The treaties ended various interconnected wars among France, the Dutch Republic, Spain, Brandenburg, Sw ...

. However, it was then decided that the cathedral should remain, but it was stripped of its contents, and then destroyed in any case after an accidental fire, when construction of the citadel began. The present Besançon Cathedral currently contains 8 paintings that were copied from 15th-century frescos in the destroyed cathedral, and an eight-lobed marble altar now known as the ''Rose of Saint John''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:St. Stephen's Cathedral, Besancon Former cathedrals in France Christianity in Besançon Buildings and structures in Besançon

See also

References