Archdiocese of Bourges

The Archdiocese of Bourges (; ) is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. The Archdiocese comprises the of Cher and Indre in the Region of Val de Loire. Bourges Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Stephen (), stands in the city of Bourges in the department of Cher. Although this is still titled as an Archdiocese, it ceased as a metropolitan see in 2002 and is now a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of Tours.

History The diocese was founded in the 3rd century. Its first bishop was Ursinus of Bourges.

The ecclesiastical province of Aquitaine was substantially modified from the late Roman province of Aquitania Prima with which it initially corresponded. Bourges was a metropolitan by the beginning of the 6th century. Bishop Honoratus of Bourges presided at the Council of Clermont on 8 November 535.Charles de Clercq, Concilia Galliae, A. 511 - A. 695, , (Turnholt: Brepols 1963), pp. 104, 110. By the end of the 7th century, the ecclesiastical province of Bourges included the dioceses of Albi, Cahors, Clermont, Gabalitana (Javols), Limoges, Rodez, Toulouse, and Aniciensis (Le Puy).De Clercq, p. 413. In the Middle Ages there was a running dispute between the bishop of Bourges and the bishop of Bordeaux about the primacy of Aquitaine and the extent of the jurisdiction of the metropolitans.

The archbishop of Bourges enjoyed primatial (patriarchal) jurisdiction over the ecclesiastical provinces of Narbonne, Auch, Bordeaux, and Toulouse; to which was later added Albi, when it became an archbishopric. As metropolitan, the archbishop enjoyed jurisdiction over the dioceses of Clermont, S. Flour, Le Puy, Limoges, and Tulle.Gallia christiana, Vol. 5, p. 3.

Synods A diocesan synod was an irregularly held, but important, meeting of the bishop of a diocese and his clergy. Its purpose was (1) to proclaim generally the various decrees already issued by the bishop; (2) to discuss and ratify measures on which the bishop chose to consult with his clergy; (3) to publish statutes and decrees of the diocesan synod, of the provincial synod, and of the Holy See. John Paul II, Constitutio Apostolica de Synodis Dioecesanis Agendis (19 March 1997): Acta Apostolicae Sedis 89 (1997), pp. 706–727.

Bourges was the location of many synods. The synods of 30 November 1225, presided over by the papal legate Cardinal Romanus Bonaventura, and 1226J.D. Mansi, Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima , Vol. 22 (Venice: A. Zatta 1778), pp. 1213–1220. are the most important and dealt with the Albigenses.Karl Joseph von Hefele, Histoire des conciles d'après les documents originaux , Volume 5, Part 2 (Paris: Letouzey 1913), pp. 1437–1143. The council of 18 November 1228, presided over by Archbishop Simon de Sully (1218–1232) approved the suspension of the archbishop of Bordeaux, Géraud de Malemort (1227–1261), from his metropolitan status.J.D. Mansi, Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima , Vol. 23 (Venice: A. Zatta 1779), pp. 191–192. Another council was held in 1276, another in 1286, and in 1336. Archbishop Jean Coeur held a synod in 1451. In 1516, Archbishop Antoine Bohier (1514–1519) held a synod.Ordonnances Synodales de Monseigneur Fréd. Jérôme de Roye de La Rochefoucauld, Archevêque de Bourges, (Bourges: Jacques Boyer 1748 ?), p. 12. A synod took place in 1528, against Martin Luther and his teachings. Archbishop Jacques le Roy (1537–1572) published synodial constitutions in 1541. In September 1584, in accordance with the decrees of the Council of Trent, Archbishop Renaud de Beaune (1581–1602) held a provincial synod in Bourges, and published the statutes. The meeting had been postponed for some time due to the plague.Decreta concilii provincialis patriarchalis provinciae Aquitanicae Biturigibus celebrati mense Septembri anno domini M. D. LXXXIIII (Paris: apud Federicum Morellum 1585). On 23 October 1608, Archbishop André Fremiot (1602–1622) presided over a diocesan synod in Bourges, and published the decrees and statutes.Ordonnances ecclésiastiques, et statuts synodaux faits en 1608 par André Fremiot, (Bourges: Maurice Levez 1608). Other synods were held in 1643, 1645, 1652, 1662, 1673, 1676, and 1680.Ordonnances Synodales de Monseigneur Fréd. Jérôme de Roye de La Rochefoucauld, Archevêque de Bourges, (Bourges: Jacques Boyer 1748 ?), pp. 8–9; 13. Archbishop Frédéric Jérôme de La Rochefoucauld (1729–1757) held a synod on 3 October 1738, others on 16 April and 22 October 1739, others on 5 May and 20 October 1740, another on 20 April 1741, others on 12 April and 25 October 1742, others on 9 May and 24 October 1743, and another on 23 May 1744. He published its statutes, along with citations from earlier councils and synods.Ordonnances Synodales de Monseigneur Fréd. Jérôme de Roye de La Rochefoucauld, Archevêque de Bourges, (Bourges: Jacques Boyer 1748), p. 177.

On 6 October 1850, Cardinal Archbishop Jacques-Marie Dupont (1842–1859) held a provincial council in Clermont, attended by the bishops of Clermont-Ferrand, Saint-Flour, Tulle, Limoges, and Le Puy-en-Velay.Acta et Decreta Sacrorum Conciliorum Recentiorum, editio Lacensis Vol. 4 (Friburg im Breisgau: Herder 1873), pp. 1083–1162. Councils had been ordered in all of the ecclesiastical provinces of France by Pope Pius IX, who had been driven out of Rome and replaced by a republican government. They were expected to act to protect orthodoxy and obedience, and to reject the ideals of the revolutions.Mike Rapport, 1848: Year of Revolution (New York: Basic Books 2008), pp. 318–327.

In the 14th century, the ecclesiastical province of which Bourges was the metropolitan included the dioceses of: Albi (5th cent.), Castres (1317), Cahors, Clermont, Saint-Flour (1317), Limoges, Mende, Rodez, Tulle (1317), and Vabres (1317).Eubel, Hierarchia catholica I, p. 542, no. 12. In the papal bull "Triumphans Pastor" issued by Pope Innocent XI on 3 October 1678, the diocese of Albi was promoted to the rank and status of metropolitan archbishopric, and assigned as suffragans (subordinates) the dioceses of Castres, Cahors, Mende, Rodez, and Vabres; this left the metropolitan archbishopric of Bourges with the dioceses of Clermont, Saint-Flour, Limoges, and Tulle.Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 428, nos, 1 and 7. Bullarum diplomatum et privilegiorum sanctorum Romanorum pontificum, Taurinensis editio, , Vol. 19 (Turin: A. Vecco 1870), pp. 111–116.

On the eve of the Feast of the Ascension in 1467, nearly the entire city of Bourges was consumed in a fire.Gallia christiana Vol. 5, p. 89.

Chapter and cathedral

On 16 May 1559, a fire destroyed part of the cathedral of Saint-Étienne.Marguerye, p. 178, correcting earlier mistakes in dating the fire to 1552 or 1558.

The cathedral was staffed and administered by a corporation of clerics called the Chapter. The Chapter was headed by a dean and thirteen other dignitaries: the Cantor, the Chancellor, the Archdeacon, the Subcantor, the eight archdeacons, and the archpriest.Grandot, pp. 12–16. Pope Urban III (1185–1187) increased the number of prebends from thirty to forty. Pope Clement III (1187–1191) confirmed the decree, and stipulated that forty should be the number of canons, both residentiary and non-residentiary together.Total of number of canons: Grandot, p. 7. There were thirty canons in the 17th century.Ritzler & Sefrin, Hierarchia catholica V, p. 121, note 1. In 1757, when king Louis XV dissolved the Sainte-Chapelle of the palace in Bourges, he reserved for himself, with the consent of the Chapter, the right to appoint to fourteen of the canonries of the cathedral. By virtue of a bull of Pope Honorius II of 27 December 1130, if a prebend was vacant for more than six months, the archbishop had the right to appoint to it.Grandot, p. 12.

Canons were already in existence by 903, though they had abandoned the practice of living in common by 1215.Grandot, p. 6.

Two canons of Bourges later became pope: Ubaldo Allocingoli, who became Pope Lucius III (1180–1185); and Umberto Crivelli, who was also an archdeacon of Bourges and became Pope Urban III (1185–1187). Pierre Roger de Beaufort, who became Pope Gregory XI (1370–1378), was also an archdeacon of Bourges.Grandot, pp. 11, 15.

In 1236, on the motion of Archbishop Philippe Berruyer (1232–1260), the Chapter instituted the rule that no one could become a canon who was not the product of a legitimate marriage, or who was of a servile condition (slave or serf).Grandot, pp. 10–11, with note 2, quoting the Latin text of the statute.

French Revolution

On 2 November 1789, the National Assembly proclaimed that all ecclesiastical property was confiscated by the State.J. B. Duvergier, Collection complète des lois, décrets, ordonnances, règlemens avis du Conseil d'état, , Volume 1 (Paris: A. Guyot et Scribe, 1834), pp. 64–65: "L'Assemblée nationale décrète, 1º que tous les biens ecclésiastiques sont à la disposition de la nation, à la charge de pourvoir, d'une manière convenable, aux frais du culte, à l'entretien de ses ministres, et au soulagement des pauvres, sous la surveillance et d'après les instructions des provinces; 2º que dans les dispositions à faire pour subvenir à l'entretien des ministres de la religion, il ne pourra être assuré à la dotation d'aucune cure moins de douze cents livres par année, non compris le logement et les jardins en dépendant". Marais & Beaudoin, pp. 255–257.

Even before it directed its attention to the Church directly, the National Constituent Assembly attacked the institution of monasticism. On 13 February 1790. it issued a decree which stated that the government would no longer recognize solemn religious vows taken by either men or women. In consequence, Orders and Congregations which lived under a Rule were suppressed in France. Members of either sex were free to leave their monasteries or convents if they wished, and could claim an appropriate pension by applying to the local municipal authority.Duvergier, Collection complète des lois, décrets, ordonnances, règlemens avis du Conseil d'état, Volume 1, p. 118: "La loi constitutionnelle du royaume ne reconnaitra plus de voeux monastiques solennels des personnes de l'un ni de l'autre sexe: en conséquence, les ordres et congrégations réguliers dans lesquels on fait de pareils voeux sont et demeureront supprimés en France, sans qu'il puisse en être établi de semblables à l'avenir." Michael Burleigh, Earthly Powers: The Clash of Religion and Politics in Europe, from the French Revolution to the Great War (New York: Harper Collins 2006), p. 54.

The National Constituent Assembly ordered the replacement of political subdivisions of the ancien régime with subdivisions called "departments", to be characterized by a single administrative city in the center of a compact area. The decree was passed on 22 December 1789, and the boundaries fixed on 26 February 1790, with the effective date of 4 March 1790.Pisani, pp. 10–11. A new department was created called "Cher," and Bourges became the administrative city in the department.Duvergier, p. 104: "17. CHER . L'assemblée de ce département se tiendra à Bourges. Il est divisé en sept districts, dont les chefs lieux sont: Bourges, Vierzon, Sancerre, Saint-Amand, Château-Meillant, Sancoins, Aubigny. S'il est créé des tribunaux dans les districts de Château-Meillant, Sancoins et Aubigny, ils seront placés dans les villes de Lignière, Dun-le-Roi et Henrichemont."