French Church Research Articles

The Émigré Clergy and the English Church, 1789–1815

The Established Church in the eighteenth century, although not monolithic in its structure, had evolved a delicate counterpoise in its attitude to the fraught question of the relationship between Church and State. The Church was the protector of public religion and morality and as such was protected by the State with a test law and endowment. William Warburton, bishop of Gloucester, was the chief theoretician of the idea of a mutually satisfactory alliance of ‘the two swords’. The ecclesiastical policy of Georgian England, however, owed less to ideology than to the natural development of the English Church after the break with Rome and under the influence of emerging nationalism. The French Church had developed along similar lines to the English – without losing its Roman connections – and there has been a tendency to blur the distinctions between ‘Anglican’ and ‘Gallican’.

The Decline and Fall of the House of Guise as an Ecclesiastical Dynasty

In the eighteenth century Louis XV's minister, Cardinal Dubois, defended himself against papal criticism of his appetite for church benefices by ordering that a list of benefices held by his seventeenth-century counterparts be prepared and sent to Rome. It was his way of proving that he was much less voracious than they had been.His defence serves to remind the historian of the extent to which the ancien régime church was dominated by powerful families and ministers, who enriched themselves considerably by amassing wealthy benefices. However, none of these cardinal-ministers, from Richelieu to Dubois, succeeded in founding ecclesiastical dynasties capable of preserving intact after their death the ecclesiastical possessions they had acquired; dynasties of this type had practically vanished by the mid-seventeenth century, having fallen foul of both the crown and of church reformers. While drawing enormous incomes from their benefices, Richelieu, Mazarin and Dubois accepted that their benefices, like their other offices, should be at the king's disposal after their death. This had not always been the case. Had Dubois’ historical curiosity been more disinterested, he would have discovered that during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, ecclesiastical dynasties of varying importance and staying-power had flourished within the French church, characterized by their ability to acquire and transmit large numbers of wealthy and prestigious benefices to family members over several generations. The minimum require ment for success was the breeding of younger sons and daughters prepared to ‘enter the church’ in order to perpetuate dynastic control of benefices.

Religion, morale et politique: le débat sur l'avortement

Paul Ladriere : Religion, Moral und Politik : die Debatte zur Abtreibung. ; ; Die Stellung der katholischen Kirche. Moralische Grundsatze der katholischen Autoritat : Achtung vor dem Leben, Anerkennung des Embryos als werdendes Kind, Verurteilung der Abtreibung. Die Infragestellung dieser moralischen Grundlagen im Innern des katholizismus besteht hauptsachlich in einer Kritik der ihnen zugrundeliegenden Naturphilosophie. Die kirchliche Autoritat begrundet ihren Eingriff in dem politischen Bereich im Namen ihres « Sinnes fur den Menschen », sie beurteilt den kulturellen Rahmen negativ und stellt sich gegen eine Dramatisierung der geheimen Abtreibung. Ihr Rechtskonzept fusst auf dem Begriff des « Gemeinwohls », auf der Unterordnung des legalen Rechts unter das natiirliche Recht, des Gesetzes unter die Moral, und auf der unumganglichen Notwendigkeit eines Strafgesetzes. Die Kirche verwirft jeglichen Gesetzentwurf, der die Abtreibung entkriminalisiert, und unterstreicht aile Gefahren, die eine « Liberalisierung » des Gesetzes mit sich bringen wurde. Die protestantische Stellung. Nicht im Rahmen von Grundsatzen sondern moralischen Anspruchen, verteidigen die Reformierten Kirchen eine Moral der Verantwortung : das Leben ist ein Gottes Segen, die Fortpflanzung eine freie Handlung, die Abtreibung ein letzter Ausweg. Sie beurteilen die kulturellen Veranderungen durch Wissenschaft und neue Techniken gunstig und betrachten die durch die repressive Gesetzgebung verfahrene Situation fur nicht haktbar. Sie schlagen Regelungen vor, die das neue Gesetz zu einem « abratendem » Gesetz werden lassen, und machen das Verhaltnis zwischen Gesetz und Moral von dem ethischen Konsens der Gesellschaft abhangig. Sie schlagen vor, den Begriff der Verzweiflungssituation durch den Begriff der « Indikation » zu ersetzen, eine Fursorgeeinrichtung zu schaffen und stehen der Gewissensklausel fur die Aerzte nicht ablehnend gegenuber. Die reformierten Kirchen sind fahiger als die katholischen Autoritaten, ihre religiosen Forderungen in politische Sprache umzusetzen, weil die Forderungen eher direkter ethischer Natur sind.

Inertia and Reform in the Pre-Tridentine French Church: the Response to Protestantism in the Diocese of Rouen, 1520–1562

The French Church on the eve of the Reformation presents a varied and complex spectacle. Since the end of the Hundred Years War the number of clergy had grown significantly, much of the material damage caused by the war had been made good, and an army of administrators had placed the Church on what seemed to be a healthy financial base. In the diocese of Rouen under Guillaume d'Estouteville (1453–83) the archbishop's annual revenues rose from about 4,000 to about 10,000 livres; the Church was served by an excellent administration; and an abundance of priests ensured that there were few or no empty benefices. Yet neither a more numerous clergy nor sound finances could guarantee a religious revival or an active faith. The Church's aim never went beyond an attempt to turn the clock back, and it did not adapt to the expanding economy of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Ecclesiastical institutions failed to invest in anything other than land and, to a lesser extent, urban property, and too much capital was immobilised in land and ‘treasure’, while the expanding commercial sectors of the upper-Norman economy went ignored. Similarly, corruption, abuses and apathy existed alongside the first glimmerings of new attitudes, and without a lead from the top the forces of regeneration would be blocked by traditional attitudes and styles of administration, and the combined effects of the rise of Protestantism and the raging inflation of the sixteenth century could be temporarily disastrous.

French Classical Organ Music and the Liturgy

The study of liturgical organ music has often failed to take into adequate account its liturgical role. The following is an attempt to remedy this failure in respect of French classical organ music. It will reveal something of the nature and the extent of the use made of the organ in French churches and religious houses during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and thereby I hope create a perspective in which the extant literature of organ music of this period may be viewed. The essential nature of my inquiry is that it investigates the organ's role in the liturgy not primarily from the extant literature of organ music, but from the documents issued by the Church to regulate its role. Whilst these documents are prescriptive rather than descriptive, there can be no doubt that they reflect contemporary practices. Indeed, it is clear from a reading of some of them that prescription sprang directly from established usage. After reviewing the types of ecclesiastical legislation upon which we are dependent for our information, the main part of this article will be taken up by a close study of the role of the organ in various liturgical items belonging to the Mass and offices. A final section will discuss the alternation of polyphony with organ music.

Foreign Episcopal Appointments during the Reign of Francis I

Although historians have been aware that foreigners were appointed to the French episcopacy, there are no studies of the evolution of this practice as a longterm trend. Indeed, there are no studies for any particular reign. The only information on this subject is provided indirectly by articles on Italians in France. One such study asserts that the appointment of foreigners to the French episcopacy began in the thirteenth century and ended in the sixteenth century, but this is erroneous since this author has discovered that foreign appointments continued until the last quarter of the seventeenth century. This study focuses in depth on the reign of Francis I because it was during this period that the appointment of foreigners to the French episcopacy reached its apogee. We will investigate the reasons for this and will show that Francis I used ecclesiastical patronage to further the goals of an ambitious foreign policy. The characteristics of his foreign episcopal appointments will be examined along with their effects on the French church. An attempt also will be made to place this reign within the larger context of the evolution of this practice from the fifteenth through the seventeenth centuries.

Dancing with David

Those whose reservations kept them away from the ‘Dance’ Mass at the French Church, Leicester Place, last summer will be relieved to know that the congregation neither indulged in ‘one more time’ of Lord of the Dance, nor flung off garments to give way to unbridled holy rolling. A few jackets and ties were removed (it was a warm evening) but the only sensational happenings were the sincerely vigorous protestations of a few ladies of strong Tridentine loyalties. What, then, was done? And was it worth doing? Above all, was it proper to be done in the context ?‘The theatre is the place for this, not the House of God’ intoned one of the ladies in a recurring and joyless antiphon, received for the most part by the packed congregation in compassionate silence and heroically overlooked by the readers thus interrupted. Well, is it? Were we insulting God by a mock marriage of actress and bishop? ‘But what about David ?’ a young Anglican said to me as we queued to get in. Ah, yes, David . . . but he was one of your ancient royals. And very Old Testament and Jewish. But so—inconveniently?—is the foundation of belief in, and credibility of, the Person who said ‘Before Abraham was, I am’.By this time the moths of misconception have no doubt gathered in large numbers. It will be useful to begin, therefore, with an account of what actually took place. Before the Mass, the celebrant, Father Kevin Donovan, S.J., explained clearly and with infectious enthusiasm what was intended. The Liturgy of the Word would include a number of readings from the Gospels and the psalms which would then be interpreted in dance and movement.

Episcopal Unrest: Gallicanism in the 1625 Assembly of the Clergy

A major problem in assessing the ecclesiastical policies of the government of Louis XIII is the equivocal reputation of its chief ministers as a churchman. Cardinal Richelieu enjoys an uncertain reputation as churchman in large measure because of the inherent ambiguities of his position as both prince of the church and chief minister of the king of France. Further compounding this ambiguous position was Gallicanism, the peculiar stance of the French church on matters of church-state and Franco-papal relations. A classic example of how Gallicanism could introduce complex and independently derived factors into Richelieu's policies was the decennial meeting of the Assembly of the Clergy of 1625. At that meeting, early in Richelieu's tenure as chief minister, the French clergy demonstrated with great vigor that Gallicanism was not a doctrine of the past and that it had wellsprings quite independent of the crown and Richelieu. Even in 1625 most people, including the papal curia, found it difficult to believe that the behavior of the Assembly of the Clergy was not dictated by Richelieu. We shall see, however, that the Assembly adopted measures well calculated to irritate the Holy See at a time when Cardinal Richelieu had every desire to placate Urban VIII. In 1625 Richelieu was negotiating feverishly to extricate Louis XIII from war in the Valtellina without losing the fruits of his aggressive action there. Richelieu's plan called for a papal garrison to be placed in the valley to keep it neutral and closed to Spain. Necessarily, the pope's cooperation was vital, which meant that it was not the moment to offend Urban VIII by attacking papal authority at home.

Comparisons of French and American Church Attendance Patterns

Comparisons of French and American Church Attendance Patterns

The Falloux Law, the Catholic Press, and the Bishops: Crisis of Authority in the French Church

Suppose that [the bishops] had before them, no longer the regularly constituted earthly powers, but, this other power, restless, talkative, meddlesome, that is called journalism, which is made to agitate the masses to throw them into the spirit of party, to keep them always in a state of restiveness... is it not true that this would be the introduction of a very profane element in the government of Christian society .. . ? And is it not especially true that if this action of journalism continues in this way in the Church, if it prospers, if it strengthens itself . . . the sacred ministry of the pastors would be notably weakened by it and the faith of the peoples shaken?l

The Birth of Americanism: “Westward the Apocalyptic Candlestick”

The papal condemnation of Americanism in 1899 and the allegation that Americanism was a practical preface to Modernism has given rise to a considerable amount of literature attempting to determine just what Americanism was. This literature has been unsuccessful, however, in detecting any unity in the apparently isolated and unconnected liberal actions and opinions of the Americanists. These studies give the impression that the Americanists never defined what they were promoting, and that their only program was a series of unconnected actions and opinions which signified a certain “liberalism.” Opinions and actions relative to the Church's relation to social questions, to the problem of Catholic schools, German nationalism within American Catholicism, the founding of the Catholic University of America, and participation in the interdenominational World Parliament of Religions would appear to have little in common. In this light it has been concluded that Americanism was primarily a matter concerning a troublesome French Church.

Anglican-Danish Relations from the American to the Icelandic Consecration Proposals (1784–1866)

Between the sixteenth and the eighteenth centuries the Church of England and the Nordic Churches had by no means uncommon contacts, which extended, on at least one occasion, in the correspondence between the Reverend Edward Lye and Carl Jasper Benzelius, to matters specifically ecumenical. From the Restoration period there was a Scandinavian presence in London, which was graced with a remarkable degree of religious freedom virtually amounting to ‘most favoured nation’ treatment, and the contemporaneous English commercial colonies at Elsinor and Gothenburg enabled some members, at least, of the Anglican Church to observe their Scandinavian counterparts in their native habitat. Yet, notwithstanding these apparent advantages, Anglicans, on the whole, remained more ignorant of the Episcopal Churches of Northern Europe than of the Dutch, French and Swiss Reformed Churches, and the one cross-influence which there was in this period, through bishop Jacob Serenius of Strängäs, was apparently so superficial that nothing of significance could be built upon it. Part of the reason was, no doubt, that Scandinavia and Iceland were outside the normal itinerary of the Grand Tour and also outside the main channels of eighteenth-century British diplomacy. This being so, the peculiar external characteristics of Lutheranism, particularly its northerly variety, were likely to baffle and deter those rare Englishmen who came face to face with it.

The Vatican, French Catholics, and the Associations Cultuelles

Previous articleNext article No AccessThe Vatican, French Catholics, and the Associations CultuellesMaurice J. M. LarkinMaurice J. M. Larkin Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by The Journal of Modern History Volume 36, Number 3Sep., 1964 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/239428 Views: 5Total views on this site Copyright 1964 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Talleyrand and the Temporal Problems of the French Church from 1780 to 1785

Talleyrand and the Temporal Problems of the French Church from 1780 to 1785

Chant sur le Livre in French Churches in the 18th Century

Research Article| April 01 1961 Chant sur le Livre in French Churches in the 18th Century Abbé Jean Prim Abbé Jean Prim Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Journal of the American Musicological Society (1961) 14 (1): 37–49. https://doi.org/10.2307/829464 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Abbé Jean Prim; Chant sur le Livre in French Churches in the 18th Century. Journal of the American Musicological Society 1 April 1961; 14 (1): 37–49. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/829464 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentJournal of the American Musicological Society Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright 1960 The American Musicological Society Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

"Chant sur le Livre" in French Churches in the 18th Century

"Chant sur le Livre" in French Churches in the 18th Century

The Nature of the Avenir Movement (1830-1831)

IN I830 a small but unusually able group of men launched what proved to be the first significant Liberal Catholic movement in France. This movement, which centered around the newspaper Avenir, was active for only thirteen months; but despite its brevity it set forth, at least in embryonic form, all the fundamental ideas that were to appear in later manifestations of Liberal Catholicism. At the same time, because it was the first action of its kind in France and lacked precedents by which to operate, the Avenir movement could and did include elements that later efforts, taught by its failure, would avoid. For it was distinctly a product of its age, an attempt not only to find the proper role for the Church in a France newly emerged from revolution, but also to solve all the major problems of modern society. It was an ambitious attempt and, though quickly snuffed out, displayed a spirit which can never cease to be of interest. Studies of the Avenir movement have generally stressed the importance of certain key ideas that the movement promoted, such as complete separation of Church and state, the right of revolution, universal suffrage, and association of Catholics and liberals in defense of the rights of all. No one can contest the significance of these and other concepts commonly and correctly associated with the Avenir movement. But the very significance of such ideas has frequently led students to mistake their role in the movement. It has been generally assumed that the efforts of all the leaders of the movement must have been devoted to the promotion of ideas so novel to the French Church. In fact, however, as we shall see, the leaders were in outright disagreement about some of the most vital matters with which they

The Evolution of the French Church

The Evolution of the French Church

The House Church and the French Church

The House Church and the French Church

The Stained Glass of French Churches. With an essay by Louis Grodecki. 12¼×9. Pp. 32 + 32 plates in colour. London: Lindsay Drummond, Ltd.; Paris: Les Éditions du Chêne, 1948. 45s.

The Stained Glass of French Churches. With an essay by Louis Grodecki. 12¼×9. Pp. 32 + 32 plates in colour. London: Lindsay Drummond, Ltd.; Paris: Les Éditions du Chêne, 1948. 45s. - Volume 30 Issue 1-2