Gallican Church
Encyclopedia
The Gallican Church was the Catholic Church in France
from the time of the Declaration of the Clergy of France
(1682) to that of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy
(1790) during the French Revolution
.
Gallicanism
was the doctrine that the power of monarch
s is independent of the power of pope
s, and that the church of each country should be under the joint control of the pope and the monarch. The opposite doctrine is known as Ultramontanism
.
Under the Declaration of the Clergy of France
of 1682, the following privileges were claimed, but never accepted by the Holy See:
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
from the time of the Declaration of the Clergy of France
Declaration of the Clergy of France
Under the Declaration of the Clergy of France of 1682, the following privileges were claimed by France in relation to the Holy See. They are the framework of Gallicanism, and have never been accepted by the Pope....
(1682) to that of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy
Civil Constitution of the Clergy
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was a law passed on 12 July 1790 during the French Revolution, that subordinated the Roman Catholic Church in France to the French government....
(1790) during the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
.
Gallicanism
Gallicanism
Gallicanism is the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by the monarchs' authority or the State's authority—over the Catholic Church is comparable to that of the Pope's...
was the doctrine that the power of monarch
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
s is independent of the power of pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
s, and that the church of each country should be under the joint control of the pope and the monarch. The opposite doctrine is known as Ultramontanism
Ultramontanism
Ultramontanism is a religious philosophy within the Roman Catholic community that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope...
.
Under the Declaration of the Clergy of France
Declaration of the Clergy of France
Under the Declaration of the Clergy of France of 1682, the following privileges were claimed by France in relation to the Holy See. They are the framework of Gallicanism, and have never been accepted by the Pope....
of 1682, the following privileges were claimed, but never accepted by the Holy See:
- Kings of France had the right to assemble church councils in their dominions.
- Kings of France had the right to make laws and regulations touching ecclesiastical matters.
- The popePopeThe Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
required the king's consent to send papal legatePapal legateA papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
s into France. - Those legates required the king's consent to exercise their power within France.
- BishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s, even when commanded by the pope, could not go out of the kingdom without the king's consent. - Royal officers could not be excommunicated for any act performed in the discharge of their official duties.
- The pope could not authorize the alienation of landed church estates in France, or the diminishing of any foundations.
- Papal bullPapal bullA Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
s and letters required the pareatisPareatisIn French law, Letters of Pareatis were documents required for the extension of a legal decision into jurisdictions other than that where it was originally made. The "Gallican liberties" included a requirement that papal decisions would not have effect in France without the King's...
of the king or his officers before they took effect within France. - The pope could not issue dispensationDispensation (Catholic Church)In the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, a dispensation is the suspension by competent authority of general rules of law in particular cases...
s "to the prejudice of the laudable customs and statutes" of the French cathedralCathedralA cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
churches. - It was lawful to appeal from the Pope to a future council or to have recourse to the "appeal as from an abuseAppeal as from an abuseAppeal as from an abuse is a legal term applied in the canon law of the Roman Catholic Church, meaning originally a legal appeal as recourse to the civil forum against the usurpation by the ecclesiastical forum of the rights of civil jurisdiction...
" (appel comme d'abus) against acts of the ecclesiastical power.