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(Redirected from Napoleonic Concordat)
The 'Concordat of 1801' reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church as the established church of France and restored some of its civil status. During the French Revolution, the National Assembly had confiscated Church properties and issued the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, which made the Church a department of the State, removing it from the authority of the Pope. Subsequent laws abolished the traditional Gregorian Calendar and Christian holidays. While the Concordat restored some ties to the papacy, it was largely in favor of the state; the balance of church-state relations had tilted firmly in Napoleon Bonaparte's favor.
After successfully leading a ''coup d'état'' against the French Directory in 1799, and then one month later declaring himself First Consul with the support of a popular vote, Napoleon Bonaparte was convinced that coming to terms with the Catholic Church would be crucial to the success of his ventures. Ercole Consalvi, Pope Pius VII's secretary of state, was the negotiator for the Catholic Church with Napoleon. There were many misconceptions during the creation of the Concordat, such as evidence of several false copies coming before the secretary to sign which he quickly dismissed.
Consalvi fiercely fought Napoleon's Organic articles from being added to the Concordat, which permitted laws and views seen as sinful by the Church, violating its best interests. However, Napoleon did not give up easily. He allowed only 40 days for the Concordat to be ratified by Rome and be returned to Paris, where it had been created. After Consalvi hurried to return the ratified Concordat back to Paris, Napoleon held the document dormant nearly eight months, after which he produced the Concordat with the Organic Articles, disregarding the Church's refusal to ratify the annexation of the Articles in the first place.
The main terms of the Concordat of 1801 between France and Pope Pius VII included:
★ A declaration that "Catholicism was the religion of the great majority of the French" but not the official state religion, thus maintaining religious freedom, in particular with respect to Jews and Protestants
★ The Papacy had the right to depose bishops, but this made little difference, because the French government still nominated them.
★ The State would pay clerical salaries and the clergy swore an oath of allegiance to the State
★ The Church gave up all its claims to Church lands that were confiscated after 1790
★ The Sabbath was reestablished as a "festival", effective Easter Sunday, 18 April 1802. The rest of the French Republican Calendar, which had abolished it, was not replaced by the traditional Gregorian Calendar until 1 January 1806.
The Concordat was abrogated upon the separation of Church and State law in 1905. However, some terms of the Concordat are still in effect in the Alsace-Moselle region, as it was controlled by the German Empire at the time of the law's passage.
★ Napoleon and the Jews
★ The French Concordat of 1801 by the Catholic Encyclopedia
★ The Organic Articles by the Catholic Encyclopedia
★ Documents upon Napoleon and the Reorganization of Religion
selected text of the Concordat and Organic Articles
The 'Concordat of 1801' reaffirmed the Roman Catholic Church as the established church of France and restored some of its civil status. During the French Revolution, the National Assembly had confiscated Church properties and issued the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, which made the Church a department of the State, removing it from the authority of the Pope. Subsequent laws abolished the traditional Gregorian Calendar and Christian holidays. While the Concordat restored some ties to the papacy, it was largely in favor of the state; the balance of church-state relations had tilted firmly in Napoleon Bonaparte's favor.
| Contents |
| Ratification |
| Contents |
| See also |
| External links |
Ratification
After successfully leading a ''coup d'état'' against the French Directory in 1799, and then one month later declaring himself First Consul with the support of a popular vote, Napoleon Bonaparte was convinced that coming to terms with the Catholic Church would be crucial to the success of his ventures. Ercole Consalvi, Pope Pius VII's secretary of state, was the negotiator for the Catholic Church with Napoleon. There were many misconceptions during the creation of the Concordat, such as evidence of several false copies coming before the secretary to sign which he quickly dismissed.
Consalvi fiercely fought Napoleon's Organic articles from being added to the Concordat, which permitted laws and views seen as sinful by the Church, violating its best interests. However, Napoleon did not give up easily. He allowed only 40 days for the Concordat to be ratified by Rome and be returned to Paris, where it had been created. After Consalvi hurried to return the ratified Concordat back to Paris, Napoleon held the document dormant nearly eight months, after which he produced the Concordat with the Organic Articles, disregarding the Church's refusal to ratify the annexation of the Articles in the first place.
Contents
The main terms of the Concordat of 1801 between France and Pope Pius VII included:
★ A declaration that "Catholicism was the religion of the great majority of the French" but not the official state religion, thus maintaining religious freedom, in particular with respect to Jews and Protestants
★ The Papacy had the right to depose bishops, but this made little difference, because the French government still nominated them.
★ The State would pay clerical salaries and the clergy swore an oath of allegiance to the State
★ The Church gave up all its claims to Church lands that were confiscated after 1790
★ The Sabbath was reestablished as a "festival", effective Easter Sunday, 18 April 1802. The rest of the French Republican Calendar, which had abolished it, was not replaced by the traditional Gregorian Calendar until 1 January 1806.
The Concordat was abrogated upon the separation of Church and State law in 1905. However, some terms of the Concordat are still in effect in the Alsace-Moselle region, as it was controlled by the German Empire at the time of the law's passage.
See also
★ Napoleon and the Jews
External links
★ The French Concordat of 1801 by the Catholic Encyclopedia
★ The Organic Articles by the Catholic Encyclopedia
★ Documents upon Napoleon and the Reorganization of Religion
selected text of the Concordat and Organic Articles
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