Bishopric of Verdun

Bishopric of Verdun
Political Information
Established/End	1801 & 1822 - present
Capital	Verdun
Circle	Upper Rhenish
Bench	Council of Princes
Prince of the Empire	997
Lands Secularized	Unknown

The Bishopric of Verdun is a Roman Catholic diocese based in Verdun in northeastern Meuse, France. It was founded in the 4th Century and was suppressed in 1801. The diocese was recreated in 1822.

The Bishopric of Verdun (4th Century - 1801)

Local legend states that St Sanctitus established the diocese of Verdun during the middle of the 4th Century. The first historically confirmed bishop is St Polychronius (454 - 470). According to legend Bishop Peter (774 - 798) received the diocese of Verdun from the Emperor Charlemagne following the cession of either Pavia or Treviso to him; however the legend has been wholly discredited. Pope Adrian I confirmed Peter as bishop in 781 following the request of Charlemagne. Peter was later found to have been conspiring against the Emperor but the charges were dropped at the Synod of Frankfurt in 794.

In 997 the Emperor Otto III granted the bishops the County of Verdun and the title of "Prince of the Empire", and allowed the bishops to appoint an advocate count for life. The advocati as they were called were always from the House of Ardennes and were often quarrelling with the Bishops. Godfrey of Bouillon quarrelled with Bishop Theodoric (1046 - 1089) before renouncing his rights to the countship to go on Crusade. Godfrey would later become the first King of Jerusalem. Afterwards there were no more advocati. In 1227 King Louis IV of Germany sparked a two-year between Bishop Radulf of Torote and the city of Verdun by giving the latter several concessions.

Bishop Jacques I Pantaleon of Troyes (1252 - 1255) was later Pope as Urban IV (1261 - 1264). Bishop Liébauld of Cusance (1379 - 1403) was forced to recognise the dominance of the French king in the diocese. Bishop Nicholas III Pseaulme (1548 - 1575) successfully prevented the introduction of the Reformation into Verdun. In 1552 the Three Bishoprics of Verdun, Metz and Toul were conquered by Anne, Duke of Montmorency for King Henry II although technically they remained part of the Holy Roman Empire until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Nicholas Pseaulme later at the Council of Trent in 1575 attacked the system of commendatory abbots. Bishop Eric of Lorraine-Mercoeur (1593 - 1611) arranged the marriage between the Catholic Henry, heir to the Duchy of Lorraine, and the Calvinist Catherine, sister of King Henry IV of France.

The diocese of Verdun was suppressed by the Concordat of 1801.

The Bishopric of Verdun (1822 - present)

In 1817 the diocese was reestablished by Bull, and was formally reestablished by royal decree in 1822. The new diocese contained the entirety of the former bishopric of Verdun, as well as parts of the dioceses of Trier, Châlons, Metz, Toul and Rheims. It was made suffragan to the Archdiocese of Besançon.

See also

• List of Bishops of Verdun