Arles

ARLES. - City of south-eastern France, in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône, with a population of about 29,000 inhabitants, A. was an archiepiscopal see, suppressed by the Napoleonic concordat of 1801. Although its origins remain obscure, the existence of a Christian community there as early as the 3rd century is proven. Local tradition, credited since the 4th century, holds that the founder of the see of Arles was St. Trophimus, presented in the letters of Pope Zosimus as the first bishop of A. and the first apostle of Gaul. Historically attested is Marcianus, whose deposition St. Cyprian demanded (454), because he was a supporter of the Novatian schism. A favorite residence of Constantine, A. in 314 became the seat of a council to settle the disputes between Caecilian of Carthage and the Donatists. Under the emperor Constantius, one of the leaders of the Arian party, who at the Synod of A. (353) condemned St. Hilary of Poitiers, was Saturninus, who a decade later, during the orthodox reaction, was deposed from the episcopate.

Although the city's importance as a commercial center was notable, nevertheless throughout the 4th century A. always remained a secondary city in the administrative and political sphere, and it was only toward the end (c. 392), when the prefect of the Gauls took refuge there and installed there the seat of government, that it acquired a political prominence it had never until then enjoyed. That was perhaps the occasion for the local bishop to claim for himself, in imitation of the civil powers, prerogatives over the other bishops of the region, against the metropolitan of Vienne. In fact, at the Council of Turin (401) the question was debated, without however resolving it, as to which of the two sees - Vienne or A. - would enjoy the rights of an ecclesiastical metropolis.

1. METROPOLIS AND ECCLESIASTICAL PROVINCE

In 417, with the intention of binding the episcopate of the Gauls more closely to the Roman See, Pope Zosimus allowed himself to be persuaded by Patroclus, who had succeeded Heros in 412, to elevate A. to metropolitan see, not only of the province Viennensis, to which the see belonged, but also of Narbonensis I and II. Going further, the Pope made Patroclus a kind of intermediary between the episcopate of the Gauls and the Holy See. From then on no bishop could be admitted before the Pope without the testimonial letters of the bishop of A., and all ecclesiastical affairs of the Gauls had to be referred to him. This accumulation of privileges made him, besides a metropolitan, a vicar of the Pope.

The primacy was undermined shortly afterward, because the successor of Zosimus, St. Boniface, set out on a different path, followed by his successors. St. Leo the Great, in 445, insisting on the personal character of the privileges granted to Patroclus, judged them by then an abuse and stripped the bishop St. Hilary of every jurisdiction not only over the neighboring provinces, but over the Viennensis itself. Shortly afterward (450), when Ravennius was bishop, the Pope received an address signed by 19 bishops of Gaul in favor of the metropolitan privileges of A. as they had been defined by Pope Zosimus. St. Leo responded by setting forth the complaints of the bishop of Vienne and deciding that the whole Viennensis should be divided into two metropolises: Vienne and A. To the first were assigned as suffragans: Valence, Geneva, Grenoble and Tarentaise. To the second: Marseille, Toulon, Orange, St.-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, Avignon, Aix, Vaison, Cavaillon, Carpentras. The primacy of A. ceased to be a matter of discussion when the Visigothic invasions forced the great Roman administrations to be transferred to Italy. They returned after the fall of the Visigothic kingdom (507). Pope Symmachus again sought to raise the fortunes of the primacy, appointing St. Caesarius (v.) his representative in the Gauls and in Spain (514). At the death of Caesarius (542) Gaul, except for Septimania, was entirely Frankish, and A. recognized the authority of King Childebert. Every tie was practically broken between the latter and Spain, including Narbonensis I, and the successors of St. Caesarius - Ausanius, Aurelian, Sapaudus - although recognized by Rome as vicars, no longer had any effective power. Under the Frankish regime, the archbishops of A. at the national councils now appear as ordinary metropolitans, and by the end of the 6th century the vicariate was no longer in question. With the advent of the Merovingians, the primacy passed to Lyon. But the metropolitan circumscription continued to be a subject of discussion, and at the Council of Frankfurt (794) the ruling of 450 was confirmed, which assigned 9 suffragan sees to A., 4 to Vienne. In 828, with the elevation of Aix to a metropolis, A. remained with 8 suffragan sees; this situation remained unchanged until 1475, when Avignon was created a metropolis with the sees of Vaison, Cavaillon, Carpentras as suffragans.

2. ARCHIEPISCOPATE

The successor of Patroclus, killed in 426, was St. Honoratus (d. 429), founder of the famous abbey of Lérins, where some of his successors in the episcopate were formed: St. Hilary (429-49), St. Caesarius (502-42), St. Aurelian (546-51); the last two zealous promoters of the religious life introduced by St. Honoratus, and founders of monasteries with a stable rule. Notable was the action of Lérins during the 5th and 6th centuries for the development of parish life in the Arles region, later hindered by the political events that led, under Frankish rule, to the dismemberment of the metropolitan territory, and even more so during the troubles caused in Provence by the Saracen invasions.

In the 10th century, with the establishment of a new comital dynasty there coincided the local religious rebirth and the restoration of ecclesiastical discipline, but this was the work of monasticism: especially of Lérins, of St. Victor of Marseille and above all of the abbey of Montmajour, founded in 974 and destined for great fortune. As for the bishops, having become powerful feudal lords, they were victims of the system against which the Gregorian movement would later rise up. Their temporal power, established during the anarchy of the 9th and 10th centuries, was recognized by the kings of Burgundy, with the concession of the rights of the regalia, and was consolidated under the emperors of the Salian House. Frederick Barbarossa in 1164 described A. as «caput provinciae et principalis sedes imperii» and in 1178 received there the crown of king of Burgundy from the archbishop Raymond. In the first half of the 13th century A. felt the effects of the troubles with a politico-religious background, caused by the Albigensian heresy, until in 1251 it came under the dominion of Charles of Anjou, with whom French influence triumphed.

The residence of the Popes in Avignon was not unconnected with interventions in the see of Arles. Several of its incumbents belonged to the pontifical court, which also laid its hand on the neighboring bishoprics. After the Western

Schism, notable was the activity displayed by the archbishops of A. at the Councils of Constance and Basel, where Card. L. Aleman (v.) was the supporter of the election of the antipope Felix V, against Eugene IV. Under the influence of the Pragmatic Sanction the chapter of A. sought to regain its right of election to the archbishopric; but with the concordat of 1516 this passed into the hands of the king of France. The last archbishop was G. M. du Lau, killed during the Revolution (1792), and beatified by Pius XI on 17 Oct. 1926. With the concordat of 1801 the see was suppressed, and the archbishop of Aix joined to his title those of A. and Embrun.

1927; F. Benoit, L'Abbaye de Montmajour, Paris 1928; L. Royer, s. v. in DHC, IV, coll. 231-43.

3. ARCHAEOLOGY

The ancient basilicas of A. — the basilica Constantia, beati ac primi martyris Stephani, beati Genesii etc. — present difficult problems to the archaeologist, because of later reconstructions. But more eloquent is the memory of primitive Christianity in the inscriptions and sarcophagi coming from the Christian necropolises and now gathered in a precious collection in the museum of Christian art. Of the two necropolises, that of the Aliscamps and that of Trinquetaille, the first is still a very evocative site with the rows of its stone sarcophagi and with the medieval monuments, among which predominates the church of St. Honoratus, built on the remains of the ancient basilica of St. Genesius (existing in the 5th century) and rebuilt on several occasions (6th-7th and 12th-13th centuries).

Two other monuments, intra muros, arouse the liveliest interest: the church of Notre-Dame-la Majeure, where the Council of 451 was held, but which was rebuilt in the 12th century, and the primatial church of St. Trophimus. This, originally dedicated to St. Stephen, was built over the remains of a Roman building difficult to identify, and was likewise rebuilt between 1152 and 1180. The choir is a 15th-century addition. Its portal (about the year 1175) and its cloister, half Romanesque and half Gothic, are two jewels of medieval art.

Luciano De Bruyne

4. THE COUNCILS OF ARLES

A. is of great importance in the history of the first centuries of the Church, especially for the numerous councils celebrated there. The most famous is that of 314. Constantine convoked the bishops of his empire to the Council of A. in Gaul for 1 August 314. It was necessary to deal with the case of Caecilian, the new bishop of Carthage, whose election the Donatists contested. Various bishops of the Western provinces being present, it was opened on the day fixed by the emperor. The number of six hundred bishops present is exaggerated and must be reduced by some hundreds. In the synodal letter sent to Pope Sylvester thirty-three bishops are mentioned; nevertheless it may be said that the greater part of Western Christendom was represented there. In the East the Donatist controversy was almost entirely unknown.

In the aforementioned letter to Pope Sylvester, the Fathers of the council declared that their joy would have been complete had the Pope come in person to preside over the sessions. In fact, the Pope was represented by legates, who signed after the bishops. Unfortunately we do not possess the complete acts of the Synod; we know nevertheless that the case of Caecilian was examined there with care. The Donatists renewed their accusations, but without giving proofs; therefore they were condemned or referred.

After the judgment on Caecilian, the Fathers formulated several canons which they sent to the Pope for confirmation. They concerned the paschal controversy, the question of the second Baptism of heretics and certain disciplinary matters.

The best edition of the twenty-two canons of the synod is still that of the Maurists, published in 1789. The first canon establishes that the feast of Easter be celebrated everywhere on the same day, and that the Pope inform the bishops on this point, as was customary. According to Hefele-Leclercq, the aim was above all to ensure uniformity through the sending of letters from Rome, without directly proposing the abolition of the Alexandrian computation. The second canon imposes on clerics the obligation of remaining united to the church for which they were ordained.

In the third canon, excommunication strikes those who throw down their arms in time of peace. How is this canon to be explained? It was a matter of making clear to the faithful the obligation of military service: the Church censured deserters. The two following canons regarded as unworthy of the communion of the faithful those who made a profession of entertaining the people with the various spectacles at the circus, the arenas, the theatre and the stadium.

From the seventh canon it appears that the council only with difficulty admitted the use of the Sacraments to magistrates who were in office. In the new political atmosphere the Christian magistrate is no longer obliged, as in the past, to abstain from frequenting the church, but the bishop must extend his own solicitude over him so that he may not commit injustices.

The second Baptism of heretics is dealt with in the eighth canon. It must be said that the Council of A. places it on its true footing when it declares valid the Baptism conferred according to the form prescribed by the Gospel and practised by the Church. Abstraction is made from the orthodoxy and the morality of the minister. Heretics were to be questioned about the creed: had they been baptized according to the Trinitarian formula or not? If not, they were rebaptized; if so, hands were simply imposed on them « ut accipiant Spiritum Sanctum ». This imposition was made ad poenitentiam, or ad confirmationem. In the thirteenth canon order is given to remove from the clergy those who handed over the Holy Scriptures or the sacred vessels, or the names of the brethren; nevertheless the ordination performed by the "traitor" bishop remains valid. It is known that, by the edict of 303, Diocletian had decreed the prohibition of Christian assemblies, the destruction of churches, of the sacred books and of the liturgical furnishings.

The fifteenth canon declares abusive the right that certain deacons arrogated to themselves of offering the divine sacrifice, on the pretext that they had parishes to govern.

Such are the principal canons of the first Council of A., "the most illustrious that had been seen in the Church up to that time".

The second Council of A. was held in 443 and is ordinarily designated "Arelatense II", because that of 353 is not counted, being tainted with Arianism.

In 455, Ravennius, bishop of A., presided over an assembly to settle the dispute between the bishop of Fréjus and the abbot of Lérins.

A few years earlier, in 451, a meeting of bishops at A. solemnly approved the dogmatic Epistle of St. Leo, read at the Council of Chalcedon.

The occasion of the Council of 475 was a priest, Lucidus, who maintained certain errors concerning predestination and grace. In agreement with the Fathers, Faustus of Riez undertook to lead the heretic back to the truth and for this purpose wrote two works which are themselves infected with Semipelagianism.

In 524, under the presidency of St. Caesarius, an important council was celebrated, called in some collections "Arelatense III". It was convened on the occasion of the consecration of the basilica of St. Mary and issued four disciplinary canons which reflect ancient ordinances brought into force again.

Towards the end of his reign, Charlemagne imposed the celebration of reforming councils; thus, in Aug. 813, an assembly met at A. for this purpose under the presidency of the archbishop of the city and of that of Narbonne. Twenty-five canons were promulgated there to correct abuses and re-establish ecclesiastical discipline.

In 1211 a synod again met at A. against Raymond, count of Toulouse, who persisted in devastating the south of France and in favoring the heretics. He was imposed the obligation to lay down arms and to send back the auxiliary troops. Raymond would not listen to reason, but the legates declared him an enemy of the Church and promised his possessions to whoever should conquer them. Innocent III confirmed the sentence.

The three Synods of 1234, 1236 and 1246 issued disciplinary regulations. Among the 24 canons promulgated in 1234 is the one that obliges the Jews to wear distinctive marks on their clothes. In the fifteenth it is prescribed that in every synod and on all Sundays and feast days there be excommunicated usurers, notorious adulterers, soothsayers and those who consult them.

Worthy of mention is the Synod of 1275, held in the church of St. Trophimus, in which twenty-two capitula were published, renewing ancient ordinances.

In the Synod of 1303 the Fathers condemned the false doctrine of Joachim (v.) of Fiore, Cistercian abbot. To the condemnation of Joachim and his followers the Synod added sixteen canons. - See Pl. CXXXIV.

Romualdo Souarn