CLERO, ASSEMBLEE del. — According to canonical provisions, the clergy of each diocese gathers with the bishop at synod (v.); bishops gather in provincial, national, general, and ecumenical councils (v. CONCILIO). In the barbarian kingdoms of Spain and Gaul, they gathered collegially together with the lay notables on the occasion of the kingdom’s most important decisions. During the feudal period, the clergy constituted one of the three estates into which society was divided and participated in the assemblies held for the benefit of the class or of the entire community, in provincial or national diets.
The assemblies of the clergy in the kingdom of France had a particular character, having been established following the treaty of Poissy concluded at the assembly of Poissy in 1561. In order to reduce to more reasonable limits the levies that the king imposed on the revenues of the clergy, at an assembly of bishops and ecclesiastics of the second order held at Melun in 1579 it was decided that assemblies of representatives of the clergy itself should be held periodically (the interval sometimes varied) for this purpose; they were to include two bishops and two lower-ranking ecclesiastics elected from each province and to decide on the contributions, which were therefore regarded as « dons gratuits ». They also periodically audited the financial accounts. The assemblies of the clergy were convened by the king, who could also call extraordinary assemblies whenever he deemed it necessary; thus, although they had in themselves a purely financial task, they could also be called upon to deal with religious questions. This in fact occurred in 1682, when the famous four articles of the « Gallican liberties » were promulgated by the assembly of the clergy. In this way, it was possible to avoid convening councils over which the king would have been much less able to assert his sovereign authority. The last assembly of the clergy was held in 1788.