MÈRAULT DE BIZY, ATHANASE-RENÉ. — Apologist, b. in Paris in 1744 and d. in Orléans on 13 June 1835. Superior of the Oratory in Paris in 1793, he refused to swear the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and was imprisoned. Released in 1794 after the fall of Robespierre, he settled in Orléans, where, as vicar general and superior of the Seminary from 1805 to 1824, he rebuilt the Seminary at his own expense along with other charitable institutions.
His apologetic work derives its efficacy and originality from his refutation of error using the very words of his adversary. Notable works include: *Les apologistes revolutionaires* (Paris 1806, anonymous; 1810, 1820); *Les apologistes ou la religion chrétienne prouvée par ses ennemis comme par ses amis* (Orléans 1821 and 1829); *Conspiration de l'impiété contre l'humanité* (Paris 1822); *Voltaire apologiste de la religion chrétienne* (n.p. 1826); *Preuves abrégées de la religion* (Paris 1829).