PETITE-ÉGLISE. - The name designates the anti-concordatarian schism of 1801, in France and Belgium. On 18 Aug. 1801, Pope Pius VII, in execution of Article 3 of the Concordat, demanded the resignation of all the former bishops of France; 46 resigned, most of them reluctantly and with protests, but 38, of whom only two were appointed, addressed the Pope on 6 Apr. 1803 with canonical appeals, though very respectful in tone (
V. Mémoire des évêques français, Traduction, Lyon 1898, published by the P
E.).These appeals were approved by some priests and faithful in various parts of France and Belgium; the dissidents took different names according to the dioceses: Bamières at Coutances, Enfarinés at Rodez, Clémentins at Rouen, Blanchardistes at Bayeux, Purs at Montpellier, Stévenistes at Namur, P.-E. at Lyon. This last name prevailed: some of the dissident bishops submitted at the time of the Restoration, in 1815. Others died without submitting. The two most obstinate were Alexandre de Themines, former bishop of Blois, called “the venerable” by his followers, and Jean de Coucy, former bishop of La Rochelle. The last bishop died in 1829, the last priest in 1847. After the death of their bishops and priests, the heads of families took charge of the schism, which still persists, though in greatly reduced numbers. Two delegates of the P.-E. of Lyon, J. Berliet and M. Duc, went to plead their cause at the Vatican Council, but the Council was interrupted before their petitions could be examined. Leo XIII, asked for a response, wrote to them on 19 July 1893: while acknowledging their moral virtue, he invited them to return to the fold of Christ. With the Concordat suppressed, the archbishop of Lyon again invited them, since no grounds for schism remained. They did not respond to this appeal, which was repeated several times and most recently by Cardinal Gerlier (20 Feb. 1949).
They affirm: “We are Catholics, we baptize and instruct our children in the Catholic faith; if we have neither Mass nor any other sacrament besides Baptism, the fault is not ours; we are victims of our fidelity for the good of the Catholic Church; we await the hour of providence, which will show that we are right; the Pope has never directly condemned us; indeed, Pope Pius XII has had it said that we would be received without abjuration or profession of faith, and he acknowledges that we are in our rights and shows that he understands us; but we cannot return to the Church without dishonor until the wrongs have been repaired.”
The Christian man