Rector of the Sorbonne (1602-18), he defended the liberties of the Gallican Church and its prerogatives, violently attacking the religious orders, especially the Jesuits. After being removed from office, he defended his viewpoint in numerous writings, refusing any retraction. His literary activity was multifaceted, ranging from rhetorical-grammatical pamphlets to the edition of the Works of Gerson (Paris 1606), which he annotated with Gallican intent. His principal work is the *De ecclesiastica et politica potestate libellus* (ibid. 1611), in which he sets forth the theses of political Gallicanism regarding the divine right of kings and kingdoms and the absolute independence of civil power. The authority of the Church would be purely spiritual and would depend on the sovereign in matters both mixed and temporal, such as the convocation of general councils and the administration of goods. The Supreme Pontiff, as the ministerial head of the Church, should be subject to the general council, to which alone, as the representative of the universal Church, belongs the plenitude of power and infallibility. In bishops, jurisdiction would derive immediately from God. Richer’s work was condemned by Paul V (1612) and by the General Assembly of the French clergy.