Gallicanism

   Gallicanism was a combination of political positions and theological doctrines supporting the relative independence of the French Roman Catholic Church and the French government in their relations with the papacy. Three distinct, but closely related, forms of Gallicanism existed. Theological Gallicanism denied the absolute supremacy of the pope, arguing instead for the supremacy of the ecumenical councils. Royal Gallicanism stressed the absolute independence of the French Crown from Rome in all temporal affairs, and parliamentary Gallicanism, a position of the parlements, advocated the complete subordination of the French Church to the state and even the government's intervention in financial and disciplinary matters. Gallicanism can be traced back to the early Middle Ages and was later tied to the counciliar movement of the 14th and 15th centuries, which held that church councils were more powerful than the pope. Thereafter, Gallicanism was strengthened by certain institutional developments such as the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges (1438) and the concordat of bologna (1516). Then, in 1594, Les Libertés de l'Église gallicane, written by pierre pithou, was published, outlining the position of parliamentary Gallicanism. in response, Rome placed the work on the index. in the 17th century, Cardinal richelieu attempted to establish an independent French patriarchate within the church, but this effort came to naught. Gallicanism would eventually reach its fullest development and success during the reign of louis XIV, with the Four Gallican Articles of 1682, issued under the direction of jacques bossuet. These were, immediately rejected by the pope, however, and later officially renounced by Louis, but they would still be taught in French universities and seminaries until the revolution of 1789. Gallicanism, which in the late 17th and 18th centuries was also tied to jansenism, essentially ended with the concordat of 1801, although certain Gallican attitudes lingered among the French episcopate until the mid-19th century.