The former French Catholic diocese of Die existed from the fourth to the thirteenth century, and then again from 1678 to the French Revolution. It was suppressed by the Concordat of 1801, its territory being assigned to the diocese of Grenoble.David M, Cheney, Catholic-Hierarchy.org, "Die (Diocese)". The seat of the bishop was located in the Cathedral of the Assumption in Die.

History Situated on the River Drôme, Die was one of the nineteen principal towns of the tribe of the Vocontii. It was made a Roman colony by the Emperor Augustus in the 20s B.C.J. Chevalier (1888), pp. vii–16.

No episcopal list exists for the diocese of Die. There is no myth, legend, or tradition with regard to the bringing of Christianity to the area or the foundation of the diocese. Die first appears in the record when Bishop Nicasius attended the Council of Nicaea in 325.Duchesne, p. 233. J.D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum Conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, editio novissima , (Florence: A. Zatta 1759), pp. 696, 702. Félix Vernet, "Nicaise évêque de Die l'unique représentant des Gaules au concile de Nicée", , in: Bulletin d'archéologie et de statistique de la Drôme, Volume 60 (Valence: Société d'archéologie et de statistique de la Drôme, 1926), part I, pp. 54–61; part II, pp. 257–265.

The Cathedral of Die was dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The Cathedral Chapter had two dignities, the Dean and the Sacristan, and ten other Canons. Ritzler & Sefrin VI, p. 195 note 1. The Dean, Sacristan and Chapter are mentioned in the thirteenth century pouillé. In the thirteenth century the diocese was divided for administrative purposes into four Archpresbyteries: the Archpriest of Die, the Archpriest of Trivilis (Trièves), the Archpriest of Deserto, the Archpriest of Crista.Chevalier (1868), "Septième Livraison: Polypticha, id est Regesta Taxationum Beneficiorum...", pp. 43–52. There was a Collegiate Church at Crest (Crista) dedicated to Saint-Sauveur, which had a Provost, a Cantor, and six Canons.Piganiol de la Force, p. 384. Félix Grégoire, "Un torrent, la Drôme,"

After the eleventh century the Diocese of Die, long disputed between the metropolitans of Vienne and Arles, became suffragan of the archbishopric of Vienne. On 28 March 1165 Pope Alexander III confirmed by papal bull the grant to the Church of Die on the part of Arnaud de CrestC.U.J. Chevalier (1868), pp. 33–35. and Guillaume of PoitiersC.U.J. Chevalier (1868), pp. 35–36. of the abbeys of S. Marcel de Die,The Abbey of S. Marcellus de Die had been founded by Benedictines in 985. In 1182 or 1183, Pope Lucius III confirmed the possession of the abbey by the Bishops of Die. C.U.J. Chevalier (1868), p. 19. Saint-Medard, Saint-Croix, Saint Julien-de-Guiniaise, Leoncel, and Saou. The bull also confirms the possession of the entire city of Die and nine castle-towns including Crista.C.U.J. Chevalier (1868), pp. xiii and 20–22.

Union of diocese of Die and diocese of Valence

By Papal Bull of 25 September 1275,Jean Giraud (ed.), Les Registres de Gregoire X (1272-1276) (Paris: Thorin 1892), pp. 272–273 no. 637. in order to strengthen the Church of Valence in its struggle with the House of Poitiers, Gregory X united the Diocese of Die with that of Valence. Five days later, on 30 September, Pope Gregory wrote to Abbot Amadeus of Roussillon, informing him that he had been named Bishop of Valence in succession to Bishop Guy, who had died in 1272.J. Chevalier (1888), pp. 406–408. Amadeus of Roussillon was the brother of the Archbishop of Lyon, Adhemar de Roussillon (1273–1283): Eubel, I, p. 316. It was no accident that Amadeus of Roussillon was the nephew of Amadeus of Geneva, Bishop of Die. Amadeus of Roussillon was present at the bedside of his uncle when he made his Testament on 21 January 1276.Amadeus of Geneva named as his universal heir his nephew, Aymon the Count of Geneva. J. Chevalier (1888), p. 409. Bishop Amadeus of Die died on 22 October 1276, and his nephew Amadeus of Roussillon became Bishop of Valence and Die.

Diocese of Die revived This union, which lasted four centuries, was unfortunate for the Church in Die. The Huguenot sect, derived from the Calvinism of Geneva, had taken firm hold in the Dauphiné, and in particular in the Alpine valleys. In order to combat Protestantism, therefore, King Louis XIV, published the Edict of Fontainebleau on 22 October 1685, revoking the special rights granted to Protestants in France in the Edict of Nantes. King Louis revived the diocese of Die and appointed a Bishop of Die in 1687. From the point of view of the Roman Catholic Church, however, the union of the two dioceses was dissolved canonically in the Consistory of 7 July 1692 by Pope Innocent XII.Ritzler & Sefrin V, p. 184 note 1, and 403 note 1. On 10 September 1692, the Bishop of Die, Armand de Montmorin Saint-Hérem, had an interview with James II of England and Louis XIV. Asked for a report on the state of the Dauphiné, inter alia the Bishop reported that Die was entirely in the hands of the Huguenots.The report of the interview is printed by M. de Die ... (dit qu')il y'a beaucoup d'Huguenots dans le Dauphiné, et que la ville de Die l'est toute entière.

French Revolution In 1790 the Civil Constitution of the Clergy reduced the number of dioceses in France from 135 to 83, and ordered that they be coterminous with the new départements of the civil organization. Each département was authorized and ordered to elect its own bishop; the electors did not have to be Catholic, and that fact alone created a schism between the Constitutional Church and Constitutional Bishops and the Roman Catholic Church. Bishop Gaspard-Alexis Plan des Augiers protested, and then fled his diocese; he died in exile in Rome in 1794. On 21 February 1791, the Constitutional diocese of Drôme elected François Marbos, curé of the parish of Bourg-lez-Valence as their 'bishop'. He was consecrated in Paris on 3 April 1791, by Jean Baptiste Gobel of Paris, assisted by Bishops Mirodot and Gouttes. After the Concordat of 1801 he retracted his errors, and died in communion with Rome in 1825.

Bishops

The Carthusian who went by the pseudonym Polycarpe de la Rivière gives a St. Martinus (220) as first Bishop of Die; his assertion has been doubted.Polycarpe wrote an Annales Episcoporum Diensium, which exists in manuscript. Ses ouvrages historiques ont fait naître des débats pour ainsi dire interminables, vu la difficulté qu'on éprouve aujourd'hui à verifier l'authenticité des documents don't il a fait usage. Polycarpe's ms. was used by Colombi in his history of the bishops of Valence and Die. Polycarpe claimed to have used for St. Martinus a poem written by Wulfinus, which he had read in some library in Paris, but the poem is not extant. Parva quidem fides Wulfino debetur, writes the Gallia christiana XVI, p. 509. The oldest historically known bishop is Nicasius of Dijon, who attended the First Council of Nicaea in 325.

to 1276

Nicasius: 325Bishop Nicasius was present at the Council of Nicaea in 325. Duchesne, p. 233, no. 1. Audentius: c. 439Audentius was present at three regional councils presided over by Hilary of Poitiers, the Bishop of Arles: at Riez (439), Orange (441), and Vaison (442). Duchesne, p. 233, no. 2. PetroniusDuchesne, pp. 233–234, no. 3. Marcellus : 463Marcellus was consecrated in May 463 by Bishop Mamertus of Vienne. Duchesne, p. 234, no. 4. Saeculatius : 517, 518Bishop Saeculatius was present at the Council of Epaona (AD 517) and Lyon (518–523). Sirmond, p. 899, 906. Duchesne, p. 234, no. 5. Lucretius : 541, 573Bishop Lucretius was present at the IV Council of Orleans (AD 541); he was represented at the IV Council of Arles (AD 549) by the priest Vincentius; he was at the II Council of Paris (AD 553) and the IV Council of Paris (AD 573) Sirmond, I, pp. 1018, 1043–1044, 1091, 1196. Duchesne, p. 235, no. 6. Paul : 585Bishop Paulus was represented at the II Council of Macon (AD 585). Sirmond, I, p. 1305. Duchesne, p. 235, no. 7. Maximus : 614Maximus was present at the Council of Paris in 614. Duchesne, p. 235, no. 8. Desideratus : 788Bishop Desideratus was present at the Council of Narbonne in 788: J.D. Mansi (ed.), Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio editio novissima XIII (Florence: A. Zatta 1767), p. 823. Duchesne, p. 235, no. 9. Remigius : 859Bishop Remigius was present at the synod of Langres on 19 April 859. Mansi, Tomus XV, p. 528. Duchesne, p. 235, no. 11. Aurelius : 875Bishop Aurelianus was present at the synod of Tournus in 875. Duchesne, p. 235, no. 12. Hemico 879Bishop Hemico was present at the Council of Ponthion (Pontigonense), and at the Council of Mantaille (Mantalense). Hardoouin, pp. 174, 180, 346. Duchesne, p. 235, no. 13. Achideus : 957Brun-Durand, p. 17. J. Chevalier (1888), p. 130. Wulfinus (Wulfade) : 974Bishop Wulfinus: Brun-Durand, pp. 17–18. J. Chevalier (1888), p. 131. His poem on Bishop Marcellus is printed in: Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Poetarum Latinorum Medii Aevi Tomi IV fasciculi ii et iii (Berlin: Weidmann 1923) ed. K. Strecker, pp. 963–976. Strecker calls Polycarpe de la Rivière falsarius ille impudens (p. 964). Conon (Cuno) : 1037Bishop Cuno was present at a synod held at Romans on 2 October 1037, presided over by Archbishop Leger of Vienne. Brun-Durand, p. 18. J. Chevalier (1888), p. 136. Pierre I : 1055J. Chevalier (1888), pp. 136–137. Lancelin 1073Bishop Lancelin was condemned as a simoniac at the Council of Châlons-sur-Saone, and deposed by the Papal Legate, Bishop Giraldus of Ostia. Mansi, Tomus XX, pp. 391–394. Brun-Durand, p. 18. J. Chevalier (1888), pp. 137–138. Hugues de Romans 1082Bishop Hugues was a nephew of Hugues Duke of Burgundy. He was Chamberlain of Lyon when elected bishop in the presence of the Papal Legate Giraldus of Ostia. Mansi, Tomus XX, pp. 391–394. Brun-Durand, p. 18. J. Chevalier (1888), pp. 138–166. Bishop Hughes became a Papal Legate and Archbishop of Lyon (1081–1106). Ponce : 1084–1086Bishop Ponce celebrated a synod in Die in 1186. J. Chevalier (1888), pp. 166–167. Bernard Ismido (Ismidon de Sassenage) : 1097/8?–1115Bishop Ismido was born, according to the Gallia christiana and Chevalier, in the Château of Sassenages, but others (Colombi, AA SS) place his birth in Valence. Ismido had been Canon of Lyon when, probably in 1096, he was assigned as Coadjutor to the Bishop of Die. He took part in the Roman synod of April 1099 of Urban II, as the Pope himself notes in a letter of 24 April 1099 to Archbishop Hugues of Lyon (P. Jaffé, Regesta pontificum Romanorum I (Leipzig 1885), no. 5788). He twice went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Gallia christiana XVI, pp. 518–519. J. Chevalier (1888), pp. 177–189. His tomb was rifled by the Huguenots during the wars of religion, his remains were burned, and the ashes scattered. Pierre II : 1116–1119 Étienne : 1121–1127 Ulric (Odolric) : 1130Before becoming Bishop of Die, Ulric was Prior of the monastery of Domène (ca. 1095), Canon of the Cathedral of Grenoble (1104), and then Dean of the Chapter (1128). In 1139 he dedicated an altar in the Chartreuse of Ecouges. The Annals of Chartreuse state that he died in their monastery in 1145; but they also state that this was just after the death of Hugues of Grenoble, who died in 1132; and Ulric's successor was already in office in 1144. J. Chevalier (1888), pp. 195–199. Hugues, : died in 1159In 1144 Bishop Hugues was present when an agreement was entered into by Bishop Jean of Valence and Silvio of Clérieu: On 15 August 1145 Arnaud de Crest gave Bishop Hugues his lands. J. Chevalier (1888), pp. 201–206. Pierre III : 1163–1173 Bernard : 1176 Humbert : 1199–1212 Étienne de Chatillon : died 1213Eubel, I, p. 224, indicates that Bishop Stephanus (Étienne) died on 7 September 1208. Baillet indicates that the date was 7 September 1213: Desiderius de Forcalquier (Didier de Lans) 1213–1222Eubel, I, p. 224, indicates that he served as bishop from 1214 to 1222.