Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 12.djvu/807

 REIMS

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REIMS

first published his "Theologia moralis" (Munich, 1692), which went through thirty editions, notably those of his fellow religious Massffius Kresslinger (Modena, 1740; Munich, 1742), and Dalmatius Kickh (Augsburg, 1762), who appended "additions", and a treatise on the " Propositiones damnata; a summis pontificibus". An Antwerp edition (1743) includes the additions of Jacques Esteva on the Bull of the Crusades. The edition issued by Flavianus Ricci a Cimbria (Augsburg, 1777) modifies his doc- trines: instead of the Probabilist which he was, he makes Reiffenstuel a Probabiliorist, in conformity with the official doctrine of his order. His "Jus canonicum universum" (Munich, 1700) accords Reiffenstuel first rank among canonists; he is equalled by none, and is highly esteemed even in modern times. Subsequent editions contain a "Tractatua de regulis juris", first published at Ingolstadt in 173.3. The best editions are those of Venice (1730- 1735), Rome (1831-32), Paris (1864). A three-volume editio compendiaria was published at Paris (1853). He is also the author of a "Vita S. Francisci Solani", and a work "De cxremoniis et ritibus ecclesiasticis". Obermayr, Die Pfarrei Gmund und die Reiffenstuel (Inns- bruck, 1868) : Greiderer, Germania Franciscana (Innsbruck, 1777) ; II. 393; Hist.-polilisch. Blatter. II, 897-900 (Munich. 1873), LXXII, 59l>-93; Hurter, Nomenclator ;ScKTJVrE, Gesch. derQuel- len und Lit. des canonischen Redds (Stuttgart, 1880), III, 154-55.

A. Van Hove.

Reims, Archdiocese of (Rhemensls), comprises the district of Reims in the Department of Manie (Chalons-sur-Marne) and the whole Department of Ardennes. It was suppressed by the Con- cordat of 1802, which put the district of Reims in the Diocese of Meaux, and the Department of Ardennes in that of Metz, while two episcopal councils were estabUgJied at Reims and Charleville to assist the Bishops of Meaux and Metz in their administration. The archdiocese was re-established in theory by the Concordat of 1817, and in fact in 1821; it was given Amiens and Soissons as suffragans in 1821, and Chalons-sur-Marne and Beauvais in 1822. The Remi (as the Gauls of this region were called), whose capital was Durocorlorum, the present Reims, were early reduced to submission by Cjesar. In the third century Reims was the capital of Belgium Secundum: the Roman governors resided there, and there Valentinian sojourned in 367. As a centre of culture, it was then considered comparable to Athens, and a beautiful Gallo-Roman gate (the Porte Mars) is still to be seen there. When Christianity was in- troduced is not known; it may have developed locally, from the earliest centuries, by the coalition of dif- ferent groups of Christians; but the true ecclesiastical organization and the succession of bishops began only with the mission of Sts. Sixtus and Sinicius, who established their see in the upper part of the city during the second half of the third century. Late traditions have represented St. Sixtus as a disciple of St. Peter, but Archbishop Hincmar, in the ninth cen- tury, considered him as a disciple of Pope St. Sixtus II.

Tradition gives to the Church of Reims a certain number of martyrs during the persecution of Diocle- tian; among others, Timotheus, ApoUinaris, the priest Maurus, and the virgin Macra, whose relics were gathered by the Roman Eusebius. The chapel erected over their tomb afterwards became a collegiate church under the invocation of St. Timotheus. Imbetausius, who assisted at the Council of Aries (314), was the fourth Bishop of Reims; he transferred his cathedral to the centre of the city. It was much exposed to the barbarian invasions. Vict,oriou.sly defended, about 366, by the consul Jovinus, a Chris- tian, it had for bishops St. Matemian (c. 349-70) and St. Donatian (379-89), the patron of Bruges and of West Flanders. It saw the Vandals behead the

archbishop, St. Nicasius, on the threshold of his church, in 406 or 407, and at the same time kill his sister St. Eutropia, his deacon St. Florens, his lector St. Jucundus, and, a short time after, his disciple St. Oriculus, and Sts. Oricula and Basilica, the sisters of St. Oriculus.

St. Remigius (Remi), b. about 440, of a distin- guished Gallo-Roman family, and whom St. Sidonius ApoUinaris appreciated very highly as a rhetorician, became Bishop of Reims at the age of twenty-two. His history is known through a short biography, falsely attributed to Fortunatus, and a longer one, of a legendary character, written by Hincmar in 878. St. Remigius directed the Christianization of the neighbouring regions, sending Antimond into the country about Terouanne and I?oulogne, St. Vaaatinto

the Arras district, and creating the Bishopric of Laon; he brought about the marriage of Clovis with St. Clotilda, and baptized Clovis on 24 December, 496. His success had immense political and religious re- sults; the Gallo-Roman populations would not have submitted to Clovis the Frank, had he remained a pagan, and his conversion made him the protector of the Catholics of Burgundy and Aquitaine, whose princes were Arians. The "Testament" of St. Remigius is apocryphal, as is the letter by which Pope Hormisdas was supposed to have appointed him Apostolic legate for the whole of Gaul. But it is true that St. Remigius laid the foundations of the political authority and religious power of the See of Reims, and that from his time the name of Reims was well esteemed and respected at Rome. He died 10 January, 535.

Among the bishops of Reims who followed him were: St. Nivard (049-72), who caused the monas- tery of Hauvillers to be rebuilt and established St. Bercarius there; St. Rieul (672-98), who built the monastery of Orbais; St. Rigobert (698-743), who baptized Charles Martel, was afterwards brutally driven from the see and replaced by a certain Milo, the king's favourite, and took refuge first in Aquitaine and then at Gernicourt, in the Diocese of Soissons, where he died; Tilpin (or Turpin, 753-800), a friend