Clamecy Cathedral

Clamecy Cathedral (Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Bethléem), now the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bethléem (English: Our Lady of Bethlehem) in Clamecy, France, was started in the 12th and completed in the 15th century.

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Bethlehem, in Palestine, was favored by William IV, the Count of Nevers, and inherited land near Clamecy from him where a hospital had been established. In 1223, after the 1187 fall of Palestine to Saladin, the Bishop took residence in Clamecy; although he was never granted membership in the French States-General, the cathedral was the formal seat of the Diocese of Bethlehem in partibus infidelium (or Bethléem les Clamecy) from 1223 to 1790, when it was abolished as a see during the French Revolution (later affirmed by the Concordat of 1801). Presently it is part of the Archdiocese of Sens; the Bishopric itself was re-established in 1840 at St. Maurice's Abbey in Switzerland by Pope Gregory XVI.

The hospital and the chapel are now a hotel and restaurant^[1].

The area immediately surrounding the church, on the east side of the Yonne River, is now known as Bethléem^[2], though it is within the commune of Clamecy.

Sources

• Cathedrals of Bourgogne at the French Ministry of Culture
• Historic Monument listing in Clamecy from French Ministry of Culture (French)
• Nevers at the Catholic Encyclopedia
• History of the bishopric of Bethlehem (French)

References

1. ^ Auberge de la Chapelle (French)
2. ^ International Herald Tribune

External links

• Location

Coordinates: 47°27′36″N 3°31′27″E / 47.46°N 3.52417°E / 47.46; 3.52417