Joseph F. Byrnes. Priests of the French Revolution

The radically reformed Catholic Constitutional Church in France, which lasted for a decade between 1791 and 1801, is a Cinderella of the revolutionary period. It has been shunned by orthodox religious historians, for whom its adherents were apostates, and ignored as an inconsequential ally by writers in the republican tradition. An accessible, general study is badly needed, especially in English, but this book does not fit the bill, despite a supporting statement on the dust jacket that it represents “the long-awaited first historical synthesis on the patriot clergy of the French Revolution.” In fact, as Joseph F. Byrnes’s title implies, this is a series of portraits depicting prominent “constitutional,” or “juring,” priests who swore an oath accepting the Civil Constitution of the Clergy in 1791. Some might be considered saints, like the well-known Henri Grégoire, who heroically defended his role as a “citizen” bishop while pursuing a parliamentary career, or the lesser-known Claude Le Coz, the long-serving and dedicated metropolitan bishop for the North West (Brittany). For others, endorsing the Revolution meant abandoning their vocation (the case of Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand and Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyès) or, more spectacularly, in 1793 and 1794, a renunciation of vows, followed by marriage and sometimes the persecution of former colleagues (exemplified by Jean-Baptiste Massieu, briefly bishop of the Oise). There were numerous martyrs, with many losing lives as well as livelihoods, and few constitutional priests flourished in the restored Roman Catholic Church under Napoleon Bonaparte.

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