Joesph Byrnes

uthor of "Priests of the French Revolution: Saints and Renegades in a New Political Era"

November 4, 2015

Joseph F. Byrnes is Professor of Modern European History at Oklahoma State University. He is the author of "Catholic and French Forever: Religious and National Identity in Modern France" (Penn State, 2005).

The 115,000 priests on French territory in 1789 belonged to an evolving tradition of priesthood. The challenge of making sense of the Christian tradition can be formidable in any era, but this challenge was especially formidable for those priests required, at the state of 1791, to take an oath of loyalty to the new government and thereby accept the religious reforms promoted in the new Civil Constitution of the Clergy. More than half did so at the beginning, and those who were subsequently consecrated became the new official hierarchy of France.  In "Priests of the French Revolution", the author shows how these priests and bishops who embraced the Revolution creatively followed or destructively rejected traditional versions of priestly ministry. Their writings, public testimony, and recorded private confidences furnish the story of a national Catholic church. This is a history of the religious attitudes and psychological experiences underpinning the behavior of representative bishops and priests. The author plays individual ideologies against group action – and religious teachings against political action – to produce a balanced story of 'saints' and 'renegades' within a Catholic tradition.

URL: https://library.okstate.edu/news/celebratingbooks/2015/joesph-brynes

Last Updated: 12 January 2022