La liturgie au service de la dissidence ? L’Église catholique française de l’abbé Chatel (1831-1832)

• Main Author: Jean-Pierre Chantin
• Format: Article
• Language: fra
• Published: Laboratoire de Recherche Historique Rhône-Alpes (LARHRA UMR 5190) 2005-12-01
• Series: Chrétiens et Sociétés
• Subjects: Chatel (François Ferdinand); Saint-Simonisme; New French Church; Mass
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/chretienssocietes/2977

In January 1831, Abbot François Chatel funded in Paris the « new French Church ». This movement joined together catholic priests who were willing to support the young constitutional monarchy, and who wanted to break with the church hierarchy which they considered intolerant. François Chatel intitued himself bishop « primat-coadjuteur des Gaules » and a few weeks later he published the Profession de foi de l’Église catholique française and showed his will to francize liturgy « So that the believers henceforth speak to God about a language that they will understand ». An Eucologe was published simultaneously proposing some texts which could be used by the priests wishing to join his church. Musicians belonging to the Saint-Simonian current composed new spiritual hymns. But this Parisians changes were never implemented into the fifty rural « chatelist » parishes to avoid frightening the congregation attched to their traditional mass. In 1832, as constitutional monarchy became more authoritarian, Chatel wanted to engage his movement in a doctrinal schift close to Unitarism. This caused internal divisions and the decline of the movement which then lost time its remaining parish basis.