The historicDiocese of Utrecht was a diocese of theLatin Church (or Western) of theCatholic Church from 695 to 1580, and from 1559 archdiocese in theLow Countries before and during theProtestant Reformation.
According to theCatholic Encyclopedia, the founding of the diocese dates back toFrancia,[1] when St.Ecgberht of Ripon sent St.Willibrord and eleven companions on a mission topaganFrisia, at the request ofPepin of Herstal.[1][2]The Diocese of Utrecht (Latin:Dioecesis Ultraiectensis) was erected byPope Sergius I in 695.[3] In 695 Sergius consecratedWillibrord inRome as Bishop of theFrisians.[1]
George Edmundson wrote in the 1911 edition of theEncyclopædia Britannica that the bishops of the Diocese, as the result of grants of immunities by a succession of German kings, and notably by the Saxon and Franconian emperors, gradually became the temporal rulers of a dominion as great as the neighboring counties and duchies.[4]John Mason Neale explained, inHistory of the so-called Jansenist church of Holland, that bishops "became warriors rather than prelates; the duties of their pastoral office were frequently exercised by suffragans, while they themselves headed armies against the Dukes of Guelders or the Counts of Holland."[5]: 63 Adalbold II of Utrecht "must be regarded as the principal founder of the territorial possessions of the diocese," according to Albert Hauck, inNew Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, especially by the acquisition in 1024 and 1026 of the counties ofDrenthe andTeisterbant;[6] but, the name "Bishopric of Utrecht" is not used in the article.Debitum pastoralis officii nobis was Pope Leo X's 1517 prohibition to theArchbishop-Elector of Cologne,Hermann of Wied, aslegatus natus,[a] to summon, to a court of first instance in Cologne,Philip of Burgundy, his treasurer, and his ecclesiastical and secular subjects.[8][b]Leo X only confirmed a right of the Church, explained Neale; but Leo X's confirmation "was providential" in respect to the future schism.[5]: 72 The Bishopric ended whenHenry of the Palatinate resigned the see in 1528 with the consent of thecathedral chapter, and transferred his secular authority toCharles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Thechapters voluntarily transferred their right of electing the bishop to Charles V, andPope Clement VII gave his consent to the proceeding.[1]George Edmundson wrote, inHistory of Holland, that Henry, "was compelled" in 1528 to formally surrender "thetemporalities of the see" to Charles V.[9]: 21
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The diocese was elevated to an archdiocese in 1559.[3] It was taken from Province of Cologne, in which it was a suffragan, and elevated to the rank of an archdiocese and metropolitan see.[1] During the administration of the first archbishop,Frederik V Schenck van Toutenburg,Calvinism spread rapidly, especially among the nobility, who viewed with disfavor the endowment of the new bishoprics with the ancient and wealthy abbeys.[1]Theparish churches were attacked in theBeeldenstorm in 1566.[10]Thehanging of the nineteenMartyrs of Gorkum inBrielle in 1572 is an example of the persecution which Catholics suffered.[1]During theDutch Revolt in theSpanish Netherlands, the archdiocese fell.[1]In the Beeldenstorm in 1580, thecollegiate churches were victims oficonoclastic attacks andSt. Martin's Cathedral, Utrecht, was "severely damaged".[10]"Even though approximately one third of the people remained Roman Catholic and in spite of a relatively great tolerance,"[10] as early as 1573,[1] the public exercise ofCatholicism was forbidden,[1][10] and the cathedral was converted into a Protestant church in 1580.[10]The cathedral chapter survived and "still managed its lands and formed part of the provincial government" in the Lordship of Utrecht.[10]"The newly appointedcanons, however, were always Protestants."[10]The two succeeding archbishops appointed by Spain neither received canonical confirmation nor could they enter their diocese because of theStates-General opposition.[1]The archdiocese was suppressed in 1580.[3] Walter Phillips wrote, inEncyclopædia Britannica, 1911 edition, the last archbishop of Utrecht,Frederik V Schenck van Toutenburg, died in 1580, "a few months before the suppression of Roman Catholic public worship" byWilliam I, Prince of Orange.[4] "Suppression of dioceses," wrote Hove, "takes place only in countries where the faithful and the clergy have been dispersed by persecution," the suppressed dioceses becomemissions,prefectures, orvicariates apostolic. This is what occurred in the Dutch Republic.[11][c]
TheHolland Mission started when the vicariate was erected byPope Clement VIII in 1592.[12] "For two centuries after the [1648]Peace of Westphalia much of Holland was under vicars apostolic as mission territory, as England was in the same period; although some areas hadarchpriests dependent on thenuncios inCologne andBrussels."[13]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Lins, Joseph (1912). "Archdiocese of Utrecht". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Mershman, Francis (1912). "St. Willibrord". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Edmundson, George; Phillips, Walter A (1911). "Utrecht". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 823–824.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:Neale, John M (1858).History of the so-called Jansenist church of Holland; with a sketch of its earlier annals, and some account of the Brothers of the common life. Oxford; London: John Henry and James Parker.hdl:2027/mdp.39015067974389.OCLC 600855086. This article incorporates text from a publication in thepublic domain: Hauck, Albert (1908)."Adalbold". In Jackson, Samuel Macauley (ed.).New Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Vol. 1 (third ed.). London and New York: Funk and Wagnalls. p. 32. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:Pope Leo X.Debitum pastoralis officii nobis (in Latin). FromJoosting, Jan G. C.; Muller, Samuel (1912). "Verbod van Paus Leo X aan den aartsbisschop van Keulen als legatus natus, Philips bisschop van Utrecht, diens fiscus en diens kerkelijke en wereldlijke onderdanen in eerste instantie naar keulen te doen dagvaarden".Bronnen voor de geschiedenis der kerkelijke rechtspraak in het bisdom Utrecht in di middeleeuwen. Oude vaderlandsche rechtsbronnen (in Dutch). 's-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff. pp. 59–62.hdl:2027/mdp.35112103682300. Retrieved2014-01-09. This book contains documents relating to the limit of the jurisdiction of the bishop of Utrecht. This book was published inWerken der Vereeniging tot Uitgaaf der Bronnen van het Oud-Vaderlandsche Recht. 's-Gravenhage: Martinus Nijhoff. 2 (14).OCLC 765196601. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Hove, Alphonse van (1909). "Diocese". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company.