Orange Cathedral: A Romanesque Cathedral in France
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.5
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- France
- Primary era
- Medieval
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern, Modern
- Civilizations
- French, Holy Roman Empire, Ostrogothic
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Cathedral
On this page15 sections
History
Orange Cathedral is a medieval Romanesque church in Orange, France, built in the Provençal Romanesque style of the twelfth century and consecrated in 1208. It stands on the site of an earlier Christian church and served as the seat of the Diocese of Orange during several periods before becoming a parish church.
Early Christian Origins
An earlier church existed here by the sixth century and was consecrated in 528. It was built on the foundations of a Roman sanctuary under the direction of a Gallic prefect. The church was dedicated to Our Lady of Nazareth by the archbishop of Arles and Vindemialis, bishop of Orange.
The church served as the cathedral of the diocese during the early medieval period, from the sixth to the eighth century. The episcopal seat was moved elsewhere in the eighth century, after which the building gradually fell into ruin.
The Twelfth-Century Cathedral
Orange again became a bishopric seat in the twelfth century. Aimar Bérenger de Morges, bishop of Orange, initiated construction of the present cathedral between 1107 and 1127. The new building was erected over the remains of the earlier church and was consecrated in 1208.
The cathedral continued to serve as the seat of the Diocese of Orange from the twelfth century until the French Revolution. Its bell tower was rebuilt in 1338, and during the Middle Ages the tower was inhabited by the provost of the cathedral chapter. In February 1480, King Louis XI confirmed his protection of the cathedral through letters patent. The south-column tympanum, the decorated area associated with a portal or pediment, was built in 1547.
Wars of Religion and Catholic Restoration
The cathedral was drawn into the French Wars of Religion, a sixteenth-century conflict between Catholics and Protestants. On 11 November 1561, Calvinists, French Protestants associated with the Reformed tradition of John Calvin, attempted to seize the building, and the canons walled up its doors.
On 20 December 1562, Huguenots captured the cathedral. They burned its altarpieces, statues, altars, and paintings in the cemetery, removed the Gallo-Roman marble baptismal basin to the town hall, looted the treasury and organ, and threw a large bell onto the choir vaults. The church was then converted for Calvinist worship, while the clergy left Orange and withdrew to Caderousse.
Catholics returned to Orange in 1584. Philippe-Guillaume d’Orange, prince of Orange, financed the restoration of Notre-Dame, which was consecrated again on 14 February 1599. A large cross was placed at the rear of the choir in 1608, and benches from the same period survive.
Later Changes and Present Ecclesiastical Role
A new organ was installed in 1637, while the nave and choir were restored in 1775. During the French Revolution, part of the furnishings was destroyed in 1792. The choir became a hayloft, and the remainder of the cathedral was used as a Temple of Reason and of the Supreme Being. Catholic worship returned in 1795.
The Concordat of 1801, a formal agreement between the French government and the Catholic Church, suppressed the Diocese of Orange. Since 1801, the cathedral has functioned as a parish church. It has also been the seat of the titular bishop of Orange since 2009. A titular bishop holds the title of a historical or no-longer-active diocese without governing it as a residential bishop.
The west door was rebuilt in 1827. A new organ from Digne Cathedral was installed in 1862, and Théodore Puget rebuilt it in 1912. The building has been protected as a French historic monument since 4 January 1921. Protection recorded in 2018 and extended in January 2020 covers the entire church, including the south arm of the transept and the adjoining room of the parish church.
In February 2009, the municipality commissioned a new organ from Pascal Quoirin. The instrument has approximately 35 stops, three keyboards, a pedalboard, electric action, and an electronic combination system. It was blessed by Jean-Pierre Cattenoz, archbishop of Avignon, and inaugurated through concerts on 22 and 23 June 2019.
Remains
Orange Cathedral is predominantly Romanesque, with the massive masonry and substantial construction associated with that medieval style. Classical elements are especially prominent on the façade and portals. At the eastern end, facing Cloister Square, the building has a small five-sided chevet, the eastern termination of a church that contains the choir and apse. Its masonry combines ashlar, rubble stone, and brick in places, while a stone cornice supports a red-tiled roof.
Eastern End and Bell Tower
Chevet
The chevet has buttresses at its angles, rising to support the cornice. A rectangular window is set on the southeast side, and the original small apse has been closed off internally. These surviving elements belong to the eastern end of the cathedral and retain the varied masonry associated with its successive construction history.
Bell Tower
A tall bell tower of rubble rises above the chevet. Its pointed-arch opening is aligned with the eastern end. A stone band separates the upper level from the lower stages, and the upper level contains round-headed openings for the bells. An attic balustrade and cannon-shaped gargoyles mark the corners. Four bells dated 1338, 1637, 1856, and 1871 remain in the tower, the largest weighing 1,100 kilograms.
Portals and Exterior Ornament
South Portal
The south portal is Romanesque in form and uses ornament inspired by Roman antiquity. Its jambs retain fluted engaged columns with capitals carved with acanthus leaves. The colonnettes that originally accompanied them have been lost, while the spaces around them contain dense friezes and rosettes. The abaci, slabs at the tops of capitals that support arches or entablatures, are decorated in places with human and animal heads.
Inside the portal is a classical doorway framed by three columns. Their Tuscan capitals support an entablature and a broken triangular pediment. A niche containing a cross occupies the pediment. The south-column tympanum dates from 1547.
West Portal
The west portal was remodeled in the nineteenth century in the Neoclassical style. Beneath a substantial relieving arch, two Tuscan columns on each side support an entablature decorated with triglyphs. Above it, a triangular pediment carries dentil friezes and a bas-relief. The portal reflects the later classical treatment applied to the cathedral’s medieval structure.
Interior and Liturgical Features
Nave and Chapels
The interior contains a large vaulted nave surrounded by seven side chapels. On the left, the chapels are dedicated to Saint Eutrope, the Sacred Heart, Saint Joseph, and Saint Anthony of Padua. On the right are chapels dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Saint Anne, and the Blessed Women Martyrs of Orange. The associated chapels include the Chapel of the Sacred Heart, the Chapel of Saint Joseph, the Chapel of Saint Anne, and the Chapel of the Blessed Women Martyrs of Orange.
The nave and choir were paved with Orange mosaic at the beginning of the twentieth century. At the rear of the choir, the large cross installed in 1608 remains with benches from the same period.
Organs
The former Puget organ dates from 1912 and had not been used for several decades. The newer organ is positioned above the entrance portal. Built by Pascal Quoirin, it contains approximately 35 stops, three keyboards, a pedalboard, electric action, and an electronic combination system.
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