Scipione de’ Ricci

Italian bishop

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July 13, 2026

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Scipione de' Ricci was an Italian bishop who presided over the Synod of Pistoia in 1786. This synod was a significant event in the history of Jansenism, a controversial religious movement within the Roman Catholic Church that emphasized divine grace and human freedom. The synod, held in Tuscany, aimed to reform the church by adopting Jansenist and Gallican principles, which sought to limit papal authority. The decrees passed at Pistoia were enthusiastically received by Jansenists across Europe but were later rejected by Tuscan bishops and condemned by Pope Pius VI in 1794. Ricci himself eventually recanted his support for the synod's propositions.12

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Synod of Pistoia
The synod, presided over by Scipione de’ Ricci, bishop of Pistoia-Prato, and under the patronage of Peter Leopold, grand duke of Tuscany (later the Holy Roman emperor Leopold II), was aimed at a reform of the Tuscan church along the lines advocated by the Jansenists and the Gallicans, who sought…
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The synod, presided over by Scipione de’ Ricci, bishop of Pistoia-Prato, and under the patronage of Peter Leopold, grand duke of Tuscany (later the Holy Roman emperor Leopold II), was aimed at a reform of the Tuscan church along the lines advocated by the Jansenists and the Gallicans, who sought…
Read More