Four Gallican Articles

declaration by French clergy

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June 26, 2026

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The Four Gallican Articles were a declaration of French clergy in 1682 that aimed to restrict papal power. This declaration asserted that:
* Rulers are independent of the church in temporal matters.
* The pope's authority in spiritual matters is subordinate to a general council.
* The historic rights and customs of the French church cannot be overridden by Rome.
* The pope's pronouncements on faith require ratification by a general council.

These articles, drafted by Bishop Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, represented a significant assertion of Gallicanism, a movement emphasizing the autonomy of the French church from papal authority and the power of the French crown within ecclesiastical affairs. While condemned by the papacy, they remained influential.12

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Gallicanism
…Gallicanism was found in the Four Gallican Articles, approved by the assembly of the clergy of France in 1682. This declaration stated: (1) the pope has supreme spiritual but no secular power; (2) the pope is subject to ecumenical councils; (3) the pope must accept as inviolable immemorial customs of…
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…Gallicanism was found in the Four Gallican Articles, approved by the assembly of the clergy of France in 1682. This declaration stated: (1) the pope has supreme spiritual but no secular power; (2) the pope is subject to ecumenical councils; (3) the pope must accept as inviolable immemorial customs of…
Read More

Roman Catholicism
The Gallican problem
…in Paris and adopted the Four Gallican Articles, which had been drafted by Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, a French bishop and historian. These asserted that
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…in Paris and adopted the Four Gallican Articles, which had been drafted by Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, a French bishop and historian. These asserted that
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France
Louis’s religious policy
Eventually, in 1682, the Four Gallican Articles were published as a law of the French state, asserting that the king was in no way subject to the pope in temporal matters and could not be excommunicated and reaffirming the independence of the French church from Rome. The mutual animosity…
Read More
Eventually, in 1682, the Four Gallican Articles were published as a law of the French state, asserting that the king was in no way subject to the pope in temporal matters and could not be excommunicated and reaffirming the independence of the French church from Rome. The mutual animosity…
Read More