The Diocese of Trier (
Latin: Dioecesis Trevirensis), in English historically also known as Treves ([tɾivz]) from French Trèves, is a
Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or
diocese of the
Catholic church in
Germany.[1][2] When it was the archbishopric and
Electorate of Trier, it was one of the most important states of the
Holy Roman Empire, both as an ecclesiastical principality and as a diocese of the church. Unlike the other Rhenish dioceses—including
Mainz and
Cologne–Trier was the former Roman provincial capital of
Augusta Treverorum. Given its status, Trier has continuously been an
episcopal see since Roman times and is one of the oldest dioceses in all of Germany. The diocese was elevated to an archdiocese in the time of Charlemagne and was the
metropolitan for the dioceses of
Metz,
Toul, and
Verdun. After the victory of
Napoleon Bonaparte of France, the archdiocese was lowered to a diocese and is now a
suffragan in the
ecclesiastical province of the
Archdiocese of Cologne. The diocesan cathedral is the
Cathedral of Saint Peter. The Cathedral Chapter retains the right to elect the bishop, rather than selection by papal appointment.[3]
History
The bishops of Trier were already virtually independent territorial magnates in
Merovingian times. In 772 Charlemagne granted Bishop
Wiomad complete immunity from the jurisdiction of the ruling
count for all the churches and monasteries, as well as villages and castles that belonged to the Church of St. Peter at Trier. In his will he also elevated the diocese to the Archdiocese of Trier, with suffragans on both sides of the Rhine. This arrangement lasted over a thousand years.
In Early Modern times, the archdiocese of Trier still encompassed territory along the
Moselle River between Trier, near the French border, and
Koblenz on the
Rhine. The Archbishop of Trier, as holder of an imperial office was traditionally an Imperial
Elector of the German king. The purely honorary office of Archchancellor of Gaul arose in the 13th century. In this context that was taken to mean the
Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles, technically from 1242 and permanently from 1263, and nominally until 1803. Arles along with
Germany and
Italy was one of the three component kingdoms of the Empire.
The last elector removed to
Koblenz in 1786. From 1795, the territories of the Archbishopric on the left bank of the Rhine — which is to say almost all of them — were under French occupation, and were annexed in 1801 and a separate bishopric established (later assuming control of the whole diocese in 1803). In 1803, what was left of the Archbishopric was secularized and annexed by the Princes of
Nassau.
^Because Folmar was never formally installed in the see, he is often omitted (as is Rudolf of Wied) from official lists of the Bishops of Trier, e.g., the
list displayed in Trier Cathedral.
^From 1801, after the
French conquest of the Imperial territories on the left-bank of the Rhine,
Clemens Wenzel of Saxony was archbishop with effect on the right bank only.