Jersey and Older Ecclesiastical Oversight

Jersey and Older Ecclesiastical Oversight

Ancient Times

A note is found in W. Plees on the name of "Augia" for Jersey which also covers the Diocese of Dol

Plees wrote (1816):

"Some have conjectured that it was previously called Augia : by this name it was indeed given by Childebert, King of France, the son of Clovis, to Samson, Archbishop of Dol, in Armorica, about A. D. 550 : but this being subsequent to the declension of the Roman power in Gaul, seems rather to corroborate a contrary opinion."

Falle also mentions this (1734):

"a donation of Childebert, king of France, to Samson, bishop of Dol, in Britany, of  four islands, named Vesargia, Augia, Sargia, and Rima which he takes to be Guernsey, Jersey, Sark, and Herm ; Augia being the name of Jersey before the Romans gave it that of Caesarea."

He is citing a translation from D'Argentré, Hist de Bretagne, Liv 1, Ch XXVIII, fo1 114:

"A c'est Archeoesque Childebert donna quelques Isles et Terres en Normandie; Rimoul, Augie, Sargie et Vesargie, qui estoient Isles en la Coste; car je trouve cela aux vielles Lettres."

However, while the legacy of the ancient name may be taken at face value, the document is not! John Henry Newman, in his "Lives of the English Saints" notes that the original documentation has historical weaknesses as to its veracity:

"Baldricus, Archbishop of Dol, asserts that these islands were given to St. Sampson by king Childebert. It may however be asked, whether an Archbishop of Dol in the twelfth century is very good authority for an event of the sixth, especially, it may be added, at the height of the dispute between Dol and Tours."

The donation of Childebert, while probably reflecting early names of the Channel Islands, may well be in the class of the Donation of Constantine, a 9th century ecclesiastical forgery.

Newman adds:

“It is certain that in Norman times they were in the see of Coutances, and this in itself makes it probable that they were always a  part of that diocese ; for political changes do not seem to have affected  the state of dioceses marked out by the Church, except by the consent of the Church. For instance, the parishes of St. Sampson, of Rupes, and Palus Warnerii, were always peculiars of the Bishop of Dol,  though situated in the diocese of Rouen, because they had once  belonged to St. Sampson's Abbey of Pentale, and that, though the Abbey itself was destroyed by the Normans “

“Again, the Channel Islands themselves were never regularly transferred to an English diocese, though the see of Coutances was lost to the kings of England. A papal bull allowed ships to go freely to the islands in war time, apparently for the very purpose of allowing the Bishop of Coutances to cross over when he pleased.”

Newman also notes in passing that “The abbey of Beaubec, in Normandy, possessed some of the relics of St. Helier.”

Tudor Changes

Of course, in later times, as noted recently Henry VIII tried to have the diocese transferred first to Salisbury (letter of 28th October 1496) and then to Winchester (1499).

Msgr. Richard Hind, Chancellor, diocese of Portsmouth, noted in October 2000:

“The Pope did as Henry asked - but the Pope's Bull had no effect.”

According to “The Channel Islands, 1370-1640: Between England and Normandy” by Tim Thornton the papal bulls mentioned above were issued in 1496 (Salisbury) and 1499 (Winchester).

Thornton notes that: On January 1501 the presentation of Richard le Hagueys to the living of St Brelades was recorded in the register of the bishop of Winchester. The papal bulls seem, however, to have been of limited effect: they were apparently not registered at the Lateran, and may have had more to do with a consciousness of earlier attempts at a transfer, and the standing of the bishops in question, than with a primary concern to change the situation on the ground. Le Hagueys, in spite of his presentation under the authority of Winchester, also took the precaution of having the transaction recorded at Coutances.”

“The Coutances registers continued to record transactions relating to Channel Islands benefices, appointments notably being made at the nomination of successive wardens of the islands. Amongst a range of evidence for the continuity of the relationship, Pierre Pinchon, bishop of Porphyre ‘in partibus’. was commissioned to ordain in the isles in 1538, and he survived until 1559.”

Richard Hind notes that:

“Right up to the reign of Elizabeth I the Bishop of Coutances exercised jurisdiction over the Islands. In 1569 the then Bishop of Coutances was on a diplomatic mission in London. He complained that the dues from the Island's Deaneries were not forthcoming. The Privy Council unearthed the Bull and the Royal Letter of 1499; an order in Council of 11th March 1569 executed the separation of the Islands from the Diocese of Coutances and placed them under the jurisdiction of the Anglican Bishop of Winchester - but once again the Order had no effect. The authority of the Bishop of Winchester was completely ignored owing to the fact that Presbyterian discipline and church government were firmly established in the Islands.”

The separation may have officially taken place in March 1569 but a Synod held on 22 September 1567 deputed some members to attend the Bishop of Winchester, and so did a synod in Guernsey on 1 June 1568 – at which time they refer to him as “their Bishop”. Evidently matters were more fluid and arrangements set in train in advance of legal adjustments to the diocesan move from Coutance to Winchester.

The First Anglican Visitation

Why, as stated does the Report of the Archbishop’s Commission state “the first Church of

England bishop to visit the Islands was the Bishop of Salisbury in 1818” and not that of Winchester.

The reason is not given, but Richard Hind explains – the Bishop of Winchester was unwell and unable to carry out his duties:

“It was, in fact, 1818 before the Anglican form of Confirmation was administered for the first time by Dr. Fisher, Bishop of Salisbury, as the Bishop of Winchester was not well enough to do so.

The Islands then had to wait until 1829 to receive the first episcopal visitation from their Anglican Bishop, Dr Sumner of Winchester.”

This is also mentioned in Falle’s account:

“At the request of the late Bishop North, the late Bishop of Salisbury, Dr. Fisher, visited the Channel Islands in 1818, and the next year the former prelate sent an excellent printed charge to the insular Clergy, to express his regret that ill health and advanced years had prevented him from visiting that part of his Diocese. The present Bishop of Winchester has since visited the Islands in 1829, and 1835.”

Other Pecularities

Mr. Austin Cooke (October 2000) in his “Chronology of Catholic Dioceses:Notes on the Channel Islands” notes that:

“There was discussion of erecting a Church of England Diocese of Saint Helier in the later part of Queen Victoria's reign, but this foundered on whether or not it would be in England or not (as the Channel Islands are technically not part of England, but are in the Duchy of Normandy).”

I’ve been unable to find further information on that!