History
Traditions make St. Sixtus and St. Sinicius the earliest apostles of Soissons as envoys of St. Peter. St. Crepinus and St. Crepinianus, martyrs, (c. 288) are patrons of the diocese. According to Louis Duchesne, the establishment of a see at Soissons dates from about 300.
The territory of Soissons and Laon played an important political part under the Merovingians. After the death of Clovis (511), Soissons was the capital of one of the four kingdoms into which his states were divided. The kingdom of Soissons, which ceased to exist in 558, when Clotaire I reunited all the Frankish states, came into being again in 561 when the death of Clotaire led to a redivision of the territory. It finally disappeared in 613 when the Frankish lands were once more reunited under Clotaire II.
It was re-established by the Concordat of 1802 as suffragan of Paris, but in 1821 it became suffragan of Reims. It consists of
- all the ancient Diocese of Soissons, except the civil district of Compiègne, which went to the Diocese of Beauvais
- all of the Diocese of Laon, except two parishes, which went to Reims;
- that portion of Vermandois which formerly belonged to the Diocese of Noyon
- a few parishes which formerly belonged to Cambrai, Meaux, Troyes, Reims.
Read more about this topic: Roman Catholic Diocese Of Soissons
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