Nevers faience plate commemorating the Civil Constitution of the secretly counter-revolutionary clergy with a rebus. “I swear to maintain with all my power the Constitution & [the hedge]” Plate presented at the Carnavalet Museum, Paris. On July 12, 1790, the Assembly adopted the Civil Constitution of the Clergy proposed by its ecclesiastical committee. The Constituent Assembly thus wanted to create a national Church capable of supporting it in the consolidation of the new order of things. The law of November 27, 1790 required that the clergy swear an oath to the constitution. This was the beginning of a schism in the Church. It was divided into two camps of equal importance, on one side the constitutional clergy who accepted the oath, on the other the non-sworn or refractory who refused it. This antagonism was accentuated when Pope Pius VI condemned the civil constitution of the clergy on March 10, 1791. Only seven bishops took the oath. The vast majority of the clergy of Eure-et-Loir agreed to take the oath "[…] to be faithful to the nation, to the law and to the king, and to maintain with all their power the Constitution decreed by the National Assembly and accepted by the king. The Civil Constitution aimed to return the politicized institution of the Church to its original state, that is to say that the clergy would no longer be anything but the guardian of the spirit. To do this, the Assembly subordinated the Gallican Church to the French government. Title I of the Constitution deals with the number of bishops, which was limited to 83 to correspond to the number of French departments, and confirms the suppression of monastic orders. Title II stipulated that all clergy were to be elected by the people, like all other public officials. The king or pope no longer appointed the clergy. Title III dealt with the salaries of clergy, which, although increased in many cases, meant that the clergy were now paid employees of the state. Finally, Title IV required all bishops to reside in their respective dioceses. In addition, all clergy were required to swear an oath of loyalty to the state and to the future constitution. Only seven bishops immediately took the oath required by the Civil Constitution (one of them being Talleyrand). Most of these, however, hesitated, since swearing total loyalty to the state might bring them into conflict with their duties to the pope or to God. In November 1790, the Assembly made the oath compulsory for all members of the clergy, down to the lowest priests. However, many held their breath, preferring to hear the Pope's reaction before committing themselves. plate in good condition, chipped Dimensions: 23.5cm height: 3.5cm