FLEURY, CLAUDE

born Dec. 6, 1640, Paris, France died July 14, 1723, Paris French ecclesiastical historian and Cistercian abbot, who steered cleverly through contemporary doctrinal controversies. As a young man Fleury practiced law in Paris for nine years and became a protg of Bishop Jacques-Bnigne Bossuet. He then turned to the priesthood, becoming ordained in 1669, and later became a tutor at court. In 1716 he was made confessor to the young Louis XV, as being neither Jansenist, nor Molinist, nor Ultramontanist, but Catholic. His 20-volume Histoire ecclsiastique (16901720) is the first large history of the Christian church (Fleury's contribution came down to 1414, and others later completed the history down to 1778). However, because Fleury was sympathetic toward Gallicanism (an ecclesiastical doctrine advocating restriction of papal power), his works were placed on the Roman Catholic Index of Forbidden Books.