Lyon Cathedral

About

Saint-Jean-Baptiste-et-Saint-Étienne (also known as Saint John's Cathedral) is the episcopal seat of the Archdiocese of Lyon. It has the rank of cathedral and primatiale: the archbishop of Lyon has the title of primate des Gaules. It is located in the fifth arrondissement of Lyon, in the heart of the medieval and Renaissance district of Old Lyon, of which it is one of the highlights.

In the Middle Ages, it was part of a complex of churches and other ecclesial buildings, the cathedral group, which included, among other things, the Saint-Étienne and Sainte-Croix churches, destroyed during the Revolution, as well as the present manecantery. Originally, the church was consecrated under the patronage of St Stephen, while his baptistry was consecrated under that of St John the Baptist, but, as is common, the name of the baptistery then applied in the common designation. The first cathedral whose existence is attested, and which the sources of the time are content to call maxima ecclesia, that is, the "great church", was built by Patient.

The second, larger and dated from the ninth century, is Leidride's work. The current building is a...