page_title: Fréjus Cathedral
section_title: Baptistery
hierarchical_section_title: Fréjus Cathedral / Baptistery
caption_attribution_description: English: Baptistery of Frejus Cathedral, France (5th century). Français&#160;: Baptistère de la cathédrale Saint-Léonce de Fréjus, en France (Ve siècle).
context_page_description: Fréjus Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Fréjus in the Var department of Provence, southeast France, and dedicated to Saint Leontius of Fréjus.
  The cathedral was the seat of the Bishop of Fréjus from the 5th century. The diocese was abolished in 1801 but restored in 1822 under bull Paternae charitatis. In 1957 the Diocese of Fréjus was united with that of Toulon to form the present Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, with its seat at Toulon Cathedral. Since then, Fréjus Cathedral has been a co-cathedral in the new diocese.
  The church is part of a complex of a larger fortified complex of medieval religious buildings dating from between the 5th and 13th centuries, when Fréjus was an important religious and commercial centre of Provence, comprising a parish church and a cathedral under one roof; a baptistery; the bishop's residence; a canonry, for the community of priests who served under the bishop; and a cloister.
  The baptistery of the cathedral is a fine example of Merovingian architecture. It was built in the 5th century but hidden during later reconstruction, and was rediscovered in 1925 by French architect Jules Formigé.
context_section_description: The baptistery is the oldest part of the cathedral, dating to the 5th century. It is similar in form to baptisteries in Northern Italy, at Albenga in Liguria, and to the Lateran Baptistery in Rome, from the same period. On the exterior, the lower part is a square, about eleven meters to a side. On top of that is a domed octagonal structure. In the interior, the lower level is divided into eight deep arched niches, alternating between semicircular niches and those with flat walls, with the arches resting on columns. The columns support the upper level, which has sixteen small arched niches with windows, which in turn support the dome. Many of the granite columns predate the church, and were probably taken from Roman temples; other columns were made at the same time as the baptistery.
  In the centre of the floor is the octagonal baptismal basin, large enough for a person to be entirely immersed, surrounded by a stone ledge. A smaller basin is located in the floor nearby, either for the baptism of infants or for washing the feet of the priest.
  In the 13th century the baptistery was surrounded by a new wall, and the baptismal basin was covered over. It was rediscovered in the 1920s by Jules Formigé, the Inspector of French Historical Monuments, and the interior was restored during the 1930s to what he believed to be its original appearance.
caption: The baptistery (5th century) is still in use
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