Editing Provence (section)

=== Arrival of Christianity (3rd–6th centuries) ===
[[File:Frejus Cathedral Baptistery.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[baptistery]] of [[Fréjus Cathedral]] (5th century) is still in use]]
There are many legends about the earliest Christians in Provence, but they are difficult to verify. It is documented that there were organised churches and bishops in the Roman towns of Provence as early as the 3rd and 4th centuries; in [[Arles]] in 254; Marseille in 314; [[Orange, Vaucluse|Orange]], [[Vaison]] and [[Apt, Vaucluse|Apt]] in 314; [[Cavaillon]], [[Digne]], [[Embrun, Hautes-Alpes|Embrun]], [[Gap, Hautes-Alpes|Gap]], and [[Fréjus]] at the end of the 4th century; [[Aix-en-Provence]] in 408; [[Carpentras]], [[Avignon]], [[Riez]], [[Cimiez]] (today part of [[Nice]]) and [[Vence]] in 439; [[Antibes]] in 442; [[Toulon]] in 451; [[Senez]] in 406, [[Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux]] in 517; and [[Glandèves]] in 541.<ref>Aldo Bastié, ''Histoire de la Provence'', (pg. 13.)</ref>

The oldest Christian structure still surviving in Provence is the baptistery of the [[Fréjus Cathedral]], dating from the 5th century. At about the same time, the first two monasteries in Provence were founded: [[Lérins Abbey]], on the island of [[Île Saint-Honorat|Saint-Honorat]] near Cannes, and [[Abbey of St Victor, Marseille|Abbey of St Victor]] in Marseille.