[3] He was bishop of Metz from 1120[4] until his death in 1163, though he was prevented from taking possession of the see for a number of years because of the hostility of the emperor, who had not appointed him and had not invested him.
[7] In January 1122, Pope Calixtus, traveling in the kingdom of Naples, held a synod at Cotrone to settle a boundary dispute between two dioceses.
[11] He was still having trouble taking possession of his diocese, however, due to the opposition of the commune of Metz and of the local notab les, who had usurped the property belonging to the bishopric during the previous decade.
[13] On 21 July of the same year he was at the Lateran again, and signed the decree along with thirty-seven other cardinals restoring to the archbishop of Pisa the right to consecrate bishops for Sardinia.
[17] In 1131, during the politicking over choosing a successor, Bishop Étienne argued with the clergy and laity over one candidate after another, successfully diminishing each's chances.
The discussions may have been prolonged because of the necessity of the higher clergy to attend the synod of Pope Innocent II at Liège on 22 March 1131.
When he was elected archbishop of Trier on 19 April 1131,[20] he attempted to refuse again, and carried his case directly to Pope Innocent II, who was holding a council in Reims on 24—26 October 1131.
The party of Innocent II had obviously replaced Cardinal Étienne at the deaconry of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, at least notionally.
[24] In March 1138, both Bishop Étienne and his metropolitan Archbishop Adalberon of Trier were in Coblenz for the election of a German emperor to succeed Lothair III.
[26] Inspired by the crusading spirit, roused by Pope Eugenius III and Bernard of Clairvaux, Bishop Étienne took the cross in 1146, along with the Count of Maurienne and the Marquis of Monferrat.
Since the disorders seemed to be spreading to other cities and towns of the Moselle valley, archbishop Hillin of Falmagne of Trier, in the absence of Bishop Étienne (who was ill,[32] or, according to Jean Mabillon, unequal to the task), undertook the journey to Clairvaux in order to solicit the aid of Bernard.
Octavianus was the candidate of the Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, who was represented at the election by the Count Palatine of Bavaria, Otto von Wittelsbach.
The imperial faction refused to accept their defeat, and acclaimed Octavianus as "Victor IV", while the majority enthroned Rolando as Pope Alexander III.
Bishop Étienne de Bar chose to support his feudal overlord and friend, the Emperor Frederick, and therefore entered into a schism with the Roman pontiff.
[37] He was succeeded in the bishopric by his nephew Thierry, the son of his brother Renaud, who was Primicerius of the cathedral and supported by Frederick Barbarossa.