Glimpses of Christian History Presents More Stories; Days of Difficulty and Confusion During the Papal Schism

n September 13, 1376 when good- natured Pope Gregory XI reached the door of his Avignon palace, he found his father stretched there. The count de Beaufort was determined to keep his son from moving the papacy back to Rome. Gregory XI, who knew he had hesitated too long already, stepped over his father. The papal court had moved. The French government, which borrowed heavily from the Popes to finance its Hundred Year's War against England, was loath to see the pontiff depart. If the financial rewards of controlling the papacy had been great, the political leverage had been greater. Eighty four percent of all cardinals nominated during the Avignon years were Frenchmen.

Gregory died in 1378. While the people raged outside, demanding an Italian Pope, an overwhelmingly French conclave elected Bartolomeo Prignano. He called himself Urban VI. Almost immediately he tongue-lashed the bishops and cardinals in a humiliating manner. He would reform the church, he said, and end its French dominance. Embittered many of the cardinals and bishops left, announcing to a surprised world that the election, which just six months before they had declared free, actually came under duress. They declared it invalid and elected a second pope. Robert of Geneva became Clement VII and took up residence, as expected, in Avignon.

There were now two popes. The Papal Schism had begun. France, Naples, Scotland and Spain held Clement VII to be the true pope. Bohemia, England, Flanders, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, and Portugal continued with Urban VI. Each side anathematized the other. The weddings, baptisms, penance of their rivals each side declared null and void.

Clement and Urban both died and were replaced by successors. The French successor, Benedict XIII, was renounced by France and fled to Spain. Many cardinals called for a church council. Although Popes had often denied that councils had authority over them, it was clear to all that only a fully representative council could end the current impasse. On March 25, 1409 the Council met in Pisa. It deposed the rival popes and elected a third, who called himself Alexander V. Since neither of the other two accepted the council's authority, there were now three popes instead of two. Alexander V died almost at once and the council elected a pope who called himself John XXIII. A man of dubious character for a leadership position in the church, he still managed to justify the council of Pisa by finally taking a step which brought about a resolution of sorts.

He called the Council of Constance. Approximately 5,000 churchmen attended. They deposed all the rival claimants, including John himself (among the many allegations was that he had seduced over 200 women), and elected Pope Martin V. All Christendom accepted the new Pope and the Papal Schism was at an end. The council of Pisa is not recognized by the church.

These events were among those that would fuel demands for Reformation a century later.

Resources:

1. Bellitto, Christopher M. The General Councils; a history of the twenty-one general councils from Nicaea to Vatican II. (New York: Paulist Press, 2002).
2. Brusher, J. Popes Through the Ages. Princeton, New Jersey: Van Nostrand, 1964.
3. "Constance, Council of." The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A. Livingstone. Oxford, 1997.
4. Durant, Will. The Reformation; A history of European civilization from Wyclif to Calvin: 1300 - 1564. The Story of Civilization, Part VI. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1957.
5. Hughes, Philip. The Church in Crisis: a history of the general councils 325 - 1870. Garden City, New York: Hanover House, 1961.
6. Montor, Chevalier Artaud de. Lives and Times of the Popes. New York: Catholic Publication Society of America, 1911. Source of the image.
7. Petr z Mladenovic. John Hus at the Council of Constance. Translated from the Latin and the Czech with notes and introd. by Matthew Spinka. New York, Columbia University Press, 1966.