After the death of Pope Gregory XI on March 27, 1378, there was a disputed Papal election. The election of the archbishop of Bari, Pope Urban VI caused a division in the Catholic Church. Some favored the Cardinal of Geneva who went under the name of Clement VII.
The two factions were unable to agree and whilst Urban VI ruled from Rome, Clement VII moved into the papal palace at Avignon. Western Europe was split between the two and this marked the beginning of the Great Western Schism. The map belows shows support for Avignon (red) and Rome (blue) during the Western Schism.
Unable to find a solution to the Western Schism, the cardinals held a council at Pisa. At the fifteenth session, June 5, 1409, they decided to depose both popes for being heretics and elect a third in their place as Pope Alexander V.
Benedict XIII and Pope Gregory XII refused to abdicate so now the catholic church found itself with three popes. The situation was further complicated when Alexander V died in 1410 and Baldassare Cossa, a Neapolitan nobleman, who is said to have poisoned Alexander V, was elected under the name of Pope John XXIII.
A council was convened by John XXIII in 1414 at Constance to resolve the issue. This was endorsed by Pope Gregory XII, thus ensuring the legitimacy of any election. The Council of Constance was the largest Church meeting for many centuries.
A second goal of the council was to continue the reforms begun at the Council of Pisa which were largely directed against the Bohemian church reformer Jan Hus, along with his followers. A safe conduct was issued by Sigismund, the German king (later Holy Roman Emperor), to allow Hus to attend the Council of Constance. However Sigismund repudiated his pledge and Hus was arrested and burned at the stake.
The Council of Constance recommended that all three papal claimants abdicate, and that another be chosen. In March 1415, John XXIII escaped from Constance disguised as a postman.
During his absence John was deposed by the council, and upon his return he was tried and found guilty on charges of heresy, adultery, incest and poisoning. The council also secured the resignation of Pope Gregory XII while deposing the second antipope, Benedict XIII, who refused to step down.
The German king Sigismund organised a European summit in Perpignan, to convince Benedict to resign his office and end the Western Schism. Because of this stubbornness, the Council of Constance declared Benedict a schismatic and excommunicated him from the Catholic Church.
Nearly three years after it was inaugurated, the Council of Constance, succeeded in officially ending the Western Schism by deposing the rival popes and electing a third, Martin V as the new consensus pope on November 11, 1417.
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The two factions were unable to agree and whilst Urban VI ruled from Rome, Clement VII moved into the papal palace at Avignon. Western Europe was split between the two and this marked the beginning of the Great Western Schism. The map belows shows support for Avignon (red) and Rome (blue) during the Western Schism.
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By Grand_schisme_1378-1417.png: @lankazamederivative work |
Unable to find a solution to the Western Schism, the cardinals held a council at Pisa. At the fifteenth session, June 5, 1409, they decided to depose both popes for being heretics and elect a third in their place as Pope Alexander V.
Benedict XIII and Pope Gregory XII refused to abdicate so now the catholic church found itself with three popes. The situation was further complicated when Alexander V died in 1410 and Baldassare Cossa, a Neapolitan nobleman, who is said to have poisoned Alexander V, was elected under the name of Pope John XXIII.
A council was convened by John XXIII in 1414 at Constance to resolve the issue. This was endorsed by Pope Gregory XII, thus ensuring the legitimacy of any election. The Council of Constance was the largest Church meeting for many centuries.
A second goal of the council was to continue the reforms begun at the Council of Pisa which were largely directed against the Bohemian church reformer Jan Hus, along with his followers. A safe conduct was issued by Sigismund, the German king (later Holy Roman Emperor), to allow Hus to attend the Council of Constance. However Sigismund repudiated his pledge and Hus was arrested and burned at the stake.
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| Painting of Jan Hus in Council of Constance by Václav Brožík |
The Council of Constance recommended that all three papal claimants abdicate, and that another be chosen. In March 1415, John XXIII escaped from Constance disguised as a postman.
During his absence John was deposed by the council, and upon his return he was tried and found guilty on charges of heresy, adultery, incest and poisoning. The council also secured the resignation of Pope Gregory XII while deposing the second antipope, Benedict XIII, who refused to step down.
The German king Sigismund organised a European summit in Perpignan, to convince Benedict to resign his office and end the Western Schism. Because of this stubbornness, the Council of Constance declared Benedict a schismatic and excommunicated him from the Catholic Church.
Nearly three years after it was inaugurated, the Council of Constance, succeeded in officially ending the Western Schism by deposing the rival popes and electing a third, Martin V as the new consensus pope on November 11, 1417.
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