Western Schism

Last updated
Western Schism
Part of the crisis of the late Middle Ages
Grandes Chroniques de Frances de Charles V - BNF fr2813 f208 (Clercs se disputant).jpg
A 14th-century miniature symbolizing the schism
Date20 September 1378 – 11 November 1417
(39 years, 1 month, 3 weeks and 1 day)
LocationEurope
Type Christian schism
Cause
MotiveInternational rivalries in Roman Catholic Europe
OutcomeReunification of the Roman Catholic Church after the Council of Constance

The Western Schism, also known as the Papal Schism, the Great Occidental Schism, or the Schism of 1378 (Latin : Magnum schisma occidentale, Ecclesiae occidentalis schisma), was a split within the Roman Catholic Church lasting from 20 September 1378 to 11 November 1417 in which bishops residing in Rome and Avignon simultaneously claimed to be the true pope, and were eventually joined by a third line of Pisan claimants in 1409. The event was driven by international rivalries, personalities and political allegiances, with the Avignon Papacy in particular being closely tied to the French monarchy.

Contents

The papacy had resided in Avignon since 1309, but Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome in 1377. The Roman Catholic Church split in 1378, when, following Gregory XI's death and Urban VI's subsequent election, a group of French cardinals declared his election to be invalid and elected Clement VII, who claimed to be the true pope. After several attempts at reconciliation, the Council of Pisa (1409) declared that both rivals were illegitimate and elected a third purported pope. The schism was finally resolved when the Pisan claimant Antipope John XXIII called the Council of Constance (1414–1418). The Council arranged the renunciation of both Roman pope Gregory XII and Pisan antipope John XXIII. The Avignon antipope Benedict XIII was excommunicated, while Pope Martin V was elected and reigned from Rome.

The event is sometimes referred to as the Great Schism, although this term is usually reserved for the East–West Schism of 1054 between the churches remaining in communion with the See of Rome and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Timeline

History

The papacy had, since 1309, resided in Avignon, a papal enclave surrounded by France. Initiated by Pope Clement V, the Avignon Papacy had developed a reputation for corruption that estranged much of Western Christendom. This reputation was attributed to perceptions of strong French influence, the papal curia's efforts to extend its powers of patronage, and attempts to increase its revenues. The last Avignon pope, Gregory XI, at the entreaty of relatives, friends, and his retinue, decided to return to Rome on 17 January 1377. [1] Gregory, however, announced his intention to reverse his decision and return to Avignon just after the Easter celebrations of 1378. [2]

Before he could return to Avignon, Gregory XI died in the Vatican palace on 27 March 1378. [3] The Romans put into operation a plan to use intimidation and violence (impressio et metus) to ensure the election of a Roman pope. [4] The pope and his curia had returned to Rome after seventy years in Avignon, and the Romans were prepared to do everything in their power to keep them there. [5] On 8 April 1378, the cardinals elected Bartolomeo Prignano, the archbishop of Bari, as Pope Urban VI. [6]

Two popes

Map showing allegiance to Rome (blue) and to Avignon (red) during the Western Schism; this map is valid until the Council of Pisa (1409), which created a third line of claimants. Western schism 1378-1417 de.png
Map showing allegiance to Rome (blue) and to Avignon (red) during the Western Schism; this map is valid until the Council of Pisa (1409), which created a third line of claimants.

The majority of the cardinals who had elected Urban VI quickly regretted their decision and removed themselves to Anagni. [7] Meeting at Fondi, thirteen cardinals elected Count Robert of Geneva as Pope Clement VII on 20 September 1378. [8] The cardinals argued that the election of Urban VI was invalid because it had been out of fear of the rioting Roman crowds. [9] Unable to maintain himself in Anagni, and following the defeat of his forces at the battle of Marino, [10] Clement VII fled to Naples, which was ruled by one of his supporters, Queen Joanna I of Naples. [11] Despite being met regally by Joanna, Clement was met with the populace chanting, "Viva Papa Urbano" (Long Live Pope Urban) and "Muoia l'Anticristo" (Death to the Antichrist), which convinced him to leave. [11] [12] He took a ship to Avignon and reestablished the papal court there. Charles V of France, who seems to have been irked beforehand by the choice of the Roman pontiff, soon became his greatest protector. [13] Clement eventually succeeded in winning to his cause Castile, Aragon, Navarre, a great part of the Latin East[ where? ], Flanders and Scotland. [14] Years later, Owain Glyndŵr's rebellion in Wales also recognized the Avignon antipope Benedict XIII. [15]

Consequences

In the intense partisanship that was characteristic of the Middle Ages, the schism engendered a fanatical hatred noted by Johan Huizinga: "when the town of Bruges went over to the "obedience" of Avignon, a great number of people left to follow their trade in a city of Urbanist allegiance..[..].. In the 1382, the oriflamme, which might only be unfurled in a holy cause, was taken up against the Flemings, because they were Urbanists, that is, infidels." [16]

Sustained by such national and factional rivalries, the schism continued after the deaths of both Urban VI in 1389 and Clement VII in 1394. Boniface IX was crowned in Rome in 1389, and Benedict XIII, who was elected against the wishes of Charles VI of France, reigned in Avignon from 1394. [17] When Pope Boniface died in 1404, the eight cardinals of the Roman conclave offered to refrain from electing a new pope if Benedict would resign; but when Benedict's legates refused on his behalf, [lower-alpha 1] [19] the Roman party then proceeded to elect Pope Innocent VII. [18] Discussions continued instead with Innocent, but quickly stalled and by February 1405, and Benedict's envoys had returned to Avignon. [18] Benedict quickly excommunicated Innocent and with an army started marching towards Rome, in May 1405. He occupied Genoa for a year and awaited French military support, which never came. [18] Innocent died 6 November 1406, and the Roman cardinals elected Angelo Correr as Gregory XII. [20]

The suggestion for a church council to resolve the Schism, first made in 1378, was not adopted initially, because canon law required that a pope call a council. Eventually theologians like Pierre d'Ailly and Jean Gerson, adopted arguments that permitted the Church to call a council to resolve this issue, [21] while Francesco Zabarella argued that a council could only be convoked by an emperor. [22]

Three popes

Pope Benedict and Gregory agreed to abdicate their respective papacies in December 1406, but Benedict stated that he wanted to negotiate a solution first. [20] Gregory sent an ambassador to the St. Victor abbey in Marseille, where Benedict was staying. [20] On the other hand, Gregory preferred Savona, and Benedict concurred. [20] They balked at the last moment, and both groups of cardinals abandoned their preferred leaders. [23] The Council of Pisa met in 1409 under the auspices of the cardinals to try solving the dispute. [23] At the fifteenth session, on 5 June 1409, the Council of Pisa attempted to depose both the Roman pope and Avignon antipope as schismatical, heretical, perjured and scandalous, [24] but then inflamed the problem even further by electing Peter Philargi, the cardinal archbishop of Milan, as Alexander V. [25] He reigned briefly in Pisa from June 26, 1409, to his death in 1410, [26] when he was succeeded by, Baldassare Cossa as John XXIII, [27] who achieved limited support.

Council of Constance

Habemus Papam at the Council of Constance Habemus Papam 1415.jpg
Habemus Papam at the Council of Constance

In 1414, Council of Constance was convened by the Pisan pope John XXIII to resolve the schism once and for all. [28] The council was also endorsed by the Roman pope Gregory XII, giving it greater legitimacy. [29] On 6 April 1415, the council issued Haec sancta , stating that the council is the Church's highest governing body and has the authority to remove popes. [30]

The council, advised by the theologian Jean Gerson, secured the resignation of Gregory XII and the detention and removal of John XXIII. [31] The Avignon antipope Benedict XIII, who refused to step down, was excommunicated on 27 July 1417, having lost all his supporters in the process. [32] [31] The Council elected Pope Martin V in 1417, essentially ending the schism. [33]

Benedict XIII, recognized by King Martin of Aragon in 1397, chose to ignore pleas for his resignation. [34] Benedict died 23 May 1423: to succeed him three cardinals elected Gil Sanchez Munoz y Carbon as Clement VIII. [35] Clement VIII resigned in 1429 and recognized Martin V, putting a definite end to the Avignon Papacy. [35]

Aftermath

Conciliarism gained impetus due to the Schism. [36] This new reformist movement held that a general council is superior to the pope on the strength of its capability to resolve ecclesiastical issues. Theorists such as Jean Gerson explained that the priests and the church itself are the sources of the papal power and, thus, the church should be able to correct, punish, and, if necessary, depose a pope.

On 18 January 1460, Pope Pius II issued the bull Execrabilis which forbids any attempt to appeal papal judgements by general councils. [37]

There was also a marked decline in discipline within the church. Scholars note that the Western Schism effectively eroded the church's authority and its capacity to proclaim the gospel. [38] This was further aggravated by the dissension caused by the eventual Protestant Reformation of the 16th century.

Official list of popes

Plaque commemorating the popes buried in St. Peter's. Alexanders VI, VII, and VIII are numbered as though the Pisan pope Alexander V were legitimate, but John XXIII (d. 1963) has reused the ordinal of the Pisan pope John XXIII. Tafel paepste.jpg
Plaque commemorating the popes buried in St. Peter's. Alexanders VI, VII, and VIII are numbered as though the Pisan pope Alexander V were legitimate, but John XXIII (d. 1963) has reused the ordinal of the Pisan pope John XXIII.

For the next five centuries, the Catholic Church recognized the Roman popes as the legitimate line from 1378 to 1409, followed by the Pisan popes from 1409 to 1415. All Avignon popes after 1378 are considered to be antipopes. This recognition is reflected in the numbering of popes Alexander VI, VII, and VIII, who numbered themselves consecutively after their Pisan namesake Alexander V.

The recognition of the Pisan popes made the continued legitimacy of the Roman pope Gregory XII doubtful for 1409–1415. The Annuario Pontificio for 1860 listed the Pisan popes as true popes from 1409 to 1415, but it acknowledged that Gregory XII's reign ended in either 1409 or 1415.

The Western Schism was, in practice, reinterpreted in 1958 when Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli chose to reuse the ordinal XXIII upon his election as Pope John XXIII, citing "twenty-two [sic] Johns of indisputable legitimacy." [39] (There had actually been twenty undisputed Johns due to antipopes and numbering errors.) Although Roncalli's declaration of assuming the name specified that his decision was made "apart from disputes about legitimacy", this passage was subsequently excised from the version appearing in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis , and the Pisan popes Alexander V and John XXIII have since been classified as antipopes by the Roman Curia. [40] The reinterpretation is reflected in modern editions of the Annuario Pontificio, which extend Gregory XII's reign to 1415. The line of Roman popes is now retroactively recognized by the Catholic Church as the sole legitimate line during the Western Schism. However, Popes Alexander VI through VIII have not been renumbered, leaving a gap in the numbering sequence.

According to Broderick (1987):

Doubt still shrouds the validity of the three rival lines of pontiffs during the four decades subsequent to the still disputed papal election of 1378. This makes suspect the credentials of the cardinals created by the Roman, Avignon, and Pisan claimants to the Apostolic See. Unity was finally restored without a definitive solution to the question; for the Council of Constance succeeded in terminating the Western Schism, not by declaring which of the three claimants was the rightful one, but by eliminating all of them by forcing their abdication or deposition, and then setting up a novel arrangement for choosing a new pope acceptable to all sides. To this day the Church has never made any official, authoritative pronouncement about the papal lines of succession for this confusing period; nor has Martin V or any of his successors. Modern scholars are not agreed in their solutions, although they tend to favor the Roman line. [41]

Papal Recognition

Papacy BlasonComtatVenaissin.svg Avignon popes Coat of arms of the Holy See (Renaissance shape).svg Roman popes C o a Johannes XXIII (antipapa).svg Pisan popes (from 1409)
Supporters:

Notes

  1. ↑ According to Joëlle Rollo-Koster, Benedict's legates were imprisoned until after the conclave ended. [18]

Related Research Articles

An antipope is a person who claims to be Bishop of Rome and leader of the Catholic Church in opposition to the legitimately elected pope. Between the 3rd and mid-15th centuries, antipopes were supported by factions within the Church itself and secular rulers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antipope John XXIII</span> Italian bishop; Pisan antipope (1410–1415)

Baldassarre Cossa was Pisan antipope John XXIII (1410–1415) during the Western Schism. The Catholic Church regards him as an antipope, as he opposed Pope Gregory XII whom the Catholic Church recognizes as the rightful successor of Saint Peter. He was also an opponent of Antipope Benedict XIII, who was recognized by the French clergy and monarchy as the legitimate Pontiff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council of Constance</span> 1414–18 ecumenical council that settled the Western Schism

The Council of Constance was an ecumenical council of the Catholic Church that was held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance (Konstanz) in present-day Germany. The council ended the Western Schism by deposing or accepting the resignation of the remaining papal claimants and by electing Pope Martin V. It was the last papal election to take place outside of Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Gregory XI</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 1370 to 1378

Pope Gregory XI was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1370 to his death, in March 1378. He was the seventh and last Avignon pope and the most recent French pope recognized by the modern Catholic Church. In 1377, Gregory XI returned the Papal court to Rome, ending nearly 70 years of papal residency in Avignon, France. His death was swiftly followed by the Western Schism involving two Avignon-based antipopes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Gregory XII</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 1406 to 1415

Pope Gregory XII, born Angelo Corraro, Corario, or Correr, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 November 1406 to 4 July 1415. Reigning during the Western Schism, he was opposed by the Avignon claimant Benedict XIII and the Pisan claimants Alexander V and John XXIII. Gregory XII wanted to unify the Church and voluntarily resigned in 1415 to end the schism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Innocent VI</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 1352 to 1362

Pope Innocent VI, born Étienne Aubert, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 18 December 1352 to his death, in September 1362. He was the fifth Avignon pope and the only one with the pontifical name of "Innocent".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avignon Papacy</span> Period during which the Pope lived in Avignon, France in the 14th century

The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon rather than in Rome. The situation arose from the conflict between the papacy and the French crown, culminating in the death of Pope Boniface VIII after his arrest and maltreatment by Philip IV of France. Following the subsequent death of Pope Benedict XI, Philip forced a deadlocked conclave to elect the French Clement V as pope in 1305. Clement refused to move to Rome, and in 1309 he moved his court to the papal enclave at Avignon, where it remained for the next 67 years. This absence from Rome is sometimes referred to as the "Babylonian captivity” of the Papacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antipope Benedict XIII</span> Antipope from 1394 to 1423

Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor, known as el Papa Luna(lit. 'the Moon Pope') or Pope Luna, was an Aragonese nobleman who was christened antipope Benedict XIII during the Western Schism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gui de Maillesec</span> French Catholic cardinal (died 1412)

Guy de Malsec was a French bishop and cardinal. He was born at the family's fief at Malsec (Maillesec), in the diocese of Tulle. He had two sisters, Berauda and Agnes, who both became nuns at the Monastery of Pruliano (Pruilly) in the diocese of Carcassonne, and two nieces Heliota and Florence, who became nuns at the Monastery of S. Prassede in Avignon. He was a nephew of Pope Gregory XI, or perhaps a more distant relative. He was also a nephew of Pope Innocent VI. Guy was baptized in the church of S. Privatus, some 30 km southeast of Tulle. He played a part in the election of Benedict XIII of the Avignon Obedience in 1394, in his status as second most senior cardinal. He played an even more prominent role in Benedict's repudiation and deposition. Guy de Malsec was sometimes referred to as the 'Cardinal of Poitiers' (Pictavensis) or the 'Cardinal of Palestrina' (Penestrinus).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1378 papal conclave</span> Election of Pope Urban VI

The 1378 papal conclave which was held from April 7 to 9, 1378, was the papal conclave which was the immediate cause of the Western Schism in the Catholic Church. The conclave was one of the shortest in the history of the Catholic Church. The conclave was also the first since 1159 held in the Vatican and in Old St. Peter's Basilica.

The numbering of "Popes John" does not occur in strict numerical order. Although there have been twenty-one legitimate popes named John, the numbering has reached XXIII because of two clerical errors that were introduced in the Middle Ages: first, antipope John XVI was kept in the numbering sequence instead of being removed; then, the number XX was skipped because Pope John XXI counted John XIV twice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis I, Duke of Bar</span>

Louis I of Bar was a French bishop of the 15th century and the de jure Duke of Bar from 1415 to 1430, ruling from the 1420s alongside his grand-nephew René of Anjou.

Ubi periculum is a papal bull promulgated by Pope Gregory X during the Second Council of Lyon on 7 July 1274 that established the papal conclave format as the method for selecting a pope, specifically the confinement and isolation of the cardinals in conditions designed to speed them to reach a broad consensus. Its title, as is traditional for such documents, is taken from the opening words of the original Latin text, Ubi periculum maius intenditur, 'Where greater danger lies'. Its adoption was supported by the hundreds of bishops at that council over the objections of the cardinals. The regulations were formulated in response to the tactics used against the cardinals by the magistrates of Viterbo during the protracted papal election of 1268–1271, which took almost three years to elect Gregory X. In requiring that the cardinals meet in isolation, Gregory was not innovating but implementing a practice that the cardinals had either adopted on their own initiative or had forced upon them by civil authorities. After later popes suspended the rules of Ubi periculum and several were elected in traditional elections rather than conclaves, Pope Boniface VIII incorporated Ubi periculum into canon law in 1298.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antipope Alexander V</span> Papal claimant from 1409 to 1410 (c. 1339 – 1410)

Peter of Candia, also known as Peter Phillarges, named as Alexander V, was an antipope elected by the Council of Pisa during the Western Schism (1378–1417). He reigned briefly from 26 June 1409 to his death in 1410, in opposition to the Roman pope Gregory XII and the Avignon antipope Benedict XIII. In the 20th century, the Catholic Church reinterpreted the Western Schism by recognising the Roman popes as legitimate. Gregory XII's reign was extended to 1415, and Alexander V is now regarded as an antipope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antipope Clement VII</span> Antipope from 1378 to 1394

Robert of Geneva was elected to the papacy as Clement VII by the cardinals who opposed Pope Urban VI and was the first antipope residing in Avignon, France. His election led to the Western Schism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Council of Pisa</span> 1409 ecumenical council of the Catholic Church

The Council of Pisa was a controversial council held in 1409. It attempted to end the Western Schism by deposing both Benedict XIII (Avignon) and Gregory XII (Rome) for schism and manifest heresy. The College of Cardinals, composed of members from both the Avignon Obedience and the Roman Obedience, who were recognized by each other and by the Council, then elected a third papal claimant, Alexander V, who lived only a few months. He was succeeded by John XXIII.

Crusades against Christians were Christian religious wars dating from the 11th century First Crusade when papal reformers began equating the universal church with the papacy. Later in the 12th century focus changed onto heretics and schismatics rather than infidels. Holy wars were fought in northern France, against King Roger II of Sicily, various heretics, their protectors, mercenary bands and the first political crusade against Markward of Anweiler. Full crusading apparatus was deployed against Christians in the conflict with the Cathar heretics of southern France and their Christian protectors in the 13th . This was given equivalence with the Eastern crusades and supported by developments such as the creation of the Papal States. The aims were to make the crusade indulgence available to the laity, the reconfiguration of Christian society, and ecclesiastical taxation.

Giacomo Orsini, also spelled Jacopo Orsini, was a Roman prelate, the cardinal deacon of San Giorgio in Velabro from 1371 until his death shortly after the start of the Western Schism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martín de Zalba</span> Chancellor of Navarre from 1376 to 1396

Martín de Zalba was a Navarrese cleric and statesman who served as the chancellor of the kingdom from 1376 until 1396 and as the bishop of Pamplona from 1377 until his death. From 1390, he was also a cardinal of the Avignon obedience.

References

  1. ↑ Kelly 1986, p. 227.
  2. ↑ Gregorovius 1906, p. 490-491.
  3. ↑ Logan 2002, p. 306.
  4. ↑ Rollo-Koster 2009, p. 19-21.
  5. ↑ Creighton 2012, p. 50.
  6. ↑ Richardson 2009, p. xxi.
  7. ↑ Atwood 2001, p. 23.
  8. ↑ Rollo-Koster 2009, p. 13.
  9. ↑ Fleck 2009, p. 241.
  10. ↑ Keen 2010, p. 311.
  11. 1 2 Creighton 2012, p. 68.
  12. ↑ Trexler 1974, p. 141.
  13. ↑ Scott 1993, p. 87.
  14. ↑ Walsh 2011, p. 157.
  15. ↑ Swanson 2021, p. 85.
  16. ↑ Huizinga 1924, p. 14.
  17. ↑ Blumenfeld-Kosinski 2009, p. 127.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Rollo-Koster 2022, p. 49.
  19. ↑ Logan 2002, p. 318.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Rollo-Koster 2022, p. 50.
  21. ↑ Linder 2008, p. 7.
  22. ↑ Stump 2009, p. 402-403.
  23. 1 2 Logan 2002, p. 318-319.
  24. ↑ Logan 2002, p. 319-320.
  25. ↑ Logan 2002, p. 320.
  26. ↑ Logan 2002, p. 320-321.
  27. ↑ Rollo-Koster 2022, p. 59.
  28. ↑ Rosenwein 2018, p. 323.
  29. ↑ Bellitto 2002, p. 87-88.
  30. ↑ McGuire 2006, p. 23.
  31. 1 2 Riccoboni 2000, p. 61.
  32. ↑ Kneupper 2016, p. 61.
  33. ↑ González 2010, p. 408-409.
  34. ↑ O’Callaghan 1975, p. 539-540.
  35. 1 2 Fleck 2016, p. 266.
  36. ↑ Orji 2021, p. 191.
  37. ↑ O'Brien 2015, p. 81.
  38. ↑ Coriden 2004, p. 21.
  39. ↑ "I Choose John ..." Time. 10 November 1958. p. 91.
  40. ↑ Oakley 2008, p. 89.
  41. ↑ Broderick 1987, p. 14.
  42. ↑ Noël Valois, La France et le Grand Schisme, (in French), Vol. 1 (Paris: A. Picard 1896), p. 196.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.