Great Schism
Great Schism
A divide in the Catholic Church that brought an institution that dominated medieval Europe to the lowest point of its reputation, and became a key impetus for the Protestant Reformation. In 1377, the papal court, which had resided in the southern French town of Avignon, was returned to Rome on the orders of Pope Gregory XI. In the next year, Gregory's death was followed by the election of Urban VI who, much to the chagrin of the cardinals who had elected him, soon took steps to reform the corrupt bureaucracy of the church. A faction of French cardinals met in the town of Agnani and declared the election of Urban as null. They elected Robert of Geneva as Clement VII, a French-speaking rival pope who returned to Avignon. Urban's papal court in Rome survived, and Christians throughout Europe found their loyalties demanded by two separate and hostile factions of Italian and French prelates. Urban VI was followed in Rome by Boniface IX (1389–1404), Innocent VII (1404–1406), and Gregory XII (1406–1415). Clement was succeeded in Avignon by Benedict XIII (1394–1417). To resolve the schism, the cardinals gathered in the Tuscan city of Pisa, on the advice of religious scholars that the pope was subject to the decisions of a holy council. The Council of Pisa then elected a third pope, Alexander V, who was not recognized by either of the popes in Rome and Avignon. The Holy Roman Emperor summoned church officials to the Council of Constance in 1414. The council declared the two rival popes deposed and elected Martin V. This pope managed to return the Papacy permanently to Rome, but not before the church suffered a serious loss in its reputation as the supreme religious authority, paving the way for the dissidents and Protestants whose movement would sweep northern Europe in the sixteenth century.
See Also: Hus, Jan; Luther, Martin; Reformation, Protestant
Great Schism
J. A. Cannon