Western Schism

Background

After the papal court moved to Avignon in southern France in 1309, the popes resided there for about seventy years (Avignon Papacy, the so-called "Babylonian Captivity"). Gregory XI returned to Rome in 1377 but died the following year. The College of Cardinals, most of whom were French, had to choose his successor under intense pressure from the people of Rome, who demanded an Italian pope.

Course of Events

• 1378, two popes: On April 8, Bartolomeo Prignano, Archbishop of Bari, was elected as Urban VI. However, the French cardinals, who soon came into conflict with the new pope, left Rome, claiming that the election was invalid because it had been held under threat from the mob. On September 20, at Fondi in Italy, they elected Robert of Geneva as Clement VII, who established himself at Avignon.
• A divided Europe: France, Scotland, Castile, Aragon, Navarre, and others supported the Avignon line, while England, the Holy Roman Empire, Poland, Hungary, and northern and central Italy, among others, supported the Roman line. Political rivalries among the nations played a major role in determining which pope each followed. The Roman line continued with Boniface IX, Innocent VII, and Gregory XII. In the Avignon line, Benedict XIII succeeded in 1394.
• 1409, Council of Pisa: A council held at Pisa deposed both popes and elected Alexander V. Because neither of the two popes stepped down, however, there were now three claimants to the papacy. In 1410 John XXIII succeeded Alexander V.
• 1414–1418, Council of Constance: The council was convened by John XXIII at the urging of Sigismund, King of the Germans. In April 1415, in the decree (an official decision of a council) Haec Sancta, the council declared that even the pope must submit to the authority of a council. John XXIII was deposed in May 1415. Gregory XII, acting through his representatives, formally reconvened the council and then resigned on July 4 of the same year. Benedict XIII, who refused to the end to resign, was deposed in 1417. The schism ended on November 11, 1417, with the election of Cardinal Oddone Colonna as Martin V.

Outcomes and Influence

• Conciliarism, the view that a council stands above the pope, gained strength. The Council of Constance also adopted the decree Frequens, which provided for councils to be held at regular intervals.
• The same council condemned the teachings of John Wycliffe and also condemned Jan Hus. Hus was burned at the stake in 1415, an event that gave rise to the Hussite movement in Bohemia.
• The turmoil, which lasted nearly forty years, severely diminished the authority of the papacy.

Assessment

• The Catholic Church regards the Roman line, running from Urban VI to Gregory XII, as legitimate. The popes of the Avignon and Pisan lines are classified as "antipopes" (those who illegitimately claimed to be pope). Because Haec Sancta was issued before Gregory XII recognized the council, the Catholic Church generally regards it as lacking binding force. In a 2018 document, the Vatican's International Theological Commission stated that conciliarism had been judged incompatible with Sacred Tradition.
• Protestant church historians commonly regard the schism, together with the Avignon period, as having weakened the authority of the medieval church. It is therefore treated as part of the background to the reform movements of Wycliffe and Hus and to the sixteenth-century Reformation.
• It is distinct from the East–West Schism of 1054, in which the Eastern and Western churches separated.