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Preceding the eventual advent of the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century, the Great Schism of the West of the late fourteenth and early fifteenth century would prove to be a major threat to the viable workings of the Papacy, and quite possibly the future of the Christian faith itself.
The Great Schism, or the relocation of the Papacy, as well as the dual occupation of the throne of St. Peter, was an internal struggle on the inner workings of the Papacy that lasted from 1378 to 1417.
From the 1070’s up until the commencement of the Schism, the Papacy had become an increasingly “lawyerly” institution. The papal candidates, for a vast majority, in addition to theology and church doctrines, were also lawyers trained in canon law. This legalistic mindset that enveloped the Vatican, along with the administrative centralization of the papal court (that almost resulted in a separate nation in itself), started the fires that would eventually spark the Schism.
By the end of the 1200’s, there were a few select reigning Popes who began to ally themselves with France, and through papal authority, it (the Papacy) became a world power- no longer responsible for the Papal States alone.
The Schism itself was the direct result of the election of two popes- one in Avignon , France (Clement V), and one in Rome (Urban VI). Christendom, or what it amounted to at the time (Catholicism), faced a major problem, and the church, in an instant, had become divided. “The division of Latin Christendom between the obediences of Avignon and Rome eventually followed the frontiers of the European power bloc. France and her allies were on one side: England, part of the Empire, and their allies on the other”(Loomis, 4).
By this, allegiances were clearly disheveled, and while the church itself had been broken in a structural sense, the church members individually found themselves to be torn against each other as well.
“Adherence to one side or the other meant supporting the appointment of bishops and abbots by one pope while rejecting those from the other. It meant ensuring that tithes and contributions went to Rome rather than Avignon, or vice versa. It did not mean war, however, neither pope resorted to the calling of a crusade against his rival”(Knox,2).
The division of the Papacy suddenly brought new problems to light. If according to scriptural teachings, Christians were to believe in “one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism” (Eph.4:5), the evident problem paralleled this very message that Paul directed to the Ephesians. If there was to be “one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism,” clearly, there should also only be one Pope. “A divided Papacy was a reductio ad absurdum. Two Popes meant two Christs; two Curias meant two Final Courts of Appeal; two obediences meant two Churches”(Jordan,31). Two popes brought two different styles of Papal governance, and two differing issues of how to deal and shape Catholic doctrines.
Christians (Catholics) the world over, suddenly had a myriad of questions that plagued them personally, as well as affected the well-being of the future of their faith:
“Whom must we take for Pope? Whom must we choose? Which is the Pope when there are two or three? Must they that give the power which they use, Superiors, equals, or inferiors be? When one in Rome, one in Avignon was, And each a Council had which took his part, Which for the true Communion then must pass, Which was the Church from which none must depart?” (Jordan (Baker), 31).
The Great Schism of the West had officially commenced, and the fate of one of the major religions of all time was in probable peril. By the election of additional papal delegates assuming holy authority, and also by moving from Rome, the holy city itself, congregations became mass assemblies of confusion, where citizens were unsure of what the “true faith” exactly was, and who, in effect, was leading it.“To leave Rome was to lose all that the Eternal City signified. Rome was the acknowledged centre of the spiritual Commonwealth, endeared to every member of the Church by its sacred associations with the Apostolic Martyr, whose tombs were the outward and visible sign of that spirit of heroic self- sacrifice which turned the pagan world upside down. Such associations gave the Papacy an independence unattainable elsewhere- an eternal significance outside the realms of time and space, attracting and commanding the loyalty of all Christendom”(Jordan,11).
Attempted reformatory measures came in a two-fold manner. “ The first and most obvious was to wait for one rival to die—to let God choose. But this was not a case so much of rival popes as of rival factions. The Great Schism was the result of a split within the College of Cardinals, and so long as those two factions remained strong, there was really no hope of resolution”(Knox,2). The second half of this “common-sense fix”, per se, was that “both popes would voluntarily resign, clearing the way for the election of a compromise candidate. At one time or another, the rival popes even agreed to this agreement, but then the difficult matter of timing arose. Neither would be the first to resign, so both had to resign together. But agreed dates came and went, no rival could be induced to meet in the same city with the other, and this course, too, seemed to be barren of results”(Knox,2). Once again, reformatory measures were sought, and those reforms were attempted through the respective Councils of Basel and Pisa. These were anything but successful in ridding the papacy of extra representation. In fact, at the Council of Pisa in 1409, an additional Pope (third Pope to claim holy authority during the Schism), Alexander V was elected in 1409. “The Council of Pisa was not a failure. It had promoted inquiry of a most searching kind into the basis of Church authority, and had therefore prepared the way for the success of the Council of Constance”(Jordan, 134-5). Following the events at Pisa, Holy Roman Emperor, and German king Sigismund took action. “ He at last responded to entreaties and called another general council at the Imperial city of Constance. It is a nice irony that the rivalry among popes was solved only upon the instigation and authority of their ancient rival, the Holy Roman Emperor”(Knox,4).
The Council of Constance, which began in 1414, proved to be the prime component in attempting to suture the open wounds of the church that so desperately needed to heal. “The Council of Constance saw the culmination of the conciliar movement… it was summoned by the German king, Sigismund of Luxemburg, and invitations were sent to all candidates, bishops, abbots, princes, friars, teachers”(Davies, 417).
This Council of Constance immediately became of the utmost importance to the majority of all clergy and church authority dealing with the means of alleviating the Schism. “With the exception of the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, the Council of Constance was the most memorable gathering of the Latin clergy in the history of the medieval church”(Loomis,3).
The ultimate plan of the Council was of course, to rid Christendom of additional Pontifical representation. Desiring to return to the precedented representation by one ‘vicar of Christ’ instead of two or three, this goal was of the utmost importance. “By the need for reform, the clergy referred to real ills in the life of the Church. They spoke of illiterate priests, simoniacal prelates, venal curial officers, and clerical acts of personal immorality”(Loomis,28). However… depending on various other elements behind the workings of the Council, other goals surfaced as well. “The task which the Council thus set forth in the declaration comprised, besides the termination of the schism and unification of the Church, the extermination of heresy and a reformation of the Church in head and members” (Spinka,65).
Heresies threatening church doctrines themselves were now of high priority on the list of issues that Constance had to deal with.“To eradicate heresies, especially those spread by John Wycliffe in Britain and by John Hus and Jerome of Prague in Bohemia”(Tanner,1). (Wycliffe’s doctrines had already been widely condemned by the church, and Hus became accused of ascribing to the forbidden doctrines concerning the Eucharist- those holding favor with allowing rights for the laity to receive communal bread and wine during Mass. Hus was soon after imprisoned, and after being allowed to answer his charges before an already decisive court, he was condemned as a heretic, and burned at the stake.)“As the Emperor saw it, the election of a Pope took first priority; reform came second; but reform, if and when it came, had to be on a limited scale. The council decreed that General Councils were to be held at frequent intervals and act in a matter similar to Parliament, for the purpose of advising the Executive- Papal Curia- on policy, and to help it carry that policy into effect if necessary”(MacCarron, 133).
Many factors would continue to play a prevalent role in the overall time period that the Great Schism occupied.
“Spiritual inefficiency, national jealousies, and civil war were not likely to make easier the solution of the special problems raised by a divided Papacy. On the other hand, they made divisions harsher than they would otherwise have been, paralysed the forces of healing, and lengthened the reign of Schism by at least two decades”(Jordan,31).
The conciliar period, which preceded and delved into the era of the Great Schism, was of the supreme importance in determining how the Council of Constance was to be run. “The conciliar period as one of the most significant eras in the history of Christianity, had its principles prevailed, the Roman Church would have become a constitutional, instead of an absolute, monarchy. The Council of Constance was the culmination of a daring effort to change the direction of papal development”(Spinka,3).
The first portion of the Council of Constance was devoted to reforming church practices, as well as ousting the “unworthy” Popes. “At the beginning and at the end of the Council of Constance, its organization followed the tradition set by earlier medieval councils, which had been controlled by the pope and the cardinals since the beginning of the Investiture struggle of the eleventh century”(Loomis, 52).“The Council of Constance (Konstanz), 1414-18, was the 16th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic church. It brought to an end the Great Schism, during which the church had been divided by the creation of two and then three competing popes. It was convoked by the antipope John XXIII at the insistence of the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, but under the leadership of the conciliarists Jean Gerson and Pierre d’Ailly the council soon declared its superiority over the Papacy, deposed two of the claimants (John XXIII and Benedict XIII); and pressed the abdication of the third (Gregory XII). A new Pope, Martin V, was elected by the council. Before adjourning in 1418, the council decreed that general councils with powers superior to popes would henceforth meet regularly. This decree, however, was ultimately denounced by the papacy”(Tackett, 1).
November 11th, 1417, the Council of Constance elected Martin V as Pope. Lacking the proper goals of reform this measure ultimately ended the Great Schism, and issued two canons which were the only means of reform, that came out of the Council. It was these principles that came to represent the high points of conciliar thought.“The first- Sacrosancta- declared that the Council of Constance derives its power directed from Christ and that its authority is superior even to that of the See of Rome. The second- Frequens- called for the frequent convoking of future councils to promote reform. A Third list of abuses to be addressed was also issued. Later popes largely nullified the intended results, perhaps laying the path to the Reformation”(Robinson,1).These three decrees, Sacrosancta, Frequens and List of Abuses portray exactly the finalities that the Council of Constance eventually beheld.
These outcomes of the Council of Constance, outlined what was to come in the future of the church. Obviously, aside from ousting the “additional” Pope, the second problem faced by the council can be arguably be considered equal on the level of importance, heresy. “Having then declared in the Sacrosancta that ‘all persons of whatever rank or dignity, even a Pope, are bound to obey it in matters pertaining to faith… the Council determined to live up to its resolve to crush all dissidence within the rank and file of the Church membership. The maintenance of the unity of the Church being its most important consideration, it was in no mood to deal more leniently with the lower ranks than it had done with the heads of the Church”(Spinka, 66).
What is commonly accepted- the belief that the Council of Constance ended the Great Schism entire- is somewhat of a falsehood. “We are usually told that the Council of Constance ended the Great Schism by reestablishing over Western Christendom one single Pope. This is not only not true, it is an affront to the memory of Benedict XIII. Virtuous, orthodox, elected so far as anyone on earth could tell by canon law, Benedict lived on until 1423 (after the Schism had ended), and he never abdicated, never sold out, never set aside the tiara nor stepped down from the papal throne”(Gail, 263).
However, through the election of Martin V, the end of the Great Schism of the West was indeed in sight. Though argumentatively, since its underlying goals were not completely attained, the Council has been deemed by historians as a potential failure. “The great failure at Constance, perhaps the inevitable failure, was the council’s inability to deal with the problem of moral conduct- not of simple believers but of those who were supposed to guide them and set the example”(Gail, 262).
However, one goal of Constance had been reached- the three “false Popes” had either been ousted or ignored, even if they refused to abdicate, and a new authority that would govern the Roman church, Martin V had been elected.
With the election of this “Pope of Unity”, Martin V was seen as the “suture” that repaired the greatest split in Christendom that was unmatched for the time period. This would remain unchallenged in broad effect, until the advent of the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth-century. “The Reformation of the sixteenth-century was therefore inevitable after the practical failure of the Conciliar Movement. It was neither an episode, not an accident, but sprang directly from a long and continuous process of thought”(Jordan,193).
Martin V, along with the decrees of Sacrosancta and Frequens, began his Papal reign in an efficient manner, by setting foundations for irreversible reform. “Indeed, Martin’s first act as Pope was to approve the rules of the papal Chancery, thus making further reform impossible. For these rules ‘organized and protected’ the most crying abuse of the age, the selling by the Pope of offices and dispensations, judgments and indulgences”(Gail,262).
Constance itself did nothing other than urge further councils to meet, and current church officials to keep the ball rolling on the issue of reformatory measures. The Council itself never set forth a foundation of new church doctrines to be followed, or a guideline under which further papal authority would govern. “The Council of Constance affirmed the supremacy of a General Council within Christendom… however, the popes quickly regained control of the Church. Martin V used a variety of tactics to avoid calling another council, and was so successful that in fact no council met during his pontificate. He also ignored most of the reforms of Constance, largely because they tended to circumscribe papal power”(Knox,4).
“It had been said of Constance that the Council defeated Pope John XXIII, but Pope Martin V defeated the Council”(Gail,263). By the election of one man, Martin V, nearly forty years of religious fervor, upheaval, and confusion had been quelled, if not almost silenced. The Great Schism of the West, with many of its issues resting with the number of papal representatives needing reduction to a solitary man was resolved, and through the actions at Constance, measures were taken to assure that the history of this sort would not repeat itself.
The Council of Constance, in its’ three year meeting from 1414-1417, as it somewhat conceded and annulled the actions of the Great Schism, was a hallmark proceeding that restructured Papal council, authority, and Church doctrines. The council had picked up where previous assemblies had been proven a near-failure (Pisa), and made significant progress toward the goals of church reform, seeking a single Pontiff, and quieting issues of heresy. While the council itself may have not single-handedly performed all of these actions, it was responsible for sparking reformation in a variety of new ways. From such, the effect upon Christendom entire, was forever changed, and ecumenical practices and church doctrines were altered from that point forward. The Council of Constance had not only affected the role of many men, as they decreased in number down to one, it redefined doctrines of Christendom that had once been commonplace.
BIBLIOGRAPHY TEXTS:
Gail, Marzieh. The Three Popes, New York, New York: Simon &Schuster Books, 1969.
Loomis, Louise Ropes. The Council of Constance, New York & London: Columbia University Press, 1961.
Spinka, Matthew.John Hus At The Council of Constance. New York & London: Columbia University Press, 1965.
Jordan, G.J.. The Inner History of the Great Schism of the West- A Problem in Church Unity, New York, New York: Burt Frankl, 1972.
MacCarron, Daniel The Great Schism: Antipopes Who Split The Church. Dublin, Ireland: D.M.C. Universal, Limited, 1982.
Davies, Norman. Europe: A History. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
The Holy Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986.
INTERNET SITES:
Tackett, T. “ Council of Constance: General Information” c. 1999: n.pag. On-line. Internet. 2 Dec. 2001. Available: http://mb-soft.com/believe/txs/constanc.htm
Robinson, J.H. “ Medieval Sourcebook: Council of Constance: Sacrosancta, 1415” c. 1996: n.pag. On-line. Internet. 2 Dec. 2001. Available WWW: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/constance1.html
Knox, Dr. Ellis L. “ History of Western Civilization” c. 1999 n. pag. On-line. Internet. 2 Dec. 2001. Available: http://history.boisestate.edu/westciv/babylon/19.htm
Tanner, Norman P. “ Constance: Introduction I” c. N/A. n.pag. On-line. Internet. 30 Nov. 2001. Available WWW: http://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/CONSTANC.HTM
Sarah Emery, 12.07.2001, Dr. C.S. Celenza, HST 333, Michigan State University
