SCHISM, REFORM, & RENEWAL
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Babylonian Captivity and Black Plague
Western Schism
Protestant Reformation (Renaissance)
Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, King Henry VIII
Lutheranism, Calvinism, Anglicanism
St. Catherine of Sienna, Ignatius of Loyola, Teresa of Avila
Council of Trent
Babylonian Captivity of the Church
• “Babylonian Captivity”: Avignon Papacy- 1309-1377 (7 popes)
• Philip IV of France arrested Boniface VIII and put in French
Pope, Clement V.
• French controlled the Papacy in Avignon, France
• Papal abuses: extravagance, centralization, taxes & simony
#1: Decline of the Papacy during the
Babylonian Captivity
• The Popes at Avignon lived apart from Rome
• Papal “line” and legitimacy was questioned
• Avignon life was extravagant and corrupt
• Popes abused power and collected unjust taxes
• Pope (and the Church) seen as a political arm of France.
Opponents
Reactions to the “Babylonian Captivity”
• William of Ockham: Called for democratic form of Church
government
• Marsilius of Padua: Said Church held no special power and was subject to the state.
Saints
• St. Bridget of Sweden: Called Pope Gregory XI to return to
Rome.
• St. Catherine of Sienna: Called Pope Gregory XI to return to
Rome and succeeded. Letter writer and Doctor of the Church.
• Pope Gregory XI: Last Avignon Pope. Returned Papacy to
Rome 1377.
Political Events of “Babylonian Captivity”
• Hundred Years War (1337-1453) between England and France
• St. Joan of Arc: heard God calling her to save France. Led
French to victory in Battle of Orleans (1428-1429) against
English. Captured and martyred by English.
• Black Death: the bubonic plague of Europe. Height: 1337-1350 killed ⅓ - ½ of Europe’s population. #2: Western Schism
• Great Western Schism: 1378-1417
• After Gregory XI dies, Italian mob pressures the cardinals to
elect Italian Pope Urban VI.
• Cardinals return to Avignon and elect Pope, Clement VII.
• Both Popes and their successors claim to be the true Pope, splitting the Church (English and Germans side with Rome,
French and Scots side with Avignon).
Led to…
• Conciliarism: idea that a general council of the Church had more authority than the Pope and could depose of the Pope
• Nominalism: philosophy that the faithful - and their bishops in council – have supreme authority in the Church.
Solving the Schism
• Council of Pisa (1409): deposed both Popes and elected a third
Pope, Alexander V.
• Council of Constance (1414-1418):
• Called by King Sigismund and later by Pope Gregory XII of Rome.
• Gregory freely abdicates the Papacy and the council deposes the
two remaining Popes.
• Delegates of 5 nations elect Pope Martin V – ending the Western
Schism.
• Council of Basel: election of anti-Pope Felix V who later resigns.
• Pope Pius II formally condemns conciliarism in 1460
Avignon
Rome
Gregory XI
Urban VI 1
Cardinals elect
2 Clement VII
“Avignon Obedience”
• French
• Scots
Council of Pisa elects
3 Alexander V
Council of Constance
Council of Basel
Elects Felix V
“Roman Obedience”
• English
• Germans
Gregory VII resigns
Elects Martin V
Eugene IV
Pius II
More Heresies
• John Wyclif: Englishman who attacked papal authority, dismissed
validity of the hierarchy, the sacraments, and the priesthood.
Also championed the right to read the Bible in one’s own language. • John Hus: Bohemian follower of Wyclif who denied the authority of the Pope. Stressed authority of the Bible and importance of preaching. Was killed at the
Council
of Constance.
The Renaissance
• Renaissance: the cultural
rebirth of the late Middle Ages.
Stressed the natural and the human, the pleasures of life, glorified the human body, and celebrated education.
Raphael: The School of Athens
• Humanism: cultural and
intellectual movement that emphasized the rediscovery of literature, art, and ancient
Greek and Roman culture.
Michelangelo: The Creation of Adam
Infamy in the Renaissance Church
• Pope Alexander VI