Western Schism
Rival popes era
The Western Schism was a period from 1378 to 1417 when the Roman Catholic Church had two, and eventually three, rival popes simultaneously claiming authority—one in Rome, one in Avignon, and briefly one in Pisa.
The split divided European Christianity along political lines, with kingdoms supporting different claimants.
The Council of Constance resolved the crisis by deposing the rivals and electing a single pope.
Illegitimate papal claimant
- conclavePrivate, secretive assembly
- papacyPope's office and authority
- RomeItaly's capital city
- AvignonFrench papal seat
Pisa · papal authority · succession crisis · curia · cardinals · papal bull · excommunication · legitimacy
Prolonged medieval Anglo-French hostilities
- ChristendomCollective Christian world
- medieval churchHistoric European house of worship
- simonyBuying church positions
- indulgencesExcessive self-granted pleasures
Separation into parts
- riftCrack or estrangement
- disunityAbsence of accord
- obedienceCompliance with authority
- allegianceLoyalty owed to authority
factionalism · discord · separation · fragmentation · polarization · legitimacy crisis
Fifteenth-century ecclesiastical congress
- abdicationFormal surrender of power
- depositionFormal testimony under oath
- papal electionChoosing a new pope
- reconciliationRestoration of friendly relations
antipope
Illegitimate papal claimant
Avignon · Pisa · papal authority · succession crisis · curia · cardinals · papal bull · excommunication · legitimacy · obedience
Hundred Years War
Prolonged medieval Anglo-French hostilities
- ChristendomCollective Christian world
- medieval churchHistoric European house of worship
- simonyBuying church positions
split
Separation into parts
allegiance · factionalism · discord · separation · fragmentation · polarization · legitimacy crisis
Council of Constance
Fifteenth-century ecclesiastical congress
- abdicationFormal surrender of power
- depositionFormal testimony under oath
- papal electionChoosing a new pope
reconciliation · compromise · negotiation · reunification · diplomacy
- Church SplitsProtestant Reformation, English Reformation
- Papal Schismsantipope, antipopes, Council of Constance, papal succession, contested election
- ReformationMartin Luther, John Calvin, 95 Theses, Protestant Reformation, Luther
Western SchismCouncil of Constance
Fifteenth-century ecclesiastical congress
west, schism, Westernization, westerner, schismatic, westernmost, schisms, Western, westernized