antipopes
Illegitimate papal claimants
Antipopes are figures in Catholic Church history who claimed the papacy in opposition to the canonically elected pope.
The term implies illegitimacy—the Church eventually determined which claimant was the true pope, and the others became antipopes.
The Great Western Schism of the 14th and 15th centuries produced multiple simultaneous claimants, each with political backing.
Medieval politics often shaped who became pope and who became antipope.
Pope's office and authority
- VaticanPapal city-state
- Holy SeePapal governing authority
- pontiffSupreme Catholic leader
- pontificateSpeak in dogmatic manner
cardinal · conclave · canon law · excommunication · anathema · heresy · schismatic · canonical
Illegal power seizer
- pretenderIllegitimate claimant to power
- claimantOne asserting entitlement
- unrecognizedNot identified or acknowledged
- invalidWithout legal force
unofficial · unauthorized · disputed · contested · rival · self-proclaimed · deposed · excommunicated
French papal seat
- conclavePrivate, secretive assembly
- obedienceCompliance with authority
- Council of ConstanceFifteenth-century ecclesiastical congress
- allegianceLoyalty owed to authority
legitimacy crisis · split · fracture · resolution · abdication · deposition
Ongoing contest between opponents
- oppositionActive resistance or dissent
- power struggleContest for dominance
- factionGroup within group
- disputeVerbal clash over differences
political manipulation · contested election · deposition · military support · siege · exile · imprisonment · reconciliation
Tragic chaste youth
- medievalOf the Middle Ages
- papal electionsProcess selecting Catholic leader
- BorgiasCorrupt Renaissance clan
- Middle AgesEurope's feudal millennium
papacy
Pope's office and authority
pontificate · cardinal · conclave · canon law · excommunication · anathema · heresy · schismatic · canonical · ecclesiastical
usurper
Illegal power seizer
- pretenderIllegitimate claimant to power
- claimantOne asserting entitlement
- unrecognizedNot identified or acknowledged
invalid · unofficial · unauthorized · disputed · contested · rival · self-proclaimed · deposed · excommunicated · nullified
Avignon
French papal seat
- conclavePrivate, secretive assembly
- obedienceCompliance with authority
- Council of ConstanceFifteenth-century ecclesiastical congress
allegiance · legitimacy crisis · split · fracture · resolution · abdication · deposition
rivalry
Ongoing contest between opponents
- oppositionActive resistance or dissent
- power struggleContest for dominance
- factionGroup within group
dispute · political manipulation · contested election · deposition · military support · siege · exile · imprisonment · reconciliation · submission
Hippolytus
Tragic chaste youth
- medievalOf the Middle Ages
- papal electionsProcess selecting Catholic leader
- BorgiasCorrupt Renaissance clan
- Medieval Romepapacy, Vatican, Tiber River, basilicas, St. Peter's
- Papal HistoryVatican, Holy See, pontiffs, tiara, College of Cardinals
- Papal SchismsWestern Schism, Great Schism, schism, Council of Constance, papal succession
- Papal StatesVatican, Holy See, papal palace, Vatican City, papal bull