Transcript The Ecclesiastical Breakdown

The Ecclesiastical
Breakdown
13th Century Papacy
• Innocent III
– Plentitude of Power – authority to
declare saints, disposed benefices,
centralize church with a political
agenda.
– Turned the church into a business
• Urban IV
– Rota Romana – established a
ecclesiastical law court
– Clerical taxation
• 13th C Papacy was dominated by its
own political agenda, centralized
power, and personal laws
Innocent III
Urban IV
Boniface VIII
• When Boniface VIII
became pope 1294 he
would come to realize
that the papacy could
no longer compete with
the political powers of
Europe like England
under Edward I and
France under Philip IV
• Why?
Boniface VIII
• To finance their wars England and France tax
the clergy (Goes against a ruling by Innocent III)
• Boniface reacts – Clericis laicos – no taxation
without papal consent – 5 Feb 1296
• Reactions –
– England – Edward I denies clergy representation in
parliament
– France – Philip IV forbids money going to Rome and
backs the enemies of the Vatican in Italy
• Boniface – revokes his ruling for the French only
The Ordeal of Boniface and Philip
• Bernard Saisset – French clergyman was arrested
and convicted of treason in a French court
• Boniface demands his release and revokes all
previous treaties with Philip
• Philip retaliates with an anti-papal campaign
• Unam Sanctum – 18 Nov 1302 – temporal
(secular) power was subject to the spiritual power
of the church
• Philip denounces him as a heretic and the French
army will attack Boniface’s retreat home
• Boniface will die Oct 1303 – the last pope to try
and seriously threaten secular power
Philip IV
• Ruthless and
ambitious man
• Clement V
appointed pope was
controlled by Philip
• Knights Templar
disbanded, Friday
October 13, 1307
• Papacy moved to
Avignon 1309
Avignon
• Avignon popes were
heavily influenced by
French politics
• An immediate problem
was money – how to
raise it
• Being cut off from
Rome
• Clement VI began the
practice of selling
indulgences
• The Avignon papacy
will give reformers the
fuel for their beliefs
♠
Pope John XXII –
Powerful Avignon
Pope
•
•
•
•
•
Confrontation between John and Louis IV (HRE)
Challenges Louis IV for the rival Habsburg
John excommunicated Louis and his supporters
Louis appoints an antipope to replace John
– Defender of Peace (Marsilius of Padua) – depicted
the pope as a subordinate member of society –
denounced as a heretic
• After John the papacy will
become entrenched in Avignon
How did Europe view Avignon
• England considered the Avignon papacy an
enemy during the Hundred Years’ War
• French (Gallican) movement –
– Power to regulate ecclesiastical appointments without
interference from the papacy
– No annual payments to the papacy
John Wycliffe and John Huss
John Wycliffe
• Beliefs
– Followers called Lollards
– Rights of royalty against pretensions of the pope
– Clerical poverty – believed government had the right
to confiscate church lands
– Personal merit not rank true basis for religious
authority
– Challenged indulgences and the authority of scripture
– Preached in the vernacular
• When the Lollard movement became associated
with the Peasants Revolt they were disbanded
John Huss
• Rector at the University
of Prague
• Was a pro-Wycliffe
supporter and adopted
his teachings
• Questioned the clergy’s
superiority over the laity
• Was tricked into having
an audience at the
Council of Constance –
was burned at the stake
in July 1415
The Great Schism
• Babylonian Captivity ended in 1377 when
Gregory XI returned the papacy to Rome
• The problem
– Urban VI (Italian) was elected Pope – intended to
reform
– The cardinals in the curia were 99% French – fearful
of reform they called for the return to Avignon
– They elected their own pope Clement VII (French)
– At that moment there were two popes each with their
own backing from European countries
How to solve the Schism
• Conciliar Theory of Church Government
– Many believed that the church should have a
representative council that regulates and observes
the activities of the pope
• Council of Pisa 1409 – 1410
– Cardinals from each pope convened in Pisa and
elected a new pope Alexander V
– However neither the Roman or the Avignon pope
stepped down and Christianity now had three
competing popes
How to solve the Schism
• The Council of Constance 1414 – 1417
– Emperor Sigismund (HRE) called the council
– Elected a new pope Martin V – the remaining three
either conceded, died, were deposed
• Council of Basil 1431 – 1449
– The church council conceded rights to the Hussites
similar to the Gallicans
• The temporal lessening of papal powers were to
last ten years – 1460 Pope Pius II issued
Execrabilis condemning all councils to be void
Consequences
• What do you think the future consequences will
be for the church in Europe?
• Secular control of the church will become
prevalent
• City council will come to regulate religious life
• Papal State can be opposed in terms of national
security and religion