Transcript Decline of the Church`s Prestige

Decline of the Church’s
Prestige
Babylonian Captivity and the
Great Schism
Troubles of the Medieval Church
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It had become corrupt!
The church had come to believe that it existed for
the benefit of those who conducted its affairs
Pope Boniface VIII in Rome (1302) prohibited the
taxation of the clergy by a civil ruler
UNAM SANCTAM: outside the Roman Church there
was no salvation and that “every human creature
was subject to the Roman pontiff.”
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1303: -King Phillip the Fair, (French) sent
soldiers to arrest Boniface at his summer
retreat, Anagni near Rome. Boniface was
released some days later but died soon after.
Avignon Papacy
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1309: Under the influence of Phillip the Fair, the
College of Cardinals elected Clement VI.
Instead of taking up his See in Rome, he took up
residence in the town of Avignon near the Rhine
river (part of France at the time) with his court and
officials. BABILONIAN CAPTIVITY
There followed French popes in succession all in
Avignon
Pope during this time was considered a tool of
France
Rome was left poverty stricken without the presence
of the Papal Court
The Pomp
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What the Church had lost in prestige she
made up for in temporal prestige.
Luxurious living, banquets and fine living
Everything the Church had or was could be
bought.
Unlimited simony (selling of offices)
benefices: an ecclesiastical office to which
the revenue from an endowment is attached.
What was for sale
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legitimization of children (many of priests)
to permit nuns to keep two maids
to permit a converted Jew to visit his unconverted parents
to trade with the infidel Moslem
a Christian burial
a pardon for sins ( indulgences)
cardinal's hat, pilgrim's relic
to cancel a vow of chastity or fasting
for penance the estimated cost of a pilgrimage would be
calculated and paid
Sellers of pardons: officials commissioned by the Church that
would sell absolution for any sin. These were the ones at the
bottom of the church ladder who had most contact with the
people
The Great Schism
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1377: Pope Gregory XI restored papal court to
Rome, but soon died
Roman citizens stormed the conclave, many
threatening to kill all the cardinals if they didn't elect
an Italian Pope
Urban VI, an Italian was elected (he was not even a
cardinal)
Urban quickly grew unpopular and weeks later
cardinals slipped away to Anagni and elected
Clement II creating the Great Schism
Prestige of the Papacy as a universal institution was
badly damaged
Two Popes
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French recognized the Avignon Popes
Rest of Europe viewed the Avignon Popes as
tools of the French
England and Germany recognized the
Roman Pope
For forty years both lines were perpetuated
Public Response to the Schism
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With two popes and two papacies to support,
complaints grew about the extravagance and
worldliness of papal rule
With two churches under two popes, each claiming
to hold the keys to Peter, how could they be certain
that their church gave true salvation?
In a deeply religious world, this sense of religious
insecurity was a source of dread.
Religious anxieties contributed to brutal anti-Jewish
violence
Also, an obsession with the fear of witches (mostly
older women will be charged)
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Papal officialdom grew in numbers, ignoring
deeper problems while busily transacting
each day’s business.
ANNATE: every bishop or abbot had to
transmit to Rome most of the 1st year’s
income from his office.
It must be remembered that all this happened
in a Europe traumatized by the plague, and
with a declining amount of people expected
to bear increasing financial burden
“Death Triumphant” Flagellants
Obscure Parish Priests & other Learned
Clerics
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Began to doubt the powers of their church
superiors
Disaffection with the church, or the thought
that it might not be the true or only way to
salvation spread in all ranks of society
Not only kings who disputed the claims of the
clergy, but also obscure parish priests
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These unsettling ideas spread widely
In England, those who held them were known
as Lollards.
About 1380: John Wycliff was saying that the
true church could do without elaborate
possessions; an organized church not
necessary for salvation, since ordinary,
devout persons could do without priests and
read the Bible, which he translated into
English
In Bohemia in central Europe, John Huss was
the spokesman for these ideas (Hussites)
Conciliar Movement
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Pressure from influential church leaders called for a General
Council
1409: Church Council of Pisa, worked to pressure the reluctant
and rival popes to end the schism
Declared the reigning popes deposed and elected another, but
the first two refused to resign, creating three popes
1414: Council of Constance ended the threefold schism
Next 40 years saw a struggle of wills between the Council and
Pope
1449: Conciliar Movement ended with the Papacy assuming its
prestige and freedom.
Papacy passed into the hands of a series of cultivated men, men
of the world, men of “modern” outlook in tune with their times, the
Renaissance Popes.