The Decline of the Roman Catholic Church
How did the Medieval church lose some of its prestige? Conflict between Philip of France and Boniface VIII Clericos Laicos Unam Sanctam Boniface came off as self serving and power hungry
How did the Medieval church lose some of its prestige? Philip the Fair sent agents to Italy who took the pope prisoner – Crime of Anagni Boniface would die shortly after
Babylonian Captivity Following the death of Benedict XI, Bertrand de Got was elected Pope (became Clement V) Clement took up residence in Avignon A succession of French popes resided there for almost 70 years
The Great Schism In 1377, Pope Gregory XI decided to move back to Rome Following his death, the cardinals elected an Italian Pope, Urban VI A group of French cardinals declared Urban’s election was invalid
The Great Schism They elected a French pope, Clement VII Clement took up residence in Avignon For the next 4 decades there were two popes
The Great Schism Each claimed to be the true vicar of Christ on Earth France and its allies supported the pope at Avignon England supported the Roman pontiff
The Council of Pisa A council of 500 bishops and other churchmen met in 1409 Deposed both Gregory XIII (Rome) and Benedict XIII (Avignon) Elected a new pope, Alexander V Neither Gregory nor Benedict would step aside
The Council of Constance Ended the Great Schism Elected Martin V won recognition from all factions He took up residence in Rome
Heretics John Wycliffe insisted that the Bible was the only source of Christian doctrine Rejected the authority of the papacy and the hierarchy of the church Denounced wealth and corruption of the church Rejected RC doctrine of the Eucharist
Heretics John Hus He and his followers represented both a religions and national revolt Challenged the dogma and authority of the church
Questionable Church Practices Simony Concubinage Nepotism Indulgences