A
period in which the western church was divided by allegiances to rival
popes. |
At the end of the
Avignon papacy, the college of cardinals elected
two rival popes. One remained in Rome and the other held court in Avignon.
The conciliar movement offered the possibility
of a remedy, but the Council of Pisa (1409) only succeeded in naming a
third pope. The Council of Constance (1414-1418) healed the schism with
the election of Pope Martin V in 1417. This episode badly discredited
the papacy and lent urgency to calls for reform.
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