Great Schism in the Western Church
(1378 - 1418)
Middle Ages

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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