The Great Western Schism represents a crisis in the Catholic religion that took place between the years 1378 and 1417. Also called Papal Schism or Great Schism , this period was initially marked by the death of Pope Gregory XI, in 1378, which resulted in the presence of three papal authorities, ending with the “Council of Constance”, held between 1414 and 1418. All of them claimed the legitimacy of power over the western Christian world.
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Abstract
During 1305 and 1376 the seat of the papacy was installed in the city of Avignon, in the south of France, that is, it was under French rule, which was transferred by Clement V. This period, which became known as the “Captivity of Avignon” is marked by the majority of French Popes and Cardinals. There were already differences between the interests of Pope Boniface VIII, who wanted a pontifical theocracy, and the King of France Felipe IV, the Beautiful.
However, with the death of Pope Gregory XI in March 1378, who was trying to re-establish papal authority upon his return to Rome in 1377, Italians sought the election of an Italian Pope.
In this way, the Neapolitan Bartolommeo Prignano, Archbishop of Bari, who became known as Urban VI, was chosen, with acceptance by other European countries such as Hungary, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, Flanders, Denmark, England, among others.
Urban VI was Pope from 1378 to 1389, and refused to be installed in Avignon, which left a large part of the French Catholic population dissatisfied, who considered the choice to be illegitimate. After Urban VI, Popes Boniface IX (1389-1404), Innocent VII (1404-1406) and Gregory XII (1406-1415) were elected in Rome.
Faced with this, in an atmosphere of contention, Cardinal Robert of Geneva or Pope Clement VII, called Antipope, was elected in Avignon, who remained from 1378 to 1394, his successor being Benedict XIII. The European countries that legitimized the performance of the Avignon headquarters, in addition to France, were:Scotland, Cyprus, Burgundy, Savoy and the Spanish kingdoms of Aragon Castile and Leon.
Later, in the Italian city of Pisa, another Antipope was chosen at the "Council of Pisa", Alexander V, who remained only one year, from 1409 to 1410. His successor was Antipope John XXIII (1410-1417).
What happened was the excommunication of the Popes between them, legitimizing the presence of the three as papal authorities about 3 decades in Europe, until Gregory XII of Rome and Benedict XIII of Avignon decided to put an end to the Schism, reestablished by the "Ecumenical Council of Constance", which elected Odo Colonna, called Pope Martin V, who brought back the Unity of the Catholic Church.
To learn more:Eastern Schism