The Church | decline-of-middle-

Babylonian Captivity

(1309-1377)

The Babylonian Captivity, or the Avignon Papacy was the period of time from 1309 to 1377 when the pope moved the papal residence to Avignon due to political conditions and conflicts. Avignon papacy was named Babylonian Captivity after the 70 years when the Jews were held as captives in Babylon. During the time of the Avignon papacy, the church experienced great loss of power and reputation from people. As a result, France gained significant influence over the pope and the Catholic church for over 70 years, when seven popes resided in Avignon.

Philip IV of France had many quarrels with Pope Boniface VIII. From 1301-1303, Philip IV challenged the power of the church by arresting and humiliating Pope Boniface VIII. Consequently, Philip arranged an election to vote a French archbishop as the pope in 1305, who became Clement V. In 1309, Pope Clement V moved the papacy to Avignon, France due to political conflicts with Philip IV. In addition, he carried out Philip IV’s orders in Avignon, which also included eliminating the Knight Templars, a wealthy military order which dealt with papacy.

The Avignon Papacy finally came to an end when Pope Gregory XI moved the papacy back to Rome in 1378. Pope Gregory XI died shortly after returning to Rome, and his death started out the beginning stages of the Great Schism.

Philip IV

Gregory XI

Boniface VIII

Clement V

Great Schism (1378-1417)

Urban VI

Clement VII

The Great Schism was a period between 1378-1417 when more than one man claimed to be the pope of the Catholic church. The Great Schism also refers to the division between the West and the East churches in 1054.This event was caused by Babylonian Captivity when the pope moved the papal residence to Avignon, France.

After the death of Pope Gregory XI in 1378, the Roman cardinals elected a new pope, Pope Urban VI. Pope Urban VI encouraged the cardinals to adopt a simple lifestyle less focused on wealth. For this reason, the relationship between Urban VI and the cardinals deteriorated greatly.

As a result, the cardinals elected a new pope, who came to be Pope Clement VII. However, Pope Urban refused to accept Clement VII as the new pope and remained in Rome. In the following years, the two popes tried to excommunicate each other and they opposed each other. European leaders supported either one pope or the other, while the cardinals worked to reform the church, limiting the powers of the papacy. In 1409, the Council of Pisa met in Pisa to resolve the schism by electing a new pope and dismissing Clement VII as well as Urban VI. On the other hand, the two remaining popes didn’t recognize that the council had elected an another pope. Thus, there were now three living popes.

Finally, the Council of Constance met in Konstanz between 1414-1418 to discuss this problem. In the end, the council dismissed all three popes and elected Martin V to be the new pope, bringing an end to the Great Schism. This event caused great disorder and confusion throughout Europe, causing the church to lose its position and power.

Conclusion: The Decline of the Medieval Church

The medieval church suffered through great loss of power throughout Europe. In England, the Lollards ( John Wycliffe's followers) were starting the reformation to change unethical policies and reduce the wealth and the power of the Church. In the same way, Jan Hus' followers revolted against the church in Bohemia.Most importantly, the church was losing its mighty reputation and respect. During most of the fourteenth century when seven popes resided in Avignon, people thought that the pope was being controlled by the king of France. In addition, the separation of the church caused uncertainity and confusion throughout Europe. The two popes who lived in Rome and Avignon were constantly in the state of war, and they were attempting to excommunicate one another. As a result, European leaders had to select one or another pope to support.