The Council of Constance vrs Vatican I Part II

The Great Western Schism, which saw seven claims to the papacy divide Christendom into factions of the Catholic Church. Different Countries took different sides to those that that claimed they were the true pope. 

So in the last post I demonstrated through historical evidence on how Papal Infallibility entered the pages of church history. I showed that Papal Infallibility was actually not much of an issue until the late middle ages. As will be shown in this post, even many late Medieval Christians rejected this doctrine. It is not my attempt here though, to get into Vatican I'd definition of Papal Infallibility, that discussion will be reserved for the final post.
 Today's topic will be about Concialirism vrs Papal Supremacy, and how this debate laid the foundations for the coming Protestant Reformation. Above all, I want to put particular emphasis on the Council of Constance, and it's Conciliar stance. When I have done this, you will  see why Constance is opposed to Vatican I.

The Spiritual English Franciscan, William of Ockham, did not simply reject Papal Infallibility. His view that the church is superior to the pope, would be pivotal to the Conciliar debate before him. Not only would his views contribute to the great Western Schism, but perhaps more effective than this, his views on this subject would spur the Protestant Reformation, which would split the Roman Catholic Church into two factions as had never yet been seen.

Saint Francis of Assisi contributed to Christian history more than he ever expected. Francis had lived a life dedicated to God, and without worldly goods. While Pope Innocent III had granted Francis to this right, Pope John XXII would later try to revoke it. This would split the Franciscans in two, with the more dedicated one of the order becoming known as the Spirituals.  As explained in the previous post, the Spiritual Franciscans, especially William of Ockham, would lay the foundations for the Conciliar movement, and later the Protestant Reformation.  

   
 

Before Pope Innocent III, Pope Gregory VII was very instrumental in the power of the papacy. But as I have said elsewhere, the bishops of Rome since ancient times, clearly saw themselves as the leader of the Christian Church. On the other hand, as will be discussed more later, one will find a hard time finding Medieval Popes that saw themselves, or their predecessors, as infallible.

 All that said, when we look at the Middle Ages, we see eras when sometimes the popes are more powerful than kings, and sometimes the kings are more powerful than the popes. The debate of how far the pope's power went had been discussed for centuries, and in many ways not definitely settled. Perhaps that is why, Pope Gregory VII, or Pope Innocent III may speak more powerfully than other popes. On the other hand, perhaps we could reason from the facts of history, that some popes simply seemed more powerful than others because of certain issues they were dealing with.  When Pope Urban II preached for the First Crusade in July of 1095, he was exercising direct authority to an issue that he thought was needed to not only reclaim the Holy City Jerusalem, but also to protect the Christian east from the Saracens. Many perhaps would be surprised though, to learn that the Crusades were not the first wars in history called upon by popes. Popes had been involved in wars or the calling of them, centuries before the Crusades. While I may save for another discussion, it would be hard to deny the fact that Primacy exceeded that of ordinary bishops. Whether it Pope Leo I, or Pope Gregory the Great, or Pope Clement I, the bishops of Rome had presided as the leading bishops of the church for nearly 2000 years. To deny this, I think is just dishonest. On the other hand, we certainly need to ask the question, how far does Papal Primacy go? 

 I'm not going to get into all the debates and discussions in this post about popes authority over kings, or vice versa. Nor am I going to get into the political rights of the papacy. While all those are good topics for the future, for now I want to develop on my past post, by writing on the Conciliar debate.

 
           During the Great Western Schism of the Middle Ages, which lasted from 1378 to 1417, three principle reviles to the papacy would square off for who was truly the leader of the church.  Those now rejected by the Roman Catholic Church as illegitimate popes, are commonly called anti-popes. However one looks at it, the Great Schism saw these Papal Claimants rip Christendom apart into different factions.
 Not only did Christendom become divided into following the trues successor of Saint Peter, but because of this great schism, the leaders in factions excommunicated the followers of the others. As a result people became unsure of knowing if their sacraments were valid and pleasing to God.
 But this is how the Western Schism got started.
 Pope Urban VI was elected to the papacy in the late fourteenth century. Because of his hot temper, many of the cardinals regretted electing him thereafter. Some of them later declared him deposed, and chose Pope Clement VII instead. As two men now claimed to be the pope, this was the beginning of the Western Schism.
It did not end there however. I am trying to make these historical details quick and as short as possible so that I can get to the real topic ahead.
 The Western Schism posed a great conflict for Western Christianity, that went on for decades. But the real reason, I have given all this historical background is to explain the coming Council of Constance. I will not be contrasting The Council of Constance, from Vatican I, as I intend to do that in the final post. For now, I will briefly explain the possibly most important session of this great Ecumenical Council.
 To solve the crisis in the church, church leaders met at the Council of Constance, from 1414 to 1418. It produced a most interesting document, that actually put the authority of the church above, the papacy.
 ''The Holy synod of Constance, constituting s General Council, lawfully assembled to bring about the end of the present schism and the union and reformation of the church of God in head and members, to the praise of Almighty God in the Holy Spirit, in order that it may achieve more readily, safely, amply, and freely the union and reformation of the church of God, does hereby ordain, ratify, enact, decree, and declare the following:
 First it declares that being lawfully assembled in the Holy Spirit, Constituting a general council and representing the Catholic Church Militant, it has its power directly from Christ, and that all persons of whatever rank or dignity, even a pope, are bound to obey it in matters relating to faith and the end of the schism and the general reformation of the church of God in head and members.

 Next week, we will see how Vatican I's definition of papal infallibility, is directly at odds with this fifteenth century council.



Further Sources: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Catholicism edited by Ronald Creighton-Jobe, Western Civilization: The Continuing Experiment by Noble Strauss, The Battle for Christendom: The Council of Constance, The East-West Conflict, and the Dawn of Modern Europe by Frank Welsh.