Why were there three popes at the same time? - Joëlle Rollo-Koster

1,181,165 views ・ 2023-05-11

TED-Ed


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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For almost two millennia, the Pope has been a figure
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of supreme spiritual authority for Catholics around the world.
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But in the late 14th century, Catholics found themselves
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with not one, not two, but three popes.
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Where did this plethora of popes come from?
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And who among them was the genuine article?
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The origins of this papal predicament began in 1296,
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when France’s King Philip IV decided to raise taxes on the Church.
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Given the clergy’s political power,
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this offended Pope Boniface VIII, leading him to write the “Unam Sanctam”:
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a radical decree asserting the Pope’s total supremacy over earthly rulers.
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But King Philip struck back.
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He declared Boniface a heretic and tried to have him arrested in a violent raid.
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Boniface survived the assault, but died soon after.
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And following a short-lived successor, Pope Clement V was elected in 1305.
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A French diplomat seeking peace in the war between England and his homeland,
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Clement wanted to stay close to the conflict
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and escape the demands of Rome.
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So in 1309, he moved the seat of the papacy to Avignon—
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a city close to France but owned by a vassal of the Church.
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The papacy remained here for the terms of seven popes
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until the reigning Pope finally returned to Italy in 1376.
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But just several months after his arrival, he suddenly died.
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This shocking development meant a new pope had to be elected immediately—
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and in Rome, where there hadn’t been a papal election in over 70 years.
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The Romans were determined to elect one of their own
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and restore Rome as the seat of Western Christendom.
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Local officials pressured cardinals to choose an Italian pope,
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while rowdy mobs raided the conclave and plundered the papal wine cellar.
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Amidst this chaos, the cardinals elected the Neapolitan Archbishop of Bari
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to become Pope Urban VI.
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Initially, Urban was seen as a safe choice.
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But he quickly proved to be a reformer who sought to limit the cardinal’s finances.
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Desperate to maintain their luxurious lifestyles,
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the cardinals declared the recent election illegitimate,
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since it was decided under pressure from the Roman mob.
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They denounced Urban as a usurper
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and held a new conclave to elect Pope Clement VII.
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Clement attempted to excommunicate Urban,
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but he refused to recognize the authority of Clement
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or his greedy cardinals.
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Urban named new cardinals to his court and entrenched himself in Rome
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while Clement and his supporters returned to Avignon.
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The schism had officially begun.
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Western Christendom now had two capitals, Avignon and Rome,
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each with their own Pope and court of cardinals.
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As popes from each line died, their cardinals appointed successors,
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continuing the crisis for decades.
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This strange situation didn't impact most ordinary Catholics,
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as there were no significant doctrinal splits.
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Instead, the drama played out in the diplomatic realm.
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European rulers were forced to choose sides,
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as both popes vied for spiritual and political supremacy.
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Only a pope had the authority to call a general council
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to officially resolve the issue,
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and both sides refused to take this step.
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So in 1409, a group of cardinals from France and Rome
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took matters into their own hands.
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They claimed that since both popes were disputed,
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cardinals did have the right to call a council.
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And at their gathering these cardinals deposed the pretenders
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and elected a new Pope.
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Unfortunately, both Avignon’s Pope and Rome’s Pope
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refused to recognize this council.
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So instead of solving the crisis, the number of popes rose to three.
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This unusual arrangement lasted five more years,
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until the Council of Constance in 1417.
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Here, the popes from the Roman line and recently created third line resigned
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and agreed to unite the church under a new Pope—
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Martin V.
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Undisputed, Martin swiftly excommunicated the only person still against him—
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the Pope of Avignon—
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and finally ended the schism after 39 years.
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Today, the church’s official records say the Roman Line
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was always the true papal power.
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But regardless of how the schism ended,
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its existence proves that even those who are supposed to be pious
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are prone to petty power struggles.
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