GREAT SCHISM

The catalysts of the first schism included:

• the insertion of the filioque clause into the Nicene Creed
• the use by the Western church of unleavened bread for the Eucharist
• disputes in the Balkans over whether the Western or Eastern church had jurisdiction
• the designation of the Patriarch of Constantinople as ecumenical patriarch (which was understood by Rome as universal patriarch and therefore disputed)
• disputes over whether the Patriarch of Rome (the Pope) should be considered a higher authority than the other Patriarchs (all five Patriarchs of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church agreed that the Patriarch of Rome should receive higher honors than the other four; they disagreed about whether he had authority over the other four).

After Gregory XI died, the Romans rioted to ensure an Italian was elected; the cardinals, fearing the crowds, elected an Italian, Pope Urban VI in 1378; but in the same year the majority of them removed themselves to Fondi, and elected a rival Pope from there, Pope Clement VII. Later a council at Pisa was held in 1409 to try to solve the dispute, but it only resulted in the election of a third Pope, Pope Alexander V by the council, soon to be followed by Pope John XXIII.

Finally, the Council of Constance in 1417 deposed John XXIII and the Avignon Pope Benedict XIII, received the resignation of the Roman Pope Gregory XII, and elected Pope Martin V, thereby ending the schism.

From this time forward in the Catholic church it was decreed explicitly that no Council had power over the Popes, and there is no way to undo a Papal election by anyone but the pope.

The alternate papal claimants have become known in history as antipopes.

The Great Schism of the Western Church occupied the energies of John Gerson (q.v.), one of the great theologians of the age.