The Great Schism Essay

The appointed pope returned to Avignon. This saw the church being placed in a worse state than it had been during the time of the Babylonian Captivity. The church was split into two allegiances, an event called the Great Schism, which produced two popes claiming universal sovereignty, while sending forth papal officers and raised the prices of taxes for Christians, which resulted in the excommunication of both popes. The Great Schism continued after the opposing popes died and replacements were designated instead of working to revive the breach in the church. The life of the church suffered, for “Christendom looked upon the scandal helpless and depressed, and yet impotent to remove it. With two sections of Christendom each declaring the other
The Reformation was brought about during the sixteenth century mainly because of the strength of these forces. Effective complaints of the clergy had stemmed from a wide variety of sources, and the supreme power of the papacy was strongly challenged by the Conciliar Movement. The disapprovals increased significantly, and the spiritual leadership of the church continued to decline rapidly. The concerns of the popes during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries were nothing but worldly, which included their profound association in the political life of Italians, further pushing the church away from all the religious concerns that needed attention. Alongside these external pressures which facilitated in the decline of the church, the increasing thought of exploration saw the emergence of a new outlook toward the division of the church. Furthermore, the invention of the printing press, provided a means for ideas to spread more quickly. From a socioeconomic point of view, the medieval church, in its adaptation to the new environment of the towns, was less effective. The church did not put the problems of the people at the forefront. Too many questions were left unanswered, which led to a failure in providing enough parish priests to keep up with the rapid growth of the urban population. This played a major part in several towns becoming centers of heresy. In conclusion, the encounters between the French ruler Phillip IV, and Boniface VIII resulted in the growth of nationalism and the increasing averseness of kings to obey any conflicting establishment, including the