The Western Schism

The Western Schism (sometimes called the Great Schism) was a time in the Roman Catholic church that there was more than one pope. This period was from 1378-1417. This Schism was more a product of politics rather than a theological difference.


The schism all started at a time when the Catholic church was mainly dominated by the french aristocracy and the papal court was located in the French city of Avignon. This changed with the death of Pope Gregory XI in 1378. The Cardinals in Rome were heavily pressured by the roman people to elect a roman pope or at the very least an Italian pope. They elected Pope Urban VI as the head, but they came to regret this decision almost immediately. The pope was hostile towards the Cardinals condemning their luxurious lifestyle. This led to the election of Pope Clement VII  and declaring the election of Pope Urban VI as invalid because it was made under duress from the roman people.


 This led to their being two popes simultaneously, one in Italy and one in France. This severely fractured the church and deep divide was created mostly based on nationality. This schism gets even worse with cardinals from both sides convening in the council of Pisa. They elected Pope Alexander V, who was shortly replaced by Pope John XXIII. Under pressure from the Roman Emperor Sigismund they convened again in the Council of Constance wherein Pope John XXIII was deposed, Pope Gregory XII resigned and the claims of Pope Benedict XIII on the popehood were dismissed. This led to the election of Pope Martin V in 1417

Sources:
http://www.britannica.com/event/Western-Schism
http://greatschism.org/great-western-schism/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Schism