1437 the council was moved to Ferrara,
Italy, where it began meeting again in 1438.
SEEALSO: Council of Constance
Council of Constance .........................
A church council that took place from
1414 until 1418 in Constance (present-day
Baden, Germany), called by the Holy Ro-
man Emperor Sigismund to resolve the
schism in the church. Since 1378, the
Catholic Church had been divided in two,
with separate popes supported by different
factions of church leaders and the kings
and princes of Europe. When the Council
of Constance began, an “antipope,” John
XXIII, was presiding over a rival court in
Avignon, France, while Pope Gregory XII
was head of the church in Rome and a
third pope, Benedict XIII, was also claim-
ing authority over the church.
The Council of Constance took place
when the turmoil in the church was
prompting an outcry for reform. With
Sigismund presiding, the delegates asked
all three rival popes to resign their titles,
so that a single pope could be elected. In
1415, its delegates passed an important
decree known asHaec Sancta. This docu-
ment stated that a general church council
took its authority directly from Christ, and
that all members of the church, including
the pope, were bound to obey its decisions.
The Catholic Church has always consid-
ered this decree invalid, as the council had
not yet been officially convened by the
pope of Rome.
When Gregory XII made it known that
he would be willing to resign, the delegates
at the Council of Constance agreed to re-
ceive his representatives in Constance. Af-
ter their arrival, the pope’s representatives
officially convened the council in Gregory’s
name. They then read out his resignation.
The council deposed Benedict XlI, while
Gregory XII also gave up his title. Two
years later, the council elected Cardinal
Oddone Colonna, who took the name of
Martin V. Although the council resolved
the papal schism, it did not address im-
portant issues that were driving a protest
movement led by such men as John Wyclif
of England and Jan Hus of Bohemia. In-
stead, the council invited Jan Hus under a
promise of safe passage, then arrested him
and ordered him burned at the stake. The
protest movement would gather force
throughout the fifteenth century and bring
about the Protestant Reformation.
SEEALSO: Catholicism; Hus, Jan; Reforma-
tion, ProtestantCouncil of Ferrara/Florence ................
This council of bishops, scholars, monks,
and church officials began in Basel, Swit-
zerland, and moved to Ferrara, Italy, in
1438, and in the next year to Florence. The
council sought to deal with a growing
movement of protest and heresy against
the corruption of the church. It also had
to contend with the papal administration,
which resisted its pronouncements and de-
crees. In the end Pope Eugene IV was
forced to recognize the authority of the
council, which limited many of the pope’s
privileges and even set down rules guiding
papal elections. In 1439, the council de-
posed Eugene IV from his throne and
elected an “antipope,” Felix V, leading to a
schism in the church that lasted for ten
years. The many bitter controversies over
doctrine and the struggle for power be-
tween the pope and the councils provided
further impetus for the Reformation
movement, which would gain strength in
the early sixteenth century.Council of Trent ................................
The Council of Trent was an important
church council, attended by cardinals,Council of Constance