Council of Pisa
The Council of Pisa was a church meeting, which took place in 1409 in the Tuscan Pisa to pick up the Schism; this goal could not be achieved.
The " council " of Pisa is not counted as a council but only as a synod.
The schism between Rome and who resided in Avignon popes existed since the double election of 1378th Several attempts to solve the Pope question failed partly due to the intransigent attitude of the respective popes, on the other hand, because initially found no secular authority, the one here clarification might have brought. Each party had its supporters among the European monarchs and the German king was hardly proactive in church affairs, as he was tied up in domestic disputes.
Preparation
So the situation remained unsatisfactory for several decades and hurt the prestige of the papacy very, so, were buoyed by the schism " heretical " tendencies that the moral decline of the church complained ( Wyclif in England, Hus in Bohemia).
The Cardinals of the Catholic Church, therefore, advocated increasingly for a clarification of the question of leadership by a general council. Already at the beginning of the schism, the French King Charles V of such a council had spoken and the assembled cardinals at Anagni or Fondi ( opponents of the Roman Pope Urban VI. ) Pledged his support for such a project. The joined in the result, not only a series of synods, but also the cities of Ghent and Florence, the renowned universities of Oxford and Paris, as well as the best-known scholars of the time, and among them Henry of Long Stone, Conrad of Gelnhausen, Jean Gerson especially Pierre d' Ailly, Bishop of Cambrai, whose writing Apologia Concilii Pisani is one of the significant statements in the council question.
Encouraged by this support, traveled four representatives of the Holy Collegium from Avignon to Leghorn to meet up there with representatives of the Roman Curia. In fact, representatives from both parties in Livorno could communicate in the summer of 1408 on the council project and sent in early July letters in which the Catholic cardinals and bishops were invited for the March 25, 1409 to Pisa at the scheduled council.
The popes opposed this agreement efforts and called their own church meetings a: the Roman Pope Gregory XII. to Aquileia, the avignonische Pope Benedict XIII. to Perpignan.
However, given the popularity of the council idea in the clergy, these meetings were poorly attended. Not only the Cardinals and the universities of Oxford and Paris, but also the University of Cologne, the majority of the prelates and princes, many had high hopes for the council. The two popes themselves were hardly have expected a clarification of the question.
The Council expiry
At the Annunciation in 1409 finally four patriarchs, 22 cardinals and 80 bishops gathered in the cathedral at Pisa; Chairman of the meeting was Cardinal de Malesset, bishop of Palestrina. 100 absent bishops sent representatives, numerous abbots, Generals and 300 theologians represented the other clergy, several European princes sent ambassadors to Pisa.
At the beginning of the meeting called two cardinal deacons the names of the popes, that they should appear, but it was neither of the two counterparties present. Then asked the cardinal deacons if anyone was present who represent the popes, but again no one came forward. Then pleaded the clergy present that both Popes of contumatia, ie the wrongful absence of a court hearing, were guilty to explain. First, the ceremony described was repeated unsuccessful on three days and throughout May testimonies were heard against the accused Popes before the fourth session of the formal Contumatia decision of the council against Gregory and Benedict was announced. For the defense of Gregory finally won John, Archbishop of Riga, a, the, seconded and accompanied by several other German officials, put forward some objections to the legality of the council and in favor of his Pope by the German King Ruprecht; However, he encountered such fierce opposition that he and his companions Pisa had to leave as refugees. After defended Carlo Malatesta, Lord of Rimini, in the matter of Gregory, not without skill. Meanwhile, Benedict sent representatives to Pisa, who arrived there on June 14, but, as before John of Riga, met with fierce verbal resistance. Even the Chancellor of the King of Aragon, a supporter of avignonischen side, fell on deaf ears, while the Archbishop of Tarragona sentiment only further heated up with a fighting plea for Benedict. So also attracted the representatives of Avignon, intimidated by the hostile atmosphere, secretly out of the city.
The Assembly of some 500 men of the church was, however, particularly in the 15th meeting of 5 June, remarkable consensus, so relatively quickly judge the Popes could be made. Misreading it was the Patriarch of Alexandria, Simon de Cramaud, of Benedict XIII. and Gregory XII. " convicted schismatics " as, notorious heretics, guilty of perjury and broken promises that have become the Catholic Church scandal, described. You are so unworthy to continue in the office of the Pope, and all their orders and decrees were null and void. The Holy See was declared vacant and acquitted all the faithful of fidelity and obedience to the one as the other pope. This conviction was unanimously welcomed with applause and they sang the Te Deum.
For the following day, Corpus Christi, a solemn procession was arranged. All participants put their signature to the conciliar decree, and hoped that this would meet the Pope question for the time being settled. On 15 June, the Council participants came together in the Archbishop's Palace of the city to determine a new, legitimate pope.
The conclave reached, especially through the use of Cardinal Cossa, after eleven days a decision. Thus, on June 26, habemus papam the proclaimed: New Pope was the Franciscan Cardinal Pietro Philargi, who took the name of Pope Alexander V.. This election was welcomed unanimously in Pisa and Alexander announced the European rulers in letters to his choice, where he first encountered especially in England and France for approval.
Effect
The Council Fathers defended their action as to the welfare of the indivisible unity of the Catholic Church serving. Nevertheless, reported early doubts, because even though the legitimacy of the two irreconcilable popes might have been made by their conduct in question, this hardly was less for the previously unprecedented behavior of the fathers - never before had the clergy ventured into the history of the Church, its supreme pastor, whom they had sworn fidelity and obedience to sell, so it was a revolutionary step in the hierarchical church. But when was the legitimacy of the council in question, this of course also applied to certain of the new Pope.
The council also created a in the eyes of some dangerous precedent from which one could derive the general supremacy of a council over the pope - the so-called conciliar movement, the many followers found in the following decades, threatening to erode the already weakened authority of the papacy continued.
The two previously reigning Popes also had no intention to relinquish their claims to power and to submit to a council, so it is now, unique in the whole history of the Popes, three popes were simultaneously and the schism which it was hoped to clarify by the Council, only was further aggravated.
An indirect recognition of the legitimacy of Alexander V. was made in 1492 by the then newly elected Pope Alexander VI the name. accepted and thus avoided a reoccupation of the name of Alexander V.. In the Catholic Church historiography Alexander V. is still mostly counted as ( illegal ) anti-pope (and his successor John XXIII. ( Antipope ) ), but still had this large parts of the Catholic clergy behind. His followers, even among the princes, grew rapidly, but also retained the two previous popes a certain power base: On Benedict's side remained the Spanish kingdoms and Scotland, while Naples, Poland and Bavaria further thought to Gregor. Theologians of both popes condemned the council, as saying Boniface Ferrer, a supporter of Benedict, the " conventicles Slayer". Even later clergymen like Thomas Cajetan said the Council of Pisa any authority from, while in the Gallican Church - saw an emergency situation supported the legality of the meeting or at least in the exceptional circumstances of the schism - the impulse for the council went much of the French side which justified such an exceptional measure.
Could be really resolved the schism but only at the Council of Constance, which was in 1414, five years later, convened, and the new Emperor Sigismund was present, who had essentially by its authority in ensuring that the three popes deposed and one by the choice new pope, the long -awaited unity could be restored in the leadership of the Catholic Church.
Church Internally, it was for centuries disputed whether Alexander V. and John XXIII. to be regarded as valid popes were - Alexander VI. went in the numbering of the apparently valid, while John XXIII. 1958 represented the remapping of the number that it comes to an antipope These were the " namesake " the obedience of Pisa and formed the present-day prevailing view.